The following BLOG post is reposted from Dr. Terry Dorsett.  It comes a timely interval as we are about to trek through the increasingly busy and demanding holiday season toward and beyond Christmas.

Jesus Vs. Video Games

Dr. Terry Dorsett: http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/

My primary ministry is to help coordinate church planting across the state of Connecticut. In that role I get to spend time with a lot of fine young couples who have a passion for changing their world. One of the things I work with those couples to do when they first get started is to find some partners who would stand with them in prayer, giving and volunteerism. Those partners come from other area churches and from churches outside our area that have a burden for Connecticut. It is a lot of work to find partners willing to sacrifice their time, their treasure and their talents to help a church they are not even part of. But the Lord touches the hearts of partners and they join the cause.

Recently one of our church planters sent a Facebook message to me. He had been working the social media angle pretty hard trying to find partners. Though some people had responded, many had not. In a pointed moment of realization it occurred to him that many of the same people he was contacting about partnering with him in church planting were ignoring his messages about partnering but sending him countless messages inviting him to play games on Facebook. He found it ironic that they would talk to him a lot about games but none about Jesus. His message pondered what it would be like if he could get people as excited about partnering with him as they were about playing games on Facebook. I wonder the same thing.

And it is not just Facebook games. People who tell me they do not have time to volunteer have the time to play on both a softball league and a basketball league. People who tell me they do not have money to donate somehow have the money to drive the latest model car with all the upgrades. Pastors who tell me their church is too stretched to help plant another church find money for another round of renovations in a sanctuary that already looks pristine and take their senior adults on amazing sight seeing trips on fully equipped buses, but seem unable to take those same people on a mission trip. Once I got a letter from a mega-church asking me for money, not to start a church, but to build an $120,000 playground for the children in their already well funded private school. I sent them a letter back suggesting they tithe off their playground fund to a church plant in New England. I am still waiting on that donation to come through . . .

It is all about priorities. The American church has gotten our priorities wrong. Now we play games and have fun instead of being about the business of winning others to Jesus. I am not suggesting that we should NEVER have fun or play a game, but somewhere along the line we must stop playing games with our faith and start doing whatever it takes to win our nation to Jesus. The team of church planters we have in Connecticut are in it to win it, will you join them, or are you too busy playing games on Facebook, planning your next trip to the beach or getting a message at the spa?

This video is from the Springfield Community Chorus, Springfield, Vermont, Spring presentation of Mozart’s “Requiem in d minor.”  My wife and I enjoy being part of this group. 

Next performance will be December 7 & 8 in Chester and Springfield.  Come and enjoy!

I’m tired of the democrats.  I’m tired of the republicans.  I’m tired of politicians saying whatever they believe to be expedient for the purpose of getting votes, winning party favor, or playing to their party’s base.  The following provides a striking example–and these are available from people on both sides of the political spectrum.  
March, 2006, then senator Barack Obama had this to say:

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership FAILURE It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s RECKLESS fiscal policies. Increasing America ‘s debt WEAKENS US domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is SHIFTING THE BURDEN of BAD choices today onto the backs of OUR CHILDREN and grandchildren. America HAS a debt problem and a FAILURE of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

I don’t beat the drum for any current politician or party anymore.  Both political and ideological sides have been a serious disappointment as far as I’m concerned, and our country is worse off by having any of them in office.  The best thing the voters could hope for is a clean sweep of fresh faces and new ideas in the next few election cycles.  It’s time to elect some people who don’t view the office as a privilege to enjoy, but rather a duty fulfill. 

Before you ask, I’m not planning to run for any sort of political office, and unless things change I probably won’t vote again either.

A Confounded Constituent

I remember September 11, 2001.

But, I also remember September 12, 2001, when the hearts and minds of our nation were stirred to turn to God and people from all walks of life prayed. We prayed for the people still trapped beneath the fallen towers. We prayed for the first responders who had so bravely faced that horrible and tragic day. We prayed for the families who would have an empty seat at the table. We prayed for a nation that had been rocked from one coast to the other by the events in the east. We prayed for the soldier, men and women who would be leaving home to respond across the ocean to this attack. We prayed, and we worshipped, and we looked to God.

I remember the days following September 11th. The people of our nation were moved with patriotism and we were The UNITED States of America. There was no black…no Hispanic…no white, just American. Flags were raised on the homes and business of people of all colors and nat…(tharr be more)ionalities in our country. We joined hands with the people next to us in solidarity without first looking to see what color their skin was, or what political party they were part of.

I remember September 11th, and I’m left wondering: Why does it take tragedy and crisis to unite us? Why can we only seem to look past race and politics when we are in trouble. Hurricanes, earth quakes, floods, and terrorist attacks seem to force us to look past the surface. There we see the elements that unite and strengthen us. Patriotism…Loyalty…Tolerance…Love for Country and for our Fellow Man.

Today people will be remembering September 11th. But I wonder will they remember what September 11th revealed about our nation? Will the remember what we experienced together in the days following that tragic Tuesday? Will they regret that our nation has lost sight of that sense of unity in the larger community? Will they long for the spiritual drive of those days that compelled people to look toward the heavens in prayer?

Will it make a difference on September 11, 2013?

I have recently put together a professional teaching portfolio.  I wanted it to reflect who I am as well as what I have learned and accomplished in the area of education.  The cover is the picture below.  I decided that this needed some explanation, so I included the following in the cover of the document.

COVER PHOTO EXPLAINED

The photograph on the cover of this portfolio is a picture taken a few years ago near Owego, New York. I have just found a “hidden treasure” while GEOCACHING with my family. GEOCACHING is like high-tech treasure hunting using GPS devices and the internet. Scattered around the world are secret stashes, to find them you log in to the website, locate a GEOCACHE site near you and off you go. The best experience I have had with this was a site in Northwest Maine. We had searched for a long time for the stash there. Everyone was ready to give up, but I refused to quit. My perseverance paid off and I located a small box buried beneath some branches. It was my second attempt and after that I was hooked.

I see teaching as a type of treasure hunt. Each child enters the classroom with abilities, gifts, and experiences waiting to be discovered. Too frequently, we give up and take the easy path. The greatest treasures, however, are not found on the wide simple paths, but in the narrow and risky trails that often take us beyond our comfort zone. Teaching is bringing the best out in each student, and being willing to sweat it out until that treasure is uncovered.

I have been glad every time I have found one of these GEOCHACHE treasures. They are nothing of value or worth to anyone else, but to me each experience is a priceless memory. I hope to find that same value and worth in the treasures that enter my classroom each day.

From Dave Bentley’s Professional Portfolio – September 2013

The Hidden Cache in Main that Hooked Me

OK…OK…I’ll weigh in…gosh.  Why do people always want to know what I think about stuff?  The topic: Miley Cyrus performance at the VMA awards.  After so many…Many…MANY…posts, comments, articles and protests about the performance, people have asked my opinion.  I have been reluctant to give it because, well, I really don’t care that much, but for the sake of not seeming out of touch or prudish, here goes:

Real simple, if you expected anything different from MTV and today’s rising pop-culture icons then you are naive.  I watched about thirty seconds of a video link someone sent to me and shut it off.  There is a reason I don’t watch MTV.  I remember really liking the channel…when it was MUSIC VIDEOS.  Now I don’t even pay attention to what’s on there because it’s either drama or…dare I say…C.R.A.P. (Corrupt, Raunchy, And Putrid)! 

If I thought that protesting would make a difference then I might, but it doesn’t.  If I thought that petitions would impact the actions of “child thespians gone wild” I’d sign them, but it doesn’t.  I make my opinion known by NOT WATCHING TRASH.  This is why I can’t really offer an opinion on Miley’s performance, or any other for that matter.

I can offer an opinion, however, on something else.  As I understand it there were thousands in attendance for the live production.  In addition to the live audience tens of millions tuned in around the world to the program.  I imagine that if people are truly outraged, and if those offended celebrities and spokespeople are genuinely appalled by such shenanigans, next years audience numbers will be in the hundreds or perhaps thousands rather than millions and millions and millions.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see just how genuine all this negative response truly is.

Glad you asked.

Life At 29MPH – A Journey Out of the Fast Lane

Recently my wife and I had the amazing blessing of spending a couple of days driving on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. Words fall far short of being able to capture the experience. Pictures can only show you simple images, not the majesty we felt as we stopped along the drive. However, I will include some in this post as eye candy for those who appreciate visuals.

One thing, however, that I do hope to somehow capture for you is the difference in the pace of life on the drive. Prior to getting on the scenic by-way we had been driving interstates all the way from Florida. We had become accustom to highway speeds. On the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive the speed is significantly slower. Most places on the Blue Ridge are posted at 45MPH and Skyline is primarily 35MPH. After a few miles on the roads, however, we determined that even those speeds were too swift to really appreciate where we were.

So we slowed down. We slowed way down. When you have been averaging speeds of 70-75 on the interstate it is a little shocking to set the cruise control at 29. It was hard. Once when we got off the drive to go into town for something we hit a highway and were stunned at how much faster it felt to drive 55. It does not feel normal to go so slow in our hectic race and rush of life.

As we were talking about the experience we thought about a couple of things related to the change in speed as we traveled. First, what are we missing as we are zipping through life? I know that we would have missed seeing at least one of the bears we saw as well as several deer and some incredible sights if we had not been cruising at 29MPH. As we pass things in such a blur in the daily rat race I am grieved to think of what I could have seen if I had only slowed down a little.

Second, what are we failing to fully appreciate in the rush of our daily routines? I couldn’t begin to account for the number of times we uttered a stunned “WOW” as we drove along. There were vistas that allowed us to see for miles. Beauty discovered just off the road on a meadow path. Amazing wildlife some might wait their whole life to see. It was all around us. Then I remembered, aren’t these things around us, or other similarly amazing things, all the time. We just don’t slow down enough to appreciate what surrounds us.

I probably won’t set my cruise to that speed again for a while. What I hope I can carry away from these past few days, and what you might also glean from this, is that it is alright to slow down. In fact, I think it’s a requirement to truly enjoy and appreciate life. So, slow down, set your cruise for comfort and be amazed. You might discover something astounding living life at 29MPH for a little while.

Enjoy the Journey!

Isaiah 45:6-7 
^…so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.  I form light and create darkness, I make success and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.

This has been a very interesting summer.  For the first time in our lives we have not worked during the summer and been able to spend it together.  In addition, we have been away from home with our daughter and son-in-law who live just across from the beach.  One might think that this is the ideal circumstance for a couple, but being “out of my comfort zone” has been hard.  I am a home-body, so I’ve been missing my familiar surroundings.  It’s been nice going to the beach and being with the kids here in Florida, but I’m looking forward to returning to our normal lives.

But…what is “normal?”  So much in my life has changed in the past few years.  I have moved in a different direction in relation to my career.  I have become a grandparent.  I have returned to college.  Perhaps the turmoil of these transitions is part of my draw to return to “normal.” 

Speaking of turmoil, last night I walked out on the beach.  The waves were intense.   

Video: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201594266759734

I love watching the waves.  It allowed me some time to contemplate things.   If you think about what causes these waves, there are forces at work hundreds of miles off shore that start the process.  The energy moves through the water and brings the wave crashing on the shore.  In my life it might seem like I’m experiencing turmoil right now, but my faith reminds me that what I am experiencing now is not actually happening now, but was set in motion according to a greater purpose.  I may not fully understand why, but God is in control, and He is the source of the energy or turmoil I’m currently experiencing. 

I still miss my home, my bed, my space, but I’m comforted in my faith that God is in control, and He is working out His plan in my life.  I don’t know what is coming around the bend…it might be even bigger waves…but I know that God is sovereign, and I know I can completely trust Him, even in the stormy seas of life.

July 17, 2013 – Daytona Beach Shores, FL

Each morning for the past few days I’ve been blessed to take a pre-dawn walk on the beach and watch the sunrise. I’m constantly in awe as I watch the waves, the sun, the birds. For me this is a “How Great Thou Art” moment as I pause to recognize the creator of all things each day.

Something else amazes me too each morning. I’m not alone. There are several other people, even in the early hours, walking up and down the beach, riding bicycles, running. The thing that amazes me is that no one seems to be stopping to breath in the view. This morning my wife remarked that people are listening to music in headphones instead of the symphony of the surf. It reminds me of the significant difference in perspective and worldview.

I’m not saying that these people are bad people, they are just missing out. The longer that they stay here the less the impact of the beauty of the environment in their lives. They begin taking what they have here for granted. While I am singing “Oh, Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.” They are thinking, “Oh Lord, I’m going to be late…I have so much to do…will my marriage survive…where will I get my next fix?” Their lives are so full and marked by chaos that they can’t pause to contemplate the sunrise off the coast. A part of me wants to stand in front of one of the runners and say, “stop for a moment, and look at that.” I want to say to the waitress hurrying to the pier restaurant, “Have you looked around at what God has given you today?” I want to…but they take little notice of us as we stroll along in wonder by the water.

Wherever you are today—right now—please just pause. Whatever day you might be reading this, whatever the weather might be outside, and whatever you have on your list to do today, pause. Look to the sky and see the wonder of all that God has made.

Next time I think I will talk about the order of all the cosmos and the design in what I see around me.

Pastor Dave’s DEVO for this Week:

While we are in Virginia we can’t participate directly with our LifeGroup in Vermont. However, I can pass along my DEVO for this week. This is something we discussed during our family quiet time last night and I continued to ponder today.

PROFOUND LOVE

Mary therefore took a pound of VERY COSTLY perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH THE FRAGRANCE of the perfume.

John 12:3 (NASB77)

Setting the stage

Jesus has come back to Bethany, to the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. This was a place where He often went, and He found a home in a life of homelessness. These were His friends, His family, and they had seen the power and love of Christ engaged in their lives. Lazarus, who had been four days in the grave, was seated at the table. It was a powerful and moving moment, and it was about to get even bigger, better, more profound.
Costly Love

Mary enters the room with a bottle of perfume. Not just any perfume, an extremely expensive perfume. In fact, some describe the cost of such a bottle as being the equivalent of nearly eleven months wages for a middle class worker. I have bought nice perfume before, but never at such an extravagant cost.

We aren’t told how Mary came by this bottle of perfume. We might speculate that she inherited it as a family heirloom. Perhaps it was given as payment for something. Regardless of the source, she knew the value. Her actions tell us, however, that the thing she prized most above all other things was the presence and person of the Lord Jesus.

A Challenging Question

Would I be willing to pay the price of this kind of love and devotion? What do I value most of all in my life? Is my family my greatest prize? Do I place my beloved bride above everything and everyone else? Most would commend me for such great love. Then I remember what I’ve been given in Christ. Is there anything or anyone that can take His place in the center of my heart? Any that I value or prize more than Him? Mary demonstrated a profound love for Jesus, one that she clearly placed above everything else. Why? Because she realized that everything—a brother brought back from the grave…life brought back from the shadows…love brought through heartbreak—is given to her through Christ.

Ask

I pray that my love for the Lord would overflow. That it would be visible, tangible, and even costly. I pray that people would be impacted by that love as those in the room were by the fragrance. I pray that I would love even though some might criticize or condemn. I pray that my love for the Lord Jesus would be profound and extravagant, and would eclipse my love for everything and everyone else, because I realize that in placing my love in Him to such a degree will enable me to love those others with even greater passion and depth.