Yes it was utterly amazing. We were just five rows behind the stage (which are GREAT seats for a Springsteen concert) I won't rant and rave too much more. Here's the set list, it's the longest on the tour so far. If you enjoy a great rock show you'd have loved this. Songs in bold are ones that were especially good

Setlist:
The Ties That Bind
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Be True
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Night
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
I'll Work for Your Love
Working on the Highway
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Buffalo Gals
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Detroit Medley
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land

On the weight loss front I lost just a single pound. But that's actually not too bad considering I went out to eat and had a couple beers before and after the concert. Hope to kick that up this week. I'm about half way through the contest but less than half way to my goal. Down 15 pounds out of about 35.

In other news apparently my governor is an idiot. You can decide for yourself. Need to check and see who the next person in the line of succession is. I'm not sure how you survive when you're supposed to be "Mr Clean" and then do this. Moron.

I am SO excited!

For the Springsteen fanatic (How did I ever not know about this site?)
Check out Backstreets

Here's the encore set from Monday's show in Hamilton
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Kitty's Back
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land

I've got chills just thinking about it.

Some catching up

I'll toot my own horn and recommend that you check out the next post down too. I think it's one of my better ones.

Busy, busy, busy.

I had the chance to preach again last Sunday. I must admit I enjoy the chances I get (with a background in theater and radio I guess that's hardly surprising). Based on the reactions I get I'm not too bad at it. I don't usually post the scripts (I write out the full sermon. It's helpful in shaping exactly what I want to say. Then I go over it several times till I'm very familiar with the copy. I do NOT read the script. I've tried other ways and I'm just not happy with them. I try to be a bit of a "wordsmith" and that great phrase of two days ago too often slips my mind on Sunday)but I did a digital recording of this one. I think the message is important enough that I may post the file. Still debating on that one.

My weight loss contest is kind of stuck but in a good place. For the first time in probably close to 20 years I looked down at the scale and it did NOT tell me I weighed 200 some pounds! There was a 1 leading the way. Very nice. Add in an absolutely great workout today (I swam 750 yards, 30 25 yard lengths - a new personal record) and I'm feeling pretty good.

Oh yes and then a plug for the world's two best brothers (your siblings are probably wonderful people but I got the best). Tomorrow I cash in my Christmas present from the other "boys" a pair of tix to see Bruce Springsteen! This is going to be just amazing!

Peace

Are You Ready?

This is my column from the March issue of our diocesan newspaper

When I was in college a group of us discussed “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. There was one answer that puzzled me. A young lady in the group said she wanted to be a “star”. That puzzled me then and it puzzles me now. Based on the lives of some of our current generation of “stars” the concept looks greatly overrated. Then and now what I hope for IF I ever grow up is that I'll be good enough at what I do to earn the respect of the people around me. Maybe someday I'll get a shot at being a star (I'd do it right of course) but if I don't that's OK too. I want to be ready to do the right thing when the moment arrives.
I was thinking about that concept after this year's Super Bowl. Going into the game we knew who the “stars” were. Brady, Moss, Manning, Strahan. We expected them to do their star thing, to lead the way, to be the “story” of the Super Bowl. Instead we got David Tyree. Caught the first of the two Giants' touchdowns and made that incredible, holding-the-ball-against-his-helmet catch. David Tyree is going to be on NFL highlight films for the next 20 years.

Coming into that game David Tyree was about as far from a “star” as you can get.

For the season Tyree was the 12th most productive receiver on the team. He caught 4 passes. Four. None of them for touchdowns. He played in 12 games out 16 in the regular season and caught four passes. Two rookies caught more passes than he did.

But at the moment when he was needed, David Tyree was ready.

Sometimes it feels like the “star” game works its way into Christianity. We hear Christians who talk about being “Prayer warriors”, how strong in the faith they are, about what great mission work they're doing, how many souls they brought to Jesus. I'll admit that I even buy into sometimes. I look at them and think “Wow, I can't do that. They're accomplishing so much more.” It makes me feel bad. On really bad days it makes me wonder if I shouldn't just pack it in. I can never be a “star”. Sainthood is beyond my grasp. Besides St. Jay of Jamestown just sounds silly.

When I stop and think about it I realize I don't need to be a star. I need to work on being the best possible me I can. David Tyree showed up for practice every day. He worked hard. Most days no one other than his teammates looked at him twice. Until Super Bowl Sunday.

I don't know when my Super Bowl Sunday of faith may arrive. So I have to prepare every day, work on being the best child of God I can be at the moment. It's possible I'll never be a “star”. The day may come when I get the chance to show what a life in faith should look like. The day may come when I need to be a vehicle for Christ in the world. In fact those days probably come a lot more often than we realize.

Are you ready?

Peace.

Yoinks!

R.I.P. Myron Cope.

There are just some things that say Pittsburgh if you're of a certain generation. The nasal tones of Myron Cope do the color commentary of Steelers games is one of them. I remember people at college talking about what a terrible voice Howard Cosell had and saying "You've never heard Myron Cope!"

Like Cosell Cope began as a writer. It's easy to forget what a fine practioner of that art he was. His voice made it so easy to think of him only as comic relief. Add in Myron's own vocabulary like "Yoinks" (an all purpose word for anything big, good or bad. If was really big it might get a "Double Yoinks") and it was easy to overlook the fact that Myron also knew what he was talking about.

Cope served as broadcaster for the Steelers longer than any other broadcaster has served a single team. He's won awards and been inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. The first pro football announcer to get that honor. Heck, he even got a full segment on SportsCenter this morning. What greater honor do we have in this day and age? Myron also invented the "Terrible Towel".

Myron Cope was 79. He retired from Steeler broadcasts in 2004. I can't believe I'll never hear that voice again.

Yoinks!

Yet another Monday

Wow, where did my weekend go?

Saturday I met with the group that's working on some preliminary work for the group that will look at ministries with children, youth and young adults as part of the revitalization process in the diocese. I know that sounds absurd when you type it all out but I think it has the potential to be a positive force in the diocese. Good meeting but it ran a little long.

Then Sunday it looked like someone had broken our DVD recorder. We video the 10 AM service and play it back on local cable access. Turns out the recorder was just a little out of whack and appears to be fine now. Too late to record the service though.

Then it was CROP Walk. Which despite everything went exceptionally well. We did something new this year and had it in February at the local ice arena. Some folks walked the track others skated. Very cool(no pun intended) and we raised around $3500. But it was exhausting so I went home and collapsed.

Watched a movie! That's actually a big deal recently. We've been doing something most movie nights.

A Man For All Seasons Winner of 6 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director. Paul Scofield does a great job in this rather cleaned up version of the life of St. Thomas More. More was a great man but the movie skips over his less savory moments (like burning Lutherans. I like Lutherans.) Again if you're going to the movies to learn history you're in for a rotten education. But as a movie it was wonderful. Orson Welles, Leo McKern, Robert Shaw, John Hurt, Susannah York,and Vanessa Redgrave. Lotsa fun.

Also enjoying a podcast series for a while now. "Speaking of Faith" with Krista Tippett from American Public Radio. She ranges quite widely in her topics, interviewing Rick and Kay Warren, looking at diplomacy and religion, Mormonism, Mathematics, purpose and truth and much more. It's very interesting and comes from no particular theological point of view. It's also a great way to take my mind off of the workouts!

Speaking of which! Last week was not a great success. I lost a grand total of 5 pounds but only one of them counts. Yeah, the laziness caught up with me and I put a couple pounds back on. So I had to re-lose them. Sigh. So that next big hurdle - 200 pounds is still taunting me. Seems like a lot of others in the contest had the same kind of week, including Marko. Time to kick up the intensity.

Last week I visited with the local chapter of Intervarsity. First time ever. Felt like a good visit and they seemed to enjoy my visit so that went well. Later this week I'm visiting with a Middle school group. Out of the frying pan...

So that's where we stand at the moment.

Peace

Blogger Down

Over the course of 6 years or so that I've really been a "citizen" of the blogosphere I've only been able to meet about 5 people in real life that I've come to know on line. One of the very first was Lee. If memory serves I met him right around the time of (maybe even on) the worst day of his life. He has been diagnosed with cancer.

His life since then has been something none of us can even imagine. He's an intelligent guy, a fine writer, father, husband and staunch 'Piskie.

And he could use some company right now. Pop over to his blog and check out what's happening and leave a note if you would. I know he loves hearing from people.

Thanks.

Some serious if conflicted thoughts

I am seriously conflicted about this post.

You see I was raised to be a nice Episcopal boy. We don't say bad things about other people. You just put a strained smile on your face and make sure never to invite them over for drinks or dinner again.

It's the Episcopal form of shunning.

At the same time I am just so disturbed by this that I need to comment. And for you to understand you probably need to see at least some of the video. So here it is.

This is a Baptist preacher doing what he believes is right. He believes his congregation needs to hear this word. It is important for him to spend the time to preach on this passage and to share this conclusion. That's clearly what he believes in his heart of hearts. And I'm sure that he believes that the Holy Spirit is moving him to do it.


And I believe he's wrong.

I don't believe this is an important portion of scripture that needs to be brought before the church. Beyond that I believe the conclusion he draws is (sigh, this is SO un-Episcopalian) ridiculous. This is a waste of his skills, his intellect and his faith. I can't believe that his congregation sat there without thinking "Pastor's slipped a cog".

In the end it did get me thinking. It got me thinking that THIS is EXACTLY the reason why we need to spend more time teaching our kids what the Bible is all about.

Because if we don't they'll think that this kind of thinking IS what the Bible's all about. That's there's nothing more important for us as people of faith to worry about than this kind of silly rule making.

I do NOT want our kids thinking that God particularly cares about whether a guy takes a wee standing or sitting.

I do NOT want our kids presented with this kind of preaching and teaching and not have it challenged clearly and compassionately.

I DO want our kids to know and love the Bible for the wonderful gift and resource that it is.

I DO want our kids to be able to think clearly about their faith and its basis. And to know when someone is wasting their time with nonsense.

So I have no choice. I have to write this post. I have to say that I believe this brother in Christ is seriously off base. And I'd like to say the following as well to all my brothers and sisters in faith, young and old:

Spend some time reading your Bible. Do yourself a favor and get more than one translation. Compare how they interpret the ancient languages in which Scripture was originally written. Think about what it says. Be prepared to be challenged by what you read. That means some of it is going to sound wrong, funny, strange, troubling. Some of it is going to say things you don't like. Good. You need to read all of it, not just the bits that you like. Learn it so people can't twist and distort it for their own ends. Some people are trying to con you with the Bible. If you don't know it then you make it easy for them. Ask questions. If the answers aren't clear or don't make sense keep asking questions. Don't let anyone make you feel "dumb". The disciples had to have Jesus repeat things to them too.

The Bible carries God's message to all of us. It's a message about love and hope and caring for one another. It's a message of peace and joy and being welcomed home. If you hear people telling you it's a message of anger and violence of any kind (mental, physical or spiritual) they're leading you astray.

Let me say this in clear, un-Episcopal fashion:

They're wrong. They're lying to you. They're wasting your time. They are dishonoring God.

Peace

Couldn't resist

I promised something serious and that's still coming but I had to hit this. Thanks to Matthew for pointing me this way. I didn't know this site existed. So very cool for us Trekkies.



So true, so true...

Find more at Star Trek Inspirational Posters

Peace

Quick update

Well I continue to progress in my "Biggest Loser" contest. I still haven't broken into the top 10 yet but it's early. People are dropping easy pounds. My plan has been to be slow and steady so I can (hopefully) maintain a steady consistent loss.

So far that plan is working. I dropped about 2% of my initial weight the first week and I dropped an additional 2% this past week. That's right on target!

If I can maintain that this week it will put me below 200 pounds for the first time in at least a decade. That is a HUGE milestone for me. I've gotten close a couple times and fallen back each time. I'm determined that it will change this time.

I've now lost about 30% of my overall goal. Boy that seems like a big percentage when I've only lost so little weight. But I've checked my math twice. Wow.

As for the mustache - the polls aren't closed yet and the vote is still rolling in. We've heard from some of the west coast polling places and they're overwhelmingly in favor of the clean shaven look. We will not be calling this vote any time soon.

I'm working on something serious for later this week.

Peace

So what's romantic?

A good many years ago I got some serious static (mostly genial) from folks when they found out that I'd given my wife a rolling pin for Christmas. Between the idea that I was "arming" my wife and the idea that buying something so common place, so utilitarian for a Christmas present was just awful. We were relatively newly married and it was seen as just so un-romantic.

On the other hand my wife loved it. It was just what she wanted and she was very excited when she unwrapped it.

So was it romantic or not?

I vote romantic.

But just yesterday, Valentine's Day, I didn't get her a card, I didn't get her flowers, I didn't take her out to dinner.

Some of you are shaking your heads. The romantic failure. The cad.

Let me tell you what I did do yesterday. I ran the snowblower and cleared both of our driveways. I got down on my knees and scrubbed the dirtiest floor in the house. I did a quick clean of the bathroom. I cooked dinner. A favorite meal that I make from scratch.

My wife thinks I'm pretty romantic. You see she doesn't enjoy cooking dinner. So I do it. She was going to scrub that floor but she's working three jobs right now and she's tired when she gets home.

Yes, I buy her flowers. And I buy her cards. And I take her to dinner. The flowers wilt and the cards get thrown away and dinner out is nice. Dinner made for you every day, a help with the jobs around the house, making sure that she has what she needs before I go do my stuff.

That's a far more valuable kind of romance. The flowers and dinner are nice and flashy. But it lacks substance. It lacks staying power.

(In case you're worried I'm taking her away from it all for three days on a second honeymoon later this year.)

Peace

Soft Centres

Thanks to "The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus" for this

A Lenten Discipline?

I'm not sure this counts. Although I am giving something up for Lent (basically).

Well, actually I just happen to be giving it up at the same time as Lent so it really doesn't count that way.

You see on Friday, February 8 2008 I did something that I have not done in 30 years. And did it with some trepidation.

I shaved my upper lip.

No one has seen that lip since my junior year at college. No one. Not once. It has resided safely ensconced under a mustache for all these years.

And it's gone.

The mustache, not the lip.

It feels rather strange really. I get this sensation of a draft when I inhale through my nose. I keep going to play with the mustache and it's not there. I have to remind myself to shave there each morning!

We(meaning me and she who has the only relevant opinion)are giving it till Easter to decide if we like it. My daughter has already cast her vote (bring back the lip hair!). So we'll see.

As to my weight loss plans they hit a small bump. I dropped some weight, then gained some of it back during my birthday weekend. I'll dispatch those pounds again quickly.

In the first week I lost just over 10% of my total goal. Not bad. Let's see if we can keep it going.

Peace

I am the Victim of a Conspiracy!

It involved my wife, my daughter, my oldest friends in the world, trusted members of my church, EVEN MY PRIESTS!!!!!


And I've never been so happy in my life.

My daughter, wife and several friends conspired to throw me a surprise birthday party over the weekend. To be honest I'm only lukewarm on birthdays anyway and as this one was a milestone (millstone) one I was perfectly fine with ignoring it.

The ladies in my life would not hear of it.

As usual, they were right.

I was utterly oblivious. My daughter's insistence on coming home for my birthday even though she was coming home on break from college just three days later. Their insistence on going to church on a day when the weather was wretched. (Blowing snow, whiteouts, wind chills in the minus 10 range). The line of cars parked along our friends street. Nothing tipped me. Till I walked in the door and they all yelled surprise.

I hate surprise parties. But I loved this one. Good friends, good food, PRESENTS! Also my friend of longest standing (since third grade), two of my best friends from high school, and my best friend from college all sent e-mails that alternately made me laugh and cry.

IT WAS WONDERFUL!

Now can I share a little something here? I'm amazed, astounded and perplexed that anyone would bother going to such lengths (this thing has been in the planning for months apparently) for me.

I find myself utterly unexceptional. A bit boring really. Can't imagine why anyone takes second notice of me. I count each day as lucky that my lady wife hasn't come to her senses and gently (because that is her nature) kicked me to the curb. I'm astounded that such an amazing young woman shares any DNA with me (obviously the superiority of her mother's genetics over balance mine). I can't fathom why people would willingly come out on such a wretched day just to wish me well,and give me some very nice presents to boot!

That's not false modesty. I can't explain it. Haven't got a clue.

They like me. They really like me.

Astonishing.

Peace

And now for something completely different...

Yes, I'm a huge Monty Python fan.

That probably says something about my character.

Kindly keep it to yourself.

No, the something different is a challenge I've taken on in my life. A challenge to seriously work at losing weight.

I've been above what my doctor considers a healthy weight for about 20 years. I've never liked being this heavy but like many of us I just couldn't really buckle down and do something about it.

And I was stubborn in that resistance.

High blood pressure couldn't make me change.

The threat of diabetes kind of got my attention.

Add to that my 50th birthday (which is mere days away) and I was finally coming around.

In the spring my lady wife and I are planning a little bit of a second honeymoon. That really started me thinking about making a change. But I was just missing that last little push.

Then Marko from Youth Specialties announced that he was going to lose weight and opened up a challenge for other youth workers to compete with him. He put up some nice prizes and sat back expecting a couple dozen folks to take him on.

Other than me there are only about 271 others who are in. Probably a few more than that actually.

So now I have a little competition thing to add to the list.

Did I just feel a little push?

I know myself well enough to know I need to be accountable. So this is it. I promise to keep my progress updated here.

My goal is to lose 40 pounds. How much of that I can reasonably do in 12 weeks is the question. I see no reason why half of that isn't a perfectly achievable goal. That would be just shy of 20% of my current body weight. As they say on the show "Biggest Loser", those are big numbers.

My plan is simple. Eat smart, eat less, exercise.

Repeat for 12 weeks.

Keep me in your prayers.

Peace

Leaving MySpace

This is my opinion and mine only.

I'm deleting my MySpace account later today.

To be honest I've always been a little iffy about MySpace. The glut of tacky ads, the regular porn spams in my mailbox, the poor security have all made me feel uncomfortable with this online social site. But I knew that some of our youth were to be found there and I need to be where they are.

Not any more. And I'm urging all our young people, adult leaders and groups to depart MySpace. Here's why:

MySpace Deletes Atheists

An online group with almost 35,000 members was deleted. For no apparent reason other than a group of alleged Christians who put an online "hit" on a group that they disliked.

They hacked the site, destroyed forums, deleted members, banned them (which apparently is a permanent, non-repairable action)and re-named the site "Jesus is Love". (The story from the former moderator of the group is HERE.)

I detest and reject all the actions of these supposed Christians but that last one makes me want to vomit. A more un-loving, un-Christ like act on the web is hard to imagine. It is deeply, profoundly repulsive to me.

These actions are profoundly un-American in my opinion. They are a blow against one of our most cherished concepts. A "Freedom of Religion" must necessarily also be a "Freedom From Religion".

Don't get me wrong. I AM a theist. I AM a believer. I DO believe that they are wrong. Deeply, sadly wrong. But that does not give me the right to attempt this kind of persecution and oppression. The Gospel does not support that in any way.

These actions are also in my opinion deeply un-Christian. Jesus is shown to regularly speak and reach out to the outsider. His harshest words, over and over and over again, are directed at those INSIDE the faith community of his time. Those people who oppress and reject their fellow man and woman. Certainly he calls all to a life in faith. How on earth anyone expects actions like these to lead anyone into a life in faith is beyond me. They are perfect exemplars of why so many people have rejected the church.

Because we can be judgmental,dictatorial and unwilling to allow any thought process not perfectly in line with whatever arbitrary standards are chosen.

I looked into the Episcopal groups at MySpace. The largest I found was under 1,000. Given the opinion of many folks out there about The Episcopal Church (you will find many who believe we are apostate at best, heretic or atheist at "worst")I am concerned that we could very easily be next. I do not believe that such a thought is particularly hysterical at all.

I have sent a bulletin to all my friends on MySpace outlining my concerns, directing them towards this blog, and urging them to delete their membership with MySpace. Some may see this as retreat in the face of the enemy. I see no way to confront the enemy directly but do see a way to bring pressure on MySpace to live up to its earlier commitment to protect this community. And by extension all communities.

It's funny how often this phrase of Martin Luther's has popped up for me over the last couple years. I have looked at my alternatives and I have decided:

"Here I stand. I can do no other".

Peace

OH, YES I WOULD!!!!

This is exactly my kind of humor. (h/t to Marko)The missiles are balloons. Attach them to your car then drive like...well like you've got missiles on your butt! I can only imagine the looks you'd get.

Parking lot politics

As I walked back to my car outside the Wal of Marts the other day I saw this bumper sticker:

Do you want Politicians legislating morality?

And I thought "Hell no. I don't want ANYONE legislating morality"

The history of morality legislation stinks. The biggest example, and likewise the biggest failure, was the Volstead Act otherwise known as the National Prohibition Act of 1919. Prohibition was a complete flop as is virtually all morality legislation. You can make all the laws you want and man will still act immorally. In fact there's one school of thought that says banning something out right makes it more attractive.

Curiously, Jesus seems to have known this. But his church manages to forget it.

Which leads me to another thought that has wandered across my mind recently. I remember distinctly being taught that Emperor Constantine's conversion and adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Rome was a great thing. A pivotal, important moment in western history.

As the years have passed I've come to completely disagree with that teaching. The connection of the church with the state is important but in a completely negative way. It was and is a catastrophe for the church.

First of all because it gave the church pretensions. It made us believe that we are entitled to rule in this world, that it is right for the church to rule in this world. Clearly this is what many of Jesus' followers expected and what Jesus himself rejected. Again that amazing ability to not listen to what the Savior taught.

Second, it has weakened the church's belief that it can change the world on its own. Instead of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, fighting for justice and peace and living out a Christ-like life we try to make the law in our own image. Why do we need the law when we have Christ? Because we've stopped believing in the power of Christ in the world.

This is not to say that people of faith shouldn't be involved in politics. But we should be involved in politics to achieve the ends of faith, not power. We should live out our political lives doing everything we can to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and fighting for justice and peace.

THAT would result in a more moral world.
THAT would result in our Lord being held in honor and praise.
THAT would result in people seeing Christianity as wise and loving and respected.

Constantine screwed up.

But it's not too late to fix it.

Peace

This is just so wrong

I like Pepsi.
I like cucumbers.

But no.

A video for your consideration

I do not like chain letters.
I do not forward chain letters.
This includes ALL letters that say I don't love Jesus, or I'll die or whatever if I don't forward this to 5, 10, 15, 200 of my friends.

What follows is a chain letter video. The ONLY reason why I'm including it here is that prior to it's dopey chain letter ending I think it raises some very real and challenging questions.

So DON'T feel compelled to forward this to anyone. Just watch and think.



Peace

A theological moment on my way to lunch

I decided to walk down a couple blocks from my office to grab a sandwich for lunch. The walk makes me feel virtuous enough to get away eating a half sub for lunch, LOL.

On my way I was approached by two young men wearing identical dark winter jackets. They were well groomed, bright eyed and I knew they were Mormons before I saw their name tags reading Elder so and so.

I must admit I'm conflicted on the subject of Mormons. In my experience they are some of the nicest, politest, hardest working folk I've ever known. They seem to have a commitment to their faith that goes beyond what most Christians seem to have. By and large they are just likable folks. Back in the day when they were the hot pop stars I'll even admit to a small crush on Marie Osmond.

But I think their theology is rubbish. I feel bad saying that. There's enough trash talking and slagging on one another's theology in the Episcopal church over the last 5-10 years to make me never want to be around it again. But the fact remains. I know enough about LDS theology to know that it doesn't work for me at all. As a Christian I believe in a bunch of stuff that is just so obviously delusional to the secular world view that I avoid mocking other folks for believing in things that I just can't wrap my mind around. In the end I'm still left with my complete rejection of the basis of their faith.

No doubt some will point out that I should be "counter-evangelizing" them. To save them from this incorrect theological stance. Sorry can't go there. It would waste my time and theirs. That's my personal decision and I can live with it.

But it doesn't relieve me of the tension I feel between my personal like of them as people and my theological dislike of what they teach. And that's the tension of the moment standing on a cold, breezy corner in January, all of hunched against the cold.

So I do what I always do. Tell them I've spoken with LDS missionaries before (true), that I'm familiar with their beliefs (true), and that I own a copy of the Book of Mormon (true). I tell them that I'm a youth minister in the Episcopal church nearby and that I'm on my way somewhere (all true). Then I chat with them for a moment. Ask how long they've been in town, how they're bearing up with the weather (without going into details these guys were obviously from warmer parts of the country). I listened to a little bit of their pitch, made it clear I wasn't interested in a longer conversation on the subject, shook hands with them both and said good bye.

That's probably more time than most folks gave them this afternoon as they wandered through downtown. I hope it's at least as polite or more so than average. In that I think I responded in a Christ like manner.

Should I have done a little theological wrestling to try and turn them? I don't know but there wasn't a call in my heart to do so in that time and moment. They're so very serious and I don't feel the need to open up a new frontier of serious religious issues. I have enough of my own. Maybe being greeted cordially by a person of a different faith (yes, I think the LDS understanding of Christ is different enough to warrant calling it a different faith)on a cold wintry corner is what was needed at that moment. I don't know. In the moment I went with what felt right.

They were a nice couple of guys and I wish them well on their journey in faith. My prayer is that God will continue to work on their hearts and bring them to where it is He has planned for them.

And the sub was really good!

Peace

And now some other stuff

Just some odds and ends lying around the place:

Haven't been watching a lot of movies lately. But here are the latest:

Happy Feet - This is a fun little movie that I really enjoyed. But I remember people making a really big deal out of it and I don't quite see that. Some funny stuff but not all that.

Robin Williams Live on Broadway 2002 Now THIS was funny! The world's most popular Episcopal comedian was just fall down funny. Great concert film.

North by Northwest- I'm a huge Hitchcock fan and this was one of the "big" movies I'd never seen. I didn't realize how funny it is as well. And the scenes when Grant gets buzzed by the plane? The special effects are incredible. I was amazed when I checked out the special features to see how much of that was done in studio. Eva Marie Saint was wonderful in a nastier role than she usually got and James Mason was his usual wonderful slick and sleazy character. You should definitely check it out.

Jerry Maguire_ Yes a lot of this movie is over the top. But I loved it! Yes, "You had me at hello". As much as I like Renee Zellwegger (and I do) this movie is all about Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. Their scenery chewing, outrageous characters make the movie worth watching. Besides how many movies get two catch phrases as deeply into popular culture (the one above and "SHOW ME THE MONEY!")

Space Cowboys - got this forgetting that I'd seen most of it on TV already. Is this a great classic film like the Hitchcock above? Nope. But back in theater school we learned Goethe's three rules of criticism -
What was the artist trying to do - make a fun, senior citizen "buddy" movie.
Did they succeed? Yep
Was it worth doing? Movies really are PRIMARILY about entertainment. This was a fun little piece of entertainment. Fun cast having some fun. Worth the time to watch it.

Other stuff:

I'm in love with a new computer application. Google Reader. I check a bunch of blogs, friends, ministry, faith based, sports. And it was a hassle trying to page through finding new updates. I'd tried a Firefox extension or whatever they're called and it was OK. But only OK. Google Reader is great. Simple, clear and only shows me the blogs that have updated. Love it.

Finally this is just cool. Love the song plus I had to learn to juggle a little back at theater school. So I'm in total awe of this guy - Chris Bliss (h/t to Marko) What he does here is hard and requires immense concentration. The video is about 4 minutes long but worth it I think.


Peace

On being passionate

For any of you who found the title titillating I'm afraid you're in for a disappointment. I'm talking about being passionate about faith and ministry.

My last post was a rant about folks who, if I'm being honest, I thought gored my ox. As it turned out it was mostly mis-communication with one of them(but not the other). A wise lady friend and former youth minister sent me a long but profound note about youth ministry. It got me thinking.

And here's what I thought:

I've known for years that I'm really only interested in things that I can dive fully into. That's when I'm fully engaged and I tend to throw myself into it. I was that way for a long time in my previous career in radio. It's how I am about youth ministry. One of my catch phrases is "Good enough isn't good enough". I have a perfectionist streak in me. When things aren't perfect I tend to get down about it. I could have done more, I could have done it better.

You can not imagine how many times my lady wife has watched me beat myself up this way. It's what I do.

But it's also what makes me good at what I do. I can get fully engaged because I BELIEVE in what I'm doing. And it bugs the heck out of me when I see people who aren't willing to go that far. I used to drive people crazy in my last career because I'd say "I only expect you to work as hard as I do. I accept that you may be better at some things than I am and that I'm better at somethings than you are. Final results are whatever they turn out to be. But I expect you to work as hard as I do. And I work very hard".

I expect that when a diocese or congregation tells me that youth ministry is important that they are going to WORK HARD at it. Too often youth programs are just that, programs designed to keep the kids busy and out of the adults hair. It's about the lecture hall vision of teaching and the "We have relationship with our youth for two hours every Sunday". It's "Oh that Bob and Mary's daughter" instead of learning the kid's name.

I have a confession (you're going to think I'm nuts). I hate what I'm about to do. It feels like cheating, like I can't do my own thinking and writing. It feels like I'm slacking.

I told you, I'm nuts. But it's how I feel.

I'm going to quote somebody else (see, see!!!! Nuts!). Martin Saunders is the Editor of Youthwork Magazine and Chair of Youthwork the Partnership, a huge youth ministry movement in the UK. I saw this interview at a great website run by the amazing Len Evans (Youth Ministry Interviews) and it just spoke to me. Len asked him "How would you like to see youth ministry change":

"I’d like to see every member of our churches start to take responsibility for young people – starting with the ‘adult’ leaders. The biggest problem for youth workers here is that many churches employ them to ‘take care of the problem’ of young people, instead of trying to understand and engage with them at every level. Unless young people get integrated into the hearts of our churches, then our churches are not long for this world. And of course, it’s the adult church leaders who hold the keys. So I’d love to see us move towards a model where the whole church takes some responsibility for young people – even if that just means praying for and mentoring them."

(Lazy. Slacker. You disgust me.)(I'm JOKING people!)

Martin got it exactly right. This is my hope for youth ministry as well. I don't care if we do great programs, or any program at all. I don't care if we do Youth Sundays or whatever.

We need to stop taking care of our youth and begin caring about our youth.

And now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to work.

Peace

Youth Ministry Rant

I'm so...(well I can't really use the word here that I'm thinking so fill in the blank yourself). Let's just say I'm not a happy camper.

I spend a bit of time conversing with other folks on various blogs. By and large I get along pretty well, even with the folks with whom I disagree. But every once in a while...

The discussion that has gotten me cranked was started by a post referring to "unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity" by David Kinnaman, President of the Barna Group, and Gabe Lyons, founder of the Fermi Project. The book looks at the attitudes of 16-29 year olds toward the church, especially those who are outside the church. I don't think any youth minister would be surprised by the results. This led to a discussion on the comments thread about youth ministry, mostly the question of what are we doing wrong?

I believe we have been doing some things wrong. I also believe that a lot of us are working VERY hard to correct that. As always with youth ministry the fruits of our work may not be seen for a while.

But two responses astounded me. The first amounted to "Well youth ministry is probably a good idea but really it doesn't matter one way or the other. The kids either get it or they don't. We just need to leave it in God's hands". I don't know if this one makes me more angry or sad or frustrated. I do not deny the central role of the Divine in the process of growing in faith. I'm just here to try and water God's garden and provide some of the earthly things each plant needs to thrive. In real terms that's relationship, teaching and listening.

That brings me to the second poster. He sees teaching as a very limited tool, all the current models of youth ministry as completely failed and youth ministry simply as a tool of the institution to perpetuate itself. Sunday school, youth group, failures. Not worth discussing. The first poster mentioned her concern with "forcing Jesus down(the youth's) throat". I'm sure no one will be surprised that the second person has nothing positive to offer, just a dismissive attitude toward everything we try to do. Quite simply if we don't have something brand new to offer then it's just SSDD and therefore automatically bound to fail.

Needless to say my doctor would not approve of my blood pressure right now.

Don't get me wrong. I don't live in a fairy tale world. I'm well aware of the shortcomings of youth ministry. The spectre of ministries that rely on "magic box" programs, unimaginative teaching, lack of building relationships with the youth, lack of resources and/or dedication from the congregations make what we do almost impossible in some places. But more and more we are recognizing that and making changes. Sadly the most visible elements in the church too often make the rest of us look bad. Spending massive amounts of time and energy arguing the fine points of worship style or fine points of theology while the world is hungry and naked and in prison makes us all look like hypocrites.

But having to fight both the cynicism and defeatism embodied by these two folks just makes it so much harder.

Maybe I'm kidding myself. Maybe I'm just re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The only problem is that when we do it right I see a difference being made in the lives of young people. Not as many youth as I'd like at any given moment but then I'm not supposed to be playing the numbers game.

And the numbers are betraying us. People forget that statistics only measure the past. They can be used as an indicator for the future but the accuracy of that indication relies, nay REQUIRES, that all conditions remain the same as before. If what we're doing now is right we won't know for at least a decade. It the curse of youth ministry. That the harvest almost always comes after they're gone. We plant the seed and we often get to see it bloom. But the full harvest, the fully developed person of faith, is truly a rare thing for us to see. And that's probably as it should be since when they leave our care they're still in the final stages of growth.

The recurring challenge was don't tell me about how kids show up or continue to go to church. Prove to me that they are growing in their faith, that they "get" it. I just want to scream "You're the idiots who don't get it!!! What you want isn't measurable. By your carping and defeatism you make this even harder than it is."

I have managed to refrain from actually calling anyone an idiot.

This really comes at a tough time (or maybe a good one). I'm struggling with the ideas in Loren Mead's book "The Once and Future Church". I'm struggling to find the wheat among the chaff. What is good and useful for my youth from that which is just "we've always done it that way". I think I'm making progress too.

I read what these people say and I wonder why should I worry about it? If they're right then I'm spinning my wheels. If they're wrong they represent a real voice in the church (which I've heard in other forms before) and if the church doesn't care any more than that then what do I owe it?

Yeah, yeah, I already know the answer to that one. I owe the institutional church a return on what they've invested in me, I owe the spiritual church a return on my gifts, and I just owe God. Period. Oh yeah and I owe my kids for the love and trust they put in me.

So I guess I can't pout and have a pity party or throw a tantrum.

As I said on the thread - youth ministry is harder than it looks.

(Editorial Note: After I posted this the first poster mentioned above and I had the chance to exchange some e-mails. I understand where her point of view grows from and know that she was not attacking me or youth ministry per se. Rather the frustrations we all feel about how hard it is to make a difference in the lives of young people had just taken her someplace I'm not ready to go. I hope that we've made our peace personally now. And I'll keep fighting the good fight knowing that while she hopes I'm right she reserves the right to wonder if I'm wrong)

Peace

Are We Willing to Listen?

One of my favorite TV shows involves small companies that find themselves in terrible financial shape. If things don't change very soon they will have to close their doors. So they invite an internationally known expert in to help. He's run their kind of business successfully on two continents, has written books and starred on TV. The expert tells them what they need to do to survive and seems to really want them to succeed.
What amazes me week after week is how much resistance he gets from the people he's trying to help. Remember these are businesses that are on their last legs. If doing things their way had been a good idea they wouldn't have to call in this guy. But they stubbornly stick to what they “know” about how to run the businesses.
As I watched the show the other day I started to laugh because it struck me how much the situation is like our relationship with Christ. (I laughed because this is probably the ONLY time this expert will ever be compared to Christ. He's abrupt, he's insulting and he needs to be “bleeped” about every fourth word.) We may not be on our “last legs” spiritually (but maybe we are) but we aren't operating under ideal circumstances either. In church speak you hear the words sinful, fallen, broken, imperfect or even dysfunctional. Whatever term you choose it means we're not functioning at our best. We're not getting the maximum amount of joy out of our existence. (Quick note I believe there's a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness comes and goes with the winds of this world. Joy comes from much deeper and isn't as easily swayed by what goes on in the world. I believe that joy is what God wants for us.) Our outside expert is Jesus. He knows what it means to live this life, he understands what needs to be done and has some simple, straightforward answers on what needs to be done. Better yet he's willing to take the time to work it out, and he doesn't suffer from the potty mouth syndrome of the guy on TV!
Unfortunately all too often we act like the people on TV. Yes, we understand what we need to be doing. Yes, we understand that we'd be better off doing some parts of our lives differently. Yes, yes, yes. BUT. But I'm really more comfortable doing it this way. But it's not really hurting anyone. But no one else is doing THAT, everyone is doing THIS. As illogical as it seems from the outside once we start dealing with what goes on inside ourselves suddenly we find things that we just can't/won't/don't want to change. We will fight to cling to ideas and behaviors that will make us not only unhappy but that keep us from being joyful.
The funny thing is that Jesus managed to sum up everything pretty neatly. He points out (Matthew 22:36-40) that everything grows out of just two concepts. It's not a long shopping list of dozens of things to do, it's just two ideas long.
Love God completely, and love your neighbors the way you'd like to be loved. Simple. Not easy mind you but not all that complicated.
So let's make our goal to not live our lives like those people on TV. Let's listen to the expert and see what our lives could look like.

Peace

Happy 2008!

I know everyone else in the blogosphere is way ahead of me on this one but I really took the end of last year off from most of my usual activities. So let's get caught up.

Christmas was lovely. Best presents were the circular saw from the in laws and two tickets to a March Bruce Springsteen concert from my brothers. Have I mentioned recently what a wonderful pair of brothers God has blessed me with? Primo times two.

The weather has been fine. It snowed lightly on Christmas Eve so we had a white Christmas.

My football pool. I never really recovered from my bad start but did finish in the top 50% of the pool. So I wasn't utterly humiliated. The next to last week was very good. I finished #8 for the week and #2 in the points per pick category. The last week of the season was a disaster. Too many teams resting starters and playoff implications and just bad football. Bleah. Still thinking about whether to try the playoff pool too. I'm just very leery of my Steelers prospects.

Watched the "Winter Classic" hockey game. From the comfort of my living room, natch. Yes, it was every bit as cold and snowy as it looked. And yes I was perfectly happy that the Pens won. I would have been almost as happy if the Sabres had. Almost.

New Year's Day some idiot backed into my car
and drove away. That's about a two foot crack in the high tech plastic door panel on my Saturn. Which will cost a mere $900 to repair and paint to match.
Sigh.
I'm struggling with some very un-Christian thoughts about whoever did this.

Beyond that I'm looking forward to the New Year. It has the potential for some really good things this year I believe.

I'll try and get more caught up next week.

Peace!

A little (a very little) Friday cat blogging

I've owned cats all my life.
I like cats.
I own a cat.

But some of this cat blogging stuff just gets silly to my way of thinking.

But it's Christmas and for the moment my cat is pretending like she tolerates me. I actually CHOSE this cat at the Humane society. She is utterly utterly worshipfully devoted to my wife. My daughter is second choice. If I'm the only person in the house she'll come sit on my lap. But she acts like it's a great personal strain on her.

This is Amidala. She's a very attractive cat but somehow she has never had a sense of kittenish whimsy. I've never had a cat like that.

Fun and a little bit tacky, yeah!

This is SO me!(Thanks to Pseudopiskie)

You Are a Bright Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays are all about fun and seasonal favorites. You are into all things Christmas, even if they're a little tacky.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Even better than I could say it

Here's what I would have said in my rant about Christmas rants. Only said better. (h/t to Grandmere Mimi (Wounded Bird: Letter From Jesus About Christmas) who pointed me towards Ann)

Letter from Jesus about Christmas (slightly edited for Episcopalians)

Dear Children,

It has come to my attention that many you are upset that folks are removing My name from the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year -- it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually the time of pagan festival. Of course, I do appreciate being remembered at any time.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, here's how: GET ALONG WITH EACH AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on... If it bothers you that the town where you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen in your own front yard and put out your own Nativity scene. If all of My followers did that, there wouldn't be any need for a display in the town square because there would already be so many all around your community.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made ALL trees. You can remember Me any time you see ANY tree. Decorate a grapevine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten what I said, look up John 15: 1- 8.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wishlist.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President to complain about the wording on the White House cards this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then do it! It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. People in your town will attempt to take their own lives this season because they feel so alone and hopeless. Since you don't know who they are, give everyone you meet a warm smile -- it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit-picking about what retailers call this holiday, be patient with the people who work for them. Give each a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one.

8. If you really want to make a difference, support organizations like Episcopal Relief and Development, who are working for better lives for refugees, prisoners, people suffering from diseases that are easily curable with a small amount of money, giving tools and resources so people can support their families.

9. There are individuals and families in your town who will not only have no "Christmas" tree, but also no presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, take some food and gifts to a charity who will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do or say things that you wouldn't do or say in My presence. Remember -- When you speak badly of my children, you are speaking badly of Me; when you treat each other badly, you do the same to Me. Let people know by your words and actions that you are one of Mine.

Don't get so worked up about what you think are slights about me that occur in the material world. I am God and I can take care of Myself. I am not diminished by those things.

Instead, simply love Me and do what I have asked you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love.

AMEN.

Oh yeah bring on the super powers!

I know, I'm a total geek.

Your Superpower Should Be Manipulating Electricity

You're highly reactive, energetic, and super charged. If the occasion calls for it, you can go from 0 to 60 in a split second. But you don't harness your energy unless you truly need to. And because of this, people are often surprised by what you are capable of. Why you would be a good superhero: You have the stamina to fight enemies for days Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

And it's almost Christmas

The tree is about to go up at DaYouthGuy's house, the last presents are being prepared.

And the usual ranting about Christmas is well under way. The "Happy Holidays" rant, the "They've stolen Christmas" rant, all the usual suspects. I'm tempted to add a little rant of my own, mostly about how tired I am of the other rants. Instead let me offer this:

It's Christmas. Make of it what you will. Feel free to ignore those parts that don't work for you (really, any of them. To my friends and brothers and sisters of the atheist clan - revel in whatever brings you joy and ignore the rest. Seriously. I will not chide you or look askance. I only ask the same respect for my own choices. Same goes for everyone else. For God's sake (sorry atheists) relax and enjoy.) I intend to revel in the midnight mass at my home parish. Smells and bells, and a full choir and all the decorations. I will rejoice in the arrival of the Messiah and the miracle of it all. And I will wish a Merry Christmas to us all. God bless us everyone.

In the meantime I'm going to enjoy my favorite Christmas specials. I own a copy of just about all of them:

WKRP in Cincinnati Christmas episode - a great show about radio and a great riff on Dickens.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - If I only could have one this is it.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - love it.

The Homecoming - Christmas with the Waltons. A truly classic Christmas story

How The Grinch Stole Christmas - animated original only, don't bring that other one 'round here.

Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) - The Alistair Sims version or the Mr. Magoo version both classics

White Christmas - yeah, only nominally a true Christmas story but I love it.

A Wish for Wings that Work - OK my natural weirdness bubbles up on this one. This is the Bloom County animated special. It's very hard to find but my most excellent brother got it for me.




Miracle on 34th Street - the original only thank you very much.

Introducing Jesus

Interesting question. If you had Jesus physically here and wanted to introduce him to a friend of yours how would you do it? Steve Harvey (yeah, the comedian and TV star) offers this option (h/t to Stuart Delony):



Little flashy for day to day (I mean how often do you really get together with a couple thousand of your closest friends in a major auditorium?) This is just off the top of my head but I think I'd go much simpler.

I want you to meet someone who has really changed how I think and work and approach the world. And I can't even tell you how much of a comfort he's been when things have really gone in the dumper. He's laid back, never in your face but never plays games either. You'll always get the straight stuff from him. Just really comfortable to be around even when he's letting me know that he disagrees with me. He's cool, I really think you'll like him.

Peace

Just SOOOOOO Wrong!

No, no, no! Say it ain't so. This is a CHRISTMAS lawn decoration! (H/T to Marko)

No I won't

Seems like I see this question every so often on Facebook or on a forum somewhere. Someone comes in with some variation of this question:

Can You Give Me One Logical Reason to Believe In God?

And then the fight is on. Lots of well meaning brothers and sisters in Christ who will try and show this poor lost soul why they should believe in Jesus. The original poster will keep asking for a more rational, logical reason. Something that avoids the circular logic of using our own scriptures as the "proof". The believers will get offended that Holy Writ isn't taken seriously as an "independent source", shortly thereafter the name calling begins.

Every time.

So this time I'd like to take a shot at answering the question. And I think I've come up with something short and to the point. My answer to the original question is this:

No, I can't.

Thanks for coming.

Can I give you one rational, logical, reasonable reason for believing in God? Nope, not one. No some folks will read that and their blood pressure will start to rise and they'll want to protest. I can't imagine why. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (1:21-23) warns us that people are going to think this stuff is foolishness. If you're not willing to take the Bible as authoritative (and if you take it as authoritative then you've already made up your mind on the subject, haven't you?) then I've got nothing.

Ok, I slipped over the edge right at the end. In fact I do have something. But it's anecdotal. So you'll have to take it for what it's worth.

To me it's worth my whole life. Cause that's what I've got.

I can't prove the existence of God. For me that falls into the old category of why you should never try to teach a pig to sing (It wastes your time and it annoys the pig). I can do my best to tell you why I believe. And that's going to be a story (or stories) about the effect that a life in faith has had on me. When my daughter was born two and a half month premature, when my wife has been very, very sick in the hospital, when I've lost my job(s), when folks very dear to me have passed away. The joy of reaching out and helping someone else. The great relief of losing the burden of so much of our cultural expectations. I can tell you about the positive effect a belief in God has had in the lives of people I know.

But one good, logical, rational reason to believe in God?

Sorry, not in stock.

Peace

My time as a sojourner

Psalm 39 has one of those phrases that has just always stuck with me (from the KJV days) - "...for I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner...". The youth I work with can tell you that I have a thing about language and words. Sojourner (a person who belongs somewhere else but is staying for a time in a different place) is a word that has always appealed to me. In this last week I've gotten the chance to truly feel what it means.

I got the chance to attend an annual meeting of ELCA camp and conference center leaders. They had arranged for Loren Mead, author of "The Once and Future Church" (among many others) to come and talk with us about the place of faith based camp programs in the 21st Century. While many secular camp programs are doing well, church camp is struggling. Loren is an expert on the subject of paradigm shifts (don't roll your eyes!) and the church. Paradigm is simply a shared set of values or beliefs. So a paradigm shift happens when a culture's (large or small) shared set of values change. In the last 50 years we have been in the middle of a massive paradigm shift. The least comfortable place to be during such a time is in the middle of the shift. It's stable at either end but it's hard to find stability in the middle.

You'll note I said leaders from ELCA camps. You may also be aware that I am neither on a camp staff nor am I Lutheran. Our local ELCA camp happens to employ my wife and I serve in a couple roles as a volunteer there. The subject sounded very interesting so I asked if I could tag along and they agreed. It occurred to me though that I wasn't quite sure how to present myself to the larger group. In the end, while I put my link with the ELCA up front, I was clear that I was primarily employed by the Episcopal church. My favorite short version is to tell people I'm a "Lutherpalian". By the second day (the meeting started on Monday and we came home on Thursday) it didn't really matter. They accepted me quite warmly.

What I learned at this meeting will take a while to percolate down through my brain. It was interesting. Loren is a wonderful person who fulfills the role of consultant the way it ought to be filled. Besides that he said some very nice things to me personally! I think it amused him to find another Episcopalian at the conference (Loren is an Episcopal priest).

What really struck me was how the sojourner in their midst was treated. There's a clear instruction in the Scriptures that sojourners are to be treated well. I was treated as a welcome and valued member of the community. They listened thoughtfully to my offerings and seemed to find them worthwhile. At the end of our time together I was told (by several folks) that I was welcome to continue to come to those meetings. I am now "family" and a sojourner no more. That's how faith-filled community is supposed to work.

And that's a very special feeling indeed. My thanks to my new "family" from places like LCLC, Lutherlyn, Calumet, Bear Creek and the other camps whose names escape me at the moment.

Peace

From the Man Who Hates Everything

No that's not me in the title but a very good friend of mine. He works in Hollywood and offers a funny look at where the film industry may be headed:

Dateline, July 17, 2014. With the Writer's Guild strike in the middle of its seventh year, and talks suspended after a food fight broke out between the sides at the last negotiating session, Hollywood faces the final crisis of the strike. For though the TV networks have changed and survived, unproduced film scripts are about to run out.



Read the rest (and more) here "The Last Script in Hollywood"

The Golden Compass

And so it begins again. The furor that we saw some Christians making over the Harry Potter books and movies has resurfaced with Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" and the other books of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

The books have won some of the highest honors out there in the publishing industry (the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread award among others). They are also part of his deep seated disdain of Christianity. I've read them and thought they were well written. But they also offer a challenge to my deeply held belief system. To be honest I have to admit that my enjoyment of the books declined with each volume, as his attacks on God and belief became more violent. As a youth minister novels and movies like this are fertile ground for questions and study. I do not believe we best serve our young people by either ignoring or attempting to ban these stories. Much better we confront them (the stories,not the youth!) and discuss what we see as wrong rather than screaming "Heretic" and "Blasphemy" from the steeples.

The best answer to this comes from Jeffrey Overstreet who served "Christianity Today" as their film critic for a long time. As with any critic I don't always agree with Jeff but I respect his knowledge of film and the depth of his faith. He offers a great response to most of the common questions in his column:
"Questions I've been asked, Answers I've given"

In the best of all possible worlds there would not be books that attack and demean ideas and institutions about which we care deeply. You may have noticed that we do not live in the best of all possible worlds. My great concern is how often we as people of faith do far MORE damage to our beloved institutions and beliefs when we lash out wildly. I have no respect or time for people who will condemn a book or a movie while proudly announcing that they've never read/seen it. We are all allowed to decline to view something because we don't believe we'll like it. There's a difference between an opinion and an intelligent opinion.

Peace

More from my home in faith

My friend Lee got me started on these then I got distracted. So here's another look at part of my home parish. This is the old baptismal font. A few years back our interim wanted to move it to the more theologically/traditional correct place by the main doors in the back. Some of us tried to point out that there was no place back there to move this thing and that it would make the congregation have to turn and stand backwards in the pews for baptisms. He didn't see that as a problem (we did. I will note for fairness sake that I liked our interim and I think he did a wonderful job. We just a few disagreements along the way) What finally dissuaded him was the fact that it was cemented to the floor where it is! So there it remains. It is my habit (I can't explain why) to touch the angel on the wing as I pass by after taking Communion.

If you're looking for a sense of scale that's a grand piano visible in the back. It sits about 6-8 feet from the wings.

Peace

Prayers for children?

H/T to the folks at Youth Specialties for pointing this one out.

What might children hear in a bedtime prayer?
This is from comedian Tim Hawkins


Peace

Pittsburgh 3 Miami 0

Yes, that was the most ridiculous, absurd, horrible football game I've ever watched. It was a train wreck, not so much because the teams were incompetent but because there was so little they could do about any of it. That field was wretched.

In the end I'll take the results.

Oh, quick update on my football pool. I'm doing better (except when my beloved Steelers mess me up by losing to the JETS of all teams). But this was a tough week, I got 9 of 16 games right for 100 out of 136 points. So my points per pick was pretty good.

H/T to Kevin Boddecker for this one:


Yeah, that actually makes a lot more sense.

Peace

Back from vacation

I took the parts of last week that weren't already holidays as vacation and swore to myself that I wouldn't do anything that was related to work. This blog is an interesting question since it started as a "ministry" blog but has grown to be something larger/different than that.

Time away was good, I'm hoping I can continue to expand on some of the energy that was generated.

In the meantime:

What Social Status are you? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Middle Class You're content in your position and would prefer a house or a family than a seven figure pay cheque. But you have your moments of weakness when you buy a lottery ticket in the hope of knowing how the rich and famous live. Middle Class 88% Lower Class 50% Upper middle Class 46% alternative 29% Luxurious Upper Class 29%

I'd say this is fairly accurate. I do buy lottery tickets because as the tag line used to say "Hey, you never know". Money, in and of itself, isn't evil. If you're thinking "But the Bible says that money is the root of all evil" then go back and read it again(1Timothy 6:7-10). Money is a tool and a very useful one. Tools can be misused but that doesn't make the tool evil. My hope is that I would be able to use that tool well. For me and my neighbors.

I'm just sayin'.

Peace

Why I love Youth Specialties

This is Tic and Marko, two "important" guys from Youth Specialties.
Two guys with serious reps in youth ministry.
Two guys who still get it.
These guys are my heroes (and yes even with the little bit of "off color" in the video. It's not a big deal to me but it may be to some so you have been warned)



Is it just me or does Marko have a look on his face that says "I can't believe I'm doing this in front of a couple thousand people?" But in true junior high ministry fashion he just goes for it.

Peace

On humbleness

Like many people here in the blogosphere I have a list of blogs I read on a regular basis. This morning while checking in at Grandmere Mimi's site Wounded Bird I came across this little test for your blog. So I tried it. Oh, how I wished that I hadn't when I saw this result:
My first reaction was to be angry, then depressed. It seemed to be saying that I wasn't a very good writer.

And that hurts. I will admit to thinking that writing is among my gifts and to confess that I even carry a little bit of pride about the quality of what I create.

Apparently I was wrong.

Then I went back and looked at what the site said it tested. It says "What level of education is required to understand your blog?". It doesn't show anywhere what the standards are for that classification. Is that I don't use big words? Is it passing judgment on the quality of the ideas or the style of writing? Don't know. Doesn't say.

It didn't make it any easier when I checked back at Mimi's and discovered I was the ONLY person to score at the elementary school level. Mimi assures me that I can keep visiting her place despite my low score.

As I thought about it more I realized how much my pride was involved. What difference did it make that some site, using God only knows what standards has put this rating on me? Is it really desirable to have a blog that requires a "Genius" level to understand it? More importantly am I unhappy with what I've written? What kind of response have I gotten from those of you who stop by?

The answer is I'm quite happy with what I've written. I'm not trying for deathless prose (trying for it invariably means you fail. It either happens or it doesn't). I've been deeply flattered through the years with the mostly kind comments I've received from my readers. I don't think I've embarrassed myself or my ministry with my writing here.

So I'll keep doing what I'm doing, glad that my writing is accessible to virtually anyone. I'll keep trying to write well without any attempt to writing pretension.

I'm a simple guy using simple words to talk about a simple walk in faith.
And that's OK.

Peace

Football makes me crazy!

Well my football pool got hammered this weekend. Going into tonight's game I'm 6-7. Yuck. And I thought both the Bills and the Steelers were really going to put a damper on my day but they pulled it out.

I saw a movie in the theater the other day! Can't remember the last one of those. It was on the recommendation of my favorite daughter and was pretty cool.

Across The Universe Someone compared it to "If Moulin Rouge and Hair had a child..." and that's probably pretty close. The story really revolves around the Beatles music (there are 30+ in the film)it's set in the '60's during the Viet Nam war. The main characters are Jude and Lucy (Beatles, Beatles, Beatles!)and the story is pretty straight forward. Bono, Eddie Izzard, and Selma Hayek makes cameos. The audience was almost entirely late HS/college age plus us older folks. It was really a lot of fun and great to sing along with (quietly of course!)

Stranger Than Fiction Let's be up front here. I don't like Will Ferrell, I generally don't think he's funny. "Anchorman" was OK (funnier than I expected), everything else is crap (apologies to the language sensitive). But I really liked this movie. Reminds me of Jim Carey in "The Majestic", toning it down and actually doing some acting. Now Carey's fans hated "The Majestic" and so he's gone back to doing his "thing" and I expect that this will be the same. But it's a wonderful sensitive movie that's funny and touching and well done.

And a book I read:

At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. Don't ask me why I read this. It's a NYT best seller but essentially it's a romance novel and I don't read romance novels. No one remembers how it got into our house but the cover looked interesting and I needed something to read. It's well written, kinda funny, very touching and yes I read the whole thing. I'll probably never pick up another book by Sparks (the plot was really simple and obvious. I'm astounded to see some people call the ending a "surprise"). But I did enjoy it.

I dumped several of the books I listed before, they just weren't grabbing me. So I'm reading an old friend - The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. Great books.

Peace

Oh Yeah.

You are 100% Pittsburgh.

Great job! There's nooooo doubt about it. You're from Da Burgh. You deserve a reward, so go have an Ahrn City or two. And GO STILLERS!

How Pittsburgh Are You
See All Our Quizzes

Pink Think

This is my column from the November edition of our diocesan newspaper. This finally gets me caught up! Kudos to my Canadian friend Dan for the story

I need to be honest up front. I've never been a fan of pink (the color not the singer). It's not a color I look good in. Over the last couple decades I've seen pink become a color that was no longer a “girl” color and many more men wearing pink and looking pretty good in it. For me personally it remains at the very bottom of the favorite colors list.

So what's with all this “pink think”? A friend in Canada pointed me to a story from back at the beginning of the school year. Two seniors at a high school in Nova Scotia heard that a 9th grader had been harassed early in the school year because he wore a pink shirt to school. A group of bullies decided to give this young man a very hard time, just because they didn't like the color of shirt he chose that day. Those two seniors (David Shepard and Travis Price) decided they couldn't let that slide. They went out and bought about 50 pink shirts at a discount store, got in touch with all their friends and asked them to wear the shirts as a protest against bullying.

What happened was astounding. All 50 shirts were claimed. Dozens of other students came dressed in their own pink shirts, dyed their hair pink, rode to school on pink bicycles. One male student bought a pink dress and wore it to school, another was dressed in pink from head to toe. The original bullied student was stunned by the support he saw when he walked into school that day by all accounts. They described the scene as a “sea of pink”.

The story doesn't end there. Within days other schools in Nova Scotia picked up the idea and hundreds of students came to their schools in pink. It's become a symbol for the desire of the young people to have peaceful schools.

So what does this have to do with youth ministry in western New York? I think they're a great role model for the young people of our diocese. They didn't wait till their parents or youth leaders or clergy or teachers or some rock star told them to do something. These young people saw injustice, refused to accept it and stepped forward to take a stand against it. David Shepard has a great quote “I’ve stood around too long and I wanted to do something “.

The challenge for the church is to make sure we're preparing our young people to look at the world prepared to change it.

The challenge for our young people is to have the courage to “wear pink”.

Peace

Thinking about Thinking

This was my column from the SEPTEMBER issue of our diocesan newspaper. Not sure how I missed posting it. I'll have the November column (I had no October one) later this week

I've been thinking about thinking. Our country has a long history of suspicion of people who “think too much”. Our current consumer culture works our emotions to insure that we DON'T think, just buy, buy, buy. In fact I believe that the current trend to create more and more rules, guidelines and standards is part of a movement to avoid thinking. Some folks simply want us to do as we are told, supposedly in the name of greater order, justice or truth. I think (oops, there's that word) we need to think about that.

One of the problems with that mindset is that it goes against what faith teaches us. Literally from the time of the disciples people have been frustrated because Jesus insisted on making us think. The most common examples are the parables.

Quick note on parables. A parable is a short story designed to teach a lesson. Parables have been around for a VERY long time. Jesus taught using parables at least 30 times. Despite the simplicity of the stories some (many, most?) of the parables have caused confusion. Over the years of reading I've come to the conclusion that being puzzling is part of the point. Not because Jesus was trying to hide things from us but because he wants us to think.

Some of them, like ones about sheep or farming or vineyards, can be confusing because I grew up in the suburbs and don't know anything about that stuff. But it's not just me. There are enough instances of the disciples coming back to Jesus asking for an explanation to help me feel not quite so stupid. Jesus used images that would have been pretty familiar to folks in that time and place. But he used them in ways that turned them on their heads, forcing his listeners, then and now, to look at them differently. One of the challenges we face is that we've heard some of these stories so many times (The Prodigal Son, The Good Samaritan as examples) that we're tempted to stop thinking about them. We know what they say, we don't have to think about them. Doing that means that we don't let them really sink in and affect our lives.

OK, now I'm just going to flat out steal from Jesus. In the Parable of the Leaven (you'll find it in chapter 13 of both Matthew and Luke) Jesus talks about a little bit of something simple getting mixed in with the everyday stuff and helping it grow. If you don't mix the leaven (leaven is a bit of bread dough that's been allowed to ferment. It was used to help bread expand when baked) you'll get a little bit of surface change but not much else. Thinking is the mixing in of that little bit of something to change the whole thing. Thinking takes you to questions like “What does that really mean?” and “How does/should that effect me?”. It can take you to some uncomfortable places but it will help avoid even worse ones.

Thinking is a great gift from God. Like all gifts it needs to be treated carefully. Clearly God wants us to exercise that gift. That's why Jesus didn't just hand us a new set of standards, guidelines and rules. He told us stories. Stories designed to make us think.

Peace