Archive for May, 2006

Most of you who read Notes from the Trail know that I saw the light back in ‘88 and went Macintosh. Of course, for me, it was not a switch. In many ways, it was my first time in front of a computer. I took Typing in high school, not Microcomputing, or whatever. My generation was on the beginning of the wave. I was in the right place at the right time but had no idea. Story of my life. A good friend from high school had a brother a year older than us, and he got involved in a little computer startup company and is today retired from that same company… Dell.

Anyway, I thought those of you who pay attention to this sort of thing would be interested in this very well-written article by John Gruber at Daring Fireball. He contrasts Microsoft and Apple over the past two decades and arrives at some interesting conclusions. Tell me if you agree with him.

BTW…
Q: How many Windows users does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One, but he’ll swear up and down that it was JUST as easy for him as it would be for a Macintosh user.

And have you seen this commercial yet?

If you haven’t stumbled upon FilmLoop yet, find the nearest rock and trip!

I am secure in my manhood. I am secure in my manhood. I am secure in my manhood. My breasts are not growing. My breasts are not growing.

That’s my new daily mantra to be repeated until I am able to enter the world with confidence. I repeat this to myself for a full 5 minutes before I slide into the driver’s seat of our minivan. Yep. You heard it right; I am now driving a minivan. After several months of searching, enlisting the eyes and ears of others to help search, we found Caro her “dream” vehicle and purchased it yesterday. It’s a 2002 Toyota Sequoia SR5 with all the trimmings. It’s a beaut, and we got a great deal on it. We’ve been shopping these things for months, literally.

Anyway, because of our commitment to be a one-car-payment family, that means that my quad-cab midnight blue, V8 Dodge Dakata SLT is on the block. Sniff. And I’m now driving one fine minivan. I think I’ll get a lift kit put on it, and a winch, and a mounted spot light. Maybe some tractor tires.

No, I’m not compensating. Whatever gave you that idea?

Anyway, as Carolyn now literally skips down the sidewalk to the carport, singing joyfully, I check traffic patterns and try to avoid as many bubba jams as I can. (Bubba jams are conglomerations of pickups with shotgun racks and large, bearded men wearing camo – about 80% of the traffic here in Monticello).

One day… I hope to acquire a used Jeep Wrangler for under $5K. So if you hear or know of one, please holler. I don’t think my daily mantra is helping.

I finished the 10-week Bible study I’ve been doing yesterday, and as always after completing something like that, I was somewhat at a loss to know where to go this morning to focus my devotional thoughts and quiet my mind before God. I resorted to a trick I learned from Donald Whitney. He advocates taking a Psalm a day and a Proverb a day. Whatever day of the month it is, look up that Ps/Pr. Since the book of Psalms has 150 chapters in it, you skim the Psalm to see if it catches your heart/attention, and if not, add 30 to the number of it. For instance, this a.m., I looked at Psalm 25, but then went to Psalm 55, where I camped out.

Anyway, I was struck in Psalm 55 but just how much I could not relate to the first half of the chapter:

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

As I began to reflect and meditate and pray through the passage, I discovered an interesting perspective developing within. Initially, I began to think like this… "I’m so worthless. I live in peace without persecution or threat to my health or family due to my faith. Yet there are thousands of believers across this planet today experiencing horrors and humanity-destroying grief. I’m such a loser. How can I be so selfish as to just skip over this Psalm and think ‘it doesn’t apply to me?’"

However, it seemed as if the Lord stepped in during this moment of self-flagellation and gently and lovingly reminded me of something… It was He that created me to live in this time and place. It was He that placed me in a country where we have these freedoms. In His Sovereign choice, I was placed here, for this day, for this hour, and for the benefit of the larger Kingdom. What right do I have in wallowing in false guilt?

My prayer response went something like this:

Thank you, Father, that I live in peace. Let me not feel guilty about it but praise You for Your grace and mercy and sovereign choice. Let me not seek persecution or condemn Your bride here for its lack. At the same time, let me not avoid it or excuse Your bride from compromise. Help me to understand better what my expected role and mission is in the global church when I live without fear of opposition or pain as a result of my faith in You.

This prayer and other thoughts led me to begin praying for the persecuted church, for my brothers and sisters in Christ around our world today who are being mocked, ridiculed, stolen, raped, tortured, and slaughtered because of their firm and vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ve provided some links below for you to begin learning more about the persecuted church. I’d also recommend you pick up Randy Alcorn’s excellent novel Safely Home which compellingly leads you into the world of the Chinese underground church.

BTW, I’ve got one, but am looking for nine others to do an online Bible study that I plan to write. It will be 4-5 weeks long. Comment below if you’re interested!

Links to help you learn, pray, & intercede:

• persecution.org – contains news and info about world sites of persecution
• Voice of the Martyrs – tracks events and occurrences around the world and lists needs
• Prisoner Alert – tracks those in prison unjustly and details prayer needs
• Persecution Blog – amazing list of resources in right hand link column for further info
• Open Doors – an excellent ministry detailing current needs with a proven track record
• Release International – amazing way to track persecution globally
• Persecuted Church Blog
• Compass Direct – news organization dedicated to following Christian issues around the world
• World Net Daily – another Christian news source

Sorry to drag you into my personal world of introspection today, but I truly hope it will help us to:

1. Be thankful for where God has us
2. Intentionally and purposefully live in ways that connect us with our world
3. Intercede daily on behalf of the persecuted
4. Live sacrificially – whether that means going, giving, or laboring regularly to alleviate suffering wherever we find it

If you’ve spent any moments which have unexpectedly turned to hours surfing the net in the past month, you will readily identify with this entry, I hope. When I get up from my desk after a long time on the net – whether blogging, researching, playing, or interest-surfing – I tend to feel somewhat frustrated with myself for “wasting” time.

Although I’ve learned, been inspired, encouraged, challenged or entertained in those monitor-staring moments, I still feel like life would be better lived with human interaction. I appreciate lurkers who eventually comment and encourage me, and I also appreciate the direct emails from folks who have been encouraged by my blog or something, so all is not a “waste,” but there remains this unsettled feeling about having spent so much time in front of a machine.

Then there is the gnawing sense that there is just too much out there for me to get my little brain around. The net is endless for one person to process, and it’s growing by milllions of pages daily. The sheer immensity of information available is boggling. I have a deep thirst for truth, for knowledge, for understanding, and when I stumble across things that are beyond my own intellectual level on the net, I marvel at my minute mind. It’s humbling.

There is so much out there! So much to take in, read, understand, grapple with, digest, assimilate, know, taste, see, climb, swim, give, and experience… I grieve deeply that I CANNOT plumb the depths of creation. I will NEVER be able to climb Mt. Everest
or see a fraction of the beauties of this planet. Untread valleys and islands abound on this planet, and I will not be their Columbus. At 38 years old, there are a few things I could passionately set my mind and body to accomplish while I’m still able and perhaps achieve them. However, by doing so, I will naturally rule out the option of thousands of other high pursuits.
(more…)

This is not original to me today. I just completed Day 3’s assignment in Week 10 of Beth Moore’s The Patriarchs. Only two more days, and I’ll be finished. I’m considering an online Bible study blog at this point. I’m going to write it and invite participants. Let me know via the comments if you’re interested. If I get 10 who will commit to a 4-5 week study, I’ll do it.

In Genesis 48, we read of Jacob’s blessing on Joseph and his two sons. Scripture records that Joseph had arisen to greatness in Egypt, becoming Pharoah’s right-hand man. He had two sons there, and named them Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph’s life had not been a bed or roses. Talk about a dysfunctional family. Sibling rivalry had resulted in a brush with death as his brothers decided against a murder plot in favor of a money plot. They sold him. Plain and simple. (Some of you… don’t get any ideas here!) They decided to gain from their father’s loss (Jospeh was the favorite son). For 20 years, they kept the plot secret, although Jacob suspected something was rotten in Canaan…
(more…)

I’m sure to get some flack from this, but it’s been on my mind for a while. I stumbled across Al Mohler’s blog entry today called, “Are We Mere Chemicals? Happiness as a Prescription.” I encourage you to read it and the findings there. However, let me jump off the high dive here and hope there’s water in the pool.

Our society is over-medicated. No one can dispute that. Unfortunately, no one wants to deal with it, especially if it affects them personally. Me? I’m probably on the other end of the spectrum. I refuse to take an Advil unless someone else can hear the pounding in my head. When it becomes a matter of “disturbing the peace,” I pop a pill to avoid a ticket. (Now if only the bozo’s who drive by my house late at night with their bass up and their woofers thumping would abide by that as well!)

But here’s the deal… I think there are bunches (my technical term for an embarrassing amount) of people who are popping pills that have actually been prescribed for them for things ranging from depression to mood swings to anxiety to sleeplessness to… Well, you get my drift. Far be it from me to point out that most doctors receive incentives from pharmacuetical companies to promote their products. And practically speaking… you’re a doctor. A patient comes in. You have to see them. They describe symptoms that you know full well don’t have to be treated by meds but can be. You also know full well that meds won’t address the long-term problem or deeper issues going on inside. But you don’t have time to truly “fix” this patient. Nor do you want the headache caused by an angry patient who thinks they need meds when you tell them they just need to get a grip.

So it’s a terrible Catch-22.

(more…)

I first saw this while cruising some religious blogs at 9rules Communities. So… here I go. Thanks to the Lo-Fi Tribe’s blog for originally getting me tagged.

1. List three words that describe your faith.

Growing, mysterious, joyful.

2. Describe one belief about which you are very certain and one belief with which you struggle.

Certain: That Jesus is God and is love.  Struggle: Spiritual gifting… particularly why there is so much abuse and confusion about gifts like tongues, healings, miracles, etc.

3. What is your mission in life?

My mission is to magnify God as life’s ultimate joy. I try earnestly to do this through the journalist’s credo of "afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted." I hope to be used by God to free people from mindless, routine, and maintenance religion and help lead them to a love relationship with God through living faith in Jesus Christ.

4. Describe one thing that interferes with you authentically living out your faith.

Zoned in on things in which I don’t have enough contact with people (i.e., in front of the computer, books, video games, and movies too much!).

5. What is your favorite story from the Hebrew Scriptures? Why?

The story of Joseph. I’m studying it again right now as I finish up Beth Moore’s "The Patriarchs," and it makes me cry every time. Have no idea. Has something to do with a person being rejected by men and found by God. A person who gains a family back after they all learn the importance of unity.

6. What is your favorite New Testament story? Why?

I think it must be Peter walking on the water. Amazing. That Jesus’ power only held him up (or was it Peter’s faith?) and that it was Jesus’ Word alone that emboldened him to step out. Can I take Jesus at His Word enough to step out of my boat?

7. Describe a meaningful action you took because of your faith.

Started Journey Church.

8. Does your faith differ from that of your parents? If so, how?

Not that much. Mine is more expressive in the sense of being action-oriented, I guess.

9. Who or what was most important in the development of your faith.

In recent years, it’s been some things I’ve read and poeple I’ve been around. John Piper’s book Desiring God did more to teach me about the character and nature of God than anything I’ve read in a long time. I’ve just recently been deeply affirmed by A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren. In addition, the campus ministers that I hung out with for 8 years while I served as one at the University of Arkansas at Monticello remain some of the main men in which "iron sharpens iron." Guys like Neal Nelson and Ben Phillips, and Jackie Flake, as well as others. In addition, Scott Duvall and Kevin Wieser played important roles in my understanding of my call to ministry and then my application of it.

10. Pass it on! Tag at least two other religious/faith bloggers.

I?m tagging: Jim Parker of XperienceStuff and Carolyn Noble at Proof Positive.

To fully grasp the import of this "Parchment Review," you’re going to have to realize that I’m doing a little word-eating here. With relish. Back in September, I wrote about the emerging church wondering if it is a "self-described movement or a protest." I still stand (one legged) on what I said in that post. However, in the meantime, I’ve completed McLaren’s book A New Kind of Christian. I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with Andy White’s review of it at servantblog.com when he said,

"I am not exaggerating when I say that it blew my mind.  I thought my thinking was fairly well out of the box until I read this. It?s a very easy read, and there is not a single redundant page in the whole book.  It is insightful, challenging, frightening, liberating and should probably carry an Advisory Warning that would probably read ‘This book will shake the foundations of your world.’" 

(more…)

For those of you stopping by today, you’ll be sorely disappointed. This blog entry is neither profound nor even remotely informative. Chalk it up to OBES (Obligatory Blog Entry Syndrome). I hate that it’s come to this.

Have you seen the new Mac ads yet? Try em out here. My favorite is the one for iLife. Gotta check ‘em out.

In other news, I’m beginning a semi-regular "Off the Path" link to the right which will be a blog or two that I’ve stumbled upon and will link to for a day or so just so you can see what net journeys I’ve discovered and have walked down a ways.

Well. Nuff said for now.

Nuff said.

Alrighty! Are you ready to tackle the next couple of reasons why churches choose NOT to start new churches (planting)? This has been an ongoing blog entry which began with a discussion about why churches choose to continue growing their existing congregation (and as a result, buildings and facilities) rather than starting new groups and congregations.

The other “parts” are here:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
  

A lack of leadership from denominational or church leaders…

(more…)

You won’t read a better commentary from an informed Christian perspective than Brian McLaren’s. The interview has been preserved at Justin’s site here. Make sure you check it out. I couldn’t have said it better myself…

And before any of you get constipated about what MacLaren says about the Left Behind series… I agree with him on that too. I suppose now I’ll have to turn in my membership to SIUATTLFDM. (Suck It Up And Toe The Line Fundamentalist Ministries).

I’ve been reading McLaren’s book called A New Kind of Christian and am totally absorbed right now. I find myself protesting and arguing with it. I love books that make me think. It may have the whole modernity-postmodernity issue pegged better than anything I’ve read.

So many people in the church circles I grew up in are so hyper-sensitive/scared/mad about this upcoming movie… Hello! These ideas have been around for centuries! Why have they not been up in arms before now? Are they mad that people can now read this fiction book or go watch this movie? Are they mad that people have the freedom to decide for themselves? What’s the deal?

The bad part about it is that when the religious right begin sending mass emails from their different ministries to an uneducated and ill-informed mass group of American Christians with alarmist tones, you’re sure to stir up a ton of ignorant conversation! Then, when the church begins to "boycott" stuff, folks who aren’t Christian yet begin to wonder if maybe Dan Brown and others aren’t on to something.  It’s like the line in Hamlet…

Anyway… for a reference to my first post on the Da Vinci Dialogue, go here.

I insist.

All of you.

Go have some fun today.

Life’s too short.

Got this tag from Becca’s blog… Great gal! Here goes.

Instructions:
+ Put your music player on shuffle.
+ Press forward for each question.
+ Use the song title as the answer to the question.
+ No cheating!
+ If a song repeats, go onto the next one…for variety’s sake.

• How am I feeling today?: The Emptiest Day – Caedmon’s Call
• Will I get far in life? Grace Like Rain – Todd Agnew
• How do my friends see me?: Big Yellow Taxi – Amy Grant (this is definitely not working!)
• What is my best friend’s theme song?: The Birthday of a King – Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir (I’m feeling an infusion of estrogen)
• What is the story of my life?: All I Can Do – Jump5
• What is/was high school like?: Is Anyone Thirsty? – Jeff Berry (ok, this one was cool)
• How can I get ahead in life?: October – Mike Graham
• What is the best thing about me?: Free As a Bird – Beatles
• How is today going to be?: Hosea – Shane Barnard
• What is in store for this weekend?: I Have Been There – Mark Schultz
• What song describes my parents?: Lot of Leavin’ Left to Do – Dierks Bentley (honest, Mom! That’s what came up! … uh, can I have the Jeep?)
• My grandparents?: Unfazed – The Waiting (they’re probably unfazed because they’re dead…)
• How is my life going?: One of These Days – FFH (good for a perpetual procrastinator)
• What song will they play at my funeral?: The Battle Is Already Won! - Keith Green (this was cool too)
• How does the world see me?: Visions of God – David Phelps
• Will I have a happy life?: Holy Is Your Name – City on a Hill
• What do my friends really think of me?: Farmer’s Daughter – Beach Boys (ha!)
• How can I make myself happy?: Lush Life – Nat King Cole
• What should I do with my life?: Mother Nature’s Son – Beatles
• What is some good advice for me?: Carol of the Bells – Point of Grace
• What is my signature dancing song?: Wasted Words – The Allman Brothers
• What do I think my theme song is? Railroad Blues – Ben Coulter
• What does everyone else think my theme song is? The Jitterbug - Harry Connick, Jr.
• What did I think of this whole thing? I Write the Songs – Barry Manilow