Yesterday on the phone my mom told me about a church near her house who is hosting a Bible burning on Halloween. Yep, a church hosting a Bible burning. Why? Because they are burning every Bible that is not KJV:
"Come celebrate Halloween by burning Satan's bibles like the NIV, RSV, NKJV, TLB, NASB, NEV, NRSV, ASV, NWT, Good News for Modern Man, The Evidence Bible, The Message Bible, The Green Bible, ect. These are perversions of God's Word the King James Bible."

They are also burning music:
"We will also be burning Satan's music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contempory Christian, jazz, soul, oldies but goldies, etc. "

And burning bo0ks, some by favorite authors of mine:
"We will also be burning Satan's popular books written by heretics like Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, John McArthur, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Driskol, Franklin Graham, Bill Bright, Tim Lahaye, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Myers, Brian McLaren, Robert Schuller, Mother Teresa, The Pope, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, Shane Claiborne, Brennan Manning, William Young,etc"

I have to say that when the announcement ended like this, I almost thought it was a joke:
"We will be serving Bar-b-Que Chicken, fried chicken, and all the sides."

But it's not a joke. My purpose in reflecting on this is not to draw anger or negative attention towards this group. This new church is inevitably a group of Jesus followers who I believe are... misguided at best. There are so many things for Christians to be fighting for that it seems sad to me that they are using so much time and energy fighting against so many things.

I was tempted to email the pastor and get some first hand information about his beliefs, but then discovered that everything they believe is posted fairly clearly on their website. I am curious as to where they are getting their information, I'm wondering if they've read any Shane Claiborne or Donald Miller.

They speak rather strongly against various contemporary Christian artists for sounding too much like secular artists: http://amazinggracebaptistchurchkjv.com/gpage8.html.
On this page they speak against:
Aaron Shust for having long hair, creating worship music that sounds like "noise", being influenced by secular artists
Amy Grant for being affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church,
Barlow Girl for being too worldly and for quoting from "...corrupt Bibles like the NIV"
Chris Tomlin for not taking a stand against things such as alcohol use on his website, and for having Beth Moore (a woman) speak at a conference for which he led worship
Darlene Zchech for seeking out unity among various churches
DC Talk because they "blasphemed the name of Jesus, Jesus is not a freak, He is the Son of God" (I'd like to point out that nowhere in DC Talk's 15 year old song do they refer to Jesus as a freak)


They speak against the Methodists, the Anglicans, the Episcopalians, and of course the Catholic Church, whom they refer to as "The Great Whore".

They quote a 1982 Gallup poll stating that 34% of Methodists believe that helping the community and social work is greater than the great commission...

Well, first of all, these stats are 27 years old. Second of all, 34% isn't a huge percentage, and third of all, maybe it is more important. I mean, Jesus talks about feeding the poor a lot more than he quotes the great commission.

Also, apparently in 1984, all Methodist churches were called upon to stop using "He" and "Father" when referring to God. Really? I have to say that I've heard some He's and Father's in the last 24 years. Any die hard Methodists know if there's anything in the Book of Discipline about this?

There are things I see on their site that don't seem to line up with their doctorine- calling the pastor's father the "World's Greatest Preacher" for example. Seems to me that they would have left this honor for Jesus, St. Paul, or John the Baptist. Also, by burning materials on Halloween, aren't they in a sense celebrating it?

I do have to say, good for them for taking a stand for their beliefs and obviously not caring how much negative press they get. I'm just saddened that they are missing out on some of the amazing Grace and freedom that comes from being a Christ follower who stands for things and not just against them.

I feel like I should preface this by saying that I am NOT that girl.

I feel like most little girls dream of their wedding day and have it planned out from the time that they're four. Or at least society leads us to believe that's true.

I don't have my bridesmaids picked out, don't have a location, I really don't have much of it planned in my head at all. If you asked me five years ago who my bridesmaids would be, my answer would be the same. If I had had to pick, my list would probably have been much different.

In college, I decided that I'd like to walk down the aisle to Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring. I'll still maybe go for that, but having it played by a harp ensemble, like I had planned, is becoming a bit less important.

When I was a freshman in college, 10 years ago, my dad told me at my orientation that I had to wait until I got out of college to get married if I wanted him to pay for it. At that time in my life, it seemed entirely probable that I would meet my husband there! I told him that we would do a car wash to raise money for it if need be. Any husband of mine would be happy to don a goofy outfit and wash cars to raise money for our wedding.

At one point in college I decided that my husband would have to be musical, and that we would sing Come What May from Moulin Rouge as part of our wedding ceremony. I was informed years later that that is tacky, and that I would want to throw up on my wedding day, and would be in no mood to sing anything. I then asked my friend Casey to be my barf bag holder.

All this to say that there's no man at the other end of the aisle, and until that becomes more clear, until I know where I am finacially at that time in my life, until I know IF there will be a man at the other end of the aisle, who knows what I'll like?

I used to think that I didn't want my dad to walk me down the aisle. Now I think maybe I'd like both parents to do it.

And then there's the first dance song. I used to think that maybe this song by David Wilcox would be a great choice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFvtSBQf8RM

Now, I've discovered this song by Jason Mraz and Colbie Callait: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6r92a_jason-mraz-ft-colbie-caillat-lucky_music

And, reading Shane Claiborne's Irresistable Revolution the thought has crossed my mind that maybe, just maybe, I'll remain single. Although that's not my first choice for my life, it's easy for me to see how much good I'd be able to do as a single woman. I've always wanted kids of my own, but I see tons of potential godsons and daughters around me. I could be the mother of two kids, or I could be the crazy aunt of hundreds.

All that to say, I am NOT that girl. I'm not the girl dreaming of my wedding day,but I have just a few ideas. :)