Finally, now I have seen it. Last night we went to the Sights and Sounds Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. My wife who saw Phantom of the Opera and our friend who has seen many Broadway shows, says this one blows the rest away.
It was incredible! The stage wraps around and up the sides of the auditorium, the sets are enormous at forty feet tall with lights and animatronics. Even up into the ceiling and across the ceiling to the back of the auditorium, there are things to see. The actors come in from the sky, across the ceiling, from the back of the auditorium, from the side along the stages there, anywhere!
I was impressed driving in, the size of the place and the number of people there. We drove right in, parked in the first handicap spot from the building! Our friend we took with us is handicap. We got right in the door and in the queue for our section and within ten minutes right to our seats.
I asked an usher where I should park the wheelchair and she asked me for a ticket!? She wanted to know where to bring the wheelchair back to at the end of the show. There are no bad seats, but I would suggest seats towards the middle (front to back) to be able to take in all of the stage in your peripheral vision.
If you go, keeping looking all around, not just at the stage! If you have teens, they will want to re-enact the angels, swooping down the aisles and up onto the stage with roller sneakers!
Warning plot spoilers ahead! Of course if you've already read the book, then don't sweat it. Seriously, if you're actually planning to see, just go and see it, don't read about it.
We saw the "In the Beginning". It starts at Genesis 1:1 with the angels assembled watching God create as the narrative in the Bible tells us. Six days of creation and then a day of rest.
Technical Note: Although Adam and Eve were created naked and were naked, they did a fantastic job of working around that with them clothed in God's glory. Skin colored body suits can do amazing things when combined with special lighting and gauze-like white robes.
The story continues on through God's love for man, God creating a helper for Adam, a wedding (the first wedding), Satan's rebellion, Adam and Eve's fall, their banishment from the garden, their children (43 in the play!) and their family's rebellion, Cain and Nod and the siblings that went with Nod. The story picks up again at the end of Adam's life when he sees a vision of him as the father of all people, and then goes to paradise to be with his Creator. Eve is heartbroken, that she who sinned first, did not die first. Gabriel comforts her with reminding her of God's plan that he himself doesn't really understand completely.
"In the Beginning" ends with the next beginning, the old world passes away and the new heaven and new earth comes, Eden is restored and wedding feast of the Lamb is proclaimed, the new Jerusalem comes for us to dwell in.
The story of God's love and sacrifice so that we could love Him willingly is beyond compare in human history. The expanse of the infinite captured in the opening is stunning. The breadth of time the play encompasses all the breadth of human history in three hours, from the beginning of time to the end of time, when we shall all live eternal and reign with God.
Random thoughts from a focused mind on reaching the world one community, one family, one person at a time with the Good News of Jesus.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Life Size Tabernacle!
It's been far to long to post another blog. We've not had the time over the last two months.
Yesterday we went down to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit the Life Size model of the Tabernacle (from Exodus). It was much smaller than I had imagined as a Sunday School student. The Mennonites have done a nice job putting it together. It is all full scale, from the silhouettes to the furniture. The tabernacle is inside a building, but the courtyard is outside. The arrangement might make it hard for some people to visualize how small it really was. It would fit inside a full size gymnasium, easily. The docent was well spoken and well articulated in explaining the construction of the (real) tabernacle and all its furniture. If you've never heard the Good News of Jesus, you'll hear it!
The part I was really interested in was the presentation the Mennonites have put together on who the Amish are and what they believe.
The Amish and the Mennonite come from the same movement and religiously they are close cousins from the Anabaptist movement that we should be baptized when we can account for our own actions, not when we are born physically, so as to be counted as a church member. This is also to distinguish the Anabaptist from the Banabaptist whose ideology allows them to slip away from the truth and not find their way to heaven.
I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation on the Amish and let me tell you they do have a great sense of humor in dealing with us- the Outsiders, at least those of us who may be rude and intrusive in wanting to know and understand their way of life.
I saw a number of great concepts that correlate into modern life and the problems that we face in society, the breakdown of family, the bankruptcy of Social Security, and the (probable) over diagnosis of ADHD, autism and depression in children and adults. In another blog, I'll pick up these issues for a longer discussion.
Yesterday we went down to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit the Life Size model of the Tabernacle (from Exodus). It was much smaller than I had imagined as a Sunday School student. The Mennonites have done a nice job putting it together. It is all full scale, from the silhouettes to the furniture. The tabernacle is inside a building, but the courtyard is outside. The arrangement might make it hard for some people to visualize how small it really was. It would fit inside a full size gymnasium, easily. The docent was well spoken and well articulated in explaining the construction of the (real) tabernacle and all its furniture. If you've never heard the Good News of Jesus, you'll hear it!
The part I was really interested in was the presentation the Mennonites have put together on who the Amish are and what they believe.
The Amish and the Mennonite come from the same movement and religiously they are close cousins from the Anabaptist movement that we should be baptized when we can account for our own actions, not when we are born physically, so as to be counted as a church member. This is also to distinguish the Anabaptist from the Banabaptist whose ideology allows them to slip away from the truth and not find their way to heaven.
I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation on the Amish and let me tell you they do have a great sense of humor in dealing with us- the Outsiders, at least those of us who may be rude and intrusive in wanting to know and understand their way of life.
I saw a number of great concepts that correlate into modern life and the problems that we face in society, the breakdown of family, the bankruptcy of Social Security, and the (probable) over diagnosis of ADHD, autism and depression in children and adults. In another blog, I'll pick up these issues for a longer discussion.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Lessons from River Dance
Last month we all went to see Riverdance. It was a great show, I felt good about taking my 8 year old. It is the story of the Irish people from when they first came to Ireland to the present. Every part of the show was par excellance. Here's the website to get the story: Riverdance.
The music was absolutely beautiful, the dancing was surperb.
Why can't Christians put together a show as technically beautiful, musically and creatively, and using many different arts together. I'm told that the Sights and Sounds Theater does this, and we are going to see that later this year.
The church should be the sanctuary of the arts, and the not the dungeon of the arts. We should infiltrate the arts with Christianity instead of complaining about them. A recent study came out and clearly indicated that Judeo-Christian themed movies that were clean: typically grossed more than those that didn't. This is secular industry evidence that Hollywood has missed the mark. The arts can be redeemed, they need to be redeemed. We can have a voice in the world through art.
The music was absolutely beautiful, the dancing was surperb.
Why can't Christians put together a show as technically beautiful, musically and creatively, and using many different arts together. I'm told that the Sights and Sounds Theater does this, and we are going to see that later this year.
The church should be the sanctuary of the arts, and the not the dungeon of the arts. We should infiltrate the arts with Christianity instead of complaining about them. A recent study came out and clearly indicated that Judeo-Christian themed movies that were clean: typically grossed more than those that didn't. This is secular industry evidence that Hollywood has missed the mark. The arts can be redeemed, they need to be redeemed. We can have a voice in the world through art.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Lessons from "Hello, Dolly!"
Our local high school has undertaken some great musicals and some not so great musicals. Last year we walked out of Anything Goes which was pretty disgusting after only 15 minutes.
This year we rented the Barbara Striesand movie, "Hello, Dolly!" The movie was good, I would recommend it. The kids did a fantastic job with the play. Good as Broadway according to our friend who has seen a lot of shows on Broadway.
Towards the end of the movie/musical there is a great scene, where 14th Street is a buzz with Dolly is supposed to be coming to the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant at 8 pm. The staff of the restaurant is all excited. Dolly enters and comes down the stairs all decked out and they sing "Hello, Dolly. It's good to have you back where you belong."
Dolly lost her husband, and she has been avoiding life including all the places she went with her husband when he was alive. She had lived life and then given it up. She was a wounded individual.
Here's the lesson: Does the church wait in anticipation for that long lost soul to come back and then party because they have? Generally, we don't, we ostracize and criticize and hold them at arm's length ready to condemn if they slip. We should be like the father from the prodigal son story who ran to meet his wayward son, better yet, he was watching!
The whole restaurant was full of excitement Here was someone they knew and loved had come "home." Who have you welcomed home, lately?
This year we rented the Barbara Striesand movie, "Hello, Dolly!" The movie was good, I would recommend it. The kids did a fantastic job with the play. Good as Broadway according to our friend who has seen a lot of shows on Broadway.
Towards the end of the movie/musical there is a great scene, where 14th Street is a buzz with Dolly is supposed to be coming to the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant at 8 pm. The staff of the restaurant is all excited. Dolly enters and comes down the stairs all decked out and they sing "Hello, Dolly. It's good to have you back where you belong."
Dolly lost her husband, and she has been avoiding life including all the places she went with her husband when he was alive. She had lived life and then given it up. She was a wounded individual.
Here's the lesson: Does the church wait in anticipation for that long lost soul to come back and then party because they have? Generally, we don't, we ostracize and criticize and hold them at arm's length ready to condemn if they slip. We should be like the father from the prodigal son story who ran to meet his wayward son, better yet, he was watching!
The whole restaurant was full of excitement Here was someone they knew and loved had come "home." Who have you welcomed home, lately?
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
What is worship?
This is not a doctrinal paper but a building of a conceptual thought into a firm reality.
Worship is singing, praise, prayer, breathing, listening, humbling, declaration, posture of spirit.
Worship happens when we sing, praise, pray, breathe, listen, bow, declare, and prostrate our spirit.
Where can we worship?
Worship is at church, listening to music in the car, in the living room, in the garage, at work, any where we can go and God is there.
Worship is a posture of our spirit: prostrating ourselves before the God of the universe anywhere we are prompted into the presence of God.
What does it feel like?
How can you describe sitting at the feet of God who spoke the universe into existance? I just finished reading a great book, called Ninety Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Life and Death.
Don Piper is involved in a horrific car accident and dies. He is dead for ninety minutes. He vividly recalls what heaven is like and meeting with friends and family and singing, all the while moving up to the gates of the throne room. Every sense is more intense and every sight is more beautiful than on earth.
What does worship feel like? Is it gladness, humilty, holiness, cleanness, joy, sadness, terror, hope, silence, calmness, everything fading away. Yes, all of the above and more. God interacts with each of us a little different, because we are all a little different from each other.
I want to end with an story from Joshua Revolution conference last year. We walked into the convention center it was clear outside. The whole conference was on the book of Revelation. We closed the session out with singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty" and the band walked off the stage, nobody left, we sang acappella for 40 minutes each of us just entering the presence of God, stating how holy He is. When we came out of the convention center fog had covered the city and you couldn't see more than a block!
God reveals Himself in many different ways. Ask God to reveal Himself to you today, He will.
Worship is singing, praise, prayer, breathing, listening, humbling, declaration, posture of spirit.
Worship happens when we sing, praise, pray, breathe, listen, bow, declare, and prostrate our spirit.
Where can we worship?
Worship is at church, listening to music in the car, in the living room, in the garage, at work, any where we can go and God is there.
Worship is a posture of our spirit: prostrating ourselves before the God of the universe anywhere we are prompted into the presence of God.
What does it feel like?
How can you describe sitting at the feet of God who spoke the universe into existance? I just finished reading a great book, called Ninety Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Life and Death.
Don Piper is involved in a horrific car accident and dies. He is dead for ninety minutes. He vividly recalls what heaven is like and meeting with friends and family and singing, all the while moving up to the gates of the throne room. Every sense is more intense and every sight is more beautiful than on earth.
What does worship feel like? Is it gladness, humilty, holiness, cleanness, joy, sadness, terror, hope, silence, calmness, everything fading away. Yes, all of the above and more. God interacts with each of us a little different, because we are all a little different from each other.
I want to end with an story from Joshua Revolution conference last year. We walked into the convention center it was clear outside. The whole conference was on the book of Revelation. We closed the session out with singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty" and the band walked off the stage, nobody left, we sang acappella for 40 minutes each of us just entering the presence of God, stating how holy He is. When we came out of the convention center fog had covered the city and you couldn't see more than a block!
God reveals Himself in many different ways. Ask God to reveal Himself to you today, He will.
Counter-Culture and Relevant
It is counter-culture to go against the grain when there is a trend the world takes.
It is relevant to reach people in the culture they live in, but it is counter culture that they need to escape to Christ.
A drowning man exists in a drowning culture, when we throw a lifeline to him, he is being reached by being counter-culture, because everything in his world is drowning.
When we reach into a teen's life to minister to them, we reach into a teen's culture of friends, ipods, txt msg, school and life. We are not in that culture, because we're adults. We know about the culture, and we use it as needed to reach the teen. We may even share a txt msg or a song from an ipod. We still don't live in their culture. We need to be an anchor in the adult culture and throw them a lifeline to bring them up into the adult culture (good or bad) so that they can mature as a person, and mature spiritually.
We are called by God to be sheep among wolves, Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." We should know and understand the culture we are reaching out to, but we don't have to live it, accept it, or join it.
Counter-culture is not irrelevance. It is taking a stand against the tide that threatens to sweep us away from the foot of throne of God. We need to rely on God for the strength, dig deep into the Word for knowledge and wisdom, and pray for the power to stand.
For example: The divorce rate has been increasing over the last several years to the point where it really is affecting nearly everyone. Divorce Stats The divorce rates in the church have increased as well. This is not counter-culture, it is moving with the culture. We need to be counter-culture and support families, that are in danger of breaking up, rush in and support them, show them Jesus loves them and has a better plan. For families that have already broken up, we rush in with Jesus who is a soothing balm for the wounded and a chain breaker that breaks the cycle to the fourth and fifth generation.
Let's be Counter-culture and relevant.
It is relevant to reach people in the culture they live in, but it is counter culture that they need to escape to Christ.
A drowning man exists in a drowning culture, when we throw a lifeline to him, he is being reached by being counter-culture, because everything in his world is drowning.
When we reach into a teen's life to minister to them, we reach into a teen's culture of friends, ipods, txt msg, school and life. We are not in that culture, because we're adults. We know about the culture, and we use it as needed to reach the teen. We may even share a txt msg or a song from an ipod. We still don't live in their culture. We need to be an anchor in the adult culture and throw them a lifeline to bring them up into the adult culture (good or bad) so that they can mature as a person, and mature spiritually.
We are called by God to be sheep among wolves, Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." We should know and understand the culture we are reaching out to, but we don't have to live it, accept it, or join it.
Counter-culture is not irrelevance. It is taking a stand against the tide that threatens to sweep us away from the foot of throne of God. We need to rely on God for the strength, dig deep into the Word for knowledge and wisdom, and pray for the power to stand.
For example: The divorce rate has been increasing over the last several years to the point where it really is affecting nearly everyone. Divorce Stats The divorce rates in the church have increased as well. This is not counter-culture, it is moving with the culture. We need to be counter-culture and support families, that are in danger of breaking up, rush in and support them, show them Jesus loves them and has a better plan. For families that have already broken up, we rush in with Jesus who is a soothing balm for the wounded and a chain breaker that breaks the cycle to the fourth and fifth generation.
Let's be Counter-culture and relevant.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The New Testament Church
The New Testament Church had many things that were different than today. One sticks out above all the rest:
There was one church per community!
I'm not advocation that we reconcile all our denominational differences and merge into a mega church in each community, although that would be interesting. I think there should be much more communication between churches and support between ministries. We can't all go to all of each others special events. There isn't time, but if one church has a great ministry to "flat earth society" then we all should know, so that we can refer other "flat earth society" people to it.
Something that has been on my mind for a long time, since coming to the Syracuse area is a database of sorts of people with skills, knowledge, contacts that may be of use to others. We all have something that we can share with fellow believers across church lines and across ministry lines. I myself work in energy conservation, but this goes out to lay leaders in all sorts of work, and to pastors who each communicate in their circles of life. If each of us were able to commit one hour on a specific skill or knowledge of a specific item, or commit to "I have this resource available to me and I would like to make it available to others." What an impact we could have in working together.
More on this thought later.
There was one church per community!
I'm not advocation that we reconcile all our denominational differences and merge into a mega church in each community, although that would be interesting. I think there should be much more communication between churches and support between ministries. We can't all go to all of each others special events. There isn't time, but if one church has a great ministry to "flat earth society" then we all should know, so that we can refer other "flat earth society" people to it.
Something that has been on my mind for a long time, since coming to the Syracuse area is a database of sorts of people with skills, knowledge, contacts that may be of use to others. We all have something that we can share with fellow believers across church lines and across ministry lines. I myself work in energy conservation, but this goes out to lay leaders in all sorts of work, and to pastors who each communicate in their circles of life. If each of us were able to commit one hour on a specific skill or knowledge of a specific item, or commit to "I have this resource available to me and I would like to make it available to others." What an impact we could have in working together.
More on this thought later.
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