What kind of Christian are you?
So, what kind of Christian are you? Are you a Matthew 25:35 Christian or a John 14:6 Christian?
These seem to be the two camps. Those who place all of the weight upon John, when he reported Christ saying “"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” and those who put their attentions on Christ’s words: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' '”
So, which are you?
If you call yourself a Christian, when faced with tolerance and inclusiveness, which path do you choose? When a salesclerk at Target greets you with a merry, “Happy Holidays!” do you choose to turn to the verse of decisiveness that declares no tolerance for those of a different religion or do you turn to the verse that says that whatever you do for the least person, the person of the lowest class, you have done that for Him?
What Would Jesus Do?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Walking the ministering walk
Our congregation doesn't currently have a minister, so I've been asked to do some ministerial type things this year. Most, I felt to be a stretch for me, but stretching is good. Most recently I did my first memorial service and my second baby dedication.
The memorial service, which, for obvious reasons, stressed me out -- this sounds like a weird thing to say about a memorial, but it went really well. I was very surprised that while I was in the pulpit, I had no urge to cry. Of course, the lady whom I was memorializing was highly strong, very dignified -- I could almost hear her saying, "No, of COURSE you aren't going to cry. Strong women don't cry! And you have a job to do. Buck up!"
Now, as soon as I left the sanctuary and a crying parishioner came up to me, the tears flowed. But that's okay. I have it on good authority that seminarians are allowed to be human. Of course, once I'm ordained, that's revoked. Ha.
The dedication was quite enjoyable. All baby dedications are, but in a way, this was my first. The actual first one was when I had to step in for a minister who couldn't attend as planned, so I was using her words and script. For this one, it was crafted between myself and the family. And the baby and her brother were adorable. Hmm. I need to get a minister or seminary student to come by our church so *my* baby can be dedicated.
Got our holiday cards out the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is insane. But, we just moved, and figured ours better be the first, if we wanted to get our new address on everyone's list. "Everyone's going to hate us," said The Husband. "No," sez I, "they'll realize it's because we moved." "Nope. They'll just hate us," responded Hub.
So, my best friend calls me up. "You suck," she informs me.
Score one for the cynic.
The memorial service, which, for obvious reasons, stressed me out -- this sounds like a weird thing to say about a memorial, but it went really well. I was very surprised that while I was in the pulpit, I had no urge to cry. Of course, the lady whom I was memorializing was highly strong, very dignified -- I could almost hear her saying, "No, of COURSE you aren't going to cry. Strong women don't cry! And you have a job to do. Buck up!"
Now, as soon as I left the sanctuary and a crying parishioner came up to me, the tears flowed. But that's okay. I have it on good authority that seminarians are allowed to be human. Of course, once I'm ordained, that's revoked. Ha.
The dedication was quite enjoyable. All baby dedications are, but in a way, this was my first. The actual first one was when I had to step in for a minister who couldn't attend as planned, so I was using her words and script. For this one, it was crafted between myself and the family. And the baby and her brother were adorable. Hmm. I need to get a minister or seminary student to come by our church so *my* baby can be dedicated.
Got our holiday cards out the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is insane. But, we just moved, and figured ours better be the first, if we wanted to get our new address on everyone's list. "Everyone's going to hate us," said The Husband. "No," sez I, "they'll realize it's because we moved." "Nope. They'll just hate us," responded Hub.
So, my best friend calls me up. "You suck," she informs me.
Score one for the cynic.
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