The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Flashback Fhoto

"The word education doesn’t appear in the Bible.

The words “teach” and “inculcate” do, and they mean to “tread into” by repetition.

What is our true faith education?

Jesus sweetly treading on my soul so that the tracks of faith appear on me."     - Paul Owen

Flashback Fhoto

Here's a little blast from the past.

She's now a junior, and still my little girl.

Saturday Toon

Friday Toon

Arlen's Birthday

My oldest and best friend, Arlen Nordhagen, flew in for 24 hours yesterday for a little strategy meeting. We spent the morning in Bible study on Ephesians 4, in prayer, and in asking some fundamental questions about Faith Inkubators, our future, and why we're here in the first place.

What do we know?

There is power in the Word.

What else do we know?

Most of America's kids (and churches) don't know the Word.

The family is the best incubator of faith.

Most of our families aren't opening a Bible, devoting time to prayer, or practicing anything that looks remotely or intentionally Christian on any regular basis.

We're working on an integrated cradle-to-grave approach for it, and Arlen's insights - both personal and professional (he's a Harvard MBA among other things) have been most helpful.

While here, our staff threw a little 49th Birthday party for him. (Yeah, he's a lot older than he looks) and presented him with Artist Proof #1 of He Qi's "Easter Morning."

In other news, Arlen and I are starting a film company, Salt Lick Entertatinment, to create movies with humor, a good message, and a positive Christian worldview -(not preachy -people don't go to movies for a sermon - but fun and meaningful). The first one we hope to do will be with Hunt Lowry (Walk to Remember, Last of the Mohicans). The whole deal isn't nailed down yet, so I can't say much at the moment other than it'll be about a pastor who is burning out.

This weekend we are taking our sons pheasant hunting in South Dakota. (Clay pigeons are easier to shoot but harder to cook). On Monday, I'm flying out to his Colorado cabin to finish the next 15 cartoon Bible stories for BSS.

I'm back to the "bad, bad blogger" routine... but please forgive me and do check back.

Letter from Debbie

This nice note from Debbie Streicher in Burke, VA: One of our confirmation guides sent this site to me this morning. She and her husband are guides, their 17 year-old is a Jr. guide, their 12 year-old is in a small group. They come to H2H as a family. H2H is now GIFT for them. They have been immersed in FINKthink for over 9 years through GIFT, H2H, and now worship. They know nothing else...................but they know God. They are a GIFT to our congregation. This is just one of the reasons I will always be thankful and committed to FINK. It's a system across the board that changes lives. This site was a great start to my day: http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

Waiting for African Photos & Thinking Hebrew

Still waiting for my friends from Africa to send some photos to share with you.

In the meantime, here's a great website on "Thinking Like A Hebrew" (not a Greek). Check it out for some insights into Rabbi Jesus.

Sherri Harris - Day 6

From Sherri: On Time as Sacrament

I am a single mother of a son and daughter who are both adults now. During their junior high and senior high years, we rushed from activity to activity. My son was a swimmer and my daughter played soccer and basketball. In addition, both were involved in numerous other activities at school and church. There were practices, meets, games, and of course, homework. We were always on the run – often dinner was in the car on the way to some activity. Time was certainly the enemy.
I noticed a phenomenon that developed during their junior high years. About the time I was turning in for the night, one or both would come into my bedroom, sit down on the bed and begin to talk. These conversations were not run of the mill. They generally were very serious in nature. This was the point that they brought up their concerns, fears and questions about life in general. This was the time for the heavy duty stuff of life. At first I believed that there must be some master conspiracy against my sleep. But as I have further reflected on this phenomenon, I have become convinced that the sharing occurred at bedtime, because that was the point in the day that we had each slowed down enough for these issues to bubble up. The television was off; the phone had quit ringing. The house had quieted down. Some of the most memorable discussions between my kids and I occurred during these bedtime discussions. We talked about life, God and the future. My son and daughter allowed me to glimpse the adults they were becoming. These were the times when we cried together. By this time of day, I was generally pretty tired and not full of much wisdom, so mostly I just listened, really listened. I believe this was what both my son and daughter really needed – they weren’t looking for the answers just someone to hear them and be really present with them. They were trying to sort out the solutions for themselves. I am so incredibly grateful that they sought me out for these talks, but I can’t help but wonder what our lives would have been like had our schedules been less hectic.

These evening moments of sharing were moments in which the three of us experienced time as a sacrament.

Dwelling in the Word

Pat Taylor Ellison and ten friends from Africa are with us at this minute in Badlands Studio, enjoying a burger and talking about ministry partnerships of the future.

"Where are you?" is the question from Genesis 3:8-9, that jumped out at us. If education is just "cramming information in" it's not true education.

EDUCATIO = to draw out.

What can we do to draw our students out, and into the presence of God, and into the larger questions of life?

While munching on chips Pat took a look at our philosophy of preaching, teaching, and sending home one verse for the whole week, and said,

"We call that 'dwelling in the word.'"

I'll send a better report tomorrow, along with a photo.

Sherri Harris - Day 5

“The great tragedy of speed as an answer to the complexities and responsibilities of existence is that very soon we cannot recognize anything or anyone who is not traveling at the same velocity as we are. We see only those moving in the same whirling orbit and only those moving with the same urgency. Soon we begin to suffer a form of amnesia, caused by the blurred vision of velocity itself, where those things germane to our humanity are dropped from our minds one by one. … On the personal side, as slaves to speed, we start to lose sight of family members, especially children, or those who are ill or infirm, who are not flying through the world as quickly and determinedly as we are.” – David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity

This is one of my favorites! If we want to have meaningful relationships, we must learn to live within time as God intended. One of the places we can look to for an example is to a young child. Young children live completely, totally in the present moment. They experience time fully. Due to their approach to time, young children live in a world full of wonder and excitement. Oh, that we could free ourselves of the constraints of time and experience the present moment fully and completely.

Of course, this statement convicts us. Who are we unable to connect with due to the difference in our relative velocities?