Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

Well, tomorrow is my sister's birthday. It's also supposed to be the end of the world. That being the case, I've decided to put off doing my timesheets until Monday. Just in case. To be a bit more specific, tomorrow is Judgement Day (according to those in the know), a.k.a, the Rapture, when around 3 million of the Elect will be taken up to heaven, leaving the rest of us behind...just like in those "Left Behind" novels. It's always struck me as a bit presumptuous to assume one is part of the Elect. I'm actually sort of looking forward to seeing someone with one of those " In Case of the Rapture, This Car Will Be Unmanned ," bumper stickers driving around on the day after, so I can say, "Hey, asshole, what happened? Soul Train pull out of the station without you?" Now, I'll be the first to admit I won't be on that first flight out. No doubt I'll be undergoing some torment of the damned, but at least I'll be rid of ...

I met up with the Whited Sepulchre , my fellow former Southern Baptist , and drank a beer in public at a place where men and women openly smoked cigars together. We briefly discussed whether we should dance together but neither of us had a quarter for the jukebox (besides, cigar breath -- ugh). Sunday I'll be at Broadway Baptist wearing a shirt a made of mixed fibers and listening to a woman minister preach. I feel so liberated.

My friend and sometimes sparring partner the Whited Sepulchre alerted me to the fact that Broadway Baptist Church of Ft. Worth, where my heresies are tolerated, has been given the boot by the Southern Baptist Convention. The nominal reason was because we tolerated homosexuals in our midst. Well, la-dee-dah. There was great huffing and puffing from Louisville, Kentucky, the scene of the crime. "The church was in effect saying that it was OK to have members who are open homosexuals," said a member of the Executive Committee. Shocking. The truth is, the SBC has been pissed at us for quite a while. Broadway, if I may venture an opinion, stopped caring years ago. The only things keeping us in the convention at all were the desire to accommodate Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty members who needed to be at a church in good standing (whoops) and the presence of a dwindling number of older members who nursed a sentimental attachment to what the SBC used to be befo...

By an overwhelming vote, Broadway Baptist Church has voted to call Dr. Brent Beasley as Senior Pastor. I counted three against - for better or worse, we embrace our knot-heads. Dr. Beasley preached today prior to the congregational vote and gave a thoughtful sermon on the topic of arrivals and departures. He's got a fairly laid back style, and occasionally illustrated his point using a wry self-deprecating humor. I think I'm going to like this guy. I was able to meet Brent and his family yesterday at a reception at the church and came away extremely impressed, and look forward to having them as part of our church family. Brent's young -- around 38; as I stood line last week after the Pastor Search Committee announced his name, I opined that I was going to have to get used to having a pastor younger than me. A grandmotherly type looked over her shoulder and said, "Get used to it, honey." As I heard it being discussed, Dr. Beasley's first day in the pulpit as s...