Alban update

-I received a promotion at work. Pretty cool. I'm nervous, but will do my best.
-Finances and my house sale need serious prayer. I am trying to have faith.
-The Flyers are doing so well in the playoffs. I didn't think they would do this well. Hopefully they'll smack the Canadians out in the next two games without the Canadian refs stepping in the way. Talk about bias.
-I've restarted my Myspace. Facebook and my blog are still my primary. However I couldn't connect with some of my middle schoolers. I miss them all so much.
-The political race is more and more interesting. Obama is self destructing and Hillary is already trashed.
-Sigur Ros is going through my head. Who knew Icelandic ambient music with a guy singing falsetto could get stuck in your head.
-I'm learning about people, relationships and Christianity right now. I'm learning about people disappointing you, me doing it to them and what we all expect of each other. I'm also learning about paranoia. Seems I've been struggling with it since January.

Miley Cyrus: a common sense approach

So the world is crazy for Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. She is the new Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Brittany Spears, and Lindsey Lohan. Her persona is sought to be pure and young. How many times have we seen this though? Its the same old script that goes like this:

- Young girl star who sings
- Booming popularity
- put in movies
- actress turns 18
- controversial pictures or stories start coming out
- actress denies
- months pass
- more controversy OR the actress seeks to destroy her little girl image by putting out racy pictures
- actress life is trashed and scrutinized
- actress disappears

You'd think people would catch on, not to mention the actress themselves! Now comes the leak of Vanity Fair pictures of Miley Cyrus in semi-nude poses. She has apologized and says she is embarrassed over them. Embarrassed Miley? You sat in the picture studio with your parents and had numerous pictures taken of you in racy poses. Did you think they were only taking pictures of your face? Did your dad??? The whole "I didn't know" card rings hollow.

The sad part is that again, someone that middle school and tween-agers modeled their lives after, are again taught a lesson that they have to be seductive to be normal like Miley. Students in those ages are so impressionable. don't think an apology is going to somehow erase the images put in students heads.

On top of this, how does Vanity Fair get a pass on this? The girl is 15!!! How can you not hold them and their photographer accountable for near-child porn? We wonder why there is a growing problem with pedophilia? Could it be how we have been presenting child stars? How does Vanity Fair get a pass on this?

The one thing that sticks out in every case of this is the destruction of a good girl image. It seems the actresses need to attack the mold that they are put in. Many times they try to do it in private (and then photos or stories leak out), but since they are so public, they eventually are in the news. Also, when they turn 18 years old, they have this need to be in sleazy movies or go out partying. It is stunning again that this pattern isn't seen. What is wrong with being a good girl? What is wrong with innocence and purity? When you live in Hollywood, I guess you are a rarity.

Ergun Caner's Axioms of Dating

He gave these last night and got a HUGE reaction from everyone. Score!

AXIOM NUMBER ONE:
For every absolutely hot Christian girl, there is an equally UNHOT girl who is her best friend. She is bitter, hateful, and known as the GATEKEEPER. No matter what you do...she will always hate you.

AXIOM NUMBER TWO:
For every absolutely hot Christian boy, there is an equally UNHOT guy who his best friend. He is lazy and funny and known as the BRO. No matter what you do...he will hit on you.

Another convict in Dallas

Ever since the 90's, I've been stupified over the amount of convicts and ego-maniacal players they all pick. There was a period where they didn't have any, but that all changed with the signing of T.O., the essence of ego-maniac. It's a good thing there is a hole in the top of Texas Stadium so his head will fit in there.

And so it continues today with Pacman Jones joining the squad. A player who is only a month removed from a year off due to disciplinary problems. There are only two players a man with his pride and criminal record could go to...Oakland or Dallas. Seeing as the Cowboys can't win in the playoffs (thank you Romo), why not pick up another convict to help you out. Michael Cocaine Irvin is the poster child of Jerry Jones' Cowboys- egocentric and a criminal. And Landry turns in his grave again...

Expelled Review

I finally made it out to the local theater...wow I miss my Regal Cinemas. I saw the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed by Ben Stein.

The premise of the documentary is why are people being fired and blacklisted at academic institutions and media jobs simply because they present the possibility of an intelligent designer in creation? The beauty is this film was made by Stein, who is Jewish, and interviews other non-Christian people for support. It was brilliant! It would be easy to get people out of the Christian community, but it would be labeled that way.

The substance was good, not outstanding. Ben Stein was his typical somewhat monotone self. There are some cheesy spots, but really the climax of the film happens in two parts. One, he visits old concentration camps and draws the Darwinian thought in the Nazi regime. Hitler preyed upon the weak and ill and thought he was doing good by eliminating them to better humanity. Second, when he interviews Richard Dawkins a well known atheist/Darwinist and author of the God Delusion. The Nazi part made me sick. I still struggle with how depraved Hitler was and how he could allow such terrible things to happen to humans. Truly he burns in the hottest part of hell.

Second, the interview was awesome. Stein catches Dawkins in a contradiction. He won't admit that there is a 100% chance that there is no God. On top of that, he denies an intelligent creator and yet he says life came to earth possibly by an intelligent race from another planet. That would be acknowledging an intelligent creator wouldn't it? On top of that, where did they come from?

The ultimate conclusion of the movie is that there is a war between science and religion. The sad part is if you follow the Darwin train of thought, there is no absolutes in life, there is no purpose in life and this is the best we get...earth. You can see why people live hedonistically.

All in all...great flick! 3 and a half stars with me. It is a thought provoker and only grounds me more in the reality that yes...there is a God. And anyone who feels they are too intelligent for that are fools.

9 Years Since Columbine

Today is the 9 year anniversary of the Columbine tragedy. It's amazing that many don't know about or remember it much. This was an event that changed my life and motivated me into youth ministry. The impact of the testimonies of Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall had a major impact on my view of what God could do through students. It was that belief that made me wanted to be involved with outputting more Cassie and Rachels.

I am still moved and captivated when I hear the story. You wonder what could have been done to reach Dylan and Eric before they went on their rampage. You wonder what life would have been like if no blood was shed. I know I probably wouldn't have ended up in youth ministry. Its amazing how certain events can impact you for such a long time.

Last year I visited Columbine and the grave sites. It was moving for me to be right where it all happened. It was stunning to see just how normal the school looked- like any other high school. It was eerie seeing the windows in the front that I remember students being removed from. It was sobering to be at the grave sites of Cassie and Rachel. I hope to visit there again before I die.

Things Liberals Made Me Give Up

This was fantastic! It was on Rush today and this is only a partial list! I can think of more. Another reason I'm a convervative.

• prayer
• lead paint
• low-flow toilets
• Freon in air-conditioning, had to get rid of that.
  
• Aerosol cans, had to say good-bye to those.
  
• Paper bags, we had to go to biodegradable plastic bags, and now we found out those are destructive to the environment, we're going to go back to paper.
  
• How about oat bran? We had to get rid of that.
  
• We had to stop drinking coffee till we found out, no problem.
  
• We had to get rid of aerosol hair spray.
  
• They're forcing ethanol on us.
  
• We have to get rid of incandescent lightbulbs and replace them by 2012 with compact fluorescents.
• Balloons, you may have forgotten this, but there was an effort to ban balloons in certain parts of the country because they ended up in lakes, they ended up in oceans, ended up killing fish.
  
• Outdoor lighting at the beach during turtle season, turn 'em off.
  
• Cutting trees on your own property, you can't do it.
  
• Nuclear power plants, no.
  
• Coal mining, targeted.
  
• Trans-fats in New York and other places, stop eating them, you can't. Restaurants that serve them will be fined.
  
• Had to get rid of coconut oil for popcorn because The Center for Science in the Public Interest said that it added to clogged arteries, later found that it doesn't, but you still can't get popcorn popped in coconut oil.
  
• Smoking, of course.
  
• We had to get rid of DDT, which has led to untold cases of deadly disease in Africa. Rachel Carson, big heroine here, actually her ban ended up killing millions.
  
• Helmets for bikers and skaters and motorcyclists, you have to wear them.
  
• We got rid of monkey bars on playgrounds.
  
• We got rid of high slides on playgrounds. Too dangerous for the little kiddies.
  
• We had to get rid of toy guns, because it taught and trained little kids to use real guns.
  
• Seat belts, have to use 'em. If you get caught without using them, you get fined.
  
• Car seats for the kids, got to have 'em.
• Garbage disposals, they tried to ban garbage disposals in North Carolina just a month ago.
  
• Can't eat your hamburgers rare, too many carcinogens, gotta cook your meat beyond rare.
  
• Firecrackers, of course, bad news.
  
• Gotta get rid of diving boards at public swimming pools, too dangerous.
  
• Can't play tag in the public schools because it's embarrassing either way you go. Whoever is "it" is it, and that's bad, but nobody, or very few get to be it, and that's bad too. So it's discriminatory.
  
• Dodge ball. Can't play dodge ball, it's too dangerous! Kids might get hurt.
  
• Can't play touch football, either. It's too rough.
  
• Can't eat fois gras because of the way they produce it,
  
• guns are under constant attack.
  
• Citizen involvement in elections has been reduced, thanks to McCain-Feingold

I would add to this list:

• Grading people with a D or F
• Winners and losers in games. Its unfair and demeaning
• God. He is too bossy
• Absolutes. No one knows what is right and wrong. its all relative
• American pride. We don't want anyone to think we think we are better than them.
• Christmas. It says Christianity is better than Hannukah or Kwanza. What about the atheists?
• Innocence. The sooner we can teach kids about sex, the more "educated" they'll be when they inevitably do it.
• Super Size food. It kills people and makes them fat.
• The Washington Bullets...it was a violent name for a basketball team.
• Guilt. Free expression in art and speech is to be accepted...except if it's about God.
  

Eagles Schedule Released!!!

Aww YEAH! Football is only 4 months away!!! The schedule was released today.

Sunday, Sept. 7 St. Louis (snoozer)

Monday, Sept. 15 at Dallas (Bring it Cowgirls)

Sunday, Sept. 21 Pittsburgh (The PA battle continues...Steelers stink)

Sunday, Sept. 28 at Chicago (Fun game)

Sunday, Oct. 5 Washington (Easy)

Sunday, Oct. 12 at San Francisco (Easier)

Sunday, Oct. 26 Atlanta (You're kidding me)

Sunday, Nov. 2 at Seattle (Good match up)

Sunday, Nov. 9 NY Giants (Paper Champions)

Sunday, Nov. 16 at Cincinnati (Fun game)

Sunday, Nov. 23 at Baltimore (First rematch since T.O. mocked Ray Lewis)

Thursday, Nov. 27 Arizona (Thanksgiving Massacre)

Sunday, Dec. 7 at NY Giants (Punishment on NY)

Monday, Dec. 15 Cleveland (Snoozer)

Sunday, Dec. 21 at Washington (Win)

Sunday, Dec. 28 Dallas (Double Punishment on the Cowgirls)

Looks like an easy scheduled other than our division this year. Hmm....Playoffs?

Review: I Am Legend

I watched I Am Legend online. It had a great premise, but I felt like it left me wanting something more. The premise of one man left after a viral outbreak that turns all of NYC into zombies and all he does is try to work on a cure is awesome. There were some great scenes in it. Will Smith did a great job showing the paranoia and fear of the zombies and his slowly decaying mental health as a result of being the only human for 3 years.

The thing is that the ending was a disappointment. I saw the alternate ending which was WAY better than the real one. I like the idea that the two species learn to coexist. The rest of the movie could have had more fighting, more failed trials of viral cures, and much more. Guess we;ll just have to accept it the way it is. I'd give it two out of five stars.

Review: The Bucket List

You gotta love free movies online that aren't even on DVD yet : )

I broke down and watched the Bucket List tonight. Morgan Freeman is one of my fav's and Jack Nicholson is okay. I heard the premise before- two guys about to die make a list of what all they want to do before they go. I really enjoyed it! Their chemistry was great and I liked Morgan's character. There were some great moments about faith in there which were awesome. It's a good view. It made me think about my own life and how each day is a gift.

What would be on my bucket list?

-See an Eagles Super Bowl
-Walk barefoot on through fields in Scotland and grass in Ireland
-Visit Columbine one last time
-Sit on a beach in California with my guitar, a bonfire, a full moon, and my true love
-Work an hour at Geno's Cheesesteaks on 9th and Passyunk
-Have my body or ashes buried in Willow Grove PA
-Preach to all the students that I've ever had the opportunity to serve...one last time
-Drive a Corvette
-Take my entire family on one last vacation to Ocean City NJ
-Walk in a snowstorm

There are so many more I could add! I hopefully have time though.

Seminary Course Breakdown

New Testament Orientation 1 and 2 (I get to opt out of one of these)
Old Testament Orientation 1 and 2
OT Books (probably will take Judges)
NT Books (most likely will dive into Romans)
Greek (may get to opt out)
Hebrew (AWW YEAH! FINALLY!)
Church History (looking at a course in Reformation or Heresies)
Systematic Theology (might get to opt out of one)
Systematic Theology 2
Global Apologetics (Dr. Caner...woot!)
Theology Course (Looking at Bibliology due to a lack of study in it)
Personal Evangelism (I'd better get to opt out. I've had a million classes in evangelism)
World Missions (should be interesting)
Cross Cultural Evangelism and Church Planting (church planting....in my future?)
Foundations in Youth Ministry 1 (review)
Foundations in Youth Ministry 2 (more review)
Youth Course (probably something on administration)
Adolescent Counseling (VERY excited)
Christian Leadership (VERY VERY excited)
Ministry of Teaching (review)
Preparation of the Sermon (mucho review)
Expository Preaching (review)
Communication in Christian Ministry (review)

I'm excited!!! If I'm sick enough to stay in school another year and a half, I might transfer it all in for an M Div. IF I'm sick enough. I want to get to Boston/NYC to start ministering.

Update on Alban

-there is someone interested in my house!!! PRAY HARD that I don't lose a ton of money on it.
-I'm recovering from two days of battling a gastrointestinal bug. I haven't eaten much the past two days...guess this will help jump start the diet!
-Sara Bareilles is HOT on my playlist right now. I love her song Gravity, Love Song and Between the Lines. Great pickup for music.
-The sports minute: Phillies are up and down, Kansas is king and better pay Bill Self what he wants to keep him, Flyers kick off the playoffs here soon, Eagles are supposed to make some big moves on draft day, Go Phil Mickleson in the Masters this weekend
-College For A Weekend this weekend which equals overtime!

One Night-Three Unusual Dreams

I know I wasn't feeling well before bed, but I didn't expect the Movieplex to break out in my head.

Dream 1- Mark Adkins, another friend and I were on a road trip to St. Louis in two separate cars. Me and the other friend were having to work through issues but made ammends and were happy again. All three of us were heading to St. Louis in tornado season and there were tornadic events happening as we drove there.

Dream 2- I was at Shea Stadium in New York. The Beatles were playing there for some reason. I was there with some friends. I went to the bathroom and there were pay toilets...I have no idea why. I came back out and it was intermission of the concert and there were six people in a circle on stage wearing chemical suits. The Beatles then broke out into Hey Jude.

Dream 3- I was visiting a church in Tampa with a pastor named Jack Web. I was in backstage and they were doing a service on the Fruit of the Spirit. The guys from Fruit of the Loom were on stage. I went out to get a seat and sat next to a 8-10 year old girl. She and I were talking when Spiderman and others walked up the aisle for some reason. Then Kathy Lee Gifford came and sat behind me and talked to the girl sitting with me. We broke for lunch and my brother Dave was in line waiting to go to the third floor cafe. There were "Battle Boats" on display in the aisle and I told my brother they reminded me of when dad used to put us in metal barrels and drag us behind the car.

I have NO IDEA what caused these dreams. But it was the most bizarre night I've had.

FINALLY A CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

I have been following the Jayhawks since around 1990. I've been loyal to them through disappointing loss after disappointing loss. I didn't watch their last championship in 1988 so tonight was extra special.

In 2003, I was sure they would take it all. Wayne Simien, Nick Collison, Kirk Heinrich, Aaron Miles...they were stacked. Roy Williams would lead them to glory verses the lucky Syracuse Orangemen...and then we lost that night. That stung...the only other loss that stung that bad was the Eagles loss to Tampa Bay in the NFC playoffs. Then to add insult to injury, Roy Williams up and leaves us for UNC in the offseason after swearing he wouldn't. Ouch.

I have been a skeptic of Bill Self. He is a master recruiter but an average coach. He was embarrassed two years in a row when he exited in the first round to nobody schools. I wanted his head. Tonight he proved his value. I hope its only the beginning of things to come.

I think back to the players that never won championship that I loved: Paul Pierce, Nick Collison, Jacques Vaughn, Drew Gooden, Aaron Miles, Scott Pollard, Greg Ostertag, so so many I could list. I hope tonight they are happy though they never got to celebrate themselves.

So I finally have a championship even though it came from outside Philly. Let's hope it will catch in Philadelphia and bring me one from my hometown.

RIP Charlton Heston

Ben Hur has died. Charlton was THE MAN before there were men. He will be missed. Ben Hur is a favorite movie of mine and The Ten Commandments is a legend. His most famous speech at the NRA showed his fight for gun rights. It was an amazing speech!

"So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take freedom away, I want to say those words again for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore: From my cold dead hands!"

GO JAYHAWKS!!!

It couldn't be sweeter than this.

After Roy Boy betrayed Kansas University for UNC, he finally faced KU in the Final Four tonight. I was very nervous. I didn't get to see the game due to work, but found out the score later. AWW YEAH! We beat Little Roy. I hope he is CRYING his eyes out right now. This is payback and justice for Jayhawk fans who were crushed when he left us. Now, we have a shot at the championship with Bill Self! AHHHHH! I may have a championship finally. Please Jayhawks...don't let me down.

Also, last night, the Sixers and Flyers BOTH made the playoffs. Man I hope this turns out well. I am Jayhawked up!!!

New Worship Song Obsession

I swear I listened to this song 10 times tonight and didn't get tired. Campus Church has been doing this one and I LOVE IT. WOW!!! This is video of a random church doing it at Easter!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vD1QLepPoM

Satellite Church - the new denominations?

I know I've said my thoughts on churches setting up satellite churches via video rather than training a new pastor to start a new church. I've been thinking and happened to see their are others online thinking the way I am. Aren't satellite churches the new denominations? Think of it. What are denominations? Groups of churches who agree to a doctrinal statement, order and methodology. They are run by a board of leadership.

Satellite churches are groups of churches based on the same doctine as the mother church, the same order as the mother church and same model as the mother church. It even emphasizes the pastor as a figurehead of teaching. In ten years, will we see franchised/satellite denominations? Instead of Presbyterian and Baptist, we'll have LifeChurch and Fellowship Church.

Powersource Meeting With Jeremy!

Got up and went to TRBC to meet with Jeremy the Middle School youth pastor. He is a great guy! I really like him. He is from the other side of Pennsylvania which I'll forgive him for : ) I appreciate how he was placed in the position. It goes right along with the book I'm reading about not looking for leadership positions yet God placing you in one. Awesome story! We talked about the student ministry, my past, and how I may serve best in the ministry. It appears I'll be pioneering the video ministry for the middle school. Should be fun! I gotta get my brain going around more video ideas! I'm looking forward to getting the kids involved.

So this is where I am. Back to where it all began- volunteering in youth ministry...and I love it! I'm looking forward to getting back to the heart of ministry...relationships. As a pastor, you have to take care of so many other things that you don't get to get close to most of the students. Now I do. Thank you Lord!

McChurch...the ongoing saga

I'm glad to see that I am not the inventor of this term, but its what I thought of as I've been rethinking church.

McChurch...what does it mean? It's what happens when the church becomes a consumer industry and not a place of spiritual growth. When a church works hard on producing a product and markets those products, then it has created an entertainment business. It is no different than the Christian theater I worked for that was a for-profit institution that considered itself blessed if lives were changed. Making money was its main purpose as an entertainment business. Now the church, with its fancy lighting, movie quality videos, Hollywood acting, Madison Avenue marketing, American Idol music, and high quality motivational speaking has been the template for the modern church. It is believed that If you do these, you will attract hundreds of the lost and that will equal hundreds of converts and thousands of members. SOME churches also interpret this as X-amount of dollars.

How else has the church begun to look like McDonalds?

Franchising. The hot effort for churches is to satellite feed video of services all around the country or the region so people can experience your church miles away. The pastor gets to expand his teaching opportunities to other areas. He himself, becomes a franchise. It's as if he is the only competent teacher. He needs to be promoted in other areas rather than disciple and train another pastor to go in person to serve the area.

Consumer Mindset: A person is trained to go to church to receive not to give. You consume music, video, excitement, and coffee at the cafe in the lobby. It is easy for a person to show up, consume and then go home uneffected. Soon, the person can move into the office of critic when a guest speaker or worship leader "isn't like the other one." I've fallen guilty of criticizing a worship leader for not being as good as another rather than trust the persons heart for worship.

Marketing: considerable time and effort has been placed into marketing church logos, sermon series, and events. There is nothing wrong with advertising things. However, when it become important to make sure your sermons will be favorably accepted or will appeal to a market of people, you have other problems. You are listening to opinion rather than the Spirit who may have you teach something that may very well be offensive. A church seems to be working hard to produce an image of what there church is...cool, culturally relevant, technologically savvy.

Happy Meals: They come with a toy. They are simple food for children. Our sermons are more and more this way. Our "seeker sensitive" churches are nothing more than childcare. We keep feeding the congregation milk, milk and more milk. We keep it simple and run from anything somewhat complex. We wouldn't want to scare off the lost person by talking about something offensive or complex. Our churches are filled with spiritual infants. They don't know where to find books of the Bible, have rarely memorized a verse, don't know where to find scripture to back their beliefs, couldn't tell you what the hyperstatic union is.

Convenience: Church is now measured on convenience. I am a fan of convenience, but it must never be an idol. When I have small attendance because people have chosen football over coming to serve, then I have people with skewed priorities. I know this: Christ isn't convenient. When does he ever ask us to do anything convenient? It almost seems that God aims for the INconvenient. Why? It shows just how committed or dedicated we truly are.

Take Out or Eat In: A restaurant would love for customers to stay in the building. The longer you stay there, the more you buy. Churches are becoming more and more about centralizing their ministry in the building. They encourage you to get your food by eating in. Its just not the same if you "eat" at home on your own. Show up on Sundays and don't eat at home. Not just that, but it seems that the church is doing more to make sure people come to Christ IN the church rather than equipping its people to GO OUT and lead others to Christ outside of church.

Expand! Expand! Expand!: As a church grows and the income grows, the norm is for the money to be put into expanding the building, getting better equipment, etc. What ISN'T being though for the money is how it can be used to reach the community and meet its needs, how it can be used in world missions, how it can be used for the needs inside the church (like the Acts 2 church), or scads of other ideas other than buildings. To quote my dad...invest in men not buildings.

How did Jesus ever minister without powerpoint, videos or a fancy logo? Why do we interpret Acts 2:42 to mean that if we are spending time together and worshipping, that unsaved people will be included in that number and they will convert? Is it possible that the people worshipped together and were so charged about it that they WENT OUT and won others? The big question is: what is church for? Edification of the believers or leading the lost to Christ? Can both paths be balanced and followed? Why are we depending on the church to lead our unsaved friends to Christ? Why are pastors not teaching their people to know God's word?