I had an amazing weekend with our youth group on the beach retreat. We played on the beach, ate a lot of good food and even had a dance party. It seems like we always have a dance party. Not only did we have a lot of fun but we experienced God in a verity of ways. Our youth have grown so much in the last six months in their relationships with God. It amazes me.

This week I have dusted off my divinity school books. I did this because of some questions our youth asked on Sunday night during FLASH. I have been reading Elaine Pagels’s The Origin of Satan. I now realize this will not be a quick read.  With my highlighter in hand I’ve already colored up the first chapter. In the book Pagel argues that we often use the idea of Satan and demons to characterize those who we see as different from us. She shares the following quote from Otherness Within: Towards a Theory of Difference in Rabbinic Judaism by William Scott Green. He writes, “A society does not simply discover its others, it fabricates them, by selecting, isolating, and emphasizing an aspect of another people’s life, and making it symbolize their difference.”

Last Wednesday was the third night of our new kids programs here at church. This year our children will spend Wednesday nights either in Kids Own Worship (pre -K to 4th graders) or Petra (5th and 6th graders). I have been excited about these new programs ever since we began planning them last year. After the last three weeks, I am even more excited about them and so are our kids. Last week, I had two different mothers share with me how their children had begged them to come to church on Wednesday night. That speaks volumes about our new programs.

I received my latest copy of The Christian Century today and began faithfully perusing its pages during lunch . As I read, I came across an ad for a seminary promoting its new degree program:  “A Master of Arts in Missional Christianity.” It took me aback. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen those two words linked together—quite redundantly I might add. How can Christianity not be missional? Does this mean that there is another form of Christianity that doesn’t have to be necessarily missional? Let’s hope not. I guess this means that I am reluctantly admitting that the term which I have utilized and often argued for has now become redundant in its meaning...

By now, you’re probably aware of the latest brewing controversy that is linked to the names “Christian” and “church.” This one could be fatal. The Dove World Outreach Center, a tiny church of some 50 members located in Gainesville, Florida, made headlines last year after distributing T-shirts that said "Islam is of the Devil.” Now the congregation has utilized the power of the Internet to promote its Quran-burning plans this Saturday to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned Tuesday of this week that their actions could endanger U.S. troops and Americans worldwide if the church follows through on its threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book the Quran.

For all of those out there who are about my age, today may hold special meaning. It is 9-02-10! I will always associate those numbers with the hit TV show Beverly Hills 90210. The show ran during the 1990s. It was a show about a group of rich teens who lived in that zip code. I watched it religiously as a teenager along with Melrose Place. I watched Brandon, Kelly, Brenda, Dylan and the other characters deal with issues like STDs, eating disorders, popularity, alcohol and drugs. It was a show about teenagers made for teenagers.