In the News

Never before have I posted on current issues in society. I tend to avoid these conversations because my lack of knowledge. But a larger reason is that it tends to aggressively divide people. You agree with me and we are on a "team." You disagree and we are on competing or opposite "teams." I don't write this stuff to argue or divide but to share. Feel free to share back at me or feel free to wait until I post again.

These thoughts aren't exhaustive...

Gas prices- I paid $3.25 a gallon today and felt proud. The receipt is taped to my windshield and I took a photo of the price with my phone (not true). Of course I am glad to see gas prices go down but what I appreciated about the increase was that it caused people to re-evaluate their lives. More carpooling, more efficient cars, less pollution, etc. When you drive around look at how many people are driving by themselves. Over 90% of the time it is just me in my car with my bike in the backseat. I know $4.00 is a lot for a gallon of gas but what about the value of people and the environment? If you want to know where I stand on the whole global warming issue it is...I don't know. I saw Gore's documentary and have read the counter arguments. Was it good propoganda? Was it a hot button issue to swing votes? Maybe. But what it comes down to is that a lot (not all) of the suggestions for stopping global warming are just good. Whether or not global warminig is actually happening the choices to burn less fuel and cut back on consumption are part of being good stewards of God's earth.

The United States Economy- So 2 months ago I opened up an IRA. (Yeah, I don't have a career and am thinking about retirement :) ) One of my friends casually called this "conservative." I called it being a good steward of what is given to me. If that makes me conservative than o.k. I'm not hoarding money to have a nice nest egg so I can retire early and live in Florida. This isn't a control move based on worry and anxiety. Rather, I want to make practical steps to better my future. Just like I made practical steps by going to college, traveling to Scotland, going to Seminary, taking a shower this morning, brushing my teeth, and by not eating hotdogs. Back to the IRA...I haven't looked but know my money is disappearing. The economy is in shambles but what I love is that the economy of God isn't.

Voting- I have wanted to write a post on voting for a long time. Hopefully it will happen before the election. All I'm going to ask is, "what are you hoping for?" "What are your expectations?" I strongly believe that we need to consider how much we have invested into the United States political process.

Going to Church in Congo

Another post about my trip is up at Hope for Congo. Here's an excerpt:

Inside, there were wood benches mostly, but we were sat in the second and third rows, in mismatched plastic, patio chairs. The pastor and other church leaders greeted us with handshakes. As they shook our hands they touched their forearms with their opposite hands, a gesture of respect. I took my seat in a baby blue armchair. The floor was dirt. I studied the ants climbing up and down the wall near a beam supporting the tin roof overhead. The sunlight slipped between the top of the wall and the roof.

I thought about the sanctuary of my church back home. It is a new building, and I had heard it once described as a “fully controlled sound and light environment.” Here, muffler-less cars grumbled past in the street behind us. Drums and cymbals carried across the street from what I presumed to be another church. The bed sheets looked like sails as the air pressure vacillated in and out of this space.

Read more at Hope for Congo blog.

Get Some Fresh Air

I am spoiled because my job requires me to work outside. I just want to challenge you to go outside today because it is beautiful. Don't go into your house right away when you get back from work. Take a walk around the block. Or spend a few moments extra in creation before you hunker down this evening.

If you don't live in the Chicago area you won't get to enjoy our great weather. But nevertheless, go outside today, and enjoy.

My Love Life

Let's get personal, shall we? I went to a wedding this weekend and the conversation at the reception turned to relationships and dating. After some jokes and general ribbing I was asked about my "love life." So here is an update on love in my life.

I love family, friends, good health, school, soccer, laughter, sleeping, quietness, the country, the city, books, used books, church, music, bananas, cereal, reunions, comebacks, free music, shared meals, Denison Witmer, Mr. Potato Head, worship, dreams, suspenders, concerts, conversation, bicycles, monkeys, pens that write smooth, brown sweaters, the smell of rain, running, sports, God, photography, my blanket on my bed, big trees with lots of leaves, jokes, stories, light blue tuxedos, hiking, talcum powder, Mom's Sunday roast, comics, caramel candy, Necco wafers, traveling, phone calls from friends and family, Sleeping at Last, warm showers, drinking water, good music, long yawns, candles, Sunday afternoon naps, orchestras, plays, gardens, the Pittsburgh Pirates, change, stability, good ol Baptist hymns, Scotland, fireflies, miracles, testimonies, the Bible, red circles, kids, old people, good beverages, Cool Hand Luke, memories, Jesus, Pittsburgh Steelers,

and people who read this entire list.

In Congo for the First Time

I'm blogging about my first-time experience in Congo over at Hope for Congo. Thanks for clicking through to read it there. Here's a teaser:

Debarking the plane at the airport in Kinshasa spilled us onto the tarmac. The sun was hot here, just south of the equator. The concrete was brown with oil and grease. I wondered if it was sticking to the bottom of my sandals. We followed the other passengers toward a building marked “Aeroport de Ndjili.” We formed two lines at the doors. Uniformed officer were reviewing passports and yellow cards. Unlike the States, diseases like malaria, yellow fever, and typhoid are realistic dangers. We had to show that we had taken precautions. They handed our papers back and stepped aside to allow us up the three steps into the building. Inside out of the sun, we stood in a second line in front of what looked like an old-fashioned theater box office, wooden with a plate of glass and a slot for papers (and cash, if it came to that). Behind it were the immigration officers. At that point, the first set of officers seemed to have no clear purpose, quite unnecessary in fact.

Read more.

Whoops

The title of this post is the first word to my mind when I finished the 5k. I think a combination of adrenaline, rest, and good preparation helped me beat my goal time.

Thanks to Adam for doing the bragging that I don't feel comfortable doing (see post below). Which got me thinking about my difficulty accepting praise. We place a high value on receiving a compliment and shrugging it off like it was no big thing. Whenever we receive praise instead of affirming it for what it is we like to skirt the matter and move on. It is like there is added value in being able to say "thank-you for the recognition but it's not necessary." So with that in mind thanks to all those people who affirmed my race. I appreciate it.

4th Place

Forget 18:00 minutes. Forget 6-minute miles. How about

16:05, Baby!!

Props to Mike!

A Friend(ly) Man Crush

Tell me if you get the logic behind the photo after reading the post. It is a deep and random connection in my head. (Hint:think music)

Months back Adam wrote a post about man crushes. I don't quite have a list (or at least one that I am willing to share publicly) but will jump off the definition he made.

man crush \man krəsh\ n. 1. a feeling of excessive admiration or nonsexual attraction toward a fellow male who embodies many of one’s ideals 2. a desire to imitate the character, skills, or beliefs of another male 3. a strong identification with the values, priorities, or public image of a male figure. The object of a man crush is usually not personally known by the subject.

My man crushes are on anyone who I admire and enjoy being with (I shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition). So truth told I have man crushes on all of my friends. That’s right; I wrote it.

My friends all have characteristics, skills, and beliefs I identify with. The people significant and close are the ones I value the most. We spend time together not out of obligation but because I want to hang out with them. We spend time together because they have an ethos and personality that compels me to giving my self back to them in friendship.

I’m not trying to make a philosophy or hard and fast rule out of friendship. In the 4^th grade when my sister had friends who couldn’t get a long. So she had to spend one recess with one group of friends and the other recess with the other group of friends. (It sounds goofy and it is, but if you knew my sister you would want to hang out with her that bad too!) Any contract takes the joy and authenticity out of life.

This isn't a contract but a truth; I love hanging out with people who bring me closer to God.

This doesn’t mean they are talking 24/7 about Jesus, the church, and theology. Instead just by being in their presence I’m reminded that God works through people to bring glory.

It might be a friend with a lot of energy that reminds me how God is active.

Or a friend who is always empathetic that reminds me how God feels our pain.

Or a friend who sings to remind me that God places a song in our heart.

Or a friend who is challenging my cemented convictions to remind me that God is always radical and new.

Or a friend who loves the homeless to remind me that God cares for the poor.

It’s just good to have friends!

My Math is Bad

Photo's aren't uploading today so use your imagination!

This is an update on an earlier post regarding my 5k happening this Saturday. My cousin kindly reminded me that if I plan on running a 18:00 I need to average a 5:48 mile pace. So I'm not necessarily changing my goal but I won't be too hard on myself if I run closer to 18:38 (which is a six minute pace). Still 18:00 would be pretty nice!

9 things I learned in Congo

More later. For now, briefly.

1. The Simpsons don't lie. The toilet does flush in the opposite direction south of the equator.

2. Mistrust drains more time, more energy, and more resources than trust does.

3. The Graber family inherited its loud conversations and love for life from the Congolese.

4. The Congolese dress well.

5. I love efficiency, order, and getting things done. It's modern, it's American, and I'm okay with that.

6. I don't care who the next president will be, I'm thankful to live in the U.S.

7. Chaos is not beautiful.

8. Skol is made in Kananga, Congo.

9. There are others out there taking good into their own hands.

Writing Just Because

Sorry about the hiatus, it gets hard to write consistently. I'm honestly just sitting here looking at this screen trying to think of something to write about.

Well I could tell you what going on in my life (see photo). That is easy because it is just information and I don't have to reflect on anything.

I'm getting ready to do a canoe trip tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that.

A friend has a pig roast tomorrow night too, should be fun. Yep.

There's a pretty kicking concert in Wheaton tonight with Derek Webb, Sara Groves, Charlie Peacock. If you have the evening free I would suggest that.

If anyone wants to watch some soccer on Sunday I'm playing in Naperville. We would love to have some fans.

Ummm....football season is into full swing and my fantasy teams stink, like always.

What else is going on? Thanks for asking. My phone was dead the last two days and I powerwashed a deck.

I'm getting ready for that 5k next Saturday if anyone wants to come and run with me.

Classes are starting up soon. Last year, sweeeeet!

Work at the Ropes Course is still keeping me on my toes. It's a pretty random but fun job.

I have found a new passion for oatmeal with honey.

And that's all I got. Peace

New Poll

Since Adam is gone in the Congo I put up a new poll just for when he gets back. He returns in 7 days so vote often!

101 Goals in 1001 Days

My brother-in-law Eric is writing a blog about his task to complete 101 goal in 1001 days! On Labor Day we went canoeing together and ran into a bit of trouble. It is all prep for our big canoe trip next summer when we are going from Aurora to St. Louis.

Why I'm Going to Congo

Shortly after my dad returned from Congo last year, we met up at Qdoba on our lunch hours. He’d spent two weeks in Congo, after leaving when he was 13. He told me stories about their trip. The old, six-passenger Land Cruiser that carried 10 and broke down after traversing a temporary lagoon that had covered the rutted dirt “road.” They’d slept overnight in bandit territory. My mother and aunt had felt like they were Princess Di, surrounded as they were by African children reaching out to touch them. They’d been given Tshiluban names by the Congolese the same way my father had received one when he was born. On this trip, my father had met the son of his own namesake, Chief Baditu. The runways were made of dirt, and those that weren’t had no lines painted on them. The stories went on.

I added these to the stories I heard growing up. Between two tribes, ready to do battle, spears, bows, and shields in hand, my grandfather walked out and called them to make peace. Along with my grandmother and their youngest daughter, he’d been captured by the revolutionary Simbas and later evacuated in a U.N. helicopter.

“When are you going back?” I asked. My dad’s eyes sparkled, the way they do when he’s consumed with the idea at hand. The way he talked, I knew this trip was the first, not the last.

“Maybe a year from now. We saw too much not to be involved, not to invest and provide them with resources. It gives them hope.”

“I’m going with you.” I said. I’d resolved in my own mind that if he went again, I would not be left out.

“Okay,” he laughed. “I’m ready. I’d go back tomorrow.”

A now tomorrow is here.

There are a lot of reasons I’m going on this trip, selfish and unselfish, small and big. I’m going because I want to travel and see the world. I’m going to experience a foreign culture, and to experience the culture shock of returning to the United States. I’m going to see the remnants of the place where my father grew up, a place that shaped him. I’m going to understand him a little bit more, and maybe, so also, myself. There are other reasons too.

Changing others: I’m a dreamer and an idealist, which go together, I suppose. Because of that, I bought into a very grand plan. It was called “changing the world.” It’s a noble idea, but I’ve decided that it’s also a sham. No one can change the world. I don’t think anyone ever has (there may be one exception). The pressure of changing the world, the blurriness of it, and the unbearable burden it is is all too much. It’s paralyzing. But I’m still a dreamer, so I can’t simply give up the dream. Instead, I’ve traded one dream for another.

Instead of “somewhere out there,” it’s right there, or maybe it’s right here. It’s not changing the world but changing one person, whoever it might be, whatever it might look like, wherever it might crop up. I think that can be done. It can be touched and pointed at. It’s a story I can tell and a name that I can say. Maybe that’s in Congo, or maybe Congo will simply send me back to accomplish that here.

When we leave, we’ll be taking hand tools we bought, with ease, at our local Home Depot. We’ve packed carpentry and masonry tools in our bags among our clothes. I hid mine inside the pants of my jeans, hoping to fend off luggage-handling theives. When we arrive in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital, we will spend a day finding a hardware store and purchasing more tools. We will also be buying medical supplies: a new kerosene-powered sterilizing unit to replace the cast iron kettle that they heat over an open fire. We already provided them a power generator to light their surgery room.

These are practical necessities, physical goods that will meet basic needs. They will empower local doctors to do surgery sooner. They will empower students to actually practice their carpentry and masonry skills, not just talk about them. These are not spiritual needs. But they have a spiritual impact. Saving a life by having cleaner instruments or safer shelter is a spiritual matter.

Providing lights and sterile instruments allows doctors to perform surgery immediately instead of waiting until daylight to break. That saves lives. And Life is a spiritual matter.

Being changed: This is my first foray off of North America. I do not expect to come back with the same beliefs, same worldview, same expectations, same pride, same humility.

Experiences are ephemeral, but you carry the remnants of those images and feelings in you for the rest of your life. The things you see and experience can change you subtly or dramatically, and those changes can persist. This is my hope and fear.

Finding a bigger God: Who is this God who is at work in Congo? How is he working? What does he look like when you see him from Africa? What does his kingdom look like in a country corrupted by power? Who is this God who sees the way these people live? Is this the God I worship here?
I hope to come back with stories about all these things and share them with you. (My dad is hoping to post on his blog while we are in Kinshasa. Check back at “Hope for Congo” for an update. You can find our itinerary there right now. Likewise, if I can here at Watching Gravity, I will.) As you’re reading this, please say a quick prayer for our group’s health; our travels; that the tools we’ve purchased will not be stolen in transit; and for us to be aware of where, when, and how God is working so that we can be a part of it. Thanks.

Get Creative

I love being around artist because of their creativity. Unfortunately being an "artist," has become a professional title. So the arts have been relegated to the standard fare of visual mediums, music, plays, etc.

I believe everyone is an artist. I don't mean this in some wishy-washy-hippie-inclusiveness. In Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost's book The Shaping of Things to Come, they refer to "the death of art," being the absence of creativity. From an organizational position these authors argue to embrace the imagination. But I want to bring it to a personal level.

In Marva Dawn's book, A Royal Waste of Time, she describes everyone as being an artist. Everyone in the church helps with worship because we are all artist. The Holy Spirit gifts everyone in unique ways and when we exercise those gifts, passions, talents, we are really worshing God. Our acts of creativity are ways to celebrate our created self. The act of creating/creativity is our particpation with God, our ability to play along with the Trinity. (Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in 10,000 places). When I am most creative I am most faithful to God.

Here are some ways that I have seen people be creative...

Cooking
Telling Stories
Writing a Blog Doodling
Asking Questions
Repairing cars
Reading. Reading taps into your imagination and as Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
Having conversation. Some conversations are the typical, where are you from? what do you do? But beyond that a lot of conversations are just fun to listen to as people exchange stories, ideas, suggestions.
Organizing social events. Again this is all about the imagination.
Taking photos. Obviously that is a standard "art," but with the increase of digital cameras photography has become a more accessible art form.
Dressing. Ok, I know everyone wears clothes but everyone exhibits their creativity with how they dress.
Traveling
Gardening
Styling hair/facial hair

Leave a comment and tell me some more if you think of them

"Imperfectly, as in a cloudy mirror"

As our departure nears, my anticipation rises for our trip to Congo. I spent the weekend reading a few short books on Congo, mostly by missionaries who’d been there prior to 1963: Congo Wayside Reflections, An Unfinished Revolution*, and some others. I have more on my short list. I’m reading about a place I have not been and have yet to see. Reading others’ accounts has helped nurture the excitement in me.

I’ve been wanting to record what expectations I have of what it will be like. Until I truly experience Congo first hand, articulating my own preconceived ideas is like telling a story based on the title of a novel I haven’t read. My expectations will be held in sharp relief against the story Congo has to tell.

Nonetheless, I wanted to try, like a child, my hand at telling the story as best I know. Once I’m there I know, in the same moment that my misconceptions are most clear before me, Congo will be shattering and replacing them. It’s the curse of knowledge: We forget what it’s like not to know the story. We can’t even remember the story we’d believed before, and some of us fool ourselves into believing that we’d always known this.

So, this is my attempt to articulate my foolishness so that I may later laugh at my confident naïveté. When I started to write this, I had listed a few categories in which I wanted to record some expectations, but I find those categories inadequate. I had written out, “economic,” “political,” “infrastructure,” and “spiritual.” Those categories could outline some thoughts and perhaps might still be useful, but they wouldn’t be sufficient. I could list some second-hand facts I have, but they wouldn’t capture the meaning. I could wrack my brain looking for a way to articulate ideas and beliefs. Instead I find myself retelling the stories I've heard and approximating experiences. So, here are two stories.

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, I drove to Mississippi and then Louisiana to serve the evacuees and victims of the disaster there. Everything I saw there was simply in the wrong order. Where you expected cars to be parked along the roadside, you saw boats leaning over on one side. When you looked in the front window expecting to see a chandelier, you instead saw the blue sky. There was dried mud and garbage that only weeks before were living rooms and playgrounds. I kept asking myself, “What was it like before?” and “How was this supposed to be?” I couldn’t really tell. I’d never seen it the way it was supposed to be.

I expect Congo to be a bit like that. I expect to see things out of order. And grasping the depth of disorder will mean first imagining how it was meant to be. Then, after that, the depth will go deeper than I thought. I will look again and understand.

I asked my dad this weekend, “How can we, as over-fed U.S. citizens, accept food prepared by people who have barely enough to eat themselves?” My dad recounted a meal he’d had last year: chicken prepared and presented by his host. When it was served, he looked at it. There was no meat.

Where am I going?

This post started out as something entirely different. Originally it was suppose to be a reflection on theological training. Instead it has turned into me musing about my future...

Seminaries change. In the past when you graduated students were mostly fed into a system to find a job. Denominations would assign pastors their positions (which is still done in many Lutheran and Catholic schools) or students would go through an interview process with the proper denomination leaders (like many "free church" schools, Baptist, Brethren, Mennonite)

Since I've been at Northern I've noticed a change. There are fewer and fewer students getting jobs after graduation through a formal interview process. A lot of my friends are already connected to a church before they graduate. Instead of looking for a job when they graduate they are laying to foundation while in Seminary.

I have my doubts about a formal/traditional interview system. The process seems quite outdated and impersonal. I graduate next May and feasibly I could get interviewed by any church anywhere in the United States (or the world for that manner). That is still a big possibility for me. God definitely uses that process and method for many men and women. I'm not saying it is wrong.

However, in thinking about my own call I am drawn to finding a place to minister based on relationships. My relationships here in the Chicagoland have been built from the last two years of living here (and the 4 years of summer dwelling while in college). For me to uproot myself next year and go to a new city is maybe what God is calling me to do. However, to gain the depth of relationships I have here, and the networks, and the knowledge of the community will take at least another 2 years.

When I was talking to my professor a couple of months ago he humbled me.

He asked, "Where do you want be next year?"

I answered, "I've always wanted to go to Seattle. I've always wanted to minister to really secular areas."

"Oh yeah? Who do you know there?"

"Umm...really...nobody."

"So what makes you think that you can go there and be fruitful all by yourself? You need to start to look for people if you are going there."


I'll have my degree but I'll still need people.

Coming to ears near You

In the last year I came to terms with all the "illegal" music I have. Being on a college campus 3 years ago meant access to plenty of music I didn't purchase. So slowly I have begun to either delete the music I can do without or purchase the CDs. But this brings up a tension I have. (The fact that this is a "tension," shows how blessed I am to have discretionary money).

I love music and having the CD case with the jacket completes my passion. I have fond teenage memories of buying a CD and going to my room, playing it, and lying on my bed reading every single lyric. Not only is the music a form of art but the images from the jacket add to the artist' creation. Reading the words adds a literary dimension. Everything from who the band thanks, the equipment they use, and the font, gives depth to music.

In an effort to simlify my life I am in conflict with my CD collection. There are a lot of CD's I want to purchase but that means taking up more space in my apartment. I appreicate the simplicity of the digital era but I am just a traditionalist at heart. It would be like getting a digital copy of a book to read on my computer. Sure, the book will be "read." But I don't just read or listen to music for a utilitarian experience of finishing a task. I read and listen to music because it is a passion, not a mundane motion.

To tie this all together there is a lot of music coming out this fall I am looking forward to. My favorite artist and 3 of my favorite bands are all kicking out albums. This is crazy. Why can't they just pace it out over the course of a couple of years. So after a period of famine here is the feast....

Denison Witmer Carry the Weight Nov 11

Cool Hand Luke The Sleeping House Oct 14

Brave Saint Saturn Anti-Meridian Sept 14

The following two are supposedly suppose to release stuff soon

Anathallo

Sleeping at Last

Congo

This is a picture of Ndjoka Punda, where I will be going in less than 2 weeks!

High School Level Writing

According to this website you have to be in the 6th grade to understand this blog. It is probably a fair assessment but unfair to Adam. I'm confident I bring down the "readibility" of our blog. Just punch in a website and you'll get the results, enjoy!

Mike

Running with a Purpose

I'm going to tie a couple of things together....I use to run because I played soccer and ran track during high school and college. After I graduated college I kept on running but with no real purpose. To be honest, running without a purpose, is pretty, well, purposeless. It just gets to be a routine and not much fun.

So it was nice when I joined a couple of soccer teams in the area because running helped with my fitness. But it still hasn't been very rewarding. I don't know what took me so long but I finally realized it was time to run a race.

On September 27th, Lawndale Health Clinic, in Chicago is sponsoring their first 5k run/walk. Last week I was in the city taking a class on urban ministry. It was an incredible class. We visited all different types of churches, social programs, community developers, City Hall, Cook County Jail, the Chicago Judiciary System, and a lot of good places to eat! Our "home" base was Lawndale which is one of the most underdeveloped areas of Chicago. A church there (Lawndale Community) has revitalized this area by creating affordable housing, a public health clinic, a drug recovery house for men, and more.

So the last couple of years of running have a purpose now. They have prepped me for this race! My two mile time is less than 12 so I'm going to aim for 18 minutes. It's great to have a goal in mind which leads me to my brother-in-law. Starting yesterday (his birthday) he has begun a quest to complete 101 goals in 1001 days.

I'm the type of person who makes goals everyday. I don't consciously sit down and write them out but I love accomplishing and achieving. But you bring it to a whole new level when you make your goals public because that means there is accountability and more room for recognized failure. So props to Eric. I'm starting small by publishing this one goal in the next month. We'll see where it goes.

Bumper Sticker

I saw this in a parking lot recently.

The People's Olympics

I shared an idea a few days ago that has turned into an inside joke with my friends. It's called the People's Olympics. This is the setup: four years before the next Olympics people are randomly selected from each country to compete in an Olympic event. So for instance, a committee sits down and out of a hat draws names for the 4 x 200 meter race. You could have a 70 year old senior citizen, a college athlete, a soccer mom, and a 12 year old boy. Of course you can turn down your nomination or selection but would you really want to?

In other news....Michael Phelps is a decent swimmer. I would definitely want him to be selected for the U.S. in the next People's Olympics

Smiles and Eating Bugs

I haven't seen the movie Pay it Forward but I know the plot. A boy does good deeds for three people and they have to do good deeds for three other people as a payment. So I tried to pass on a spirit of joy on Thursday. When I was coming back from work on the bike path I decided to smile at everyone I passed. The first 10 people I got 9 smiles back. Not too shabby of a percentage. (But then some lady honked her horn at me and permanentely ruined the smile experiment). The only reason I had the idea to pass on a smile is because the first guy I cross paths with was grinning ear to ear at me. So pass on a smile today....

I also swallowed a bug on my ride back. It reminded me of the childrens book/song "There was an Old Lady who swallowed a Fly." As good ol Wikipedia summarizes, "The song tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal." I remember reading this book in second grade, in Mrs. Fregies class. Now looking back I'm wondering, "Who thought this up?" It is a bizzare and twisted childrens book/song. They should start putting parental ratings on childrens books as well as video games. ( Heavy sarcasm for those thinking I'm serious)

Also my bro and his wife got a new blog. Check it out!

"Did you hear about Brett Favre?"

"Did you hear about Brett Farve?" became the inside joke with my family this weekend. If you haven't heard about Brett Farve then congratulations and don't bother with the whole drama.

On Monday in less than 3 hours, I heard opinions from John McCain, the lady who scanned our groceries, Tiger Woods and my 9 month-old neices. (last one is a lie, they can't talk). That morning, sitting down and watching one full episode of Sportscenter the sports anchors beat the story into a pulp, squeezed it into juice, drank it, then regergitated it for scientific investigation.

I like sports and Sportscenter but how many talking heads can talk about one thing? This is what it sounds like: Brett Farve retired. He un-retired. He wants to play football. The Packers don't want him to play for them or for anybody else. He might get traded. Did he fly in on a private jet? What do the fans think? ALERT! This just in, Brett Farve believes in global warming and prefers Bananas to Apples.

The media is obsessed with this man and a story that isn't much of a story. The "Brett Farve Saga," is an addiction. We take a healthy intrest and then it begins to dominant. It feels like the media is making news to have something to report on.

This reminds me of Jr. High when Chad broke up with Lisa because he didn't like her anymore. But than Amber, (who doesn't even know Lisa), becomes indignant and righetously angry at Chad and creates a scene in the cafeteria. That is what the media is. They are Amber. You know the girl, creating commotion just to be involved and to be heard.

Of all the things going on in the world, and even the world of sports, I think there are other voices for us to listen to.

Man Crush

man crush \ˈman ˈkrəsh\ n. 1. a feeling of excessive admiration or nonsexual attraction toward a fellow male who embodies many of one’s ideals 2. a desire to imitate the character, skills, or beliefs of another male 3. a strong identification with the values, priorities, or public image of a male figure. The object of a man crush is usually not personally known by the subject.

Man crushes need little justification. All men have them whether or not they would admit it. Each one reflects some trait that a man wishes was more prominent, more developed, or truer in him than it currently is. Man crushes can reveal a man’s personal aspirations and ideals, more about who he is becoming, and more about what he hopes and maybe even fears.

Typically, men will not use the term “man crush” to identify those public figures whom they respect or identify with. But do not be fooled, they are man crushes. Here are a few telltale signs of a man crush.

Macho compliments: Listen closely to veiled compliments for more-or-less famous men. They will say macho things like, “He’s a stud,” “Spurgeon is the Man” or “A lesser man would’ve crumbled under that pressure.”

Frequent references: Some men, however, will not so readily voice their admiration. In that case, pay closer attention to the frequency with which he refers to certain men. To whom does he often tip his hat?

Little-known facts: Oftentimes, your man will attach small but significant details to his appeals to their authority. It may sound like this: “C. S. Lewis had something to say about that in The Four Loves,” or “He’s holds the record in the league for [obscure record].” or “He sold that company when he was 38 for ten-point-five million dollars!” These details indicate that he’s done his homework. Be sure to listen also to the content of these details. The content will tell you more specifically what your man admires in his man crush. (For bonus points: Tell your man how you’ve seen him exhibit these qualities [but not in the same conversation]. If you are his significant other, he will likely stop what he’s doing and kiss you. If you are not his significant other, he will probably ask if you want to make out. If you’re his guy friend, don’t. That would be weird.)

Here’s a quick example of how to interpret a man crush. Consider “Romosexuals”—die-hard fans of football quarterback Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys. There are a number of potential insights one could draw about Romosexuals. If you are to understand what your man see in another man, you may need to do some homework of your own to learn about a suspected man crush. After a little research you might come up with a few possible conclusions about Romosexuals: (1) They prefer to hide behind larger men who will protect them from those who could harm them. (2) They would like to be idolized and worshiped. (3) They would like be Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend, and any benefits accompanying that title.

A man can have many or few man crushes. If the number of man crushes is large, expect that your man spreads his ideals somewhat evenly across them. If the number is few, expect that he identifies deeply with those few. The man with only a few man crushes will be much easier to understand because there are only a few wells to draw from and those buckets are more likely to draw out what your man is so smitten by.

Whatever the case, man crushes reveal that all men want to be better men. This is a noble thing and something that can usually be encouraged. If you find that your man has man crushes on ignoble men, beware. The same truths still apply.

I had merely intended to define and list a few man crushes of my own, but it is generally the case that I find myself working backward to provide background first. Now that you know what man crushes can reveal, which I had not intended to reveal so forthrightly, I will share with you five of my man crushes, which was my original intent with this post.

Ravi Zacharias
Ravi is one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard. He can stretch your mind with a deft analogy of a brilliant concept one minute and then, on a dime, bring you (nearly) to tears the next by telling a story that captures the precise point he’s making. He brandishes speaking skills to capture mind and heart unlike any speaker I’ve heard.

John Piper
Two words: “Christian hedonism.” This is the essence of his book Desiring God. His book captures the intersection of deep theology with passionate love and longing for God. It is a holistic system for the heart and mind of man and a centerpiece for my faith.

Shane Barnard
Shane spreads a passion for and knowledge of God in music (He's John Piper for music fans). His lyrics are immersed in the Word of God, but he unites it with music that grasps at the emotions wrapped up in a dynamic relationship with God.

Dallas Willard
I got to shake his hand once. I said to him, “I read Renovation of the Heart. It took me about 8 months.” He responded, “That sounds about right.” I thanked him for writing it. Willard captures in that book a way of understanding the human person that resonates with me, one that helped me make real progress in my journey toward God.

Christian Wiman
This guy’s a stud. He’s the editor of Poetry magazine and a poet himself. I think you can only truly appreciate his work when you hear him read it aloud. His baritone voice sounds constantly straining, managing a few more words before taking his next breath. It makes me believe I’ve actually been to west Texas, where his poetry was born(e).

Share Your Man Crush
I’m sure that every guy reading this post can think of at least one man crush. Leave yours in the comments, or blog yours and leave a link.

Church Gun Giveaway!

You have got to be kidding me. Here is a story about a church that was going to give away a gun at their weekend youth conference. I don’t care if you are a pacifist or a card carrying member of the NRA, this is just plain utterly ridiculous. You probably want to read the article so go ahead. If you feel like coming back I wrote some thing below about church, marketing, and youth.

Welcome back and thanks for returning. The problems with giving a semi-automatic weapon to a teenager is obvious. However, I realize this “raffle-prize” technique is all too common in the church. This is another extreme example but I actually heard one pastor say, “One of these days I am seriously going to give away money for people who come to church.”

Most churches don’t have giveaways or prizes for their church attendees. They rightly assume that adults don’t need a carrot dangled in front of them. (However, a lot of people will argue that the music, sermon, church building, worship format are all marketed).

But where this does happen is with the youth. I’ve had a couple of youth pastor jobs and worked last summer at a church camp. The goal in many scenarios was to come up with “activities” to bring the youth into the church/camp. For instance, we might go play paintball or have a movie night. And than when we have the kids all gathered together, when they least expect it, BAM!, we nail them with the Gospel!

This is the same logic that the youth pastor from the Oklahoma church used, “it’s a way of trying to encourage young people to attend the event.” The problem is that we don’t believe the Gospel is strong enough on it’s own. Look I’m all for activities. I love movies, paintball, scavenger hunts, game nights, eating pizza, and playing video games. Those things are part of life. They aren’t tactics we should use to lure kids into church.

Ross, claimed, “the conference isn’t all about guns, but rather about teens finding faith.” Well if that’s true than why didn’t they make a video advertising that giveaway?

Gotham’s Dark Knight of the Soul

The Dark Knight returns us happily to the dark and brooding bachelor life of Bruce Wayne. It also envelopes us in Batman’s battle for the soul of Gotham. It is this battle, and not the villains’ schemes, that nearly defeats the Dark Knight. Bruce’s most trusted confidante, Alfred, calls him to endure. It is not about defeating the villains but enduring the battle. Gotham is skittish with fear and on the brink of self-destruction. The people of Gotham need only a gentle push into chaos and they will destroy each other.

This is the story behind both The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. Gotham isn’t just a setting for a story but a central character with a soul in the Batman epic. It’s a city on the verge of collapse because it is so corrupt. Batman’s battle is to shore up the corruption before it bursts upon the city unobstructed.

In Batman Begins, the Scarecrow is scheming to contaminate the already-corrupt minds of the people of Gotham. By polluting the water supply, he intends to draw out each person’s darkest fears and allow them in their hallucinations to kill each other and themselves to relieve those fears.

Batman not only has to stave off the Scarecrow’s schemes but Raj al-Ghoul appears on the scene with his own. To him, Gotham has become corrupt beyond rescue and so powerful that it will ruin the world, which follows after it. Raj al-Ghoul concludes that the only way to renew humanity is to remove its heart, Gotham. Batman still believes in Gotham though, and by his endurance, Gotham lives to see a new day.

In The Dark Knight, we descend again into this Gotham, corrupted inside and out and living in fear. The Joker is a sort of social scientist, recognizing these traits of fear and corruption in the people of Gotham and seeking to aggravate them so that they can run their full course and destroy each other. This is most evident with the ferry boat scenario. Yet, as Batman believes, so the criminal and the civilian aboard their boats prove: The people of Gotham, the heart of humanity, the hearts of people are not corrupt but, finally, good.

Still, against this we have Gotham’s amazingly good-looking District Attorney, Harvey Dent. Dent is the first ray of real hope “in decades” Batman says. The city calls him “the white knight.” He is “the dawn”—just before which the night is darkest. But just as Alfred had urged Bruce to endure the heart-aching battle, Dent needed someone to encourage him to persevere. But Dent’s hospital visitor was The Joker—who filled Dent’s mind with twisted logic, appealing to Dent’s vengeance-filled heart. Without Alfred’s words, Batman could have been ruined just as quickly (didn’t he too lose his Rachel Dawes?). Tough words from a trusted friend are worth more than a thousand praises.

Dent’s quest for justice isn’t eliminated but corrupted. He twists justice by taking it into his own hands—not so unlike our hero—tracking down mob bosses and Commissioner Gordon’s own family to avenge the death of the one he loved. He’s convinced by The Joker that it wasn’t The Joker who killed her, even though he set the house of cards to fall that way.

And that is The Joker’s scheme throughout the movie: to create impossible scenarios and allow the corruption of the city—that is, the hearts of people—implode on itself. I wonder if The Joker looking for more people like himself—ugly and corrupt, destructive and heartless. And yet, the city is still standing by the end of the movie. Is this a testament to the good people of Gotham? Does it champion the virtue of endurance? Why does fear and corruption persist in Gotham? The Dark Knight offers its own conclusions, but don't let it decide for you.

Blogroll Call

We’ve added some new links over on the right. These are friends and blogs I read and recommend. Check them out. I’ll mention or link to a recent favorite too.

Friends
The New Small Talk
Kim writes like she talks. She’s as funny on her blog as she is in real life. Her blog is like getting an extra scoop of ice cream. (On getting her hair cut and Walgreens)

50 Years Too Late
Make that 2 extra scoops. This is my source for old-movie culture. I can be knowledgeable about old movies without having to actually watch most of them. (To appeal to a broader audience: Old Movies + The Simpsons)

Goat Cabin
J. L. Schindler’s a raver. But you won’t get that unless you meet him in person. He’s much more subtle in print. I appreciate reading his writing, since mostly I hear him critique others’. He knows his books, so I try to absorb what I can. (On getting his hair cut … I don’t know! Also, The Male in the Mail)

Ask Chaka
I never knew linguistics could inform so much about the way we are. Matt’s a linguist at heart, but that’s all subtext (or pretext?) for his blog posts which are about all the other stuff. He recently analyzed pronunciation options for the word, chipotle.

Parisi Images
My friend Sarah is a passionate and amazing photographer. (From Seattle)

the Wolff pack
Bryan and Meggan are friends from college. I keep up with their lives out on the West Coast this way. They tell stories about being parents that remind me to be thankful I’m still a bachelor.

Brandenburg Ink
Ben and Toni are more friends from college. Their living in Philly, and I like to hear what life is like for someone (Ben) who reads all day.

Exchanging Hope
Paul’s a new friend from around campus here. He’s someone passionate about living among the poor and needy and someone whom I admire for such compassion and commitment. This guy is quality.

Blogs we read
Stuff White People Like
This website’s only been up for about 6 months but has been a white culture phenomenon. It’s now a book, and I imagine it will soon be made into a movie, much like “He Just Not That Into You.” I’m white for reasons #99, #105, #92, #81, #82, #70, #41, #35, #28-31, #23-25, #19, #21, and more.

NLT Blog
Maybe I’m just towing the party line, but I’m proud to work on the Bibles and reference books we publish. There are always aspects I cringe at, but I’m more impressed with the NLT today than when I started at Tyndale. (Plus, I share an office wall with one of the NLT bloggers.) I love a little controversy.

The Suburban Christian
I’m suburban. I’m Christian. This helps.

She Worships
I enjoy this young woman’s perspective on being a single woman and a Christian. It’s nice to know that single guys and ladies aren’t so far apart in their hopes and fears, problems and mistakes. Like me, she’s got a take on text messaging. And “The New Legalism.”

Strange Maps
I enjoy a little randomness like this. It’s a bit of useless trivia, but it humors my brain. Here’s how to get around heaven.

Third Way Faith
I read Shane Hipps’ book, called Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Gospel, Faith, and the Church. Terrible title. Great book. It enlightened my thinking about technology, worldview, and faith. It’s a very accessible book, and his opinions seem fair and even-handed to me. This is his blog. (On Church Advertising)

Ed Stetzer
I read an article of Ed Stetzer’s in a pastoral leadership magazine. The magazine promotes megachurches—which is a like a pill stuck in my throat. But he seemed to be one of the more thoughtful about megachurches and thought I’d give his opinion a fair hearing. I still haven’t heard a robust and biblical apologetic for megachurches, but I appreciate his perspectives. (On Multi-Site Churches)

Who are you Voting For?

New poll up to the right. Don't worry, I can't trace your answer to your computer. It's as secure as the voting booths and I promise no hanging chads.

What are you in the mood for?

I got tired of all the music that was in my car. I kept flipping through my CD case and none were matching my moods. So, I found a stash of old CDs and blew the dust off of them. Among them are some gems. I decided to list a few here under the category: “CDs that are (surprisingly) still good after 10 years.”

Now, this isn’t an exhaustive list, and in no particular order, just a list of a few CDs that you might not have expected to still be good.

Chicago Greatest Hits 1982-89
This album has a song for every season of romance. (That is, every season I’ve experienced at least. And while maybe it glorifies unrealistic ideals, it gives a naïve bachelor like me something to hope for.) Peter Cetera croons like no other. And I think “If She Would Have Been Faithful” taught me the meaning of paradox: “It’s a paradox/Full of contradictions/How I got from there to here/It defies a LOGICAL expluh-NATION!!!”

Newsboys Going Public
I recently mentioned my affinity for this album to Jon. While Take Me To Your Leader is primarily light and happy (even “Breakfast”), Going Public has a darker feel to it. Jon agreed but pointed out the irony that the CD’s, and probably the band’s, most popular song was titled, “Shine.”

Delirious Cutting Edge, CD 2
“When All Around Has Fallen” is a song enough to make this album worthwhile. And while this isn’t the polished Delirious that most of the U.S. knows, the unpolished musicality lends credence to authenticity and the focus toward building up followers of Jesus unifies the album.

Duncan Sheik Untitled
I first saw “Drunken Sheep,” as I’d heard it, open up for Jars of Clay. Considering the faith of the main act, my 6th grade opinion was that it was a clever mixed metaphor, but I think Sheik is Buddhist or eclectic at least. I actually took this album to a used CD store and sold it. At the time, his music seemed depressing and hopeless. A few years later, I needed to hear it again so I went and bought a new copy. I liked it more the second time. I've found this to be a trend in my musical growing-up. The quieter sounds on this album make the hopeful ones brighter, among them, “Reasons for Living.”

The Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse
I got this album in Toronto the summer before my sophomore year of high school. The Wallflowers was a moderately popular band, fronted by Bob’s son, Jakob Dylan. While the album’s sound fluctuates, it manages to create a mood and makes use of great images that teach lessons: “This place is a whorehouse tonight/Where cheap lovers make expensive wives.”

Music has an unparalleled ability to influence moods and thoughts. More dire concerns have prevailed, but rock music used to be a point of contention and still is among many Christian parents. I think certainly that music has the power to shape us, to shift us to some of the highest highs and lowest lows.

Music has become for me an emotion manager. I often select CDs that will allow me to indulge my mood. Creed used to be my anger music. Fortunately I hardly listen to that them anymore, and not at all for that reason. The Juliana Theory captures a lonelier time in my life just after college. Coldplay captures soaring melodies of hope in love, life, and humanity, and Switchfoot does the same in stark relief to the despair of the human condition.

I haven’t decided if using music to indulge or shift my moods is a good thing. It could be a form of self-control, moving me out of darker brooding. Or maybe it’s only self-manipulation and dependency. Like almost anything, I think that it can be a good servant but a terrible master.

I was at Ignite Chicago last summer listening to Casting Crowns, another band that knows what they’re playing music for. I remember the lead singer saying this: “Music has the power to move and shape us, to motivate and enliven us. But faithfulness isn’t about living in those moments. Music creates an experience, but those moments don’t last. Even the best song grows stale.”

Obama, McCain and Rick Warren

Adam alerted me to this story.

Barak Obma and John McCain are taking their roadshows to Saddleback Church for their Civil Forum on Leadership and Compassion. If you aren’t familiar with Saddleback it is a 22,000 plus megachurch in California lead by Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life).

I have mixed emotions.

Part of me wants to call out Saddleback for becoming a platform or for the government. I believe the church needs to engage the realm of governmental politics. After all this is the very world we are called by the church. Yet, has Saddleback sold out their allegiance to Christ by providing and promoting these two candidates? Why do these two men have to come and speak at the church of all places? We are called to engage the government but is this too far?

The other part of me recognizes that this Fall, John McCain or Barak Obama will be the president of the United States. A majority of people in the United States and those tuning in to the activity at Saddleback are going to vote for one of these two men. A lot of people are undecided and it is important that they make educated choices. What better way to be educated than by having the two men come and speak at the church? Moreover, it is for a good cause and it is bringing awareness to the way people can engage through their civic duty.

No conclusions. Just things to think about.

Tailgate meets Garage Sale

The dream for Tailgate meets Garage Sale started over a year ago. I, and most of my friends, don't have garages of our own (if they do, I burden them with storing my motorcycle there), but I've got plenty of stuff that I would sell if I had a place to sell it. My Grand Prix's trunk is my garage these days. I store extra oil, tools, straps, rollerblades, gas cans, and more in there.

The idea for selling out of my trunk sounded a little ghetto and sketchy. I don't do well with people walking or driving by staring and wondering about my mental capacity. But I figured, "If I get a lot of people to do it together, it'll seem normal." Or at least, we won't notice the passersby staring. Crowds of people can make almost anything seem normal (except for this one time at the Taste of Chicago...).

The idea of giving part of the proceeds to Feed My Starving Children? I don't know how that idea came up. I don't remember it being my idea, but I'm glad for whoever came up with it. That really became the motivating force behind making the Tail happen. Tailgate meets Garage Sale became about more than making money, hanging out with friends, or getting rid of stuff. It's no longer buyers here and sellers there but people joining together to help neighbors in our global community. It's a bunch of strangers getting together and having something in common. It's a force for good.

And with all these people, this little dream is now bigger than me. That's a dream worth having.

(P.S. If you'd like to get in on the action, throw some stuff in your trunk, drive over to Evangelical Free Church of Naperville tomorrow, and join the party.)

Did that just happen?

Something I have wondered for a long time is how do you measure faith? Jesus describes faith in terms of a mustard seed (Matt 17:20 and Luke 17:6) which leads me to think of faith in terms of attainment. I figure it's good to have faith the size of a mustard seed but faith the size of a squash or bean seed is so much more effective and powerful. I don't have any conclusions but I'm pretty sure that is wrong.

Here is how this plays out in real life for me. On Saturday night I went to the Pittsburgh Pirates vs St. Louis Cardinals game while on my visits in the East. It was my g-parents family reuinion and all the family got together to go see the hapless Pirates. Our family is really close and the one thing we can all agree on is the Pirates are bad and that we love the Pirates. Despite their patehtic play for the last 15 years we follow them and remain optimistic every year.

This night was no different. At the 8th inning the Pirates were losing 10-4. (They were being outhit as of the 5th inning 17-2!) Then it started to rain. Then the fans started to leave. But my family and I saw an opportunity for fun. The Pittsburgh Steelers are famous for the Terrible Towel that gets waved during the football games. Well at this particular game they were giving away free beach towels. So we began to wave around our beach towels and just start cheering like the Pirates were in the World Series.

Surprise, surprise they put up 2 runs in that inning and all the sudden the score was 10-6. But the comeback ended and we started to gather up our stuff and head to a place shiedled from the rain and close to an exit.

The bottom of the 9th comes around and we are still jovially waving our towels. And it happened. I got this weird feeling after a lead off single that a comback could be in store. The single was folowed by a walk. Than a homerun. 10-9. Than a single. Than a double. Than an infield force out 10-10! Extra innings.

Of course in the 11th the Pirates gave up the lead and now were losing 10-11. But you had this feeling they were going to win. This belief, this mustard seed size of faith they would win. Bottom of the 11th. A lead of single. Than Jason Michaels steps up and cranks a homerun over the fence and the 15,000 fans left went crazy.

We all lost our voices. We stayed up late in the night re-telling the story over and over again. I guess I had a small amount of faith and I don't know if it is comparable to what Jesus is talking about. But I wanted to tell that story. And I want to let you know that as much as I believe in the Pirates comeback ability I believe more in Jesus' comeback ability.

"He placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left."

I saw this photo in a recent Newsweek:

And it made me think of some similar pictures I've seen:

It seems Bill's a bit more popular than Jesus though.

Things that could be on

On Getting Off Your Computer:

For all our efficient mass communication of the gospel, nothing changes a life like a real relationship.

Having the means of reaching the masses--for instance, through podcasting--is a good thing. Yet, nothing matches the potency of life-on-life discipleship. In this respect, social networking and blogs can be effective tools to intimately connect with a small, natural network of relationships.

On Getting Perspective:

I can always use a little perspective like this:

There is no virtue in being the cool, high-tech church, or in being the low-tech, minimalistic church.

On Spilling Your Guts:

Blogging as therapy. You won't see this from me anytime soon. I've argued that blogging about friends isn't generally a good idea. Plus, I'm vulnerable about as often as a one-armed man signals a lane change. Oh sure, it happens. But when it does everyone behind him gets annoyed because he forgets to turn his blinker off.

On Being Young:

A study by the Journal of Consumer Research to be released next month, titled "Tightwads and Spendthrifts," finds that people ages 18 to 40 are most likely to say they're spending beyond their comfort range.

from “A Penny Saved Is a Penny Spent” in Newsweek.

It's surprising that 18- to 30-year-olds, the most pro-life demographic in a generation, are the same voting bloc from which Barack Obama, the most antilife presidential candidate ever, draws his most ardent supporters.

from “The Audacity of Death” in WSJ.

Middle Earth, Victorian times, and more recent developments

In the past I’ve written on text messaging and, separately, on the tyranny of happiness. More recently, I’ve run across other articles about both and wanted to share them with you.

Text Messaging

The Economist had two good articles on text messaging. The first describes how text messaging is, in the opinions of some, decimating the French language. The second is a rebuttal by a reader who has done research on text messaging, arguing that “Rebuses such as C for “see” and U for “you” were common in Victorian times.”

Anything interesting can be boring if your work hard enough. Here’s a research study on adolescent text messaging, otherwise known as “socially interactive technologies” or “SITs.” The research concluded that “adolescents in the study were not creating more ties using SITs, nor were they necessarily creating weaker SIT-based ties; that there was little overlap between SIT-facilitated and offline social networks; and that socially-isolated adolescents were less likely than other adolescents to use SITs.”

Here’s another article about a text-messaging researcher. One paragraph reads:

The findings have been counterintuitive. “Contrary to existing perceptions, there’s a developing logic to texting,” Shuter says. Young people will use texting for short, quick messages — such as “Where r u?” — instead of more personal conversations.

This trend is encouraging to me because, in my text messaging post, I advocated for informational, not conversational, text messaging as being the healthiest use of this technology for relationships.

Finally, much like the lolcat Bible (warning: explicit content), there is now an SMS Bible (i.e., a text-messaging Bible). The Bible’s famous opening line, sounds more like a bad rap album title: “In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth.” (more here.)

One concern for me about this arises from the previous text-messaging research. If it’s primarily used for informational purposes, will the SMS Bible simply be recieved as a transmission of information? Of course, the Bible has always been in danger of being received as such.

Happiness

There are plenty of books out there trying to make you happy. Heck, we publish some of them. But there are a few that are expressly interested in studying happiness. Perhaps, for you, this is more evidence that anything interesting can be boring if you try hard enough. Another book in this vein is The Middle Way: Finding Happiness in a World of Extremes by Lou Marinoff.

More research on happiness shows that Denmark is the McDonald’s of the world’s countries. That makes Zimbabwe similar to eating dog food. The US, meanwhile, is just behind Middle Earth, making it akin to a bean patch.

But, you wouldn’t necessarily know it. While US exports pale in comparison to our imports, we’re still exporting a lot of cash in the way charitable contributions: $306 bn in 2007, up 1% over 2006 (adj. for inflation). That makes me happy.

The American church

I don't write many posts like this but this one has just been stirring. If you didn't notice the church in America is changing. If I can generalize there seems to be two camps.

The first is the institutional or traditional churches that you can find in droves all across the landscape. The Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, churches with a paid staff and weekly worship services on Sundays.

The second is emerging/Emergent/missional/organic/house churches. I know these aren't all the same but I'm going to lump them all together. A lot of these churches have denominational roots but they aren't traditional because they meet in third spaces, houses, don't have paid "professional" pastors, are organized around outreach, etc.

So for me, and a lot of peers in Seminary or preparing to enter the ministry, we are faced with this question among several. What type of church should I work in? I am drawn to the second group and there is a lot of buzz around this camp. A good deal of my education is from these leaders and I read/write/study in their stream. But I do not believe, as some say, that the institutional church is irrelevant and needs to go. Recently I have had people tell me to not even consider working in a church like this.

Look I agree that there are abuses of power, failures in leadership, weak discipleship, and monotonous worship services in the traditional churches. I think a lot of ways these churches operate needs to change. But using a cliche, let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

No one can tell me that every institutional church needs to all the sudden take the form of a emerging/Emergent church. Actually I can't think of anything that would be worse. We need to remember context, context, context.

A lot of emerging/Emergent churches have their shape because of their location. For example, in the city you can have a church that meets in a coffee shop and does a lot of social outreach to the homeless. The church uses the coffee shop space to house worship services, art showings, poetry, concerts. There are so many people, and so many diverse people in the city it thrives. The space is also used to house the homeless, give out free food, and provide counseling for a lot of people who can't afford it.

However, in the suburbs, (it is still possible but more difficult) that church might be redundant because of location. The way the suburbs are spread out means that homeless people might not be able to access a coffee shop as easily. Moreover, there might not be as many homeless people around them to necessitate such a strong ministry focus. In the burbs a lot of people maybe aren't looking for a "3rd place" to gather ever evening that does social activities. The pace of their life and the space of their personal living quarters means that they don't want to drive out every night or have other commitments.

What both churches need to do is to look at the needs in their neighborhood/context/location and be faithful. I do think that a lot of things about the traditional church need to change. I would agree that in the future more and more tradional churches are going to take the shape of emerging/Emergent churches. They will become more de-centralized in leadership and denominations will not hold as much authority as they once did. They will need to change their worship styles, formats, and meeting forms as people care less and less about institutions and more about customizing their own lives.

However, that does not mean they do not have a purpose and place. I see no reason why these churches cannot remain and change. I think the emerging/Emergent cohort often looks down on the traditional churches with disdain. It tends to be a more liberal group and this unfortunately reeks of elitism and snobbery. Instead of chastising the traditional church we should dialogue and working along side with them.

There are not two camps. Rather there is one church. This church in America takes different shapes and we need to learn from each other and consider the wideness of God.

Some conversation topics

The photo isn't relevant to the post but it just funny. (But kind of creepy) If you want to avoid putting your foot in your mouth here are some things to talk about. I don't endorse all of these statistics since something like 70% percent of statistics are made up (I just made that up). So feel free to Google if you want verification.

75% of Pandas are left handed

Over 80% of men flush the urinal before they are finished

Irish people average 6 cups of tea a day. The most in the world.

The Marsh I work at holds enough water to fill 3,000 Olympic size swimming pools.

People eat more on July 4th than on Thanksgiving.

And remember, I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me!