Filed under: Uncategorized
I realized that some of you may not know that the one on the right is my girlfriend, Jami. The one of the left is her life-long “BFF” Jackie.
Filed under: Fun
This will be my new computer. I will probably get it by March!
It is a solid machine.
Dell Dimension Slim C521
AD Athlon 64 3800 +
1 GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
160 GB Hard Drive
16 x DVD+/-RW Drive
Windows Vista Home Basic
20″ Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor
Filed under: Music
We always think of moving musical experiences as done by young bands. Check this out.
Here is the youtube description:
This is from a documentary shown on Channel 4 in the UK called ‘Young@Heart’; the name of the New England octogenarian chorus line. The performer here is Fred Knittle, who suffers from congestive heart failure. This song was intended to be a duet between Fred and another chorus member, Bob Salvini. Sadly, Bob died of a heart attack and it was left to Fred to carry the song on his own. If I’m correct, the people you see crying at 01:13 are Bob’s family. The lady you occasionally see mouthing the lyrics in the audience is Fred’s wife.There were some very touching scenes where we see Fred rehearsing alone soon after Bob’s death. It was an incredible film.
Steve McKoy has this.
Wow. Very interesting article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about The Journey Church in St. Louis and their pastor, Darrin Patrick. It’s called, ahem, “Beer and the Bible.” Darrin is a friend and someone who I think is doing an unbelievable job pastoring. They are associated with the SBC as well as Acts29.
Saint Louis Today has this.
In a back room at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood, about 50 people gathered on a recent Wednesday night to talk rock ‘n’ roll.
Why are Bob Marley and Kurt Cobain considered by some to be messiahs? When did rock music lose its edge and become another product manufactured and marketed by huge conglomerates such as Viacom?
It was a conversation perfectly suited to the setting. Beer-stained wooden tables and the smell of hops complemented a free-flowing, spirited debate among hip young people in scruffy beards and T-shirts.
In 2007, this is church.
Aaron Mouts has this.
On new years eve i was able to attend the journey in st. louis. it was a very unique experience, and one that gave a great picture of thinking creatively in your approach to church.
Today, the st. louis post-dispatch ran a story on the journey and their relationship with the missouri baptist convention and the southern baptist convetion (sbc). it’s a interesting story especially considering a gathering that the journey puts on called ‘theology at the bottleworks’ where people gather to discuss theological and cultural issues over beer. (it harkens back to what martin luther did in germany). recently the sbc has taken a hard-line stance against alcohol in any way shape or form and now there’s some ruffled feathers and a bit of contention between the two—but mainly, according to the article, from the sbc. (a funny note is in the article darrin patrick, the lead pastor, is praised by the executive director of the missouri baptist convention for creating an “ideal model” of church.)
this is an interesting story that chronicles and details the clash between modern and postmodern ministry… (please don’t read that last statement narrowly as only relating to alcohol, but in the larger context of freedom and flexibility vs. legalism and fundamentalism).
“But the scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples saying, “Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners?” – Luke 5:30
This takes place at a party that Jesus started at Levi’s house. Jesus says some profound things about ministry and loving people during this feast. We need to take this to heart. Jesus came for the sick. Not only that, but when He was talking on this earth, he went to the sinner’s houses. He sat with them. He talked with them. He did not just throw an event and invite them to come to Him, He had them throw the events and He invited Himself.
In today’s “Emerging Church” movement there is a lot of discussion about the differences between SEEKER ministries and MISSIONAL ministries. The difference is that a seeker-style ministry holds events that are shiny, well-produced and well-publicized and attempts to get a large number of people into the building. This has its pros and can be effective.
The missional-style ministry is one that ‘takes it to the streets’ if you will. It seeks to take the people that already are coming to church and send them back out to love on the people around them. Occasionally it encourages people to invite their friends to their events, but that is not the primary goal. I believe that this is closest to how Jesus operated. He went to people. He met them where they were at, on the street, at the well, in their house, up a tree, etc. He found where they were and they He went to them and ministered to them.
With this in mind I want to share something that Rich Kirkpatrick showed me. This article from Christianpost.com tells us about The Journey in Saint Louis.
Mixing of Beer, Church Contested
Tuesday Jan. 30, 2007
ST. LOUIS (AP) – A new church is attracting members with unconventional methods such as pouring beer during theological discussions, but Southern Baptists say the outreach runs contrary to what the ministry represents.
A congregation of young St. Louisans called The Journey has grown from 30 members in 2002 to 1,300 members. The growth has been fueled by energetic programs, including Theology at the Bottleworks, a gathering at a suburban St. Louis microbrew pub for discussions on serious and offbeat topics linked to religion, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday.
Conversations cover issues from racism in St. Louis to modern art controversies to the debate about embryonic stem cell research.
Darrin Patrick, The Journey’s founder and pastor, said participants at the pub are invited to Sunday services.
But Southern Baptists, with whom the church has a working relationship, are questioning the church’s methods of attracting worshippers, specifically its use of alcohol. That, they argue, runs contrary to a church teaching.
(EDIT)
Another similar ministry is called The Pub Ministry. PUB is an acronym that stands for Praying Unifying Bonding. This is a loosely organized discussion event that is held at a couple of local pubs. Here is the ministry’s blog.
This is extremely interesting and I am sure that you can see how controversial this is. How would this make you feel if it was out of your church? Would it excite you? Would it frustrate you?
EDIT: I was mistaken. The Journey does not have anything to do with The Pub Ministry. They are two different ministries. I apologize for this misinformation.
(also posted at getvertigonow)
Filed under: Uncategorized
Sam Adams plus a perfect pour plus U2 Live at Boston equals a perfect evening.
Filed under: Walk with God
Something that I struggle with continually right now is my identity. I struggle with confidence in knowing who I am, who I want to be and what I want to do. It seems that I try to listen to the music that I hear certain people say that they like. I watch the same TV shows that everyone else does. Sometimes I feel completely unoriginal and definitely not unique. I don’t mind feeling un-unique, but I do mind feeling like I am not myself. Recently I was talking with a mentor of mine about this and he said some great things, so I thought I would share them. I was telling him how I feel that I just follow and copy those influential people in my life – I do what they do. Here is his response:
Emulation is the attempt to equal or surpass somebody or something, usually by means of imitation.
My observation is that all young people do that. I did it and if we are not careful we will continue to do it. Some of my first messages as a young man were very much like the men I was hanging around. I do think that it is inherently bad or wrong. It means that you are searching for yourself, identity and that you have people that seek to model your life after. I changed churches as a young 20 something because I got spirit filled and I knew that I wanted to be more like the Pentecostal preacher than I did the Baptist minister.
I think one of the ways to get ahead of the curve is to have a life coach, spiritual mentor that can help you locate …YOU. That is not easy and it takes years. To know what you want, like, desire. To know what is uniquely you, and then you discover over time that other people have the same passion, outlook, dream, goals, etc…
I would think it would be more important to emulate character qualities, values of others more than their choices, or preferences in life. Be you, but you may not know all that it means, follow your heart. I found out just [recently] that my “happy thought” is to be a father (spiritually to and for others). Since that realization I have narrowed my field of study and have concentrated on being a PhD father. I now know, up until then everything was an experiment. I like it and I have discovered I am not the only one, but I am the only one like me and the path that got me here was unique and I now focus on my strengths.
Get some people who won’t give you the answers that you want or need to hear, who can see you in the light of the raw gifts that you have and let them help draft some of the lines of your path and then you take your years and begin to color in those lines with any colors that you want to.
Think more about who you want to be and less about what you want to do or where you want to go and then decide what to do and where to go.
But to follow the steps of another is not wrong or bad, it can be quite helpful and early stages of development and many points throughout life…school, work, marriage, children, etc…
PS. Thanks again P. Mike!
Also posted at Getvertigo
Filed under: Office
After discovering that one of my co-workers has a degree in psychology my friends and I embarked upon this amazingly enlightened conversation.
Hosh – “Wow, I just heard that so and so has a degree in psychology.”
Josiah – “Pole”
Josh – “Yeap. Degrees don’t mean anything.”
Josiah – “Amen. Bros.”
Hosh – “Especially degrees in psychology.”
Josh – “I thought about getting a degree in that. I think pretty much the only field specific job you can get in psychology is teaching.”
Hosh – “Right and who wants to teach psyc?”
Josiah – “Or customer service positions.” (that is what we do.)
Hosh – “Right. I can do that without a liberal arts degree.”
Josh – “Well I personally think that it is a pretty important field that doesn’t get enough recognition.”
Josiah – “Bush lied. People died.”
Josh – “Ha ha. I hate you.”
Josiah – “Hosh used the word liberal, so I made my move. Check mate.”
The end.
Filed under: Baseball; Rockies
The Colorado Rockies announced Monday night that trade talks with the Red Sox about a possible deal that would have sent Helton to Boston have ended and “there will be no further discussions.”
“This is not a trade that we were anxious to complete, but we are always exploring ways to improve our team,” Rockies owner Charlie Monfort said in a statement. “Discussions like these regarding a player of Todd’s talent and character are never easy, and it’s not surprising we were not able to reach an agreement.
“Todd has been and will continue to be an important part of our franchise, and we can’t wait to see him with the rest of the Rockies in Tucson,” when the team reports to spring training in Arizona next month.
So for now, Opening Day will be a happy moment for me watching number 17 trot out to first base.
16 Days
8 Hours
12 Minutes
46 Seconds
Filed under: Baseball
As of right now:
17 Days
05 Hours
29 Minutes
53 Seconds
HERE WE GO!
Filed under: Baseball; Rockies
Rockies Want Prime Prospect from Red Sox for Helton
As this deal gets closer and closer to completion, my hearts grows more sad. Todd has been the cornerstone for this expansion team and it will be a sad day to see him go. But hey, I guess the guy deserves a shot at an actual playoff game once in his life!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Dear New Life, thank you for handling yourselves with grace and dignity. This sounds like you handled this man the way that Christians should. I am very proud of a very strong congregation. Please continue handling yourselves in this matter. – Hosh
Josh Brage 