Virtually Paul

MegaChurch Got It Wrong?

Willow Creek Repents? @ChristianityToday

An allegiance based faith

I’ve been thinking a bit about faith formation recently, with particular reference to The Parable of the Sower. I’m wondering - to what extent is a dogmatic allegiance to “being a Christian” or “belonging to a church” actually legitimate faith? How do we know which of the quadrants in the parable that we’re sitting in? Is that even the point of Jesus’ story in the first place?

It seems to me that a black-and-white faith which puts people in boxes and condemns them to hell, isn’t a particularly productive platform for someone who claims to have a Christ-like worldview. Interestingly enough, being black-and-white is one of the hallmarks of adolescent logic. It opens up some interesting questions surrounding what faith is, what faith isn’t, who has it, who doesn’t have it, who thinks they have it, and the range of other permutations combining those options.

Have a read of the articles linked below. They sparked the original thought process.

http://www.slate.com/id/2175640/?gt1=10538

http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2007/10/04/christianity/?source=whitelist

Songs we dare Bec to walk down the aisle to

A top ten list compiled on behalf of the wedding party by Paul, Jess and Analise:

10. I got you Babe - Cher
9. She Bangs - Ricky Martin
8. Papa Don’t Preach - Madonna
7. All Night Long - Lionel Ritchie
6. Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day
5. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate
4. A Little Less Conversation (a little more action) - Elvis
3. I Get Around - The Beach Boys
2. Barbie Girl - Aqua
1. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for - U2

We are taking suggestions in the comments for the recessional song (the one they play as the couple walk out).
So far we’ve got:

10.  I will survive - Gloria Gaynor
9. Highway to Hell - ACDC
8. He’s going the distance - Cake

And yes - this didn’t start out being as mean as it ended up but we still think it’s funny.

Designated Groomsman

There is already way too much on the internet about Bec and Geoff’s wedding.  If you’re following along at home, you’ll hopefully already know that I get to be one of the groomsmen.  I was pretty stoked to be asked.

Tonight, I had the privilege of dining with my housemate-and-a-half.  A home-cooked meal, followed by a Paul-bought dessert and some good conversation.  What more could you want?  Probably a new car stereo.  But that’s getting a bit off track.

Bec decided at some point that she’d like some Baileys to go with her berry pie thing but being a P-plate loser driver, she wouldn’t be able to drive home (and needs her car tomorrow).  I offered to follow them back to her place (about 5 minutes up the road) so that Geoff could drive her car home.   We got back about 15 minutes ago.

Not such a big deal, right?  Well, it’s a good thing that old mate Bec is a law abiding citizen because we managed to drive through a booze bus about halfway down the main stretch of road between here and her place.

And as I sat in the car chilling out until Geoff returned from the driveway, it occurred to me that the events of this evening are exactly what being a groomsman is all about.  It’s all about being part of the support team.  It’s about getting alongside a couple and doing the practical stuff that helps them on their journey.  It’s about being there to share in the classic moments, or to hear about them afterwards.  And it’s about sitting in the car, without the slightest whisper of impatience, smiling to yourself because a great bloke is walking a lovely girl to her door.

Chasing Sermons

I don’t think anyone would be surprised to learn that for at least the last hour, there have been three people sitting with laptops in the lounge at my place.

Attached is a screen shot of iTunes that I got when subscribing to a podcast from a church in the States. Reading the “People also subscribed to” list in sequence is highly recommended.

If you don’t get it, don’t worry.

People Batteries

Introverts and extroverts. What makes you one or the other? Which one do you think you are? Which one do other people say that you are? It’s been a long running topic amongst a number of people I know - most notably Bec, who had a bit of a fling with Meyers-Briggs questionnaires before Geoff came along.

The most popular distinction between the two -verts, seems to be how a person “recharges their batteries”. I most definitely consider myself to be an introvert (recharging while by myself) but recently have been having the opposite experience. I’ve found myself on numerous occasions, craving interaction with other people.

My housemate’s sister came to visit us last Saturday afternoon. She told us that she’d been sitting around by herself, decided “I need people” and got up and drove to our place to visit her big brother. I’m not entirely sure why… but I think I’d find it difficult to do that. There is something about saying “I need to be around people” that makes me feel a little bit out of control and uncomfortable. I’m not sure why.

So, over to you…
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? How do you charge up your people batteries?

VirtuallyPaul gets a new look

Hi all… you might have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog front for a while. I plan to rectify that.

A new blog design was long overdue and will hopefully encourage a bit more interaction.

The images in the rotating banners are all 100% home grown. I extracted them from my own photo collection. Let me know what you think!

(The active banner changes every minute but you need to refresh to see it.)

Junk Mail

I used to deliver Junk Mail when I was in high school but that was back when I didn’t have my own letterbox to clear.  My Mum loves the stuff, so the year when all of the catalogues got delivered by a truck to our house a few days before I delivered them to everyone else, she was pretty happy.   She even used to pass the leftovers on to people from church and from her work, who lived in other areas and didn’t get the catalogues for particular shops.

Suffice it to say, there is a market out there for junk mail.  People read it and they make purchase decisions based on it.  A percentage of the population study it.  Some probably just look at the front if something catches their eye.  Either way, the companies are making money, so they’re happy to pay for us to receive it.

In my situation though, I’m wondering whether it’s a justifyable use of paper.  Chances are that if I really need to buy something, I’ll work that out on my own.  Knowing that Dick Smith have those BlueAnt phone car kits for $99 is in no way helpful for my bank balance.  I am probably going to buy one now and it’s all Geoff’s fault for leaving the catalogue lying on the kitchen bench.  Not to mention the car stereo I saw in the JBs catalogue, which also reminds me of all of the DVDs that I was thinking I might buy.

In my previous two houses, one of my housemates was a massive greenie, so he got his black texta and wrote “No Junk Mail” on the letterbox.  It usually faded off after a while and when he moved out (got married), the junk mail started to come back.  Someone would generally bring it inside but none of us read it.  For a good while there, we were stockpiling it behind the front door.

Anyway, feeling quite chuffed with myself, I found one of those annoying magnetic cards that politicians use to advertise themselves (with a few emergency phone numbers and a calendar in an attempt to thinly disguise it).  I peeled off the card, wrote “no junk mail” on the paper-y surface still stuck to the magnet, and whacked it on the letterbox.  It was recycling poetry.

Now that I’m sharing with Geoff, the ball game has changed a bit.  It seems he isn’t anywhere near as junk mail averse as myself.  So, while I’d like to go for the permanent solution and put the magic sign on the letterbox once again (or alternatively put the recycling bin next to it), it seems that Geoff isn’t particularly passionate about it either way.

What’s your stance?

Young adults aren’t sticking with church

An article from USA Today summarising recent research into the protestant church fall-away rate, for young adults who participated in a church during their teenage years.

Moving Day

I’ve spent today moving most of my useful belongings to my new place out east. It’s been a satisfying day. I’ve had the opportunity to go through most of my stuff, throughout the process of packing and unpacking, and I’ve got myself better organised than I have been for a while. It’s a good feeling. The house is great. It’s much better than both of the other two shared houses that I’ve lived in.

What makes it even better are all of the furniture, appliances and kitchen stuff that I get to benefit from as one of the fantastic perks of sharing with a man who just got engaged. And I’m not just talking about a knife block Lance. These guys have a pretty cool setup.

Of course, leaving the old north-west didn’t come without a second thought. I had a bit of a moment here tonight as I was unloading my stuff. The house was dimly lit and very quiet. And it all hit me like a wave. There I was, surrounded by pretty much everything I really need to live quite comfortably for some time, but in a new suburb, some distance from pretty much everyone I know, feeling like somewhat of a visitor in the house.

The words came out aloud “What on earth amI doing here?” A few light-switches later, with a bit of a classic old CD on the stereo and I started to feel a bit better. I spent some time just praying as well, which is always a great idea for those’moments’. And now that I’ve set up my room, I’m sure I’ll be pretty cosy.

I’m not entirely sure how long the feeling of being out of place will take to completely go away - but I know that God has brought me here. Let the adventures begin!