Saturday, March 31, 2007

Text message blog test from my phone. Did it work?

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Alpha Geek: 10 cool cell phone tricks - Lifehacker

This was a cool read for me. I just have basic cell phone service, not one of those hand-held computer phones and I learned how to: blog from my phone & 
send voice messages to myself. But there are a handful of other cool things you can do depending on the services you've signed up for with your cell phone provider (i.e. web browsing, etc.). Check it out. 

Link to Alpha Geek: 10 cool cell phone tricks - Lifehacker

Good News of South Florida

Good News of South Florida published an article I wrote about local Palm Beach County ministry. Check it out here: (link)

Friday, March 30, 2007

Good Knight, Bono


The Associated Press
DUBLIN, Ireland
Bono, 46, was named a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in an informal, laugh-filled ceremony in the Dublin home of British Ambassador David Reddaway.

"You have permission to call me anything you want - except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that'll do," he told reporters afterward.
(link)

O-H-I-O

These nuts (buckeyes ha-ha) from the state of my birth incorporated this statue of Christ into their little blasphemous cheer:



HT: Mark Daniels

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Show Me the Money

I love being a Missions Pastor. One of the coolest parts of my job is spending time and teaching young people with hearts lit up with passion for missions. That's the kind of young people I hung out with last week in the Bahamas at Patmos. Nineteen students have enrolled themselves in a discipleship program that will change them forever. The group was assigned a project to complete as a team. They were to create a missions plan that would rescue Columbian street children from the drug trade.

I assigned them to write me, the missions pastor at Calvary Chapel Jupiter, a letter asking for money. I let them know that churches receive hundreds of letters a week asking for church funds for a zillion different kinds of projects. The reality is that unless you're someone our church already partners with, most letters don't get read. It's your job, students, to get me to read the letter.
  1. Say what you need to say in 200 words or less.
  2. Don't give me a bunch of Bible verses; I already had my quiet time today. If Bible verses are going to be used, they have to flow with the rest of the letter.
  3. Tell me who, what, and why as early in the letter as possible.
  4. Give me a vision.
  5. Make me feel like I get to help.
  6. Ask me to pray, but I'm even more likely to pray if I write the check.
  7. Hook me with first sentence. Compell me to read the whole letter.

Here's the winning letter written by Heather Rotundi:
Dear Pastor Bryon:

Do you have children? Picture for a moment your son or daughter sentenced to a life on the streets, subject to violence, drugs, prostitution and likelihood of prison. This is the reality of many children in the city of Medellin, Columbia, who continue to be exploited by a country that supplies 75% of the world's cocaine.

James 1:27 states, "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and keep one's self unspotted from the world." We at Project Vindicated Youth (PVY) have a vision to transform the lives of these kids by opening a discipleship orphanage. The love of Christ can redeem the lives of forgotten children through a Christian education and the day to day reality discipleship of applying God's Word.

We are priviledged to be Christians and as ambassadors for Jesus we endeavor to utilize the resources and opportunities that God has given us as Americans to make a difference in the world. Will you consider partnering with us as we commit to transform the next generation of Columbia for Christ?

We would love the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our five year development plan. God willing we will be fully functioning in 2010. We are excited about the opportunity to involve your church and others through mission trips to Medellin to visit the construction of our property and serve our kids. Thank you for your prayers and consideration.

In His Service,
Heather Rotundi
The last phase of the Patmos training is a mission trip to Morocco. Heather just earned a $250 prize from our church's missions budget for her trip. A second place prize of $150 was awarded to Nathan Grosso, and $100 went toward Nick Stavos' fundraising.

Good job, guys.

HT: One World Mission Blog

Me and Crown Ministry

There's some brainwashing going on in our Crown Ministry home group. They got us doing all KINDS of crazy stuff. Memorizing scripture and then meditating on it.

MEDITATING! On this:
"Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything. Riches and honor belong to You alone, and You are Ruler of all mankind; Your hand controls power and might, and it is at Your discretion that men are made great and given strength." (1 Chronicles 29:11-12 TLB)
I typed that whole thing from memory. Most of it, practically.

Anyway, I had to say that in front of a bunch of people without looking and without messing it up and they all expect me to be good at it because I'm a pastor to which I remind them "ASSISTANT pastor."

It's all part of the brainwashing. They also make us pray. In a circle. Holding hands. On our knees. It's like when the communists send you off to Siberia or the jungles of Cambodia for a Red "re-education". The only thing that keeps me from preferring to be sent to the killing fields is the dessert they serve afterwards.

So here's what I've learned about me:
  1. I like to hoard money.
  2. Money belongs to God.
  3. I like to hoard God's money.
  4. I'd rather give God's money to Banana Republic, Citicorp, American Express, GMAC Financing and that sushi restaurant down the street than to starving children, spreading the gospel and AIDS victims.
  5. I'm and indentured servant whose future is owned by the companies I owe. The next few years of my life belong to them.
  6. I something doesn't change, they'll own the last half of my life that God wants for Himself.

Here's a thought:
Luke 16:13: "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
Sounds like my brains could use a good washing.

Gimme, gimme, gimme

"Gimme, gimme, gimme. My name is Jimmy!"

That's what one preacher used to yell at us.

Church consumerism seems to be a theme in blogland the past couple of days. I just read the following post by DaveDV at meremission.org:
Milfred Minatrea describes the consumer mentality of many Christians. "Just as they count on Wal-Mart meeting their material needs, they expect their churches to provide religious goods and services." John MacArthur adds this insight, "It is easy for Christians to get to the point where they expect things to be done for them. They show up for church only if they think they will get something out of it."

There is a whole generation of church shoppers and hoppers who decide where to worship based on getting their needs met. Mark Atteberry describes it like this:

Church A might have an awesome worship band, while Church B has a preacher you love to listen to. But then one of your buddies who attends Church C ask you to play on their softball team. Is this a problem? Of course not! You just do what any good consumer would do. You hop back and forth between the three churches.

One evidence of consumerism is the "Pareto Principle." Eighty percent of the people allow the remaining twenty percent to do eighty percent of the ministry. There are a lot of spectators watching the show.
(link)

And I've seen this classic on a couple of blogs today as well:


HT: Mikescape and SimpleMindedPreacher.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Sweet Switchfoot Bootlegs

Only problem is that they are completely legal and authorized by the band. What a concept. How is that any fun.

Thanks, Pete, for reposting this via TheSecretLifeofCat.

Link to Switchfoot fan with legal bootlegs from their current tour.

Calvary Community Newsletter

Some of you followed my blog posts and slide shows I uploaded from an internet cafe in the Middle East a month or so ago. Well, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale (a mega-church of note) re-printed Luann Yarrow's (editor of the Good News Newspaper) and my journal entries in their church newsletter. It's available in PDF here. Scroll down to page 5 to "Notes from the Field".

All you designer types will especially dig the layout. The graphics are incredible. Good job, ya'll.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Right-wing Mis-information

I'm posting this to set straight something I read yesterday on WorldNetDaily. I don't usually get my news from this site, but a Christian end times/prophecy site I passed through was linked to it and I clicked through. I know that many believers only get their news from sites like WorldNetDaily, Rush Limbaugh, Mike Savage, and Fox News, so I want to comment on some of the inflammatory mis-information that is going out on WorldNetDaily.

Below I will pull quotes from an article called Is Islam compatible with a republic? by Ellis Washington posted yeaterday. (link)

If you think I write from hyperbole, just try building a church or a synagogue in an Arab nation. They won't even allow you to bring a Bible into most Arab countries. Not even our well-traveled secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice (who earlier this year was in Saudi Arabia), is allowed to read a few comforting passages of peace from the book of Psalms in the land of Mecca and Medina as she lies down to sleep. No! It is forbidden by the Quran. Islam will tolerate no other gods before it.

I've frequented the most conservative of Arab countries and I'm here to tell you that if a Westerner wants to bring his Bible into the country, he is permitted. So don't worry, Condi, read those Psalms all you want.

Arabs EXPECT all Westerners to be Christian (just as we EXPECT all Arabs to be Muslim) and allow them to carry their Bibles into the country. You can walk around with it. Westerners are permitted to gather together and worship as Christians.

What Westerners are not allowed to do is bring Arab language translations into some Arab countries. Those have to be smuggled. And smuggled they are because many Arabs want to know what the Bible has to say about the God that loves them.

Off the top of my head, here is a list of Arab countries that have churches and/or synogogues: Yemen, Jordan, Egypt, Morrocco, Nigeria, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. All of these countries have had Jews and Christians living in them and worshiping God long before the Gospel made it to the Northern Forests of Europe. From before the Crusades until the present day, Christinas and Jews are permitted to gather and worship in the most conservative or Arab countries.

What Christians are not legally permitted to do in almost all Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, is evangelize. But it happens anyway.

Islam's command from Quran in the book of Sirah – "Kill the infidel where you find him" – has been the rallying cry of the majority of Muslims despite the sham protestations of the so-called "moderate" Muslims to the contrary whenever the world community demands contrition at the most recent Muslim bombings that occur worldwide almost daily.

To say that this the rallying cry of the "majority of Muslims" is completely false. It is the rallying cry of a very small (yet growing) group of men that come from mostly poor, very remote places in the Arab world like Yemen. Places where there is little or no economic or educational opportunity. Promises of Paradise and sex with perpetual virgins are promised by Imams who live off of contributions.

But that is not a description of the majority of Arab culture. The bombs are being exploded in their countries by their countrymen. The Arabs I've talked to in the streets and schools HATE terrorists, are weary of war, desire peace, and want to live in safe, crime-free neighborhoods with water, sewers, and electricity just like you and me.

...or will real men rise up, demand that the FBI put every mosque and imam in America under constant surveillance (as J. Edgar Hoover would have done) and find out what is really going on with our Muslim friends here in America?

I don't think that J. Edgar Hoover is remembered fondly for this. We can pre-judge every Arab-American, but this generation will not be rembered any more fondly than the American generations before us that pre-judged any other race or religion.

To be fair, I emailed the author, Ellis Washington, some of the thoughts I shared above. His response to me was much more humble and diplomatic than my emal to him. Here are some links to a few of his other articles:

  • Symposium: Should public education be free? link
  • FDR's Legacy: Tyranny link
  • 3 Classical Views on the Role of Government link

Missions Seminar

I attended a fantastic missions seminar yesterday given by Christian workers serving in a part of the world where missionaries are not legally welcome. The following are some facts shared that I scribbled down in my note pad:

World C = the 35% of he world that claims Christ as Lord
World B = the 42% of the world that has heard the Gospel but rejected it
World A = the 25% of the world that has never heard the Gospel

The 10/40 Window is in "World A." The major religions in that region of the world are Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

91% of all international missionaries are sent to World C.
8% of all international missionaries are sent to World B.
1% of all international missionaries are sent to World A.

75% of all Bible translations are distributed in World C languages.
24% of all Bible translations are distributed in World B languages.
3% of all Bible translations are distributed in World A languages.

Isaiah 55:11 "...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

75% of our missions budgets are spent in World C countries.
45% of our missions budgets are spent in World B countries.
0.5% of our missions budgets are spent in World A countries.

0.5% of missions budgets are allocated to the portion of the world that has never heard the gospel.

Wow.

HT: One World Mission Blog

Thursday, March 22, 2007

If that monster comes in here...

Forgive me for being cliché, but kids say the darndest things. You just can't beat them when they need it 'cause they're so dang cute :-)

Now Go Be Content


Blog-friend Anne Jackson has done it again. Relevant Magazine published another one of her articles. Jackson's has a way with turning a phrase that is real world-practical and humble all at the same time.

For me personally, her article is a timely one. My wife and I are working our way through Crown Financial Ministry curriculum with friends in a small group study so Jackson's piece really hits home.
My first encounter with this unfriendly beast was after a company dinner several years ago. I realized how inadequate my wardrobe looked compared to my coworkers’. And as I waited for the valet to bring my car around, I realized how inadequate my little red Cavalier looked compared to a never-ending stream of BMWs, Lexuses and the occasional Mercedes.

A week later, I caved in and purchased an expensive convertible sports car—and the wardrobe to go with it. At just 20 years of age, I accumulated almost $40,000 in debt in a little over a year. The Little Green Monster had chased me, tackled me and bit me—hard.

What I expected was never-ending happiness, now that I had the perfect car and the perfect clothes. Instead, a flood of credit card bills inundated me. Not only was I running from the Little Green Monster, bill collectors were chasing after me too. And as I tried my hardest to beat them down the road, I never managed to escape them biting at my heels.
(link)

HT: Anne Jackson; Relevant Magazine

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Hey there...

If you've clicked your way to this webpage from the PP blog, welcome. Thanks, PP, for pointing traffic this way.

We're still trying to figure out what we want to do with the missions blog referred to over on the Phoenix Preacher, but take a look at what's up so far on the One World Mission Blog.

You may also want to read this post, too.

Thanks again. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Bono: "'Love thy neighbor' is not a piece of advice; it's a command"




HT Mike Todd

What side do you pick?

Proverbs 13:22: "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…"

On this global warming thing. It would be nice if someone could tell the truth and live then live what they believe. Unless, of course, it's too inconvenient.




HT: Mike Brunjes

A Truly Inconvenient Truth'


POWER: GORE MANSION USES 20X AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD; CONSUMPTION INCREASE AFTER 'TRUTH'
Mon Feb 26 2007 17:16:14 ET

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization committed to achieving a freer, more prosperous Tennessee through free market policy solutions, issued a press release late Monday:

Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.

Gore’s mansion, [20-room, eight-bathroom] located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES)
.

In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.

The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.

Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.

Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gore’s energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kWh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006.

Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.

“As the spokesman of choice for the global warming movement, Al Gore has to be willing to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, when it comes to home energy use,” said Tennessee Center for Policy Research President Drew Johnson.

In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.

[HT: Kevin Cawley, via Creation Project via Towards Hope




other Al Gore news:
CARTHAGE, Tenn. - Al Gore has profited from zinc mining that has released millions of pounds of potentially toxic substances near his farmstead, but there is no evidence the mine has caused serious damage to the environment in the area or threatened the health of his neighbors.

Two massive white mountains of leftover rock waste are evidence of three decades of mining that earned Gore more than $500,000 in royalty payments for the mineral rights to his property.
(link)

Friday, March 16, 2007

witty one-liners

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like… Night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
7. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
10. Support bacteria. They’re the only culture some people have.
11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
14. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
15. OK, so what’s the speed of dark?
16. When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
18. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.
19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines
21. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?
22. I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
23. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
24. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the hell happened?"
25. Just remember — if the world didn’t suck, we would all fall off.
26. Light travels faster than sound. That ’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
27. Life isn’t like a box of chocolates . . it’s more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow

HT: North x East

Thursday, March 15, 2007

One World Mission Blog

George Marse, pastor of Calvary Chapel Boynton Beach has a vision to help Calvary's get together and get going with world missions. So we've put up the One World Mission Blog. This blog will tell stories about what Calvary Chapels, their partners, and their missionaries are doing around the world. Excerpts from newsletters, websites, and blogs, will be posted here to motivate, educate and equip people to reach the world.

If you're on board with that, spread the love and link to this blog. If you wish to contribute, paste a link in the comments, or click the email link on the One World Mission Blog and email your contribution.

What the...

Have any of you old school christian music buffs heard about this jive???

Trumpeter reports to federal prison
Posted on March 14, 2007 at 1:21 pm (PST) |
Phil Driscoll  leaves the Hamilton County Court House in Chattanooga, Tenn., in this Aug. 31, 2005, file photo. The Grammy-winning trumpeter  reported to federal prison Monday, March 12, 2007, to begin a one-year tax evasion sentence after a judge denied his request to remain free while he appeals the conviction. (AP Photo/Mark Gilliland, File)AP - Grammy-winning trumpeter Phil Driscoll reported to federal prison this week to begin a one-year tax evasion sentence after a judge denied his request to remain free while he appeals the conviction.

Read the Full Article

How to: not increase your bowling average

How do you put this shot on a score card?

Crown Study

Now that my wife and I are empty nesters, we thought we'd take a class together. So we joined a Crown Financial Ministries home group.

While pursuing the American Dream (i.e., education, house, groceries), we've accumulated some debt. So this study is designed to put some discipline into our money management. And shift our view of Whose resources we've used to get ourselvs into the hole with.

We have to do a pile of home work every week, memorize scripture, and pray for the other members of our group. We have log books that accompany each of these activities. It's incredibly regimented, this Crown Financial Study.

One of my weak points is scripture memorization. So I've incorporated the memory verse into my daily quiet time by memorizing a small chunk of the verse and meditating on it and praying it through. The verse is 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. But we have to memorize the Living Bible version of this verse. Today's chunk went like: "Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord..." (dang it! I had to look because I already forgot). So I'm thinking, my motorcycle is His... this blog... my dreams... my future... my wife... everything is His. I'm not used to praying that way. I'm used to praying and asking for stuff. I got stuff, but I got debt to go with it.

This study is regimented. You'd think I'd like it being an ex-marine and all. But I wasn't the world's greatest marine. The discipline part of it and the taking the orders are what were most difficult for me. So, this study will be a challenge.

The "before and after" pictures below are a perfect example of where I am in life with my finances and this study:
June, 1983. I'm pretty sure I'm stoned. Seventeen years old.
Just a few short months later... probably November, 1983. "Yesterday I couldn't spell U-S-M-C. Today, I are one." Eighteen years old.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

"Mmmm . . . beer." - Homer Simpson

Pastor Mark Driscoll posted this apologetic for alcohol on his church's website. Interesting reading.
As feminism grew in America during the turn of the 20th century the women’s suffrage and prohibition movements were the practical results of a feminine piety that came to also dominate the church as more women became pastors and the church became more feminine. Some denominations began to condemn alcohol as sinful and the Methodist pastor Dr. Thomas Welch created the very “Christian” Welch’s grape juice to replace communion wine in 1869. The marriage of Christianity and feminism helped to create a dry nation that put out of business all but the largest brewers who were able to survive on near beer and root beer which explains why today American beer is largely mass produced, watered down, light on calories, and feminine in comparison to rich and dark European beers. The resurgence of micro-brews is helping to overcome the great loss and resurrect the art of brewing... (link)


HT: Phoenix Preacher

cliff notes

Anne Jackson posted the following list on her blog from her notes on Chuck Colson's book, Being the Body.
Misconceptions of the Church/Identity Crisis

-The Church is a building
The word church is from the Greek word Ekklesia, which means gathering of people. It really was used more in a political sense in the New Testament times but believers began using it to describe their gatherings
Instead of an abundance of “go and tell” it has become “come and see”

-The Church goer is a consumer
  • What’s in it for me?
  • Go where you “feel” good - where you feel “led”
  • Many churches aim to provide support over salvation
  • Help…over holiness
  • And convey the sense of “spiritual equality” and not God-ordained authority
  • Many churches also unintentionally encourage spectators instead of participators
  • People are invited to “discover themselves” in churches — and self realization and God realization are diametrically opposed
  • Consumerism works against the unity of the universal Church.
You know you have heard conversations about people church hopping because of better programs, and I know it may not be the heart of any particular church to “steal” these people away, but let’s not be stupid here. It happens. And unity is the single greatest evangelical tool the church has — It shows that Jesus is who he claimed to be.


HT: Anne Jackson

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Vintage

17 January 2007
I'm still looking back through the notes I took at the 2007 SE Calvary Chapel Pastor's Conference.

Pastor Malcolm Wild of Calvary Chapel Merritt Island is the granddaddy of Calvary pastors in Florida. He was the first Calvary Pastor to hang a dove down here. Every Calvary Chapel Pastor in Florida benefits from Malcolm's deep well of wisdom and experience.

I think the first time I ever saw or heard Wild was at the 1994 SE Calvary Chapel Pastors Conference. It was the first conference I attended. Pastor Malcolm reminded me of pop star, Rod Stewart the way he looked with that full head of blond hair that seems impossible to comb. When I was thinking how much he looked like Rod Stewart, Malcolm welcomed conference attenders to Calvary Chapel Merritt Island with an English accent and that convinced me that somehow, this dude was related to Rod Stewart.

Not only is Wild a granddaddy Calvary Pastor, he's a granddaddy in Christian Music. Before there was the giant Christian Music industry with all of its shrink-wrapped pop stars, there were Malcolm and Alwyn. They released they're first record, Fool's Wisdom, in 1973 on vinyl and 8-track. That's vintage, baby.

So Wild sings, produces, writes, records, and preaches. Below are some of the scribbles from my notebook:
Close friends are rare...
betrayal is grieveous... Facts of life learned the hard way in ministry. A close friend in ministry i something to treasure. Betrayal is something to expect.

Timothy and Epaphroditus
But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need
(link)

Paul sent men of proven character to do the work of the ministry. For Timothy, Christ's business was his business. Christ's business comes first. Nothing should take priority over His call on our lives. Timothy was willing to risk his own life to get the job done.

He learned to labor with others; for others. He learned to hold others in high esteem.

Malcolm posed this question: how often do we esteem men of proven character, not proven charisma?

Note to self: There is a genuine tendency in American culture that has been carried over into the church: we rather be charismatic rather than men of character. Is it possible to have charcter first and charisma second and be a man that we can follow?

Final thought from Malcolm: I am the incarnation of the word of God as I live it...


listen to malcolm on the radio here (link)
download podcasts here (link)

Monday, March 12, 2007

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Mini Y2K

All week long people have been talking about how since the government is making us change our clocks earlier this year, our computers will be all messed up. "It's gong to be just like Y2K!" We'll change the clocks in our houses, but our cell phones clocks will be an hour off and so will our computers.

Well I ot up this morning, and it was just like Y2K. Nothing bad happened. My phone is fine, and my computer is okay.

I do expect about 25% of our church congregation to be late to church, though. But it won't be their computer's fault.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Apple Hard At Work Making iPhone Obsolete

HT: The Onion, 12 Feb 2007
CUPERTINO, CA—Only a month after the much-heralded announcement of the iPhone, Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed that his engineers were already working around-the-clock on the touchscreen smartphone's far-superior replacement. "We looked at [the iPhone's] innovative user interface, the paradigm-shifting voicemail, the best-in-class mobile browser, and we realized we could make all that seem ridiculously outdated by the time the product becomes available to customers in June," said Jobs, who described the project as "Apple reinventing the iPhone." "When the second-generation iPhone comes out this fall, we want iPhone users to feel not just jealous, but downright foolish for owning such laughably primitive technology." Jobs also hinted that the second iPhone device would not be compatible with existing Mac computers, third-party peripherals, or any future Apple products.

no. stop. don't.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Indulge a Grandpa

I just posted some new pictures of Ali and Charity over on Ali's blog. Charity's friend Brigitte flew out to San Francisco recently and brought me home a pile of pictures of my girls...(link)

Good Comedy

Fresh feed from my news reader:
10 Country Songs I'd Write if I Liked Country Music

1. She Thinks My Audi's Sexy
2. Ladies Love Country Boys with Midwestern Accents
3. You, Me and a Glass of Sweet Tea
4. Get Drunk and Be Somebody...Unless You're Baptist
5. Wake Me Up When There's a Wreck (The NASCAR Ballad)
6. Snoot Shootin' Boogers
7. Jesus, Take the Wheel 'Cause There's a Smokey on My Tail
8. Feels Like Love but Tastes Like Grits
9. Cowboy Take the Dixie Chicks Away
10. I'll Listen to Country Music When Waffle House Decides to Close

And, no, Sheryl Crow is not a country musician. She's a pop artist.

I especially identify with #5...
HT: Tony Morgan

A Message from Mid-east Christians

This is a great article featuring the point of view of Arab Christians. Yes, there are such things as Arab Christians. I know we don't see those two words paired up in a friendly way in the same sentence, but it's true; Arabs can be Christians...
Western Christians "who have but disdain for Arabs" weren't spared Accad's anger: "World events in the last few years—even decades—have had as their main catalyst tens of thousands of evangelical Christians … who believe that apocalyptic destruction of all but their beloved Israel will be a precursor to global salvation."

Christians worldwide have learned to "speak about peace and to run seminars on conflict resolution," another Lebanese evangelical leader, Riad Kassis, wrote. Pity, he said, that they're so ineffective at working "for a real and just peace, particularly in the case of the Arab-Israeli conflict."
(link)

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

What About It, Candidates???

I just read this list of questions Gordon MacDonald would like to put to the men (and woman) putting their names in there names in the hat to be the world's most powerful leader.(link)
1. Can he/she give us a government that will recoup our reputation in the world as a generous and compassionate nation? And could he/she take more seriously the fact that a large part of this world now finds our country distasteful? And this goes for Christians in other lands also. (I’m embarrassed every time I go abroad.)

2. Is there a candidate brave enough to influence the formulation of bold new initiatives regarding energy-consumption, health-care, and Social Security? (If there isn’t, the year 2030 isn’t going to be a good year.)

3. Does he/she think they could stop putting our grandchildren in hock with hideous deficits? (Isn’t being debt-free a Christian value?)

4. Would he/she take the issue of climate change and environmental care seriously? (It is God’s creation, and some more generations may have to share it.)

5. Would he/she pledge to be so truthful with the American people that no reasonable person would question their integrity? Let’s describe this as being Lincoln-esque. (I’m tired of spin.)

6. Would he/she renounce all forms of torture in the treatment of prisoners? (I’m ashamed that this is even an issue in America.)

7. Is he/she concerned about the growing social crisis of the separation between the rich and the poor? (It’s becoming a gated world out there and one day there may be a new kind of homegrown terrorism.)

8. Does he/she think they might rethink the exporting of billions upon billions of dollars to places like Iraq when a few billion would make a lot of difference in the education of American children and the absurdly rising costs of college education? (I can’t believe we are so silent on matters like this.)

9. Might he/she intend to offer any form of moral influence that would raise the tastes of our nation in its choices of entertainment, the spending of its money, and its growing addiction to sports? (Or does Rome live again?)

10. If there is ever again a justifiable reason to take this nation to war, could he/she make sure that everyone becomes involved in the sacrifice that war requires? To date the burden or war seems to be on a relatively small percentage of Americans while everyone else goes on living the so-called “good life?” (You destroy a nation by doing it the way we’ve been doing it. How did we forget Viet Nam so easily?)

11. Could he/she see themselves being as turned on by the dream of alleviating diseases, suppressing genocide, and rescuing the dying nations (debt forgiveness comes to mind) as America once was about getting someone to the moon?

These are all questions with an admitted political ring to them. But each arises from my convictions as a biblical person.
HT: Out of Ur

I'm Suing Rob Bell

First Apple steals the registered trademark "iPhone" from Cisco, and then Rob Bell goes and names a book Sex God. My wife, the beautiful and charming Susan, has been calling me that for years.

You'll be hearing from my lawyers, Bell.

this I'm diggin'

A couple of years ago I took my daughter and a couple of friends to a show that headlined Dashboard Confessional. I love Chris Carrabba's singer/songwriter style and since MxPx, who I've listened to for years, were playing, too, it was a no brainer for me to go.

Four bands played that night. The first band, Vendetta Red, I thought was hideous and gratuitously foul. But the next band, Brand New, redeemed, and I think, stole the show.

I forgot about them until a month or so ago when I was nosing through the junk in my daughter's car. I found their CD and uploaded it into my iPod and it's been getting the most of 1500+ songs that reside there. Take Carrabba's lyrical ability, mix in MxPx's pop/punk sound, shake and stir, and Brand New is what you'll pour out.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

crud...

being creative is hard...

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Peace River Trip

Some say that in order for men to bond, we need to provide them with a safe, sterile classroom with a TV and VCR with a lesson that will get them to hug and cry and say sweet things to their wives.

"Not so," say I. All you need to get men to bond is to have an event with built in potential for disaster or a possible ride in an ambulance. Everything we plan for the men at our church includes, fire, a body of water, boats, a ride in a broken down bus, or following directions using a map. What better recipe for misfortune? The guys all end up buddies every time.

This weekend was just that kind of event. We took a trip to the scenic Peace River. Included was a healthy dose of potential mishaps offered with food our wives and mothers would not approve. Bar-b-que pork sandwiches, hot-dogs, kielbasa, double-stuff Oreos, and s'mores. All washed down with sodas loaded with sugar and caffeine. Perfect. That was Friday night.

Saturday we canoed ten miles. The weather was perfect. And for no good reason or prize, the guys turned a leisurely trip down the beautiful Peace River into a race where losers got wet and winners got to gloat.

Just like Jesus' disciples.

Props to Jason for the pictures. Props to Ira for the chow.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia


Q: Who does not have hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia?

A: The dude pictured to the right.

Q: What is hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia?

A: The fear of the number 666.
DORAL, Fla. — Surrounded by a mob of news cameras, a group of smiling, well-dressed church members crowded into a South Beach storefront parlor on a recent muggy evening and got matching tattoos of their prophet's symbol: 666.
link

HT: Mikescape