I thought that this blog post by Jonathan Dodson was a really good reminder of the small ways we can pursue missional living. Sometimes we can get all dreamy and think of these huge ways we can be missional Christians - yet because they are these big dreams and visions, we end up failing at them because we didn't start small.
I really want our church to impact the city of Miamisburg in big ways - yet by doing some of these smaller missional-minded steps, we can accomplish so much more than just dreaming about it.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I am a shell...
O LORD,
I am a shell full of dust,
but animated with an invisible rational soul
and made anew by an unseen power of grace;
Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,
but one that has nothing and is nothing,
although chosen of thee from eternity,
given to Christ, and born again;
I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state, of
the vanity of creatures,
but also of the sufficiency of Christ.
When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,
When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.
When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.
When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,
When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will,
When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;
I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,
Instead of thee I look to man's approbation,
and am by nature an idolater.
Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.
Convince me that I cannot be my own god,
or make myself happy,
nor my own Christ to restore my joy,
nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, and rule me.
Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction,
for when my credit is god thou dost cast me lower,
when riches are my idol thou dost wing them away,
when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.
Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;
Show me that none of those things
can heal a wounded conscience,
or support a tottering frame,
or uphold a departing spirit.
Then take me to the cross and leave me there.
- an old Puritan prayer of confession
I am a shell full of dust,
but animated with an invisible rational soul
and made anew by an unseen power of grace;
Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,
but one that has nothing and is nothing,
although chosen of thee from eternity,
given to Christ, and born again;
I am deeply convinced of the evil and misery of a sinful state, of
the vanity of creatures,
but also of the sufficiency of Christ.
When thou wouldst guide me I control myself,
When thou wouldst be sovereign I rule myself.
When thou wouldst take care of me I suffice myself.
When I should depend on thy providings I supply myself,
When I should submit to thy providence I follow my will,
When I should study, love, honour, trust thee, I serve myself;
I fault and correct thy laws to suit myself,
Instead of thee I look to man's approbation,
and am by nature an idolater.
Lord, it is my chief design to bring my heart back to thee.
Convince me that I cannot be my own god,
or make myself happy,
nor my own Christ to restore my joy,
nor my own Spirit to teach, guide, and rule me.
Help me to see that grace does this by providential affliction,
for when my credit is god thou dost cast me lower,
when riches are my idol thou dost wing them away,
when pleasure is my all thou dost turn it into bitterness.
Take away my roving eye, curious ear, greedy appetite, lustful heart;
Show me that none of those things
can heal a wounded conscience,
or support a tottering frame,
or uphold a departing spirit.
Then take me to the cross and leave me there.
- an old Puritan prayer of confession
Monday, April 20, 2009
Columbine: Ten Years Later
Yahoo News has a fascinating look at one survivor of the Columbine shootings that took place ten years ago today. It's good to hear of the good things that came out of such a horrible tragedy.
I was a youth minister in Colorado at the time, and although none of my students went to Columbine High School, a couple of my students lived nearby and went to middle school with a couple of the victims. My wife was working at a middle school a few miles away at the time, and when news reports started coming in about the shooting, they locked down all the schools in the area and I couldn't get a hold of her. It was a scary moment because there were rumors that other schools were also being attacked and I didn't know if it was true or not.
The next day our church held a service to deal with the shock in our community over the tragedy - the fact that it happened in a relatively wealthy area of Colorado made some people realize that anything can happen anytime and anywhere.
It's amazing to think of all the things in my own life that have happened in that ten-year span: I've lived in four different states, had six different ministries (yikes!), and have had a ton of experiences. But I will always remember what took place at Columbine ten years ago.
I was a youth minister in Colorado at the time, and although none of my students went to Columbine High School, a couple of my students lived nearby and went to middle school with a couple of the victims. My wife was working at a middle school a few miles away at the time, and when news reports started coming in about the shooting, they locked down all the schools in the area and I couldn't get a hold of her. It was a scary moment because there were rumors that other schools were also being attacked and I didn't know if it was true or not.
The next day our church held a service to deal with the shock in our community over the tragedy - the fact that it happened in a relatively wealthy area of Colorado made some people realize that anything can happen anytime and anywhere.
It's amazing to think of all the things in my own life that have happened in that ten-year span: I've lived in four different states, had six different ministries (yikes!), and have had a ton of experiences. But I will always remember what took place at Columbine ten years ago.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Pretty funny...
As someone who has been a victim of identity theft, it's amazing I can still laugh about that kind of stuff. This is funny though!
Hospital Visitations
Yesterday, I was the only official "minister" available to do some hospital visitations, and so I went to two different hospitals (thankfully at two different times) in order to pray and encourage those who were in the hospital.
It's one of my biggest struggles as a minister.
I think hospitals remind me of two things: (1) when my mom was suffering from cancer, she was in the hospital a lot and being in a hospital brings me back to 1987-1989; (2) my own trips to the hospital for brain surgery. I am totally out of my comfort zone when I'm in a hospital and have to really pray for courage and peace of mind when I'm in one.
Hospital visitation at a new ministry position is even harder.
In both instances yesterday, I had never met those who were in the hospital. And I had no idea if they had seen me or been to worship since I've been at the church. Which means there was a good chance that I would be wandering around each hospital calling out their name. Thankfully that didn't happen. But it was still awkward.
It only makes it even more awkward when you feel like you're the third string minister who is showing up because the first two can't make it (one was out of town, one was sick). "Hi, my name is Adam, you might have seen me on a Sunday morning, and by the way ________ and _________ couldn't be here, so I hope that having me here brings some encouragement."
Yesterday, as I was leaving the second hospital, I was reminded of a time in my own life when I was grateful for someone visiting me in the hospital, someone I had never met before. When I had my first brain surgery in Arizona, I was on the church staff (as an intern), and I had the entire church staff and eldership show up at the hospital to pray for me before surgery. Four months later I had to have the surgery again. This time I was no longer employed by the church (I was supposed to take a college internship at a large church in the Phoenix area, but because of my second brain surgery, that fell through so I was in between ministries) and I guess staff and elders at the church I had given my all for a year decided I wasn't worth visiting a second time, so I was all alone. About fifteen minutes before I was going to be whisked into the surgery room, a Baptist minister was walking by. He stopped in my room and said he was walking through the hall asking patients if they wanted him to pray for them, and he asked if I wanted the same. I told him yes. He prayed for me, shook my hand and left. Even though I had never met this man, I was so thankful that he showed up.
And hopefully the people I visited yesterday, even though they had never met me, even though I was the "third option," felt the same way.
It's one of my biggest struggles as a minister.
I think hospitals remind me of two things: (1) when my mom was suffering from cancer, she was in the hospital a lot and being in a hospital brings me back to 1987-1989; (2) my own trips to the hospital for brain surgery. I am totally out of my comfort zone when I'm in a hospital and have to really pray for courage and peace of mind when I'm in one.
Hospital visitation at a new ministry position is even harder.
In both instances yesterday, I had never met those who were in the hospital. And I had no idea if they had seen me or been to worship since I've been at the church. Which means there was a good chance that I would be wandering around each hospital calling out their name. Thankfully that didn't happen. But it was still awkward.
It only makes it even more awkward when you feel like you're the third string minister who is showing up because the first two can't make it (one was out of town, one was sick). "Hi, my name is Adam, you might have seen me on a Sunday morning, and by the way ________ and _________ couldn't be here, so I hope that having me here brings some encouragement."
Yesterday, as I was leaving the second hospital, I was reminded of a time in my own life when I was grateful for someone visiting me in the hospital, someone I had never met before. When I had my first brain surgery in Arizona, I was on the church staff (as an intern), and I had the entire church staff and eldership show up at the hospital to pray for me before surgery. Four months later I had to have the surgery again. This time I was no longer employed by the church (I was supposed to take a college internship at a large church in the Phoenix area, but because of my second brain surgery, that fell through so I was in between ministries) and I guess staff and elders at the church I had given my all for a year decided I wasn't worth visiting a second time, so I was all alone. About fifteen minutes before I was going to be whisked into the surgery room, a Baptist minister was walking by. He stopped in my room and said he was walking through the hall asking patients if they wanted him to pray for them, and he asked if I wanted the same. I told him yes. He prayed for me, shook my hand and left. Even though I had never met this man, I was so thankful that he showed up.
And hopefully the people I visited yesterday, even though they had never met me, even though I was the "third option," felt the same way.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Phil Wickham Live
Enjoy...
This last one is one of my favorites, but I couldn't find his live video. Oh well! You can still hear it.
This last one is one of my favorites, but I couldn't find his live video. Oh well! You can still hear it.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Where's Waldo?
Can you find him?
Last week Rutgers University students broke the Guinness World Record for the "World's Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Waldo" from Where's Waldo. They held a charity event, and a whopping 1,052 people showed up wearing red and white stripes.
Last week Rutgers University students broke the Guinness World Record for the "World's Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Waldo" from Where's Waldo. They held a charity event, and a whopping 1,052 people showed up wearing red and white stripes.
How Decisions Are Made
Or as I should really phrase it, how MY decisions are made.
I was thinking about this today when I went into the closet in my home office looking for something and found a big piece of paper that Noelle drew. My thoughts led me to this question:
In all the decisions in my life - major ones, that is - have I made each decision more with my head, or more with my heart?
My answer is really easy, actually. And I can point to the last major decision (besides getting this new job as worship minister) as the perfect example.
In September of last year, we were living with friends. Down in their basement. Which wasn't actually that bad. And we had a good time with them. We had just found out that my position at the church plant I was at was going to be reduced to a part-time position. Our house that we had watched go up before our eyes in Colorado was sold to someone else because our house in Ohio didn't sell. However, even though my pay was getting cut, we thought we could make ends meet because the friends we were staying with offered to pay Debby to watch their three-year-old rather than having him go to a daycare all day. With her salary and my part-time (plus me getting another part-time), we could make it work, with the hope of selling our house in Ohio. All logical conclusions pointed towards staying in Colorado. Although we had a house in Ohio, I had no job outlook. We had made the decision to make it work in Colorado when we first moved there, and this was an opportunity to continue that decision.
One night I got home and my daughter was drawing on a huge pad of paper on an easel. It looked like a house with some things inside the house. I asked her what she was drawing, and she said, "Our house in Ohio, with you, me, Mommy, Minnie (our dog), and Zoe (our cat) inside."
We moved back to Ohio.
And it all worked out.
I wish I could say that all my decisions in my life have been rational decisions that have been well-thought out and reasoned through. But I would have to say that most of them, including the decision to move back to Ohio, have been made with the heart rather than the mind.
I was thinking about this today when I went into the closet in my home office looking for something and found a big piece of paper that Noelle drew. My thoughts led me to this question:
In all the decisions in my life - major ones, that is - have I made each decision more with my head, or more with my heart?
My answer is really easy, actually. And I can point to the last major decision (besides getting this new job as worship minister) as the perfect example.
In September of last year, we were living with friends. Down in their basement. Which wasn't actually that bad. And we had a good time with them. We had just found out that my position at the church plant I was at was going to be reduced to a part-time position. Our house that we had watched go up before our eyes in Colorado was sold to someone else because our house in Ohio didn't sell. However, even though my pay was getting cut, we thought we could make ends meet because the friends we were staying with offered to pay Debby to watch their three-year-old rather than having him go to a daycare all day. With her salary and my part-time (plus me getting another part-time), we could make it work, with the hope of selling our house in Ohio. All logical conclusions pointed towards staying in Colorado. Although we had a house in Ohio, I had no job outlook. We had made the decision to make it work in Colorado when we first moved there, and this was an opportunity to continue that decision.
One night I got home and my daughter was drawing on a huge pad of paper on an easel. It looked like a house with some things inside the house. I asked her what she was drawing, and she said, "Our house in Ohio, with you, me, Mommy, Minnie (our dog), and Zoe (our cat) inside."
We moved back to Ohio.
And it all worked out.
I wish I could say that all my decisions in my life have been rational decisions that have been well-thought out and reasoned through. But I would have to say that most of them, including the decision to move back to Ohio, have been made with the heart rather than the mind.
Friday, April 03, 2009
March (and April) Madness - Remembering Basketball's Founder
Christianity Today magazine had an interesting article a couple of weeks ago on James Naismith, the person who brought us the game of basketball. Who knew that Naismith trained to be a Presbyterian minister and who developed the game of basketball at a YMCA? I didn't.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Frozen Four
As those of you who know me know, I'm a huge fan of hockey. This year has been tough for my favorite team, the Colorado Avalanche, so I'm turning my attention to college hockey for now. My favorite college hockey team is the Denver University Pioneers, but I also am rooting for the Miami University Redhawks, who have consistently over the last several years have had a good hockey team. However, this year they actually made the Frozen Four (think of the Final Four, but hockey instead of basketball) this year and will play in the semifinals against Bemidji State (who?) to get the chance to go to the finals. Ironically, Miami beat my Pioneers in the first round of the playoffs to get to where they are now, but I'm not holding it against them. I'm just glad Colorado College had a bad year. :^) (DU's rival)
Go Redhawks!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Awesome.
I'm excited for this movie. Just watching the trailer brought me back to my childhood. This wasn't my favorite book, but I loved it just the same.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
When Fear Strikes...
This past Sunday was my first Sunday at my new church - Miamisburg Christian Church in...Miamisburg, OH. The day started off inauspiciously, practice went decently and despite my microphone not working during the first song of the first service, everything went pretty smoothly. At the end of the first service, someone came forward at the invitation and knelt down at the stage, which I thought was pretty cool, not seeing that happen in a long time (most of the churches I've been at don't really do "come forward during invitation time" parts of the service, and I don't think MCC does much of that as well, but there is always a decision song and stuff).
Then second service started and I broke a string during the second song - which prompted me to try and figure out a way to get a new guitar without any money - when this same person who came forward last service starts walking down the front aisle again. Not during the decision time, but during a song. And all of a sudden, memories of church shootings in Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Alabama start popping in my head. According to my wife, the shooter in Alabama came forward the week before he did the shootings, because he wanted to see how close he could get to the front. So unfortunately I'm thinking all of these things, and at the same time a couple of elders must be thinking the same thing, because they come up to this man as he's kneeling at the front to talk to him a little bit.
We found out that he's a cousin of someone who goes to the church, and he was just needing some prayer and wanted to come forward to kneel and sing, which is pretty neat and all, but it's really got me thinking about what I'm afraid of. As the economy goes down the toilet, and there are more bank robberies and thefts and such, churches are not immune to desperate people who are looking for money. MCC is in the process of putting together a safety and security plan so that we are prepared for what's coming down the pike. In this world, what's the fine line between trust and making sure that complete protection is in place? I don't know, but for one moment on Sunday, I think I crossed the line.
Then second service started and I broke a string during the second song - which prompted me to try and figure out a way to get a new guitar without any money - when this same person who came forward last service starts walking down the front aisle again. Not during the decision time, but during a song. And all of a sudden, memories of church shootings in Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Alabama start popping in my head. According to my wife, the shooter in Alabama came forward the week before he did the shootings, because he wanted to see how close he could get to the front. So unfortunately I'm thinking all of these things, and at the same time a couple of elders must be thinking the same thing, because they come up to this man as he's kneeling at the front to talk to him a little bit.
We found out that he's a cousin of someone who goes to the church, and he was just needing some prayer and wanted to come forward to kneel and sing, which is pretty neat and all, but it's really got me thinking about what I'm afraid of. As the economy goes down the toilet, and there are more bank robberies and thefts and such, churches are not immune to desperate people who are looking for money. MCC is in the process of putting together a safety and security plan so that we are prepared for what's coming down the pike. In this world, what's the fine line between trust and making sure that complete protection is in place? I don't know, but for one moment on Sunday, I think I crossed the line.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Awesome...
So I decided to upgrade my blogger account, and it deleted all of my sidebar stuff. All my links...gone. Why is it that in most cases when you "upgrade", you end up angry?
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Phil Wickham
I think Phil Wickham has become my new favorite worship artist. To be honest, I had never heard of him until my friend Rochelle talked about him on her blog. And it still didn't motivate me to really listen to him until I went to the Christ in Youth Conference last summer, and the worship band did a song of Phil's called "Cannons." We started playing that song in our worship services at Life Church and it became an instant favorite.
The last few days, I've been playing Phil Wickham's CD "Singalong" constantly. I believe if you go to his website, you can still get it for free, which is awesome. The CD reminds me of what early Dashboard Confessional would have been like if Chris Carrabba was a worship artist or something. Passionate acoustic guitar playing, high male vocals, yep I think I got it pegged. Anyway, my favorites on this CD are:
Cannons (of course)
Beautiful
Jesus Lord of Heaven
Come Thou Fount
I am going to paint my new office this week, and I had an idea about what to do on the big wall. The whole office is going to be painted "Chipotle Red" (yes, the red paint you will see when you go into a Chipotle restaurant), and on that wall, I'm going to paint a blue "night sky" area with the moon and stars, and underneath will be the chorus for Cannons:
You are holy, great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I'm so unworthy, but still You love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great You are
I'll post a picture when I'm done. If it looks good, of course. :^)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Rocky Mountain News Closes Down After 150 Years
The news that The News is closing after 150 years makes me sad. It's the paper that my family had delivered to our house my first eighteen years of life. For some reason I stayed fiercely loyal to The Rocky Mountain News when I returned to Colorado and refused to look at The Denver Post.
One of my favorite stories - some say it's an urban legend - surrounds a writer of the Rocky Mountain News, along with three other Colorado newspaper writers - who fabricated a story about the Great Wall of China coming down because China wanted to increase trade with other nations. The legend states that the fallout from this false news story helped create The Boxer Rebellion, a violent movement in China in the very early 1900's that saw thousands of Christians and Christian missionaries killed. You can read about the possible uncovering of the urban legend here.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Top Five...Shows/Movies Starring Edward James Olmos
Here's another one of my silly Top Five Countdowns.
Today is Edward James Olmos' birthday - the man is 62 years old today! - and in honor of Olmos, I give you my top 5 T.V. shows and movies that feature him.
5. American Me (1992 movie)
An interesting movie about Latino gangs and what life after prison means. This movie was also directed by Olmos.
4. Miami Vice (T.V. show)
Who could forget Olmos as Lt. Martin Castillo, trying to keep Sonny and Crockett in line?
3. Stand and Deliver (1988 movie)
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In this great movie, Olmos plays Jaime Escalante, a math teacher who is a new teacher in a high school that is just barely surviving.
I actually thought about this movie this week when I had an interview with a juvenile detention facility, because I talked quite a bit about the intrinsic good in each person, and for some reason it reminded me of this movie.
2. Blade Runner (1982 movie)
This is one of my favorite sci-fi movies. I still haven't seen the director's cut, which I've heard from some circles is better than the movie that came out in the theater. I think this movie got me interested in more dark sci-fi books and movies, and this movie (directed by Ridley Scott) definitely influenced later favorite sci-fi movies of mine (Minority Report, the Matrix).
1. Battlestar Galactica (the new T.V. series)
It was hard putting Blade Runner at #2, but the new Battlestar Galactica is my favorite T.V. show - beating out Lost and 24, surprisingly. It's well-written, the acting is amazing, and it totally blew out of the water any expectations I had of it when I first watched it last year. I'm almost caught up with this season - unfortunately it's the last season it will be on - but I'm eagerly anticipating the finale, which airs in March.
Edward James Olmos' depiction of Commander Adama is amazing. His ability to see his own flaws, the way he handles difficult decisions, the way he interacts with his crew, including his only son (he had another who died in the Cylon war), it's just perfect acting.
Today is Edward James Olmos' birthday - the man is 62 years old today! - and in honor of Olmos, I give you my top 5 T.V. shows and movies that feature him.
5. American Me (1992 movie)
An interesting movie about Latino gangs and what life after prison means. This movie was also directed by Olmos.
4. Miami Vice (T.V. show)
Who could forget Olmos as Lt. Martin Castillo, trying to keep Sonny and Crockett in line?
3. Stand and Deliver (1988 movie)
.jpg)
In this great movie, Olmos plays Jaime Escalante, a math teacher who is a new teacher in a high school that is just barely surviving.
I actually thought about this movie this week when I had an interview with a juvenile detention facility, because I talked quite a bit about the intrinsic good in each person, and for some reason it reminded me of this movie.
2. Blade Runner (1982 movie)
This is one of my favorite sci-fi movies. I still haven't seen the director's cut, which I've heard from some circles is better than the movie that came out in the theater. I think this movie got me interested in more dark sci-fi books and movies, and this movie (directed by Ridley Scott) definitely influenced later favorite sci-fi movies of mine (Minority Report, the Matrix).
1. Battlestar Galactica (the new T.V. series)
It was hard putting Blade Runner at #2, but the new Battlestar Galactica is my favorite T.V. show - beating out Lost and 24, surprisingly. It's well-written, the acting is amazing, and it totally blew out of the water any expectations I had of it when I first watched it last year. I'm almost caught up with this season - unfortunately it's the last season it will be on - but I'm eagerly anticipating the finale, which airs in March.
Edward James Olmos' depiction of Commander Adama is amazing. His ability to see his own flaws, the way he handles difficult decisions, the way he interacts with his crew, including his only son (he had another who died in the Cylon war), it's just perfect acting.
Church Publishes How Cheap Their People Are
I thought this was pretty funny, from the Monday Morning Insight blog.
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What if your church put this in your weekly bulletin?
"Last Sunday, there were 661 offering envelopes turned into the offering. The denominations were as follows." Then a list showing how many people gave anywhere from the low end ($1) to the high end ($175) showing the actual breakdown is shown.
That's what St. Luke's Church in Queens, NY is doing every week.
According to a report in the NY Post, not everyone in the church likes the idea: "I don't like it," said Pat McGlinckey, 56. "It's like they're hitting below the belt to get us to give more."
"It just left a bad taste in my mouth," said a 20-year churchgoer who didn't want to be named. "What someone gives is their personal business. They shouldn't be made to feel bad that they're on the lower end of the spectrum."
More from The Post article:
Last week there were 661 donations totaling $8,527. One person stuffed an envelope with $175, while 21 parishioners gave only a single buck.
The most popular denomination offered was $5, with 196 donations. In second place were the $10 offerings, at 142.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Monsignor John Tosi, told The Post the new feature was to ensure financial transparency and not to shame parishioners into bigger offerings.
“The idea was to let them know where our money comes from and where it’s going, which is important,” Tosi said.
“We’re not embarrassing anybody, we’re not judging anybody,” he added. And if the efforts causes a parishioner to reach deeper into his pockets, “That’s not such a bad reaction, is it?”
--------
----
What if your church put this in your weekly bulletin?
"Last Sunday, there were 661 offering envelopes turned into the offering. The denominations were as follows." Then a list showing how many people gave anywhere from the low end ($1) to the high end ($175) showing the actual breakdown is shown.
That's what St. Luke's Church in Queens, NY is doing every week.
According to a report in the NY Post, not everyone in the church likes the idea: "I don't like it," said Pat McGlinckey, 56. "It's like they're hitting below the belt to get us to give more."
"It just left a bad taste in my mouth," said a 20-year churchgoer who didn't want to be named. "What someone gives is their personal business. They shouldn't be made to feel bad that they're on the lower end of the spectrum."
More from The Post article:
Last week there were 661 donations totaling $8,527. One person stuffed an envelope with $175, while 21 parishioners gave only a single buck.
The most popular denomination offered was $5, with 196 donations. In second place were the $10 offerings, at 142.
The church’s pastor, the Rev. Monsignor John Tosi, told The Post the new feature was to ensure financial transparency and not to shame parishioners into bigger offerings.
“The idea was to let them know where our money comes from and where it’s going, which is important,” Tosi said.
“We’re not embarrassing anybody, we’re not judging anybody,” he added. And if the efforts causes a parishioner to reach deeper into his pockets, “That’s not such a bad reaction, is it?”
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
The Myth Of A Christian Nation
I've been waiting to check out this book from the library for the past month and a half, but somebody had it checked out and kept renewing it...so when I saw that it was available, even though I'm reading five or six other books right now, I knew I had to get it.
And I'm glad I did. So far Greg Boyd's book has articulated very well my own frustrations with politics and Christianity.
Here are some quotes from the introduction and the first couple of chapters.
- For some evangelicals, the Kingdom of God is centered on "taking America back for God," voting for the Christian candidate, outlawing abortion, outlawing gay marriage, winning the culture war, defending political freedoms at home and abroad, keeping the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, fighting for prayer in the public schools, and fighting to keep the ten commandments in government buildings.
- Instead of providing the culture with a radically alternative way of life, we largely present it with a religious version of what it already is.
- For many in America and around the world, the American flag has smothered the glory of the cross, and the ugliness of our American version of Caesar has squelched the radiant love of Christ.
- The governments of the world seek to establish, protect and advance their ideals and agendas. By contrast, the kingdom Jesus established and modeled doesn't seek to "win" by any criteria the world would use. Rather, it seeks to be faithful.
- While all the versions of the kingdoms of the world acquire and exercise power over others, the kingdom of God advances only by exercising power under others. It expands by manifesting the power of self-sacrificial, Calvary-like love.
- In all of recorded history, only a few decades have seen no major wars - and even during these times of relative peace, much local violence existed. In the twentieth century alone, over 200 million people died as a result of war and political conflict.
- The community of those who submit to Christ's lordship are in a real sense to be Jesus to the world, for through the church Christ himself continues to expand the reign of God in the world.
- God's not primarily about getting people to pray a magical "sinner's prayer" or to confess certain magical truths as a means of escaping hell. He's not about gathering together a group who happen to believe all the right things. Rather, he's about getting together a group of people who embody the kingdom - who individually and corporately manifest the reality of the reign of God on the earth. And he's about growing this new kingdom through his body to take over the world.
- Conservative religious groups involved in the kingdom-of-the-world thinking often believe that their enemies are the liberals, the gay activists, the ACLU, the pro-choice advocates, the evolutionists, and so on. On the opposite side, liberal religious people often think that their enemies are the fundamentalists, the gay bashers, the Christian Coalition, the antiabortionists, and so on. Demonizing one's enemies is part of the tit-for-tat game of Babylon, for only by doing so can we justify our animosity, if not violence, towards them.
- Our battle is not against flesh and blood, whether they are right wing or left wing, gay or straight, pro-choice or pro-life, liberal or conservative, democratic or communist, American or Iraqi. Our battle is against the "cosmic powers" that hold these people, and all people, in bondage.
- A person may win by kingdom-of-the-world standards but lose b the standards that eternally count - the standards of the kingdom of God.
- We can possess all the right kingdom-of-the-world opinions on the planet and stand for all the right kingdom-of-the-world causes, but if we don't look like Jesus Christ carrying his cross to Golgotha - sacrificing our time, energy and resources for others - our rightness is merely religious noise.
- Jesus taught that there will be many who seem to believe right things and do religious deeds in his name, whom he will renounce, for they didn't love him by loving the homeless, the hungry, the poor and the prisoner. However right we may be, without love we are simply displaying a religious version of the world, not the kingdom of God.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Dan Kimball on the Missional/Emergent/Emerging Church
This is actually a two month old article, but I just recently read it and thought it brought up some good points.
In the last few years, my thinking about the church has changed quite a bit. I think that most of this change in thinking has been a reaction to the things I see wrong with an attractional style of church. Ironically, one of the books that really caused me to re-look at what it means to be "successful" as a church is a book by Dan Kimball called The Emerging Church.
However, this article struck a chord with me, because (1) every reaction in our lives is usually an overreaction, and as I started changing my thinking concerning attractional-minded churches and megachurches, I started painting with a large brush and started assuming that every church that uses attractional means to grow must be heading in the wrong direction; and (2) I can think of several churches that are large churches and are attracting people to their churches, people who have been "unchurched" or "dechurched" and who are being discipled rather effectively. You want some examples? Try this one. Or this one. Perhaps this one is a good example as well.
Here's the article.
-----
I hope I am wrong. For the past few years, I have been observing, listening, and asking questions about the missional movement. I have a suspicion that the missional model has not yet proven itself beyond the level of theory. Again, I hope I am wrong.
We all agree with the theory of being a community of God that defines and organizes itself around the purpose of being an agent of God's mission in the world. But the missional conversation often goes a step further by dismissing the "attractional" model of church as ineffective. Some say that creating better programs, preaching, and worship services so people "come to us" isn't going to cut it anymore. But here's my dilemma—I see no evidence to verify this claim.
Not long ago I was on a panel with other church leaders in a large city. One missional advocate in the group stated that younger people in the city will not be drawn to larger, attractional churches dominated by preaching and music. What this leader failed to recognize, however, was that young people were coming to an architecturally cool megachurch in the city—in droves. Its worship services drew thousands with pop/rock music and solid preaching. The church estimates half the young people were not Christians before attending.
Conversely, some from our staff recently visited a self-described missional church. It was 35 people. That alone is not a problem. But the church had been missional for ten years, and it hadn't grown, multiplied, or planted any other churches in a city of several million people. That was a problem.
Another outspoken advocate of the house church model sees it as more missional and congruent with the early church. But his church has the same problem. After fifteen years it hasn't multiplied. It's a wonderful community that serves the homeless, but there's no evidence of non-Christians beginning to follow Jesus. In the same city several megachurches are seeing conversions and disciples matured.
I realize missional evangelism takes a long time, and these churches are often working in difficult soil. We can't expect growth overnight.
But given their unproven track records, these missional churches should be slow to criticize the attractional churches that are making a measurable impact. No, I am not a numbers person. I am not enamored by how many come forward at an altar call. In fact, I am a bit skeptical. But I am passionate about Jesus-centered disciples being made. And surprisingly, I find in many large, attractional churches, they are.
Yes, people are attracted by the music, preaching, or children's programs, but there may be more to these large churches than simply the programming. There are also people being the body of Christ in their communities. When these disciples build relationships with non-Christians, the evidence of the Spirit in their lives is attractive. The existence of programs and buildings does not mean mature disciples are not a significant reason why these churches grow.
There are so many who don't understand the joy of Kingdom living here on earth and the future joy of eternal life. This joy motivates me missionally, but I also cannot forget the horrors of hell. This creates a sense of urgency in me that pushes me past missional theory to see what God is actually doing in churches—large and small, attractional and missional. Where are disciples actually being grown? What is actually working?
I hope there are examples of fruitful missional churches that I haven't encountered yet. I hope my perception based on my interaction with the missional movement is wrong. But for now, I would rather be part of a Christ-centered megachurch full of programs where people are coming to know Jesus as Savior, than part of a church of any size where they are not.
--------
In the last few years, my thinking about the church has changed quite a bit. I think that most of this change in thinking has been a reaction to the things I see wrong with an attractional style of church. Ironically, one of the books that really caused me to re-look at what it means to be "successful" as a church is a book by Dan Kimball called The Emerging Church.
However, this article struck a chord with me, because (1) every reaction in our lives is usually an overreaction, and as I started changing my thinking concerning attractional-minded churches and megachurches, I started painting with a large brush and started assuming that every church that uses attractional means to grow must be heading in the wrong direction; and (2) I can think of several churches that are large churches and are attracting people to their churches, people who have been "unchurched" or "dechurched" and who are being discipled rather effectively. You want some examples? Try this one. Or this one. Perhaps this one is a good example as well.
Here's the article.
-----
I hope I am wrong. For the past few years, I have been observing, listening, and asking questions about the missional movement. I have a suspicion that the missional model has not yet proven itself beyond the level of theory. Again, I hope I am wrong.
We all agree with the theory of being a community of God that defines and organizes itself around the purpose of being an agent of God's mission in the world. But the missional conversation often goes a step further by dismissing the "attractional" model of church as ineffective. Some say that creating better programs, preaching, and worship services so people "come to us" isn't going to cut it anymore. But here's my dilemma—I see no evidence to verify this claim.
Not long ago I was on a panel with other church leaders in a large city. One missional advocate in the group stated that younger people in the city will not be drawn to larger, attractional churches dominated by preaching and music. What this leader failed to recognize, however, was that young people were coming to an architecturally cool megachurch in the city—in droves. Its worship services drew thousands with pop/rock music and solid preaching. The church estimates half the young people were not Christians before attending.
Conversely, some from our staff recently visited a self-described missional church. It was 35 people. That alone is not a problem. But the church had been missional for ten years, and it hadn't grown, multiplied, or planted any other churches in a city of several million people. That was a problem.
Another outspoken advocate of the house church model sees it as more missional and congruent with the early church. But his church has the same problem. After fifteen years it hasn't multiplied. It's a wonderful community that serves the homeless, but there's no evidence of non-Christians beginning to follow Jesus. In the same city several megachurches are seeing conversions and disciples matured.
I realize missional evangelism takes a long time, and these churches are often working in difficult soil. We can't expect growth overnight.
But given their unproven track records, these missional churches should be slow to criticize the attractional churches that are making a measurable impact. No, I am not a numbers person. I am not enamored by how many come forward at an altar call. In fact, I am a bit skeptical. But I am passionate about Jesus-centered disciples being made. And surprisingly, I find in many large, attractional churches, they are.
Yes, people are attracted by the music, preaching, or children's programs, but there may be more to these large churches than simply the programming. There are also people being the body of Christ in their communities. When these disciples build relationships with non-Christians, the evidence of the Spirit in their lives is attractive. The existence of programs and buildings does not mean mature disciples are not a significant reason why these churches grow.
There are so many who don't understand the joy of Kingdom living here on earth and the future joy of eternal life. This joy motivates me missionally, but I also cannot forget the horrors of hell. This creates a sense of urgency in me that pushes me past missional theory to see what God is actually doing in churches—large and small, attractional and missional. Where are disciples actually being grown? What is actually working?
I hope there are examples of fruitful missional churches that I haven't encountered yet. I hope my perception based on my interaction with the missional movement is wrong. But for now, I would rather be part of a Christ-centered megachurch full of programs where people are coming to know Jesus as Savior, than part of a church of any size where they are not.
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Everything Belongs, Chapter One
I've been reading a lot lately - not a lot else to do - and one of the books I've started to re-read is a book by Richard Rohr called Everything Belongs. I first heard of this book when Zach Lind (of Jimmy Eat World) raved about it on his blog. Rohr is the founder of a spiritual retreat center in Albuquerque, NM (not one of my favorite places - the city, not the retreat center) and speaks at many different conferences and workshops. I consider myself a contemplative type of person, so this book has appealed to me on pretty much all levels.
Here are the quotes I wrote down from Chapter 1:
- We do not think ourselves into new ways of living. We live ourselves into new ways of thinking.
- It seems that we as Christians have been worshiping Jesus' journey instead of doing His journey.
- The gift that true contemplatives offer to themselves and society is that they know themselves as part of a much larger story, a much larger self.
- Yet true contemplatives are paradoxically risk-takers and reformists, precisely because they have no private agendas, jobs or semantics to maintain. Their security and identity are found in God, not in being right, being paid by a church, or looking for promotion in people's eyes.
- God is always bigger than the boxes we build for God, so we should not waste too much time protecting the boxes.
- If you want a litmus test for people who are living out of one's true self, that might be it: they are always free to obey, but they might also disobey the expectations of church and state to obey who-they-are-in-God.
- By contrast, probably the most obvious indication of non-centered ("ec-centric") people is that they are, frankly, very difficult to live with. Every one of their ego- boundaries must be defended, negotiated or worshiped; their reputation, their needs, their nation, their security, their religion, even their ball team. They convince themselves that these boundaries are all that they have to worry about because they are the sum-total of their identity.
- I believe that we have no real access to who we really are except in God.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Love And Sacrfiice
There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you."
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'
----
it is amazing to me how the human heart acts in some situations. we reject how others treat us based on our faults yet we do the same thing. too many are unwilling to see the compassion, love, grace and care others give to us- for what ever reason - only to find that we reject the same things in others. an expression of love is not found in words, but in actions. to say you love someone is cheap, but acting on your love you open the world- and even the possibility of spending your life with someone who loves you.
open up and experience the world in feelings.
----
(from the ginkworld.net blog)
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'
----
it is amazing to me how the human heart acts in some situations. we reject how others treat us based on our faults yet we do the same thing. too many are unwilling to see the compassion, love, grace and care others give to us- for what ever reason - only to find that we reject the same things in others. an expression of love is not found in words, but in actions. to say you love someone is cheap, but acting on your love you open the world- and even the possibility of spending your life with someone who loves you.
open up and experience the world in feelings.
----
(from the ginkworld.net blog)
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The Awe Factor Of God
Not only am I reading a couple of library books, I also - with a Borders gift card I got for Christmas - bought a book I've heard a lot of good things about called Crazy Love. It's by a pastor named Francis Chan, and so far, so good.
In the book, he tells the reader to go to a website and look at a couple of videos that bring home a couple of points he was making. The second video is very good, it's called Stop and Think. But the first video, called "The Awe Factor of God" made my jaw drop.
You can go and view it yourself. Click on this link and click on the video called The Awe Factor Of God. In this video, Chan shows the enormity of our universe. It is truly breathtaking and will hopefully make you stop and worship the enormity of a God who made it.
The Scandal of Evangelical Politics
I picked up this book in the library last week, along with "Jesus Is Not A Republican." Finished that book, and it was...interesting, to say the least.
The Scandal of Evangelical Politics is written by Ron Sider, who also wrote one of my favorite books, called Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger. This book was one of the beginning points to my interest in fighting human trafficking.
Anyway, I have only read the first chapter of Sider's book, but I thought that this part of the book was very interesting.
Evangelical pronouncements on the role of government are often contradictory. Sometimes when attacking government measures they dislike, evangelical voices use libertarian arguments that forbid almost all government programs to help the poor. ("Helping the poor is a task for individuals and churches, not the government. Government should provide a legal framework, fair courts, and police protection but then leave almost everything else to the free choice of individuals.") But when the issue changes from the poor to the family, the definition of marriage, abortion, or pornography, the same people quickly abandon libertarian arguments that maximize individual freedom. Instead they push vigorously for legislation that involves substantial government restriction of individual choices. It is possible that there are valid intellectual arguments for adopting libertarian arguments in the first case and nonlibertarian in the second. But a careful argument would have to be made. Without such argument, flipping from libertarian to nonlibertarian arguments looks confused and superficial.
Interesting. But then he goes on in the next paragraph, which I find even more interesting:
Or consider the agenda of many Christian political movements. One sees a great deal on abortion, euthanasia and the family. But hardly ever do they push for public policy to combat racism, protect the creation, or empower the poor. If it is the case that the Bible says that God cares both about the family and the poor, both about sanctity of human life and racial justice and creation, then should not evangelical political movements be promoting all these things? Does not a one-sided focus on just the issues that happen to be the favored ones of either the left or the right suggest that one's political agenda is shaped more by secular ideology than careful biblical, theological reflection?
It is because of this extreme narrow focus on political and social issues that makes me (and a bunch of other Christians) wary (and weary) of the evangelical political movement. After the scandal with Ted Haggard, there was another pastor who was chosen to be the head of the National Evangelical Association (of which Haggard was the president before) but decided to not be involved in the association after he tried unsuccessfully to get the NEA to look beyond just abortion and homosexuality as political issues and focus more on others, such as poverty. (Interestingly, this pastor writes one of the recommendations on the back of Sider's book.)
I have mentioned several times in my blog that I'm not a real political person. Part of it has to do with political ideologies being shoved in my face in college; part of it is due to my frustration with the American political system. Another part of me feels that the early Church was pretty much unconcerned about the political system of their day; their business was about the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the Roman Empire - so why should today be different? However, if there was a group of like-minded Christians who want to see the evangelical political platform expand to a more fully biblical approach and had the ability to make it happen, I would probably jump on board with both feet.
The Scandal of Evangelical Politics is written by Ron Sider, who also wrote one of my favorite books, called Rich Christians In An Age Of Hunger. This book was one of the beginning points to my interest in fighting human trafficking.
Anyway, I have only read the first chapter of Sider's book, but I thought that this part of the book was very interesting.
Evangelical pronouncements on the role of government are often contradictory. Sometimes when attacking government measures they dislike, evangelical voices use libertarian arguments that forbid almost all government programs to help the poor. ("Helping the poor is a task for individuals and churches, not the government. Government should provide a legal framework, fair courts, and police protection but then leave almost everything else to the free choice of individuals.") But when the issue changes from the poor to the family, the definition of marriage, abortion, or pornography, the same people quickly abandon libertarian arguments that maximize individual freedom. Instead they push vigorously for legislation that involves substantial government restriction of individual choices. It is possible that there are valid intellectual arguments for adopting libertarian arguments in the first case and nonlibertarian in the second. But a careful argument would have to be made. Without such argument, flipping from libertarian to nonlibertarian arguments looks confused and superficial.
Interesting. But then he goes on in the next paragraph, which I find even more interesting:
Or consider the agenda of many Christian political movements. One sees a great deal on abortion, euthanasia and the family. But hardly ever do they push for public policy to combat racism, protect the creation, or empower the poor. If it is the case that the Bible says that God cares both about the family and the poor, both about sanctity of human life and racial justice and creation, then should not evangelical political movements be promoting all these things? Does not a one-sided focus on just the issues that happen to be the favored ones of either the left or the right suggest that one's political agenda is shaped more by secular ideology than careful biblical, theological reflection?
It is because of this extreme narrow focus on political and social issues that makes me (and a bunch of other Christians) wary (and weary) of the evangelical political movement. After the scandal with Ted Haggard, there was another pastor who was chosen to be the head of the National Evangelical Association (of which Haggard was the president before) but decided to not be involved in the association after he tried unsuccessfully to get the NEA to look beyond just abortion and homosexuality as political issues and focus more on others, such as poverty. (Interestingly, this pastor writes one of the recommendations on the back of Sider's book.)
I have mentioned several times in my blog that I'm not a real political person. Part of it has to do with political ideologies being shoved in my face in college; part of it is due to my frustration with the American political system. Another part of me feels that the early Church was pretty much unconcerned about the political system of their day; their business was about the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of the Roman Empire - so why should today be different? However, if there was a group of like-minded Christians who want to see the evangelical political platform expand to a more fully biblical approach and had the ability to make it happen, I would probably jump on board with both feet.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Millard Fuller.
Millard Fuller, the millionaire entrepreneur who gave it all away to help found the Christian house-building charity Habitat for Humanity, died Tuesday. He was 74.
Fuller died about 3 a.m. after being taken to a hospital emergency room, his wife, Linda, said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Linda Fuller, in a telephone interview from the couple's home in Americus, said her husband was complaining of chest pains, headache and difficulty swallowing.
They planned to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August with a 100-house "blitz build" across the globe, she said.
"We'll probably go ahead with the 'blitz build.' Millard would not want people to mourn his death," she said. "He would be more interested in having people put on a tool belt and build a house for people in need."
One of Habitat's highest-profile volunteers, former President Jimmy Carter, called Fuller "one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known.
"He used his remarkable gifts as an entrepreneur for the benefit of millions of needy people around the world by providing them with decent housing," Carter said in a statement. "As the founder of Habitat for Humanity and later the Fuller Center, he was an inspiration to me, other members of our family and an untold number of volunteers who worked side-by-side under his leadership."
Fuller ran Habitat for Humanity with his wife for nearly three decades but lost control of the charity in a conflict with its board. When ousted in January 2005, he and his wife started The Fuller Center for Housing to raise money for Habitat affiliates.
The ouster and a subsequent relocation of the nonprofit to Atlanta "cut the heart out of Habitat," co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., and longtime friend Morris Dees told The Associated Press Tuesday.
"Like many nonprofits, though, they tend to grow beyond the founder and lose a lot of the original zeal and passion that caused it to be created in the first place," Dees said.
The son of a widower farmer in the cotton-mill town of Lanett, Ala., Fuller earned his first profit at age 6, selling a pig. While studying law at the University of Alabama, he formed a direct-marketing company with Dees focusing on selling cookbooks and candy to high school chapters of the Future Homemakers of America. That business made them millionaires before they were 30.
When Fuller's capitalist drive threatened to kill his marriage, Fuller and his wife, who wed in college, decided to sell everything and devote themselves to the Christian values they grew up with.
"I gave away about $1 million," Fuller said in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press. "I wasn't a multimillionaire; I was a poor millionaire."
The couple's search for a mission led them to Koinonia, an interracial agricultural collective outside Americus. There, with Koinonia founder Clarence Jordan, the Fullers developed the concept of building no-interest housing for the poor — an idea that eventually grew into Habitat for Humanity.
Founded in 1976, Habitat's first headquarters was a tiny gray frame house in Americus, which doubled as Fuller's law office. For the first 14 years, Fuller's salary was just $15,000; his wife worked 10 years for free.
Habitat grew to a worldwide network that has built more than 300,000 houses, providing shelter to more than 1.5 million people. Preaching the "theology of the hammer," Fuller built an army of volunteers that included former U.S. presidents, other world leaders and Hollywood celebrities.
People receiving homes from the charity are required to work on their own houses, investing what the Fullers called "sweat equity."
Fuller's works won him numerous accolades, including a 1996 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. For nearly three decades, he was the public face of Habitat, traveling the world to hammer nails and press bricks from local clay alongside some of the Earth's poorest.
Jeff Snider, executive vice president of Habitat during the early '90s, recalled Fuller as a man driven by his commitment to the destitute. Once, Snider said he suggested setting aside some of the money Fuller raised.
"He had one and only one response, which was, 'The poor, Jeff, need the money now,'" he said. "So we ran the place full tilt, on the edge all the time, and it was stressful — but he was right."
A scandal that had smoldered for years flared anew in 2004 to sully Fuller's legacy.
Habitat's international board moved to oust Fuller from his position of chief executive officer after allegations surfaced that he had sexually harassed a female staff member in 2003. The move came despite the board's conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the charge.
However, the allegations of inappropriate behavior mirrored complaints in 1990 from female staffers and volunteers that led to Fuller's yearlong exile from the organization's headquarters.
Fuller acknowledged he had kissed and hugged the women who made the 1990 complaints, but argued they had misinterpreted his actions. But he categorically denied the later charge, telling the AP in 2004 that "there's not even the tiniest element of truth in it."
President Carter intervened in both instances to prevent the board from ousting Fuller.
In 2004, Fuller reached a compromise allowing him to stay on in the largely ceremonial role of "founder and president." However, the Fullers backed out of an agreement not to discuss the situation publicly. The board voted in 2005 to oust the Fullers.
Months later, the Fullers and their supporters formed The Fuller Center for Housing, a fundraising group for charitable home-building efforts.
Fuller attributed his ouster to disagreements with the board over whether to slow the charity's growth. He argued Habitat was becoming more bureaucracy than mission.
Throughout the scandal, Fuller insisted that he did not want to do anything that would compromise Habitat's mission.
"I've always felt that this is God's work," he said. "And it's always been bigger than me, from day one."
Fuller is survived by his wife and four children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Top Five...Villains
Okay, so I'm introducing a new idea to my blog. Well, not really. I think I've done top 5 or top 10 stuff before. But this time, there's a twist. I'm going to list some things that aren't really worth listing. Because if you want a real list - you know, top 10 albums of 2002 or the top 5 best dresses worn at the Golden Globes or whatever - you can always Google (or GoodSearch, see my other blog for those details) them.
So, today I present my Top Five Villains.
For this list, I eschewed the usual villains mentioned in other lists (Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, James Bond villains, George W. Bush, etc.) and went for my own personal list. I chose these villains because of their relentless villainy during the movies they were in. Always plotting, always scheming, always bad. So here we go.
5. Chozen (played by Yuji Okumoto) in The Karate Kid Part II
I could have possibly gone with Johnny from the first Karate Kid. But I actually met the actor when I was in college, and he is a Christian and a really nice guy despite his bullying Daniel LaRusso and all. Chozen throughout this entire movie bullies, harasses and torments Daniel, all the while whining about his "disgraced honor." Destroying gardens, forcing Daniel to chop through blocks of ice, and then of course at the end where he threatens to kill Kumiko unless Daniel fights him to the death - true villainy there.
4. Warden Drumgoole (played by Donald Sutherland) in Lock Up
Kind of ironic that two movies on my list are '80's movies - if you saw my 25 random things about me on my Facebook, I kind of ripped the '80's and all - but I guess there were some pretty good movies back then. One of them was this prison movie starring Sylvester Stallone and a sadistic prison warden named Drumgoole (even the name sounds villian-ish) who wants to get revenge against Stallone for something - can't quite remember, perhaps he broke out of prison before or something? - and makes his life a living hades.
In the movie, we see the warden try to break Stallone's spirit in many different ways: hiring prison thugs to hurt him, killing a couple of Stallone's prison friends, and finally going after Stallone's wife and child. All this so that Stallone will get mad and break out of prison so that Donald Sutherland can lock him up for good, I guess? Pretty twisted.
3. Colonel William Tavington (as played by Jason Isaacs) in The Patriot
Jason Isaac's character in this movie was supposedly a real person, however it came out that Col. Tavington was not as bad as this movie portrayed him to be, which is a good thing - because if he was, we would have probably tried to wipe England off the map, not just kick them out of our country.
In The Patriot, Jason Isaacs is a cruel military leader who wants to wipe out the American rebels any way he can. He ultimately ends up killing two of Mel Gibson's sons and causing all kinds of havoc in his life. After this movie, every time I saw Jason Isaacs in another movie, I just wanted him to die. Event Horizon, even though he plays a good guy? Check. (I do have to say, Isaacs has this villain thing down pretty good. Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter, anyone?)
2. Fernand Mondago (as played by Guy Pearce) in The Count of Monte Cristo
I love Guy Pearce as an actor. My favorite movie is Memento, which stars Pearce. I think he has incredible range and does a good job of picking the right movies to act in (Memento, L.A. Confidential, The Proposition, Count of Monte Cristo, Ravenous - well, okay maybe not the last one).
His portrayal of the villain Mondago in the movie version of the classic Victor Hugo book is spot on. Betraying his best friend, marrying his best friend's girl, raising his best friend's son as his own, (to his credit, he doesn't know that his son is not his son), squandering all his money away through frivolous things, and then after finding out his best friend is alive again and being given a chance of redemption - he again tries to betray and kill his best friend. By the way, if you haven't seen this movie - and I apologize for giving away most of the story - you need to see it. Great performances by Pearce and by Jim Caviezel.
1. Archibald Cunningham (as played by Tim Roth) in Rob Roy
Slimy. Slimy. And more slimy. If you haven't seen Rob Roy, you've missed out on one of the best villain performances by a great actor (it came out the same year as Braveheart, and since sometimes in cinema viewer's minds, there can only be one movie a year on the same kind of subject; in this case Scotland's fight for independence from England, many people missed this good movie). Roth's Cunningham is a twisted, sick individual who through his own scheming ends up causing lots of problems for Robert Roy MacGregor (played by Liam Neeson). With his powder, wig and effeminate mannerisms, Cunningham looks kind of like a pansy - but once he starts swordfighting, you realize just how mad this man is.
There is a very difficult scene in this movie that involves Cunningham and Rob Roy's wife - I couldn't watch it - but it just adds to the reasons why Archibald Cunningham is my number one villain, which makes his comeuppance at the end of the movie that much sweeter.
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So, there you go. Agree? Disagree? Want to add to my list? By all means, comment!
So, today I present my Top Five Villains.
For this list, I eschewed the usual villains mentioned in other lists (Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, James Bond villains, George W. Bush, etc.) and went for my own personal list. I chose these villains because of their relentless villainy during the movies they were in. Always plotting, always scheming, always bad. So here we go.
5. Chozen (played by Yuji Okumoto) in The Karate Kid Part II
I could have possibly gone with Johnny from the first Karate Kid. But I actually met the actor when I was in college, and he is a Christian and a really nice guy despite his bullying Daniel LaRusso and all. Chozen throughout this entire movie bullies, harasses and torments Daniel, all the while whining about his "disgraced honor." Destroying gardens, forcing Daniel to chop through blocks of ice, and then of course at the end where he threatens to kill Kumiko unless Daniel fights him to the death - true villainy there.
4. Warden Drumgoole (played by Donald Sutherland) in Lock Up
Kind of ironic that two movies on my list are '80's movies - if you saw my 25 random things about me on my Facebook, I kind of ripped the '80's and all - but I guess there were some pretty good movies back then. One of them was this prison movie starring Sylvester Stallone and a sadistic prison warden named Drumgoole (even the name sounds villian-ish) who wants to get revenge against Stallone for something - can't quite remember, perhaps he broke out of prison before or something? - and makes his life a living hades.
In the movie, we see the warden try to break Stallone's spirit in many different ways: hiring prison thugs to hurt him, killing a couple of Stallone's prison friends, and finally going after Stallone's wife and child. All this so that Stallone will get mad and break out of prison so that Donald Sutherland can lock him up for good, I guess? Pretty twisted.
3. Colonel William Tavington (as played by Jason Isaacs) in The Patriot
Jason Isaac's character in this movie was supposedly a real person, however it came out that Col. Tavington was not as bad as this movie portrayed him to be, which is a good thing - because if he was, we would have probably tried to wipe England off the map, not just kick them out of our country.
In The Patriot, Jason Isaacs is a cruel military leader who wants to wipe out the American rebels any way he can. He ultimately ends up killing two of Mel Gibson's sons and causing all kinds of havoc in his life. After this movie, every time I saw Jason Isaacs in another movie, I just wanted him to die. Event Horizon, even though he plays a good guy? Check. (I do have to say, Isaacs has this villain thing down pretty good. Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter, anyone?)
2. Fernand Mondago (as played by Guy Pearce) in The Count of Monte Cristo
I love Guy Pearce as an actor. My favorite movie is Memento, which stars Pearce. I think he has incredible range and does a good job of picking the right movies to act in (Memento, L.A. Confidential, The Proposition, Count of Monte Cristo, Ravenous - well, okay maybe not the last one).
His portrayal of the villain Mondago in the movie version of the classic Victor Hugo book is spot on. Betraying his best friend, marrying his best friend's girl, raising his best friend's son as his own, (to his credit, he doesn't know that his son is not his son), squandering all his money away through frivolous things, and then after finding out his best friend is alive again and being given a chance of redemption - he again tries to betray and kill his best friend. By the way, if you haven't seen this movie - and I apologize for giving away most of the story - you need to see it. Great performances by Pearce and by Jim Caviezel.
1. Archibald Cunningham (as played by Tim Roth) in Rob Roy
Slimy. Slimy. And more slimy. If you haven't seen Rob Roy, you've missed out on one of the best villain performances by a great actor (it came out the same year as Braveheart, and since sometimes in cinema viewer's minds, there can only be one movie a year on the same kind of subject; in this case Scotland's fight for independence from England, many people missed this good movie). Roth's Cunningham is a twisted, sick individual who through his own scheming ends up causing lots of problems for Robert Roy MacGregor (played by Liam Neeson). With his powder, wig and effeminate mannerisms, Cunningham looks kind of like a pansy - but once he starts swordfighting, you realize just how mad this man is.
There is a very difficult scene in this movie that involves Cunningham and Rob Roy's wife - I couldn't watch it - but it just adds to the reasons why Archibald Cunningham is my number one villain, which makes his comeuppance at the end of the movie that much sweeter.
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So, there you go. Agree? Disagree? Want to add to my list? By all means, comment!
Ed Young on the Colbert Report
In case you missed it, last week Ed Young - who is the senior pastor of Fellowship Church, a megachurch in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area (actually in Grapevine) - was interviewed by Stephen Colbert on his show because of a series that the church recently did on sex. Pretty funny stuff, but if you are easily offended, don't watch it! (It's not that bad.)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
The Trials of Ted Haggard
For the first couple of months since we've been back, we were given free HBO as part of our dish package. Now it's costing us, so it's time to cut those channels! However, I'm glad I hadn't done that yet, because I was able to DVR a documentary called "The Trials of Ted Haggard." As HBO's website describes it:
"Once upon a time, Ted Haggard had it all: prosperity, a doting wife, five kids and a ministry that reached 30 million followers. The larger-than-life founder and pastor of Colorado's New Life Church and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, Haggard was one of the most formidable forces in America's Christian evangelical movement. But in 2006, it all fell apart. Pastor Ted admitted to "sexual immorality" and buying methamphetamines from a male prostitute, which abruptly ended his career, sending him and his family into free-fall. The bombshell not only rocked the ministry, but everyone who knew him - especially his wife and five children.
A film by Alexandra Pelosi (HBO's Emmy®-winning "Journeys with George"), THE TRIALS OF TED HAGGARD takes an intimate look at the life and hard times of the ex-minister. "
If the name Pelosi seems familiar, it is: her mother is Nancy Pelosi - speaker of the House.
Anyway, watching this documentary was hard. I grew up in Colorado, just 30 minutes north of where Ted Haggard's former church is in Colorado Springs. I had obviously heard about all the things that happened with Haggard's ministry and had tried to keep up with the story as much as possible, but since moving back to Ohio I hadn't heard much. There were many things about The Trials Of Ted Haggard that made me sad.
First, I feel sad that a man of God has done what he has done. I'm not here to debate homosexuality or drug use or any of that - yet a Christian leader (rightfully so) is held to a higher standard and the phrase "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" is definitely true in church circles.
Second, I feel sad that Christian leaders are isolated and alone in so many ways, and when they do struggle with something, they feel like they can't share it or reveal it out in the open because they will get crucified for doing so. It's like we have such high expectations of our leaders, forgetting that they're human, and because we put them on a pedestal, there is absolutely no room for failure. Several times Haggard in the documentary talked about how he felt so trapped because he knew he had a problem, but because he was a pastor of a church of 14,000 people and because he represented 30 million Christians as the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, he couldn't get out from under the pressure.
Third, I feel sad at how he and his family were treated. They had to leave their church - understandable I guess - but also had to leave the state of Colorado. I don't understand that part. He tried to get another job but couldn't find one. Here's a man who led thousands of people and I'm sure led a huge staff, but couldn't get any kind of regular job. I think the documentary said at the end that he was selling life insurance now. Thankfully, he was allowed to move back to Colorado. But still - I grieve that this man who has influenced so many lives is now friendless.
Please understand that I am in no way condoning anything that made Ted Haggard fall. However, I just think that no matter what we have done, whether we are a church leader or we are a church janitor or we are a church attender - we should be treated with dignity, respect, forgiveness and love. You could see the pain on his face when he talked about the way people treated him after the scandal, and how low he and his family felt. I hope that true restoration can take place in his life, and in the rest of his family's lives - and that people can forgive and move on.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Top 50 Church Blogs
So if you are bored with reading some of your usual blogs (not mine of course!), check out some of the blogs on this list of the top 50 Church Blogs. You can see how they determined the top 50 by scrolling down past the list.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
New U2 Song - Get On Your Boots
Interesting direction on the new CD. I like it, kind of reminds me of Achtung Baby.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Awesome. Just plain awesome.
I am possibly the only person in America who saw absolutely no live footage or coverage of the inauguration yesterday - just not interested, and that's not a political statement, it's an apolitical statement - but I did see this video, which I though was amazing.
Enjoy "Obama is Beautiful World".
Enjoy "Obama is Beautiful World".
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
More To Life Than Football And Fame
Tomorrow night, all eyes will be glued to the TV screen for the BCS Championship Bowl Game between Florida and Oklahoma. I think this has the promise of being a great game, although this kind of game in the context of a playoff would be so much better, don't you think? Perhaps then Utah would actually have a shot at being National Champion.
Anyway, in the midst of all the hoopla and media frenzy surrounding this game, stands one incredible player named Tim Tebow of Florida. I'm not a Florida fan - I really don't like their head coach (or Oklahoma's, actually, I think they're both pompous) - but the stories that have come out regarding Florida's quarterback are astounding.
The best article I've read about it comes from ESPN's Pat Forde, who talks about all the things Tebow does outside of football because he is not only a man of football, he's a man of God.
Who knows if this Heisman quarterback (who almost repeated this year) will make it to the NFL - but we do know that he will continue doing amazing things because of his faith.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
"As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God..."
Or so says Matthew Parris of the Times Online (a British newspaper) in his fascinating article.
This part interested me a lot:
Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.
It's nice to hear, after reading several books written by atheists about how toxic Christianity is to this world (which I happen to agree with, partly of course), an atheist talk about the good things that true Christianity can do to transform a heart, a family, a township, a city, a country, a continent.
Christmas with Weezer
Okay, so I know it's past Christmas which means most Christmas trees are down and the decorations are put away and Christmas music shouldn't be discussed anymore, especially since Christmas starts on the radio way too early - but I just found out that one of my favorite bands, Weezer, also put out a Christmas album this past year. I don't know where I was when the news came out! I am downloading it right now from amazon.com - this has been a good year for new Christmas renditions, with the Violet Burning and Dustin Kensrue (from Thrice) putting out new Christmas stuff.
Monday, January 05, 2009
U2 New Album Coming Soon!
I'm a huge U2 fan, and I was excited to hear Q Magazine's Report on the new album. It sounds like it could be one of their best yet! I loved All You Can't Leave Behind, and I liked How To Dismantle...quite a bit (not as much though), but I'm excited to see the results of this one.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Proverbs Experiment: Day Thirty-One
So, here it is - the last day of my Proverbs Experiment. I enjoyed it, although it was tough at the end thinking of new things to write about. It seems like there are several repetitive themes in Proverbs - foolish vs. wise, laziness, don't oppress people, etc.
The last chapter of Proverbs are the sayings of King Lemuel. Whoever that is.
Proverbs Chapter 31:
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (vs. 8-9)
Two of my favorite verses these days. Actually, I first learned these verses several years ago when I became involved in praying for the persecuted church. I believe that these verses were some of the main verses for Voice of the Martyrs. Now that I'm focusing on human trafficking, these verses are used frequently as well.
Tonight I had the privilege of leading worship for a New Year event that my friend Seth had for his high school and jr. high students. First, it was great to lead worship again with some people who were on my worship team for several years here in Ohio. It was fun to be together again, and we all decided we needed to do it more often.
I also had the opportunity to talk a little bit about my passion, and I left some information about Love 146 and Rapha House on a table for students to pick up. I knew that some of Seth's students went to CIY this summer and saw the same video I did that inspired me to do something. I had a great conversation with a girl who actually put together a fundraiser for Rapha House with her former student ministry, which is really great. I got her information, so now I have at least one other person who is excited to make a difference in this area. I told her that I was thinking about putting together a non-profit organization whose goal is to raise awareness among high school and college students about human trafficking, starting here in Ohio, and she got really excited. So now there are two of us who want to speak up "for those who are perishing" due to human trafficking.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. (vs. 30)
The last part of this verse reminds me of several women who are very strong in the Lord and have inspired me with their passion for God. Some of them are in the anti-human trafficking arena - Stephanie from Rapha House, Kathy with Love146, and Allison in Illinois. Some of them are friends here in Ohio - Rochelle, Cathy, Tammie and more. I also think of my past youth coaches who were mostly moms who helped so much in my student ministries. Thanks to all of you for your inspiration!
The last chapter of Proverbs are the sayings of King Lemuel. Whoever that is.
Proverbs Chapter 31:
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (vs. 8-9)
Two of my favorite verses these days. Actually, I first learned these verses several years ago when I became involved in praying for the persecuted church. I believe that these verses were some of the main verses for Voice of the Martyrs. Now that I'm focusing on human trafficking, these verses are used frequently as well.
Tonight I had the privilege of leading worship for a New Year event that my friend Seth had for his high school and jr. high students. First, it was great to lead worship again with some people who were on my worship team for several years here in Ohio. It was fun to be together again, and we all decided we needed to do it more often.
I also had the opportunity to talk a little bit about my passion, and I left some information about Love 146 and Rapha House on a table for students to pick up. I knew that some of Seth's students went to CIY this summer and saw the same video I did that inspired me to do something. I had a great conversation with a girl who actually put together a fundraiser for Rapha House with her former student ministry, which is really great. I got her information, so now I have at least one other person who is excited to make a difference in this area. I told her that I was thinking about putting together a non-profit organization whose goal is to raise awareness among high school and college students about human trafficking, starting here in Ohio, and she got really excited. So now there are two of us who want to speak up "for those who are perishing" due to human trafficking.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. (vs. 30)
The last part of this verse reminds me of several women who are very strong in the Lord and have inspired me with their passion for God. Some of them are in the anti-human trafficking arena - Stephanie from Rapha House, Kathy with Love146, and Allison in Illinois. Some of them are friends here in Ohio - Rochelle, Cathy, Tammie and more. I also think of my past youth coaches who were mostly moms who helped so much in my student ministries. Thanks to all of you for your inspiration!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Proverbs Experiment: Day Thirty
Now we move out of the proverbs attributed to Solomon and into proverbs by two other men: Agur son of Jakeh, and King Lemuel. Today, we look at Agur.
Proverbs Chapter 30:
Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. (vs. 5)
Hmm, these are interesting already. They don't feel like they belong in the book of Proverbs; or actually, they feel more like the early proverbs rather than the last several chapters of one verse proverbs.
Every word of God proves true - Every once in awhile, I have a time of deep doubt in Christianity, in God, in the church. I have to admit that a lot of times the spark of this doubt is something that happens in the church that makes me cringe or that has hurt me. I have a hard time accepting the above verse, because there are many different interpretations of what God's word really says about certain things, and you have to wade through all the muck of denominationalism and theology and the like to really know what God intended in His word.
Verse 5 does kind of reassure me, however - because if every word of God proves true, and I can believe that, then that means that the promises of God are true, and there are some great promises to us if we continue to press on and hope.
O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name. (vs. 7-9)
I'm really liking this guy. The first favor that he asks of God reminds me of the fable concerning George Washington, when he chopped down the cherry tree and said, "I cannot tell a lie." The second one is a great prayer to pray, I think. I like that he asked for just enough to satisfy his needs, not his wants. In our culture today, wants and needs can be pretty subjective. I may want a car, but do I really need a car? And if I need a car, does it need to be a Hummer, or is that a want? (seems kind of obvious to me)
Never slander a person to his employer. If you do, the person will curse you, and you will pay for it. (vs. 10)
Does this include slandering a person to a possible employer? Because I had that happen a couple of times. When I was looking for a ministry position, I almost lost two possible jobs because a former employer slandered me. At one point, I had actually thought of suing this person because he could have cost me employment (one church I turned down; I ended up working for the other church). But I decided not to, especially because I was able to refute what he had told them.
There are three things that amaze me - no, four things I do not understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman. (vs. 18-19)
I'm glad he didn't say "when a man loves a woman."
"I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman."
"I celebrate the man's entire catalog."
Yeah, I'm in a goofy mood today. This isn't going well.
Proverbs Chapter 30:
Every word of God proves true. He defends all who come to him for protection. (vs. 5)
Hmm, these are interesting already. They don't feel like they belong in the book of Proverbs; or actually, they feel more like the early proverbs rather than the last several chapters of one verse proverbs.
Every word of God proves true - Every once in awhile, I have a time of deep doubt in Christianity, in God, in the church. I have to admit that a lot of times the spark of this doubt is something that happens in the church that makes me cringe or that has hurt me. I have a hard time accepting the above verse, because there are many different interpretations of what God's word really says about certain things, and you have to wade through all the muck of denominationalism and theology and the like to really know what God intended in His word.
Verse 5 does kind of reassure me, however - because if every word of God proves true, and I can believe that, then that means that the promises of God are true, and there are some great promises to us if we continue to press on and hope.
O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name. (vs. 7-9)
I'm really liking this guy. The first favor that he asks of God reminds me of the fable concerning George Washington, when he chopped down the cherry tree and said, "I cannot tell a lie." The second one is a great prayer to pray, I think. I like that he asked for just enough to satisfy his needs, not his wants. In our culture today, wants and needs can be pretty subjective. I may want a car, but do I really need a car? And if I need a car, does it need to be a Hummer, or is that a want? (seems kind of obvious to me)
Never slander a person to his employer. If you do, the person will curse you, and you will pay for it. (vs. 10)
Does this include slandering a person to a possible employer? Because I had that happen a couple of times. When I was looking for a ministry position, I almost lost two possible jobs because a former employer slandered me. At one point, I had actually thought of suing this person because he could have cost me employment (one church I turned down; I ended up working for the other church). But I decided not to, especially because I was able to refute what he had told them.
There are three things that amaze me - no, four things I do not understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman. (vs. 18-19)
I'm glad he didn't say "when a man loves a woman."
"I'll be honest with you, I love his music, I do, I'm a Michael Bolton fan. For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman."
"I celebrate the man's entire catalog."
Yeah, I'm in a goofy mood today. This isn't going well.
Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Nine
I had an excuse yesterday, my internet access was down - just got back up an hour ago.
Proverbs Chapter 29:
Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair. (vs. 1)
Wow, is this a true statement. I think sometimes it takes others to see the weaknesses in ourselves. It's hard to hear from other people what those weaknesses are, but if we truly believe that there is something to be learned from criticism, we will grow from it and will hopefully turn those weaknesses into strengths. If we don't accept criticism, those weaknesses in our life may get too big and irreparable. Therefore, even if a criticism seems picky or little, it's good to face the criticism now and see what needs to be fixed now, before it's too late.
There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. (vs. 20)
This is where I'm glad that I'm an internal processor, rather than an external processor. Someone who processes information internally thinks through options and responses before saying something. Someone who processes information externally uses their words to help them process options and responses. And external thinker is usually pretty popular in staff meetings and committees, because it seems like they are more involved and engaged in the conversation. We internal thinkers can be viewed as aloof or disinterested, but that's not the case: we are simply taking in all the information given and thinking through everything before responding.
Of course, I'm sure the above proverb has nothing to do with staff meetings or the like - but being an internal thinker does have its advantages sometimes!
Proverbs Chapter 29:
Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair. (vs. 1)
Wow, is this a true statement. I think sometimes it takes others to see the weaknesses in ourselves. It's hard to hear from other people what those weaknesses are, but if we truly believe that there is something to be learned from criticism, we will grow from it and will hopefully turn those weaknesses into strengths. If we don't accept criticism, those weaknesses in our life may get too big and irreparable. Therefore, even if a criticism seems picky or little, it's good to face the criticism now and see what needs to be fixed now, before it's too late.
There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. (vs. 20)
This is where I'm glad that I'm an internal processor, rather than an external processor. Someone who processes information internally thinks through options and responses before saying something. Someone who processes information externally uses their words to help them process options and responses. And external thinker is usually pretty popular in staff meetings and committees, because it seems like they are more involved and engaged in the conversation. We internal thinkers can be viewed as aloof or disinterested, but that's not the case: we are simply taking in all the information given and thinking through everything before responding.
Of course, I'm sure the above proverb has nothing to do with staff meetings or the like - but being an internal thinker does have its advantages sometimes!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Eight
Nearing the end...
Proverbs Chapter 28:
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability. (vs. 2)
I used to get Time magazine - dropped it because it's not a necessary item - thankfully, my father-in-law gets it, and when they came to visit us for Christmas, he left a few of them. One of my favorite issues every year is the "List" issue. This year's list issue included the top 10 scandals this year. There were some celebrity ones of course, but the ones that always intrigue me the most are the political scandals. Two that were mentioned were the Eliot Spitzer "madame escort" scandal that cost the New York governor his job; and the one that has hit the news quite a bit lately, with the governor of Illinois trying to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, in Illinois, I guess this isn't a new thing with governors; the one before the present one had a staff full of corruption and problems.
Some people may say that morality doesn't have anything to do with legislative or governor ability, but according to this verse, it does.
Young people who obey the law are wise; those who seek out worthless companions bring shame to their parents. (vs. 7)
This proverb reminds me of all the athletes that have been in the news this last year - Michael Vick, Cedric Benson (surprisingly, the Bengals picked him up - okay, no surprise there), Pacman Jones, and now Plaxico Burress - because of incredibly stupid decisions. One of the problems with these athletes is that they have surrounded themselves with people who they think are their friends, but really they are just leeches who either want to get their money, or they may be childhood friends who continue to drag their friend down with them. The companions that some of these guys hang out with are most certainly worthless, and I'm sure that when the athlete gets in trouble, their "friends" abandon ship and find someone else to feed off of.
When the wicked take charge, people hide. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly multiply. (vs. 28)
I just read a story about a man who escaped one of North Korea's prison camps - supposedly, he has been the only one who has escaped and live to tell about it. There are thousands of North Koreans who have fled their country into China and South Korea because of the wickedness of their government. This man, who now lives in South Korea, was born in a prison camp, watched his mother die by hanging, had one of his fingers cut off because he dropped a sewing machine at age 14, and has burns all over his body by being tortured. He has no money, his refugee money from South Korea has run out. He has printed something like 5000 copies of his story, about 500 have sold. He doesn't understand what it means to be loved or have goals in his life or anything. I just don't understand how this kind of stuff happens in our world today. As we become more and more "civilized," it looks like the world is becoming more and more cruel.
Proverbs Chapter 28:
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily. But with wise and knowledgeable leaders, there is stability. (vs. 2)
I used to get Time magazine - dropped it because it's not a necessary item - thankfully, my father-in-law gets it, and when they came to visit us for Christmas, he left a few of them. One of my favorite issues every year is the "List" issue. This year's list issue included the top 10 scandals this year. There were some celebrity ones of course, but the ones that always intrigue me the most are the political scandals. Two that were mentioned were the Eliot Spitzer "madame escort" scandal that cost the New York governor his job; and the one that has hit the news quite a bit lately, with the governor of Illinois trying to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, in Illinois, I guess this isn't a new thing with governors; the one before the present one had a staff full of corruption and problems.
Some people may say that morality doesn't have anything to do with legislative or governor ability, but according to this verse, it does.
Young people who obey the law are wise; those who seek out worthless companions bring shame to their parents. (vs. 7)
This proverb reminds me of all the athletes that have been in the news this last year - Michael Vick, Cedric Benson (surprisingly, the Bengals picked him up - okay, no surprise there), Pacman Jones, and now Plaxico Burress - because of incredibly stupid decisions. One of the problems with these athletes is that they have surrounded themselves with people who they think are their friends, but really they are just leeches who either want to get their money, or they may be childhood friends who continue to drag their friend down with them. The companions that some of these guys hang out with are most certainly worthless, and I'm sure that when the athlete gets in trouble, their "friends" abandon ship and find someone else to feed off of.
When the wicked take charge, people hide. When the wicked meet disaster, the godly multiply. (vs. 28)
I just read a story about a man who escaped one of North Korea's prison camps - supposedly, he has been the only one who has escaped and live to tell about it. There are thousands of North Koreans who have fled their country into China and South Korea because of the wickedness of their government. This man, who now lives in South Korea, was born in a prison camp, watched his mother die by hanging, had one of his fingers cut off because he dropped a sewing machine at age 14, and has burns all over his body by being tortured. He has no money, his refugee money from South Korea has run out. He has printed something like 5000 copies of his story, about 500 have sold. He doesn't understand what it means to be loved or have goals in his life or anything. I just don't understand how this kind of stuff happens in our world today. As we become more and more "civilized," it looks like the world is becoming more and more cruel.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Seven
Proverbs Chapter 27:
Don't praise yourself; let others do it! (vs. 2)
This verse is interesting to me, because I live in a constant paradox when it comes to praise. I think that out of the "love languages" that Gary Chapman talks about in his book, the "regular praise" is the one that I most identify with. For some reason, I crave the encouragement of my wife, and even of my daughter. But at the same time, I have a hard time accepting praise - at church, when someone tells me I did a good job leading worship, or for example on my last day in Colorado, when I had to stand up in front and have the lead pastor say all kinds of good things about me and then after service with the many people who came up and told me how much they appreciated my ministry. It's strange, isn't it? I don't think I'm bad in the "praise yourself" category though. The only one I really brag about when I think I do something well is my wife.
If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse! (vs. 14)
Since I don't get up early in the morning, this one isn't too hard for me. But on those occasions that I do have to get up early, I totally agree with this proverb. I will probably seem to be grumpy for the first couple of hours, so if you greet me cheerfully, I may not return the favor. But don't worry, I'll warm up after some time!
As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend. (vs. 17)
Had to include this one, since it's one of the most well-known proverbs. This verse reminds me of a song on one of my favorite CDs, which is The Fires Of Life by Cool Hand Luke. This is what the song (called Friendly Jas) says:
It was a blessed day--
The day that I met you
Though at the time
I didn’t have a clue
As iron sharpens iron so does one man another
And that’s what God intended us to do (Psalm 27:17)
Flowers fall and seasons change (Isaiah 40:8)
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new, you’ve left your seat (I Samuel 20:18)
The time has come to go in peace (I Samuel 20:42)
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond (I Samuel 20:36)
I thank my God for every (Philippians 1:3)
Memory of you
The lessons learned and
The way the Spirit moved
I remember hearing “church is more than just a building”
I remember when we proved it true
Flowers fall and seasons change
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new; you’ve left your seat
The time has come to go in peace
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond
That day, I could have stared at the ocean forever
With a song for every grain beneath my feet
We were so young and brilliantly naïve
To the joy and the pain and the days that we would see
Everything has changed
But our hope remains the same
I want you to know that I’ll be here
Through a hundred years of rain
Together we run into what we do not know
Trusting our God who made tomorrow
--
It's hard to find that quality of a friendship - I've had only one in my life and miss it - but it's definitely worth the hard work and time to develop a friendship like it.
Don't praise yourself; let others do it! (vs. 2)
This verse is interesting to me, because I live in a constant paradox when it comes to praise. I think that out of the "love languages" that Gary Chapman talks about in his book, the "regular praise" is the one that I most identify with. For some reason, I crave the encouragement of my wife, and even of my daughter. But at the same time, I have a hard time accepting praise - at church, when someone tells me I did a good job leading worship, or for example on my last day in Colorado, when I had to stand up in front and have the lead pastor say all kinds of good things about me and then after service with the many people who came up and told me how much they appreciated my ministry. It's strange, isn't it? I don't think I'm bad in the "praise yourself" category though. The only one I really brag about when I think I do something well is my wife.
If you shout a pleasant greeting to your neighbor too early in the morning, it will be counted as a curse! (vs. 14)
Since I don't get up early in the morning, this one isn't too hard for me. But on those occasions that I do have to get up early, I totally agree with this proverb. I will probably seem to be grumpy for the first couple of hours, so if you greet me cheerfully, I may not return the favor. But don't worry, I'll warm up after some time!
As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend. (vs. 17)
Had to include this one, since it's one of the most well-known proverbs. This verse reminds me of a song on one of my favorite CDs, which is The Fires Of Life by Cool Hand Luke. This is what the song (called Friendly Jas) says:
It was a blessed day--
The day that I met you
Though at the time
I didn’t have a clue
As iron sharpens iron so does one man another
And that’s what God intended us to do (Psalm 27:17)
Flowers fall and seasons change (Isaiah 40:8)
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new, you’ve left your seat (I Samuel 20:18)
The time has come to go in peace (I Samuel 20:42)
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond (I Samuel 20:36)
I thank my God for every (Philippians 1:3)
Memory of you
The lessons learned and
The way the Spirit moved
I remember hearing “church is more than just a building”
I remember when we proved it true
Flowers fall and seasons change
And you know how we treat the rain
In times of drought we pray it comes
And when it falls we turn and run
The moon is new; you’ve left your seat
The time has come to go in peace
With my own hand the bow was strung
The arrow shot now falls beyond
That day, I could have stared at the ocean forever
With a song for every grain beneath my feet
We were so young and brilliantly naïve
To the joy and the pain and the days that we would see
Everything has changed
But our hope remains the same
I want you to know that I’ll be here
Through a hundred years of rain
Together we run into what we do not know
Trusting our God who made tomorrow
--
It's hard to find that quality of a friendship - I've had only one in my life and miss it - but it's definitely worth the hard work and time to develop a friendship like it.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Proverbs Experiment: Day Twenty-Six
Proverbs Chapter Twenty-Six:
An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots recklessly. (vs. 10)
Which is why employers are so stinkin' careful and deliberate when hiring someone, right? Hopefully I'm the "top fool" out there!
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. (vs. 11)
I will always remember this verse because of my friend in high school. At my home church, we used to have Sunday night services, something rather typical my age and older (nowadays, does any church still do that Sunday night service where you invite a missionary you support or someone from the congregation to talk, or basically anything else you could think of that was different from Sunday morning?) - and one time one of my friends was invited to give the short talk before prayer time, I believe. He said that he was trying to find a good verse to bring to the church that night, but he kept on thinking about the verse above and so he used it. Let's just say that people laughed and I'm sure those who were there never heard that verse mentioned in church again!
Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot. (vs. 23)
This reminds me of where we get our word "sincere". Back in biblical days, an honest potter would let the imperfections in his/her pottery show rather than covering them up. They would then stamp the words "sin cera", or "without wax" on the pot, to let everyone know that they did not use wax to fill the cracks. I think if you're a person who always uses smooth words, but you're actually not a very good person - at some point you're going to slip up and people will see your true intentions and who you really are.
An employer who hires a fool or a bystander is like an archer who shoots recklessly. (vs. 10)
Which is why employers are so stinkin' careful and deliberate when hiring someone, right? Hopefully I'm the "top fool" out there!
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. (vs. 11)
I will always remember this verse because of my friend in high school. At my home church, we used to have Sunday night services, something rather typical my age and older (nowadays, does any church still do that Sunday night service where you invite a missionary you support or someone from the congregation to talk, or basically anything else you could think of that was different from Sunday morning?) - and one time one of my friends was invited to give the short talk before prayer time, I believe. He said that he was trying to find a good verse to bring to the church that night, but he kept on thinking about the verse above and so he used it. Let's just say that people laughed and I'm sure those who were there never heard that verse mentioned in church again!
Smooth words may hide a wicked heart, just as a pretty glaze covers a common clay pot. (vs. 23)
This reminds me of where we get our word "sincere". Back in biblical days, an honest potter would let the imperfections in his/her pottery show rather than covering them up. They would then stamp the words "sin cera", or "without wax" on the pot, to let everyone know that they did not use wax to fill the cracks. I think if you're a person who always uses smooth words, but you're actually not a very good person - at some point you're going to slip up and people will see your true intentions and who you really are.
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