General

For that handful of readers I have *G*, I’ll have an announcement coming on Monday afternoon sometime (as soon as I’m out of meetings that day). Nothing too earth shattering or anything, but significant nonetheless.

I hope you will join me.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. I’ve had a lot of thoughts going through my mind of late. Blog reading for me has been down a bit because of the increasing stress of moving our church to a storefront and the end of the school year work I have in my college courses! Still, a few good posts have caught my eye…

Dan Edelen has a good post on the word “Avarice” using the Green Pepper Index or GPI as his starting point. (The GPI is his term..and a good one I think!). The post deals with our increasing gas crunch and how we as a nation are looking long term. Is it just me or have we seen unprecedented inflation in fuel in the past 2-3 years? You can’t tell me it’s market correction, etc.. If the Chinese are so gas hungry, let them buy the oil and let’s start drilling in Alaska. The Caribou can cope for the next decade or so while we develop alternative fuel sources but I can’t see us paying upwards of $5-6 dollars for a gallon of gas. Families will hurt and the minimum wage isn’t going up again anytime soon for those on the cut line.

Quote from Chris Elrod’s blog: “A good video, cranking worship and relevant marketing…can’t take the
place of one older gentleman speaking truth from the Word of God.”

Another good quote, this time from Ben Arment on the subject of the church planter who gets beaten up and finally comes to his senses: “Money isn’t quite as important… he gets closer to the people… he
reexamines his motives, slows down for his family… invests in kingdom
growth, not just his own church.” Been there, done that. I’m as driven as ever to see our church grow into a self-supporting work but God has used this time to really shape me as a Christian.

Jacob Riggs at “AFrayedKnot” shares an interesting story about a trip to Wendy’s for a burger and the message we as Christians send. Good words Jake!

And for the song of the day….My son comes home from middle school singing “Kites Are Fun” by the Free Design (some groovy 60’s group) and tells me his band teacher played the song for them as a novelty. Apparently somebody else thinks this song is a bit crazy too because they created a video for it on “You Tube”

That’s it for now! Thanks for dropping in and reading. Let me know your thoughts if you have time. God Bless.

Has anyone else been receiving three of every blog post that is ran through the Planter Planet blog feed system? I subscribe to it and this blog is a part of it but I didn’t want anyone to think I was spamming their readers three times every time I post. I was just curious if this is just me or are others seeing this too.

What? I can’t believe what I’m hearing here. I can’t believe McClaren has such an extremely distorted view of hell. So God sends people to hell because he likes violence? They no longer make the choice to go there themselves by rejecting the horrific death of His Son to redeem them from their sins?

This is utterly amazing.

Funny stuff! After reading Chris Elrod’s blog and seeing a video by the same folks, I went and checked out their other stuff. Thought this one was funny too!

Edit: Well the folks at YouTube won’t allow the video to be embedded so I apologize.  You CAN however go to the YouTube site and watch it for yourself.  Just check out “West 54th Sessions” under Pat Metheny.  It’s there….Why they won’t let us post it on the blog, I have no idea.

After posting late last week, I began sifting through my old record (yes, vinyl!), tape, and CD collections and renewed my interest in Pat Metheny’s body of work. I can’t help it since I know these are just some posts that I’m throwing out there aside from everything else I write about but this clip from the late 90’s television show “Sessions at West 54th” just blew me away. The whole piece is good but if you’re pressed for time, just check out the first 4:30 minutes or so and watch the master work the “Picasso” guitar. Amazing stuff. Enjoy!

The summer of 1992.  I was approaching my 26th birthday and stopped into our locally owned music store and picked up a CD of Pat Metheny’s newly released “Secret Story”.  I remember listening to this in my car with my year-old daughter (now nearly 17) and thinking this was the freshest thing I had heard in all of my young life.  I was a die hard rocker and worked as a music director for a top country radio station in Missouri.  I had always dabbled in Jazz because of my mother’s underpinnings to the St. Louis jazz community but this album became a landmark in my collection.  To this day, I value it’s story in music among the best I have.  The video above is pretty cool in itself but you have to listen to the entire CD to get the picture.  From what I gathered, Metheny had a great nearly year long relationship with a lady who then broke it off after the summer and broke Metheny’s heart in the process.  That’s my take on it…The actual facts might be slightly different but Metheny himself at the time said the story tells itself in the music.  As I remember “The Longest Summer” (The Video), I could sense a feeling of exhilaration, passion, and freshness to the relationship.  Near the end of the CD, the sadness of the final songs leads one to believe the breakup was extremely hard.  A special 15th anniversary edition of the album was released late last year marking this album as a classic.  I’m torn between my favorite Metheny albums.  I believe this one was the best of its genre for the 90’s.  “One Quiet Night” which was released in 2003 has been his best for first decade of the 21st century.  Of late, Metheny has been recording with pianist Brad Mehldau and the two have put together two great albums in the last few years.  But “Secret Story” has to be the best album I heard in 1992.

If you live in Seattle, you now have access to one dollar coffee at your local Starbucks.  According to this story by Reuters, The coffee giant not only is offering a shorter $1 cup of Joe in the Seattle area but also allowing free refills in those same outlets.  It makes sense.  Too many new coffee houses are cropping up and offering alternatives which is causing Starbucks to rethink certain business practices.  Of course, the official word from the company is: “This test is not indicative of any new business strategy.”  Oh really?  Then why do it?  Starbucks has seen their sales sag of late.  Competition, over saturation of shops, and an economy where folks are pinching pennies (not to mention the cost of dairy products has went up) has caused the company to rethink some things.  Though Starbucks isn’t my top choice for coffee, I still visit their shops frequently when driving about (Sometimes, that’s all you find).  I would probably increase my visits there knowing I could get a cheaper cup of coffee and sit to catch my breath for a spell in between things.  Paying nearly $2 for a cup of brewed coffee is too much in my opinion.  I don’t mind paying a premium for a good, stout Arabica blend, but brewed coffee could be cheaper.  At my local Seattle’s Best (Owned by Starbucks), I pay $2.01 for a medium cup (tax included) with no refills.  Peets coffee (one of my favorites), is about $1.70 with no refills.  The new guy on the block in our town, Forza Coffee out of Washington State, is offering a brewed cup for $1.40 WITH free refills.  On top of that, they are the only one of the three with free wi-fi so guess where I spend the most of my coffee drinking time now?  You got it.  I’ve met many folks who’ve asked about my church while I was studying and I get a great cup of coffee to boot.  You can’t beat it!

If I were Starbucks, instead of taking the route they’ve taken so far (”This is not indicative…”), I would employ an aggressive strategy to reach new customers.  State up front that you’re selling a premium product at quick shop prices, plug the unique music available, great atmosphere, etc… and say it’s just another way to improve upon the best…(That would be my marketing side coming out…They do have more locations than anyone else so why not say that and capitalize?  Even though I would disagree with the statement ‘we are the best’, you do what you can in marketing.)

When we change ministry practices in the church, we’re up front that we are trying new things to reach more people.  Starbucks should just say the same and move forward.  Now if they really want to increase sales, free wi-fi would be the next step.

Bob Hyatt at “PastorHacks” has given his review of Amazon’s digital reading device.  One that my readers know I’m holding out for!  Since posting last on the Kindle, I’ve been watching the list of ebooks grow on Amazon’s web site.  Something Bob mentions in his review that I think would be a great benefit to all of us is the availability of commentaries in ebook format.  As I downsize my office, I’m clearing out some old sets of books and putting them up for sale on Craigslist.  Some of my books are now available as ebooks so I’m thinking of the day when I will purchase these on my future Kindle and be able to clear out more space.

Bob’s right though.  I’m preaching a book series on Philippians right now and it sure would be handy to have a few good commentaries on something small like this instead of lugging them around in my man bag with everything else I have in there.

Another note…After four and a half months of hiatus, I’ve decided to start publishing again to my other blog, “The Productive Pastor”.  I’ve thought of combining the two here.  In fact, I have a “Productivity” tag on this blog for some of those posts.  I think it might be better to separate the two for brevity’s sake.  I may still post some quick links here…but expound a bit more on the other site…In any event, let me know what you think!

There’s a fascinating article in today’s online version of “Fast Company”.  It discusses the recent decision by McDonalds to seriously enter the premium coffee wars for 2008.

You can read the article here.

After viewing the video and seeing the “visual” of what McDonalds will build in it’s stores, I’m curious to see how this new venture takes off.  After offering “premium” coffee the last year of so in its stores, the Golden Arches now seem poised to hire baristas to man the espresso machine and start selling coffee beverages about 80 cents cheaper than Starbucks.  This might work in the short term as they market something new, but in the long run, I can’t see this being something that McD’s will do for very long.  Not that Starbucks is my drink of choice.  Anyone who knows me knows that I prefer Peets coffee to Starbucks for a variety of reasons.  More recently, I’ve also grown to love a new player on the coffee market, Forza coffee which also hails from the state of Washington.  Why do I agree with FC about McCoffee?  Here’s just a few reasons…

1. Convenience
Most people who are in a hurry for premium coffee will not want to wait in line with the McDonalds breakfast crowd.  Mixing the two lines will be time consuming and many who are paying a premium for coffee will not mind paying 60-80 cents more for it if they can get it quickly and get back on the road.  The opposite of this is….

2. Atmosphere
McDonalds is spending millions to add a “coffee bar” feel type area to their stores.  Just check out the accompanying video on the FC article and see for yourself.  This might work for a small segment of the Starbucks crowd, namely the soccer mom who has her kids with her and nowhere to go, but as for me, when I go to one of these shops, the idea is to relax.  I DO NOT want to hear kids running back and forth from the play area, crying over a happy meal toy, or the general noise that accompanies the traditional McDonalds crowd.  Part of what you overpay for at these coffee shops is atmosphere.  Nice music, a toned down and relaxed mood, fireplace, and good conversation.  All of this is important to me.  I can’t get that at McD’s.

3. Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi is a big sell for me.  Peets doesn’t offer wi-fi period and it frustrates me but I make do when I’m there.  Starbucks expects you to pay for wi-fi at their stores as does Seattle’s Best.  Sorry guys but I can pay the same or a bit less at a classy coffee shop AND get my wi-fi for free at several places where I live.  Forza offers a rich, warm atmosphere with free wi-fi and outstanding Italian roast coffees.  Caribou coffee offers free wi-fi with its excellent selection of java.  Saxby’s is a locally owned company in Colorado that offers excellent house roast and free internet.  On top of that, many privately held treasures of coffee shops around the Denver Metro area offer free wi-fi to their customers.  McD’s wants you to pay for wi-fi in the stores that offer it.  Even our local Chick-Fil-A has free wi-fi if I’m in the mood for a breakfast sandwich.  Last but not least….

4. The Smell
I love the warm, wonderful aroma of a great coffee shop.  I specifically go there for this experience.  I do not want to pay a premium price for coffee and smell a mix of coffee beans and Egg McMuffins.  It sounds selfish but that’s a draw for me and for many others I’m sure.

I think the diversity that McDonalds wants to attain by entering this highly competitive market is one it should avoid.  Perhaps they know more than I and their money will be well spent but I’m of the nature if you’re the best at something you keep hammering away at it and refine the process to keep yourself at the top.  McD’s in the number one fast food chain in America for this very reason.  Although I prefer the taste of a Burger King or Wendy’s hamburger much more than I do the pan fried McDonald’s fare, my kids have spoken and when we do the burger thing, 9 times out of 10, we head to McDonalds.  On this merit alone, McDonalds is to be commended.  By diversifying, they risk quality in other areas that might prove detrimental to their overall strength.

Good luck McDonald’s.  Only time will tell if you succeed but in this corner of cyberspace, I think the long range battle isn’t worth it.

Josh Kaufman at “The Personal MBA” has written a nice, concise review of the Amazon Kindle reading device.  More and more, I want one of these but really want to wait until the 2.0 version arrives.  I don’t think it’s going to be long given that these are selling out as quickly as Amazon gets them made.  After listening to Jeff Bezos (Amazon owner) talk more about this device, I’m settled that I want a Kindle.  Sony’s e-reader is very cool and at $100 cheaper, a bit more affordable in the short term.  What I like about the Kindle is that books that are purchased are archived at the Amazon site so you can always delete and re-add books without worry about losing your purchases.  With Sony, you have to download books and then transfer them with a cable to your reader.  If your hard drive goes down or the memory stick goes bad, you’ll likely be able to recover your purchases but it will be a big hassle.  Kindle eliminates this need and it works without a computer so if I’m stuck in an airport somewhere and my flight is delayed, I can always drop in at a restaurant and for under $10, download a book to read.  The only thing I’m not keen on is the large side buttons.  I wish the Kindle took more of the Sony e-reader’s cues on that design.  Perhaps when the new machines are introduced, we’ll see a difference.

Until then……………..I’ll wait……..for how long, I don’t know.

As we head into the sunset of another year and welcome in the birth of a new one tomorrow, I want to take a moment to thank my blog readers for their thoughtful comments, both here and in email, and to the VOX community that hosts this blog.  May 2008 be all that you want it to be.

Now, with the new year approaching, you are undoubtedly looking at those old familiar resolutions that you consider every year.  I thought I would drop in some links to help you along…

1.  Reading your Bible through in a year.
I’ve given up on reading plans.  I enjoy journaling as I read and I especially like the S.O.A.P. devotional method that Wayne Cordeiro uses and discusses in his latest book “The Divine Mentor”.  What I can’t put my arms around are the reading plans that are included.  I realize that it makes sense to include a reading plan because it gives a novice a chance to start somewhere but as someone who’s used them all; Discipleship Journal, McCheyne, ESV Daily Plan, etc., I can honestly say that the best way to read the bible is to simply read it book by book, taking your time to understand the themes of the book and to purchase a good commentary on each book as you increase your learning.  The S.O.A.P. plan by Cordeiro works beautifully but I’m sure he used this with his own reading style and not by some pre-programmed plan.  For a good overview on reading your Bible book-by-book, pick up Woodrow Kroll’s excellent book “Reading Your Bible One Book at a Time” and begin your journey.  One of my favorite one-volume books for understanding the books of the Bible is “Talk Thru the Bible” by Bruce Wilkinson and Kenneth Boa.  It was one of the first books I purchased as new Christian and today as a pastor, I still use its helpful book outlines and charts as I prepare lessons and sermons.  It’s now been republished in a new edition.  Mine is pretty beat up and worn out but has loads of my own notes in it and it’s held up well over nearly 15 years of solid use.

The goal?  Just start reading and don’t be concerned with how quickly you do it.  If you try to follow one of those plans you’ll either get discouraged by April and give it up or you’ll just breeze through the pages of scripture just so you can check off your box for the day and not grasp anything God is saying to you.  One thing I would suggest is to  BUY A NICE JOURNAL AND USE IT.  Writing down your thoughts as God speaks to you helps to cement the ideas in your mind.

2. Weight Loss!
Yikes!  This is another area I struggle with each January.  Like many, I’ve purchased the books, drank the shakes, and suffered the consequences.  This post tells the story of a young man who lost 50 pounds in three months using some common sense ideas he put together himself.  He also used an eating plan (those aren’t bad you know) and put it to work for himself.  Now you might not want to lose this much weight (I do, I want to lose MORE) but the concept here is clear.  Do a little research on your own and make wise choices as you consume food this year.  Make a little more time to walk and exercise and give it time.  Putting your own research to work seems to make it a little more gratifying in the long run.  A great book to read on this topic is one you’ve probably never heard of.  It’s called “A Heart Attack Can Save Your Life” by Joseph Mason.  I interviewed Mr. Mason 12 years ago when this book was released back when I was working in the talk radio business and he sent me a review copy.  His is one of the most common sense approaches to maintaining your body that I’ve read.  That’s probably why the book never took off.  It wasn’t flashy, didn’t promote any fancy toy you could buy to go along with it., and it never promised anything other than the results you could achieve through hard work.  Find a copy used (it’s out of print) and read it.

3. Be in Church More Consistently.
Okay, I’m assuming most of my readers are Christians and this isn’t an issue but I had to post this link on the topic from a secular blog.  As long time Christians, I think we forget what it’s like at the other end of the spectrum.  Perhaps after reading this, our perspectives will be sharpened and we can serve better as we reach out to others.

4. Clean Up the Clutter
If you’re like me, your garage is serving as a storage center for many items.  (Right now, mine is hosting all of the boxes of the gadgets we received at Christmas just in case they don’t work!)  Perhaps your house is full of clutter here and clutter there and you’ve grown accustomed to all that stuff lying around!!  Well, DON’T.  I’m 41 now and last year as 40 hit me, I began to plan ahead for the next ten years of my life.  Ten years from now, my kids will all be grown and only the youngest will still be in her teens barely (19).  My wife and I are making plans each year to do a little bit to our house to improve it for an eventual sale and are already in the process of serious downsizing.  This past year, I cleared out junk from my home office (A TYPEWRITER for crying out loud) and made room that I didn’t know I had.  I’m still a long way from where I want to be (it’s okay, I have ten years or so!) but I’ve started by clearing out old books (If I haven’t picked it up in the last three years…..), old computer equipment, CD’s (I’ll rip those digitally if I’m only modestly interested these days and give away the actual CD), clothes, etc.  A great book to get you started on this journey is “It’s all too much” by Peter Walsh.  I paid full price for my book (well on a small discount at my local Borders) this time last year and it was well worth it but now, you can pick up this little gem of a book at Amazon for under $7.  It will give you the impetus to get started.  Here’s a bonus for this.  You can sell some of this stuff on sites like “Craig’s List” and make a little money as you clean up.  The rest you can offer on a network like “Freecycle” and give it away.  Somebody is always willing to pick up your junk.

…and last but not least…

5. Cleaning Up My Finances
In a few short weeks, your bills from Christmas will have arrived.  WOW.  Talk about a shock.  All those great deals you purchased will be financed to the tune of 14 to 18 percent on average and the great deals won’t be so great once you pay it off by mid-summer if at all.  Make this the year that you (and your spouse if it applies) begin working toward financial freedom.  For some this will take some time but you have to start somewhere so now is a great time.  Pick up a copy of Howard Dayton’s book “Your Money Map” and begin working toward true financial independence.  The Money Map is a plan that Crown Financial Ministries has put together and it works.  It takes time, yes even years, but it works.  My wife and I are renewing our commitments to our finances as the new year approaches.  We, like many, purchased some gifts on credit and don’t want to do that again next December.  We’re going to get started seriously on our destinations on the money map so that in the ten years I referenced earlier, we can move into a smaller home or town home and pay cash for it so we can focus all of our time and money on the ministries God has called us to.

So there you have it.  A list of popular resolutions with a bit of a twist.  My suggestions are just that, MY suggestions.  Your mileage may vary but for me, I’ve found these to be of great help and assistance as I work toward a better all around life both spiritually, physically, and financially.

Happy New Year!

Today kicks off the holiday shopping season.  “Black Friday” as it is known will generate a ton of revenue for the retail industry as shoppers busily hop from place to place to find that special sale item that they just will not be able to find for the next month (or at least, that’s what the retailers tell you.)

Every year I’m amazed to watch people line the doorways of places like Target, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sears, etc.. by 5am or some other crazy time just so they can buy a TV for $50 (or some other similar “draw” item.)  Last year when the Sony Play Station 3 video game system was released, some poor guy got his bell rung (literally) when the mob trying to get into the store ran him into a light pole.  He needed surgery on his jaw just so he could be normal again.  I blogged about it a year ago and still am amazed at the lengths people will go to to acquire a “thing”.  I refuse to participate in such utter mayhem.  I guess if it’s your cup of tea and you enjoy climbing over people to get that “Dancing Elmo” doll sitting in the frozen food section because some other person had it fall out of their cart so be it.  As for me, I slept up until my regular time this morning, did some work on my weekend message, brewed up a cup of genuine Peet’s coffee, and finished reading my news online moments ago.  The kids would like to go out and shop a bit for Mom today since she’s working so perhaps we’ll do that later today.  I don’t mind going out in mid-day or even early evening after the madness has settled but still, I try not to buy into the madness and overspend.  There’s no sense buying it all on sale anyway if you’re going to pay credit card interest on your purchase right?  The interest will eat up any savings you made by buying it today.

On the other side of this discussion was a thoughtful post made by Dustin Wax at Lifehack.org.  Read his comments about “Teaching Kids Charity and Clarity” on his site.  It’s one of the best articles I’ve read on this topic in a long, long time.  Teaching kids to be sensible, giving, and learning good organizational skills in the process is a three-pronged vision of success!  Perhaps if we made this ritual an annual rite of passage, we wouldn’t have the excessiveness that so permeates the real joy of celebrating the holiday.

Have a happy Black Friday!  I’m going back for a second cup of coffee.

This is why I waited on the IPhone. Google’s app is an open code that will be available on many platforms and services. This will be free and I can’t wait for the next few months or year or so to pass before getting this!

Why do some people make the issue of the Holy Spirit so hard to understand?  I’m finishing up a series of messages on the Trinity and my final sermon is on this very issue.  It seems so many not in church see the Holy Spirit as some entity that swoops down on a person and makes them talk funny and do silly things.  This view is so accepted (or a variations of it are) that many churches and their pastors don’t even talk about this wonderful third person of the trinity and what it is he really does.

Jesus promised his disciples that the spirit would come and lead them in all truth.  He said this to them just prior to his crucifixion so they would not feel abandoned.  The spirit itself descended on Jesus at his baptism and predicated the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  It must be important to us today right?

Quite simply, the Holy Spirit guides me daily.  In my spiritual formation, he illuminates biblical truth and speaks to me in the still small voice that spoke to Elijah when he was taken up on a mountain by God to hear him speak.  Many of us are like Elijah and want to hear God in the fire, earthquake, or heavy winds.  Many of us will not slow down and tune our ears to the quiet.  I’ve never spoken in tongues, never been caught thrashing on the floor (except when falling over my son’s skateboard), and never made it a point of contention with others.  Everyone’s relationship with the spirit is unique.  One thing I do know though is that the spirit will bring attention to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and NOT to the person.  That is how I differentiate between the charlatans and the real Christ followers.

What does the Holy Spirit mean to you?  How do you connect with Him in your own life?

For all of my friends that visit here, I am now linking this blog with the new “M” network set up by Alex McManus of Voxtropolis.  Check out the new site by CLICKING HERE.

The “M” network is a relatively new social networking system similar to Facebook and MySpace but it offers some neat extras like linking this blog to the page site.  I don’t have to maintain separate blogs on the various sites.  On my “MySpace” page, I have a separate blog that is hosted by MySpace.  With “M”, I simply added a widget (Thanks Alex M.) that links “Faith Untamed”  to the “M” network site.  You have the option of hosting a separate blog but I like this option better.  Now, I can post to one blog instead of three (which is what it would be if I had to maintain separate blogs here and at “M”).

I’ve given thought to combining all of my blogs, save for my other missions weblog specifically designed for my missions supporters,  onto this one site.  Perhaps I will in the near future!

‘Til then, enjoy the “M”.  Sign up if you like.  Ask me to be a friend.  I waited a while to join simply because of my time but, like Voxtropolis, Alex McManus has set up something that is quality for all users.  Check it out!

By now, many in the blogosphere have read about Mark Driscoll making some comments regarding his thoughts about certain aspects of the “Emergent” church movement. If you haven’t, no big loss. It fact, it’s probably a blessing. Just move on to something more important.

If you have, then let me say the same thing. Just move on with it. I read and respect much of what Driscoll has to say but in the large scope of things, it doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree. If you put your thoughts out there in the blogosphere or in a podcast, you’re likely to get called out. Your chances of such grow exponentially if you’re a high profile guy like Driscoll. I doubt if I said the same things, it would have had nearly the limited impact it did in the blog world on some who apparently follow Driscoll’s every word.

I have bigger things to worry about. The church needs more people. It needs more salvations. It needs more baptisms. I don’t have time to play tit for tat with people who want to question others’ intentions. Oh, I might share my opinion on the culture and even within some things that alarm me in Christendom but I’m not going to take my time to call out every person I disagree with nor waste blog space carrying on about it. Driscoll has been taken to task for everything from overweight wives, out of control young men, “limp wristed” leadership (as he called it), and now this. Personally, I don’t care. Give it a rest. We need to be focused on winning the lost and discipling them into strong Christians. Everything else is just fodder really.

If you want to read some good leadership/preaching material, pick up copies of Michael Quicke’s preaching and leading books from Baker Books. Both are excellent reads.

This morning’s news headlines featured this story on Disney Pop Tart Vanessa Hudgens and her now famous nude photos that have been widely circulated on the internet.  The 18-year old star of the now wildly famous “High School Musical” franchise is barely an adult (and only in legal terms here) and yet, according to media wonks, this photo shoot should catapult little “Gabriella” (Her HSM persona) into the stratosphere.  Just look at this quote…

“Did anybody really know or
care about Paris Hilton before her sex tape surfaced?� a high-profile
television executive told FOXNews.com. “This scandal is making her a
household name � it will definitely elevate her into real star-studded
status.�

Wow!  “Real” star studded status.  As if being a multimillionaire in your teens isn’t enough.  Through careful marketing of not only the movies but also all the paraphernalia related with it, Hudgens has set her and her future family up for life.  Even before this scandal surfaced Hudgens and her HSM co-star and current boyfriend Zac Efron were already holding out for multi-millions for the theater version of High School Musical 3 set to debut sometime next year.

Let me tell you what I see…

I see a young girl, very immature, making a very, very foolish mistake.  She must be very insecure to have taken the time to have someone at the ready with a camera to take a picture of her nude while dressing in a bedroom and then to send those pictures across the internet.  According to credible reports, this isn’t the first time this has happened.  When Hudgens was a minor, she reportedly sent risque photos of herself to Nickelodeon’s Drake Bell of the popular “Drake and Josh” series.  This happened before the HSM series takeoff when Hudgens played a bit role as Bell’s girlfriend in one of the shows.  What is going on here?  A young girl with star fantasies badly in need of security.  A real relationship with Jesus is lacking in her life.  Another quote from the article says:

And it seems Ness is certainly
trying to undo the damage, attending church with her parents,
cancelling her Jay Leno interview and posting a message of thanks to
supportive fans on her Web site.

Well, I certainly hope her church attendance was for the right reasons and not a public relations ploy to try to repair her image with pre-teen girls across the country.  THAT has already been irreparably damaged.  My nine-year old, who doesn’t listen to the news, couldn’t help but hear about this scandal from her little friends at school.  She came home and told me she was a “Sharpay” only fan now (Sharpay is the character played by fellow HSM star Ashley Tisdale).

What bothers me most about this is that our culture largely celebrates immaturity like this.  It even revels in it.  Adults especially should be appalled at this.  A girl barely old enough to be a legal adult posing nude and having her body splashed all over the internet.  As a parent, I’m angry because my youngest daughter is now hurt by this and I’m incredulous at the overall response because my oldest daughter is just 18 months younger than Hudgens (or to look at it another way, she’s as old as Hugens was when the first HSM film was made in 2005 and debuted in January of 2006).

I pray God will give us a sense or morality about this and that parents will use this as a way to train their children to make wise choices and give in foolishly to what the mainstream says is quite alright.

This week’s “Barron’s” magazine features an article on Nokia cellphones.  The first cellphone I owned was an old block Nokia that worked great until I decided to run over it with my car.  Kyocera then became the model of choice on my old Cricket account until I switched to AT & T (the old Cingular).

According to this article, Nokia has some pretty sweet models in the works and their San Diego factory is working with AT & T to develop some models available with my cell service.  Much of what’s available in their new lines will feature services comparable to the IPhone but reportedly with better reliability and durability.  Prices for the top-end models will be steep, at this posting, nearly $700 for their top of the line phone, but there are several middle models for less that adequately check email and have wi-fi capability for use in places like my favorite coffee shops.  I still have another 15+ months to go on my current contract with AT & T so I think I’ll sit back and wait to see what develops.  By then, prices will have come down dramatically I’m sure.  Apple is already trying a mid-course correction to offset this challenge in the future.  It appears Nokia doesn’t want to get caught off guard again like it did when the Motorola Razr came on the scene in 2005.  Motorola has been floundering of late, not quite sure what to do with its future since it’s splash with the Razr.  I’m glad I didn’t buy into that hype either.

One note, I DID finally have an IPhone sighting this past week.  The president of Summit Christian College, which is relocating to Denver, pulled his IPhone out of a special case he had during a prayer meeting I was at on Wednesday.  He was able to pull up his Bible for our scripture reading.  Very nice…but still not enough to want me to purchase one even at $400.

I’ve been in a quandary of late.  My “Man Bag” I’ve used for years is finally starting to fall apart.  What to do about a replacement?  I’ve seen several church pastors whose blogs I read rave about the “Timbuk2″ custom bags they’ve purchased but I just couldn’t make myself pay the high price for one.  Lo and behold, just as I’m about to give up on my search, I stumble across the blog of church planter Matt Mehaffy who writes about a “man bag” he purchased based on the popular bag carried by “Jack Bauer” of the television series “24″.  The “Heavyweight Classic Messenger Bag” (pictured above) is available online for a fraction of the cost of those other bags and is designed to last.  With shipping and handling, I paid a little less than $27 for the bag above and it’s significantly better than the bag I have now.

I have a feeling this bag will be a popular purchase for the rest of us who are budget conscious but need something trendy and durable.  I like the basic stuff but you can actually purchase this bag in a number of different styles (of course, they cost more).

The funny thing was, Mehaffy’s blog was visited by thousands based on this post!  My friends at Moleskinerie picked up on it due to Mehaffy mentioned he carried his Moleskine in the bag.  Truly the power of the man bag is here!  I can’t wait to receive mine.  I’ll let you know more about it once I’ve used it for a while!

So Apple is now slashing the price of the Iphone by 33%.  Read about it here on Fast Company’s blog.  A bunch of people who just couldn’t wait to get theirs are now upset with Apple and Steve Jobs because they feel they paid too much in June for theirs.  Tough!  It’s called the free market system.  Get over it.

I said in the early going that the IPhone was overpriced and too expensive to operate.  It’s the reason I avoided the fancy ads and the gushing of people with far too much money on their hands lining up in the early morning hours for a phone!  Let’s see, I already had an MP3 player, I had a decent cellphone I had just purchased last December, and I have wireless internet available to me everywhere I go to work on my laptop.  Why on earth would I need to run out and purchase this when I could go waaaayyy cheaper with a blackberry (if I even wanted to spend that much?).  Efficiency isn’t measured by how expensive and up to date your gear is.  Efficiency is measured by how you get things done!  An Apple Iphone could definitely up the productivity quotient in your life but it could also keep you right where you are if you’re lazy.

In any event, Steve Jobs heard the whining after the announcement so now he going to give every early buyer (through Apple or their exclusive carrier AT & T) $100 in Apple stuff to make it up to them.  Yea, you can go in and get some new headphones for the old IPod you don’t use any more because of your cool phone. Maybe you can get a charging stand for some other item.  Pick up some Apple stuff today!

My thought when I read this was “So he’s giving in?”  I mean, anyone who’s in business can do what they want but why reward people for overpaying for their technology?  These people were foolish enough to purchase them on the day of their release…they wanted them badly enough to wait a loooong time for them.  They chose to part with some of their hard earned cash to trade it for a product they thought would make them ‘tre chic and now, they want free stuff because the thing isn’t selling well because it was overpriced to begin with.   To tell you the truth, I have yet to see anyone using one of these phones though my AT & T store assures me many have been purchased.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not knocking Apple.  I love their PC’s and Notebooks.  The next computer I buy may very well be an Apple though I’ve not decided just yet.  I think Apple hit a note with their “I-Pod” brand of digital music players and now, they are cool again.  But the IPhone wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  Sure it looks great on those TV ads.  I love the one where the guy looks up a seafood restaurant online after watching “Pirates of the Caribbean” on the little screen.  But I could tell right away this was going to be a pricing nightmare.  When you break it down, I’m not going to pay that much for a phone and all of the related add on costs to make it work to its full potential on the AT & T network.  It’s just too much.

Hopefully, the nuts who purchased these things early and the whackos who really paid too much on Ebay the day afterward realize that technology is fleeting.  These first IPhones could very well end up with the Apple Newton on the tech heap.  Remember the Newton?  The 1993 PDA that could do it all but never caught on.  I’ve thought about buying one of those on Ebay for $10 or so just to have one again.  They were great technology but rarely used and are largely forgotten in today’s marketplace.

I guess Apple’s worried about losing customers but for me, I sit and grin with my trusty little Samsung phone that’s still clicking for much cheaper…Oh yeah, and my MP3 player, A SanDisk model I purchase at Comp USA for under $80, is doing just fine with my audio book collection!

The church I pastor is beginning 30 days of prayer today.  For the entire month of September, we will be praying through a devotional on prayer that I’ve adapted for our church.  We will essentially divide the month into three segments of ten days each.  Each segment focuses on a different aspect of our Christian walk.  The first ten days we will deal with our sin and subsequent call to obedience to God.  The next segment will discuss bringing glory to God and honoring Him.  The last segment discusses evangelism and our call to reach the lost.  I’m praying for great things for our congregation.  I hope this is the start of good habits for many of them.  I know not EVERY one will do it but many committed last week so if you would, please pray for us.

Also, If you haven’t already, check out my other blog: “The Productive Pastor”.  My post today deals with my purchase of a new notebook system.  I’m curious if anyone else has used it yet.

Wow, you came anyway! I don’t normally write negative comments on my blog but I must say recently, I came across a few blogs with some silly content on them. For the sake of brevity, I’ll just summarize them:

First off, a blog with a post stating that the person hopes that other blogs this person dislikes highlight him and then celebrate when they do pointing out how terrible those bloggers are. Uh, forgive me brother but you asked for it and then, you highlight how horrible such behavior is. No names needed. It was just plain silly.

Why do we have other blogs eager to criticize another guy for taking a different stand? I’ve seen this more lately from bloggers who are more on the “liberal” side of theology attacking those who have more conservative values. Granted, I’ve seen the same on the other side but lately, it’s been as I stated. Why do we do this? What is the point? Who really cares?

Here’s a clue. If you’re reaching people with your blog, why not state your case and convince me on the strength of your arguments rather than wasting valuable server space complaining about someone else? I read a number of blogs that I disagree with, even many church planting blogs. I don’t agree with their language, theology, their self-spouting Christian “liberty”, or their style but I’m not going to waste my life calling them out. I just write from the heart (as I’m doing now) and state my case from my own observations and for me, that’s enough. There are lost people who matter more to me than those I disagree with. The Apostle Paul stated that whatever the motive, Christ is preached. God will sort out the fakes from the real ones. I don’t have time.

Make your blog a place where people come to read what YOU’RE thinking about ministry, not about somebody else.

My friend Ron Hunter has put together a nice post on why the “IPhone is not my phone” on his blog.  It had nothing to do with the phone…just the exclusivity of the service carrier.

I’m cheap.  I’m a Cingular/AT & T customer and even I don’t want the IPhone at this point.  Why?  Too expensive to start with and the service plan needed to operated the phone efficiently is too rich for my budget.  I see a lot of other church planters using theirs.  I wonder how they can afford it!  Nah, I think I will stick with my Samsung slimline phones I purchased at Christmas.  I’m too addicted to my GTD+R system of task management anyway to switch again.

By the way, I’ve added some new stuff to my alternate blog “The Productive Pastor.”  Feel free to drop in and tell me what you think.

I don’t know if there’s anything worth saying here but just noticed that the media’s attention has been so taken with the following…

1. Harry Potter Mania.  The seventh and supposed last book is out and I didn’t even realize it until I was at my local Wal-Mart and people were camping out in the parking lot.  CAMPING at Wal-Mart!  I like certain things too but I don’t get the draw of getting out to pick up a book you can buy the next day with no hassles.  This isn’t like the madness we see over game systems that are sold out for days.  The book is available now without having to camp out.  Imagine if people were so excited for church, they would camp out in your parking lot!
2. The Beckhams.  Yesterday, I turn on my TV and I see an hour long pre-game show for a soccer match between Los Angeles and a team called Chelsea.  Then, a big deal was made for a party the Cruises were throwing for California’s newest big thing.  I wondered how many were like me and said “who cares?”  The last thing I need to hear about is how Eva Longoria and Katie Cruise are busy sending out gold foil stamped invites to a private party.  That much money brings it own world and 99.9% of us aren’t living in it.  I also wonder how many of the sold out crowd at the LA Galaxy’s home “pitch” will be back to watch another game after a month or so.  If Pele couldn’t get soccer on its feet here, I doubt an aging soccer star with diminished skills will do it.  No, this is all about Hollywood.  Beckham will have more fans reading about him and his wife (what group was it she was in again?) in People magazine than they will in The Sporting News.
3. Lindsay Lohan.  Oh, never mind!
4. Al Gore’s Son. Is this an “Inconvenient Truth” or what?  Busted while driving a “green” car!
5. Green Cars. While we’re on that subject, what is the big deal with the Prius or any of these hybrid cars?  Given the gas crunch, we should be looking at ways to conserve but this?  These cars cost a lot and when you factor in what you’re saving over a regular Toyota in terms of gas cost, the difference weighs against you.  You’re losing money!  Buy a cheaper, more fuel efficient car and drive less!  You’ll save real money as opposed to spending more cash to feel better about the environment.  A pastor friend of mine purchased a scooter type motorcycle that gets 100 miles per gallon (It only goes to about 45 miles per hour) and he drives it to his office every day and uses a gallon of gas A WEEK!  $3 a week in fuel cost.  THAT makes sense.  The real problem is our lifestyle.  Until we change that, we won’t change a thing in this arena.

This is what occupies the news this week.  Interesting how we get so sidetracked into others’ lives that we sometimes forget to take stock in our own!  I pray your week is a productive one for the kingdom.  Be blessed!

I returned this week from our denomination’s annual convention.  While there, I engaged in many conversations with people from all over the country who are involved in our churches, our various ministry programs, and of course missions.  One thing I noted in a few of the conversations was the assumptions that were made in regard to certain people or their ministries.  Perception is a very admirable trait but sometimes I think that our perception becomes clouded when we seek to bridge a chasm of what we perceive to what really might be out there.  The clouds that cover the chasm itself cause us to walk into the unknown with no idea of what’s ahead so we simply revert to what is real to us to help guide us.  For example, I heard one conversation about a fellow missionary who’s planting a church and the perception of my well intentioned brother was that this person wasn’t following the “manual” to get it done the way he would.  Thank goodness I wasn’t in that conversation because I know this brother (the church planter) quite well and would have put an entirely different spin on his concern.

Back to my analogy…..

I believe the chasm we seek to cross is nothing more that a shadow.  The shadows in the dark that once scared us as a child now cause us to hesitate in our dealings with others.  When someone does something that we just can’t compute in our reality, we simply want to revert to our perception and question the other’s M.O.  The reality of the shadow is we take the scarce scraps of reality we have and we place them in the light on our side of the chasm to cast the shadow we feel most comfortable with. 

I, for one, long ago focused my thoughts on navigating the light that was available to find the truth of what was on the other side.  What I’ve found is refreshing and wonderful.  When seen in the sunset that the other side casts on it once you’re across, it’s beautiful and awe inspiring.  Are there problems?  Are there problem people, even in ministry?  Absolutely.  But the beauty of discovery far outweighs the stale lifelessness of staying on the other shore never experiencing but always casting shadows through the chasm to validate our staying put. 

I recently watched a movie called “The Island” that was released a few years ago.  It reminded me of one of my favorite movies as a kid, “Logan’s Run” with a bit more of an edge. The general premise of each movie was to escape the “reality” of what we were programmed with to the unknown.  In “The Island”, the couple leaving is told that death surely awaits them outside the safety of the network which was simply an underground colony.  Of course, the characters begin to think otherwise and, ultimately, find out the truth.  I think sometimes in ministry we tend to do the same thing to people we don’t understand.  Surely death awaits them in this unconventional way of doing things and young leaders are discouraged to follow them.  I don’t want to paint a bleak picture of elders because many of them encouraged me in my journey to where I am today and I already see in my 13-year old son the curiosity to take the journey even farther than I likely will.  I’m merely saying that some of the “darkness” in our speech shows a real fear of the chasm shadows. 

So where are you on this journey?  Are you afraid to pull up anchor and sail into the shadows?  Don’t be.  There is peril along the way for certain but discovery and freshness of purpose will energize you like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

Perhaps I’ll have more to say on this later.  I’m sure I will because I’m still investigating.

This week I was informed by my denomination’s church planting board that I will be placed on what is known in our group as “designated support”.  This is a phrase which basically means that I no longer have my salary guaranteed and that I will receive whatever is given by others to survive.  If I receive $1000 less in giving this month, my salary is reduced by that amount and I have to find a way to replace that income myself.  For this first time since I can remember, I went out applying for jobs at local places like Starbucks and Wal-Mart.  I felt like a 16 year old kid again.  I’ve interviewed for jobs twice since I’ve been 22 having stayed at my position in radio for 15 years prior to moving to Denver as a church planter 6 years ago.  During that time, I’ve traveled to raise support across the Midwest where I’m originally from.  I’ve told my wife I have a calm about this but still, when you have a wife and three kids to take care of, it’s scary nonetheless.

I understand the reasons why.  Giving is down across the country and other church planters are receiving the same treatment.  I’ve spoken with two this week who are much younger than I and somehow, they’ve looked to me for reassurances.  I’m not sure I’ve much to give other than my own faith that believes if I’m working hard, still feel called, and am putting my trust completely in Him, that it will work out that the bills will somehow get paid.  If that means a second job, so be it.  I love what I do and though hours at another job take away from my effectiveness, I still believe it’s the right thing to do.  God will honor my effort.  My wife is picking up additional hours at her work but we’ve prayed and decided that she must be home more to help with the children.  She’s willing to do more and my 16 year old just started her first job and told me she’d help with her own activities and things but I’ve told them all that I will provide.  God will be honored.  And really, that’s all that matters.  The church will take care of itself if we are faithful.  Sometimes I think I worry too much about it but it’s not just about me.  I know I’m the leader but there are others who contribute.  I must stay strong for them and keep the faith.  Still, it’s an odd look a 20-something manager gives you when she says: “..and Pastor, you want to be a barista again why?”

If you’re so inclined, would you please pray for me?  Not only that, but pray for my wife who’s taking this harder than me.  We know we’re called.  We know God’s in control but this is one of those times when he calls us to the dark and just tells us to trust but nothing more.

I’ve recently launched another blog (as if I don’t have enough to do).  “The Productive Pastor” will deal with issues of productivity, being more efficient in our work, and life hacks to help us achieve more.  It’s aimed at pastors but I’m sure others can benefit from the posts as well.

Check it out by clicking here!

I hate spam email!  I hate it with a passion.  I can too since I don’t have to worry about it’s eternal destiny.  It seems every morning when I sit down to go through my email messages, I get plenty of spam.  Everything from software without the packaging (piracy anyone?) to online drugs and the person who needs my bank account number to transfer a million dollars in my account from Nigeria so he can get out of the country. (I can’t believe people would fall for that one.)

I’ve taken some steps in recent years to cut down the spam.  I have a separate Yahoo email account I use for all non-business related sign ups and such.  I do not use this email for anything other than signing up for newsletters, notifications, etc..  My private email is just that…private.  I use it for trusted friends and our leadership team in case they need me.  I rarely use it for anything else but this to keep out the spam.  I have another email address I use for work related matters to aid in this process also.  The junk mail folder option in Mozilla Thunderbird (especially the new 2.0 release) is very helpful to filter out any other junk that might find it’s way to my private address by way of bots.

For additional tips, check out this article in today’s Success magazine blog by Jeff Zbar.  Excellent advice for all of us.

Part of being productive in the pastorate is to do away with meaningless tasks that eat up large chunks of time.  I used to check email first thing in the morning before I did anything else.  Big mistake!  I took nearly an hour to just go through my accounts and filter out what was needed.  Now, I check it at 10am, 2pm, and again at 6pm after dinner just for a quick wrap up to write down any tasks that might need addressing.  This system helps keep my inbox at zero, increases efficiency (I take less than 20 minutes to go through email at my 10am review now, 10 minutes or less the other two times), and allows me to start my morning ironing out my tasks so I know what needs done TODAY.

Today I was returning some books my family had checked out at the local library. (It’s close to my church office).  The library regularly puts out boxes of old books it’s looking to get rid of for whatever you wish to pay for them.  Over the years I’ve found some neat titles including some great sports books, extra copies of some spiritual classics like “Knowing God” and a few youth books for my kids to read.

Today was different.  As I perused the boxes of old books and magazines what do I find but a box quite familiar to my youth.  You see it above.  How many of you remember this game?  I remember “Football Strategy” when Sports Illustrated first purchased the game in 1977.  I was 11 at the time and a group of my friends and me put together a simple league of players that would play games each day after school while we waited for our buses to come and take us home.  Some of the guys rode the same bus so we were able to take the game with us and finish it while we rode home!  A ten game league with playoffs was the norm and we usually finished about the same time as the real NFL so we could start playing the baseball game in the spring.

“Surely this is someone’s throwaway” I thought.  “They probably had spare parts in here and decided to get rid of it.”  The box was well worn with a stain or two on it but as I opened it to check out the contents, there preserved was the entire game!  All of it.  All the cards needed, the die, the books, the charts, even the “widow’s guide to pro football” that was thrown into the game as a joke by its creators.  The widow’s guide didn’t even look like it had been read!  “Ah, but what about the football and ten yard marker” I thought.  I figured since I was lucky enough to find something in as good a shape as this, I would fabricate my own from card stock and my laser printer.  Just as I began to close the case, the two little pieces I looked for fell from the box.  They had been tucked in one of the booklets.  I couldn’t believe it.  The game was in great shape.  Aside from normal use, it looked like it had been put back on a shelf sometime in 1982 (About the time my original copy had come up missing!) and never been touched.  My inner child smiled and gleefully put the box in the bag that had held my family’s books and I made my way to the church office to lay it all out on my desk to see if it really was just like I remember it nearly a quarter century ago!

I could write about my first FS game in 25 years but it’s enough to say I remembered the simplicity this game had for me at a time when board games were just beginning to take over my leisure time.  As the early 80’s gave way to the Commodore 64 computer, more advanced sports strategy games emerged and I remembered loaning this out to a younger friend of mine to play.  Within three years I would be married and I never saw the game again.

If you’re under 35, you probably never remembered this game or if you did, you might remember your older brother having his friends over for some fun and snacks.  For the rest of us, you can probably understand my enthusiasm and my wife’s laughing at me when I came home with the game tucked under my arm!  “It’s coming up on Easter Sunday” she said.  “Is this what you did to prepare to reach the guests we’ll have?” Hmmm…I had to think about that for a minute.  “I’ll finish prepping the message in the morning” I replied.  “Tonight, me and my son are going to the coffee shop to play a game”.  She didn’t think my son would have any interest in something I played when I was his age.  Not with the sophistication of the PS2 football games he owns and the techno freak he is.  But he grinned as I told him the story of my treasure find.  Perhaps to humor his old man he said, “Yea, that would be cool to sit down and try to figure this out!”

We’re off in an hour or so…I just hope I remember my great aerial offense tactics to knock down his defense!   Or perhaps he’ll run me into the ground.  Either way, it feels like 1977 all over again!

There’s nothing quite like chilling with a good book and some good coffee.  I’ve been rereading an excellent book called the “Critical Journey” by Janet Hagberg and Robert Guelich.  I’ll post some thoughts on the book itself later but it should be required reading for every person who calls themselves a Christian.

Along with the book is a cup of Peets’ “Blend 101″.  I just purchased a half pound to brew up at home when I’m working.  I’ve said it before on this blog and I’ll say it again: Peets puts out the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.  I’ve purchased several varieties and all of them have been very good.  I prefer the East African blends the best for their taste but even the Latin American coffee blends are superb.  I’ve tried ‘em all from Starbucks, Caribou, Saxby’s, Peaberry’s, and Seattle’s Best but nothing tops a fresh cup of coffee from Peets!

If you are near a store, try them of have them ship you a bag soon!

Faith Untamed gets a face lift!  Thanks to the fine folks at Voxtropolis, our blogs can be personalized a bit more with a new look and custom headers.  The one above is the Denver city skyline looking from city park.  I’ve also added the “SNAP” extension to the blog so you can check out links ahead of time without clicking on them.  I’ve also changed the music so if you read this through an RSS reader like I do with Google Reader, you may want to visit the blog itself to hear the music play as you read.  I enjoy listening as I write.

A big thanks to Alex McManus and the gang at the “city of voices” for finding yet another way to keep Voxblogs unique.  I moved over to Vox from Blogger largely because of the community ideal that Alex and his wife Niza had when they formed Voxtropolis and I’ve not been disappointed.  The community of bloggers at Vox is as unique as the blog hosting service.

So, what do you think gang?  Any thoughts on the new look?  Anything you’d like to see?  Let me know!

Peace

That was the headline on Fox News’ website regarding the firing of a biology teacher who included some biblical references into his teaching as a part-time high school biology teacher.  Kris Helphinstine was also alleged to have given a PowerPoint presentation that made links between evolution, Nazi Germany, and Planned Parenthood.  In a quote from the story Helphinstine said he included the material:

“…to teach students about bias in sources, and his only agenda was to teach critical thinking.

“Critical thinking is vital to scientific inquiry,” said Helphinstine, who has a master’s degree in science from Oregon State. “My whole purpose was to give accurate information and to get them thinking.”

The teacher added that he DID NOT teach creationism, which is what the flap is really all about….

“I never taught creationism” he said. “I know what it is, and I went out of my way not to teach it.”

What I found truly amazing about this is the reaction of a few parents:

Parent John Rahm told
the newspaper that he became concerned when his freshman daughter said
she was confused by the supplemental material provided by Helphinstine.

“He
took passages that had all kinds of Biblical references,” Rahm said.
“It prevented her from learning what she needed to learn.”

“How many minds did he
pollute?” Dan Harrison, the father of a student in Helphinstine’s
class, said at the meeting. “It’s a thinly veiled attempt to hide his
own agenda.”

Okay…calm down Mr. Harrison.  Let’s look at this logically.  First off, the evolution argument is still not provable.  There’s merit to it yes.  Even Albert Einstein admitted that this world had the markings of being put together by a force beyond his theories.  Not having been in the class, I’m unable to put together a proper response about Helphinstine’s curriculum and what exactly he said.  Including a response from the bible as a historical reference is well accepted in many educational circles.  As long as it’s not taught as fact (though we as Christians believe it to be so), the historical references made in scripture, which many archaeologists have confirmed through research, is completely appropriate to teach.

As for John Rahm’s comments, what did his daughter need to learn?  He makes a comment used by Fox News in it’s story but the writer doesn’t elaborate on the “what” of such an accusation.  Does Mr. Rahm has a master’s degree in science like Helphinstine?  Can he accurately say what she needed to learn in a high school biology class?  Is critical thinking a part of learning how to use the scientific method?  Sure it is.  So why complain?  Because you though your daughter was getting indoctrinated with some biblical logic?  What if she was presented various sides of the same argument so that she could make an informed decision rather than hearing just one side of the equation and taking it as the one and only source.  That’s not good learning Mr. Rahm.  Your daughter would be short-changed into becoming a lemming that believes anything she hears from those who make a compelling argument but are wrong. 

I doubt anyone involved in this situation will read this.  My conclusions are simply drawn from what little I’ve read on this case but it appears Mr. Helphinstine is being run out of the school simply by presenting a multi-faceted view of the world around us.  It’s the same thinking that great minds used to change our world over the years and just because one side doesn’t like the other, we shout down the offending viewpoint as illogical and wrong.  It sounds a lot like communism to me.

It’s late..Since we’ll turn back the clocks at bedtime it’s already past 11pm (well 10pm RIGHT NOW but you understand) and I’m already wore out.  I thought this was a good time for one of those all inclusive, nothing really about church type posts…..

For starters…Why don’t we just keep daylight savings time.  I hate switching back and forth each year.  Why not move ‘em up an hour and leave it alone.  I’m sure we’ll get through winter just fine without pushing the clocks back.  Everybody likes an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day to get a few things done so why not leave it?

A few weeks ago, I blogged on a Consumer Reports piece on coffee quality.  Since that time, the Starbucks CEO has written a memo telling the stores they need to recapture the atmosphere that made them who they were.  He spoke of going back to manual espresso machines and the nostalgia that goes with them.  Here’s one clue to help gang…Free Wi-Fi.  I don’t pay for wi-fi when I’m out.  Atlanta Bread, Panera Bread, Daz-Bog Coffee, and Saxby’s Coffee all offer free wi-fi for those who need it.  With those options out there and more people going mobile, jump on the train before it’s too late.  This whole scenario was bound to happen.  Starbucks maintains its position by sheer volume.  I have not one but at least six Starbucks that are now within 10 minutes drive time from my home.  When my wife and I first moved out here, there was only one in that vicinity.  So in five years time, they added five stores just within 10 minutes or so of my home.  Not to mention the others around me a bit further out if I want some variety in my scenery.  All this, and I will drive about 18 minutes or so out to camp out at the only Peets coffee in the north Denver region.  As I stated in the earlier blog post, I just like their coffee better.  If you ever have a chance to try it, do so and see if you don’t agree.

I had a chance to tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory with my daughter Friday for a high school field trip.  I enjoy good tea also and didn’t know that the factory in Boulder is the only one in the world.  All of the tea that’s made by Celestial Seasonings is made in Boulder, Colorado and they pump out about 10-million tea bags a day.  Not bad for a company that started with one guy and a few of his friends collecting wild herbs for tea that they measured by hand and packaged in muslin bags back in the 70’s.  If you are ever in Colorado and want a tour, be sure and stop in and do spend some time in their “mint room”.  You’ll breathe free for days on end!  Yes, I broke from my coffee addiction and purchased some Canadian Vanilla Maple tea that tasted too good to pass up.

I’m always working to try to meet new folks.  Last night, I had the chance to share the vision of our church with two different people.  The first was a 30ish woman who’s married, has no kids, and is not churched.  The other was a 20ish guy who loves music, looks a bit rough (by church standards!), and was spiritually interested.  I had the chance to share my testimony with both and invite them to church.  I try to do this most every day but some days you feel a bit more convicted than others.  This was one of those days. 

Will you pray for these two people please?  Both need the Lord, both aren’t attending anywhere, and both were interested.  We have what they need.  Please pray that God would convict their hearts to get involved and visit this weekend.

I just got back into town yesterday (Thursday) after spending much of the week in Nashville, Tennessee for a church planters conference for our denomination.  I got to spend some quality time with my friend Jason Taylor from the blog “Risking Crazy” and Steve Gray who’s planting a church in my old hometown of Collinsville, Illinois.  Visit Discovery Church if you’re in the area and check it out for yourself.

We shared ideas, heard from a long-time church pastor/planter but most of all, spent time together as friends in fellowship.  I especially liked our time together in the evenings AFTER the sessions when many of us just stayed up wayyyy too late and just shared ideas, prayer requests, and friendship.  It’s good to do these things from time to time just to jar us from our mold.  I don’t care if you’re traditional, contemporary, emergent, or liturgical.  It’s always good to hear from others in a different area and from a different style to sharpen your own focus in your own area of call in planting a church.

From the time I was a little kid, I loved baseball.  My dad grew up selling scorecards in the old Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis and raised me with his memories while we watched games at the old Busch Stadium.  He was also on hand for the opening day of the new Busch last season and still has his love for the game.  Now that I live in Denver, I’ve tried to pass that love on to my son as we watch games at Coors field but somehow, it isn’t the same as the lore that surrounds the Cardinals.  Above, there’s a picture of Cardinal legend Red Schoendienst at age 84 visiting with Albert Pujols’ son, who is six.  It reminds me why I love the Cardinals and the history they bring to major league baseball.  My dad tells of the time he snuck into the Cards locker room in the 40’s after selling his scorecards.  He put himself into Stan Musial’s locker and closed the door.  When Stan opened his locker, imagine the surprise!  Today, security would put you in jail.  But Stan, he signed his bat for my dad while Schoendienst argued for him to leave.  In the end, my dad said he laughed and wound up signing the bat too.  My dad still has the bat and all the memories that go with it.

I love the start of baseball season!  I’m not happy with the way the finances are going but there is something spiritual about sitting in the mid-day sun with a scorecard, a cold coke, and a ballpark dog with lots of relish and mustard.  It’s a little slab of heaven on earth for this preacher!

So, the media is all up in arms over Tim Hardaway’s comments on a Miami radio station regarding former pro basketball player John Amaechi’s admission that he is a homosexual man.  The crux of Hardaway’s comments can be summarized by this one statement he made:

“I let it be known I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people.”

Hardaway has since apologized but Amaechi returned fire saying:

“It has made it tangibly less safe for gays and lesbians throughout the country, because he has polluted the atmosphere with hatred.”

Predictably, the politically correct media are once again trying to equate this comment with racial prejudice and are drawing comparisons to the 1960’s and Martin Luther King.  I’m sorry but there is a difference.  Gay people are not riding in the back of the bus, nor are there special serving areas for gay people in any restaurant I frequent.  I don’t see schools segregating on the basis of homosexual behavior.  The race equality issue doesn’t wash with me.  I understand some hate crimes have occurred as a result of someone being a homosexual and those were tragic occurrences that should not have happened.  Those who choose a homosexual lifestyle should be protected by law enforcement just like anyone else.  But crimes against people occur every day, even violent ones.  Just ask the family members of those killed in the Salt Lake City, Utah mall.  Percentage wise, homicides affect heterosexuals at a much higher rate I’m sure, simply because statistics indicate there are more heterosexual people than homosexual ones.   Should there be special protection for heterosexuals then given that logic?  Absolutely not.  Sexual preference isn’t the same as skin color and the media should not try to equate the two.  They should just simply share the facts and let us decide for ourselves instead of trying to inject an opinion on the American culture. 

Hardaway should have used more tact and chosen his words differently but how is it his comments are so horribly awful and similar comments by Rosi