No account yet?
Discipleship & Depth -- 14 PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by John Donovan   
Monday, 14 December 2009 13:04

Back in the 80s, I worked for a time as policy writer and adviser for the chairman of the bank that is now JP Morgan Chase. He had a cool idea

for a speech that he wanted me to write. The speech was scheduled for a certain date, and he wanted me to find the front page of the New York Times for the same date 50 years previously. He noticed the tendency of the people around him to become overwrought about recent news, and he was betting that the news on the day of the speech would resemble the news from 50 years before. This was quite a gamble, because  most of the speech was based on this idea, and so if it didn’t work out,  it would be hard to rewrite the speech on the same morning it was scheduled to be delivered.

When that morning arrived, I ran downstairs to get the newspaper on my doorstep. It was amazing. The pattern was strikingly similar -- something about the city fathers being worried about finances, something about a coup in Latin America, and two or three more items that mirrored the news from 50 years before. It gave me an immediate grasp of the insubstantial nature of what looks real to our ordinary senses -- expressed very well by a 17th Century Scottish theologian, Henry Scougal, an able expositor of the kingdom of God as present reality:

“Let us urge forward our spirits, and make them approach the invisible world and fix our mind upon immaterial things, till we clearly perceive that these are no dreams, that indeed all things are dreams and shadows besides them. When we look about us and behold the beauty and magnificence of this world, the order and harmony of the whole creation, let our thoughts from there take their flight toward that omnipotent Wisdom and Goodness which did at first produce, and still establishes and upholds it. When we reflect on ourselves, let us consider that we are not a mere piece of organized matter, a curious and well-contrived engine, that there is more in us than flesh and blood and bones, even a divine spark, capable of knowing and loving and enjoying our Maker.”

 

Testimonials (0)add comment

Write Testimonial
smaller | bigger

security image
Write the displayed characters


busy
Share
Last Updated on Tuesday, 15 December 2009 15:53
 
Omega Original Church Starter Kit

Omega Original Church Starter Kit – $400.Buy the whole kit at $400
save $80.
This church starter kit gives you a sample of the Omega Course Materials including:


  • Omega Course DVDs (All 24 Sessions) - $150
  • Omega Course Workbook - $40
  • Omega Personal Development Guide - $25
  • Omega C.O.R.E. Small Group L.E.A.D.E.R.’s Guide and Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Experience Master Plan Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Mentoring and Life Coaching Handbook and Training DVDs - $85
  • Omega Site Coordinator and Trainer Handbook and Training DVDs - $40
  • Creating a Connection Culture Workbook and Training DVDs - $60

more info

Omega 6-Part Series Church Starter Kit

Omega 6-Part Series Church Starter KitBuy the whole kit for $425
save $80
This church starter kit gives you a sample of the Omega Course Materials including:


  • Omega Course DVDs the complete six-part series (All 24 Sessions) - $180
  • The Omega Six-Part Course Workbooks - $90
  • Omega C.O.R.E. Small Group L.E.A.D.E.R.’s Guide and Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Experience Master Plan Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Mentoring and Life Coaching Handbook and Training DVDs - $85
  • Omega Site Coordinator and Trainer Handbook and Training DVDs - $40
  • Creating a Connection Culture Workbook and Training DVDs - $60

more info

The Omega Experience Library

The Omega Experience LibraryBuy the library at $700
save $100
This church starter kit gives you a sample of the Omega Course Materials including:




  • Omega Course DVDs (All 24 Sessions) - $150
  • Omega Course Workbook - $40
  • The Omega Six-Part Course Workbooks - $90
  • Omega Personal Development Guide - $25
  • Omega C.O.R.E. Small Group L.E.A.D.E.R.’s Guide and Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Experience Master Plan Training DVDs - $40
  • Omega Mentoring and Life Coaching Handbook and Training DVDs - $85
  • Omega Site Coordinator and Trainer Handbook and Training DVDs - $40
  • Creating a Connection Culture Workbook and Training DVDs - $60
  • Fired Up or Burned Out Book - $10
  • Empowered Servanthood Workbook - $25
  • Making Cent$ Workbook - $25
  • U.N.I.T.Y. in Marriage Workbook - $20
  • Live Trainers Disk - $150
more info