Cheerful Giver

I was so proud to see each of you this morning and I remain humbled to be given the chance to teach you and learn from you. I pray that each of you will be granted strength and humility as you navigate a "successful" week this week, day by day, hour by hour, opportunity by opportunity. Love you all, and I'm excited to see you next week, if not before... jeff

"we must not forget that each of us has freedom and power to make choices that can release holy and healing energy that points people to the hope of Jesus Christ" From LSMF Music in Time of Crisis, Dr. Charles Hulin IV

Bert Quote of the day: "God's Grace is irrevocable."

2 Corinthians 9:6-15
We are blessed and we are charged to disseminate that blessing to those around us.

Discussion went a lot of different ways today and man was I glad that we weren't sitting around a campfire in 40degree temperature with the kids' "wailing and gnashing of teeth". By the same token, the room has regained its reputation as the coolest class in the church. If it was more than 65 in there, I would be surprised.

Questions for thought/discussion:
Do you go "to church" or are you living your life "as church"?

Is HRBC an obligation and a duty for you, your finances, your time? ...or is it a place for you to be fed and sustained so that you can go out into the world and share your blessings?

Are you a member of this congregation, of your community? Do you give, or receive and in what proportion?

I pray specifically that you will seek to improve your life by giving your time, your money and your heart to others... not just HRBC, though that is a good start (just like Kindergarten).. but more importantly, to your wife/husband, your family, your colleagues at work, your friends, your neighbors and yes.. even to strangers whom you may never see again.

The blessings of giving will return to you, but the first move is yours.
Do you believe? Do you trust? in whom? yourself, God, your money?

Books I mentioned today: free to read on Google books...
Reaching out without dumbing down by Marva Dawn A Royal waste of time by Marva Dawn

Law, Leadership, The Book

We had a good class today and I particularly appreciated your wonderful participation. Thanks for Tracee's idea for donut holes. They always seem to be a good addition and make us happy.

Today we talked about how we can use the Old Testament history and stories as so much more than just rules and law. Rules have a place in our lives. Leaders and administration have important roles to play in all of our lives. History will repeat itself if we choose to ignore its lessons. That is reality.

Personally, my favorite note from this morning came from Bert. The best way to keep people from fighting is to give them more to do. We saw that at the Clinic yesterday. If we all work together, and focus on our work, the petty disputes tend to "fade away" into the background noise. Let the leaders and administration work out the approach and governance. Each of us should simply play our part and focus on OURSELVES, not others' behaviors. At least for that choice, we have some semblance of control.

Fighting is a choice in behavior. Just like loving one another is a choice. I think the we all know what the right answer is between those two choices. In a war, everyone loses, it is just a matter of who loses more or less. The consequences are inescapable.

If, on the other hand, we choose to stand beside our "foe" and simply love and accept the end result is probably better for all. Even on things that are not "petty" the opening position and majority of our energy should be focused on including and loving. It is simply not enough to be right. Relationships are worth more than that ribbon is worth.

Where are your guardrails? Where is the middle line of your road? What do your road signs say? and perhaps the most important question of all...

Where are you going?

BTW, those books by Brian Mclaren that changed my life are:
A New Kind of Christian
The story we find ourselves in
The last word, and the word after that.

Personal note: I have been very disappointed in Brian's deep immersion into partisan politics of late, but that is a story for another day. I still respect and love him for the Christian and leader that he is. It is hard, but that is something for me to deal with on a daily basis. We don't agree, but we share a common goal for the world, for an emergent church, and for making a difference in the lives of others.

Choices and Challenges

Tracee and I returned from our vacation this week. Refreshed, renewed, and mildly depressed to no longer be reveling in the beauty of the beach and the freedom of its sunrises, sunsets, waves and wind. As we awakened this morning and began our "reentry" it was wonderful to do it among the Open Door Life Community. Huge thanks to both Ken and Tim for teaching in the past two weeks. I continue to be encouraged by the strength and depth of our class in showing both knowledge and love for one another.

NEWS:
Keep the Ackerman family in your prayers as Adam is in the hospital after suffering a bad fall and concussion.

CALL TO ACTION!
Invite friends and family to join us on Sunday morning. It is up to you as we each have our role to play.
Sign up and encourage your entire family to participate in and help with THE CLINIC. You can make a difference. This is a great full family opportunity.

THE LESSON

The lessons of today centered on our choices and challenges. Paul speaks to us of compassion and love for our fellow men and women in spite of very rational decisions. It is simply not enough to be right. We must embrace those around us and demonstrate love. Inclusionary, sacrificial love trumps intellectual, legally grounded correctness even when the decision is based on deep seated theological principles.

The choice of "who gives in" is up to each of us. We make it within a life community, and we are never alone. We are on mission, commanded to demonstrate the humility and hospitality of Christ to our world.

What have you done to build "love up" your neighbors lately?

Have you embraced intellectual knowledge, depending on your own ability, or do you strive to let go and just love?

I know how I sound, a bit like a 21st century idealist seeking a bit more than I can handle with my simplistic words. Perhaps that is the truth. Isn't it great that God can make up the difference for each of us if we remember to ask. Love the Lord your God first and then love your neighbors and you might be surprised at how we can manage challenges together.

Passage of study for today:
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 The Message

Attitude + Action Required

NEWS:

• Thanks for filling 4 backpacks. Good job.
• Thank your friends who were in Music Man. They deserve it for a job well done.
• Fun in the Son 2 at the Haywood's pool facility is Sat Aug 2. RSVP if you haven't already.
• Jeff & Tracee are out on 8/10 and 8/17 need a substitute teacher.

Class Notes: Open Door 072708
Hi all, we had a great class yesterday as we explored "Hospitality to newcomers" and really got into some great discussion on our own expectations for church, our hang ups, and the never ending continuum of "rightness". "It is not enough to be right" was my statement and I stand by it. Christians and Christian leaders in particular have to find a way to include and embrace diversity of attitude and action while maintaining a spirit of compassion and consideration.

How good are we at this? not good enough would be my answer.
Where is our focus when we come to worship? on us(all about me) or on what we bring...(gifts)

Can we get better? Yes

How do we get better? Bring the right attitude and Transform it into action! We have to actually love those around us. WE have to care and sacrifice for people we may not know very well. This isn't easy, but it is the way.

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 (The Message)
^{26 -33} So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three's the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you're saying. Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you're also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches—no exceptions.

^{34 -36}Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God's Book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Do you—both women and men—imagine that you're a sacred oracle determining what's right and wrong? Do you think everything revolves around you?

^{37 -38}If any one of you thinks God has something for you to say or has inspired you to do something, pay close attention to what I have written. This is the way the Master wants it. If you won't play by these rules, God can't use you. Sorry.

^{39 -40}Three things, then, to sum this up: When you speak forth God's truth, speak your heart out. Don't tell people how they should or shouldn't pray when they're praying in tongues that you don't understand. Be courteous and considerate in everything.

For Richer or Poorer

Well it was a treat to be back with you all today. Tracee and I have missed the fellowship, friendship, and warmth of worshipping at our home base.. It is fun to travel, but it isn't quite like home. Thanks for being there today.

And... a special welcome to our returning visitors Jon and Veona and new visitors Don and Melanie. I hope that you felt our hospitality and genuine appreciation for your presence. We don't always (or even usually) have all the answers but we all know that We Believe!.. and we are excited to have a life community to talk openly within, share, and trust in.

If you couldn't make it today, you missed a whopper of a lesson on Ruth 2:2-17 where we studied a model for hospitality to the "poor" and discussed how we could or should apply it to our daily lives. It is hard to see the poor, even harder not to judge and difficult to prioritize and share of our blessings, whatever they may be.. The imperative to embrace hospitality is NOT optional. We are instructed to CARE, and that is where the difficulty lies..

Seek to include, not exclude.
Love others, especially those that are different from you.
Use your blessings, skills and talents to make a difference in someone's day, EVERY day!
Random acts of kindness are small and simple.. don't make it harder that it is.. "save one starfish at a time" and let God deal with the whole world..

Our lesson these weeks is on "Missional Hospitality" so I think I will use our Fun in the Son pool party on August 2 to wrap us up as a theme. It seems appropriate given the generosity of the Haywoods to open and share their pool and home. Please think about how we could double our group's size.. with friends, neighbors, kids, etc.. As Amanda said this morning.. it is pretty easy to invite someone to a party.. TAKE the opportunity to stand up and reach out. We can use our community to reach out to others if we CHOOSE to...

NEWS/EVENTS:
FUN in the SON 2 - pool party at Haywoods.. August 2, ~2pm - 8pm.. more details to follow.. Tracee P is the Primary POC on this. 804 794 1586

LADIES' DINNER: is on the docket to be planned and executed in the FALL(date TBD, principal coordinator needed)..I'll be glad to cook and serve, but the planning part isn't my strong suit. I'm thinking a Friday nt, Guys will cook and serve dinner to all the ladies.. We will all dress a bit and make it NICE..

Bulletin today communicated a need for Backpack ministry through school supplies.. As the OPEN DOOR Life COMMUNITY: I would like for us to embrace it and fill at least 3 backpacks with supplies for some less fortunate children. This is an opportunity immediately for us to make a difference. Choose to help please! More to come on this next week.

Lesson info/MORE:
The book of Ruth can be read as a drama in four acts, with introductory matter at the beginning (related to Naomi and her husband's ill fortune in the land of Moab) and an epilogue at the end. In the first act (1:8-22), the widowed Naomi resolves to go back to Bethlehem. She tells her Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to remain in Moab. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi, however, and accompanies her to Bethlehem. In the second act (2:1-23), which is the focus for today's lesson, Ruth gleans in the fields of Naomi's relative, Boaz, who shows special concern for her in her impoverished condition.

The third act (3:1-18) takes place at Boaz's threshing floor, where Ruth executes a bold plan to express her wish that Boaz marry her according to the Israelite custom of the kinsman-redeemer. In the fourth act (4:1-12), an unnamed relative more closely related to Naomi renounces his right to marry Ruth, and she is finally married to Boaz. Finally, in the epilogue we read of Ruth's descendants and Naomi's joy.

UNIT CONTEXT:

Missional Hospitality

If we are serious about following Jesus, we will be people of open hearts, open hands, and open homes. In other words, as followers of Jesus we will practice the fine art of hospitality.

In this unit, we will study five facets of Christian hospitality. As we do so, we will be reminded that hospitality is "missional." That is, simply by being hospitable, we will be on mission for Christ.

In the first session, we reflect on a passage from Job, where Job proclaims his lifelong practice of showing hospitality to strangers. This first session highlights hospitality as a central virtue in both the Old and New Testaments.

The second session specifically addresses hospitality to the poor. Our spotlighted passage is from the book of Ruth, where Boaz practically and kindly reaches out to Ruth in her poverty.

The third session focuses on hospitality to sinners. We study the episode in John's Gospel where Jesus forgives the woman caught in the act of adultery and use that passage to consider our own response to sinful people.

The fourth session focuses on hospitality to newcomers, specifically newcomers in our church. The passage we use in this session is from 1 Corinthians 14, where the apostle Paul encourages the Corinthians to consider the needs of others in their times of worship.

We wrap up our study of Christian hospitality by reminding ourselves that all of our hospitality is really hospitality to Christ. The final session in our study focuses on the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, where Jesus says all of our hospitality is actually done to, and for, him.

The good news about hospitality is that it doesn't require us to have money, education, brilliance, fame, or power. It only requires that we open our hearts, our hands, and our homes to the people around us.

July 6
Hospitality to Strangers
Job 31:16-23, 31-32

July 13
Hospitality to the Poor
Ruth 2:2-17

July 20
Hospitality to Sinners
John 7:53-8:11

July 27
Hospitality to Newcomers
1 Corinthians 14:20-33

August 3
Hospitality to Christ
Matthew 25:31-46

Creation Refuge: Credo

Hi all,

NEWS FLASH: I have heard from our planners re: our next events...and the "word" is that FUN IN THE SON 2 is well underway and planned for August 2 (exact times still TBD).. this time we will do a traditional "pool party/cook out" and the Haywoods have graciously agreed to host us all..(BTW they have a beautiful pool at their home with a great facility for a party) Tracee and I got to know them as part of the church dinners, and fellowship breakouts last year and they are really great folks. I hope you will mark your calendars and come if you can. I would encourage you all to think about inviting friends, or even kids' friends as we did with the Pocahontas trip. Lets show our hospitality to our neighbors and non-HRBC friends and try to reach outside the "open door". Take a risk, it might just pay off. Tracee and Vickie will coordinate the planning details but we will have plenty of food and fun.. guaranteed... if you need proof, check out pics from the first Fun in the Son.

-------

I don't know about you, but I have had a pretty tough week so far. I was reflecting on Psalm 104 from our lesson from last week, and perhaps I wasn't looking to God at the proper time, perhaps I didn't wait for him to open his hand.. and I probably haven't been satisfied with the things that surround me and have been given to me. My perspective is a bit skewed I think... maybe it always is..

Tracee and I are about to head off to the Lasker Summer Music Festival in NC where we will be performing tonight and then participating in the retreat and festival events through Sunday. Keep us in your prayers as I think this is the longest we have ever been away from the kids. It may be a challenge for all of the Prillamans but good for us all the same. The Christian artist fellowship at Lasker is very special and is something we are passionate about.. so it is worth it. There were other prayer requests on Sunday morning worthy of your attention as well.. Lift them up.. If you can't remember them in detail, simply pray..God does remember them..

See you soon..
Jeff


Seeking refuge in the midst of turmoil is the theme for this week's lesson which Barry will be leading. Please prepare and think about what you do in times of turmoil, fear, high stress.. Psalm 91 can help you with this.. I would encourage you to read it along with Psalm 90 as the two are coupled and 91 seems to be a response to the fear and trepidation of 90.

notes to reflect on...as you prepare.....

"As they're used psychologically, words like repression, denial, sublimation, and defense all refer to one form or another of the way human beings erect walls to hide behind, both from each other and from themselves. You repress the memory that is too painful to deal with, say. You deny your weight problem. You sublimate some of your sexual energy by channeling it into other forms of activity more socially acceptable. You conceal your sense of inadequacy behind a defensive bravado. And so on and so forth. The inner state you end up with is a castlelike affair of keep, inner wall, outer wall, and moat, which you erect originally to be a fortress to keep the enemy out, but which turns into a prison where you become the jailer and thus your own enemy. It is a wretched and lonely place. You can't be what you want to be there or do what you want to do. People can't see through all that masonry to who you truly are, and half the time you're not sure you can see who you truly are yourself, you've been walled up so long.

Fortunately there are two words that offer a way out, and they're simply these: 'Help me' It's not always easy to say them--you have your pride after all, and you're not sure there's anybody you trust enough to say them to--but they're always worth saying. To another human being--a friend, a stranger? To God? Maybe it comes to the same thing.

Help me. They open a door through the walls, that's all. At least hope is possible again. At least you're no longer alone."

--Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words (New York: HarperOne, 2004) 150-51.


"Courage is a crucial virtue, for once again the currents of history are churning into rapids, threatening to carry before them everything we have loved, trusted, looked to for pleasure and support. We are being called upon to live with enormous in security. The churches could become centers of creative and courageous thinking. They could also become sanctuaries for frightened Americans, recruiting grounds for authoritarian figures and movements, some of which already bear the earmarks of an emerging fascism.

Will we be scared to death or scared to life? It all depends on where we find our ultimate security. In Leipzig, Martin Luther was asked, 'Where will you be, Brother Martin, when church, state, princes, and people turn against you?' Answered Brother Martin, 'Why then as now, in the hands of Almighty God.'"

--William Sloane Coffin, Credo (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 2003) 150.

Meat night

Well, we did our part for the local economy last night.. a little more than any of us had planned, but Meat night was a "Raring" success.. culminating in the wedding of Indiana Jones in church..not our church, but a church all the same... actually I think a church does meet at the Carmike.. so maybe we can say we ended the night literally "in church".. okay, that may be stretching it.. Good news is that seven guys walked out of the theater upright after hours of fun and numerous bathroom trips for all... The goal was achieved.. we dined in a room of kings.. seriously.. it looked like something out of a Henry 8th period movie... giant mirrors on all walls, waiters everywhere, complete with skewers of sizzling delights and an array of vegetables and desserts that will bring you to your knees..

We had a great time, enjoyed each others company "in community" and didn't break any major rules as far as we know. We focused on who we believe in.. and talked a lot about what we believe.. and what others believe for that matter.. From Iraq to Buddha... We all agreed that what goes on at meat night stays at meat night.. so unfortunately we are bound by a "medium rare" blood oath and cannot divulge details further.

Sources inform me that several of the ladies and kids gathered and enjoyed a "meatless" pizza party... I have to ask why one would buy pizza without meat.. and at the same time I say "welcome all to my world." since I hear Tracee did the ordering ;-)

We humbly and gently thank our beautiful, loving wives and children for allowing us this "rare" indulgence of time and family funds. We have some very nice plans in the works to show our adoration.

For all of you that couldn't come out last night. We thought of you, missed you, and then moved on as we understand that the world is a tough place... Alas, we will endeavor for another time in the years, maybe many years to come.. where we can join in the festivities of "meatness"...

Thanks for the time guys.. I loved it.
jeff

--
Jeff Prillaman
Executive Director, Da Capo Institute
http:www.dacapoinstitute.org
http:web.mac.com/jeffp