For many of us here at Broadus, Bob Harllee was one of our favorite people. Bob died suddenly last January. After his death, NPR ran an interview between him and his daughter Carol. The interview is part of the StoryCorps project. I heard a StoryCorps interview the other day and it reminded me of Bob.

Even if you didn't know him, this is worth a listen. Bob Harllee on StoryCorps.

How Sweet it Was

Well, regarding my ralma mater's run to the final four, it ended a little short.  But it was fun while it lasted.  Time for football season.

 

Actually it's Easter Season.  Actually, it's still Lenten season.  It's still the time of the year to spiritually clean house and prepare for Easter.  I'm so glad our church takes Lent seriously and uses the time to focus on the meaning of the life of Jesus and what led to his crucifixion.  It's too easy to just wake up and find that it's Easter morning, but as I've said before, you can't really experience Easter without experiencing Good Friday.  And you can't really get Good Friday unless you've travelled through Lent.  And while Lent is maybe not the most fun experience much of the time, Easter is so wonderful, it's worth the journey. 

 

Jesus thought so.  He thought Resurrection was worth Crucifixion.  He thought Salvation was worth it too.  Aren't we thankful.  I'm blown away when I really stop and think about it.

 

How Sweet it is

Probably anyone who knows me for very long knows that I'm a big Texas A&M fan.  Having lived on the east coast now for over 10 years, I have had the joy of experiencing how being a fan of a team on the other side of this great land of ours has gotten easier.  I remember going to someone else's house in 1996 to watch the one football game that was beamed from College Station to some satellite to their humongous satellite dish in the backyard.  

 

Fortunately three things have changed since then.  One is that those big ol' dishes are just relics now replaced by little tiny dishes on rooftops.  Second, those little dishes bring me my football team at least seven if not more times per year right to my little 'ol tv.  And third, Aggie football isn't the only game being played in College Station anymore.

 

The Aggies are in the Sweet 16.  Unbelievable.  I distinctly remember sitting in the stands through some really bad seasons, where we were hoping beyond hope to go .500 for the year.  So this is a fun ride.  No telling how long it will go, maybe just until Thursday night.  But it's been fun no matter what happens.  And maybe, just maybe, it will rub off on our football team this fall.  And that would be especially sweet!

Congratulations to the Hodges!

 

Congratulations to Dana and Danny Hodges on the birth of their son Joshua yesterday.  He was born at 3:30 pm a weighs 7 lbs 15 oz.  I don't have a picture to post, but maybe they'll send one out and I'll get it up as soon as I can. 

The Farthest Shore

In about 1992, I was introduced to the music of David Wilcox, a singer-songwriter from North Carolina. I loved his music the first time I heard it and haven't stopped being a fan since then. But it's really more than being a fan for me. I really, get this, worship through this music. It makes me a better person. He's not a "Christian" singer, but his music is dripping with Christian themes. He's like U2 in the way he bridges the gaps between the secular and sacred. With both of them, but particularly with David, it's the way the gaps just disappear.

We've seen David in concert twice now, once at Wolftrap in Northern Virginia and once at the Gravity Lounge in Charlottesville. Both were great experiences. It's from one of David's best songs that generated the title of my blog.

Farthest Shore

from the album Big Horizon

We were there in the woods by the water
We left our packs up against that willow tree
We dove right in, keeping just what we were born with
Our Memories, Knowledge and Dreams

As I swam away from our possessions
I imagined that they were gone forever more
And for once I was glad that all I treasured
Would still be with me as I reached other shore.

So...Let me dive into the water,
Leave behind all that I've worked for
Except what I remember and believe
and when I stand on the farthest shore
I will have all I need

After the blaze burned our cabin down to ashes
Where we'd slept warm, now the sky lets in the rain
I found the strings, frets and rusted latches
But I will never hear that old guitar again
These four walls are only in my memory
Where these stone steps rise to nothing in the air
So one last look and I'm headed for the river
To wash my hands and try to say this prayer

So...Let me dive into the water,
Leave behind all that I've worked for
Except what I remember and believe
and when I stand on the farthest shore
I will have all I need

When my time to live this life is over
I'll tip my hat when I think about that swim
And of all the things that make a life worth living
That only come to those who dive right in

So...Let me dive into the water,
Leave behind all that I've worked for
Except what I remember and believe
and when I stand on the farthest shore
I will have all I need

All I need.....
Let me dive into the water...
It's all I need....


That's what I'm trying to do here and in my life generally . . .to find what is essential to life and focus on those things and have the courage and faith to dive in. The farthest shore is also about looking out to the horizon to see what's out there. Sometimes you see the farthest shore and sometimes you can't see it at all. The horizon is just a distant dream.

Well, that's what I'm hoping this conversation is all about. Searching and dreaming of what can be and taking the plunge.

What's Up with the Jesus Tomb?

On Sunday, March 4, the Discovery Channel will air a show describing how archaelogists have discovered the tomb of Jesus and his family, including Mary Magdalene and 'their son Judah'. You can see http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/tomb/tomb.html?dcitc=w99-502-ah-1024 to check out the background on the story and information about the tomb that was unearthed outside Jerusalem. The tomb was orignally unearthed in 1980 but information on the ossuaries in the tomb are just now coming to light thanks to Academy Award Winner James Cameron,

This should be pretty interesting. I mean, is it true? Could it be that the remains of Jesus and his family were actually found? And what does it mean? I suspect most of the press would point immediately to the juicy implication that maybe Jesus and Mary Magdalene actually had a tryst (a la Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code). That's sort of the Entertainment Tonight angle on the story. But when you get past that, you get to the only real point. Are the remains of Jesus in a box in a tomb outside of Jerusalem? If so, um Houston, we have a problem. It's a problem that Paul anticipated in his letter to the Corinthian Christians, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ . . .If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."

The ultimate problem is not that all of Christian testimony will be undermined, but the implications of that undermining for you and me. The problem is not that I'm out of a job. The problem is that I'm still in my sins--sins that by the grace of God in the death and resurrection of Christ, I trust are forgiven. And so are you.

Well, I suggest you not get too excited or upset just yet. These kinds of archaeological finds are fascinating, but rarely prove or disprove the Bible (cf Shroud of Turin, James ossuary, Noah's Ark, etc.). It always has been, and probably always will be a question of faith. What do you believe and what are you willing to stake your life on to such an extent that if you are wrong, you should be pitied for giving your life to the cause? For me, it's Christ.

Congratulations to Matty and Daphne

Meet Mirabelle Luna . . .

Getting Connected

A story ran yesterday online about a man on Long Island who was found dead sitting in front of his blaring tv. He had been there over a year . . .and no one noticed that he was gone. Not his neighbors, no friends, no church community. Not even the electric company bothered to turn off his power. He was only found when police entered his home on reports of a broken water line. He was totally unconnected to other people.

In church life sometimes we think of people in two categories: insiders and outsiders, aka 'members' and 'non-members'. That's useful language. There's something about joining a church that is a special moment of commitment. It signifies identification with the congregation and a commitment to share in the ministry and mission of the congregation in the community. I'm not down on church membership.

However, a good question is whether 'church membership' is really the dividing point between people? Well, of course it's a dividing point. The question is, should it be? Is joining a church and becoming a member the best way to represent the kingdom of God? Is it the best representation of what happened in Jesus' day?

When I think of church membership, I think of an organization, an institution to which I contribute and from which I expect to receive, and in relationship to, I have rights. None of that really feels like the kind of stuff Jesus did. He was interested in relationships. And, thus, people were members of the Jesus movement, they were related to him, connected to him, and one another by the common journey they shared.








You can play with this chart to get a sense of the extreme interconnectedness of people in the Bible. This feels more like the kind of church relationships I have experienced rather than whether I was a member or not.

Check it out. Enjoy.

What is our Mission?

The visioning team met Monday night to consider the question ‘What is our mission?’ and to consider the challenges and opportunities facing us. In the absence of a formal mission statement for the church, we have written this one as a descriptor of who Broadus is today:

“Broadus is a Christ-centered community of faith committed to warm-hearted fellowship, thoughtful inquiry and discipleship, and ministry in the name of Christ. We strive to support each other as together we celebrate our new life in Christ and share this life with others."

We do not meant to suggest that this is the mission statement for the church as we go forward, but it’s our starting place. It’s intended to be descriptive rather than proscriptive. So, as we move through the rest of the process this statement will be revisited, but for now we think it’s a pretty encouraging and biblical description of what a church should be about and what we think Broadus is about. . . .I will be away next week visiting my folks in Texas. Elizabeth Bartley will lead the Wednesday Bible Study and I will be back in worship by the next Sunday.

Worst church sign ever?

How's this for a welcome to church?

Thanks to www.myfourwalls.net for this . . .if 'thanks' is the right word.