Bible/Cell Phone

I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
>
> What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
>
> What if we flipped through it several times a day?
>
> What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
>
> What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
>
> What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
>
> What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
>
> What if we used it when we traveled?
>
> What if we used it in case of emergency
>
> This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?
> Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry
> about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
>
> Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities?"
>
> And no dropped calls!

Sent via email from Alan Jordan a member of St. John
Thanks Alan!

Clumsy me

This week has been so fast and furious that we had not unpacked all the suitcases, including mine in the bedroom. And of course it was the big one. Well, we had it sitting in the floor and the big cat, Tygger had taken it over as if to say, "you aren't going anywhere, anytime soon." That was okay, because we had it set it out of the way or at least I thought it was. The other night, I was going into the bedroom to go to bed, and the lights were off. Koda, the little dog was under my feet. I rounded the corner into our bedroom and went tripping pretty as you please over the edge of the suitcase, spilling right onto the floor. The suitcase had some kind of hard plastic edge to it that scraped and bruised my thigh all the way from the knee. I was laying on the floor crying and the dog was licking my face. He thought it was a game and funny. Inspite of my screaming when I fell, the kids did not wake up. Bob came in and rescued me, turned out I have a pretty bruise and abrasion. It has really hurt for a couple of days. We iced it down and I have been using IBprophin. I have been wearing shorts too, could not stand anything to touch it. Needless to say, the suitcase has been emptied and put away. Tygger is very angry with us too for doing that or maybe she was angry that we went away in the first place.

Comings and Goings, Dogs and Cats

Well we are all home safely. We had a nice relaxing stay in Chattanooga. The hotel had a indoor swimming pool, which the kids enjoyed a lot. And we went to the Tennessee Aquarium. Katy's comment was that it was fantastic. I think they liked the petting pools most of all.

Two days before we left our gray cat, Rhianna, was ran over and killed. Bob buried it so we wouldn't have to keep seeing it. We were very sad. And we were sad to come back and she wasn't there to greet us.

The day we left, the kids left the back door open by mistake and the dogs escaped to run free for awhile. So we had to wait on them. I picked up things and threw away trash while we waited. They came home, and we prepared to leave. Well wouldn't you know it, the kids left the door open again as we were ready to leave again, and there went the dogs. Koda, the little black dog, came back first and then the big brown dog, Lily Bear came home later. I think we spent about two hours with the dogs running and coming back before we could finally leave.

Well, today when we came home; one of the kids, left the back door open, and out the dogs went and away they ran. They didn't stay away as long this time though. And the kids didn't leave the door open again. I would say the dogs and cats are as glad for us to come home as we are to be home.

Forced fast from the Internet

Hi all, I am sitting in our hotel room in Chattanooga, where finally I have internet access. We stopped here to cut our trip back home from the mountains in half. I took my computer with us to the mountains, thinking I remembered there was internet access at the place we stayed. But no there wasn't. And there were no cyber cafes near by. And you just don't run off to find a place to post on your blog in the middle of a Blizzard with category 3 hurricane winds. And you don't leave the kids while you do this. I guess I could have, but I didn't. So from Saturday until today, I have been off the internet, and I did not open the computer the whole time, until now. I have missed you all and blogging and all. It has been a strange quiet time, but I think I needed it. I'll blog more about the vacation and the internet-less experience later. But it is good to have been on vacation, and now to start back. I didn't preach last Sunday, and I don't preach tomorrow. I start back next week though.

Friday Five The Dreaded Dental Edition

revgalblogpals: Friday Five

Reverend mother says that; Cheesehead and I are both laid up this week with various tooth maladies. This one's in honor of us:

1. Are you a regular patron of dentists' offices? Yes. Or, do you go
a) faithfully, as long as you have insurance, or
b) every few years or so, whether you need it or not, orc) dentist?
what is this "dentist" thing you speak of?

2. Whatever became of your wisdom teeth? They removed when I was in my 20’s, along with them went my wisdom also. ( I knew there was something wrong with me.)

3. Favorite thing to eat that's BAAAAAD for your teeth. I-C-E

4. Ever had oral surgery? Commiserate with me. MMM no, that’s why I go to the Dentist regularly to avoid the oral surgery. I can commiserate with you having broke my front tooth as a little kid and having to the see the Dentist about that several times. I hated the shots worse of all. I would pay any time for laughing gas.

5. "I'd rather have a root canal than _________________." Having never had one, I really don’t know the answer to this, but maybe its gum surgery.

Bonus: Does your dentist recommend Trident? Nope. Flossing yes.

Cartoon link

Imus in the morning, booboos big time.

I have been looking around the Christian world of internet, to see if anybody besides Rev. Sharpton is saying anything about this? And guess what, no. Why? I am bamboozled. I decided I would say something. How in the world is he just getting 2 weeks suspension? How have we become so bawdy and crass so freely over the airwaves? Doesn't anybody care? Are we afraid of being shot down for standing up for this? I know that racism still exists, its all around me. I hate it. And yet the monster rears its ugly head in me sometimes too. Its in our churches; and in lots of ways, even though it isn't spoken out loud its spoken silently and nonverbally. Its there.
Mr. Imus said out loud what probably a lot of people think. But that doesn't make it right. It is absolutely sad and maddening that it happened. I feel for the girls on the Rutgers Basketball team that were on the receiving end of the remark.

Idol Chatter at Belief Net says this about Mr. Imus.

Well now some of the advertisers have pulled their advertising from his show, As they say money talks, and may bring about more power than any other thing can.

Imus "has stolen a moment of pure grace from us," the captain of the Rutgers women's basketball team said Tuesday, responding to the uproar over the radio host's comments. The media is saying the team is handling it with class and dignity. But the effects are there.

Perhaps Mr. Imus brought out what is still alive in our country that needs to be confronted with God's grace and love. After all isn't this part of the Resurrection story and the story of the gospel? Lord heal our prejudices in this country. Help us to stop the name calling. Help us heal the division in our country. Help us to heal the division in our world.

If you don't know what Imus said, you can read it here.
Here is Imus on MSNBC

Post Holy Week/Easter Sunday Grunge Day

For some reason, I don't remember last year wearing me out like this. But maybe it did and I don't remember. Maybe it was the all day Sunday headache? I just know that Monday I grunged all day. I did take Zachary to speech therapy and picked up the girls at school. I tried to read a book while waiting for Zach, but couldn't get the words to stop traveling on the page. Instead, I just flipped through a magazine looking at the pictures. We went to Zach's ball game Monday evening. Other than that I was in slow motion all day.
How about you?
I am counting the days down until we go on Spring Break vacation.
4 days and counting.
It will come Abi, be patient, it will come.
Anybody else on a Post Holy Week/Easter Holiday?

What I did Easter Sunday

• Got up at 5am, made coffee, fed the animals, got breakfast for the kids, got kids and myself ready for church, went over sermon, children's sermon and Pastoral Prayer. Also sent out Easter thought for the day email.
• Got to church early to make sure things were setup, clean, put my sermon on the pulpit, get a bulletin and hymnal, find a bible to read from, put the items for the children's sermon in place, (a Easter Basket with eggs), and to greet people.
• Helped rearrange the Easter Lilys away from the altar area so the song leader who is highly allergic to them wouldn't get sick during the service. Vacummed up spilled dirt from dropped plants. Yep, we did drop two of them.
• Went over to the meet and greet to meet and greet, have a cup of coffee, and maybe have a little bite of food.
• Talked to the youth leader and the youth for awhile.
• Went back inside sanctuary for last minute check, met some people who were visiting.
• Went over to choir room to practice the songs and pray with choir.
• Started worship, Preached, sang in the choir; went back and forth between choir loft, pulpit, the place where I do the children's sermon, my regular seat and the floor of the sanctuary to do prayers. Whew.
• Shook hands with lots of people, some new, some coming back, some of our homebound, and some extended family members.
• Went home had lunch with the kids, and then crashed.
• Nursed a headache all day.
• colored easter eggs with the kids, with dye that didn't work. (Darn, that's what I get for buying the cheap pack.) Cleaned finger nail polish off the girl's bedroom floor. (Kara spilled it and then tried to hide it by smearing it in.) Took a walk with the kids and dogs in the woods.
• Had supper, that sweet hubby cooked, watched a little tv and crashed again.

So what did you do on your Easter Sunday

Easter Under Attack: The Colbert Report

"I seem to remember that on Easter Sunday Jesus rode out of the tomb on a giant rabbit that laid colorful pastel eggs. I believe that is the gospel according to Cadbury." The Colbert Report

Easter Wisdom from a Target Cashier

I know, I know, many of you don't shop Target, but I do. Wednesday I was in there finishing up some Easter shopping for the kids, and shopping for upcoming birthdays. (They had a sale going.) At the checkout counter, I started the usual friendly chatter with the cashier. She was a young girl and a new hire. I mentioned to her why I bought all I had for Easter and birthdays. She said to me at that point, "Used to be when I was little, all we did was dye the Easter eggs, and get a little candy. Now Easter is like Christmas, the way parents buy things for their kids for Easter." I said to her, "Sure loses its meaning." Her reply was, "My kids want a bunch of candy and things for Easter, but I told them no, we are not going to do that." "Well, good for you."

I left the store feeling guilty with my basket full of bags. And what did I do to feel guilty? I didn't want to give the kids a bunch of candy, they get enough from all the parties and Easter Egg Hunts. I decided I would try to find some things that were Eastery instead but not candy. I think I went overboard. God forgive me. The cashier was right, it's become more like commercialized Christmas, and I have helped it become that. Here it is Good Friday. Nail that nail into Jesus hand, Abi.

But I am not sure she knew what Easter really means, and I wish I had told her. Here is my excuse, the line was long, and she had already moved on to the next person. Maybe I'll see her again, and find out if she knows and if not tell her. Will my kids know from what I do, and say? I hope so. I hope so.

Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday

Over at revgalblogpals, we have been taking a sabbatical from our regular postings. Instead each day one of us has posted something for that day as part of Holy Week. There are some good postings with good thoughts. Today it was my turn, go have a look at the Maundy Thursday/Holy Week post. And yes, I did post it early in the morning. I woke up early and could not go back to sleep. I'm now going to make some coffee and work on my sermons for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is quiet, and I am looking out the window at the stars, and the moon. How beautiful, what a sight to see for the beginning of a day. I stepped outside and felt the cool crisp air, and listened to the songs of the birds.

Where did the time go?

Where did the time go between my last post and today?

• Thursday; trip to Bham to a committee meeting that took longer than originally thought, wrote a rough draft for Sunday's sermon, and saw my therapist.
• Friday; caught up on office mail, phone calls, etc,went visiting in the afternoon. Kid's had ball practice in the afternoon. Tried to do the Friday five, but home computer gliched and I lost everything, lost my patience too.
• Saturday; spent all day at the ball park with multiple games, also took them to swim lessons.
• Sunday; Sunday morning meet and greet, worship prep, worship and preaching, Easter egg hunt and party at the church, choir practice, nap, and finished reading "Leaving Church'
• Monday, today; back in the office catching up on the office work, preparing for: a Wednesday talk, hosting a worship service on Thursday for two other churches, a sermon for Friday night, and a sermon for Easter Sunday, plus those who come by to talk, and ball practice this afternoon.

Now I know where the time went and is going, going . . . gone.

"Leaving Church"

Over at Revgalblogpals they have started a Book Club with the first book being Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor. In April we will be reading and discussing Christianity for the Rest of Us by Diana Butler Bass, and in May the book will be Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I bought all three books, but had not had time to read the book by Barbara Brown Taylor until last night. The discussion that was going on about the book led me to just go ahead and read it once the kids were asleep. I would have kept reading it except my eyes gave out and my brain quit. I did get to chapter 8. I have read other books of hers. I like her sermons a lot. They have been inspiring to me. I have heard her preach and teach at the Festival of Homiletics, and marveled at her ability to put the sermon together the way she does, and her way with words. But as I have read her sermons, I realized they would not work at the churches I have served. I have realized her style is not my style and that's okay. I have gained a lot from her book The Preaching Life.

Several things stand out to me in this latest book. She talks about her becoming a Priest and moving on to a church of her own as "natural course of things," and "I wanted it." I don't know about becoming a Priest, not being Anglican, but I do know that becoming a Pastor was not "the natural course" of things for me, nor did "I want it." But every body's call, direction in ministry, and following God's will is different than mine. But it makes me uncomfortable her saying it was the natural course. And I get uncomfortable hearing her say she wanted it, and not saying this is what I understood God wanting for my life, my ministry. I don't know, that may just be traditions, and language differences.

She also talks about the long, full days at her first church with no reference to days off, and losing herself there. And then she falls into the same pattern at the second church. That scares me reading that, no wonder she lost herself, burned out, was overloaded and then made the decision to leave the church. I can't say I have been perfect about getting my day off, but pretty close. And I can tell you my husband lets me know when I don't, and so do the kids. And I have been fortunate to have served in churches that cared whether I took care of myself or not and got my day off. Most recently my DS told me, that because I was serving a needy congregation to be sure to take breaks from it, get away and do something different. And I have.

The other thing I hear as I read the book is a somewhat romantic, naive view of the church and of the Priesthood. She did not grow up going to church and had very little idea of what the church could really be like. Having grownup in church, my father and mother being very involved, I have had an idea of what churches can be like, what preachers can be like, the good and bad. I have had to struggle through discovering what this appointive itinerant system is like. And each church is different and so I have had to learn the ins and outs of them.

I think I am going to stop now, because I have work to do, and I don't want to over load the reader. I'll post more later. I have enjoyed reading the book so far. By the way you can go to the revgalblogpals associate store at Amazon and order the books I have mentioned.

Date or no Date

People have been asking, did you get the date or not? The answer is yes, Bob and I did have a date. He was unable to find a sitter. So I found us not one but two 13 yr old girls from the church who babysat for us. This was the first time they had babysat our kids, but they did a great job.

What did we do on our date night? We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Great food. And we went to the $2 movie theater. Now don't get your rankles up and say my hubby is a cheap date. It was me who chose the theater. The full price theater didn't have any movies I wanted to see, and we did go by and check it out. Instead we went to see the "Pursuit of Happyness." I know, I know, it will be out on DVD soon. We had not gotten to see it when it was at the big theater, and I wanted to see it without the kids, although they would have liked it too. I loved it and so did Bob.

It was a great night for us. And on top of that it was a Saturday night, you know the night before Sunday worship. I had gotten my sermon done that afternoon so I could go and not worry about it.

So for all the inquiring minds, we did have a date for my anniversary. Oh the other thing we did was talk about what we liked about being married to each other. That was sweet real sweet.

Alabama knows Bible

Well it has been reported that most Alabama residents say they have a religious faith and a majority in a new poll showed they have a basic knowledge of the Bible.

For example, nearly 70 percent of respondents to last week's Press-Register/University of South Alabama survey correctly named all four Gospels.

"They don't call it the Bible Belt for nothing," said Keith Nicholls, a political scientist and director of the USA Polling Group, which conducted the poll.

The poll showed Alabama residents know more about the Bible than other Americans.

Most Americans can't identify even one of the four Gospels, according to polls cited by Boston University professor Stephen Prothero, who has received national acclaim for his recent book titled "Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - and Doesn't."

More than 70 percent of the Alabama respondents knew the location that the Bible identifies as Jesus' birthplace — Bethlehem.

Only 16 percent, however, knew that President Bush was making a reference to the biblical parable of the good Samaritan when he cited the Jericho Road in his first inaugural address.

Hey can you top that? At least we Alabamians are good for something and know a thing or two about the Bible, we just not sure about it when it is used in political speeches.

Still, he said, he was troubled that 30 percent of respondents attributed Benjamin Franklin's adage "God helps those who help themselves" to the Bible.

What's wrong with you people, of course its in the Bible. Franklin just borrowed it from the Bible. I am going to look it up my King James as soon as I can find it under all that dust and stuff. You can read the rest of the article here.And don't be messing with my Bible or my religion or my Football.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary. 17 years ago I said yes to Bob that I would be his wife, and he said yes to me. The picture is of the Main Post Chapel at Ft. Benning, Ga, where we got married. Our wedding pictures aren't on a disk and so I can't post them. That may be one of my future to dos. We have had our ups and downs, sicknesses and health, financial problems, disagreements, and yet we have stayed committed to each other and our marriage. We deal with conflict differently. He is an introvert and I am an extrovert on the Meyers Briggs scale. He comes from Texas and I come from Florida. He plays golf, I learned to play golf. I played tennis, he learned to play tennis. He likes Opera, I learned to like Opera. I liked movies, he has learned to go to them with me. We like hiking, biking, boating, and fishing. We also like working on home projects together. He grew up Lutheran and converted to Catholism. I grew up Southern Baptist and converted to United Methodist. He converted to Methodism. We have both grown spiritually together. I like to go the ocean, and he likes to go to the mountains. So we go to both places and enjoy. I have to brag on my hubby. He is one of the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, humurous, loving man yet all man that I know. I am so thankful for him. To steal and redo a line from Tootsie, "I am a better woman from knowing him and being with him." Some of the things we have done to help ourselves and our marriage are as follows; Marriage Enrichment, Marriage Enrichment retreats, and Marriage Counseling. But the most important thing we have done is praying together, reading God's word together, forgiving each other, seeing each other through God's eyes, and turning ourselves over to God.

Friday Five: Rivers in the Desert

Friday Five by Songbird from revgalblogpals: Rivers in the Desert

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19, NRSV

As we near the end of the long journey toward Easter, a busy time for pastors and layfolk alike, I ponder the words of Isaiah and the relief and refreshment of a river in the desert.

For this Friday Five, name five practices, activities, people or _____ (feel free to fill in something I may be forgetting) that for you are rivers in the desert.

I don't live in a desert area. But I have taken vacations to Arizona, (I know, I know, that sound's crazy.) The river that my hometown is named after, Crystal River, was full of Springs. But you are asking a different question, aren't you or are you? Because you see both those places offered so much that filled my soul. (The picture is from Manatee Tours and Dives)



I loved being on the river, swimming in the river, boating on the river, spending time with friends on or around the river, snorkling with the manatees, going down into the springs, just standing looking at the river or the springs. And the river leads to the ocean, the Gulf of Mexico. The desert or Red Rock Country, is just a different terrain than the green flatlands I have always known. I loved spending time with my husband, my mom, and meeting people I don't know. I enjoyed the hiking, seeing the little flowers that spring up; and going to the places of the Southern Sinagua people, the Anasazies (the first people), the Hopis, those who found a way to make it their home. I liked finding the little areas of water you could find, the formations, the chapel there, and just looking at the beauty of the area.



I have also been through spiritual deserts. And being sure I get some of the above helps, whether it is actually going to those places or doing some of those activities. It is also important that I spend time with family and friends. It also valuable that I spend time being still and in meditation. (picture from great Sedona Hikes)

Bonus: Lessons learned
There are lessons from both places too. Always swim, boat, scuba dive, snorkle with at least one another person. Make sure you know how to operate a boat, that the engine is in good working order, and have the necessary equipment on board. Make sure you are trained in scuba diving, that your equipment is in good working condition before you dive. Don't overdo it. Don't trash the water. Safety, training, good working equipment, doing these things with partners makes for a good time, and being able to come back again.

In the desert; go with a partner, take plenty of water, good hiking boots and clothes. Stay on the trail. Leave the plants, animals, and cultural sites alone. Rest and takes breaks as necessary. Don't throw your trash down, save it to throw it away when you get back out and find a dumpster. All of the above makes it where you can come back again and for others to enjoy too.

When in a spiritual desert make sure you have a partner or spiritual guide to walk with you. Make sure you too are in working order, get a medical and mental health checkup. Use your past training of reading the scripture, meditating, praying, breathing, and spiritual practices. Remember to stop rest, drink plenty of water, and eat healthy. Don't trash your desert, but instead just take in what it looks like, feels like, what it can teach you, where the beauty is, and where God is.

March Anniversaries

It was a year ago, that we went to China to get our son Zach. Boy has time flown. And how he has grown, and is maturing. He is such a whirlwind of activity, loudness, and fun. I am so glad that God brought us together.

Yesterday, was the date of my father's birthday. I could always remember it because it was the first day of spring. I now remember it emotionally because he died in 1998. I miss him a lot on this earth. I don't miss him spiritually. I know where he is. And he often comes to me in dreams, thoughts and feelings. I am grateful also that God allowed us to be together, as father and daughter.

Saturday, March 24 is my Wedding Anniversary. My husband has been going around saying 17 years, wow 17 years. His first marriage lasted 12, but probably should have ended the day it began. He can't believe we have been married longer than his first and that it has been so much better than the first. I can't believe I am even married, and even still married. I was single for so long, that I had come to the place of accepting that I might remain single for my life. And I will admit that for most of my life I thought I wasn't marriage material, you know, things I thought about myself from some pain and hurt of life. And yet here I am married to this beautiful man for 17 years. Wow. He is working on getting a babysitter so we can have a date Saturday. Ya'll pray, he hasn't been able to find one yet.

And on March 29, I started blogging this blog of St. John's Rev Abi. It was originally named Vicar of Wadley for where I served as pastor. Here is my first post,The vicar is in Maybe.
I originally started blogging about our trip to China to get Zach on our adoption blog under the name of my husband. (I turned that over to my husband, who sadly has not picked it up, but dropped it.) But I have to say I am so glad I started blogging, in that it has opened up a whole new world of friends from all around the world. I have a new family in the revgalblopals, and with those in the Methodist blogging world. I have met some of them f2f at conferences, and will hopefully be seeing some more at the Festival of Homiletics in May. I thankful that God brought us together.

Wow what great anniversaries to have in March. I am celebrating!

I Like Jesus … Not the Church

You know, you have seen the stickers I heart Jesus.
People really do like Jesus, even love him,
but guess what they don't like the church.

This is the title of Dan Kimball's latest book.
You can read more about what went into the writing of his latest book here. Today's non-Christian 20- and 30-somethings are big fans of Jesus but are less thrilled with His followers and the churches where they worship. Pastor/author Dan Kimball reveals their six most common perceptions of Christians and the Church, what they wish church was like—and why you should be listening to these emerging voices. Here are the misconceptions:
1) The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda.

2) The Church is judgmental and negative.

3) The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.

4) The Church is homophobic.

5) The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.

6) The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally.

In the article at Christianity Today, which was originally written for outreachmagazine.com, he gives some good ideas of how to deal with the 6 misconceptions. One thing he talked about that struck me was what he called the Church Office Bubble. He talked about how it is so easy to be caught up in the business and busyness of the church that we don't as Pastors get outside the office. And that mostly we hang out with Christians or churchgoers. He found himself in that position. It made me think about my work as a Pastor, and challenged me to plan to get out of the office more and be around people. When I lived in Wadley, I got out more spent time with a lot of people, some Christian, some not, some church goers, some not. I feel encouraged and inspired to find a way to do it here in the culture and area I live in.



There is a website for the book called theylikejesus.com. Dan Kimball has his own blog as well, and other websites: Blogs and websites to follow:

• Dan Kimball
• MySpace
• http://www.vintagefaith.com/

This is another book I will be reading.

About 100 million Americans unchurched

Wow. I found this today at the blog For the Love by Kristen Campbell.

The Barna Group released a study today noting that if the unchurched population of the United States were a nation of its own, that group would be the eleventh most populated nation on earth (trailing only China, India, the churched portion of the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan and Mexico).

The new survey released by The Barna Group, which has been tracking America’s religious behavior and beliefs since 1984, reveals that one out of every three adults (33%) is classified as unchurched - meaning they have not attended a religious service of any type during the past six months. While that figure is considerably higher than the one out of five who qualified as unchurched in the early Nineties, it is statistically unchanged since 36% were recorded as having avoided religious services in the company’s 1994 study.

In its report, Barna notes that its results coincide with the publication of "Jim and Casper Go to Church," which describes the experiences of a former pastor and an avowed atheist who visit a dozen U.S. churches (including Bill Hybels' Willow Creek, Rick Warren's Saddleback, Joel Osteen's Lakeside and T.D. Jakes' The Potter's House). Among the findings: "the relative indifference of most churched Christians to unchurched people; the overt emphasis upon a personal rather than communal faith journey; the tendency of congregations to perform rituals and exercise talents rather than invite and experience the presence of God; the absence of a compelling call to action given to those who attend; and the failure to listen to dissident voices and spiritual guidance to dig deeper in one's faith." You can read some more info about this book here.

Wow, 100 million unchurched in America.

To put that figure in context, if the unchurched population of the United States were a nation of its own, that group would be the eleventh most populated nation on earth (trailing only China, India, the churched portion of the United States, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Japan and Mexico).

I think I'll be reading the book.