Add another blessing

Today is the day for our congregation's joint prayer service with the Lockhart Church of Christ. I preached about the significance of this opportunity during worship on Sunday. I got a good response from our community of faith. Most unexpected was the response of our CYF (high school youth fellowship). The youth group after worship focused on 1 Corinthians 12 . . . where Paul describes the church as a body. They talked at length about division and schism. In their conversation, they discerned an invitation from God to attend the prayer service as a group. I was caught wonderfully offguard by their intentions. It truly blessed me to see them open to God's leading and their willingness to embrace a worthy cause. They will kill me for saying this, but . . . "I'm likin' the way they roll!"

Restoration Movement internet resources

I am excited about a prayer service my congregation [First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Lockhart TX] is holding jointly with the Lockhart Church of Christ. This service was planned in the spirit of recent formal conversations between the three major "streams" of the Restoration Movement begun by Thomas Campbell, Alexander Campbell, and Barton Stone. In 1906, the Movement fractured into these three streams: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Churches of Christ, and the independent Christian Churches. Like most all splits within churches, each group believed they were keepers of the true vision of our founders. That led to further bitterness and disunity. In 2006, leaders from these three streams began formal conversations to thaw the relationships and return to some sense of the unity that was a hallmark belief of our founders. It's an exciting time, and I am most excited about our two congregations worshiping together.

I have not spoken or written much about the history of our Movement. Here are some great websites that have a wealth of information.

Restoration Movement Pages--a vast collection of biographies, documents and sermons from Restoration Movement history.

disciples.org--The official web presence of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Disciples of Christ Historical Society--interesting historical articles and a good variety of links.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I ran across several websites that were interesting but had a bias against one group or another. I chose not to include them. I am looking for a website that deals specifically with the "three streams" conversation. I will pass it along if I find one.

I think you will find these three websites an excellent beginning if you are interested in digging a litte deeper into our Movement history.

90 by 50 update

My weight loss saga has been a mixed bag thus far. I'm only about at 50% of my loss pace thus far. I've lost a total of 25 pounds and have been holding there for several weeks. I haven't gained back what I have lost thus far. That is very good. There have been some unseen benefits that I have been very pleased about. I saw my doctor for a check-up on January 10. Everything looks very good. My blood pressure was excellent. Blood sugar and triglycerides in normal range. My cholesteral number was 155. So metabolically, I am also in really good shape. I was very encouraged by the visit and consider it a manifestation of God's grace that I am not suffering any serious consequences from my obesity. And it is all the more incentive for me to persevere with my exercise and diet disciplines. Your continued prayers on my behalf for discipline and the fruit of self-control would be much appreciated.

I received a little additional inspiration this week. Pam LeBlanc, "Fit City" columnist for the Austin American Statesman, featured the story of Jim Martine. Martine lost 200 pounds in 2006. He did it like I'm doing it--reduced calories and increased exercise. I didn't think one could lose that much weight in a year. It's given me new vision for the possibilities and reinforced the feasibility of my own more modest goal.

Prayer for the new year

I ran across this prayer by the great spiritual writer Thomas a Kempis. I shared it with our congregational board as an opening to the January board meeting. It seems like an excellent prayer to keep in mind as the new year unfolds.

Grant me, O Lord, to know what is worth knowing,
to love what is worth loving,
to praise what delights you most,
to value what is precious in your sight,
to hate what is offensive to you.
Do not let me judge by what I see,
nor pass sentence according to what I hear,
but to judge rightly between things that differ
and above all to search out and to do what pleases you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

May God go with you in the new year!