Oh well...

I took the political test thats going around these days and was suprised to find out I'm a democrat.

You are a Social Liberal (60% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (33% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Mega Churches

I talked with someone here at work today. He's a very nice older guy. He's a security guard who is very nice and conversational. I asked him what Church he belonged to and he told me. He started talking about how much they have grown in the past 10 years. They now have about 2000 in attendance each Sunday. He said that he used to think that the smaller Church was better but now he has changed his mind. He said his pastor once said some to the effect "If its growing then God must be doing somthing. Don't you want to be where God is working?" He also talked about how many Churches they have planted across the United States and how much those Churches are growing.

I've been thinking about that alot this morning. Do I really want to be where all the action is? Th Here are some of my thoughts:

• Just because it's big doesn't make it the best.
• Just because a lot of people are flocking to the place...What does that prove?
  
• Alot of people are being mislead by false teachers.
• How do I know I'm not being mislead?
• Most people are just dumb sheep.
  
• Maybe God is setting up the board in a certain way, with the mega-church, to make a big move later.
• These things come and go.

Thinking

Just thinking about how I'm going to decide the direction I should take for my family concerning the Church. I'm perplexed. I don't feel like I'm pursuing this enough. I don't think I'm asking, seeking and knocking enough. I really need to get on the ball about this. Sometimes I just want to jump in and say go with the Catholic church. Just go with it! Whats going to happen? I might get disappointed and look like a fool. I might lead my family into a culture and lifestyle that is completely at odds with my family, coworkers and most everyone else in this area. I'd be such an odd ball in my community. But who cares? I don't participate in anything in my community anyway. The Catholic church could turn out to be a boring and lifeless organization that has no real effect on my family's life. Alot like the Methodist church I went to when I was growing up. But even in the Methodist church I felt like I was doing God's will when I attended. I pray that God will give me discernment.

I'm really glad its the fall season. I love the fall season.

Trying to post a picture

Here's my first picture. I 'm still waiting to hear from God about coming in to the Catholic Church. I stil have mixed feelings. Sometimes I feel really strong about the Catholic Church but other times I'm really doubtful. Pray for me John Henry Newman.

The Crucifix

I started wearing a crucifix last week and the change has been phenomenal. I have read some articles defending the wearing of a crucifix and the protestant objections to it, but I really don't need to read anything about this after the real change that has taken place in my spiritual walk.

So Funny

Isabel has such an imagination. Here's a conversation from yesterday.
Kristi: Wheres daddy?
Isabel: I don't know.
Kristi: Is he in the bathroom?
Isabel: no.
Kristi: Is he outside?
Isabel: He's in the Jungle.
Kristi: In the Jungle!
Isabel: He's in the jungle and a bear scratched him and he died then Jesus raised him up and stars came up.
Kristi: And stars came out?
Isabel: Yea you know...firecrackers.

May 30 #2

I guess I should try to explain why my new links section have Catholic links. It's kinda weird me being a Presbyterian and all and living in the South with almost no Catholic Churches or Catholic Christians around.

It all started around 5 or 6 years ago when I first became a Presbyterian that I was frequenting a message board on Ligonier Ministries website. Every good Presbyterian these days probably knows of Ligonier Ministries and RC Sproul. Anyway, I worked third shift at the time and had a lot of time to sit and read. I watched the debates that were springing up between some Catholics who also frequented the board. I had never heard or seen a debate between a Catholic and a Protestant. You can guess who I was rooting for in the debates. Over the course of time I saw a particular Catholic guy being mentioned quite often and he was a regular member of the board. He had his own website so I decided to visit the site and I was immediately interested in his story. He had a link on his site to his personal conversion story to the Catholic Church. It took me a few nights to read but I was very impressed.

Five or so years later and here I am reading mostly Catholic stuff and my wife is kinda nervous that I'll become a Catholic someday. That would be very hard on her because of the extreme anti-Catholic church to which her parents belong. Also she also grew up in that church. Anyway I'm still waiting on God to lead me in particular direction. I have a lot of interest in Catholicism but I can sense no true direction from God about this. I've read a lot of the popular Catholic books and it all sounds so convincing but I'm just hesitating because it seems that Protestant scholars/debaters/preachers/teachers can sound just as convincing when they teach the protestant version of the story. I feel like I should just wait on God to work his perfect will in my life. I know that there are areas that have to be resolved before I can go foward in my walk with Him.

May 30, 2005

Today it rained alot. We stayed in the house almost all day. I took a 3 hour nap from around 11 am to 2 pm. Kristi watched Lord of the Rings (extended version). We took birthday presents to Trent and Laken since we were not able to go to their birthday party's this year.

I got into a discussion with a coworker last week about predestination. The conversation got a little out of control as always when I talk to this particular person about religious things. He has a very juvenile understanding of Christian beliefs. Its very hard for me to discuss Christianity with him because he's so ill informed about Orthodox Christian teaching. He takes the approach that it's just him and his bible and he doesn't need any man to teach him anything.

Anyway the conversation really didn't go anywhere because I was talking past him and he wasn't making any sense to me at all. He doesn't believe that God is soveriegn. He believes it is wrong to say that God "allowed" something to happen in one's life. At one point I was referring to the story in Exodus when God passed over the houses that had the blood on the door post and he stated that he'd never heard or read that scripture. I said its in Exodus in the Old Testament, he said "well I don't read the Old Testament much.

I got so frustrated after showing him Ephesians 1 and Romans 9 that I got online and bought R.C. Sproul's series on predestination. I told him that I'd make him a copy to listen to and maybe he'd see more clearly what I was having such a hard time saying.
I listened to the first two sessions a couple of times this weekend and I heard R.C say something that I really had not seen before. That is, predestination in Christian theology is the teaching about the final destination of the Christian and God determining that destination. It is not God deciding every individual moment of a persons life and what an individual does every moment. That is called devine providence.
So when I think back on the conversation I had, I went down the wrong road anyway. I should have been talking about devine providence not predestination, which is a different subject. Oh well, live and learn.

sitting at work

I'm sitting here at work talking to Phil about blogging. It's pretty slow here tonight.

The Crusader?

I'm thinking about changing the name of this journal to The Crusader. It just sounds cool and St. James Journal sounds a bit too haughty. Would I have the courage to volunteer to go and fight a holy war for Christ's Church? Well first I need to know which Church has His approval. Five or ten years ago I was sure it was the local Presbyterian or Baptist Church down the road, now I'm not so sure. I pray He tells me soon.

St. James Journal

This is the first post on the St. James Journal. Nothing else to report. Go back to work.

Russ