My grandson is six years old. He is (and has been) in that magical age of fantasy and hyperactivity associated with it. He is also a sports fan(atic). I am extremely disappointed in his choice of teams, especially for baseball. His father has brainwashed him to be a Reds fan, so my hopes of having a fellow Pirate fan are slim to none. He amuses himself with constant motion of hitting, fielding, pitching, throwing, and sliding as though he is the star. (He is in my eyes, but that’s another story).
He is also into the magical world of SuperHeroes. The dude never stops. We sit down to watch a movie, be it Tranformers, Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman, Batman, or (you fill in the blank), he watches it for a short period of time and then he says, “Grandpa, I’m going to get down and watch it on the floor.” Yeah, sure. He then “becomes” whatever SuperHero we are watching. It is hilarious to watch and listen to his banter, his “boy sounds,” and his actions. Oh…those were the days!!
I have to admit that I am unashamedly thrilled that he has not gotten into Bob the Builder, Wreck-it Ralph, or Diego whatever-his-name-is. I’m certainly glad Dora is not on his radar. 🙂 Maybe it is because I am not much of a builder…of anything. I admire those who do, but these hands were not blessed for the intricate work of “measure twice, cut once,” or sowing, or cooking. I do dishes, laundry, vacuum, clean the bathrooms, but it doesn’t take much skill to do those. 🙂
I also admire those who can build bridges between people. Between cultures. At 60, I find I can bring some wisdom to the discussion, but I am an old fogie to many of those I call the “young bucks.” I understand-I was much the same way “back in the day’. I do read a lot and know that many of today’s generation of pastors tend to go-it-alone. That is a dangerous practice. Very dangerous. It is a bog frothing with snakes of all kinds.
One of the men who seems to have crossed the barrier of age and been able to relate to many pastors is Greg Laurie. Ryan (our new youth pastor); Peter (one of our young men and one of the finest tile men I have ever met); and I will be attending Catalyst OneDay in Lexington, KY on Thursday. Since I will be mostly incommunicado, I thought I would give you two of Pastor Greg’s latest daily devotions that “rang my bell.” Here is the one for March 18th, and here is the one for March 19th. They are short and won’t even take you five minutes to read. Please take a few moments to link to them. Then consider having his devotion delivered to your inbox.
I will have my phone so will approve comments, but won’t have time to respond. But I would still love to hear your thoughts on Greg’s words.
ahhhh and I know you are looking forward to Saturday….and the Culturally Relevant one- relevant in more ways than one in my life right now….
You bet I am looking forward to Saturday. Glad you found something in Greg’s devos. Love you much and looking forward to seeing you also. 🙂
Hope the conference brings you something of value. Blessings.
Thanks Daniel. Am anticipating a good day.
Greg Laurie Said it very well. I’m no expert at the bridge building thing maybe. But I do fairly well much of the time. When things seem to go the best I attribute any success to remembering the Proverbs that apply (the ones that boil down to fast ears and slow mouth) which I think is much like what you and Greg are saying.
Have a great convention. Be refreshed.
Good point about listening better. Thanks MS.
I think Greg is saying what I was trying to say yesterday over at my blog. We do need to speak language that folks understand. We can’t just accept stuff because it makes us relevant. One of the things a missionary does is learn the culture of those they working amongst. We should too.
Good point about the missionaries Larry. i agree.
I liked Greg’s posts. I’m definitely on the same page with him as far as it relates to how we relate to the lost world. I sense that most Christians believe that they might be above the lost, if not above certainly that they are different. That is the farthest thing from the truth. We are exactly like them; fallen and in need of a Savior. The only difference is that we know our Savior and our need for Him. That’s the only difference. We may not sin as much as them, maybe more, but a sin is a sin and all fall short of the glory of God. To be in the lost world sharing our heart for God and them in love and laughter is exactly where Christ was and wants us to be. We’re all builders. We all build things and it doesn’t matter if it’s with sticks and bricks or pen and ink. God calls us all… Have a good time, Bill.
if we see all of us in need of a Savior that levels the playing field somewhat. True, we have been saved, but we need to never forget that. It is also true we are all builders- of bridges or walls. i did Floyd.
Greg words hit a cord in my heart. I am a firm believer in building a relationship with others. Listening brings understanding into where they are coming from. Also makes them feel cared for, it’s invaluable. Thanks for the infro on Greg. Enjoy your conference…
I too like establishing relationships first.
Have a wonderful time, Bill. We are foolish to think we can go it alone. We need the various gifts, wisdom, insights, and support of different people and generations. It’s a beautiful gift God has given us. Thanks sir (and you’re not an old fogie). 🙂
So right about going alone Jason. We need to remember that we can’t.
I especially liked his devotional from the 19th. It’s hard to argue against being culturally relevant when the apostle Paul did it himself!
Good succinct statement Loren.