LOGOS Begins Tonight!

Wow, can it have really been nearly a month since I've blogged anything? Maybe Facebook, with its microblogging just fits better into my schedule, but then again it is difficult to really say anything much on Facebook, so here goes.

I suppose the other reason that I haven't blogged anything these past few weeks is that I have been swamped with Presbytery responsibilities and home communion and a host of administrative responsibilities not to mention a funeral or two so I guess I'd be justified in saying that as many of those responsibilties will continue over the next few weeks that I don't really have time for LOGOS. But that wouldn't really be true because of all the responsibilities that I have; taking the time to nurture young people in the faith is one of the most important and enduring things on my to do list. That and I really love being with the kids and the many adults who genuinely love God, love being with the kids and have gifts to share with and for the Kingdom of God.

So while I'm planning Bible study and getting ready to be dinner dean and keeping in mind the funeral for Friday and the ongoing presbytery responsibilities and the myriad of other church and family responsibilties (like Kathy going out of town on Monday and my mother coming to town for a few days the following week) I will do my best to remember that for the next 20 or so Wednesday evenings at LOGOS I will be doing something far more important than deciding which insurance company the church should go with or how to handle some prickly personell issue or how to handle the next stage of the presbytery commission I've been serving for far too long.

So what is that "far more important thing" that called for such a grandiose run-on sentence? It is that I will be helping about 30 young people come to know Jesus Christ at a wider, deeper and more profound level that will hopefully allow them to continue their relationship with Jesus Christ within this community of faith or another one in the years to come. In addition the 60 or so adults who will help make LOGOS happen throughout the year will also grow in their own relationship with Jesus Christ and see how that most important bond with our Lord and Savior relates to getting to know the kids in our church and community as well as their peers with whom they have worshipped with for years.

In other words, even as I may feel overwhelmed at times, I can point to Wednesday evening in the midst of my week as an oasis of Kingdom Living, of relationship building, of grafting our lives into a more profound embrace of God our Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Piano

Yesteryday the Price family was graced with the generosity of Phyllis & Terry Fletcher who gave us a piano for Eric's use. A piano was something that Kathy's family had when she was a child, but not something that my family had so I didn't know quite how Eric would react. My own musical experience began in the fourth grade when I took up the Alto Saxophone which I played with the band through graduation from High School. For my part the daily practice quickly became drudgery, which I'm sure most of you who have ever practiced a musical instrument have experienced the same as well.

So these first hours with the piano are a lot of fun, mostly because Eric just gravitates to the keyboard of his own free will, for now. In fact, well before I wanted to get out of bed I heard Eric creating a new musical piece around 6 a.m. Hopefully his curiosity and creativity will not wane as he ages and maybe just maybe he has found something that will really capture his imagination and light a passion within. Thanks especially to the Fletcher family for sharing such a wonderful gift with us.

The Beginning

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. -Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning, God. It doesn't get much simpler than that, and not much more profound. While we can debate the "Origin of Species" (Darwin) or the "Intelligent Design" (contemporary Christian fundamentalism) what really at stake in these first lines of the Bible is whether or not we acknowledge God as the primary actor in all creation.

It really is, or should be a humbling thought that despite our advances in technology and rhetoric that God still stands as Creator-Father-Gracious Parent over all matter and all beings. The details, which we so enjoy poking eyes out over may matter, but what stands at the beginning and runs throughout the witness of Scripture and Time is God and God's desires for God's creation and creatures. Maybe if we began with that thought at the beginning of our discussions, conversations and debates over the Beginning then we would have a different outcome; would we not?

And maybe if we began our day or our daily tasks or our first listening opportunities with those whom we love and those with whom we come in contact throughout the day with the words "In the beginning, God" stuck somewhere deep and ever-present in our mind and heart; maybe then all the interactions we have throughout the day would be full of more of the Shalom of God instead of all the rest. What do you think?