Randy Greenwald

Happy and Bright

On April 1, 2010

Over the years people have grown concerned about the title of my blog.

“Randy,” some would say, “We don’t think you should write about all those depressing subjects. Why don’t you write about cheery stuff. Then you would not have to call your blog by such a somber name.”

Others were concerned that associating the name of this blog with the name of the church I pastor would give the impression that life in this congregation is a downer experience.

One person judged just by the name that I was writing a blog about depression, and didn’t think I should do that.

So, I’m here to say that I’ve heard you all. Starting today, the name of my blog is no longer ‘Somber and Dull’ but rather ‘Happy and Bright’. There will be, I promise, no more sober dullness, but rather wall-to-wall bunnies and sunshine.

Welcome, my friends, to the debut of ‘Happy and Bright’!

Be sure to check back through the day. We are celebrating the launch of our ‘new attitude’ with some highly important announcements.

Major Design Change Coming

By Randy

On March 31, 2010

In Uncategorized

Here at Somber and Dull world-headquarters, we are all excited about some major design changes due to be launched tomorrow. We are putting the final touches to this today and we hope you all can check back in on Thursday to experience our new format and vision.

See you then!

Bracket Busted

By Randy

On March 29, 2010

In Sports

My NCAA Men’s basketball bracket is totally and completely busted.

But for some odd reason (!) I’m not bothered by this at all.

He Knows What Lies behind Our Veils

By Randy

On March 28, 2010

In Uncategorized

…and he marries us anyway

This article from The Telegraph in London bears a strange resemblance to a certain Jacob and Leah. I’m posting the article here, not knowing how long it will remain on-line at the source.

An Arab ambassador has called off his wedding after discovering his wife-to-be who wears a face-covering veil is bearded and cross-eyed.

The envoy had only met the woman a few times, during which she had hidden her face behind a niqab, the Gulf News reported.

After the marriage contract was signed, the ambassador attempted to kiss his bride-to-be. It was only then that he discovered her facial hair and eyes.

The ambassador told an Islamic Sharia court in the United Arab Emirates he was tricked into the marriage as the woman’s mother had shown his own mother pictures of her sister instead of his bride-to-be.

He sued for the contract to be annulled and also demanded the woman pay him 500,000 dirhams (£85,000) for clothes, jewelry and other gifts he had bought for her.

The court annulled the contract but rejected the ambassador’s demand for compensation.

The report did not identify the ambassador.

A pastor friend I know shared with me that the ‘real him’ is a monster. He is one of the most wonderful men I know, but I see him veiled.

John Murray, the Westminster Seminary theologian reportedly noted that if we could only see into his heart, we would see an awful blackness. People knew him as a godly man. But they viewed him veiled.

I know my heart. I know my sin. I know my weakness. I know what no one else sees. I know what I struggle with and what I am ashamed of. And few others see it, and none see it wholly. I am veiled. And I fear the veil being lifted.

Can you imagine the shame and rejection that this veiled bride must have felt? To be rejected when the veil came off?

We need never experience that. God knows what lies behind the veil. And he loves us anyway.

That is the comfort of the gospel.

Blessing

By Randy

On March 27, 2010

In Theology

Hit me with the simple stuff.

I can argue the Trinity. I can defend the sovereignty of God against all comers. I’m not afraid of the debate about predestination.

It’s the simple stuff I forget.

Earlier last week, a friend suggested a book to me, Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb.

When it came Friday, I glanced at it quickly, a glance which included reading the first sentence:

“Three ideas fill my mind as I write this book. The first is this: God wants to bless us.“

That simple statement knocked me silly.

It is so simple, and yet do easily forgotten by some of us that God loves us and therefore intends to bless us.

All last night I kept repeating those four words to myself, and to my wife. What profound encouragement that is.

God wants to bless us. So simple. So profound. And, by me, so easily forgotten.

Happy Inconsistencies

By Randy

On March 27, 2010

In Church

We once had a man at the church I pastor whom I thought would have been a superb youth volunteer. He was sharp, biblical, fun, and cool. When I approached him with the idea, he told me that he just did not like the idea of youth groups. The idea of getting kids together to play games and tack on a bible lesson was just not the way to go about discipling our youth, was his position.

At least that was his rhetoric.

I later asked him about how his relationship was progressing with a man who had visited the church, a man with a drug problem and a skittish relationship to the gospel. My friend said that he was in a day or two going to meet the guy at some place and play billiards with him.

I laughed. His methodology for reaching adults was the same methodology he repudiated for youth: develop the relationship, earn the right and respect to be heard. He was meeting this guy, playing games with him, and, if you will, ‘tacking on’ some bible talk afterward.

I call this a ‘happy inconsistency’ – a situation in which our practice is better than our preaching.

Sometimes our environment or the teaching around us forces us into a box bound by rules we believe to be true. My friend was being fed from the ‘youth groups are evil’ school. But his heart, nurtured as it was by the grace of God, reacted normally and with grace in those contexts where he was free from the bondage of rules. The result was a happy inconsistency.

I pray that grace will make me in every way where my thinking is wrong happily inconsistent!

The Reward for Righteousness

By Randy

On March 26, 2010

In Uncategorized

A friend is struggling with a company that is not profitable. The outlook is bleak, and the worries great. This is a person who has always had life turn sour, who has yet been a wonderful person, full of life and faith and a desire to serve others. It’s sad in substance, and it is sad to watch the struggle of faith this has generated.

I was thinking about this as I read 2 Samuel 11 this morning. It occurred to me that the most righteous person in this story is rewarded with an unjust death. David gets the girl, keeps his power, and lives a long life. Uriah dies.

It’s not fair.

At least we all, and my friend, who struggle can realize at some level that we are not alone. Our struggles are not God’s judgment upon us. Often the most righteous suffer the most. Jesus for example.

But Jesus is more than an example. Jesus is the one we cling to. Jesus is the one who assures us that there is reward. He is the one in whom we know that apart from the injustices of life there is a God in whose hands we securely are placed. He has secured that for us. In union with him, on the other side of suffering, there is glory.

I hope my friend can see that.

Tell ’em about Hell

By Randy

On March 26, 2010

In Theology

On Maundy Thursday, I’m going to be preaching on the wrath of God, and that has me thinking about who needs to hear about hell.

I’m not sure that the message of the reality of eternal punishment is all that effective to scare the unconverted into faith in Christ. It’s real, certainly, and it is the logical result of the rejection of the gospel, for sure. But I’m not sure conversion born of fear itself holds much promise for a lifetime of discipleship. It is the love of God that draws.

No, those who urgently need to reflect on the reality of the wrath of God are Christians. And we need to hear it not that we might fear for ourselves, but fear for those we love. Knowledge of the wrath of God will feed our urgency like nothing else.

We do not need to tell the unconverted they are going to hell. They probably know that already.

We need to tell ourselves that they are.

Kindle Shelf

By Randy

On March 25, 2010

In Books, Technology

I use technology and am not afraid of technology. But I’m always wanting to ask what the technology will do for me and what it will take away from me. So, I have resisted ANY temptation to put down money for an Amazon Kindle. I love the feel of a real book in my hand, the ability to mark it, and for that mark to be there when I flip through the book years later.

But when I read this article, and realized that even the heaviest book became light on the Kindle, I was momentarily intrigued.

But then later on, flipping through the magazine, (another pleasure lost on an electronic device) I found this cartoon, and whatever desire I had just totally disappeared. (To be fair, I believe that is an iPad in the cartoon.)

I still would like to hold one in my hand someday.