Juniata

trashing the tv

I don’t usually enjoy reading statistics…but these sites add to the conclusion I have been coming to for quite a while.

Statistics

How TV Affects a Child

Also well-said here.

Subway Talks

Subway talks are always fun (for me, at least). Of course, most people do not want to be bothered during the few minutes they are in the seat next to you, being content to listen to the music blaring out of their headphones or act as if they are sleeping.

But other times, people are up for small talk or even a conversation. Usually a conversation begins when one of the two people in the seat has something about him or with him that is out of the ordinary. Then, the other person comments on it, and the conversation goes on from there. Sometimes I, being the “inexperienced” person that I am, like to ask people if their facial piercings hurt when they had them done, or if their inch-long nails make it difficult to pick things up.

But since I don’t look drastically different than the average subway rider, nothing about me tends to arouse a conversation-worthy curiosity. But something with me often does—my Bible. A number of people have asked me if what I was reading was a Bible or they have told me how happy they were to see a young person reading the Bible.

I sat next to a Seventh Day Adventist lady last week, and we had a fascinating conversation for 10 minutes or so. She had grown up Baptist, but began to be concerned that her congregation no longer held a Biblical position on homosexuality. She explained to me that meeting with the church on Saturdays was from God (the fourth commandment), and that meeting on Sundays was from man, and is merely a Catholic invention (or perversion). I shared with her a few reasons why I believe otherwise, but nonetheless I enjoyed meeting a Seventh Day Adventist after having read and heard about the denomination.

This past Tuesday a man told me (after the proper subway small-talk greeting, “Do you speak English?”) that all the things John wrote in Revelation are coming true. He told me that the reason all the cell phone companies are offering three-for-the-price-of-one deals is to test a global satellite tracking system. He moved on to tell me that computer chips are already being experimentally placed in the right hands of people to set the stage for the “mark of the beast” to be implemented.

I have to admit that there is so much about eschatology that I do not understand. So, I spent a lot of time listening and asking questions rather than telling him what I believed would happen. I tried to direct the conversation more toward a discussion on how one ought to ready himself for the end times, and I was happy to talk about the Gospel for the next few minutes. I scrambled to write down my contact information, and I hope to hear from him someday.

I have not put the majority of my evangelistic hopes in subway talks, though. Of course I enjoy it when the opportunity arises, but redemptive relationships appear to be the best vehicle for the Gospel here. Now if I could be extremely regular in catching the subway at one time, then maybe I could begin to form friendships with the other extremely disciplined individuals—and then I might have the best of both worlds.

comments

Comments should be available now thanks to The Idea Man.

Also thanks to Apelles because it probably would have taken me a while to realize they weren't working if he hadn't told me.

Standing in the gap

"My sin is not so much this or that particular evil,
but my continual separation, disunion,
distance from thee,
and having a loose spirit towards thee.

"But thou hast given me a present, Jesus thy Son,
as Mediator between thyself and my soul,
as middle-man who in a pit
holds both him below and him above,
for only he can span the chasm breached by sin,
and satisfy divine justice.

"May I always lay hold upon this Mediator,
as a realized object of faith,
and alone worthy by his love to bridge the gulf."

An excerpt of "Christ the Word"
From Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions
(To see it on Amazon)

sights

One of my favorite things to do in Philadelphia is to take the subway (or the "El") down to Old City and just wander around to see what's there--and whip out the camera-phone when necessary...

Last week I stopped by 2nd Bank--a beautiful neo-classical (looks a little like the Parthenon) building that is now a portrait gallery. Martha was inside.

Real Life in the City

Just a quick post here to get things started. I'm in Philadelphia for the summer with Urban Imperative, a city-based ministry. I'm involved in the Real Life in the City program--and the name describes it perfectly.

I'm working two part time jobs and helping out with a local church in Juniata Park, which is one of the "neighborhoods" here in the city. Two or three days a week I am a tour guide at Christ Church Burial Ground (yes, I'm sure that sounds morbid--but it's really a lot of fun). I also work at the Independence Visitor Center helping poor innocent tourists fall into all the traps...maybe more about that later.

Also a topic I hope to touch on in the near future is ministry--how God is reshaping my view of it and how I am trying to flesh that out in real life.

I pray these entries will help to raise awareness of the need for urban ministry and give my friends an idea of what I'm up to when I don't get around to e-mailing. Does that work for a purpose statement? I guess blogs don't usually have them.

Have a worshipful day. Thanks for stopping by,
Michael