Archives for June 2010
Oh, so funny—Bob Newhart cracks Dean Martin Up
Best part of the clip…….he speaks about Iowa. And Cheese Dip.
John Adams and the importance of books and writing
Excellent writing on the importance and value of reading and writing, based off of thoughts in David McCullough’s biogarphy of John Adams.
Reading and Writing with John Adams
I want to see my children every day. I want to see my grass and blossoms and corn … But above all, except the wife and children, I want to see my books.
As with Adams, my books are among my greatest pleasure and when I find I do not have time to read, I miss it a lot. There is pleasure to be found both in the books and in the experience of reading them. A day without a book is just not quite the same as a day with at least an hour or two spent reading.
Adams also said this about the way he did his best thinking:
The only way to compose myself and collect my thoughts is to set down at my table, place my diary before me, and take my pen into my hand. This apparatus takes off my attention from other objects. Pen, ink, and paper and a sitting posture are great helps to attention and thinking.
I, too, find that I can get very little thinking done, and cannot hold my attention for long, if I do not do my thinking with the assistance of pen, ink and paper (or the digital equivalent—a word processor and a keyboard). I love reading, I love writing and, like Adams, I love words. So I suppose one of the reasons I enjoy reading about Adams is that I feel a real affinity with him on that level
Book Review: Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin
I started reading Kauflin’s book, with the expectation that what I was about to read, would be geared mostly toward Worship Pastor’s–those minister’s whose calling and responsibilities encompass the music/drama/worship service details of a church body. I was wrong. While obviously that audience is the primary target, I found the material to be hugely engaging, theologically sound, and hugely educational for a person such as myself, a lay member involved in the music/worship ministry of our church. Kauflin seems to cover all details, big and small, that make up a sound worship ministry. He truly gives credence to his title “Worship Matters.” It matters because it is commanded. It matters because it is Biblical. It matters because God delights in it. We must be professional in our attention to details, while open to flexibility and sensitive to what is happening in the moment. We must examine our hearts, our motives, our plans to make sure they are Christ centered, to make sure they are scriptural centered.
Kauflin has written an easy to read, thought provoking treatise on worship, out of his own personal experiences and wealth of knowledge. I am grateful for his willingness to share his thoughts and by doing so, bolster a continuing dialogue in our churches to emphasize that worship is not just the music on a Sunday morning, nor is it a battle between contemporary verses traditional styles of worship. Rather, it is the all encompassing meeting of the church, to worship God through music, prayer, tithes, scripture, Biblical preaching and responsiveness to God. It is all worship, we would do well to remember that more often, as Kauflin urges his readers to do just that.