I was on the road most of yesterday so I didn’t get a chance to put this together until today.  Here are some of the things I’ve been reading this week.

Equality Act (HR-5) in Congress – This is a link to a writeup from VCY’s report on HR-5, the Equality Act which is currently in Congress. In brief, the Equality Act would amend a number of federal laws by elevating sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBQT…) to the same level as race in areas such as public accommodation, employment, etc. Most significantly, this law would remove religious protections in these matters. Certainly keep this in your prayers.

Indescribable – During the Children’s Message on Sunday, the book that I pulled out of the bag was a neat little devotion for children called “Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science.” If you are interested in learning more about the devotion book, I’ve provided a link to the Amazon bookstore.

The Funeral is becoming a Relic: With three funerals in the church last week, the headline of this article in the Washington Post certainly caught my eye.  “Death is a given, but not the time-honored rituals. An increasingly secular, nomadic and casual America is shredding the rules about how to commemorate death.”  I’m not sure that is the case in rural, Christian communities, but I do see some changes in the way people approach planning their funeral.  What I find striking about the article is that there is never any mention of the hope or the promise of eternal life in Jesus to which a Christian funeral bears witness.  On a side note: there will be no “water ballet” at my funeral.

Slow Church Growth: As we continue to discuss ways in which we can help facilitate growth in our congregation and better reach out into our community, this article from 9 Marks comes as a helpful reminder.  “The desire for fast growth isn’t sinful, but it is sinful to make an idol out of the size of your ministry. And sometimes, the line between godly and ungodly ambition is dangerously thin.”

Finally, there was something strangely appealing about this video. Whether its the joy of discovery or the childlike wonder, or just watching golf balls get squished, this has become one of my favorite videos. Warning – there’s a lot of physics – elastic verses plastic deformation, linear collision velocity, etc – but it looks like a lot of fun!