Saturday, July 30, 2011

This Sunday at Hillcrest

July is a month with 5 Sundays which means baptisms and communion for Hillcrest! There's only 4 such months each year so these are special times. We have 5 people taking the important step of baptism this Sunday! Several of the folks being baptized are adults, which doesn't mean there's something extra special about the baptism, but I think it's really neat when adults do make that decision because it is their decision, and theirs alone. Should be a special Sunday.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Anonymous Legalism

We recieved a letter this week from someone who drove by our church facility on a Sunday and didn't like something they saw. Their letter was a reprimand to us for 'violating the Sabbath'. They quoted scriptures, said they were disappointed with us, and urged us to set a better example because we are a church.

The letter, of course, was unsigned and didn't have a return address. Of course.

I'm ok with people having different opinions and strong convictions. I'm ok with people who not only feel the need to live out their opinions and strong convictions and also tell others about them. This person felt strong enough to write the letter, put it an envelope, address it and mail it (hopefully not on the Sabbath, however, for then she'd be violating what she was judging us for!). Good for her (how do I know it's a her- the handwriting- duh!). But to do all that anonymously? Seriously? I am sure that person feels that they've taken a stand or followed through on something, but to do it without signing it or addressing it lessens that stand. There's no opportunity for dialogue, to see things from one another's perspectives, or to ask her how we could be a better church for her and the neighborhood.

Just a legalistic stand without a name or a face . . .

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Hillcrest, HyVee, and our Neighbors

This past Wednesday Hillcresters went through our neighborhood and delivered a card to our neighbors. Each card had a $10 HyVee gift card and an invitation to our 'drive-in' movie that we show on our parking lot (this year's film is 'Secretariat' and shows at 8:30 on Friday, August 5th). We've done this each summer for the past three years or so as a simple way to show that we love being in our neighborhood and that we care about our neighbors. Granted, a $10 HyVee card isn't going to buy too much, but it's something. There's no strings attached- we're not using the gift card as a bribe for people to come to Hillcrest (though we've been accused of that!). We're simply looking for ways that our church can be a blessing to people and especially to our neighbors. A church that our neighbors would miss if we weren't in the neighborhood.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Are poorer people happier?

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to serve with the Furniture Mission. Sioux Falls was towards the end of a brutal heat streak- highs in the 90s, lows in the upper 70s, and a lot of humidity (though I actually love the weather, but that's for a different post) so it was a hot night. Our first stop took us to an elderly woman who lived in a little house on N Cliff Ave. She had some help and it took us no time to unload her furniture, learn that she had recently been reunited with some grandchildren, and pray with her. Our next stop took us to some apartments on N Cleveland Ave where we delivering furniture to a family new to Sioux Falls from Nepal. There were six of them living in a 3rd story one bedroom apartment without the air running. It was stifling making that delivery and yet the whole family helped out and was having a good time with it. The apartment complex is home to several refugee families and kids were outside laughing, playing, and paying no attention to the sweltering conditions. After we finished this delivery, we were offered a glass of Sunny D and invited to sit and visit for a bit. So neat. It's humbling when folks who don't have a lot offer you something out of their gratitude. Very cool.

After this delivery, we set out for some of Sioux Falls' nicer neighborhoods to pick up donations. The families who donate furniture to the mission perform an invaluable service- without their donations, the family from Nepal isn't sleeping on a bed- so I'm not intending to rag on them, but the families who donated clearly had more stuff- nice homes, nicer cars, nicer toys, more food, etc- and yet they didn't seem as happy. One couple in particular was almost grumpy- maybe it was the heat, maybe it because we were running a little late- who knows, but I was struck again by the joy of those who didn't have as much stuff compared to the lack of joy from those who do have much stuff. I say again, because whether I've been to the poorer parts of Sioux Falls, Standing Rock, Los Angeles, or Mexico, I'm always struck by the fact that while I have much more than these folks, they seem to have more joy. So, who's the rich one?

Friday, July 22, 2011

Feeding the Masses

This past week Pastor Doug taught on the miracle of the feeding of 5,000. We looked at it as we continue our summer series on the book of John, but outside of the resurrection, it is the only miracle recorded in all 4 gospels. It is such a familiar story that we almost lose the magic and the mystery behind it. To consider that Jesus probably fed over 20,000 (most scholars estimate that it would have been over 20,000 when you account for the women and children) is incredible! And I think that our sophisticated and advanced mindset is to automatically discount a miracle such as this or explain it in some rational way (everyone must have shared their lunch; there weren't that many people, etc) and yet I wonder if we believe in the idea of miracles such as this happening today?

When I graduated high school my youth group joined several others on a life-changing mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. There were several 'miracles' that happened on that trip including buses that had stopped just starting again, but the most memorable one was what we call the Coke miracle. After a day of ministry, one of our buses stopped at a roadside vendor to treat the bus to a Coke. The Cokes came in bottles and were cold- both a special treat for our group. The vendor, however, was a few cokes short and we soon realized that the whole group wouldn't get a Coke. Since we're on a mission trip, people begin giving up their Coke so that others could get one. While the leaders passed out the Cokes, they instructed us that we had to return the bottles to the vendor so that he could recycle them and save on some of his costs. When all the bottles had been returned, everyone had a Coke, even though the vendor and the leaders knew they were short for the whole bus! Again, the temptation is to try to explain this or discount it- maybe the vendor miscounted, maybe some on the bus had bottles they passed up, etc. But those on the bus call it a miracle- for what else do you call it?

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Book Report: A Whole New Mind

I'm not sure how I came across this book, but the subtitle quickly concerned me: "Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future". One of the endorsements on the back of the book echoed this sentiment: "if it's likely that someone in China or India can do your work more cheaply than you can, or if a computer can do your work faster than you can, read this book."

The book's main idea is that our economy is shifting from being dominated by left-brainers (think accountants, lawyers, and computer programmers who predominantly use the brain's logical, left side) to those who more use the right side. The brain's right side is the creative side of our brain- it's where we make music, compose a story or a poem, and paint a picutre. This is greatly concerning to me because I'm no artist. I got a "C"in the only art class I ever had to take- way back in 8th grade. My glaring lack of skill was evident when I had sketched a can of Pepsi and peanut butter M&MS and had used the wrong color on the M&Ms. When my teacher pressed why I had used the color, I told her that when I had showed her the earlier sketch, that it looked good, so I kept going. Wrong color and all! To be fair, I probably got a better grade than I deserved, because I am not sure you could call my art even average! Just a couple weeks ago each of us had to sketch something at our staff meeting and those "C in Art class" fears came out- pretty sure I had the worst drawing of the group. And for the longest time, the best name I could come up with for our Powerhouse Tutoring Center was the "Whittier Neighborhood Tutoring Center". Wow. So creative! Glad we landed on Powerhouse!

So as I started the book, I was nervous that I wouldn't have a job in the next few years because of my left-sided dominance. What I did read, though, was much more hopeful, and more of a statement than in an economy of abundance (which the author characterizes as most of us having more than what we need) and Asia (which the author characterizes as the ability of Asian nations to now do much of our work cheaper), our work will need to take on an increasingly artistic flavor. While we can disagree over that sentiment, the author puts forth six senses that in his opinion will help both left brains and right brains. The six senses are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. If I talked about all 6, well then, I might as well quote the whole book! But of the 6, story seems to always be an area that most of us, regardless of profession, can glean from. In church world, where we hear sermons each week and perhaps more than one a week, it's the stories that seem to resonate the most with us. The more connected a story is to a value or a key idea, the better. It's often been said that Jesus was more of a story-teller than a teacher, but the two roles really ought not be that different. Obviously, it's not all about stories. Obviously there are times (lots of times) where we need information. And explanation. And application.

But I bet that we're more likely to remember that information if it's packaged as a story, much like you're more likely to remember that I got a C in art class (and why!) than you are the main point of this book . . .

Sunday, July 10, 2011

What to Read

I've been asked a couple times recentlly how I decide what I am going to read. While I confess I haven't put too much thought into it, alas, here's a post to answer the question(!):








  • My favs- I have my favorite authors and generally read whatever they put out.



  • Other's favs- I follow several blogs, and from time to stumble across reading lists such as this one. From that list, I might read 1-2 of those recommendations. I also come across books others are reading from their blogs- see a book show up enough times, it's probably worth checking out. And of course, word of mouth recommendations from family and friends make it to my reading list as well.

  • Books- it's funny, but ocassionally the books I read recommend other books that I should read. So I might read one or two off that list. Now, there might be some conspiracy amongst all these various authors and publishers to artifically drive up book sales, but I've rarely been disappointed.

  • New skills- in the last year or so I've read books on grantwriting, social media, and screenwriting. Now, I'm not looking at switiching careers, but I've found that there's much crossover from these books and the skills they describe and various parts of my work. And in my amazon wishlist is a book on how to better use Powerpoint- who can't use that, right?!?
Not sure how brilliantly insightful that is, but there you go!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Movie Reviews

It's been in the works for awhile now, but here's a review of some recent films we've seen. With our netflix account, you'd think we'd watch some more films, but alas the pace of life hasn't really bumped up our movie watching! Also, I've enlisted a rule that if a DVD that we've gotten from Netflix sits at our house for a week and we don't watch it, then it must not be worth watching (I am sure it could be that there were too many (worthwhile) things going on that week that trumped movies, but I consider this good stewardship!). Onto the reviews:



  • True Grit- I not much into Westerns, but this was a good show. Loved the girl's performance in it and liked that it didn't end 'Hollywood'. We watched this during two different nights while at the lake as I fell asleep, so guess that's a negative!

  • I Am Number Four- this fell victim to the one week rule. Sorry. So did 'Hereafter'.

  • Gnomeo and Juliet- cute kid movie, but glad we didn't pay to see it in a theatre!

  • Cars 2- did pay to see this in the theatre and it was so fun experiencing it with my almost 2 year old nephew and it being his first movie! Seeing it with Emmett trumped what I thought was a weak story and more of a money grab for Disney.

  • Mater's Tall Tales- so good. We've watched this one several times. So good. Should have used this as Cars 2 and kept Cars 2 in the uber-secure 'Disney vault'.

  • Soul Surfer- saw this with the youth back in April. I thought it was very good. Looking forward to it being on DVD.