The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

911 Sermon Resource

YOUTUBE 911 SERMON VIEW

What do Jesus, Luther, MLKing, Gandhi, Sadat, Bonhoeffer, and Herman Gerring have in common? Here's a resource for 911 that looks a war, just war, and the cost of war. I've got it on powerpoint with outlines and handouts if you want to use it either for a cross-generational education session on the 10th Anniversary of 911, or if you dare to be a little controversial, in worship Sunday morning or for a special Saturday night community event. The zipped files are online along with some handouts, posters and bulletin inserts at www.faithink.com. It's a gift from our Faith Inkubators Foundation. Let me know if you find it useful.

He Qi's Work in New 3 Movement Piece "Touch"

 

Here's something you might enjoy, a new three movement piece called "Touch" written by our friend, Bay Area composer Robert Allen Pektar and based on the artwork of Dr. He Qi and the photography of Susie Woo. It has debuted in Marin Valley and LA. Next stop? Let me know who wants it and I'll set it up.

Movement 1

Movement 2

Movement 3

 

911 Children's Sermon

Here's a chidren's sermon for 911. In Judges 4, Israel is under attack. Judge Deborah goes to General Barak (yup, that's his name) and asks him to raise up a defensive army. What does he say to the judge/prophetess? "If you go with me, I will go. If you won't go with me, I won't go!" In otherwords, we really need God's power, wisdom, and presence whenever we consider war. Here are some slides you can use if you want to tell the story. I have them on powerpoint with a skit script if you want them. Feel free to use it, change it, and post it on your own blog/web/facebook if you like it to share it with friends. The ppt, script and children's coloring page handouts are zipped and ready to use (free) at www.faithink.com

911 Worship Opening

Here's a little something I wrote for an opening in worship on 911 this year. Since the 10th anniversary happens to fall on a Sunday, and since this was our generation's Pearl Harbor, I'm thinking it is worth at least a 3 1/2 minute pause. Share the link with friends or on your church website, blog, or Facebook if you wish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdSoVo7cYxY

Special Needs Kids and The Best Ways to Teach

Rich and Dr. Ani Patel at the Neurosciences Institute on Tuesday, talking music and the brain.

My buddy Scott Ness emailed yesterday asking about ideas for connecting with kids with special needs, H. Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory talks about different modalities of learning and different kinds of intelligence. For decades they’ve talked about some kids being kinesthetic learners, some auditory, some visual, etc.

John Medina (www.brainrules.net) would argue that the visual trumps everything.

I was with Dr. Ani Patel at the Neuroscience Institute on Tuesday, and he argues that music is absolutely the best brain/mind tool we have at our disposal.

Plato agrees: “Music is the most potent tool of education.”

The fact is, some people may lean in a certain direction or favor one kind of learning, but EVERYONE learns best when ALL the kinds of learning are integrated and focused on the theme. I believe this holds true especially for special needs kids.

Teach the way the brain learns best. (Music, art, theater, motion)

Employ the tools kids love most.

Engage parents every night in every home.

It's a no-brainer because it's a whole brainer.

Everyone Who Thirsts

Here's a little song I wrote for this Sunday's Isaiah 55 text. I gave it to my buddy Robert Robinson of the Twin Cities Gospel choir, and he knocked it out of the park. If you want the sheet music, let me know.

 

05 Ho, Everyone Who Thirsts

Preschool Incubators Project (PIP) Logo

Here's the logo for our Preschool Incubators Project. We use a six-colored hexagon in the six primary colors to represent the six areas of study:

1. Language (Spelling, Vocabulary, Phonetics)

2. World Language (Spanish, Mandarin, American Sign Language)

3. Math (Numeracy, Concepts)

4. Science (Animals, Universe, Green Science, Concepts, Engineering/How Things Work)

5. Life Skills (Social Science, Health, Food/Nutrition/Character Development)

6. The Arts (Music, Visual Arts, Drama, Movement/Dance)

The arrow swirling out from the center represents launching out into the world as a healthy, curious, prepared child, ready for whatever lies ahead.

Confirmation With No Class

The adolescent brain is starved for meaningful touch, meaningful interaction, meaningful bonds, meaningful challenges, a meaningful touch.

This morning a pastor posted a question about starting confirmation this fall in a new unfinished space. She was wondering if she should get rid of the tables/chairs and put bean bags on the floor to change the class mentality. Here's what I posted:

If I may be so bold, here's my 2 cents: Forget the bean bags. And forget the word "class". Sit on the floor twice a month and invest the other two weeks a month in small groups doing service and fellowship on the theme. When you're together, have some theme related music, then some theme related games, then a big circle holding hands or locking arms for opening prayer. Then have: 1. Someone share a faith story on the theme, 2. Someone share a visual image/prop/analogy on the theme, 3. You do a little Bible teaching on the theme. Then break into small groups to share highs and lows, highlight the key scripture in their bibles, talk about how the scripture relates to their highs and lows, pray for one another's highs and lows, and bless one another. Then come back for a mellow closing where they lie on the floor with soft music and candles for a poetic prayer journey. Then break out the bread and wine (hey, you're a lutheran), then end with another big circle locking arms and praying the Lord's Prayer and benediction. Then have everyone bless and hug at least 6 other people before they walk out the door.

As I said above, get rid of "class." It has little meaning. Create a warm, learning, relevant, personal (ie small groups doing highs and lows) WORSHIP community that goes out in servanthood and fellowship the other two times a month and they'll not only want to be there, they'll bring their friends. You'll be known as the church with no class.

And you'll absolutely love it.

The Future, the Sanctuary, Porn and the Incarnation

As long as we're talking technology and worship, here's a thought for the weekend: It may very well be that the "sanctuary" of the future will include 3D "Help Me Obi Wan Kanobi, You're My Only Hope" projections of the elderly who can't actually get to church, college students who still want to feel connected to the youth group, and drop-ins from all over the planet who find you online, think the topic of your worship might be interesting, and just float in and out to see if it's relevant.

When they finally perfect the pressure-sensitive haptic gloves, they'll be able to hold your hands in prayer. When you sing the songs, they'll all sing along with you and you'll hear them.

When they sing certain songs, even the avatar of your dead grandma will show up to stand by you again and sing with you. (She may record her 101 favorite hymns and give everyone who wants it as a parting gift at her funeral so she can still bless them).

When that day comes, the thought that we ever fought about putting a screen in the sanctuary will seem rather humorous and quaint.

But seriously folks, the porn industry will lead the way long before the church even considers what WE need to do to touch people deeply, lovingly, and in a way that builds up rather than a way that destroys and demeans. We nee...d to be thinking NOW how to be the church - neither in catacombs nor the skyscrapers (ie. Heschel) - but in the virtual. And then we need to create a way to make the virtual real.

Incarnation anyone?

The Sad Stupidity of Age Segregated Sell Out Sunday School Classrooms

Andrew Root is right on, as far as I’m concerned.

Is Modern Youth Ministry Multiplying of Dividing the Church?

I think age-specific (I call it age-segregated) ministry is fine for the mega churches who have a bajillion dollars and like to hire program directors to play the music louder and louder in hopes that the Titanic won’t sink, but in this moment in the mainline, we don’t need to segregate the children from their parents, isolate them from the elders, and leave them alone in their own little Lord of the Flies segments. We need people who know us and love us and can hold us when we can’t hold ourselves. We need people who will be there when we’re crazy, when we’re lazy, when we’re hurting ourselves and when we’re hurting others. We need the wisdom of the elder and the wonder of the child. We need the one thing the church can give us that no place else in society can give - a true cross-generational faith family.

The church is the only place left in American society where all five living generations are gathered under the same roof every single week. And what do we do the moment they get there? We sell out. We send them all off on their own to their separate rooms. That's just plain bad stewardship. That's just plain stupid.