Take Me to the Water

My wife recently purchased a book written by a friend of ours, Patti Webster, entitled, “It Happened in Church“.  (click link to purchase a copy)  The book is a compilation of some of the hilarious things that happen in church.  Here’s one of them…

The first candidate for baptism approached, and I informed her that the water was really cold and that she could wait to be baptized at a later date when the water was warmer. 

Feeling that this was the time God wanted her to make the right steps in her life, she insisted that she be baptized right then and there. 

I helped her to the water, and immediately she started muttering, “Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus!”  She moved closer to the water and her groans got louder, “Oh Jesus! Oh Jesus!” 

As she stepped in to the water, she got even louder, OH JESUS! OH JESUS!” 

Feeling this was no time for a long message, I quickly read the scripture and pronounced, “I now baptized you in the name of Jesus Christ!”

After being fully immersed into the water, she quickly jumped up and said, “Oh sh**, that water was cold!” 

The deacon on duty immediately yelled, “Pastor, dip her again, it didn’t take!”

Shot…at Church

Isn’t church supposed to be a sacred place?  A refuge?  “Holy Ground”?

Well, yesterday, a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a church in Colorado.  (Click to read artice.) 

There are a lot of little stories in this big story: the troubled history of the pastor, the fact that a church has armed security guards, etc.

I’m sure we’ll hear a lot of discussion around some of those issues.

But here’s my concern…Are we at a place in human history where there is no such thing as a safe place?

Within the last week or so, we’ve heard of a professional football player killed in his own home, another killer went to a mall to massacre shoppers, and now, a shooter comes to a church to kill people. 

Is there any such thing as a safe place?

Relevant Church Discussion (Video Clips)

Here are a few video clips from a recent panel discussion regarding the relevancy of today’s church.  Tell me what you think of the clips.

Is Today’s Church Relevant?

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday, November 17, 10:15am) at the East Brunswick Hilton & Towers, East Brunswick, NJ, my father–Bishop Fred Rubin– will be facilitating a workshop entitled, “Is Today’s Church Relevant for Today’s People?“ 

Following the workshop at 1:15pm, Hasani Pettiford will be moderating a panel discussion with the same title.

For those of you in the NY/NJ/PA area, I strongly encourage you to come and participate.  For those of you who can’t make it, let’s get a head start on the conversation.

In your opinion, is the church relevant? In other words, Does the church have ”significant and demonstrable bearing” on the lives of individuals in our society today?