Ransom

Posted by Rachel in Uncategorized (Tuesday January 13, 2004 at 9:41 pm)

Blogging will resume when we start receiving registry gifts.

Bed, Bath, and Beyond

Target

30 Responses to “Ransom”

  1. Christopher Witmer Says:
    January 13th, 2004 at 11:59 pm

    Okay, we hold each other’s feet to the fire. No gifts until baby shower time.

  2. joseph Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 12:25 am

    Is Rick still “numb” (mood indicator on the left)?

  3. Valerie (Kyriosity) Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 9:46 am

    Ooo…very classy, Rachel! Or maybe I mean very cRassy! ;^P

  4. Rick Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 10:35 am

    Yeah, but registry gifts would help me get some feeling back. :-) Ya know, since Rachel just lost the friendship of her whole church, we’re really gonna be hurting in the wedding gift area. Have some sympathy for us. :-P

  5. Valerie's Shadow Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 1:07 pm

    You took the word out of my mouth……

    Classy.

  6. Valerie (Kyriosity) Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 1:31 pm

    My shadow has its own e-mail address? How very odd….

  7. mike Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 4:09 pm

    That’s great, Rachel!! I love it.

  8. Joseph Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 6:30 pm

    You guys fell of the face of the earth for a little while there. Are y’all okay?

  9. David Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 7:38 pm

    “Ya know, since Rachel just lost the friendship of her whole church, we’re really gonna be hurting in the wedding gift area.”

  10. Pieter Friedrich Says:
    January 14th, 2004 at 11:21 pm

    I’ll buy you something if you get me something off my Amazon wishlist. ;-)

    Anyways, congratulations on finally settling a date.

  11. Christopher Witmer Says:
    January 15th, 2004 at 12:40 am

    May I ask a dumb, but serious, question? Okay, now may I ask another? Is there a chance that two people might accidentally buy you the same thing? Or is the system designed to eliminate things from the list once they have been purchased?

  12. Rick Says:
    January 15th, 2004 at 11:50 am

    Pieter, um, we set a date several months ago.

    Christopher, I think it shows things crossed off when they’re bought.

    David, not quite yet.

  13. Pieter Friedrich Says:
    January 15th, 2004 at 12:14 pm

    I must have missed…or forgotten…the announcement, Rick.

  14. mike Says:
    January 15th, 2004 at 5:23 pm

    Do you think Lutheranism is closer to your understandings than anything else out there?

    The law/gospel separation keeps me from Wittenburg. I think I tend to be closer to Cantebury … then someone has to go and bow to a wafer. Shesh.

  15. Rick Says:
    January 16th, 2004 at 9:14 am

    Yes and no. I don’t buy the law gospel hermeneutic, but I’ve found that with a different hermeneutic, the Lutherans end up in the same place as me on most issues. I grew up Lutheran so I’m just kinda used to it. Their problems are real and huge, but I personally can handle Swedish nationalism, a serious lack of youth, and some coming down on the liberal side of issues more easily than I can handle familialism and an odd sense of compassion.

    Liturgically, I am more Lutheran than anything else. I grew up singing and chanting, having worship dressed in the glory or robes and colors, and I have a hard time worshipping when the pastor is up there in a business suit and the walls are brown and grey. I feel like worship at most Reformed churches is like a glorified Bible study. That’s probably more my problem than anything though.

    And when it comes down to practicality, I am more comfortable in the local Lutheran church than I am in the local Reformed church. I live across the street from the local Lutheran church and the local Reformed church is 25 minutes away. I love to worship and the local Reformed church has one service on Sunday morning while the Lutheran church has Sunday morning, Wednesday morning, and will soon be starting a Wednesday noon service. The Lutheran pastor preaches sacramental efficacy nearly every week. I am able to contribute to the Lutheran church with my skills whereas my skills aren’t nearly as useful or wanted in the Reformed church.

    A lot of those reasons may be sentimental, but I’ve had a pretty rough year, and all I want to do is worship as much as possible and be mended by the Word spoken, sung, and eaten. I only have another four months or so, so it just makes sense on nearly all levels to join the Lutheran church.

  16. michael Says:
    January 16th, 2004 at 10:30 am

    you know, your comment about the pastor up front in a business suit has got me thinking… i mean, i know that some people out there freak out at the sight of robes, but it seems to add an air of solemnity to the service. it’s not a question of whether the man up front is HIGHER than the rest of us, it’s a matter of separation from the world, which necessarily happens when we go into God’s presence to worship Him.

    i went to a methodist church when i was 8 and 9 years old, and they wore robes. (not to say we should all be methodists and deny the deity or the inspiration of scripture or anything!) i remember the choir in their robes, and i think also of the black churches i’ve visited where the choir is a HUGE deal and they spend oodles on the robes…

    so, i kinda like the idea of liturgical dress.

  17. Rick Says:
    January 16th, 2004 at 2:17 pm

    Well, for me it’s psychological (i.e. a sin problem lol). I look up there, and I am reminded of the many lectures, bible studies, and meetings I’ve been to where the guy in the suit said nothing important. When I see a guy in the robe, I know it’s Christ’s mouthpiece, and thus important. When I see a guy in the suit, I just don’t think the same. I’ve always thought of worship as something colorful with the right “mood” setting. I don’t get that much in Reformed churches. I get a Bible study with communion or I get a pep talk with a Geneva gown.

  18. mike Says:
    January 16th, 2004 at 8:44 pm

    I can’t stand business suits … or even pastors who wear robes but hurry to get out of them as soon as the service is done. It is as if the robe leaves a rash, or something.

    Kristen and I have become frustrated with all the business suits, especially since our pulpit is being filled with professors from RTS-Jackson … which also is making us question RTS-Jackson. :o P

  19. Brianna Says:
    January 17th, 2004 at 1:08 am

    I love robes, too, although I didn’t when I first came to the Anglican church. They actually seem to de-emphasize the priest, which is good, because his job is to serve, not to reign. Anglican liturgy doesn’t make a big deal about the sermon anyway (although my priest’s are almost always exceptional. We’re lucky.).

  20. Christopher Witmer Says:
    January 17th, 2004 at 6:22 am

    Doctrinal issues are obviously important, but when we think of the local church as the center of the community, a church just across the street has a big advantage over one 25 minutes away by car, in my book. At least, it has a big advantage if you not only live near the church but also near other church members. Along doctrinal lines, my thinking is, if you can worship at a church, you can join it, and if you feel you can’t join it, you probably shouldn’t be worshipping there either. Then there is the whole issue of church vision. Each church has its own set of ministries, etc., and we should try to find a church that has a vision matching our own.

  21. jon amos Says:
    January 17th, 2004 at 6:30 am

    It’s nice to hear someone else say things like that, Christopher.

  22. Brian Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 5:45 am

    Rick and Rachel - Congratulations on the engagement and wedding. Stacey and I have our one year anniversary next Sunday.

    Mike - Are you still hung up on the genufelecting issue?! You’ll have to get used to this practice in both Episcopal and Lutheran liturgies. Well, at least a slight bow in the Lutheran services I’ve attended.

    Speaking of Lutheranism, my family for the last few months has been attending an orthodox Episcopal church in the area but we’ve also found Lutheran parish that we enjoy. Personally, I enjoy worshiping with both congregations but theologically I maybe be more at home in a Lutheran church. At this point this is more of a logistics issue since the Episcopal church is near our home but the Lutheran church is near to the area where we may be moving. Both churches have a lovely liturgy.

    One thing is clear for me as I’ve been sorting out many theological issues in my life lately, both doctrinal and practical, is that a healthy liturgical life centered around the Gospel and Sacrament is a must. I just couldn’t find this in the Reformed communion. And to be fair to Reformed churches, I don’t think this is a devation from anything inherent in Reformed theology and practice — it was by nature simply never there to begin with.

    So, a law/gospel hermeneutic that sometimes pushes the envelope is in my estimation far better than a sacramentology that is vague in confession and near non-existent in practice.

    Sorry to ramble here. Congratulations again Rick and Rachel!

  23. Rick Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 1:23 pm

    Brian, I haven’t seen any genuflecting at our church, odd with it being as high church as it is. I think you sum up my own sentiments:

    “One thing is clear for me as I’ve been sorting out many theological issues in my life lately, both doctrinal and practical, is that a healthy liturgical life centered around the Gospel and Sacrament is a must. I just couldn’t find this in the Reformed communion.

    “…So, a law/gospel hermeneutic that sometimes pushes the envelope is in my estimation far better than a sacramentology that is vague in confession and near non-existent in practice.”

  24. mike Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 3:40 pm

    Yeah, I agree. I could never leave Redeemer, but I’m uncertain about where we will go when we move (if it is out of Austin).

  25. mike Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 3:41 pm

    Rick, which do you prefer and why: ELCA or LCMS?

  26. Brian Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 4:40 pm

    Rick - Perhaps I overstated myself a tad bit. It’s been my experience to see a slight bow of reverence before the altar in many Lutheran liturgies. I admit I’ve never seen full genuflecting.

    Mike - Is this the same Redeemer where Leonard Payton was formerly the choirmaster? He’s a Lutheran now studying at Concordia in Fort Wayne, IN if I’m not mistaken.

  27. Rick Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 8:16 pm

    Mike, there are ups and downs to both. The church I attend is in the *gasp* ELCA. It has its problems, male abdication being a big one. The ELCA has the women ministers thing, and it has its problems with liberalism. Overall, the congregation I attend is pretty faithful. Nearly all of the liturgy is sung or chanted, but it doesn’t have the eeriness I encounted in the ECUSA. It’s a very joyful service. It also has more variety, and one can get away with more. One of the biggest problems in the ELCA is that many ELCAers have “too much compassion.” It tends to be a bit too inclusive.

    The LCMS is more conservative, but normally not as high church or tolerant of “aberrant” theology like paedocommunion or communion open to those baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It’s usually quite a bit more closed. I can’t deal with that too well.

  28. Rick Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 8:17 pm

    Brian, yeah that’s the same Leonard Payton.

  29. mike Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 9:17 pm

    Yeah, and I think he was always a Lutheran.

  30. mike Says:
    January 18th, 2004 at 9:20 pm

    What about the CRE? Is the connection to Moscow too much? or do you see something flawed in the setup. From what I’ve seen, if you or someone like-minded planted for the CRE, your tastes would be allowed, right?

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