Revs. Scott & Carrie Carnes
Scott shares about his life and faith through this blog. Most notably, he blogged throughout his neurosurgeries during Spring of 2012 with over 10,000 hits to the blog during that time period. He was featured (and his blog) in an article by the United Methodist News Service on May 18, 2012.
Song of the Week Sunday
Rev. Cindy Watson shared this video on Facebook and I felt it was worth sharing with my friends as well. Isn’t this a great song as we approach the transformation that is going to take place this Easter Sunday? Wow.
Carrie Newcomer performs this song, “Geodes” with Gary Walters, Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines at the Buskirk-Chymley Theatre.
Recently I told someone that I’ve had a headache since February 7 and the person responded in a way that I felt they were minimizing me, “Oh, now, come on, Scott…” they said. No. I won’t come on. Seriously, I’ve had a headache since February 7. A two centimeter (in diameter) piece of my brain was taken out and my head has hurt consistently since. Sometimes it feels like what I’d call a “normal” tension headache and other times I find myself completely debilitated.
Usually it feels like there is a rubber band connected between my temple and the back of my head and sometimes it feels tight and “pops” with pain and other times, especially after I’ve taken medicine, it feels looser and less-noticable.
I say all of this not for pity, but with a point in mind. Even before I was a pastor, my life has always seems to intersect with people who were hurting. That’s not a bad thing to me, btw, but there have been many people I have sat (or stood) with and heard words like:
“My back just always hurts”
“Every since my surgery I can’t sleep”
“My sciatica keeps me from _______.”
Before my own recent experience, I guess I tucked these people into my prayer list and must have thought “oh, that’s too bad for them.” I could sympathize, I guess (I could feel bad for them), but I had never felt pain that wouldn’t go away so I couldn’t empathize.
Pain in my life has always been fleeting. In a way, that is weird to say. Before this surgery I might have told you that I had experienced pain, but I, now, don’t think I had. Oh sure, I have had headaches from time to time and I’ve had spasms, cuts, bumps, bruises and sores… but I had never before experienced pain that wouldn’t go away and pain that doctors simply called, “expected.” Think about it: that means that there is nothing to do about it. Pain that just “is.”
What I realize is: many of the older members of my congregation, especially, know what it is to have pain that just ‘is.’ Pain that is expected and pain, for which, there is nothing to be done. Before a few months ago, I would have prayed for these prayer concerns without knowing anything of what they have felt, but now I have empathy for what these people endure. I feel a pain inside that doesn’t simply go away or subside.
I wonder if that is why Christ was so willing to die upon the cross for us? Until God felt our human pain, until God has walked a short distance in our shoes, God could not entirely understand us: could not entirely love us as God wished to. Perhaps, by feeling our pain, God and humanity could dwell within one another and have wholeness in a way that we could not otherwise experience!
As we come into Holy Week and as we consider what it means for us that Jesus suffered, we need to consider what it means that we should love others as Christ loves us. Does that mean that we must suffer as others suffer? Does that mean that we must experience what others experience? Does that mean, as people of faith, we must open up our hearts to feel ‘the other?’
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| image found at: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyfsw8glRh1qzsejk.jpg |
As we enter an election cycle, I’ve been thinking about how we approach politics. In our anxiety we fight and blame “the other side” for all of our troubles. This blaming and back-and-forth is wonderful for the media and makes election coverage interesting and profitable, but what does it do for our country? What does it mean for the people who are facing very tough troubles right now?
I don’t know how to solve all the world’s problems in an election cycle, but I do know how to improve a few lives at a time. The church should be a place where all people feel welcomed. You see, the body of Christ is not about being “right” or “wrong.” It isn’t about being Republican or Democrat. It isn’t about being gay or straight, or black or white.
The body of Christ is about relationships. I am as bad as anyone about getting into arguments online, in fact, I maybe worse than most. Yet arguing isn’t really why we get on facebook, is it? Aren’t we on-line in order that we can connect to others? (Yes, I stole this from Len Sweet’s book “Viral”) I think whether it is in the church, on the web, on the campaign trail, or in the halls of congress we will be a better people if we go about the process of building relationships not tearing them down.
I mean, gosh, what is the point? When it comes down to it, life (or faith) isn’t about being right or wrong, but it is all about relationships.
I need to consider how I embrace people who are different from me (or have different opinions from me). I need to be more open and receptive to other ideas, even those that fly in the face of my ideology or theology. I need to be willing to show friendship despite differences and, perhaps, in the process, I will find Truth in the midst of debate; Christ in the midst of turmoil.
What about you?
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| Image from: http://yougottobekidding.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/more-wal-martians/ |
So, I’m embarrassed to say that I ran to Wal-Mart today for a few food items. I’m embarrassed for several reasons:
Okay, so anyway, there I am in the check-out lane with my ice cream melting and next to me are some little girls holding the soda cooler door open yelling to find out their parents’ (three check-outs down) soda preferences.
Now all of this was not helping my headache, but otherwise nothing unusual. It is Wal-Mart and you expect ill-behaved families to be there, but then it happened…
The little girls finally took two bottles of soda (Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper) for their parents and on their way pulled off the wrappers, disposed of them at a check-out where there was no cashier and proceeded to take them to their parents who slipped them away. I can’t say for sure or not whether they got paid for as I was too far away, but I believe I just witnessed two children who are trained to steal sodas for their (already) obese parents.
This is obscene. I don’t know what else to say.
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| Image found by google images on Mar. 20, 2012 at http://vivirenlagraciadedios.blogspot.com/2012/01/que-es-el-pecado-parte-i-what-is-sin.html |
This week at Evenglow Bible Study we will be discussing the second creation story and the fall (Genesis 2-4). I may, eventually do a blog Bible Study over on my other blogsite: “Virtues of Scripture,” time will tell, but for now I simply ask a question:
“What does it mean to you that you are created by God?”
No wrong answers, btw, and no arguing in the comments. I simply want to know what it means to you.
Song of the Week Sunday
This week I went on a hunt for old hymns made new… An old and forgotten blog TheWorshipFiles.com had just what I was looking for a hymn by Spafford/Bliss, redone by Michael bleecker and, here, covered by Jason Carroll. I think this is a great hymn and the story behind the song is incredible.
Back story:
I found this brief retelling at: wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul
This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871 at the age of four, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the SS Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone . . .”. Shortly afterwards, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
Hey, It was exciting that I got to go lead Bible study this week at Evenglow after all these weeks of medical leave. We studied Genesis 1:1-2:4 (the first of two Creation Stories).
Before I get into the scripture. I need to explain how the ancient Hebrew people understood the order and structure of the cosmos:
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| Image found at: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/aristotle.htm |
They believed there was a God which separated the waters above and the waters below with a firmament. Now, before you dismiss it as something “primitive,” keep in mind these early people were trying to explain the world as they experienced it. The heavens sometimes broke forth with rain (The waters above came down), for instance. So keep the image (above) of how the ancient Hebrew people saw the cosmos.
This image of the world brings up some problems. Look at the picture again. What does this mean for the Ancient Near Eastern people?
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| Image found at: http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/103/aristotle.htm |
Now as we prepare to read the scripture, imagine that you are in the ancient Hebrew world and living in a tribal society. This fragmented people must have felt alone and vulnerable. I mean, they lived in a world where an angry God could just let the firmament fail and leave them drowned and dead. They live in a world where earthquakes can swallow up cities. but the Hebrew people had a God that was faithful and steadfast and kept them safe in a crazy world of hurricanes, floods, and roving dangerous bands.
Okay, so let’s take a look at the scripture, Genesis 1:1-2:4. It was meant to be performed for others, so we’ll be reading a paraphrase from “The Message” by Eugene Peterson and I hope that you will read it out loud and, perhaps even, dramatically:
Genesis Chapter 1
1-2 First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.
3-5 God spoke: “Light!”And light appeared. God saw that light was goodand separated light from dark. God named the light Day,God named the dark Night.It was evening, it was morning—Day One.
6-8 God spoke: “Sky!In the middle of the waters;separate water from water!” God made sky. He separated the water under skyfrom the water above sky. And there it was:God named sky the Heavens; It was evening, it was morning—Day Two.
9-10 God spoke: “Separate!Water-beneath-Heaven,gather into one place;Land, appear!” And there it was. God named the land Earth.God named the pooled water Ocean. God saw that it was good.
11-13 God spoke: “Earth, green up!Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants,Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.”And there it was.Earth produced green seed-bearing plants,
all varieties,And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Three.
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out!
Shine in Heaven’s sky!Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the largerto take charge of Day,The smaller to be in charge of Night;and God made the stars. God placed them in theheavenly sky to light up Earth And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark. God saw that it was good. It was evening, it was morning— Day Four.
20-23 God spoke: “Swarm, Ocean, with fish and all sea life!Birds, fly through the sky over Earth!”God created the huge whales,all the swarm of life in the waters, And every kind and species of flying birds.God saw that it was good. God blessed them:“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Ocean!Birds, reproduce on Earth!” It was evening, it was morning— Day Five.
24-25 God spoke: “Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind:cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds.” And there it was:wild animals of every kind, Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug.God saw that it was good.
26-28 God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image,make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” God created human beings;God created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature.He created them male and female. God blessed them:“Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!Be responsible for fish in the seaand birds in the air,for every living thing that moveson the face of Earth.”
29-30 Then God said, “I’ve given you
every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth And every kind of fruit-bearing tree,
given them to you for food. To all animals and all birds,everything that moves and breathes, I give whatever grows out of the ground for food.”And there it was.31 God looked over everything he had made;
it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Genesis Chapter 2
Heaven and Earth were finished,down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh dayGod had finished the work. On the seventh dayGod rested from work. God blessed the seventh dayand made it a Holy Day.Because on that day he rested from work:
all the creating God had done. This is the story of how it all started,of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Did you read it aloud and with enthusiasm? Were you able to pay attention to what was happening in the story? Here are a few questions for you to consider about this text before I talk with you:
This week you’ll notice a new trend with my video. I’m trying to keep it very short 🙂
If you ask my mother about my care in the hospital her eyes still roll a little and she’ll probably say, “I didn’t like that ICU Nurse, Bob.” If you know my mother, you’ll know that she is a very agreeable woman and you must assume that something terrible happened in order for her to not like Bob.
Some of you may be wondering why I’ve not been tweeting, facebooking, or blogging recently. Well, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks. I came down with the flu a couple of weeks ago which was a real setback in the recovery process…and then I came down with the flu again this week. But I seem to be back on my feet and getting better. Carrie and I went for a walk with Charlie tonight and I’ve been watching some tv today, which is a first (tv was the worst: sound, light & movement).
I also found out recently where I would be reappointed and where Carrie and I would be living come July 1. Here is the video which was played this morning at First United Methodist Church Pontiac:
(Song[s] of the Week Sunday)
Okay, so this week we couldn’t choose, so we’re putting up two songs by the band “All Sons & Daughters.” If you want to download their albums, you can find their songs on iTunes.
Here is the description (from youtube) of the band:
The worship duo of David Leonard and Leslie Jordan was birthed in 2010 from Journey Church located in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee. Jordan and Leonard met at Journey in the summer of 2009 where they began writing worship songs for their church family. Their evolution into a duo began when they started leading those songs together on Sunday mornings. Both currently serve on staff at Journey as Worship Designers in the Creative Arts Ministry.
Leslie Jordan has been leading worship since age 14, both in her own church and for churches and conferences across the United States. She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2007 and was hired on staff at Journey as the Worship Designer in January 2008. David Leonard grew up in Southeast Arkansas and attended college at John Brown University. While attending the university, Leonard began the Word Records band Jackson Waters. After disbanding in 2008, Leonard began touring with the Atlantic Records rock band NEEDTOBREATHE, and completed his time with them in May 2010.
In October of 2010, Leonard and Jordan signed an exclusive recording contract as Sons & Daughters with worship label, Integrity Music. In November, All Sons & Daughters recorded their first EP, Brokenness Aside, with drummer/producer Paul Mabury (Hillsong, Brandon Heath, One Sonic Society, Rocket Science). The project’s songs are all written by Leonard and Jordan and reflect the environment of their church and the message of God’s restorative love that Journey seeks to share with its community. The duo’s first single “All the Poor and Powerless” has already generated buzz online and among various church communities around the country. A demo version of the song is available for download at www.sonsdaughters.bandcamp.com. An acoustic video for “All the Poor and Powerless” is also at the Sons & Daughters Vimeo page, http://vimeo.com/15344436
“David & Leslie have found a way to capture the thoughts, emotions and sounds of their local church & put them into songs,” says Jay King, Integrity’s vice president of A&R/Artist Development. “All Sons & Daughters is more than a worship band…they represent us as people who are still on a journey. And they are creating the soundtrack for that journey.”
In addition to leading worship at their church and events around the country, Leonard and Jordan have lent their voices to The Know Hope Collective, the ground breaking initiative that combines worship music with stories of hope and inspiration created by Audio Adrenaline alums Mark Stuart and Will McGinniss.
Upon the release of their record in July, the duo will be back on the road for appearances at a variety of conferences and music festivals this Summer/Fall.
