Help is needed with the preparations for our upcoming lectureship. This Friday at 6:00 PM, men are needed to help set up the fellowship hall with tables and chairs. Also, we are providing lunch on both days of the lectureship. This means our families must bring enough food for everybody, including visitors to be served. On Saturday we will be serving soup and sandwiches, and on Sunday we will have a pot luck meal.
-
17Janby Drew in Uncategorized.
-
17Janby Drew in Events, Uncategorized.
This year’s lectureship concentrates on “Why We Sing.” Topics include “Fairest Lord Jesus,” “Some Stories about Hymn Writers,” and “Amazing Grace.” Sunday ends with a special session on “Why the Churches of Christ do not use Instruments of Music in Worship.” Speakers include Stan Mitchell of Freed-Hardeman University, Kyle Butt of Apologetics Press, Andy Kizer who preaches for the Ninth Ave. Church of Christ, and Ben Wright who is with the West Walker church in Jasper.
The lectureship is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the weekend of January 20-21. Lunch is provided on both days. Lectures begin at 9:00 AM.
-
15Janby Drew in Truth and Repose.
My favorite blogger, Ike Pigott, is back online with Occam’s RazR, a personal journal dedicated to making complicated things simpler. The title is borrowed from William of Occam, a medieval English friar who advanced the principle that, when given two equally valid explanations for a phenomenon, one should embrace the less complicated formulation.
Continue reading » -
14Janby Barton in Articles.
A History of Shame
The society of traditional Japan is often used as an example of what is called a “shame society.” Supposedly, the use of shame was the primary agent of social control, as opposed to guilt, which is said to be used more in the West. Empathy, identifying oneself with another, was highly valued in this society, and the Japanese were taught at an early age that fulfillment comes when you do your part for the whole. On the other hand, individualism was perceived as being selfish. The idea that one could make it on his own was heavily discouraged in this society. When one failed to complete his task he was ashamed because he failed the group (wikipedia.com). Thus, here is an example of a society that possessed a high awareness of shame.
However, shame wasn’t first identified in Japan’s culture. This feeling existed centuries earlier. During the first century Paul often wrote about shame. Concerning one’s former life he stated that the Christian is “ashamed” of his past actions (Rom. 1:26). In Ephesians 5:12 we are told that it is shameful to even speak of the “deeds of darkness” (v. 11). The idea of shame is heavily discussed in scripture, even prior to the coming of Christ. In the book of Proverbs we read of several practices a man should be ashamed of doing: “idleness” (10:5), “pride” (11:2), “lying” (13:5), “stubbornness” (13:18), “mistreatment of parents” (19:26), and “evil companions” (28:7). Shame is certainly a part of the Christian society, but it is not here to burden us with a negative and depressing existence. It aids us as we live and work in the kingdom of God.
Shame can be seen in many societies of the past, but can it be found in our present-day, secular culture? Jeremiah asked a similar question concerning Judah: “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?” (8:12). As I often notice immodesty, pride, and individual-living, I pray that shame will soon be resurrected in our own culture.
Barton Kizer
Associate Minister
bartonkizer@hotmail.com -
09Janby Drew in Truth and Repose.
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French nobleman who visited America in the 1830s. Because he was an outsider looking in, Tocqueville was able to perceive how America could be so generous with freedom: Christianity restrained the American people from abusing their freedoms and disciplined them to use them wisely. “Despotism,” he said, “may be able to do without faith, but freedom cannot” (quoted in Jerry Sittser, The Will of God as a Way of Life, p. 58).