“Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in your beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken.... I think I would rather live on the verge of falling and let my security be in the all-sufficiency of the grace of God than to live in some pietistic illusion of moral excellence....”
Rich MullinsMonday, January 31, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Blog Problems
So these things are great...until you have problems with them. I think this is up again...anyone still reading?
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Come over to the Dark Side....
Apparently Anakin was from Idaho.
I think everyone needs one of these....
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/01/19/tater.doll.ap/
I think everyone needs one of these....
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/01/19/tater.doll.ap/
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Dogs walking on ice and Carson
Did you ever watch a dog walk on ice-covered snow? They take a step...then crack though and sink. They take another...crack...sometimes they can take a couple of steps before they break through, but they always look so confused.
Nothing profound about dogs walking on ice...just funny.
Johnny Carson died today. Isn't it strange when famous people die, it seems almost like you know them? I have to confess, I was a bit depressed when I found out. I was a big Carson fan. Many people don't know this, but Carson was a magician as well...and a pretty good one. He gave a lot of magicians their first big break. He gave a lot of money for the preservation of magic. He loved magicians...and to watch him watch a magic show was a joy. Carson knew how the tricks were done, but he never let on. He just enjoyed the show.
Being a magician myself, I've seen hundreds of magicians in my day. In the last 15 years I've never been amazed. After a while you just know how stuff is done. I can appreciate the routine, I love the "show" (especially if there are lots of special effects! Smoke, fire and lights!), but the magic...been there done that. Carson saw each show through the eyes of a child. It was a rare gift and magicians love to perform for him.
Anyone want to share their most depressing "star" death? I've had several, but have been alive longer than most of my readers.
Nothing profound about dogs walking on ice...just funny.
Johnny Carson died today. Isn't it strange when famous people die, it seems almost like you know them? I have to confess, I was a bit depressed when I found out. I was a big Carson fan. Many people don't know this, but Carson was a magician as well...and a pretty good one. He gave a lot of magicians their first big break. He gave a lot of money for the preservation of magic. He loved magicians...and to watch him watch a magic show was a joy. Carson knew how the tricks were done, but he never let on. He just enjoyed the show.
Being a magician myself, I've seen hundreds of magicians in my day. In the last 15 years I've never been amazed. After a while you just know how stuff is done. I can appreciate the routine, I love the "show" (especially if there are lots of special effects! Smoke, fire and lights!), but the magic...been there done that. Carson saw each show through the eyes of a child. It was a rare gift and magicians love to perform for him.
Anyone want to share their most depressing "star" death? I've had several, but have been alive longer than most of my readers.
I'm not at work...
I'm not at work. I usually am at this point. But when I called the Sheriff's department, their recommendation was to close the "office" where I work. Level 2 because of ice. I guess I should be happy...I get the morning off. But I'm not. I like my work. I love the people I work with. And, given my occupation, the "work" is already done! Plus, I had to get up early so I could make the call whether or not to cancel work. That's no fun!
My wife's dad was a school superintendent so on "snow days" he was the one who made the call whether or not to cancel school. He would get up at 4:30 and drive around the roads of his neighborhood to see how bad they were. He would drive some of the bus hills. When I was in HS, I never in a million years pictured my school superintendent laboring over canceling school. But maybe he did. Maybe it wasn't as easy as "Wow, I get the day off!" Sometimes being a leader and making the call sucks.
My wife's dad was a school superintendent so on "snow days" he was the one who made the call whether or not to cancel school. He would get up at 4:30 and drive around the roads of his neighborhood to see how bad they were. He would drive some of the bus hills. When I was in HS, I never in a million years pictured my school superintendent laboring over canceling school. But maybe he did. Maybe it wasn't as easy as "Wow, I get the day off!" Sometimes being a leader and making the call sucks.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
I miss play...
I miss play. It's really pretty sad. I don't play much anymore.
Do you remember when you were a child and you would spend the entire day playing? Sometimes alone, sometimes with your friends...it didn't matter. Time moved slowly. An evening of playing "freeze tag" under the streetlight.
Tonight it is snowing. I came home and asked my wife if she wanted to go outside and make a snowman. I wanted to roll around in the snow...make snow angles...I wanted to return to the simplicity of childhood. We ended up taking a walk. It was nice...an adult thing to do.
Remember the feeling of having school canceled and you could stay up late because you didn't have to get up in the morning? Remember that freedom? Nothing to do. Not a care in the world...
No one cancels my work anymore. No one cancels pain, or Tsunamis, or politics, or broken relationships, or friends who are divorcing, or parents who are getting sick. No one cancels the stuff of life that you can blissfully ignore when you are 7.
I wanted to stay up late and sit in front of the fire...but alas, we both have to get up early for work tomorrow. Even now...I realize I must keep this short so I can function in the morning.
I don't play much anymore. It's really pretty sad. I miss play.
Do you remember when you were a child and you would spend the entire day playing? Sometimes alone, sometimes with your friends...it didn't matter. Time moved slowly. An evening of playing "freeze tag" under the streetlight.
Tonight it is snowing. I came home and asked my wife if she wanted to go outside and make a snowman. I wanted to roll around in the snow...make snow angles...I wanted to return to the simplicity of childhood. We ended up taking a walk. It was nice...an adult thing to do.
Remember the feeling of having school canceled and you could stay up late because you didn't have to get up in the morning? Remember that freedom? Nothing to do. Not a care in the world...
No one cancels my work anymore. No one cancels pain, or Tsunamis, or politics, or broken relationships, or friends who are divorcing, or parents who are getting sick. No one cancels the stuff of life that you can blissfully ignore when you are 7.
I wanted to stay up late and sit in front of the fire...but alas, we both have to get up early for work tomorrow. Even now...I realize I must keep this short so I can function in the morning.
I don't play much anymore. It's really pretty sad. I miss play.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
"I'm re-thinking Church"
I got off the phone with my best friend from seminary. He is planting a new congregation and had a meeting with a couple of guys who came to interview him for a video feature about the new church. My friend started talking with them and asked them about their faith journey and their church experience. It turns out that they were once on the media staff at a large congregation that I admire quite a bit. This church is growing and dynamic and known from creative worship services and their use of media. People come from across the country to study this congregation and learn how they do ministry.
When my friend asked them about their current involvement in church, one of them simply said, "Well, to be honest, I'm re-thinking church."
In fact, he was re-thinking his faith. He was re-thinking Jesus.
It turns out that his experience at this congregation was not a good one. It was work. It turns out that what was this spectacular and moving worship service to those of us attending...was a show to him. He complained about rehearsals, and shallowness and "show" and people who cared more about deadlines than people... there was very little God in it for him.
I work with a bunch of creative people. We have a lot of fun and work pretty hard to try to communicate a message. I think our motives are right. I think our hearts are right. But God help us if we ever let our work FOR God replace the work OF God that God wants to do in us. Deadlines are important...ministry is important... but what good is "good ministry" if we are not conformed into the image of Jesus?
In what ways do your jobs enhance or detract from your life? If you are a Christ follower, does your work help that growth? If you are not a Christ follower, do you see your job taking away from the "one thing" in your life (be that family, or happiness, or a Higher Power)?
When my friend asked them about their current involvement in church, one of them simply said, "Well, to be honest, I'm re-thinking church."
In fact, he was re-thinking his faith. He was re-thinking Jesus.
It turns out that his experience at this congregation was not a good one. It was work. It turns out that what was this spectacular and moving worship service to those of us attending...was a show to him. He complained about rehearsals, and shallowness and "show" and people who cared more about deadlines than people... there was very little God in it for him.
I work with a bunch of creative people. We have a lot of fun and work pretty hard to try to communicate a message. I think our motives are right. I think our hearts are right. But God help us if we ever let our work FOR God replace the work OF God that God wants to do in us. Deadlines are important...ministry is important... but what good is "good ministry" if we are not conformed into the image of Jesus?
In what ways do your jobs enhance or detract from your life? If you are a Christ follower, does your work help that growth? If you are not a Christ follower, do you see your job taking away from the "one thing" in your life (be that family, or happiness, or a Higher Power)?
Friday, January 14, 2005
The power of not being alone...
So this year has been hard. There has been a lot of change and transition in my life. Lots of stress. Lots of "stuff" that my family has had to work through. We've had lots of health issues. The birth of my daughter was the ending of one season and the starting of a new one...on so many levels. I have been realizing lately that this year has taken a toll on me.
Yesterday I was in a funk. Actually, I have been in a funk for a while, but I was pretty "funked" yesterday. I had a long day and by 4 pm I realized I still had a full evening ahead of me. I had two meetings...one at 6 and another at 7:30. The first was a team of creative people I work with to plan. The second was a board meeting...kind of the "human resources" arm of my job.
Much to my shock, rather than being drained by these two meetings, I got new passion. I can't describe how these people...not really the tasks...just breathed new life into me. The first group is a great group of folks...many have been on the team for years. We kid and joke with each other. But I get the sense we would all do pretty much anything for each other. The second is a group that changes annually: this was the first meeting of the year, but I know them all. I was just struck by the maturity of the group.
When I got home, my wife saw a marked difference in my countenance. And she said the words I was thinking, but couldn't articulate, "It feels good to remember you are not alone in this, doesn't it?"
And then it dawned on me...
Most days, I really do I like what I do. But I really love the people I'm doing it with. Yea, we are all broken and sometimes we get on each other's nerves, but I get to do what I love, with people I love. And there is nothing better. And this morning, I'm grateful.
In a perfect world we will all have both great work and great community. Meaningful work allows you to make a contribution (part of what I believe it means for us to be made in the image of God), but commnity is what makes the contribution worthwhile.
Which is harder for you? Doing work you don't enjoy or doing it with people you don't enjoy? If you had to pick...which would you sacrifice? And what does that say about you or what you value?
Yesterday I was in a funk. Actually, I have been in a funk for a while, but I was pretty "funked" yesterday. I had a long day and by 4 pm I realized I still had a full evening ahead of me. I had two meetings...one at 6 and another at 7:30. The first was a team of creative people I work with to plan. The second was a board meeting...kind of the "human resources" arm of my job.
Much to my shock, rather than being drained by these two meetings, I got new passion. I can't describe how these people...not really the tasks...just breathed new life into me. The first group is a great group of folks...many have been on the team for years. We kid and joke with each other. But I get the sense we would all do pretty much anything for each other. The second is a group that changes annually: this was the first meeting of the year, but I know them all. I was just struck by the maturity of the group.
When I got home, my wife saw a marked difference in my countenance. And she said the words I was thinking, but couldn't articulate, "It feels good to remember you are not alone in this, doesn't it?"
And then it dawned on me...
Most days, I really do I like what I do. But I really love the people I'm doing it with. Yea, we are all broken and sometimes we get on each other's nerves, but I get to do what I love, with people I love. And there is nothing better. And this morning, I'm grateful.
In a perfect world we will all have both great work and great community. Meaningful work allows you to make a contribution (part of what I believe it means for us to be made in the image of God), but commnity is what makes the contribution worthwhile.
Which is harder for you? Doing work you don't enjoy or doing it with people you don't enjoy? If you had to pick...which would you sacrifice? And what does that say about you or what you value?
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Controversial Subjects
What are controversial subjects to talk about? What makes them controversial? Is it because people dis-agree on them or because they "hit home?" In the Church, what are the questions people are afraid to ask? What are the subjects people are afraid to talk about?
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Back from Vacation!
Happy New Year! (Yea, I know I am 8 days late, but there you have it!)
I just returned from Hawaii. My wife went to speak at a conference for her work...and being the incredible husband that I am, I went with her to Hawaii for moral support. (You know, run her Powerpoint presentation...take pictures for the newsletter... it was the least I could do to be a supportive husband.)
So I guess I could write a "this is what I did on my January vacation blog" but who wants to know that information? I mean, do you really care? Are you going to take your precious blogging minutes to read about my vacation? ("...and on your left is the worlds largest ball of string") Do you really have that much time on your hands? Probably not.
So let me share the most "impactful" thought I had on my vacation.
On the plane flight (almost 10 hours total) I started reading a book called, "Nickled and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America." The author took a year of her life and worked minimum wage jobs (waitress, house cleaning, etc) and tried to survive. As she experiences the work world, she writes about her experiences and reflects on issues. That is a lousy summary...but you can look it up.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805063897/002-9490137-0643213?v=glance
So I went through my vacation very aware of the people who were serving us in the hospitality and service industry. Hawaii lives on tourism. There are thousands of people working tourism who are making next to nothing. The housing costs there are astronomical. So here you have people working for next to nothing with incredibly high cost of living. Some sleep on the beach. Some live multiples per room. And yet they serve people who drop hundreds of dollars (thousands of dollars) in seconds. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
And so once again, I was very aware of how much I tipped, how I treated the people who waited tables, took pictures and gave tours. Unlike on the mainland, in many cases, these folks were not high school or college students looking to some extra cash so they could go to the prom or party on spring break. These were people working to survive. I was painfully aware that what many people would drop on dinner and some drinks would take the people serving them a day of hard labor to make.
I don't believe in communism. I don't think we ought to all make the same money regardless of education level or what we do or the quality of our work. I think that system would create a kind of mediocrity that we should not strive for.
But what responsibility do we have to other human beings as a part of a global community? How can we create a base line of living so that all people can have adequate food, housing and medical care? Don't we all deserve access to education? What politically should be done? What about me as an individual person? What do you do?
I just returned from Hawaii. My wife went to speak at a conference for her work...and being the incredible husband that I am, I went with her to Hawaii for moral support. (You know, run her Powerpoint presentation...take pictures for the newsletter... it was the least I could do to be a supportive husband.)
So I guess I could write a "this is what I did on my January vacation blog" but who wants to know that information? I mean, do you really care? Are you going to take your precious blogging minutes to read about my vacation? ("...and on your left is the worlds largest ball of string") Do you really have that much time on your hands? Probably not.
So let me share the most "impactful" thought I had on my vacation.
On the plane flight (almost 10 hours total) I started reading a book called, "Nickled and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America." The author took a year of her life and worked minimum wage jobs (waitress, house cleaning, etc) and tried to survive. As she experiences the work world, she writes about her experiences and reflects on issues. That is a lousy summary...but you can look it up.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0805063897/002-9490137-0643213?v=glance
So I went through my vacation very aware of the people who were serving us in the hospitality and service industry. Hawaii lives on tourism. There are thousands of people working tourism who are making next to nothing. The housing costs there are astronomical. So here you have people working for next to nothing with incredibly high cost of living. Some sleep on the beach. Some live multiples per room. And yet they serve people who drop hundreds of dollars (thousands of dollars) in seconds. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
And so once again, I was very aware of how much I tipped, how I treated the people who waited tables, took pictures and gave tours. Unlike on the mainland, in many cases, these folks were not high school or college students looking to some extra cash so they could go to the prom or party on spring break. These were people working to survive. I was painfully aware that what many people would drop on dinner and some drinks would take the people serving them a day of hard labor to make.
I don't believe in communism. I don't think we ought to all make the same money regardless of education level or what we do or the quality of our work. I think that system would create a kind of mediocrity that we should not strive for.
But what responsibility do we have to other human beings as a part of a global community? How can we create a base line of living so that all people can have adequate food, housing and medical care? Don't we all deserve access to education? What politically should be done? What about me as an individual person? What do you do?
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