Monday Memo

Hi Five Oakers, Here are most of the questions and comments from the weekend Communication Cards:

// Is it possible to display the passages on the jumbo screen that is being preached? [I appreciate this question, and I'm guessing you want everyone in the house to see the text. That's a really good thing. I project verses on the screen when making a reference to one or two verses, to save time and the distraction of having to look them up. But me tell you why I I don't project our primary text.

One of our primary values at Five Oaks is biblical literacy because the more we know the Bible the more we know God, and the more we know him, the more we love him. Jesus makes it clear that the way to know him and the way to know the Father is through God's Word. He even told people to judge his ministry by what the Bible says. So I want to get people to take out their Bibles (paper or digital) so they get use to handling it and reading the verses in context (which is the only way to understand what it says). 

While we're on the topic of biblical literacy, I'm increasingly saddened by the reality that too many churches who value the Bible fail to teach it week after week. They preach sermons filled with truly biblical ideas, but their services are devoid of Scripture and the sermons only refer to Scripture without teaching it. People come away knowing more stories about the pastor and his family than about the story of God and his people.

I know I'm sounding like a Bible-thumping fundamentalist, (I know some, and, I can assure you, they would not let me into their club), but I think this is becoming a serious problem. If churches were at least doing some Bible teaching and study within their small groups I'd be happy, but the small groups are usually more of the same. I would like to put a sign on every "pulpit" that says, "It's the Bible, stupid" (a play on the James Carville line from the Clinton campaign).]

// Loved opening song! Way to hit hard.

// Great message Henry.

// Great worship set guys. Loved the way you did “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” – great/creative rendition of it without losing its underlying joy. Beautiful message and insight on the three Magi – wow, I see worship differently!

// Thank you Pastor Henry for all your research you share with us behind all of the theology. It helps me understand scripture better (and helps me remember it better as well).

// Yo! Do we have a limit on the number of Christmas songs we can all sing? [I'm guessing you want more. Noted. And thanks for the feedback.]

// Can we ever offer actual wine at communion? [We've never discussed it, and we have no plans to move in that direction. They offer wine for communion at my oldest son's church in Louisville, and it's Southern Baptist! They offer two options, juice and the wine (which is marked by twine). I think they've been doing this since day one when they started about 10 years ago. Not sure how it would be received in our congregation, and I'm not looking for a fight, especially over communion!]