Here is the news from NMBC - if you've got something to add, why not let the webmaster know? And, to catch up with old news, why not go to the archive section and see what you've missed!
11/10/2008:
10/10/2008:
Red hot on Google #6
Red
hot on Google #6 national debt clock
The "clock" in
Times Square's too small.
How can a clock become too small you ask?
It can if it's measuring
US national debt!
It's been attracting tourists since 1989, but the
US debt's now so big the clock's run out of digits!
It only had enough space for $9,999,999,999,999; that's $1 short of $10 trillion for the uninitiated.
Ouch, and I thought my wife could spend money!
Thirteen digits weren't enough; the clock's inventor underestimated the debt owed.
Can it ever be repaid?
Zero'd?
And there's another
debt that affects US you and me equally big, but already paid!
Red
hot on Google #6 national debt clock
Times Square
,
New York
is home to the National Debt Clock, installed in 1989.
Such is
America's debt that it this week ran out of digits!
The clock can accommodate up to $9,999,999,999,999 dollars (a dollar short of $10 trillion) but has had to show the debt without the dollar sign after the level reached $10 trillion.
A replacement with two additional digits would be able to account for up to a quadrillion dollars of debt!
Praise God he has no debt clock.
He doesn't neon light
Times Square style the debt we owe Him.
Jesus paid our debt forever!
10/10/2008:
Mission Matters
What do the Fosters and spiders have in common? Answer - of course - they both ended up in NMBC via the web. Okay, silly I'll accept but it highlights just one aspect of how our web presence can be used by God. In what sense? In the sense that - as any of us who've moved to a new area know - finding a new church, new Christians, can be one of the things that nag away at the backs of our minds. Will I find the place - the people - who are right for me? Does God have somewhere - some people - for me to join? And what our website hopefully achieves - and can be used for - is giving people a window into who we are, what we're doing and evidencing something of what we believe God's doing through us and our activities. Is this why the spider came too?!? Unlikely, but we know that the Fosters - and others - have found NMBC online to be a ueful first connection with us as they made plans to move to the area.
NMBC online - trying to be welcoming - a kind of virtual George Miller!
But our website's more than this - or we hope it is. It can be a great way for "family members" to stay in touch with what's going on "at home". NMBC'ers on their travels can log on and, hopefully, get a quick and easy feel for what's going on; and, as many do, they can use the site as a way of making sure we know what they're up to too. Whether they're down the road, or round the globe. NMBC is always just a click away.
And the website let's us speak to people who aren't NMBC members, who maybe aren't even Christians, who perhaps wonder what they think of as "the church on the way to the motorway" is up to. So the challenge is to try and make sure the website says something of what we believe church is - right here in the Mearns - in everyday language. To try and show a church that's active, that's serving its community - both local and global - and that's living out the Good News in 2008. As such the style of the site's deliberately non-churchy wherever possible - not to water down the Good News but to remove one very real churchy barrier for non-churchy people.
Over time we've seen the site develop other purposes too - it allows us to communicate, internally, effectively. It's helping us cut down on some of the administrative cost, and waste, of using losts and lots of paper. And that's maybe particularly relevant with Brian's eco' challenge to us appearing online on Wednesday. And as time goes by we also see the site building up an interesting archive of what we've been doing, as a church, over time - it's often by looking back we see God's hand in things; maybe our site's archive can be not just a dusty archive of mini-blogs, but exciting modern day chronicles of God at work through his people? That's the challenge, and it's where the reality of our website hits home. Nice and shiney and bright it might be - nifty even - but if it's not a living record of a living people serving a living God then it's no different from any other website.
Let's pray that God continues to remind us of that challenge, and that our website continues to reflect this.
Mission matters.....virtually, always!
p.s. watch out for exciting changes coming soon.....
09/10/2008:
Eco matters - something to consider
"So where does care of the planet sit with savin' souls?" "Aren't evangelicals just pilgrims in this world
.just a passin' thru'?" My questioner unnerved me a bit because I had been avoiding a reflection that I've seen in the pipeline for the last five or six years. I was unnerved because I knew that behind the question lay an attitude towards "stuff" and materialism that required challenging. The question echoed for me the proof that the 1st century gnostic dualism that provokes John to write his gospel the way he did, was alive an well in NMBC! The question highlighted the need for God's people to think biblically about the fact that the "Earth is the Lord's and everything in it" (Psalm 24:1-2). Yes...everything, all our "stuff" that we consume, accumulate, store, file.... the list, like your stuff is endless!
Care of the world and creation is something that is a central part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul challenges the unbiblical separation in many peoples thinking about "soul" and "body" in his first letter to the Corinthians. He does so in making known that in the resurrection God will resurrect our human bodies and transform them for all eternity, see (1 Corinthians 15:42ff). The ultimate in recycling is called resurrection! Yet again, God has gone before us in another contemporary conundrum!
So, two papers for the good people of NMBC. The first is from Revd Dr Ernest C. Lucas, Vice-Principal and Tutor in Biblical Studies, Bristol Baptist College. This is a good introduction to the themes with a good rounded biblical introduction. The second is from Rev Dr John Weaver who is the Principal of South Wales Baptist College, he is also President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This work is an in depth and fuller approach to the issues looking at developed theological concepts. For those interested these papers may help us to think biblically in relation to the issues of creation care and our stewardship of the earth and its resources.
If there are some people who would like to get together and discuss these papers mail me at
and we can arrange an event. I'm posting these ahead of a message I'm working on related to these issues for the evening of the 19th of October. 09/10/2008:
Red hot on Google #5
Red
hot on Google #5 fifty dollar house
The Telegraph's reporting
Detroit estate agents, Kent Colpaert, selling a house for $1.
You read it right: one dollar.
The house bought for $65,000 in 2006 didn't sell, even when the price dropped to $1,100.
$1 it is.
At least there's almost no equity to become negative!
Two of Google's top 100 searches today are for
www.fiftydollarhouse.com, where people can win a $1.3M house for $50.
And, no, it's not the
Detroit buyer looking for a quick return!
So what's our house really worth?
$65,000 or $1; $50 or $1.3M?
Does it depend whether it's built on sand or rock?
08/10/2008:
Busman's holiday
So what's this busman's holiday we were referring to that the Marr family's going on? Well, in their own words: "We're away at the UK and Ireland conference of BCM during the October break - a bit of a busman's holiday. The conference takes place in Somerset, not far from Bridgewater. So, what's it all about? Well, there'll be reports from missionaries on the work going on in various locations, and there'll be a number of seminars held to help with continuing professional development.....as the current terminology puts it! Networking between workers also plays a large part so that ideas and solutions to difficulties can be passed on and formulated. Add to that meetings for the children - and a wee bit of recreation for all - and there you have it." Steve continues, "Of course, this isn't an exclusive club. If YOU would like to find out more there's always a place at future conferences. And next October it's the European conference to be held in Germany. Maybe it's something you'd like to consider attending?" Thanks to Steve, Liz et al for letting us know what's going on - why not chat to them to find out more; more about the conference, BCM more generally, and maybe how we can help out.
08/10/2008:
Red hot on Google #4
Red
hot on Google #4 Lego History
Vienna
hopes to build the highest Lego tower in history behind the city hall to get an entry in the next Guinness Book of Records.
It's hoped the tower, when eventually built, will reach a height of 30 metres.
A crane will be used for the building of the highest part.
Hundreds of children will help put the Lego blocks together over the course of the next four days.
All good and wholesome fun in and of itself.
The tower reminds me of the
Tower of
Babel (Genesis 11:4).
Are we building for our own fame or to glorify God?
08/10/2008:
Minutes
Members meeting minutes can be picked up from the Members Area. These relate to the September meeting.
07/10/2008:
Red hot on Google #3
Red
hot on Google #3 I love money winner
Being aired in the
United States, "I Love Money" is a reality television game show in which contestants compete in physical and mental challenges in an attempt to win $250,000.
I wonder what the winner will do with his or her $250,000?
Buy a dream home in
Florida?
A flash automobile?
Gamble it in the casinos of
Las Vegas?
Even once they've won the money, will they really be content?
Or will they give their winnings to the starving in Africa or the homeless in
India?
A challenge which reminds us that we're only stewards of what Gods given us.
07/10/2008:
Prayer event
Trish Collins emails "There's a Joint Prayer Event right here at NMBC on Wednesday the 29th of October. Starting at 8pm, we're hosting this important event, the aim of which is to bring churches in Mearns together to pray for issues affecting our communities - both local and national. Please come along and hear what local people have to say about local issues, and together let's pray for the safety and well-being of all our communities."
06/10/2008:
Red hot on Google #2
Red
hot on Google #2 James Earl Jones is dead
Whether or not James Earl Jones is dead.
He's not.
It was a hoax.
He is alive, well and winning a lifetime achievement award.
He was, sorry, still is (silly me), best known for being the voices of Darth Vader and Mufasa.
Both of these characters also had kinda questionable deaths, in terms of finality: both appeared to their sons after death.
Vader appeared in a spectral form post-mortem, and Mufasa spoke to Simba from the stars.
Unlike Jones himself, Jesus was actually dead.
Not a hoax.
But like Jones's characters, he lives after death.
Except they are just movies.
05/10/2008:
Mystery worshipper!
It made us laugh! Really laugh! The Ship of Fools website that's known to a few of us at NMBC has a regular feature called Mystery Worshipper. And, just as it suggests, it features someone sneaking around churches. And every visit's assessed - good or bad! Here's a couple from churches you might know:
And there's more Scottish Baptist churches that've been reviewed there too.
So watch out for that "new guy" you see at NMBC, the one who looks like he's taking sermon notes but, in fact,.....
05/10/2008:
New blog series....
Our new series looks at internet searches, in particular what's popular - what're people "out there" looking for on the web?
Google Trends is a Google beta site that reveals the top 100 searches at any point in time.
You can look at today's, or historic days.
Interesting.
Here's a
link.
And we've asked our bloggers for their thoughts on what people are looking for.
Here's our first blogger's thoughts on one particularly hot topic:
Red
hot on Google #1 Palin
This series comes hot on the [probably high!] heels of a series inspired by Sarah Palin.
And Palin's a red hot Google search too.
So much so that The Times newspaper, on Saturday, referring to the number of times she's searched for, reported that she's "more popular than porn".
Hmmm.
But you get the point.
And it's everything about her.
The 100th most popular Google search on Friday, was "Palin's wink", while 72nd was "Palin tax returns".
People looking at the superficial, or trying to catch her out.
Who she really is, of little concern.
What's our interest in Jesus?
04/10/2008:
Bible Class games night
This is the Saturday morning alarm call to remind all Bible Class'ers that there's a Games Night on at NMBC tonight between 7pm and 9pm. For more information get in touch with Gordon McKinlay. 03/10/2008:
Mission Matters
"Let me introduce you to Youth Club NMBC-style: we are an effervescent team with varying levels of experience in youth work. We are Liz Marr, Steve Marr, Ian Ferry, David Cairns, Steven Callander, Alistair Mckinlay, Justin Richards and Scott Heron. Depending on work committments there is usually six or seven of us there each week. We encourage the young people of our church to bring their school and street friends and seek to introduce Jesus to them throught friendship and our "God slots". This year we see six young people who do not normally "darken the door" of NMBC at Youth Club.
We have been doing the sayings of Jesus in the first part of this session as our topics for discussion, and sometimes the discussions have been very lively. The light has gone on during some of the discussions and this has been exciting. We do altogether games, then tuck shop and then workshops. We follow this with our "God slot" and then discussion/free time. Altogether the time flies and it's home time before we know it. After the youngsters have all gone the staff clear up and meet for prayer for the kids and each other and we find this valuable and rewarding.
We plan to run till the end of May and hope God will challenge both the christian and non-christian kids to walk close to, and shine for, him. We are, of course, a bit prejudiced when we see them all as stars!"
03/10/2008:
Men's dinner
Christian Men Together for Scotland are hosting another of their very successful Men's Dinner events on Friday the 24th October in the Carmichael Hall. The dinner will be followed by an talk by Dr Alastair Noble entitled "By chance or design?". We can get hold of tickets from Adrian Abbotts, who can be contacted on 07771-808837, or by 'phoning the organisers directly on 0141-637 3688. 02/10/2008:
Dream tickets #17
"Better than McCain and Palin" #17
Joshua
&
Caleb
Often when reading the bible something strikes me and I wonder how I never saw it before.
It's happened today, twice!
First: a commentary on Jesus saying the poor would always be with us doesn't mean accepting there'll always be poverty but that, literally, the poor should always be with us, as in us,
church,
NMBC!
A subject for another day maybe?
Second: re-reading the twelve spies going spying in
Canaan.
Only two didn't report "We've no chance of getting in there".
The two?
Joshua and Caleb.
And here's what I'd never clocked: the twelve who went: "all
were leaders".
Ten leaders saying one thing, two another.
It seems God's plans aren't always seen by everyone, even church leaders.
01/10/2008:
Faith erosion
"The Erosion of Faith" Credit crunch? Global warming? Thumbs down to christian faith? Are we facing a crisis that unsettles our faith? Is our faith being eroded by the drip-drip effect of negative attitudes to God and to christian faith? Our new Sunday Focus series - beginning October 5th - aims to help us hold on to faith in times of crisis. Deans Buchanan's given us a preview of what's coming up - you can pick it up here. 01/10/2008:
Dream tickets #16
"Better than McCain and Palin" #16
Deborah
&
Barak
No, not that Barack as in Barack Obama, but Barak, the commander of Deborah's army, that prophetess and heroine of Old Testament fame.
Deborah, with her prophetic leadership and Barak with his military leadership qualities were credited with defeating the Canaanite armies.
Deborah prophecied Barak would win.
In the ensuing battle at
Mount
Tabor, torrential rain caused the river to flood, causing the Canaanite chariots to get stuck in the mud.
Barak did win.
Although little is known of Deborah's personal life, she listened carefully to God and articulated God's purposes, for Barak, through Deborah's ministry, was encouraged (Judges 4:9).
Are we listening to God and, as a result, speaking God-given words of encouragement to others?
01/10/2008:
Old news
September's news is now in the "archive" area - check it out there if you think you've missed something.
