TLG

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky."

- Frederick Lehman, 1917

Willow

This is a very interesting article regarding some statements put out by Willow Creek Church, arguably the most influential evangelical church in America for the last couple of decades - for better or for worse. There is little debate regarding the influence of a place like Willow Creek over America's evangelical congregations, the question that is debated is whether or not such influence is a positive one. Willow Creek is preaching the Gospel, don't hear me wrong, its just Willow Creek pioneered and perfected the ultra-programmed, megachurch phenomenon that is finally beginning to be reexamined and this article brings some interesting insight into such a conversation....



http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2007/10/willow_creek_re.html

Drink Up!

There's a great little book worth your time entitled, "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage. In a very original motif Standage traces the ebb and flow of human history by identifying 6 signature beverages that, as he sets out to prove, define one of the major epochs of our history - from Stone Age to Present.

This is a very unique idea and it got me thinking how in a microcosm kinda way the same principle applies to daily life. Now I am by no means comparing my inconqsequential daily life to the epochs of historical progress but, most of us throughout the day are accompanied by a beverage that encapsulates what time of the day it is and what we are trying to accomplish.

For me I begin every morning of every day with that steaming cup of coffee - the aromatic lifeblood for us nightowls who curse the daylight when it seemingly arrives earlier every morning.

Catch me at midday and you'll find some sort of carbonated beverage packed with the fuel of the working class - high fructose corn syrup and caffeiene.

It is the evenings, after work, that are accompanied by formented friends - wine or beer - to bid adue to the day and greet the coming night.

And through it all, redeeming our daily grinds and forty hour weeks, are those special occassions. Those uncompartmentalized moments where real, actual, soak-it-up, LIFE happens...

curled up in a leather chair, sipping on a warm mug, as the rain fogs up the glass of your favorite coffee shop...

a day's labor coming to an end, atop the tailgate of that beatup truck, reaching for that icy brew...

dinner with that someone, on a white linen table, accented by the pale yellow glow of moonlight and the sparkle of pinot...

And on and on it goes...from study sessions at Starbucks to toasts at weddings from wine in moderation at dinner to beer cans strapped to helmets at stadiums...Life is documented through the beverages we find clutched in our hands.

There is this fascinating remark by Jesus at the end of the Last Supper,

"...I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom..."

Won't that be a glorious day? As the final redemption occurs, our Savior breaking his fast from wine to welcome the fulness of his Bride, and us standing in our glorified bodies at that Great Wedding Feast, arm in arm with Christ - a chalice in his nail-scarred hand and a chalice in yours and mine.