Last week we had a brown bag lunch with several of the National CBF (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) staff at school. One of the persons there was part of CBF Administration. She was to lead a discussion with us about CBF and about the New Baptist Covenant. As you may remember, I attended the New Baptist Covenant Celebration meeting at the end of January. I have posted other blogs about this topic but it has been brought back into my attention since the meeting last week.
Periodically I receive emails from the New Baptist Covenant stating what the movement is doing. I received on on March 20. This was the handout that was given to us in the lunch meeting.
The woman leading the talks did nothing but dance around the issues. Several students posed questions and made statements about the meetings. The woman didn't answer them. She could hardly even talk about them. On the issue of homosexuality she looked at the student and said, "I've heard that before. I'll take that back with me." Clearly she either didn't want to answer our questions or she didn't know how to answer them.
After reading the email statement from March 20, I was quickly reminded again of the movements talk of diversity. While this meeting was historic because it was the first time that white and black Baptists had come together I felt that it was quite contrived. As I have stated in previous posts, I wonder what would have happened if the meeting had been held in a different place at a different time. The New Baptist Covenant was planned to take place at the end of the National Baptists meeting that was taking place in Atlanta. This would allow for many African American Baptists to attend. So my question is, would that many people have attended otherwise?
Speaking of diversity, remember the lunch meeting I mentioned? As I sat in that room with people who were supposed to be discussing the New Baptist Covenant, I looked around. Surprise, Surprise! There were no African American students present. Where was the diversity in that room? I'm not sure, but it certainly wasn't present.
The email from March 20 gave an overview of what the movement is focusing on now in the in between time. There were 11 points mentioned. These range from evangelism and poverty to global warming and separation of church and state. In the final point, the leaders made suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of the New Baptist Covenant movement.
There are talks that this movement is going to become a triennial movement which will meet every 3 years. That means that in 2011 there will be another. Will it be purposely planned around the National Baptist meeting so that the term diverse can be used? Or will it be planned around the National CBF meeting and it be a bunch of white folks? Whatever the case may be, I can only look forward to the future. I don't t know what will happen. I don't understand all that has been planned. I can only pray for the leaders and try and determine how I, as one person, can be involved.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Life is Precious
On Sunday morning, I went to celebrate Easter at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Beaverdam, Virginia. This is the church that I grew up in. We arrived at 10:40 as the service was scheduled to begin at 10:45. There was no where to sit downstairs so we made our way to the balcony. The choir led the church in a beautiful cantata which was followed by our pastor's Easter sermon. We found ourselves proclaiming "Christ the Lord is Risen. He is risen indeed!" This was a meaningful service and spoke to me more than I realized at the time I was sitting there.
As the service was beginning, our family friends arrived. Brandon insisted on sitting on the front row of the balcony. He really shouldn't sit there because of his epilepsy. However, since the
service had already started his parents allowed him to sit there so that he wouldn't cause a scene. Brandon is not only epileptic, he is mentally handicapped and doesn't always know how to handle situations. Brandon and I have grown up together. He is 24 years old, yet he is on the level of a 5 to 7 year old. He is epileptic and has a seizure nearly every day. In January 2008 he had 29 seizures.
During the service I could tell that he wasn't himself. He was singing when he shouldn't be, he was speaking out and then he began hallucinating. It was very sad for me to watch as he thought that he had bugs coming out of his skin. After the service, he left and went out into the parking lot. As is the norm we were all standing in front of the church talking. After at 15 minutes we were being called over to across the parking lot. Brandon had followed a family to their car. In the meantime, he began to seize and fell out. He hit his head on the pavement and the family had no idea what to do. My father was the first to get over to Brandon. He held his head while I ran over with his mother and father. The pastor called for a nurse. We know that if we leave Brandon to sit he will pass out for 45 minutes to an hour. We had to get him in the van right away. It took 6 men to lift Brandon and get him in their vehicle. Brandon doesn't like to be moved and begins to scream out. Only this time, he was screaming, "Ouch". We weren't sure if he was hurt internally. By this point, many of us were crying because of the severity of the seizure.
We know that Brandon won't get better. He has had so many seizures that it has caused a lot of brain damage. When he begins to seize he just drops out. He has fallen through the oven door at his house, fallen through the bathroom wall, and fallen into a counter and knocked his teeth out. The doctors have told his parents that they there is nothing they can do. Brandon is not a candidate for surgery because the seizures are not coming from a part of the brain that can be operated on. The end result is a Grand Mal seizure that will kill him. Brandon is such an innocent soul and it is so hard to see him in this shape.
After spending the evening at home on Easter evening, I found out that one of my friend's had lost her husband on Saturday. He was rock climbing and fell 180 feet to his death. They had been married three years.
Life is precious. Christ died and arose for all of us. Let us not take anything for granted. We are blessed beyond measure and we often don't realize this until bad things happen. I am not sure why Brandon has these seizures or why my friend had to lose her husband. But I do know that Christ is here for all of us. As we celebrate the risen Christ let us remember that life is precious. It is a gift. Don't take it for granted.
As the service was beginning, our family friends arrived. Brandon insisted on sitting on the front row of the balcony. He really shouldn't sit there because of his epilepsy. However, since the
service had already started his parents allowed him to sit there so that he wouldn't cause a scene. Brandon is not only epileptic, he is mentally handicapped and doesn't always know how to handle situations. Brandon and I have grown up together. He is 24 years old, yet he is on the level of a 5 to 7 year old. He is epileptic and has a seizure nearly every day. In January 2008 he had 29 seizures.During the service I could tell that he wasn't himself. He was singing when he shouldn't be, he was speaking out and then he began hallucinating. It was very sad for me to watch as he thought that he had bugs coming out of his skin. After the service, he left and went out into the parking lot. As is the norm we were all standing in front of the church talking. After at 15 minutes we were being called over to across the parking lot. Brandon had followed a family to their car. In the meantime, he began to seize and fell out. He hit his head on the pavement and the family had no idea what to do. My father was the first to get over to Brandon. He held his head while I ran over with his mother and father. The pastor called for a nurse. We know that if we leave Brandon to sit he will pass out for 45 minutes to an hour. We had to get him in the van right away. It took 6 men to lift Brandon and get him in their vehicle. Brandon doesn't like to be moved and begins to scream out. Only this time, he was screaming, "Ouch". We weren't sure if he was hurt internally. By this point, many of us were crying because of the severity of the seizure.
We know that Brandon won't get better. He has had so many seizures that it has caused a lot of brain damage. When he begins to seize he just drops out. He has fallen through the oven door at his house, fallen through the bathroom wall, and fallen into a counter and knocked his teeth out. The doctors have told his parents that they there is nothing they can do. Brandon is not a candidate for surgery because the seizures are not coming from a part of the brain that can be operated on. The end result is a Grand Mal seizure that will kill him. Brandon is such an innocent soul and it is so hard to see him in this shape.
After spending the evening at home on Easter evening, I found out that one of my friend's had lost her husband on Saturday. He was rock climbing and fell 180 feet to his death. They had been married three years.
Life is precious. Christ died and arose for all of us. Let us not take anything for granted. We are blessed beyond measure and we often don't realize this until bad things happen. I am not sure why Brandon has these seizures or why my friend had to lose her husband. But I do know that Christ is here for all of us. As we celebrate the risen Christ let us remember that life is precious. It is a gift. Don't take it for granted.
Friday, March 21, 2008
That's not Welch's
On Thursday, at 10:40 a.m. the Campbell Divinity School family gathered together for a Maundy Thursday service. This is a time to celebrate the Last Supper which Christ served to his disciples on the night before he was crucified.
As I entered the gathering place I noticed that the pulpit and communion table were covered in purple, the liturgical color for Holy Week. The communion table was set with gold plates and centered at the front of the room.
We were led through a service of scripture reading, singing, and reflecting. We had a time of prayer and centering before communion was served.
The bread comes first, just as when Christ served the bread. We are to take, eat and always do it in remembrance of Him. When the bread came around I took my piece. It was a nice square of sandwich bread.
After the eating of the bread, we took of the cup. We were each served our little cup of juice. As my professor sat in front of me, I noticed I could basically see through his cup. When I looked around, I noticed on the back table a loaf of Food Lion sandwich bread and a bottle of juicy juice. And it hit me, someone took the cheap route for communion. While I know it should not matter what brand the communion elements are, I do think we shouldn't go cheap. Personally, I am embarrassed for the person who purchased those items.
After having this experience and reacting to the cheap bread and juice the way I did, I was told about the Jesus Movement in the late 60's and early 70's. On beaches in California persons were served communion, only the elements were potato chips and pepsi cola. Personally, I think that is a little far out, I believe that Christ set the example of this communion meal by serving bread as a symbol for his body and wine as a symbol for his blood.
Like I said, the brand of the elements should not matter, but this just hit me the wrong way. Here we are to worship and to remember the sacrifice that Christ made of his own body by dying on the cross for us. Since Christ made the sacrifice for us, why can't we spend a few extra dollars on the communion elements? When I take communion, I shouldn't find myself thinking about the cheapness of the elements. I should be remembering the significance of what Christ did on that cross 2000 years ago.
As I entered the gathering place I noticed that the pulpit and communion table were covered in purple, the liturgical color for Holy Week. The communion table was set with gold plates and centered at the front of the room.
We were led through a service of scripture reading, singing, and reflecting. We had a time of prayer and centering before communion was served.
The bread comes first, just as when Christ served the bread. We are to take, eat and always do it in remembrance of Him. When the bread came around I took my piece. It was a nice square of sandwich bread.
After the eating of the bread, we took of the cup. We were each served our little cup of juice. As my professor sat in front of me, I noticed I could basically see through his cup. When I looked around, I noticed on the back table a loaf of Food Lion sandwich bread and a bottle of juicy juice. And it hit me, someone took the cheap route for communion. While I know it should not matter what brand the communion elements are, I do think we shouldn't go cheap. Personally, I am embarrassed for the person who purchased those items.
After having this experience and reacting to the cheap bread and juice the way I did, I was told about the Jesus Movement in the late 60's and early 70's. On beaches in California persons were served communion, only the elements were potato chips and pepsi cola. Personally, I think that is a little far out, I believe that Christ set the example of this communion meal by serving bread as a symbol for his body and wine as a symbol for his blood.
Like I said, the brand of the elements should not matter, but this just hit me the wrong way. Here we are to worship and to remember the sacrifice that Christ made of his own body by dying on the cross for us. Since Christ made the sacrifice for us, why can't we spend a few extra dollars on the communion elements? When I take communion, I shouldn't find myself thinking about the cheapness of the elements. I should be remembering the significance of what Christ did on that cross 2000 years ago.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
I've hit that point...
In case you haven't noticed my absence, I've been a little busy. Well, a lot busy. Things in life have been hectic to say the least. Between school, work, family, and trying to have a life, I don't have much time for anything at all really.
As the title hints, I've hit that point. You may ask, "what point?" Well, to be honest, I've hit the point where I just don't care anymore. I really am tired of school. I am tired of tests, papers, going to class...well really anything that has to do with it. While I enjoy most of the people there I find that school would be much better for me if I could just go and hang out. Instead it takes most of my time and quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I keep telling myself I have just two more semesters and I can do this, but some days I just don't want to. I'm dreaming of the day when I am finished with all of this and I can have a real job.
Other than that, I'm doing ok. Work is keeping me busy. The internationals are my passion. I've been excited to hang out with them lately and to plan events for them. It is what I was hired to do and what I enjoy doing.
I'm really ready for May to get here. I need a break and I need it fast.
As the title hints, I've hit that point. You may ask, "what point?" Well, to be honest, I've hit the point where I just don't care anymore. I really am tired of school. I am tired of tests, papers, going to class...well really anything that has to do with it. While I enjoy most of the people there I find that school would be much better for me if I could just go and hang out. Instead it takes most of my time and quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I keep telling myself I have just two more semesters and I can do this, but some days I just don't want to. I'm dreaming of the day when I am finished with all of this and I can have a real job.
Other than that, I'm doing ok. Work is keeping me busy. The internationals are my passion. I've been excited to hang out with them lately and to plan events for them. It is what I was hired to do and what I enjoy doing.
I'm really ready for May to get here. I need a break and I need it fast.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)