At the Center

See you over there!

2012-01-15T14:49:56.094-08:00

See you over there!

Amen, and he does state that as well.

2012-01-08T11:14:20.107-08:00

Amen, and he does state that as well.

"You can't love God and hate the churc...

2012-01-06T15:23:56.588-08:00
"You can't love God and hate the church."

That is true if by "the church" he means the body of Christ. Jesus was not an advocate of religion (or religious leaders) and we should not be either.

Thanks for the confirmation. It feels a bit lonely...

2012-01-04T19:40:11.323-08:00
Thanks for the confirmation. It feels a bit lonely at times, when you say something and everyone looks at you like you are from outer space.

I am catching up and just read your posts on this ...

2012-01-04T15:09:04.808-08:00
I am catching up and just read your posts on this topic. Agree with your take on this topic. I think that preachers usually get it wrong when they teach these kinds of sermons. Heard it said once that the reason to read the bible is not to know the bible but to know God. I so agree with that when I consider how I once knew so much about word 'grace' but lived liked I had never heard the word.

I spent many years checking off the boxes on my da...

2011-12-30T10:40:13.996-08:00
I spent many years checking off the boxes on my daily bible reading schedule. It was good for my head but not so much for my heart.

Thanks so much for sharing. Next May will mark 18 ...

2011-12-30T10:38:23.145-08:00
Thanks so much for sharing. Next May will mark 18 years since my first wife passed. Though they are gone they are not forgotten.

I like what you said here about the Pharisees. It ...

2011-12-30T03:54:48.408-08:00
I like what you said here about the Pharisees. It is much in line with what has been going on in my head:

Jesus tells them (the P's) that they keep searching the scriptures thinking they will give them life, but won't come to HIM..this is interesting.

Thank=you for the encouragement, I wish we lived c...

2011-12-24T13:22:29.182-08:00
Thank=you for the encouragement, I wish we lived closer too. Perhaps sometime when I visit my son in Joplin we can have lunch. But no plans to go out there for a while.

One of the reasons we have stayed where we are is that we have connected with one couple, and we are there to encourage one another. A good brother or sister is a wonderful thing, and not to be taken lightly.

Thanks again for your encouragement, good brother.

"it is not my strengths and abilities that...

2011-12-23T10:16:53.433-08:00
"it is not my strengths and abilities that honor God, but it is my weaknesses and inabilities"

That is simply insightful. Reminds me of this Elie Wiesel quote that I read this week:

“No heart is as whole as a broken heart, and I would say no faith is as solid as a wounded faith”.

I teared up when I read about your church not being there. Not because I am sad for you but because I can relate to how the church can be so clueless about how people are struggling. I imagine your church is clueless about the pain that most people are having.

I wish I lived close to you so that I could encourage you in the faith and tell you personally about how much I admire your love for the Lord and your faithfulness to Him.

Hang in there and enjoy the season.

Blessings, BO

PS: You might enjoy this short meditation. It encourages me when I read it.

I agree. THe institutional church (for the most pa...

2011-12-10T19:32:54.667-08:00
I agree. THe institutional church (for the most part) seems to have lost touch, not with the common man, but with God Himself.

Reading your story reminds me of why so many have ...

2011-12-10T10:01:58.869-08:00
Reading your story reminds me of why so many have left the institutional church.

Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, us...

2011-12-09T14:31:35.499-08:00
Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.

Spherical Ok, in that case I get what you are say...

2011-12-04T14:56:21.727-08:00
Spherical

Ok, in that case I get what you are saying.

I would agree that the Hope and Love of Jesus through us, His people, should be the draw. The thing is we need to be more of a draw OUTSIDE the four walls of the Church building. Then again I preach to myself as much as to those who read this comment or the wonderings of the old man's wanderings!!

What I mean by him not doing things as a membershi...

2011-12-01T17:26:54.419-08:00
What I mean by him not doing things as a membership draw is that he did not use gimmicks. He didn't feel he had to give an I-Pad away in order to get people to hear the message. He was the draw, as you so aptly say. So shouldn't he be the draw that we use? So why is it that sometimes we hardly hear his name mentioned, even in church sometimes?

How can we cound the cost when we don't even know what we are buying?

Thanks for stopping by!

While agreeing with you on the idea of Dieing to s...

2011-11-26T17:08:12.248-08:00
While agreeing with you on the idea of Dieing to self as a Christian;we as Christians need to die to self and do so at leasr daily. For me it is one like on every tick of the clock!
I wonder what you mean when you speak of Jesus not doing things "as a membership draw"? I think He was the draw! If not Him; the whole thing of watching the Jewish leadership getting red-faced when Jesus "put them in their place."

Kansas Bob, you are right the cost is high! Jesus want to make sure we knew that going in; and some [most] churches do not do a great job of explaining the "membership fees" at the start! I do think that the cost for some (read what the Lord asks) is higher than others.
Paul refers to himself as a slave; and tells us to be a living sacrifice; NOW that is a cost!

http://oldmanswonderings.blogspot.com

The cost of following Jesus is high. Now great c...

2011-11-10T08:34:29.481-08:00
The cost of following Jesus is high.

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
(Luke 14:25-33 ESV)

So wonderfully written! Thank you.

2011-11-03T08:00:02.398-07:00
So wonderfully written! Thank you.

"God is beautiful. Perfect in ways I canno...

2011-10-11T09:51:04.091-07:00
"God is beautiful. Perfect in ways I cannot understand."

Well said. Amen.

When I look at Jesus' ministry in the gospels ...

2011-10-11T09:49:04.503-07:00
When I look at Jesus' ministry in the gospels my understanding of God and love is reshaped from what I read about in the OT.

I liked what you said at my place about Pat's ...

2011-09-30T14:50:18.964-07:00
I liked what you said at my place about Pat's advice.

I guess what I want to hear from ministers is something that calls me up.. something that challenges me to love in an extraordinary way. I know many people who do and I am thankful that not all sink to worldly pragmatic advice such as the stuff Pat gave.

Not at all. Thanks for the compliment.

2011-09-30T06:03:00.990-07:00
Not at all. Thanks for the compliment.

Good job on this. Short and impacting. I linked ...

2011-09-29T08:17:13.308-07:00
Good job on this. Short and impacting. I linked your post to my latest rant. I hope you don't mind.

It is so sad when church becomes a negative experi...

2011-09-19T08:46:57.273-07:00
It is so sad when church becomes a negative experience. I think that you are wise to take a break as it will give you some time to pray, talk to your wife and discern what is important for you to have in a local community.

Your story reminded me how similar nondenomination...

2011-09-01T11:32:14.376-07:00
Your story reminded me how similar nondenominational churches are to the Roman Catholic church. The senior pastor is the pope and anyone that does not agree with him is a Luther that needs to leave. Very sad.