gdp's Comments

Greg Atkinson : Death Cab for Cutie Gets It

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 18:34:06 +0000

I just want to say a huge thank you for these last few posts. I've been trying to push this point across to the worship band at my church and it's an uphill battle. People are playing 100% all the time. It sounds like a stage full of soloists rather than a cohesive band playing off of each other. I've used other examples (e.g., Paul Baloche has a good video out about how to not suck as a band) but these really hit home. Great finds!

ChurchCrunch : A Great Example Job Description for a (Rockstar) Internet Campus Pastor

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:00:39 +0000

I know the feeling. :)

ChurchCrunch : A Great Example Job Description for a (Rockstar) Internet Campus Pastor

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:05:24 +0000

So much for "free time" eh? ;)

ChurchCrunch : A Great Example Job Description for a (Rockstar) Internet Campus Pastor

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:50:41 +0000

I think the hard part is the "Pastoral Leadership" bit. I think you may have trouble finding someone who's served in a *pastoral* role who is also experienced (and current) in development and design.

ChurchCrunch : A Great Example Job Description for a (Rockstar) Internet Campus Pastor

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:45:32 +0000

People like this are becoming more common. I've met lots of people who are either techies by vocation and ministers on the side or ministers by vocation and techies on the side. This job description simply combines the two. Most of the people like this that I've met only have degrees in one or the other though. As an example, my degree is MIS and my career so far has been mash up of tech and business: systems architecture, tech writer, proposal writer, business development / marketing, and business analysis. Yet through all of this I've constantly maintained ministries on nights and weekends. I've met plenty of others like me who are both passionate for ministry and experienced with tech. Keep your expectations high, John. I really have no doubt that you'll find what you're looking for.

North Point Online : Participate in Communion With Us!

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:37:39 +0000

This is a great write-up. As a Lutheran, the subject of communion (but they call it sacrament :-P) comes up every time I talk about using online tools as ministry. Thanks so much for this.

Thoughts About Nothing : Explosions in the Sky

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:06:28 +0000

I found this band last year (I know I know, a little late to the party!) and got hooked. Good find!

JakeBouma.com : No Caribou October

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 22:30:58 +0000

You could also look into IKEA for your press. I got a large press from there (glass, but no breakage in 2 years through heavy use) for no kidding... like $12. You may also want to look into chemex (google it!). It's clean, old-fashioned, and produces an amazing cup of coffee. Also, on the topic of grinders, a burr grinder is nice but expensive. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that you won't be able to tell the difference between the coffee produced from a burr grinder and that of a much cheaper blade grinder. I will say, however, that grinding your own coffee (regardless of the grinder) just before you brew it is the single most important thing you can do to improve the quality.

NewLutheran.com : Open Letter To The ELCA

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 19:32:28 +0000

Janet, Thanks for stopping by. I've met a lot of Christians over the years who have beliefs similar to yours. I'm referring specifically to your logic as it applies to salvation and being a "true Christian". Really, the only response I can bring myself to make to this is: "What must I do to be saved?"

NewLutheran.com : Open Letter To The ELCA

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 16:27:05 +0000

Ryan, Thanks for your comment, and sorry for the delayed response. :) I'm not sure I agree with you on some of your comments, but I'm empathetic to the spirit of your post. I, too, wish the church could come out and stand firm on an issue such as this. However, I believe the issue at hand is different from your simplistic summary of it. You say that you explain to your Pagan friends that "some Christians have gotten so confused that they are unable to even take a stance." I don't believe that's what's going on within the ELCA. Talk to anyone who voted at the church-wide assembly and you'll hear an opinionated and impassioned stance. On both sides of the vote, people were taking a stance and on both sides they wholeheartedly believed that they were guided to that stance by both Scripture and Spirit. When you talk to your Pagan friends, please don't belittle the prayerful and emotional debate that transpired at the assembly by saying that they were wishy-washy or in a state of confusion. You may believe that some are confused because you disagree with the conclusion they've come to, but from my experience, the people I disagree with on this issue are anything but wishy-washy.

NewLutheran.com : Liturgy: Beauty and Beast

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:44:45 +0000

Thanks so much for your comment David! I definitely agree that the "modern" non-liturgical churches are missing out on something. Being a part of old traditions and customs gives people a sense of connectedness with the history of the church. I find that the longer I'm Lutheran, the more I can appreciate that. I still want modern music, modern approaches to worship, etc., but I think these modernized trappings and trimmings can fit in the structure of an ancient liturgy. And, apparently, I'm not alone. :)

NewLutheran.com : About

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:40:38 +0000

I'm not sure how much I agree with you here. I agree that many young people are flocking to more "liberal" denominations like ELCA and Episcopal out of a desire to leave more fundamentalist churches, but I'm not sure this is a good thing. I may be young, but I lean toward fundamentalism myself. I'm happy people are finding a "real spiritual community", but I fear that when churches begin to abandon fundamentals and orthodoxy, they weaken the God we claim to love and serve. God's power to provide "social justice" stems from His power to forgive sin. When we toss the idea of sin out, we strip God of His power. Not only that, we strip Christ of His sacrifice for the atonement of our sin. It saddens me some to see so many in my generation actively seeking a weaker God in the name of "social justice".

BeDeviant.com : Is 'No Sex Before Marriage' a Realistic Expectation?

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:29:08 +0000

watchout: I sense the pain and hurt you've been through as I read your comments on this post. I'm truly sorry that you've been through such trials in your relationships. You make a couple of assumptions here that disturb me. You talk of twisting the scripture into a self-serving interpretation and then in the same breath you say you can't be married before the altar. This, in and of itself, is a twisting of scripture into a self-serving interpretation. Society has developed an affinity for nice church weddings, and many have twisted scripture to make people believe that this is how God defines a wedding. I beg of you to seek out the truth from scriptures yourself. I see no requirement of a church or a pastor when it comes to the God-given gift of marriage between a man and a woman. You talk of cohabitation as "bending God's command". I'm not sure what command you're referring to. If you're claiming that there's a command that a man and woman to be married by a pastor in a church building, and that they shouldn't live together before this event takes place, then I see this, too, as a twist of scripture to meet an agenda.

BeDeviant.com : Is 'No Sex Before Marriage' a Realistic Expectation?

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:18:28 +0000

The fact that we went to such lengths only proves that we knew our parents wouldn't see it as the right thing to do. Our friends all knew. We weren't hiding from our parents out of shame, we were hiding because we didn't feel like fighting our parents on the issue. It's the same reason I now don't mention alcohol around my mom. It's not because I feel shame over having an occasional beer. It's because I don't feel that arguing with her over it has any value. The biblical stumbling block concept is a tricky one to me. Even things that aren't sin, if misinterpreted, can potentially cause someone else to sin. Humor me and let me use alcohol as an example again. I had a Christian roommate in college who decided that he was never drinking even a single beer again and that we should all swear it off as well. His reasoning? He had another Christian friend who overindulged and got drunk often who claimed "other Christians drink so why shouldn't I?" The friend confused our occasional consumption of alcohol (not a sin) with drunkenness (clearly a sin). My wife and I said our "I dos" years before a pastor ever "married" us. The pastor's actions had nothing to do with our marriage. If anyone argues that point, I would say that they misunderstand the Biblical gift of marriage and are putting far too much authority in the hands of the church.

BeDeviant.com : 95 Lutheran Pastors Stand Defiantly During ELCA Vote

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:43:48 +0000

"Make no mistake, this is a defining issue for this generation." I'll just be blunt. I hate comments like this. Who's in charge of assigning "defining issues" to generations? Because I'd like to have a word or two with them. Why can't this generation be defined by passion for worship? Curing disease? Feeding the hungry? Studying the Bible? Depending on prayer? Loving the lost? Why does this generation get stuck with a divisive issue that even church leaders can't agree on after years of study and discernment? Who picked us to lead this charge when our energy could be spent better elsewhere? Just think of how much energy is being spent right now on this topic in the ELCA. Think of how much attention the ELCA is getting centered around this topic. Look at how things like the malaria initiative, world hunger, HIV/AIDS response, etc. are ignored or glossed over by the people observing and reporting on this assembly. Regardless of which side you're on in the debate, you have to see that there are needs in our world potentially greater than this. I'm not saying we shouldn't be discussing it. We should. It's important for the church to talk openly about social issues and stay relevant to the world we're in. I just feel like we've drawn the short straw when it comes to "defining issues." I'd love to think that our generation has more to offer the world than a treatise on human sexuality.

NewLutheran.com : Liturgy: Beauty and Beast

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:26:44 +0000

Thanks so much for your comment Ryan! You offer a unique (to this blog anyway) perspective that I've not yet seen.

As for your question about what's going on in the Lutheran Church with the 20s and 30s crowd, I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer that. I see very little of my own crowd in the Lutheran churches I've visited or joined. I get the impression that my demographic is represented better in the Lutheran church in other geographical locations. I'm stuck in the Southeast US and most Lutheran churches I find here are small, old, and pretty traditional... a deathknell to reaching most 20-30 somethings that I know.

NewLutheran.com : About

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:21:20 +0000

"Social justice is the buzz in the ELCA, but how is social justice in line with God's justice? They are often not the same and sometimes opposing one another, though the intentions are for good."

Well said... I couldn't agree more.

NewLutheran.com : The First Argument

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:19:58 +0000

"I do not understand why you need to go in to grave detail and need so many answers on why we baptize infants."

My need to understand stems from growing up with one understanding of baptism, then being thrust into another. The age of baptism isn't really my issue, it's the state of the heart of the person being baptised. I was raised believing that a baptism is an expression of faith... a proclamation of conversion that has already occured. Infant baptism places the baptism event well before faith can ever take place.

NewLutheran.com : The Connected Church: Before You Log On

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:00:43 +0000

Thanks for your comment Nadia! Initially it got marked as spam, sorry about that! :) It's great to see stuff like this! I love seeing ministries branch out from the norm and think creatively. After all, as Christians and as Lutherans, we have our religious foundation in a couple of true rebels. They spoke the language of their target audience and pulled no punches. It seems like some churches are just napping lately. Or perhaps they're just trying to survive. Where's the fire? Where's the passion for the unreached?

BeDeviant.com : Is 'No Sex Before Marriage' a Realistic Expectation?

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:52:44 +0000

That question is the most important piece of the puzzle and, sadly, it's the piece most readily ignored.