The Subtle Deadly Sin

I often marvel at the number of things my wife was intuitive about when we were raising our sons. One of them was that we didn't allow them to say that they were "bored." It wasn't a "heavy" thing, and they quickly learned to amuse themselves quite well. We just maintained a household that was lively and interesting, and with four active boys, that wasn't so hard.

I discovered in a book I am reading now, Blessed are the Uncool, that "...cool quickly gives way to boredom, a characteristic feature of the modern world with roots that go back to the Greek concept acedia, one of the ancient church's seven deadly sins:

[Acedia] contains a rejection of - or rather a detestation of - God and His creation. Acedia is the diametric opposite of the joy one ought to feel toward God and His works...Such an approach is unsatisfactory because it overlooks the possibility that the outside world - rather than the person - is the problem, or disallows that the world plays any role at all. Boredom is not just a phenomenon that afflicts individuals; it is, to just as great an extent, a social and cultural phenomenon.

Boredom is sometimes a mood in our hearts or our communities or even our churches, but at its core, boredom is the refusal to take delight in the world that God has made."

Blessed are the Uncool is by Paul Grant, and published by InterVarsity Press.

Time to meet Parker Tennant

This Sunday Dove Mountain Church welcomes to its pulpit. our University of Arizona Reformed University Fellowship campus minister, Parker Tennant.

Parker and his wife, Ashley are originally from Memphis, Tennessee. He accepted the call as RUF Campus Minister to The University of Arizona in 2006 after completing his Master of Divinity degree at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Parker and Ashley have one son, also named Parker, and a daughter, ELizabeth. Parker loves spending time with his family, college basketball, college football, a good round of golf, reading, spending time with students, and corn dogs.

The Noble Army of Martyrs

Pastor Allen introduced the Te Deum as a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, as it is, but its roots are actually older. When the Catalina Foothills Church Chorale sang the Te Deum on Reformation Day in 2006, I wrote these notes for the bulletin, and thought you might like to see them as a follow-up to yesterday’s posting of the prayer itself:

“…it is important to remember that our Presbyterian roots connect us to all the most ancient traditions of Christendom. Although we live in a time when non-denominationalism characterizes most American congregations, we trace our roots to a revelation in the sixteenth century which reformed our theological understanding of God and salvation along purely Biblical lines. Hence, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) was one of the watchwords of the Reformation.

This reform did not completely disconnect us from the great history of the church in prior centuries. For that reason, this ancient prayer, the Te Deum (To Thee, O God), is retained today in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed worship.

The prayer itself was probably initiated by Nicetus, Bishop of Remesania in the late fourth or early fifth century. Its text is prescient of the affirmation to be later encapsulated in the Apostle’s creed in the eighth century. Therefore, the Te Deum is probably the oldest Christian hymn still used in close to its original form.

As in the Apostle’s Creed, the Te Deum affirms the Trinity, God’s work of creation, substitutionary atonement, the coming judgment, the communion of saints, and the future glory.”

The Glorious Company of the Apostles

Allen quoted from the ancient prayer, "Te Deum," (To Thee, O God) in his message Sunday. I thought you might enjoy reading the full text this morning:





We praise thee, O God
: we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee
: the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud
: the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim
: continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy
: Lord God of Sabaoth;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty
: of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world
: doth acknowledge thee;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man
: thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death
: thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants
: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people
: and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us
: as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted
: let me never be confounded.

The Postures of Prayer

After his illustration of kneeling as humble supplication, Pastor Allen made this memorable observation:

"How we posture our bodies is a teaching of the heart in how how we present ourselves before God."

I appreciate Pastor Allen's leadership in teaching us to lift our hands to humble receipt of God's blessings during the benediction. Thank you, Pastor, for teaching us the postures of prayer.

Four things Paul prayed for the Ephesians

From the "postures of prayer" talk in the children's sermon, and the simple definition that "Prayer is talking to God," Pastor Allen led us to examine with care the exemplary prayer of Paul for the Ephesians in chapter three, verses fourteen through twenty-one. Note the four requests of Paul which Pastor Allen outlined for us in the sermon. They are highlighted in the reproduction of this passage below:

14For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen

And Amen!

Finding our way...what lies ahead?

Many thanks to those of you have visited the site and become "followers" already! It's okay to leave comments, too. It is my hope that this can be a source of information and inspiration for all Dove Mountaineers.

You may have noticed the labels under each posting. I will continue to use these categories (and some others, listed below) to keep my own thoughts organized about what has been or could be posted here. These may also be a guide for you as you think of items you would like to suggest for me to add.

Here is a brief explanation of each label:

Boosterism: refers to posts such as this one which promotes or comments on the blog itself.

From the sermon: will provide either direct quotations or other comments related to our Sunday sermons at Dove Mountain.

Nuts and bolts: will be about church "business" - announcements, reminders, reports, etc.

Mountaineers. meet yourselves: Just what it says - an introduction to the families or individuals who make up the Body of Christ at Dove Mountain

Other labels which will be added:

Book reviews: reviews of books which may be of interest to other Dove Mountaineers.

Current events: commentary on the day's news, particularly Tucson news which may affect us or national and international news from a Christian perspective

Quotes of Note: some of my favorite (and often challenging!) quotations by worthy authors

Resources: recommendations of web sites, catalogs, and other sources which will help Dove Mountaineers in their spiritual growth.

Finally, I am happy to keep posting items which I think other Dove Mountaineers might be interested in almost indefinitely. (I don't usually run out of ideas, just time). But should someone else "get the bug," and are not wanting to start your own blog, you are welcome to forward articles to me by e mail and I'll post them for you. I will indicate these were not written by me with a byline at the top of the posting, and the label "Guest submission" at the bottom.

Happy Lord's Day tomorrow!

Time to Meet Steve

So we all know him as the guy who will wear crazy outfits and do really uninhibited things during the children's sermon to help Pastor Allen out. But he's not just a goofy guy; well, not entirely.

Steve Johnson is a Tucson native, born here in 1983. Happy to have been born into a Christian family, Steve attended Golf Links Baptist Church (now River of Life) and later El Camino Baptist, and professed his faith and was baptized at an early age. He is a graduate of Desert Christian High School, where he was taught Bible and history by...Allen Cooney! Many of his favorite growing-up-in-the-faith memories involve church youth group and Prescott Pines Camp.

Steve's wife's name is Annette, and they have three children, Hannah, Luke, and Andrew. When not busy managing the Starbucks at Campbell and Broadway, thinking up funny children's sermon illustrations, playing softball or fantasy baseball (ask him about the Sahuarita SouthPaws), he likes playing with his kids!

But aside from those interesting details, you need to know that Steve is a young man who has a passion for discipling children and youth. He has been teaching junior high Sunday School at Dove for several months, and has a long term goal of being a Christian educator. I didn't know any of this (just that he is a very funny guy) until Steve showed up at a gathering of Dove Mountain men on Tuesday, called the Barleymen (for more info, ask Dave Bowen). It only took a few minutes to realize that this guy has a lot to offer us here at Dove Mountain, and especially to our children.

Probably most of you are like me, and you use the fellowship time after church to check in with the people you know best. I'm glad I had a few minutes to get to know Steve. This Sunday I will try to get to know someone else. Maybe you can, too. Maybe you could start with Steve!

Give some feedback

This Sunday, July 26, was to be our last Lord's Day to meet in the cafeteria. However, I have heard several people comment favorably on this location, as compared with going back into the gym.

For those not familiar with Presbyterian polity, very few decisions require participatory voting by the congregation. Most decisions are delgated to the "session," the collective body of elders. In this model, churches run a lot like families.

As in any family, our church leaders would like to make the best decision possible. If you have strong opinions, one way or the other, about either meeting in the gym or meeting in the cafeteria, take a moment to express that to one of the elders this Sunday. It would be most helpful if you give a reason why, along with your opinion. In expressing your opinion, remember to speak respectfully, and not demandingly, as we are admonished in I Timothy 5:1, "Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father..."

And should the final decison not go the way you had preferred, remember the wisdom of Trumpkin when he didn't get his way with High King Peter: "I know the difference between giving advice and taking orders. You'ver had my advice, and now it's the time for orders." (Chronicles of Narnia, Book Two: Prince Caspian)

Wagons, Ho!

Speaking of last Sunday's sermon, I thought you might enjoy seeing the larger context of the wonderful quote Pastor Allen read near the end of the message. You can read the entire article here, if you like:

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0384.htm

But here is the context I find breath-taking, from the last section of the article:

"But what a bracing thing it is instead, to meet young people who are really young, and committed to the faith of their fathers! Those young people are here among us. They are still only a few; but they are dangerous.

"I think I see it in their eyes, the cheerful defiance that moved the best of the protesters in my generation, but a defiance not about to pad itself round with the comforts of the flesh. They will be the men and women to set their stagecoaches to rumble among the dry ruts of plains and deserts more barren than anything John Ford’s wagon masters ever faced. They will have the wreck that used to be the United States, and the wreck that used to be Europe.

"Let them go outdoors, then. I see them in my imagination, celebrating in the public squares, when everyone about them has forgotten the difference between a celebration and a debauch. I hear them singing together, when everyone else has forgotten that there is anything to sing about. I see them cheerfully being themselves, men being men and women being women, with their gangs of children hollering about them, climbing trees and getting into everything, as they should. I hear them pray in solemn unison, while the world looks away, abashed. Then they laugh with real mirth in their hearts, while the world looks askance in envy.

The churches may collapse into social clubs or philanthropic dispensaries or rubble. These men and women will have real communion, and will love their neighbors in truth. They will know the holy.

"I see them coming over the ridge. Wagons, ho!"

Weekday reminder

When my sons were young, we would discuss the Sunday sermon at the lunch table each Lord's Day. Often we would choose a memorable quote or illustration, or just a verse of scripture, to remind us of what we had heard. Linda would write it in her beautiful "kindergarten teacher" writing on a note card, and we would post it on the refrigerator door for us to see all through the week. It's good to have such visual reminders of the lessons God is working into ouur lives. I stil remember some of them (I'll tell you the saguaro story another time).

Pastor Allen understands this principle when he plans the excellent children's lessons for each Sunday (which I always say are really for the benefit of the adults!). Who can forget the memorable Spiderman illsutration from last Sunday?

But, lest we forget...here are the verses it was used to illustrate. Meditate on them this week:

Ephesians 4
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

All the stories....

As Pastor Allen preached on the Body of Christ at Dove Mountain yesterday, I couldn't help looking around and thinking about what a striking glimpse of heaven's harmony and diversity is depicted in our little family of God at Dove Mountain. In that one room I saw multiple generations of the same family, large families and singles, extended families and geographically isolated families. I saw vocational gifts ranging from professors to students, doctors to accountants, missionaries to homemakers. I saw those who work with ideas, with nature, with tools, with people. I saw believers young in Christ, as well as believers with longevity-induced wisdom. I saw the settled and the unsettled, those growing and those who prune, those who hunger and those who feed.

I want to tell some of their stories, to the glory of God. I believe these stories will inspire us all and make us a stronger body. I also want to interpret what I hear the Spirit saying to the church...through the Holy Word, through Pastor Allen, through the testmony of creation, and through the times we live in. Welcome, Dove Mountaineers, future Dove Mountaineers, and cousins in other parts of the Body of Christ!