I’m so glad to have Don McLaughlin speaking at Highland this Sunday. Two of his sons are members, so it was a bit easier to get him. Don will be speaking Tuesday evening. It made a lot of sense to ask him to speak in this series called “The Church Has Left the Building,” because Don is one of the most intentionally missional people I’ve ever met in my life. Highland folks, trust me: you’ll love his preaching!
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There’s an interesting article in the last ACU Optimist about how a church in Abilene has started a Sunday morning service that is only for university students. (A tiny little correction was made online. The article, as it appeared in the paper, said that they were developing an “all student worship band.” It now has been corrected online to say an “all student worship team”! I knew what they meant.)
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ACU lectureship gets started in four days with Jack Reese giving the opening night address. We’re looking forward to having my parents come down from Missouri for the lectures.
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Chris’s first official 8th grade football game was last night. He played last year, but he had just been out of the wheelchair for a couple months and had just been out of the back brace for about a month. In August (2005), his orthopedic surgeon in Ft. Worth told him that he was released to play anything except football. Then he could tell Chris was disappointed.
Doc: “Did you want to play football?”
Chris: “Yes, sir.”
Doc: (Long pause.) “All right, I’ll release you for football, too.”
Diane: “Excuse me, I have a question. Why did you say everything but football in the first place?”
Turns out some pediatric orthopedic surgeons aren’t that crazy about football anyway.
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Yesterday when I read Ezekiel I remembered how some people have said he had psychological problems. They base this on the strange behavior (we’re talking, at times, very strange), and the strong writing (sometimes ranting and sometimes, well, explicit — like chapter 23).
But he was a prophet ablaze with a passion for the holiness of God. As he spoke from Babylon (having been deported), he had to pull out all stops to remind people of the judgment of God (especially chapters 1-24) and to evoke images of the hope from God (chapters 25-48).
Silly pediatric orthopedic surgeon. What was he thinking!
Sorry, Mike, but as a nurse I side with the Doc. I was a mean Mama. My boys weren’t allowed to play football. One picked Basketball, the other Baseball. I saw too much as a nurse on the neuro floor. It also has to do with my yankee parents, I suppose. The whole Friday night lights thing never sunk in with us.
Well, when you say it that way…a little wild-eyed passion for the holiness of God might do us all some good!
Decisions, decisions — going to Don’s class next week on the missional church, or Mike’s class on sex. Will your folks be there for your class Mke?
I did this class at Pepperdine, Kent. And yes, my parents were in the class then. I said there that some parents were wondering if the class would be appropriate for their children, but that their anxiety was nothing compared to having my parents in the class!
As an ACU grad and a former member of Highland, I have to confess that I’m troubled by the idea of an all-student church. I believe strongly that multi-generational relationship is one of the greatest advantages to being a part of a local congregation. It would be a shame to remove that element.
I have to say that I agree with Adam and thought the same thing about Hillcrest starting a university-oriented service. One of the main reasons I stayed at Highland after I graduated were the rich, multi-generational relationships I had built. But that is only my humble opinion. I know God will be glorified in their gatherings, and I admire Hillcrest for their desire to do more to reach out to university students.
I’m really looking forward to Lectureship this year. There are some excellent classes being offered…it’s difficult to choose sometimes!
That is funny Mike. True story - I was very blessed as a 14 year old that our Wed. night boys Bible class was taught by Paul Faulkner. Paul informed us one night it was time for a series of lessons on sex. He gave us an over-view -and most of us responded with “cool!”. He then informed us the class would commence the next week, and we would be sitting in the class beside our….mothers. After much laughter, we realized he was serious. Some things you just never forget.
Hey Mike,
I love reading your blog. Thanks for putting your thoughts out there for us to read. When will Highland update the sermons on their website? It is great being able to feed from the word as it is taught by you, Jerry Taylor, and others. Thanks.
I wonder how many other people with a passion for God could be classified with “psychological problems.”
Martin Luther King
John Brown
Martin Luther
We could just categorize all people with strong religious views as somehow pathological.
Donnie will be a blessing to Highland. I’ve never been around anybody else like him in my life.
We have an 8:30 Sunday night service for the University students at Downtown, and we have over a thousand kids who attend. They love it! Most also attend other services during the morning.
Hooray for Chris! He can be light and salt on the field, as his dad was.
Hug your sweet mom for me!
DU
I have to agree with those who have already expressed their disappointment with the “Abilene church” that has added a students-only service to its Sunday morning arsenal.
While they say things like, “I think it’s met a lot of people where they are,” what it really seems like they’re doing is offering more custom-designed spiritual goods and services for the college students (convenient time, student-led worship, etc…) while reinforcing the already prevalent idea that church attendance equals discipleship.
I assume the church is targeting non-church-attending college students with this move. If “getting them in the door” is what the “Abilene church” is after, they’ll probably succeed…for now. But if forming radical disciples of Jesus is the ambition, I’m afraid they’ve missed it on this decision …
(the generational issue, as some have already said, is another strike against this decision…)
About the “All student service” - personally, I believe Titus. How in the world are we, the older members going to mentor the younger ones if they are shunted off in a ‘church’ all by themselves?
I’m so radical I’d like to see the children remain in ‘big church’ with all of us until sermon time, then off to age appropriate teaching. We need our younger ones with us to remind us of our God-given task to teach and mentor, and the younger ones need to be reminded that there are others in this world than those of their own age - that there are those that can help them understand some of the tough issues they face.
In case it wasn’t clear
iow-let’s try to bring the generations together, not separate them even more.
How do students learn from older Christians if they are isolated? Although Paul told Timothy to let no one despise his youth, the examples of the folly of listening to youth (such as Solomon) are more numerous thoughout Scripture. There is something to be said for learning from those who have weathered the ups and downs in the roller coaster of life, holding fast to the faith through experiences not chosen.
So I guess that means Don won’t be teaching my young marrieds class this Sunday. We’ll let you have him this week only, but we want him back!
my mother told me i could play football but if i got hurt she was coming on the field. i did not play.
i love Ezekiel, he gives me hope.
Jr. Church has always been one of my pet peeves. I understand the “problems” without it, the parents can’t sit and listen to a sermon, it is distracting to those sitting around the kids, the kids get a lesson on their level, etc……
My main concern has always been “well when are they ever going to learn to sit in the assembly with the rest of us?” “why aren’t the parents taking the opportunity to train them?” “are they always going to need to be entertained?” Don’t get me wrong, I know there is a lot of work involved in Jr. Church, and I know at our church the intention is not to entertain. And on the plus side, it is a lot easier for me to listen when the kids all leave the auditorium.
Maybe that’s what we are seeing now, a bunch of Jr. church kids that don’t know how to interact with “adults” because we haven’t been growing them towards that.
Couln’t Ezekiel have been both?
Clinically Insane and a Prophet. The message is still the message.
I find a university church meeting very different from a children’s church, but I see purpose in both. The children’s church is a place where kids can learn to be reverent and worship in an environment they understand. It has to be done correctly, but it can be a powerful tool for teaching kids rather than a crutch for freeing parents. It is important that the children rejoin their parents in the general worship at an appropriate age as well.
The university meeting serves a need that the established members sometimes overlook. Having been a university student in Abilene, I can attest to the fact that since university students are a dime a dozen, we are easily ignored. We won’t be a lasting influence on the church due to the impermanent nature of our residence there, but I had an extremely difficult time finding a niche where I could even meet those older Christians who were supposed to inspire and encourage me, much less develop meaningful relationships with them. I would encourage those who dislike the university group having a separate church meeting to realize how difficult it is to find a church home away from home and make extra effort to reach out to those young adults. Maybe then they wouldn’t feel the need to group together in order to find that community of faith. In the meantime, I commend those who are making efforts to meet that need right away.
Sarah, it also means we won’t get to hear him preach Sunday!
Mike, we definitely want Don back after you’re done with him!
Sarah and Tina - I’m sorry to tell you this, but Don is trying out for a position as the associate associate preaching minister at Highland.
Let me ask you both, since you get to hear Don regularly. Does he always seem to have been well caffeinated early in the morning? The guy seems to have more energy than anyone I know.
Being a little older, I would say the person who stirred the dander up on the “legalistic” coc was Ruebel. We use to be warned not to listen to him. I heard him once at Jubilee and thought “What a heart for the Lord”. Voiced that when I got home, well, it wasn’t pretty. But it made me reevaluate a lot of things, search the scriptures more. Best thing that could of happened to me. Strange to think of him as an Ezekiel
Mike, thanks for you blog it makes me think. I’ve thought about the college service.
I beleive many churches have forgotten that we are a “family” of believers. Church isn’t just something that we do on Saturday or Sunday. Church is who we are. We are called to be a spriitual family. Families are mutigenerational, different ages, genders, personalities, tallents. You have grandma and grandpa, mom, dad, children, grandchildren.
It is like saying lets have a service just for young families with children so the old members won’t be distracted by the crying babies. Let’s not get any of our members upset over the “praise band” I mean “praise team” so we will have another service just with the “praise band” I mean “praise team.” One church I went to once had two services and only thing different was they types of songs. Early worship the sang How Great Thou Art and the second service sang “Our God Is An Awesome God.”
Crazy way of “doing” church. I have found in ministry you can’t please everyone no matter how you try. Even Jesus couldn’t please everyone and he was the son of God.
Can’t we all just get along?
My son has been attending the University Students assembly, and I admit to wondering if that was such a good thing - although I’m glad it’s a service that he enjoys. But, like Memphis, it occurs to me that even though I attended a regular service during my time in Abilene, I did not form any relationships with anyone outside of the kids I knew from school.
I do like the sound of a later service that is a little more progressive. I suppose you’d find me right in there with them if I lived in Abilene and attended there. I’m sure that there must be some non-transient members who are attending with the college kids. I can’t be the only old folk who would like that type of service. And, quite honestly, deep relationships are not formed during a worship service. It’s all that other stuff we do together that gives us the opportunity to befriend and mentor each other.
“…quite honestly, deep relationships are not formed during a worship service. It’s all that other stuff we do together that gives us the opportunity to befriend and mentor each other.” -reJoyce
Amen.
There is power having multi-generational, familial interactions among Christians but from what I have experienced most of my life on Sunday mornings, worship assembly doesn’t really offer us much opportunity to exercise the “one another” ideas of the NT.
Sunday assembly in many churches feels more like Temple worship than it does “one another” life. I don’t think that has to be considered a bad thing. Shoot, Peter and John were *still* going to the Temple to pray AFTER Acts 2. I only think that’s a bad thing when we try to force “one another” theology to fit churches of hundreds of people sitting in rows seeing more backs of heads than faces.
I’m all for Children’s Worship - not because I’m concerned that my kids won’t sit still or be distracting, but because they won’t understand what’s being said in the sermon, if it’s not done at their level, just as I wouldn’t understand a sermon done in Latin. Our church only separates the kids out for the sermon & I DO love being able to Worship with them & share Communion with them too.
However, separating out a whole group of adults (and college kids ARE adults!) for an entire service would be a big DIS-SERVICE.
I’ve always been a huge football fan. Now I have two boys playing. During our jamboree at the beginning of the season one of the kids broke his leg in a “Prothro” kind of way that required surgery, pins, etc.
Last night, a little boy, 7th grader, broke his arm during a kick off return.
So I don’t know. I wish I knew the numbers on how many children play football and how many children are hurt as opposed to how many children play other sports and are hurt. Or even how many children don’t play sports and are hurt.
As a mom, I want them to be safe, but I have to wonder if keeping them out of football will achieve that goal?
Anybody previe to some of those numbers?
Beaner.
I your lucky! The church I am at now is to small for childrens worship. My kids have to sit and hear me preach. They really enjoy childrens worship when they get the chance to go to churches that have it. The interaction with peers really builds them up. As it does with Adults. Excellent thoughts.
Ezekiel was intense. I usually feel uncomfortable when I meet someone that intense and passionate for God. That says more about my own lack of commitment, than the person who is “crazy” for God.
I remember Don from his Byesville, OH days… He was just starting out and I was lucky to have had the opportunity to hear him preach in the Ohio Valley a few times. He was a dynamo then… it doesn’t sound as if he has slowed any.
Have any of you attended the “Hillcrest” University service? It is amazing. C’mon admit it~~ how many of you attended Hamby in college because it started at 11am? (and that you absolutely loved Willard Tate!) By the way~~he was the first speaker at the Hillcrest University Service. Stephen Moore spoke last Sunday and was great!
Hillcrest has it’s service at 9am and the 10:30 university worship is awesome for college students. The optimist article had several mistakes in it and the editor said they would be corrected. After last Sunday’s service they were treated to a meal with a young married class and a class composed of older members in the multi purpose room. I feel students need to be in church on Sunday~~wherever they choose to attend~~Hillcrest, Highland, Hamby, University Southern Hills, Oldham Lane~~just be in church!! By the way I have seen statistics of those at ACU who don’t attend anywhere and it shocked me!!!!!!!!!!!!
In Christ!!
By the way….. There were many other members from Hillcrest in the University service on Sunday……One of the mistakes in the Optimist article was the headline “University-only”…….
Did that smily face after your statement about Don (I also call him Donnie) mean you were kidding? The part about him trying out for associate associate preacher. I’m very gullible but I don’t believe that one. My husband and I will be at Highland Sunday. We’ve known Donnie since he was in 9th grade at Columbia Christian High School in Portland, Oregon. My husband was his 9th grade Bible class teacher and brags (jokes) that he taught him everything he knows. I was very surprized when I found out that he had become a preacher. He was quite a character in high school. We have heard him preach in Atlanta - and yes he has a lot of energy and did when he was in high school.
We had a couple want to start a childrens church at our congregation. We met tremendous resistance. One member stated that we say we are happy to have babies and young in church and now you want to ship them out. The biggest resistance came from the parents of those young children. We do not have children’s church now.
I would be happy if my 21 and 25 year old were going to church…period!
Terry,
I was thinking that exact same thing!
I’m sorry…I just have to chime in one more time. Gettin’ a little peaved here.
At which point did we start believing that college student being in church means that they are following Jesus? When did we start believing that about everyone else?
For too long we have perpetuated the thought that attendance at a meeting once a week (twice or three times if you’re really pious) equals righteousness, and I find this to be a shame. Doesn’t Jesus speak sharply to those in his day (and ours, if we’re listening) who believe that a rote “going though the motions” will purchase their salvation?
Jesus presents a new way of living, of “one another” life together as Ike aptly put it. This means 24-7-365, not just an hour on Sunday.
For many of the college students I know, church attendance often impeded their following Jesus. I know that sounds strange — or even sacreligious — but it’s true. They became so furious at the disconnect between what they were reading in Acts and what they saw the church becoming (regarding justice in the world, finances, hierarchies, racial and gender injustices within, lack of mission, greed, and the list goes on…), that they knew what they had to do. They left. Some of these folks found alternative expressions of community, and others did not.
We must not assume that everyone that is not in church is not following Jesus, as we must also not assume that everyone that is in church is following Jesus. We must begin to call each other to a different standard of discipleship, one that centers not on meetings and buildings and budgets, but on self-sacrifice, service, centerdness on and listening to our Master, Jesus.
Woah, somebody get Steve a brown paper bag. He just went “Ezekiel” on us.
All kidding aside, I feel you brother. I think the brutal fact is that the nature of our discipleship bears witness to our understanding of just how good the good news is. It’s not a race; it’s more like a tour of the Chocolate Factory.
Enjoy the tour my brothers and sisters.
Mike - the answer to your question is a resounding YES.
I can back up Sarah’s statement with another YES!!
Wow, so many people with so many opinions. I think ACU is great and the church atmosphere is great. Many kids are shopping around for a church, and many will go wherever there particular group of friend want to go. Some will no go at all. I say hooray for any church that is willing to try something new so that college students feel welcome. Props to Hilcrest.
Steve — I hear what you are saying, and agree with you that church attendance does not necessarily confirm or deny that someone is a Christ-follower. However, there are many college students who are not even a part of the crowd, much less the committed. Being at a school like ACU, they usually have some type of history as far as the church goes and may have even been baptized. But they have yet to cross the line. So something different may be the spark that gets the fire going.