REAL public health challenges. Here are 6 diseases that should worry you more than Ebola. I’m thankful that I’m current on my vaccines for 3-4 of them (measles, pertussis, and influenza/pneumonia). I can attest to the scariness of RSV though — Daniel has had it twice (nearly killed him the first time) and had to be vaccinated for it during his first year of life because the fatality risk was so high.
Vote early! Vote often! I just got my absentee ballot in the mail. The gubernatorial race here isn’t even close (Jerry Brown has a 20-point lead over his challenger) and neither of our senators are up for re-election so I think the only tight races are the ones for the various House seats and maybe for some of the propositions? I don’t have access to TV so I haven’t been forced to watch all the political ads.
An interesting argument. One of Jon’s seminary classmates linked a blog post about how a growing church is a dying church. I’m inclined to agree. We get asked frequently in call interviews how we would grow the church and “attract young people” but very rarely is the congregation doing anything themselves to actually make their church a welcoming place. (I’m not talking about doing things like replacing the organ with a rock band and watering down the theology — I’m talking about being actually friendly to outsiders and making people feel like it’s a place where they’d like to belong.)
Cynthia Jeub speaks out. I remember watching Kids by the Dozen on either TLC or the Discovery Channel and seeing the Jeub family of Colorado. Apparently, things weren’t so rosy in that household and daughter #3 Cynthia is speaking out. I’m watching the blogs on this one to see how this all turns out. I’m saddened to hear what Cynthia is saying because I hate seeing abuse or hearing about it in any form.
New blog. I’m starting a blog separate from this one that is related to health issues and my journey to develop healthier habits. If you want the URL, email me (jen at grace-filled dot net).
Baseball. The Giants beat the Nationals to advance to the NLCS and the Cardinals did the same to the Dodgers so I now have my two favorite NL teams playing each other. I’m not going to lie — I’d like it if the Giants won this best-of-seven series and went on to win the World Series but I’ll also root for the Cards if they do the same. I think my greatest joy is the Dodgers being knocked out as I’m married to a Dodger fan and I live among them down here in southern California. Maybe I should start wearing all my Giants gear when I leave the house… (Relax, I only have two pieces.)
Prayer request. I would muchly appreciate it if you could lift up some serious prayers for the Lenaburgs as they are dealing with the reality of Courtney’s last days. Mary (Courtney’s mom) is one of the most amazing people I’ve been blessed to know online and has the same sense of humor that I do (pretty dark given what we both deal with on a daily basis) and I wish I could take the pain from her.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
#2
Oh yeah, the political ads.
And I was a poli sci !major, and now it is something I detest.
#3. I read the article, and I agree with it, mostly. There is always the resistance from those who have been in the congregation for a while to bring change, but at the same time they want growth. One of the things that I have witnessed in various Christian churches as well as Jewish congregations is that the easiest way to attract new, young people is ignored: keeping the young people who grow up in the church/congregation seems to be not a priority.
I have heard many of my former classmates complain that there are all these youngsters in their congregations, who stay through confirmation/bar/bat mitzvah, and then slowly disappear, only to reappear briefly for a wedding and/or christening/bris. Once we lose the generation just growing into adulthood, we lose the next generation as well. Holding onto them, making them disciples/contributing members of the congregation should be the primary focus of the growing church. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic change in worship practices, but young people live in a different world from two or three decades ago. They have to be reached, they have to be fed, they have to be made to feel to be important members of the congregation. Their lives need to be accommodated. Their schedules, which often differ from the older generations’ schedules, their need for work-life balance, and different approach to community need to be considered.
Once we keep the young adults, there will be a new generation. There will be friends visiting and joining. I have seen this happen in several places, and I think the Mormons do it well with the way they can keep their youth involved.
The growing church is the constantly dying and reborn church. The growing church is the ever involved and inviting church. The growing church is the church established in the good news and not in the tradition of how things have been done since the congregation was formed.
#1, thanks for the reminder. I keep meaning to figure out what vaccinations I need to update. I lost my medical record a few years ago and so I’ve been guessing, which isn’t safe. I need to call my old doctor and find out what they have from me on file. #4, I’ve never heard of the Jeub family but now I’m going to be doing some research, for sure. So grateful when people are filled with the courage to speak out family horrors, hopefully it leads to change.