We're wrapping up the fourth week of training today. I can't believe how quickly the last month has flown by! So far I love it at Verizon, but I'll have to tell you how I feel after we take our first real calls next week ;P This is a picture of the call center, taken on my snazzy new phone :)
They gave me this cool badge on on a string so that I can prove to family and friends that I do too have a job.
They also gave me approximately 4 cubic feet of desk space for training. Pay no attention to the U.S. Cellular phone.
And they gave me a sweet deal on a new phone :) It comes in on Monday - I can't wait to play with it!
This is one of Ross's books that I had a chance to read a bit of while he was in rehearsal on Sunday. I thought Chapter 5 was really interesting. It looks at Lewis and Schaeffer's differing views on the inerrancy of Scripture. Schaeffer believed that the Bible must be factually accurate in all regards -history, science, etc. - or it would be reliable in none. Lewis held another position. "That the over-all operation of Scripture is to convey God's Word to the reader (he also needs insipiration) who reads in the right spirit, I fully believe. That it also gives true answers to all the questions (often religiously irrelevent) which he might ask, I don't. The very kind of truth we are often demanding was, in my opinion, not even envisaged by the ancients." -C. S. Lewis
"Revelation is not given to satisfy our curiosity but to help us become the kind of creatures God desires." -C. S. Lewis
"God wishes to move the will rather than the mind. Perfect clarity would help the mind and harm the will." -Pascal
"An inductive study of the biblical data leads us to the conclusion that God was apparently less concerned with the exact wording of Scripture and more concerned with the essential reliability of his overall message. The ambiguity that arises out of the data points to the possibility that God did not determine precisely what the authors would say but rather ensured that his essential message was communicated while allowing the authors legitimate libertarian freedom in crafting that message. The same is true in the transmission process. God has ensured the successful transmission of the essential components of Scripture.
"This does not diminish the role of God but rather heightens his creativity, since he dynamically engages creatures with true libertarian freedom, rather than determining their precise move at each turn." - Burson & Walls, Authors
"We deny that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage and purpose. We futher deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as lack of modern technical percision, irregularities of grammer or spelling, observational descriptions of nature, the reporting of flasehoods, the use of hyperbole and round numbers, the topical arrangement of material, variant selections of material in parallel accounts and the use of free citations." -The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
Dear Enews Friend,
Every once in a while something happens that takes your breath away...(as recently as an hour ago, walking across the Willow parking lot, driving snow and 30 mph winds took my breath and half of my Seven Eleven coffee away...but I digress)
This past weekend Willow held 6 Easter services on the South Barrington campus and 8 services at our regional campuses. What God did truly took our collective breath away. For months I had been ruminating on an idea that was originally prompted by Jesus' words in John 10:7 where he said, "I am the door." From there I thought about the resurrection "door" (i.e. the stone in front of the tomb). From there my mind went to Ephesians 1:19-20 where we are reminded that "the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead" is available to normal people in today's world who demonstrate child-like faith. Long story short, I asked our production staff and volunteers to build 5 massive doors and to roll them onto the stage at the beginning of my talk. In the message, I explained that not only is the record of the risen Christ true from a historical perspective but it is relevant to every human being, because the power that opened the resurrection door can also open significant doors in each of our lives, including the door to redemption.
As the service ended I asked anyone who felt they could benefit from walking up onto the stage and through one of the doors that represented a pressing need in their life that resurrection power might assist them with, to feel free to head toward the front. What happened next was something all of us at Willow will take to our graves. People started moving. Lots of people. Thousands of people in each of the services. Gene Appel and I stood on the stage for almost an hour after every service praying with as many people who asked us to for the needs in their lives. The same kind of fruit was born at each of our regional sites. We lost track of how many people walked through the "Redemption Door", humbly acknowledging their need for forgiveness and readiness to follow Christ. My favorite story was from a Willow woman who has prayed for her mother for 32 years. She almost fainted when her once hard-hearted mom asked her to hang around for a few minutes because she had a door she needed to walk through...yep...The Redemption Door!
Every once in a while Acts 2:43 gets played out in a modern day church, "and everyone was filled with awe". All of you have felt it at one time or another, and when you do you give all the credit to God--never forget it.
Usually I write these enews from an airport or hotel room when I am on the road trying to serve leaders of churches around the world. Usually I write about churches that I run into somewhere in the world that remind me that because of the power of the love of Christ, "the local church is the hope of the world!" This morning I write to you from the snowy, windblown campus of the church that God birthed in a movie theater 31 year ago. This morning I am freshly reminded how much I love what God has called me to do, and how much I love this church called Willow.
Easter Blessings,
Bill
P.S. This weekend I begin a 2 part series called "The Audacity of Love". I hope you can be a part of it and spread the word!
