A very brief post tonight. I'm sitting in a Panera (sister to Paradise Bakery and very similar) to have a quick sandwich before heading over to the church where I'll speak tonight. Sermons I'm comfortable with - form and content. This, not so much. It's more like a presentation, an analysis of the last 50 years that looks at both cultural transitions and developments within the local church, how these have interacted with each other, and what the future may look like, especially for what is called a Bible church (sub-set within the evangelical church).
Because it's largely analysis they - or some portion of they - may disagree with me completely. When I preach I say, to quote Billy Graham, "The Bible says...." So if people don't agree their problem ain't with me. But tonight I'm trying to explain what I think has been going on for the last 50 years and how we got where we are. That's essential to understanding where we go from here. Pathway is Exhibit A in this analysis. The west valley of the Phoenix metro area is unique, but only in regard to degree. We're the extreme. But I think where we are the rest of evangelicalism (at least the local church manifestation of evangelicalism) will be, and probably soon.
Anyway, it should be interesting. And maybe completely bogus. That's always the risk in a gig like this, vis a' vis a sermon which is the elucidation and application of a biblical text. Hey, I don't even trust me, so why should they?
Which is why I like an occasional column that Peter King writes for Sports Illustrated titled "Things I Think I Think." The only stuff I don't think I think is what I read in the Bible.
The drive up here was uneventful. I left the campground a bit before 6 a.m. and I'm pretty sure I was the only one awake. I wondered if the gazillion little kids running around the campground would keep me awake but I don't remember a thing from 10 seconds after my head hit the pillow. Nothing until 3 a.m. when I realized I had to go to the bathroom. That's when my head hit the cabinets as I tried to sit up. "OUCH!!!" I was surprised my forehead didn't bleed. I smacked it!
Take a 4x8 sheet of plywood, cut off 2' of length and 2" of width, and that's the sleeping area. Now put 18" deep cabinets over your feet/lower legs that are about 14" above them. Over your head put 12" deep cabinets that are 16" above your head (just low enough to hit your forehead if you forget they're there). Yep, cozy.
The weather here is perfect! The sun is shining, the skies are blue and crystal clear, and the snow-capped mountains across the Sound perfectly visible. People from all over the country have come for this conference and they're seeing Seattle at its best. Chamber of Commerce conditions. So long as they don't get on the freeways, which are slammed 24 hours a day.
OK, sandwich is down, along with the chips that accompanied it. Time to refill the cup with more Diet Coke and head over to the church. It doesn't start until 7 but they want me there at 6 to check out the technical stuff. I have a Keynote slide presentation on my Mac, they use a PC running Power Point, and we have to figure out how we make that work.
If I'm missing from action tomorrow night it's because we're having a family dinner at 5:00 to celebrate my folks turning 90 this year. Their three sons & wives, some grandkids and two great grandkids will be there. Pam arrives at 1:00 so there won't be time before, and probably not after. Which means I'll probably be back sometime Saturday.
1 comment:
Excellent job, Craig, of describing the last 50 years and what brought us to where we are now. Your example of "The Pill" was something I never considered before but it makes perfect sense particularly at that time in history.
A well thought out presentation and your plan to go rapid fire with it was, imho, the way to go.
John
Post a Comment