Here's the sermon. By clicking on this link and reading this sermon you agree NOT to use this against me should I ever need to interview for the pastorate of another Baptist church. :) My understanding and beliefs about Baptism have not changed since coming as pastor of the International Church of Bangkok.
Here are a few thoughts from this past Sunday.
(1) the morning service was incredibly complicated. I did leave some things out, but (in the end) I think it all went pretty wonderfully. Out of the ordinary stuff... Den played guitar (without rehearsal) on many of the hymns.... Introduced Amy and Den as new Pastoral Assistants... Welcomed new members: Ramon, Matthew, Wewe, Ethan, Elizabeth, Tim, Amy, Ella and Ariele... Baptized Makeeda Nova AND presented a Rosary... AND we had Communion.
(2) We presented the Rosary in the spirit of it being a liturgical aide to prayer. As Protestants we don't encourage prayer to or through Jesus' mother Mary. But we do love prayer. And we pray that the rosary will help Andrew and Sasha teach Makeeda the habit of prayer and the joy of communion with God in prayer.
(3) I did say that I would have never accepted the job as pastor of the International Church if I could have looked into the future and seen myself playing a country/western pop song in a church service!
(4) I believe one of the real joys of being part of an international, multi-denominational Christian church is not having the luxury of being sectarian. We constantly have to make choices about what is central and what is not. That's why I love Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul is so clear about what is most central to our faith.
(5) Really appreciate all the Sunday school teachers making Tracy and Amy feel so at home. I think they are both going to do great at managing/leading our Sunday school program.
(6) Loved our Evening Worship last night!!! By the time the service was mid-way through it was standing room only in the back... SERIOUSLY! This is an item for prayer - Lots of new people that need to make friends and connections!
(7) Sam did a phenomenal job (again) leading worship. He's really gifted and talented.
That's enough for now. It is 5am after all and I probably need a little more sleep before the day hits me. No Superbowl for me this morning. I'm gonna get some administration done.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Jesus and Marx shared the same worry about religion?
Here's a link to the sermon. The stuff about Marx and Jesus is at the end.
Here are some highlights from yesterday.
(1) Before church I was chatting with someone whose office was near some political disturbance on Friday. While I was asking about it, she said, "let's not worry about that right now. Today we are focused on..." We were in church, right? I was sure she was going to say, "Today we are focused on God." Instead, she said "Today we are focused on Roger." What? :) Big Roger Federer fans. Then she connected the whole thing to God by saying she would pray for Roger.
To that I replied "I'll have to pray for Andy for the sake of balance."
To which her husband replied, "The Church of England has that covered. Let's stick with Roger." :)
Hilarious. The tennis theme continued throughout the day. We had a church leadership meeting from noon until 4pm. The final started at 3:30pm. So people were a little anxious to get finished early (which we did). I couldn't go home and watch the match though. Too far and not enough time before the evening worship. So I went straight from the church council meeting into a pub to watch. (Is it wrong to go straight from a church meeting to a pub? Some of my members suggested it much have been one heck of a meeting to drive the pastor to the pub.) Don't worry. I didn't order a beer. I ordered a CocaCola. :) (Read the sermon to understand the joke!)
Then I had to sit and watch tennis with a drunk brit who was telling his companion about his sexual conquests noting sensitively that one girl was a little shy when his MOM was visiting from England! Come on! I was just dying to introduce myself as Rev. Perry! :)
But the tennis story doesn't stop there. The match finished at about 6:29pm. Our worship starts at 6:30pm. So I wasn't sure who won. Last score I'd seen was like 5 all in the tiebreaker. So our worship leader/ song leader asked when we started worship. Two guys in the back knew that Roger won the tiebreak. We all cheered. I found out AFTER the service that the two guys who knew the score were British. :)
It's all in a day's work.
(2) Really enjoyed all aspects of church today. I thought we'd have a bit of a let down after a big and important Sunday last week. Not so. Intl Church people are awesome and stepped up!
(3) I did say that sometimes I think 7-11 is a creation of the devil specifically designed to make me less healthy! I know it's not true, but it sure feels like it sometimes!
(4) I also said that I believe Jesus had the same concern as Marx about religion people. Religion can lead people to be satisfied with how things are; rather than passionate about how things could be. Marx used the term "opiate" to describe the affects of religion on a populous. It doesn't have to be. Religion (at least Christianity - it's the one I know best) can and does lead to revolutionary change and tenacity for justice and goodness. Christianity can only be an opiate if misunderstood. I think that is Jesus' point in Luke 18:8b.
In making the comparison with Marx, only one person accused me of calling Jesus a communist. (And from him it was probably less accusation than compliment!)
(5) The fact is that when we (Christians) get used to injustice and accept it as "just the way things are" we betray an incredible lack of faith. It must make Jesus pretty sad given all he gave up so that we'd be free to pursue justice, beauty, goodness, righteousness and love.
Five is enough for today.
Here are some highlights from yesterday.
(1) Before church I was chatting with someone whose office was near some political disturbance on Friday. While I was asking about it, she said, "let's not worry about that right now. Today we are focused on..." We were in church, right? I was sure she was going to say, "Today we are focused on God." Instead, she said "Today we are focused on Roger." What? :) Big Roger Federer fans. Then she connected the whole thing to God by saying she would pray for Roger.
To that I replied "I'll have to pray for Andy for the sake of balance."
To which her husband replied, "The Church of England has that covered. Let's stick with Roger." :)
Hilarious. The tennis theme continued throughout the day. We had a church leadership meeting from noon until 4pm. The final started at 3:30pm. So people were a little anxious to get finished early (which we did). I couldn't go home and watch the match though. Too far and not enough time before the evening worship. So I went straight from the church council meeting into a pub to watch. (Is it wrong to go straight from a church meeting to a pub? Some of my members suggested it much have been one heck of a meeting to drive the pastor to the pub.) Don't worry. I didn't order a beer. I ordered a CocaCola. :) (Read the sermon to understand the joke!)
Then I had to sit and watch tennis with a drunk brit who was telling his companion about his sexual conquests noting sensitively that one girl was a little shy when his MOM was visiting from England! Come on! I was just dying to introduce myself as Rev. Perry! :)
But the tennis story doesn't stop there. The match finished at about 6:29pm. Our worship starts at 6:30pm. So I wasn't sure who won. Last score I'd seen was like 5 all in the tiebreaker. So our worship leader/ song leader asked when we started worship. Two guys in the back knew that Roger won the tiebreak. We all cheered. I found out AFTER the service that the two guys who knew the score were British. :)
It's all in a day's work.
(2) Really enjoyed all aspects of church today. I thought we'd have a bit of a let down after a big and important Sunday last week. Not so. Intl Church people are awesome and stepped up!
(3) I did say that sometimes I think 7-11 is a creation of the devil specifically designed to make me less healthy! I know it's not true, but it sure feels like it sometimes!
(4) I also said that I believe Jesus had the same concern as Marx about religion people. Religion can lead people to be satisfied with how things are; rather than passionate about how things could be. Marx used the term "opiate" to describe the affects of religion on a populous. It doesn't have to be. Religion (at least Christianity - it's the one I know best) can and does lead to revolutionary change and tenacity for justice and goodness. Christianity can only be an opiate if misunderstood. I think that is Jesus' point in Luke 18:8b.
In making the comparison with Marx, only one person accused me of calling Jesus a communist. (And from him it was probably less accusation than compliment!)
(5) The fact is that when we (Christians) get used to injustice and accept it as "just the way things are" we betray an incredible lack of faith. It must make Jesus pretty sad given all he gave up so that we'd be free to pursue justice, beauty, goodness, righteousness and love.
Five is enough for today.
Monday, January 25, 2010
How God is NOT like a coach I had once
A link to Sunday's sermon is here.
Yesterday (Sunday) was very interesting. Fun and irritating at the same time. Here's the skinny. Yesterday was the annual meeting of the church. The agenda consisted of (1) reports from various leadership committees (2) a proposed budget for 2010 (3) proposed church leaders for 2010 and (4) my contract renewal (the elephant in the room from my perspective).
Entering - I think we all knew that there were no problems. But I have to say that after having served a church for almost six years, it sure doesn't feel good to have your congregation and your friends have to vote on whether to extend your job as their pastor. It was handled about as decently as possible... and still as I left the room I just felt empty. And frankly when I got the call that just as we expected everyone was very supportive of the renewal - I still felt empty.
I'm thrilled to continue pastoring ICB. I still feel called here. I just don't fundamentally like the idea of having to vote on these things in this way. I don't have a better system in mind either.
Now onto the good stuff.
(1) It was great to see some folks I haven't seen in awhile Sunday. Welcome back.
(2) It was sad to say goodbye to Peter and BeeLian. But I think we'll see them again.
(3) The choir was bang up on Sunday morning. Thanks. And we mixed in a little Sunday evening music in the morning service too. I think the real divide in Christianity at the moment is not denominational or even theological. It is between those who know the "contemporary" repertoire of songs and those who are hymn people. :) I'm glad to be in a church where we have both types, we get along, and we get out of each other's way. :)
(4) I did say that a lot of what I learned in Sunday school had little to do with what Jesus was really about. (No offense to my Sunday school teachers when I was a kid. They were great.)
(5) I preached a bit about entrepreneurial faith. As part of the sermon I did say that God loves us and trusts us so much that sometimes from where I sit it appears naive! And that's true. And I thank God for that!
(6) If our faith leads us to a comfortable acceptance of the status quo rather than a passion for the kingdom of God then we've missed something 'cause "status quo" was NOT what Jesus was about.
(7) I also said I wished there had been a fourth guy in the parable (Matt 25:14-30) who was entrusted with the master's money, invested it and lost everything. I'd love to know how the parable treats THAT servant. I think it would go "The master looked at his pitiful servant and said, "I know it didn't work out this time. I love your spirit. Let's work together so you can be more effective. Now here's some more start up capital."
(8) You SHOULD read the passages surrounding Matt 25:14-30 AFTER reading the sermon and think about them with the same themes in mind. The emphasis on taking initiative, taking risk and being entrepreneurial is undeniable!
(9) It was great to chat with so many wonderful new people after the service in the evening... some of whom I think are a great fit for ICB and have probably found a church home for themselves. Praying they'll all come back and we can learn the ways of Jesus together.
(10) I was NOT happy to talk to 3 people after the worship service who complimented me and thanked me for the preaching of God's word and said that the Holy Spirit spoke to them during the sermon calling them to consider moving to another city. DANG IT! There were some of my favorite friends in that trio!
Eight was enough. Ten is more than enough for now. I will say I heard a wonderful testimony today over lunch. I Asked him to write it down. Will publish when I get a chance and permission. How a Pakistani Sikh/Hindu/New Age/Atheist became a Christian? It's awesome inspiring.
Opps almost forgot. The thing about the coach is in the sermon.
Grace and peace.
Yesterday (Sunday) was very interesting. Fun and irritating at the same time. Here's the skinny. Yesterday was the annual meeting of the church. The agenda consisted of (1) reports from various leadership committees (2) a proposed budget for 2010 (3) proposed church leaders for 2010 and (4) my contract renewal (the elephant in the room from my perspective).
Entering - I think we all knew that there were no problems. But I have to say that after having served a church for almost six years, it sure doesn't feel good to have your congregation and your friends have to vote on whether to extend your job as their pastor. It was handled about as decently as possible... and still as I left the room I just felt empty. And frankly when I got the call that just as we expected everyone was very supportive of the renewal - I still felt empty.
I'm thrilled to continue pastoring ICB. I still feel called here. I just don't fundamentally like the idea of having to vote on these things in this way. I don't have a better system in mind either.
Now onto the good stuff.
(1) It was great to see some folks I haven't seen in awhile Sunday. Welcome back.
(2) It was sad to say goodbye to Peter and BeeLian. But I think we'll see them again.
(3) The choir was bang up on Sunday morning. Thanks. And we mixed in a little Sunday evening music in the morning service too. I think the real divide in Christianity at the moment is not denominational or even theological. It is between those who know the "contemporary" repertoire of songs and those who are hymn people. :) I'm glad to be in a church where we have both types, we get along, and we get out of each other's way. :)
(4) I did say that a lot of what I learned in Sunday school had little to do with what Jesus was really about. (No offense to my Sunday school teachers when I was a kid. They were great.)
(5) I preached a bit about entrepreneurial faith. As part of the sermon I did say that God loves us and trusts us so much that sometimes from where I sit it appears naive! And that's true. And I thank God for that!
(6) If our faith leads us to a comfortable acceptance of the status quo rather than a passion for the kingdom of God then we've missed something 'cause "status quo" was NOT what Jesus was about.
(7) I also said I wished there had been a fourth guy in the parable (Matt 25:14-30) who was entrusted with the master's money, invested it and lost everything. I'd love to know how the parable treats THAT servant. I think it would go "The master looked at his pitiful servant and said, "I know it didn't work out this time. I love your spirit. Let's work together so you can be more effective. Now here's some more start up capital."
(8) You SHOULD read the passages surrounding Matt 25:14-30 AFTER reading the sermon and think about them with the same themes in mind. The emphasis on taking initiative, taking risk and being entrepreneurial is undeniable!
(9) It was great to chat with so many wonderful new people after the service in the evening... some of whom I think are a great fit for ICB and have probably found a church home for themselves. Praying they'll all come back and we can learn the ways of Jesus together.
(10) I was NOT happy to talk to 3 people after the worship service who complimented me and thanked me for the preaching of God's word and said that the Holy Spirit spoke to them during the sermon calling them to consider moving to another city. DANG IT! There were some of my favorite friends in that trio!
Eight was enough. Ten is more than enough for now. I will say I heard a wonderful testimony today over lunch. I Asked him to write it down. Will publish when I get a chance and permission. How a Pakistani Sikh/Hindu/New Age/Atheist became a Christian? It's awesome inspiring.
Opps almost forgot. The thing about the coach is in the sermon.
Grace and peace.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Why would Apostle Paul have been on a "no fly" list?
Here's the link to Sunday's sermon where I compare the Apostle Paul to the would be underwear bomber of Christmas Day 2009.
Here are some thoughts about Sunday.
(1) The day started out with a minor frustration. We drive down Silom road to get to church. When we went to turn onto it, their was a gate blocking off the street. But the taxis were going around, so we did too. Mistake. They were setting up for a big street fair and it took us about 15 minutes to get through. I was more worried about other people coming later to church who would be running 10 minutes late already. Then hit the street fair, be delayed another 15 minutes, thus showing up 30 minutes late for a 1 hr worship service (or just deciding to stay at the fair realizing they'd already missed most of worship!).
(2) Then it was FREEZING in church. I don't have access to the temperature controls. And almost every time I've tried to get something changed (I think there are only three settings high, higher and highest) something has gone terribly wrong. So I decided the whole congregation would just have to tough it out.
(3) I was informed 10 minutes before worship that the College has decided to turn the room we use for a nursery into an archives room. Therefore starting next week, they will break their end of the contract and we'll have to choose a new room for the nursery. Not that big a deal really. Just a minor challenge.
(4) I mention the above three things just to let you know some of the things that can distract a pastor from the main thing right before worship starts. (There were other issues too, but too minor to mention.)
(5) Despite #1,2 and 3. I entered worship pretty worshipful. And so did the congregation. There was a nice "spirit" in the air yesterday morning.
(6) The choir was back. That was great. We'd missed them. Do any other English speaking churches in Bangkok still have a weekly choir? I don't think so....
(7) In the evening - the street fair really messed us up. A few folks phoned to say they turned around and went home. Fortunately I took my motorbike - with computer, projector, bible, and candles. It was quite a load, but saved me 30 minutes stuck in traffic!
(8) It was Sam's first time leading singing in the evening. He was great. Great I tell you. The man has a gift. Den also led and Beatrice too. God has really blessed us with wonderful talents in the evening. For such a small worship community, we've got it going on musically most nights.
(9) Despite the low turnout of regulars in the evening - we had pretty good attendance overall - with a good number of local visitors. Yeah!
(10) And there was GREAT energy in the service.
(11) Yes, I did say that the Apostle Paul were he alive today would have been on everyone's "No fly list". Why? Because before he became a Christian he was a religious zealot terrorist. (see Acts 9 and Galatians 1)
(12) When Paul looked back on his life he was SURPRISED that God choose to use him. He didn't think he was worthy considering his background. (1 Tim 1:12-14)
(13) Paul thought God chose to use him to do amazing things SO THAT you and I would have NO EXCUSE. (1 Tim 1:15-16) Imagine the conversation with God. "But God, I can't share my faith, I don't know enough about the Bible." God replies, "But Paul was a blasphemer." (1 Tim 1:13) You say, "But God, I've got a pretty rough history. I've done some bad stuff." God replies, "But Paul was a terrorist. A violent man." (1 Tim 1:13) You say, "But God I don't have time. I'm very busy with work." God says, "I helped Paul change jobs." (Acts 9:1-9) You say, "But God, I have doubts. I'm not sure if I even believe this stuff." God says, "Paul didn't believe. I convinced him." (Acts 9:1-9)
Grace and peace.
Here are some thoughts about Sunday.
(1) The day started out with a minor frustration. We drive down Silom road to get to church. When we went to turn onto it, their was a gate blocking off the street. But the taxis were going around, so we did too. Mistake. They were setting up for a big street fair and it took us about 15 minutes to get through. I was more worried about other people coming later to church who would be running 10 minutes late already. Then hit the street fair, be delayed another 15 minutes, thus showing up 30 minutes late for a 1 hr worship service (or just deciding to stay at the fair realizing they'd already missed most of worship!).
(2) Then it was FREEZING in church. I don't have access to the temperature controls. And almost every time I've tried to get something changed (I think there are only three settings high, higher and highest) something has gone terribly wrong. So I decided the whole congregation would just have to tough it out.
(3) I was informed 10 minutes before worship that the College has decided to turn the room we use for a nursery into an archives room. Therefore starting next week, they will break their end of the contract and we'll have to choose a new room for the nursery. Not that big a deal really. Just a minor challenge.
(4) I mention the above three things just to let you know some of the things that can distract a pastor from the main thing right before worship starts. (There were other issues too, but too minor to mention.)
(5) Despite #1,2 and 3. I entered worship pretty worshipful. And so did the congregation. There was a nice "spirit" in the air yesterday morning.
(6) The choir was back. That was great. We'd missed them. Do any other English speaking churches in Bangkok still have a weekly choir? I don't think so....
(7) In the evening - the street fair really messed us up. A few folks phoned to say they turned around and went home. Fortunately I took my motorbike - with computer, projector, bible, and candles. It was quite a load, but saved me 30 minutes stuck in traffic!
(8) It was Sam's first time leading singing in the evening. He was great. Great I tell you. The man has a gift. Den also led and Beatrice too. God has really blessed us with wonderful talents in the evening. For such a small worship community, we've got it going on musically most nights.
(9) Despite the low turnout of regulars in the evening - we had pretty good attendance overall - with a good number of local visitors. Yeah!
(10) And there was GREAT energy in the service.
(11) Yes, I did say that the Apostle Paul were he alive today would have been on everyone's "No fly list". Why? Because before he became a Christian he was a religious zealot terrorist. (see Acts 9 and Galatians 1)
(12) When Paul looked back on his life he was SURPRISED that God choose to use him. He didn't think he was worthy considering his background. (1 Tim 1:12-14)
(13) Paul thought God chose to use him to do amazing things SO THAT you and I would have NO EXCUSE. (1 Tim 1:15-16) Imagine the conversation with God. "But God, I can't share my faith, I don't know enough about the Bible." God replies, "But Paul was a blasphemer." (1 Tim 1:13) You say, "But God, I've got a pretty rough history. I've done some bad stuff." God replies, "But Paul was a terrorist. A violent man." (1 Tim 1:13) You say, "But God I don't have time. I'm very busy with work." God says, "I helped Paul change jobs." (Acts 9:1-9) You say, "But God, I have doubts. I'm not sure if I even believe this stuff." God says, "Paul didn't believe. I convinced him." (Acts 9:1-9)
Grace and peace.
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