{"id":12081,"date":"2016-07-15T13:33:43","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T17:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=12081"},"modified":"2016-08-08T10:57:14","modified_gmt":"2016-08-08T14:57:14","slug":"pokemon-go-stops-by-pumc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=12081","title":{"rendered":"“PokeMon Go” Stops by PUMC!"},"content":{"rendered":"

PokeMon Go…<\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t
If you’re reading this word for the first time and are catching yourself saying “POKE man” instead of “Poky<\/strong> Mahn”, read the “Pokemon for dummies” intro below. If you’re an experienced “Pokemon Trainer,” feel free to skip the intro and jump to the meat of this discussion…<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

“PokeMon for Dummies…”<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n

(Or at least for the Video-Game-Enthusiasm-or-Skills-Challenged)…<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

The video game “PokeMon Go” has become this summer’s latest rage (it’s pronounced “POKY-Mahn”<\/span><\/em>).\u00a0 PokeMon Go is a free App that you can install on your cell phone. For years, game maker Nintendo has featured a variety of video games where you collect “items” to help you capture monsters and other things that pop up in a make believe world.\u00a0 In these “classic games,” you navigate your character around a path on a video screen using buttons or gestures on a touch screen.\u00a0 You sit in your home or in front of your TV.\u00a0 But in this new game, you navigate your character along a real time GPS map by actually traveling to the designated locations.<\/span><\/p>\n

As you gaze into your cell phone while walking along the sidewalk (or while driving… hopefully as a passenger and not as a driver!<\/span><\/em>), your on-screen character walks along a GPS map showing streets and buildings around your actual location. When you encounter a “PokeMon” creature, your phone starts to buzz. When you respond by tapping the phone’s screen, the camera pops into action to reveal an imaginary target appearing in your real world photo.\u00a0 The PokeMon is sitting on your couch, or on your lawn, or even crawling on your best friend! You can capture the creature by flinging a virtual ball or some other “item” at it.\u00a0 When you encounter a “PokeStop” in your travels, you can replenish your supply of “Items.”\n<\/span><\/p>\n

When you first start the game, you’re given your marching orders:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"\" <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t
\"\" <\/span><\/div> \n\t\t
\"\" <\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n

When the game was programmed, somewhere along the line somebody scanned the GPS world, looking for interesting sights (“Monuments”) that were prominent in a public location.\u00a0 They designated some of these “Monuments” as “PokeStops”… places where you can collect “Items” to supply your quest in capturing PokeMon.\"PokeMon<\/span><\/p>\n

As it turns out, one of those sites is our church Signboard!<\/span><\/p>\n

When you get close enough to our signboard (the range extends to inside the church building<\/span><\/em>), you’ll collect items such as “Incense”, “Poke Balls” and “Egg Incubators.” As you try to capture the PokeMon, these items are the ammunition and tools that you need.\u00a0 You spend them.\u00a0 They get used up.\u00a0 And eventually, you need to return to a “PokeStop” in order to replenish your supply.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Meat of the Discussion…<\/span><\/h3>\n

Which brings us to the spiritual application.\u00a0 The fact of our church being chosen as place to replenish a “Pokemon \"PokMonTrainer’s” supply of resources is too good an analogy to pass up!\u00a0 Think about it; you’re out doing “battle” every day, walking through the relationships that form your life.\u00a0 Conflict is always there.\u00a0 Some people drag you down.\u00a0 And yet, some others can support you and lift you up.<\/p>\n

Life happens.\u00a0 In the good and the bad, in the mountaintops and in the valleys we “spend ourselves.”\u00a0 We loose connection with the things that make us strong.\u00a0 We begin to doubt and get frustrated and even angry.\u00a0 In order for life to have Joy and Meaning, we need resources like family and friends.\u00a0 We need to connect with a purpose in our lives that is more lasting and significant than playing a video game or staring into your phone.<\/p>\n

We all need God!\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So isn’t it a cool metaphore that one way in collecting “Items” in a video game is to return to the Church?\u00a0 Many of us are in the habit of re-connecting with “church family” every Sunday.\u00a0 Many of us feel the need to continue connecting throughout the week with small group Bible Studies, Prayer Chains, serving in ministries such as worship teams, food pantry, or administration (… or even writing website posts…).\u00a0 And even outside the church, we need personal habits such as Bible Reading<\/a><\/span> or Prayer to keep us grounded with the source of true life.<\/p>\n

Jesus put it this way…<\/p>\n

\n

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.\u00a0 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!\u00a0 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

(John 15:5-8, New Living Translation)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether it’s in a video game or in real life, we need to keep replenishing our supply of “Items.”\u00a0 In Pokemon, you need to return to a “PokeStop” and collect\u00a0“Incense” and “Poke Balls.”<\/span>\u00a0 In real life, you need to keep opening yourself to the Holy Spirit and keep filling your heart with love and faith.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

For more on PokeStops:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 PokeStops<\/span><\/a>\n<\/span><\/p>\n

For Directions to PUMC: \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Directions<\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

+\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 +<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To read about more Signboard Messages:\u00a0 Signboard<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our church signboard has been chosen as a “PokeStop”! If you’re used to playing the video game “Pokemon Go”, you know what that means. If this is total gibberish to you, we’ll give a quick intro to Pokemon.
\nEither way, all of us need to keep returning to The Vine for strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,51],"tags":[146,75],"class_list":["post-12081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-go-community","category-signboard","tag-godsprovision","tag-spirit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12081"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12166,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12081\/revisions\/12166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}