Speed Limit for the highly educated

A Winner!

Congratulations to Mdog on winning my first, "Name-the-Big-Jesus-Statue" contest. [Insert cheering and applause] We were all drawn to her initial entry, but her rough photoshop model put her over the top (remember that for future contests -- I'm a very visual person).

Mdog gets... LUNCH WITH ME! She is welcomed to invite a friend or two if she wants. So now you can start sucking up to her.

Mdog, break out your fork!

Now let's feast our eyes on the winning entry!










And now all we have to do is raise the money.

I suggest we start a prayer ministry. Now, I need some big hair and a nice suit and we are ready to go!

We need to do this!

Okay, let's keep our eye on the ball here and don't forget about the "Big Jesus" contest below, but I just HAD to post this. (From Dallas New Religion)

____________

Benny Hinn Ministries lays off 60

Benny Hinn Ministries is letting go about 60 call-center employees at its Grapevine headquarters. The work of taking calls for prayer requests and book and tape orders will soon be outsourced.

Spokesman Ronn Torossian says it's not an economy measure.

"The biggest issue is simply our ability to handle the incredible call volume at the hours and times it comes in from throughout the world," he said.

The laid-off workers will get severance packages and help finding new jobs, he added.

Benny Hinn is famous and controversial for his TV appearances, crusades and emphasis on faith healing and fund raising.

______

Yes... we need a Big Jesus AND we need to outsource our prayers. Those pesky tear off sheets. Those prayer emails. I have no time for prayer.

Which makes me wonder if Benny Hinn REALLY lays his hands on my prayer request and prays for me by name... with 60 full-time employees taking prayer requests.

We need one of these!

When I was at my previous church, my wife and I would often go to Cincinnati. We had friends there, restaurants we liked, malls we shopped, etc. And often we would drive by the Solid Rock Church. Now, I don't know much about this church. My sister-in-law went there once (only once) when she lived in the area and so my only impression of the congregation is from her. I have always felt that there are enough pastors shooting down other pastor's ministries that I don't feel the need to enter into that calling at this moment. So this blog is not about that...

But since I have moved, the church has added a statue. I have to say it makes an impression. (Click on the image for a larger view)

This is the front of their building and yep, that is Jesus comin' up out of the water.

That is one really big Jesus.

Now, this big Jesus (not to be confused with this big Jesus) is called the "King of Kings" statue. It is supposed to be the largest statue of Jesus in the US. I'm told by a friend that it has come to be called, touchdown Jesus, although I can't see why.

But after much prayer and fasting, (I haven't eaten since dinner last night), I have decided we need one of these. Central needs a Big Jesus statue.

The question is... what kind of statue?

What would Jesus be doing? Where would he be located?

So if any of you want to help me... I say we have a contest. The winner gets lunch out at their favorite Athens restaurant (to be redeemed after Easter) with... well... ME of course.

If you are out of town and you come up with the best idea, I will find a way to get you a gift certificate to a restaurant in your area. The winner will be chosen by either a totally unbiased, randomly chosen panel of judges... or me.

Now, I am off to call a Trustees meeting. I need to raise some money. Hummmm...Let's see, how can we get that money raised? Could we cut the budget somewhere? Who could be responsible? Oh, I know!

Christian Chat

So I am needing a break. My brain hurts. I've been working on stuff and just needed a diversion.

So I went to a christian chat room.

Big mistake.

Let's see how much religious jargon we can use. How much God talk can we type in one sitting.

Look, I don't need someone typing the words to, "I want to see Jesus High and Lifted Up!" one line at at time, in between my questions about jobs, hobbies, location, etc.

I don't need someone to ask (and I swear I'm not making this up), "Hey, does anyone know a great blessing they could pray over this room?"

No one could talk about anything other than Jesus.

Now, I like Jesus... I love Jesus in fact. I think Jesus is the best thing EVER.

But ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG! Talk to me like a real human being!

Wow... some "Christians" are weird. It's no wonder people don't like us.

Worth seeing with some friends...

So I just watched "Jesus Camp" with some friends and we talked about it afterward. The movie was thought provoking and is good to process, which is why you should watch it with people (this is coming from a verbal processor).

It seems that the movie is an attempt to expose a right-wing political agenda...and this agenda is frowned upon. Now, in many ways, I agree with this. I don't think the focus of the church in the US is to see that the US should be a "Christian Nation." But I found myself saying, "Yea...but..." a lot during this movie.

The "evangelical church"* was criticized as having an agenda and raising their kids (indoctrinating their kids) to embrace certain beliefs. Now, in some cases (many cases?) I didn't embrace those beliefs either... but don't they have the right to do that?

Here is my thing: everyone has an agenda (the Right, the Left, Christians, Muslims, Atheist, and pro-wrestling fans). Let's just put that on the table. To say that the "evangelical church"* has a political agenda and so BEWARE (insert stupid arguments of separation of church and state) or that it has a societal agenda (insert stupid arguments of indoctrination) is.. in my humble opinion... well... stupid.

This is from a review I read on the link above:

"This film made my hair stand on end and I came away from it thinking that the adults in it ought to be indicted for child abuse. These children are being intellectually immobilized in the name of goodness and purity. Do they really think they are superior to other young religious zealots who study nothing but their holy book but who are not Christians? It seems that children ought to be exposed to all the wonders of the world instead of being told that their job is to point out the errors of others. Children are highly impressionable and mostly believe what adults tell them. We can only hope that some of these children get some exposure to reality later which will help them live productive and caring lives as people who can accept the world's diversity. The prospects are not good."

Okay... am I the only one who thinks this is bad logic? I know that is politically incorrect to point that out... but I feel it is. "Children are highly impressionable and mostly believe what adults tell them [like, for example, this author]. We can only hope that some of these children get some exposure to reality [as defined by this author] later which will help them live productive and caring lives [as defined by this author] as people who can accept the world's diversity [this author's agenda]."

So there is the agenda... accepting diversity. And if this author had his or her way, children would be "indoctrinated" to accept diversity. Now, this is not a bad thing. I'm pretty sure we don't want kids to think that white supremacy is a good thing, etc... but let's just call it what it is... an agenda.

And I'm not sure I buy the idea that kids (or any people) "make up their minds for themselves." We all "make up our minds" based on the input we get. (Now, I'm hoping that God plays a role in some of this)... but I'm not sure the role of parents is to keep their kid's minds as blank of a slate as possible so that someone else can write their agenda on it, because everyone has an agenda.

I don't agree with a lot of what these kids were taught. I don't agree with some of the way they were taught it. But I can't criticize parents for trying to raise their kids to embrace the values they, themselves hold.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Opinions expressed on this post are not necessarily the final opinions of this author. This is a verbal (keyboard) process...therefore I reserve the right to change my mind.


* What the producers of this show labeled the "evangelical church" I would label the "charismatic/fundamental church." Evangelicals embrace a much wider view than this movie (although they may be seen as a subset.)

I thought for sure...

that I saw Tobias tinkering with a remote control that looked siminar to this.

I love it

Being an old advertising guy, I love commercials.

I really like this one...

Funk

This has been the proverbial "one of those days." I tend to blog more on those days... so I'm not always depressed... it just seems that way. :)

Actually, I'm not all that depressed, just faced with the reality of life which is a lot less glamorous than the picket fence picture we paint in childhood.

Both my daughter and wife are sick. I was cleaning up baby vomit to start my morning. This transitioned into doing laundry. My wife is sick so I try as best as I can to make her comfortable. I work a bit from home, make lunch for us...and leave for my office.

I go to work and "one of those days" just continues. It was one of those times when you work and put in the time... and nothing happens. I missed a meeting. I got an email that could have been bad, but turned out manageable. I worked on a message... consisting of staring at a computer screen trying to make sense of stuff that made perfect sense the week before. I had a meeting with my creative team that I was so out of that it I felt it was a waste of their time. I was reminded that my worship leader is leaving and we have to find a replacement...

I came home to my sick wife and daughter...

I made dinner for Laura and me, fed Lydia, cleaned up dinner, clean up Lydia. I got her ready for bed... just in time for her to start crying again for mommy. So Laura got to put her to bed and cuddle with her (which is why you have kids...the 30 minutes putting them to bed... it makes up for all the time cleaning up vomit.)

So rather I sit here and type as a way to vent. As a way to connect. Maybe to others, maybe to God... maybe even to myself.

Thank you Patrick and Sarah but...

I don't think so.

Hear that sound?

That is the sound of the proverbial can of worms being opened. And here I stand with my can opener.

So I have bad feelings about this.

No matter what your view on the practice of homosexuality, I'm not sure this is a biblical solution.

Will I be alone?

Will everyone miss the time change? Will I be speaking to a bunch of empty chairs?

My phone (which serves as my alarm) didn't catch the time change. Of course, once I turned it off and then back on...THEN it figured it out, but by then I was still an hour later than I wanted. Maybe it's time for an alarm clock?

I think I am "in favor" of the early time change, but the first day is always hard. Can't they figure out a way to do it a minute at a time over a period of 60 days?

No... Sprint would mess that up.

Highlighters

"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too.

[And he paused in awkward silence]

"But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."

[Rich Mullins speaking at a chapel service in Wheaton, IL.]

A while back, I was looking through the bible I had in college. I was looking at the things I had written in the margins, the passages I highlighted (my campus ministry was big on highlighters). But mostly I was looking at the questions I asked. And I was struck by something. Most of them were questions I don't ask anymore. Not because I have the answers, but because I have bigger questions.

Many of my questions in college were about "them." Other people. ("What about the person on the island of [Bowa Bowa] who doesn't hear about Jesus?") Or they were about theological issues ("How can people NOT believe that adult baptism is necessary for salvation!!! It's right there in the bible!" AUTHOR'S NOTE: I was in the Church of Christ at the time.)

I "used" the bible a lot...reading it topically on subjects like baptism, predestination, homosexuality, women in ministry...mostly to prove the things I was being taught at the time (Which is strange if you think about it).

Back then, we called it "defending our faith." I'm not sure what I call it now.

I loved highlighters.

Now I'm older. Maybe more cynical, but probably just more awestruck by the Uncaged Lion ("...He is not a tame Lion...but he is good.").

Maybe I like letting The Lion out of the cage more. He never really belonged there in the first place...

And apparently the "cage" didn't hold him anyway. (1 Cor. 15:54)

But what that means is that, more and more, I keep running into This Lion in random places. He is not contained by my little study guides. He sneaks into my life... sometimes he prowls into the places I would least expect Him. My worry, my eating, my understanding poverty, my understanding of my poverty in riches, my relationship with my neighbors, my buying patterns, my relationship with the earth and the environment. Rather than Him being all consumed that I looked at pornography (my big college struggle), He asks me to question why pornography exists in the first place. Why do we live in a world that objectifies people? Why do we think that lust satisfies? What about the young girls (and boys) who are objects of the porn trade?

The questions are bigger, and they are not as easy to answer... there are not enough highlighters. And the answers don't fit into the study guide blanks. Sometimes they seem at odds with them.

It was easier when it was just me, my bible (and study guide!)...

And my highlighter.

The Prestige

Go rent this movie.

An "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 to 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.

For Further Information, Contact:
Nicole Williams, (615) 383-6431
editor@tennesseepolicy.org

Giving up Christianity

Well... it's over. James Cameron (director of Titanic and self proclaimed, "King of the World") has debunked the "myth" of Jesus raising from the dead.

In this "revolutionary discovery" [yawn] they have found Jesus tomb.

Don't people read?

Why is this news?

This was found over 25 years ago! Archeologist dismissed it and said it was ridiculous! ("Wow, someone named "Maria!" Never heard THAT name before!)

Three sentences from the article say it all...

"To a layman's eye it seems pretty darn compelling," executive producer James Cameron, the Canadian director of the movie Titanic, said at a press conference in New York.

Wow... "pretty darn compelling." [yawn]

"A senior Israeli archaeologist who thoroughly researched the tomb after its discovery, and at the time deciphered the inscriptions, cast serious doubt on the documentary's claim."

But Cameron finds it, "pretty darn compelling." [double yawn]

"Professor Juergen Zangenberg, an expert on the New Testament at the Dutch University of Leiden, said the documentary's claim was unrealistic, and more likely "about money and headlines".

NO... not about money and headlines! NO... this is about the search for truth! This is about archeology and science... pretty darn compelling stuff!

[wipes sarcasm from dripping chin]

Leaving...on a jet plane...

Hope you all have a wonderful week.

worth dying for...

"Essentially, I went to Iraq because I believe in a God of scandalous grace. I have pledged allegiance to a King who loved evildoers so much he died for them, teaching us that there is something worth dying for but nothing worth killing for."

Shane Claiborne, talking about why he went as a peacekeeper to Iraq
From "The Irresistible Revolution"

Waking up is "hard" to do?

Not the greatest pictures... but man... I wish we could all wake up like my daughter.

These are taken probably within 2 minutes of each other...

Pulling back

My daughter is growing up... and it is just amazing to watch. She was around 6 months old when I took this picture. That is her sleeping... as caught by her baby monitor. (My wife and I have decided we are going to keep this camera well into her teen years.) We call this, "Lydia TV!" ("All Lydia, all the time.")

It is amazing how much joy this video baby monitor has brought to our lives. Originally purchased for her safely/my paranoia, it has been a bonding thing for my wife and me as we watch her sleep. When we first got it, she would easily fit within the shot on the camera. Sometimes during the night, she would slip down out of the view of the camera. (The vanishing baby trick.) By the time this was taken, she could not fit all of her body in the shot.

Eventually, I had to pull back. In two years, she has grown so much that now, in order to see her, we moved the camera back so that, basically, her entire crib is in the shot. Where she once had so much room in her crib it was laughable, she now often has limbs sticking out one side with other limbs sticking out the other. As she grows, continual adjustments had to be made.

I don't know, but maybe much of parenting is learning the art of pulling back. I'm not sure what this means exactly, but I know after 2 years, the way I relate to my daughter is already changing. She is getting some independence. Although most of the time, she still would rather be with her mother or me... every now and then, she just wants to be alone. And so I pull back.

By pulling back, I get perspective. By pulling back, more comes into my vision.

But it's hard... and many people don't navigate this well.

"And a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife... "

"God, remind me that the "one flesh" relationship is with my wife... not my daughter. Remind me that my goal in life is not to cleave to her, but to my wife. That our marriage was meant to be permanent, and that the goal of parenting is designed to be temporary. Help me to enjoy these years with her to their fullest, to help her to grow... and to pull back."

Haggard

My sincere hope is that my collegue is on the road to healing and restoration, but it takes me almost three weeks to change my socks.

I knew it!

Okay, my blog strike is over. Rumor has it that someone has snuck on my computer over the past couple of days, logged on using my username and password, and has been making posts using my name!

The nerve of some people!

I, for one, have been wayyyyyy to busy to do something as worthless as blog.

But now, for the really important stuff.

Ready?

I'm glad I'm using Safari and Firefox.

My friend Tobias was right.

Bill Gates is the anti-Christ.

And I have found proof.

Now, wasn't that worth the wait until I finished my blog strike?

On Strike

Due to the comments of certain members of the blogging community, I am officially on a blog strike.

It appears my comments are not prized and my valuable opinions aren't sought.

I feel nothing but disillusionment. :O)

I also am way too busy, with way too much to do, to spend anytime reading certain blogs of little or no sociological value.

I hope you all enjoy writing your posts without my commentary

Some Favorites, part 1

On Sunday, the team that went to Honduras got together to show our favorite pictures. Thought I would share some with you all.



I have nothing profound to say and won't comment on any of them...

yep... here they are...

I am so stinkin' busy...

For Patrick

ahhhhhh...

I'm not sure... is this really wise? Is this really a smart thing to do?

Great PR guys.

MP3

Okay...Does anyone know how I can post an MP3 song to this blog?

Can any of you do this through your hosting spot?

I really want you to hear a song.

No, seriously.

No, you really need to hear this.

I will always be Blue...

And that is a good thing.

A old friend of mine is one of my newest readers (Welcome!). Just hearing from him and reading his blog has made my reflect on a previous life. It is a life that is long past and will never return, but was a good thing.

I was privileged to be a member of the Bluecoats, a drum and bugle corps based out of Canton. I (along with pjeff) played lead soprano (trumpet) and got to play high, loud and fast. It was a trip. At one point in the show, 6 of us went out front and got to play high loud and fast together. (In this picture, pjeff is the one on the right of the line of 6 down front, I'm the guy right next to him to his left.) There was the official "written version" of the sextet, (which was pretty high and loud) and there was the version we made up... which was much higher and louder. Sometimes after the shows, a group of "fans" would come to the busses as we were putting our stuff away and we would play the "higher, louder, faster" version... which to them was the coolest thing. About 3 minutes of 15 minutes of fame.

Pjeff was one of my heros. He had an amazing solo (that I got to play once when he was sick) that was... well, high and loud. (You see a theme here, don't you?) At the time, I didn't know all he was struggling through, but he later became a Christian and then a pastor. (So that makes at least two of us! I'm not sure anyone in that line would have ever thought either of us would have been pastors... those were VERY different days for both of us.)

Honestly, I miss that part of my life. I've never been a person to live in the past. My best years are right now in so many ways. But that part of my life, now long gone, was great, and I wouldn't trade those years for anything. So if you ever find a 1988 Bluecoats CD, and are listening to "Autumn Leaves" (the closing song) and hear some people playing high and loud, now you know.

The Swing

Mondays are hard for many pastors. It's funny, it's not talked about a lot, but there is an emotional brokenness/drain that happens for most pastors after they teach. I have a friend who is leaving ministry this year because of the "Monday Crash." He just can't handle it anymore and he fears it will cost him his marriage... or his soul.

Rob Bell spoke about this at the conference I just attended... and I almost cried. I was like, "Yea, that is exactly how I feel." And it was so weird to have someone name it so honestly. His "take on it" is that every time you are blessed, it was because someone else is broken and poured out. It is a spiritual thing that happens. It felt a bit strange because I had 6 folks from my congregation with me... and I felt like Rob was exposing part of my soul to them.

So it was Monday.

"God, some pieces have been taken out of me this week. I have taken some hits. I have poured myself out. I feel broken. I ask that you put me back together. And I will willingly do it again... for Your sake."

Depressed and tired

Just being honest.

My birthday is in June...

So all you who are a part of Central... take note.

All together now...

yikes

Nothing to add.

Ha Ha!

I'm blogging and Sarah and Mdog aren't!

They don't have the power I have... and yet they are sitting in the same room.

Mwahaaaaaa!

Brian M's response to my speaking topics...

"Paul,

Thanks for the topic suggestions... Maybe I won't be out of town that Thursday after all. Yes, any of those topics will work just fine...however, I just did a whole 40 week series on the Ten Horned Beast in Revelation so the last one might not be good. "

Yea, Brian is a good egg.

Mars Hill

So as I type this, I'm sitting in the worship center of Mars Hill Church in Michigan (Rob Bell is the pastor here). It is a really interesting place. I drove here two summers ago when I took my Sabbatical and spent a couple of days. It's the anchor store of a mall... pretty sparse. They have painted the walls green... which is better than the white... and there is a kind of platform in the middle, but other than that, it looks like a K Mart.

I like it.

Now, I like beauty. I even like cathedral-type churches... there is an architectural beauty that honors God. But so does simplicity.

So on the drive up, a group of us were talking about "cool." What is "cool?"

I still don't think I'm cool, but I do know this... if cool is the traditional bald head and goatee... there are a lot of cool people here.

And I'm on my way to being cool... if only by nature.

Excellent

This is an excellent post. I'm sure she would appreciate your thoughts.

Okay, I'm Impressed

"This is an email I wrote tonight at 7 pm and sent to Andrew Peterson.

__________________________

Andrew (or maybe whoever is managing Andrew's email for him while he is off writing cool songs)

As a 39-year-old pastor, I am sad to say that I only recently discovered your music. A friend of mine lent me "Appendix A" -- largely for the song "Land of the Free" -- as a response to a blog post I wrote.

Anyway, I just love it. I was a big Rich Mullins fan and your music has that same mix of cynic, poet, prophet and "guy next door I want to hang out with" feel.

So I started buying up your stuff.

But I was saddened to learn that "Appendix A: Bootlegs and B-Sides" is no longer available. I read somewhere on your site that you are putting some as downloads on your site in the future...

BUT, seeing it was out of print, I was wondering if I could bootleg my friend's copy of "Bootleg?"

First, I would be happy to pay you anyway. I will send you the full amount.

Or second, if I find a copy of it, I will buy it... but I can't.

I want to honor copy-write and your work as an artist... but I really want that recording. :O)

Suggestions?

Thanks for the great music,

paul


____________

At 9:20... this shows up in my inbox...

_________________

Howdy, Paul. Thanks for the kind email. Being mentioned in the same context as Rich always freaks me out, as he was and is a huge influence on me spiritually and artistically. Feel free to burn the record. Thanks for listening!

AP"

_________________

Now I like the guy even more. Not that he gave me permission to copy his out of print CD, but he had the class to actually write back.

I'm impressed. Andrew Peterson is now on my list of "good eggs."

Speaking at Campus Crusade

I have been asked to speak at Campus Crusade in February. Last night, I got an email from Brian M. (the director) suggesting some topics, but he said he was open to what I wanted to talk about. He closed it by saying that most of the staff (including Brian himself) will be out of town that weekend for training.

Big mistake.

So I sent him the following email...

"Honestly, I have been thinking about some topics... but I appreciate the guidance you offered. The topics below have been burning in my heart recently... I believe God has given me a direct word for each of them...

So, from the Home office in Sugar Creek, Ohio I give you:

"Top Ten Speaking topics Paul is considering when Campus Crusade Leadership is away:"


#10 - "Baptism of the Holy Spirit: The importance of speaking in tongues for Christians today"

#9 - "Double Predestination and the Election of God's People : Don't worry about evangelism, they are all going to hell anyway"

#8 - "Open Theism: God is not sovereign, so you can get away with it."

#7 - "Politics and Christianity: If you don't believe like me you are not a Christian."

#6 - "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God: the Sequel"

#5 - "Dan Brown Was Right: Why you should be studying the gnostic gospels"

#4 - "Prophecy and The Church: Why you need your own personal prophet and why I should be him. (subtitled: "Reach in them Jeans and Pull out them Greens!)"

#3 - "Eternal Security: You don't have it -- so spend all your energy worrying about sinning your way out of the Kingdom of God."

#2 - Two Words: "Open Cannon"

And the #1 speaking topic is.....

#1 - "The End Times: Jesus is coming back, I know exactly when, and you might as well not study for that test on Tuesday!"


I'm guessing any of those would do... right?"

I should have known...

So I have a friend who keeps lending me albums... usually of people I have never heard of before. The normal way this works is she says, "Hey, I think you would like this..." and she hands me a CD. It then sits on the island in my kitchen for several weeks or until I take a car ride of substantial length.

And then I listen to it...

And then I say, "Why didn't I listen to this earlier!!!!!"

So I've been listening to Andrew Peterson... of course given to me by this same friend...and it is really good. He reminds me of Rich Mullens (who is a hero of mine) not just in sound, but also style. There is a bit of cynic, poet, prophet, and "guy next door I want to hang out with" mixed together. I first got hooked by the words to the opening song off this album, "Land of the Free." It reminds me of Honduras.

"Appendix A" is largely a live recording... and I am a HUGE fan of live recordings. Quite honestly, if every CD was recorded live, I would be mostly okay with that. There is an energy that happens live that is hard to capture in a studio. And you get to get a "sense" of who he is... beyond his lyrics, which are pretty raw and honest anyway.

So... join me is rushing out and buying this. Until then, Mdog will just have to do without her CD.

Are you ready?

In keeping with my New Year's resolution to be more profound, I give you...

"300 ways to eat toast.

At least 3 disturbing questions arise from this...

1. Who has enough free time to come up with 300 ways to eat toast?
2. Who actually reads this? Ah.. well...Forget that second one.
3. Who actually eats this?

A new game-night game!

Throw about that evil Werewolves game!

Gather your friends. Save sinners...meaning those instrument-playing, song writing, sinner rock musicians!

Never-mind lousy theology! Now the people who brought you "Left Behind" the book, bring you...

"Left Behind" the game!

For an amazing review of this game, go here.

Patrick! Please save us soon! "Come, gamer Patrick," come!

Why Spiders should not have hair... Reflections on a week in Honduras, part 5

Journal Entry - December 3, 2006

It's Sunday morning. I slept for the first time last night...only woke up three times! (I'm guessing it really is the medication.) There was no hot water this morning, so I skipped the shower. Heck, my pants can almost walk by themselves anyway... why put a clean body in them to get in the way!

Father, I pray for this country. There is so much poverty here. There is so much oppression and pain. But where I want to pray for this country, it makes me want to pray for the U.S. even more. In the U.S. we have a poverty of spirit... we are often the oppressors... we are numb to life and try not to feel pain. It takes so much to satisfy...

We search for fulfillment... through our jobs, relationships... our stuff... and yet we already have so much. Maybe the secret of being full really is being empty. (Food taste better when you are hungry. Sleep is better when you are tired.)

As I write this I'm sitting in the chapel. The doors are open and it overlooks a small town called, "Nueva Esparanza" (New Hope) which is the town just down the hill from Montana De Luz. Nueva Esparanza was built after the hurricane and it is (I guess) supposed to be a sign of what the government can do if it "really puts its mind to something."

If you couldn't see some of the detail, or if we didn't have to drive through the town to get to Montana, you might mistake it as quaint... all nestled in the mountains. But even from here you can see the small houses... houses that probably anywhere in the U.S. would be considered slum. You can see the roads (and I use that term loosely). Every now and then you see people walking or gathering. The town is filled with real people, with real hopes and real dreams and real struggles.

But I sit up here separate.

I am removed from it all.

On a mountain. Sitting in a chapel... protected. I have light, shelter, an appearance of protection from the "creepy crawlers." I have privilege on the mountain.

I fear this is an analogy for much of my life. I sit in safety... objectively looking a the rest of the world. Protected by my wealth... my position... my status. Now, I know that emotionally this is not true. I know emotionally I enter into people's pain all the time. (But even writing that betrays or justifies.) But much of my life is a life removed.

I think a lot of us have this tendency to see God this way. Kind of up in heaven... in the safety and protection of heaven... looking down on the pain of earth. God is the one with all the money, all the resources... all the power....but maybe the problems are just too many.

Or maybe God doesn’t really care.

I think we tend to see God looking at us like I look down on this town: we are just one big mass of people... problems... and the need is so great and it is just overwhelming.

Contrast this with Vicki, the project director. She can't walk through Montana without having kids hanging off of her. She drives her truck through town; she can't go 100 feet without getting ambushed by people yelling, "Buenos Dais, Vicki!" or her stopping to say "hi." She knows most people's names and even their families. She speaks Spanish fluently. She is a part of their lives. She has entered into their world.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent: and I begin, once again, to reflect on the truth of the incarnation: the Word became flesh and lived among us.

If the gospel is anything to me, it is this truth: God does not sit removed. But He lives among us. He has learned our language... He has entered into our world.

Deeper Blogging

So just an observation...

A lot of people write some really profound things on blogs. And they do it in some really compelling ways. There really are some great writers out there.

Writing has never been my strength... so I'm sorry I'm not more profound and deep at times. But as part of my New Years Resolutions, I have decided to be more profound. So again, I just want to apologize to you all for my years of surfacey posting.

This is the turkey I deep fried on New Years Day. I'm not a vegetarian, but there is something about working with raw poultry that could make anyone swear off meat for a lifetime. Cleaning a turkey (if you have never done it) is not an enjoyable experience. And... quite honestly... the whole thing is pretty undignified for the turkey. I mean they shove its head up its...

But this picture makes me think of people who donate their bodies to science... medical schools, etc. I, for one, am glad that there are people secure enough out there to do this... I am not one of them. One of my best friends in High School was a nurse. And where she SAID they always respected the cadaver they were working on... I heard some stories.

But I digress... back to the turkey. First you clean it, then dry it well, put the turkey on this rack, you annoint it with spices (getting it ready for its final demise). Then you drop it in hot oil and cook it. Then you pull it out... and it does not always look that great... again, pretty degrading for this poor turkey.

So, of course, I took a picture of it.

Deep fried Turkey is good. You can cook one in 45 minutes and, surprisingly, it's not as bad for you as you might think at first (especially if you don't eat the skin, but then again...)

The nutritional information is as follows; 3.5 ounces of deep fried turkey has approximately 190 calories and 11 grams of fat, while the same size portion of regular roasted turkey breast typically contains about 165 calories and 7 grams of fat. So an extra 25 calories... about the same as a serving of brussle sprouts. And I ask you...which would you rather have?


Frying a turkey is not rocket science. It basically involved a big pot, a heat source, 3 gallons of peanut oil (my oil of choice), an electronic meat thermometer, and a love for pyrotechnics. Fortunately, I have always had the latter, and my in-laws gave me the former for Christmas.

You got to love a meal that you can blow up things while cooking it.

Pretty profound post, eh?

ouch

My 2 year-old daughter just beat me at Candy Land. And bad.

See that yellow piece at the end? That is the 2-year old.

See that blue piece that is remarkably close to the starting line? That is the 39-year-old with a Master's Degree.

Is it any wonder I'm intimidated?

This was taken by Matt Eich. He sent this to me (I'm not making this up) as I was writing the blog post just below this one.





You know... the post is about me being less intimidated about showing my pictures despite being surrounded by such great photograpers.

yea, right... so much for that.

Anyone want to buy a camera?

The year in pictures, part 2

One of the lessons I have learned this year (actually the last 6 months) is that a "good picture" is one I like. Yea, I know... light, exposure, depth of field, framing, multiple layers, bla bla bla. But as an amateur, it is really easy to get so intimidated that I just stop shooting. Which is what happened. If you don't know... I run in circles of really good photographers. I was just thinking the other day: Bruce, Rick, Sarah, Katie, Denise, Matt (all professionals or headed that way...) and then we have Jared, Jeff, Maria, Beth... amateurs who know what they are doing and produce some good images. So it is easy for me to not show my work because it pales in comparison to the work of my friends.

I already wrote that this spring I took a photography class. The funny thing (that my wife pointed out to me) is that during the class, and for about 2 months afterward, I basically didn't shoot a lot. I think I was just too worried about the "outcome."

But the truth is, I really like taking pictures. Yes, I like it because it captures a moment that is important to me. I like it because I really do looking at the images I produce. But I also like it because I like the physical act of shooting pictures. (Is that strange?) I find it relaxing, stimulating; it allows me to be creative.

I like the person I am with a camera.

Final confession: as much as I like the "instant gratification" of shooting digital, I kind of miss my old Nikon N65 film camera. I sort of miss shooting and not knowing how it comes out... if it comes out. And don't laugh at me, one morning a couple of years ago, I didn't have any film... but I just went out and "shot" pictures anyway. I'm such a nerd.

Better keep my day job...

Psychic Test and Quiz - Test your Psychic Powers.

Are you psychic? Do you have psychic powers? Here's the classic test to find out. You will be tested on the cards 10 times to see how well you do at predicting which will come up. Be sure to do all 10 rounds to get a true estimation of your psychic abilities!

My results are below:

You got 2 out of 10 cards correct.

You only got 2 right - something powerful is working against you.

Quote of the Week

"There is a strong drift toward the hard theological left. Some emergent types [want] to recast Jesus as a limp-wrist hippie in a dress with a lot of product in His hair, who drank decaf and made pithy Zen statements about life while shopping for the perfect pair of shoes. In Revelation, Jesus is a pride [sic?] fighter with a tattoo down His leg, a sword in His hand and the commitment to make someone bleed. That is a guy I can worship. I cannot worship the hippie, diaper, halo Christ because I cannot worship a guy I can beat up."

Mark Driscoll
From "Relevant Magazine"

profit... I mean, prophet.

"I have a relatively good track record," he said. "Sometimes I miss."

Miss?

"But the prophet who shall speak a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak... that prophet shall die. And you may say in your heart, `How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?' When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously."

Deut 18:20-22

Beth Encore

Okay... so my first photo shoot with Beth produced a lot of images... I guess I want to share a couple more!

Beth's project was amazing. It was called, "In his shoes" and was a tribute to a friend of hers who is missing in action. She had these strips of white cloth with silhouettes of life images silk-screened onto them. Images of life he is missing. It was quite moving and quite beautiful.

But for me, it was a photographic nightmare! Let me see: bright white lights, in a very dark room, with white strips of cloth, with black figures on them... and my model dressed in black... and me shooting on manual mode. Arg!

But honestly, I wanted to do it because I like a challenge!

I like the look of black and white photography. And this shoot was almost black and white without it being shot in black and white, if that makes any sense. What I struggled with was not "blowing out" the light areas (the room lights were really bright) without losing detail. I also really liked trying to create the same silhouette-type images in the pictures that Beth created on her strips of cloth.

Again, Beth was really patient with me.

As was Bruce.

It is interesting to watch a pro shoot. Bruce has so much confidence... he knows pretty much what he wants and is able to communicate it well. He also thought of ideas that never crossed my mind. The image Bruce was taking on the right turned out really well... I wish I had a picture of it... but I took a picture of him taking the picture... and I really like it.

I like the silhouette of Bruce... but I like how the silhouetts of Beth's prints pop in this shot... despite the very bright light.


This is one of those pictures that I just like... I don't care if it is "good."

Okay, so I have no idea why I just blogged about these pictures... hope you enjoyed them and it wasn't a total waste of your time. :O)

Happy New Year!

So I get really reflective this time of year. Although I do a lot of personal and professional reflection, I thought it would be fun to look through my pictures and pick out of few that were memorable to me.

These are not my best pictures... I'm not even sure they are all favorites. But they are significant steps for me... mostly in photography... a little in life... sometimes in both.

In January I went on Good Works' "Walk for the Homeless." It was a powerful experience for me as I had been reading a lot about minimum wage issues and so I choose to do the walk to Wendy's. Ever since I had a child I have been thinking a lot of what it means to earn a "living wage." The walk was insightful in that it put flesh on those thoughts.

As a photographer, this was my first photojournalism-type shoot (although I was not asked to be a photographer, I just showed up with my camera and took pictures!) My friend, Jared, went on the same walk with me... and it was great to shoot with him. After the walk we compared pictures and talked about what worked and what didn't. It was fun.

In the Spring I took a photography class from the university. A friend and fellow Centralite, Sarah, taught the class and it was incredible just to sit and learn from her. One of the projects was to do a portrait that captures a hobby or passion of the person you are shooting. A friend and media guru, Beth, was doing an art show and she agreed to be my model.

This was the first time I did a photo shoot with a person other than my daughter or wife. And to be honest, it was a bit nerve wracking. I didn't realize how "intimate" taking pictures would be. There is this sense where you enter into the personal (and psychological) space of another. When I shoot, I usually focus on the eyes... so there is all this eye contact (remember, I'm an introvert!). I am also trying to engage the model's brain, so I'm talking. And, oh yea, I have been shooting pictures on manual settings for a total of 3 weeks... so I'm all caught up in the technical aspects of the picture as well.

I must have shot 100 pictures of Beth! She was an excellent model and very patient with me, but by the end of the shoot I felt like I ran a marathon. But I learned a TON that night. Later another friend, Bruce, (who is a professional photographer) came over with me and Beth volunteered to model again for both of us. Afterward, Bruce and I went to Donkey and did a mini-photo clinic. What an amazing gift both Bruce and Beth gave me in that experience.

This picture is significant to me in that this is from my first "shoot" approaching a total stranger. I was at an event with my wife and this guy and his daughter were there. I was struck by all his tattoos... contrasted with the unblemished arm of this little girl. And so I just went up to him and asked if I could take some pictures. This is not the best or even the most engaging, but it is my favorite...

Jared and Tobias asked me to take pictures of them creating their movie for a contest they were entering. This was really fun for me as it was the first time I had ever been invited to be a photographer for an event. Therefore, I felt like I had full reign and could do whatever I wanted in terms of getting in people's faces, etc. Doing this shoot taught me that it is much easier to take pictures of an event when you have been asked to do so and people expect you to be the "photographer" not just an annoying guy with a camera. Now, if I were being paid, I would have been VERY nervous... but fortunately (or unfortunately) I was not!

Okay, more later... but now it is time to hang out with my family some more!

Blessings and Happy New Year!