http://www.cumcmemphis.org/christcollegeblogChrist College Blog Updatesen-us   As we look to the new school year and a new year in the life of our church, there are fewer workers in the vineyard, yet God has placed a greater work before us with the launch of our new children’s curriculum on September 12 (in addition...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=110106Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:11:00 Z   The following excerpt was posted on our blog by members of the 10-member team to China. Read more at http://cumcmemphisteamupdates.blogspot.com . Our youth team to China has returned safely, not without memories, change and stories...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=110015Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:29:00 Z   The following excerpt was posted on our blog by members of the 46-member team to Mexico. Read more at http://cumcmemphisteamupdates.blogspot.com . …I find myself reflecting on life and community. We have been living with people in...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109879Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:46:00 Z   My wife cut and enjoyed gorgeous flowers from our yard today. They are the remnant of a woman’s labor of love many years ago. She has long since passed away, and we do nothing to nurture the flowers at all. We just bought an old house, and...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109675Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:51:00 Z   I love to read—especially three-five books at a time. Many of the books I read at one time are theological, philosophical, or sociological; if I'm reading a novel, I find I have to read it a little more quickly since there is a distinct...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109427Thu, 20 May 2010 17:13:00 Z   I was asked yesterday by an aspiring young worship leader if I lean more toward planned-out worship or Spirit-led worship. A few days before that, another young worship leader asked me if I feel creatively restricted in my position. I...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109307Mon, 03 May 2010 19:16:00 Z   I've been waiting on a book like this for quite sometime.   Over the last few years a common topic has come up among my friends and those I disciple: When will there be a simple and practical, yet thorough, book on how the...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109223Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:03:00 Z   ..Who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Galatians 1:4, 5)    If you're like me, you looked at...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=109088Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:34:00 Z   As we journey through the Christian year, we find ourselves in Lent—a season of introspection and examination of our hearts in light of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. During Lent, we are challenged to consider the...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=108572Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:18:00 Z   As you make your travel and vacation plans for the year, prayerfully consider serving on one of our mission teams.   YUGO to Mexico/Family Mission, June 5-12: Minister among the migrant farm workers and people of Ensenada,...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=108279Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:11:00 ZUnited Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=108111Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:04:00 Z   Beginning this week, Christ Church is offering a number of opportunities to help you develop a biblical worldview including new Christ College courses, The Truth Project Grace Group and two new opportunities for women: W3 (Women,...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=108078Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:33:00 Z   It is important for Christians to understand the difference between a secular and a biblical worldview. Christian pollster George Barna defines a biblical worldview this way:   “believing that absolute moral truths exist; that...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=108012Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:24:00 Z   Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the difference between a secular worldview and a biblical worldview. The following twist of The Three Little Pigs provides some insight. The story is adapted from Iva G. May’s curriculum W3: Women,...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107958Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:13:00 Z   The scene is 1865 in Israel. The well-respected Boston rector Reverend Phillips Brooks is on a horseback journey from Jerusalem to the little town of Bethlehem to assist with the midnight Christmas Eve service. As he begins to descend upon...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107862Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:03:00 Z   Charlie Brown had the right idea. Charged with the task of obtaining a tree for the Christmas play, good ol’ Chuck, tired of all the commercialism, selected the least impressive tree in the entire lot. It also happened to be the only live...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107835Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:37:00 Z   I got an e-mail quoted from Ben Stein's website which said, "I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107816Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:24:00 Z   Now known as the Father of English Hymnody, Isaac Watts began writing verses as a small child. In his teen years, young Isaac complained that the songs in church were hard to sing. To this his father replied, “Well, write some that are...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107780Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:23:00 Z   Christmas began long before herald angels sang the first noel while shepherds watched their flocks that silent night outside the little town of Bethlehem. It is fitting, then, that one of the oldest songs in our hymnody is also one of the...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107737Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:24:00 Z Given the recent box office statistics and fanfare over the current Twilight book series & new movie release, New Moon, we ran across a blog post that is quite poignant. Check out Vampire Confessions from our missions partner &...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107705Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:01:00 Z   I’ve been studying the book of Joshua with the junior highers for the past seven weeks. In the first week, I came across something that really bugged me. In chapter 1, verses 6 through 9, the author made it a point to let us know that God...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107546Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:17:00 Z   Statistics tell us... More than half of all children living in Memphis live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty (as defined by neighborhoods in which at least 20% of households live beneath the poverty level). ...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107467Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:50:00 Z   Lowe's and Walmart already have their displays up. Is anyone else groaning at the mere thought of the upcoming seasons? For me, fall is the best possible nickname for autumn. It feels like an intense gravitational pull toward the bottom of...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107332Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:11:21 Z   “During Bridging the Gap, we hope to take you to places you’ve never been before, both in the city of Memphis and in your heart. To sum it up, we cannot know and love our neighbors who live in poverty if we do not know them—if we do not...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107291Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:58:58 Z   The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry opens Friday, September 25 at the Malco Collierville Towne Cinema and Malco Wolfchase Galleria. This movie tells the story of a 75-year-old man and how his example and teachings influence a group of...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=107099Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:24:14 Z   Life change happens best in Sunday school? Small group? Deeper discipleship classes that teach people to be self-feeders? The church in America has been wrestling with this question for several decades. We've been trying to find the right...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106986Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:21:58 Z   See pics and hear what's happening on the current mission trip to Africa at http://cumcmemphisteamupdates.blogspot.com/ .   Sarah Phelan http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106940Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:35:47 Z   What would you do if your pastor instructed you to take an envelope filled with money as part of a reverse offering? That’s exactly what happened at Christ Church on August 9 as members were given envelopes of cash ranging from $10 up to...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106897Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:49:08 Z   I spent some time in Catherine the Great's backyard a few days ago. After aimlessly roaming the masterfully landscaped gardens, my trek brought me to a Monetesque bridge overlooking the serene lake island, whose distant shore was sprinkled...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106834Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:45:34 Z   How many of you are on Twitter? Yes, it’s another social network. Just when you feel like you are getting a handle on Facebook, another online application comes your way. Perhaps, like me, you’re just trying to keep up with the speed of...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106790Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:55:37 Z   Right now, CUMC has mission teams serving around the world in China, Russia and Zambia. These teams are blogging about their experiences as Internet access allows them to do. Remember to pray for these teams and check out their posts at ...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106687Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:21:55 Z When I was growing up, one of my favorite cartoons was The Transformers, “Robots in disguise.” There were two groups of robots—good and evil—that would battle back and forth. The robots had the ability to change into a type of...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106592Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:34:19 Z Christ College is an intense discipleship experience for those who desire a deeper level of biblical teaching and accountability. Registration is now open for the fall semester , which begins August 16. >>Register now ....http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106464Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:52:52 Z There they are—three hamsters in the latest car out of Korea obviously enjoying their ride through the city to the beat of song coming from an MP3 player plugged into the car’s vibrant sound system. Indeed, they are the...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106408Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:29:52 Z I've had many types of jobs. In high school, I did everything from digging ditches, to painting bathtubs, to sorting fiberglass insulation, to making custom air ducts. This trend continued when I went to college. I was a youth pastor, a bagel...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106369Wed, 27 May 2009 16:15:01 Z The Prophet Jeremiah says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" This is clearly a verse about artichokes. We must be careful not to read this with our American concept of the heart. Most of us will...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106242Tue, 12 May 2009 18:25:53 Z Why do we have different styles of worship? Does the Bible teach us to be divided along lines of musical or atmospheric preference in our worship of Almighty God? I'm going to offer a pretty thick quote for us to consider, but it's ok if you glaze...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106193Tue, 05 May 2009 18:20:29 Z Now that the dust has settled a bit, I'd like to share some thoughts regarding the recent departure of University of Memphis basketball head coach John Calipari. When the announcement was made that our Coach Cal was considering the position at the...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106133Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:54:18 Z Is it in Sunday school, small groups or deeper discipleship classes that teach people to be self-feeders? The Church in America has been wrestling with this question for several decades. We’ve been trying to find the right “program” to make,...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106061Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:09:14 Z When the Bridging the Gap weekend began, there were a few skeptics who weren't so sure what they had gotten themselves into. They weren't given much idea as to what would be going on, the upcoming weekend somewhat shrouded in mystery. All they...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=106022Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:59:58 Z My parents took a trip to the Ozarks when I was a boy, and they left me with my aunt and uncle for a week. Aunt Jody was and continues to be a delightful southern belle. Her only discredit in my mind at the time was that she was married to a...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=105945Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:08:32 Z As we’ve been making our way through the Bible, both at Christ College and as a church, I hope we see a consistent theme. Each of the characters in the stories we read is MESSY and BROKEN and in need of a REDEEMER. Preachers often hold up...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=105872Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:28:07 Z On Saturday mornings when we were children, my sister and I would wake up early and run to the living room where we would consult the oracle TV Guide as to what viewing glories awaited us. Occasionally, we would be disappointed by that dreaded...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=105832Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:41:17 Z I've been thinking about narcissism lately. Why? I started a Twitter account. For those of you still in the dark ages of Facebook, Twitter is a social network where you constantly share updates with your friends in response to the question, "What...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=105785Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:04:12 ZI’ve been thinking about Lent. A short definition for me…a season leading up to Easter where we fully identify with Jesus and His journey to the cross; a season where we learn to die to ourselves because Jesus died for us. I’ve received several...http://www.cumcmemphis.org/default.aspx?p=29330&beid=105784Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:59:54 Z