Thursday, September 28, 2006

And sure enough--what do you know?

It got misplaced. At "Saving Bellevue," anyway.

Were I to hazard a guess as to why it's not there anymore, I could come up with a few:

1) Sunspots.
2) Government conspiracy.
3) Sunspots caused by a government conspiracy.
4) The realization that, when the comments are read in context and in their entirety, the whole "Saving Bellevue" business is shown to have more holes in it than a good slice of quality Swiss cheese.

You can pick from my list, or submit your own suggestions.

--Mike

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

5) The transcript was printed by the Memphis Flyer in the same section as Bellevue's "suggestive" i2 advertisement.

Anonymous said...

Assuming it was a correct transcript I don't see why it should be removed. Transcripts lead to transparency and helps eliminate the rumors and gossip of what was alleged to be said versus what was actually said and who said it.

My church posts a transcript of each business meeting. This is a wonderful thing for several reasons. If I'm out of town and miss a meeting I can pull it up and see who said what in favor of or or against any particular motion. I think it also helps people treat each other with respect since they know their speech is being recorded.

Glad you grabbed a copy before it was too late.

Anonymous said...

I don't like the i2 ad very much.

A little heavy on the use of an attracitve female to sell a product approach. Kinda plays into what is probably the sin that age group as a whole struggles with the most. Just the way I see it.

Anonymous said...

I don’t know what to believe about the changes at Bellevue. I don’t particularly like them, but I am slow to condemn our pastor. I’m certainly uncomfortable with the public airing of church disputes.

I am, however, glad some of these matters are being discussed. It’s the internet forum that troubles me. We need to continually examine our actions as a church in light of Scripture. If church members are uncomfortable with the direction our leaders are taking us or if a deacon has serious concerns about financial propriety, is it sinful to make inquiries and seek clarity? I think not.

As for that Memphis Flyer ad, I have a general problem with Christianity as commodity. Commodities require marketing, which usually means copying the strategies of Hollywood and Madison Avenue. Is there a biblical basis for this?

Our Pastor says he is not taking us down the seeker-sensitive path and I take him at his word. That said, we seem to be dallying on the edges of that model. But the “Saving Bellevue” folks need to remember it started before the retirement of Dr. Rogers. I cringed when I learned we were doing Forty Days of Purpose.

Here are a few articles for consideration:

http://www.gty.org.uk/articles/showtime.htm

http://www.gty.org/resources.php?section=articles&aid=44

ttp://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/52-33.htm

http://www.newswithviews.com/PaulProctor/proctor75.htm

Just a few thoughts from a Bellevue member.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, they should only use ugly people in their ads.

No they should use people in their ads in a way that glorifies God. Is the message of the ad that this is a great place to meet babes or is this an ad for a worship service.

Anonymous said...

Bellevue has used billboards and the like for decades now to reach out to various parts of the Memphis community. One of the purposes of i2 is to reach individuals who don't normally go to church on a Sunday. That said, it does no good to promote i2 exclusively in something like the Baptist Reflector. Bellevue is trying to reach an unchurched audience, so it's utilizes media outlets such as the Memphis Flyer.

Jim Haywood is making a mountain out of the proverbial molehill in this case. I have a friend who says it well.

"The scandalous ad is in this week's Flyer also.

To its left is an ad about bipolar disorder...hmm, wonder what that is supposed to tell us subliminally... The page it's on lists, among other things, record stores, video stores, places to buy a bicycle or computer...but we should all be concerned about the message Bellevue is trying to send, as it is also on the Best Smoke Shop page."