Life has gotten the better of me, but I'm back, at least for now. Deacon's big B-day #1 is this Saturday, so maybe I'll have some pics to post after that.
I saw a film last night [the last of our Netflix experience...we had to cancel it] called Danielson: A Family Movie. It is a documentary film that follows the musical/spiritual journey of Danielson and his family band. Basically Daniel and all his brothers and sisters, and their spouses, created this band. It started as a research project for his Rutger's thesis. They are technically a band made up of Christians, although they struggle for recognition in the mainstream Christian music market. They are labeled as oddities, and play lots of shows in bars [as well as the occassional church].
Daniel's voice sounds like a cross between Jack White, the guy from Modest Mouse, and Alvin and the ChipMunks.
One of the cool things about the film is it follows them on their European tour, which featured Sufjan Stevens on percussion, filling in for the youngest brother in the band who was still in school.
Why are all the best films now documentarys? Is it just the natural bi-product of the Reality TV culture we live in? Does documentary = reality movie?
The Search is an emerging worship community at University Christian Church near TCU here in Fort Worth. They meet at 5:00 pm on Sundays, and Margo and I are going to check it out this Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it. You can hear a couple of messages here. I'll probably post a recap afterwards. It sounds like they launched this service about 1 year ago. I'm interested to see how they approach worship, the design of the service, and what elements they incorporate.
A recent season of volunteer turnover in the ministry I lead has led me to some reflection. Here are my observations
Why do people stop volunteering in a ministry?
life changes - Something core to the flow of life changes, and everything goes out of whack. A new baby. A new spouse. A new job. A new obsession. What used to be normal, routine volunteering gets put on hold.
gift changes - I'm a firm believer that God is the one giving out the spiritual gifts in the Church. And since they are His gifts, He can take them back if He chooses, or give them to someone else. Someone will stop volunteering if the gifting for that ministry leaves.
vision changes - Maybe the direction the ministry is headed is somewhere the volunteer can't/won't go. They're not onboard with the overall vision of the ministry and what needs to happen.
spiritual life changes - God does something in the life of the volunteers and priorities get reset. Instead of volunteering in a ministry, something else that is needed is done [by the leading of the Holy Spirit].
spiritual life doesn't change - Stagnation. The conduit for the Holy Spirit that we can potentially be gets clogged up due to inactivity. Volunteers stop seeing the point of serving. Or worse, they don't "feel" anything from serving. Or even worse still, they don't "get anything out of it." When did the definition of servanthood change to "personal fulfillment/benefit"?
nothing changes - In other words...people get bored! Volunteers start dropping out when they don't feel connected with other volunteers. When the job is so monotonous and there is never a challenge or new twist volunteers don't believe it is worth their time.
1. The Ugandan Orphans Choir is in the house this weekend. Literally. The group is singing at Grace this Sunday, and we're hosting some of the kids in our home over the weekend. Expect to see some really neat pics, and maybe some video & audio early next week!
2. The Sleep Number bed has been in use almost a couple of weeks now. It has helped my back a lot. I prefer about a 95 [really hard], and Margo prefers about a 25 [really soft]. The great thing is that if next week, or next year, we decide we want a different firmness mattress, it is instantly ours.
3. I'm thinking about xeriscaping a portion of my lawn.
4. My 30 page research project for IWS is due at the end of October. I'm setting my goal to write 1 page per day, 5 days per week [take weekends off], which will have me finishing in mid-October with a couple of weeks to proof and revise.
This fall, a bachelor of arts in humanities degree will feature a 23-hour concentration in homemaking, with courses focusing on hospitality in the home -- teaching women interior design as well as how to sew and cook. Women -- men won't be allowed to take the homemaking concentration -- will also study children's spiritual, physical and emotional development.
There is also instruction on the intimate side of male-female marital relations. A staff physician will be involved in discussions of, "satisfaction and intimate life," seminary President Paige Patterson said.
"I suppose it's biblical sex-ed," Patterson said. "We discuss conception and abortion."
I'd love to take a gander at this guys library. Check out this guys writing set-up. He has like 3 book stands on his desk, holding book pages open for him. That tells you something there.
I'm finally getting around to reading an N.T. Wright book. All the big thinkers say he is good to read, so I'm reading Evil and the Justice of God for my doctoral project. It is a quick read, and here is a quote from something I read today:
"According to the early Christians, what was accomplished in Jesus' death and resurrection is the foundation, the model and the guarantee for God's ultimate purpose, which is to rid the world of evil altogether and to establish his new creation of justice, beauty and peace. And it's clear from the start that this was not intended simply as a distant goal for which one was compelled to wait in passive expectation. God's future had already broken into the present in Jesus, and the church's task consisted not least of implementing that achievement and thus anticipating that future. I have found in my own work over the last few years that this eschatological framing of the church's task is the most helpful way I know of understanding the challenges, possibilities and limits of what we are supposed to be doing here and now."
We're now the proud owners of a new bed. Well not yet, but we've signed the paperwork. Why paperwork? Because it is a Sleep Number bed. And buying a Sleep Number bed is like buying a new car. A car that you spend 1/3 of the hours in a day in. We're getting the queen version of this bed. After the initial trial, I think I'm going to start out at about a 85, while Margo will start out at about a 45. Which is why we need the sleep number bed! Our current bed is about 2 years old, and was a used hand-me-down. So this is actually the first bed purchase we have made in our 5 years of marriage. This bed has a 20 year warranty, so hopefully it will be the last bed for us for a while.
Our current bed is a king, and we're moving down to a queen. When we were first married we had a queen bed, so it may take a little adjusting to get used to being so close to each other while sleeping. I've had some back pain the last couple of weeks, and when Margo and I switched sides of the bed for 1 night, she complained about it the next day.
The bed should be delivered sometime next week hopefully. If you'd like to buy our old king bed, it's $50 and goes to the first to respond in the comments section.
My latest distraction on the internet is Facebook. You can see a little preview on the right side of the page now. If you are on Facebook, please say hello! Maybe we can be facebook friends, if we're not already.
I read this recently from another blog, talking about the difference between facebook and myspace:
The goodie two shoes, jocks, athletes, or other "good" kids are now going to Facebook. These kids tend to come from families who emphasize education and going to college. They are part of what we'd call hegemonic society. They are primarily white, but not exclusively. They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities.
MySpace is still home for Latino/Hispanic teens, immigrant teens, "burnouts," "alternative kids," "art fags," punks, emos, goths, gangstas, queer kids, and other kids who didn't play into the dominant high school popularity paradigm. These are kids whose parents didn't go to college, who are expected to get a job when they finish high school. These are the teens who plan to go into the military immediately after schools. Teens who are really into music or in a band are also on MySpace. MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracized at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers.
As I walked out tonight in the mystic garden The wounded flowers were dangling from the vine I was passing by yon cool crystal fountain Someone hit me from behind
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Through this weary world of woe Heart burnin', still yearnin' No one on earth would ever know
They say prayer has the power to heal So pray for me mother In the human heart an evil spirit can dwell I am a-tryin' to love my neighbor and do good unto others But oh, mother, things ain't going well
Ain't talkin', just walkin' I'll burn that bridge before you can cross Heart burnin', still yearnin' There'll be no mercy for you once you've lost
Now I'm all worn down by weeping My eyes are filled with tears, my lips are dry If I catch my opponents ever sleeping I'll just slaughter 'em where they lie
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Through the world mysterious and vague Heart burnin', still yearnin' Walkin' through the cities of the plague.
Well, the whole world is filled with speculation The whole wide world which people say is round They will tear your mind away from contemplation They will jump on your misfortune when you're down
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Eatin' hog eyed grease in a hog eyed town. Heart burnin', still yearnin' Some day you'll be glad to have me around.
They will crush you with wealth and power Every waking moment you could crack I'll make the most of one last extra hour I'll revenge my father's death then I'll step back
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Hand me down my walkin' cane. Heart burnin', still yearnin' Got to get you out of my miserable brain.
All my loyal and my much-loved companions They approve of me and share my code I practice a faith that's been long abandoned Ain't no altars on this long and lonesome road
Ain't talkin', just walkin' My mule is sick, my horse is blind. Heart burnin', still yearnin' Thinkin' 'bout that gal I left behind.
Well, it's bright in the heavens and the wheels are flyin' Fame and honor never seem to fade The fire gone out but the light is never dyin' Who says I can't get heavenly aid?
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Carryin' a dead man's shield Heart burnin', still yearnin' Walkin' with a toothache in my heel
The sufferin' is unending Every nook and cranny has its tears I'm not playing, I'm not pretending I'm not nursin' any superfluous fears
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Walkin' ever since the other night. Heart burnin', still yearnin' Walkin' 'til I'm clean out of sight.
As I walked out in the mystic garden On a hot summer day, a hot summer lawn Excuse me, ma'am, I beg your pardon There's no one here, the gardener is gone
Ain't talkin', just walkin' Up the road, around the bend. Heart burnin', still yearnin' In the last outback at the world's end.
Baptism is a mark of our new identity, based not on the power of tribe or family, education or status, race or gender, but on the power of God's promises. This is the gift of an identity that bears the marks of God's saving power. Infant baptism especially conveys this - emphasizing that before we have the power to do anything, God's power is for us. Similarly, in adult baptism we enter into the death and resurrection of the One who alone has power to triumph over sin and death. God's power, evident in baptism, is the power both to promise and to be faithful, to create and re-create, to name and rename, to die and to rise.
You may have heard that for the opening of the Simpson's movie, a select few 7-11 stores across the U.S. have converted to Kwik-E-Marts. There is one in Dallas, and we took a trip this afternoon to visit it.
The last picture is me waiting for my Squishee. We also bought some Buzz cola. I don't think I've ever seen a gas station so busy. There was a line to get Squishees, there was a line to check out. Everyone had their cameras out and were taking pictures. People were buying 12 cans of Buzz at a time. Here is the genius of this idea. Instead of just putting out trailers for this movie, they made an advertisement that you could actually experience. I believe that's why it was so busy/popular. What should the church hear? PEOPLE WANT AN EXPERIENCE, NOT JUST TO BE TOLD ABOUT SOMETHING.
I am on staff at Grace Baptist Church. Any opinions, conclusions or rants expressed on this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of Grace, or any of the staff there. My words are my own.
