SWAG in Action

"Turn Yo' SWAG On"

Check out our SWAG Video

Sunday, November 1
5:00 - 7:00pm
Slatons' Home (5101 Split Cedar Cove, 78735)

The Gospel of Mark - Part 4

"Ooooooohhhhhhh! Jesus' head is glowing!"

For those of you who missed our Bible study last Sunday on Mark's gospel (or for those of you who lost your handout), I am including a .pdf form with the text and questions.

To get part 4 of our study, click here.

RYM Summer Conference: June 13 - 19

Even though it's early in the school year, I've learned that it is never too early to start making summer plans. So, with that in mind, rising High-Schoolers, you need to mark your calendars for RYM Summer conference. Just to give you a bit of a better idea about the trip, here is a video that a group made a year ago.



We will have more details to come, but right now, just know that the best trip you will take is to Estes Park, CO from June 13-19 2010.

The Gospel of Mark - Part 3

I mean, how funny is that picture? Aparently, the sower planted the mustard
seed on his face and it blossomed into that enormous nose.

For those of you who missed our Bible study last night on Mark's gospel (or for those of you who lost your handout from last night), I am including a .pdf form with the text and questions.

To get part 3 of our study, click here.

After looking a bit more at the passage, and the other parables afterwords, in what ways do you see the Kingdom of God growing?

MIDDLE SCHOOL BIBLE STUDY... aka PARTY IN THE USA

I think that hole in the ceiling looks a bit too neat and tidy.

For those of you who missed our Bible study last night on Mark's gospel (or for those of you who lost your handout from last night), I am including a .pdf form with the text and questions.

To get part 2 of our study, click here.

After looking a bit more at the passage, who would you say that Jesus is calling "sinners"? Is that different than who we might call "sinners"?

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Remember this guys? Our first official group picture taken in May 2007. One day it will hang in the hallway of the All Saints Student Building and you can show it to your children.

Schlitterbahn Tickets for Sale!

Four Schlitterbahn Tickets
$20 a piece
Valid through September 19th
Contact Christy Munger - christylmnyc@aim.com

The Gospel of Mark - Part 1

Is this John the Baptist or Bill on vacation in Montana?

For those of you who missed our Bible study last night on Mark's gospel (or for those of you who lost your handout from last night), I am including a .pdf form with the text and questions.

You can download Part 1 of the Bible Study here.

After looking at the study a little bit more, have you thought of anything new?

Lyrical Analysis: "Falling Slowly"

A year and a half ago, a wonderful movie called "Once" came out and won best original song in a movie at the Oscars. Here is the song as it appears in the movie.



What do you think about it? What is Glen Hansard (the male singer) trying to say? What's right about the song? What's wrong with it?

Back to School Party

A good time was had by all last night at the Back to School party. Lots of food, fun, football, and friends. Thank you to the Horton family for hosting!

Introduction: The Gospel of Mark

Have you ever wondered why there are four different accounts of Jesus' life included in the Bible? Maybe you have wondered why you might read Matthew instead of John, Luke instead of Mark, or maybe Mark instead of Matthew. Well, this semester, we are going to be going through the gospel of Mark. How did we come to that decision. Primarily because of Mark's distinctives.

So, here is an introduction to the gospel of Mark from Tim Keller:

"The Gospel of Mark is generally believed to be the first of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It is considered the model and often the source of the other gospels.

What the Gospels are not
They were not basically instruction. Although the gospels contain dialogues and teaching (like Plato's philosophies) they were basically focused on the historical events surrounding one historical figure - Jesus. Yet, they were also not really biographies, because they show little interest in most of Jesus; life. What kind of biography ignores all but the last three years of a man's life, and then spends one-half of its length on his very last week? However, though they are historical, they are not really histories. When we compare the four gospels, we learn that they do not necessarily give accounts of Jesus; life in the same order in which they occurred. Not only that, they say very little about outside events. There is little effort to put Jesus; life into the broader context of the history of the day. The writer ignores events that the writer of a normal history would include. Finally, the gospels are not legends or myths. Many people have believed they are myths since they contain miraculous elements.

What the Gospels were
What then is a gospel? The word gospel (Mark 1:1) does not mean either 'teaching' or 'record,' but 'news.' An angel was a herald or messenger that brought news of some historical event that had already happened. The most common examples in Greek literature are 'evangels' about a victory in war or the ascension of a new king. We have found an inscription of a royal proclamation that begins: 'The beginning of the gospel of Caesar Augustus". Emperors who had ascended to power or who put down a threat would send out heralds announcing the good news about the strength or inauguration of the kingdom. That messenger would always be proclaiming some historical event (e.g. a coronation, a great victory in battle) which would introduce a radical new state of affairs, a new situation for the people, for they now had to relate to him as king.

Why is this important to grasp? When Christians chose evangelion to express the essence of their faith, they passed over words that Hellenistic religions used, such as illumination (photismos) and knowledge (gnosis) or that Judaism used such as instruction or teaching (didache) or wisdom (sophia). Of course, all of these words were used to describe Christianity, but none achieved the centrality of gospel. This means that the word gospel was chosen to communicate:

First, that the gospel is news about what God has already done for you, rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for God. The primacy of his work, not our work, is therefore the very essence of Christian faith. In other religions, God reveals to us how we can find or achieve salvation. In Christianity, God achieves salvation for us. The gospel brings news primarily, rather than instruction.

Second, the gospel is all about historic events, and thus it has a public character. In other religions, the stories of miracles and other special events in the lives of the founder are not essential. Whether or not Buddha did Miracle X, does not affect whether the 8-Fold path to enlightenment works or not. But if Jesus is not risen from the dead, Christianity does not 'work'. The gospel is that Jesus died and rose for us. If the historic events of his life did not happen, then Christianity does not 'work,' for the good news is that God has entered the human 'now' (history) with the life of the world to come. But if Jesus came historically, then all people should acknowledge and believe in them.

DATE
Most scholars believe that Mark was the earliest of the four gospels. (careful study shows that Matthew and Luke followed Mark at many places rather than the other way around). Also, there is no clear reference at all to the momentous event of 70 A.D. - the fall of Jerusalem to Roman forces after a Jewish rebellion and the complete destruction of the Temple. It is difficult to believe anyone writing after 70 A.D. could have left such an event out (or even have left it implicit). There is, therefore, no good reason to date Mark any later than 65 A.D. This means that Mark was writing about events just 25 - 30 years before.

That is very important to recognize. It means that there were thousands of eye-witnesses to all these events still alive when this document was written. That has two implications. First, it means that the author had abundant sources for producing an accurate account. He did not have to rely on legends that had been handed down and that could not be verified. Second, it means that there is a control making it very difficult for an author to fabricate accounts. For example, it would be nearly impossible to successfully publish a (false) story in the year 2000 that a meteor crashed in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1970 killing dozens of people. There are too many people still alive who lived in Bethlehem at the time. Better to make up a story about the meteor crashing in Bethlehem in 17770. Then your story will be harder to disprove. Thus the dating of Mark before 70 A.D. encourages us to trust his reporting.

AUTHOR
The author never names himself (though cf. Mark 14:51-52), but the unanimous testimony of early church fathers (who knew the apostles and their disciples) was that the author was John Mark, a friend of the apostle Peter. Mark's home was a frequent meeting place of the apostles in the very earliest days of the church (Acts 12:12). He was a cousin to Barnabas, Paul's companion, and was on several journeys with Paul. Later, he worked with the St. Peter, and was with him in Rome when he died under Nero's persecution in the mid-60's A.D. In 140 A.D. Papias wrote:

'Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately all that he remembered of the things said and done by our Lord, but not, however, in order.'

This is, therefore, 'The Gospel according to Peter'. Unlike Matthew, Luke, and John, it begins where Peter comes in to Jesus; life. Peter is usually present, as if the stories are from his perspective. Vivid details are present when Peter is there, but are often missing when he is not. It even leaves out words of praise for Peter (e.g. Matthew 16-17) included in the other gospels.

FORM
Mark was a brand new genre of literature. There has never beenanything like the four gospels. Reynolds Price calls it a 'new thing entirely'. It is almost as if a whole new literary form had to be invented to bring a whole new, unique message. (New wineskins for new wine!)"

What are your thoughts?

Playing For Change

My sister forwarded me a youtube link a few months ago. The video was part of a documentary called Playing For Change: Peace Through Music. I really like it so I checked out the website for the documentary. Turns out, a group of guys got together to record various street performers (and even some famous singers like Bono, Ruth) from around the world singing the same songs. The introduction video does a much better job of explaining it than I can:
http://playingforchange.com/journey/introduction
The video that my sister sent me was this one:





When I saw that video for the first time, I was reminded of another one. A guy named Matt is sponsored by Stride gum to dance around the world, literally. He is a terrible dancer and has always been notorious among his friends for doing the same awkward dance move. One day, he and his friend got the idea for Matt to travel all over the world doing his dance. At first Matt is the only one dancing in the video, but then local people start to join in. They posted it on the Internet and Stride decided to sponsor him. Now he continues to make videos and hasn't held a "real" job ever since. Here is his video:



While Matt's motivation isn't too clear, the Playing for Change guys seem to think that music brings people together and that, when we come together, big things are possible. Do you agree? And if so, how do you go from making music to making "the world a better place"? Also, what is it about seeing people from all over the world come together (in a way) that intrigues us so much? From a Christian viewpoint, how does the gospel play a part in all of this? Some things to think about...

Ruthie

Movie for Thought

On my plane ride to San Diego, Julianna and I sat next to a woman that really wanted to talk. I usually try to avoid eye contact and make it evident that I am only interested in reading on plane rides, but my efforts proved to be worthless with her persistence. As the three of us talked for about an hour, the subject of my job came up. She informed me that she had the perfect movie for me to show the students at All Saints, and made us watch the preview on her iPhone. It turns out that her nephew, a Baylor film student, had made a film somewhat diagnosing the culture of our time and the poor reaction that Christian's have had towards it.


By no means is this video (well, actually just the trailer) a theological work, but I found it somewhat interesting. Take a look below:




Do you think this type of movie is helpful? Unhelpful? Do you think that Christians act as if they have the answers? Should Christians act as if they don't have any of the answers? What do you think of the movie?

Citizen Erased - By Blogger, Natalie Mays

"Break me in, teach us to cheat
And to lie and cover up
What shouldn’t be shared
And the truth’s unwinding
Scraping away at my mind
Please stop asking me to describe

For one moment
I wish you’d hold your stage
With no feelings at all
Open minded
I’m sure I used to be so free

Self expressed, exhausting for all to see
And to be what you want
And what you need
And the truth’s unwinding
Scraping away at my mind
Please stop asking me to describe

Wash me away
Clean your body of me
Erase all memories
They’ll only bring us pain
And I’ve seen all I ever need"


These are the lyrics to a song called Citizen Erased by the British alternative rock band Muse. The beautiful thing about Muse is that, unlike so many common artists today, they have deep meanings in their songs that, for the most part, convey much truth. At the same time, they are able to maintain an excellent tune. Citizen Erased, for instance, starts off with an intense electric guitar intro, and the song changes moods back and forth from that to a more quiet, contemplative nature. This goes on for about six minutes, until the song changes completely and starts to take a much more lighthearted approach, but still remaining wistful, reminiscent of the first part of the song. In the last stanza, the lead singer, Matthew Bellamy, uses a pure falsetto leaving the listener with a sense of yearning, aware of the wearisome world we live in.

Citizen Erased is a hard song to figure out. However, in an interview, Matthew described it:

"It's an expression of what it feels like to be questioned. I spend more time than most people being asked about purpose, and it's a strange feeling. I don't really have the answers and I have to respond on the knowledge I have obtained so far, but the problem is that it gets printed, and something else has come along that's made you completely disagree with what you said.”

Matthew’s dilemma is a common one. From the first part of the song, he expresses how frustrated and confused he is from not being able to really find what he believes is his purpose. This is the result of the fallen world we all live in; Matthew is a desperate sinner like the rest of us. As we hear in the last stanza, his solution is to forget all of his frustration and lack of answers, to simply wash it away. We know that we struggle with some of the same things, but we have a much more satisfying resolution. Rather than forgetting our problems, we settle on our identity in Jesus Christ. He is our true purpose, our answer. Matthew just hasn’t come to see that yet.

Citizen Erased is one song out of many brilliant songs the band has written. Among others, there is Unintended, Soldier’s Poem, Sunburn, Starlight, and Invincible. All of these are great songs, and yet cover a large variety of topics- whether love, guilt, the longing for peace, or having the ability to stand up for what you think you should. The band is Atheistic, but we as Christians can still relate to a lot of what they bring up, and can apply some of these things to our own identities in our Perfect Saviour.

July 26: High School Sunday Extra-Vaganza

Parent's are invited to join us at P.Terry's at 6:30 pm.

Dinner Discussion Topics: Evangelism

Timothy Keller, in his Evangelism Through “Networking”, does a great job in explaining the philosophy, principles and pathways of networking. Also called friendship evangelism, evangelism through networking is a great means of letting people know about the new life found in Jesus Christ. It encourages deep and personal relationships in which trust and authenticity play an important role. (If you missed our discussion last week you can find the article we read and discussed here.)

What do you think about the idea of friendship evangelism?

Do you agree that friendship evangelism is just a supplement to the real evangelism programs?

Why do you think friendship evangelism is more effective today than in the past?

What are some difficulties a networking church faces?

A Christian's Role in Society

If anyone missed our discussion this past Wednesday on "A Christian's Role in Society," they can find the article that we considered here. The article does a decent job of describing some of the problems that we as westerners face in our society, and then does an okay job prescribing a solution of how Christian's should be involved.

What are some things that Jerram Barrs may have left out in his discussion of what a Christian's role in society should be?

How might his ideas (if at all) of what we should be doing hurt our relationships with non-Christians?

Middle School Sunday Extra-Vaganza Photos

This past Sunday, we didn't just participate in any ordinary vaganza. We had fun at an extra-vaganza. Click here for more photos from the day.

Middle School Sunday Extravaganza

Parents are invited to meet us for dinner at P.Terry's around 6:15 pm.

Dinner Discussion Topics

Instead of Bible Studies this summer, we are going to have "Dinner Discussions. The title of the event sounds an awful lot like what will go down. We will have dinner, hang out, and discuss different topics in a L'Abri type manner.

First Topic: Forgiveness
This Wednesday evening, both the Middle School and High School groups will be discussing "Forgiveness." The MS will be looking at it through the narrative of Joseph forgiving his brothers in Genesis 50:15-21, and the HS will be looking at it through the same story, and also through the lens of an article by Barry Seagren.

High School students are encouraged to read the article that can be downloaded here. If you aren't able to read the article, please come and be a part of the discussion regardless.

The overall plan of topics can be found here.

High School
Location: Taylor's Apartment (5604 Southwest Pkwy, Apt. 2834, 78735)
Time: 6:15 - 7:45 pm.

Middle School
Location: Ruth's House (517 E. 38 1/2 St., 78751)
Time: 6:00 - 7:30 pm

The next gathering will be Wednesday, June 24 at the same locations.

A Student Ministry Intern - Getting to Know Petra Tibenska

This summer, All Saints is blessed to have a student ministry intern with us from Slovakia. Her name is Petra Tibenska, and I asked her to write up a short bio about herself. Please read it, get to know her, and make her feel welcome.

Trnava, Slovakia, the town where I was born and raised, is a very Catholic town. About 75% of people claim to be Catholic. However, God was never mentioned in our family, and I only ever heard negative comments about the church. I started playing tennis when I was five and a half, and I spent most of my free time on tennis courts until I was sixteen years old. I didn't know what to do with my free time after I quit playing tennis, so I joined my friends and started going to the "Building" (the youth ministry center run by American missionaries. I became a Christian when I was about 17 years old, and I started serving in Youth Ministry when I was 18.

Two of my friends and I felt lead to start Youth Group Meetings. The three of us formed a team and started leading meeting sfor hte young people in our church. I volunteered at the Building and helped with basically anything on a daily basis. I officially joined the Building Staff two years ago as a part-time national employee. I love leading Girls' Klub (girls' small group), helping to lead/teach LTP (Leadership Training Program for our volunteers), planning Summer English Camp, and being in charge of a Friday Night event for Junior High and High School students at the Building called The Intro.

In my free time, I love to play sports. I play the guitar and sing (I lead worship at our church twice a month), I love teaching (I studied Education and English) and I enjoy being with the youth.

Her email address is Petrastar1001@yahoo.com. Shoot her an email if you get a chance.

Sanctification - Topic Continued

Sanctification: A Process of Growth

For those of you who were unable to make the High School Bible Study last night, we continued our discussion of "What Does It Mean to be Saved?" Over the course of the semester we have looked at our deep sense of sin and the problems that arise out of it and how God saves us. We have learned that he calls us all by name to be his saved people as a result of nothing that we have done, how he calls us out of death and regenerates our hearts, how he converts us and we respond in faith and repentance, and how we are then justified before his sight through Christ's life and death, and finally how we are then adopted into his family and treated as sons. This week, we looked at what is called "Sanctification," which is defined in the Westminster Shorter Catechism as "... the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

We discussed what the process looks like and how it is more than mere moralism. We aren't setting these goals and trying to meet them, but rather, we have understood what Christ did for us on the cross, and how he has freed us to follow him.

The RUF Campus Minister at Ole Miss, Les Newsom, wrote a great article about Sanctification. It is written with the college student in mind, but it is very applicable and well written. You can download the article here.


When you have finished reading the article, tell us what you think.

U2 - Hymns for the Future

So if you know me, you probably know that I am a huge U2 fan. I have loved them since the time I was 8 years old and heard my dad playing their album, The Joshua Tree. When people learn that I love U2 as much as I do (I mean, it kind of borders on obsession, especially for Bono, the lead singer), they generally ask what it is they I love so much about them.
The answer is generally more complicated and longer than most people are prepared for. For a lot of other bands that I listen to, I can just say "I really like their sound, they put on a good show, etc" While these answers can certainly be said for U2, it goes so much further than that.
As I was thinking about what to say in this blog entry, I was thinking about Bill's sermon this past week on stewardship. For those of you who were there (and were paying attention!) Bill talked about what it means for us to be stewards of creation and stewards of the gifts that God has given us. I think that U2 as a band and as individuals are incredible examples of what godly stewardship looks like.
Many people do not realize that every member of the band are Christians. They have all known each other since they were in high school and 3 of the 4 became Christians in their early twenties. Shortly after their conversion they were pressured to either drop their music or only play "Christian music". They seriously considered it, but in the end felt that to do so would be abandoning the gifts that God had given them.
For the past 30 years, U2 has been pursuing excellence in music and has been one of the biggest and most successful bands of all time. The members of the band have also been very active in various humanitarian efforts all over the world. Bono has successfully lobbied countless politicians for aid in Africa to help put an end to diseases like malaria and tb. And The Edge (isn't that such a cool nickname?) is working to restore instruments to musicians who lost them during Katrina. Sure, they wear cool clothes and have vacation houses in the south of France. But the members of U2 are also seeking to use their fame, positions, and power for the benefit of those who have no voice and no power.
While most other bands who have been around as long as U2 might only have 2 of the original members or make albums of significantly lesser quality then their earlier works, U2 has the original 4 members that started the band in the late 70's and spend years on each album.
In early March of this year, they released their latest effort, No Line on the Horizon. In talking about this album with Rolling Stone, the band members were blatant about their faith and how it influences their music. They look at this album, and another one to be released soon as, 'hymns for the future.' The lyrics of many of their songs on the album, especially Magnificent ("I was born to sing for you, I didn't have a choice but to lift you up . . . you and I will magnify the Magnificent") reflect their strong faith. Other songs reflect the reality of the hardships of this life but always contain at least a glimmer of the promise of redemption.
While many Christian artists either shy away from engaging with the world or completely abandon their faith for the glories of earthly fame, U2 has managed to produce excellent music appealing to people of all countries, ages, and religions that still reflects the truths of the gospel.
Their journey has certainly not been without struggle and they are by no means perfect. Yet they freely admit those things and faithfully continue to 'walk on' in this journey that God has called them to.

High School Summer Trip

This summer, we are planning on taking a weekend trip with the High School students to Houston. It is similar to the Middle School trip with some changes. But, like the MS, this is the first of what will be an annual WeeGe (pronounced "WEE-jee"), for Weekend Getaway. As you can see by the flyer, it is a good way to "get away." All in all, it should be a very fun trip with a lot of time together, some fun games, with the highlight being the Astros game. Here are some more of the details.

WeeGe Details

Times and Locations
DEPARTURE: Friday, July 24; 4:00 pm; All Saints Office Parking Lot

RETURN: Sunday, July 26; 3:30 pm; All Saints Office Parking Lot

LOCATION: Taylor’s Parent’s Home; 6 Claymore Court; 77024

Basic Itinerary
FRIDAY EVENING: Grill Out; Bible Study; Games for Prizes; Watch Movie.

SATURDAY MORNING: Eat Breakfast; Bible Study; Play Ultimate Frisbee.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Eat Lunch; Enjoy Pool; Relax.

SATURDAY EVENING: Astros Game (Houston vs. NY Mets); Dessert Time.

SUNDAY MORNING: Worship at Christ the King; Sunday School with their High School.

Middle School Summer Trip

As some of you may have heard, we are planning on taking a summer trip to Houston. As you can see by the flyer, it is a good way to "get away." All in all, it should be a very fun trip. Here are some more of the details.

WeeGe Details

Times and Locations

DEPARTURE: Friday, June 5; 4:00 pm; All Saints Office Parking Lot

RETURN: Sunday, June 7; 3:30 pm; All Saints Office Parking Lot

LOCATION: Taylor’s Parent’s Home; 6 Claymore Court; 77024

Basic Itinerary
FRIDAY EVENING: Grill Out; Bible Study; Games for Prizes; Watch Movie.

SATURDAY MORNING: Eat Breakfast; Bible Study; Play Ultimate Frisbee.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON: Eat Lunch; Enjoy Pool; Relax.

SATURDAY EVENING: Astros Game (Houston vs. Pittsburgh); Dessert Time.

SUNDAY MORNING: Worship at Christ the King; Sunday School with their Middle School.

Baby Uecker is Born!

It's a girl!

Dorothy Anne Uecker was born last night at 9:11. "Annie" weighs 6 lbs 9 oz and is 19.75 inches. She is named after Elisabeth's grandmother, Dorothy Moore, a woman they admire and respect. They hope Annie will grow up to be like her! They are home now and everyone is healthy and happy!

We were going to have a pool to guess the date and time of delivery, but Annie was too fast for that to work out. Congratulations Ueckers!

Tim Keller @ Google

A year ago, Tim Keller came out with a book called The Reason for God. It is a well thought out book that was actually a best seller for quite some time. As a part of his book tour, Rev. Keller traveled around the country giving lectures at different universities and academic venues. One of those venues was at the headquarters for Google. The audience at Google was made up of primarily non-Christians, which makes the lecture and Q&A that much more interesting.

Here is the video of that lecture (It's a little over an hour long). If you enjoy it, you might want to check out the book as well.

Service Project: Community New Start

Saturday, May 2
10:20 am - 1:20 pm
H.S. & M.S. Students
(And Parents)

We will meet in the Church Office parking lot at 10:20 am (5900 Southwest Parkway, 78735), and we will then drive to the St. John neighborhood where we will be serving Community New Start by playing kickball and providing lunch for their students. It's a really good time to not only get to know students and parents at All Saints better, but to also get to know students of different ages and backgrounds from us.

Pick up will be back at the Church Office parking lot.

Please RSVP to Taylor by Friday, April 31.

For those who want to know more information regarding the swine flu epidemic, we are in contact with Community New Start and a task force of doctors that are looking into the East Austin area. We will have more definitive information by tomorrow afternoon.

UPDATE: We are good for tomorrow.

Chillin' & Grillin' Photos

Here are some photos from Sunday night's Chillin' & Grillin' Extravaganza.

Chillin' & Grillin' Party, Sunday, April 26

No, not that kind of grill.

As some of you know, we are having a large scale get together this Sunday. Here is some extra information that is copied from the evite:

5:45 - 8:00 pm
High School & Middle School FAMILIES & FRIENDS
Location: Horton's Home (3105 Point O' Woods, 78735)

"As Spring time ends (even though it really only lasts about 1 month in Texas), and Summer begins, we want to celebrate by getting together, eating, playing, and enjoying one another's company. So, we are having an "extravaganza" for our Middle School and High School students, their families, and their friends.

We will be grilling burgers, bratwursts, chicken breasts, and a few veggie patties. We will also be providing the drinks and some side items. However, if each family could bring one side item or dessert that would be greatly appreciated.

In addition to the food, we will have some different games, like corn hole, washers, bocce ball, etc. All of these ingredients come together to make this "extravaganza."

Please feel free to invite FRIENDS & FAMILY, and you are welcome to come and go as you please. But, mostly come."

Would You Rather...

...have everywhere you walk be like walking on a trampoline, or everywhere you swam be like swimming in pudding?

What's it going to be?

L'Abri England

As many of you know, one of All Saints' Pastors, Greg Grooms, spent many years working for a ministry called L'Abri. It is a wonderful ministry started by Francis Schaeffer, where "students," Christian and non-Christian alike, travel to Switzerland, England, etc. (wherever there is a L'Abri house) and study different aspects of the Christian faith.

One of my dear friends, a student from Davidson, had the privilege of attending L'Abri in England during the Fall of 2008. He is an incredible amateur film maker, and he spliced together a short film that captures the essence of what happens there.

I understand that only a few of you would be able to go to L'Abri anytime soon. So, this is not an effort to advertise it to you all (although if any of you were interested in attending, I would be more than happy to give you more information); I just wanted to continue to practice the idea of introducing our friends to our friends.

So, take a look at Jeff Tolly's video, and tell me what you think.

A Star Is Born

Check out Jack's debut on the streets of Paris.

Article - "The Mercy of God in a Broken World"

At All Saints, we are a group of people who, on the outside, seem to have everything put together. We dress well, smell good (at least I think we do), and, for the most part, are nice to people. Most people would call us privileged (and in many ways, that is absolutely true). With these "rose colored" views of ourselves, we can sometimes think that we are better than we actually are, and that we should have mercy on the "less fortunate" or "tougher" areas.

Jean Larroux, who is pictured above, wrote an article dealing with this very subject. He is a pastor of Lagniappe Church in Bay St. Louis, MS, an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. In his article, he argues that we need to take a good look at ourselves, so that we can understand who we are, and subsequently know how gracious God is to us.

Here is the article:

"I had always considered myself to be fairly handsome. I knew that I was being a bit generous to myself, but hey, it was me. There were moments when I knew that I could stand to lose a few pounds here and there. My jeans would feel a bit snug—I’d just figure the dryer shrunk them (keep in mind they were two years old). The notches on my belt kept moving out to cleaner, unused notches leaving the inner ones distressed and worn out like the collar of an old shirt. I was, as my friend Jeffrey Lancaster says, “body dismorphic”—I saw myself as thinner than I actually was. That self-misperception was about to change."

To read the rest of the article, click here.

What do you all think of this article? What would an accurate view of ourselves entail?

Lyrical Analysis - "Ten Dead Dogs"

I don't care much for a lot of Alternative Rock, but one of my favorite bands is Wild Sweet Orange. They are a new band that is gaining steam, partly because they have such enticing lyrics. One of their songs, I thought, would be good for discussion: "Ten Dead Dogs" from their album called We Have Cause To Be Uneasy. While the title may seem morbid, the song has nothing to do with dogs that are dying, but rather, it points to the way we interpret God's will and plan in our lives and in the lives of others.

Here are the lyrics:

"I saw ten dead dogs on the side of the road
driving late last night to your apartment
and I thought it was an omen
so I headed on back home and
walked in circles 'round my room
alone.

O my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Yeah, come and get us.

Shivering cold, I woke up in water
and wrapped myself around the toilet seat.
I spoke in tongues and took all my clothes off.
The tops of my fingers
touched the tops of my toes

O my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Cause we can't stop doing
what we think we want,
even though we know it's not.
This place is merely a subplot
to come and get us.

I've never felt this way before.
Am I running away from what
I've always been running towards.
Belief, believe in me, cause I don't know
if reason's ever gonna see why love
would come to die,
to leave.

O my God, is this really what you want?
Would you tell us if it's not?
And could you rewrite the plot
and come and get us?
Cause we can't stop doing
what we think we want,
even though we know it's not.
This place is merely a subplot
to come and get us.

I watched the sky turn from blue
to black to red and yellow too
before the purple dawn was filling up my room.
And for a brief moment,
I heard the whole earth groaning
like there was something
that it needed me to do"

What do you all think about this song?
What do you think it is trying to say?
What's right / wrong with the chief message of the song?

Also, here is a link to listen to the song.

Ultimate Frisbee Pictures

After the game, Zach gave us a demonstration on hitting the tackling
dummy (pictured in front of Greg).

We had a good weekend playing Ultimate Frisbee. They were hotly contested games that came down to the very last point. If you would like to see more pictures from Sunday, click here.

Would you rather...

...have needles for leg hair or an ear lobe the size of a basketball?

What say you?!

Justification - Topic Continued

For those of you who were unable to make the High School Bible Study last night, we continued our discussion of "What Does It Mean to be Saved?" After having looked at man's sinful nature and God's wrath, we then looked at God's calling us out of death, regenerating our hearts, converting us (and allowing for us to respond in faith and repentance). Last night we looked, in particular, at the doctrine of Justification.

Justification is God's work in saving us by pardoning our sin (pouring out his wrath on Christ at his death) and granting us righteousness (crediting Christ's life to us). So, in God's eyes, we are made righteous once and for all. This applies to us in many different ways. We are made right with God, we are made right with man, and we are made right with ourselves. Of these three, it is most difficult to understand how the being justified in the eyes of God applies to our relationships with others.

In an article written by an RUF Campus Minister, Jason Harris, he has an excerpt that discusses how being justified by Christ's work affects our relationships with others.

"Secondly, justification transforms the way we relate to others. One of the sharpest contemporary critiques of religion is that religious faith leads to the exclusion of those who do not share the same views. That is why one author, for example, rejects religion in all its forms as “an enormous multiplier of tribal suspicion and hatred.” Jesus, however, was not naïve. He recognized the problem of human oppression, particularly as a result of religious faith. After all, he directed the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee to self-righteous people who treated others with contempt. But Jesus told the parable in order to show that justification by grace alone through faith alone not only heals our relationship with God, but also provides us with the ability to embrace others in genuine humility and love.

The problem with self-justification is that it makes us radically insecure because we are never sure if we have ever done enough. As a result, we are driven to compare ourselves to other people and to marginalize and exclude others in order to prop up our unstable sense of significance and security. But if we believe that God loves, accepts, and welcomes us on the basis of what Jesus has done for us rather than what we have done for ourselves, then it is impossible to turn our faith into a factor that leads us to oppress others. If we believe that God relates to us on the basis of grace rather than merit then we know that we are no better than anyone else. And the more we understand our need for God’s compassion, the more we will be able to extend compassion to others."

What do you think this excerpt is trying to say? How does God's work of justifying Christians free them to love better?

Reflective Question (meaning don't answer it here): What people should you do a better job of loving?

Spring Break!

Don't you want to be here?

In honor of Spring Break week, I figure that we ought to have a little discussion.

What is your favorite thing to do in this week off from school? Do you prefer vacations to the beach, the mountains, theme parks, staycations (meaning you stay at home)?

What say you!?

bAll Saints Student Fellowship Bracket Challenge

This is my favorite time of the year. Partly because I can begin to wear shorts again, and partly because the best sporting event of the entire year is just around the corner. So, in order to celebrate the "madness" of March, we are having a NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Challenge.

The "bAll Saints Student Fellowship Bracket Challenge" is a Pick 'Em Tournament - meaning that you pick the winners of each game (63 winners in all), and whoever has correctly picked the most winners wins the Challenge. It requires no knowledge of College Basketball, and there is no reason not to join. You pay nothing to enter the competition, but the top 3 brackets will receive prizes.

Here are the directions for entering the tournament. Click on this link and follow the instructions for joining. You may have to create your own profile with CBS Sports in order to join. When it prompts you for the group password, enter "password."

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful Spring Break. If you have any questions, please email Taylor.

Lyrical Analysis - "Human"

A couple of months ago, I was driving while listening to the radio, and an interview came on with a band called The Killers. For those of you who don't know them, they are not a combative or aggressive band; they are simply a good alternative band with a name that doesn't have too much meaning. Anyways, so I was in my car, and their lead singer was talking about how his new album was the best that he and his band had ever written (which is a pretty bold statement considering some of their older stuff was pretty decent).

After the interview concluded, they played the most popular song on their new album, Day & Age, called "Human." As I listened, I could not figure out why he thought this song was good (other than it being catchy). It seemed to be about absolutely nothing. So, here are the lyrics:

"I did my best to notice
When the call came down the line
Up to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kind
And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door

Close your eyes, clear your heart

Cut the cord
Are we human or are we denser?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we denser?

Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could
And so long to devotion
You taught me everything I know
Wave good bye, wish me well

You gotta let me go
Are we human or are we denser?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we denser?

Will your system be all right
When you dream of home tonight
There is no message were receiving
Let me know is your heart still beating

Are we human or are we denser?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer

You've gotta let me know
Are we human or are we denser?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human - or are we denser?

Are we human or are we denser?
Are we human or are we denser?"

Side Note: It seems that there is some disagreement with the lyrics. Some people insert "dancers" where it says "denser," while others include "dancer." Does any one word make the song more meaningful?

What do you think this song is about? Help a brother out!

What is a Church?

We are, of course, are a ministry of All Saints (a church, not a para-church ministry). So, what does that mean? Why is All Saints considered a church while Young Life is not? Couldn't we just declare a group of us a "church?" After all, we are all members of the body of Christ of THE Church.

Well, Taylor's old RUF Campus Minister, Rev. Brian Habig, wrote a book called The Enduring Community with another Campus Minister named Rev. Les Newsom. In it, they talked for a long time about the distinguishing features of The Church (meaning the global body of Christ) and the local church (of which you belong). Here is an excerpt from the book on the "Marks of a Church.*"


What do you think?

*The .pdf has two articles in it. The first article is The Enduring Community.

RYM High School Summer Conference

Yes that is Taylor. And, if you go to RYM Summer Conference,
you may look as studly on the top of a peak.

Dates: June 1 - 6
Place: Estes Park, CO (YMCA of Rockies)
Cost: $350

If you have been around (at all) you have seen us shamelessly promote RYM Summer Conference. Since we have been so shameless in the past, I figured that we ought to continue this absurd trend.

So, please tell everyone that you know (even the people who have heard us promote this 1,000 times). But, in all seriousness, we would love for you guys to come.

Here is a link to the brochure.

First Post

This is the first post on the Student Fellowship blog. I thought we would kick it off with something mildly entertaining.

Would you rather have no hair at all (like no eyebrows, arm hair, top hair, etc.) or have all of your normal hair with the addition of hairy palms and bottoms of your feet?

What say you!?