FYI TO UABCers: Re-envisioning UABC

Throughout 2009 the Church Board set aside a portion of their meetings for "envisioning moments," which included a variety of activities designed to help us start thinking about our future together as a congregation. Healthy congregations are ones that continually do the work of envisioning at some level. How deep the process needs to go depends on where the church is in terms of its life cycle. One of the Board's early "envisioning moments" was a discussion about the congregational life cycle, which is illustrated below.
The unofficial consensus of the Board at that time was that UABC is somewhere between STABILITY and DECLINE (which is at least average for established American churches). The good news is that, like any other human organization, we can change our trajectory through the work of re-envisioning...which can be labeled a "rebirth loop" in terms of the life cycle. The even better news is that we are not just a human organization, but a community of Christ-followers who are gifted and empowered by the very Spirit of God.Rebirth (renewal, redevelopment, revival, revitalization--whatever you want to call it) is not a matter of surviving for another generation or another century; re-envisioning is a matter of thriving as the people of God...by seeking out the will of God for our church family.
The work of re-envisioning continues into 2010, and the Church Board will continue to lead us in this journey. However, it is not only the task of the the Board to re-envision--it's all of ours. If you'd like to chat more about the envisioning process, the life cycle of UABC, or our future together, I would love to sit down over lunch or a cup of coffee with you and hear your perspective.

Sitting Under Scripture

[The following is a condensed version of a 2009 sermon and a draft for a publication submission--feedback is welcome.]

Our relationship with Scripture can be described in one of three ways:

we sit OVER Scripture,

we sit BESIDE Scripture,

or we sit UNDER Scripture.

We sit OVER Scripture when we ignore parts of the Bible--either because we reason that it's too hard to understand or too hard to put into practice. We might not read the Bible or react to teachings because we think, “I already know that.” Or, we sit OVER Scripture when we come across a passage that’s uncomfortable to us, and we reason, “Not everything in this old book really matters to me now.” When we sit over Scripture, we miss out on the Creator’s advice on how to live this life we've been given.

We sit BESIDE Scripture if we respect the Bible theoretically, but don't revere it practically. For example, we may own a Bible, but we leave it sitting on a shelf without picking it up for a private Bible-reading routine. If we’ve been believers for years, but we haven’t learned much about where to find Micah, Mount Sinai, or what Jesus says about marriage—we’re just sitting BESIDE Scripture. Or, we might hear about opportunities from our church to listen and discuss parts of the Bible with other believers, but we front our various excuses for not participating. When we sit beside Scripture, we don’t become better acquainted with Jesus, the One we call Leader & Rescuer, the Author of Life.

However, we’re sitting UNDER Scripture when the Bible is our authoritative influence. We attend worship services and Bible studies expecting to receive an encouraging word or challenging nudge from God. We sit UNDER the authority of Scripture when we care enough to ask questions and wrestle with issues & Bible passages. We give God the chance to have first say-so concerning our decisions, among other means, by checking with the Bible. When we sit under Scripture, we’re nourished with the sweet words of life.

A SHORT 'SITTING UNDER SCRIPTURE' READING: Read Psalm 19:7-11.

A SIMPLE 'SITTING UNDER SCRIPTURE' PRAYER: My God, I am hungry and thirsty for you. I humbly ask for you to nourish my soul today. May your words rule over my life and guide my steps this day. Amen.

Disgusting Christians

This is an awful t-shirt.To know why this is "awful", look up the Bible verse and its context. I don't believe that this cursing kind of praying is not the kind of praying that honors Our God.

I don't need to rant about this. There are some disgusting "Christians" out there who drag my Jesus' name through the evil and the mud of the world. If that's what the adjective "Christian" means, don't describe me with that word.

Lord, have mercy.

Hats off to the "Blue Collar, Orange Pride" Boys

Our beloved ILLINI overcame a 23-point deficit and brought #18 Clemson down (at Clemson!) in the ACC-BigTen Challenge. This was the largest comeback ever for an Illini team. This year was also the first time in the 11-year history that the BigTen won the Challenge, which was capped off with unranked Wisconsin upsetting #5 Duke (hooray!).

Hears the ILLINI highlights:

I - L - L