Vision and Commitment Sunday

Next Sunday, we will be making our yearly financial pledge to support what God is doing through the local church. Giving from the Christian worldview has very little to do with financial resources. It is a matter of priorities, stewardship, and discipleship. As Christians in the United Methodist tradition we promise to give God and the local church our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.

We have had a great last 12 months.

• Compared to last year at this time our Frog Pond has grown 48%.
• Compared to last year at this time our adult worship participation has grown about 25%.
• We have over 250 volunteers that make our Sunday morning worship and kid’s teams. That is a dramatic increase from the previous year.
• We have added three staff people—a kid’s team leader (Nancy Christensen); an assimilation, small groups, and connection’s team leader (Jill Schumacher); and an administrator (Staci Campbell). These new positions will help us connect people to The Water’s Edge, to each other, and to God.
• We will be adding a new worship experience at 9:00 starting in September. This move will give us room to grow and allow us to reach new people. It also provides people new opportunities to serve, grow, and connect.
• We have supported relief efforts in Haiti, missionaries in Africa, and hungry people in Omaha.

When people I meet ask me what I do, I tell them I am a pastor. When asked what church I serve, I am so proud to tell them I am affiliated with you!

Weekly, I hear stories of how God is changing people’s lives, healing hurts, and giving hope. God is doing something special at The Water’s Edge, in the lives of the people at The Water’s Edge, and in the lives of outsiders because of the ministries of The Water’s Edge. As you read this, I hope and I pray that you feel more connected to God and more connected to others because of our ministry. I hope and pray that you are both giving your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness and that you are receiving the grace, love, and power of God and community with others. I pray that God is both blessing you and using you as a blessing.

I am excited about what God is going to do next year in the life of our church as we surrendered to God and love God and others. The next year will not be about us, but about Jesus as we will be transfixed by God’s story and God’s heart for our city. We will plant seeds, peddle hope, take risks, dream dreams, and give grace. We will strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, empower the poor. We will partner with God and with each other in seeking, serving, and saving the lost.

Our mission field is big and our vision is even bigger. I encourage you to pray this coming week about how you are going to help resource what God is doing with us and among us.

In Christ,

Craig

David

If I'd

From my friend Jennifer...

If I'd never felt so empty,
then how could You have filled me?
If I'd never felt so fretful,
then how could You have stilled me?
If I'd never crashed to pieces,
how could You make me whole?
If I'd never been a sinner,
Who'd need to save this soul?

Because I've cried myself to sleep,
I know Your warm embrace.
Because I know the sting of sin,
I've felt extravagance of grace.
Because I've sailed on stormy seas,
I know it's You who stilled them.
Because I've walked on broken streets,
I know that You rebuilt them.
Because I've smelled the stench of death,
I know Your sweet perfume.
Because I know the cross of Christ,
I know the empty tomb.

Nora Jones

Amber and I saw her at the Orpheum last night. Incredible.

Guest Speaker: Shante Buckley

Shante Buckley was our guest speaker this weekend. Listen here. This is a wonderful sermon.

For Preachers, Speakers, and Students of Rhetoric

Ethos: The speaker's credibility and percieved caring. An appeal based on ethics.

Logos: The speaker's use of logic to support a claim - both induction and deduction. Facts and statistics can be used in addition to logic.

Pathos: The speaker's emotional or motivational appeals including vivid language, emotional language, and numerous sensory details.

This was an excellent sermon.

The ethos was excellent. Notice how she projects caring to the listener.

The logos was very good. Her use of metaphor is outstanding.

The pathos was as good as you will find. I don't know many other speakers that have a pathos as high as Shante.

Strategic Air and Space Museum

Benjamin and I spent the night at the SAC Museum last night. We had a great time. It was amazing to see how technology has changed so quickly. The size of some of the planes was amazing as well. We learned a lot and had fun.

Jesus and the Use of Humor

Because humor is often not associated with seriousness, a possibility exists that humor can be overlooked in the life and teachings of Jesus (Drakeford 27). A second obstacle is that the Gospels stress the tragedy of the crucifixion (Trueblood 19). No humor exists in the crucifixion, a major theme of the Gospels. Because humor is absent in such a significant event, it is possibility that the absence of humor can be associated with the rest of the Gospel. A third obstacle is the failure of logic. Since Jesus wept and displayed sadness, a person could possibly assume that sadness necessitates a rejection of humor. Because Christ wept does not mean that he did not laugh. Differing personality qualities often complement each other and are not necessarily mutually exclusive (Trueblood 21).

Jesus Christ's expression of joy and use of humor is often taken too lightly and even rejected. Many non-Christians have a dreary view of Jesus Christ. Nietzsche writes of Christ, "Would that he had remained in the wilderness and far from the good and just! Perhaps he would have learned to live and to love the earth—and laughter too" (109). Some in the Church also share the view that Jesus was always serious. Elton Trueblood writes about the humor of Jesus being overlooked:

The widespread failure to recognize and to appreciate the humor of Christ is one of the most amazing aspects of the era named for Him. Anyone who reads the Synoptic Gospels with a relative freedom from presuppositions might be expected to see that Christ laughed, and that He expected others to laugh, but our capacity to miss this aspect of His life is phenomenal. We are so sure that He was always deadly serious that we often twist His words in order to try to make them conform to our preconceived mold. A misguided piety has made us fear that acceptance of His obvious wit and humor would somehow be mildly blasphemous or sacrilegious. (15)

The Gospels are serious, but seriousness does not exclude the expression of joy or the use of humor.

A better understanding of life, self, and God can be attained when a person is able to recognize humor in the Bible. Trueblood notes that new possibilities in understanding and applying the teachings of Jesus exist when the reader can understand the Jesus was not always dead serious (96). Jesus looked at his disciples and the multitudes, a group of people who needed grace, and said, "God blesses you who weep now, for the time will come when you will laugh with joy" (Luke 6:21, NIV). Jesus knew that the end is not weeping, the end is laughter. Buechner writes of the humor of Jesus, "Nobody claims there's a chuckle on every page, but laughter's what the whole Bible is really about" (Peculiar Treasures 173). History's great comedy is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the early Greek Orthodox Church, the day after Easter the people gathered to tell jokes and funny stories. They did this to celebrate the practical joke that God played on Satan. Satan thought that he conquered the world, but on the third day the tomb was empty and Christ had risen (Demaray Laughter, Joy, and Healing 35; Hyers And God Created Laughter 25). The comedy of the Bible, specifically the story of Jesus Christ, is found in the fact that liberation and laughter come through God's victory in Jesus Christ (Oden 405-6).

Humor in the Hebrew Scriptures

Humor, as noted above, is a worldwide experience, and it has been established in other writings of the Ancient Near East. Humor is also found in ancient Israelite literature including the Hebrew Scriptures (Meltzer 326-8). Humor is not the opposite of seriousness; humor is not the opposite of despair (Hyers 51). Viewing humor not as a contradiction to seriousness is helpful in gaining a better perspective of the possible uses of sacred humor (Danbom 668-72).

The God of Isaac (Yishaq) which is translated as "laughter" is the God of Israel. Conrad Hyers writes:

The history of Israel begins—if it does not sound too impious—with a joke, a divine joke. The laughter of Abraham and Sarah at this joke was not so much a laughter of unbelief as of disbelief, as when we say "You can't be serious" or "You've got to be kidding." Yet it was a laughter that became the laughter of faith. Abraham and Sarah would be less inclined in the future to declare the impossible. And their laughter, in turn, would become the laughter of faith and hope for generations to follow. (10)

God gave laughter to Sarah. Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me" (Gen. 21:5, NLT). Sarah had stopped dreaming that she and Abraham would have a baby, but the Lord was gracious to Sarah and did for Sarah "exactly what he had promised" (Gen. 21:1, NLT). God later told Moses that "I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exod. 3:6, NLT). It turns out to the Hebrew reader that Laughter (Isaac) is the father of Israel (Jacob).

Humor and laughter is found in the beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is also found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. The author of Ecclesiastes writes that there is "a time to cry and a time to laugh, a time to grieve and a time to dance" (Eccles. 3:4, NLT). Much of life is tragic and this is evident in the Hebrew Scriptures. But earthly calamity is replaced by grace. Donald Demaray writes of the Ecclesiastes text, "The sequence is significant. There is winter before spring, grief prior to joy, death before resurrection" (Laughter, Joy, and Healing 35).

Three Years Ago

The Water's Edge Three Years Ago

Russell Middle School

Benjamin and David Three Years Ago

Benjamin's Room

Coming this Fall

September 12th we will be adding a 9:00 worship experience to our 10:30 worship experience. It is exciting times!

The kid’s ministry during the first two months of 2010 has seen a 48% increase in participation over the same time period in 2009. We have even had over 100 kids a few times! Nancy Christensen has been serving as our leader in this area for the last year and a half. Because of the increase in her workload and responsibility, Nancy joined our staff in November. As a pastor and as a father of two boys, I’m so grateful for her leadership and I’m so thankful for the many adults and middle and high school students who serve in this important ministry. If you have suggestions, questions, or want to serve in some way—Nancy would love to hear from you. You can find her on Sunday mornings or email her at nancy@watersedgeomaha.com.

In addition to starting a new worship experience, we will be starting new small groups in the fall as well. Obviously our worship attendance and volunteerism has grown significantly in the past couple of years. Our small group participation has also increased, but not at the same rate as our worship and volunteerism. Jill Schumacher joined our staff a few weeks ago to coordinate our small group ministry, volunteer ministry, and guest follow-up ministry. She has been one of our volunteer coordinators and has done a wonderful job in that role for the past year. We are looking for people who are willing to host and / or lead a small group. It’s pretty simple, it’s a great way to serve, and it’s an excellent way to make friends. I also want to encourage you to pray about joining a small group in the fall. If you have suggestions, questions, or want to host, lead, or join a group—Jill would love to hear from you. You can find her on Sunday mornings or email her at jill@watersedgeomaha.com.

Our biggest strength as a congregation is our volunteers. Last week in worship, we made a low key ask for a few more volunteers in a few areas where a little more help is needed. We had a dozen new people volunteer! We have hundreds of people who volunteer at least once a month in everything from playing music, serving donuts, setting up chairs, teaching children, welcoming guests, doing announcements, running the sound and media, etc… With a new worship experience, this fall we will have many more opportunities to serve. Serving is a great way to meet people, have fun, be part of a team, and grow closer to God. If you are not serving and want to, simply express your interest on your registration card or send Nancy (for the kid’s team) or Jill (for all other teams) an email.

I’m so excited where God is going to take us in the future and I’m equally excited to see what God is going to do in and through your life as well!

In Christ,

Craig

Introduction to Humor in the Bible

The purpose of this is to set an introduction for interpreting humor in the Bible:

Before attempting to interpret humor from the Bible, it is helpful to break down humorous discourse into three groupings: universal humor, culture-based humor, and linguistic-based humor (Schmitz 89). Universal humor is the most basic form of humor and is not dependent on culture or language. An example of universal humor is: “Last week I went fishing and all I got was a sunburn, poison ivy, and mosquito bites” (Schmitz 96). No understanding of the original culture or language is required to appreciate this type of humor. Certain elements of humor such as irony, exaggeration, repetition, and incongruity are nearly universal. These four components are humorous in today's culture and were most probably humorous during the biblical era (Greenstein 330-3; Culpepper 333; Whedbee 8-9).

Humor has a strong cultural component (Nietiing 168) which is much different from the universal humor described above. Humor in North America is much different than humor in Southeast Asia. Humor in the Midwest is much different than humor in the Deep South. Garrison Keillor relates to a much different audience than Jeff Foxworthy, but both are two of America’s most beloved humorists. It is quite possible, even probable, that today's reader, regardless of culture, will miss humor when it is encountered in the Bible. It is also quite possible, even probable, that today's reader, regardless of culture, will find humor in the Bible when the author did not intend for the passage to be humorous. Culture-based humor is not universal because the listener must have an understanding of the culture to comprehend the humor. An example of cultural-based humor is: “This year for Father’s Day I got a special gift in the mail: the bill for Mother’s Day” (Fechtner 104). To understand this type of humor the listener must have an understanding of American culture. This joke would be lost in the cultures where these days are not celebrated, in cultures where credit is not extended, or in the cultures where Father’s Day does not directly follow Mother’s Day.

Linguistic-based humor is also not universal because the listener must have an understanding of the original language to comprehend to humor. An example of linguistic-based humor is: “How does a dog stop a VCR? He presses the paws button” (Schmitz 101). The non-English speaking listener would most likely have a difficult time understanding this humor. In no other language does the word for a dog’s foot sound similar to the button of a VCR that stops the tape. To further complicate things, in the future people will not know what a VCR is because that language has become obsolete. A second example: “Americans won’t allow the importation of Canadian beef, and now some Canadians have a beef with Americans who import Canadian drugs” (Danbom 668). The word “beef” used in the above sentence is slang, something that is very difficult to translate for a non-English speaking person.

A short study of the above-mentioned groupings gives the modern-day Western reader a clue that extracting humor from the Bible based on the original contexts and languages can prove to be a difficult task. Humor can get lost in translation (Hall 3-4 and Bell 384). Communication between cultures, languages, and different time periods has a probability for misunderstanding (Norrick 389-90). A possibility exists that the biblical interpreter will miss some of the humor in the Bible because of the linguistic and cultural differences—even if the interpreter is a student of biblical languages and biblical culture. It is also plausible that the biblical interpreter may find something humorous in the Bible that was not meant to be humorous in its original context. Another caveat exists. Much of the Bible is from an oral tradition (Kelber 30-4 and Avery-Peck 34-7). Today’s Bible is a written document. It is one thing to read Garrison Keillor’s humor in a book; it is a totally different experience to hear him on the radio. The following sections of the dissertation the investigate humor in the Hebrew Scriptures and humor in the New Testament. This section seeks to examine humor in the Bible as faithfully as possible given the limitations of cultural and linguistic humor and given the difference between oral and written communication.

Prodigal God: Redefining Sin

Here is this morning's sermon and the two graphs I used. The top graph is not original. I redid it so people could see it better. Listen here.

Here is Luke 15 from the Message:

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." Their grumbling triggered this story.

Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.'

"So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father.

"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'

"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.

"All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.'

"The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!'

"His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"

Self-Disclosure, Humor, and Preaching

Self-disclosure can be way to preach in one’s own voice and a way to inject humor in a manner that is authentic. Self-disclosure is the verbal and non-verbal revelation of the speaker’s feelings, values, and/or personal experiences (Arthurs and Gurevich 215). It is defined as communication of “self-content that is intentionally directed at another person, and contains information generally unavailable from other sources” (Rosenfeld & Kendrick 326). Self-disclosure and humor can form a powerful team because some of the best and most relevant humor often comes from real life stories (Bolton 91 and Pinsky 226). Practically no part of modern life is unaffected by stories (Cahill 39). Stories have many functions including helping the listener remember important things, helping solve problems, sharing experiences with others, and creating community (Seymour 24-32). Excellent supportive material for sermons can come from our life and our observations (Willimon 56-57 and Tucker 69-71). Laughing at oneself can display that the preacher is emotionally and spiritually healthy. Haddon Robinson writes about possible benefits of combining self-disclosure and humor, "Humor at your own expense, if not used too often, can be a way of getting people to respond. We like people who laugh at themselves, because they are saying, `What I am talking about is very serious, but I don't take myself too seriously"' (Hybels, Briscoe, and Robinson 134). Self-disclosure is form of communication found in the Bible (Craddock 208) and can be an effective vehicle to share the Gospel for contemporary Christian communicators (Morganthaler 155, Moore 191-2, and Bausch 68-70).

Although self-disclosure may be present in the Bible and is present in many of today’s sermons—the use of self disclosure is a controversial issue in contemporary homiletics (Eslinger 95). David Buttrick writes against the use of self-disclosure, “To be blunt, there are virtually no good reasons to talk about ourselves from the pulpit” (Buttrick 142). He notes that self-disclosure splits consciousness, reveals character flaws, can cover for the speaker’s insecurity, and may breach confidence (142-3). Taking the opposite view is Bruce Salmon who writes, “The best help we can offer is our own woundedness and a description of what has saved and healed us” (54). Each preacher does have a personal experience with Jesus Christ and this experience is essential for the preacher who is a Christian witness (Stott Preacher’s Portrait 74). Both power and danger exist in using self-disclosure. Balance is a desirable attribute when using self-disclosure in preaching (Long 177, Brown-Taylor 79, Littauer and Littauer 104-5, Stowell 143-4, and Craddock 208-9).

Simple rules exist for effective use of self-disclosure: do not be the hero or a victim, do not break pastoral confidences, do not embarrass a friend or family member, do not over use personal interests, and do not use the sermon as a confessional (Long 177, Foss 168, Barnette 6, Brown-Taylor 79, Wilson 161-2, Arthurs and Gurevich 222-3, Morgan 109, R. Allen 30, and Eslinger 95-100). Although Buttrick’s position of using no self-disclosure in generally disregarded in the field of contemporary homiletics, an opposite danger of using self-disclosure too often can signify that the preacher is maladjusted and preoccupied with self (Downs, Javidi, and Nussbaum 139). Self-disclosure more healthy when the gospel is reported through the lens of the preacher’s life, rather than focusing on the preacher’s life (McClure 122-4).

The use of humor in self-disclosure can be acceptable and even desirable because the ability of the preacher to laugh at himself or herself shows humility (Demaray 68, Long 16, Brown, Robinson, and Willimon 51, McClure 52, Miller 57 and Gritsch 177). Humility is having a real and honest evaluation of self—not thinking more of oneself than is accurate or appropriate (Cloud 146). Humility, the opposite of pride, is central to knowing and teaching the truth (P. Palmer 108 and Piper 162-6). In addition to humility, appropriate self-disclosure can also form a type of empathy that elicits trust (Franklin 52 and Miller 56). This is important in the American culture that values personality over office as a source of ethos (Marquart 159). Self-disclosure, with or without humor, should always be presented in a manner of humility (Foss 168) that shines the spotlight on God (Sjogren 19). The point of self-disclosure must be to point others to God and not self (Brueggemann 42 and Arthurs and Gurevich 223). Self-disclosure done with personal humility is helpful in developing relational solidarity (Nash 87 and Martoia 125-27) and ethos (Collins 22-3 and Arthurs and Gurevich 220).

Olympics and Life

I enjoy watching the Olympics. Curling is my favorite. It is an intriguing combination of chess, bowling, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and cleaning the kitchen floor. It requires an amazing degree of precision and teamwork. The biathlon is fascinating to me. A cross country ski race with a few pit stops to shoot a rifle at a tiny target that sits 50 meters away. I can’t imagine the focus and dexterity required to have such precision with one’s heart racing 170 beats per minute. The downhill ski races are cool – especially the ones with four people racing at a time. Short-track speed skating, ski jumping, the bobsled, and hockey. I love them all.

Sports are a metaphor for life:

• The curler has vision. The champions are thinking three to four moves ahead. And so it is with life.
• The cross-country skier has the uphill. He or she races to the top. The breathing becomes labored. The heart pounds as the muscles cry out for oxygen. The thighs burn. The champions beat the hill. To others the hill wins. In life, we can overcome or be overcome by the hills we face.
• Hockey is about teamwork. An assist is just as important as scoring a goal.
• The snowboarders on the half-pipe know that by taking a risk there is a pretty good chance they will land on their butt. They also know that risk is the only way they have a chance at winning a medal.
• The bobsledders and the lugers know that that a fast time only happens with a series of good decisions with no errors in judgment. Character and trust are like that too: they take a while to build and can be eliminated with one simple mistake.
• The outcome in figure skating is objective and not subjective. In speed skating, the skater with the fastest time wins. The clock is observable. It is always fair. In figure skating, the results are subjective to the opinion of the judges. The outcome isn’t always fair. Sometimes life is objective. The third graders taking a spelling test is an example of this. But, life is usually subjective and therefore imperfect because the people we are in relationships with are imperfect.

Vision, challenges, teamwork, risk, integrity – this is the stuff life is made of. Sometimes life is fair. We get what we deserve. Sometimes life isn’t so fair. We get less or we get more than we deserve.

God gives us a vision for our lives. He helps us overcome challenges. He provides others for us to do life with. He picks us up when we fall and celebrates with us when we succeed. He leads us on a path of integrity. And, God gives us grace – we get more than we deserve from a benevolent God who created us, sustains us, and will save us.

The best is yet to come…

Craig

March Bible Reading Plan

March's Bible reading plan focuses on the Holy Words from our Wednesday night worship experiences. The next 31 days will allow us to investigate God's Word and put into practice some biblical principles in major areas of our lives. I encourage you to use the SOAP method of reading the Bible found at the bottom of the page.

Accepted

March 1 - Ephesians 3 – Focus on verses 14 to 21

March 2 - Isaiah 43 – Focus on verses 1 to 4

March 3 - Romans 14 – Focus on verses 1 to 3

March 4 - Romans 15 – Focus on verses 7 to 9

Sin

March 5 - Romans 3 – Focus on verses 23 to 24

March 6 - Romans 5 – Focus on verses 18 to 21

March 7 - Proverbs 1 – Focus on verses 10 to 19

March 8 - Isaiah 40 – Focus on verses 27 to 31

Holiness

March 9 - Romans 7 – Focus on verses 11 to 13

March 10 - Joshua 3 – Focus on verse 5

March 11 - 2 Peter 1 – Focus on verses 5 to 7

March 12 - Philippians 4 – Focus on verses 8 and 9

Justice

March 13 - Exodus 3 – Focus on verses 7 to 9

March 14 - Psalm 146 – Focus on verses 7 to 8

March 15 - Amos 5 – Focus on verses 21 to 24

March 16 - Proverbs 11 – Focus on verses 1 to 5

Mercy

March 17 - Luke 6 – Focus on verse 36

March 18 - Colossians 3 – Focus on verses 12 to 13

March 19 - Matthew 5 – Focus on verse 7

March 20 - Micah 6 – Focus on verse 8

Humility

March 21 - Matthew 11 – Focus on verses 28 to 30

March 22 - Luke 22 – Focus on verses 24 to 27

March 23 - Romans 12 – Focus on verses 3, 10, and 16

March 24 - Philippians 3 – Focus on verses 12 and 13

Forgiven

March 25 - Philemon 1 – Focus on the entire chapter

March 26 - Matthew 18 – Focus on verses 21 to 35

March 27 - Acts 13 – Focus on verses 38 and 39

March 28 - Isaiah 1 – Focus on verses 16 to 18

Life

March 29 - John 3 – Focus on verse 16

March 30 - John 10 – Focus on verse 10

March 31 - 2 Corinthians 5 – Focus on verse 17

Complete the "S" by reading the scripture. Don't just skim through it, but really think about what it means. Imagine what the people involved were experiencing. Write down a verse or two that really stood out to you in your journal.

Complete the "O" by writing down observations about the scripture you just read. You may want to write your own summary of the passage, but more importantly, think about what God has to say to you through this part of his word.

Complete the "A" by writing down how this Bible passage applies to you right now, in your daily life. For example, in the parable about the prodigal son, which character do you identify with most: the loving and merciful father, the son who squanders his life and then repents or the resentful older brother? Do you see similar situations in your life right now? How can you respond in the way Jesus taught?

Complete the "P" by writing down a prayer. This is a personal message from you to God, so don't worry about getting the perfect words down. Just make it honest and heartfelt. Remember that God always listens, and already knows your needs. He just wants to hear from you.

Church Leadership Stuff

I spoke at a Men's Leadership Event on Saturday. Hope you find something in here useful.

Things This Pastor Wishes Every Man in His Church Believed and Practiced

1. No substitute exists for Christian character. It takes a lifetime to develop. It takes seconds to lose.
2. Prayer works. We can do more with God than we can do without God.
3. Reading the Bible gives you a Christian worldview. Read it daily.
4. Inviting a neighbor, friend, and / or co-worker to worship, men’s group, or a serving team is the simplest and most effective way to share your faith.
5. God wants to use you in ministry to somebody in your community and / or somebody in your church.
6. Laughter and fun is God’s idea. Embrace it.
7. Be a spiritual leader in your home.
8. Give a little bit if you can give a little bit. Give generously if you can give generously.
9. Invest in the next generation.
10. No substitute exists for Christian character. It takes a lifetime to develop. It takes seconds to lose.

• What on this list is easy for you? What comes naturally for you?
• What on this list is a challenge for you?
• Which of these items are you willing to commit to growing in the next 12 months?
• How are you going to commit to growing in this new practice?
• Who are you going to commit to growing with?

Things to Know About Younger Men

1. Most younger men enjoy playing and watching sports.
2. Most younger men are pretty busy.
3. Most younger men are interested in spiritual things, but not interested in taking the first step to do something about it.
4. Most younger men want to be good husbands.
5. Most younger men want to be good fathers.
6. Most younger men want to serve their community / church in some way, but they generally need to be asked.
7. Most younger men want to belong to something.
8. Most younger men want to become something.
9. Most younger men have a certain level of discontent in their lives.
10. All younger men long for the things that God gives: forgiveness from the past, power in the present, and hope for the future.

• Does this list change the way that you may look at Men’s Ministry in the future? If so, how does your outlook on men’s ministry change?
• Which of these needs is your current men’s ministry / church fulfilling?
• Which of these needs would be easy for your church, men’s ministry, or you personally to do something about to reach out to men in your church and your community?
• What is the next step you need to take to share your faith with a man in your community or invite a man in your church to grow or serve with you?

Ways to Make Sure You Fail in Small Group Ministry

1. Don’t engage God. Just talk about sports, the weather, politics, etc…
2. Don’t teach people how to pray. Don’t pray for and with each other. And definitely don’t pray for lost and hurting people.
3. Don’t meet people where they are. Expect perfection from others right away.
4. Get really discouraged when your group takes off slowly. And don’t be open to new people either. Your group doesn’t need any more diversity.
5. Don’t invite new people to come. Put a little advertisement in the church newsletter and threaten to leave the church if the pastor doesn’t announce your small group in worship.
6. Start your group with a study of something simple, like the Book of Revelation or the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism.
7. Don’t serve together.
8. Don’t do stuff like have lunch together or go to sporting events together. Keep church stuff separate from your everyday life.
9. Don’t share the leadership. Do it all yourself.
10. Don’t seek help from somebody who is a proven leader in small group ministry. You can do it all by yourself!

• Are you in a small group? How is it going for you?
• How have you benefited from being in a small group in the past?
• What is keeping you from starting a small group or rethinking your existing small group?
• What are the next steps you need to take start a small group or move your current small group to the next level?

It's Done

I emailed my dissertation to my mentor Friday. Saturday is was approved so I will defend it in April and graduate on May 22nd. There is still some work to do, but this is the biggest step in the process.

I mailed it to the editor today. Here are a few beautiful pictures.

Preaching, Humor, and Affective Learning

From my paper:

Affectus refers to the dimensions of emotions, feelings, and passions (Dreyer 259). Affective learning is considered a valuable stimulus for a person's eagerness to learn and utilize the material and competencies beyond the learning environment (Rubin, Palmgreen, and Sypher 81). One danger in Christianity is believing, but not practicing Christianity (Cousins 172-3). An essential goal of preaching is a deepened appreciation for God’s truth and a more faithful response to obedience to God (K. Anderson 110). Affective learning includes people's attitudes toward the recommended behavior of the sermon, the content and subject matter of the sermon, the preacher, and the likelihood of actually attempting to engage in behaviors recommended in the sermon.

Instructional communication research demonstrates a positive correlation between humor orientation and affective learning. College students indicated that they are likely to learn more from professors with high perceived humor orientations than they are from professors with low humor orientations (Wanzer and Frymier 57). Perceived high humor orientation is also correlated to immediacy, which is defined as physical or psychological closeness (Gorham and Christophel 46). More immediate teachers tend to use more humor and engender more learning (60). Students pay more attention to instructors with high humor orientation and are more likely to attend and participate in class when humor is frequently used (Neuliep 354 and Wanzer and Frymier 58). Humor is useful for facilitating student attention, motivation, and comprehension (Kher, Molstad, and Donahue 400-6) and makes learning fun (Hsieh, Hsiao, Liu, and Chang 207). Humor aids in creativity (Romero, Alsua, Henrichs, and Pearson 189 and Borgia, Horack, and Owles 46) and in making messages more memorable (Danbom 669-671). Humor is effective in clarifying material (Downs, Javidi, and Nussbaum 137). Torak, McMorris, and Lin asked the students if they learn better when the professor uses humor. 40 percent of the respondents answered “often” and another 40 percent replied “always” (15). When asked if humor frustrates the students, 68 percent strongly disagreed (15). Findings similar to the above research have led James to conclude, “Institutions need to aggressively train online teachers and, in fact, all teachers on how to use humor to their advantage” (94).

The above studies noted that most students learned better when humor was effectively used, but it should also be noted that each listener (Arthurs 37 and Jeter and Allen 5-20) learns differently, in part, because each learner and listener has a distinct humor orientation (Booth-Butterfield and Booth-Butterfield 205). Wanzer and Frymier compared the preferences and learning results of both low and high humor orientation students. High humor oriented students reported significantly higher levels of learning from instructors with perceived high humor orientation than they did from instructors with perceived low humor orientations (58). No significant difference in learning was found between high humor orientation students and low humor orientation students when the students had a high humor orientation instructor. Low humor orientation students were much more tolerant and learned more from low humor orientation instructors than high humor orientation students learned from low humor orientation instructors. Low humor orientation students preferred high humor orientation instructors over low humor orientation instructors (Wanzer and Frymier 58).

Wanzer and Frymier’s study, noted above, of low and high humor orientation professors and their effectiveness on low and high humor orientation students is important for both low and high humor orientation preachers in regards to the desirable higher affective learning and its “go and tell” and “go and do” results. High and low humor orientation listeners will learn equally well from high humor orientation preachers. However, high humor orientation listeners will not learn as well as low humor orientation preachers. Also, both the high and low humor orientation listener would prefer listening to the high humor orientation preacher. Low humor orientation preachers need to be mindful of this as they engage the high humor orientation listener and attempt to be more agreeable to both high and low humor orientation listeners. When humor is done in a way that is genuine and quality, it will most likely aid in affective learning to both the low humor orientation and high humor orientation listener.

The Story of Two Sons

I talked about the parable of The Prodigal Son this morning. Barclay calls it The Story of the Lost Son and the Loving Father. Keller calls it the story of The Prodigal God. Listen here.

I didn't have any notes this week...so here are a few pictures of our two sons both pre and post worship.

Chefs

I had a great day speaking to the United Methodist Men of Nebraska at Camp Fontanelle. I'll post some notes later in the week.

Here are some pictures of the boys getting ready for the chili cook-off tomorrow.