conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

monday foolishness?

Here's a little Hauerwas for you to chew on this Monday.

What we call �church� is too often a gathering of strangers who see the church as yet another �helping institution� to gratify further their individual desires. One of the reasons some church members are so mean-spirited with their pastor, particularly when the pastor urges them to look at God, is that they feel deceived by such pastoral invitations to look beyond themselves. They have come to church for �strokes,� to have their personal needs met. What we call church is often a conspiracy of cordiality. Pastors learn to pacify rather than preach to their Ananiases and Sapphiras. We say we do it out of �love.� Usually, we do it as a means of keeping everyone as distant from everyone else as possible. You don�t get into my life and I will not get into yours.

This is the joy of cranky theology. He is interesting though.

Trish leaves for Virginia today. This is glad and sad. Glad because this wedding thing is happening...finally! Sad because I get to spend two anxious days without her. This makes me sad. It is more and more difficult to be away from her.

Si has invited me to play with him and his friend at an open mic in Evanston. They want some mandolin support. Thsi should be fun. He is coming to teh wedding and has agreed to be my co-pilot. We leave very early Wednesday morning for Huddleston. He is good company. It should be a good trip.

So, today and tomorrow at the hospital. Wednesday we drive. Thursday we get the marriage license. Friday we practice the Thing. Saturday we do the Thing. Sunday we get the rental van...or something. Monday we drive. Tuesday we leave for the vacation home. Wednesday through Saturday we do nothing at all. Thanks be to God.

Posted by tripp at September 20, 2004 12:02 PM