In which I get all serious for a change

I know I spend a lot of time writing about everyday and trivial things (books, movies, memes, what the kids ate for dinner...). Those of you who know me only through my blog don't know that there is actually a deeper side to me (and those of you that know me in real life might be singing "Deep and Wide" about now... at least that's what came to my twisted mind as I typed that last sentence). This week there was some strange convergence in the blogosphere that led several folks to write about some similar issues involving God, grace, and "doing church." These posts led to great comments, which led to new posts on other blogs.... I don't even remember where I started or where I ended up, I just know that I saved these places to share with my readers who are also concerned about these things.

So here goes... in no particular order:

Oldest post first: This is actually from last fall; someone today referred to it and I was just blown away. Brian Mashburn spoke of his "Secret Life of Discipleship" and so eloquently expressed the feelings of many folks I know from my church background (the Church of Christ).

Somewhere along the same lines, my dear friend Jim wrote about selective grace (or the absence of it).

Shaun Groves talked about "The Church I Want." I think it sounds like a place many people would opt for. I'm following the many comments there (Please do read the comments... especially Shaun's response at 8:51 pm.) and ran across Todd's blog (he is the one who led me to Brian Mashburn's post, above). Todd has 2 recent posts that I found very relevant: "Confessions of a lifetime coC'er" and "Church Clutter".

And finally, a post from Patrick Mead about the Palm Sunday service at his church this past weekend. Perhaps this is a concrete example of what some of these other folks have been thinking and dreaming of.

Hope you got something out of those. I'll be back with my usual mundane posts soon. (I'll try to post my review of Firehouse Dog by tomorrow.)