Last November our family visited the local Apple store in search of prices on Ipods. Christmas was around the corner and an Ipod seemed like a perfect gift for our daughter. My wife, daughter, and I had begun our Christmas shopping adventure.
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I firmly believe that to teach, to serve on a committee, or to minister through a church ministry is a response to a call. How each individual works out that calling is part of the wonderful and enriching dimension we depend on to flesh out the prompting of the Spirit. I had a high school art teacher who cringed anytime a student copied the style of a celebrated artist. He would say, “Everybody wants to paint like Norman Rockwell. So what? There’s only one Norman Rockwell! Work on finding and developing your own style!” No two people will do ministry the same—thankfully! Each brings his or her gifts and visions to the task. Having said that, however, there are some things that are a “given” when we answer a call to ministry. These are not new, I think, but they deal with basic responses of discipleship to Jesus Christ.
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I’m a sucker for spelling bees. Our elementary school spelling bee was one of the highlights of the year when I was a school principal. And I always try to catch the Scripps National Spelling Bee—a real nail-biting sporting event!
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Christopher Hitchens’ book, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything appears on the New York Bestseller list as No. 7 (you can read the first chapter on that site if you are so inclined). I picked up a copy at a recent browsing trip to Borders and read a chapter and several sections—enough to know I didn’t want to waste my money on it. How these kinds of books come to be “best sellers†is a mystery to me.
Jacques Berlinerblau provides what I think is a responsible critical review of the book in the June 1, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Secularism in the Elimination Roundâ€). It’s worth the read.
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Eric H.F. Law, Episcopal priest and internationally known consultant on multiculturalism, in his book, Inclusion: Making Room for Grace, invites congregational leaders to think of their church ministries in three components. The three ministry components and descriptions are:
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An Update on Christian/Muslim Relations: Hope & Concern
Below is an interesting article that I just pulled from a Catholic online news service. John Allen is a freelance journalist that lives in Rome and reports for CNN and U.S. Catholic publications. He was CNN’s lead expert during the papal funeral and elections. His article below updates some concerns for Christians in Gaza, but provides hope for a growing movement within Islam that might counter-balance the madness. (Allen’s online weekly articles are posted free on ncrcafe.org, so I was not as concerned about possible copyright trespass by providing it here. If his writing is of interest to you, support his efforts by visiting the site directly. He just published a “tell-all†book about Opus Dei, the controversial Catholic group that is featured in the book DaVinci Code.)
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Driver’s 10 Commandments:
The Vatican’s new guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road
As the token Catholic in the group, I couldn’t resist poking a bit of fun at this Vatican document that has recently attracted a lot of press. While wondering why Rome felt it necessary to issue a new edition of the Commandments, I couldn’t help but notice that they left out a few essentials, such as “Thou shalt remember to turn off thy signal after changing lanes.†I invite all you readers to add your favorite road rules to the list! (Apologies to Moses)
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When I was in parish ministry one of the things I most enjoyed was planning and leading the summer children’s camp. I doubt I have the energy to do that anymore, but it was a lot of fun. There are two things to keep in mind about planning a weeklong children’s camp: (1) you have to plan for 24 hours a day, and, (2) you need to plan for those rainy days when you’ll need to keep the kids indoors (and you can count on at least one rainy day!).
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We’ve just sent off the order for a second printing of A Family Genogram Workbook by Galindo, Boomer, and Reagan. We’re pleased with its success (and its steady sales!). We only have a few on hand that qualify for discounts, so if you’re interested in a copy order from us soon. (While the book is available through Amazon.com, they don’t give the discounts we are able). Multiple-copies discounts are available from Educational Consultants.
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Some time age I posted Johnn Calvin’s student prayer and said that I’d post one by St. Thomas Aquinas. Here it is. When it’s time to hit the books or get back to school, these can put one in the right frame of mind and spirit.
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