Who Are Postmoderns?

1. We are more experiential than propositional in our connection to truth.
2. We are more communal than individualistic.
3. We value authenticity over theory.
4. We understand struggle more than naive certainty.
Don Everts & Doug Schaupp in "I Once was Lost"

We live in a post-modern world now. This is something we cannot fully change. We can't go back to a modern world with a modern mentality. The church is struggling to grow and even struggling to keep what we have.
So the question that plagues me is, what do we do now? Do we keep doing the same things we have always done. Well, that is not seemingly going to work. We've got to do things differently in our methods of reaching people. I'm not advocating changing the word of God, that will always be the same. We just need to live it out more; we need to be outwardly inclined instead of inwardly focused.
I believe the postmodern world might not be to unlike the world that Jesus lived in. We need more experiencing of God's word than rote memorization. We need to be missional in our efforts than elitist in our doctrine. We need to be real and not always having to be right. We need to always being growing our faith than thinking we have arrived because of our reasoning.
Just my thoughts at this moment!

Vocabulary Words for May, 2008

Words on my "New Vocabulary Words" List:
tacit -
pejorative -
efficacy -
peripatetic -
onereous -
abrogate -
extraneous -
pedantic -
specious -
prevaricate -
incredulos -
copious -
capricious -

Definitions: Can you match the word up with the definition?
a. Too concerned with formal rules and details.
b. Difficult: representing a great burden or much trouble
c. Apparently true but really false; deceptively attractive
d. Implied but not expressed: understood or implied without being stated
e. Having an abundance or plenty; plenty in number
f. Tending to make or become worse; disparaging or belittling
g. Unwilling to believe; unable or unwilling to believe something or completely unconvinced by it
h. Effectiveness; the ability to produce the desire result
i. Do away with something: to tend an agreement or contract formally
j. Going from place to place; working in several place and traveling between them
k. Not relevant or applicable: not essential or important
l. Give to sudden changes: tending to make sudden unexpected changes
m. Get out of telling truth: to avoid giving a direct and honest answer or opinion, or a clear and truthful account of a situation.

Answers: 1-d, 2-f, 3-h, 4-j, 5-b, 6-i, 7-k, 8-a, 9-c, 10-m, 11-g, 12-e, 13-l

Favorite Cartoons Time

I don't know why but I thought this was pretty funny. Especially the first two classes. Seems like this is the way it is in a lot of churches today.

Ten Things I'm Excited About Right Now

Ten Things I'm Really Excited About:
1. Vacation with Debby to Branson on June 20th - 27th.
2. Visting Doug & Sandy, (Debby's missionary parents) in Mexico in July.
3. My day off tomorrow. I'm going to read and watch the History channel.
4. My rebate check coming from the IRS for $1200
5. Going to see Jennifer (my daugher) in Lubbock and see my nephew Patrick's graduation from LCU.
6. Seeing the new Indiana Jones movie coming out in May.
7. Hearing Tracy Wilson's class on Sunday.
8. Preaching on Praying & Blessing like Jesus, PBJ.
9. The price of gasoline to go down.
10. The hamburger I just ate this evening from the General Store on 1187.

House vs Grace

I'm watching House. You know the TV drama series staring Hugh Laurie. His character, House, is a typical athiest. He not only doesn't believe in God, but he believes that all people are generally selfish and self centered. House doesn't believe that people can be nice, or that people can change for the good, and that people cannot act benefically for the good of others or for the good of mankind. Because he doesn't believe in God, he doesn't believe in goodness and graciousness.

Athieism removes any reason for people to act on behalf of a greater cause or to have reason to live a righteous and moral life.

How sad!

Without the existence of God, I believe this world we live in would never have become what it is today. Mankind would never have become what it is today. We would have, long ago, destroyed ourselves. We would have been completely morally corrupt without the existence of God and never would have developed morally much less in any other productive or positive way.

Because of the existance of morality it only makes logical sense that God exists.

Same thing is true of love. If God does not exist then love cannot exist if House and other athiests are right. If God does not exist then love is only a raging animalistic lust.

Sin is in opposition to God and sin brings about the same consequences in this world as if there was not a God--degradation and corruption.

Grace is another proof of God. Without grace we might as well be athiest and athieism would be a reality. When we live and react in our lives without grace we are acting like House - as an athiest.

What I'm Thankful For...

It's been a great weekend at home and at church. I think it's good to count your blessing and spend a little time being thankful for the way God blesses us and watches over us.
Here are some blessings I'm thankful for today:
...I'm thankful that Debby is over the shingles and is feeling so much better.
...I'm thankful for our teachers at Lakeside.
...I'm thankful for the great Teacher's Appreciation Dinner we had yesterday.
...I'm thankful to Wayne & Melissa May who did a great job of setting up and preparing our Dinner. You are Stars also!
...I'm thankful for the 3rd - 6th graders who served as hosts & hostess and waiters & waitresses.
...I'm thankful that Trey & Lea and their four boys came to spend the day with us at Lakeside and for Trey's preaching and teaching. He did a great job!
...I'm thankful to have known Bill & Joy Hare. I did Joy's funeral this past Friday. I had preached Bill's funeral about three years back. They were good people.
...I'm thankful for my kids and my grandkids. They are such a joy and a blessing.
...I'm thankful that our building smells better after some of the classrooms flooded and we spent last week drying the floors and the walls out.
...I'm thankful for God's Amazing Grace. You need to listen to Chris Tomlin's Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).

A Little News

Here we are another evening at home with thunder storms going on around us. We've had some pretty good storms come through here. The Lakeside building flooded around four windows and four classrooms. The walls and the carpets got soaked and we had to call a restoration service to come in and dry the carpets and the walls. It was a pretty penny. Its raining again pretty good now. I hope and pray that the water doesn't get into the building again tonight.
The lights flashed a few times, but we never lost electricity. Speaking of electricity I signed up for Ignite, a division of Stream Energy. I get cheaper electricity plus I'm an associate now and can help others get started. If you are interested in cheaper electricity or making a little money on electric bills that you have others to sign up, check out my web sight:
http://shawnwilliams.igniteinc.biz/ (yes, I have no shame) but if this could help you save money I would not have said anything. Besides I needed something for today's post and my cards are right here.

Tomorrow I travel to Wills Point. Joy Hare, one of the sweetest ladies in all the world passed away. I will do the funeral on Friday at 1:00 PM. Bill & Joy Hare where some of the best folks I've ever known. They are both with the Lord and I rejoice because of that.