As we prepare to launch our “fall oXyGEN promotional blitz” in the next couple of weeks, I think it’s important to remember exactly what we are promoting to everybody we are going to talk to. It’s really easy to get caught up in “Philpott Fever” if you will, competing against churches for all the “newcomers” and hyping up our “product”, while losing focus of what actually makes for a successful ministry that’s Christ-centred. Check out this thought-provoking essay which outlines many of the pitfalls that churches face in promoting themselves:
I’m not sure I totally agree with everything in the article, but the basic premise of the content is dead on — making sure that we in no way dilute the meaning and truths of our faith in trying to make church and oXyGEN more attractive to people. It’s a really valuable thing to keep in mind over the next couple of weeks.
It’s interesting that scientists are starting to talk about this now after avoiding the issue for so long - the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) actually devoted a session to God and science at its annual meeting this year.
Here’s something anybody who has ever attempted to golf and/or knows somebody who thinks he/she can golf can enjoy… personally, I’m thrilled if I can break 70 (per nine holes of course…
- Todd
———— THE 10 BEST CADDY REPLIES
1) Golfer: “Think I’m going to drown myself in the lake” Caddy: “Think you can keep your head down that long?”
2) Golfer: “I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course” Caddy: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth”
3) Golfer: “Do you think my game is improving?” Caddy: “Yes, sir, you miss the ball much closer now”
4) Golfer: “Do you think I can get to the green with a five-iron?” Caddy: “Eventually”
5) Golfer: “You have to be the worst caddy in the world” Caddy: “I don’t think so sir, that would be too much of a coincidence”
6) Golfer: “Please stop checking your watch all the time, it’s too much of a distraction” Caddy: “It’s not a watch, it’s a compass”
7) Golfer: “How do you like my game” Caddy: “Very good sir, but personally I prefer golf”
8) Golfer: “Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday?” Caddy: “The way you play, sir, it’s a sin on any day”
9) Golfer: “This is the worst course I’ve ever played on” Caddy: “This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago”
10) Golfer: “This can’t be my ball, it’s too old” Caddy: “It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir”
The language is very secular but it’s not too hard to fill in the blanks converting Jobs’ terms of “faith” and “instinct” to “trusting in God and following the Spirit’s leading” in our own lives. As Jobs writes: “You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something”
If anybody is ever depressed about something truly awful happening in their lives and the trite (although true) response that we tend to give of “God works all things together for good” fails to satisfy, pull out a couple of these stories for a real, famous, and powerful example of exactly that fact. Seriously, even if you never click on the links on this blog, do it just this once to read this speech, it’s worth it. Actually, the whole website on which this speech was posted (Dick Staub) is really interesting reading on many topics involving faith and culture — take a look.
If you missed Dave’s presentation tonight at Dessert with a Mission or wanted to see still more pictures about his work in Tanzania this summer, check out his album:
Also, there’s a few pictures posted from tonight’s event on our PhotoBucket site (which has been sadly neglected since the Amazing Race! We are all so photogenic yet have stopped recording our visual brilliance for our mutual enjoyment! Must fix that… Login is “oxygen” password is “letmein1” — feel free to upload any photos you might have from oXyGEN-related events.
Interesting article discussing the interplay between science and religion in the context of the current debate in the U.S. regarding whether or not to teach intelligent design (i.e. “God-directed” evolutionary and/or creation practices) in science classes as an alternative theory to evolution:
I would tend to side with the “God used the natural laws He created as tools to make His creation” argument — the questions posed by Shermer critiquing this viewpoint fall short because, ultimately, both creationists and evolutionists have to answer the “where did _____ come from” question, only with different issues filling the blank. How do you make an omniscient being? Good question…. but, how do you make matter and energy out of nothing? Doesn’t that violate the vaunted “natural laws” that apparently assembled everything from scratch? The bottom line is that any theory on the origin of the universe and life is totally unprovable and untestable and, as a result, must boil down to putting your faith in something — whether it be God or random chance — which all the logic and scientific analysis in the world can’t totally rationalize. On that basis, I’m not sure how you could really avoid talking about faith or religion when you discuss the origin of the universe, even in the most rigorous of scientific discussions. Interesting topic… feel free to add your two cents.
As Gord writes: “it’s a real treasure trove of free MP3’s of dozens of full-length talks by scholars such as J. P. Moreland, Os Guinness, John Stott, and Philip Johnson given at Veritas Forums held at various US universities over the past few years since the event first started at Harvard where the group of students and professors who contributed to the book “Finding God at Harvard” engaged students and faculty in discussions about life’s hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life. Topics addressed include: Arts, Atheism, Authority of Scripture, Beauty, Big Bang, Business, C.S. Lewis, Career/Vocation, Catholicism, Christianity, Communication, Creation, Death, Depression, Dostoevsky, Drama/Theatre, Economics, Education,Engineering & Technology, Environmental Studies & Natural Resources, Ethics, Evangelicalism, Evil, Evolution, Existence of God, Faith, Feminism, Gender/Body, Government & Public Policy, Health Sciences, History, Hope, Humanities, Humanity, Hypocrisy, Identity, Islam, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jesus, Law, Lord of the Rings, Love/Relationships, Materialism, Media, Movies/Film, Music, Natural Sciences & Math, Naturalism, Origins, Pain/Suffering, Pluralism, Politics, Pop Culture, Pornography, Post Modernism, Poverty, Power, Relativism, Religion/Multi-Faith, Resurrection, Salvation, Science, Sin, Social Justice, Social Sciences, Theism, Theology & Religious Studies, Tolstoy, Truth, University/Scholarship, Violence, War, Worldview”
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