Here. There. Everywhere: Weekend Readings
Author: Bobby Valentine | Filed under: Bobby's World, Books, Kingdom, Ministry, Restoration HistoryHere, There. Everywhere: Weekend Readings
Here are a collection of writings on the net that range from interesting to challenging and all points in between.
Did you read of the Pastor’s “Sex Challenge” to the married couples of his congregation. Find it here
India now joins the elite few of nations that have landed on the moon (here)
OPEC thinks oil is getting to cheap (here)
N. T. Wright’s speech “Paul’s Gospel and Caesar’s Empire” bristles with insight into numerous Pauline texts (here) Maybe the gospel is political after all …
Walter Brueggemann’s essay “A Biblical Perspective on the Problem of Hunger” is stimulating too (here)
Clark Gilpin has authored a thoughtful essay on the past and future of the Churches of Christ in “Common Roots, Divergent Paths: The Disciples and Churches of Christ” (here). Can we learn anything about ourselves from a Disciple?? Do we have ears to hear??
Its Friday. Enjoy it.
Shalom,
Bobby V
November 15th, 2008 at 1:25 am
So you’ve heard too. My wife mentioned Ed Young’s (he’s the Jr.) little sex challenge the other night ironically while she was lying in bed (it had been on the local news). Their main campus is just a few miles from us. We’ve never attended there, but we often drive by it and have to endure the traffic jam it produces.
7 days, is that really a challenge???? 🙂
I work closely with a lot of Indians and am really shocked that I hadn’t heard that India had landed on the moon until now…
thanks for the updates!
Have a great weekend and thanks for all you write.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Why does a fixation on sex become valid when Christians do it (so to speak)?
Thanks for the links, Bobby.
November 15th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Looked at the 7-day article… at the end there was mention of another pastor who had issued a 30-day challenge. Um, hello, did he not consider that non-menopausal, non-pregnant women might have a reason to abstain for 5-7 days of that month? Sounds like he didn’t think that one through.
Unfortunately, I think even the 7-day challenge could backfire on just the wrong couples. When you’re already frequent fliers, a 7 day “challenge” is mere preaching to the choir; for some who have simply let life get in the way, a 7-day goal could be a fun, do-able way of giving priority back to their marriage; but for those whose physical, emotional or life situations are such that physical intimacy has become strained, such a challenge could be a wedge that drives them further apart, reinforcing frustration, resentment and feelings of isolation for one or both members of the couple. Which is sad, because, given time for healing, patience and privacy to work things through, these folks can surprise even themselves with the increase in their mileage.
It is typical, though, in our sex-obsessed society, that pastors think they have to get in on the act, too. No pun intended.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Thanks for the links.
November 16th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
In light of the comments so far, it is interesting that the only link with a comment is the first (well Russ commented on India too).
For the “pastor”, I think it would be interesting to see how he develops his challenge before I get to hard on him. Jeanne has a good point too though. There are good reasons for “taking a break” (and some of us are simply not married so it does not apply to us at all).
Bobby V
November 18th, 2008 at 4:23 am
I think I’m gonna join Ed Young’s church 😉
Just kidding. Jeanne’s comment is extremely wise. Especially the second paragraph.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Great post and links. The sex challenge cracked me up, but I also think it’s a good discussion for Christians to engage in.
I enjoyed the Wright article very much!
Hope you are doing well!
November 18th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
P.S. Jeanne, your use of the word “fequent fliers” was priceless!