Best run ever

Since June 2008 I've been trying to run on a semi-regular basis.

I figure I've run well over 500 miles. I've completed my first half marathon in May.

Yet today I went running for 2.1 miles (32 mins) with my fourteen year old daughter. This was by far the most enjoyable run yet.

There is nothing for a Dad like getting some uninterrupted relaxed time with his teenage daughter.

Odds and Ends

First, to truly appreciate the GFR song you have to have a sound system that can handle the bass. The bass is incredible on a good system.

Finished hammering out AM and PM. Both are on the church.

AM Premise: The church is special to God. There are special expectations upon those who want to be known as the church.

PM Premise: Church @ Pergamos. Interesting things: Recognition of city demographics.
Is the overcomer the one who overcomes the church corruptions and/or the temptation and attacks of Satan? Food for thought.

Ran a hard five miles. Rolling hills and decent hills. Felt pretty good.

New Fave Song

I've been listening to this one VERY loud in my office while studying...

Back after a couple of weeks off...

Books read...
*The Soul of a Leader: Although about political leadership I found it a good read.

*The Case for Historic Pre-Millenialism: A set of essays on Post Trib Rapture and a challenge to the Left Behind position. A good subject. The essays were a mixed bag.

*The Darwin Awards: Who can't get a guilty pleasure of reading how creatively and stupidly a person can remove themselves from the gene pool.

~ Having finished my goal of the 1/2 marathon I am working towards a full marathon next year. Covered 10 miles today. Slow and difficult.

~ Movie review: Star Trek: 3 stars. Loved the beginning. Like the new guys playing the characters. It entered into predictability at warp speed by the half way point. Good but not great.

Sun Clip

Like it...

Apr 26 opening video

Alice Cooper and his faith

Some years ago Alice proclaimed a saving experience in Christ. Having listened to AC since the mid-70s such news interested me. Unfortunately you hear of these things from time to time such as Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton "conversions".

Listening to his new CD 'Along Came a Spider' I wondered if his faith would be reflected. The CD is pretty typical AC, not a musical masterpiece but pretty standard fare of what he has produced over the last 40 years.

Then I came across 'Salvation'. It is hardly an Isaac Watts tour de force but for someone with his rep over the years this is a very straight forward claim to faith in Christ.

So for your listening pleasure (?) Here is salvation by Alice Cooper.

All 451 degrees: Book #21 ~ #14 for Tweety Pie

Finished 451 Fahrenheit by Ray Bradbury. Really amazing and insightful.

Happy 14th bday to Alyson aka to her Dad as Tweety Pie. She makes me happy.

DVD and .05 book review

Doubt Review: I wanted to see this in the theaters but never did. I was glad to find it on DVD yesterday. Here is my review: I DOUBT if it was worth the $1.06 it cost me to rent it. I DOUBT if I would ever recommend anyone to waste 90 mins of their life on the movie. I have no DOUBT that the cast, writers and directors were very smug and self congratulatory on what a clever artistic movie it was. Thus I DOUBT they understand why it was and is such a goose-egg. I have more I could say but I DOUBT it is worth my time to do so.

On the other hand Fahrenheit 451 is EXCELLENT!! I'm only half way through but the whole premise of how books and thus ideas and the life of the mind is done away with to be replaced by giant wall TVs and days filled w/ fun and entertainment is so relevant. Again, excellent.

Reviews...DVD and book #20

DVD: Bella. Good movie. I'm not sure why. I think it had some weightiness.

Book: Who Stole My Church...It is a fictional acct of a pastor who attempts to bring an out of date church into the 21st century.

The thing I liked about the book was it was written by a 65 year old actual pastor who sees the necessity of a church being able to thrive in this generation.

Otherwise it was fairly predictable.

For Sun AM...

Using this Sun as an example of leadership/influence

Nayv Seals creed embodies leadership

In ongoing thought about leadership I have found the Navy Seals Creed to be instructive concerning the fabric of leadership.

DVD Review...Expelled

I have toyed with watching Expelled for a number of months. I was having trouble getting motivated. Nevertheless, I mustered the energy and plunged in. So here is my brief review:

Premise: Those in professional academia find themselves punished if they don't fully adhere to Darwinian biological evolution.

To this end there are a number of interviews and examples.

Premise 2: The questioning of Darwininsm and the entertaining of Intelligent Design is not an adherently religious issue. Creationism is definitely alluded to as junk science.

Characters: Some of the characters are charismatic. Ben Stein is very charismatic in his own calculated dweeby uber-smart way. There is also a scientist who is interviewed in France. Very well spoken. These characters allow the viewer to see the issue as personal as well as scientific.

Arch enemy of all things anti-Darwin Richard Dawkins comes off as reactionary. For the record I detest Dawkins anti-religious views. But creative editing had to be used for such a smart man to always appear in such a negative light.

Conclusion: I would give Expelled a C+. I like the premise of the movie. I like Ben Stein. But like my review on Sicko by Michael Moore, it is clear that the intent was not to enter the marketplace of ideas but to denigrate one side of the argument.

I agree that there is a propaganda machine behind the Darwin position but my suspicion radar goes off when everyone on the other side is portrayed as wrong and reactionary. Smart people come to their conclusions for reasons. Those reasons may be wrong but they have reasons.

I do agree w/ the section which pointed to the real heart of the issue: It's not about science alone. It is about the worldview that becomes the filter for the science.

Leadership focused...

My posts and book choices have reflected a renewed interest in leadership. Oddly, this new interest was birthed out of a renewed interest in an old childhood TV favorite: Star Trek ~ the original series.

Traditionally, I have been a Spock fan. But lately I've have admired the scripted leadership of Capt Kirk. The man has got his leadership moves down.

~ He loves to lead from out front.
~ He is approachable w/o ever losing the air of command.
~ He is smart.
~ There is no doubt the crew and the success of the mission comes before himself.

Now you know.

Book #19 for 2009

I just finished the 'leadership' classic 'The Prince.'

Machiavelli wrote this some 500 years ago in the context of Middle Ages rulers and their leadership. So some of the quotes are far from what a business man or contemporary leader would adhere to but the principles are still very relevant.

Some quotes...

"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."

"Never was anything great achieved without danger."

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."

The Prince being just a little more than 100 pages is well worth the short investment of time

Book #18

It has been said that leaders don't read about leadership. They read about people who lead.

The dream is about "G" who was somewhat of a teen entrepreneur prodigy.

I love reading about people who do start ups, pioneers and church planters.
Long story short "G" started an internet based business out of his bedroom when he was 16 and later sold it for $40 million when he was 18. A few years later he started another internet venture and sold it for $300 million in his early 20s.

I liked the business side of the book. His personal life was boring, so it was no surprise it was boring to read about.

Overall a quick read of a couple hundred pages, double spaced.

Recommended.

Books 16 & 17

Finished two books...

1. Greatness: A comparison between Churchill & Reagan.
Starts off sllooowww. Some of the beginning as filler material. Such as is it necessary to compare the elementary and high school educations? It did get interesting near the end when there was the comparison on Communism. It was there that greatness was really exhibited.

A good read if you can stay with it.

2. Spark! The brain/exercise connection.
Interesting theme. Some good anecdotes. For my reading taste too much content trying to over-prove the main thesis. Exercise effects mental health.

A good book to skim.

Yeah, tacky...but good

3/4 of our small groups were in session this Wed. It was a great night! The totals appear to be 43 adults and 6 children over 3 different groups.

The McQueens smoked everyone by jumping from 6 participants last week to 18! 300% gain.
Every other group was also in the double digit realm.

Next week the Men's Fight Club comes on line. This should help us easily break 50 for the small group participants.

Here's an interesting article from Time mag. BTW I am a Calvinist. No, don't trust Time mag to give a solid definition. Ask don't assume.

Book #15 The Death of Ivan Illych

The Death...Illych is a fictional Russian classic by Leo Tolstoy.

The premise is a young man spends his life climbing the social ladder. When he appears to be secure in all the right circles, having the right friends and earning the right salary he comes down with a painful terminal disease.

He then embarks on an internal journey that fluctuates between bitterness and wondering if his live had any meaning.

My analysis: Clearly great literature. Truly engaging. Depressing.

It is worth the read but make sure you read it on a sunny day with a roomful of cooing babies. Otherwise it just drags you down emotionally.

Michelle

On March 12th @ 4;20 am my sister Michelle suddenly passed away.

She had been chronically ill w/ acute diabetes but there had been no out of the ordinary decline or warning signs. The best we can ascertain is she had a heart attack @ home.

She was 44.

Things I am trying to learn/have learned in the last 4 days:

(1)My theology has not changed. Pain has a way of magnifying cracks in our belief systems if they aren't sufficiently rooted.

(2)Do the hardest things so others don't have to. During the whole ordeal I wanted to find ways to shield and run interference for my parents. So, there were difficult phone calls and tough decisions that I tried to make for them when possible.

(3)John 11 is different now.

(4)My toughest moments to date have been: (A)Telling my Dad that Shell had died.
I got half way through that and Lisa had to finish it. (B)Being consoled by Zak. (C)Thinking how good the Gospel is. I Cor 15.

(5)The importance of people. By nature I am somewhat of a loner and introvert. I thought that when tragedy hit I would want to be alone. The opposite was true. This actually surprised me.

Sometime I'll attach a pic to this post for reference.

Book #14 Dream Manager

The premise is the fictional account of Admiral Cleaning Co fighting turnover by hiring a Dream Manager.

The DM is tasked to help the employees meet their dreams and thus add value to their lives and a sense of meaning to their jobs.

I am not a big fan of the parable business book genre. But all in all it has a good premise and is worth the time it takes to read this short work.

DVD Reviews

Two of the latest movies I have watched...
Sicko: Not a Moore fan. He clearly was biased in what he was going for America health care is bad, European is good.

In spite of knowing his bias he made a case.


Forbidden Kingdom...ZZZzzzzzzzzz.

Exciting changes...

Some things that have been modified around the church is exciting.

Without over-hyping I really believe we'll find ourselves in new territory in regards to connecting and growing as a church as well as seeing people come to faith in Christ.

I specifically refer to the implementation of growth (small) groups.

With this new system in place we should be able to exceed our Wed gatherings and thus won't be meeting as a church body on Wed nights. Clearly this leaves the Wed Children & Youth Ministry to roll into Sun PM which is fine.

The other modification is that as 3-22-09 we will be starting evening church @ 5pm. This will help with some extra time needed for the Children/Youth ministries. We are hoping this allows us to not feel so rushed to get home, get the kids in the tub etc.

All great moves. Very pumped at how AFBC is going to step up and embrace the much needed adjustments.

Ohhh baby...

It has been pointed out to me that I don't have a commitment to anyone genre of music. This is true. As is the case with most people I like what I like w/o giving it a lot of thought.

This rendition of Nothing Else Matters by Apocalyptica is in-cred-ible.

I am no fan of Metallica but when M. is done this way I could get into it.

Enjoy.

Books 12 & 13

Since the last post I have been working through a couple of different books. Both these are by Ed Stetzer.

The first is Planting Missional Churches


The second book is Breaking the Missional Code



Both books focus on the understanding of your particular context (building a church in Alexandria KY is different than building one in NYC).

In addition building a church that understands reaching out to see others truly saved and also serving in the world. The dangers have been liberal churches are strong on serving but weak on Gospel. Fundamental churches are weak on serving but strong on the Gospel. Missional churches want to be right on both.

Stetzer is a solid thinker and able author. These two books are strong contributions to the continued understanding of the shifting spiritual landscape America is experiencing.

Book 11...Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior

I'll just say it Richard Marcianko is the man.

He's crude, foul mouthed and generally offensive. But in the number of books I have read that he has authored he appears to be the real deal when it comes to leadership.

I have read this book probably 3 times in the last 10 years. I always come away challenged and motivated.

I highly recommend this for anyone who has the stomach and maturity for 'salty language' in an excellent and focused treatment of real world leadership.

Book 10...Good to Great Social Sectors

Collins who is famed for Good to Great and Built to Last does the non-profit community a favor in this thin volume.

He deals with the differences in leadership, 'the bus', the hedgehog etc within the environment of volunteerism and non-profit metrics.

Here is a book that is concise and clear. Highly recommended.

I surrender...

I took the "Leadership Challenge" (book) and failed.

It is good enough, it's just like so many books I read...more book than is necessary.

200 pages of my life down the drain.

Book #9...A little cheating

I am still working through The Leadership Challenge as was mentioned in a few previous posts.

I am somewhat of a UFC fan. Not fanatic just a leisure fan. So when I saw Octagon at the library I couldn't pass it up.

What's the cheat? 99.985612% of the book is strictly pics.

Nevertheless, it is a book and I did read it. So there is #9 for 2009.

Valentine's Day Confusion

It happens more time than I care to remember. My daughter disappears with the portable DVD player for a couple of hours. When I finally track it down in her room it is loaded with her well worn copy of A Walk to Remember.

Personally, I have never watched the movie but I get the idea it is...romantic.

As I approach Valentines Day I feel an awareness of a couple of things.

(1) I don't prioritize or even firmly grasp 'romantic' as pertains to my wife.
I know she doesn't think real life romance is like scripted TV romance. But how exactly it is defined is a little murky.

Odds are she told me and I didn't want to remember.

(2) My little girl likes the idea of romance. The idea of being valued and protected by a young man (I'm getting mad just typing this!). This I understand a little more and try to convey to her by showing her how a young man should act and treat her.

In the end I believe Valentines Day were created by some man hating female Nazis to just get men in trouble! :-)

Letterman is hilarious.

Jaoquin is apparently on some kind of recreational drug. Dave just wears him out!

Pick Me...

Not a fantasy football guy, but this was well done.

They'll be back next Wed...

For the first time in about 3 weeks the weather didn't cause us to cancel Wed service.

The odd thing was a windstorm blew through that was so loud we had to end the service early.

In the sermon I was talking about how Paul had Timothy get circumcised as an adult man. "Can you imagine" I was saying "how Paul was just gigging Timothy as the procedure was getting ready to go. I bet he was saying things like..."

RATTLE...RATTLE...It sounded like the wind was blowing the building apart.

"We'll have to stop there because of the weather."

It was the only time I ended a sermon where the crowd said, "You can't stop now!"

They will just have to come back Wed to see how it turns out.

Ohhh...Yeah

My high school didn't have football, so I never played. But I wish I would have been exposed to some of the great locker room speeches that can be part of the game.

Here's a great one by Coach Flowers. Beneath the clip are the words.


Today gentleman, I am honored to coach you, and I am more honored to take you onto the field of battle. There is another honor to be bestowed upon you. That is the answer that comes with that question. Who Am I?

Answer: I am a champion!

That’s right and I need you to remember that all throughout this game.

I will conquer what has never been conquered. Defeat will not be in my creed. I will believe where all those before me have doubted. I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor and respect of my team. I have trained my mind and now my body will follow!

* WHO AM I? ….
* I AM A CHAMPION!!!

I will acknowledge the fact that I am an elite warrior who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by any means at my disposal. I accept the fact that my team expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than our opponents. Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be. One hundred percent and more

*
WHO AM I? ….
*
I AM A CHAMPION!!!

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well trained warrior. My heart and my soul will be the fuel to carry my body when my limbs are to weary. I will never falter, I will never lose focus as long as there is hope in my mind and my heart still beats. I will never give in to the evil that is weakness and I will fight that evil with my dying breath.

*
WHO AM I? ….
*
I AM A CHAMPION!!!

Energetically will I meet my enemies, no one will challenge me, none will stop me from my goal. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Champion’s word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall at the hands of my enemy and under no circumstances will I ever surrender.

*
WHO AM I? ….
*
I AM A CHAMPION!!!

Readily will I display the discipline and strength required to fight on to my objective and I will complete my mission. I will rise when I fallen. I will rip the heart from my enemy and leave it beating on the ground. My enemy need not fear me but he will respect me and if he does not. I will make him respect me with all that I have to give.

*
WHO AM I? ….
*
I AM A CHAMPION!!!

History will remember my name and he will not have to be kind. For I will have denied his criticisms and put in my own praise, No one will define me, no one will tell me what I can achieve, none will say I have not given all I have to give and none will take my glory.

*
WHO AM I? ….
*
I AM A CHAMPION!!!

Our believe, our code, OUR RELIGION is what? …. The 5 Commandments of football.

Who am I?

I am a champion!

Mental Driftwood

As I have begun the book the Leadership Challenge on the heels of the Encore Effect something stood out to me...the lack of thorough treatment.

I as much as anyone enjoys conciseness. Say what needs said and don't say a whole lot more. For that reason I think most books are too long.

Nevertheless, books such as the Encore Effect or Our Iceberg is Melting is so focused on concise and cute there really isn't any meat to think through.

It's not that these books are badly written hollow ideas it's just they are like Cliff Notes. For instance the premise of Our Iceberg is Melting is: If you are unwilling to change you'll be caught unprepared and will suffer the consequences.

Do we really need page after page of talking penguins to teach that? Where is the crunchy content that slaps you around and has you coming back for more?

The Leadership Challenge is a thicker book, but I hope the extra time investment will pay off by having more meat to chew on.

Book #8

Sometime back I read the Fred Factor by Sanborn. It was generally a book on loving what you do enough to do it well.

The Encore Effect didn't seem to brim over w/ originality.

Sanborn covers things like enthusiasm and passion. But to be honest about every business/self help book talks about things like passion.

The Encore Effect wasn't without some redeeming value. For instance: I found his PDA formula memorable: Passion + Discipline + Action = Results Achieved.

If Sanborn or general business books are new to you the Encore Effect is a sufficient, short introduction to the genre.

You can check out Mark Sanborn here.

I think book #9 will be a little slower in coming. I am starting the Leadership Challenge today.

Parental Pride

Out of the gate I think I have the 3 greatest kids there are. If you are a parent I hope you feel that way about your kids.

Each one is unique and I love them uniquely.

This week Zakariah is in Puerto Rico playing for a select baseball team Coast to Coast Stars.

I'll just bullet point my pride.

*It appears he was invited to the Coast to Coast Tryouts by a college scout.
*The teams are gathered from across the nation. He has guys from TX, IA, MD etc playing with him.
*2/3rd of those invited to tryout gets cut.
*He was the starting pitcher of the first game. He pitched 2 innings. I believe he got his bell rang pretty good! But there are at least 6 more game left.
*He played short for half a game (to get all the players time each player plays approx 1/2 the game.
*He went 1 for 2 plus a walk. He singled, whiffed and walked. He scored twice.

If you want to avoid the chest puffing report of Z's P.R. baseball you might want to avoid this blog for a few days. Otherwise, reports and pics as I get them.

Finding Ben...Book #7 2009

I powered through this one.

It is about a young man who had a rather severe case of Aspergers/Autism.

You feel sorry for the guy. There is certainly a cringe factor about the mother's brutal honesty about her feelings toward her son.

If all the other books evaporate from the Earth I might would re-read this. Maybe.

25 things

On my kids MySpace they are tagging each other w/ 25 random things. Not much of a MySpacer but here's my 25 random things

1. Can't stand the sound of a leaf rake on concrete.
2. Have bungee jumped (like a woman!!) 2 or 3 times.
3. Read Christmas letters on the radio in 5th grade.
4. Picky eater because of the way certain foods feel not taste.
5. Like to wear earplugs...even when I am alone.
6. Looked like Leif Garrett (his teen years) when I was younger.
7. Played guitar in a high school band Nuthin Fancy for a couple years.
8. Met Pastor Ed Young of the famous Fellowship Church in DC.
9. Moved to NKY to prepare to be a missionary to Denmark.
10 Had epilepsy when I was younger.
11 Probably could have played college baseball. I'll never know.
12 I think the universe is round.
13 Pulled a prank on a national call in radio show.
14 I wore a japanese rising sun bandanna on my thigh my senior year.
15 Locomotive Breath may be the best song ever...
16 For years I thought water only existed on the surface level.
17 Debra on Everybody Loves Raymond' is so HOT!
18 I have hundreds of comic books I collected back in the 80s.
19 Wanted to be a comic book artist.
20 It's odd that we show appreciation by slapping body parts together (clapping).
21 Training for a 1/2 marathon.
22 Don't understand why we have to smile @ people when we first see them.
23 E.T.s may exist.
24 My wife asked me out on our first date (she'll deny it).
25 I have two tattoos.
BONUS: I don't understand why people seem obsessed w/ being famous..I.E. American Idol

Book #6...The Myth of Multi-tasking

This was a small volume based on the popular parable approach to business books.

The greatest takeaway I got was mistaking multi-tasking for switch tasking.

In essence you really can't do two mentally demanding things at once. The brain is set up to give attention to one thing at a time. So what appears to be multi-tasking is really stopping and switching between tasks.

Crenshaw also illustrates how that due to concentration and needing to restart your previous task that it really is a time wasting approach.

Good, short read.

Digging Thrice

Thrice has a couple of spiritual songs. We have this one...Come All You Weary



Another more intense one is...Image of the Invisible

Not Just Yet

In reading through my 100 day challenge I find myself reading Stephen's sermon in Acts chapter 7. In 7:25 Stephen says on Moses slaying the Egyptian, "He supposed his (Hebrews) brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation through (Moses) hand, but they did not understand.

It jumps out at me that Moses was right on so many fronts. God would send Moses to deliver the people, but not just yet. Egyptians would lose their lives in the deliverance, but not just yet.

How many times do we have the right goal, vision, approach but mess it up because it should be done...but not just yet.

Curly Toenails of Doom

We are calling services off tonight due to weather...mostly.

The biggest threat is hanging two stories above the ground are these big curved sheets of ice. They are dangling by a thread from our roof.

Strangely, these sheets of ice look like overgrown toenails to me. Toenails of Doom!!!

Book #5 ...2009

Finished the autobiography Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammett today.

Tammett is a savant. What is a savant? It is the uncanny ability to calculate or compose music or a prodigious memory etc. For instance, Rain Man is a fictional movie on a true savant named Kim Peeks.

Tammett's savant abilities is being able to do lightning calculations in his mind.

The exceptionally odd thing about Tammett is that the numbers in his head have colors, textures, personalities and patterns. Each number appearance is unique up to 10,000.

Interesting subject, but like so many autobiographies I've read lately the subjects may be interesting but they do not make good authors.

I'm 99% sure...

I'm 99.5% sure I have high functioning Asperger's Syndrome.

I'm 99.9% my Dad has it which makes sense since it appear to be passed on genetically from the father.

Here's why it matters....

*It explains a lot. For instance: No matter how hard I try/tried there are a lot of social interactions in which I am completely clueless. The general explanation was things like, "shyness or not a people person." But Aspergers is a brain structure issue that makes it hard to comprehend social cues and mores that most people take for granted.

There are also certain habits or ways of thinking that I knew wasn't common. You cannot imagine my surprise when researching Aspergers for the first time those specific type things were expressly mentioned.

Here's why it doesn't matter...

*It isn't an excuse to retreat away from people because it is uncomfortable.

There are ways to cope and compensate, which I have over the years stumbled onto that should and do get used.

*By referring to it as a brain structure issue it sounds mysterious and special. My opinion is we are learning more concerning the brain and how much uniqueness is possible. What is considered a 'syndrome' really is just one of many options of how brains can develop. Over time 'syndromes' will be easy to spot. The big question is what is normal.

David was right in Ps 139 "We are fearfully and wonderfully made."

*I will never be the extrovert my wife is but I can certainly improve in how to socially interact even if it doesn't translate into feeling natural or easy.

Seals...Leadership

Watched the DVD on Navy Seals Class 234 from back in '02.

It is easy to get caught up in the brutal workouts, freezing cold, getting wet and sandy and the general misery.

The thing that really jumped out was the highlighting of leadership. Leading from out front. Motivating your team. Stepping up.

I am always on the look out for a better understanding of leading. Disc 1 of the Navy Seals gave me a practical framework and food for thought on leadership.

Sunday Re-Cap

Good day.

Due to the ice we were down a little. But all in all a solid attendance.

Preached on Heaven.

I only got in my intro and first point in the first service. Now the lay person can't appreciate the discipline of stopping short. To the preacher time moves at a different pace. Plus, they are so engaged with the sermon that they can easily forget that others have tuned out.

Yet after almost 20 years of preaching I have learned I can find a good stopping point and if need be pick the rest of the sermon up next service.

What lay people do understand is when the preacher has missed a good memorable stopping point and plods on just to finish the outline.

So in the evening I preached on....Heaven.

A high point of the AM was my taking the kids on a baptistery tour. Many of our kids are asking good questions about Christ. But, they are afraid of the baptistery. Someone saw a dead wasp in it once and that was all that it took.

The kids enjoyed it and asked good questions. We may be firing up the baptistery w/i the next few weeks.

Nice hanging out with a bunch of families @ Ben's place. Good food. Heart breaking game if you were rooting for Arizona. But that is what makes sports interesting.

That just ticks me...

First, just because a guy is athletically gifted and successful I by no means expect him to be a paragon of virtue.

Having heard a little bit of what goes on in Olympic village just solidifies guys like Phelps or any of the 1000s of other athletes have ample opportunity to engage in irresponsible behavior.

That doesn't tick me.

The fact that Phelps calls smoking pot "acting in a youthful...way" ticks me.

Once again society has painted a picture of what 'generally youthful behavior' looks like.

Here are my angry bullet points...

*'Teenagers' are an invention of the 50s. Only in the last 50 years have we subdivided our children out to this limbo that winks at irresponsible behavior as a rite of passage.

*It is a wicked myth, generated by Satan no doubt,that the ages from 13-22 are years that can be given to irresponsible selfish behavior.

*If we are OK w/ teenagers spending teen years in the Phelp-ian behavior when do we train them to be adults? When are they expected to do the hard things? Answer: In their early to mid 20s. That is why there is a rise on 'prolonged adolescence' today.

*There is no doubt a learning curve that is inherent in the teen years. But the teen years should be a bridge to adulthood. But far too often they are viewed as an island to escape adulthood.

No Mr. Phelps you didn't act youthful. You were irresponsible. It isn't the same.

I also bet you are just sorry you got caught.

Breaking 100 in pursuit of 100

As many of you know there is a challenge @ church to read the NT through in 100 days.

As Pastor I want to set the pace. At the end of the first month I have read 109 chapters. 100 have been NT and 9 are a side set of readings I am doing through the book of Ezekiel.

A good start to a new year.

Book #4 2009

Just finished Jonathan Goforth's book 'By My Spirit'.

If you are unfamiliar w/ Goforth he was a Canadian missionary to the Chinese in the late 1800-early 1900s.

By My Spirit are a first hand account of the great revivals that he saw and participated in during that time period.

It is a classic that I have read multiple times over the last 15 years.

Flat Land...Sun Feb 1st

Looking forward to preaching this Sunday'a AM sermon 'Flat Land'. The subject is Heaven.

You'll just have to be there Sunday to see how Flat Land and Heaven connects.

6 O'Clock Series

In 09 we are shooting to have a few more voices, especially local voices preach here @ AFBC.

This little experiment is called the Six O'Clock Series.

Here is what we have so far

Pastor Peter LaRuffa of Grace Evangelical Free Church...Feb 22nd


Pastor Randy Coleman of Christ Baptist Church...April 19th


Pastor Ronnie Raines of First Baptist Cold Spring...August 23rd


Make sure to mark these Six O'Clock Series dates on your calendar.

Service Cancelled...Wed 28th

Due to bad weather Wed's Jan 28th service is cancelled.

See you Sun.

Finished...2 for 1 (Book #3 for 09)

Just finished Weapons of Mass Instruction. A good read if you are into alternative-educational theory. I burned through it in about 6 hours.

Some of the author's theories seemed a little massaged for my taste. For instance, the idea that it's a good thing that Washington, Franklin or Jefferson didn't have any real formal education. If they had they may not have been the founding fathers.

It is clear that there is somewhat of an axe to grind @ the educational system as well.

Nevertheless, his view of the bureaucracy attending education, the focus on rote memorization over critical and creative thinking struck a chord with me.

I also watched the steroids documentary Bigger Faster Stronger...



A very even and thought provoking approach concerning the debate on steroid use. I especially enjoyed the powerlifting segments.

B,F,S is worth your time if you find a couple hours of nothing to do. But be warned, the language earns every bit of the PG-13 rating. Wear the headphones or make sure the kids are outside playing.

The Inner Life...

As I am reading 'Weapons of Mass Instruction' one of the author's earlier premises is that early mass/compulsory education had as a side agenda preparing 'lesser classes' to comfortably accept tedious tasks/jobs.

The author then sets forth that a dumbing down is an excellent tool for keeping these types of people in line. For if they haven't developed a rich inner life or life of the mind they can do tedious tasks and numb themselves to it through puerile entertainment, alcohol, drugs or zoning out.

Regarding the agenda in compulsory education I have to trust the author's research. Concerning a small world is the way to keep people satisfied in menial tasks, I would agree.

This book looks like it's going to be good. In fact the prologue has already disturbed/gripped me.

Allow me to digress: I have my own personal theories on intelligence, education, maturity and homework. Here they are in short order...

*Intelligence isn't memory work but the ability to see connections. The 'true geniuses' aren't about re-gurgitating but seeing how things fit together in ways others can't see.

*Education has too many busy work non-essentials. Teach critical thinking. Teach how things build upon each other and fit together. But everyone knows there is just so much useless tripe.

*Maturity. Kids need to be around adults more than peers. A great book on the subject is Do Hard Things. Kids keep kids immature. Adults lend to maturing of children. Since when is it a good thing to have a virtual 'cult of youth'?

*Homework. Good when actually has value an application. Useless when it is work for work's sake. See the book The Homework Myth.

Personally, I think in a perfect situation homeschool would be superior to 'warehousing' 1000s of children in overfilled classes with underpaid teachers who have to conveyor belt children through their classes each day.

But, many aren't able or capable to home school, so we must make do with the present educational system.

Again, the book looks to be great. Of course I thought that about the Cheyney book as well.

Sun Re-think

*Gave the people some manure, courtroom and alien intervention (aka Justification).

As was the case last week I think God blessed His Word.

*Extremely jazzed about the interest in Christ among the Worship Kidz/Trek crowd. This week Dave Jr is going to teach my class so I can take the kids on a baptistery tour.

*Dave Jr preached for me on Sun PM. He did a good job addressing and applying the issue of Patience.

*Had the youth over for afterglow. It is great to see the youth doing so well. Alicia, Steph and Dave are really knocking it out of the park. This new curriculum from Voice of the Martyrs should be a real challenge to them.

*Need to up the ante on Wed Nights Church Starts series. A little too loose.

*A good start for 09. We just need to get the baptistery flowing.

Vice...Abandoned.

'Vice' the vice presidency of Dick Cheney is the present read. I just finished Alice Cooper's Golf Monster.

One of my all time fav quotes comes from Dick Cheney. He was being interviewed by a liberal journalist. The journalist said, "Do you realize only ___ % of the population agree w/ the handling of the war." Cheney coldly replies, "So?"

Gotta love a leader who isn't afraid to lead.

UPDATE: Vice went back to the library unread. It would take another 8 years to muster up the energy to want to finish this snooze-fest.

Manure, Courtrooms & Alien Intervention

I am looking forward to preaching this Sun AM message, "Manure, Courtrooms and Alien Intervention." Subjectively it is about justification by faith.

You'll just have to be there to see how that title describes one of the grandest subjects in all the Scriptures.

Tech update

I am in my first work week of using tech to organize my list of actionable items and I must say it is going well.

I got more done today than I thought I could, without having to commit extra time. There is more focus because what needs done is right there in front of me.

It takes a little time to set up the systems and reminders but all in all a small price to pay to get more done.

To get a bigger picture of the system check out Getting Things Done by David Allen.

A Tale of Two Prayers...

Today we have a new President. Part of the services is the prayers. I know of two official sanctioned prayers for the inaugural event.

1. Rick Warren. I heard good things on this. It was a Christian prayer.

2. Gene Robinson. G.R. is the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop. He was the catalyst for the Episcopalians splitting up.

I have neither read nor heard G.R.'s prayer that he was to offer at another site as part of the festivities. Although in an earlier interview he promised it to be 'non-biblical, non-Christian'. It would be generic so that all people regardless of their beliefs could agree with it.

Here's my question: If you don't subscribe to a Christian theology and practice why be part of a denomination that at least claims Christianity?

Plus, do we really believe people will respect anyone who dips their colors for the holy grail of public consensus? Give me a break.

Newly Read Books for 09...Book #2.

I would like to think I would be disciplined enough to track all the books read in this calendar year. Sadly, I know me too well. Nevertheless, here's book #2. The first being The Rise of the UFC.



Before I am tarred and feathered. One, Alice is cool. So says a child of the 70's and 80's. Second, the Christian faith bookmarks his life. It was a big part of his life up until his late teens. Then it re-surfaced now as a member of the AARP.

So for all you who didn't get my Halloween outfit @ Upward a couple of years ago it was no other than the man himself.

Just finished...

Blood in the Cage was a good read for armchair voyeurs who dig the UFC.

There was some stuff that was worth skipping over, like the organizing of the UFC into a business. Plus, Dana White's mouth! I can't believe he kisses his mother with that mouth.

But reading about Militech and some of the nuts and bolts of the fighters as they come up through the ranks was interesting.

One of the best thing was it was written by a professional writer. I've read Liddell's, Hughes (and tried to make it through) Couture's (snooze!!) autobiography but they are so badly written.

Blood in the Cage would probably be a good place to start if interested in the growing genre of combat sports.

Action Ministries

Just came back from Action Ministries. If you are unfamiliar w/ it: it is a 'free food store' that primarily assists the working poor.

The amazing thing is it is run on 100% volunteerism. Pretty impressive.

So I was able to take my two oldest and 6 others (total 9) as we spent 2 hours trying to help those who help others. Time certainly well spent.

Dave and Alicia is doing a great job heading this monthly event up.

Obama Inaugaration

In the vein of honesty I will confess up front I am apathetic about the upcoming ceremony. First, I don't think O is the anti-Christ so I don't have a visceral hatred towards him. Next, I don't think he is the Messiah so I don't have a blind confidence in an unproven leader.

I simply hold the following positions...I detest his stance on some social issues.
But, the truth is he is neither the first nor last leader that I will feel that way about.

I don't get the parallel between him and Lincoln. We have 160 plus years to study both Lincoln's victories and failures. Obama hasn't worked 160 HOURS as President yet.

No, I don't think he deserves any leeway or extra points for being a black president. It is a meritocracy regardless of race.

In the end I want him to do well. I need to follow the Biblical injunction to pray for him. But my final 'prediction' is: mediocrity. He'll do better than Carter but far less than Lincoln, Reagan or any of the truly great presidents.

Sunday Re-Think

In spite of the cold and some snow our crowd was solid in the morning.

The sermon on Hell is always hard. I was recently asked why I didn't preach on it more and the honest answer is: I never want to be a preacher who likes to preach on it. When that happens it is cold, arrogant and impersonal.

Nevertheless, I do feel that is was useful and God took it and is using it on those who needed the message the most.

The PM: We looked @ how complex 'not loving the world' is. The hyper-fundamentalist may think they can compartmentalize and organize world vs. non-world issues but they are naive @ best.

Again, I feel like in spite of the preacher it was useful.

It was good to see the choir being faithful, a good crowd mixed w/ visitors and all in all a cold but solid day.

Tech for Focus

One of the things that I am enjoying about the 100 Day Challenge is the structure and discipline. To that end it is making me think once again about using the available tech to keep structure in my life.

The use of cell phone features for lists and alerts. Using outlook features for organizing.

Of course, these things cannot replace the actual execution of tasks, but if the tasks are in front of me they are more likely not to be overlooked.

In Psalms 90 Moses told us to number our days so we may use them wisely. We have more ability than ever to organize etc, to make the most of our days.

It's tougher than it appears...

While hammering through I John in the 100 Day Challenge I am arrested by the high demands of following Christ. For instance...

*Don't love the world. The world is my frame of reference. My one time to be married, raise kids and have a job is in this life in this world. Yet, I must not unduly love the world. Easier said than done!

*Lay down your life for your friend. I have a hard time being inconvenienced w/o getting a bad attitude. Lay down my life?!

The idea that Christianity is fire insurance that would allow you to skate through the rest of life is both unbiblical and unrealistic.