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| Our new 4 y/o tabby, Mesa. Isn't she a cutie?
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| We visited Fellowship both last Sunday and this Sunday. What a weak worship service. Lots of light and sound, special effects, and praise and worship that had no depth and repeated the same verse over and over. They sang a Rascal Flatts song for the special music selection. Sounded good, if I were at a country concert. Didn't have much spiritual implications in the verses, though. Loved the message that the pastor gave. It was applicable and real and used scripture. We decided to go ahead and come back the next Sunday to catch the part 2 of the sermon. They started the service this Sunday with the 50's song that goes, "And we'll have fun, fun, fun now her daddy took the T-bird away". I have no idea what they did that for. They didn't tie it into a sermon topic or VBS. They just sang it for...fun? Worship service was weak again. Lots of "repeat songs" with vague lyrics. They had communion during one of the worship songs and the only way they prefaced it was that communion was for "remembering Jesus". No mention of the cross at all. Then they let us come get the unleavened squares and grape juice while the song was still going on. They didn't give any instructions, didn't explain the meaning behind it, didn't have us all take it together. They just had us do our own thing. That really bothered me. If someone was just visiting and didn't know Christ, how is that communion going to communicate anything to them? They probably would just think it a weird tradition. Or an hor d'oeuvre. Later on in the worship service and in the sermon, they briefly glazed over the meaning of salvation- but never mentioned the cross. What in the world? Are we afraid to gross people out if we mention Jesus' suffering. Or is this church too seeker friendly and it might make people sad to think about suffering? Can you tell it really bothered me? Just like last Sunday, after the worship service, the pastor gave a great sermon that really made you think. Ah, I wish both parts would work in sync. Fellowship has small groups instead of Sunday school, and I don't have a problem with either, but I prefer Sunday school. Are Shawn and I going to find a church that is in the middle of the two extremes? I hope so! So, am I being too harsh about the communion thing? What do ya'll think? | | |
| I haven't posted to Xanga in a while, so I figured I would highlight the journey of us searching for a new church in our new hometown of Grand Junction. Please feel free to comment. We first visited Landmark Baptist Church. Lil' bitty compared to Geyer Springs in Little Rock, AR. I like the congregation and pastor- super friendly. All the men were wearing suits- I like that. Yeah, I'm old school. Shawn is kinda indifferent. I think he prefers it if they don't pressure him to go whole hog, and he normally wears either khakis or jeans when given the choice. I prefer dress slacks/khakis instead of jeans. I hate to see shorts in church. (none to be found there). They did do a scripture reading during service and they all read together right on cue. I think that might mean they just use New King James version. I am not that strict and I'm not quite sure about going to a church that is. They only use hymns in their worship service, but I love and prefer hymns. I do like a little bit of a mix though. They didn't visit us until yesterday (two weeks after our visit) and when they did they sent the only two guys around our age that we saw the day we visited. I hope they have more young adults than two. They were decked out on a Saturday morning too- shirt and ties at 10:30. We weren't dressed and Shawn was less than impressed to put it mildly- they would have done better to call first. We told them they would have to come back at another time and call first. The church I grew up at in Benton did Tuesday night visitations and didn't call before they showed up, but they didn't get that dressed up to visit either. I think that doing it on a Saturday morning without warning and coming dressed like that isn't really coming to meet people where they are. The only reason I cut them some slack in my mind is because I'm in the "churched" category. I think it definitely would scare the unchurched away. They could also be mistaken for JW's or LDS very easily that way- and that's not good. Overall, I like the pastor and the congregation, but I think it would be difficult for Shawn and I to get plugged in with people our own age. What do ya'll think? | | |
| Okay, so OBU is allowing Alumni to participate in Tiger Tracks this year. I would love to get a team together. So, it is scheduled for April 24th-25th and I would love to participate. Anyone with me? Info: Hosted by OSF, Tiger Traks is a two-day, nine-event competition on our campus. Students divide themselves into teams of eight and each team must have at least four women. The events are Egg Toss, Ice Fishing (a very chilly take on bobbing for apples), Basketball Relay, Game Center (a combination of some favorite board games), Tiger Trek (a campus-wide scavenger hunt), Obstacle Course, Raft Races, Oozeball (mud volleyball), Tug-o-War (also played in the mud). The cost is $120 per 8-person team (at least four participants must be women). I don't know if non-Ouachita folks can participate (like spouses or whatnot). I'll find that out. Anyways, if any of you are slightly interested, please let me know. Thanks! Katie | | |
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