Emergent Churches.

I've absolutely never had any idea what emergent churches were and I still don't but I started checking them out and came upon this emergent church website. There's actually a prayer lava lamp! What's that? Not really sure but they've got one and it's interactive! and it has it's own ambiance music to get you in the mood. You click on a bubble, right in your prayer and watch it float away....No, God doesn't respond on your screen so much. Well, I don't know, I tested it and prayed for facial-hair as a test, even though I don't want more facial hair. That was the wifey's idea. You gotta see it I guess....

Anyway, they have part of the Wikipedia explanation of what an Emergent church is and that blurb is this: "...the emerging church seeks to deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity as its mainly Western members live in a postmodern culture..."

I bring this up because this is very similar to what I wanted to do for myself in this blog and the FIRST part is almost word for word on one of my first posts (I don't trust postmodernists. What can I say, It was bred in to me.) Anyway, kind of a co-inkidink I thought., Let's see if these postmodernist emergent types are "full of it" or have something going here.

What's been impressed upon my mind lately...

This post will have no central theme like a sermon might. These are just thoughts that may become future posts. I'll have to create a new word to label this kind of post. Hmmm...

Anyway, a few things I've encountered lately.

This weekend someone felt that they needed to bring to someone's attention the verses in the Bible that backed their belief up on how you raise your children. The receiver of this expressed opinion didn't take to kindly of course. The "giver" of opinion, I think, realized he had made some sort of mistake be it in approach or content I'm not sure. But, they did say that they felt God had impressed upon the person personally that something should be said, which makes me wonder when God is actually talking to us. I've heard others say the same thing and I've been skeptical (to use probably too mild a term) in whether God actually said that to them or they are applying God to a personal urge. It seems to me, and the verdict's not out yet, if people feel strongly about something in the religon & belief dept. that whatever they think they need to do in regards to that dept. is somehow directed to them by God. Seems kind of conveniant.... and I'M SURE you're much more convincing to your listener if they realize you're speaking on God's behalf!! I'm being cynical here. I guess something to learn from this would be that if you do hear something from God, maybe it won't help the listener to tell them that's what you believe or maybe you should be darn sure it's God before you decide you're speaking on his behalf because if I remember correctly, to speak in God's name without his consent is a big no-no.

Different topic.

Something that I've come across via blog-world is the concept of a Talmid or Talmidim.

"A talmid did not follow a rabbi as a student. They desired to gain the rabbi's knowledge, but for a greater goal-they wanted to become like the rabbi himself.

A talmid followed the rabbi everywhere-every day, and every hour of the day-often without knowing or asking where the rabbi was going. The talmid rarely left his rabbi's side for fear that he would miss a teachable moment. He watched the rabbi's every move, noting how he acted and thought about a variety of situations.

Talmidim trusted their rabbi completely. They were eager to hear the rabbi's teachings and they worked passionately to incorporate the rabbi's actions and words into their lives. The disciple's deepest desire was to follow his rabbi so closely that he would start to think and act like the rabbi himself." ~ Ray Vander Laan

Within the comments after this was pasted on Tom Steeles Blog (I don't know him, I just liked his post). He mentioned how he dislikes the term "Personal Relationship" with God and preferred the concept of a Talmid. That struck me right away because "Personal Relationship" is a favorite term of most Pastors (and I believe Mr. Steele is a pastor), and that is partly what made me think. When we think of a "Personal Relationship" often times an intimate relationship is correlated, like what you have with your husband or wife. There is that side to a Personal Relationship but this is GOD were talking about here. He IS it. A personal relationship just isn't enough. It makes too comfortably casaul a relationship with the almighty. The Talmid concept brings a bit of humbleness to that which is your relationship. Also Personal Relationship I think indicates that it's personal, as in "your own". I think Talmid puts a better perspective on that as well. More pondering on this one later.

New blog for old and New Thoughts.

I've been reading a lot of blogs on people's beliefs, their beliefs on other's beliefs, their beefs with other's beliefs, beliefs being applied to other people, application of what they see in people labeled with a belief and making judgements of that belief based on that person and so on and so forth.... Long and confusing sentence, Eh! Just like my brain.

There's been a lot to really motivate me to think, wonder, be irritated (in a good way and sometimes a bad way), open up my mind, and rethink and rework ideas in my for-too-long numbed head. I haven't had too much to say but I've read people's blogs who do and although I don't have a mission statement I have questions and thoughts I need to work out. If I can work something out on my blog and be able to understand it and spell it out for myself so I can understand and remember what I was thinking, that would be helpful to me. I need to redefine things in my own head and when I say redefine I don't mean to change the definition, I mean to reword it so my mind gets it. Every time I read philosophy papers (which I haven't done for quite a while) I have to read over it at least 3 times to get what they're saying, so this can be a helpful tool to work some of that out. This could end up giving me focus, motivation, or who knows! I've been thinking about doing this for a while. Hopefully there's a higher purpose for me and if there is(I pray to God), I'll write about it here.