First Congregational Church

Dear Church Family and Friends,

Last week I had a conversation with a Christian who I would characterize as not having an open mind. I could hardly begin to express my own beliefs without it eliciting exasperated condescension. Apparently, I was veering from the Word of God (or at least this person’s perception of the Word of God). It quickly became clear that logical argumentation in defense of my views was not going to win the day. It is hard to compete with someone who already feels like they hold the answer to everything.

It can be tempting to respond to self-righteous certainty with an equal dose of self-righteous certainty. I knew this was not the route I wanted to go, but this realization by itself left me feeling rather defeated. How can a Christianity that embraces critical thinking ever compete with the confidence and conviction of the Pure Bible Patriots (PBPs)? It would seem our questioning minds inherently keep us out of the race. On a certain emotional level, we are at best doomed to a second place finish to the PBPs.

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This Sunday during worship the story of Paul’s shipwreck on the island of Malta will be re-enacted using the characters from Gilligan’s Island. In this episode of Gilligan’s Island, the crew will finally be saved! Join the Skipper, Gilligan, Ginger, Mary Ann, Thurston, Mrs. Howell, and the Professor as they embark on another adventure while encountering the challenges of acting on faith and building trust with the natives on the island.