tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-228536852024-03-07T03:22:11.504-06:00Thoughts to PonderThoughts to Ponder are my musings regarding community, things of the Spirit, and living as a Christ-follower. I don't offer the words of a professional or an expert; just a fellow traveler and explorer. Please don't take my musings more serious than I do. I've discovered a long time ago that I do not hold the keys of knowledge or wisdom. If I did, I misplaced them somewhere...typical.Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-79970570204537972752010-12-07T20:31:00.001-06:002010-12-07T20:32:49.989-06:00Coffee Cup TheologyIt has been a very long time since I've made a blog entry on "Thoughts To Ponder"! I intend on leaving this site set up for those interested in my older articles. However, I have decided to move my blogging to the following site: Coffee Cup Theology. Please be certain to check the Coffee Cup Theology blog out for newer materials!
Blessings!Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-50566984157537594382010-06-03T07:00:00.004-05:002010-06-03T12:10:26.330-05:00Suffering RevisitedRecently I have run across the title and brief summary of a book about suffering. It is called God's Problem by Bart D. Ehrman. The brief summary reads "bestselling author...chronicles Christianity's faith-shattering failure to account for suffering."
In all fairness, I cannot critique the book because I have not read it. Nor would I lightly enter into a debate with someone as highly Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-81874263343004108632009-12-17T15:19:00.002-06:002009-12-17T15:27:26.824-06:00Role Models “What a great thing that could've been for the world to have. Too many times, a gifted person comes along, and we automatically make them a role model. Inevitably, they end up doing something to let us down. The truth is, though, that those were never the role models we needed. The role models we need are the people who let us down first, and then show the strength and character to fight back Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-33838515801684356432009-08-05T22:17:00.013-05:002010-02-04T14:28:14.174-06:00Back from UkraineIt has been almost two weeks since I have returned from my three week stay in Ukraine. I have been hesitant to describe my experience because it is impossible to describe adequately. No number of pictures or video clips or stories can do justice to the experience. But those of you who know me know very well I am not gifted in the discipline of silence! My wife wondered why out of all my pictures Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-42011838559002387772009-06-01T08:30:00.014-05:002009-06-01T09:04:48.133-05:00It's Better To Wait For The Conductor's Cue-or-Maybe The Conductor and Composer Know The Music Better Than You DoThroughout the years sexuality has been fearfully suppressed and recklessly expressed by extreme groups. Some very prudish religionists and philosophers have insisted the body is evil and therefore it should be deprived and otherwise punished for being such a bad kid. Pagan and Christian groups have fallen into the trap of Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-38078580639757149542009-05-11T08:41:00.014-05:002010-04-22T07:11:57.317-05:00Poets who read their own poems have other bad habits, part 2Made For Flight
You feel the earth beneath your feet.
It gives you comfort, not like the silver
cigars in the air. Oh, you know
the odds. But just the same, you like
the feel of solid ground. And that
is who you are.
sun baked face, dirt under nail,
lungs that fill with the sweet musty smell
of pine and manure
Those cracked, calloused hands
have seen enough abuse for ninety
years, but not so Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-7256450352426534302009-04-30T19:17:00.008-05:002009-05-01T22:48:59.704-05:00SufferingIT IS A GOOD THING to learn early that God and suffering are not opposites but rather one and the same thing and necessarily so; for me, the idea that God himself suffers is far and away the most convincing piece of Christian doctrine.—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from PrisonA THEOLOGY that embraces the idea that God cannot suffer has to answer the question: Can God love? Abraham Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-79535034746110024292009-04-29T22:15:00.007-05:002009-10-08T17:32:07.315-05:00Poets reading their own poetry have other bad habitsSanctusI am called, today.The sun lights your kindness in the sky.I praise you, my Fatherand lift your name on high.Your mercy and your lovelights the hope within my eye—O holy OneO blessed SonYou are the One who givesthe sunshine and the darkness in my life.But even in the night-timeI know I cannot hidefrom your mercy and your graceand the care that you provide.The life you give:a gift to live.IDarrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-82685978890044034992009-04-23T20:48:00.005-05:002009-04-23T20:58:31.276-05:00Wendell Berry on DualismI ran across the following quote from Wendell Berry. Berry gives a very clear description of the Biblical understanding of the nature of man. American Christianity has been so unduly influenced by Greek dualism that we have a hard time understanding the nature of man, the concept of resurrection, and the importance of the creation in God's economy and God's eternal plans. The following comes fromDarrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-67149017068652876922009-02-13T17:27:00.002-06:002009-02-13T17:30:04.239-06:00Those Who Fear To ShareLynn Anderson passed this you tube on to me. Check it out:A Gift of A Bible The message is powerful. But I'll let it speak for itself.Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-6335741174350046732009-02-11T19:39:00.004-06:002009-02-13T17:27:22.366-06:00The Kingdom of SelfA few years back I remember listening to an interview with a well known theologian. I must have been impressed because I can't remember who it was! For some reason N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, comes to mind. The discussion centered on the curious fact that so many theologians were actually atheists. He replied that he knew many of them as young men while they were pursuing graduate degrees Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-56422862072059963052008-09-20T21:57:00.003-05:002008-09-20T23:10:50.441-05:00Jesus Loves The Little ChildrenJesus loves the little childrenall the children of the world!It makes no difference: dark or light,they are precious in his sight...“WASHINGTON (AP) - Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks—many calling them ‘lazy,’ ‘violent’ or Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-22766234677929850702008-06-15T08:56:00.005-05:002008-06-16T14:27:34.939-05:00Isaiah on FreedomA few months ago I wandered in a lovely old used book store in Stephenville, Texas. My friend Doug led me to the store and we drank tea, conversed with the proprietress, and stole words by reading. Feeling the guilt of my theft, I had to purchase a few books to make amends. So I bought Terri a beautiful hard bound book on herbs and I picked up a small chapbook by the late Menke Katz, a Jewish Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-46457748033706606552008-04-17T20:19:00.012-05:002008-11-13T12:27:59.267-06:00Sabbatical PicturesWelcome to the Selah Inn in Mt. Vernon. The Selah Inn is a bed and breakfast that contracts 30 weeks with the Pastors' Retreat Network. Here ministers and pastors from a variety of traditions gather to spend time resting, visiting, praying, and spending time in solitude studying the word for themselves. Enjoy the pictures from both the Selah Inn and from Pine Cove Retreat Center in Tyler and my Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-19125080981105007442008-03-18T13:39:00.003-05:002008-03-18T13:55:29.202-05:00Contemplation"To be a contemplative therefore is not limited to any specific lifestyle, such as monastic or religious; rather, it has everything to do with hearing God's call to become love, in whatever state of life we find ourselves. For contemplation will make us not less concerned for the world we live in, but more."Nevertheless, to grow in...prayer and to deepen our relationship with God, it is essentialDarrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-75156759355547079202008-03-11T15:11:00.003-05:002008-03-12T13:29:31.348-05:00SabbaticalBeginning March 30 I will be on Sabbatical.My elders were kind enough to provide me with a six week break from my duties to allow me to "recharge my batteries". During this time I'll be participating in the Pastors' Retreat Network for a week, I'll also be taking a week of solitude in East Texas, as well as visiting other churches, and spending time with mentors and colleagues in the Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-80746355327884239352008-02-11T16:11:00.004-06:002008-11-13T12:28:00.426-06:00The Gift (a stream-of-consciousness rambling)Jeanne Johnson is an incredible lady.Presently Dean of Music and Dance, she's known as "Mama J" by so many music students who have gone through Kilgore College. Although, I think it's to my credit, I never addressed her in that way because she is too young!I met her sometime in 1976--can't remember the exact time. She was just hired as a voice teacher for Kilgore College where I attended. Her Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-7373560458284131262008-01-27T15:30:00.000-06:002008-01-28T15:41:58.803-06:00Ah, the young..."The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible and achieve it, generation after generation." - Pearl S. Buck- The older I become the easier it is to look down my long nose of experience at the foolishness of young people. My nineteen-year-old daughter sometimes accuses me of being condescending. I find myself guilty of subtle and not-too-subtle put downs.ItDarrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-2019034433863119102008-01-08T19:21:00.000-06:002008-01-08T21:05:03.478-06:00Bloody Sacrifice" 'If he brings a lamb as his sin offering, he is to bring a female without defect. He is to lay his hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered. Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-71772247493864554352007-12-21T15:41:00.002-06:002008-11-13T12:28:00.617-06:00Christmas Reflections My lovely wife, Terri was finally able to "walk the stage" last Saturday (December 15)! She graduated cum laude with a BBA in Management. She crammed that four year degree into thirty!We're all very proud of her.Even with all of this joy and Christmas cheer I have to come back to Earth. I am reminded Matthew's version of the "Christmas story" is not cute nor cudly. It includes the slaughter of Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-58517271086299331062007-11-27T21:33:00.000-06:002007-11-27T22:02:03.254-06:00Thanksgiving ReflectionsOn December 2, 2006 I made this Thoughts To Ponder entry:This past week has been a roller coaster ride of emotions for me. Sunday night I received a frantic telephone call from my niece informing me my father had been caught by his own truck rolling backwards in a parking lot...His head hit the pavement and knocked him unconscious while the truck ran over his ankle, breaking it...For most of thisDarrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-8723868382926528332007-11-06T07:59:00.000-06:002008-11-13T12:28:00.919-06:00Of Dumbledore and Dark MaterialsJ. K. Rowling has done a number on those fans of hers who are among evangelicals.She outed Dumbledore. Gracious me. Rowling, would you please quit talking? After all, this is a fictional character who really doesn't exist. His imaginary sexual orientation is not relevant to the plot in any real way. It might have stimulated her creativity in writing, but really: who cares?Now Rowling has Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-13918038632326379722007-10-29T08:40:00.000-05:002008-11-13T12:28:01.125-06:00Theology Singer/Songwriter Sinead O'Connor has produced a haunting two CD set titled Theology. Ms. O'Connor emerged from her self-imposed "retirement" and theological studies to record nine original compositions while covering We People Who Are Darker Than Blue and Tim Rice's I Don't Know How To Love Him.Other than those two songs, all of the songs are interpretations of Biblical texts from Psalms, Song Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-75329509988708959402007-10-15T13:31:00.000-05:002007-10-15T14:12:46.322-05:00Small CommunitiesFor the first 300 years, the church didn’t have small groups – it was small groups. The above quote is the teaser line of a brochure for an upcoming conference on Ancient-Future Community. (Wished I had the time and money to go to that conference!)It doesn't take much digging to discover the truth of the teaser. While the church in Jerusalem began as a mega-church (3,000 on day one!)--Acts 2:Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22853685.post-11736939575941066502007-10-09T07:56:00.000-05:002007-10-09T08:12:09.088-05:00In The Name of Jesus: Quotes from Henri Nouwen"Few ministers...think theologically. Most of them have been educated in a climate in which the behavioral sciences, such as psychology and sociology, so dominated the educational milieu that little true theology was being learned. Most Christian leaders today raise psychological or sociological questions even though they frame them in scriptural terms. Real theological thinking, which is Darrylhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15164899477317557831noreply@blogger.com1