Podcast Adventure 1

First, some clarification. I wasn't blasting podcasts, just talking about personal preference. This is an adventure for me, since I'm going from nothing to a marathon. Lecture is not always the best way for me, so by combining them, well, we'll see. And how do I feel about podcasts, so far? For me it helps to hear more than one speaker. Speaking of segwaying nicely into my topic, here's the first two messages.

I'm not a fan of older theologians, so I gave one a shot. Actually he had nine shots due to the wonders of technology. Thanks for the extra blessings, iTunes.

The message I wanted to hear was about the book of James and being a respector of persons. I liked what he had to say about dignity, but there was that aforementioned comment about dressing your best to show repsect to God. Yeah, that one never sat well with me. However, this is a minor issue as the rest of the message was good. Do Christians still pay more attention to the church members with deep pockets and try to impress them? Why yes, we do. Is it wrong? Of course.

I like how he uses stories to make his point. Several people he knew, including himself, were looked down upon for doing dirty jobs. Using personal experience is a nice touch.

Okay, my issues. It breaks my heart to hear a great message tainted by a lack of humility. This had compassion, but where did he go with it? He lamented about donars in churches controlling the churches, but quickly dismissed it as an illustration rather than a problem to solve. What can we do about it? Idunno.

I've talked about ministry and how it has overlooked physical needs in the past. We're seeing this change these days, and that's great. But why don't people make a mention of it? The speaker ends with "just treat the poor like everyone else" and leaves us there. You could argue that's in another passage in James, so maybe he'll talk about that later. So give an aside, a quick shout-out. Even at the beginning of a message. Acknowledge there was a problem, and we're actually doing something about it. Silence on the issue ignores a real problem that we've only begun to address.

I listened to another sermon given by two speakers. One was in slow-motion, and the other sounded more caffeinated than me somehow, which gave an interesting affect. Their source material was the Acts early church passage about breaking bread together and giving to those in need.

I learned something I hadn't thought about before about why so many pirates came out of Somalia. Starvation can do that to a person. I'm reading a book about missionaries living in a poor African country, so thoughts like this are on the brain.

I guess that was a nice fun fact, and it makes you think, but what difference does it make?

The speakers went on to discuss those in their congregation who were "leaping for joy", that is, finacially well off, and those who were "limping." The discussion ended with buckets being brought to the front of the room. Those who were blessed were encouraged to share money with those who were not. When the audience caught on to the fact that they'd be giving to those in need, they cheered.

In the end, people gave and others came forward to receive. The latter is harder than the former, I can tell you that. Still, we can be thankful for those who give.

So, which message did I like better? Yes. We need to be reminded to treat people as people, and to respect their dignity, so don't think I was blasting that sermon. It was a good reminder that stuck with me. But we can't end there. Needs are still there, and have been ignored.

Also, it's awesome to see a need and go about meeting it. But more often than not the emphasis is on giving. That's good, but we can't forget the other part either. These are people, not just opportunities to show generosity. I'm not saying they were saying that, but unchecked, we could be going there. A quick shout out, like I said, and the confusion is cleared.