Collateral Bloggage

Last Friday, I took part in our church’s Praise Night, as part of the worship choir.  I’ll admit that when I first got onto the risers with the choir, I was unsure I’d really enjoy it.  Which pretty much tells you where my head was (hint: a proctologist could have helped me find it).  I was actually shocked by my attitude.  Take this as my public confession (the private one happened during Communion).  I’ve long realized that I prefer being on the front microphones, but I never thought there was any element of perceived prestige involved in my enjoyment of it.  I guess I figured it felt more like a small ensemble than a choir, and I’ve always enjoyed the smaller vocal group.  And then there’s the fact that on the front mics, I can actually hear myself and don’t have to sing so loudly.

Anyway, I was quite convicted by this, and I warmed quickly to the experience.  I’m actually thinking I might sign up to do choir this fall instead of singing as regularly on the vocal teams.  Maybe it’d be a kind of penance for my (whatever you want to call it - pride, haughtiness, general dumbitivity).

Moving on…the Praise Night was most cool.  It was very nice to see a congregation out there who knew why they were there.  They came to worship, so there was no barrier like one usually sees on any given Sunday.

Oh, and Rebecca Strott can really sing.  Not that I didn’t already know it, having sung with her before, but I’d never heard her cut loose on a solo like that before.  Where’s the Youtube of that song?

—————————

Intel (which pays my bills) has a cool benefit: Sabbatical.  Basically, every seven years, I get eight weeks off.  Of course, somebody has to cover my work for me during that time.  Right now, I’m on the other end.  I’m covering for somebody who’s out.  I’m a Sabbatical sub.  I’m on Subbatical.

Hopefully, by the time he gets back, I’ll be so good at his job that he can move on to something else.  Because I kinda like his job.  Actually, he shares my hope, because he’d like to move on.

You’d think that in taking over somebody else’s job, I’d have less free time.  I don’t think so.  Here’s my logic: I get back all the time I previously spend bothering him about how to do his job.  Sweet.

My next Sabbatical is in 2011.  Can’t wait!

—————————

Matt Singley wrote a great piece about Christian Swearing on blogs.  Read it.  Notice how nearly all the commenters feel free to use the pseudoprofanity in their comments.  Fail to notice I’m one of them.

I’m not sure God’s truly offended by swearing.  I think the attachment of “profane” to certain words probably derives from snootiness (”A cultured person would never use such a word!”).  Want Biblical proof?  Try this:

Philippians 3:8 More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ

And now for the NETBible commentary on that nice word “dung”:

The word here translated “dung” was often used in Greek as a vulgar term for fecal matter. As such it would most likely have had a certain shock value for the readers. This may well be Paul’s meaning here, especially since the context is about what the flesh produces.

I heard a Bible Teacher I respect (Steve Gregg, awesome teacher and inspiring man) use a familiar four-letter derivative here to drive home the point. And it wasn’t “crap.”

So basically, Paul wasn’t afraid from using a “profane” (which means common) form of a word when such descriptive language fit his point.  That doesn’t give license to go around cussing a blue streak all the time.  In fact, I think the most crucial thing to keep in mind as Christians is to not give scandal (that is, if people hear us swearing, does it hurt our witness, and it probably does).  I should also add that many occurrences of swearing are basically uttering curses.  Telling someone to go jump off a bridge is roughly equivalent to telling him to perform an unnatural act with himself.  Not using the words doesn’t excuse the intent.

At a later date, I’m going to have to do a post on OMG and its derivatives, because I don’t know how it ever became okay for Christians to use it (although I don’t think it constitutes a violation of the 3rd Commandment).  Maybe I’ll save it for a Theology Thursday sometime next year.  Yeah, there’s no way I can let it go for that long.  I’ll just divert from my “Through the Bible” trend.  Hmm…I don’t have this week’s edition written yet…(BTW, lovin’ Wordpress’s Scheduled Post functionality).

—————————

Morgan Freeman has evidently been in a serious car accident.  Hopefully he’s alright.  If you’ve never seen The Shawshank Redemption, you’ve missed out on one of the finest portrayals of male friendship ever to appear on film.  It’s truly a wonderful film, in spite of some very rough content, and the fact that Tim Robbins, in real life, could use some healthy fustigation.

—————————

And now, back to doing somebody else’s work.