kirk's musings
hello all! i'm just here posting a blog in friendly alabama while the rest of the staff is watching the movie 'gladiator'. i feel like i have a lot on my mind and i just wanted to jot a few of them down, so if you really don't care for musing or personal thoughts or that sort of thing, i put the rest of my thoughts, whatever they may be, in the next section. if you care to read them, carry on! if not, well God bless you and have a wonderful day...
we've been down here now since tuesday evening. it's been going quite well. the work is quite tiring for two reasons. first, because we're not used to this kind of work. secondly, it is rather hot and humid, so even if you work inside you're still sweating all over. hopefully i'm not coming across as being complaining; it's just the way it is. we've been extremely blessed by the hospitality and the sweet tea. the church people here have provided far more then what we've needed and for that we're most thankful. while we've been down here, i'm reminded of all that we have to be thankful for. there is no doubt that poverty is much more obvious here in this part of the south than in ohio, and this trip is actually the first time i've noticed more widespread poverty here in the states.
one of the musings i have is that of a big God. the reason for that is largely because of the session that i give for the city challenge groups. it's something that i believe is so important to grasp: the concept of God that is just absolutely big, full of blazing glory, the greatest artist, the one who spoke stars and galaxies into being. one of the stats that i came across that i really like is this one: the closest galaxy to ours is the andromeda galaxy which is about 2,000,000 light years from our galaxy. that means, hop on a plane, fly at the speed of light for 2,000,000 years and presto, the current time of arrival is 10:59 p.m. June 26, year 2,002,006 A.D. the distance that would be in miles is 5,870,000,000,000 x 2,000,000 miles. pretty far, wouldn't you think? and that's just our nearest galaxy. this is our God, a God who is full of holiness, justice, and glory, but at the very same time He is still personal in every way, concerned with every aspect and minute detail of our lives. this is stuff that puts things in perspective when i think my life is a little frustrating or difficult.
we were at a matt redman concert last monday night at vineyard. i still wonder why it's called a 'worship concert'. i suppose it's all right but i don't think that most of us there were going for the purpose of being entertained by the brit. we at the house certainly weren't just going to enjoy some quality Christian entertainment. to me it seems that actually experiencing the presence of God cannot be watered down to a 'concert'. it's probably just an annoyance of mine...despite what it was called, we did have a powerful time of worship. the place was mostly full and it was really cool just spending a long period of time in worship with that many people. redman shared a little bit in the middle of the event right along the lines of the previous paragraph. there are these two lovely little terms that theologians use to describe those two aspects of God: that is, His bigness and nearness. they use the terms the transcendence and imminence of God. the quote that sticks out that redman said was, regarding these two terms, 'the mystery lies in the middle'. that's where we need to be, in the middle of these two very big terms. we can't swing too far to one side with missing out on God and His completeness (not that we use humans could fully experience His completeness, but that's another post for another day). if we get too caught up in the imminence of God, He becomes a little more than a teddy bear. if, on the other hand, God's transcendence is over emphasized, He's more like the watchmaker who just made the world and let it run. both of these terms are still relevant to us today.
after our next week in louisiana, we have a staff retreat week with some sessions and a nice little camping trip. during the camping trip we'll take time to refocus by having a silent retreat. i must tell you that i am really looking forward to this time. in case you don't know what it is or haven't experienced a silent retreat, we'll all have 24 hrs of nearly complete solitude. it's one gigantic quiet time! for me, in both of my reach trainings it was one of the highlights. i was talking with a brother from the church here about this silent retreat that we're having, and he commented to me how some of us as the church haven't quite grasped the importance of spending time alone with God. our culture keeps us so busy and active, and taking time to breath in God's presence just doesn't seem to be a high priority. i think it's something that's good to do periodically. during the silent retreats that i experienced, i remember just feeling a closeness to God, hearing His voice, and worshipping Him in His presence. it was a time of great spiritual refreshing.
so, there ya go, a few thoughts. to be honest i don't exactly know why i posted all of this. if you think that i should've been more brief you can leave a comment suggesting shorter blogs, but then again you did make the decision to click on the link to read all of the article ... i don't think we'll be able to update the blog next week because of having no internet access where we're at in louisiana. feel free to leave comments and let us know what's going on in your life. i must be going, meredith won long ago in our game of pit, and maximus has already defeated that jerk commodus. blessings to all...
kirk, for the team