What does God think about people walking away from their homes?

Solomon’s Porch topic for tonight: People in SE Michigan are walking away from their homes in alarming rates. Houses in Redford are down up to 80% in value over the last five years. This current trend is expected to continue for at least two more years as individuals walk away from mortgages that are twice(or more) the value of their home. Some questions to ponder for SP tonight: what would God say about this trend? Should people of faith view this differently that others? At what point, if any, is it acceptable to walk away? Does the responsibility of a person of faith change in a different market, where your home goes up in value and you stand to make significant profit? Those questions and questions from the gallery are all welcome at SP tonight from 7-8 pm at Panera Bread, located at Schoolcraft and Middlebelt. As always, if you cannot be present but have something to add to the discussion, e-mail me today and I will include your thoughts as part of our conversation.

Introduction of God sightings!

Friends:

I recently attended a conference of the Transformational Leaders Initiative for the ELCA. At the conference, I was inspired by my colleagues who are doing so much creatively to spread the Kingdom to the world. We are hoping to instill one of the creative ideas into the life of our church here in Redford, Michigan. It is called God sightings, and here is how it will work. Thanks to Dave Daubert for introducing this initiative to our group.

God Sightings


Purpose: It is important for people of faith be reminded that God is present in worship, at church, in the community, and the world. With that in mind we are starting a new initiative at St. John’s that allows us to share all the places that we see God at work in the world. Starting this week, we will be using the board in the Narthex to chronicle all the places that we see God alive in the world. The three questions we will ask ourselves each week are as follows:

1. Where did you see God in the world around you this week?
2. Where did you witness God’s using someone else as a blessing in the world around you this week?
3. Where did you see God using you this week?

Names are optional, but I would encourage each of you to name and claim how you witnessed God working in us and through us this week.


I am looking forward to seeing this initiative grow in strength and be a blessing to the people of SJLC.

Do we really need billion dollar stadiums to watch athletic events?

Friends:

Tonight we meet for “Solomon’s Porch” at First Cup coffee house, Five Mile and Inkster Rd. to discuss issues of the day, to delve into how faith and life connect within any given topic, and see where the Spirit leads us. The topic for tonight:
Last Sunday night was the season premiere of Sunday Night Football featuring the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It was a time to introduce the new Cowboy stadium to the masses. At a cost of 1.2 billion dollars, it is one of the most expensive stadiums ever built. Yes, you read correctly, 1.2 billion. It will hold its pricey title until next season, when the New York Giants unveil their new 1.6 billion dollar field. The new Texas stadium features, among other things, a 600 ton Jumbotron television screen in the middle of the field, and at 3 million square feet it is three times larger than the field that the Cowboys played on last year. Owner Jerry Jones notes only 7% of football fans have ever been to an NFL game and he wants to encourage more fans to come out and experience live football. That experience does come with a price, however. The average price for a family of four to enjoy an NFL game with all the trimmings (tickets, food and drink, programs, caps and parking) is $412.64. At the new Texas stadium, that price is $758.58.

There are lots of places to join in the conversation of this topic. Do we really need billion dollar stadiums to watch a football game? Should we be spending a house payment to enjoy live football? What might be a better use of those funds? In most stadium situations, public and private monies are partnered together to build stadiums, touting the revenue that will be produced by having state of the art venues like this one, is it worth it? As people of faith, should we be speaking out against this type of excess, and if so, how? Should we be boycotting live events? Should we be advocating for a reallocation of these funds? Does it matter if it is private or public monies? Certainly people like Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys do a share of charitable giving, but is a one billion dollar stadium over the top?

Bring your opinion tonight to SP from 7-8 pm. As usual, if you cannot make it but have a comment to share, let me know today via e-mail. I look forward to seeing many of you tonight!

Solomon's Porch featured in the Redford Observer

Check out our article here

This is great news for our church. The next Solomon's Porch will be Tuesday, September 22nd at 7pm. I hope to see many of you there.

Check out this feel good video from Belgium.