Rebel at heart

Posted on February 7, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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  1. They want to be respected
  2. They want to make a difference
  3. They want to be rebels

Now who do you suppose these three qualities represent? Not surprisingly they should represent most of you. Because based on a recent report on a study of generations, these three characteristics were shared by an unlikely pairing of generations — unlikely for some, but not at all surprising to us here at the Catch, because we have been talking about this for some time. These characteristics are shown to be shared by our primary audience: both Boomers and Millennials. 

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Posted in God's love, Jesus Movement, Millennials, revolution | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

639-year Concert

Posted on February 4, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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Time is an ocean, but it ends at the shore. – Bob Dylan

There is a live concert going on right now being performed at this very moment on a special organ built just for this purpose in a medieval church in Halberstadt, Germany. This concert started a month before 9/11, on September 5, 2001, and it will finish sometime in the year 2640, if this present earth makes it that far (which seems highly doubtful). Nevertheless, tomorrow is a special day. There will be a note change from the G-sharp that has been playing for the last 518 days. Prior to that, there was a note that lasted seven years.

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Posted in Art and Life, forgiveness, Millennials | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Surprised by Joy

Posted on February 3, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalms 150:5-6)

My older son loves to play the drums. He’s played in a number of bands and contributed in a major way to their success. He plays loud and fast, and the louder and faster it is, the better for him. In performances, there would not be a dry spot left on his T-shirt when it was over. I say “success” meaning two of the bands recorded a CD and gained a small but avid following. It happened three times, that just when things were heating up, Christopher opted out. As the band got more and more serious and demanded more time and sacrifice of other things, Christopher lost interest. He was not after making a career out of drumming; he just did it for the joy of playing. In spite of the casual attitude, I marvel and how accomplished he has become.

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Posted in Art and Life, worship | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Choose Joy!

Posted on February 2, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Last night’s BlogTalkRadio interview with Doug Stevens is required listening for our Catch community, and everyone who wants to follow Jesus. It’s all about good news.

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Posted in hope | Tagged , | 12 Comments

The Word

Posted on February 1, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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Who can you trust anymore? It’s a rather helpless feeling, isn’t it? News sources are all biased — even the “unbiased” ones. Used to be you could trust anyone in a lab coat, or anyone wearing a badge, or anyone in a pulpit, or anything in a newspaper — now we see these sources every day online spouting points of view all over the map and not just suggesting that their point of view be considered, but insisting that their truth is The Truth. That means we have thousands of “truths” out there and they are all up for grabs. Your word against my word, and anyone’s word against that. 

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Posted in Christianity and politics, Marketplace Christian | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Moment of truth

Posted on January 31, 2022 by jwfisch

Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.

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One play doth not the game make. But it sure can come close.

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Posted in sports, word of God | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Are your thoughts up to date?

Posted on January 28, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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I must say, I am thrilled at the responses we have gotten to yesterday’s Catch about older people going downward in age and outward in relationships as opposed to the more common practice of older people to go upward in age and inward into isolation. I love what Peter said, “So let your body be old but your thoughts up to date.” This is surely possible.

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Posted in Millennials, relationships, Worldview | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Down and out in your town

Posted on January 27, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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I know there are older people who might like me, and me them, but generally speaking, it appears older people naturally go up in age and inward in focus. I do not think there is an intent in them to go downward in age and outward in focus. — A Millennial

In a Bible study last night where we talked about this quote from a Millennial in our online community, Roberta made an observation: “Well that’s the first time I’ve heard of ‘down and out’ being about something positive.”

And indeed it is. This insightful comment about encouraging older people to go “downward in age and outward in focus” comes from a Millennial who has observed how older Boomers, like all of us, really, have a tendency to stay within their own peer group. And the tendency to focus in on oneself versus out among others, has definitely been fed by the pandemic, where everyone’s alone time has gotten a big boost.

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Posted in Millennials, relationships, Worldview | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

‘Take A Chance On Me’

Posted on January 26, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.)

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I think John is a pioneer. I know Marti is. Are there others? Are there older, wiser people out there who are willing to invest in me, believe in me, and actually take a risk on me? I have yet to meet anyone like that in any church I have attended. — A Millennial

I read this quote from a Millennial in our community and immediately thought of the ABBA song, “Take A Chance On Me.” 

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Posted in diversity, Millennials, relationships | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

So what’s spiritual about football?

Posted on January 25, 2022 by jwfisch

(Click here for a video of John reading this Catch.

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It’s that time of year when a young man’s fancy turns to … football? Yes, at least here in America with four teams left standing and two more weekends of playoff games culminating in the Super Bowl, there is a lot of interest in football, even if you maybe haven’t been following it until now. And, of course, if you happen to live in or near Cincinnati, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Kansas City, you might be particularly interested in what goes down this weekend. And even if not, the teams that are still standing are good enough to get this far, so the games are usually thrilling ones even if you are not partial to any team. Here in southern California, we’ll probably be rooting for the Rams, although we’re not going to be heartbroken if the 49ers win because we like them too. 

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Posted in community, sports, Worldview | Tagged , , | 12 Comments