Why I’m a Member of the Churches of Christ

I am more interested in being a part of church that is engaging the Muslim, Baha’i, Buddhist, Jew, and Agnostic persons of a community than I am “patting ourselves on the back” because the Baptists, Methodists, and Church of Christ ministers had lunch together. It’s a new day. We need courage.

Lessons from the Churches of Christ

Part of the reason that these developments have been allowed to take place is that, much like with many customs and rules in Roman liturgical practice, the heart of the Church of Christ’s congregational orientation – a theology of community derived from the Acts of the Apostles – has been reduced in common practice to a mere legalism: “No musical instruments.” Once a theological proposition has been reduced to a legalism, there are two inevitable consequences: circumnavigation and abandonment. Circumnavigation happens when the question becomes, “How can we do whatever we wanted to do anyway, without ‘technically’ breaking the rules?” Abandonment happens when the pretense of technicality is dropped and the rule is simply ignored or removed.

15 Reasons Why We Should Still Be Using Hymnals

• Hymnals actually teach music
• Hymnals set a performance standard
• Hymnals integrate the music and text
• Hymnals allow you to sing anywhere
• Hymnals allow people to take possession of the music
• Hymnals don’t screw things up
• Hymnals are as helpful as the singer needs them to be
• Hymnals are a theological textbook
• Hymnals involve tactile action
• Hymnals are not particularly distracting
• Hymnals preserve the aesthetics of the Sanctuary
• Hymnals confront us with “new” songs
• Hymnals give validity to new hymns
• Hymnals make songs less disposable
• Hymnals give congregational singing back to the people

How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?

What about people who claim to do just fine on just a few hours of sleep? It turns out that even though your cognitive abilities are on a steady decline, how tired you feel will eventually level off. Meaning, people who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation may have lost their ability to tell just how tired they really are.

Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror

While European governments deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year.
In news releases and statements, the United States Treasury Department has cited ransom amounts that, taken together, put the total at around $165 million over the same period.

300 in brawl at New Jersey wedding; 2 arrested

Two off-duty police officers were working the reception as security when they were alerted to a fight. As the officers attempted to break up the fight, they say the crowd swelled to about 80 people. The were pushing and shoving each other while screaming and yelling.
The officers radioed for additional help to break up the crowd. As Middletown police officers attempted to gain control of the situation approximately 300 people became involved in the brawl.