In a recent discussion about denominations, I began to think about the lack of depth in church Bible study and how the two topics are related. It seems that unity is very important in churches these days but what are we sacrificing under its banner?

“Just don’t talk about religion or politics,” is a general rule of discussion in pubic group settings, but has that mindset crept into the church as well? Not that I’m promoting disunity, but I find it very hard to have an in-depth spiritual discussion without very specific issues like anthropology, soteriology, and Christology coming up. So what do we do?

In the name of unity we focus on the general ideas of the Nicene Creed and topics of Christian Living, because when we discuss who we are, who God is, how He saves us, etc. in detail, that’s when the wheels generally come off. People disagree, people feel intimidated, people take things personally, people would rather stay in the shallow than actually think about what they are saying when they repeat vague Christian cliche. Studying, thinking, learning, about God is too difficult.

And so we have the non-denominational and community church — not to mention a lack of Biblical literacy, the rise of moralism, and the inability to bring the Gospel to a world that has moved past the typical shallow answers a long time ago.

I’ll let Bulldawgy give you a review of the game on Saturday.

It was Mission Child Care Night on Saturday so we dropped the kids off at church to have a date-night. I listened in the car as we drove to Outback. I could see the television at the bar from our seats. I stood in Target’s electronic department and tuned a radio in as Regina looked for some things. I listened more as we drove to Lowes, to Wal*Mart, and finally back to the church.

Not much romance on this date-night, just a good time to relax without having to watch little ones. We finally got a white board to hang in the kitchen so we can write the girls’ weekly memory verses on it — and the cost of the childcare went to missions.

On another note, here it is the second week of September and my voice has been rendered useless by ragweed.

I stumbled across a Christian music festival on television the other night. The headlining act was Michael W. Smith. If you are not familiar with him, he is one of the founding fathers of modern contemporary Christian music (CCM). He’s first solo record came out in 1983 and he has released a total of 16 solo albums — not to mention various singles, greatest hits collects, and such.

In the CCM world his very name demands respect no matter what you think of his voice or music. As the announcers of the televised concert were introducing him, they threw out a number of how many records he has sold.  They said that he has sold over 12,000,000 records over his musical carrier — very impressive.

Carrie Underwood has already sold over 6,000,000 copies of her first solo album alone.

Just in case you missed it…

UGA: 35 - Oklahoma: 14

Yep, the family was dressed in red and black today. I had heard speculation across the board about this game — from Oklahoma will stomp all over UGA, to UGA will take Oklahoma to the cleaners, to who ever wins will win by 3. All I have to say is win or lose, the anticipation is just fun. To get behind a team and hope they do good gives a sense of excitement that carries over to the whole family.

As Michigan and Appalachia State proved today, anything can happen.

Well, a week has gone by since my last update. With a minor setback of getting ill last week, I ended up working out three times last week — my weekly goal.

Not that much worth writing about right now, got the new iMac, busy working on some side jobs, and waiting for the new iPods (scheduled to be announced or released next Wed.).

Today was a first. The first time I went to a gym before work. Regina won a six free month family membership to the YMCA that is right next to Camryn’s school. How can we not use it? We’ll see how the six months go. Then if we are still going, we will probably get sucked into joining — we wouldn’t have to pay any registration fees. I also see it as offsetting some of the water bill. If I feel like taking a looooong hot shower I can just go up there.

It’s also more accountability, in that the machines record your workout and you can view your stats online etc. After setting goals and you spend a couple of weeks setting your pace, a trainer views your stats and sees how you’re doing. I like the tech side of it.

It’s also nice because their indoor pool has a walk in section for the kids and the girls love the pool. Maybe they will take up swimming as they get a bit older.

So once the new iPods come out, Regina and I will be caring for the temple and loving the Lord with all our mind as we listen to Podcasts during our workout time. Oh, and I actually find drinking diet drinks tolerable now — amazing.

Been quiet but have lots going on. Vacationing, working, sickness, surgery, healing, reading, learning, saving, spending … turn, turn, turn.

I’m continually amazed at this winding road called life and all the tragedy and blessing along the way. I’m amazed by how people’s lives intersect and change the course of time and history. I’m amazed by how a seemingly insignificant decision made by someone a few years ago is affecting the lives of people today — people all over the world that they don’t even know exist.

Not only do we tend to minimize God down to our own little sphere of such a big world, but we also grossly under-estimate how vast our sphere of influence in that big world actually is.

Ephesians 1:11 - In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…

Oh, and 25 more days until football season begins. Go Dawgs!

So I’m keeping track of the weather on July 4th for no real reason. This year it was very pleasant. The humidity was low and there wasn’t a single threat of rain all day. This year we stayed inside for most of the day because Camryn had her tonsils out on the 3rd. Maegan and I went swimming in the pool and then we all took a little walk around the block. Then Camryn finally said she wanted to go see the fireworks so we went over to the Bennett’s place. It was an uneventful 4th but we are thankful for the weather — not to mention our freedom.

Actually I do have a reason, it came up this past New Years Eve. We had a get together and everyone was trying to remember what we did  two years back and no one could remember — maybe I need to keep up a New Years documentary too.

I have an old childhood memory of going to Indian Springs State Park with my Aunt Marianne and swimming in the stream and playing on the rocks. I also have many fond memories of Jacks River Falls, the top of the Ocoee River (a quick swim before rafting), and some place just off the highway near the Alabama/Georgia state line — I think it was Little River Canyon.

This weekend Regina had a get-together planned with some families from our church to picnic at Pooles Mill Park — about 15 minutes from our house. She said there was a playground, a covered bridge, and a place for the kids to play in the creek. Sounded good to me but I must admit that I was expecting some kind of paved walk-in area or something “safe and accessible” so the suburban kids can get their feet wet in the creek.

As we unloaded the picnic stuff and started walking toward the bridge area, my ears told me that this was no paved wading pool. We got to the water’s edge to see cascading falls intertwined between rocks and wading pools. So we kicked off the shoes and had a ball. There was a perfect spot for the kids to slide down a slippery rock slide into a shallow natural wading pool, only to climb up and do it again and again. There were places to sit under waterfalls and let the water crash on your shoulders, places to float down small rapids, and places to rest on dry rocks.

As we ended the day and headed back home, my heart was delighted to hear the girls ask, “Dad, can we come back tomorrow?”

Find a swimming hole near you!

“Spreading the fame of God” is the slogan for our church. This week we sent off a group to West Virginia and soon we will be sending off a group to Guatemala. These are all great but I have to ask, what are we as a church doing to spread the fame of God locally? More importantly, what am I doing locally?

While I’m all about letting my everyday actions speak louder than words,  I have to wonder about my everyday actions themselves. It seems that most of them are not very intentional about spreading the fame of God — wake up, go to work, make web applications, go home, do things around the house, hang with friends … that’s about it. Sure there may be glimpses of opportunities in that schedule but they only occur when someone takes the time to get in my world.

What can I do to be open to someone else’s world? Regina helped at a local Methodist church’s Vacation Bible School program and they seem to really have a good connection with serving the community — they have food drives, donate school supplies to needy kids, etc. on a regular basis.

So I have a couple of ideas I want to document. Maybe you have some more to add — or maybe even help coordinate them.

• Give away bananas at the local Bruster’s Ice Cream Shop on banana split day. The bananas could have stickers to the church website.
• There is going to be a soccer training camp in Guatemala this summer, it seems like that would be easy to pull off in the Cumming area.
• Advertise and set up a chipper for people to recycle their Christmas trees — maybe use the mulch for the church playground or find somewhere that needs it.