Month: October 2009

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fall back

oh how i love you my yearly extra hour. falling back is a wonderful thing. why do we ever have to spring forward? springing forward sucks.

of course, it also means that it will be dark at 5 p.m. tomorrow and soon 3:45 (yes it gets darks in wisconsin that early when the depths of winter hits us). i’m not a huge fan of the early darkness. it makes it difficult to find the time to run and pam swears that she suffers from seasonal affective disorder due to the lack of sunlight.

to recap – extra hour = good, lack of sunlight = bad.

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the week in tweets – 2009-10-31

  • @SteenAR – huh? #
  • montana, our female basset hound, just got her head stuck in the litter box cover and ran through the house with it stuck on her body. #
  • @bachriea – i love this idea BUT it might end my marriage also. in reply to bachriea #
  • listening to this week's "this american life" episode (thanks adam) and amazed by an amish kid getting it and a hell house crew not. #
  • i love fall leaves BUT i hate racking. an autumn dichotomy. #
  • i didn't think it was possible but watching "small potatoes: who killed the usfl" made me like donald trump even less. thought it was imposs #
  • @natebyrd3 – whoops in reply to natebyrd3 #
  • i think i fall in love with tapestry a little more each day – a conversation this morning has turned into a conspiracy of grace. makes me 🙂 #
  • i wonder what could happen in the kingdom of GOD if the majority of churches DIDN'T have buildings instead of 93% having them. a miracle? #
  • http://twitpic.com/n7g31 – Adam 3rd bass drum from left. Woohoo! #
  • http://twitpic.com/nalxf – $5 if you figure out what i was saying #
  • CRAP! i just realized that the packers/viking game starts at 3:15 this week. it will end before tapestry but not before setup! #
  • @jaa22 – yeah – i'll steal that at some time. in reply to jaa22 #
  • i love my boys but i hate that as teens they not only ate all the house food but they start with all the good stuff! nutty bars are gone! #
  • AGAIN! I HATE LEAVES! I raked the yard yesterday and it looked great. Now it is COVERED in leaves again! Looks as though I did nothing! #
  • @allisonrichmond – nice try and it was about relationships but it was as treating a gf as a drug to fill a blank. in reply to allisonrichmond #
  • @dhaltom7 – ohhh! that would have been good and religious but it was about treating a gf as a drug to fill a blank. in reply to dhaltom7 #
  • i'm on a document projector kick again. anybody know anything about canon's. is this a good deal? http://bit.ly/2SHmpB #
  • I just salsajacked Noah's chip! #
  • Misdirection works by encouraging consumers to think of consumption as a way of enacting profound values – Consuming Religion #
  • @thegsides – WRONG! jedi's don't wear hats and luther wore a hat. in reply to thegsides #
  • YOU have made us for YOURself and our hearts are restless until they rest in THEE – Augustine #
  • @natebyrd3 – GO DAWGS! actually i don't really like GA either BUT I HATE FLORIDA! in reply to natebyrd3 #
  • @zmikko – thanks zach. i've been looking at uwsp's but the only time they've had one i missed it by 20 minutes. in reply to zmikko #
  • @thegsides – that's not a hat. whereas this pancake thing is a hat http://bit.ly/2WooMy in reply to thegsides #
  • @thegsides – that is what i'm saying. it's a hood! lightsaber doesn't make up for it b/c luther being a preacher prob carried a sword 😉 in reply to thegsides #

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following in my brother-in-law’s steps

zune

jim posted the podcasts that he is presently listening to. i realized it was something i hadn’t done in a while and thought i would do so now. the radio antenna on my car has been broken for a year but i’ve been too lazy to replace it because i basically just listen to podcasts. so here’s what is on my zune at the moment.

  • advent conspiracy podcast
  • catalyst podcast – i’m not a big fan of leadership stuff within the church but i do like the interviews they have on this podcast
  • tips from the top floor – my favorite photography podcast
  • ecclesia church – a great church in houtson
  • espn football today – i have to keep up to date with what’s happening in the “no fun league”
  • fly fish radio – makes me dream of a river runs through it while i listen to it
  • imago dei church – a wonderful church in seattle
  • mars hill bible church
  • new yorker poitical podcast
  • npr: talk of the nation
  • npr: it’s all politics – my favorite political podcast
  • npr: story of the day
  • npr: wait, wait don’t tell me – a fun, news game show – SECOND FAVORITE
  • orvis fly fishing podcast – i can’t afford their equipment but i can steal their ideas.
  • dan small’s wisconsin outdoors radio – hunting and fishing in wisconsin
  • pri: to the best of our knowledge
  • q podcast – q is a butt kicking conference and the podcast ain’t bad either
  • stuff you should know – the title says it all – this one is a lot of fun
  • tapestry messages – yes i relisten to the tapestry messages -  you got a problem with that?!??!?
  • TED talks – great ideas and thoughts
  • the economist
  • the moth podcast – a different story for every podcast
  • the ring community church – a group of friends down in baton rouge and a wonderful church
  • the skeptics guide 5×5 – 5 minutes with 5 skeptics
  • this american life – you need to listen to this – MY FAVORITE

that’s the regular line up that i listen to as i am driving or running. any other recommendations?

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from revolutionary to hindrance

camp meeting

i had a great discussion with eric today concerning what type of future we believe GOD has laid out for tapestry.

eric was telling me about some things he had gone through at a family member’s church recently that he hoped that tapestry would never be a part of. one of those things was what most southern baptist churches would refer to as a "revival meeting." please notice that i said a "revival meeting" not a "revival." true revivals are great things but revival meetings may or may not ever have anything to do with true revivals.

eric had just gone to a family member’s church for a series of meetings (sunday morning, sunday night, monday night, tuesday night, and additional meetings during all the days). he said the meetings basically became a way for the church members to spend even more of their time in the church building and thereby interact with the outside world even less. i thought it was pretty ironic that he would describe it this way since this meeting is the cultural vestige of a revolutionary concept from the 1800s.

the first tent meetings or camp meetings were entirely new ways of sharing the gospel in the frontier regions of the united states. there weren’t many churches around in these frontier areas and camp meetings became the way to share the good news of JESUS CHRIST with people who had no easy way of hearing it. they were somewhat controversial during their time but they were effective. the second great awakening came out of meetings like this.

of course, now they are no longer controversial or revolutionary. in fact, i would dare say that for many churches eric’s statement is spot on (not all – of course, i’m sure you’re church would NEVER be one of these) – they really are just "a way for the church members to spend even more of their time in the church building and thereby interact with the outside world even less." it’s funny, and sad, how revolutionary ideas often become cultural obstacles years later. when that happens the church should celebrate what was accomplished through them and then stop using them. after all, these things are just tools, they aren’t the gospel. tools can and should be replaced with new ones when they are no longer useful.

i agree with eric. i hope tapestry continues to stay a place where we are more concerned with the revolution than we are with maintaining cultural vestiges.

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i don’t think so

IMG_1592

i know compressed video classes really are a huge help for some people. i’m pretty amazed by the technology that is being used for the one i was in last week. it really is quite good. the video and audio are more than acceptable. you can see and hear everyone – both the professor and your fellow students. still there is a slight delay but nothing very dramatic. it’s very good …

BUT I DON’T THINK I COULD BE VERY GOOD STUDENT ON THE CV END OF THE SEMINAR!

i need the personal interaction of a classroom. those of you who know me understand that i can be easily distracted with ideas. when i preach i chase rabbits. sometimes i chase them so deeply down their holes that i lose my place and train of thought. this happens alot during the seminars i have attended. if i didn’t have to look the professor in the eyes i would be severely tempted to zone out completely on whatever idea or concept i had just been overwhelmed by. after all, at a doctoral level the grades are all based on papers that are done outside of the seminar. the lecture and discussion of the classroom time is meant to expand upon what has been read and written. i can zone out during a lecture and make up for it with further study later. look at the above photo. how involved in the discussion do the guys on the left hand screen look? their in atlanta participating in the seminar via cv. those of us in the actual classroom in new orleans took odds on whether they were working on sunday’s sermon or not.

i know CV opens to door for people who would never be able to travel to the actual campus but it is simply not something that would work for me.

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the week in tweets – 2009-10-24

  • driving down a lonely road today i actually saw tumbleweed roll in front of me and suddenly felt like i was in a bad western. #
  • thanks mark sanchez for a negative qb score on my fantasy team – NEGATIVE! SHEESH! #
  • Apparently blocks of cheese in a suitcase look suspicious to the TSA because they just pulled my bag and did a chemical test on it. #
  • lady beside me on my 1st flight covered her mouth & nose the sec we lifted off & uncovered the sec we landed. why? air diff on ground? #
  • last part of the seminar for the day. unfortunately i ate a filling supper which is now making me sleepy. please let this lecture be short. #
  • @meganckelly – awesome hanging out with you and @joshcausey (though i should have been sleeping). so have you eaten any cheese yet? in reply to meganckelly #
  • Dr. Holcomb started talking about GOD's image being shown through a tapestry and I smiled like a fool the whole time. #
  • @dannygilliam – yep – even when he's not really affirming what we're doing BUT I CAN TWITST IT THAT WAY! 🙂 #
  • Hello Chick-fil-a biscuit my old friend. Welcome to my stomach. #
  • the glory of GOD is a human being who is fully alive – irenaus of lyons #
  • Eatting at Cane's and my fictitious name for the day is Humphrey. Cashier shortened to Hump. Should be fun when shouted for my order. #
  • http://twitpic.com/mdfub – Here's the receipt #
  • Why do jerks always seen to show up in TSA lines? We're all miserable and you being rude to the hourly workers doesn't help anyone. #
  • SCORE! I got the single row on the regional plane that is my last flight of the day. Oh how i love you beautiful single row seat of mine. #
  • 1st time i've been on a plane that had to turn around due to engine troubles. now time for the redux. i hate commercial air travel. #
  • @johnthemember – you guys have that much snow already? jealous. #
  • Adam and I just saw a fox. I love Wisconsin wildlife. #
  • @ppolnaszek – uhmmm. that's dr. terrell 🙂 in reply to ppolnaszek #

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consumer culture and faith

i’ve started reading “consuming religion” by vincent miller and it is very interesting. miller basically says that modern theology is completely silent on the most important cultural issue of our day – consumerism. this is not a simple “don’t spend money” book but an analysis of a set of values that are competing with CHRISTian faith. it is very interesting thus far though at this point i don’t completely know how to respond to it. miller points out that consumerism doesn’t really debate with ideologies . instead it merely tries to place its practices upon the ideology and thereby wins the battle. for example, all the che’ shirts or pushing advent conspiracy and deciding it is such a good idea that we should start selling advent conspiracy t-shirts, bracelets, etc. or consider the example of kurt cobain, a signer/song writer who sang about the shallowness of pop culture and the system loved him and sold tons of albums for nivarna. consumerism says there’s no need to battle over ideas when it can agree with your ideas and sell more crap. how do you battle something that will simply agree with your ideas and place its practices on your ideas.

like i said, thus far it is very interesting. right now i’m just glad that i got the book from the library rather than having bought it. 🙂

after i finish this im looking forward to starting “consumed” by benjamin barber and “lead us into temptation” by james twitchwell.

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can’t sleep when i need to

in an hour i leave for my latest d.min seminar at nobts (i have a very early flight) and i can’t sleep. therefore i’m sitting at my computer, watching the sportscenter replay, and thinking how much i love tapestry. it’s always cool to have a guest from another local church visit and say “this was a very enjoyable evening because it is really obvious that you guys love each other.” that happened, again, tonight. i love hearing things like that about tapestry. as always i am just honored that i get to be a part of you guys.

as for the d. min seminar i’m looking forward to the course because the reading has been quite good, i’m looking forward to the food because i’ll be eating in new orleans (which is always a good thing) and i’m looking forward to hanging out with josh causey & a few others (josh has been nice enough to give me a place to stay for a few days). i would love to hang out with all the people i love in baton rouge but the seminar doesn’t finish each day till around 9 pm so i don’t really have a lot of time.

on the other hand i am not looking forward to the humidity or heat. it’s sweater weather here in wisconsin and that is the way it should be.

SIDE NOTE – my bag is loaded with cheese!

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an odd place to have pride

i haven’t given blood in eight years. i used to do so regularly but going to nicaragua changed all that. according to the red cross going to nicaragua excludes you from giving blood for a period of one year after your visit. since i’ve been going to nicaragua for eight straight years i haven’t been able to give blood during that time period.

before going to nicaragua i gave blood a couple of time a year. every time i gave i would here the same thing … “your blood pumps out fast. you are an excellent donor.” i always finished before anyone else because my veins did such a great job of filling the pint donation bag. i know it is a rather odd thing to feel proud about but i was proud of it. in essence i felt good about the fact that if i was ever cut in a major vein i would bleed out quickly.

that all changed thursday when i found out that i could give plasma even though i have been to nicaragua in the past calendar year.

i know many people around here who give plasma at biolife. college students, neighbors, campus ministers, etc. i really know a great number of people who do this. in fact, the manager of the stevens point biolife branch was my curling skipper two years ago. i figured after two years i would give this thing a try to see what the whole experience is like. i think that is something pastors should do – learn what everyone is going through.

so i went there, filled out the paper work, went through a brief physical, and then was plug into a machine. suddenly my veins became shy. i was convinced that i would be in and out of biolife rather quickly. after all, i am the guy with great veins. instead i went almost double the average time. instead of beating the 45 minutes to an hour that biolife says it should take to complete the donation, i went 1 1/2 hours. in fact, after 45 minutes in my left arm i had only filled 1/3 of a donation bag. so they swapped me to my right arm. that’s right, i was stabbed in both arms. little 110 lbs girls were flying through their donation while my great veins held in every drop of blood they could.

i don’t know why this bothered me but it really did. i think i am going to try it again just to prove that i could do better. really i have great veins. please believe me. their great.

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the week in tweets – 2009-10-17

  • Mile 5 is past #
  • Mile 10 has been passed #
  • HALFWAY THROUGH! 13.1 miles have been run. #
  • I've completed 20 miles. #
  • FINISHED! #
  • @thegsides – again with the broncos? i'm amazed. #
  • i can't believe it is snowing on october 12th. of course, i have been missing the snow recently so i'm not really complaining. #
  • @hubbacm – i went with the wrestling jacket but mainly because it was warmer. thanks for the music ideas. i took them & then didn't ipod it. in reply to hubbacm #
  • @allisonrichmond – thanks. it was fun. in reply to allisonrichmond #
  • @allimill – thanks allison. i loved it. in reply to allimill #
  • @meganckelly – thanks meg. i did 🙂 in reply to meganckelly #
  • @thegsides – when you beat the patriots you should never complain about the unis 🙂 in reply to thegsides #
  • RT @pizzahut We will donate 4 meals 2 World Hunger Relief 4 each person who RTs this: http://ow.ly/qWn8 #pizzahut (More: http://ow.ly/r3Cy) #
  • i've just run across pomplamoose's music and i love it. great music. great voice. #
  • i've just run across @pomplamoose 's music and i love it. great music. great voice. #
  • http://twitpic.com/likkq – a fun halloween surprise in the stevens point public library today. #
  • @jaa22 – of course it is. in reply to jaa22 #
  • @dhaltom7 – actually it's @pamelaaugust that says that … i just agree with her 🙂 in reply to dhaltom7 #
  • i love my city even more when it snows. 🙂 #
  • just register for my next d.min seminar and i'll be in atlanta for it. not sure why but i have never really liked atlanta. pam loves it. #
  • @SteenAR – that video of you dancing was pretty concerning 🙂 #
  • first seminar paper is done. now time to move on to the second of five (thankfully only three are due before the seminar starts). #
  • @dannygilliam – yep that's the one. it's time for that one and the flight to atlanta costs the same as the flight to nola for me. in reply to dannygilliam #
  • mhmmmmm! leftover, homemade baked potato soup on a cold day! life is good! #
  • About to watch "9" with Noah. #
  • just sent some money through western union (don't worry mom it's not a scam) and that has to be one of the biggest pains in the butt ever #
  • @thegsides – agreed in reply to thegsides #
  • what's with all the turn overs #BAMA? #

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