New, New Blog - 2015

Hey - anyone still on this blog?  I have a new, new blog now.  I may copy a couple of these for old time's sake...

www.scottfurrow.com - Twitter.com/scottfurrow - facebook.com/scottfurrow

See you there!

SCF

New Blog Started

Dear Friends,

You have probably noticed this blog is hardly ever updated. It was my intention to use this blog regularly for a variety of ministry purposes. My schedule has made that difficult.

However, I am not giving up, I am simply re-tooling. A regular blog is a good way to help a pastor both in his ministry and in personal growth. Kind of an open journal of thoughts to share, and whether anyone reads it or not, it is a tool that sharpens skills and can benefit others if there are any nuggets that God uses.

So, my attempt will be to make this communication device more of a priority. The new blog will simply be a blog about whatever comes to mind. It is not specifically related to church ministry, although it will be relevant to it. The subjects will vary and so will the length of posts. Its simply an outlet for creativity and thoughts, both serious and just for fun.

What about "Cultivating Ethos?" Well, that's still what I am doing. It's an idea that has more to do with the inner workings of ministry rather than something to blog about. If it were a book, it would be a book for pastors and not many others. The new blog is meant for everyone and just an expression of thought.

If you are subscribed to this blog, please visit the new blog at http://www.scottfurrow.com/ and resubscribe by feed or email on that site.

Blessings,

SCF

The Rising Sun Armchair

In today's message, I mentioned the chair that George Washington was sitting on during the Constitutional Convention, otherwise known as the Rising Sun Armchair. This is a picture of it on the left.

The story that went along with it is about Ben Franklin's thoughts regarding the sun carving on the top of the chair. Franklin noted that as Washington would stand, it would reveal this image of the sun, half-way covered by the horizon. The question he asked himself was, is this a rising-sun or a setting sun?

Considering the task at hand, Franklin wondered if this group of remarkable men were really creating something that would last, or whether it would be a colossal failure. Is the sun rising on our hopes and dreams, the result of our revolution, or is the sun setting on us, ending the dream and dashing hopes.

It was a sobering thought as he pondered the newness of what they were considering. Nations had always been ruled by kings, or czars or emperors or Caesars - self rule had not been successful. Could a government really have absolute power with checks and balances and elected common people? Perhaps this would be the greatest meeting in history. Or, perhaps history would instead record that this group of men, who had what it took to rebel against the monarchy, didn't have enough sense to start another one.

At the end of the convention, James Madison recorded that Franklin rose and said:

"As I have been sitting here all these weeks, I have often wondered whether yonder sun is rising or setting. But now I know that it is a rising sun."

Franklin was right. It was a rising sun. We celebrate that this week on our nation's independence Day. It is a serious time of great change. We are in an era described as post-Christian, post-denominational, and postmodern in a world filled with new labels for people like neo-liberals and neo-cons, neo-pagans and neo-Calvinists. No one is sure where this is headed.

Is the sun rising or is the sun setting? Our hope is grounded upon the idea that the evils of this world will never prevail against the Church that Christ builds. That means that if we as Christ followers remain concerned about the things Christ is concerned about, being the Church He is building, then there is always hope of a great future for the Church, regardless of its institutional structure or the labels placed on people.

I believe the sun is rising on a new era for the Church. It is a time of refocus and concern for the things that Jesus is concerned about. This may be one of the most exciting times in world history as our uncertainty will produce the greatest faith.

Blessings,

SCF

Cultivating Ethos for Your Oikos (Eventually...)

If' you've checked this blog off and on for the past year or so, you've noticed that its been off and on. Once again, I am endeavoring to make this blog a significant and relevant tool in the ministry at the First Baptist Church of San Diego.

So, I've taken some time to clean it up, left some important postings, removed some that are not necessary. If you are new to this blog, please start at the beginning where I explain the idea of Cultivating Ethos. I'll probably just re-post that in a couple of days, but if you are here now and reading this, just scroll on down.

In the days to come, I'll be writing extensively about the simple vision of our simple church. I am so excited about what God is doing in our church, I can hardly sleep! Stay tuned.

Blessings,

Pastor Scott

Even More Pictures! 2nd Post!

(This is today's second post, be sure to look below for more pictures.)

Steve and me with Eveling.

All day today, Andrea painted the ceiling with primer. This picture shows her after an entire day of painting the ceiling with a roller, and she doesn't have a drop of paint on her. The rest of us have no idea how this is possible because its totally impossible to not be covered with paint when rolling the ceiling.

Pete, Eveling, and daughter Donna!

The grandkids bringing us "snowballs." Mmmmmm...

A group photo.

More later...

More New Orleans Pictures

We finished up the work today, coming home on Tuesday. Here are some more pictures:

Without a doubt, the best part of the day is lunch. A southern home cooked meal was served every day prepared fresh by the Chess' daughter Donna Marie. Catfish, red beans, seafood pasta, shrimp sub-sandwiches (or "grinders" or "po' boy's or whatever) and more. Wow!

Andrea is taking most of these pictures, that's why she's not in them. So we took her camera so we could prove that she was also a hard worker, not just the team photographer. Oh, sorry, I mean: "photo-journalist."

Here is a shot of the kitchen before the magic...

... and this is the same wall after wall board attached.

Beware of pastors with power tools!

No, really, beware!

Steve Plucker - Patch Master!

More to come...

Some Pictures from New Orleans

Everything is going well. We miss you and will miss you on Sunday. Here's some pictures of the trip so far:

We were greeted by a rainbow at the New Orleans Airport, letting us know it would be a good trip.

If you look closely, many of the buildings still have broken or missing windows. While much of the city is recovering, there is still a tremendous amount of work to do.

Boarded up windows are a common sight in downtown New Orleans.

When you look down the street, you see a FEMA trailer in nearly every yard in this neighborhood. On the outside, many houses look good, but inside, everyone is dealing with catastrophic water damage. The Chess family had about 3-4 feet of water in their lower story, destroying all thier furniture, appliances, walls, carpet and other household items.

Much of the work we have to do on this trip is replace the walls and get the house ready for painting, and cabinet and appliance installation. In this picure, some wall-board has been nailed on with some space left to go. Our goal is to have all the walls replaced before we leave on Tuesday.

Scott, Pete Chess, Steve and Walt working with sheetrock and plaster with in the master bedroom.

More pictures to come...

Pastor Scott