That Sunday John Witvliet Professor at Calvin College and Calvin Seminary preached at our church on the Psalms in anticipation of the seminar on Saturday the 13th which Granite Springs was hosting.
On Monday I went and sat in on the deacons meeting. I had never actually been interested in sitting in on a deacons meeting since they deal with things like church finances and such but I said that I'd come to this one since Doug suggested I go and sit in (I had always been interested in sitting in on an elders meeting since they deal with stuff like spiritual guidance). So I did and found it very interesting, or at least a part of it. They were talking about finding new deacons. I had read I Timothy 3:8-10 in preparation and came prepared to as the Pastor staff about the Biblical mandate for "testing" deacons since I had never before seen that put into practice nor had I been struck by the need for testing before. I was pleasantly surprised to find the conversation go toward making people "apprentice deacons" before making them full time deacons which fits in well with the idea of testing. It seemed that their desire to implement this strategy came from their experience with finding new deacons in the past instead of strict attention to Biblical detail. Which only goes to show that the Bible can make so much of our lives easier if we pay attention to it.
For this Tuesday we listened to the second part Tim Keller's teaching on the "Missional Church." I recommend it to anyone who wonders what the church ought to be doing when it comes to evangelism. The main thing it has to say is be hospitable, and it explains how to do that. It has 7 ways of being hospitable that churches normally don't see. The biggest point he talks about is to talk as if your unbelieving neighbors are already present. Don't gloss over major theological points like "Jesus died to appease the wrath of God" without at the very least commenting on how absurd it sounds to that unbeliever. Avoid tribal language, us against them talk, especially when you are talking about a different church or denomination. Don't talk as if you're overly pious since that can scare people away since they don't know how to talk like that. There is a lot more and I couldn't do it full justice in a short summary. Go listen to it yourself. For those of you who will be at Calvin next year I have a copy I can let you borrow.
The bulk of the rest of my week was spent making the final preparations for the Farmers Market booth and then actually doing it. The Farmers Market started on Thursday June 11 and will go ever Thursday until the end of August. I thought the first time went well, though I have no point of reference. The purpose of the farmers market was to invite people to the church. Either through the front door or through a side door (like Music and Drama Camp or the exercise ministry we host). I had several families who were very interested in the Music and Drama camp. I handed out some balloons to kids and some even stopped by and made a necklace or bracelet from the string and beads I brought along. I was also able to help another booth tear down and give out water to thirsty people. In other words, show the Love of Christ in actions. I have some things to rearrange and re-plan for next time (and maybe get some volunteers) but over all I think it went well. Oh I almost forgot, while at the Farmers Market I received a question from a concerned member of the congregation concerning the translation of the TNIV. I promised the person I would look over his concerns and get back to him. I am a thrilled and a little surprised that I will get a chance not only to practice academics but greek as well outside of Academia. Though I would appreciate prayers as the results of my research will have much more of an impact than just some grade on a paper.
On Friday, my day out of the office. I went down to see my relatives in Escalon. I have not been down there since my senior year of High school. At least 4 years. It was good to see all of them again and catch up on what has been going on in recent years. The nearly 2 hour drive each way was not very restful but I was still glad I took my day off to go down and see them. Oh an we had Tri-tip again. :p
Saturday was the day of the Worship and the Psalms Seminar with John and Charlotte Witvliet. It was nice to be a student, again as strange as that sounds, and to understand another way of looking at worship. Worship as formative was the theme for the day. Using worship to move people through the steps of prayer (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication etc.) and using the psalms as templates for that since many move from anger or bewilderment to patient watchfulness. I agreed with John on this topic. I think that worship should not only be a time for us to praise God but to move us to a better relationship with him.
The week ended with me reciting Psalm 122 for the call to worship on Sunday the 14th. It went well and people seemed to be impressed with it even though it wasn't really anything big. One lady even said she thought I looked like a Jewish person when I was reciting it (she said the beard helped :) but I'm just glad God used it to grab people.
Ah. Now I'm all caught up. Thanks for your comments and prayers.
Godspeed.
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