jeff gibson

It's Not Too Late To Get Connected!

We plugged people in last night on the Mesa campus of Central, and tonight we'll be doing the same thing at the Gilbert campus.  Be in the Student Building at 6:30 and we'll get you into a small group!

Hole in the Wall

The set design for our 1st through 3rd Graders in the Lodge, based on Hole in the Wall.  The cutout show the shape the kids will have to make themselves into.

Awkward Questions About Jesus

Priceless!



HT Tim Stevens, Jack Magruder and Brian McLaren

Mornings Should Start When I Say They Should

I'm not a morning person.

People should not get up before the sun does.  And the sun should not get up before 7.

I'm more of a night person, especially when there's a good movie on.

This morning LG had a meeting at 6 a.m.  Against my better judgment, I got up and went to the Gilbert campus with her to get into the office early.  Over the next two hours, I only saw two other people.

So you would think I got lots of work done.  I did.

But no more than I normally can do, except when the office next to me gets too noisy.  (No names, but her initials are CS.) 

So here's the lesson I learned:  Don't stay up to watch Waterboy, unless you can sleep until a decent hour.

Like 7 a.m.

Final Thoughts on "The Shack"

We were privileged to have William P. Young, the author of The Shack, here at Central this weekend.  He spoke about what in his life led him to write the book, why he wrote the book as he did, and the reaction to the book.  Some of the moments that struck me.

• His life was filled with secrets, as opposed to his wife who lived openly and out loud.  When his wife found out that he had been having an affair, he had to make the decision, he said, whether to kill himself or face the music.  He decided to live, and it was an eleven year process of restoration.
• At the end of the eleven years, he wanted to write this story as a Christmas present for his children.  God is called Papa and is portrayed as a large black woman, because he didn't want his kids saddled with this vision of God as an "annoyed Gandalf."  Plus, as a child, he was abused by men, but women showed him love.
• I picture Papa as the Oracle from "The Matrix."
• The Holy Spirit's name in the book is Sarayu, which is an eastern word for "wind that refreshes".
• Jesus is called Jesus.
• He has corresponded with several pastors who have criticized the book, none of whom had actually read the book.
• Last week, at a church in Orlando, he had his first protesters.  He said it was a hot day, so he took them some water bottles.  One of them asked if he was one of the pastors, and he took delight in telling them that he was the author of the book they were protesting.
• After this period of restoration, he finally feels free.  No more secrets.

The Pace of Life

I was talking with someone the other day and they mentioned that they wanted the pace of life to slow down.

Wednesday night was date night for LG and me.  We just walked and window shopped and had a leisurely dinner, then one of us napped in the car on the way home.

Then at Ironman (incredible men's early morning teaching here at Central), one of the guys at my table said commented on how fast time went by.

Today is my day off.  I'm going to take the morning and putter around the house.

Slowly.

You Need to Read "The Shack."

Since sarcasm is lost on some, I'm rewriting my previous post to be more obvious.

You need to read the book, "The Shack."

It's a fictional book that introduces us to a character named Mack who suffers a grievous loss and is invited to a shack to meet God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  In the conversations that follow, Mack finds healing and restoration.

But....you should read it, because the author is being unfairly criticized.

Critics say that it's heretical because:

• It makes a graven image of God.  It takes the invisible God and tries to insert him into Creation. We can make images of Jesus, because he became man, and we can make images of the Holy Spirit because it came as dove.  Never mind that Genesis 3:8 tells us that "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day."
• It's goddess worship.  It makes God a woman.  Jesus calls God "the Father" so clearly he's God, not Goddess.  Never mind that Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image,
  in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
• It's modalism.  The books says the Father is the son and is the spirit, and clearly they are separate beings.  Never mind that Jesus also says in John 10:30, "I and the Father are one.”
• "They are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command."  There is no heriarchy.  Jesus says the Father sent him, therefore God's in charge.  He's to defer to God the Father.  Never mind that John 1:1 says, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Oh, and while you're at it, read these examples of using earthly illustrations of attributes of God:

• The Parable of the Lost Son.  It portrays God as a man with two sons when clearly God only had one.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep.  It portrays God as a shepherd and we know that's not true.
• The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  It portrays God as a master who has servants. 

 

Get the details here.

Dilbert

Sometimes Dilbert just makes me laugh out loud.  I had to share this:

Tell Us What You Think

Central's Small Groups are approaching the end of our first eight week semester and we want your feedback.  We've created a pdf that you can fill in and email back to us.

Download the Small Groups Semester Evaluation.

This will help us become better as a Small Group team and help us to serve you better.

ITS YOUR TIME!  LET IT RIP!

Pastor's Conference off to a rousing start.

This was the way to start off our two day Pastor's Conference in Prescott.  Paul Carpenter nearly holed out this shot on the fly!