Tomorrow, the 52nd biennial business-meeting for the General Council of the Assemblies of God begins. On Thursday, our next General Superintendent will be selected. Here are my thoughts on matters over which I have no input or influence, and which are probably inappropriate for me to publicly opine over. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop me from writing! If you read this and think I'm an idiot for writing it, just remember: you read it!

[Skip all the blather and just see my pick for the vote, if that's what you're after!]

The Generational Exchange … Happens Now

Stop now. Before you go any further, before you cast your nominating vote, before you accept your nomination (as if anybody reads this), go listen to

photo: ukdenners

Overheard recently: "I'm wondering what's the difference between church and the bar?"

In church you pray for the Spirit. In a bar you pay for the spirits? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Anyways...

Everybody knows your name…

When Jennifer and I lived in Springfield, MO, and worked at the Assemblies of God headquarters, our friendly pagan neighbors invited us to join them at a neighborhood bar for lunch. We were on our way back home from church where we had invited them, so we figured a little tit for tat was probably in order.

These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.

(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )

For years I've bemoaned the lack of serious, thoughtful, theologically rich lyrics in the praise songs and worship choruses I'm subjected to at church. Some of the recent praise and worship music remedies that, but I'm still occasionally struck silent by vacuous, empty lyrics using clichés to resonate with worshipers and the time-tested trick of singing a single chorus line over and over until we all fall into a trance-like worship state.

:: sigh ::

I miss scripture in my worship. I miss theology in my worship. I miss the hymns.

But what I don’t necessarily miss are the hymn’s melodies and forms. As my wife and I have discussed this, I’ve often wondered aloud why church worship directors don’t apply their musical talents to translate older hymns into contemporary sounds. Okay, maybe most church worship and music directors really aren’t that good at creating