Month: July 2009

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the week in tweets – 2009-07-25

  • i have watched my chick-flick limit for the month. #
  • @hubbacm – good shoes and socks. never really been a problem. chaffing is more of an issue. in reply to hubbacm #
  • pam thinks has she taught a tapestry guy how to play poker by saying "you have to know when to hold them, and know when to fold them …" #
  • i was completely out fished by andy l. this morning – it was ugly. REAL UGLY! yet still fun. #
  • Traveling to BAMA! #
  • not sure there is a better family traveling podcast than the "wait, wait. don't tell me" podcast. the terrell clan loves listening to it. #
  • why does woot have to have a woot-off while i'm on the road? WHY? #
  • Passing through Megan Kelly's hometown – the land of the ducah's. #

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smash

one of the things i learned from the boys scout that has helped in planting tapestry was to “be prepared.”  this usually means having a plan and resources and then also having a back up plan and back up resources. this is why we pretty much have two of everything that we use on a sunday evenings. the reason for this is that you never know when someone (mainly me) is going to walk past the rear screen projector and accidently step on the wrong cord and cause the projector to drop 5’ onto the floor and smash. that’s what happened last night 15 minutes before we began.

now i have to see about getting a backup projector for what was formally our backup projector but is now our main one. i’m just glad that i was the first one to break a major piece of our equipment.

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the week in tweets – 2009-07-18

  • loves the church he is a part of. #
  • I most definitely did use an angel & a demon on my shoulders during tonight's message with Tapestry http://twitpic.com/a6yxr #
  • @GreenMonsterCF – john preached?!?!?!? and i missed it?!?!?!? was it recorded?!?!?!? in reply to GreenMonsterCF #
  • @meganckelly – thanks but blessings from??? a cheesy (but fun) "animal house" reference? in reply to meganckelly #
  • I can't convince the Holtes to try the Raisin Canes in the Twin Cities because Cane (the dog) makes them think of dog food. It's a sad day #
  • @GreenMonsterCF – sorry i have no advice on lakes – I don't fish them. As for the mic i couldn't find a fig leaf to cover me so i used it #
  • driving to rochestor, mn wed to deliver our home care kits. if you want to join me that would be cool. if you are boring i will kick you out #
  • @johnthemember – i'll be checking the website today or tomorrow and then listening with a smile on my face. in reply to johnthemember #
  • can you tell this was a student ministry worship service versus a regular church service? http://twitpic.com/a9gld #
  • @meganckelly – sounds like quite a small group meeting in reply to meganckelly #
  • @bachriea – funny i didn't notice the fellowship shirt. in reply to bachriea #
  • installing eeebuntu 3.0 on my asus 901 netbook. #
  • dear wisconsin freinds. please shot me in the face if i ever again say i am going to fleet farm for auto service. thanks. #
  • watching "wayne's world" with the boys! party on! excellent! #
  • sometimes i really miss chick-fil-a. there is nothing as good as a chicken biscuit from chick-fil-a. #
  • @joshuajones – that's a deal. i can get you the cheese fresh while the chick-fil-a be fresh? in reply to joshuajones #
  • @thegsides – i can tell you that it ain't easy in reply to thegsides #
  • @calvinb – i'm a little jealous now in reply to calvinb #
  • i'm watching "i survived a japanese tv show" – it makes me miss youth ministry. #
  • @hubbacm – you're kidding right? you don't see JESUS project games written all over that show? in reply to hubbacm #
  • Why is it that everyone competing with Apple chooses to compete on Apple's terms? – http://bit.ly/Mk7iz #
  • continuing the thought of my last tweet – why is it that the church always try to compete with the world based on the world's terms? #
  • @allimill – if we try to play the world's game iin order to attract people are we really "internally different"? in reply to allimill #
  • @hubbacm – yeah JP was one of the few times each year when i pulled out the traditional youth ministry games wild/grossness – it was fun in reply to hubbacm #
  • @allimill – true but how many churches have you been around that use a soup kitchen to attract people? in reply to allimill #
  • @allimill – and CHRISTian soup kitchens aren't battling on the ground of the soup they are just meeting an additional need. in reply to allimill #
  • @allimill – now don't pull that "i'm just a lay person" crap in reply to allimill #
  • @ratterrell – i will give you your point while challenging it. i contend that soup kitchens are a case of the world emulating the church in reply to ratterrell #
  • @allimill – i will give you your point while challenging it. i contend that soup kitchens are a case of the world emulating the church in reply to allimill #
  • @allimill – well that's your first problem – never fill out anything for lifeway 🙂 in reply to allimill #
  • i need to run but all i want to do is take a nap. #
  • i finally went running and 7 miles into my long run for the week it began to rain. i'm so excited about rain i don't mind finishing later. #

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3 albums

i know that nobody comes to this blog for music suggestions but i thought i would post the three albums that are currently “floating my boat.” i tend to like folk music that has an edge and a little experimentation in it. so here are the ones that i find myself listening to over and over:

  • “stockholm syndrome” by derek webb – yeah he obviously wanted to push his CHRISTian record label too far for the label’s taste but the album is very compelling
  • “1beginning” by lori chaffer – a solo project from the feminine half of the family that is now what remains of waterdeep – you can’t go wrong with anything from waterdeep – i don’t care who you are you have to love lori chaffer’s voice
  • “jonas is back” by the krustry brothers – another waterdeep project. it is a lot of fun both lyrically and musically – good stuff

and that is the end of my musical recommendations at the moment. you may now go back to your normal lives.

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what’s behind the glitz

the boys and i recently watched two cgi animated movies. since their animation method was the same i thought i would use the differences between the two to discuss a belief i see in american evangelicalism’s that our methods will make us meaningful to the culture around us. you see i believe that way too often in modern evangelical churches we think that when we are not reaching our culture all we need to do is change our methods. we often think that the answer is to simply change our music style from traditional to contemporary (which isn’t contemporary because it sounds like bad late 70s or early 80s music) and then to modern. or maybe the answer is to change our worship gatherings from preaching only to preaching & skits and then to preaching with custom made videos. we rarely consider whether we are actually doing a good job of communicating our message and living out our faith. we just believe that changing the method will take care of any problems we have.

now let’s consider the two movies.

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first the boys and i saw “up.” it is absolutely amazing. it is a great movie. not merely a great animated movie but A GREAT MOVIE! yes, the animation is terrific but the most impressive thing is how incredible the story of the movie is. the plot takes on adult themes and does an amazing job of dealing with them. i would recommend that anyone goes and sees “up.” if you don’t have a kid and feel like you have to have one with you to watch an animated movie then borrow a neighbor’s child and go watch it. i will be dumbfounded if it is not at least nominated for the best picture oscar.

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next we saw “monsters vs aliens.” it was okay … not terrible but not good. the only redeeming part of the movie was that it cost a mere $9 for all three of us to go (including popcorn). the animation was basically as good as pixar’s “up” but the story and the way it dealt with the story was no where as good as what “up” did. the best part of the story was reese witherspoon’s character. her character was at least a good example of a feminine hero. i would imagine that if i had a daughter i would like this movie a little more because of this fact.

so here’s my point. both movies used the same medium. they had glitzy animation and it is cool to see really good animation … once. however it is the story that determines whether most people really want to re-watch the movie again and again. “up” obviously concentrated on what was behind its animation more than “monsters vs aliens” did. i think the reason “up” did this is because the producers, actors, animators, and others realized that what is behind the animation is actually what is most important.

so my point is simply this. we don’t have to neglect our methods and mediums. in fact, we should make them the best we can. our churches should have good methods for conveying the message and life of CHRIST. YET OUR METHODS AREN’T NEAR AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT/WHO IS BEHIND OUR METHODS AND MEDIUMS. we need to focus more on making sure that we are focused on the extremely quality story and actions of CHRIST than we do on simply making sure that our methods are glitzy. when we stay centered on the amazing story of the gospel we will deal with the real issues of life and people will be more interested in hearing it again and again. that’s the stuff that matters. our fancy methods will draw people once or twice but truly effective communication of WHO is behind those methods will connect with people again and again.