O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

If you like this then check out The Work Of The People

Emergent Church movement PBS Religion and Ethics News Weekly

This was done a while back, but thought it was well done. You can see the second part of this which is a more focused conversation with/about Brian McLaren by going to this link. PBS.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap...

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I know mine was wonderful! I have so much to be thankful for. I am blessed to have an incredible wife and one amazing little girl, and roof over my head, a job that I love, a community that is welcoming, health, the list goes on and on. What a blessing!

For thanksgiving the Sclafani Family including my mom and dad headed over to the Gasper's House [which is Jen's sisters family: Kristin, Kevin, Matthew, Grace, and Charlotte and also included Kevin's parents Ken and Karen]. We had an incredible time of fun, laughter, fellowship, amazing food, music played by Matthew on the piano, games made by Matthew, watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving just to name some of the good times.

The next day Jen and the Gasper's went downtown to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and welcomed Santa Clause to town [I had a couple of clients to meet with]. This was Glady's first parade and first Starbucks Hot Chocolate - she loved them both! They also got free Top Pot Donuts which is pretty cool too.

On Saturday, we hung out at the house, I enjoyed some amazingly beautiful blue sky while sitting on my favorite leather seat with my little girl as we soaked up the sun. Then we got the house ready for some guests and enjoyed an evening with the Leffel's [sorry I forgot to take pictures]. We enjoyed great conversations, kids playing together, stories of Jer's trip to China, and some good home cooked Italian food! This was a great night!

And then there was Sunday again with a gorgeous day. We hung out again, and then went for a walk with Glady. This time though, Glady wanted to bring her baby and stroller along. I was thinking I was going to end up carrying this all around, but she went almost three blocks totally pushing this stroller around, checking up on her cabbage patch kid, giving it a bottle, and just having a blast! Man was it cute! After that we came home for some more hot chocolate, then my parents came over for some Glady time and Jen and I worked out in the yard. When my parents left, Glady took her nap, Jen and I got ready for Church and soon were off to CC. It was a great end to a wonderful weekend!

I put some pictures for you all to see. I was reminded of many things that I am thankful for and one of those was all of you who faithfully check out this blog. Your friendship means a great deal to me! May you continue to experience all of life's blessings as we step further into the holiday season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bono commentary...

Interesting commentary on a new song coming out by U2. It will be coming with the re.release of Joshua Tree. It is pretty cool to hear him share about the meaning of the song in the midst of him singing it.

Hope you enjoy...

The God's Aren't Angry...

So a week or so ago I had the opportunity to go hear Rob Bell at the Moore Theater. The tour is called The God's Aren't Angry. I've been meaning to write about it, but struggled with knowing what to say. I read this article on Relevant about it and thought it summed it up pretty well. So I'm posting it for you all to read. Overall, it was a great night and very much worth my time. He is a very gifted communicator.

here it is...

As we came up to the theater, my friends and I were quickly looking at all of the different kinds of people walking toward the front doors. The Wiltern is a classic Victorian-style theater in the heart of Los Angeles. Typically, on any given night, you might hear Silverchair, As I Lay Dying or The Decemberists playing at the venue, but tonight, everyone came for a different kind of event. Two twentysomething guys with long hair and army jackets walked by us laughing as we reached the doors; we saw an elderly couple with canes looking for their seats as we got to the back stairs; a group of suit-and-tie businessmen were sitting in the row behind us; and a bunch of teenage kids played in the aisles as we waited for the show to start. As we sat in our seats, the only clue to what was going to happen that night was the music of Sigur Ros playing over the speakers and a large stone altar on the otherwise blank stage.

The scene looked more like a concert, or a maybe a play, but we were all there to listen to the words of one man: Rob Bell.

Rob Bell is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is the author of Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith(Zondervan) and Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality (Zondervan), and he is featured in the series of spiritual short films called NOOMA. Currently Bell is on his “The Gods Aren't Angry" tour, subtitled “How humans invented religion to make themselves feel better.” Proceeds from the event go to benefit a microfinance project in Africa. RELEVANT recently talked with Bell about the tour and the idea to sponsor a community-building project overseas.


“For me everything is about content,” Bell said. “Everything is about substance. So there’s no point in doing a tour until there’s something worth saying every night for a month. My wife and I and family, we’re committed to living as simply as we can, so I—I don’t need more money or anything—I’m committed to using whatever voice I have to raise awareness for those who have no voice. And the Turame microfinance project, where we’re giving all of the tour profits, has been rated one of the better microfinance projects in Africa.”

Bell began the evening with no introduction, announcements or opening comments, and addressed the audience as a man telling a story. He asked us all to imagine the first people at the dawn of time—how they would have looked at their environment and how they would have imagined the forces that controlled their world. Slowly, this idea of forces beyond us—people would have evolved this thought into the idea of energies, or gods who “made things happen.” So then, to keep those forces “on your side” and to keep them “happy,” society would begin to try to appease those forces through the offering of gifts and sacrifices. But because the gods were far away, humanity was left in the dark. Because the gods were silent, you never knew where you stood.

The strength of Bell’s style as a writer and speaker is his ability to apply big ideas, cultural analogies and personal stories into dynamic illustrations of scriptural principles. It’s this way of delivering his message that has made Bell one of the most exciting leaders in the up-and-coming church, and especially engaging at the evening’s event.

In a world of sensory overload and multimedia presentations, the straightforward approach was refreshing. Bell explained that the idea is to keep it simple. “I walk out and talk for an hour and a half, and then I walk off,” he said. “So it’s a pretty simple format. You come, sit, listen, go home.”

Bell continued in his analogy and offered that with the beginning story of Abraham, a new way of thinking about God emerged—a God who is above all of the other energies, a God who speaks to humanity, a God who lets you know where you stand. He said that as Christians, we sometimes tap into this ancient idea that God is angry. If things are going wrong, then we must do more to appease Him. If things are going well, then we must do more to continue the blessing. But, Bell explained, Jesus came to do away with the old sacrificial system. Hebrews 10:10 says, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (TNIV). The truth, as Rob so eloquently points out, is that “you don’t have to live this way anymore.”

Bell continued the narrative, telling us how God broke through the silence and offered another alternative. He offered His Son to be the last payment and final “work” in restoring the relationship. Rob commented that the only one remaining sacrifice that is to be made is the one where we lay ourselves down on the altar. In Romans 12:1 Paul writes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship.”

The worship of God is brought to fullness in our living for Him; the disciplines, the worship songs, the mission projects—all of that should just be the outward expression of our love, not our obligation, Bell explained.

Bell closed the night by telling stories of people he had come across in his ministry. They were stories of hope, stories of pain and stories of people who reached out and became like Christ to a broken world—in fact, it felt a lot like an ending to one of his videos. Bell ended his benediction with these words: "May you remember that God is love.” The truth is that we are all free from trying to make God love us … He already loves us.

About the author
Name: David Kenney With Jesse Carey

Android...

So I have been in need of a new cell phone for quite some time. I have a few friends that have iphone's that I covet, but can't front the cash and extra monthly payment. So I am trying to be patient for the google phone. And today thanks to my all knowing tech friend Beau, I can see what is in store, and I must say that I like it!

Here is a clip to see for yourself!

fyi...

Two different organizations that I love have recently joined forces in order to better dive into the idea of theology and culture. If you are looking for some great thought provoking reads I suggest you check it out...

TheOtherJournal

Live Chicken Runs Loose At University Village

So it is Halloween and Jen got a little crafty on Glady and made this really cute chicken outfit. We went to the U. Village for some trick or treating. What a blast! So many people, so many outfits, so much candy, it was just so fun!

From there Jen and Glady hit up the Hanson house for a great party with Sclafani style paninis, wine, other great eats, then hit the neighborhood for some more treats!

I took a group of students to a haunted corn field maze with a crazy chainsaw guy! I love having access to a church van!

All in all I must say it was a great Halloween!

Here are some pictures from our little Halloween outing to the Village!

Enjoy!

NOTE: As of 7pm November 1st - Make sure to scroll down to see all 8 pictures. The last 4 that were missing are back in full effect!