Apple vs. Microsoft
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?
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FilmLoop
If you haven’t stumbled upon FilmLoop yet, find the nearest rock and trip!
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Goodbye Dakota… I loved thee
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.
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Guilt-free peace
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:
- Be thankful for where God has us
- Intentionally and purposefully live in ways that connect us with our world
- Intercede daily on behalf of the persecuted
- Live sacrificially – whether that means going, giving, or laboring regularly to alleviate suffering wherever we find it
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Made for another place…
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.
Continue reading »
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The Goal of our Troubles…
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…
Continue reading »
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Doped up…
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.
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Spirituality Tag…
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.
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A New Kind of Christian…
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.’"
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Just checking in…
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.
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Building vs. Planting, Part 4
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.
A lack of leadership from denominational or church leaders…
When it comes to starting new churches or new groups, let’s face it. The brutal truth is that much of the church-institutional world measures their success the same way everyone else does… in numbers, constituency, and money. Churches choose NOT to plant new churches or new groups because they would rather their own organization succeed in this way rather than creating a new one to do so. Church and denominational leaders don’t educate and equip their people to understand that starting new churches is more effective, more cost-efficient, and most importantly, a better interpretation of biblical teaching than continuing to think that all growth must take place within existing institutions and structures.
You can see how ludicrous it is just to imagine this… Let’s suppose that your entire community suddenly decides to begin following Christ! Awesome! Now… where do you want them to go to church? Of course. Your church. Just think how that would look! Aaaah! We were the best! We were right. That’s how our thought processes go, unfortunately, because we’re too heavily influenced by secular success perspectives. Christian leaders want that kind of success for the churches and organizations they lead because it also ultimately says that they are great leaders. That they should be recognized. Just look at what happened under my leadership…
That is definitely NOT how Scripture sees church growth. Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus talked about the kingdom. He said it was ”at hand,” “near,” and that it was “not of this world.” He compared it to a mustard seed, yeast, a treasure hidden in a field, a merchant looking for fine pearls, a net that catches good and bad fish, and a man sowing seed in his field. In none of those parables did Jesus compare it to an institution or a building! Remember, at that time the temple was the locus of Israel’s worship. Why did Jesus not mention the
temple in any of His teachings about the kingdom?! Because it’s not about an institution to be led. Our faith, Christianity, is about a Messiah to be followed and life to be given. When we focus upon growing our church, we are focusing on our own success and being territorial.
Church leaders must begin to think in terms of the kingdom rather than in terms of the church, and specifically, their church. They must begin to honestly interpret God’s Word to their followers in reference to the growth of the kingdom and what that means. If it’s more effective and even more along the lines of a biblical model to start new groups with new people that eventually become new churches, then why would anyone want to keep funneling all their budget, focus, and energy on maintaining their own institution?
FYI: Even in established churches, the more they grow, the less committed their total membership is to that one church. Consider this… Out of the Southern Baptist’s 16,287,494 members, only 6,024,289, or 37%, on average, show up for their church’s primary worship meeting (usually Sunday morning). This is according to the Strategic Information and Planning department of the Sunday School Board (2004 statistics). If your church is anything like normal, and is not brand new, your statistics are probably similar. In other words, if you have 200 in attendance on Sunday morning, you likely have 500-600 or even more on your roll. Many churches have an even worse record. (Source here.)
Assumptions about the life of their church
“And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” Amen! Without verbalizing it, that is what most people think about their church. It will go on and on and on and on. Because Jesus said so. For a church to “die” or to cease to exist would be horrible. It would mean that it was never really a church, wouldn’t it? It would mean that they failed to reach their community. It would mean…
Well, for starters, what would you say if I suggested (and it’s certainly not original with me!) that churches have a life cycle? Your church that you’re currently a member of was started sometime (if you life in the U.S. sometime in the last 125 years, most likely. Have you just unconsciously assumed it would be there until Jesus returns? Hmmm. You must have a church full of amazing Christians! Even more so than the apostles. Because where are their churches today? Literally. Physically. Where is the church at Antioch and the church of Ephesus? Where is the church of Colossae? Get the picture? Even the formally vibrant churches of the New Testament era do not exist today. But your church does. That’s because your church was started by theirs… through a vast historical network of other churches and passionate believers.
So, if we’ve established that churches do cease to exist, then we can talk about the life cycle of churches. Folks smarter than me have suggested the following stages:
- Birth
- Growth
- Plateau
- Decline
- Death
Others have stated it like this:
- Infant Stage
- Growing Stage
- Prime Stage
- Aging Stage
- Dying Stage
There is an excellent commentary on this particular stage here. In fact the author notes at one point that “Approximately 80 percent of the churches are plateaued or declining.
They are in the aging stage of the life cycle.” Wow. I tend to agree. 80%! Where would you identify your church?
The problem with most current writings about the church life cycle is that most folks are trying to jumpstart plateaued churches or resurrect dying ones. Their solutions are numerous – from getting a new, younger pastor to changing the style of their worship to building something. However, few people see that the most healthy, and even reviving thing that a church can do is to plant a new church!
There’s no excitement and rejuvenating power greater than giving yourself away, than mobilizing all your energy and effort and prayer for the good of others. If our churches would cease trying to save their lives, they will discover that they’ve gained them!
Look at this graph…
I’ve adapted it from the familiar “let’s fix our problem graph” to one that could illustrate what happens when a church plants another church.
You can literally extend your church’s influence hundreds of years (if Jesus tarries!) beyond its life cycle by planting new churches. It’s exciting, and it makes sense! The church is called the bride of Christ in the New Testament is called the Groom. It’s time to have babies – aka, new believers, new groups, new worshippers for our amazing God who deserves all glory!
Planting churches is not done to pat ourselves on the back but to reach more people for our glorious Father who desires that all people exult in His all-satisfying goodness and grace!
Just a note: throughout this series of articles, you may have been persuaded to think, yes, I see the need to plant churches now. However, most of us tend to think of doing that somewhere else. We don’t tend to see planting churches in our existing town or community at viable, because well, we think there are already enough churches there… But what if the existing churches are just holding their own? As we were preparing to plant Journey, I did a lot of research on the churches in our town. Did you know that for the last 20 years, while the town has grown, the churches are still averaging about what they were 20 years ago?! There have been some growth bumps, under new pastors and new faces, but every church seems to hold only a certain amount of folks.
That’s why it’s imperative – even in smaller towns – for existing churches to aggressively start new groups and plan to start new churches. Wouldn’t it be nice for a change to see a church start intentionally rather than from another church’s split?!
Whew. Nuff said this time around! Love to hear your comments!
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Da Vinci Dialogue, Part 2
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.
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Go have some fun…
I insist.
All of you.
Go have some fun today.
Life’s too short.
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Music Survey…
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
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I think I’m Scott Adams…
Apart from the fact that he’s fabulously wealthy from drawing a cartoon and I’m a poor, bivocational graphic designer/pastor, I think Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, and I have a lot in common.
Now I just taught Sunday on how the “tongue” gets us in trouble from James 3.3-12, so take this all with a grain of salt, and realize that my vocabulary choice would be a little different…. but with all that said, I think we have the same attitude toward critical people… Check it out here.
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More words… $(*&#@
Let me fire another salvo at the whole power-of-words commentary… It started here.
Last weekend I was doing nine hours of penance in the Drew Central Auditorium for my sins over the last year… Ok, actually I was filming Kim’s Dance Factory’s two recitals. They are 2.5 – 3.5 hour fiestas that thrill the heart and soul of anyone with estrogen. Every other man there, however… well, nuff said. Me, I was making money, so it was tolerable.
Anyway, in the middle of the first recital, I realized an important mistake that I’d made. I made the same one the year before. People who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I drank bottle of Diet Coke at the beginning of the afternoon’s recital. About an hour and 45 minutes into it, I became disconcertingly aware that if it the recital didn’t end soon that I would die of a bladder explosion. I couldn’t get up; I was behind the camera. Like I said, penance.
At the conclusion of that first recital, I waddled my way as quickly as I dared down to the bathroom. What I found in there (after relief) was rather humorous. Sam (our 9 year-old) along with 3-4 other 3rd grade boys were coming out of a stall together. Sam’s friend Dallas, who talks in jet plane level decibels all them time was informing the state…
"Wow! I can’t believe it! That one had all of them!"
I had no idea… but the next blasts solved the immediate riddle..
"The A- word, the D- word, the S- word, and even… the F- word!"
They were all apparently inscribed in Stall #2. And the 3rd Grade Graffitti Gazers had inspected each and every stall.
Great, just great, I thought. Just what I wanted my third-grader exposed to. Potty profanity.
I instructed the boys to get out of the bathroom, and began walking out. As I followed them out, I heard Dallas mutter, "I wonder who Mr. Simmons is? I’d sure hate to be him…"
Note to the Drew Central Janitorial Staff: Please clean the stalls in the men’s bathroom in the lobby of the auditorium. And tell Mr. Simmons that he has been defamed there.
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Da Vinci Doubts..
I’ve gotten email and had conversations with lots of folks about the upcoming Da Vinci Code movie. Mostly, it seems that Christians in general are worried about this film perhaps swaying people… Interesting. I don’t believe it will.
Here’s an email text I recently sent to Brandi about it. She had forwarded me an email from a group organizing to combat the Da Vinci Code movie and its fallout.
You know…. I just don’t see it this way. I see this as another AWESOME example for us to dialogue with people about who Jesus really is. My hats are off to the media and Hollywood. Every opportunity they take to demean Jesus really gives His people added opportunity to glorify Him and present the truth in love.
I actually plan on seeing it as soon as I can so I can be somewhat knowledgeable about how to dialogue with folks. An excellent resource to put into people’s hands is the Case for Christ.
What an amazing day and age we live in… do you realize how often Jesus has been the focal point of Hollywood and the media? Perhaps they should start realizing that it’s not the church that’s obsessed with Jesus (to our shame), but it’s the people producing these things.
Perhaps if we who are lovers and followers of Christ Jesus were consistently and lovingly proclaiming His message of forgiveness, restoration, and hope through faith, our world would not be forced to listen to alternating voices?
Just ramblin’.
Resources and links
Christian responses…
- aboutbibleprophecy.com
- New book out called The Davinci Hoax
- Another blogger’s response… (especially read the comments there)
News
- Fox News reports the called boycott by the Vatican
- WorldNet Daily (Christian perspective) has an article and shares the TV documentary coming on May 6 and 18 in response to the movie release
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Believing vs. Seeing
A friend sent this to me yesterday. Amazing. Try it.
If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink.
However if you stare at the black”+” in the center, the moving dot turns to green.
Now, concentrate on the black “+” in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating.
It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see.
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Building vs. Planting, Part 3
We’re examining reasons that churches choose NOT to plant new churches…
Selfish reasons…
Elaboration on this particular point could go on and on and cross over into the other reasons that churches choose not to plant, so I’m going to try to keep it relatively brief without letting us off the hook. Living in a consumer-oriented culture, we are all used to “having it our way.” Because of that, companies and manufacturers produce goods and services that will appeal to the consumer. If they didn’t do that, they wouldn’t make money. Period.
However, the problem arises when we as consumers transfer those same attitudes and expectations onto the church.
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About
Notes from the Trail
The Personal Blog of Jeff Noble
Info: From the misty hills of Virginia, "Notes from the Trail" seeks to encourage you on your journey. Written by a graphic designer-pastor, this blog is a blend of humor, insight, and faith discovery.
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RT @churchplant123: If you want to be a successful new church planter, shave your head. It's the Samson principle. [journeyguy]
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For a brief second, I had just over 500 followers. After blocking spammers and businesses, I'm back under. Do you filter your followers? [journeyguy]
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New blog post: Review: Sticky Teams: Larry Osborne is pastor of North Coast Church, a megachurch, by anyone’s de... http://t.co/KKL4zZFs [journeyguy]
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A blog from the past: "The need for church planting" http://t.co/iwlT5jOh [journeyguy]
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RT @funnyoneliners: I keep a well-stocked pantry in case friends drop by. I could hide in there for days. [journeyguy]
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