yes, yes, i know

So, i know numbers are not everything. and as a matter of fact, they are often barely times anything at all. but we had our youth ministry Christmas party on Friday, Dec. 15 and had an all time high of 17!! it's been exciting to have been here for a year and all, but this was by far the most exciting number. it's the largest anything youth group thing i've done as a youth pastor (since i've basically tried to build two youth ministries out of nothing) and i'm stoked...

i know we're affecting our kids out here and all- and i know that we're making a difference. and that's good. i guess i just need a reminder sometimes. we don't have too many more now than we did when we arrived, but at the same time, i can think of at least 5 of our regular/semi regulars who were NOT attending when we started here. and I can think of at least 3 or 4 who are no longer going to our church so not attending, either. so we've kinda lost some and replaced them- but from the "numbers" view, it's stayed the same.

the big thing is that we have been able to not lose most of the kids who were here when we started. that was a BIG concern- that most of them were too far gone for us to keep them. and i'd say we lost one becasue she was ready to head out, but the others were family reasons that they stopped attending our church. And the rest that were around, we have done what we can and gotten them in- even the one that i was SURE i was going to lose from the moment i came out here. not that we don't connect, just that he was already kinda doing another thing for church... but... yeah. so now, we've got some kids that have been very inconsistent since we came here that we're trying to get more involved... and of course, i've been trying to get in the schools to make my face more known to the friends the kids in the youth group will invite.

anyway- i'm just pretty excited after having a big number tonight. hopefully our friday nights will continue to produce some growth (since that's what they were designed for). ok- i'm exhausted from not having a minute of rest since early this morning... i'm about to pass out...

CNN article on Christianity

I found this as I was scanning the headlines today. I was very impressed that this comes from the son of Jim & Tammy Faye- considering how super-conservative they are. I think the article speaks for itself, but goes along well with some of what i've been more recently feeling from a political standpoint as a Christian.

i'd love to entertain any thoughts...

feeling like stealing

As I feel like i'm stealing another idea from Luke, i have still decided to do this. I hope he sees it- I especially since Larry Bird is one of my celebs. So despite seeming to follow luke into the blogging world and now with this celebrity look alike... I still beat Luke to moving across the country, which, by the way- was over a year ago. wow...

anyway- enjoy

oxymoron

I was thinking about this today as I was listening to a relatively new CD- new to me. I'd bought it for the worship ministry at church- resource not only for music we may play, but also to play in the background before and after service. it was a worship CD with a bunch of different groups and worship leaders.

And I got listening to a version on there that they had of the song "Rescue" from the CD Desperation. The original was done very well and was just in general, good. this newer (really other- the song is only 2 years old- and only popular the past year or so) version was, in my opinion, inferior. it was not only a cover, but a cover done with little to none of the band's own flavor in it.

the group who performed it, however, was what got me intrigued enough to write a blog. it's the band "Newsong"/

now fofgive me, but doesn't that sound weird? Newsong is performing a bad cover of someone else's song.

Christian Pop-culture

Rachel called me this morning. in a Christian bookstore catalogue, she notice this. Wow. that's all i can say. apparently the caption in the catalogue says "now your kids can dance for the Lord".

It really was a confirmation to me because the other day, i wrote down a question that I really wanted to get some discussion on. It was spurred on because I was reminded of this Christian comedian. After watching some of his stuff, I found him to be funny. But the people who told me about this guy, Brad Stine, are kinda sheltered kids. It made me really want to start a discussion about something that is becoming so huge now. A popular, christian sub-culture.

We've already got (and had for some years) Christian music. I remember that when I was in high school, I would only listen to Christian music. And while I firmly believed it was a matter of my own personal convictions, I would secretly wonder about how serious people were about their faith who listened to "the radio" or CDs from non-Christian artists. Obviously, this was wrong thinking on my part. While there are obviously some bands that promote sin or even simple immorality, there are many non-Christian groups that don't have anything specifically wrong with their music.

There have also been books for some time now, too- including popluar Christian novels. But even now, there are books that have reached "craze" status, regardless of if it's Christian or not.

Anyway, back to the point- it used to be just Christian music. But recently, there have been videos and movies (look at all the apocalypse movies), comedians, video games- seemingly everything. And it makes me wonder WHY. Can Veggie Tales DDR seriously be to help someone's spirituality?

I want to ask the question- does it make us more or less spiritual if we choose (or choose not) to engage ourselves in this sub-culture simply because it's Christian? should we not be disappointed at the poor quality some Christian bands display, but they get a contract because they're "Christian". should we not want good music, funny comedians and well written books?

I am reminded of the band Tree63 telling about being in South Africa (where there music is top-40 type stuff) and there's no Christian or non-Christian music. if a Christian band wants to get recorded, then they have to be GOOD- good enough to compete with non-Christian music.
so I ask the question that I have been wondering for a few days...

Does the popular Christian sub-culture of today reflect:

a)A positive alternative to the negative influences found in normal popular culture?

b)A way for Christian parents to shelter their children and teenagers (or for Christian teens and adults to shelter themselves) from the bad aspects of popular culture?

c)the honest desire of the hearts of Christians to use their gifts in ways to share the Gospel, or at least be a positive influence?

d)desire on the part of media corporations to make money off the segment of the population who designate themselves as Christians?

e)A true desire to be a people who are "set apart"?

f)some combination or these or something else entirely?

I would LOVE to entertain some thoughts.

While I work, I'm away

While I'm working on a new post for a friend dealing with youth ministry and its purpose, I have been visiting his blog and while I waited quite a while for him to post something new, it was well worth the wait! click here to read his most recent post that has impressed me. And be encouraged by his transparent honesty.

visit from family

I had a wonderful visit this past weekend from some of my family! My mother, step-father, grandmother and mom's best friend came to visit Rachel and I out here on the West Coast! We had a very fun visit, spending a lot of time travelling to some of the fun things and places near us! Feel free to check out the pictures that I have posted on my flickr. I also have added some new pictures to my profile here, so feel free to look at those and comment!

a quick overview- they arrived on thursday evening just in time for me to hear from my piano player that she would not be at worship practice, so with practice cancelled, we helped the check into the hotel and then had them over for dinner (a crock pot meal we'd been cooking). I spent most of the day friday with them- getting a start later in the morning- going to lunch with Rachel around noon time and then taking them to a few places around (noteably- up Mt. Ashland near us which is almost on the California border). Saturday, we got an early start and went to the Redwoods, including driving through a tree and also went to the southern Oregon Coast. It was a GREAT day.


Sunday, I had arranged to preach in church and we had a pot-luck following. After that, we took the rest of the afternoon to drive up to Crater Lake. It was the first time Rachel and I had been, despite my desire to have gone many times this summer. It was simply amazing!!!


It was great to have some more familiar faces out here and wonderful to spend time with everyone. While i know not everyone can, rachel and I would love to entertain any of our family and friends who can come to visit us. That's all for now (been quite busy) but I hope to be posting some more topics in the near future as food for thought. don't forget to check out the pictures from this weekend.

remember

today marks 5 years from the day that the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked by terrorists. While I know there will likely be thousands of blogs of reflection, I wanted to give some personal perspective to any readers I may have, if I have any.

I remember where I was when I found out. Everyone has said since that this would be to my generation (whichever generation i'm a part of- Gen-x of millenial- but it works for both) what the Kennedy assasination was to my parents' generation. Everyone will remember where they were, what they were doing, how they found out. Just like the old far side comic with the forest animals gathered around sharing where they were with the caption reading "All the forest animals would forever remember what they were doing when Bambi's mother was killed".

I remember getting to my youth min class just in time to watch the 2nd tower fall after hearing vague reports after leaving chapel about some kind of attack on the pentagon. the planes hit the WTC before chapel started, but most of us were unaware of that because they'd either just crawled out of bet to be in chapel or else they were unfortunate as I was to have an 8am class on that thursday.

I also remember that we sat and talked for a little while during class, but our prof released us early becuase he figured that class was pointless then. Being in Pennsylvania, we were directly between the two major hits, and of course, not that far from the thwarted attempt, as well. i remember that i felt a little guilty for getting out of classes the rest of the day becaue at that time, i didn't really think i knew anyone who would have been there or was affected. but as it turned out, the associate youth pastor at my church was best friends with one of the guys who we discovered later was one of the people on flight 93 (western PA) who thwarted the terrorists. of course, with or without this, I found myself grieving for what this meant for the country and the people who WERE directly affected.

I remember members of congress getting together that evening on the steps of the capital building and singing "God bless America". I remember bi-partisan support of pursuing the terrorist groups responsible for this and seemingly all Americans in unanimous support of the strong leadership president Bush provided at the time. I remember that the petty squabbling that had engulfed our country not a year earlier as the debate raged over who won the presidential election was completely forgotten.

I remember that people were not opposed to needing to show up early for their flights when flights resumed. They were not opposed to extra security measures. There were no complaints because everyone was just happy to feel safe.

And I look at these rememberances as a stark comparisson to what I see again. I see Americans who feel safe again without reason as the terrorist have undoubtedly not stopped, but have been working on even more plans. I see Americans get angry for added security at airports instead of being happy that they can fly (hopefully) safely.

I see Americans hating the president, calling for his head, awaiting the day he leaves office. I see that there seems to have never been as big of a divide between the two political parties that dominate American politics as there is at this time.

and yet- today, we remember. Today is a day to commemorate those who died due to the hatred and malice of others- one of the greatest acts of man's hatred toward other men. Perhaps we can also remember how we were, for at least one moment, united. Perhaps we can remember that we don't have to hate one another or let stuipd divisions like political beliefs or affiliations divide us as people. Perhaps we can see that if we don't stop down the path we are on, we will have it happen again- this time perhaps from within due to the hatred that is bred within our own country.

Perhaps... as belivers in Christ, pehaps we can remember to pray. We can remember to ask God to show us the people around us as He sees them, not as enemies, but as lost people who are in despearate need. Perhaps we can remember that our faith has the ability to unite people and share the ultimate love.

rememberance and pride

I have been a fan of David Crowder Band since I first heard them. David Crowder has written a good book that I read. But... I just got the album "A Collision" by the band. And while it sounds pretty decent all-around, there's a song on it that bothers me. The song also made its way onto the latest Passion CD- "Everything Glorious". Maybe it just reminds me too much of another song that really kills me because of it's content... it's called "We Win" which seems close to the same theme as the song "I Win".

I have a friend- James- who told me that they were singing this song "I win" one day in chapel at his college... He got frustrated, went up on stage and said "Don't you get it- WE DON'T WIN- GOD DOES!" I was very happy for that because i'm a huge fan of thinking through the theology of songs before introducing them into useage for congregational singing. the lines of this song are "no matter what the weapon is, I want you to know that I win (echo- I win)" and the chorus is just a repeating "I win, I win, I win, I win..."

I like Crowder's song slightly more because it is WE win, not I win. there's a HUGE theological difference with using one word or the other, and even in corporate worship, singing all songs with I in there tend to get the focus on "I'm worshipping" not "we're worship together" and ultimately, focus away from who we are worshipping. getting back on topic, however, the lyrics of Crowder's song are along the lines of "Cause we've already won and you don't have a chance, yeah we've already won and you don't have a chance" however, offeste by... "This is for His Glory, His glory- we have already won".

to those looking for a short read, i apologize- those paragraphs prior to this were only the introduction. This newer song and the other one that sends shivers down my spine have gotten me thinking about the nature of a few things. First, Crowder talks about shouting, shouting until the walls come down. It got me thinking about ancient Israel. They certainly had their share of victories, sadness and they are interesting to study. There are stories that we're all relatively familiar with like the battle of Jericho where they go, march around the wall and on the last day, they all yell (that would work GREAT- if the walls were made of Jell-o. ooh- then we could just eat 'em) and the walls come down. this is the story that got me thinking.

Then there's the story of Gideon, who weeded out almost 32,000 to get the 300 guys voted "most unlikely to fight and win a battle" in high school. He took those 300 because God asked him to trim the army down and those 300 went into battle and without even raising a sword, they routed the enemy.

Both of these stories are not to be studied by generals or military geniuses. The strategy will not win the battle in the natural. But when God told them to, He took care of it. It makes me wonder, however, what did people think after the battle. They seem to have forgotten what God did for them so many times (the book of Judges- they got oppressed again) the people seem to have forgotten. But they didn't forget what was done- it's hard to forget that the reason we are not oppressed is because the enemy was defeated. So perhaps pride is the reason. God did things HIS way to ensure that no one could take glory for them, but as the participants fade away and pass away, perhaps the descendents have forgotten what was done for the people who came before.

And so perhaps we have people bragging about "I win" because they have forgotten that we didn't even fight the battle. We may struggle, but the REAL battle that has already been won was won by Jesus Christ on the cross. it's not the struggle that we have today against sin and perhaps evil powers, but Christ's victory over sin that matters most to us today. And we would do best not to forget it.

do you sing?

I just took a call at the church from a woman asking about the time of our 2nd service on sunday mornings and after confirming that it was at 11am, she proceeded to ask if we sing hymns. I stated that we sing hymns during the 1st service, but our 2nd service does not typically have hymns. She asked me again the same question with the emphasis on hymns- "I asked, do you sing HYMNS??" So I responded again, with a sure tone, that our 1st service is a traditional service in which we sing hymns, however, our 2nd service (which she's inquired about) is our contemporary service and we do not sing hymns often. She responded with a quick thank you and then hung up.

I know that the Church in the United States has been through the "worship wars" and many churches are still in the midst of it. but i post this here now because i wanted to get a little discussion going- regarding this question. Is this a question that should be asked when looking for a church? what other questions should someone ask when they are looking for a church home? what should the primary determining factor be? And how do you get past the ambiguous questions/feelings like "I think God wants us here" for which there may be no proof except for our own feelings?

discuss.

politically charged

i've been feeling a bit charged over the past few days... there is nothing in particular that is causing me to wrestle with some of these issues- at least, not some kind of current event. I have been reading a few things recently that have been giving me the desire to read more about them and wrestle with them.

what i'm dealing with right now is politics. A few weeks ago, i was looking through Keith Drury's website and came across THIS article of his regarding Can Christians vote for democrats. 5 or 6 years ago before moving away from northern Maine, going to college and experiencing a more diverse cross-section of the Christian faith, I would have argued against that possibility. As a matter of fact, I seem to remember going to the Rec Center in Presque Isle and voting Republican right down the line. What a responsible thing for me to do- not concern myself with any issues or a person's stance.

Back to the subject at hand, however, I also read an article a few weeks ago passed along to me by a friend. It was in the NY times and is in yesterday's blog about my new reading list- or at least, a link to it is there. And i recieved the two books listed there, as well, from Amazon and began reading eagerly.

Let me just be blunt- i'm getting quite tired of watching other Christians around me blindly following a leader, a political agenda or a political party. I was talking with another Christian a few months ago- a very politically conservative- about politics one time. I got to mentioning how I find myself in line with the Repulican party on what many consider to be "moral" issues- particularly, abortion and homosexuality. But the last time I voted in Maine, I voted for the democratic candidate for governor. Because I thought he had a better platform on issues regarding education and the environment- and beyond that, he is a devout Catholic, so unless he divided himself from the Catholic Church, I knew where he stood on abortion and homosexuality. Beyond that, the republican candidate was NOT a Christian, might as well have been an atheist for as much as he referenced any kind of deity.

The person I was speaking with and told these things to said it seemed like it should have been better to vote for the democrat, except that supporting that candidate would help to push forward the democrat's platform that included keeping abortion legal and marriages for homosexuals. I would presume that means this person just votes republican because he supports that party.

This has bothered me. I guess if that person wholeheartedly agrees with the republican stance on their issues, then he should feel free to support them. But I'm not sure that I do. And I'm not sure that the Bible does, either. However- we find ourselves at this place where the Chruch in north America seems to be in support of the Republican party. I've heard it preached from the pulpit, i've read "voter's guides" which go just short of saying "vote for the republican".

Conservative Christians seem to believe that getting republicans elected will somehow help the Church out. It will give us a more "moral" person or at least a better platoform toward Christianity. But what we fail to realize is that the republican party only cares about Christians because it wants their votes!!! It caters to conservative Christians on the "big" issues for votes!!!

There are more issues that Christians need to think about the Biblical standard for when thinking about politics. They should consider the environment, the Biblical stance on war and peace, the death penalty, caring for the poor, and education- just to name a few things off the top of my head.

It seems to me that somewhere along the way, Christians were convinced, whether due to a VERY convincing argument or because they lacked the initiative to chase down answers for themselves, that the Republican party is the Christian party. And I know what it is like to be one of those. The problem is that instead of the Church being a voice of conscience against any and all things that need to be changed, it has become a pawn of the Republican party. it is NOT the Christian party- even though most evangelical Christians support this party, to have a political party that is religiously defined is detrimental. And there are many who are republicans who are NOT Christians. Just as there are Christian democrats. To line up Christian faith with one political party or the other would be to uphold certain parts of the Bible (our source for belief) and deny other parts.

I honestly do not think that the Church is place to support politics, make pleas for "moral" politicians or anything like that. If the Church too closely allies itslef with one party or another, it begins to lose its integrity, and thus, our witness. Church needs to be the place that teaches the Bible and disciples are grown. And when growing mature disciples, those people will be capable to make their own decisions of what they believe and how they vote regarding ALL issues and not simply two or three that seem to be the major issues.

reading list- update

it never fails- I always get more and more books. Continue to pile up the collection! And it never fails that I will purchase 4 books when I have not yet finished 4 books since my last purchase, thus not only increasing my book total, but also increasing my reading list.

here are the few books i've purchased since posting my reading list, with none of the reading list actually being finished, although good headway being made in the books on the list. here we go... again:

Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America (By Randall Balmer)& The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church (By Gregory Boyd)- These two books seem to be along the same type of topic. I was forwarded to this article by a friend of mine and as I read it, I found myself resonating with it more and more. It's not that this article has changed my view as much as it has affirmed the way I feel about things more and more. Both of these books seem to deal with the problem that arises from the "marriage" that has occured between evangelical Christians and the Republican party. While it is not wrong to be politically active and to support good causes, it is wrong for Christianity to support one political party exclusively- particularly when there are parts of both party's platforms that I resonate with as a Christian. Instead of Christianity being a balance against politic improprieties and for morality in an immoral world, they have become one of many groups in the pocket of a politically conservative party that has NO interest in Christianity or religious things in general. They have become a pawn in the hands of politicians trying to get as many people on their side as possible. As Christians, we need to be above that!! (sorry for the rant- perhaps this will become a standalone blog in the next few days)

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in Amaerica by Randall Balmer- this was coupled at Amazon with the book above by the same author, so I bought it because it looked interesting. a quick dive into it reveals that it is a good look into various forms of the evangelical tradition and, as revealed by the preface in Thy Kingdom Come was instrumental in this author reclaiming his roots, albeit not buying into it blindily (which no one should do with their faith)

The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring the Sabbath by Mark Buchanan- as noted in my other to read list, I can't say that I've actually heard of this particular book as much as I've really enjoyed reading from this author in the past. This book is his newest (I believe) and thus wasn't referenced in anything else (whereas Your God is Too Safe was referenced in the book of his that I'd read previously). But I'm excited about it because the topic of it seems very close to me- I've always been a big proponent of taking a day as a Sabbath, whether it is the traditional Sabbath or just a day in the week dedicated to rest and restoration. I'm curious to read more on this.

This is the addition to the list. however, I feel obligated to add this to the list, should anyone out there feel the need to question my spirituality- the Bible is more than at the top of this list- it transcends this list. If I could read one book, this would be it. If I could read nothing else, this would suffice. And as I read these books and the rest of the list, I try to match them up with Scripture. As Martin Luther said, "Sola Scriptura"

good, bad and ugly "Pirates" review

Since the hottest movie of the summer, at least from the box office, is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest, I thought I might chime in. There seem to be differing opinions for this movie from extremely wonderful to extremely terrible. I will give my $.02, and hopefully not give out any spoilers but no promises.

First thoughts from the theater: there was a trailer prior to the move for a movie about snakes being let loose in an airplane. I know a couple people who are scared stiff by snakes, but just in general- terrible idea. The entire theater, which was full, was laughing by the time it finished- and it was people laughing like Thats the stupidest idea Ive ever heard!! and I commented to the unknown young man next to me I cant believe Samuel L. Jackson is in that movie, which, consequently, would be the only reason to see it. Because he doesnt do much crap- bad movies with him in that come to mind are only Star Wars Episodes I & II, and he probably did those because theyre Star Wars for crying out loud.

Ok, on to the movie. In general, there were some really good parts, some parts that made me roll my eyes, and some ugly parts. So in that spirit, I do a The good, the bad and the ugly review.

The Good: somewhat recycled music. I absolutely love the music in the first one. It is quite possibly one of the best movie scores of the past 15 years of movies, and I would venture to say the best non-John Williams score of that time period. They used the same basic theme from the last one, and at times, it even sounded like it was the same music, just refit for a new scene. This may confuse me in the future as I listen to just the music.

Another good- some great sword fighting scenes- one with an especially interesting plot twist. Either there are some really close looking stunt guys, or Jack Davenport, Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom have been really well trained with the swords, although we already knew that about Depp and Bloom from the first Pirates movie.

There were also some comical moments alluding to the first movie. The first moment which stood out to me was when the Governor was standing in the dungeon hallway with Bloom and he put his hand on an iron candle arm extending from the wall and it broke off and he had no idea what to do with it. The best allusion from the first movie, however, was when we find that Depp has been made the chief of a tribe. Its so funny because the first movie has this strange line that seems to make no sense whatsoever as Depp is talking to the two British navy-men while Kiera Knightley falls- And then they made me their chief.

The bad: Just as some of the moments that alluded to the first movie were amusing, some of them were really not. The one in particular that I felt the movie could do without was the two bumbling pirates from the Black Pearl, one with the wooden eye and his friend. They were amusing, but their antics did not provide the comic relief that they were intended to do.

This movie was a bit darker than the first one. I know, hard to get darker from cursed pirates who turn into skeletons in the moonlight. It, did however, feel darker. Some of the scenes were a little more tense, but not in a good way.

The plot- it just didnt seem as intriguing this time. There were parts when I was really drawn into the movie, but they were fewer and father between. Sometimes it felt thin. By the time Depp finally admits something about his compass, which is a focal point, I (and Id assume the whole audience) had already figured it out.

The ugly: Without a doubt, Davey Jones. He himself and all of the people who were under his curse, were becoming more and more like the sea. Jones had squid tentacles for his face, other guys had barnacles, star fish and other hardened creates that their faces and bodies were becoming. It was no more or less disturbing or disgusting than the skeletal creatures in the first movie. There was one part with a guy whose head was inside of a seashell. His head got knocked off and he eventually just had to have a crab come out of the shell to move his head around.

The sight of Depp with six eyes painted on his cheeks and another pair painted on his eyelids.

NOT Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightley. They were beautiful people, just the way they are and hardly needed any make-up to look the part of pirates! Probably still a big drawing point for this movie.

Final thoughts: Depp made the first movie with his staggering around, being a pirate who is somewhat crazy and seemingly always drunk. He continued that role well, but it was not as much the movie maker. There were multiple plot twists, some expected and some unexpected. The end of the movie was, from my point of view, quite predictable. Even the final scene before the credits rolled. However, after sleeping on it and thinking about it, I would give this movie a high B or a low B+. Not the greatest movie, but certainly not without its good parts.

Recommendations

My Recommendations:
In light of my recent blogging regarding books, reading and intellect, Ive kept up with that and decided that its time to give my recommendation list. It is by no means comprehensive, but it is a good list. Enjoy!

Max Lucado- I used to read from Max when I was a new Christian and found LOTS of great stuff. I still find good stuff in reading some of his books, although Ive been turned off recently by the new covers on some of his books- seems to trivialize the writing. I havent read many of his works that are more recent, however. John Piper- God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in Him. Piper has heralded Christian Hedonism and it comes directly from Westminster Catechisms The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Richard Foster- His writing is quite deep and challenging. For as thick as it is to wade through, however, it is very applicable and always worth taking the time A gifted writer and communicator, hes among my favorite authors. C.S. Lewis- a gifted man. His fiction is world renowned and recently put into major motion picture. They tell the story of the Gospel through wonderful allegorical stories. His non-fiction works are renowned as faith classics- they are read worldwide and have been helpful to many Christians, old and young, spiritual babies and giants and in between. Books: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers- while it may seem to be a little trite and on everyones list, Ive used this multiple years and still found myself drawn by it. It was very helpful in getting me to the point of daily devotional time. Holy Wild by Mark Buchanan- I stumbled across this book while browsing. Its not typical of me to browse and find something- usually Ill look at the stack of books at B&N and decide its too daunting to try and find one or two non-specific books in there. So Ill start looking for authors instead. But I found this and decided to pick it up. I read it with my antennae up because Id never heard of the author. It is a good book dealing with how we view God and how that defines us. It is an invitation to see God as beyond our current ideas- untamable, mysterious, and surprising. Not too academic of a read, it was worth the time put into reading it. Boy Meets World by Joshua Harris- The guy who kissed dating goodbye. He wrote this as a follow up. Whatever you call it- dating, courting, holy dating- doesnt matter. What matters are the principles by which you go about searching for a spouse. There are some helpful tips in here- but warning- this is more for young adults and older- teenagers who are not anywhere near ready for marriage need not read this. Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris- Im really not as big of a Joshua Harris as may be indicated here. However, this particular book is a good call to membership and commitment to a local church body. As a youth pastor in a church setting, I find it nice that someone has taken the time to explore Biblical ideas in commitment to a local congregation you would call home. The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence- clanging pots and pans, washing dishes, being the cook for a monastery. May not seem very enticing nor may it seem quiet enough, but this is the place that Brother Lawrence was when he did what he called Practicing the presence of God, a continual going with God, continual communion and conversation. He took 1 Thes. 5:17 to heart. And we can do well in our fast paced world to learn from this mans letters and attitude. The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark I. Pinsky- I was first introduced to this as it was cited in a textbook that is now in my to finish pile of books. It is a good look, if not a little stretched, at some of the moral and positive things to come out of the show that was so widely opposed by evangelicals and fundamentalists when it began. As a fan of the show, I simply could not miss reading this book, and recommending it to others. The Prayer of Jesus by Hank Hanegraff- most likely written in response to The Prayer of Jabez craze that was all the rage a few years ago, Hannegraff examines the prayer of the ONLY person in the Bible who is worth emulating completely. He explores the prayer that Jesus taught to his followers, and a prayer that we ourselves can benefit from praying. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster- while hes listed in my authors, this book is one worth noting! It is a deep look into 12 classic Christian disciplines, both corporate and individual- from fasting to prayer to worship and beyond! The kind of book thats worth reading over and over again, if I could recommend one book to aid the growth of new and young Christians, this book tops the list. The Fire of His Holiness by Sergio Scataglini- while I was at Christ Community Church in college they had this Argentinean pastor visiting. His message is about God's call to radical holiness 98% purity does not suffice. God's fire must fall on us to burn away the impurities and cleanse us to meet this call. The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney- this book was very popular at one point- readers are familiar with Tenney's story of being in a church and the pastor pleading for God's presence. presence and God's manifest presence showed up. While a bit charismatic and somewhat mainstream, it's a good call to drop everything and pursue the one thing that satisfies the soul and can fill us. Comics: Calvin & Hobbes -perhaps the greatest comic ever penned for the daily paper and the weekend funnies. The kid was WAY too smart and funny to be 6 years old. But in so many ways, he is normal. Ozy and Millie- reminds me very much of Calvin & Hobbes sometimes. Bentley introduced me to this comic and I go back to see each days new strip. The Far Side - Jim Larson always made me laugh with his comics. Sometimes they were completely random, sometimes historical and sometimes just flat out funny. Takes an appreciation for many aspects of life. I still remember getting The Chickens are Revolting collection in 7th grade and taking it around to different teachers and showing comics that reflected things we were learning in history, science and more. My anti-recommendation list: There may be nothing wrong with these books in particular, but I give warning in these books and authors. Joel Osteen- his preaching and books are very light. As in fluff. He comes across to me, from what Ive seen and read, as more of a motivational speaker. Hes very much into the positive aspect of the Gospel and does not seem to talk about issues of sin, dealing with sin and our unworthiness to be called. Rick Warren- While not hardly as light as Osteen is, Warren can be light sometimes, too.His focus on purpose for lives, churches and other ministries can be good, but often times leads to the belief that its more about us. Something more to be wary of. And then his ministry started a ministry called Celebrate Recovery for anyone with a hurt, habit or hang-up which is fluffy talk for anyone with a sin problem. The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson- not a bad little book when read correctly. But too many have read it as a book to pray for wealth and happiness. Its not that. And there must also be a remembrance that Jabez was a small figure in the Bible and if he was worth emulating, there may have been more about him in there.Also reached craze stage for many churches and people read it just so they could say theyve read it. Lee Strobel- actually a VERY good author. He has written some very good stuff. But his most noted works are the Case for series which give logical explanations and reasoning arguments for the faith. I recommend caution here simply because the world of today, a post-modern world, does not respond as much to logical arguments. They will not be argued into the faith and will say that while you may have made your point, they still do not agree with you. Do read, however, of his books, Reaching Unchurched Harry & Mary if youre interested in evangelism. George Barna- He is the Christian version of the Gallup poll. He is very good at polling people, gathering information and reading that information. However, in some of his more recent books, notably Revolution he did a very poor job of interpreting that information. He is not a theologian and he does not often make good use of the Bible in his assertions. He has done some good work with his polls and I remember reading 2 of his books for classes at college and agreeing with them, but I also remember disagreement. Keep your brain turned on when reading his books. In general, be vigilant and watchful regarding and books or even music that become extremely popular.The gospel is an offensive thing and there will be people who reject it.If there is a book that has no critics or appeals to so many people, be careful. Often times, books such as that miss important parts so as not to be offensive and ultimately short-change Christs death. Also, while reading, I encourage everyone, do not be afraid to disagree with the author. Just because the person has published a book does not mean that he/she is always right and you cannot disagree. It is important to use our minds because thats what God gave them to us for. stay tuned for my wishlist of books

reading list

so, in light of yesterdays little blogging session, I feel inspired to share with you my current reading list. I've removed a BUNCH of books off my shelves and put them on my "to read" pile. I'm going to name them all here and why/how I came in contact with each book. This is a pretty good sized list, but takes a large chunk out of the "on my shelf but never read it" books.

so, here we go- in no particular order. I would recommend each of these books mostly because I haven't read them, or at least, in their entirety, but mostly because they came recommended to me somehow.

Your God is Too Small by JB Phillips- got for my Christian Theology class in college. Forgot that we had an assignment on the book and missed turning in my paper about it. We discussed it, but there are some good little nuggets I want to pull from it. It's a small book. Read, Think, Pray, Live by Tony Jones- a book I'd gotten a year and a half ago- was previewing it to use as book study for my youth group- decided against it, but maybe now. I'm over halfway through- I just need to finish it now. 21 Things God Never Said by R. Larry Moyer- I don't read much by people from Dallas Theological Seminary, but this book was particularly enticing. It is primary a book regarding evangelism and takes 21 common misconceptions and puts some light to them. I started reading a few days ago. This may be a good book for a book study, too. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller- You may note this is on my list of books in my profile. It has been recommended to me by so many people, I don't think I could start to count! Rachel bought it for me for Christmas and I just haven't gotten to it yet. Note the long list of books- that's why. Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi by David Crowder- One of my favorite worship leaders, I have heard excellent things about this book. I began it in the middle of May because I was using some material from it for a sermon I preached. Now I want to finish it- I've had a few times to sit and read it, but have not made that conscious effort. Love, Sex and Relationships by Dean Sherman. Actually a book that Rachel acquired while she was with YWAM, it's a book that I totally want to read. What i've previewed of it is excellent and I may want to do a book study with my youth group through this book, as well. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper- I was turned on to Piper by Luke as he helped Rachel and I move across the country. Then, my senior pastor preached a series about joy from another of Piper's books. Seemed like something I'll want to be reading. When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy by John Piper- Actually a book I'd begun a while ago, but it got misplaced as I had to use it to prop up the projector at youth camp and now no one seems to know where it is. As it is replaced, it will be started again. No More Mr. Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin- I simply noticed this book as I walked through Borders last October. I picked it up, read the book jacket and leafed through the Contents page, and some of the book. Looked like an interesting read. Haven't gotten into it yet, I'll let you know how it turns out. A little put off that the foreward was written by Dr. Laura. Your God is Too Safe by Mark Buchanan- I had read another book by this author- Holy Wild. I picked it up off the shelf at Barnes and Noble one day while I was just browsing. The title caught me and I bought and read. He referenced this one many times, and reminded me of the JB Philips book that I have listed. Seemed like a logical next book. God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture by Eric Michael Mazur and Kate McCarthy- I have read certain portions of this book- it was a required source for my "Senior Seminar in Theology and Religion" class in college. They were good books. Plus, it seems like the kind of book I'd want to read as I find myself engaging my faith with culture on a regular basis. Paradoxes for Living by N. Graham Standish- this book was required reading for my "Christian Spirituality" class. The prof was so boring. I read enough out of the book to be able to participate in discussion. The discussion was good and encouraged me to read it, but in college, there was no time for non-class reading pretty much. So it got put on the shelf.. And stayed there. Created for Community: Connecting Christian Belief with Christian Living by Stanley Grenz- a required book for my "Christian Theology" class. It was our primary source book, and I read some of it- it was good, but for some reason, I insisted on being a bad student (this was during my first year at college when I needed to make adjustments to my study habits). Seemed like something I may want to pick up and finish off, especially in my current situation where community seems to be to a lesser degree than in many places Ive been. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis- hard to believe I've never read this "essential" classic of the faith. But I haven't. I've read others of Lewis's books, but not this. It is lauded with praise, it'll be worth taking on. The Power of a Praying Husband by Stormie Omartan- My step-father got this for me for Christmas/my birthday right before I was married. Its not a very long book, but I have not taken the time to go through it. It seems like it will be a break from the HEAVY books on this list, but hopefully it will be something useable, too. Sometimes I feel as though I'm not the husband I want to be and I'm thinking there's something I can do about it. Soul Feast: An Invitation to the Christian Spiritual Life by Marjorie J. Thompson- diving back in DEEP, this book was for my spirituality class as well. Again, the boring prof, etc, etc... Squeaked through by reading a little and participating in discussion, etc. Really DO want to read this, and have actually begun it. It's very thick reading and I can get a chapter at a time before I really need to reflect on it. I have to stop in the middle sometimes just to keep up. Conformed to His Image by Kenneth Boa- Bought this book online as a suggestion to preview for the young adult ministry I was leading at New Hope. Got it and found it was much bigger than I expected as well as a very deep book- probably a little more than we wanted to do. So after a quick preview, went to the shelf. The Great Worship Awakening by Robb Redman- a recommended book that had a good review written to it. Bought it online and just haven't gotten to it. Really excited for it, but... no dice so far. The New Worship by Barry Liesch- another recommendation with a good review, I have started this book, but it got buried under the pile of stuff I needed to do while at New Hope. Apparently, preparing me spiritually for leading worship and researching worship trends was not part of my primary job as worship leader there. The Seven Cries of Today's Teens by Timothy Smith- a quick preview led me to thinking this was more a book for parents. But I want to know what's in there because I'm here for parents as well as teens as the youth pastor. So it's on the list. Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster- The author of what I'd consider to be one of the most comprehensive books on the Christian Disciplines, A Celebration of Discipline. I read that book and it was intellectually stimulating, excited my faith and encouraged me toward growth! I bought this book shortly after having read that and have simply not taken the time to read it. It's a large book, and it promises to be as deep as Celebration of Discipline- it may take a long time to read. But I'm sure it will be excellent. Unbreakable: The Seven Pillars of a Kingdom Family by Tom Elliff- a book I just happened to pass at Ollie's Bargain Basement- I got it for $2.99. It's not a large book, and I'm not sure I've heard of the author before. It's a book I'll read with my "Satan Sense" in gear (see Simpsons Episode- 13x11- She of Little Faith). If it looks like a lot, that's because it IS. I'm very ambitious and I know that this will not be completed by this summer, maybe not even by the end of the year, but I'll be working on it. Stay tuned as this has inspired me to put together a list of book recommendations from my shelves. While this list is primarily Christian things, that list may not be.

just wasn't thinking

See, that's the problem right now. I honestly don't think that I've been thinking much recently. I am an intellectual person, stimulated by intellectual conversation and very much a thinker. I love good books, good conversation, good debate and I have a tendency to do well in school situations if I can focus enough to do required readings, etc.

But I have this problem. In general, with these things at least, I guess I'm lazy. I haven't finished a good book in quite a while (though i've started some). I have a large number of books on my bookshelf in my office which have not been read completely through. But I REALLY do want to read them!!

Today, I began to dig in to some of my books- a few in one day! Wow- forgot how much I loved the thrill of challenging my intellect, of interacting with great thinkers, disagreeing, following arguments, whatever! Perhaps I've tried to do some of these things online but have not failed- while I love reading friends blogs that deal with deep issues, my concentration on the internet is not very good. Reading a book- my attention is all there.

So I guess I'm starting fresh today- I want to break out of my laziness and challenge my intellect again! To read good books, to think about things more deeply. I must have been using it at least a little bit because it was not strenuous to read today. I just want to get more into it.

of gasoline and cow juice

back in 1998 (December of '98) when I got my first car as my early high school graduation gift, gasoline cost around $1.45ish/gallon. It's nott that it was terribly expensive, but just that I didn't have a job or money to fill my tank. but as I was talking about it, a older friend of mine commented that he was just glad we didn't run our cars on milk, which was at that time, between $2.50 and $3.00/gallon. It's not so much anything special about cow-juice, it was more just for the comparisson that there are things that cost more than gasoline.

Now here I sit, 7 1/2 years later. I'm on the other side of the country (Oregon now, compared to northern Maine then) and I wonder... Who's going to be the genius that makes a milk car. I honestly wonder what costs more per gallon than gasoline now and think of how I paid less than $2.50 the last time I bought a gallon of milk. So why can we not somehow start running our cars from the milk of cows? It's a more renewable source of energy.

So, if you're a scientist and you come across this, I think the next great idea should be for someone to make a car that runs on milk. that would be awesome!

everything will be ok?

So, I was at the Northwest District Wesleyan Youth Camp this week with 5 of my teenagers. Hopefully I will reflect and share more on my blog about that (both here and myspace). But for now, I want to reflect for a moment on something that is fit for this blog, which no one in my church or with connection to my current church know of or reads.

On thursday, our District Superintendent came to camp and shared with our teens in the morning rally. It was a great talk that my teens absolutely loved (especially when they saw him and his white hair, they thought he'd be boring). But aftward, he and I got a chance to talk. All of these frustrations I've had since moving out here have been weighing on me. And Rachel and I are... Well, not trying to move on, but unsure of how much longer we really belong here... But I got to share these things with Karl and it was very relieving to me.

I shared some of my biggest concerns, the biggest of which is not having the church reach out to us, but even more, our senior pastor, who has expressed wanting a friendship relationship with us (Rach and me), not reaching out very much to us, either. He and his wife are very non-expressional and Rachel and I don't feel close to them. We woudl go to others with major issues before going to them. So we want to get that. It was great to get that out and share this and many other concerns with my DS.

I love being in a denomination. I love being able to share such things with a guy above my senior pastor and just be able to talk things off him and have a good listener, person with experience and more to share back with me. his job is basically to shepherd the shepherds, which is not an easy job, but... nonetheless- I am very happy to be able to share with him and figure out what's just me and what is real stuff to bring up.

I plan to talk with Kerry about a couple things sometime this week, or at the very least, soon. Pray for me as I do- I want this to work out right now cuz we're not quite ready to leave.

kinda unhappy

Last week Rachel and I had the pleasure of being over the house of an older couple in our church- they were in ministry for a number of years and he is only now retired thanks to a medical condition. Anyway- they've been an extremely supportive couple for Rachel and I since we've been here. They have been great to us and we enjoy being able to spend time with them.

Anyway- we were over there a week or a week and a half ago talking with them and Dick (the husband). He mentioned something to us that could have been very exciting, but ultimately made me kinda unhappy. hence, my title.

Let me begin with this. there are a few frustrations that I deal with in my current youth ministry setting that are things I'd prefer not to deal with. Here they are:

1. Time. Our church building gets heavy usage during the week from groups that are not part of our church. Monday nights an AA group is there, Tuesday nights & Saturdays (all day) a 7th Day Adventist church uses our building, and Friday night another AA group uses it. During the mornings on tuesdays and thursdays (as well as thursday afternoons) the fellowship hall is used by a real estate group.

That leave us with wednesday, thursday and sunday nights that we can use for anything youth ministry at the church. Thursdays are currently our worship practice nights. wednesday nights, some of our kids have other ministries they go to (that they went to before we got here) AND the church has a "family night" but that leaves us to either use only the youth room or to need to leave the church. This leads me to point 2...

2. Space- we have a small youth room. It's cozy, but it's not large. We cannot grow more in the small space that we have. It's furnished with a couple comfortable sofas and we have a foosball table, too. But there's not much space for that stuff. I love having a foosball table, but it always gets put up against the wall. We just don't have much space to grow and for the number of kids we've been getting on sunday mornings, we're filling up. More space would help us a LOT! The senior pastor has mentioned that he'd like us to be able to spill out of the youth room into the fellowship hall. But a common area like that is hardly something that we as the youth ministry can feel an ownership in. Other groups use the fellowship hall, and both times that we have youth stuff, either the fellowship hall is being used or we shouldn't be using it. It's not something that would be easy to do...

3. People. While our church is growing, there seem to be a large number of older people at the church. Not many of whom serve in children's/youth ministries. A plea was given that someone take over the wednesday night program for 3 months this summer so that the people who have been doing it continually since starting could have a break. no dice. no one volunteered. Just in general, I don't think people get the idea to volunteer. And I think that it comes form a mentality passed down by the pastor/leadership that ministry is for the pastors to do (as seen by having 4 pastors at the church- two of them volunteer- and those two because the pastor wanted to give some "authority" to the leaders of ministries). I think that leads to people thinking that pastors are ministers... which is not what it should be. pastors teach the word and equip people to minister to their circle.

Anyway- those are, for the most part, my concerns. I probably wouldn't be worried about these things except that a solution to those problems came across the senior pastor's desk months before rachel and I came. A Christian businessman in the area owns a building a couple blocks down from the church. the upstairs portion of this building was empty at the time (with probably more square footage of our whole church building) and Dick was working with this businessman on something. Dick had volunteered to take the youth ministry on at that time, but he wanted to move it out of the church. He worked with the businessman and had worked out a deal for COMPLETE usage of the upstairs of this place. Could do anything they wanted to it, basically- repaint, refloor, whatever.

This man met with Dick and the senior pastor about the space and before the man could get anything out, senior pastor said to him "we will pay no more than $250 per month". Which may have been what the church could afford at the time, but... it's excessively low for anywhere. another church rents our building, smaller space, for an extremely low rate of $500/month for only saturdays. But the businessman just was so apalled at the attitude that our senior pastor gave him that he walked out and told Dick he refused to work with him. He later confessed that for $1000 a month, we could have had complete usage of this space, all the time. While that may have been more than the church could afford, they have made steps of faith for money issues in the past.

Anyway- so i'm just a little upset after hearing that because my concerns that I have, at least 2 or 3, and maybe all 3 (having something like that for a youth center could get people interested in helping) could have been taken care of with this building. But no, the attitude of the senior pastor made this man not desire to work with us on it. And now- the place is being opened in a couple days as a coffee-house.... we could have done something like that and more...

oh well... que sera...

My Next Great Idea

Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!"

I have been kicking this around for a day. I think that I want to put this verse as an invitation to all Gen-Xers and Millenials (aka, like 35 and under). It is my invitation to you. It is the way we can come to the Gospel. Maybe even should come to it this way.

I put this as in opposition to a modern approach to the gospel. Quick review- Modernism heralds reason and science as the ultimate. So modern approaches to the gospel include an argument to the faith. Lee Strobel wrote a series of books known as "The Case For" series, including The Case for Christ, the Case for Faith and the Case for Easter. These books logically go down a list and take each argument against each subject and put it to the light, ending with the basic understanding that no thinking person can disagree with it.

Christian "tracts" that present the gospel are modern in nature- walking the logical steps from we are all sinners to the place that the only alternative is to accept Christ.

These things are not bad. I am not bashing them. However, these things do not really entice me to believe. Strobel might even agree with me today, as he wrote a book called "Reaching Unchurched Harry and Mary" and it seems to have little in there about logical arguments to the faith. A millenial can agree with everything you've said in your argument to the faith and then say, "that doesn't mean i'm going to become a Christian", basically saying, that's great that you can defend it, but i'm looking for more.

Taste and see- this is an invitation to me, to you- to all. Experience that Christ is good! Experience that Christ has more for you than the world. Taste and see. Test the water and find that abundant life from Christ is truly fulfilling! Find that he does forgive sins, experience that He died for you and what it means. Experience the life of faith.

Encounter Christ. Pharisees were not easily argued to faith- they knew the scriptures, many of them practiced the scriptures. what it took for men like Nicodemus was experiencing Christ's power first hand. He could not just hear of it, he had to encounter Christ. I feel invited by a verse that says "Taste and see that the Lord is good"

It is a call to people that just because we can prove our faith is right, you still must experience it in order to fully grasp. It is not a faith completely made up of logic and reason, thus logic and reason cannot be our sole basis for faith!

35 and unders- we are about the experience. I will not say you are right becase I haven't expereinced it. In fact, until I do, I will tell you that your faith is right for you, but not for me. Until I experience that Christ died for all, not just for those who currently are Christians, I will believe it is only for those people and other faiths are for others.

Taste and see- encounter, experience... God is good- our faith is the real deal!

i've been wondering

I've been pondering something the past few days. And I want to put it on paper, or in writing at least, so that I can organize it just a little.

Background- first, it seems to many (especially churches trying to reach millenials and x-ers) that sunday school is dead. The whole idea of sunday school classes, and then worship and sermon just doesn't fly with a lot of people. and in some ways, I feel a bit of agreement. Sunday School was started as an outreach tool for the church- to reach people who may not want to be in church. It was also a primary teaching tool for Christian instruction, teaching the faith, living our faith, teaching the gospel and more. But more and more people are believing it to be outdated.

with that said, our church has seen significant growth since before I got here. Some of that is older people, but in general, our pastor believes Sunday School is a big part of it. there was none and since it was started again, we've seen growth. Now, we don't know if growth has happened because of that or simply along side of that. Regardless, this has got me pondering something. As a person, and a pastor, and as a border line gen-x/millenial.

What if we do this, instead. Have Sunday school on sunday morning- multiple classes for ages, primarily. Basically, have Sunday school- maybe a little modified for each congregation. And then, after sunday school (or before- or both if you do 2 services), gather together for worship. Included are music, offering, scripture reading, prayer time- whatever else is incorportated in a worship service. And then, dismiss.

One of the reasons many people give for giving up on sunday school is that it gives people too try and grasp on a sunday morning. So if we can get the to grasp one thing well, that is better than not grasping 2 or more things. This gives us that one thing. It also gives small groups, close connection, meeting together, Biblical teaching/instruction and preserves corporate worship. It preserves the body because we're not completely individualized groups that meet away from church and barely see each other. The pastor therefore is responsible for not only teaching a class, but also instructing the other teachers so that the teaching is solid, bilical and doctrinally sound.

Would this work for a church? Does size matter in this potential model? What do you think of it? Responses welcome, by any and all who may read this.

so frustrated

This morning, our church had a service performed by our 2006 Guatemala team. I have observations that I want to make known, and yet just about everyone in my congregation will not agree with me.

In a nutshell, it was, to me, the pinnacle of American ethno-centrism masked by good intentions. I'm not trying to bash anyone's thoughts, his/her feelings from going, or his/her intentions. But I am trying to say this- short term mission trips are beginning to really annoy me. Comments I heard that annoyed me: "Everyone needs to go," "They need us there," "I didn't want to go back home," "I think we got more from being there than they did"... I've heard that last one too many times. While it may be true, I'm not sure I like it.

First (comment), everyone does not NEED to go. Everyone needs to serve, needs to be involved in helping others and in showing God's love and justice. That does NOT require going to another country, or even another town. Everyone should be involved in God's work, but going to another country isn't the only way to do so. And as a matter of fact, it is the most expensive way to do so! If you're really all about serving, then it shouldn't matter whether it's Guatemala, Cambodia or your neighbor's backyard.

Second (comment)- They do NOT need us there. As a matter of fact, us going as short termers often times makes things more messy than before. They got along without us before we went, they can do so after. Our team built two houses- Guatemalans have built houses before and did not need us to do so. We put shoes on kids who needed them- we could have sent the shoes and national ministers and full-time missionaries could put them on. And they sent the Jesus film- which we could have sent and not just taken. While it's good service, and the projects were very other people centered, they did not NEED our people there to do it. Our people were simply helpers. To say that another country needs us is the most ethno-centric comment one could make. It somehow implies that God is not going to get the word out without you, and it implies that we have the answer they are incapable of finding unless we go. We have abilities they do not have. This is not true. There are lots of people who have the answer (Jesus) who can share it who live there and don't have to spend thousands of dollars each to be there. Beyond that, there is a little boy who is now being supported by one of our couples who went. Now, it may well be expected that people from every missions group will "adopt" through support children there. Dependency is created because we think they need us.

Third (comment)- You must come home. Even if you don't want to. And being in that state of mind will make you hate home. But beyond that, you have only had a one week glorified version of missions. If you were to be there for a month or more and without a full team of friends around you, you would get a better view of what full-time missionaries and missions work is all about. If they all left and you stayed to continue to love the people there, it would be hard. A friend of mine on my second Ukraine trip (she'd been on the first one, too) stayed a few extra days after the trip to visit and hang out with the people in the town that we'd been to on our first trip. She said that after we left, it was tough and it wasn't what she thought it was. One week trips do not give a good view of missions. I have friends on the field who felt called through short term trips and then realized it was not what they expected when they got there full-time. Beyond that, this desire not to leave leads to promises of returning. That's the worst thing you could do because even if you do return, you can't get them that attached to you. it leads to dependency. Do not promise to return, or write, or e-mail or call...

Fourth (comment)- while it may be true that you got a lot, that's not the most important thing. And it's not the most important thing to take away. The motivation needs to be serving and giving, not receiving. After you return, if you're only focused on what you've received, it makes you want to go again and soon because you want the experience again. If you only focus on how you felt for it, you may have that as a motivation from then on. And it leads to people saying stuff like "Everyone needs to go"- because I had such a great experience, others would get that experience too. But when push comes to shove, next year when the trip comes up, people who have gone will not willingly give up their spot so someone else can go, even if they said that everyone should go. just doesn't happen.

other thoughts from the service... Not trying to say it was a waste of money, but if $26,000 was raised for the trip, could it have not been spent better if $26,000 were sent to national ministers and missionaries to spend- paying for workers on the houses and people to do what our team had done? They likely could have built more than 2 houses and done a LOT more. Especially because they can live on less there. But the travel costs would not have to be paid. And God's work still would have gotten done.

more other thoughts- Some parents are talking about their 9-year-old or younger children going next year. I think that they don't have a good understanding of the right motivation. I have seen it before and it has never worked out well to have young children on mission trips. The child is not as able to help with the physical work and the VBS stuff, they are ministered to, not ministers. The parent is also made almost useless because he/she is always concerned about and watching after the child(ren). If you really see missions as about serving the people you're going to, then leave the children home. If you want your children to go, you can't honestly think they have the ability to make the cost of getting them there worth having them there. It's gotta be about my child having the experience. If it costs 1000 for travel for each person, then it's a waste of not only $1,000, but actually $2,000 because the parent's impact is lessened. Also, one woman in our church is going to Africa with a big team for the ONLY purpose of taking video equipment to that country! Why do they need a team? I don't know- but most people won't actually be doing anything while there. And If I were asked to go, I would ask why do I need to go?

another thought: We're going back next year. To the same country. While I know there is a lot of work to be done there, there are other countries. And I also agree that it is good to make a difference in one place because it can feel like too little if going to many places. But I don' t think that's the thought behind it. And I don't think that's a good enough reason to get everyone to think about only one other country. It's great to get others thinking outside of their own country, but it needs to be world minded, not just America and Guatemala minded. I saw the same thing at New Hope with Bolivia. There are other countries, and God is at work in all of them. It would not be bad to go to another country, or better yet, do lots of service projects around here instead.

Another thought (not missions related): the music was sub-par. The guitar/leader was very folky sounding. And they practiced last week for a sound check, then changed the whole thing. Added two more singers and sang with mics in stands instead of holding them (which meant the voices didn't get picked up because the singers were so far away). As the sound guy, it was not a good way to start for me. And the music hurt me... It was... hurtful to me. I couldn't really handle it... If I came for this service, I wouldn't have been back. I'm not trying to say I'm all that, because I'm not, but I think that the music I do is more reaching of younger people.

Another thought: I feel like we've got our people bringing American Christianity instead of the seed of the gospel there. Kind of a side effect I'm sure of our pastor seeming to try and bring "Alabaman" Christianity to Oregon. The team did a "Spanish" worship song this morning that was nothing more than an American worship song (now relegated to a kid's song, to boot) that has Spanish words instead of English (and only 3 words that needed translation at that). yet they believed it was a Spanish worship song. *Buzzer* Wrong! It's American worship songs converted. Songs that they wrote and they sing are Spanish worship songs. Not ours converted...

Both Rachel and I had a hard time with the service. We actually have wondered if we're really supposed to be here because of this and some other things (particularly how the church is more elderly people than we thought and while the pastor loves young couples and families, I don't see him actually drawing them in- his preaching style is very mellow and almost emotionless sometimes- hand motions that distract and don't add anything, and mostly, modern preaching that often times is not challenging). All things equal, this service did not help us feel more like we belong. It gave me another "we disagree with this pastor on yet another issue." (do not take this the wrong way- I still feel like we're ok here. I'm not considering moving, and I'm not considering another church. I'm not thinking I don't belong. I'm just venting... It's frustrating to feel like opposite sides on a lot of issues with the senior pastor. We're ok, though. For now- but pray for us)

Final thoughts- I don't feel I can support the trip next year. In fact, I'm not sure I'll go on another mission trip again. If I feel like doing something internationally, I will send my money where they can use it all, not only part of it because I had to spend money to go. If a person cannot do service locally, they do not need to go. The Great Commission is to make disciples, not to go on short term mission trips. And making disciples can be done more cost-efficiently and often times effectively (because nationals understand the culture better) without short term trips. I think people need to think of others, but the glamour of going outside the country can be... enticing and give wrong ideas.

I don't really know how to end this, but.. I'll just call it quits.

Grammar Freak

Ok, so I will admit this to you all freely. I am a grammar freak! There's no way around it. I try my best to use proper grammar whether I am on myspace, an IM program, typing e-mails or any other thing that grammar may be used for.

When I was in college, there was this sign posted all over our floor proclaiming that "There is no grammar" and of course, we would make fun of it and try to use improper grammar to say the same thing (aka- there's no grammars, there ARE no grammar, etc...) It was funny. But when I was in college, I also learned as much about the English language and proper use of it as I did when I was in high school (although my hat tips to Mr. Waddell- My public speaking teacher in high school my senior year- for beginning me along this journey).

So why do I share this? Simple- I find myself frequenting forums through myspace and other venues. I talk to people online. And while I have grown so much in my grammar freak ways (I used to send spelling mistakes back to people I talked to on IM... *shudder*), I still am very bothered by improper use of our language. And Rachel can attest to that, I will find grammar mistakes wherever they may be and mention them.

With that said, I have prepared a simple grammar lesson that everyone should use, and is not complicated. It should have been taught to you in first or second grade, but here we are.

Apostrophes have a purpose and should be used! And used correctly! the word "im" means nothing, although I read it all over the place. Because it is two words (I + am), it should be I'm (although I'm very tolerant of non-capitalized letters- using Microsoft Word has made me lazy and I find msyelf often not capitalizing). An apostrophe should be used ANY time you are combining two words (commonly called a contraction) and MOST times that you make something possessive (although there are a few cases that it is not needed).

There are three spellings for this word- they are "there", "their" and "they're". Following the last paragraph, the one that is underused the most is "They're"- any time you are trying to say "they are" you should use They're (easy way to remember- you drop the letter "a" of "are" and an aposotrophe replaces it. If you can say they are in place of the word, then the apostrophe is required). There is a word that refers to a place. Easily remember it by the fact that "here" also refers to a place and it is found in "there". And the last one is the possessive used for a group. Their. It is their ball.

Another lesson. The word its. This is a little tougher, but more commonly misused. It's because it violates the possessive rule of apostrophes. But you should follow the contraction rule first, anyway. The apostrophe belongs ONLY if you're taking the words "it + is" and combining them. Plain and simple.

There are three spellings for to. "Two", "too" and "to". Easy- "two" is ALWAYS the number. "Too" should only be used as an "also" kind of word. It is in addition (easy to remember- there's an "addition"al "o"). And the last "to" is any other case.

These are the things that bother me the most. Try to use them correctly.

But also, if you would like to try and use the language correctly, here are a few other very common mistakes. The word "they" is ONLY used to refer to multiple people. It annoys me endlessly when someone says "I just talked to them" and was referring to one person. The correct SINGULAR words to use are him, her, he, she, or one. "I just talked to him," or "he is going to help us," or "if someone does something wrong, he/she/one (take your pick) should be punished." it is not "if someone does something wrong, they should be punished." that is BAD- you are mixing singular from the word "someone" and plural from the word "they". It must be either both singular, or both plural.

Finally- an "s" does not belong at the end of all words. It belongs mostly at the end of plural words, or after the apostrophe of most possessive words. The word "anyway" requires NO "S"!!! Please, friends, family, make attempts to not add an extra, unnecessary "s."

Thank you.

What a day!

Yesterday, having decided a couple days earlier to do so, Rachel and I got in the car (the Camry), gased up (a totally expensive affair these days) and drove! We drove to the coast. It's a strange trip- the quickest way to the coast for us is to drive 30 miles north to Grant's Pass, then drive southwest into California and to the coast.

Actually, in all fairness, we decided we were going to try to drive down to the Redwood National forest and see some of the amazing redwood trees. But since that's right near the coast, we decided to go there, too, since I've had this inherent desire to see the Pacific Ocean for a LONG time! And living so close, it's just... gotta be done.

The drive was absolutely beautiful! It was like our drive through northern California (on our move out here) times 10. Mountains, trees, snow-caps, rivers, cliffs- it was... wow. Once you get into California, the road follows the sides of mountains- up some, down some and always around corners. Some corners you barely can see anything, some are 25mph and you'd better do that. And the road follows a river, so it's like- one side of you is mountain, the other is open air and a huge drop down into the river, which is completely lined with rocks on either side. and huge rocks.

The view down from the road at one of the middle/lower points of the road.

The redwood forest, what we saw of it, was absolutely amazing. We didn't get as far as we'd liked to have fo the day, but we still had an amzing day. The redwoods in the norther part of the forest are huge, and we found a place to take a nice hike- although it would be awesome to find bigger trails.


Rachel and I in front of one of the average sized redwood trees... Wow!

The Pacific Ocean in Norther California is what I'd hope it would be and then more! I'm told the Oregon Coast is even better, so I'm totally stoked to do that! When we stopped, it was so freakin' windy!! Can't believe how windy it was, but it made the waves crash on the rocks and... added to the feeling.


picture of me- looking toward the ocean. amazing! words can't describe...

I have sized down a handful of pictures and put them together in some pages, you can check the out by clicking HERE

It was such a great day! The scenery could not be described- God's handiwork displayed all around us! It was so... can't describe it! It reminded me, as I said, of our drive on the way moving here through northern California, but 10 times better! Everything we saw kinda reminded me of things I'd seen, or places I've been, but at the same time, it was like NOTHING I've ever known or experienced! And I mean that- it wasn't the "best" experience, but it was not in the same category as any other.

I encourage you to check out all the pictures- enjoy them, and let me know how you like them! They've been sized down to save website space, but they are good quality. Anyway- enjoy them.

(my apologies if these pictures or the links don't work- my bandwidth transfer/hr is too low- check back later)

strangest thing

Ok, so i was watching tv last night with Rachel- and on one of the local networks, we saw the strangest advertisement i think i've ever seen. It was for a local "magic shop", but the big part of the ad was a sale going on this week. It is the 420 sale... And the majority of the ad focussed on items on sale in their "adults only" section of the magic shop. They showed video and talked about what was back there- it was and advertisement for a BONG sale!! That is mostly what they were selling, except they advertised as "pipes" and stuff like that- pipes, scales, etc.. I have NEVER seen an ad for drug paraphernalia sales before, but we started laughing so freaking hard!! I almost started hicupping due to my laughing... anyway- just a funny story i felt inclined to share.

March Madness

As I type this, i'm excited and disappointed at the same time. I'm watching one of the best basketball games I've watched- perhaps ever- as I watch BC play UNC in the ACC semi-finals. It's exciting, but there's less than a minute and UNC is down by a few... But I'm excited because we're coming up on what i consider to be perhaps my favorite time of the year (for sports, at least...)

Maybe it's because when I was growing up, we only had CBS, PBS and CBC and so the only thing on in March on CBS was March Madness. It was also wicked cold in Maine in March, and nothing better to do besides watch the games... But, until I was in high school, I didn't really care, anyway. Maybe it's because my time in college made me a huge sports fan of all kinds (before, I was really only a hockey fan...).

But I'm pretty sure that the real factors are these.

1. College basketball is the best at demonstrating their sport when they play. Just in general, I find college sports to be better than professional. Not necessarily the level of the play, or the style of the players, but fundementals of the game. And college basketball is the best of college sports to play their game. they play both ends of the court- rules are not altered so much to increase scoring- players are not show-offs (hoping for increased contracts or corporate sponsorships)... it's just a better mindset. and they play the GAME!

2. You will never see a Cinderella story do as much as you will find in the NCAA tournament. The fact that there are 65 teams means that there is HUGE opportunity to be involved, even from lesser known teams. And while there is yet to be a number 16 upset a number 1, there have been multiple close calls and we have seen a number of 15s beat 2s and 14s beat 3s. For those of us who like to root for the underdogs- we get ample opportunity to do so. And even those who are not a number 1 seed seldom live up to the hype- only three times in the history of the tournament have three or more number 1s made it to the final four.

3. Buzzer beaters. everything from half-court, 3/4's court, last-second lay-ups and the inbetweens- buzzer beaters make it exciting. If the lead is only 3 points, it doesn't matter if there's .9 seconds left on the clock, the game isn't over!

4. There is just no end to the action, especially in the early rounds of the tournament. I couldn't turn the television on after noon in the first weekend (first 2 rounds) on CBS and not be watching some game- most likely a great one.

There are other reasons why March Madness is so great, but these are some of the best. I grew up in hockey country- the University of Maine did not have much of a basketball program. So while I'm a UNC fan (and UCONN- my dad lives in Conn), I can cheer just about anybody on (except Duke... always root against them).

As much of a sports fan as I am, I simply am not as excited about any time of year as much as I am about the coming of the NCAA tournament!! it truly is March Madness!

Musical Theology

I was listening to a person the other day talking about something- and it really made me wonder something. Do we honestly get our theology from popular Christian music? and if so, WHY???

Christian music is somewhat of an anomaly. Many churches require their pastors to have some kind of degree and background/training in the Bible of theology. At the very least, a church will require a person to have felt some kind of "call" into ministry and evidence that God is at work in them and revealing the truth of His Word. Christian Colleges and seminaries require that you have an education.

Christian music, in like fashion, requires you to have a discernable amount of MUSICAL talent! The "anomaly", however, is that despite other "christian" occupations or passtimes, there is no required calling, training, or even background in theology or Christianity. All it requires is talent and putting together a few things for lyrics that make Christians feel good. I'm not saying that most bands just put words together, but there is no "theology" checker on music- someone could have bad doctrine in their music and no one wonders.

Case in point- Michael W. Smith had a song a few years ago- I used to own the CD, but gave it to a friend(actually, more that she borrowed it to do a mime to and never gave it back), so i had to look up the song on the "I'll Lead You Home" CD- it's called "Angels Unaware". He mentioned something in there about being "caught in a mental purgatory". the first time i heard it, i thought he said middle purgatory, and regardless of that- i wanted to know if he had some catholic doctrine or influence in his life.

Back in the days of AOL (the 10 hours/month for $10 and then $2/hour after that days- and before there was anything faster than 14.4k modem speeds), i logged onto a guest appearance with Michael W. Smith. People went into the "auditorium" and got seated in "rows" and you could talk as much as you wanted with people in your row. You could even create your row. You could ask Michael any question you wanted through a mediator- you just had to type it in the mediator box. I asked about this 3 or 4 times. They also, at the end of the time, picked one person to "come on stage" and ask any question they wanted to. I so despearately wanted to get up there to ask- most of the questions i saw were along the lines of what is your favorite way of wearing your facial hair, or what's your favorite hairstyle. The person who got to go on stage asked the following question- "do you like ketchup on your eggs?"

i guess there's not much of a market or desire out there for right theology in music. But I want to encourage you to think about this- look into it. Don't just take some band's music as right belief! It goes back to questioning and not simply accepting! And it's worse when some band tries to pass a song off as worship and it's got bad theology! It's bad enough trying to pass some song off as worship, but it's not REALLY worship (like the songs "Who am I" by Casting Crowns, or "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe- they aren't worshipping God! ask me about them if you wish). But worse when we've got bad theology in it!

think about it... process it. later.

Paradigm shift

I don't know about anyone else, but i'm kinda getting tired of hearing buzz words. At least, buzz words that don't mean anything they way they're used. Case-in-point- i heard a radio broadcast from Andy Stanley this morning and he was talking about a paradigm shift. I'm sorry but that made me think less of him actually, because he couldn't think of a better way to say what he was saying. What he was talking about doesn't really constitute a paradigm shift- it was more of a revelation moment. Where God revealed something to him that he's always thought otherwise...

does anyone actually know what a paradigm shift is? so many people use the word- heck, even i did- it got me an A on some papers if i used it correctly, but sometimes, I'd get comments back about how it's a buzz word and make sure i'm qualifying what i'm saying is a paradigm shift...

so let's hear it for the end of buzz words and have people just say what they mean...

Check your brains

It seems to be the common practice these days for conservative Christians to not think for themselves. While I know of some people who actually do think, it appears to be a widespread disease of non-thinking among the average evangelical church-goer in America.

Case in point. E-mail. While e-mail is a wonderful thing, it has been such a terrible thing as well. Back when I first was an internet user, I would forward e-mails that came my way. I would pass on funny stories, e-mails urging action, tear jerking stories, etc. Chain letters use to be a small part of regular mail, but it dominated(s) the e-mail world. And I joined in at first. I didn't believe that rabid goats would come down out of the mountains and kill my family if i didn't pass it on, but... I passed stuff on anyway.

I don't anymore- and haven't for YEARS! i don't pass on ANYTHING anymore, because seldom do i see anything new. And I urge my friends and family not to perpetuate the cycle. But I still get e-mails talking about Madeline Murray O'Hare and how she's going to get religious broadcasts cancelled form airwaves. Or the one I got recently about how Oliver North warned us about Osama Bin Laden back in 1987 and said we should assasinate him, and how Al Gore questioned him about it and was indiferent.

I'm not going to fully dispell these, but a little research will find them both not true. Simply not true. First, if Madeline Murray O'Hare were actually alive (minor research tells us that she's dead), and trying to get this stuff shut down, it would be in the news. Censorship, or religious rights, or anything like that is BIG news! BIG! National news. But even if she tried, she cannot get television or radio to ban religious programming, unless she gets them to modify the constitution. Which would be FREAKING HUGE news, so we'd know. And Ollie North warned the US about a terrorist- but it was Abu Nidal. And it was because he had threatened and sent men after Ollie and his family. Osama Bin Laden was only known to some in the US as a freedom fighter in Afghanistan fighting the soviets. They had our support then, because the enemy of our enemy was our friend. And Al Gore was not only not on the comittee that was interviewing North, but the questioning wasn't even by senators.

Long story short on this, visit snopes.com to find out the truth about most of this stuff. It's quick, it's easy. type in whatever you've been hearing as a search and they'll bring up their articles... it's good.

I have digressed, however. The e-mail is what made me want to write this. While I have this inherent desire in myself that wants to believe people and trust that they're honest, you could say i've been a little jaded. I don't believe people the way i want to. Because as much as I want to believe they're honest, if I don't know them, I've got to check it out. Or if the track record is bad, gotta check. That's NOT a bad thing. Just because someone says something, doesn't mean it's true.

George Bush used to call himself Texas' environmental governor. Texas is the WORST state in the union in environmental practices. So what's that saying? Don't get me wrong- i'm not trying to bash Bush. But just because he says he's a Christian, that doesn't mean i automatically believe him! There are televangelists who will claim Christianity, but after seeing and hearing them, I can see that their fruit does not line up.

I know people want to avoid appearing cynical. I do. But at the same time, we are in a world that takes advantage of those who are the opposite. Those who do not question become gullible. People who believe in a ministry and give money, but don't know what that money goes to. I mean, honestly, who would/should support Benny Hinn if they knew he lived in a 10 million dollar home, and makes beteween half a million and a full, cool million each year? I don't care if his ministry can't find the money to do their stuff, they're allocation of money into his salary is ridiculous! If they can't find enough to put on an event or something, maybe they should decide that any Christian who can't survive on less than a million per year needs to re-evaluate his faith!

Is it better to be gullible or cynical? Neither of them is good- but as a responsible person, I would rather be a cynic. 1 Thes. 5:21 "Examine everything carefully- hold fast to that which is good" (NASB) this chapter is a set of short teaching instructions from Paul to close the letter, and the verse is pretty clear- test everything the NIV says. Put it to the test- hold to that which is good (and the opposite of that is to let go of the bad). I think that applies here as we should be aware of the truth of matters, not just believe it because.

Not only do we not ask questions, but some actually encourage others not to ask questions. It's almost as if wondering about the integrity of some televangelist (many of whom have proven themselves swindlers or worse) weakens our own faith! OR something- i'm not sure! But in reality, it perpetuates the status quo, which isn't all that great... My wife worked for a parachurch organization that does not disclose their finances and therefore is not responsible to anyone for that. However, they actually chastise people involved with the organization who DO ask about financial things. This organization "tithes" to their leaders who own a FREAKIN' huge ranch. Not only is that wrong, but tithing to people isn't tithing! On top of that, some of their facilities are falling apart, and yet for the higher ups in the organization, there always seems to be money to renovate their offices. People donate money for renovation then never see it. A friend of my wife actually saw his dad dismissed for asking where the money for that came from, and criticizing that they have an "unkown" bank account that holds money for that...

Anyway- the moral of the story is- asking questions should be a good thing! Testing is good. Faith is not blind, and God gave us a brain with critical thinking skills for a reason- we should use it! any other instances you'd care to share that you know of blind "faith" somewhere? or thoughts?