A couple of years back we had one of those week long urban community action mission events. Standard routine, the weekend was reserved for fun, fun, fun and everyone in the community was invited along. Our eldest had been camping out all week so we went over on the Saturday to collect her. On the way in we overheard some bloke calling to one of his mates , “They’re all God botherers!” I found it highly amusing as it was the first time I’d heard the term. Couldn’t figure out whether the Christians were bothering God (eminently feasible, in my opinion) or bothering non-Christians with God.
Funniest memory? We’d told my sister’s family that Kirsty would be in the park camping all week and as it was local to them, perhaps they would like to go along. My two nephews are big, brawny, adorable blokes who love their ale. They’d arranged to meet in the beer tent. What beer tent? Perhaps they’d like Greenbelt better, after all, organic beer is better than nowt!
hi carole… took me a while to get your point. are you referring to the fact that in certain circles when people pray they say ‘we just ask’ or ‘we just wanna’? or have i still missed your point?
sounds interesting steve. can i borrow it?
hi laura… god botherer… (British slang, pejorative) A person who insists on promoting his or her religious beliefs on others, whether they want it or not.
Yep, Jon, you got it. Lord, we just wanna praise you, we just wanna say…we just wanna ask…if you could just…
A bit wicked of me really but it is the ‘you know’ of Christian prayer. I do it myself sometimes and cringe every time I hear myself. You will begin to notice it more, now I have cruelly drawn attention to it…may I say, in my defence, I am not the first - Adrian Plass did a bit of a skit on it.
…as I tend to reserve it for my personal prayer time with God…
Comment by Carole — February 24, 2008 @ 12:59 am
This one I like a lot. “Mere Christianity” in color.
Comment by A S Hodel — February 24, 2008 @ 1:07 am
“God bothering”?
hmmmmmm, tell me more about that then.
Comment by Laura — February 24, 2008 @ 2:14 am
Havnt DC Talk reclaimed “Jesus Freak?” http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Freaks-DC-Talk/dp/1577780728
Comment by steve — February 24, 2008 @ 8:33 am
Its a modern book of martyrs. well worth reading.
Comment by steve — February 24, 2008 @ 8:38 am
A couple of years back we had one of those week long urban community action mission events. Standard routine, the weekend was reserved for fun, fun, fun and everyone in the community was invited along. Our eldest had been camping out all week so we went over on the Saturday to collect her. On the way in we overheard some bloke calling to one of his mates , “They’re all God botherers!” I found it highly amusing as it was the first time I’d heard the term. Couldn’t figure out whether the Christians were bothering God (eminently feasible, in my opinion) or bothering non-Christians with God.
Funniest memory? We’d told my sister’s family that Kirsty would be in the park camping all week and as it was local to them, perhaps they would like to go along. My two nephews are big, brawny, adorable blokes who love their ale. They’d arranged to meet in the beer tent. What beer tent? Perhaps they’d like Greenbelt better, after all, organic beer is better than nowt!
Comment by Carole — February 24, 2008 @ 10:58 am
hi carole… took me a while to get your point. are you referring to the fact that in certain circles when people pray they say ‘we just ask’ or ‘we just wanna’? or have i still missed your point?
sounds interesting steve. can i borrow it?
hi laura… god botherer… (British slang, pejorative) A person who insists on promoting his or her religious beliefs on others, whether they want it or not.
Comment by jonbirch — February 24, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
thanks a s hodel.
Comment by jonbirch — February 24, 2008 @ 2:30 pm
Jon. Sure, it’s in our church library.
Comment by steve — February 24, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Yep, Jon, you got it. Lord, we just wanna praise you, we just wanna say…we just wanna ask…if you could just…
A bit wicked of me really but it is the ‘you know’ of Christian prayer. I do it myself sometimes and cringe every time I hear myself. You will begin to notice it more, now I have cruelly drawn attention to it…may I say, in my defence, I am not the first - Adrian Plass did a bit of a skit on it.
Comment by Carole — February 24, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
I always thought it meant, I bother God, to which I react, well of course I do, if we all did the world might be a better place!
Sas
Comment by sarah — February 24, 2008 @ 5:06 pm
So am I
Comment by Robb — February 24, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
robb… ’so am i’ what?
Comment by jonbirch — February 25, 2008 @ 1:04 am
A botherer of God…
Comment by Robb — February 25, 2008 @ 3:17 am
we are strangers to this world. therefore we kinda are freaks. we dont belong to this world!
Matthew 5…the beautitudes.
also 1 Peter 2:19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.
conscious of God sounds a lot like God bothering to me.
Comment by ben — February 25, 2008 @ 2:17 pm
Jesus freak
(and proud)
Comment by allatseawithabucketandspade — February 25, 2008 @ 10:25 pm
Me too
Sas x
Comment by sarah — February 25, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
like it ben
sas
Comment by sarah — February 25, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
hey ben! welcome and thanks for the input!
me too all at sea!
Comment by jonbirch — February 26, 2008 @ 1:17 am
I can’t help but think that God’s response would be something like, ‘really, it’s no bother… I love you’.
Comment by Richard M — March 4, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
Nice Richard x
Sas x
Comment by sarah — March 4, 2008 @ 11:41 pm