[{"content":" About Me # Pinakidion is greek word that means \u0026ldquo;writing tablet\u0026rdquo;. It appears once in the New Testament in Luke 1:63. This is a part of my name story. Read the verse and the rest of this page and you’ll understand the name of the site in a second way that is more personal to me.\nThis site serves as a writing tablet for my journey in life. Much of that journey involves my faith, but in recent years it has grown to encompass my interactions with deaf culture as well as my adventures as a father, husband, writer, and a geek. Going forward, these are the things I will write about. I also hope to put together some Christian resources. Truth be told, it\u0026rsquo;s more for me than anything, but I\u0026rsquo;m happy to share whatever I can.\nOn this site, I\u0026rsquo;ve written quite a bit about my faith as well as my thoughts on a particular denomination, the International Churches of Christ. I became a member of the ICoC in April 1991. In April 2006, I requested that I be removed as a member of the local ICoC, though I still worship there to this day. This put me in an odd position in that I was not an official or legal member of the congregation, yet I performed as a member in every other regard. At the time of my resignation, I intended to eventually worship elsewhere. I have since decided that I want to stay here. Without the love of people here, I would have never taken the steps to reclaim my identity and my dignity, both of which I lost during my time in the ICoC in another city.\nI went by John for about 27 years, but that is not the name given to me by my family. My family told me the story of my birth and my name many, many times. My mother still does. My parents love me and though they do not understand my constant insecurity of not belonging, they do everything they can to beat back the darkness and embrace me for who I am.\nIt is better to be loved than to be understood.\nFor what it is worth, the matter of my official or legal membership never became an issue. There are simply more important things in all of our lives. I think that I am an official member now, though I didn\u0026rsquo;t go through any formalized process. I teach adults and Sunday School from time to time. I am welcomed and feel respected here.\nI am passionate about many things, especially in regards to matters of faith. Any criticism is intended to be an expression of how much I care. I will listen and consider whatever somewhere shares.\nThere is a recent movement to examine your faith called deconstructing. Maybe I was ahead of my time as I have been deconstructing since 2003. Then again, even St. Augustine deconstructed his faith at great length. Not everyone that deconstructs leaves their faith behind. A better term for my personal process could be reconstructing.\nI want the church local and global to be a city on a hill despite the actions of many of its architects. This is true inside and outside my denomination. Thoughts and ideas evolve over time, so if you have something to share with me, feel free to contact me.\nWelcome to the site, I hope you enjoy your visit.\n","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"About This Site","summary":"","title":"About This Site","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t plan to delete anything on this site. It is a record of what I was thinking at a given moment in time. I don\u0026rsquo;t remember a lot of things, so I keep all of this around to remind me. It\u0026rsquo;s not a sense of loss, just an attempt to have a memory of the ways I used to think.\nThat may sound strange. It probably isn\u0026rsquo;t, but my brain is inclined to emphasize my perceived differences from others. By others, I mean the entirety of humanity. Yet, I know that my perceptions are not reality. I am unique, but I am human. I bear striking resemblances to my parents and I can even sound Southern when I talk to my biological family. I am curious and I wonder about the bigger questions that billions of people have pondered since the beginning of the species.\nThis site may never have a follower count about ten, but it will continue to be a writing tablet for my thoughts. As I get older, I have decided that my inability to express myself because of the harm I may cause is of less importance to dealing with the increasing frustration of being silent.\nI offer these thoughts humbly. I do not presume to be correct. If you believe differently, I look forward to what you have to say. If I am tracing symbols into an empty void, then at least I have voiced something that I need to set free.\nSee you Space Cowboy\n","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2021-11-10-going-forward/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Going Forward","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/life/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Life","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/semithought/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Semithought","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/words/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Words","type":"tags"},{"content":"The chorus of a song that came to me in the shower this morning:\nI belong.\nMy brain is wrong.\nCuz\u0026rsquo; I belong.\nYea, I belong.\nI belong.\n","date":"3 January 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2020-01-03-i-belong/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Belong","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 January 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/shower-thoughts/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Shower-Thoughts","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 January 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/song/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Song","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 July 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/faith/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Faith","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"30 July 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/family/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Family","type":"categories"},{"content":"I must confess that I believed I would begin to post more here when I last wrote four years ago. It seems I\u0026rsquo;ve developed a pattern of starting and stopping here more than my gaming blog.\nI updated the About page to reflect my current circumstances. Outside of that, I feel the passion to write more here, but have not found the time.\nLast year, I taught a class on Revelation. In the time since, I have rethought my entire premise. I would like to completely redevelop the entire class using allusions from the Old Testament instead of a chart of deciphering the symbols. I believe that there is more to be gained by the parallels of Isaiah 6 and Revelations 5 than determining the identity of the anti-christ. Sure, I believe it\u0026rsquo;s Nero, though and Origen didn\u0026rsquo;t really believe that.\nI want to publish all my books of the Bible studies and consolidate my public speaking recordings as well. I am reading other Christian books again after a long hiatus. I am especially excited about Bonhoffer\u0026rsquo;s Ethics. The fact that he was one of the first to tell the Allies about Jewish people being deported to death camps fascinates me. His culture did not determine his actions. He didn\u0026rsquo;t finish the ethics book, but I look forward to his thinking process.\nOutside of that, I have teenagers now. It is an exciting time. I enjoy them as who they are. I do not long for them to be little children again, but appreciate the relationship we share in the present. I miss the younger days, but I eagerly look forward to them becoming purposeful adults that can make positive change in the world.\nHopefully, this will not be a lonely post to languish for another set of years, but a new start. See you around!\n","date":"30 July 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2019-07-30-has-it-really-been-over-four-years/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Has It Really Been Over Four Years?","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"11 April 2018","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2018-04-11-thoughtful/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thoughtful","type":"posts"},{"content":"It has been almost 18 months. A lot has happened.\nOne of the best things to happen was that my CPAP machine was recalibrated. I have alept well for 6 nights in a row. That is the most I have slept in years.\nThe odd thing is that I am aware of my nightly dreams again. It has been so long, I had forgotten what it was like.\nSince I remember my dreams now, I feel at peace. Biologically, I know that my brain is finally sorting out the days\u0026rsquo; events and processing whatever thoughts and perceptions hurled themselves at me.\nIt feels good to have an unburdened mind.\nIn Joel 2:17 it says that in the last days, God will pour out his Spirit on his people so that even the old men will dream dreams again. I feel closer to this verse now than to the fevered and worried dreams for the past few years.\nI am beginning to believe that a lot of my mental issues and stress were caused by a lack of brain processing and a severe aleep deficit. It would explain why I could never make much progress on the simplest question my therapist asked me.\nWhy are you here?\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I still have much to work through. The biggest issue is being at peace with my past. Specifically this means the people I hurt and the doctrine I have since left behind. I feel good about now and I do not agonize nearly as much about the future or the past.\n1 Peter 3:15 says to be prepared to give an answer to your hope. I am not in persecution like the audience of 1 Peter, but I do feel compelled to give a reason for what I believe and why. I believe some things that are fundamentally different than the doctrines of my denomination. Some would consider these disputable matters, others would not.\nI do not feel threatened, nor do I feel ashamed.\nMay God answer my prayers for peace in my heart and help in knowing His will.\n","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2015-07-22-back-from-a-long-lapse/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Back from a long lapse","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/faith/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Faith","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/future/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Future","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hope/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hope","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/love/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Love","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/peace/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Peace","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 July 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sleep/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sleep","type":"tags"},{"content":"This morning, I find myself listening to some Peter Gabriel music. I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved his music and enjoy listening to it on YouTube when I can.\nI started this morning with Digging in the Dirt. I had not heard it in quite a while and I forgot the power of the words. When he talks about finding all the places of hurt, it reminded me of life at the present moment.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I\u0026rsquo;m not a sad emo boy wailing to the world. I have a great life and a wonderful family. I have the life, in many ways, that I always wanted. It\u0026rsquo;s not perfect, but I sleep at night content.\nHaving said that, I have areas of my life where a lot of hurt has been buried by time, denial and various methods of medicating my feelings. I have been digging through the areas with the help of a trained professional. For reasons obvious to those that know me, he or she is not a member of my denomination.\nI get upset sometimes at things my wife or kids are doing. My feelings are out-of-proportion to their actions. Knowing that helps contain my reactions, but the feeling are just as strong. Sometimes I get really tired of all the intense emotions I get. I feel burned out.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve found that I was created this way and it is not due to some error on God\u0026rsquo;s part. I may not always like it, but I can choose to embrace it. The fact is, that I am passionate about a lot of things. I have attempted to embrace something akin to Buddha\u0026rsquo;s Middle Way, but attempting to deny a good thing placed into me only causes more pain.\nBeing passionate doesn\u0026rsquo;t entitle me to yell or otherwise be a jerk. Wheaton\u0026rsquo;s law still applies, not just online. Being passionate is also not an excuse to tune out those with whom I disagree. Being passionate simply means that I care a lot. Expressing that care and concern with energy and respect is not a sin, a crime or an extreme. It is who I am and it has taken me a lifetime to come to terms with that.\nWhat does this have to do with the song?\nI think of the verse that says \u0026ldquo;The man of God avoids all extremes.\u0026rdquo; Some translations say that the man of God embraces both extremes. Either way, this verse has been a cudgel I\u0026rsquo;ve used in the past to whip myself into believing that I am caring about something more than I should. I\u0026rsquo;ve told myself that I am being unspiritual and unhealthy when I get passionate about a particular person, place, thing or idea. It is a misuse of the Bible, primarily due to the fact that it is being used as a weapon against a person, in this case, me. As the apostle Paul said, \u0026ldquo;We do not wage war against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.\u0026rdquo; Eph 6:12\nI was trained to use the Bible to create self-inflicted wounds and to wound others. The intent was to help ourselves and others with sin, the method, however, left a wake a broken lives. I WILL NOT BE BROKEN.\nI hurt others by making them feel stupid and morally corrupt at the smallest things. Again, misinterpreting \u0026ldquo;iron sharpens iron\u0026rdquo;, I justified this in two ways; I treated others as I treated myself (Love you neighbor as yourself) and I wanted to help them be more godly (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.) Looking back, I am surprised how easy it is to create an endless loop of self-referential verses to justify just about anything.\nWhat I did was wrong. Those who trained me are also wrong. Jesus made clear that he would not break \u0026ldquo;a bruised reed\u0026rdquo; and that he was \u0026ldquo;humble and gentle of heart.\u0026rdquo; The situations that require a rebuke are vastly and tremendously outnumbered by situations that should be handled with asking questions with a compassionate heart. I have to pray through this quite a bit \u0026ndash; the old patterns are so hard to shake, even after more than 10 years of effort, prayer and fasting.\nI grieve for my sin against others and my lost innocence.\nThe battle continues, but not against myself. I am grateful for the help of many to see life in a new and freeing way. I am happy to enjoy my life and look at all the good things I have despite my circumstances. I can have joy because my God-given passion for life is no longer being used against my soul, but for the encouragement of others. I\u0026rsquo;m not perfect, but I am free.\nThe next song in the queue was Solsbury Hill.\nSo much there, but let\u0026rsquo;s just say that I have thought about the connections I should cut.\nWhen illusion spin her net I\u0026rsquo;m never where I want to be And liberty she pirouette When I think that I am free Watched by empty silhouettes Who close their eyes but still can see No one taught them etiquette I will show another me Today I don\u0026rsquo;t need a replacement I\u0026rsquo;ll tell them what the smile on my face meant My heart going boom boom boom \u0026ldquo;Hey\u0026rdquo; I said \u0026ldquo;You can keep my things, They\u0026rsquo;ve come to take me home.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"20 July 2013","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2013-07-20-music-and-the-window-to-the-soul/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Music and the Window to the Soul","type":"posts"},{"content":"No, I\u0026rsquo;m not in the picture, but my son did get to meet the Fire Chief of the city. My son was wearing his full fireman outfit including boots. Why on earth didn\u0026rsquo;t I have a camera to take pictures?!\nService Project for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure I know what some of you may say. Have I sold-out (in all meanings of the word)?\nMaybe I have. I\u0026rsquo;d like to provide a thoughtful response to that question, but I know what it sounds like. It always sounds like the answer is yes.\nNext time, I\u0026rsquo;ll be more involved to help out the logistics. We had some minor issues that complicated certain aspects. Why will I help? Because the Fire Department wanted to do this project before he knew the church I attend wanted to do anything. Point is, someone was going to do this project and for the sake of my children, I\u0026rsquo;m glad it was us. My family does a lot of deaf and hard of hearing awareness projects and those are wonderful. However, I really want my son to be a part of something where he is a participant, not a beneficiary. When he met the Fire Chief and climbed on a real firetruck, it was a beautiful moment indeed.\nNext time the free smoke alarm project will be bigger and we will be coordinating with other churches in the city. I look forward to that. Again, there are enough things we as a family do with the larger fellowship of believers that I want the children to see that we do the same thing at our church, too. They both love church very much and I really want them to see that, when we choose to serve, no one fights for ownership. Instead people come together for the common good of others.\nMore important than my personal ramblings, people were helped. It\u0026rsquo;s dry this winter and there are lots of fires just in January alone. The dusting of snow today doesn\u0026rsquo;t help very much, but the hope that loss of life is minimized does help. Until another four months pass, that\u0026rsquo;s all the news that\u0026rsquo;s fit to type.\n","date":"17 January 2012","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2012-01-17-recent-project-with-the-family/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recent Project with the Family","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been some time. I must confess that I didn\u0026rsquo;t think it would be this long. I\u0026rsquo;ve taught some classes and there have been blessing all around. There has also been great sadness. A friend was shot and killed this week while at work and another friend is facing his second great battle for his life. Longfellow said that into everyone\u0026rsquo;s life a little rain must fall. I think the poem says a lot about my present feelings. I find that faith is no longer an albatross around my neck. Instead, it has become a great comfort. I tend to worry about things that are out of my control. Into this worry, a good passage and a ton of faith go a long way to refresh my soul. There are times I still feel burned out, but there are more times that I feel tired from many good things that happened from the day. I hope it will not be another four months til I write again.\n","date":"15 October 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-10-15-a-third-of-a-year/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Third of a Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"Typically, I\u0026rsquo;m a person that enjoys starting projects, but not very good at finishing them. I\u0026rsquo;ve tried everything from GTD, ZTD (like Getting Things Done, but with Zen as the first word), Franklin Covey and a host of others. Yet, I have little to no success in completing a project.\nI\u0026rsquo;d like to think that it is a function of being an eternal optimist. Beautiful as that thought is, though, the issue is simply that I am lazy.\nSo, I thought a while before I titled something Starting Over because I find that I post something like it about every 10 months.\nStill, there is something outside of me that is motivating the change this time: my son. He has really latched on to the idea that the food panty in our little church needs to feed other children. He consistently wants to bring food to it, despite what I might consider a lack of money.\nOn Sunday, he brought a box of pasta. This wasn\u0026rsquo;t the 98 cent box, but the stuff he likes - the comparatively pricey multi-colored, vegetable based pasta. At the store, he chose penne pasta for the pantry because that is his favorite.\nThis week, we are going to the store to bring about $30 groceries to the food pantry, partly due to his eager request. He has a list of things that are \u0026lsquo;missing\u0026rsquo; that he plans to find at our local grocer.\nI used to think about the Bible stories we read every morning and wonder if he understood what he read. Now, I wonder in the other direction. Today, he asked me to forgive him for having a hard heart.\nA bit of context, we don\u0026rsquo;t say I\u0026rsquo;m Sorry much in our house. For things that are not purely an accident, we say do you forgive me for fill-in-the-specific-offense-here? I was expecting to hear Do you forgive me for disobeying you? When I heard him mention his own hard heart, I realized that he heard a lot more of the midweek last week than I thought. Family midweeks aren\u0026rsquo;t usually like that, but it was a surreal night for a lot of us.\nBack to the point, I\u0026rsquo;m starting over again.\nThis time, I\u0026rsquo;m putting away my projects of teaching another adult class, work on the library and some of the Sunday Night service plans. My son wants to build a food pantry, so that is what we are going to do.\nTogether.\n","date":"21 June 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-06-21-starting-over-once-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Starting Over Once Again","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve taken some time recently to re-examine my digital life. It\u0026rsquo;s not a bad thing, but I have discovered that most things I do in my spare time involve being online. The first step in that process involved working through all the items in my Google Reader. During that process, I discovered something fairly startling \u0026ndash; I do not like religious blogs.\nNot only did I drop some rss feeds, but I erased any record in my history or favorites of even more sites that I frequented, but didn\u0026rsquo;t have RSS feeds. A sampling of sites dropped includes:\nThe Thinklings DisciplesToday.org The ICC Discussion Forum Several church websites of various denominations Rob Bell\nI thought that a vast majority would come from within my own denomination, but it seems to be more widespread than that. So far, the only criteria I have is the site had a lot of things that hurt my heart in bad ways.\nWhat that means is that I want to follow someone that hurts my heart in the right ways. Something stirs my heart to change or reconsider (Matthew 18:3). Something hits my heart and gives me an opportunity to take a sober estimate of some aspect of my walk with God (1 Thessalonians 5:8, NAS). Something just rings true that is sad (Ecclesiastes 7:3).\nIt\u0026rsquo;s no mystery to anyone that knows me that various Church of Christ sites hurt my heart in bad ways. No sense in detailing it too much, suffice it to say that I get deeply angry/sad many times reading certain sites. I think the last straw for me came from a thread on the ICC discussion forum about vocabulary. After I posted a few peculiarities that I remembered, the thread author posted a comprehensive list of suggestions.\nSeeing the list of my stilted vocabulary that I used in what I thought was spiritual speech just made me cry. Some items represented words I used to hurt others. A few represented things I saw used against others as weapons instead of encouragement. I don\u0026rsquo;t say this against the thread author in any way - it\u0026rsquo;s the memories I have that hurt, not the list itself.\nBroadening out from that, I saw more hurtful words on other sites as well. Tone is hard to convey in a written medium, but some of the things said in the name of \u0026ldquo;speaking the unvarnished truth\u0026rdquo; was just an excuse for being mean.\nGod is not mean. Mean is not the same as jealous. Rebukes are not mean. There was a time when I would call someone a rank heretic of a psuedo-calvinist stripe, but I hope that I have put those childish things behind me. The point is, that there is enough meanness in the world and I have decided that I do not want to willingly partake in any more mean in the name of God.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s fair at this point to mention that I also got rid of other sites that seem to prey on fear in the name of news. It may surprise you to learn that I tend to get news from Al-Jazeera, Reuters, and one of the local stations in town. Yes, I even dropped the BBC, but that may have more to do with Dr. Who than news. :)\nI\u0026rsquo;m not better than anyone. I\u0026rsquo;ve done the same thing multiple times on this site. It\u0026rsquo;s just that I really cannot intentionally pierce my own soul anymore. My son does not care about Douglas Jacoby being banned from certain churches or repeated calls for a spiritual enforcement mechanism. My daughter is not outraged that Linsday Lohan is not in jail. My daughter could also care less about Rick Warren or Harold Camping or Bart Ehrman. Neither of my children wrestle with the concept of convincing avowed atheists of the logical supremacy of the concept of middle knowledge.\nMy son, upon hearing about earthquakes in Japan, went to his toy workbench and built a machine to make toys for children in Japan that lost their homes. If the water level rise much more, he and my daughter will probably want to help stack sandbags along the Missouri River.\nWhen Jesus said that we had to change and become more like children, I think this is what he meant. For me, I have spent too much time damaging myself for no good reason. I\u0026rsquo;ve become indifferent to the suffering of those around me and to the needs of my family wrestling over matters of no import.\nProverbs 4:23 says Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Today and everyday, I want to choose life.\n","date":"8 June 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-06-08-guarding-your-heart/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Guarding Your Heart","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s good to come home.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be in NC for half of May.\n","date":"29 April 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-04-29-coming-home/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Coming Home","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 March 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/what/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"What","type":"tags"},{"content":"I have read this several times and I still don\u0026rsquo;t know what it means or what I am supposed to understand from this report.\nI have no hidden agenda. This is not a trap. I simply do not understand this. What do you think it means?\nhttp://www.disciplestoday.org/content/view/2762/46\n","date":"10 March 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-03-10-what-does-this-mean/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What Does This Mean?","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/bible/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Bible","type":"tags"},{"content":"I am wrapping up a class that I am teaching that covers all kinds of material about the canon of the Bible. One of the things that folks wanted, however, was something to build their faith, not just a bunch of knowledge. I agreed and so we began a journey together that I hope has been encouraging and enlightening for all.\nHow We Got the Bible is what I called the class at first. Since then, however, we\u0026rsquo;ve talked about all kinds of things. One odd example concerns why I held up Mark 8:24 signs at sporting events when I was in college. Outside of some the the stranger elements, we have also covered topics about how to share the gospel with others, the study of other religions (like Islam, Sikhism, LDS), English translations of the Bible, and what does it mean when two documents have a 3% textual variance between them.\nI\u0026rsquo;d like to think that it was somewhat educational - I admitted up front that some of the material I was presenting was over-simplified. The reason was that we were going to cover a lot of ground in 10 weeks. Still, I\u0026rsquo;d really thing the material is fair and something of value to others.\nTo that end, I hope to post about our classes and share them with everyone. If I had to give the class a title, I would have to go with How We Got Here from There. Each class, \u0026ldquo;There\u0026rdquo; changed from the beginning of time, the birth of John the Baptist, the first English Bible or our individual conversions. \u0026ldquo;Here\u0026rdquo;, however, stayed the same. It is always today. Starting with the beginning of time, how did we get the Old Testament we have today. Starting from 1991 (my conversion), how did I get to what I believe and practice today?\nI gave out a \u0026lsquo;cheat\u0026rsquo; word that was the correct answer for just about every question. That will come next time.\n","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2011-02-14-how-we-got-here-from-there/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How We Got Here from There","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/how-we-got-the-bible/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"How-We-Got-the-Bible","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/new-testament/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"New-Testament","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/old-testament/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Old-Testament","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 February 2011","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/teaching/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Teaching","type":"tags"},{"content":"\u0026lsquo;Twas the night before Christmas, and it\u0026rsquo;s plain to see That everyone\u0026rsquo;s excited by the gifts \u0026rsquo;neath the tree; The stockings are hung by the Fireplace flue, There\u0026rsquo;s one for each person, except Jasper with two; The children are pretending to be sound asleep, But intermittent giggles betray curious feet; Mama is resting with the cat in her lap, He has just settled down for a third evening nap. My body exhausted, my heart full of dread, \u0026ldquo;Some assembly required\u0026rdquo; the packages read., Then out from the basement arose quite a noise, The children ran screaming, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s Santa with Toys!\u0026rdquo;. Quickly I grabbed all the blankets around, The presents aren\u0026rsquo;t ready, they must not be found. When, what to my reddening eyes I behold, Two beautiful children, too adorable to scold. Their questions \u0026lsquo;bout Santa, set my mind off a tick, I needed some answers - and I needed them quick. The children must leave or they\u0026rsquo;ll see broken toys, So I put finger to mouth and asked, \u0026ldquo;Hear that noise?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Up, \u0026lsquo;jammer! Up, Tsojcanth! Move back Mordenkainen! The kids are awake and the neighbor\u0026rsquo;s complainin\u0026rsquo;! The children just laughed and said, \u0026ldquo;Dad you\u0026rsquo;re a hoot! Those aren\u0026rsquo;t their names!\u0026rdquo; but the point was now moot. \u0026ldquo;Up now to bed\u0026rdquo; I said with a smile Daddy will be downstairs for a while.\u0026rdquo; So up to their bedrooms the children they flew, With thoughts full of toys, and their stockings, too. I went to each bed, gave a hug and a kiss I know it\u0026rsquo;s all worth it - their smiling is priceless. With vigor renewed, I descended the stairs and re-read the instructions to make some repairs. Page two of toy one and page one of toy two Had been stuck to each other. Now what would I do?\nChristmas came the next day, there was joy in the house. I got a new game and my wife got a blouse. The children were happy but were never quite sure Of the mogrified thing that was sprawled on the floor. The misshapen lump was just full of surprises, It had five shiny wheels, each of them different sizes. And seats for two kids faced in opp\u0026rsquo;site directions, A flag on the kickstand and a missing midsection. Over its circumference stuck rolls of duct tape, The kids were so grateful, they just stood mouths a-gape. Fueled by my coffee and lack of good sense, I thought I was clever to avoid high expense. Fathers take heed of the price that was paid Don\u0026rsquo;t be a cheapskate, buy the presents pre-made!\nI\u0026rsquo;m grateful to have a warm home full of love, My family and friends are each gifts from above. I hope you are cheered by my fictional plight, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.\n","date":"26 December 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-12-26-its-that-time-of-year/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's That Time of Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"26 December 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/odd/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Odd","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"27 October 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goawayspammers/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goawayspammers","type":"tags"},{"content":"Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the mid-term election, maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the removal of captcha. I dunno. Anyway, they are gone for now.\nInteresting time learning about the prophets last week. Hope to write about it soon.\n","date":"27 October 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-10-27-militant-spammers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Militant Spammers","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"27 October 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/notmuch/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Notmuch","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 October 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/site/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Site","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"27 October 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/supyo/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Supyo","type":"tags"},{"content":"Romans 12:2\nI am sick today and have been for about three days. My wife has taken the kids and largely left me alone in the basement to recover. I say three days, that\u0026rsquo;s how long I\u0026rsquo;ve been completely out of it and in bed. I\u0026rsquo;ve been on autopilot for about three weeks now. I get that way sometimes because of the sleep apnea.\nAfter the children fell asleep last night, my wife shared with me the story of our son and his adventures throughout the day. There was a trip to Michael\u0026rsquo;s (the craft store) where he say lots of stickers and other cool things. He was eager to get all kinds of things. Then there was the trip next door to a huge bookstore. He saw lots of books he wanted. I also learned that they have the mother-of-all wooden train set-ups for children to play with. Both of my children spent a lot of time playing with the trains. After purchasing a few books, they all loaded up to visit a friend\u0026rsquo;s house. My wife had some Hands and Voices business to attend to, but my son knew their son from preschool. There was a bit of time playing before heading over to Whole Foods. At Whole Foods, they got a small treat and headed home. Once home, I watched a Bob the Builder video with both of them before getting ready for bed.\nBeing sick, I didn\u0026rsquo;t notice the oddity until my wife mentioned it to me: He wore a bee costume the entire time.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s one thing to look different in a crowd - my son is used to that because of his ear tags and hearing aid. Wearing a bee costume made him stand apart even more. (That and when he wears it, his hearing aid has to sit on his temple instead of behind his ear - otherwise the feedback is audible at a 30 foot range.)\nAdd to this my son\u0026rsquo;s obvious enthusiasm about bees. He loved bees. He sang songs all day long about how bees make honey. He sang about his love of honey in tea. He sang about how bees get nectar from flowers. He sang about his beautiful black and yellow stripes. He sang about all the virtues of being a bee.\nAccording to my wife, he got some rather odd looks at the bookstore. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that she got a few as well. Personally, I would have wanted to don a bee costume myself and join him.\nIn thinking about it, I know the source of this expression is not rooted in how he sees himself. In other words, my first impression was that he figured that since he looks different anyway, he might as well look *very* different. My son is self-conscious about his hearing loss, but that is not the source of wearing the bee costume. No, he simply loves bees and is not bashful about it. He has no concern about *your* reaction to bees, but it would be nice if you sand a bee song with him. Nothing on earth will diminish his love for bees - in fact, he slept in the costume last night. If he had wanted, I would have let him wear it to church today.\nI want to have the same enthusiasm my son has. Not just about books or games or football, but about God. It\u0026rsquo;s more than being grateful and reprogramming my mind to look to God\u0026rsquo;s blessings and promises instead of the world. I understand that aspect of being transformed by a renewing of the mind. What I\u0026rsquo;m looking for is less deliberate. In addition to that, I would like to simply enjoy God. I want to have the songs. I want the attitude that says \u0026lsquo;join me if you like \u0026ndash; or not.\u0026rsquo;\nUnlike a lot of folks I know, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;ve ever had it. I have a lot of issues that deal with my time in the ICoC (past and present), but this is not one I can attribute to it. Even after my conversion, I was happy and I enjoyed my faith, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t have the songs and I certainly didn\u0026rsquo;t have the attitude. This is a different heart, one I\u0026rsquo;ve never had in my walk with God.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve prayed a lot about wanting something different. I\u0026rsquo;ve prayed a lot about going back to the things I did before because there doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear to be a different goal to strive for. I mean, I know that there is a better way to be a Christian than doing and being what I was from 1991 - 2001.\nNow, I think I know what it looks like.\n","date":"26 September 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-09-26-be-the-unexpected/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Be the Unexpected","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sophistication is the title of one of the chapters of Winesburg, Ohio. The novel itself is one of my all-time favorites. I would love to be able to write a novel just like this.\nI say all this because I often feel inspired by some of the images in the novel. In darker moments, I feel like the man with a pocket full of paper pills. The final story, Departure, resonates with me and my departure from my home town.The Strength of God informs some of my religious history.\nBut it is the story called Sophistication, that compels me the most. It\u0026rsquo;s not so much what happens with Helen White at all. For me, it signals the loss of innocence. It\u0026rsquo;s after George becomes more \u0026lsquo;sophisticated\u0026rsquo; about the world that he decides to leave Winesburg.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve often thought of sophistication as the opposite of innocence. In matters of faith, I can be too sophisticated for my own good. It\u0026rsquo;s true that I do not believe that the earth is 6000 years old. Sometimes I think that Job and 2 Peter got into the Bible by \u0026lsquo;accident\u0026rsquo; as if such a thing was possible. I struggle to reconcile Ecclesiastes and the life of Jesus. What is wisdom, anyway?\nFor all the \u0026lsquo;reality\u0026rsquo; that so-called informed opinions can provide, these things get in the way of simple faith. I don\u0026rsquo;t mean ignorant faith, especially not the blissfully ignorant type of faith. I mean the simple faith where certain parameters of fixed and unchanging.\nGod is love. It\u0026rsquo;s easy to say, but when deconstructing the Old Testament, it is easy to lose sight of this simple fact. Another one is, God does not tempt, we are all tempted by our own desires. James makes it clear, but it is so easy to claim that God is testing us when we feel tempted the most.God does not tempt, we are all tempted by our own desires. It happens more times than I want to admit.\nSometimes reading the Bible brings up all kinds of voices in my mind telling me that some of the fundamentals I believe about God are somehow all wrong. I know that God is not Absent, but I keep thinking about life, trials, and other things in terms of God Being Absent. I know that faith is a communal activity, yet I continue to look for individual expression and minimize (or eliminate!) activity with the body of believers. It\u0026rsquo;s been called Practical Atheism, but that\u0026rsquo;s not entirely accurate because it only describes the external actions. It\u0026rsquo;s the inability to work through sophisticated thoughts.\nI used to pray to stop having sophisticated thoughts (what is middle knowledge anyway?), but now I am going to stop that. Instead I will pray to work through these sophisticated ideas.\nThis was brought on by watching my son. He is almost five and has developed a very sophisticated manner of speech for a child his age. Much less, a hard of hearing child his age. His IEP had a goal of using the passive voice in a spoken sentence. He does. His vocabulary is quite large. He can tell a complex story involving multiple characters. His fantasy world is much richer than mine.\nI enjoyed him as a toddler and an infant. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong. I just thought he was a real joy. Now, though, I find that I really enjoy his abilities with words and language. I like that he can understand certain social situations easily. There\u0026rsquo;s something about his sophistication (there\u0026rsquo;s that word again) that draws me to him. I enjoy him, just as he is.\nAnd so I like to think that God enjoys me, too. Despite the sophisticated thoughts in my head, God enjoys me, one of his creations.\n","date":"14 September 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-09-14-sophistication/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sophistication","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 September 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sophistication/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sophistication","type":"tags"},{"content":"Looking for something in the previous post, I was surprised by the dreams I had last year, 2 years ago, 4 years ago, 7 years ago. There is not a lot of consistency in them. It is tempting to look back and think that God has somehow not been with me because none of those dreams have come true.\nHowever, it occurs to me that I am quite simply trying to chase my dreams instead of God\u0026rsquo;s. This isn\u0026rsquo;t a guilt thing at all, just a sober assessment. I\u0026rsquo;ve said it before (but can\u0026rsquo;t find the post at the moment) that a lot of my life has been a series of decisions I thought were made for God, but were really made for my own happiness. A recent sermon echoed this thought; maybe God isn\u0026rsquo;t blessing your dreams because they\u0026rsquo;re yours and not God\u0026rsquo;s. Trust me, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t the kind of sermon that said \u0026ldquo;God\u0026rsquo;s dreams = world evangelisation in one generation\u0026rdquo; In some ways, it was the opposite, and that was encouraging. It made me think that I can dream for so-called spiritual things again. My life doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be a gaming project, a writing project, a computer project, home-schooling the children and managing a house.\nWhat do I dream of? I dream of peace. I dream of a group of people saying that it was only God that brought a divided neighborhood together instead of a snowstorm, a murder, an accident, or some other tragedy. I dream of being able to read the Bible and hear God\u0026rsquo;s voice and not my own or the voices of the past. (This goes back to my Pat Robertson days, not just the ICoC.)\nOutside of that, I want to sit down and dream. Will there be an unconference online? Will there be a coming together of the lost generation? Will there be a book table at my local church? I\u0026rsquo;d love to run one.\nWhat is possible? I\u0026rsquo;m sure that lots of things are possible beyond my meager imaginings.\n","date":"1 September 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-09-01-dreams-hope-and-other-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Dreams, Hope and Other Things","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dream/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dream","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mywifeisgreat/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mywifeisgreat","type":"tags"},{"content":"I want to teach my son about hospitality and inviting people to your home. Every six weeks, we have a playgroup for children 0 to 5 that are deaf/hard of hearing. We volunteer for a service organization and do a lot of work for them.\nStill. I want him to know that it is a godly thing to have people over to your house to talk about God. I want him to see church as a community, not a Sunday/Wednesday place we go to.\nMy wife encouraged me to have people over to just read the Bible. That is what helps me most, discussing the Bible. Here is a passage, what do you think it says? What does it mean to you? How does this fit into the context of Christian belief? You get the idea. I have a good friend that will do that with me, but I still hope for a group to do it.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not a replacement for the small group I\u0026rsquo;m in - that\u0026rsquo;s not the point. The small group I\u0026rsquo;m in is very supportive and encouraging to me. I am loved and I can express love back. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to replace them at all.\nAs much as I want it to be for my son, I can\u0026rsquo;t shake that this is really for me. Truth is, it probably is just for me. My wife says that is not a bad thing. She trusts my heart that I am looking for ways to enjoy my Bible again. She trusts that I am not out to have an evangelistic Bible Talk complete with visitors, studies, potentials and plans to touch the hearts of frequent attendees in a way to push them to \u0026lsquo;study the Bible\u0026rsquo;.\nI want the group to actually study the Bible.\nIn some ways, it seems like this dream from almost four years ago is about to become reality. All of this is certainly in God\u0026rsquo;s hands.\nWhat does the future hold? I am eager to find out.\n","date":"31 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-08-31-open-bible-thursdays/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Open Bible Thursdays","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/openbible/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Openbible","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/thursday/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Thursday","type":"tags"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s not so much the lack of time that prevents me from updating anymore. Two other things contribute more to a lack of posting that anything related to schedule. Those two factors are:\nI am reading instead of writing. My faith has been in a holding pattern for a long time. As you probably know, I enjoy games quite a bit. I love them and I love designing them. As a part of my son\u0026rsquo;s homeschooling, I make a game with him based on the topics he learned that day. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t give make an inventive game, but it is fun for both of us. Anyway, I find myself perpetually reading other people\u0026rsquo;s thoughts on games without adding my own. Worse yet, I take too much time to read and not enough time to create. It\u0026rsquo;s a form of procrastination, I know. As far as my faith goes, that is more difficult to summarize. Many times I feel like I am a walking example of Eccl 7:3. I have a sad face because I feel sad more than I care to admit. I feel sad about many things in life (not just mine), relationships, and faith. In my head, these three aspects of living are not separate, but in my heart, they feel miles apart. I feel lonely and I blame schedule sometimes. My kids do not sleep until 9:30pm, I am always behind in my chores, at least two medical appointments a week for some member of the family, etc. The truth is, though, is that I put other things in my life ahead of dealing with this feeling. Other things feel more important like emotional support for my wife, time with family, etc. I may talk more about that later. But this lonely feeling - more than feeling set apart, but also feeling isolated - is not limited to flesh and blood. I feel lonely because in some ways I miss God. I used to feel like He talked to me all the time, not I feel like we are both just really busy, but try to connect on Twitter when we can. I read what He writes, but because I am not Twitter friends with all His Twitter friends, some of the context is lost. If God has a twitter page, I image some of the archives would look like this. I mention these examples as a shorthand of how I am tempted to misinterpret certain events of the Bible.\n@Job I won\u0026rsquo;t say why all this happened to you. Where were you when the universe was created? @BarakDaJudge This is the second time, will you trust me this time? @all @SaulDaFirstKing has been unfriended. It\u0026rsquo;s the way it had to be. @Jesus For the last time, No. Take the cup. BTW they are all asleep and really sad. @Paul My grace is sufficient for you. That thing you always ask about will always be there.\nIf you are thinking of those God billboards right now, you and I are on the same wavelength.\nAnyway, for me, I keep remembering the last thing I believed was really from Him. @pinakidion What you want requires work, but you are not willing to put in the effort. Still love you. DM me.\nOf course, He is right. I want something that requires a lot of work, a relationship with Him. I want it to be easy, but it will never be that way. I need to struggle with doubt and fear. I need to work through mistrust. I need to store up good things in my heart. I need to continue reading the Bible until I hear His voice, and not the voices of other people. I need to wrestle with my almost automatic ability to be incredibly self-deceived. So where does that leave me? Isolated. Will I put in the effort? I feel like Barak standing on the high ground looking down at a vastly superior army. They have numbers, technology, and training. There is no reason to believe that the Israelites will win except that, for the second time, Barak is being asked to lead God\u0026rsquo;s people to victory. There was a moment where Barak trusted and he led the army down the hills against the enemy. They won.\nThat moment of trust has not occurred for me yet. I hope it happens soon.\n","date":"25 August 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-08-25-a-lot-to-say-and-no-time-to-say-it/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Lot to Say and No Time to Say It","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"13 July 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/good-food/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Good-Food","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 July 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mn/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mn","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 July 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/scenic-cafe/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Scenic-Cafe","type":"tags"},{"content":"I know this is short, but I wanted to include a note about scenic Hwy 61 driving north from Duluth, MN towards the Canadian border.\nStop at the Scenic Cafe to eat. It is wonderful. It\u0026rsquo;s the first seafood that I\u0026rsquo;ve eaten in a restaurant in forever. The herring was good.\n","date":"13 July 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-07-13-visit-to-the-north-shore/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Visit to the North Shore","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"23 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/portal/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Portal","type":"categories"},{"content":"The prairiecomber, my attempt at serialized writing, is back. Although dated two years ago, the main story is Fistful of Diamonds, a favorite of mine. Thanks to 3.0, it is a proper sub-site of pinakidion.* The main advantage is that I now have 1 site to update instead of several.\nThe theme is better suited for writing and reading serials. Anyone else that wants to contribute certainly can.\nMany other \u0026lsquo;sister\u0026rsquo; sites are on the way back as well. This helps to organize and clean up my FTP space in a big way.\n","date":"23 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-06-23-the-prairiecomber-is-back/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Prairiecomber Is Back","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hi-ya/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hi-Ya","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/kungfu/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Kungfu","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lolcatz/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lolcatz","type":"tags"},{"content":"funny-pictures-cat-is-ninja see more Lolcats and funny pictures\n","date":"21 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-06-21-shaolin-kat/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Shaolin Kat","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thank goodness for Skype - it\u0026rsquo;s good to see my Dad on Father\u0026rsquo;s day. In some ways, the world keeps shrinking. I work with a \u0026ldquo;manuscript\u0026rdquo; editor that lives in South Africa. On special days, though, it feels just the opposite. It is still a 24.5 hour drive home and airfare is still prohibitively expensive. I would love to get the sense of touch, especially with my family far away.\nSkype is the next best thing. We can see each other. I can give a tour of the house. I can even show off the new vegetable garden.\nMy wife believes in stretching out a holiday that occurs on a Sunday to span the entire weekend. This means that Father\u0026rsquo;s day is a weekend event, including Friday night. It has been a wonderful weekend so far. I look forward to sharing with Dad everything from Friday and Saturday.\nFriday was my son\u0026rsquo;s last day of preschool and a Father\u0026rsquo;s day celebration. I took the day off to visit. We had ice cream from the ice cream truck and he made a mug for me. He asked me if I would drink my tea with it\u0026hellip;\nIf I had a camera, you\u0026rsquo;d see me drinking from it.\nHappy Father\u0026rsquo;s Day - I really hope that your Father\u0026rsquo;s day is a good one.\n","date":"20 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-06-20-happy-fathers-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy Father's Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"Like a lot of religious words, the definition of repentance varies based upon whom you ask. There\u0026rsquo;s not too many secular uses of the word, though those few define it as regret. The typical Christian definition set it to mean regret and contrition. I come from a background where repentance meant regret and contrition and restitution. I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are many others that believe repentance is something that must be severe.\nLast Wednesday, I came face to face with the most important definition - what it means to me. Once all the argumentation and debate is over, it comes down to a choice. It\u0026rsquo;s one of those Joshua-esque \u0026ldquo;as for me and my household\u0026rdquo; type of moments. When confronted with my own sin, how will I repent?\nThe lesson was about openness. I have to disclose that I was stretching my legs in the pew, looking to make a speedy exit. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t because I was afraid of the topic - it was due, in part, to a promise I made myself sometime ago.\nI said to myself that I would not be party to a good ol\u0026rsquo; confession session any more. I said that I would not let anyone be harmed by these types of meetings, most of all me. I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to know other people\u0026rsquo;s sin - it is too tempting to pass judgment. Unless you sin against me, I don\u0026rsquo;t have any business knowing about it unless you willingly choose to tell me.\nThat was my promise anyway. I ended up breaking it and I told everyone that I was doing it. You see, I was sinning against the entire assembly, so it was everyone\u0026rsquo;s business to know my heart - I was sinning directly against them.\nI attend church in a place full of very caring people. When my then fiancee moved here, a family kept her in their home free of charge for several months until we were married. When I lived in a very bad neighborhood, it seemed like the entire assembly helping my family move. Many gave money for my son\u0026rsquo;s hearing aid on two separate occasions. I am allowed to teach adult Bible classes on Sunday mornings with no review of my material - I am trusted completely.\nYet.\nI did not trust my brothers and sisters. I said that I loved them, but I have been afraid that some unseen force would turn them away from the safe place I\u0026rsquo;ve known for the past seven years. It\u0026rsquo;s one thing to be vigilant and guard against those that would pervert justice and God\u0026rsquo;s mercy - our battle is not against flesh and blood. But I made the battle about flesh and blood. In my arrogance, I sat in judgment of everyone deeming them a contamination risk to my faith.\nI had no reason for this judgment.\nThe question the minister asked that night wasn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;what is your sin\u0026rdquo;. The question he asked was \u0026ldquo;what would you not want this group to know?\u0026rdquo;\nI have other sins. I sin against my family. I omit things from my life that I know are godly. I lie. Those are things that do not bother me for anyone to know. I am ashamed of them, but I\u0026rsquo;ve confessed personal sin for so long to perfect strangers, that it just doesn\u0026rsquo;t phase me to say any of it publicly. It\u0026rsquo;s not a demonstration of any kind of faith, it is inurement to feeling anything at the loss of boundaries.\nNo, I didn\u0026rsquo;t want people that trusted me to know that I didn\u0026rsquo;t trust them back. I apologized and I meant it.. As you would expect from anyone wearing the name Christian - I was immediately embraced and shown continued love. I am truly thankful for being with such godly people.\nRepentance. What does it mean to me? It used to mean the process by which others deemed you broken enough. (Broken enough for what, I do not know.) Repentance goes beyond some feeling or evaluation. Repentance means to stop hurting people, even if you didn\u0026rsquo;t intend it and even if they didn\u0026rsquo;t notice it.\n","date":"20 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-06-20-repentance/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Repentance","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/repentance/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Repentance","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"19 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/upgrade/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Upgrade","type":"tags"},{"content":"Upgraded to 3.0 and moved all the files to a new location on the server. Woot!\nMulti-site seems to work, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\n","date":"19 June 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-06-19-wp-3-is-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"WP 3 is Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mt","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ohnoes/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ohnoes","type":"tags"},{"content":"WP 3.0 is supposed to be the *next big thing*. For one, it will finally have a feature movable type has had for years, multiple blogs under one interface. The WPMU project was not really easy to install.\nAnyway, until then, the big changes are on hold.\n","date":"30 April 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-04-30-waiting-for-3-0/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Waiting for 3.0","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/wp3/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Wp3","type":"tags"},{"content":"I announced on Facebook earlier tonight that I am retiring the pinakidion identity. Since I haven\u0026rsquo;t posted here in three months, I figure that requires some sort of explanation.\nAn old friend of mine asked me if anyone calls me \u0026lsquo;bear\u0026rsquo; anymore. I had to reply that I tried to change my name back, but it\u0026rsquo;s too late. All my friends now know me as John. My wife married me as John. The children know my grown up name is John. Only my parents and brother call me \u0026ldquo;Bear\u0026rdquo; anymore.\nHonestly, I wish I could change that, but it would be even more weird now that the original change almost 16 years ago. So, I will remain John for the time being.\nIt also got me thinking about the identities I use for the many places I visit online. I spent a lot of time being sycarion to my gaming friends, pinakidion to my religious friends outside the ICoC, John to everyone else. I also spent a lot of time keeping those identities separate. I didn\u0026rsquo;t change personalities, but I felt like my gaming friends weren\u0026rsquo;t into religion and my religious friends were not into gaming.\nNow, I just don\u0026rsquo;t feel the need to be separate. I am a religious person and a spiritual person. I hold to certain beliefs that are considered fundamentalists by some. I also love games. I enjoy role-playing games. I love to create worlds with what I perceive was the same deliberation and care as Tolkien did.\nI am also a father of a hard-of-hearing child. I am a husband to a very loving and devoted wife. I am a man wrapped around the pinki of my little girl.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s time for all of these things to converge because all of these things make up who I am.\nThe original goal was to be a writing tablet for my thoughts, hence the name. My thoughts went to some dark and lonely places over the years. I never imagined that I would get the attention I did. Still, I said what I needed to say. In retrospect, I was too mild in some of my criticisms of the ICoC. I was too slow to admit some of my errors. I regret some of the more childish things I did in the name of some sense of righteous indignation. To be certain, it was an eventful journey.\nA couple weeks ago, I met a young man who is a member in another state. A group of college students came here on their Spring Break to \u0026rsquo;evangelize\u0026rsquo; a local campus. Talking to him, I realized that despite certain amounts of \u0026lsquo;filtering\u0026rsquo; and even spin, some of the next generation really get it. I am still encouraged by \u0026ldquo;Unconferences\u0026rdquo; and online meetups and active social projects by younger people. I realized that things will be different in the next few years no matter what.\nI really look forward to it.\nWith all that said, there\u0026rsquo;s no place for pinakidion, a voice of the opposition anymore. That time is gone. Now there is time for me, John Payne, to be a writer, gamer, father, Christian, and faithful son. A part of that is changing this place to be a place for all my writing. Another part of that is being my real name here instead of the worst-kept secret identity. To do those two things, a different community needs to visit here.\nVive la difference!\n","date":"16 April 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-04-16-post-887/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Post 887","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/2010/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"2010","type":"tags"},{"content":"Pinakidion is greek word that means \u0026ldquo;writing tablet\u0026rdquo;. It appears once in the New Testament in Luke 1:63. This is a part of my name story. Read the verse and the rest of this page and you’ll understand the name of the site in a second way that is more personal to me.\nThis site serves as a writing tablet for my journey in life. Much of that journey involves my faith, but in recent years it has grown to encompass my interactions with deaf culture as well as my adventures as a father, husband, writer, and a geek. Going forward, these are the things I will write about. I also hope to put together some Christian resources. Truth be told, it\u0026rsquo;s more for me than anything, but I\u0026rsquo;m happy to share whatever I can.\nOn this site, I\u0026rsquo;ve written quite a bit about my faith as well as my thoughts on a particular denomination, the International Churches of Christ. I became a member of the ICoC in April 1991. In April 2006, I requested that I be removed as a member of the local ICoC, though I still worship there to this day. This put me in an odd position in that I was not an official or legal member of the congregation, yet I performed as a member in every other regard. At the time of my resignation, I intended to eventually worship elsewhere. I have since decided that I want to stay here. Without the love of people here, I would have never taken the steps to reclaim my identity and my dignity, both of which I lost during my time in the ICoC in another city.\nI went by John for about 27 years, but that is not the name given to me by my family. My family told me the story of my birth and my name many, many times. My mother still does. My parents love me and though they do not understand my constant insecurity of not belonging, they do everything they can to beat back the darkness and embrace me for who I am. It is better to be loved than to be understood.\nFor what it is worth, the matter of my official or legal membership never became an issue. There are simply more important things in all of our lives. I think that I am an official member now, though I didn\u0026rsquo;t go through any formalized process. I teach adults and Sunday School from time to time. I am welcomed and feel respected here.\nI am passionate about many things, especially in regards to matters of faith. Any criticism is intended to be an expression of how much I care. I will listen and consider whatever somewhere shares.\nThere is a recent movement to examine your faith called deconstructing. Maybe I was ahead of my time as I have been deconstructing since 2003. Then again, even St. Augustine deconstructed his faith at great length. Not everyone that deconstructs leaves their faith behind. A better term for my personal process could be reconstructing.\nI want the church local and global to be a city on a hill despite the actions of many of its architects. This is true inside and outside my denomination. Thoughts and ideas evolve over time, so if you have something to share with me, feel free to contact me.\nWelcome to the site, I hope you enjoy your visit.\n","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2010-01-14-about-this-site/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"About This Site","type":"pages"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/direction/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Direction","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/drama/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Drama","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/focus/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Focus","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goals/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goals","type":"tags"},{"content":"A belated Happy New Year to all my friends and family.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been pretty easy as of late to be reflective and look forward to the new year. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot of snow on the ground and pretty cold temperatures \u0026ndash; cold for even this area. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a lot of time to be home and enjoy all the wonders that being homebound entails.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been great fun.\nAnd so it is that, as in many years past, I begin to make plans for the coming year. Some of the plans are quite simple - enjoy the new house tax credit, fix the car, buy clothes that fit, invest in a snowblower, etc. See, you must have priorities in order. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that of all the joys of home ownership, shoveling huge snowdrifts is not amongst them. I can say with tremendous accuracy that watching all the neighbors hum along and finish their driveways in half an hour is an experience that should only be endured for one winter. It is not good for the soul to willingly be so tormented by such envy and scorn for their fellow man. It\u0026rsquo;s not like they watched me shovel for four hours and then told me later that they were glad their shoveling days were over.\n- But I digress. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that with so much time to reflect, it is easy get lost in so many fond memories.\nThis evening marked the first men\u0026rsquo;s midweek at church this year. Our minister went to Moscow, Vladivostok and many points in-between at the end of last year. He shared stories and slides with us from his travels, teaching, and trials. It was good to see so many helped by he and Charlie as they traveled to build up several small congregations.\nSome of the things he shared put Mainstream America\u0026rsquo;s materialism into proper perspective. Other tales encouraged us not so much to give more money, but to give to our own community. I hope that all of us, regardless of religious orientation, can do more to give to our communities in 2010.\nAfter service, I talked to several friends about various things. I talked about playing Gloom, doing some dramatic work in worship, and many other topics both large and small. At the end of the night, our minister spoke to me about a small group that might best serve my family and two other couples. I appreciated the encouragement - it would help all of us with small children, especially as we live so close together.\nAs we turned to leave, I shared a struggle that I have lived with for most my life. I struggle to finish things. I have lots of ideas and great enthusiasm at the start only to burn out at the end. Despite years of learning how to plan, measure, seek council, etc, it is still a common thread in many areas of my life. A part of this comes from an ability to do just about anything I want to do. It feels like there are so many choices and so little time. Whereas Jesus did everything well (which I take to mean that he was good at many things, but not necessarily the ultimate in skill at many things) I do many things poorly. My son is hard of hearing and I don\u0026rsquo;t even sign all that well.\nI would like to do one or two things well. I want to make a meaningful contribution to the people around me (even the ones with snowblowers) and to God. At middle age, I am wrestling with the big question I\u0026rsquo;ve wrestled with since I was a teenager - God, what exactly do you want me to do?\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think God is particularly upset or angry or anxious. This isn\u0026rsquo;t coming from a place of shame or guilt. I just want to do something.\nAs I said earlier, I shared this with the minister. I believe that I will take his advice to heart. He told me that I should focus on teaching and some dramatic work. This wasn\u0026rsquo;t just for the church where I worship, though people enjoy my classes. It was a focus on talents that will serve people in many situations.\nOne thing to be clear about: this doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean that this site will be a way for me to do the impact-the-world-for-Jesus-thing. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that I have cornered the market on any amount of wisdom enough to say that I want to have a teaching website. This will remain a place to share about my life. A large part of my life is my relationship with God. As many of my friends know, this relationship spans the gamut of emotions and circumstances.\nWhat is does mean, is that I will have more confidence to teach at the congregation where my family worships together. It also means that I feel a need to finish some writing about the Bible, faith, and other areas of religious experience. Most importantly, it means a deliberate plan of teaching for my family - my biggest fans of all. The children are curious about God. They pray at night and ask about all the pure-hearted things a child ponders. I want them to know God, regardless of their choices later in life.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s hard to resist the temptation to make concrete goals and talk about posting schedules. Instead, I will simply say, that I hope this year will be a thoughtful and somewhat wordy year for pinakidion.* Let\u0026rsquo;s just see where this Jacob\u0026rsquo;s Ladder/rabbit hole will go.\n","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-01-14-happy-new-year-3/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy New Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/happynewyear/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Happynewyear","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/life/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Life","type":"tags"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m happy that my wife has decided to have an online presence. It\u0026rsquo;s not because I think everyone needs to be online, but because of the benefits of a shared community. Throughout the past few years, I have benefited from several online communities.\nTo that end, I\u0026rsquo;ve repaired the long-neglected site, johnandlaryssa.com. This involved an epic battle between Wordpress 2.9 requirements and my hosting company\u0026rsquo;s recalcitrance. The hosting company won, so I had to do a SQL dump of the database, create a new one, re-import the data from the old database. Then I could upgrade to Wordpress 2.9.1. This took a couple hours, but I think it will be worth it. My wife has a lot of great things stored in her heart to share.\nI did the same database swap operation to this site, so now I am up-to-date. Now what is left a a bit of a redux and a few other changes. I\u0026rsquo;m going to add a few pages and redo (version 4) the About Me page. The links are going to be redone as I segregate my interests to separate websites. This will be my religious and non-fiction writing site. This site will also continue to be the central hub of my other websites. Sycarion will be my gaming website (it should also feature a co-author later this year I hope), johnandlaryssa.com will be my family/personal/random stuff site. Study Hall, Advocate, Lenga, and all other subsidiary sites will be shut down and removed.\nAt some point in the year, I hope to have two shorter study guides/books/expositions written. The first one will be the Book of Judges, the second one is undetermined. The second study guide/book/exposition will be determined by whatever is taught this spring. The church where I worship has no planned classes for Spring, Summer or Fall of next year. Three or four years ago, a bunch of us came up with a curriculum of sorts. I hope we can use it as it helps insure that every book of the Bible and major areas of life are covered in five year cycles. Then again, I hope to offer a bit of a technical class to cover things like E-Sword.\nAs an aside, I considered a complete overhaul to the site. I like fresh starts. I tend to think of God as the deity of perpetual new beginnings. It seemed like a good idea at the time. In the end, though, there\u0026rsquo;s no real way to do everything I want to do. Besides, I spent hours customizing this theme. I\u0026rsquo;m kind of used to it.\nLastly, I mostly interact with the online world through my sycarion identity.The only exception to this is Twitter. Still, if you do a Google search on either pinakidion or sycarion, the top 20 or 30 results point to me. I\u0026rsquo;m not hard to find. However, I mention sycarion because most of the sycarion entries in a Google search will point to things I\u0026rsquo;m doing now or in the near past.\nSo here\u0026rsquo;s to a continued great new year in 2010:\nMay the Lord stand between you and harm in all the empty places you must walk.\n","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2010-01-14-more-from-the-front/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More From the Front","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/newyear/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Newyear","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/oddsandends/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Oddsandends","type":"tags"},{"content":"A place for things that might disappear\n","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Pages","type":"pages"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/redux/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Redux","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sycarion/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sycarion","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/twitter/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Twitter","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"14 January 2010","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/wife/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Wife","type":"tags"},{"content":"Bear with me, this is a happy story, really.\nTonight, my daughter and my wife are taking part in a sleep study. My daughter snores worse than I do and most of it is due to the as-of-yet-unamed OAV disorder she, my son, and I share. As many of you know, she had seven surgeries to open the airway behind her nose. What you may not know is that the ceiling of her central sinus cavity prevented the airway from being any wider.\nWhile she is awake, she breathes very well. She runs around like any other two year old. When she is asleep, however, she makes sounds that would just break your heart. It\u0026rsquo;s not just snoring, but I actually can hear her stop breathing at times. My wife and I take turns sitting in the rocking chair next to her bed most nights.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t intend to share all of this, but suffice it to say that all of us are glad that she is finally in a sleep study tonight. Just as an FYI, those of you with sleep apnea may wonder what the treatment is for a small child. It\u0026rsquo;s not a CPAP unless there is no other recourse. After tonight, when they discover her apnea, she will have her tonsils removed. After that, we discuss a variety of options with our pediatrician.\nAnyway, because the house is empty and my son is asleep, I have some rare time to think through and write some extended thoughts. I felt it important to share something I learned this past Sunday that I think can encourage many.\nAt the church I attend, children under 4 are in Sunday School all morning. They have a lesson when the rest of us attend class, but they have free play while the rest of us attend worship service. For my wife, Bible class means attending our son\u0026rsquo;s class and signing everything for him. Our son is pretty verbal and really smart. He could get by without her there. Its just that every other part of his life is signed, so it is important to us that he learn about God through sign as well.\nFor many of our other friends with deaf/hard of hearing children, the issue consisted of finding churches that sign or have a sign interpreter available. Every once in a while, we attend a church with sign interpreters for the benefit of our son. (It\u0026rsquo;s for us, too. It\u0026rsquo;s beautiful to see a hymn performed in ASL.) Still, this is the community where we choose to raise our children. This is the community that I pledged my heart and family to when we dedicated our children almost two years ago. It\u0026rsquo;s true that I teach our family doctrine at home, but I really want this group of people to be the \u0026lsquo;village\u0026rsquo; that helps raise our children.\nWhen money is tight like it is currently, some families throughout the US ask for interpreters and are told no. The main reason cited is cost. Families like this then face a very painful decision. You see, under the American with Disabilities Act, if you ask any place of business or worship to provide an deaf interpreter, they are legally required to provide one. (They are a very few exceptions to this law. Those exceptions are based on the size of the business or congregation.) But what family wants to use the law of the land against their home church? What heartache must exist for those families that felt they had no other recourse?\nPersonally, I believe that using the ADA to force the church I attend to provide an interpreter violates the spirit of 1 Co 6:1-11 and 2 Cor 10:3. Until now, we\u0026rsquo;ve been happy to do it, but for the church to really invest in the spiritual future of our son, something else needed to happen. We want others to be a part of his spiritual life. More than that, my wife needs to attend Bible class for her spiritual life as well. It\u0026rsquo;s tempting to do things the \u0026lsquo;American\u0026rsquo; way and demand our rights, but events unfolded very differently. I think it is a testament to my wife\u0026rsquo;s great hope, perseverance, and hard work that events turned out as they did.\nMy wife and I prayed quite a bit. We decided to ask for a meeting of everyone teaching our son when he graduates to the 4 and 5 year olds. The leader of the children\u0026rsquo;s ministry also wanted to be there. We set a time and everyone came over to our home. Previous efforts to get help seemed to fizzle over time and I must admit that I was praying that we would get at least 50% support.\nWe all prayed together and then my wife laid out the basic needs and issues facing our son. We expressed our gratitude that everyone came over and got to business. I have to say that everyone listened very intently. We explained quite a few practicals and even covered some signs. By the end of our meeting, we got everything we asked for and a couple that would learn sign just to be able to teach the Sunday School lesson to our son.\nWe were very encouraged. Once again, I think it speaks volumes about the amount of love this little congregation has in its heart. We look forward to the future with a lot of hope and joy. Praise be to God whose spirit is working through the hearts of so many.\nThe provide some detail, here\u0026rsquo;s a partial list of practical things our son needs:\nHe needs someone to sign for him in class during lessons.\nNo one can walk or sit between him and the interpreter.\nSongs have to be sung at the speed the interpreter can sign them. (This is change when he\u0026rsquo;s older.)\nEven with the hearing aid, directional hearing is difficult. Everyone must look directly at his face before providing *any* direction.\nThe class needs to understand that our son talks with his mouth and his hands.\nThe hearing aid cannot be near any liquids, it costs thousands to replace and is not covered by any insurance.\nThe classroom has to be as quiet as possible or any benefit from his hearing aid is lost.\nThe interpreter needs to have the lesson ahead of time to learn the proper sign.\nThe Bible stories have to be determined word for word ahead of time so that the sign matches the story. (This is because of the type of sign he learns in school.)\nMemory verses are a special challenge, how can this be addressed without making him the odd duck?\nAs you can see, some of these are no easy task. A class of 4-5 year olds being quiet for an hour? Yet, these and all the others were heartily embraced. Again, thanks be to God for his love shown through his people.\n","date":"2 October 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-10-02-coulda-woulda-shoulda/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/behind/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Behind","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/delays/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Delays","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/didimentionowie/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Didimentionowie","type":"tags"},{"content":"Sprained Knee and 101 fever are no fun together. Ugh. Not fun.\nI am way behind in every area of my life, so it may be a while. MRI tomorrow on my knee. There may be ligament damage, which could require surgery to repair.\nNever a dull moment.\n","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-24-fever-and-ligament-damage-do-not-mix/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fever and Ligament Damage Do Not Mix","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/knee/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Knee","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ouch/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ouch","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/owie/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Owie","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/down/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Down","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fixed/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fixed","type":"tags"},{"content":"\u0026hellip;already in progress.\nFinally removed all traces of bugaboos. Google no longer sees me as an attack site. Twelve hours of work to clean it from my site and all the others.\nSo, next up, the Judges class.\n","date":"21 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-21-now-back-to-our-regular-programming/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Now Back to Our Regular Programming","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/oopsyoubwokeit/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Oopsyoubwokeit","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/site/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Site","type":"tags"},{"content":"Upgraded to latest version of Wordpress 2.8.4. Still looking for any outstanding issues.\n","date":"16 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-16-cleaned-up-website/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Cleaned Up Website","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"16 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hacked/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hacked","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"16 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/notagain/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Notagain","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dead/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dead","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/didimentiontired/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Didimentiontired","type":"tags"},{"content":"I know, sounds like one of the recent parodies of classic literature that adds zombies to the story. In this case, I guess it sounds like zombies plus a Dostoyevsky novel. (Humiliated and Insulted comes the closest, he didn\u0026rsquo;t have a novel with Consequences in the title.)\nAs my friends already know, when I start going on esoteric rants like this, it usually means that I am not feeling well. It\u0026rsquo;s true. I am having a combination insomnia and fever meets sick children plus sick spouse. I originally stayed home today to take care of them, but my wife ended up taking care of me later in the day when I started to get delirious.\nAlways scares me when I get delirious. I enjoy being a bit random and pulling out really weird trivia from out of nowhere. The difference is, that when I\u0026rsquo;m delirious, there is no control. It all rushes out like a flood. Fortunately, it is harmless. Many people don\u0026rsquo;t notice too much of a difference except the occasional \u0026ldquo;did he say what I just thought he said\u0026rdquo;?\nAnyway, I\u0026rsquo;m on the tail end of this one. I should be okay in a couple days. Needless to say, this has delayed any posting here, on sycarion, Facebook (haven\u0026rsquo;t even played FARKLE), Nevermet Press, or Basic Fantasy RPG.\nStill will write about the great class we shared on Judges. I hope to have something up by the weekend.\nPS: In family news, my son tested average development against *hearing* peers. In one area, reading, he scored well above average. I am very proud of him. As noted in the study, he is a very hard-working boy.\n","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-15-disease-and-consequence/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Disease and Consequence","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/diseased/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Diseased","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sick/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sick","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"15 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tired/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tired","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"11 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/judges/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Judges","type":"tags"},{"content":"As promised, here is the beginning of an exploration of the book of Judges. I say exploration because the class was not able to finish due to some unique circumstances.\nStill, to prepare for the rather lengthy post to follow, here is the outline of the first class I handed out to everyone. It\u0026rsquo;s been edited to include other information included in class.\nI plan to cover more in the posts than we covered in class. We had a lot of fun in this class and learned quite a bit thanks to everyone\u0026rsquo;s contributions, not just mine. In fact, a major point was brought up by someone else that completely steered the class in a great direction.\nUntil some lengthy posts come out of editing, here is the handout.\nIntroduction to Judges\n","date":"11 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-11-preview-of-judges/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Preview of Judges","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I mentioned two months ago, I recently taught a class on the book of Judges. I\u0026rsquo;m going to post the exposition over the next few days. It will be fun.\nBecause someone asked, UPC 2.0?\nMaking it shorter doesn\u0026rsquo;t change that it is a contract. I believe a contract is inappropriate for a church community unless it wishes to be a denomination. Being a denomination is not necessarily a bad thing, what is a bad thing is trying to be a non-denomination with the rules of a denomination. Make up your mind, get comfortable with the term, move on. For a temporary agreement, it never seems to go away.\nThe new document is a summary, that means despite intent, 1.0 is in effect. Wishing it otherwise does not make it so. Changing the agreement means that the 1.0 ratifiers or affirmers need to re-affirm 2.0. Calling it summary gets around this, but as stated earlier means that 1.0 is in effect. As such, this is really a supplemental to the UPC, not a separate document.\nBecause the original UPC is still in effect, it\u0026rsquo;s still a bad deal.\nI could pepper and salt this with verses, but that is not really necessary. There\u0026rsquo;s no need to convince anyone, their minds are already made up. Will there be a 3.0? Only if the churches in Atlanta do not affirm this agreement. If churches in Georgia affirm (and it\u0026rsquo;s their prerogative to do so), I really believe that this will finally go away.\nWhy Gerogia? If Douglas Jacoby and Sam Laing are part of official UPC congregations, then one or both can be part of the club again. If not, neither can chair a committee, only serve on it. Personally, I would love both of them to chair a few committees, just to demonstrate the lack of utility the UPC holds.\nNo, I believe that the situation is more complicated than whether or not Georgia (USA) is part of a UPC congregations. There are churches in Europe, mostly smaller ones, that did not affirm. I\u0026rsquo;m sure the intent of the UPC and its supplemental summary is to also strengthen regional groups all over the world.\nIt would appear from the summary that regions need to be able to enforce doctrine and determine membership in the UPC. I do not agree that they have this need, I believe they should serve the same function as the \u0026lsquo;big\u0026rsquo; committees that meet at the ILC. Why does there need to be someone or some group outside of a local congregation that has the power to vote a church in or out?\nI do not believe there is a great conspiracy at work, only a tremendous resistance to change. That inertia will likely become our undoing in the end. This inertia is at work in other areas as well but that is outside the scope of this sidetrack. All I will say is that change is inevitable. It happened in the first century church. It happens in every area of God\u0026rsquo;s creation.\nPerhaps it was vanity to answer here instead of return email. If so, forgive me. I think a part of it was seeing an old friend at church today that I really miss. I know that they are searching for peace with God and in search of a community of believers. I know that the answer is not inside the ICoC, even a congregation that is progressive in some ways like the one I attend. I pray that his or her struggle will end very soon.\nAs I was saying earlier before I so rudely interrupted myself, see you next time with an exposition of Judges.\n","date":"6 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-09-06-post-series-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Post Series Soon","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/upc2/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Upc2","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 September 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whaddayaknow/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whaddayaknow","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 July 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mylife/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mylife","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 July 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/resolved/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Resolved","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 July 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/update/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Update","type":"tags"},{"content":"Not much, you?\nSo there is some inspiration to add to the blog here. I am teaching at church again. I\u0026rsquo;m happy to start a six week class on the book of Judges.\nFor everyone else, here\u0026rsquo;s where I\u0026rsquo;ve been.\nI am now a writer for NevermetPress. It is a role-playing game site that provides systemless game material for free. Right now, the focus is a major villain, and then a bunch of stuff that goes with it. I\u0026rsquo;ve written a few pieces and I hope to provide a few more over time. It is actually a paying gig.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t plan on putting gaming stuff here. My gaming stuff will be on my sister site, Sycarion. (Pronounced sik-a-REE-uhn)\nI\u0026rsquo;ve also been working on the new house. We\u0026rsquo;ll just about ready to actually have a ton of people over. My wife is running a play group for deaf/hard of hearing children 0 to 5 starting in September. Our camera is broken, so no picutres, sorry.\nI\u0026rsquo;m also the librarian at our church. The minister has more obscure books than I do. There is no room for the research computer, but I\u0026rsquo;m working on that. I have 2.5 days of vacation that I will be required to use before August. I think I\u0026rsquo;ll spend a day there organizaing.\nI\u0026rsquo;m working on fundraisers for my son\u0026rsquo;s hearing aid. His old one is worn out and we have a loaner until September. One fundraiser will hopefully be sponsored by a local resturant. They like to do 10% nights and even allow you to do raffles in the resturant. Another is a spaghetti dinner at the church building. We have a small grant from a local charity and we have asked folks from all over.\nThe goal is $3500. We have almost one-third of it now, I am hoping that the fundraisers will make up most of the rest. Got any ideas? I\u0026rsquo;m all ears.\nLastly, I\u0026rsquo;ve also decidedly moved away from ICoC issues. I think I\u0026rsquo;m down to 2 times a week at the forums, and very little involvement after that. I\u0026rsquo;ve made some decision in that regards and it has freed up a lot of energy for other things.\nI have resolved:\nI am a part of the Omaha Church of Christ and will remain so as long as I can. (This hasn\u0026rsquo;t changed at all, just stating it for completeness.) I won\u0026rsquo;t send my children to ICoC regional camps, nor will I attend any ICoC conferences. I am just as concerned as I have always been about certain people that wield power within the ICoC, however, I will leave it to God to administer justice on earth and in Heaven. I have done all I can do. I will continue to resist and rebuff certain expected ICoC doctrines and practices, especially those around childrearing, the culture of compulsion, and a host of other smaller yet significant issues. I will continue to grow in community involvement locally. This ranges from deaf/hard of hearing issues to games to educational initiatives. Life is short. Get over it. So that\u0026rsquo;s about it from here. Next post will be something about Jduges and the Cycle of Sin.\nFor Kurt, I have to say that reading Judges feels like a pulp superhero book sometimes. He uses a farmer\u0026rsquo;s tool to smite 600, She is a prophet AND a general: Shamgar and Deborah, they fight CRIME!\n","date":"27 July 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-07-27-whaddaya-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Whaddaya Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yesterday was Compensatory Day for me, it means that I am now 37 and-a-half.\nI have a December birthday, so I invented this day when I was 8 in an effort to compensate for the financial strain this circumstance created for my parents.\nFor Compensatory Day this year, the whole family danced to Bob and Larry in the Family Room. We also ran around outside in the backyard.\nBest present I could get. Worth much more than $50.\n","date":"12 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-06-12-compensatory-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Compensatory Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"12 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/family/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Family","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"12 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/half/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Half","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"12 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lifeisgood/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lifeisgood","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"12 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/newhouse/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Newhouse","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/church/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Church","type":"tags"},{"content":"fail-owned-rocket-surg-fail see more Fail Blog\nEver feel like your mouth says something different than your heart?\n","date":"10 June 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-06-10-rocket-surgery/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Rocket Surgery","type":"posts"},{"content":"funny-pictures-the-cat-dispenser-is-jammed see more Lolcats and funny pictures\n","date":"4 May 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-05-04-cat-dispenser/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Cat Dispenser","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 May 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/catdispenser/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Catdispenser","type":"tags"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since I\u0026rsquo;ve posted. A part of that is the advent of Twitter, which I can do at work. The state has decided that Twitter, blogging, and other so-called New Media needs to be part of the curriculum. The main ideas are to incorporate this into learning (not teaching socialization) and to educate proper internet safety. Let\u0026rsquo;s just say that folks in the state capital have realized that filtering content is always a losing battle.\nOne idea I\u0026rsquo;ve seen is twittering with a #schoolname as an ad-hoc homework helpline. I\u0026rsquo;m sure someone will come up with something really cool and fun to use. Another idea I\u0026rsquo;ve seen deals with learning to write. The thing about Twitter is that it forces you to focus on brevity. If you place an additional constraint of full sentences sans abbreviations, a student will be trained to convey an idea in the shortest way possible.\nAnywho.\nI have little interest in ICoC issues anymore. As far as that goes, I am not interested in RM issues, either. I am very grateful and excited that gracefulconversation.com exists and is in full steam. For me personally, I cannot read it, but I have no problem recommending it to others. My minister is following it with keen interest. For those with no RM history, I tell them that this is a good example of how to discuss strong disagreements.\nFor me, it\u0026rsquo;s like watching a married couple arguing in the grocery store. It\u0026rsquo;s uncomfortable and these pressing issues that are so important to both parties are not relevant to me. Still, I think this is good example of how to discuss contentious issues.\nI check in on Delphi periodically and I came across a topic that had some interest to me. Part of what I shared was is that all I have is a lot of unexplored ideas. I know what it means to be saved. I believe that Jesus is divine. I have strong beliefs about baptism and full confidence in the Bible. I am certain about a few other things as well. Still, when it comes to some of the intellectual questions, I have a bowl of ideas that get tossed around, but that do not cohere into one.\nAs such, I don\u0026rsquo;t have much to write. Trying to present the salad of ideas in my head requires more energy than I have. Working through these things on paper (or on blog) tends to just upset me. I prefer a solitary place to sit and be quiet.\nThis may last a few days or a few months. In the meantime, I re-engineered my gaming site and have become involved in games (card, board, and role-playing). I enjoy actually having a hobby again and spending time with friends. One friend from church has created two games and is developing a new card game. We enjoy our time doing that and in starting a dramatic arts ministry.\nSo, I\u0026rsquo;m rambling, I know. Just wanted to stop by and say hello. Just wanted to say that I\u0026rsquo;m still here. See you on Twitter. @pinakidion\n","date":"4 May 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-05-04-unexplored-ideas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Unexplored Ideas","type":"posts"},{"content":"That is why I haven\u0026rsquo;t been around so much. Sure, I can Twitter at work now, but it\u0026rsquo;s not the same. Twitter is life a multi-RSS feed for me, I read to keep updated with others.\nI have more to say that present time has allowed me over the past month.\nI did manage to do some work for the Sycarion site, including adding a working wiki. Still working on improvement to the church website, as well as a few others.\nAside from all of that, though, our family finally has a house. YAY! I spent a little more for it than I hoped, but considering the neighborhood, it is worth it. Walk to a small playground, short trip to nearby lake, walk to friend\u0026rsquo;s house, back yard to run around in, basement, garage with built-in shelving, and other smaller things. The biggest feature, however, is the kitchen. SERIOUS COUNTER SPACE and CABINETRY. We can finally cook the way we\u0026rsquo;ve always dreamed of.\nSo, we are quite happy. We have a house.\n","date":"22 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-22-and-now-we-own-a-house/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"And Now We Own a House","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/home/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Home","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/house/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"House","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/easter/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Easter","type":"tags"},{"content":"_\nThe apostle John and some children following him enter from stage right. As they are walking, the children are peppering him with all kinds of questions:\n_\nChildren: (asking all of these in sequence)\nWhat was he like? Did he really wash your feet? Did it tickle? Can you tell us the fish story? Did he really walk on water? Did he like the Romans? Did he say blessed are the cheesemakers?\nJohn: Okay. Okay. Everyone gather around.\n_\nTakes a bit of time to sit down.\n_\nJohn: So full of questions today, huh?\nChildren: (begin barrage of questions again.)\nWhere did he go? Daddy says he caught a lot of fish. What does bread of life mean? I heard Daddy talking about it. Did he really make a storm go away? Can he do it again?\nJohn: (motioning to children) Settle down, my children. Settle down. So many great questions! It\u0026rsquo;s good to ask so many questions about Jesus. Since it\u0026rsquo;s almost time for passover, let\u0026rsquo;s think about the questions we ask at the seder meal. I\u0026rsquo;ll call on you to ask your question, how about that?\nChildren: Okay! Pick me first!\n_\nJohn points to one of the children\n_\nJohn: Caleb, what is your question?\nCaleb: Why is Jesus so important?\nJohn: Great question, Caleb! Jesus is important because he shows us what God is like. You see, instead of sending us a scroll and reading about God, God sent Jesus. Jesus does what God does so that we can see God. Jesus came as a person so that we could touch God. Jesus says what God says so that we can hear God.\nWe used to know God by the words Moses wrote. Now we know God because Jesus showed us who God is.Seeing Jesus is like seeing the words of God in action. This is why you hear Jesus called the Word of God. We used to say that if you want to know God, look at the Torah. Now, we say, that if you want to know God, look at Jesus.\n_\nJohn looks at the children and points to a little girl.\n_\nJohn: Anna, why don\u0026rsquo;t you ask your question, now.\nAnna: Who is Jesus?\nJohn: Jesus is truly God, truly human, truly one.\n_\nJohn thinks about this for a second and realizes that he is talking to children, not adults.\n_\nJohn: Well, that\u0026rsquo;s saying a lot. Let me say it this way. At the very beginning, before there were people or trees or even daylight, Jesus was already there. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. All things were made through Jesus. There is not one thing you can name that was made without him. Life was in Jesus, and that life was the light for everybody.\nNot long ago, Jesus became a human being. He was even a child, just like you.He made his home with us. Some of your parents and I walked with him and followed him wherever he went.\n_\nJohn pauses to look at the audience\n_\nJohn: (to the audience) He was God with us.\n_\nBreak for service. Focus shifts on choir as children exit.\n_\n************************************************\n_\nChildren and John enter and resume their places.\n_\nJohn: Very good questions so far, my children. Let\u0026rsquo;s have a couple more. Stephen, what is your question?\nStephen: Why did he have to die? John: Jesus didn\u0026rsquo;t have to die. He chose to die because he loves us.\nWhen you were a baby and you broke something, did your mommy or daddy make you pay for it?\n_\nStephen and the other children shake their heads.\n_John: No, they paid for it, because you were a baby and couldn\u0026rsquo;t do it yourself. God is the same way. We have all done bad things – including me. Those bad things are called sin. Sin is like a wall that keeps God apart of us.\nGod loves all of us. He wants to have to be really close to all of us, but sin gets in the way. So God decided to pay for what was broken. The only way to pay, was to send Jesus to earth and have Jesus pay for the damage done. When he died, everything was paid for. The good news is, though, that he also came back to life and he is alive today.\n_\nJohn looks at the children with love.\n_\nJohn: One more question for today. Tabitha, what would like to ask?\nTabitha: What does it mean that he is alive today?\nJohn: It means that Jesus is with us right now, not just when some of your parents and I talked to him. Jesus said that if even two of us pray to him, he\u0026rsquo;ll be right there with us.\nYou know, He\u0026rsquo;s in Heaven, now with God. Before He left, though, He sent us a great friend to help us. Jesus said that even though he was going to Heaven, the Spirit would be with us. Whenever we\u0026rsquo;re in trouble or we\u0026rsquo;re afraid and don\u0026rsquo;t know what to say, Jesus will be right there with us. He will help us when we\u0026rsquo;re scared. He will help us when we don\u0026rsquo;t know what to say. Doesn\u0026rsquo;t that sound like a great friend to have?\n_\nJohn looks to the audience\n_\nJohn: The good news is that Jesus is risen today. Now I have a question for you.\n_\nJohn pauses.\n_\nJohn: Now that you know who Jesus is and what He was about, what will you do about it? I\u0026rsquo;ll tell you what I did.\n_\nJohn picks up his own cardboard testimony and shows it to the audience. The first side says “Son of Thunder”. The opposite side reads “Apostle of Love.”\n_\nCREDITS Many thanks to my wife that gave me the time to write this little script. It took a lot more time than it probably should have.\nAlthough normally I am not a friend of Focus on the Family, their two part article about how to answer your child\u0026rsquo;s questions was invaluable.\nI\u0026rsquo;d also like to thank the Council of Chalcedon (451) for a short definition of the Trinity.\n","date":"13 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-13-running-after-john/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Running after John","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"13 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/script/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Script","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/busytileaster/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Busytileaster","type":"tags"},{"content":"Easter is always meaningful to me - it\u0026rsquo;s a reboot for whatever is going on in my spiritual life. Things come into focus.\nIn the end, it\u0026rsquo;s about the resurrection.\nThis year, though, the family in very involved with Easter service. I saw my wife\u0026rsquo;s monologue performed during dress rehearsal last night. I am very proud of her. Her monologue is being performed by a teenager and features a young girl struggling with bitterness. In the story, she tried to bring her brother to Jesus so that he could be healed only to find that he was being crucified when she got to Jerusalem.\nOur normally chatty congregation fell silent while it was performed. It is powerful.\nI managed to bungle through the choir numbers. I can hit high notes, but I\u0026rsquo;m not certain that I should. I may lip sync.\nI used to sing a song in church that some derisively called Men Who Scream. Men sing really really high, women sing really low and really high. The melody ends up being sung LOUD instead of correctly. (I don\u0026rsquo;t know of any congregation where every tenor can hit a G above middle C.) I mention this, because I was Man Who Screams for half the night.\nOh well. It\u0026rsquo;s fun and I\u0026rsquo;m happy to do it.\nIn other news, my wife and I hope to make a bid on a house very soon.\nHappy Easter everyone. Be back soon. Really.\n","date":"10 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-10-easter/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Easter","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fun/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fun","type":"tags"},{"content":"Thank you for adding an iframe to redirect to an evil dll. It has been removed.\n","date":"10 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-10-thanks-to-the-hackers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thanks to the hackers","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/worthit/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Worthit","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/alreadyinprogress/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Alreadyinprogress","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/backtolife/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Backtolife","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/backtoreality/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Backtoreality","type":"tags"},{"content":"Not like anything changed, though. :)\nNext week will be a very slow week. Hope to finish a lot of writing projects outside of here.\n","date":"2 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-02-nothing-to-see-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Nothing to See Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"2 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/yup/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Yup","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/aprilfools/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Aprilfools","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/creativity/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Creativity","type":"tags"},{"content":"Nope. Everything is moving along as usual.\nI\u0026rsquo;m commenting on Scott\u0026rsquo;s site about the nature of the creativity and the nature of the soul. Otherwise, more coming soon I hope. I\u0026rsquo;ll be busy until Easter.\n","date":"1 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-04-01-no-aprils-fool-this-year/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"No April's Fool This Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"1 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/purple/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Purple","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 April 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/soul/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Soul","type":"tags"},{"content":"Not that I like using M$, but I\u0026rsquo;m looking for a solution for the church website. Pardon the mess while I attempt to do some things:\nÂ\nLet\u0026rsquo;s see what this looks like.\n","date":"30 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-30-posting-from-word-2007/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posting from Word 2007","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"28 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/aargh/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Aargh","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/forthechildren/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Forthechildren","type":"tags"},{"content":"As is normally the case, I have ideas for writing on numerous topics. The issue is that I have no ideas for the project I have to finish right now.\nI mean, right now. I\u0026rsquo;m 10 days late for an Easter Monologue I was commissioned to write.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s actually a bit of a dialogue, a crowd of children pepper the Apostle John with questions. He takes the four \u0026lsquo;biggie\u0026rsquo; questions. The issue is the fourth question.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the draft so far of the whole thing:\nWhy is Jesus so important?\nJesus is important because he shows us what God is like. You see, instead of sending us a scroll and reading about God, God sent Jesus. Jesus does what God does so that we can see God. Jesus came as a person so that we could touch God. Jesus says what God says so that we can hear God.\nWe used to know God by the words Moses wrote. Now we know God because Jesus showed us who God is.Seeing Jesus is like seeing the words of God in action. This is why you hear Jesus called the Word of God. We used to say that if you want to know God, look at the Torah. Now, we say, that if you want to know God, look at Jesus.\nWho is Jesus? Jesus is truly God, truly human, truly one.\nWell, that\u0026rsquo;s saying a lot. Let me say it this way. At the very beginning, before there were people or trees or even daylight, Jesus was already there. Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. All things were made through Jesus. There is not one thing you can name that was made without him. Life was in Jesus, and that life was the light for everybody.\nNot long ago, Jesus became a human being. He was even a child, just like you.He made his home with us. Some of your parents and I walked with him and followed him wherever he went.\nHe was God with us.\nWhy did he have to die? Jesus didn\u0026rsquo;t have to die. He chose to die because he loves us.\nWhen you were a baby and you broke something, did your mommy or daddy make you pay for it? No, they paid for it, because you were a baby and couldn\u0026rsquo;t do it yourself. God is the same way. We have all done bad things – including me. Those bad things are called sin. Sin is like a wall that keeps God apart of us.\nGod loves all of us. He wants to have to be really close to all of us, but sin gets in the way. So God decided to pay for what was broken. The only way to pay, was to send Jesus to earth and have Jesus pay for the damage done. When he died, everything was paid for. The good news is, though, that he also came back to life and he is alive today.\nWhat does it mean that he is alive today?\nRemember when we talked about Jesus came back so that nothing would get in the way ever again. Now, nothing can ever get between God\u0026rsquo;s love and you. Never ever. And now that is he\nstuck stuck stuck on the last one. Like the rest of it, I\u0026rsquo;m so accustomed to talking to adults about it, it is very hard to make it palatable for younger children.\nAny ideas would be most welcome. Too bad I can\u0026rsquo;t just make resurrection cookies. :)\n","date":"28 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-28-writers-block/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Writer's Block","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"28 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/writing/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Writing","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/rm/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Rm","type":"tags"},{"content":"song-chart-memes-things-need see more Funny Graphs\nI know, the lol thing is spreading. Bear with me, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that I\u0026rsquo;ll grow out of it.\nOriginally, I wanted to discuss Grace Conversation. While I was thinking about it, I happened upon this graphic and it sent me into another direction.\nAt the risk of oversimplification, I hope that this conversation will provide a little duct tape and wd-40 in the RM churches. A little duct tape to bind what has been broken and a little wd-40 to loosen old dogmas. Before you think it really weird, duct tape can be used in grafting branches together. On the other side, one of the recommended uses of wd-40 is to remove duct tape.\nI do not actually hope that the conservative and progressive sides come to much of an agreement on certain elements of doctrine and practice. I think that kind of goal churns well-worn controversies and arguments that are better left alone. I hope that each side can see the need for each other. Progressives, like me, need conservatives to pull in our exuberance of shiny,new ideas. With some reflection, the wheat and chaff can be separated. A little thoughtlessness can create tremendous harm. Conservatives, like some members of my family, need progressives to help them overcome the fear of change. Without change, all systems wither and decay.\nAgain, I hope that both sides can see the need for each other. Once that happens, the groundwork for love, family, and peace can begin.\nMy prayers are with Jay, Todd, Phil, and Greg as they journey together.\n","date":"27 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-27-two-things-you-need-in-life/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Two Things You Need in Life","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/unity/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Unity","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/weneedeachother/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Weneedeachother","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"26 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/bittersweet/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Bittersweet","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"26 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/chickenygoodness/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Chickenygoodness","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"26 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/chik-fil-a/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Chik-Fil-A","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"26 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/siouxcityia/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Siouxcityia","type":"tags"},{"content":"Not real happy that I cannot see this at work, but, hey, this song is worth it. Many thanks to Salguod.\nI present to you a great song with the most worthy of subjects:\n","date":"26 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-26-the-song-to-end-all-songs/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Song to End All Songs","type":"posts"},{"content":"It was Friday at lunchtime. Being from the coast, I cannot bring myself to eat fish here. Looking over at the other choice, I paused to ponder the ability of my stomach to digest anything. In my youth, I could drink chocolate milk while eating Chinese take-out. I could, and did, eat just about anything. I\u0026rsquo;m on the larger side of 30 now, could I still process iron ores, BoJangle\u0026rsquo;s Chicken, Insane-O Hot Wings, or cafeteria leftovers?\nYou see, lent is a big deal here. All the fast food places offer a fish sandwich (even Popeye\u0026rsquo;s). In case you don\u0026rsquo;t know, Catholics cannot eat meat on Fridays during Lent. Ergo, everyone offers Fish Frys, Fish Sandwiches, Fish this, Fish That \u0026ndash; the variations are endless.\nSo, I was in line at the cafeteria and our two choices were Filet of Cod in Lemon sauce or Gourmet Casserole. I chose the casserole. Now, our cafeteria does pretty well when it comes to food. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t always feel like cafeteria food. It\u0026rsquo;s inexpensive and tasty, especially the Chicken in Hunter Sauce.\nStill, everyone knows what gourmet casserole is \u0026ndash; it is left over ground meat + spaghetti noodles + pepperoni + sour cream + cheese. It is not very popular because it is an obvious attempt to get rid of leftovers.\nSo, I ate it. ****** Let\u0026rsquo;s move ahead to today (Sunday).\nI woke up at 4am, finally feeling somewhat human. Dehydrated, exhausted, and very achey, but nowhere near as badly as the blur that was Saturday. I am told that yesterday was 72 degrees, not humid, and otherwise lovely. All I know is that I lost three pounds the hard way.\nI may be able to handle many things in my digestive track, but gourmet casserole is not one of them.\nI\u0026rsquo;m writing this to prime the pump for other writings. I am a week late with the monologue for our Easter service. I need to finish it today. I still feel like I have cardboard for brains and a marble of ache rolling around my body, but I think I am coherent enough to give it a good try.\nWish me luck.\n","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-22-dont-eat-gourmet-casserole/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Don't Eat Gourmet Casserole","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/flu/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Flu","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/foodpoisoning/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Foodpoisoning","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/gourmetcasserole/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Gourmetcasserole","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ugh/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ugh","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whereami/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whereami","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dididothat/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dididothat","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goofy/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goofy","type":"tags"},{"content":"Blame me?!.\nWell, it is a mindset. It will not go quietly into that dark night.\nStill, the addiction will grow to dogs, hamsters, celebtrities, current events, and other things.\nThen again, it can be pretty good for commentary:\nmoar funny pictures\n","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-20-i-cant-blame-salguod/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Can't Blame Salguod","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lol/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lol","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/salguod/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Salguod","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whatmeworry/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whatmeworry","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/wwjd/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Wwjd","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/areyouonthedope/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Areyouonthedope","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/enoughalready/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Enoughalready","type":"tags"},{"content":"can this ever be over?\nMy old church has now signed, I\u0026rsquo;m curious if Triangle Church includes East Triangle Church or not.\nI know, I know. It\u0026rsquo;s a document that provides a framework for certain global decisions to be made. For example, where will the ILC be? Will we have a global website? etc. As I have said before, I do not believe that many of these global questions are necessary at all.\nI believe there should be multiple websites. For example, ICoC Hot News provides video. DToday should have competition. MissionMemo by Kelcy was a superior website for content, but now that Kelcy has moved on, there is space for another website with the same function. There should be another one for commentary. We keep hearing that the ICoC embraces a diversity of perspectives - a diversity of de-centralized websites would go a long way to communicate that.\nI believe that there should be more regional conferences like the UnConference. There\u0026rsquo;s great power in an ILC, to be sure, but it\u0026rsquo;s too big to be a yearly event. Besides, more regional events allow for more specific foci. Or, in the case of the Unconference, it allows for underserved topics to be handled elsewhere.\nAs another example, Kris Boyer from Mpls/StPaul church has started a ministry to specifically address sexual issues, especially those germaine to the gay and lesbian population. Kris shares about his life and struggles, so it is from a person that has \u0026lsquo;been there\u0026rsquo;. This is a ministry that needs more publicity. Kris has two degrees in religion and theology, so he is more than qualified to teach on other topics as well. (I\u0026rsquo;d dare say, he\u0026rsquo;s more qualified to preach than most.) This deserves more coverage and more conversation - something that multiple websites would help foster.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s more than just websites, really. It is a shift in a way of thinking. My generation and the present generation have grown up with computers and the internet. We think about information and community in very different ways from previous generations. Communities are based in common experience with no geographic border. Communities are informal and self-organizing. For all the informality of these communities, though, there can be great depth within these communities. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen so many internet communities become passionate about all kinds of minutia because of a common love of the central idea. Religious communities are no different. It\u0026rsquo;s more than the endless doctrinal threads, it\u0026rsquo;s the groups of people that band together to encourage each other. These encouragement groups range from dealing with loss to dealing with sin.\nWhat does this have to do with the UPC? Community is defined by the members of the group. Thanks to the internet, it is possible to build global communities in many diverse ways. The way to build community is not by presenting a list of doctrines that you must agree to 100% and ask for signatures. (The 100% thing is in the original UPC FAQ.) The continued coverage of who signs and who doesn\u0026rsquo;t sign makes no sense. Cooperation is being seen \u0026ldquo;on the ground\u0026rdquo;, so what purpose does the document serve? Gordon and others said that this would be temporary, but it still appears from time to time.\nWho is continuing to ask these churches to sign? These churches said \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; or \u0026rsquo;thinking about it\u0026rsquo; in 2006. In order for them to change their minds, it is likely that someone is calling for a decision.\nIn the past, it was Bruce Williams. He has flown into New Mexico and other places. I still have the audio from Alberqueque. Steve Staten did some campaigning as well. We can read the FAQ or Mike Taliferro\u0026rsquo;s informal piece, but neither of these seem to get at the real questions. Why is this still important? Why hasn\u0026rsquo;t this gone away yet? Why are one or more persons still interested in getting people to sign?\nWell, until San Francisco signs, I hope this will be the last that is heard on the matter until it goes away.\nPS: One last, last thought: When churches are planted, will there be a breathless pause to see whether or not they sign the UPC? Speaking as one that attends a church seeking to plant churches, I\u0026rsquo;m curious if this unneeded step will become a thoughtless add-on to church planting.\n","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-17-for-the-love-of-mike/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"For the Love of Mike","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/herewegoagain/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Herewegoagain","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/icoc-subculture/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Icoc-Subculture","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/twolegsgoodfourlegsbad/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Twolegsgoodfourlegsbad","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/upc/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Upc","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/70xsevn/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"70xsevn","type":"tags"},{"content":"On the way to work today, I saw this license plate. It made me smile a little as in encapsulates a thought not often found on religious plates. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen John 3:16 in four states. I\u0026rsquo;ve even seen Acts 2:38 in Nebraska and Texas. (I was suprised to miss it in Tennesse.).\nAs many of you already know, I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted to have Mark 8:24. I used to carry it with me to basketball and football games in college. I\u0026rsquo;ve even used Luke 1:63 as a name tag at a conference.\nBack to the point, it is good to see something related to forgiveness on the highways. So many messages I see around here deal with hatred of certain groups of people, disapproval of the president, pro-life, pro-choice, and a host of other messages ranging from bad to worse. I am glad that I do not have to become a Libertarian/Democrat/Republican/Constitution Party member or make peace or save the whales. I\u0026rsquo;m sure I need those things, if I think about it. But what I really need - what everyone needs:\nis forgiveness.\n","date":"13 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-13-70xsevn/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"70XSEVN","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"13 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/forgiveness/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Forgiveness","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ontheroad/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ontheroad","type":"tags"},{"content":"I was cleaning out some things on my computer at home and I came across something from 1993. It is a short note written from one religious leader, whom I\u0026rsquo;ll call Ted to a former leader of the same church, whom I\u0026rsquo;ll call Jay. Jay wrote an essay pointing out the inaccuraccies and exaggerations of an essay written by Jay\u0026rsquo;s boss. Ted responds as follows:\nDear Jay, Having read your critique of the article, I am reminded of the opening verse of Luke 14: \u0026ldquo;One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.\u0026rdquo;\nYou obviously are spending much time and energy \u0026ldquo;carefully watching\u0026rdquo; us and our sister churches, but Jay, I feel it is with much the same spirit we find in those who carefully watched Jesus. They watched in hopes that they would \u0026ldquo;catch Jesus in something he said\u0026rdquo; (Luke 20:20). While they found what they were looking for\u0026mdash;things that in their eyes condemned him\u0026mdash;they missed the fact that people\u0026rsquo;s lives were being changed.\nIt makes me sad to see someone with a great mind and a gift from God to understand and proclaim the Scriptures using all that to \u0026ldquo;carefully watch\u0026rdquo; those who are out giving all they have to advance the Gospel. Was nothing learned from all those years in the traditional church? Did we not see that one could be technically right on some issue but have a heart that misses the point?\nAs I read your extensive work, I ask, \u0026ldquo;What does Jay want? Does he want to stop a movement that is bringing people out of immorality, homosexuality, drugs, racism, violence, marital conflict, abuse, humanism, relativism, materialism, and the like?\n\u0026ldquo;Does he want us to abandon an effort that results in people loving God with all their hearts and being thankful for his grace that has saved them?\n\u0026ldquo;Does he want us to be like the traditional churches?\n\u0026ldquo;Does he want us to like the church he is in right now?\n\u0026ldquo;Does he want us to have the relationships and commitment we find there?\u0026rdquo;\nNo doubt, Jay, you have carefully read everything I have written. You know I do not think this is a perfect movement (and furthermore, you know no leader in this movement thinks that)\n\\[emphasis added by me\\], but I will not abandon it because of a few mistakes\u0026mdash;not when God is using it to make such a difference in my lifeand the lives of others.\nI would love to see us re-united, together working to hold up Christ. I pray it can still happen.\nSincerely, Ted\nI think Ted has changed quite a bit since 1993. I don\u0026rsquo;t post this as an indictment, otherwise I would not have changed the names. I post this because I catch myself responding to critique in the same way.\nI\u0026rsquo;m in a position at work and in my hobbies where I offer ideas and solutions. Some of those solutions require a change to the business as usual. As a result, I can get detailed responses that state exactly why and when a procedure was put in place. It\u0026rsquo;s stated very professionally, it\u0026rsquo;s just it seems a bit long to me. I\u0026rsquo;ve responded to this quite a few times by asking whether or not they want the issue fixed or do they want the issue to remain broken.\nI know the truth, it\u0026rsquo;s a logical fallacy to provide a false dilemma. There are other solutions and/or a policy is not necessarily bad. Key is that my proposal needs to be adjusted and I don\u0026rsquo;t want to make changes. I\u0026rsquo;m taking a professional matter personally and when I do that, logic and fairness goes out the window.\nJay never said that he wanted the other good things happening to change. He wanted the exaggerations and lies to be recanted.\nI hope that today, when given a critique of my viewpoint or when I encounter a contrary point of view that I will not be evasive. I hope that I do not change the subject. I hope that I can focus on the issue and not on me.\n","date":"11 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-11-dont-change-the-subject/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Don't Change the Subject","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"11 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/historyrepeatsitself/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Historyrepeatsitself","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"11 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lessonlearned/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lessonlearned","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"11 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/pastispast/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Pastispast","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"11 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/timeschange/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Timeschange","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/odd/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Odd","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/phasers/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Phasers","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"10 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/proton/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Proton","type":"tags"},{"content":"funny-pictures-your-cat-plays-with-a-slinky see more Lolcats and funny pictures\n","date":"10 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-10-proton-phasers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Proton Phasers","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"10 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/settostun/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Settostun","type":"tags"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s been a cloud over our family since the beginning of the year. I won\u0026rsquo;t go into details online. Truth be told, if I didn\u0026rsquo;t tell you, I won\u0026rsquo;t tell you now. Sorry, just that personal.\nSo, now that it has passed, it is time to get back to writing. I\u0026rsquo;ve got one writing assignment for the Easter Sunday service this year. An RPG assignment for June 20 (Free RPG day) doesn\u0026rsquo;t need a whole lot of focus right now. And, of course, the continued chronicle of all things pinakidion.\nSee you around!\n","date":"7 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-03-07-dismissed/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Dismissed!","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"7 March 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/itsover/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Itsover","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/absolutelinux/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Absolutelinux","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ad/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ad","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/facebook/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Facebook","type":"tags"},{"content":"funny-pictures-your-cat-is-in-a-bar-ordering-drinks more animals\nKurt and I have connected on FaceBook. Let the feast of the finest meats and chesses begin.\nSomething I\u0026rsquo;ve had to explain to folks from High School is why the first name on my profile is different/wrong. (Some of you that read here may not even know my real first name.) To add to the confusion, my parents never switched to my new name - it makes going home a bit confusing.\nThe short answer is that during the second reconstruction of Triangle in 1994, I was convinced that my given nickname was childish and that I needed to go by my formal first name. I do not really like my first name because no one ever used it growing up. So it was suggested that I go by my middle name instead. So I let myself get talked into it. In retrospect, I made a really bad decision.\nFor the record, Kurt, Bill DeArmey, and several others told me that it was a bad idea at the time.\nAnywho, it is irreversible now, so I have grown to like it. I have even incorporated it into the blog as it is the source of my screen name, pinakidion.\nConsidering the ancient mindset of names, it actually works out that my adult professional life began shortly after my name change. I thought about changing it back after I withdrew my membership to the church I attend. I figured it would mark the time where I reclaimed my indentity. But then I realized that my identity is not totally comprised of where I go to church, what I feel about the UPC, my religious history, or even my blog. (In real life, I rarely talk about church stuff, I talk about game stuff, deaf/hard of hearing issues, community awareness, my small group, and linux.) Besides, it was difficult to switch in 1994 and it would have been harder for my wife and friends who have never known me by my real name.\nSo there\u0026rsquo;s the short version. The good news is that I found Kurt. I have also found a lot of other folks, especially from High School. I cannot facebook at work because it is blocked, but I enjoy a few minutes a night seeing what everyone is up to.\n","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-20-facebook-and-why-my-profile-is-hard-to-find/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Facebook and Why My Profile Is Hard to Find","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/free/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Free","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/getwiththetimes/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Getwiththetimes","type":"tags"},{"content":"Every year I post about it, so forgive the repetition.\nThere is a very good way to do a conference that is worth the cost of admission. First, offer good content. Second, don\u0026rsquo;t use a hotel as a venue. Third, make sure the cost only covers expenses. Fourth, use the internet ans social networking sites to promote it.\nThis brings us to the Unconference 3.\nIf I could get away for the weekend of March 6-8, I would go even though I am not a college student. I am hoping to have a similar conference here later this year.\nThe other bonus of previous UnConferences has been that content is available free online afterwards. I cannot go, but I have enjoyed the content from previous years. What makes this a great conference is more than a break from the traditional content, it\u0026rsquo;s the thoughtfulness of the content and the prevailing attitude of the conference. It\u0026rsquo;s the lack of self-importance and the accessibility. I could go on, but I\u0026rsquo;ll stop here. It\u0026rsquo;s a great idea that has been long overdue.\nIn a related event, the ILC in Kiev was availble in realtime by the internet. I mentioned it before, but this is also a great idea when it is financially feasible.\nFor future events, I would hope to see some other ideas as well:\nReal-time IM without video. Not everyone has broadband and transcripts can be preserved for offline reading later.2. Permanent archival presence. In other words, if I want the files from Unconference 1 or ILC 2005, they should always be available.3. Supplemental material added after the conference. This would be things like outlines, notes, additional material not covered in the presentation, etc.4. Links to on-going discussion or other sites about a given topic. Say for example we have Biblical Transformation: How to change from the Unconference 3. On a website with the audio or video, link to a discussion area where folks can share their stories, ideas, and progress. It\u0026rsquo;s not bad if it is on DTSpace or Facebook, but I\u0026rsquo;m always going to want more openness - not everyone has an account on DTSpace or Facebook. (I understand, though, that using Facebook has no cost, that factor cannot be ignored.)6. Additional topics not presented at the event. In other words, a topic is related, but given by someone that could not attend. It gives the attendees another reason to go to the site. The key is seeing the conference in a different way. You should not be paying for content. Once a digital copy is on the internet, it costs zero to distribute it. However, there are things at a conference that cannot be distributed on the internet. Going to the conference gives you a host of things that are worth the money.\nAccess to the presenter. Access to others at the conference. Convenient access to books, CDs, or other physical media. The experience of tangible fellowship. Access to the city where the conference is taking place. There\u0026rsquo;s more, but that\u0026rsquo;s just a few off the top of my head.\nAnyway, best of luck to the Unconference 3.\n","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-20-how-to-do-a-conference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Do a Conference","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/kurt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Kurt","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/likewise-open/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Likewise-Open","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/linux/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Linux","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/linuxmint/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Linuxmint","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/names/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Names","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/slackware/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Slackware","type":"tags"},{"content":"When my employer came to me and said that a linux computer was needed, I was overjoyed. I finally had a concrete way of demonstrating a way to save the district tons of money.\nI immediately attempted to build a solution using my old reliable Absolute Linux. Absolute is a Slackware derivative that adds a few helper programs to make it more user-friendly.\nThe email system has a company provided Linux client and it was working fine. Open Office 3 can open MS Office 2007 files, so after that was installed, things were looking good.\nThe only thing lacking was a way to authenticate to Active Directory. Every user here has a small personal drive and I wanted to map to it. Also, our Altiris solution has a linux client that would allow Help Desk and System Engineers to monitor the computer and handle updates. All it needed was a way to authenicate to AD.\nThen, I had issues.\nTurns out that Slackware has a few issues to work through when it comes to AD. Not really a bad thing, just needs a bit of work on my end to get it to work. After some research, I decided that Likewise-Open was my best solution.\nFirst, though, I needed to build PAM in Absolute. See, PAM is not included in Slackware and therefore not in Absolute, either. That was simple enough, followed a slackbuild for PAM and a little configuring later, I felt good about my progress.\nLikewise-Open provides source for building it. However, after days of searching for documentation and getting a non-answer on the forums, I realized that I would have to figure it out. After 2 weeks of pulling hair, I realized that there were a lot of assumptions written into the code that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t overcome. I could not configure a build, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t build the code correctly, I had no way of troubleshooting errors. I gave up.\nSo I decided that maybe I could download the rpm files. You see, sometimes the rpm2tgz utility can convert rpms to files Slackware uses. That was when I discovered that the files promised just the rpms do not have just the rpms. I could only get debian/ubuntu files. Again, after some non-answers on the forum and no simple way to get help, I decided that I would have to use a Debian/Ubuntu solution.\nOkay. Not happy, but the machines were brand new and had the firepower to run anything, even MS Vista, with speed.\nI tried Xubuntu, Ubuntu, and Linux Mint. I settled on Linux Mint because the interface would present a smaller learning curve. It had one taskbar, like Windows, it had a straightforward Start Menu, etc.\nOnce installing Mint, I was able to install Likewise-Open and join the AD here. Reinstalling the email client, and I was on my way to peace,love,and happiness. Added an experimental build of Open Office 3, and sat down to finally get around to installing the software that necessiatated the Linux box in the first place.\nCafeteria Software. Uses Linux and terminals to manage student accounts, menus, etc. It didn\u0026rsquo;t rely on the network, so in older schools, it ran reliably for years without a reboot.\nI found that I could install the software easily enough. But then my troubles began, as I will detail in another post.\n","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-20-struggles-with-a-linux-vendor-part-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Struggles with a Linux Vendor part 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tech/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tech","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/unconference/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Unconference","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/1kings/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"1kings","type":"tags"},{"content":" more animals\n","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-05-business-is-bad-solo/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Business is Bad, Solo","type":"posts"},{"content":"funny-pictures-your-cat-has-found-jesus more animals\nIt was bound to happen, of course. lolcat and post together just like peanut butter and axle grease. The result is also not as well thought out as I want it to be. Case in point, I confused Hebrews and Romans the first time I wrote it.\nCaveat emptor\nThis picture reminds me of a few things learned over the past year. I went in search of the voice of God only to discover the divine purpose of silence. I wanted an answer to a burning question in my heart, namely, was I following the voice of God or my own voice? Many people, like my wife, believe that the answer is both. I would always say that James 1:13-18 leads me to believe that the answer cannot be both. Namely, there was no way I could do a bad thing for a good purpose. God doesn\u0026rsquo;t do evil. He can transform it, but he does not originate it and will never originate it or entice one of his children to originate it. In short, the bad things I did could have only come from my voice, the good things may or may not have come from my voice.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s when I discovered that I was asking the wrong question. In the end, the source of the voice is not that important. Doing the right thing does not always come from a divine mandate for every detail in my life. In fact, there will be very little like a direct mandate from a voice in the sky for anything in my life. God is not going to act like some cosmic UAC (Going to the bookstore may cause you to emotionally spend $200 on books you\u0026rsquo;ll never read. Accept or Deny?) He is not going to provide some authorization voucher for major decisions in my life (This card entitles the bearer to quit his job and start his own company in a bad economy.)\nRomans 12:1-2 talks about being a living sacrifice. Live for God. Pretty simple to say and not so simple to do. I think I\u0026rsquo;ve been stuck at this verse for awhile - Sure I can be a sacrifice, but am I doing the right thing? Is *this* sacrifice one that is pleasing to God or not?\nVerse 2 sheds some insight, testing reveals the will of God. That means that some amount of failure is part and parcel of determining what God wants. No one is perfect except God alone. As such, there is no perfect test and there is no perfect answer.\nStated another way, I have faith (Heb 11). Because I have faith, I live for God (Heb 12:1, Rom 12:1) In living for God, I need to be transformed by Him and not my surroundings. It is also important to test and approve the will of God, so that I know what is useful for the change God wants to bring about. (Rom 12:2)\nI believe that the word that is translated as test and approve is akin to determining if gold is real or not. As such, I\u0026rsquo;ve been spending a lot of time focusing on the apparatus used for testing instead of actually using it. One of the simplest tests for determining gold, and one familiar to the ancient world, is biting it. (Brings new meaning to Ps 34:8) Gold is soft, pyrite is not. It\u0026rsquo;s not 100% accurate, but very little in life allows for the time required for complete chemical analysis. That is why Rom 12:3 begins a discourse about grace after the exhortation to test and approve to discern the will of God.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not so much that God gives credit for intent as much as it is important to know that making mistakes is part of the process. The onus of finding the will of God is on me. As a part of the process of determining His will, I need to learn to say \u0026ldquo;I believed x and y because of z, but now I see that I was obviously mistaken\u0026rdquo; more than \u0026ldquo;because of x and y, z is always true despite evidence to the contrary.\u0026rdquo; More specific to me, this idea looks like this:\nBecause of what I saw in the Bible and in the lives of people around me, I became a whole-hearted ICoC member in doctrine and practice. In retrospect, I was mistaken about a few things. I see that I when I use a more traditional hermeneutic, certain doctrines and practices were not only extrabiblical (which isn\u0026rsquo;t always bad) but harmful to me and others (which is bad).\nSo I used what little I knew to test my fundamental question, does God want me to stay here knowing that my conscience is bothering me to go somewhere else? Let\u0026rsquo;s look at some important facts. One, my wife is beginning to feel spiritual nourishment in our congregation. Two, many have embraced our children so much so that a song performed in sign language was added to the Christmas program. Three, both sets of our parents are impacted in positive ways by the congregation. Four, the Children\u0026rsquo;s Ministry curriculum is doctrinally sound, age appropriate, and love oriented. Five, the minister is involved in the community. Six, we embrace those inside and outside the RM and treat them as equals without a test of membership or a circle of understanding (think F. Lagard Smith).\nThere are other facts to consider as well. True, we are not growing. True, we are realigned with HOPE Worldwide and the Unity Proposal (whatever they are calling it now). True, we have other ICoC ministers show up periodically that preach bad, biblically inaccurate sermons. (For the record, Obadiah was not the bad guy or weak guy in 1 Kings 18.) It is also true that ICoC folks arrive and preach good sermons. True, the 20/80 rule is in full effect.\nBased on my limited understanding, I\u0026rsquo;m in the right place, if for no other reasons than the tremendous love we receive and the ability to share with my wife\u0026rsquo;s parents about spiritual matters. I have hope that other concerns will be worked out in time.\n************* In other news, I have missed writing. There are some stresses on our family right now that prevent me from doing a lot of writing. I cannot do anything regularly until at least late March or April. When our situation is resolved, I\u0026rsquo;ll let folks know.\n","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-05-dont-cross-the-streams/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Don't Cross the Streams!","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hebrews/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hebrews","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/jabba/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Jabba","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/late-for-work/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Late for Work","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/romans/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Romans","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sacrifice/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sacrifice","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/starwars/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Starwars","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/time/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Time","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/too-much-time-on-my-hands/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Too Much Time on My Hands","type":"tags"},{"content":"funny-pictures-this-is-the-real-reason-youre-late-for-work more animals\n","date":"5 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-05-why-youre-late-for-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Why You're Late for Work","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fanrequest/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fanrequest","type":"tags"},{"content":"funny-pictures-cat-has-a-message-to-you-from-your-liver more animals\n","date":"4 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-04-for-mrtool-your-liver-called/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"For MrTool, Your Liver Called","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/liver/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Liver","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mrtool/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mrtool","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/2009/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"2009","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"3 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hkl/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hkl","type":"tags"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been six years. Those who know me have an idea what I am talking about.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t plan on commemorating it every year. In fact, until someone else mentioned it to me, I had forgotten.\nSince I haven\u0026rsquo;t done the proverbial beginning of the year post with hopes and dreams, and since I hadn\u0026rsquo;t done the 2008 year in review, it seems like a good time to attempt both.\nSometime later.\nFor what it is worth, though, I have to say that I will never forget. I am at peace with where I go to church, I am at peace with what I did to other people in the name of God, I am at peace with where my family is heading.\nStill, I will never pretend that we were (and in some places still are) something we we weren\u0026rsquo;t. We were not THEE Kingdom of God and we will never be THEE Kingdom of God.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s to hoping that 2009 will be a great year of victory and faith. The focus for this year will be Micah 6:8.\nAct with justice, Love mercy, Walk humbly with God.\n","date":"3 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-02-03-six-years/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Six Years","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 February 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/talkaboutrevolution/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Talkaboutrevolution","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/iwanttolikemt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Iwanttolikemt","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"17 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/quick/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Quick","type":"tags"},{"content":"time to upgrade: 35 seconds. 30 seconds to upload files, 5 seconds to log in.\n","date":"17 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-01-17-upgrade-to-27-complete/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upgrade to 2.7 complete","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/arosebyanyothername/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Arosebyanyothername","type":"tags"},{"content":"Ridgeline Chess\nBrains do not meet brawn - the bishop moves like a rook and does not, in fact, put the King in check.\nStill, I would love to have a full size chess set like this.\n","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-01-09-brains/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Brains?","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/brawnbrains/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Brawnbrains","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/helloagain/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Helloagain","type":"tags"},{"content":"Thanks to all my friends and family. I hope the best for all of you in the new year.\nAs I said earlier, I did get an answer of sorts for my yearlong quest to hear the voice of God. No, it\u0026rsquo;s not what I wanted, but religion is not always about what I want. To paraphrase the Rolling Stones, you don\u0026rsquo;t always get what you want, but you do get what you need.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s quest is to enjoy my Christianity. More about that later, but a lot of it boils down to adding good to my life instead of subtracting bad from it. Think Luke 11:24-26. Posting about faith, I hope to start with Ten Things I Want to Do as a Christian and work from there.\nI am very glad that 2008 is gone. It was not a good year. There is a lot of hope for this year. Aside from a legal issue to deal with in Februrary, things are looking up for the year. Our family should be out of debt - that includes car, bills, medical, etc. Credit scores have been examined and all issues resolved. This, of course, means a new house, if the Lord allows. My office has space, the garage is about 33% completed (meaning we have decluttered our lives by about 1/3), and the house is ready for folks to visit.\nI need to do Yet Another ReOrg on all the sites I host. I have some cruft and unused space that needs to go away. I also have some structual irregularities that need to be fixed. In the end, I want to be able to connect to my FTP account and see folders for blog, sycarion, wikifarm, clerry, church, etc. As it is now, the current church site is a sub folder of a sub folder of a folder for the original church site in 2004. There\u0026rsquo;s a not-so-secret subdomain with some files that needs to go away. In short, it\u0026rsquo;s a big ol\u0026rsquo; mess.\nAnywho, more to follow.\n","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-01-09-its-2009/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's 2009","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/needsmoretodo/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Needsmoretodo","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/que/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Que","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"9 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/yaro/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Yaro","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/auldlangsyne/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Auldlangsyne","type":"tags"},{"content":"May you have a year of peace, even amidst the storms life may bring you. May you find delight in all things free and beautiful. May your joy be a promise kept and your strength be the love of a friend. May your hope be in a place that is not too far from where you are now.\nCelebrate because of or in spite of the year that has past. (For many of us, it\u0026rsquo;s both.) Love your neighbor because it is not evil. Be honest with everyone.\n","date":"1 January 2009","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2009-01-01-happy-new-year-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy New Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/batteries/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Batteries","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/holidays/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Holidays","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/robertearlkeen/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Robertearlkeen","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sothisischristmas/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sothisischristmas","type":"tags"},{"content":"It was shortly after 11pm, I had just assembled the world\u0026rsquo;s coolest tricycle and Mama Bear was finishing up some last minute gifts. She pulled out a little last minute gift intended for Dancing Bear, an FM microphone. Think Mr. Microphone, but pink with Hannah Montana stickers on it.\nWe were attempting to tune it into the radio when we realized that the batteries were not working. Keep in mind that we had thought ahead. There was a large package of AA batteries in the desk upstairs - we just needed to pull down the last 5 to make sure Dancing Bear could sing her heart out. However, when testing our wonderful gift, we both realized that the 5 in the package were the \u0026rsquo;empties\u0026rsquo; from other toys.\nIt was decision time. Would I, Papa Bear, leave the home and go for batteries at 11:30pm on Christmas Eve? Did we really need batteries for what most would consider a stocking stuffer?\nI arrived at Walgreens to find that I was apparently not the only parent on earth that needed a few last minute things. The checkout lines were 10 deep each. A third line in the photo area was also full. Everyone was looking rather tired, especially a woman that I assumed had just gotten off work searching for a few presents. Based on where she was, it appeared to be for a smaller child about the age of Brother Bear.\nI told her not to get the Hannah Montana FM Microphone.\nThe batteries were on every aisle. Mega packs of AA and AAA were on sale. With all the people in the store, I was amazed that so many were left. As I made my way to the front, with batteries in hand, all I could think about was a Christmas tune sung by Robert Earl Keen.\nYes, I found the fake snow. No, I didn\u0026rsquo;t buy it - we still have three inches on the ground from two weeks ago.\nThe assistant manager behind the counter was wishing folks a good night. The lady in front of me was buying Christmas ornaments. They were the big red ball kind. I thought to myself about why anyone would decorate this late. Then again, who would forget the batteries at 11pm when the kids fell asleep hours earlier? She made her purchase and made her way to the crowded parking lot.\nI wished the man behind the counter a Merry Christmas. I told him that I hoped he didn\u0026rsquo;t have to stay long. He informed me that he would be able to go home at 1am and wrap presents for his children. I didn\u0026rsquo;t dare ask when he had to be back to the store on Christmas Day. I had a gut feeling that the answer would have made both of us pretty sad. I asked him if there was anything he needed. After a pause, he thanked me and said that he would be okay. He said that he just wanted to make it to 1am.\nI told him that I would still be up wrapping presents, too.\nAfter paying, I made my way to the parking lot. It was utter chaos. One man was performing a freestyle rap about his girlfriend and a photoshoot. His girlfriend was nowhere in sight. He seemed to be performing to no one in particular in the middle of the parking lot. He was making his way to the front door, but it was at a very relaxed pace.\nEveryone else was rushing around. More and more cars poured in from all three entrances. The lot was full, but folks kept finding spots all around the store. I had parked quite a distance away, hoping to avoid any damage to our car from one of my fellow patrons. It\u0026rsquo;s still cold here, so it didn\u0026rsquo;t feel very good to make this trek (a block), but it was worth it. Looking around, it was remarkable how quiet the city was once a person got a few hundred yards away from the only store open.\nThe city was sleeping peacefully. Shops are closed - even gas stations are closed. As I got back into the car, I was thinking about Fireside Al reading a story entitled \u0026ldquo;The Shepherd\u0026rdquo;. If you don\u0026rsquo;t know about it, go to As It Happens on Canadian Public Radio and look for Christmas Eve traditions. It\u0026rsquo;s worth it. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen a lot of fog and cold this year. I\u0026rsquo;ve felt very lost through much of it. Driving home, all I could think about was the presence of a shepherd close by to watch over me. With no spiritual fuel, no compass, and no visibility, a shadow has appeared to me that has guided me to safe haven.\nWe don\u0026rsquo;t have a tree this year. It feels different to be without time-honored tradition. I\u0026rsquo;m sure it will feel just as odd in April when I think about disposing of the tree only to realize we don\u0026rsquo;t have one. Even without a tree, though, I have a home to go to.\nSo, yes, I have to sign off to wrap a few presents. As Frost said, I have miles and miles to go before I sleep. Still, I look forward to happy faces in the morning. I am glad that we, as a family, read the story of the first Christmas and did a devotion on hope. We have great hope, not just in our present circumstances, but hope for the future that really matters. Because of the birth of a child, we have the hope of Heaven.\nAs I write this, Christmas Day has started here. Merry Christmas to you and your family.\nMerry Christmas, Rock.\n","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-12-25-the-night-before-christmas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Night Before Christmas","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/walgreens/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Walgreens","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whattree/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whattree","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/areyouthere/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Areyouthere","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/familyofgod/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Familyofgod","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/resolution/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Resolution","type":"tags"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s more to write, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t had much time lately. This week is annual Clean-Out-Your-Desk week, so I should be able to elaborate more this week.\nBTW Doug, tis okay. I understand where you are coming from. God has worked things out in all my bad decisions, as well as my good ones. Looking back on the bad ones, though, I wonder if He would have preferred a different choice. It\u0026rsquo;s difficult for me to believe in a personal God that is ambivalent in major decisions. However, it is quite easy for me to believe He would answer, \u0026ldquo;neither A nor B, just follow me\u0026rdquo;. Jesus did that kind of thing a lot.\nTo everyone else: I\u0026rsquo;ll be back in the new year. I\u0026rsquo;ve made peace with the fact that God is not going to answer me at this time. I think about Gabriel sending news to Elizabeth about the upcoming birth of John the Baptist: up to that point, God had not spoken to his people directly for hundreds of years. People lived and died for generations without \u0026lsquo;hearing the word of the Lord\u0026rsquo; so to speak.\nIn my case, I will have to base my faith on trust alone. For reasons known only to Him, I\u0026rsquo;m not getting an answer. So, I\u0026rsquo;ll do what I think is best for my family and me.\nThanksgiving, I visited my wife\u0026rsquo;s family. We went mainly to retrieve certain items from her father\u0026rsquo;s house. Still, who can resist a group photo?\nI began talking to her father about our decision to stay with the family instead of visit the ICoC(Cooperative) church in Minneapolis. He raised his concerns with my wife\u0026rsquo;s involvement with the church from 10 - 15 years ago up until she moved to be with me. He expressed some happiness to meet the folks that are part of the ICoC(Cooperative) church we attend here. He felt that they were good people that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t take advantage of my wife and me.\nHe also went on to share a common thought I hear from non-Christians. He talked about many Christians do not seem to represent to teaching of their founder. I expressed to him that my wife and I\u0026rsquo;s days of passing eternal judgment are over. At this point, we are going to strive to obey our founder rather than point out why others are going to Hell.\nI give all credit to the wonderful people in the church we attend.\nFor that reason, I\u0026rsquo;m staying. My wife has always wanted her family to know God (as opposed to church) and it seems that the Body of Christ locally is representing God very well.\nMerry Christmas to everyone. Much love from all of us.\n","date":"21 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-12-21-silence/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Silence","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/silence/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Silence","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/christmas/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Christmas","type":"tags"},{"content":"Back from the dead with a post along the Christmas meme:\nWrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags when I can get away with it.\nReal tree or Artificial? Real tree or none at all. This year, no tree.\nWhen do you put up the tree? Usually the second week of December.\nWhen do you take the tree down? I\u0026rsquo;ve set records. I posted about a March tree, which is about average. Personal record in June.\nDo you like eggnog? Yah.\nFavorite gift received as a child? The TI99-4/A with Extended Basic, expansion case complete with RS232 card and working Speech Synthesizer.\nHardest person to buy for? Me.\nEasiest person to buy for? My children.\nDo you have a nativity scene? Not yet.\nMail or email Christmas cards? Christmas Cards, but I send too few.\nWorst Christmas gift you ever received? Don\u0026rsquo;t Know.\nFavorite Christmas movie? Cartoon Version of The Grinch that Stole Christmas.\nWhen do you start shopping? My wife finished shopping in March. It\u0026rsquo;s somehow related to the time when we take down the tree every year.\nHave you ever recycled a Christmas present? re-gifting? Maybe.\nFavorite thing to eat at Christmas? Gravy.\nLights on the tree? Yes\nFavorite Christmas song? O Holy Night.\nTravel at Christmas or stay home? HOME HOME HOME.\nCan you name all of Santa\u0026rsquo;s reindeer\u0026rsquo;s? Yes. Can you name Rudolph\u0026rsquo;s parents?\nAngel on the tree top or a star? Angel.\nOpen the presents Christmas Eve or morning? The afternoon of Christmas Day. Very painful for the rest of us. Some goofy tradition from my wife\u0026rsquo;s side of the family.\nMost annoying thing about this time of the year? The merchandise available on Nov 3rd.\nFavorite ornament theme or color? Silve and Blue.\nFavorite Christmas memory? My brother and I as adults both home for Christmas.\nWhat do you want for Christmas this year? Board Game Kits and bits.\nWho is most likely to respond to this? Who knows?\n","date":"5 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-12-05-970/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Christmas Meme","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/meme/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Meme","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 December 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whatilikeaboutyou/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whatilikeaboutyou","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"1 November 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fragment/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fragment","type":"tags"},{"content":"Writing\nMy friend Scott is beginning on his second novel today. He writes every year as part of nanowrimo. This year will be a similar thing for me, however, mine will be more of an role-playing game setting than a novel. I\u0026rsquo;ve written about it before, but basically, I learn a lot about God through world-building and I believe a lot of good principles can be taught in a role-playing situation. I have a novel or sixteen in my cranium, but until the children are older, I will not have the time to work on them the way I want to work on them. I\u0026rsquo;m about two years away from that point.\nStructure\nRight now, we are just acclimating them to a 8pm bedtime. With all the other stuff going on for the past three years, we\u0026rsquo;ve been lucky to have 10 days in a row be roughly the same. Now that many of those issues have passed, we can be more proactive in providing more structure in their lives. As I said, one of those measures is a consistent, early bedtime. (The end of daylight savings time will help a lot tonight.) Other measures include a more consistent bedtime for Mama Bear and Papa Bear, having more people over to our house (as opposed to going to their houses), devotional night not being moved around to accommodate medical/church/crisis issues, and the like. The congregation I attend is working through the material called Heart Work right now. It is a wonderful resource thus far.\nCause\nThanks to everyone that commented or email me. I appreciate encouragement in any form, really. Before I share more, though, let me say that the moratorium on advice is over. The main purpose of it was that so I could figure out what is really bothering me. Why do I feel like I cannot hear God\u0026rsquo;s voice? Until I could figure out why, I really couldn\u0026rsquo;t take input because it would further cloud the issue. Now that I have a better idea, fire away.\nThe main issue is this: Where does God want me to be?\nI\u0026rsquo;ve spent many years seeking the will of God. I\u0026rsquo;ve asked \u0026ldquo;Where are you?\u0026rdquo; since I was a teenager at least. My father remembers me talking out loud to God when I was a child. (If that story is true, I would love to be able to see again the angels talking with me!) As far as I can remember, I\u0026rsquo;ve always wanted to know God and be known by Him. I credit that to my wonderful mom and dad.\nSeminal moments in my brief life thus far have put me in a place where I have said, \u0026ldquo;Aha! God wants me to be *here* and not *there*!\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s not so much been with a particular group of people (although sometimes it has) as much as a geographic location.\nI wanted to leave my hometown from about age 14 onwards, so I thought my opportunity was two years at the School of Science and Math. I imagined living somewhere else for my junior and senior years, meeting ubersmart math geeks, and generally teaching mathematical theory for the rest of my life. I was certain that this school was where I should be.\nThe year I applied, seven qualified to attend, but by state law only two from each county can go. I was number 4. One of the two chosen to go dropped out after a few months. I was devastated. You see, there is no recount and no reapplication. (No. 3 didn\u0026rsquo;t want to go either.) You have only one shot and I missed it. I consoled myself that I had two really good friends and I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t lose them by moving away just yet.\nThe next goal was a four-year stay at UNC-Chapel Hill. From there, I imagined my life taking me all over the country and the world. I imagined my math buddies and I exploring theory and working through proving Fermat\u0026rsquo;s last theorem. This dream would have been helped more by hard work my junior and senior years, but by then I was just plain lazy. I got an F in Physics because of a general de-motivation to be a part of class. All I had to do was the homework just to get a B, but I hated the class, so I refused to do the homework.\nThat one \u0026ldquo;F\u0026rdquo; took away my instant ride to UNC and any hope of a scholarship. I say this knowing full well that my laziness and awful work ethic were leading me to this place for years previous to my senior year. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until this \u0026ldquo;F\u0026rdquo; though that all of this was revealed. At the time, I had a hard time believing that this could be true - after all, I placed into UNC in the eighth grade by SAT score alone. (I also qualified for Harvard\u0026rsquo;s waiting list. I sent my scored to both places.) My destiny was UNC-CH\u0026hellip;\nAnd then I was put on their waiting list. The wait extended into deadline for all the other colleges I applied to. (Harvard said \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; by the way.) First, I said no to East Carolina. It was too close to hope and a last resort anyway. Next was Virginia Tech because I was out of state. Third was NC State by deafult, which was my next to last resort. I never really said \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo;, I just let the deadline pass. Fourth, and final, was Wake Forest. I really wanted to go to Wake Forest at that point. My family told me not to use money as a criteria to say \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo;. But I said \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; anyway. I never told them until now it was because of the cost of tuition.\nClasses were about to start and I was still waiting. My father arranged to have me talk to the Dean of Graduate Admissions in order to get his endorsement. I also talked to a state senator and a few other folks. I was really beginning to worry. So a couple days before orientation, we traveled to Raleigh to see if begging would help.\nIt did and the rest is history.\nI kept telling myself that at least I was in college somewhere. Still, I thought I was going to be a few miles down the road. I guess it was not meant to be.\nNot long after being there, I met the ICoC folks. For the better part of two years I was on and off with them. I attended everything, but wouldn\u0026rsquo;t study. When I finally did study the Bible, I remember spending a lot of nights in Pullen Park at night saying, \u0026ldquo;God, is *this* where you want me?\u0026rdquo;\nI hadn\u0026rsquo;t really talked to God in a long time at that point. I figured that this was His way of telling me that I was an arrogant jerk and that I needed to live for something other than myself. Since these people had been so patient and had showed me the Bible in a way I had never seen, I was certain that this was where God wanted me to be.\nThe rest of that is history as well. I look back at that time and I want to reverse that decision almost every day of my life. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t help to think about how that decision saved my life (literally) and got me focused on graduating and set me on the path I\u0026rsquo;m on now. Knowing that my life would be a lot worse, assuming I was even alive, is no comfort because of the evil I did in God\u0026rsquo;s name because of that decision.\nI was so certain that I was doing God\u0026rsquo;s will. For a brief time, I felt it so strongly. I prayed, I fasted, I searched the Scriptures, I asked others inside and outside the church. Ultimately, I did what I wanted to do because I ignored all the advice of those outside the church. I may never know if my time in the ICoC was something God used despite choosing to join or if God actively wanted me to join knowing what would happen to me later in life. Yes, I understand that there are more choices than these two. Currently, I think that maybe He wanted me to join, but that he didn\u0026rsquo;t want me to do all the things I did. Yet, I was doing what was expected from each person in a broad sense. I obeyed the leaders, I brought people to services, I studied the Bible with hundreds (if not 1000) people, I read and prayed (though not everyday), I tithed, etc. Outside of the extraordinary things I was asked to do that were clearly not biblical (spying, directing the lives of others, manipulating people, etc.) I was teaching and living false doctrine.\nHow could God direct me to be a part of a group that harmed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide? I thought that evil existed because of his allowance for free will, not at his direction.\nAt times in my ICoC life, I struggled over leaving because my head said I should go, but my heart was afraid of being alone. I would grouse about various issues (dating rules, etc.) but ultimately could not see any life for me outside of *the church*.\nFast forward a few years to moving out here. Everyone advised me to stay. I prayed about it and fasted about it, sure. I even called my buddy Kurt at the drive-thru of Taco Bell because I felt like I had received my answer to come here. Although I denied it at the time, I came out here because I just wanted to leave. Just like other decisions in my life, I ended up doing what I wanted to do anyway.\nSure I ended up avoiding the implosion of my old church. Still, I had to track down Sam and talk to him anyway. I still flew home twice to work out any relationship and repair harm where I could. I made my best efforts before God and man to make amends. I didn\u0026rsquo;t see the day-to-day breaking down of the church, but I sure felt the effects of it. It is not comforting to think that I avoided losing my religion four years ago because I feel like I am losing it now. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have had the great life I have now without coming here, I believe. But I am back to the same question of God\u0026rsquo;s direct will or God\u0026rsquo;s allowed will.\nSo, when I face a major crossroads, I don\u0026rsquo;t know what God is trying to tell me. Any other major decision in my life, I\u0026rsquo;ve ended up doing what I wanted despite the counsel of others. Why ask for advice or seek the Word of the Lord in the first place? I think I hear him, but I hear my own voice instead. God seems to work things out, but am I ever going to hear him? Am I really supposed to make decision myself and pray for His divine providence to work things out? That seems to put the cart before the horse.\nHere I am at another major crossroads.\nOn second thought, I need to write out the other section better. The major crossroads is bigger than where to worship, it is what does God want me to do now?\nAll ideas welcome.\n","date":"1 November 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-11-01-november-crossroads/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"November Crossroads","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"1 November 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whereareyou/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whereareyou","type":"tags"},{"content":"In 30 days, a lot can happen. If anything, I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that about six folks I know visit here periodically. How cool is that?\nSince Sept 5, I have not felt too motivated to write much of anything. My wife planned Deaf Hispanic Day, and it went well. The state wants it to be an annual event. Brother Bear turns three, soon. He is talking, signing, and fingerspelling. As we head into our first IEP, there are certain issues that are good to have. He\u0026rsquo;s a smart boy, a very smart boy. We had a parent workshop that was really good and completely Non-ICOC. It was very encouraging to me and my wife. Our 4th Anniversary is near the end of the month. Hard to believe that we have only been married for 4 years. In a good way, it feels like 30.\nIn a troubling economy, I work in a public company. My job is more secure than many, but I still want to prove valuable in order to avoid the worst. By taking a Help Desk job instead of a developer job in 2002, I\u0026rsquo;ve lost my specialty. I cannot get paid my current salary going anywhere else. Still, I am grateful that I have a reliable job that starts at 8 and ends at 4:30. I get to be home and with my family.\nMany things are going well.\nHowever, I am finding that I cannot hear God anymore. For years now, I hear the voices of men when I read the Bible. I hear my own voice many times and like to attribute it to God. I have not given up the faith, but I have a real problem. The faith I have feels like it is a stapled-on addition.\nI thought that working through circumstances around Baby Bear\u0026rsquo;s birth would free that up. I thought that working through marital issues would help. I thought that taking a few days of just me and God would help. Yet, I am beginning to lose hope that I will ever hear his voice again.\nI have tried begging Him, I have tried screaming at Him, I have tried walking away from Him, I have tried everything I can think of. I have tried therapy, the direct approach, the indirect approach, giving me some time, giving Him some time, prayer, fasting, isolation, group activities, etc. etc. etc.\nDespite all of this, there is no answer. It\u0026rsquo;s been so long, I am not even upset anymore. I have just accepted it as what I can only guess is what I must do in this life.\nYet, I just cannot let go. God was real once. It was undeniable and it was not ICoC. God was with me and I knew it. In some way, God is still with me, but for reasons that I cannot understand, He just doesn\u0026rsquo;t say anything.\nSome have told me that Satan has confused me in that I can no longer read the Bible without hearing God. Some have advised that I \u0026ldquo;try the Holy Spirit\u0026rdquo;. Others had noted a lack of discipleship partner, while others have chided me for my lack of outward focus. I\u0026rsquo;m certain you have your ideas as well, but I would not like to have advice right now. Seriously, I love you all, but don\u0026rsquo;t offer me advice, please.\nI do not need to be fixed.\nGod has always had a purpose for pain. In many ways, it provides gravitas to the one that suffers. I get asked to be on government committees and speak to families. It\u0026rsquo;s not because I\u0026rsquo;m a great person, it\u0026rsquo;s because of some painful circumstances in my life. There is something that cannot be answered when a person that \u0026lsquo;has been there\u0026rsquo; speaks on a topic.\nThere are notable characters in the Bible that went through much worse ordeals than me. In the end, their words and thoughts were recorded. We can thank the trials of Paul for having much of the NT. Maybe our brothers were afraid at first, but after being stoned and imprisoned a few times, there\u0026rsquo;s not much to argue against.\nWhy all of this? I guess I won\u0026rsquo;t post regularly after all. I do not feel like I have much to write at the present time. I\u0026rsquo;m sure I will in the future, just not now. I do not enjoy ICoC subculture. I do not enjoy being a Christian and a Democrat when all I get is \u0026ldquo;HOW CAN YOU VOTE FOR SOMEONE THAT ESPOUSES THE MURDER OF CHILDREN?!?!?!\u0026rdquo; as if I am Hitler come back from the grave. I don\u0026rsquo;t have the energy to write about the cool things my children do, though I wish I did. Both of them can tell some great stories.\nAll of it comes to a difficulty of faith. I won\u0026rsquo;t let go when everything in my mind says that it is already gone. Until something changes in that space. All of us will just have to wait and pray I guess.\n","date":"11 October 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-10-11-30-days/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"30 Days","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"11 October 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dilemma/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dilemma","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"8 October 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/cryptic/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Cryptic","type":"tags"},{"content":"maybe\u0026hellip;\n","date":"8 October 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-10-08-cryptic-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Cryptic Post","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hawaiiquarter/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hawaiiquarter","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/odyssey/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Odyssey","type":"tags"},{"content":"I started a project back in May with a website called Odyssey Authors. It\u0026rsquo;s a collaborative writing site with a few other fun things thrown in. The website had a major facelift recently, and interest is growing. The admin just sent current members an email this morning saying:\nHoly cow the site is blossoming like Blossom from the TV show Blossom! These last few days have been a masterful success for Odyssey Authors. With our new site design and our recharged advertising campaign the site is starting to fulfill the vision we all had for it when we first created it.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re right on the tipping point, ladies and gentlemen. All we need is a few more days of your continued activity while new people are checking us out. Take a look around the site, make a couple posts, be generally jolly. The chat rooms are back up, so maybe hop in there and see what\u0026rsquo;s crackin'.\nAs always I \u0026lt;3 you all. Thanks for your dedication to our cause!\nI was proud to have the first Odyssey and to see a contribution. It\u0026rsquo;s way past my turn to write the next chapter. Feel free to stop by and even join. They are a great crowd.\nThis was the story as I wrote the first chapter. Notes and background information are available at the link.\nThe Story Thus Far:\nRick absent-mindedly thumbed through the change in his pocket as he walked into work. As a general practice, he parked in the very last row of the parking lot in order to get a bit more exercise. Combined with the habit of always taking the stairs, he hoped that he was burning a least a few of the calories coming from the muffin he ate for breakfast.\nAbout halfway to the entrance, he began to get a dull headache behind his eyes. As a distraction, he pulled out a coin from his coat pocket hoping it was a quarter. He didn’t collect the 50 state quarters, but he found it distracting enough to see which states he had collected while going about everyday life. He hoped it would be a new Montana quarter.\nTo his surprise, he found the weathered image of King Kamehameha I staring back at him. Reading the state motto, Ua mau ke ea o ka‘aina i ka pono, his headache worsened when he considered its meaning. Pausing to get a deep breath of the chilly morning air, he put the Hawaii quarter back in his pocket and fished for ibuprofen in his other pocket.\nLooks like a three-pill day, he muttered to himself as he swallowed them. Rick did not like swallowing them without a drink of some kind, but there’s no water fountain or anything else until he comes off the stairs on the third floor.\nHe thought to himself about the assorted paper-pushing projects sitting on his desk and let out a groan. He comforted himself that it was Thursday and that the weekend was near. Walking steadily, he made it to the front door and turned to take the stairs alone.\n","date":"5 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-09-05-odyssey-authors/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Odyssey Authors","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/por/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Por","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"5 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/prose/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Prose","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/atonement/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Atonement","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/consequence/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Consequence","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/good/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Good","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/grace/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Grace","type":"tags"},{"content":"\u0026hellip;and He says, \u0026ldquo;you are very good.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen God created the earth and everything in it, he set apart mankind as special. The heavens, the ground, the plants, the animals; these things he spoke into existence. Mankind, however, was made deliberately. You could say that the first man was crafted. God has absolute power - when He speaks it happens. Yet, when He considered us, He put His hands into the ground and gave Adam his shape.\nGod didn\u0026rsquo;t stop here, though. All the other creatures were given life because God said that His creations have life in them. For mankind, he stooped on the ground and awoke Adam with a kiss. The first thing Adam saw when He opened his eyes was God looking at him with love. God was close enough to touch and Adam could hear His voice.\nWhen God considered Eve, he took a part of Adam and did the same thing. Eve was forged out of the ground and shaped by God\u0026rsquo;s hand. When she awoke the first time, she also saw God looking at her with love. She could also see that He was close enough to touch. She could hear His voice as well.\nYou were made from a part of me and a part of your mother. For nine and a half months, God knit you together in the belly of your mother. At the appointed time, you joined us. I am sorry that the first thing you saw was the concerned look of a midwife and a hand pump taking breath from you. However, you soon saw me and later your mother. When I held you, I told you that you were good - not because I have the power of God, but because it is true.\nThis is not the end of the story, however. God, out of his love, provided boundaries to Adam and Eve. They were simple and easily understood. One was that they could eat any fruit or vegetable to sustain themselves. The main one, though, was that they were not to eat from a certain tree.\nObeying that rule was more difficult than you may think, especially when an interloper comes and stands between mankind and God. An angel visited Adam and Eve and convinced them to disobey. When they disobeyed, they sinned against God and all their descendants.\nSin has a consequence. For Adam and Eve, it was knowing the difference between good and evil. Once they learned about evil, there was no way to protect their children from that knowledge. God even visited one of their children and warned him about the power of evil. Still, this one sin has a consequence that affects me, you, and everyone alive. Despite all the best efforts of billions of parents, children learn about evil and eventually choose it. Despite my best efforts, you have learned about evil from me, in part, because you have seen it in me.\nThe consequences of sin don\u0026rsquo;t go away - sin has a permanent effect on the world. This is why sin is a grave matter! Hold on to the knowledge of good that you have. It will save your life and the lives of others!\nAs serious as sin is, there is a remedy. The remedy is even more serious than sin because its price is so high. My son, sin can only be overcome with atonement and forgiveness. Forgiveness can be difficult to give to someone that hurts you, but over time, even hardened cynics like me can forgive. Atonement, however, is quite serious. The penalty for introducing sin into the world is blood and death. You see, the only way for the sin to die inside of a man is for the man to die. There is no other way.\nGod provided the blood of animals to Adam and Eve. He later provided his only Son for them and all their descendants. His son, Jesus, shed innocent blood and died. He took on the sins of the world into his own body so that sin could die with him. Through him, atonement has been given for the sin in all our lives. When he arose from the dead, sin had been conquered once and for all. When he arose, we all had a chance at forgiveness.\nI will tell you more about this later. Suffice it to say that we must also die and be raised again, just like Jesus. It is the only way for our sin to die. It is the only way for us to be forgiven. It is the only way to reclaim that which God declared in us to be good. I have been through this journey and I want to help you through the same journey when the time is right.\nRemember where the good comes from. It comes from God. You do not earn His love. You do not earn mine. You are good because God said so, not because of who you are or what you do. When I held you at birth and every time after that, I said that you were good because you are. Sin has a consequence, yet so does atonement. Because of sin, we know good and evil - because of atonement, we know love, faith, and hope. The penalty has been paid. Therefore, we can know the love of God, the faith of his Son, and the hope for all mankind, not just me and you.\nThere are so many that will tell you that you are bad. Sometimes those voices seem louder than God\u0026rsquo;s voice. Remember, you are very good, and that will never change. Despite sin, God still says that you are good. You were created very good by God, just like Adam. God\u0026rsquo;s words do not ever change. No. Never Change. When He speaks, it is reality, and no force in the universe can change it.\nYes, you will sin. Yes you will have to make amends to those whom you sin against. In order for them to forgive you, you will have to work hard to see justice done at your own expense. God has atoned for it, yes, but for the sake of others, you will have to make things right with those you have sinned against. As Paul has said, overcome evil with good. Do not let your first sin, your second sin, or your most recent sin overcome you. Do what is right because God\u0026rsquo;s perspective of you has never changed.\nWhen you sin, we will be there and we will support you no matter what. This is true because of who you are, not what you have done or not done. As your mother and I have said many times, \u0026ldquo;Doing the right thing is not always easy, but there is always grace.\u0026rdquo; As Titus has said, the grace of God is the divine influence that continues to teach us what is good. Whatever happens, listen to that divine influence because it will teach you to choose the good and avoid what is evil.\nAll of this begins with love. As John says, we love because God first loved us. You were formed in love, knit together by God. God loves you. My son, God is here and he says that you are very good. Do not ever forget that.\n","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-09-02-my-son-god-is-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Son, God is Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/myson/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Myson","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sin/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sin","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/verygood/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Verygood","type":"tags"},{"content":"Forgot that today was Labor Day. Still, will post later today or tonight.\nThe parody of the Paxton song was *not* the spiritual entry. That was just a random idea that came from listening to a tape of songs performed by my father-in-law.\nMore later\u0026hellip;\n","date":"1 September 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-09-01-running-late/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Running Late","type":"posts"},{"content":"with apologies to Tom Paxton and Arlo Guthrie\nOh the price of oil is rising out of sight. And the dollar is in sorry shape tonight. What a dollar used to get us Now won\u0026rsquo;t buy a head of lettuce; No, the economic forecast isn\u0026rsquo;t bright.\nBut amidst the clouds I spot a shining ray. I can even glimpse a new and better way. And I\u0026rsquo;ve devised a plan of action - Worked it down to the last fraction And I\u0026rsquo;m going into action here today.\nCHORUS: I\u0026rsquo;m changing my name to Freddie Mac. I\u0026rsquo;m going down to Washington D.C. I will tell some petty tyrant What they did for Richie Syron Will be perfectly acceptable to me. I am changing my name to Freddie Mac. I am going to that great receiving line. So when they hand a billion grand out, I\u0026rsquo;ll be standing with my hand out. \u0026hellip;You\u0026rsquo;ll gets yours as soon as I get mine.\nWhen my creditors are screaming for their dough. I\u0026rsquo;ll be proud to tell them all where they can all go. They won\u0026rsquo;t have to scream and holler, They\u0026rsquo;ll be paid to the last dollar Where the endless streams of money seem to flow.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be glad to tell them just what they can do. It\u0026rsquo;s a matter of a simple form or two. It\u0026rsquo;s not just renumeration, it\u0026rsquo;s a liberal education. Aren\u0026rsquo;t you kinda glad that I\u0026rsquo;m in debt to you?\nCHORUS\nSince the first amphibians crawled out of the ooze. We\u0026rsquo;ve been struggling in a fight some did not choose. We were hardly up and walking before money started talking And it\u0026rsquo;s sad that failure is an awful crime.\nWell it\u0026rsquo;s been that way for a millennium or two. But now it seems that there\u0026rsquo;s a different point of view. If you\u0026rsquo;re a corporate titanic and your failure is gigantic, Down in congress there\u0026rsquo;s a safety net for you.\n(one more time)\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re a corporate titanic and your failure is gigantic, A friend\u0026rsquo;s in Pennsylvania Avenue.\nCHORUS REPRISE I am changing my name to Freddie Mac. I am going down to Washington D.C. I will tell some petty tyrant What they did for Richie Syron Will be perfectly acceptable to me. I am changing my name to Freddie Mac. I\u0026rsquo;ll be in Congress at appointed time. There will be a big tongue-lashing But the checks are still a-cashing \u0026hellip;You\u0026rsquo;d think this kind of thing would be a crime.\n","date":"30 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-30-changing-my-name-to-freddie-mac/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Changing My Name to Freddie Mac","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"26 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/are-belong-to-us/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Are-Belong-to-Us","type":"tags"},{"content":"Turns out that the footer of this theme is base64 encrypted to avoid making changes. The problem was that the links went to a spam site. So, the theme has been fixed to correctly point to the creator of this theme, twice. Links to spam sites have been removed.\nAlso changed was the archive code. The archive code will now correctly display the date and comments from older posts.\nOther than that, I hope to switch back and forth between this and the customized purpleish theme. I have to remove the spam links from that one as well.\nContent for letters to my son are almost done. Finished one and working on the others. Last edit this week. Otherwise, a regular schedule will be followed for posting. Anything out of schedule will be about immediate events or the website itself.\nMonday will be a spiritually minded post. Wednesday will be a more of a family post. Friday will be a post with drafts of my fiction writing/podcasting.\nSchedule starts next week. Much love to my friends.\n","date":"26 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-26-final-details/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Final Details","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"26 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/nospam/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Nospam","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"26 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/schedule/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Schedule","type":"tags"},{"content":"This theme, called Purple World, was coded by Webagentur. Unlike many folks that do striking graphics, he/she included the Photoshop file with the theme. This allowed me to change the name from Dawncore Designs to the website name. It also allowed me to remove the human face found in the original. Later on, I\u0026rsquo;ll change the buildings to be local buildings.\nI almost went this design (I may still do it.) it\u0026rsquo;s by the same person.\nI tried MT 4.2. I really did. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t import the old posts. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find my first post. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t navigate very well. I was daunted by how to change template stuff. Mostly, it was the multi-hour failed imports. I realize this is because of the bad system Wordpress uses for exporting XML.\nMaybe it is like podcasting and blogging. No one really does both.\n","date":"22 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-22-about-finished-with-rework/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"About Finished with Rework","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/maybenexttime/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Maybenexttime","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/mt4/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Mt4","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sorryscott/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sorryscott","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"18 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/brotherbear/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Brotherbear","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"18 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/curriculum/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Curriculum","type":"tags"},{"content":"Still working on the transition.\nI love this theme, but I need a different color scheme. I like something that is not Blue or Green. Eventually, it will be some kind of pink. Of course, this will include a post about how it is okay to call me pink and that I am quite secure in my masculinity.\nOh Well.\nOtherwise, my wife advised that I should write things to our children. At this point, it may be specific to Brother Bear, our son. We are gearing up for his transition into pre-school which begins this Thursday. We had our choice of two preschools, but we opted for Boys Town as the teacher of the preschool is also the same person that made home visits for the past two years.\nBesides, he prays for her every night. If I don\u0026rsquo;t include her in the list, he will let me know immediately that we needs to ask God to bless her. How could I take him to another teacher when she was available?\nAnyway, I started writing things to Brother Bear about God and other things. Part of this is functional as we are preparing curriculum for his homeschooling in a couple years. We may put him in Kindegarden and/or 1st grade, but even then, we plan on supplementing his education. Around here, it is considered automatic for hard of hearing/deaf children to repeat kindergarten. I understand the reasoning behind it, but I feel like it is not necessary for many children. (A parent friend of ours went through this ten years ago, she is very helpful.)\nAs I said, we are working on curriculum. I\u0026rsquo;ve started writing it, but unlike many entries here, it will be edited and more thought-out. The first one, God is Here and He Says You Are Very Good will show up sometime this week. The second will focus on making good choices.\nSo that\u0026rsquo;s the haps with me. My boss encouraged me to be there for his first day of pre-school, so I may have pictures.\nUntil next time, God Bless\u0026hellip;\n","date":"18 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-18-still-reworking/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Still Reworking","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"8 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hermeneutics/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hermeneutics","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"8 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/meaning/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Meaning","type":"tags"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s going to be slow, but I\u0026rsquo;m going to repurpose the website. This is coordinated with a physical change at home. I no longer share an office, but I have a room of my own. The next stage will be to have a camera of my own because so many things are better explained by pictures.\nWhat I currently have is a simple writing tablet for my thoughts (hence the name) and a unique search engine keyword that generates many, many entries on google, cuil, and other search engines. I have an interest in games of all kinds, but little experience connecting to others with similar interests. I write about those on a different site. I am a part-time developer for Absolute Linux. I am a member of Hands of Voices of Nebraska where my wife serves as co-Vice President. I would like to setup something like my friend Scott or like Michelle Murrain whom I have read about in a linux.com article.\nWhat I don\u0026rsquo;t have is any kind of focus. I\u0026rsquo;m not really that interested in ICoC (Community or CoOperative) affairs anymore though I attend an ICoC(CoOperative) congregation. I have chosen to do nothing about the three Douglas\u0026rsquo;, the two Marty\u0026rsquo;s or the patridge in a pear tree (Kip) that were a part of the now defunct heirarchy. I\u0026rsquo;m not entirely interested in spiritual writing anymore as I am still looking for a distinctly Un-American expression of my Christianity. Writing about it online does not edify me. Some may find my journey interesting, but I\u0026rsquo;m not always able to write it all down. Sometimes, I don\u0026rsquo;t really want to write it down.(I\u0026rsquo;ll explain more about it later in the post.)\nDespite being an election year, I am deliberately avoiding politics. I am disappointed with the two major candidates, Hillary Clinton, and most involved in the political process at all. Locally, the Senate race and Mayoral race is devolving into the same kind of partisan wars.\nI originally setup separate websites for each interest when I had more time to write, but with limited time, I want to unify efforts. I also want to post things after I have edited them, instead of ad hoc publishing. This, of course, means some sort of schedule, which I hope to finish, soon.\nSo, what is this Un-American spirituality I mentioned?\nI want to move away from a consumer-oriented religion. This would be something like Purpose-Driven where many of the underlying concepts derive from marketing principles and the American belief that all effort must have some kind of business purpose. PDL Christianity, to me, morphs faith from a life based on experience and thought to a life based on bottom-line execution of five essential principles. I cannot live that way.\nI want to move away from an encompassing systems model of theology and worship. These systems depend on logic, a bundling of selected verses, and a set of hermeneutical assumptions. From these, a person can then determine orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right practices), and orthognosis (right knowledge). This process then gives us *the TRUTH* and it shall not be moved, especially not by other bundlings of verses or sets of hermeneutical assumptions.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to this section that really cannot be explained well in a short amount of time. I\u0026rsquo;ll try to hit the main points and just leave it at that.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t believe logic is the ultimate tool to divine truth. Somethings in Christianity are illogical, but are quite reasonable. Apologetics can provide useful research, especially to folks like me, but the analysis stops at the text. Pointing out that the \u0026ldquo;Golden Mean\u0026rdquo; paradigm of Proverbs is a logical fallacy tends to change the discussion to either wrath or an argument over \u0026ldquo;why the Bible can be trusted\u0026rdquo;. The point is that living by the Golden Mean is perfectly reasonable and living this way does lead to many of the promises in Proverbs. The power of Proverbs is not in its inherent logic (it\u0026rsquo;s not there) but in its application.\nThe Bible appears modular. It can be parsed into all kinds of modules by book, author, theme, chapter, or any other imaginable category. In this age of mashups, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to bundle some verses to make a point because it seems like a natural extension to the modular text. I don\u0026rsquo;t really buy into it. Moreover, I don\u0026rsquo;t want to buy into it.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t explained it very well, I know, but I\u0026rsquo;m getting into more detail without finishing the post. Bottom line for me is that the Bible was meant by God to be understood by any person willing to make a great effort. The tools available to Jesus\u0026rsquo; audience was memory and other people. Some were not literate, but may have had access to people that were. The Ethiopian was literate and had only the Old Testament and a brief visit by Philipp. In other words, the tools were organic and simple. Anyone should be able to work out Jesus\u0026rsquo; message with a Bible and honest and frank discussions. This is the Christianity that I want and I have not found it yet. I have found people willing to discuss Chrisitanity online, but I want to do this in person. Even Home Church groups I have looked into seem to have a demagogue endlessly writing about pet topics with absolute authority.\nBack to the Point\nSo, I am repuposing the site to write about other things. My friend Scott has taken an extended journey into focusing his site on podcasting with links to his other efforts. I hope to begin a similar journey myself. I wanted to give the five people that read here a warning before the major changes occurred.\nNow, the real trip starts\u0026hellip;\n","date":"8 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-08-rework-is-coming/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Rework is coming","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"8 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/searching/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Searching","type":"tags"},{"content":"It wants it\u0026rsquo;s Evangelization Proclamtion back.\nFor those that do not know, in 1994/95, we in the ICoC had a five year plan mandated by God to evangelize the world in one generation. This meant we had to have a church in every country that had a city of at least 100,000 folks. We were also supposed to have a church in all 50 states.\nWe came really close, but we didn\u0026rsquo;t make it despite the press at the 2000 Jubilee that we did. We had no church in Mississippi, South Dakota, or North Dakota by 2000. Many churches in Africa had 0 members. (Not kidding, it counted as a church if it had 0 members.) This push for tremendous growth was a key element in the accompanying collapse in 2003 - the 12 month period between May 1999 - May 2000 was probably the most intense, most demanding, least gracious, works-oriented time for many of the leaders. The reason was that we had to announce the completion of the EP for the 200 Jubilee.\nThe truth was not entirely necessary.\nNow, the earthquake in LA is seen as divine approval of the same style five year plan. The goals are more modest, but the effect is bound to be the same.\nThose that do not learn from history really do repeat it, sometimes verbatim.\n","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-04-1994-called/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"1994 Called","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ashthecat/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ashthecat","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goodquestion/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goodquestion","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/kip/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Kip","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/liesmoreliesanddamnedlies/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Liesmoreliesanddamnedlies","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tp/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tp","type":"tags"},{"content":" more cat pictures\nWe picked up our new friend from the shelter and he did something similar to this.\nThe other question he likes to ask is, \u0026ldquo;When do I eat real food instead of this tiny nugget junk?\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-08-04-tp-explosion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"TP Explosion","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 August 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/voiceofgod/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Voiceofgod","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/church-andor-spirituality/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Church-Andor-Spirituality","type":"tags"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t mean the tv show. I\u0026rsquo;ve never seen a single episode.\nThere are rules here at work that prohibit discussion about religion and politics. This, of course, means that we generally talk about these things when supervisors are on vacation. No one emails as all of them are meticulously tracked and stored for posterity. No one visits various political websites as network logs are all of them are just as meticulously stored for perusal of future archaeologists. In a place that makes the Great Firewall of China look like an anonymous proxy, all we can do is talk. We believe that the wireless router installed in the ceiling is really hiding a camera, but we\u0026rsquo;re pretty sure that the camera doesn\u0026rsquo;t have audio.\nAnd if it does, well, that\u0026rsquo;s just more work for future archaeologists.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a local theater production that is proving to be popular called Late Night Catechism. Attending the show brings you face to face with a nun that treats the audience like one of her classes. She explains a lot about Catholicism, much to the delight of many of those in attendance. I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen it, but I\u0026rsquo;d like to. Unfortunately, the show ends this Friday.\nCo-workers here have discussed it as a reflection of their own lives. As two of them discussed it yesterday, one, a former seminary student, shared a poignant experience. He said that growing up he was told not to read the Bible because it would confuse him, but that at seminary, all he did was read the Bible.\nHow odd, I thought. It\u0026rsquo;s funny that many in the Protestant tradition would say that their experience was exactly the opposite. Many Protestants grow up reading the Bible. The reasons why varied quite a bit, some of us did it because it was The Christian Thing to Do(TM). Some of us did it because all our other church friends said that they did, a few others of us did it because we had to be first in all classroom situations, including Sunday School. Whatever the reasons, though, Protestant seminaries are usually criticized for the de-emphasis of the Bible. It\u0026rsquo;s like saying, Don\u0026rsquo;t worry about reading the Bible, we\u0026rsquo;re just going to deconstruct it anyway.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t attend any kind of seminary, but my own experience is a little of both. I grew up reading a Children\u0026rsquo;s Bible to understand the stories, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t retain very much. What was important was faith in action, not necessarily understanding. We didn\u0026rsquo;t deal so much with how the Bible applied to our lives with much depth, but we always talked about what we could do for the community.\nGoing to college, I joined the church and began just reading the Bible for understanding its personal application in my life. After a few years, though, I stopped reading it once I memorized all the verses in the studies. The great strength in the study series was boiling down essential truths in a manner that was easy to pass on to others. It\u0026rsquo;s greatest weakness, though, was avoiding any instruction in how to read other passages besides them. (Even Deep Convictions wasn\u0026rsquo;t much better in days 34-40 which were supposed to cover this topic.) As a result, we heard the same set of 25 passages preached constantly. Acts 2:36-38, Matt 28-18-20, John 8, Hebrews 4:12-16, and most certainly James 5:16.\nOne other thing I learned early on was that all official doctrine came from LA. The first Teacher\u0026rsquo;s Conference told us that we could drink without sin, women could baptize women, and services could have instrumental music. It was the first time I remember an official kingdom-wide communication about doctrine. Subsequent messages came by way of KNN, but the effect was the same for me: why study when the spiritual folks in LA would explain it all to me eventually, anyway?\nOne exception to this was an exposition of Ecclesiastes that Sam did at a conference in Atlanta. I really enjoyed that exposition, and still consider it a very good one.\nIn the post-HKL Renaissance, I\u0026rsquo;ve looked for all manner of ways to better understand the Bible for my own life. I tried CENI for a while. (More CENI here.) I can do that kind of mathematical precision to a lot of history, but six months into trying to do it to the Bible, I was exhausted and empty. I tried crowdsourcing it for a while, but it seems that Calvinist bloggers (of all flavors of Calvinism) outnumber non-Calvinists 30 to 1. I also found that, like me, most religious bloggers are angry. I was/am angry at those that should know better within the former ICoC (the teachers, World Sector Leaders, Geographic Sector Leaders, and their associated members of their individuals entourages.) Most bloggers appeared to me to be angry at other professed Christians and their endless array of errant doctrines.\nI also spent a lot of time trying to explain that I\u0026rsquo;m not really an Arminian or a Pelagian only to be called both repeatedly and summarily dismissed. I even had one apologetics site insist that I was bound for Hell because of my association with the Restoration Movement.\nSo then I moved on to the Historical Method espoused within the book, \u0026ldquo;How to Read the Bible for All It\u0026rsquo;s Worth\u0026rdquo;. This is still the most fulfilling method to me despite the one glaring drawback. I spend a lot of time trying to put myself in a place two millenia removed in an effort to hear the words like the original audience heard them. I even persued Greek to better put myself in that place. Some years later, I am still left wanting.\nI have been trying to develop a hermeneutic that is still honoring to God. In other words, I don\u0026rsquo;t want the Bible to say what I want it to say. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to read my personal biases into it in and effort to avoid personal change. Thus far, I have been able to figure out a few things that are true:\nThe Bible is a book of faith that happens to contain a little history and literature. It is not a book of literature that happens to contain historical material. Logic is not the Magic Key to unlock Biblical mysteries. Greek is not a more intense or more accurate form of English. The Bible is meant to be understood by God, although it is also meant to be a challenge. Useful study is slower than I would like it to be. Now, there\u0026rsquo;s more to this, but I need to sign off for now. More later.\n","date":"30 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-07-30-interesting-events-in-the-office/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Interesting Events in the Office","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/studyseries/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Studyseries","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fsm/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fsm","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/relationshipwithgod/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Relationshipwithgod","type":"tags"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s serendipitous that two folks would be talking about salvation at the same time. Alan is working on a comprehensive series on his site. For my friends that are not from a Restoration Movement background, it is not a discussion on baptism, it is a discussion on what constitutes a saving faith. In other words, what does a person need to know in order to be saved. I say that because I\u0026rsquo;m linking to him - a discussion of baptism is a non-sequitir.\nLast Sunday, we were covering this topic in Sunday School. Unlike Alan\u0026rsquo;s series, though, we actually talk about baptism. It\u0026rsquo;s partly the what-you-need-to-know part with the how-do-I-get-saved part. I\u0026rsquo;ve attached it as a Word filefor your perusal. It has a few diagrams that do not translate well into web formatting, so I leave it in all it\u0026rsquo;s M$ glory.\nI got to co-teach this lesson. Our minister is on call once a month as a chaplain in a local hospital, so he gets a helper just in case he has to leave. (The same is true for the Sunday sermon as well.) This short lesson is designed to get people talking about salvation and what it means to them. It is by no means comprehensive, but it does get down to the essentials. The essentials are: relationship, grace, and faith.\nI like it better than the traditional, Hear, Believe, Confess, Repent, Baptized formula because salvation is more than a procedure. Coming from two traditions that can be dogmatic about proper procedure, I understand that the message can easily get lost in the method. It\u0026rsquo;s simultaneously funny and sad that so many aspects of the Christian faith devolve into arguments over proper procedures and methods.\nSalvation is primarily about relationship, not baptism. In helping people to know God, I would much rather point them to the relationship and talk about what that means. Whether or not you believe in original sin, the fact remains that the relationship between God and a person is broken because of sin.\nLike any broken relationship there must be trust to repair the breech. God does all he can to demonstrate his trustworthiness: sacrificing his Son, extending grace, showing love to us. The most important thing to see is that God is reaching out to us.\nFor our part, there must be faith. It\u0026rsquo;s one thing to be given a great gift, it\u0026rsquo;s another to attach significance to that gift. Yes, God sacrificed his Son for us, but there is no meaning unless we have faith. Thousands of people were crucified by the Romans. Many Jewish people were crucified in Judea in the first century AD. Various cults believed that people had returned from death. Knowing this has no power. However, once we believe that the sacrifice and resurrection of this specific individual has cosmic meaning, then there is power. I can say that the Flying Spaghetti Monster assures us through the comforting touch of his noodly appendage, it\u0026rsquo;s another to actually believe that FSM is more than a satire of intelligent design. (and a good one BTW)\nSo if this individual, this Jesus, is part of the reconciliation process, who is He? That pretty much leads into Alan\u0026rsquo;s series again. What you need to know is important. Before the what, though, it is important to understand the why. God desires relationship. Without the understanding of relationship, the life and times of Jesus is nothing more than a biography.\n","date":"25 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-07-25-salvation-meme/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Salvation Meme","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/savingfaith/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Savingfaith","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/serendipitous/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Serendipitous","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/campusministry/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Campusministry","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/conference/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Conference","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goodbye/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goodbye","type":"tags"},{"content":"When we first met, it seems like you weren\u0026rsquo;t certain if I could be trusted. You are quite fond of her, and I understand your natural protectiveness. Still, I was glad that we could come to an agreement on that first day. Little did you know that I was going to take you and her a couple states south in a year.\nIt \u0026rsquo;s funny. You complained the entire trip south, yet you let me be your friend. You didn\u0026rsquo;t get angry at me very much despite feeling sick for most of the trip and despite a lingering sense of mistrust.\nWe put you in a stranger\u0026rsquo;s house for a few months after that. You and she were both guests at first, but after a while, it was just you. Just you, a good friend, and that dog you completely despised. I understand, I\u0026rsquo;m not a small dog kind of person.\nAfter she and I came back from Rome, the three of us lived in a fancy high rise for a short time. It was, in many ways, the place where you always belonged. You could look down at the entire world from the top floor. You basically owned the house all day as we both left to go to work. I\u0026rsquo;m sure you miss those quiet days now. Don\u0026rsquo;t worry, someday soon, those quiet days will return.\nWhen we left to move into a house over a century old, you didn\u0026rsquo;t complain very much. In fact, you enjoyed the fact that she was home quite a bit. In fact, it was then that we started talking to each other more than ever. You would say hello when I came home and then we\u0026rsquo;d talk about all kinds of things.\nShe\u0026rsquo;d roll her eyes at us, but us guys have to stick together, you know.\nWhen we came home that October night, you wouldn\u0026rsquo;t leave her side. It took awhile for us to explain it, but all you knew was that she had changed and she was very sad. You brought her a lot of comfort although you didn\u0026rsquo;t see much of us for a couple weeks. When we got home, you would politely say hello to me and then join her in the living room. She still talks about those times.\nAnd one day, we brought him home.\nYou complained at how noisey he was and how demanding he was and how he took away time that was rightfully yours. Yeah, I can see your point there. Still, when he was asleep in his bassinet, you came back to comfort her through the tears, just like you had always done for the 13 years previous.\nYou loved the basement in that old house. Unlike me and her, you could ignore the gunfire. You didn\u0026rsquo;t flinch that night the police came and asked me what I saw and heard. (You did, however, come up to visit me after he left. Thank you for not telling the cop about the Cadillac in the back yard with expired tags.) We stayed over a year at that house and you were mostly happy there.\nWhen we moved again, you were getting used to it, I think. You took to the new house right away. There was real carpet, real heat, no gunfire, closets, and lots of warm sunbeams. He was still your nemesis, but you could easily escape for the first seven months. After that, you decided to sleep downstairs, away from us.\nWhen we brought her home a few months after that, you pretty much decided that we were crazy. Yet, those first few nights when we came home, you knew something was wrong. You were there for her again. I was glad you were, because I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be there in the daytime. That was a hard one on all of us, but you gave us so much.\nThank you.\nBut now, dear friend, I see you hurting. You don\u0026rsquo;t complain, but I know it hurts a lot. I also know that you are embarrassed about this morning, so I don\u0026rsquo;t mention it to anyone. I wish I could say it happens to all of us, but you and I both know that is not true. I know that you\u0026rsquo;re much older than me, but it\u0026rsquo;s no comfort to me. I wish this circumstance was different.\nSaturday, I have to transition you again. This time, though, we won\u0026rsquo;t be joining you. I know you want to do this alone, but I wish you weren\u0026rsquo;t leaving so soon. I just wish that you knew it was coming. After all you\u0026rsquo;ve done for her for these 17 years, I just wish it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a big surprise to you. Unfortunately, I cannot change that.\nThank you for noticing that I am feeling sad tonight. I appreciated the quiet time we shared downstairs while the kids and she are asleep. Maybe you know, I dunno. I mean, I saw the xrays. We both know you haven\u0026rsquo;t been eating. Anyway, you haven\u0026rsquo;t purred in quite a while, but you purred a good twenty minutes earlier.\nFor a brief time, I almost forgot.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know what our time will be like this week. I dread Saturday in some ways. Our children are so fond of you. I am, too.\nLet me say this while you are asleep tonight:\nGoodbye old friend. May your suffering end. Tell grandma that we miss her, too.\n","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-07-02-goodbye-old-friend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Goodbye, Old Friend","type":"posts"},{"content":"Believe it or not, I am glad that campus groups are excited about New Orleans. I would have enjoyed having a service component as part of a conference in my college days. What a good idea to establish the idea of community service as part of campus ministry.\nI went to the new site and read the news about things happening around the world. It makes me shrug that most of the good news stories are baptisms - that metric isn\u0026rsquo;t going to change as I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned before. I looked around and saw older messages, and a few pictures. The RightTurn folks made a beautiful website.\nI saw the Study section and found materials provided by the church in Boston. The sections are Apologetics, Bible Talks, D-Groups, Quiet Times, and Study Series Materials. I thought it would be interesting to see what was made available.\nSome of the materials are quite disappointing. The discipleship study continues the error that one must be a disciple before baptism. The church study is the same \u0026ldquo;only one physical church\u0026rdquo;, the one church is determined by doctrine of salvation. These two are related because of the unique addition of \u0026ldquo;Have the heart of a disciple\u0026rdquo; added before baptism. Very disappointing to see Kip\u0026rsquo;s doctrine perpetuated.\nThe more stuff I read, the more it felt like 1995 all over again. Building Family talks about spiritual family being more important than physical family. The sin and baptism study includes a note that folks leading the study need to know what the person studying believes about their salvation and to determine if that person is, in fact, saved.\nAgain, we don\u0026rsquo;t address doctrine years ago so nothing changes. We are teaching bad doctrine all over again, at least in Boston. These days, though, I think some in attendance are smart enough to know better. I wonder aloud, though, how long those folks will keep coming.\nStill, the inclusion of the book How to Pray by RA Torrey is encouraging. A couple of the Apologetics materials are pretty good as well.\n","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-07-02-here-am-i/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Here Am I","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/sad/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Sad","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/shahkathecat/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Shahkathecat","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"2 July 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/torrey/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Torrey","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/flooding/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Flooding","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hail/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hail","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/laughtokeepfromcrying/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Laughtokeepfromcrying","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lostagain/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lostagain","type":"tags"},{"content":"So I am driving to a high school to help a principal locate a missing file. The tech guy at the High school is gone for an entire week. He also did not put the district required software on the principal\u0026rsquo;s machine to allow me to remotely access her desktop. Thus, I am driving along to meet this principal at her school.\nFive minutes into my trip, I realize I went to the wrong school, so I decide to stop and get my bearings and go to the correct school. I pull into a parking lot to hear some nurses remarking about the ugly green color in the sky. They scramble as the head nurse shouts that they are going to evacuate.\nIt looked like a normal thunderstorm in the distance to me. Then again, I imagine the head nurse lived here for awhile. I wanted to go home, but duty called and I hope to get to the school, .75 miles away, before it rains really hard.\nI\u0026rsquo;m within sight of the school when visibility changes to zero. The car in front of me is no more than 20 yards away from me, but I can only see the brake lights when he/she pushes them. At some point, the rain actually increases in intensity and I hear hail bouncing off the roof of the car. I pull off into a parking lot to wait out the storm. I found an open place sans trees. You may think I\u0026rsquo;m stupid, but I\u0026rsquo;ll explain the rationale.\nI was in an old section of town. Many of the trees there are huge and 100+ years old. This equates to being a lightning magnet. I\u0026rsquo;m grounded in the car, but the flaming branch hitting the car is not a pleasant thought.\nAnyway, I put the car rear facing the wind and pull the emergency brake. I have one of those cars with a raised back end so that the car slopes downward. This means that unless I face it just right, hail cannot directly strike the back glass.\nSo you\u0026rsquo;re saying to yourself, did you actually think through all of this? How long did it take. Yes. Ten seconds. It happens when you live here for awhile. You get 10 minutes warning at best when these storm form and move in. I had two.\nSo here I am in a parking lot somewhere only vaguely aware of my location. The hail starts coming now in sheets. It is so loud in my car that I am plugging my ears. The radio was up to 9 and I still couldn\u0026rsquo;t hear it. I don\u0026rsquo;t really see anything, but I presume that branches are flying around.\nAt this point, I decide that I should just turn around and go home when I get the chance. Yes, wait for the hail to stop. Wait for the horizontal rain to stop. Wait for the car to stop inching forward - yes the emergency brake is on.\nFive minutes later, it all stops. The wind is gone, the hail is gone, the rain is gone. The car is fine and surprisingly undented. I am surrounded by tree limbs and look up to see that I had turned into a parking lot beside an open field. Driving through the branches, I see the other cars creeping along waiting for the sky to open again.\nNo surprising to folks that know me, I also realized that I am lost. Somewhere in the rain while trying to make my way east, I somehow ended up going in some other compass direction.\nNow I realize that my biggest enemy is flash flooding. I try to call home, but the cell tower for my carrier is disabled. (When I later discovered that some places had winds of 115 mph, I understood why.)\nSeeing the number of trees and tree branches in the road, all I am trying to do is drive west and north. I just need a numbered street to get my bearings and make my way home. It would take a long time, but eventually it would work. What followed was an odyssey of high tension and failed hopes. As I tried to make my way, the gas light came on. I laugh out loud because it just strikes me as too funny.\nThe high tension came from confronting impromptu rivers at familiar intersections. Watching a truck plow through one of those intersections, I realize that my car won\u0026rsquo;t make it through unless I want water to come up to the door handles. North and west, I tell myself. Just drive north and west.\nI ended up in a neighborhood north of my home. I knew I was a little over a mile away, I just had to get to a major road. I find the numbered street and make my way west so that the numbers will go up to 90. At 90th street, I\u0026rsquo;m on a major highway that leads home. I get close only to find perpetual tree blockages. Even heading north, I cannot find a way out, so I head east. I eventually end up at a major road three miles north of home.\nAt this point, I should mention that there are no working stoplights on in the city at this point. I had been in neighborhoods driving through smaller rivers, so I forgot about that. I turned left (at great risk to life and car) thinking that it was west. After more tree, river, and stoplight issues, I ended up a half-mile EAST of my home. I finally made it to a street that was more or less clear and made my way home (Blondo Street).\nI turn onto the street leading home and discover a large tree in the road. I try to drive around it only to find all roads in my neighborhood with big trees in the road. So, I make it back out to Blondo so that I can drive around the block on major roads to enter the street leading to my home from another direction.\nFrom Blondo, it is full stop. Creeping forward I remember that, oh yeah, the I\u0026rsquo;M REALLY OUT OF GAS LIGHT has been on the entire time. Gas?!? Is there a gas station open at this point? I\u0026rsquo;ve been driving for an hour, do I really want to get home or stop?\nTurns out that there\u0026rsquo;s no working gas stations anyway. They are out of power. Plenty of gas, just no delivery mechanism. In any case, I finally make it around. The other end of the major street leading to my home also has a tree down blocking the road. This one has a power line entangled in it as well.\nAt this point, I laugh again. I had enough sense to park the car at a small insurance company and turn off the engine. Yes, I\u0026rsquo;ll walk home, but at least the car isn\u0026rsquo;t burning more fumes while I\u0026rsquo;m appreciating the humor of all of this. I notice the half-inch deep hail in the parking lot. I think to myself, I made it through all of this only to get a head injury slipping on ice in June six blocks from home.\nDelicately walking through hail, I also delicately make my way around the fallen tree. There was a path around the tree, through lots of soft mud. I actually walked through someone\u0026rsquo;s backyard to avoid the tree, power line, and mud. Walking down the road, calls are barreling down the road trying to escape. Whereas I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get in because of the trees at both ends of the road, they cannot get OUT. Yelling on their cellphones, I think that they have no idea.\nI finally make it home only to see leaves pasted to the front of the house and a huge lake for a driveway. Fortunately, my neighbor\u0026rsquo;s driveway is high and dry, so I walk through it and a little water to get to my front door.\nNo power.\nWho cares?!? I finally made it home. The gas grill is okay, so we\u0026rsquo;re set. Grill everything, relax at home, chill, relax and have a great time.\nAn hour later, I ask my wife, What do you mean there\u0026rsquo;s no meat in the refrigerator?\n","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-06-30-storm-front-not-exaggerated/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Storm Front - Not Exaggerated","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/wind/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Wind","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/couldawouldashoulda/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Couldawouldashoulda","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/dealwithdoctrine/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Dealwithdoctrine","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/futureoficoc/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Futureoficoc","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"25 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/portland/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Portland","type":"tags"},{"content":"This means that folks in Raleigh need to email phone numbers to me.\nI should be there at least from Oct 19 - 21 for a conference. It will be only me, and not the family for now.\nYou have been warned.\nOtherwise, it\u0026rsquo;s not so much that there\u0026rsquo;s a lack of things to write, just writing somewhere else for now. So here\u0026rsquo;s my ICoC post for now. Who knows when another may come along.\nIn regards to the ICoC, no major change is going to occur for quite some time, if at all. As a group, reform was largely missed, though some individual locations have done quite a bit. There is no atmosphere for a new Kriete Letter as the monolithic whole is now three parts (four if you count Kip\u0026rsquo;s group). As a whole, churches appear to be growing.\nThree metrics have been presented thus far to demonstrate \u0026lsquo;health\u0026rsquo; in the ICoC as a whole. These are numerical growth, increased intra-denominational cooperation, and lack of harshness. The metrics I look at are quite different, but that may or may not be the subject of another post. I will not see things the same as many others, and I have come to accept that. I can help change things locally to a limited extent, but even then, it is not always worth it. As such, there doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear to be much reason to write about either ICoC, the historical ICoC, or Kip\u0026rsquo;s group. A discussion would likely devolve into arguing over definitions of words, which should be avoided.\nOne thing of note that can be said is more of a side note. The Drabots are in Portland talking to Kip\u0026rsquo;s Portland Church. The Drabots and Johnsons are long-time friends. From a personal perspective, it is encouraging that friends can reconnect though on different sides of an ideological difference. However, it also points to a problem in how we dealt with Kip in the first place.\nWe excommunicated Kip as a person without repudiating his doctrine. In other words, it was dealt with as a personal issue, addressed as a personal issue, and treated as a punishment to a specific person. It can be argued that his doctrine could not be repudiated because the issue was really his inability to accept less than kingship. While that is true, the main issue is that we did not address our own doctrinal problems. Quick action needed to be taken (and I called for it repeatedly) but an unwillingness to deal with what made him our king in the first place (amongst other things) provided very few options. So, it was basically, You said mean things and wouldn\u0026rsquo;t take them back and Stop taking our sheep. Important things to say, that is true, yet, without any doctrinal examination, it\u0026rsquo;s not going to really last. As others have said, we ended up trying to make the doctrine of Kip-Lite work (all the same doctrine, but Kip-Free. Now with UPC added for conviction!)\nCase in point, Ron is in Portland. Steve Johnson is not Kip. Steve is milder than Kip. Ron\u0026rsquo;s issue was with Kip, not Steve. Ron and Steve are long time friends. Begs the question Why can\u0026rsquo;t we preach at each others churches again? Ron and Steve are swapping churches. Charlotte is Kip-Lite and apparently Portland is also Kip-Lite (or 2% reduced Kip), so why the harsh boundary, right?\nKip\u0026rsquo;s apologists are already using this line of reasoning to suggest that ICoC leaders are nothing more than power-mongers that were jealous of Kip. More than that, they are now able to make it into a doctrinal issue. Most of them are claiming that the ICoC has changed their doctrine about unity, discipleship, and global missions. These accusations are difficult to answer. If similarities are pointed out, the question is Why Did We Split?. In a sense, is could be asked why not fellowship Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches if everything is mostly the same? If the differences in doctrine are highlighted, the answer is It\u0026rsquo;s like we said, you changed your doctrine. It is problematic because it would be a new argument from the ICoC. There is no ability to point to the brother\u0026rsquo;s letter or anything else and say Here are the doctrinal problems.\nWith all of that said, though, there\u0026rsquo;s still not much that will change in the next few years. Kip will be on six continents in about 5 years. There will be another Salt Lake type leaving in 5 to 10 years. In 10 years, the numbers will begin to collapse of Kip\u0026rsquo;s SODM churches. The ICoC will probably settle into 1%-2% growth in the US and double digit growth overseas for the next 10 years.\nThe only major issue coming for the ICoC is a growing anti-US sentiment. Will it lead to a split? It\u0026rsquo;s possible. It will probably take place after certain major characters pass away, if it happens at all. It\u0026rsquo;s too early to say.\nAll of this has been said before, thus not much from me. If I don\u0026rsquo;t see you sooner, see you in October in Raleigh.\n","date":"25 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-06-25-raleigh-and-other-thoughts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Raleigh and Other Thoughts - UPDATED","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/faithandpoliticsdontmix/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Faithandpoliticsdontmix","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/fighttheirs/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Fighttheirs","type":"tags"},{"content":"Rambling post to follow. You\u0026rsquo;ve been warned.\nSeptember 28 is apparently going to be a day of infamy featuring several pastors endorsing political candidates in similar manner as this one did.\nThe downside for the congregation is that they lose their tax-exempt status. This would wreck many churches, especially larger ones.\nWhat gets me, though, is the week of prayer about this amongst the church leadership. After a week, the team agreed that God had instructed the minister to do this. (Either that or the minister disregarded the team) The minister is also a delegate to the National Republican Party convention. He insists that God told him, not the powers that be in the party. He also was not instructed by anyone at the ADF.\nSo what is the benefit of this? If the congregation wins, preachers will be able to endorse candidates from the pulpit on Sunday. If the congregation loses, they may cease to exist or live on in a largely debilitating state of being a tax paying entity.\nSeems to me that despite considering it for a month, the idea to avoid doing this was never really given much thought. In the end, the minister says a whole lot of \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rdquo; statements and very little about his congregation. In the end, he doesn\u0026rsquo;t trust his congregation to figure out certain things for themselves - you cannot vote for a pro-choice, pro-LGT candidate and remain a Christian.\nI suspect that on Sept 28, that message will be repeated all over the country. I imagine very few will support Obama, and none will threaten their salvation if they support McCain.\nStill, I do not believe that the GOP chair or even Karl Rove has orchestrated events to bring this into place. This is not a vast conspiracy with roots in the GOP. It\u0026rsquo;s a moral failing of our culture that is so consumed with our rights, we look past the rights of others. As much as Christianity is about being a part of the culture without conforming to the culture, all of us get tempted to be selfish. All of us get tempted to be upset when any of our rights (real and imagined) are threatened, but passive when others are deprived of their rights. Reverend King was concerned with the rights of the many, but we are not like Reverend King. We look only to our own personal affairs.\nBack to the pastor in the story, I really believe that one must choose to be a minister or a political activist. Delegates have some political power. I do not know how someone can minister to their congregation and wield political power at the same time. As far as I understand, Jesus did not espouse a political solution. Jesus\u0026rsquo; message was a personal one. His way of life requires relationship - relationship to God and relationship to each other. In other words, man cannot serve two masters, politics and God.\nIn fairness to this minister, I believe this is not limited to the GOP. This is the consequence of the admixture of politics and religion. It\u0026rsquo;s why I believe in the Establishment Clause of the Constitution and the limit of government to establish religion. Even the best and most golden-hearted of us (including King and others) lose our religion in politics. Politics is rooted in the world while faith is rooted in Jesus.\nAgain, we should be in the world and be politically active to a certain extent. Some may choose to not be politically active, that\u0026rsquo;s fine, too. But we should not be of the world. There are more important things that the platform of the DNC.\n","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-06-20-is-this-the-lords-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Is This the Lord's Work?","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ministerordelegate/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ministerordelegate","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ramblingagain/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ramblingagain","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/religiousrightisneitherone/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Religiousrightisneitherone","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whatsheep/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whatsheep","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/delphites/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Delphites","type":"tags"},{"content":"I would have been MC D-Sisive (the one wearing glasses).\n","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-28-had-my-rap-career-continued/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Had My Rap Career Continued","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/lovegod/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Lovegod","type":"tags"},{"content":"I mention the delphites from time to time. Those are folks who, like myself, visit Delphi Forums. I go to several forums on the site - three related to the ICoC and ten related to sports board games.\nFrom one of the ICoC forums, a poster identified as Bruford1 says the following:\nThere is a world of difference between people who love God, and people who love church.\nThis is listed as one of the lessons he learned from his time in the ICoC. I wish I had thought of that. I agree with it as a standalone statement. It seems to be true from my experience with the 700 Club, ICoC, and other groups.\nIn case you were wondering, my list was\nThose that pretend to speak for God do more damage than those that reject God. Power Corrupts. Power still corrupts. Nice power corrupts nicely. God is bigger than I can imagine. He will not be put into a box. My life is mine, even as a Christian. He gave it back to me because He trusts me. Follow the money. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. All politics is local. It\u0026rsquo;s an incomplete list. I should also have added the two things from a previous post about the good of the ICoC.\n","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-28-quote-from-delphi/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote from Delphi","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/rapcareer/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Rapcareer","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/smc/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Smc","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tmi/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tmi","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/whatilearnedfromicoc/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Whatilearnedfromicoc","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/youtube/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Youtube","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/85percentevil/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"85percentevil","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/goodfromicoc/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Goodfromicoc","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"22 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/hellopotimkettle/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Hellopotimkettle","type":"tags"},{"content":"An old post based on a link from Cryptoguy\nThe original link was from Preach Mike who makes a valid, if somewhat incomplete point. Look at some of the Delphites and it\u0026rsquo;s easy to spot the teenagers. By this model, I was a teenager for a while. Hello pot, this is the kettle\u0026hellip;\nWhy incomplete? I think it is incomplete because there is a reasonable assumption that a person\u0026rsquo;s spiritual history has good and bad elements. However reasonable it is, it is not logical - an assumption that all experience falls between two extremes is the Middle Ground Fallacy. Having said that, the message of the post is reasonable and worth investigating a bit.\nI often say that 85% of the historical ICoC (1979 - 2002ish) was bad and/or evil. That\u0026rsquo;s a high percentage by anyone\u0026rsquo;s standard. Yes the number is arbitrary, I choose it because it quantifies \u0026ldquo;a lot\u0026rdquo; a more clearly. In other words, saying that a lot of what we were was bad/or evil doesn\u0026rsquo;t express as clearly my thoughts as much as providing a number.\nIn any case, let me talk about the good from my more recent religious heritage:\nThey were very good at making a message portable and easily transferable from any member to another member. They were, in some ways, egalitarian in regards to the role of women. (Think communion without a man to introduce the sister speaking.) I am grateful for these things, really. I didn\u0026rsquo;t realize until I started working with other churches how helpless the average member of those churches felt in sharing with others. If someone wanted to join, the member would have them call the preacher. QED, problem solved. In the ICOC, our message was supplied with a straightforward way of presenting it to others. I never felt much at a loss of what to say. If I didn\u0026rsquo;t know what to say, I\u0026rsquo;d rattle off points from the Word study. Though my theology has changed, I still look for ways to transfer the gospel in easily portable ways.\nWomen, for the most part, were highly regarded in role. Women preached (albeit only to other women), shared at communion, helped their male counterparts shape ministries, and were generally considered a good resource. What do the sisters think was a common question. The input given was actually considered and usually followed. I appreciate that experience from my past.\nI almost didn\u0026rsquo;t list this one because the role of women in some ways was very rigid. My experience was that this role was tolerated by the wives of leaders because the political reality was that they were running the show. Single sisters controlled who would date more than any of the other leaders. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that my experience was universal to the denomination as a whole. This experience was also not the same from start to end.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s my thought for the day. There is most likely some good in your experience if you look for it.\n","date":"22 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-22-like-an-adult/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Like an Adult","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"22 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/middlegroundfallacy/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Middlegroundfallacy","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"21 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/geohash/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Geohash","type":"tags"},{"content":"Meetup location: * 41.179467, -95.861537 or * N41 10.768\u0026rsquo;, W95 51.6921\u0026rsquo; or * N41 10'46.08\u0026quot;, W95 51'41.52\u0026quot;\nThis is in an unaccessible location on someone\u0026rsquo;s farm. Meeting postponed.\nTo understand the madness, look here\n","date":"21 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-21-geohash-info/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"GeoHash Info","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"21 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/xkcd/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Xkcd","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"19 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/trustonlyyourownkind/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Trustonlyyourownkind","type":"tags"},{"content":" see more crazy cat pics\nI have another one regarding the \u0026ldquo;Who Is My Brother\u0026rdquo; seminar (read - the UPC RULEZ!), but I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing other things lately. Enjoyed beautimous weather and Mahoney State Park this weekend. Life is good all around.\n","date":"19 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-19-yet-another-monday-like-this/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Yet Another Monday Like This","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"12 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/kungfububbles/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Kungfububbles","type":"tags"},{"content":" more cat pictures\nYeah, it\u0026rsquo;s a strange one today. Feeling a bit disconnected from reality, so enjoy something that is descriptive of my weird sense of humor.\n","date":"12 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-12-still-that-kind-of-monday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Still That Kind of Monday","type":"posts"},{"content":"The following is most of the text for an email I will send to the minister. Certain details are different but that’s more of privacy than anything. I also didn’t include any local issues other than the ones already discussed with someone on either the Deacon Board or the Financial Board. Where Ya Been? I’ve been asking God to actually speak to me this year. I am quite adamant, it has to be Him, not my voice, the voice of a minister, or the voice of a believing friend. It had to be Him and only Him in simple terms that I can understand. That was January of this year, before that the big ongoing prayer was “make me into something different”. I felt like I had a character flaw that needed to be removed from me. I clung to 2 Co 12:9 for dear life, even if it upset me that the answer may actually be ‘no, rely on my grace more’. Mostly, though, I’ve been in the land of Nod, east of Eden.\nNod is a place of hard work, little reward, and great frustration. Frustration is the most accurate way to describe where I’ve been. This wasn’t a localized frustration, this was with most areas of my life. I was frustrated that I am unable to read the Bible and enjoy it. I was frustrated that my denomination is doing crazy things that hurt others. I was frustrated that my family was not doing very well. Praying only made me angry – the more I prayed, the angrier I got. After a while, my conversations with God were basically angry from start to finish. I fell into fatalism (not a slam on Calvinism) and basically shrugged whenever I addressed the Almighty.\nWhy pray at all? Habit, I guess. I would start to pray and catch myself. I’d apologize to God for taking his name in vain and mention that I still can’t hear Him. There weren’t many prayers outside of the morning prayer of “Still me. Still can’t hear you. You’re still sovereign. Whenever your timing allows, it’d be nice to hear from you. Since all things are foreordained, I’ll just say goodbye for now instead of so be it.” (One translation of Amen is ‘so be it’.)\nI knew He cared, but since He is sovereign, I couldn’t rush Him or change His mind or otherwise change the events He set into motion before the creation of the world. There was not any real reason to get all worked up about when He’d answer or what His answer would be. He cares, He’ll do what He does, when he does it, and I just have to wait on His timing. Of course, I ended up getting all worked up about it. When the Bible speaks of a dividing wall of hostility, I know what it means from personal experience.\nBacking up a little bit, I had been praying that I could just accept. For example, when someone addresses a church and talks about getting back to discipling, I want to just accept that is good for them, even when they are proclaiming that it is a biblical mandate. I would beg God to prevent me from being triggered by anything. Despite that, I felt like I was triggered every week. The downside of thinking that about 85% of what my denomination (and myself as a former member) did was in error is that there are a lot of triggers.\nI was tired of asking ‘why’ and trying to explain that I wasn’t bitter about my past. I was tired of having many queries turned back on me when I sought clarification. I was tired of leaders in other churches contacting me because I had sent an email to a third party. I was really tired that justice felt delayed and that no one was listening. I had reasoned that if I wasn’t triggered in the first place to ask ‘why?’ or ask ‘can this be done biblically?’ or ask ‘where is that in the Bible?’ then I could be more at peace because nothing would really bother me. I’ve been praying for things to stop bothering me now for at least two years, maybe longer.\nIt’s not a great epiphany that straightened this all out. I finally heard Him, which is what I wanted all along. No, I didn’t hear the James Earl Jones voiceover or see a beam of light. After the 80millionth “just help me”, the answer came through a discussion with my wife and more came later after some time to retreat.\nGod made me to ask ‘why’. I’m always going to want to know ‘why’. It is a good thing to ask ‘why’. The idea He gave me was, “Be who I created you to be.”\nIt is human nature to complicate a simple idea with explanations and caveats of possible implications. Sometimes, this can ruin a mountaintop experience. Fortunately, this is much less an emotional experience than a spiritual experience. It is the feeling that the tumblers of the combination lock have just set in the right place in order to open the door. It is something that resonantes in mind and spirit, not just the heart. Still, it is fair to provide a little bit more of what that really means in a practical sense. Sin is a part of my life, but I was not created to sin. (Romans 6:1-2) No one was created to be sinful. As a result of the fall, sin is a part of our lives and even a part of our nature. Still, God did create sin into us. It is not our purpose to sin. Through Jesus we are forgiven of our sin and live under grace. That grace is not a license to sin.\nPractically what this means is that I am not created to sin against others. Sure, we may get into conflict (not a sin), but it can be worked out. Despite my best intentions, I am going to say things that will hurt another person’s feelings or offend them in some way. When that happens, I should deal with it the best way available. Knowing that some offense is inevitable, however, does not provide license to wantonly abuse others only to claim that they misunderstood my intentions. Injury (real or perceived) has occurred and that injury must be addressed. Arguing about intention rarely resolves anything. Put another way; if I rear-end someone’s car, should I apologize or suggest that they not put on brakes?\nAsking ‘why’ also creates discomfort. It is the same kind of discomfort that I had in discussing my vasectomy with anyone. I don’t mean the procedure itself, but my need to have it in the first place. The why questions are:\nWhy do I have some 1 in 6.4 million genetic rarity that no one can readily explain? Why will my children have to be concerned that their children may have more severe issues than they had? Why was I created to pass this anomaly on? In talking to others about it, many would say things to me like ‘two is a good number’ and ‘you got one of each’. I would mention that part of dealing with this is that my wife and I always wanted three children. In my own mind, I asked the question, “Why would you risk having a third child with potentially severe medical issues?” Thankfully, none of my friends and family spoke this question aloud to me. They would ask other why questions focused on “why are you so certain that the genetic issue is you?”. I bring all this up to say that asking the former question (why a third child with issues) is the type of question I want to avoid. The latter question (why do you think it is you) is uncomfortable to discuss, but was ultimately helpful in dealing with the situation. This is the type of why question I want to ask.\nSome things are not my fight (Proverbs 26:17-21) Dr. King once said that the absence of tension is negative peace, while positive peace is the presence of justice. Put another way, negative peace is only the absence of direct violence while a positive peace is also the absence of structural and cultural violence. In terms of the ICoC, I believe that most, if not all of the direct abuse and problems have been addressed while some of the structual and cultural issues have not. As someone that is a part of this community, it is fair to discuss structural and cultural issues. However, personal issues are not mine to deal with. If someone invites me, I’ll still tend to avoid it unless both parties are comfortable with my presence. I cannot make every situation resolve well and it is unwise to invite myself to be party to a conflict I’m not a part of. So if you want me to talk to your minister, I’ll politely decline.\nEpilogue All of this is well and good, you may say, but what about the angry praying and Bible reading and all of that? Good question. As far as praying goes, I follow the advice of John Piper and work through prayer in eight steps:\nIncline my heart to god (Psalm 119:36 RSV) Open the eyes of my heart (Psalm 119:18) Enlighten my heart (Ephesian 1:18) Be united in heart (Psalm 86:11) Be satisfied with God (Psalm 90:14 RSV) Strengthen my joy (Ephesians 3:16) Pray to produce acts of love and service (Colossians 1:10) Hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9) This works pretty well on days where I am disciplined enough to do it correctly. Sometimes I get stuck at step 1, sometimes step 4, other times step 5. Sometimes I do step 6 in unhealthy ways, but I’ll get better over time. I want the final step to be more than an afterthought. I want to end prayers differently that “your will be done in Jesus name, Amen.”\nAs far as the reading goes, it is still difficult to hear God’s voice, even after I pray. I still hear so many commentaries and speakers that I wish I could unlearn. Being able to be at peace with God frees me up to deal with this. I still feel like it’s not as ‘deep’ as I want it, but at least it doesn’t frustrate me so much anymore.\nThank you for being my friends and reading. You are a blessing to me and I hope to be a blessing to others.\n","date":"6 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-06-letter-to-a-minister/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Letter to a Minister","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/letters/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Letters","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"6 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/prayer/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Prayer","type":"tags"},{"content":" see more crazy cat pics\nIn other news, I\u0026rsquo;m back. I spent a lot of time in Sycarion land and plan to spend more time there. Really though, I\u0026rsquo;m back in more ways than one. What does that mean? That means ICoC content. That means more Bible stuff. That means asking a lot of \u0026lsquo;why\u0026rsquo; questions, but not asking a leading question (negative sense of a leading question, that is). Call it an epiphany or an answered prayer. Point is, I\u0026rsquo;ve come back from this long pit. I\u0026rsquo;ll explain the reasons behind it soon.\nAs always, more later.\nFeel free to send money or recipes. Good healthy stuff is nice as I am working my way down.\n","date":"5 May 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-05-05-that-kind-of-monday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"That Kind of Monday","type":"posts"},{"content":"Suppose your church leader received this email and asked you what you would suggest. Any takers?\nDear Delegates:\nI pray this email finds all of you well and close to God!\nI am sending this out in preparation for our International Leadership Conference.\nPlease take a moment to send this out to the people that you are representing and ask them to fill it out, too.\nWhat are 4 areas of spirituality, leadership or church building that you feel needs to be addressed or taught at the ILC.\nWho do you feel like could preach/teach effectively on these topics.\n1. Need and Who:\n2. Need and Who:\n3. Need and Who:\n4. Need and Who:\n5. What is on your heart personally or what has God revealed to you recently, as you have been serving God\u0026rsquo;s Kingdom. (in other words - if you were to offer a lesson to the Kingdom - what would be the topic.)\nNow, I can tell you who I think will fill these slots for my former denomination, but just for fun, what you would say?\n","date":"25 April 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-04-25-survey/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Survey","type":"posts"},{"content":" You\u0026rsquo;re The Mists of Avalon!\nby Marion Zimmer Bradley\n_You\u0026rsquo;re obsessed with Camelot in all its forms, from Arthurian legend to the Kennedy administration. Your favorite movie from childhood was \u0026ldquo;The Sword in the Stone\u0026rdquo;. But more than tales of wizardry and Cuban missiles, you\u0026rsquo;ve focused on women. You know that they truly hold all the power. You always wished you could meet Jackie Kennedy.\n_Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.\n","date":"18 April 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-04-18-book-quiz/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Book Quiz","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am here, just not writing on this site. I\u0026rsquo;m still listening to the Who\u0026rsquo;s My Brother series from Chicago. One person in attendance there has said that it should not be what I expected. I must confess that I listened to Tony Singh\u0026rsquo;s presentation first, which was a pretty bad idea because of the lack of context.\nI can say, however, that regardless of context, the body of scripture used has been largely used to justify any separation over ANY issue. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t make the point less reasonable, just not well-proven.\nI am interesting in what a conscience family is. This is a coined term either or Steve or F. LaGard Smith. I hope it is better defined than missional, a word that has come to mean just about anything.\nI am otherwise doing well and the family is working through the last round of disease going through the family. I am working with a print on demand playing card company on something for sycarion. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to play some statis-Pro Football. Otherwise, I look forward to warmer weather.\nMy wife is Vice-President of the Hands and Voices chapter in Nebraska. Actually, she is co-veep. We felt that we needed two to promote work in each half of the state. My wife is the veep for the eastern half. She is also soon to be published on the Boys Town website. I am very proud of her.\nMore later. Really. More later.\n","date":"16 April 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-04-16-not-sleeping-just-elsewhere/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Sleeping Just Elsewhere","type":"posts"},{"content":"I strike an odd figure in many places. Sometimes it is my size, other times it is an unintentional act of completely disregarding my surroundings. Earlier today, for example, I\u0026rsquo;m sitting in the parking lot of a discount grocery store with the window down in our car. Not that strange, I know. It\u0026rsquo;s not like I can shop at Nieman-Marcus. The notable thing is that two cars somewhere on the lot are pumping out 50 cent (I recognized the tune) and Shawty Lo, respectively. Me? I\u0026rsquo;m pumping out opera while munching on a couple of cheap deli burritos. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that my two-day old beard adds to an air of urban sophistication amongst so many of my NPR listening brethren.\nI\u0026rsquo;m an old school kind of guy, I still have NWA on my portable hard drive. The opera is real old school, of course, but not everyone kicks to DJ Vivaldi.\nOn to the next episode\nWhile I was home on vacation, I came upon the other black sheep in my family. Those that know my family may marvel that there are only two black sheep in the family. I would consider the entire clan to be on the fringe of genteel society as it is. One uncle is the man\u0026rsquo;s man with two Harleys, two prison-style tattooed sleeves, a room with the fur of more dead animals than Hemingway, etc. You know what I mean.\nHis idea of gun control is using a 22 caliber pistol.\nAnyway, he sees my daughter and just melts. He makes faces, sings songs, and in general acts like the jolly ol\u0026rsquo; Saint Nick of yore. She reaches out to him and they have a grand time as he dances with her in my mother\u0026rsquo;s front yard. You see, he\u0026rsquo;s always loved kids. His license plate on the HUM-V (not a Hummer, a HUM-V) he drives is a tribute to his daughters.\nMy other uncle has raised his nine children in what I choose to call an \u0026ldquo;aggressive\u0026rdquo; manner. All his sons are aggressive and play physical jokes on each other. If you\u0026rsquo;ve ever seen Bam Margera and all the things he does to his step-father, imagine five Bams and a father that fights back. The standing rule is that if you break, you pay to fix it.\nHaving said that, I enjoy being with them because there is zero pretension. Everyone is who they say they are. No fronts, no lies, no dishonesty. We sat down to dinner and everyone just started talking about which teacher is afraid of which child, how many kids they are have, why did I move to Nebraska, etc. Spiral Ham, box Mac-n-Cheese, and collard greens. It was a great time.\nI really went to see my grandfather who is 91. My grandmother passed away two years ago - she had a few medical problems, but basically died after years of just giving up. I think it was about 15 years ago, she decided that she could not walk and did not from that day forward. My grandfather did all he could to take care of her.\nAfter she passed, he wasn\u0026rsquo;t able to live alone in the house he shared with her for what must have been 50 years. He sold it the day before I saw him. It\u0026rsquo;s a house I lived in for a time while I went to Kindegarden and a couple summers. I wished I could have seen it one last time.\nMy grandfather now lives with my uncle, his middle son. All my relatives told me that he wasn\u0026rsquo;t long for this world. I was eager to see him. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t come back for my grandmother\u0026rsquo;s funeral, though I was supposed to be a pall bearer. Of all the children and grandchildren, Pop always said he favored me the most and that means a lot to me.\nHe told me that he couldn\u0026rsquo;t hear anything because the batteries in his hearing aids all died. Truth is, he just doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to wear them. I told him he could wear my son\u0026rsquo;s if that helped. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t take Brother Bear with me that night as he was already asleep, but something about a two year old wearing a hearing aid sparked something within him, I guess.\nI showed him some pictures of the kids. He didn\u0026rsquo;t say anything. Every once in a while, he would glance up at the big screen tv blaring behind us. Most of the family wrestled in and out of the room while we were talking, so it wasn\u0026rsquo;t that much of a distraction. Pop worked in the Naval Shipyards for decades out of Norfolk, VA. He worked on a lot of navy boats still in service today. He could say a lot about so much history.\nBut he chose to say little except that he was glad to see me.\nEveryone was home for Easter dinner, and Pop would be the head of the table as always. The Easter tradition is that those sitting closest to the foot of the table had the luckier seat. I was in the luckiest seat, something everyone reminded me of twice. As we ate, Pop watched silently as everyone ate. Once in a while, one of my cousins would lean over and tell him a joke and he\u0026rsquo;d draw his face into the world\u0026rsquo;s largest smile and open his mouth to laugh. Yet, he was silent. Still, he had a face that invited laughter and we\u0026rsquo;d all join in. During those times, his Lasik-corrected eyes would twinkle just a little. It was like the grandfather of my childhood was back. I felt lucky to see him laugh, he had laughed so little the past five years as my grandmother deteriorated and eventually passed away.\nAfter dinner, I had to leave in order to pack for home tomorrow morning. I tarried a bit longer to tell him that I had to leave.\nHis face grew long and his eyes welled up with tears. He looked me straight in the eyes and said, \u0026ldquo;Goodbye\u0026rdquo;. We both knew what he meant. I hugged him once more and left.\nWith all the oddballs in my family, and I am certainly the oddest, my Pop is unique amongst them all. He loves to laugh, he loves to share what he has, he loves children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. His words have always been few and carefully chosen. That has given him a certain presence that all the rest of us lack. He was always the stable, dependable one in a chaotic sea of family that splashed and sloshed across the US.\nI miss him already.\n","date":"6 April 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-04-06-when-black-sheep-meet/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"When Black Sheep Meet","type":"posts"},{"content":"Per custom, the theme is changed for April 1st.\nUm. Yeah.\n","date":"1 April 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-04-01-late-and-not-that-funny/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Late and Not that Funny","type":"posts"},{"content":"That would be:\nIowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio. We also visited Washington, DC. To be fair, the time in Kansas was all at 70 mph for 20 minutes. We stopped in all the other states, either to sleep, eat, or stretch.\nWhat prompted this modern odyssey across the Eastern half of the country? I wanted to see home for the first time in about two years. If you remember, it was about a little over two years ago that the great Chick-Fil-A run began. At that time, we were getting rid of the Cadillac Catera that no one wants. Just to let you know, my father sold it in February of this year.\nMy wife was very supportive, especially as I wanted to spend time teaching our children about my side of their heritage. So, after two days of furious activity, we washed everything we own and threw it into suitcases the day we left. Mrtool housesat for us, he saw the interrupted state we left the house in.\nPrior to this, some meticulous planning had been done to research every rest area between here and NC. I knew where we could stop at any given time. I also knew where all the Chick-Fil-A\u0026rsquo;s were. A man has to have priorities in order before such a massive undertaking. My wife did her usual spatial geometry trick to get everything to fit into the car. We packed a cooler with whole milk, two quiches, luncheon meat and ice. Two Whole Foods bags had all the dry food (two boxes of cheerios, raisins, and who knows what else.) We were ready.\nThe caveat in all this was that we had to use the back seat for some of our stuff. This meant that if she wanted to sit in the back with the children, we would have to unpack the backseat into the passenger side front seat, not a trivial matter. Still, we felt that this was the best that could be done. I mean, we have a double stroller, six bags/suitcases of clothes, food, games, and books. For those that may not know, we own a Ford Taurus. It\u0026rsquo;s not a Cooper, but it\u0026rsquo;s not a Town and Country, either.\nWe planned to leave that morning, but my tax refund arrived that morning in my bank account. This meant we could pay off everyone before the trip instead of after. I then spent the next two hours paying off everyone you can think of. All the medical bills are done, finished, paid in full, never to see the light of day again. We also have met our deductible for the year, to boot. We paid off our one little credit card completely and we caught up on a couple other bills as well.\nNow leaving at 2pm, I said that we had to make it to St. Louis at all costs. You\u0026rsquo;d think I\u0026rsquo;d know better than to make such statements having been a part of a church that said this since its inception. Still, I guess the training is very hard to undo. My wife had a better idea, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t listen until the next day. Lesson learned: listen to your wife. Anyway, we were off to the great frontier at 2pm, ready to meet what faced us.\nIt was about 3pm that Dancing Bear, our daughter, decided that the car seat was not her friend. She voiced this complaint pretty much until we made it to Bobber\u0026rsquo;s house in St. Louis at 12am. Brother Bear, our son, decided that sleeping was better than listening to his sister complain. This, of course, meant that he was wide awake in St. Louis. We made a complete tour of all the rest areas in Missouri on our route in vain attempts to appease Dancing Bear. She was happy at every stop until we put her back into the seat. As a result of day one of our trip, I have decided that I will never ever complain again if there is a crying baby in a restaurant or plane.\nThe cooler was in the trunk, but thankfully we had to stop every thirty-forty minutes anyway. Most of the good stuff was eaten by the time we arrived at Bobber\u0026rsquo;s. One of the games I brought cannot be played in the car and my wife and I traded complaints of tiredness.\nThis was the worst day of the entire trip.\nArriving at Bobber\u0026rsquo;s, he met me in the driveway and helped me unload the car. We were given the basement. My wife needed to pump immediately, so Bobber and I got everything in while she setup. Both the children decided that the basement was the most fun place in history. My son was bouncing off the walls.\nBobber and I talked for two hours about all kinds of things. ICoC a little, politics, the trip, the kids, etc. We had so much fun, but finally the family constitutions gave out - we had to sleep. Early next morning, I got up. Bobber\u0026rsquo;s wife talked to me about breakfast only to segue into more discussions with Bobber all through the rest of the morning. I enjoyed hearing ideas about religion and politics as well as the paleolithic diet. That particular morning, we were not following the plan as waffles were made, much to the delight of Brother Bear.\nWe ended up talking about Ron Paul, the role of government, equality vs equity, the Constitution, food, where are they now(ICoC edition), liturgy, Democrats, slot car race tracks, Debian, Slackware, and other things. I saw the HQ of http://kc0dxf.net and the garage sized slot car track. I had a lot of fun, but I began to say good-bye at 9:15am in order to get on the road.\nMy wife and his wife joked with each other as 11am approached that this good-bye could take another hour. We left at 11:20am.\n","date":"29 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-29-a-13-state-tour-day-one/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A 13 State Tour - Day One","type":"posts"},{"content":"Some other things of note. Again, this is so I can understand my own notes later.\nMt. Vernon, Indiana, one of three Mt. Vernon\u0026rsquo;s I passed at high speed (Virginia, Iowa)\nRebel Yell in Paducah, Ky.\nWhy my son loves country music\nCan\u0026rsquo;t make it to Knoxville. We made it to Knoxville.\nBlue Ridge Parkway.\nHow to tell a good story over time\nReceptacle of Memories discussion\nBrother Bear meets a real chicken and egg situation\nBlack Market Dairy and the cravings of the modern toddler\nHaving Dirt does not equal sharing Dirt with a spouse\nChick-Fil-A at last (and for the only time) in Burlington\nRaleigh is not how I remember\nThis is home.\nThe ocean is overrated, how about less sand and wind?\nWhere is my family?\nEeek a mouse.\nOne Black Sheep meets the Other Black Sheep in the family.\nWhat do you mean we have to go back a different way?\nEaster at Sunrise, Easter with Dad.\nBrother Bear steals the hearts of many, including another set of parents of a deaf child.\nToo much food.\nThere are good thing in Washington DC, really. No, really.\nGallaudet University trip.\nWelcome to W. Va, Pennsylvania, W. Va, Ohio. What?\nFinally, the family has come back to arrived in Columbus.\nSnow? Iowa?\nWill it play in Peoria? Yes.\nOld Republican Women and why they like Obama.\nNut in Frostburg, Md that thinks the British are coming.\nWhy I really hate fast food (with two exceptions)\nIs this really home?\nHoney, we forget something on the counter\u0026hellip;\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more, but that\u0026rsquo;s enough for now. Gotta run, my Saturday writing time is up.\n","date":"29 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-29-magical-mystery-tour/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Magical Mystery Tour","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m not going to go day by day. However, there\u0026rsquo;s a couple of other things I have to write down now before I forget. I\u0026rsquo;m been holding on to them for 2.5 weeks.\nPost-Discipleship Renaissance I read an article by Jeff Bridges about his own belief until a few years ago. He believed that he needed the gospel until he became a Christian, then needed discipleship from that point until death. This made him rather miserable and made his Christian walk an endless chore. He resolved it in part by recognizing that he needed the gospel his entire life. The rest, you can read for yourself. (Insert Link) I struggle to find out what it means for me in my own life as I have a much better idea of what I see as damaging than what I see as helpful. I see a three year structured program for new believers as helpful. I see the goal of teaching people to take their own spirituality seriously as good. I see the idea that each believer as the only one responsible for their walk with God as a good one. Still, what that looks like in a general sense is hard for me to imagine. I know what it looks like for me, but not so much for others.\nI\u0026rsquo;m surrounded by many that believe that ICoC-style discipleship is the biblical ideal. I say ICoC style, but it\u0026rsquo;s really a light version stripped of any authority. As I continue to say, our form of discipleship comes from the Ft. Lauderdale Five that launched the Shepherding Movement. From those five, it spread into the Navigators, Campus Crusade (through Bill Bright), Churches of Christ (including Crossroads), and others. The sixties in Florida must have been really something. All of these connections start with these five men that decided to be spiritual minders to each other. Four of the five have denounced these teachings.\nSo what was discipleship like in the US in the 40s? That preceded the so-called biblical model of having a spiritual big brother, so I was interested in what was there. So far, the search have provided a model that has two of the three primary characteristics I espouse in discipleship. (Insert Link) Those two are structure and temporary duration. The third, voluntary participation didn\u0026rsquo;t seem to be there and it seems this program led to church problems.\n(fragment) It seems that post-2003, discipleship can be determined in a few ways:\nDo what we always did. Be nicer about what we always did by removing some level or all authority. Do nothing. Make discipleship a team sport. Do something different. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen all these optionsdone , but I will say that option 5 seems to scare people the most. I wish it didn\u0026rsquo;t.\nMore on that later, just had to write it down.\nThe next two are personally related, though they deal with ICoC issues. The first, I\u0026rsquo;ll just leave as is. The second, though is more important to me. Unity is still a big interest of mine, though I feel as if I have become more liberal that F. Lagard Smith in that regard. I could say that I\u0026rsquo;m sorta like Campbell who considered a Calvinist his brother in Christ(insert link).\nReap the Whirlwind Not two weeks old, but troublesome. RD Baker has been pushed out of Phoenix. I won\u0026rsquo;t say more about it because I am not there. John Augustine might want to remove the good review written by RD. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that certain folks in Phoenix wish that Google could be \u0026lsquo;cleansed\u0026rsquo;. Oh well.\nWho Is My Brother? Chicago is doing a big thing on fellowship and inter-denomination dating. I hope this is an extension of reaching out to COC\u0026rsquo;s in the area. Naperville reached out to them back in 2003 and their minister even presented a paper at Douglas Jacoby\u0026rsquo;s ITS conference. I met Rich and he is a great guy.\nHowever, I will say that from the UPC, all that can be said is that we can fellowship with those that believe in believer\u0026rsquo;s baptism, an inerrant Bible, unmistakable repentance (a quote), and discipleship that has some sort of challenge to a Christian (amongst other things) and you cannot believe in what is called hyper-autonomy. You can date someone outside the ICoC as long as they pretty much believe what the ICoC (Cooperative Churches) espouse in the UPC.\nAny deviation from this and Chicago, the unofficial HQ of the ICoC (Cooperative Churches), will be invalidating its own documented beliefs. I know that it was designed to address churches within the historical ICoC, but any real meaningful cooperative efforts with non-ICoC congregations must be similar to the measures described in the Regional Partnership section (sans delegates), otherwise it is just lip service.\nSee, if you want a denomination, you have to go through the procedural channels to change to core document. After all, as stated in the clarifying documentation, you have to believe all of it in order to sign. If April 12 provides a different message, they will not be following their own rules. Granted, I\u0026rsquo;ll be delighted if they say something different, but the means do not justify the ends. Either go through proper channels and change the UPC or get rid of it altogether. The authors were the ones that put in the all-or-nothing provision in the first place.\n(fragment)Who Is My Brother is the wrong question. Jesus clearly stated who is my brother. Whom can I marry is also the wrong question. The question is, are these two people ready for marriage. I felt prepared for my marriage because of the preparation given to us by an older couple that has been through everything at least twice. We also had the help of Family Dynamics. Despite a short courtship, we laid a foundation that has served us through all kinds of trials and major disagreements. This may not help everyone, but a rash marriage is unwise even if the two people has exactly identical beliefs.\nTrying to front-load the question ahead of time by writing off entire denominations is similar to what the Pharisees did. In order to build a protective hedge, they would write off all kinds of things that were perfectly fine (Such as healing on the Sabbath) and prohibiting things that were actually good (Corban substitution trick).\nAs always, more on that later. Again, I will celebrate in the streets if the message on April 12 is different from the UPC. I hope that cooperation will begin with other churches in the area, RM or not.\nMore on the trip coming up later this week.\n","date":"29 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-29-travelogue-interruption/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Travelogue Interruption","type":"posts"},{"content":"I made it home okay.\nMore to say, but it\u0026rsquo;s late.\nAnd the house smells funny.\n","date":"28 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-28-home-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Home Again","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you can believe it, I managed to stay off line for 6 days. This has been good and bad for me. Good in that I have a break in my internet routine. Bad in that folks that depend on me for website stuff found out that I was not easily reached. Still, it has been a good few days.\nI enjoyed my stay with Bobber. We talked about everything from Ron Paul to religion to Debian. I saw the home for his website. I saw the groove racing track. It was a great time. We started saying goodbye at 9:15am, my family left at 11:30.\nI also enjoyed our stay with Scott. More on that later.\nMore importantly, it looks like we may need to return home another way. First stop is Raleigh to see Kurt, but then the trip is a northern odyssey. If we go too far north, we hit major snow in Chicago. If we go back the way we came, we face flooding in Kentucky. At this point, it looks like we will be traveling Raleigh to DC to Columbus, Ohio to Indianapolis to Davenport, IA to home. I want to see Scott and Bobber again, but the weather may not cooperate.\nMore on that later, but I\u0026rsquo;ll take a really big internet risk here. (Phone number removed despite it being a permanent fixture of the internet now.)\nBALEETED!\nThat\u0026rsquo;s me. I need folks to reach me, so there it is. I\u0026rsquo;m ready for the prank calls. If you\u0026rsquo;re my friend and pretend to be a prank call, I will hang up on you. You\u0026rsquo;ve been warned.\nAnyway, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know as Tuesday approaches. We are leaving here that morning and making our way West (and North, then West, then kinda Southwest.)\nIt has been a much needed break away from the regular things in life we\u0026rsquo;ve had the past three years. No church stuff, no appointments, no surgeries, no nothing. Just the ocean, a lot of wind, much family, and good seafood.\nI had hoped that being here would also spark a spiritual renewal, but outside of the release of tension, that hasn\u0026rsquo;t happened yet. I feel strange addressing a church on Easter Sunday, but I remember that Jesus came to call the sinners, not the saints. I\u0026rsquo;m only there to introduce my children for whom this little church has prayed continuously for over two years. Whereas before they saw only pictures, Sunday, they see them face to face. Heaven is like that, too, but that\u0026rsquo;s a different topic altogether.\nI do hope to see Doug and Ryan on the trip back. All I ask is to show me where a Chick-Fil-A is located.\nI plan on writing much more in two weeks.\n","date":"22 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-22-vacation-so-far/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Vacation So Far","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ll probably write from home, but we\u0026rsquo;ll be leaving in a couple hours. Thanks to everyone for the help and hospitality.\nBobber, I\u0026rsquo;ll call you later today. Haven\u0026rsquo;t talked to my wife about it yet.\nRH, thanks for the help, I have contact with Knoxville.\nScott, I\u0026rsquo;ll call you tomorrow from the road.\nKurt, I\u0026rsquo;ll call you, too, but I need you to call me because I\u0026rsquo;ve lost your number. Everyone I just mentioned has my cell.\nNext stop, Iowa for a brief trip down I-29.\n","date":"14 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-14-off-for-a-while/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Off for a While","type":"posts"},{"content":" View Larger Map\n","date":"13 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-13-maps/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Maps","type":"posts"},{"content":"Not that I don\u0026rsquo;t like emailing my friends, but I cannot send private email from work. I cannot use my work email because it is all stored and sifted for legal reasons. Thus, here is my projected itinerary for the trip East:\nMarch 14th: Leave Omaha and arrive in St. Louis March 15th: Leave St. Louis and arrive in Knoxville March 16th: Leave Knoxville and arrive in Winston-Salem March 17th: Leave WS and arrive home.\nPart of the trip on the 15th will be a picture of the arch. Part of the 16th trip will be a visit to the Whitnet Holocaust Memorial (maybe). Part of the 17th trip will be to find Cherry-Lemon Sundrop (available only in four counties in NC and one in TN).\nOn the way back, we will reverse the course starting on March 25th.\nTo anyone helping us out with places to stay, my wife doesn\u0026rsquo;t eat seafood or pork. I will eat anything but anchovies.\nI am very grateful to those that have offered to help, it is a great help to us trying to visit friends and family. Much love from the wife and me.\n","date":"11 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-11-itinerary/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Itinerary","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yes, it\u0026rsquo;s almost time. The Pink clan is driving east to my ancestral homeland. I\u0026rsquo;ll post the route later, because it is different from the route of the famous Chick-Fil-A run. I\u0026rsquo;m going through Tennessee. It adds all of 20 miles and I avoid the wasteland known as southern Indiana and Southern Illinois. Plus, I\u0026rsquo;ll take another detour to see the Holocaust Memorial featured in the movie, Paperclips.\nYes, I am driving thought St. Louis and down I-40. We leave here on March 14 and will be traveling for a little over 3 days. Night one should put us in St. Louis, Night two in Knoxville. Night three Winston-salem or Raleigh or home. Depends.\nI have mapped out all the Chick-Fil-A\u0026rsquo;s again. I will not be revisiting the Charleston, WV location with me and mrtool\u0026rsquo;s picture. however, thanks to wireless, I will be ordering from the car en route for a pick up. Bwa ha ha ha. Technology is great.\nFor the record, I am basically better. I got my yearly physical yesterday and everything seems normal (except being overweight). blood pressure is actually the low end of normal. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;m more mellow than I think. :) I\u0026rsquo;m down 14 pounds from Jan 1, so I am feeling a bit better.\nAnywho, I\u0026rsquo;ll write from home, but won\u0026rsquo;t be around here until next week. My Statis-Pro football league has its draft this Saturday.\n","date":"6 March 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-03-06-heading-east/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Heading East","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"29 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/church-issues/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Church-Issues","type":"tags"},{"content":"I stumbled across something recently. Basically, I saw two charges on my account from KNN. Since I thought my account was already canceled, I asked that it be canceled. Chris very graciously credited me a free month for DToday. I was assured that there would be no charge in March and I believe him. Very pleasant, indeed.\nHowever, I clicked on a link and suffered a minor setback.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll make you a deal Mike. Let\u0026rsquo;s have \u0026lsquo;Regional\u0026rsquo; Leaders again as you justify in this paper. The only condition is that no one that has ever served as WSL, GSL, WSE (Elder), Kingdom Teacher, GSE (Elder), or Kingdom Elder can serve in these new roles. It\u0026rsquo;s very difficult for those with a vested interest in more regional leadership to speak of the need for more regional leadership. What is the need for this added authority? What work is being prevented because these structures are not in place?\nThe significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. Albert Einstein (attributed)\nEvents have happened with ICOC(Co-Operating) Church Leaders and ICOC(Community) Church Leaders, like the Southeast Festival of Faith, without the end of missions funding, the end of the ICoC, or the end of brotherhood across congregations. It is amazing what the Holy Spirit is able to accomplish without man\u0026rsquo;s help.\nNo matter what has been said to members of the Church Building Committee in public or private, this thinly veiled attack on those that will not sign or consent to regional leadership emerges periodically. Christians much more spiritual than I have written, spoken, begged you to consider pursuing peace instead of a one-size-fits-all agenda. (Rom 14:19-23) This course of action is not pursuant to peace. To those that cannot consent to a supra church structure out of conscience, it is a sign that such a belief is not only unacceptable, but a hindrance to the work of God. Such a claim is overreaching at best, arrogant at its worst. Rather than trying to assure us that you meant no harm, try not violating our conscience in the first place.\nSimply put, state very clearly what it is that you want and why you cannot do it right now. All this other window dressing is just dancing about the issue.\n","date":"29 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-29-ignore-this-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ignore This Post","type":"posts"},{"content":"Me am sick. I did all the vitamin stuff I could leading up to it. I tried everything I could think of. In the end, though, I ended up doing too much. Part of it was the failed video for Black History Sunday at church and refurbing a laptop for my wife. Part of it was not sleeping for awhile. If you heard my communion from Sunday, I sounded worse the next day.\nThe result, I am home sick for two days. So now, I am taking zinc and B vitamins and all the other assorted things that are supposed to help recovery. I\u0026rsquo;m also during various assorted herbal teas with chamomile my favorite. I am sorely tempted to use my grandparents remedy for these things:\n4 parts Southern Comfort (required) to 1 part honey (almost optional) to 1/2 part lemon juice (entirely optional).\nFortunately for me, the tax refund hasn\u0026rsquo;t arrived yet, so that solution is too expensive. Thank goodness vitamins at the No Name Nutrition store in town is cheaper than whiskey. Still, I\u0026rsquo;m out for awhile.\n","date":"27 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-27-despite-best-efforts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Despite Best Efforts","type":"posts"},{"content":"At the last minute I was asked to give communion. Unable to form an original thought, I largely quoted someone else as was appropriate to the service.\nOne point of clarification: the moderation I mention is in reference to a Letter from a Birmingham Jail where MLK states that the white moderate may be the most dangerous foe to civil rights. It is the moderation that says, \u0026ldquo;let\u0026rsquo;s not disturb anything\u0026rdquo;. This ties into King\u0026rsquo;s concept of negative peace (no tension) as compared to positive peace (presence of justice). I didn\u0026rsquo;t elaborate, so it can sound like I am saying that moderation as a general principle is not loving. There are plenty of examples where love can be shown through moderation - again, the concept I wanted to make reference to is different.\nLove at the Bottom of the Cross\n","date":"25 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-25-af-am-history-communion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Af-Am History Communion","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been fluffing around lately. I see interesting things and generally ooh and ahh over it\u0026rsquo;s shiny veneer. I spend some time on my hobbies and enjoy world creation. Not a typo, I said world creation. The two worlds in the forge at this point are Lenga, which I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned many times, and the Spring Football universe. The former is more or less based on the Roman Empire, the latter assumes that Donald Trump didn\u0026rsquo;t ruin the USFL. I took a hiatus from the Spring Football universe to play some board game football. I\u0026rsquo;m prepping for the draft on March 8.\nMeanwhile, anything pertaining to religion has been pretty low-key. As stated earlier, I have been back to Delphi twice since my break with the ICoC blogosphere. Once out of curiosity, more recently as a result of the NIU shooting. Being a former board member, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it is possible to completely remove myself from the ICoC scene without attending and placing membership at a different church. I\u0026rsquo;m not a member of the church I attend, but I would have to attend elsewhere to really get away from the ICoC. Still, I am not going to instigate anything ICoC. Someone says something to me, fine, deal with it quickly and move on. Someone says, \u0026ldquo;you know what Gordo is saying now?\u0026rdquo; and I\u0026rsquo;ll avoid it. I get an idea in my head to see what X church leader is doing these days and a stinging self-rebuke is in order. That\u0026rsquo;s all part of my old life.\nMy online friend Doug went back to posting daily Bible studies. I know he enjoyed it and I enjoyed reading them. Cool stuff, really. Doing the same is not helpful to me right now, but I do plan on doing that at some point. I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten into at least three discussions lately where the disagreement turned into a criticism of my hermeneutic and eisegesis. (Not a misspelling.) In one case, I was talking about something that I hadn\u0026rsquo;t fully thought out in my own mind and admitted as much. The other two cases, though, led to disagreements about the implications of a stated belief. Someone would say something like the Bible says statement w, because of X verse, y verse, and z verse. I would respond that if you believe in statement w that implies statement U and statement U is not consistent with the Bible. Therefore, statement w may be wrong, inaccurate, or needs further thought. Then I say that we seem to have a different way of looking at things that will lead us to cross paths. That generally ends the discussion with a parting shot about proper Biblical interpretation.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve learned that my hope for unity will not come through doctrinal agreement because there is a lack of agreement on hermeneutic, logic, and the value of intuition. I don\u0026rsquo;t think it is possible to come to an agreement on two of those three. Unity must come through something else - not the lack of conflict, but the focus on what\u0026rsquo;s really important. What is important is the work of Jesus.\nMore on that later.\nStill, I work through things in my mind like the nature of God\u0026rsquo;s predestination. I\u0026rsquo;ve become interested in Molinism lately, despite the appearance circular reasoning by many of its largest proponents. No one has really stated it simply, which makes it dubious in my mind. Yet, I appreciate the idea that God is sovereign *AND* man has free will. (In all candor, if there is no free will, Christianity is pointless to me. I didn\u0026rsquo;t say everyone, I said me. I wish I could take Spurgeon\u0026rsquo;s take on a few areas and just say, \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t understand,\u0026rdquo; but I am not as strong as he was about it.) I believe in a God that has supreme power but also supreme self-control in that He doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to force choices on all of creation in order for the universe to work out as He plans.\nBut all this mental stuff leaves the heart dry and thirsty. I\u0026rsquo;ve taken Bobber\u0026rsquo;s suggestion at chanting the Psalms. The effort sputtered at first, but I hope that when the book arrives that he mentioned, this effort will get back on track. I plan to write about it when I start again. In the meantime, the heart delights in the simple pleasures of my children. Jesus said that we need to become like them in enter Heaven and I understand, in part, why.\nBrother Bear has no problem starting new adventures because he doesn\u0026rsquo;t think about how much I love him. He knows I do. When he\u0026rsquo;s tired, he tells me, when he\u0026rsquo;s scared, he asks me for comfort, when he\u0026rsquo;s crossed a boundary, he respects my word. He revels in what he can do and spends most of his time doing those things. He likes to say \u0026ldquo;o\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;x\u0026rdquo; and a few other letters. He likes to run at full speed. He likes to throw all the cushions of the couch. He like to dive from one piece of furniture to the next (without a net). He likes to dance. Whatever he does, he does it as hard as he can without stress. Whenever he feels something, he expresses it. Whenever he has been naughty, he dislikes the whole process, but the drama ends when the process is over. It\u0026rsquo;s as if he is saying, There\u0026rsquo;s just too many good things to do. Despite the sometimes bewildering complexity of his personality, this fundamental thought seems to keep him going.\nI\u0026rsquo;d like to think he gets it from me. If not, I\u0026rsquo;d like to think that I can be that way. Either way, I am ready to get back to it. There\u0026rsquo;s just too many good things to do.\n","date":"21 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-21-back-to-it/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Back to It","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/general/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"General","type":"tags"},{"content":"This is more cool than I can say. Gravia, the lamp the works outside the grid.\nI want a bunch of these if for no other reason than they don\u0026rsquo;t have cords.\nBesides, using the fundamental force of the universe to generate power is the ultimate green tech.\n","date":"20 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-20-gravity-powered-lamp/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gravity Powered Lamp","type":"posts"},{"content":" The picture leads to an obligatory Too Short reference. I used to have the 1988 Life Is .. Too $hort album. I had a great purge in 1993. I sold my GWAR, Ministry, Kool Mo Dee, NWA, Biz Markie, Satriani, ManoWat, Metallica, Yello, Pet Shop Boys, and other assorted albums.\nYou cannot prove I ever owned a Duran Duran album, so don\u0026rsquo;t try me. :)\nYes, the lyrics come from a Notorious B.I.G. song.\n","date":"15 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-15-857/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mo Money","type":"posts"},{"content":" moar humorous pics\nIt\u0026rsquo;s Valentine\u0026rsquo;s Day. You miss me? Yeah, I miss you, too. The picture above is more for my wife and I, but if you need a hug, take one. I gotz a jar full.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been pretty sick since the Supe\u0026hellip; uh Big Game uh football game played on Feb 2. (Do you know what to call it without NFL lawyers suing you for trademark infringement?). I almost went to a doctor. Seriously.\nGood news is that I do not have pneumonia and that one day, I really will feel better. Brother Bear is pulling out of his version of this virus as well as Dancing Bear. Besides being 1 below zero tonight things are looking pretty good. (We celebrated reaching 30 degrees this morning!)\nHere\u0026rsquo;s what else has been going on.\nSome folks from Springfield, Mo wrote the church administrator and asked about the look and feel of our website. They asked for help in finding the same template we were using at the time. Of course, since I maintain the website, I was put in touch with them and the rest is history. They are now sporting a WordPress site.\nI noticed that their web guy found a beautiful theme from LivingOS.com that provided a slideshow. Believe it or not, the slideshow is NOT powered by Flash(R). Like their web guy, the only issue was the green and yellow color scheme. Not ugly, just not the color palette we were looking for. They are still working on theirs, but I had a chance to tweak it a little bit. Now the church I attend is sporting a new website, too. I\u0026rsquo;m going to tweak the red and yellow buttons a bit, but I\u0026rsquo;m happy with it.\nAlong those lines, I\u0026rsquo;m working on committees for three upcoming events. First is Black History Service on Feb 24. I hope to have a video up on the site that we will be using for service. Second is the Men\u0026rsquo;s Retreat. That\u0026rsquo;s in early March. No cool link to it, yet, but we\u0026rsquo;ll see. Since I\u0026rsquo;m on the committee, it\u0026rsquo;s probably not going to be one of those Wild-at-Heart-Let\u0026rsquo;s-Act-Like-We\u0026rsquo;re-Five events. At this point, we\u0026rsquo;re thinking of having a loud track and a silent track. The silent track is for those that want to unplug and be with God. They will have outdoors and more meditative group things. The loud side will be for those that need a passionate setting to inspire them. Not really rah rah, but real. Everyone, of course, will be together Sunday morning and Saturday morning for football/Capture the Flag. After that, is Easter Service, complete with special songs and dramatic presentations. I\u0026rsquo;m doing the programs because I will be in NC on Easter Sunday.\nSpeaking of Easter, I\u0026rsquo;ve been invited to give the closing Benediction at the Sunrise Service at home. I really hope to get there in time to do that.\nAlso speaking of Easter, we celebrated Ash Wednesday last Wednesday for Men\u0026rsquo;s Midweek. This was the liturgical service complete with the ash mark on the forehead tradition. It was quite beautiful and inspiring to many there. A few seemed offended, but most of us, especially me, really enjoyed it. It was the first church service in a long time where I felt something instead of learned/blocked-out-wrong-information something.\nOther than that, I am involved in a Statis-Pro Football by internet group based out of Virginia. My team, the Nebraska State Armadillos, are looking to draft a star quarterback to lead the team to victory.\nI know, it\u0026rsquo;s sick what you can do with public domain images these days. (Thanks WPClipart!)\nI\u0026rsquo;m also working on more stuff for my Sycarion site. Things there are moving along well. I discovered a tool called yould that has sped along the creation of the Lenga language. Lenga is a relex of Latin. Basically, it follows all the grammatical rules of Latin, but the words are different. I\u0026rsquo;m at the stage where I\u0026rsquo;m going through the vocabulary list (17,000+plus words!) and checking for internal consistency. It\u0026rsquo;s enough at this point to use for adding flavor to descriptions of the Bedrian Empire, Dira (the world), and names of common objects.\nThe Football project is on hold while I play football as I mentioned earlier. Since my game is based on Statis-Pro and I haven\u0026rsquo;t played against a human being in years, I figure this is a good time for a refresher. One of the coaches lives in my area, so I will play a few games \u0026ldquo;in person\u0026rdquo; instead of through IM chat.\nLastly, I did cave once a couple weeks ago. I went to the Civil Discussion Forum at Delphi. It took five minutes for me to realize that I didn\u0026rsquo;t miss it. I also asked someone for a copy of an article that Gordon wrote about Christianity and Psychology. I knew what it would say. It would say that Psychology is incompatible with Christianity. Get a lot of advice for mature disciples before visiting a therapist (in practice, this means \u0026ldquo;get others to talk you out of it\u0026rdquo;).\nYou have to understand that the ICoC comes from a strong tradition of nouethic counseling. The Scriptures are sufficient for any problem in a believer\u0026rsquo;s life and each Christian is competent to counsel another Christian because of the completeness of God\u0026rsquo;s word (and not the abilities of the individual believer). It sounds very good, and I believe that it is possible to some degree in everyday problems and facing common challenges. I think we can help each other raise our children. However, combine this with the Shepherding ideas from the Ft Lauderdale Five, and this man and you get something entirely different.\nFrom Nouethic Counseling, you got the mistrust of Psychology (See PschyoBabble and Competent to Counsel and this article). From Mumford and company, you get that obedience is the highest form of worship. From Kip, you get the boundless energy of someone that knows he is the star of the show. Almost thirty years later, the fallout from the ICoC and others groups is still happening. We weren\u0026rsquo;t the only group to take the worst aspects of both of these good-intentioned ideas.\nNow take the architect of the ICoC\u0026rsquo;s discipling system (Gordon). He wrote the book on discipling (now discontinued from DPI). He was a Kingdom Elder. Considering his experiences, training, and methods over five or more decades, it\u0026rsquo;s no surprise that Pyschology is not to be trusted.\nI understand wanting to guard the heart from worldly ideas. I quit listening to talk radio. I will not watch Oprah. I generally avoid the incendiary aspects of the blogosphere (although I have been one of those incendiary folks). However, any system that has a built-in fear of outside ideas is ultimately going to collapse on itself. Mumford\u0026rsquo;s group did it. We did it. UBF did it (and still is doing it). When I consider that the perfect love of God drives out fear, I hope to allow God to be the filter of new ideas. I hope that I do not give into fear so much, that I set up an artificial rule saying that any new idea is probably ungodly. (I also do not want to embrace every new idea at the cost of ignoring God\u0026rsquo;s loving guidance.)\nMy experience with a secular counselor has shown that a \u0026ldquo;take every thought captive\u0026rdquo; approach works very well for day to day problems. I\u0026rsquo;m going through a workbook with practical exercises that demonstrate some of the thoughts I entertain that separate me from those I love. For the bigger issues, like abuse, there is a way to determine what is magnified by my perceptions and what was genuinely wrong. More importantly, there are ways to find closure or acceptance.\nIn any case, I hope to avoid articles like this in the future.\nTrue my life is busy, but I feel that it is starting to have meaning again. I didn\u0026rsquo;t say purpose, it\u0026rsquo;s not the same thing. Meaning, however, is just as important. I find meaning in my game stuff and website stuff. I find meaning in raising the children (even if I am the only one not doing the Raising Kids God\u0026rsquo;s Way stuff). I find meaning in making my wife happy. (found two dozens roses that I could afford and took out the trash) I find meaning in my search for God. I find meaning in sharing God with others. I even find meaning in researching Molinism, though I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t wish that on anyone.\nI hope your life has meaning. I promise that it won\u0026rsquo;t be two weeks until the next meaningful post and it will be much shorter.\n","date":"14 February 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-02-14-heart-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Heart Day","type":"posts"},{"content":" How to Sew a Cloth Gift Bag # from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit\nCloth gift bags are easy to make and last longer than paper gift bags. The recipient will not only be flattered by the effort you put into it, but they\u0026rsquo;ll also have a bag they can reuse, either for gift-giving or for storage or carrying. With a sewing machine that can sew straight seams and make buttonholes, and your choice of fabric, you can start making these thoughtful bags whenever you want.\nSteps # Decide what size bag you want to make. You can do this two ways. The easy way is to wrap the cloth around the object you want to wrap and mark its dimensions on the back of the fabric you want to use. A more complex way is to measure your object\u0026rsquo;s dimensions (length, width, height) and add an inch or two in each direction for seam allowances. Bear in mind that these instructions are for two dimensional, rectangular bags, and that you will have to allow for all three dimensions of your gift to fit.In this example, the width of the rectangle equals the circumference of the object plus two inches (diameter times pi plus two) and the height of the rectangle is equal to diameter plus height plus two (you could add 3 or more inches instead of two for a roomier fit). Cut the fabric. You can do this all in one piece or in two pieces, just remember to double the seam allowance if using two rectangles instead of one. The following pictures are for a small gift bag made from a single rectangle. If your gift is larger, it may require that you cut two rectangles and sew an additional side seam to make a bag large enough. Otherwise, the same principles apply. Press a fold about 0.5\u0026quot; (1cm) of fabric along the top edge. Fold and press again, this time a 1\u0026quot; flap (twice the previous fold). This will be the casing for the tie closure. Press a vertical fold halfway across the fabric; this will be the side without a seam. Unfold and mark the placement of buttonholes on the wrong side of the fabric as shown, positioned below the lower horizontal fold. These are to run the drawstrings through. Make four buttonholes where they were marked. Make them about .75\u0026quot; (2 cm) long. Open the buttonholes with a seam ripper. Sew the side seam(s) and bottom seam of the bag. It\u0026rsquo;s a good idea to clip the corner before sewing to prevent it from bunching up later. Zigzag the seam edges to prevent fraying. You can also pink the edges or sew a French seam to obtain the same effect. Turn the bag right side out and turn the casing to the inside. Stitch down the casing to the inside of the bag. Allow for clearance of the buttonholes. Cut two pieces of ribbon, or cordage to use as drawstrings. Tie your ribbon to a small safety pin for ease of threading through the casing. Pull the ribbon through the casing. Note: The photo shows only one ribbon, but if four button holes were made, you should use two ribbons as shown in the drawing\u0026hellip; one \u0026ldquo;U\u0026rdquo; shape from each direction so that you\u0026rsquo;re pulling two ribbon ends from each side of the bag to snug down the opening. Drop your gift in the bag. Snug up the drawstring. Tie a bow and add a tag if you like. Tips # Suggested (finished) dimensions: 15\u0026quot; x 24\u0026quot; will hold a typical shirt box or game 13\u0026quot; x 18.5\u0026quot; will hold a large book or medium-size game or toy 7\u0026quot; x 12\u0026quot; will hold single DVD or a paperback book 4.5\u0026quot; x 8.5\u0026quot; will hold small items such as hot chocolate pouches or jewelry Scraps can be used to test your buttonholes. You could use metal eyelets instead of buttonholes. You might need to reinforce your fabric with interfacing in the eyelet area. An extra large bag makes a great laundry bag to send to camp with kids. To prevent fraying, you can use pinking shears, a serged seam, or a French seam. Warnings # Scissors and needles are sharp. Handle with appropriate care. Things You\u0026rsquo;ll Need # Lightweight fabric to suit the gift-giving occasion. (e.g., a snowman print for Christmas) Tool for marking fabric: could be a sewing chalk or even a pen or pencil Scissors and/or pinking shears Iron and ironing board Sewing machine Thread Ribbon, yarn, or lightweight cordage for drawstrings A bodkin, yarn needle, or similar tool (a safety pin will work in a pinch) to thread the drawstring through the bag\u0026rsquo;s casing Related wikiHows # How to Sew a Button How to Machine Sew on a Button How to Use a Sewing Machine and Adjust the Stitches How to Make a Birthday Goodie Bag for Adults How to Wrap a Present How to Open a Package or Wrapper Without Damaging It Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world\u0026rsquo;s largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Sew a Cloth Gift Bag. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.\n","date":"30 January 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-01-30-how-to-article-of-the-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Article of the Day","type":"posts"},{"content":" PART ONE of a silly rhyme.\nLOOK BOOK\nLet\u0026rsquo;s take a look at this book.\nBOOK SHOOK\nWe looked at the book, we shook and we shook.\nBOOK NOOK MISTOOK\nWe looked in the book We searched every nook We looked and we looked, but the book we mistook.\nUNBOOK REBOOK GOBBLEDYGOOK\nWhat we don\u0026rsquo;t like, we like to UnBook What we don\u0026rsquo;t see, we see in ReBook Take out UnBook and add in ReBook What a beautiful book we call Gobbledygook.\nNO BOOK NO\nDon\u0026rsquo;t give me that book. That book is no good, It\u0026rsquo;s Gobbledygook.\nBOOK HOOK CROOK\nGobbledygook is a book, like the book It\u0026rsquo;s really the same if you just take a look Everyone will read it by hook or by crook Everyone must read from our wonderful book.\nBROTHER MOTHER\nYou belong to each other like sister and brother. Those here among us are like Father and mother.\nANOTHER FUTHER\nWe all must learn to love one another. We must help one another to reach futher and futher. (further)\nBROTHERS OTHERS Remember to love each other as brothers Though some of the brothers are more brothers than others Some call them fathers, you call them big brothers Though these big brothers are the same as the others\nSMOTHER EACH OTHER ONE ANOTHER\nWe say that we love, some say that we smother We are involved in the lives of each other Aren\u0026rsquo;t you the keeper of the soul of your brother? Our book says that we must love one another.\nFACE PLACE\nWe read our book for a smile on each face A brother for each other, we all have our place.\nRACE RACE\nWe\u0026rsquo;re all in a race. We\u0026rsquo;re all in a race. We encourage each other to stay in the race.\nRACE CHASE PLACE PACE\nWhether in life or each other we race Those that race faster, we chase and we chase Those that race slower are in a bad place So we encourage each other to pick up the pace.\n","date":"23 January 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-01-23-apologies-to-dr-seuss/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Apologies to Dr. Seuss","type":"posts"},{"content":" 28 and 20 can be fun. There is no fun for -6 with 20 mph winds.\nIt is snowing now and no one seems to feel comfortable forecasting the amount we\u0026rsquo;ll get. Since this time yesterday, the estimate went from 1 inch to 1 - 2 inches to 4 - 6 inches to 12 inches to 6 - 8 inches and back to 2 - 4 inches. It was also supposed to start at 3pm local time. It began a full four hours early. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard about the European model, the American model, the UNL model and a few others. Oh well.\nNo wonder people like to watch weather news so much - it\u0026rsquo;s pretty unpredictable for everyone including the experts.\n","date":"16 January 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-01-16-stay-warm/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stay Warm","type":"posts"},{"content":"Despite implications to the contrary, I haven\u0026rsquo;t stopped writing for good. I haven\u0026rsquo;t stopped writing about religion or Christianity. I\u0026rsquo;ve even had a couple of ICoC(all branches) discussions with folks.\nI stopped publicly dealing with the ICoC(all branches) and I stopped reading the websites. I would prefer to not discuss them privately, either, but a note now and then is okay. It\u0026rsquo;s a far cry from the network of contacts that I had all over the US, Canada, and the world.\nInstead, I\u0026rsquo;ve been writing a lot over at Sycarion. (It has a new look, too.) I\u0026rsquo;m playing Minimus with a friend online sometime next month. I\u0026rsquo;ve been helping an online acquaintance document his linguistic generator, yould.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been a busy time.\nI also am pursuing my largest goal for 2008 with great effort. I want to hear the voice of God. As it is, I hear the voice of Kingdom Teachers, Kip, dozens of evangelists, BT leaders, and others, Matthew Henry, Luther, Lucado, Bounds, Nee, Stott, C.S. Lewis, Tozer, Cecil Hook, Osteen, Robertson, Swaggart, Iacocca, Maxwell, Oral Roberts, and more often than not, my own voice.\nAll of these are not the voice of God.\nHowever, I also hear silence. Nothing at all. I have no memory of reading the Bible and hearing nothing at all, even as a child. It is spooky, to say the least.\nIn one sense, I hear the voice of friends, Foster and Wesley speak of Spiritual Disciplines. As Wesley basically said, prayer, Bible Study and Communion are the ordinary channels God uses to bestow his grace on men. I also hear Foster talking about the need to be deep, not intelligent. I feel like I spend a lot of time being intelligent without being deep. Still, with all the noise in my thoughts, I know that it is good to keep at it as far as the basics go.\nAs Albert Camus would say\nAh, mon cher, for anyone who is alone, without God and without a master, the weight of days is dreadful.\nWhat I would like is the read and pray and be unable to quote anyone at all. (Remember, I\u0026rsquo;m at work - I\u0026rsquo;m confirming the quotes, not finding them.) It doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be permanent, just enough time to feel like I\u0026rsquo;m alone with God, not a room full of people.\nPaul was accused of his great learning causing him dementia. I\u0026rsquo;ve wondered the same thing sometimes. The thing is, though, I don\u0026rsquo;t really have great learning, I\u0026rsquo;m just a product of the information age with almost unlimited access. That kind of goes back to Foster talking about depth vs. intelligence. We all know what God can do with man\u0026rsquo;s intelligence. (he frustrates it)\nFaith is not a matter of intelligence or learning. I believe that Jesus would say to us (and me) that we search catalogs of Christian Literature because we believe it can keep us saved, on track, useful, or otherwise moving forward in our walk with God. I think I\u0026rsquo;ll read fewer Christian books this year and spend more time looking around me.\nIn any case, that\u0026rsquo;s all the news fit to print with me. I guess I\u0026rsquo;m just letting everyone that I haven\u0026rsquo;t quit. God Bless.\n","date":"10 January 2008","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2008-01-10-not-stopping-for-good/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Stopping for Good","type":"posts"},{"content":" January 2007 began with a focus on RM unity and the hopes of an August 2007 unity conference. However, it was not meant to be. August was a bad time for many. ICoC support was minimal. RM support was strong only if it could be located in Dallas or Nashville. The ICoC(Community) church in Nashville agreed to host the event. Organizers hope that it can happen in 2008.\nHowever, efforts began to meet with a CoC in town. Ultimately, efforts with the North Omaha Church of Christ and the Southwest Church of Christ panned out.\nIn my life, I discovered that out of 100 common allergens, I react to almost 50 of them. It was cold here, so I froze a gallon of Ice tea. At that time, I was posting game stuff here, but it\u0026rsquo;s been copied over to the other site.\nThe most powerful thing about January, though, was living a parable and being tempted to be the bad guy in the story. I\u0026rsquo;ve never seen anyone else involved since that day.\nFebruary was slow. We had a snow day at work which means my usual rant about designated personnel. I linked to an interesting article about not doing megachurch anymore. I also mentioned James Cameroon finding the Tomb of Jesus\u0026rsquo; family.\nThe church I attend did meet with the North Omaha Church of Christ and we were received warmly. More on that soon.\nMarch saw the post from my experiences with the NOCoC. I still laugh when I think about hearing the Kingdom study preached at us in such a way as to say that we were Almost Christians. We had a good time, but nothing much came of the meeting. I promised to follow up, but was unable to do so.\nPer usual, I groused about the UP. I won\u0026rsquo;t link to those because it\u0026rsquo;s pretty obvious by now. However, I also began talking about a computer project at work as well as other projects. The computer project stalled on Internet connections. Lenga is all but finished. The Hebrews classes went very well and I enjoyed teaching them. As an aside, this is also the first post when I mention Dancing Bear as the online code phrase for our second child.\nWe had two major events occur on the same day. My wife had a unique baby shower and her grandmother transitioned to the grave. My wife still misses her grandmother. I still hug my kids every night.\nIn a sign of things to come, I ask for prayers. This will lead to deepening issues in my life and ultimately to seeking treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.\nApril started off with the tail end of Teach Week. More than anything, though, my wife and I were excited about our second child due about the middle of April. This lead to the infamous Baby Pool. Dee, a co-worker, won with her prediction of 4/19 at 5:26 am. Dancing Bear was, in fact, born April 18 at 11:00pm. Her subsequent surgery was a success and I expressed much thanks to you, my online friends.\nLooking back, this was the beginning of my declining mental health and faith. I do not believe that I have gotten over spending more time in the NICU or the eight surgeries that followed on Dancing Bear. Her last one was in October and we found out just before Christmas that it was probably the last one for her. Anyway, I have not really been the same since and it shows in what I chose to write about and the increasingly angry tone that came across.\nMy wife began to dream of building community and I joined in with my own thoughts. Little did we know that the sense of community would come to fruition with the beginning of the Nebraska chapter of Hands and Voices. We are still working to get things going. Next month will be the big kick-off.\nIn May, I talked about professional help in a private post that I accidentally published. Thanks to everyone that sent me encouragement after that post and to TTK that sent a great book to us. In general, I tried to use Mathematics to occupy my time, as well as the ICoC(SODM) and ICoC(CoOperating Churches). I decided to stick with math.\nIn the end, though, I enjoyed (and still enjoy) better living through oat rings. Brother Bear has expanded to concept to include grapes, crackers, and milk, but its still a lot of fun.\nIn June there were only three things of note. One was the series of articles by Roger Lamb comparing the ICoC history with the great Chicago Fire. I was mentioned indirectly in once of the articles, so I responded with the same non sequitur he asked me. The second event was a long post on Intelligent Design.\nHowever, the one with the most far ranging effect was the first lolcat style post. Now, lolcats and similar pictures adorn almost every post. It is a disease, I know.\nJuly saw the beginnings of work with the Southwest Church of Christ. We had a VBS with them. Later, we\u0026rsquo;d have service and a teen event together.\nI spent a lot of time thinking about the Next Big Thing in religion. Despite this post and this post, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I ever got a clear idea in my mind until I saw the Unconference a few months later. I also defended my wife\u0026rsquo;s honor at a breastfeeding conference in Lincoln. Other than that, I enjoyed vacation and yet more math.\nAugust was the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. We had a few tense days not hearing from some of my wife\u0026rsquo;s family and friends. Everyone that she knew was okay.\nLolcats posts started appearing, much to the dismay of my brother from another mother. I think my addiction at this point was beyond hope.\nI delivered communion at church about Grace. Thanks to mrtool for recording it for me.\nThe end of the month saw the comprehensive history of the UPC, tracing its origins from 2003. One day, I hope someone more official can fill in the missing gaps.\nSeptember came with more difficult news about Dancing Bear. However, it turned out to be better than the doctor originally thought. She would not need a stent. We also discovered that Brother Bear does not have Charge Syndrome. We celebrated that news by dining out that night.\nHowever, the same meeting made it obvious that one or both of us have a genetic issue that would lead to choanal atresia in any child we would create. The most likely culprit was me and I have a choanal stenosis (blockage) and similar genetic issues as Brother Bear. (Lack of sinus cavities on one side of my skull and other things.) I decided to have a vasectomy as soon as I could. No sense in spending yet more time in a NICU. No sense taking chances on what could be worse issues with a third child. The uncertainties were too great. The next day, my wife and I spent some time mourning that we would have no more children. We always wanted three.\nThis was greeted by my family as an attempt by my wife to control me. All they could ask is why she wasn\u0026rsquo;t getting fixed and why do the doctors think its my fault. They have since stopped saying these things, and I am grateful. They did, however, agree that two was plenty enough. All of us are grateful that we have one girl and one boy. They are wonderful children.\nI also managed to scattershot some ideas, including hands and Voices. This lead to Mark putting me in touch with the New Mexico President of Hands and Voices. We have since met with the Minnesota President, the Colorado President, and plan on meeting with the Iowa President.\nOf course, I have to mention this: KHAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!.\nOctober had a few interesting items of note. Alan wrote about the UPC and submitted it to DisciplesToday for consideration. Instead of being considered, it generated hard feelings and libel from the editor of DToday. In the end, Alan was a class act the entire time. His apology was published. Roger\u0026rsquo;s was not. Alan\u0026rsquo;s original article was never published either.\nAdventures in Unity part Two happened this month. Southwest and Omaha Churches of Christ had service together. We were welcomed as family and fellow believers. It was a fantastic time had by all. Later we went to their teen event.\nLots of other ICoC stuff happened. Not much new except the ICOC Hot News appeared. They made a big stink about an article in the Daily Trojan and won. No word on any ruckus raised about an article at Rutgers. I was wrong about this one. I thought the attention would backfire. It would take an article criticizing Raul Moreno to generate backfire, though it came from Kip.\nIt was also my wife and I\u0026rsquo;s third anniversary. We had a quiet dinner and great conversation. The best two gifts anyone could have. My wife is truly wondering and continues to tell me every morning \u0026ldquo;I believe in you.\u0026rdquo; I am blessed beyond measure.\nNovember\u0026rsquo;s big event was the Naming Ceremony for our children. The church I attend allowed us to basically take over the entire service. Brother Bear didn\u0026rsquo;t have a good time, but everyone else did. The day before was a great time of family, food, and fun. It was the first time everyone had been together since the wedding. I was surprised to see my niece there. We had everyone there except my brother-in-law\u0026rsquo;s new son.\nThe other big event was a trip to Minnesota. All the children and grandchildren on my wife\u0026rsquo;s side of the family were in one place at one time. There is photographic evidence of five children (all under 3) sitting together nicely.\nWhere It Is\nEventful, no? This doesn\u0026rsquo;t even include turning 36 or Christmas, both fun events.\nMonths of therapy later, I am functional and somewhat able to handle things as they come. The main thrust of my counseling is akin to \u0026ldquo;taking every thought captive\u0026rdquo; through a cognitive approach. It means a few overall changes that have helped some thus far.\nThe number one change is having more fun. I am having more fun. I got an Omega Chess set for Christmas that I love. I play Statis-Pro Football online occasionally. I design a few games now and then. Brother Bear and I spend about two hours a day together alone. (Dancing Bear and I get about 1.5 hours).\nNumber two change is being more active. I have been irregular with workouts. They are generally an hour long with most of the time on a bike. I always feel good the day after a workout. In January, I should be able to go everyday again from 5:30 - 6:30 am.\nNumber three change is removing certain things from my life. The financial strain of our first two years of marriage has eased considerably. We are able to do some special things and my wife can actually shop for a few articles of clothing for herself. Thanks to my wife\u0026rsquo;s hard work, we are down to one bill for Dancing Bear. This was after a 5% decrease in pay because of an increased pension contribution. (I had no choice.)\nI\u0026rsquo;m also removing the ICoC from my life. I went to Delphi one last time last night. Then I removed all bookmarks and links to anything remotely ICoC. I haven\u0026rsquo;t read DToday in a few days. I try not to read HotNews or even MissionMemo. Over the next few days, I hope to eliminate all of them from my routine. I know, pass the popcorn. Like Arnold, I\u0026rsquo;ll be back. Maybe I will. I hope not.\nI really hope not.\nEven with these changes, though, the one big issue still remains: the succession of NICU visits. None of these changes address the fact that I am still upset that both children have genetic issues. None of them address the anger that I am somehow genetically defective and can only have children with worse issues than what I have. This is the biggest battle and it won\u0026rsquo;t go away with changes to lifestyle. Like Jesus said himself, some demons only come out through prayer and fasting.\nThe Future\nThe future is the quest for an authentic faith. I want to read the Bible and not see the ICoC/RM theology in every verse. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to see an theology in those verses. I want to hear the voice of God. I don\u0026rsquo;t hear Him anymore, though I know He hears me.\nThe future is having fun with a people over seemingly trivial things like chess, board games, and sports.\nThe future is seeing my children grow up. Dancing Bear will take her first steps in 2008. Brother Bear will start his first spoken sentences and first signing sentences. When the cold is over, we can all run and jump in the park. They will visit my homeland in March. I cannot wait for Brother Bear to see the ocean.\nThe future is community. I don\u0026rsquo;t mean just Hands and Voices, but building various interconnected communities. One is Hands and Voices, another is the family of faith. Yet another is the community of Benson, the area where we currently live.\nHappy New Year!\nI wish you a very Happy New Year. May God bless you and stand with you in all the empty places where you must walk.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-is-almost-past/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"2007 is Almost Past","type":"posts"},{"content":"I wrote about the power of a name when our son was born. (I gave a secret name to our daughter as well.) Having a name for his condition gave a sense of power over it in a way. It answered a lot of \u0026lsquo;what\u0026rsquo; questions, though the \u0026lsquo;why\u0026rsquo; questions were not really addressed. A genetic fluke, one in a hundred thousand and not transferable.\nThen our daughter was born with one of the same symptoms.\nBy definition, she shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s, and in fact, she only exhibits one trait of it. But if he has a choanal atresia (nose blockage) and she has a more severe one\u0026hellip;\nmaybe he doesn\u0026rsquo;t have Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s after all.\nAt that point, it felt like the earth shrugged just enough for me to lose my balance. You think you know a thing or two and it turns out that you are wrong. Nothing bad in being wrong. It\u0026rsquo;s actually pretty healthy for folks like me. Still, this isn\u0026rsquo;t the ego adjustment type of wrong that brings refreshing humility. This is the worrisome type of wrong that robs you of sleep. The former brings answers you didn\u0026rsquo;t want to hear. The latter brings only questions you don\u0026rsquo;t want to consider. I can stand being wrong and admit my hubris.\nI cannot stand being afraid of what may never be known.\nMy wife visited with the geneticist today and talked about various things. It would seem that no matter what name or label is given to our children, we are going down the road of ever increasing rarity for a diagnosis. The new name we heard today is Townes-Brocks syndrome. It\u0026rsquo;s like Godlenhar\u0026rsquo;s, but without the facial deformities. There have only been several hundred cases ever reported. However, it has a name because it has been linked to a specific gene. Our daughter is being tested for the presence of this gene.\nIf that is not the right name for it, then we pursue the more obscure corners of pediatric textbooks. The effects are the same, though. There\u0026rsquo;s really not much in the way of treatment. At this point, it feels like we are just searching for a name. If a suitable name is not found for both our children, then we may get our own (Lutz\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome) or our son will keep his diagnosis and our daughter will get her own. Worse yet, we may simply be labeled UGD (undiagnosed genetic disorder).\nStill, there is only so far that answering \u0026lsquo;what\u0026rsquo; questions can get you. After this has happened twice, I am finally getting down to the business of why. Why do my children have cranial deformities?\nFrom a medical standpoint, the answer is because of the genetics. It may be the SALL1 gene, it may be a result of an odd combination, it could be that one or both of us are a recessive carrier of a malformed gene. The medical answer is not really of any comfort. It reinforces the idea that forces beyond our control acted upon us and our children to create this problem. In dealing with forces beyond our control, the why question inevitably becomes emotional and spiritual.\nWhere was God when all of this happened?\nI appreciate my well-meaning friends that have wished me well by saying, \u0026ldquo;God is in control\u0026rdquo;. I must confess that God was in control during the first trimester when this happened. If he was in control in utero when the genetic problem first began, it leaves me wondering if my children\u0026rsquo;s issues are the result of a deliberate act, or an allowed act. Jesus did not do anything to clear up the confusion, when his disciples asked why a man was born blind, he said that it was for the glory of God. Moreover, when he was crucified and allowed to die on the tree, you could argue that his suffering was both allowed and deliberate. (Results may vary, your theology may differ. Those that adhere to both/and theology are known to experience the following side effects: paradoxical thinking, equivocation, mild dizziness, and depression. Those that have taken both/and theology state that the side effects are usually mild. Please consult your clergy for more information.) This act, too, was ultimately for the glory of God, otherwise I would not be a believer today. His suffering opened up the way to the Father for me. Without his suffering, I would have no hope.\nStill, why does my family suffer with this?\nYou could say that we are in a fallen world and this type of suffering was bound to happen to someone. After all, mankind is dramatically affecting our planet in ways that will not be clear to us for some time. There\u0026rsquo;s enough radiation in the world that maybe we are bringing genetic defects upon ourselves.\nIf this is the case, my family won the lottery. The wrong lottery, mind you, but a lottery just the same. We happened to be the 100th person in line when the transformer behind the grocery store blew or our parents were within 50 miles of a secret government experiment gone awry. Take a pick, I\u0026rsquo;m sure there are more creative ways to say the same thing. Genetic malformations in general are caused by man\u0026rsquo;s evil upon the planet itself. Maybe the evil is not intentional like living in an area that is a hub of telecommunications between East Coast and West Coast. (We\u0026rsquo;ve got Internet2 here.) Who knows the effects of so much cable buried underground with electricity running through it. Still, it\u0026rsquo;s a variation of the effect of man on the environment around us.\nYou could say that God has visited this upon us in order to teach us a lesson. Paul shared similar sentiments to the Thessalonians.\n************\nOne of the things I have learned for a congregational study of Hebrews is that sometimes God remains unknown on purpose. Consider Melchizadek. He was king-priest of Salem. Abraham offered him a tenth despite predating the Torah by a few hundred years or more. Why Melchizadek?\n************\nover radiated mash potatoes - Ed from Ed, Edd, and Eddy\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-a-rose-by-any-other-name/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Rose by Any Other Name","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yesterday I went to a friends house and changed the brake pads on my car. You have to understand that I may have remembered almost everything from High School, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t take Shop. Put another way, I have very little ability with the care and maintenance of an automobile. Yet, I actually changed one of them myself, instead of contracting the work out like Tom Sawyer. (My brother still claims that the only time I mowed the lawn before college, I subcontracted it out to a friend for part of my allowance.)\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not like someone (MrTool) hadn\u0026rsquo;t shown me before. I just had to do it. I am grateful for the immense patience given to me.\nThere are other things which, despite the best folks showing me, I just cannot grasp them: I cannot tie a necktie. Really, I cannot tie one. I\u0026rsquo;ve had tons of people show me. Just like curing hiccups, though, most are convinced that their unique combination of methodology and personality will be the great shaft of light into my darkened understanding. I repeat, I am unable to tie a necktie and this is not something that needs to be fixed. Kurt, MrTool, this is the wide open opportunity to compare notes. I still have at least one tie from each of you that you tied for me that remains tied and hanging in the closet. (I also have one from my brother-in-law.)\nI have learned to accept it, begrudgingly. I hope you can accept it, too. I cannot tie a necktie. I have aggravated salespeople. I\u0026rsquo;m talking upscale salespeople who believe that the customer can do no wrong. Trust me, an hour plus tying a necktie the wrong way will send even the most loving, patient soul screaming into the parking lot. (He actually said, \u0026rsquo;excuse me\u0026rsquo;, and I never saw him again.) I have aggravated myself standing in front of a mirror thinking that this is such a simple thing, how can I be this terrible at this? Seriously, I have aggravated myself to the point of rage trying to tie one.\nThe first one of you that gives me a necktie for Christmas\u0026hellip;\nSo what does this mean? It means that I avoid formal events wherever possible. It also means that there really is a time to give up on some things. The rub, of course, is knowing the difference between a difficult task that can be overcome with perseverance and knowing when it is time to simply stop. I seem to only know the difference way too late. As a friend used to say, this is one of those things that you\u0026rsquo;ll know when you see it.\nThinking about the difference on a broader scale, I think about a lunch meeting my minister is attending today. This is persevering in a difficult enterprise. Can we come together with others of similar faith and doctrine? (The bigger question in regards to dissimilar faith and doctrine will come soon enough.) Can we reach out and allows others to reach in? There\u0026rsquo;s ugly history involved in meetings like these. The response to an offer of fellowship could be rejected outright. We could be considered worse than \u0026ldquo;almost Christians\u0026rdquo;. The response may be more encouraging. Maybe our kids and teens can have common events. Who said that Vacation Bible School was a thing of the past?\nMore to the point, it\u0026rsquo;s worth it to strive for unity. It\u0026rsquo;s not because of the importance of what is at stake. Honestly, there is nothing at stake. There is a lot of potential for good, yes, there is a great joy in family coming together to worship God, true, but that is not the same thing. What is the difference between the potential of my good friend you do not know and the potential of your good friend that I do not know? Nothing. Without any realization of potential nothing is lost or gained. In this specific case, work begins in an attempt to realize this tremendous potential of two churches working together. Even if it doesn\u0026rsquo;t work out and nothing comes of the lunch meeting today, it is worth the effort.\nThen there are those things that should be abandoned.\nI used to keep up with the Great One and his new movement in Portland LA. I have friends that try to talk to the legion of 20-25 year old members on MySpace. After a while, I just derided what he was doing and lamented the damage caused. Starting in 2004, I tried to get the powers that were to address the issues that Kip and his teachings had on all of us. In the end, what was done missed the point and came too late to be effective. No amount of begging, pleading, or writing has any effect at this point, on Kip or the powers that be. Besides, the King has returned to LA to build another church better, faster, and stronger than the one that his enemies run. After this much times, is it important to track him? Sure he just built a church in Mumbai and is maybe organizing another in Dallas. Does pursuing this do any good?\nIt may for some. I certainly hope that others can bring light into our collective lack of understanding. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen others that have what could be an effective plan to address the issues still raised by our former leader. For me, though, I have to give up. I might be able to talk to a few\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-a-time-for-everything/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Time for Everything","type":"posts"},{"content":"COTEM ICOC\nDid these work?\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-acronym-plugin/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Acronym Plugin","type":"posts"},{"content":"apologies to Chuck D.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-by-the-time-i-get-to-minnesota/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"By the Time I Get to Minnesota","type":"posts"},{"content":"Ok, I\u0026rsquo;ll respond to the call. I just can\u0026rsquo;t get used to being called an oldtimer.\ni.e. where/when Chuck Lucas born, family, where/when baptised, schools attended?\nBorn in Mobile, AL, 1939 or 1940, I\u0026rsquo;m guessing. Attended Harding, graduated from there in prob early \u0026lsquo;60\u0026rsquo;s. Got a masters from there if I remember correctly. think that his major was history. Married Ann Trauber (sp?). Three kids, Leigh Ann, Allison, and Jonathan. And had here degree in BioChemistry, BA Harding, MA Milsapps college. Don\u0026rsquo;t know when or where baptized, but as a young person, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, and I never heard of any rebaptism.\nParents were CA and Mary. CA was a preacher. I met him on a few occasions. Very typical of mainline preachers of the day, I would say. CA was baptized by Marshall Keeble I think, or perhaps it was Chuck\u0026rsquo;s grandfather. (my memeory is not clear, and I am an oldtimer). Seems like the story was that he would go and listen to Keeble from his car at Keeble\u0026rsquo;s tent meetings. (Marshall Keeble was a fantastic black preacher who drew thousands to tent meetings. The white folks would go and listen from their cars. He was kind of a Billy Graham to the church of christ, especially among blacks. I think he died in the \u0026lsquo;60\u0026rsquo;s). Don\u0026rsquo;t remember anything about siblings, but I think that Chuck has a sister. No brothers I\u0026rsquo;m quite sure.\nWhere was he before 1967 when he was ministering in Gainesville FL?\nChuck started in the ministry in Mississippi as a youth minister under a preacher named Alonzo Welch who moved from preaching to establishing Sunnybrook Childrens Home in Jackson, Miss. Alonzo was (maybe still is alive) a great man who bucked c of c nit picking regarding the \u0026ldquo;correct way to distribute church money in the care of orphans\u0026rdquo;, and put this thing together. Did some wonderful work. Chuck\u0026rsquo;s courage to think outside the box and resist brotherhood pressure was probably due to his association with Alonzo. He spoke of him like he was a father in the faith to him and brother Welch came to Gainesville from time to time. A few from G\u0026rsquo;ville went to work at Sunnybrook thru the years.\nChuck came to Gainesville in \u0026lsquo;67 from being a youth minister at Central c of c in Miami. It was the largest c of c mainline church in Miami\u0026ndash;no longer exists under that name. He was hired to come and work on the campus and begin a work called Campus advance which was a pilot program where a couple of campus ministries were going to try something different. I don\u0026rsquo;t know the details of this other than that another location was in Texas, I think at Texas Tech. There was another man, Jim Bevis who was involved in the other location, as I recall. The Florida work took off, the Texas one was not as well known and I\u0026rsquo;m not sure what happened.\nThe concept of taking the gospel to the campus students was contrary to the way campus ministry had been done in the past by the c of c. Prior to campus advance, churches near campuses would set up \u0026ldquo;Bible chairs\u0026rdquo; and open student centers where students could come and play ping pong and take accredited course thru the Harding extension of the school of religion.\nChuck gathered the few college kids who were here at that time\u0026ndash;I think JP Tynes was one of the early ones, Sammy Laing came later, and they began to go to the campus on purpose and try to set up studies etc. The soul talk came about by accident. Sammy was a member of Sigma Chi, and had Chuck come as an after dinner speaker at the frat house one friday night (Sammy wasn\u0026rsquo;t exactly eager to this from the way the story was always told). People started asking questions, the discussion got lively and interesting. There was a frat party that night and the girls were arriving, the band setting up, the kegs, etc, but the discussion continued. Someone suggested that they continue it in a room upstairs, and a significant number ditched the party and continued the discussion.\nFrom this came the realization that if he could get into the residence areas and just get group discussions started that interested people would surface. It was a perfect thing for the times as it was during a time of great social change, the Viet Nam war, etc, and everyone wanted to talk about all subjects.\nSoon regular meetings were scheduled at Sigma Chi, which began to be called Soul Talks by the college kids. Other soul talks were begun in the dorms. In a few short years they went from 2 or 3 a week led by Chuck to about a hundred led by college students and others. The concept was a great way to arouse curiosity which would often lead people to want to visit at church where they would see a very different type of Christianity from the stale, liturgical, stuff that most had been raised on.\nAfter being in Gainesville for 3 years (the church was then called 14th St), Chuck\u0026rsquo;s succes on campus was having a positive effect. The older members were welcoming the students, feeding them on Sunday nights (we called it Student Supper), and befriending them. The minister, Mark Hicks, was either fired or resigned (I was to arrive a few weeks later, so I don\u0026rsquo;t know which), and Chuck was installed as the preacher/campus minister.\nIn the fall, JP Tynes, who was starting grad school was to become a part time campus minister for a year or so, and then replaced by a full time Sammy Laing who graduated in 1971.\nWe sang a lot, much of the music contemporary to its time, although not much was available, the congregation was loving, genuine, and integrated which was a real shock to some. Hippies were welcome, and people came dressed as they were. Success in numbers gradually attempted to bottle up and reproduce what the Holy Spirit was doing. The concept of \u0026ldquo;sharpness\u0026rdquo; created more of a dress code, and by the mid \u0026lsquo;70\u0026rsquo;s the early work which was so fun and Holy Spirit driven was but a memory to some of us, and never experienced by the rest. Sorry, I think you got more history than you asked for, but that\u0026rsquo;s the danger of getting an oldtimer started\u0026hellip;.\nexile\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-chuck-lucas-history/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Chuck Lucas history","type":"posts"},{"content":"Community I grew up in an area that used to be known for its tremendous hospitality. This was before it was marketable for the tourist industry. This was a time decades (and centuries) ago when the islands were isolated from the rest of the world. I don\u0026rsquo;t mean that it was a backwater sleeping away from the world at large. Believe me, World War II was fought on their doorsteps with German U-Boats patrolling the shores. Look up Torpedo Alley - you\u0026rsquo;ll be surprised.\nWhat I mean is that folks literally washed up on shore and started their lives over. People shared what they had because it helped guarantee survival. Being friendly and peaceable was a side benefit. Hoarders were a great enemy, however, those that tried to go it alone were regarded as a curiosity. No one could really figure out why a person or family would move to the islands and then try to isolate themselves from the community. Weren\u0026rsquo;t they isolated enough?\nChange in a Community The Igbo people of Nigeria have a saying, \u0026ldquo;Igbo doam.\u0026rdquo; It means the Igbo survive. Considering that there language has a similar present tense and future tense, it can also be translated \u0026ldquo;Igbo will survive\u0026rdquo;. The main reason the Igbo believe this is that as a whole, the culture of the community is one that is open to change. An individual that will not change is considered to be broken in many ways: one way is in the community, the other is with God, himself. Another way to state this that is similar to modern western thought is \u0026lsquo;bend without breaking\u0026rsquo;. In this case, bending is adapting in order to survive else a person or community breaks under the pressure.\nPersonally, I can say that I was almost broken by recent events in my family\u0026rsquo;s life. I did not want to change the way I live my life. I did not want to change our schedule. I did not want to be far from home. Without a patient wife and a wonderful community I would have never embraced the change my family was undergoing. I would have ceased to function and literally fallen apart. Possible Meaning An article leaked out written by one of the Committee of Nine members about avoiding present mistakes in the ICOC. In many ways, it addresses the dangers of \u0026lsquo;staying the course\u0026rsquo;. Reading it made me think of home and the principles of community as I understand them. The article seems to embrace a different set of principles than what I would consider.\nBefore I start, it is necessary to say that the article has some very valid points. This is not a bash on one of the Co9 folks. If someone is looking for a \u0026ldquo;What else the ICOC is doing wrong\u0026rdquo; type of post, it won\u0026rsquo;t be here. This is something larger than a specific denomination, but it includes them as I am a part of it, though not formally. Having put this caveat up front, let\u0026rsquo;s go on to the actual article.\nCommunity means at least two things. One, is that a group of people look to the needs of each individual to survive. Second, a group looks to adapt in order to survive. The first principle is simple to say and difficult to perform. The second is abstract and difficult to quantify in a straightforward way. I hope to address both. Adaptation look at \u0026ldquo;Are we Growing\u0026rdquo; on Christian Chronicle. Not adapting, but this has nothing to do with instrumentation. It has to do with creating an ideology making God an idol and thus always making the problem \u0026ldquo;me\u0026rdquo;.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-community-and-self/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Community and Self","type":"posts"},{"content":"Although unfinished a over a year old, I happened upon this website. I read the whole thing from start to finish.\nIt is so similar to my own experience that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe it at first.\nThis was the early eighties, but it could have been the first few years of the 21st century, or the early nineties.\nOr now.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t go looking for it, but finding it has brought back some things that I haven\u0026rsquo;t thought about for a very very long time.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-eerily-similar/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eerily Similar","type":"posts"},{"content":"I didn\u0026rsquo;t say much about changes at HOPE Worldwide. Now that it is official, I can mention it.\nThe Gempels are retiring. By popular recommendation of current staff, Randy Jordan will be the new CEO.\nIn keeping with the pattern of most things ICoC, the press release is dated February 2007. We are really really weird about keeping secrets. I say really really weird because it is a euphemism for the word I\u0026rsquo;d use in private conversation.\nReally really really weird.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-ive-been-good/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I've Been Good","type":"posts"},{"content":"What does criticism of our recent history have to do with the cross? Probably closer to the intent of the question would be, How can you say such negative things at the foot of the cross?\nThe Cross represents forgiveness. In one sacrifice for all time, the penalty for sin was paid in full. The priest no longer had to offer sacrifices to cover the sin of the people, Jesus provided atonement once for all. (Hebrews 9:24-28) The connection between God and man was no longer through a caste of men serving as mediators, the connection was direct to the throne of God, himself.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-it-will-be-asked/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It Will Be Asked","type":"posts"},{"content":"instead of group of committees, have a ministry fair.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-ministry-fair-at-icoc-level/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ministry Fair at ICoC Level","type":"posts"},{"content":" ","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-pwned/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"pwned!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Six years ago, I was sitting at my desk when someone in the office took the Lord\u0026rsquo;s name in vain.\nMaybe she didn\u0026rsquo;t, she was pretty shocked by it all.\nI tuned into NPR for audio coverage, CNN.com for video and one other website to find out the identities of the three other planes still in the air. At some point we gathered in the break room to watch TV and saw the second plane hit the South Tower. Many co-workers were stranded in Houston, one was stranded in lower Manhattan. Everyone was okay, though we weren\u0026rsquo;t certain until the 13th.\nTwo things occur to me in Remembrance of the events of today.\nWe must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.\nEdward R. Murrow\nand\nDo not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.\nGalatians 6:7\nThe first has political and spiritual ramifications. On the political side, those that opposed the Patriot Act and the subseqent attacks on the Taliban in Afghanistan were quickly demonized as unpatriotic. In our anger, we wanted the murders to pay, and pay quickly. We rushed to judgment and declared a global war on terror. I did, too. I was all in support of the Coalition forces charging into Afghanistan and finding Bin Laden.\nThe politics about this is really complicated and a bit outside the scope. FWIW, I\u0026rsquo;ve since changed my mind on a lot of things involving the war on terror and its politics. The spiritual ramifications though, have been pretty big. The biggest one is that somehow the 9/11 attacks are now required to have some deep spiritual lesson attached to it in order to have meaning. The first to speak was Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell. Their spiritual lesson was that God was punishing the Great Christian Nation known to men and angels as America. We were on holy notice that we had, in fact, sinned enough and that we were going to be forced into repentance by God Almighty.\nThat went over with many people pretty badly.\nSince then, I\u0026rsquo;ve read that religious intolerance brought about 9/11, religious tolerance brought about 9/11, God\u0026rsquo;s judgment of the US and/or Afghanistan and/or the Middle East brought it. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen 9/11 tied to the books of Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel and all the apocalyptic favorites. It\u0026rsquo;s been tied to rage, hatred, Bin Laden\u0026rsquo;s personal sin, George W. Bush\u0026rsquo;s personal sin, and/or the collective sins of the people of America. Any explanation of why that I have read has pointed to the people or ideas responsible and a subsequent call to eliminate those people and ideas.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s really easy to overspiritualize something. Jesus asked a pointed question in Luke 13 about 18 people that died in a tower collapse. He asked if the dead were worse sinners than any other Galileans because of their suffering. The tower falling was not a judgment on them or Galilee. Independent of those events, the audience of that sermon needed to repent - and the tower had nothing to do with it.\nUltimately, I believe the why of 9/11 is that a group of men wanted to attack the United States because they saw America as the great enemy to their god, their country, and their lives.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-remembrance/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Remembrance","type":"posts"},{"content":" ","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-u-okay-there-bud/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"U okay there bud?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Mind Empty Full Heart\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-visual-regarding-spirituality/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Visual Regarding Spirituality","type":"posts"},{"content":"no lolcat for this one\nAs always, at the end of the year, any post that went unfinished is now a Semithought post. It is dated today because I didn\u0026rsquo;t publish them correctly. As a result, a whole lot of posts showed up at once. I cannot undo it, but oh well.\nNothing scary this year like the Halloween one a couple years ago. Just random thoughts.\nYear in review later.\n","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-year-end-clearance/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Year End Clearance","type":"posts"},{"content":" ","date":"28 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-28-your-doin-it-wrong/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Your Doin It Wrong","type":"posts"},{"content":" Going to post the year in review at some point. It was an eventful year, no doubt. A birth, a death, hospitals, counseling, highs, lows, children dedicated, etc. Been an eventful year, no? It was a wonderful Christmas. I guess that will be a separate post, though.\nOne thing to let you know up front: I\u0026rsquo;m done with ICoC stuff. I know, I said it before. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;ll return in six months. I dunno. For now, though. I am done. We didn\u0026rsquo;t really change. Individual locations changed some, but in the end, we really didn\u0026rsquo;t repent. We apologized and we promised, but didn\u0026rsquo;t really repent. Shame on us.\nThe ICoC(CoOperating Churches) are doing their thing. The ICoC(Community Churches) are doing theirs. ICoC(CoOperating) leaders are pretty much back to doing what they were doing before 2003. Kip is back to being the Pope of the ICoC(Sold-Out Discipling Movement). The more things don\u0026rsquo;t change, the more they stay the same.\nSomeone more respectable to me should write their history of the ICoC. You know, folks that arrived after everything codified. Folks that started in Gainesville were really shielded from common events because they escalated in leadership before they were subject to them. I\u0026rsquo;m talking about things the changing best friends every six months phenomenon. (For those that weren\u0026rsquo;t ICoC, it went like this. Every few months, the Bible Talks were changed. If your BT changed, your discipler changed. No one said that you couldn\u0026rsquo;t still be friends with your previous discipler, but the schedule really prevented it. After all, you discipler had to be your best friend. Anyway, by the time a person had drawn close to the new discipler, BTs changed again and the process repeated. The only way out of this cycle was to lead a Bible Talk, be a Region Leader\u0026rsquo;s friend, or become a part of the ministry.) At this point, I no longer want to write it. I\u0026rsquo;ve written my own history for three years now. That\u0026rsquo;s enough.\nAny history really should include the research that members of the Boston Church became more and more ENFJ as time progressed. That should tell you the level of discipling occurring in the mid eighties. This was near the beginning, not near the end. It should also try to link all the other discipling movements to come out of Gainesville at the same time. This would be Bob Mumford (Shepherding), Bob Weiner (Maranatha), and others. Stories from these groups echo very similar experiences. Here\u0026rsquo;s one for reference:\nhttp://everynationexposed.blogspot.com\nMore on that later.\nBut the year end will have no church drama, I promise. the Christmas one will be fun, if I can finish the poem.\nSo, I\u0026rsquo;ll be back before 2008.\n","date":"27 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-27-indexing-for-year-end-review/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Indexing for Year End Review","type":"posts"},{"content":" February 1-2, 2008 is the first ever California ElderLink. It is at Rancho Cordova Church of Christ in Rancho Cordova, CA.\nClick on this sentence for more details.\nOkay, why this particular lolcat? Think about those that will most likely not be in attendance and why. (I\u0026rsquo;m thinking about people I know, not every single person that may not attend.) I would love to go, but I live too far away. Maybe we can have a Nebraska ElderLink Forum one day. A person can dream\u0026hellip;\n","date":"21 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-21-california-elderlink/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"California ElderLink","type":"posts"},{"content":" This is today for me. Something really weird is going on in the background, but somehow, I don\u0026rsquo;t really notice.\n","date":"19 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-19-floating/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Floating","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/ideas/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Ideas","type":"tags"},{"content":" I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing a lot these days with various games at the Sycarion site. Nothing really special. Some stuff with the Action! System, a funky hex board for a board game, etc.\nStill doing the football thing, now I have to figure out how a player changes year to year. I can generate 1000 seasons of stats and put them in a database. But it assumes that no one gets injured, no one ages, and that no one dies. (To this end, I\u0026rsquo;m using some players to come up with a variance from year to year to reflect small changes. After nine years, most rushers begin to always decline. After 12 years, most QBs begin to decline. Defensive Lineman decline after six, Offensive Linemen decline after ten. No one plays more than 16 seasons, except for hand-picked exceptions.)\nAnyway, I look forward to joining a board game group in January. I hope to play good games like Settlers of Catan, but also show a few of my own and a few games that no one I know plays. For example, no one I know plays Bertzel Chess. There\u0026rsquo;s four different sets of pieces to choose from and you can choose which of the two you want to be. I\u0026rsquo;d also like to play a bit of Dice Poker (which I invented, though it may not be an original idea.).\nOne of the appeals of this type of group is that some people will play collectible card games, but will not be the uberphreaks with the three move to finish killer deck. Most clubs have a common set of cards and a method for drawing random cards from the pool.\nIt will be fun.\nOkay, I admit it, I wanted an excuse to post the above lolcat. I\u0026rsquo;m diseased, I know. :)\n","date":"14 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-14-playing-games/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Playing Games","type":"posts"},{"content":" Of course I had my mouth open. What else would you expect? :)\n","date":"13 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-13-happy-holidays/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy Holidays","type":"posts"},{"content":"Non lolpicture for this one. This was just too unbelievable. Seriously, I know I was shocked by the pay-to-play membership scheme for the ICoC(CoOperating Churches), but this is a bit more than that.\nEver wanted to coach in Division I-A football?\nThis university has decided to use their HR site to look for a football coach. Considering how most universities look for a head football coach, this is unusual at best.\nThe requirements do not include winning games.\nPrior collegiate football coaching experience required. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE\nThe Assistant Coach and eight other coaching jobs require less than that.\nMy supervisor applied for the job. I might be moving home sooner than I thought.\n","date":"13 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-13-job-opening/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Job Opening","type":"posts"},{"content":" An odd idea is floating around about fellowship requirements.\nFrom the article, here\u0026rsquo;s the bottom line:\nBetter yet, through the koinonia concept, each church that wishes to be part of this fellowship of churches, instead of signing a document, (which has already put off many leaders in today’s over-litigated society), should simply chip in a token sum, say, US$ 1 or 2 per disciple, to “register” as a member of this fellowship.\nAs an aside, someone needs to tell Steve Chin that there is no place to sign. :)\nMaking DToday into a subscription site is not wrong. Really, it\u0026rsquo;s not. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that it would be successful because of the small audience, but there\u0026rsquo;s nothing morally wrong with doing so. I\u0026rsquo;m not railing on DToday here. What is objectionable is the so-called need to determine who is \u0026ldquo;us\u0026rdquo; and who is \u0026ldquo;Them\u0026rdquo;. In other words, this proposal is still calling for someone at a high level to take a tally of who is a member and who is not a member. Instead of a creed, now the line in the sand is a financial contribution.\nSomewhere between hierarchical command-and-control and “every man for himself” there’s a happy medium. Therefore, we ask the Steering Committee to propose a fellowship fee to be collected from the churches who wishes to be part of this global koinonia community\nAs an aside, the first sentence is a false dichotomy. It\u0026rsquo;s a prevalent thought in the new ICoC (Cooperating Churches) as well as the new ICoC (Community Churches). There is no golden mean. There are other models out there that lie outside these two ideas. We should investigate them. As it is, we are steadily building ourselves into a denomination. I guess it is what the ICoC (CoOperating Churches) really want. Have at it.\nMore to the point, isn\u0026rsquo;t fellowship enough of a test for fellowship? ICoC(Community Churches) may not have signed the unity proposal, but they contribute to missions, send people overseas, help the poor, go to all the conferences, etc. etc. etc. What else is needed? Why does a person need to prove that they are Christian by something other than their actions? Why this insistence on an artificial filter? Again, isn\u0026rsquo;t it enough to be a Christian?\nNo, apparently not. The response will most likely be that many claim Christianity without actually being Christian. As such, there needs to be a mechanism to be able to weed out false Christians from real Christians. This is a false need, but I no longer believe that many in either ICoC can overcome this thought-stopper. For whatever reason, we just have to be able to put people and churches in nice, neat categories so that we know how to act around them.\nGrow up, please.\n","date":"13 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-13-strange-religion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Strange Religion","type":"posts"},{"content":" Six more churches are now part of the big chain letter known as the cooperation churches. Again, don\u0026rsquo;t know why something that was supposed to fade into disuse is still circulating. The so-called problem area of the southeastern US has no new signers. Europe, the other problem area has two more. w00t. I am not certain of the proposed benefit to San Diego and Fresno except that maybe certain people on important committees will stop visiting and making the case to sign the agreement. I imagine that aid to other churches is somehow better facilitated by joining the group, though everyone I\u0026rsquo;ve asked has denied my allegation.\nThe official name of the new committee appears to be the Co-operation Service Team. As stated in the article, if your church is ready to commit to co-operate, give them a jingle on their email. If not, well, I guess you can talk to the southeastern US churches. They seem to be united and co-operating pretty well, just not officially, I guess.\nPS: Alan\u0026rsquo;s article was never printed though his apology was. Just remember kids, you can believe that you don\u0026rsquo;t need to sign, you just can\u0026rsquo;t tell anyone else publicly. Publicly, you have to always ask the question, \u0026ldquo;Why not sign?\u0026rdquo; over and over until the other person stops talking.\n","date":"12 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-12-out-of-the-blue/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Out of the Blue","type":"posts"},{"content":" It\u0026rsquo;s the comprehensive omni-word w00t!\nI suppose this means that lolcatz are so ten minutes ago. Oh well.\n","date":"12 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-12-word-of-the-year/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Word of the Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"As noted last year, I\u0026rsquo;m also as old as the Libertarian Party. Maurice McDonald, one of the original McDonals owners died the day I was born.\nI also share a birthday with Pope Leo X, DJ Yella (NWA), Brenda Lee, Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Nikki Sixx, Oscar Guiterrez (Rey Mysterio of the WWE), Hector Berlioz, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.\nWhen I was -35 years old, UNICEF began. When I was -30, Italy and Germany declared war on the US. When I was -7, Sam Cooke (and a lot of good music) passed away. When I was 1, Apollo 17 landed on the moon. When I was 10, Muhammad Ali lost his last fight.\nLast night, we celebrated with a good dinner at an old Italian place in an older section of town. My brother called this morning.\nNot much else is going on with me - I stay really really busy with work and Sycarion. Much love to my friends, thanks for the emails and calls.\n","date":"11 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-11-im-two-years-older-than-mos-def/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I'm Two Years Older than Mos Def","type":"posts"},{"content":" ","date":"11 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-11-icy-weather-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Icy Weather Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"No one in the pink family was even at Westroads today. Just letting you know because of emails and phone calls already received. Obviously, it is a horrible tragedy. The city is coming together in prayers and vigils. We are all searching for meaning, some more intensely than others. It\u0026rsquo;s a sad day. My prayers and thoughts are with the family of the shooter and the families of those harmed or killed in today\u0026rsquo;s tragic event.\nI defy anyone to say that because members of the congregation I attend were not harmed, that someone God is showing special favor. Nine people are dead, we should show some respect to their memories. The snow may postpone the prayer service at St. Leo\u0026rsquo;s tomorrow night. I hope not.\n","date":"6 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-06-were-okay/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"We're Okay","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am a bit more incoherent than usual. I got food poisoning Saturday night and basically stayed in bed all day yesterday. I made it to church as I missed seeing people. We have couches where we meet. I held Dancing Bear and tried to keep up with John 20. Dancing Bear was great, it was my head circles and general misery that distracted me.\nLast week I attended church in Minnesota where we heard this sermon. After about ten minutes, I incited Brother Bear to make a lot of noise so that he and I would have to leave. Honestly, next time we go to MN, we\u0026rsquo;ll be attending somewhere else. It isn\u0026rsquo;t this one sermon, it\u0026rsquo;s the result of several visits and interactions. My wife gave 13 years to the congregation, so it\u0026rsquo;s hard for her. But she was the one that said we should visit elsewhere, not me.\nIn any case, I am not well. I am actually sore from being in bed so much, so at least I came here where I\u0026rsquo;d be sitting in a chair. Besides, I am feeling much better, just not all there mentally. (Yes, this leaves me wide open to comment.)\nStill plan on writing about Minnesota. Had tire changes and crazy stuff. More on that later.\nHappy Monday!\n","date":"3 December 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-12-03-food-poisoning/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Food Poisoning","type":"posts"},{"content":"Doug Jacoby, of all people, has a new forum and blogsite. Who would have thunk it?\nYou must register to comment.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a Drupal site, like ICOC HOT NEWS. On the positive side, it looks like DisciplesToday will also move to Drupal, based on the last newsletter sent out. Free just seems better than whatever Exigo Office costs. :) Working properly is also better - Exigo remains the only CMS I know that shuts down the site while *one* article is being edited.\nLong live Drupal!\n","date":"30 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-30-a-new-forum/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A New Forum","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Catholic League is calling for a boycott of \u0026ldquo;The Golden Compass\u0026rdquo; this December. This is making news and spreading around various emails. I have friends, whom upon receiving this email, that have decided not to attend the movie. Many cite that they do not want to give Pullman any money for a book they wouldn\u0026rsquo;t like. A few have said that they do not want to promote an atheistic agenda. I understand how folks can feel this way, I really can. I think the question, Why show a movie like this when there are so many good movies that can be made? is a very valid one.\nHaving said that, here\u0026rsquo;s why I will not boycott it.\nFor one, Pullman, the author of \u0026ldquo;His Dark Materials\u0026rdquo; has already received his money from New Line Cinema. Even if no one sees it, he has his undisclosed sum of cash already in pocket. Chris Weitz, the director, changed the Magisterium so that religious elements were removed. The Book != The Movie This movie will not convince someone to renounce Christianity. Drawing attention to it by for a ban only increase its popularity. It\u0026rsquo;s like free advertising for the movie. I believe that the strongest calls for a boycott are rooted in fear. It\u0026rsquo;s silly to think that the God of the universe can be undone by any movie or book. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that everyone should go see this movie. I have no interest in reading the books. Some may have interest insomuch as the books serve as a discussion point with athesits/agnostics. Not me. My atheist/agnostic acquaintances already have their own preferred framework to discuss their ideas. (Carl Sagan seems to be the favorite.)\nFrankly, I don\u0026rsquo;t know how they will be able to write around the last book in which the character of god dies. The Amber Spyglass is more strongly about religion than all the others, you might get a 15 minute short if all the religiously themed content is removed.\nInstead, I think a more reasoned response would look like this. The Church of Scotland has chosen to instead embrace the movie as a golden opportunity to stimulate discussion on a wide range of moral and spiritual issues. The Kirk also sees this movie as a chance to talk about human destiny, corrupt institutions, and making choices in life.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not saying that danger + opportunity = crisis. (Turns out that isn\u0026rsquo;t true, anyway.) What I am saying is that in choosing how to respond to something like this makes a big difference. Choosing to respond as the Church of Scotland does show confidence and a willingness to talk. They are meeting the moment with information and openness.\nI like fantastic stories, so maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll catch it on DVD. Maybe not. The Naria movie was a disappointment to me, so at least I won\u0026rsquo;t be entirely disappointed by this one.\nFire away!\n","date":"30 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-30-film-boycotting/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Film Boycotting","type":"posts"},{"content":"It will take a while to get the video up on the internet. My thanks to mrtool for taping the audio and video.\nIn the meantime, here is the audio: Child Dedication\nIt starts in the middle of our minister\u0026rsquo;s remarks, something the video will correct. The first word you hear him say is \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip;today\u0026rdquo;. The Matt 19:13-14 passage is his, the rest are ours. You\u0026rsquo;ll hear my wife, her father and my father. My apologizes for the ruined Hebrew.\nOur son was not comfortable on stage - you will hear him throughout the entire service.\nThe response of the congregation was:\nWe will. With God’s help and love we will share our love and knowledge of God. We will listen to their hearts. We will surround them with a community of grace and truth. We will pray for them to be strengthened by God’s spirit and to enjoy fellowship with Christ.\nThe Omaha Church of Christ\nIt was a beautiful day. Next post should be about our adventures in Minnesota.\n","date":"29 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-29-for-my-friends/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"For My Friends","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ll be gone for awhile. Off to see the family in Minnesota. Ufda!\nTurns out that the only computer with a firewire port here has a hard drive with a busted Master Boot Record. The MBR has defied all attempts at repair. I have no laptop hard drive to swap it with except on locked behind a pair of security torx #4 screws. I have torx screwdrivers, but not torx security screwdrivers.\nThus, we are going to convert the video on my step-father\u0026rsquo;s jazzed up BSD machine, otherwise known as a Mac.\nSee you soon.\n","date":"23 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-23-off-to-mn/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Off to MN","type":"posts"},{"content":"We just got back from the doctor and Dancing Bear\u0026rsquo;s nose is open. This is the first time we\u0026rsquo;ve gotten this news on her left nostril. Her right has stayed open for some time. Her surgery three weeks ago may very well be her last. We\u0026rsquo;ll find out in six weeks, but all signs are pointing to resolution.\nToday may mark the end of the major medical journeys our family began in October 2005.\nI\u0026rsquo;m having a celebratory quesadilla.\nAnother piece of good news is that her surgeon is excited about Hands \u0026amp; Voices. He would like to be on the board of directors. Normally, I would think it presumptuous to ask for such a post. However, he is Director of the Boys Town Ear, Nose \u0026amp; Throat Institute and the Director of the Cochlear Implant Center.\nI think he\u0026rsquo;d be a good fit. :)\nLastly, it is snowing here. They call it flurries despite the .25 inch on the ground. It was 70 here on Monday. Today snow. Welcome to the Midwest, we have every season at least once a week.\n","date":"21 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-21-good-news-about-dancing-bear/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Good News about Dancing Bear","type":"posts"},{"content":" moar funny pictures\n","date":"20 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-20-fyrefocks/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fyrefocks","type":"posts"},{"content":"The video of the ceremony should be up in a couple days. Thanks to mrtool, the audio was recorded so that it could be synchronized with the video.\nI was very happy that many in both our families came. My brother and his oldest daughter was here. My father, mother, and their spouses were both here. My wife\u0026rsquo;s siblings were here as were Dancing Bear\u0026rsquo;s cousins save one. My wife\u0026rsquo;s parents were here as well. Folks came from NC, Washington DC, and Minnesota to be here. For one weekend, we really were one big family.\nIn lieu of the video, this is the outline for today\u0026rsquo;s ceremony. It started shortly after communion.\nOpening Song: This Is My Father\u0026rsquo;s World\nTorah Reading: Gen 1:26 - 31, Ex 34:6\nPraise Reading: Psalm 139:13 - 14\nNT Reading: John 10:11 - 16, Heb 4:14 - 16\nPrayer for children:\nNames given in English and Hebrew Meaning of names given Silent Wish/Blanket Ceremony begins\nKiddush\nParents honor the children Parents honor each other Grandfathers honor the family and community Reading of the Covenant\nBlanket Ceremony ends\nClosing Song: Jesus Loves the Little Children\nAs always, more later. Planning this is where I have been.\n","date":"19 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-19-child-dedication-ceremony/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Child Dedication Ceremony","type":"posts"},{"content":"Some time ago, I tried to talk about The Next Big Thing(TM). Now, instead of getting into endless digressions, I wanted to show an example of what I had in mind. It\u0026rsquo;s the Unconference II as noted by Kelcy on his site.\nOddly enough, I know one of the speakers. He is a young man with a great story and many things to say. He also happens to have two degrees from Reformed Theology schools. in his mid-twenties, he is more qualified to present at a conference than almost all the leaders of the ICoC, including his own minister. He is still a part of the ICoC (as this is an ICoC event), but he has much needed insight worth hearing.\nBack to the topic, there are several reasons why this is a good example for The Next Big Thing (TM).\nThe cost is very low. Housing is personal (in homes) as opposed to hotels. The material respects an 18+ year old\u0026rsquo;s intelligence. No self-promotion. I would go to this conference if I could, despite the presence of some I may wish to avoid (not the speakers). The reason is simple, it\u0026rsquo;s a meaningful event to me that engages the mind and the soul.\nGranted, some of the material may not appeal to some. Some may think it is too intellectual. Maybe so, I don\u0026rsquo;t fault anyone for thinking that. I believe the same type of thing could be for different content. A skeletong outline of how this conference was set up would be:\nFind a location, cap the size to meet the location (150), charge to cover the cost of the facility, have meaningful content. How simple is that?\nSince it is Facebook, here is the proposed schedule thus far:\nUnconference II Dates: Feb. 22-24, 2008 Location: Milwaukee, WI Registration Deadline: TBA\nPLEASE INVITE ALL CAMPUS STUDENTS, LEADERS, AND H.S. SENIORS IN THE MID-AMERICAN STATES THAT YOU KNOW TO JOIN THIS GROUP ON FACEBOOK\nRegistration Cost: $10\nRegistration will begin in January and will be done primarily through campus ministers.\nLodging: Will be provided free by the Milwaukee Church of Christ at no cost for the first 150 people who register\nTentative Teaching Tracks:\nThe Hebraic roots of the Christian Faith Teacher: Kirk Stevens (Madison)\nResurrection and the New Creation Teacher: Dustin Bosscher (Minneapolis)\nPredestination, election, and free will Teacher: Michael Burns (Fox Valley)\nJesus foreshadowed in the Jewish festivals Teacher: Drew Prociuk (Milwaukee)\nHomosexuality and the Bible: A Christian Response Teacher: Kris Boyer (Minneapolis)\nClass for Women Only: TBA Teacher: MyCresha Burns (Fox Valley)\nClass: TBA Teacher: Jeff Mannel (Madison)\n","date":"19 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-19-how-to-have-a-conference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Have a Conference","type":"posts"},{"content":"I confess that I am not the best historian of the Restoration Movement. I know some things, but finding God outside the RM as a child prevents me from having a great deal of interest. Some folks do, and God bless them for it. I have come to learn that Alexander Campbell was much more of a complex thinker than I previously thought.\nI found this article about AC that I hope you enjoy.\nAs an unrelated side note: The author had a brush with Crossroads in 1978. As such, he has purchased Tom Jones\u0026rsquo; book, In Search of a City.\n","date":"19 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-19-the-ac-paradox/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The AC Paradox","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"7 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/bring-us-back/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Bring-Us-Back","type":"tags"},{"content":"The minister at Southwest wrote about our joint service two weeks ago.\nThis past Sunday, we mention our time at Southwest during a Sermon on John 17.\nThis weekend, there is a youth rally at Southwest and our teens (and teen minister) will be there.\nThings have been hectic here, so no real commentary on all of this except to say that I am glad to be part of a congregation pursuing real unity.\n","date":"7 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-07-some-recent-unity-links/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Some Recent Unity Links","type":"posts"},{"content":"today, ugh. Just ugh. If I didn\u0026rsquo;t tell you, I won\u0026rsquo;t tell you, so do not ask. It\u0026rsquo;s not ICoC related.\nYesterday, a different topic altogether, we were surprised that Dancing Bear required yet another surgery to open her nose on the right side. She is doing great. She is happy and bouncing around and trying to stand/walk/grab Daddys drink out of his hand.\nThe good news is that we can travel with her. Coming to MPLS for Thanksgiving. Coming to OBX for Easter. YAY!\n","date":"2 November 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-11-02-for-those-that-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"For those that know","type":"posts"},{"content":" The winning 10th anniversary Slashdot party had a lolcat cake. (lolcake?)\nSomehow I feel vindicated. I also feel like I should have thrown a slashdot party. :)\n","date":"31 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-31-cake-from-slashdot-party/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Cake from Slashdot Party","type":"posts"},{"content":"If anyone deserves a Mathethes award, it\u0026rsquo;s Alan. His \u0026ldquo;why I cannot sign\u0026rdquo; article apparently caused an issue with someone, but that now appears to be resolved. I may not agree with Alan that the UPC is a Romans 14 issue, but I think everyone involved can agree that Alan has real class.\nI hope those receiving a certain email hear from the other party soon.\nTo be clear, I think that a church or group of churches deciding their common doctrine and practices is not always a bad thing. One good thing about a catechism is that it teaches a short form of the basics to young Christians pretty quickly. I think that the way the ICoC is using the UPC is a sin. I believe that allowing major and minor players to make comments about \u0026rsquo;non-signers\u0026rsquo; unchecked is a sin of omission. At this point and time, calling Bruce, Doug Arthur, and others on their comments has been the only way to get an acknowledgement that something wrong was spoken. I believe that those implying that non-signers want to be isolated or want to be disunified are slandering their brothers. This attitude has still not really been addressed on any scale.\nI do not think ill of those that signed. The church I attend signed and I love everyone here. I look forward to working with other ICoC and non-ICoC congregations on a variety of projects. Using the UPC as a spiritual litmus test is wrong, whether you agree with it or not.\nBut I digress. What I really wanted to do was honor a man with real class, Alan. There\u0026rsquo;s a reason that he is an elder. Thanks for being a great example.\n","date":"30 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-30-a-note-about-communication/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Note about Communication","type":"posts"},{"content":"What a great time at Southwest this past Sunday. For those that want to hear the sermon, it is here. It was about Heaven. Just to let you know, the first half is pretty theological. The second half is more of the life application part.\nIn many ways, I appreciated that a big deal was not made about our presence. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel like there were repeated mentions of the Omaha Church of Christ in attendance. It didn\u0026rsquo;t seem like there was a \u0026ldquo;Look at them, can you believe they are actually here\u0026rdquo; feeling in the room. There was a bit of a cramped feeling, though. The place was filled to capacity.\nFolks were friendly and asked if I was from Omaha (the CoC, not the city). I met quite a few folks. I especially enjoyed joking a bit with one of the elders. I miss being in a church with elders sometimes. This energetic older gentleman reminds me of other elders I respect all over the US and other parts of the world. By old church has elders now and I miss one of them terribly. He called me when my friend Neil passed away. He was a great comfort.\nIn any case, I was very curious about my wife\u0026rsquo;s impressions. She was raised in an atheist household. Her only experience with Christianity is the ICoC. This is the first non-ICoC service she has attended to my knowledge. I was encouraged to find that she completely enjoyed the communion message. (I was also glad because Brother Bear was so into his apricots that I hada hard time hearing the brother speaking.)\nAfter service, we all ate together. At first, most of us tended to sit with people we knew from our own congregation. However, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before people were moving around. We sat with a Chinese couple. Indi and his family enjoyed Dancing Bear, who really took a shine to one man whose name I forget.\nI saw some of our deacons talking to Southwest\u0026rsquo;s youth minister. They were talking about holding more events together. I saw our minister talking to lots of other folks, including one of the elders. Jim, their minister, milled about the room as well.\nWe soon discovered that three La Leche groups meet at Southwest. One of the leaders, whom my wife had not previously met, came over to our table. She noted that my wife was wearing Dancing Bear in a wrap and talked about some things that we belived in common about parenting, nursing, and the like. It felt good to talk to an older Christian about parenting that shared some of our beliefs. My wife and I can feel like a minority sometimes.\nI met a young man aspiring to be a model. We talked about Roma, Italy. I met a Native American woman and her husband. I saw a very diverse group of folks generationally and ethnicly. I must confess that I thought they would be overwhelmingly white like the church I attend, but I was happy to be wrong.\nOthers had a good time. My wife and I were among the last to leave. The Southwest folks insisted that we not help with cleanup and all of us felt served and loved. As I was leaving a gentleman told me that he was glad we visited. He asked where we met and said that he looked forward to visiting us.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t wait.\n","date":"30 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-30-worshipping-together/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Worshipping Together","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just about to leave for service. I\u0026rsquo;m excited.\nI hope that the lunch after service will do quite a bit to help us build unity.\n","date":"28 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-28-more-adventures-in-unity/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Adventures in Unity","type":"posts"},{"content":"by Christopher Brennan (1870-1932) Happy Anniversary to my wonderful wife:\nIf questioning would make us wise No eyes would ever gaze in eyes; If all our tale were told in speech No mouths would wander each to each.\nWere spirits free from mortal mesh And love not bound in hearts of flesh No aching breasts would yearn to meet And find their ecstasy complete.\nFor who is there that lives and knows The secret powers by which he grows? Were knowledge all, what were our need To thrill and faint and sweetly bleed?\nThen seek not, sweet, the \u0026ldquo;If\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Why\u0026rdquo; I love you now until I die. For I must love because I live And life in me is what you give.\n","date":"27 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-27-because-she-would-ask-me-why-i-loved-her/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Because She Would Ask Me Why I Loved Her","type":"posts"},{"content":"Still not feeling well. Bobber, my system only tolerates 500mg of vitamin C every six or so hours.\n","date":"26 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-26-i-palindrome-i-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Palindrome I","type":"posts"},{"content":"The whole house is sick and so am I. It\u0026rsquo;s the flu. Because of the various nose issues with Dancing Bear (our youngest) and Brother Bear (our oldest), we have to do this regimen with saline drops that upsets the whole family. So we\u0026rsquo;ve had hourly nose cleanings and general aches.\nNot fun.\nSo, I appreciate that Gordon is back and writing about the UP. It didn\u0026rsquo;t fade into disuse as he originally thought, but I\u0026rsquo;m sure he said something interesting.\nI skimmed it, but that\u0026rsquo;s about all I can do. Too much medication.\nBesides, I will probably just let it go. I can only be so outraged at the complete lack of ability to do something different. Alan is doing a lot of good, I hope he is successful.\n","date":"25 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-25-speaking-of-letting-go/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Speaking of Letting Go","type":"posts"},{"content":"Turns out that the Daily Trojan caved. I\u0026rsquo;m glad it did not escalate as I thought it could. It definitely wasn\u0026rsquo;t ignored, so it ended without much incident. I was wrong about this one. I suppose that a note in the archives is not a retraction, but a part of the record.\nWho\u0026rsquo;s next?\nFather Ronald Stanley published an article about Campus Advance in Rutgers (near bottom of the page) Although reprinted in September 2007, this article describes events before 2001. Most likely, this was originally published in the 90s. I suppose the staff of Dominican College will be notified soon.\nIn some ways, these kinds of battles are appearance over substance. Seven years ago, a woman had a traumatic experience that required her to secretly moving out in order to escape. Yet, this is minimized as old news. Hundreds of similar stories played out in ICoC campus ministries all over the United States and this is treated as a local, one-time event. The fact that this happened so many times over points to systemic problems. These problems have never really been addressed.\nApologies are the beginning of change, not the means of change.\nMore could be said, but it\u0026rsquo;s not really worth it. Maybe this was a one time thing because the deans of Religious Life were on the ICoC\u0026rsquo;s side. Maybe instead of being Scientology-Lite in challenging every negative article, it is simply cherry-picking easy battles. Either way, I guess that someone(s) feel(s) vindicated. If I hear from Dr. Whitsett, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\n","date":"23 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-23-stresiand-who/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stresiand Who?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I basically tried to stay ICoC free (except for going to church) for an entire week. I\u0026rsquo;m glad that I did. It\u0026rsquo;s been a good week.\nI did manage to write one post on Sycarion, but that was more of a really big \u0026ldquo;more later\u0026rdquo;.\nSo, after a week off, what now? Glad that you asked. There\u0026rsquo;s a few things.\nILC - It\u0026rsquo;s been two weeks and no official reports. The cynic in me says that true to previous pattern, there are thousands of emails and phone calls to \u0026lsquo;manage\u0026rsquo; the official report. LA posted a few messages, but since Doug Arthur\u0026rsquo;s remark and Sam Laing\u0026rsquo;s response has appeared on various websites, DA\u0026rsquo;s will likely be the last one published, if it is published at all.\nDToday - Doug has been talking about this more lately. Pressure is mounting to make it a free site. Some question the proposed DToday subsidy. Considering that Mission Memo continually has better information, the Co-operation folks have their own website, and the emergence of ICoC Hot News, I wonder if it will continue.\nUPC - At least under the old plan, the same people would eventually rotate out of the highest levels of leadership. Now that the Gang of Nine is no more, ten shiny new commitees function in their place. These ten committees are lead by, surprise, the same people that would have been rotated out in two years. New people aren\u0026rsquo;t getting into these high level meetings. As such, new ideas don\u0026rsquo;t show up. You wonder why nothing really changes? It\u0026rsquo;s the same people that lead us when the whole mess started. (and I don\u0026rsquo;t mean HKL, I mean the 80s.)\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s the ICoC stuff. I can only shrug so many time before my shoulders start screaming to change the subject.\nCreeds - Bobber has mentioned to good that creeds accomplish a few times. I hope to write more about this later. I understand the distinction between an established creed like, the Westminster Confession as opposed to the UPC. The UPC is being used in ways that the Westminster is not be used today.\nI do think a church should have a Statement of Beliefs. Saying, \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s the Bible\u0026rdquo; is a cop out and a thought-stopper. Now using Latinate words to talk about various areas of belief isn\u0026rsquo;t required. Like George Orwell, I think that a lot of Latin-based words should just be avoided. Still, there is a way to say that you believe in certain things like immersion for salvation without hiding behind intellectual jargon. I hope to write more about that later.\nLove Your Enemy - What do you do when you have the opportunity to help hundreds of people, but you have to become working partners with someone that you do not trust or even like?\nYou Ready for Some Football - So what if Charlotte had a team join the USFL in 1990? What if the Jacksonville Jaguars came into the NFL sharing a stadium? What it two professional leagues couldn\u0026rsquo;t keep a team in LA? The answer to these questions and more are coming in early November.\nSpeaking of - Local college team lost again. Friends and acquaintances are in mourning. My only cheer comes from knowing that my alma mater is ranked almost 30 places higher in total defense. (alma mater ranked 76th, local team, 105th). Even Duke is seven spaces higher. For the sake of curiosity, here are the teams below 105th. 106. Toledo 107. Washington 108. Marshall 109. Syracuse 110. San Diego St. 111. UAB 112. Tulsa 113. Southern Methodist 114. UTEP 115. La.-Lafayette 116. Central Mich. 117. North Texas 118. Rice 119. Minnesota\nDumbledore Is Gay - A few years ago, Rowling says no character was gay, now one of the main characters is. No big deal to me, but friends are reacting in all kinds of ways. Most regrettable to me are the so-called Christian friends that respond, \u0026ldquo;See, I told you there was nothing good in those books.\u0026rdquo; Ouch! My favorite reaction so far has been the one word, \u0026ldquo;so?\u0026rdquo;.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s about it from here. As always, more later\u0026hellip;\n","date":"22 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-22-after-a-week-off/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"After a Week Off","type":"posts"},{"content":"What is the Streisand Effect? It is a term used to describe a phenomenon on the Internet where an attempt to censor or remove a certain piece of information (for example, a photograph, file, or even a whole website) backfires and the information receives extensive publicity on the Internet in a short period of time.\nICoC Hot News is reporting on an article from the Daily Trojan that calls the LA ICoC a cult. (The USC article is here.) Responses in the HotNews article and the pro-ICoC comments to the story are almost the same. For those familiar with the ICoC, the responses follow the typical McKeanist pattern: attack the reporter, say mistakes were made, state that change has occurred, call for meeting with reporter and Chief Editors of newspaper. All of this reminds me of a certain committee chair that vowed to stamp out all church criticism within and without the ICoC. In many ways, this is similar to discussion on Wikipedia about Kip. Go figure.\nMore importantly, though, this kind of aggressive action could backfire. Because of the attention, traffic is being directed to anti-ICoC sites. Google searches on \u0026ldquo;Los Angeles Church of Christ\u0026rdquo; are only positive for the first two hits (at this moment in time, google searches are likely to change). If I was the LAICC, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be so quick to energize the anti-ICC folks. There are slightly more than three former members to every current member\u0026hellip;\nA small filler piece in a college newspaper is now becoming a big deal and it didn\u0026rsquo;t need to be. How is going through all the channels to publicly get the reporter to apologize and the editors to \u0026lsquo;change their ways\u0026rsquo; going to help LA? Sure, I\u0026rsquo;d love to go to that church, they don\u0026rsquo;t let anyone talk bad about them!\nFor the record, here is the actual article written in the Catholic Newsletter in the Fall of 2000. If you want to talk fair and balanced, has anyone criticizing the reporter read this article (pages 6 and 7) she used as a source. Considering the actual article, the reporter was being really nice.\nAlso for the record, this is the letter that the Office for Religious Life wrote to the Daily Trojan.\n","date":"22 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-22-beware-the-streisand-effect/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Beware the Streisand Effect","type":"posts"},{"content":"We now have an \u0026lsquo;unofficial\u0026rsquo; report from the chairman of what was once the ICoC Steering Committee. It\u0026rsquo;s no secret that I\u0026rsquo;m no fan of the UP for various reasons. However, this kind of change is good in some ways.\nThe biggest change is that we no longer have World Sector Leaders by a new name. The original Gang of Nine (which is a positive reference) looked and functioned just like the WSLs of old. Each member represented a set of regional groups and the group as a whole dealt with \u0026lsquo;worldwide\u0026rsquo; church issues. (The delegates of the Regional Groups are analogous to the GSLs of old.) Under the new structure, there are standing committees built by function, and these committees operate independently of each other. Add in a Warren-style Ministry fair, and involvement can soar.\nFor example, let\u0026rsquo;s say that the Church Building Committee wanted to get help from Sam Laing. The committee doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to run it through the Steering Committee to do so, Mike, DA, and others can just contact him and begin to work together. Pretty cool.\nAlong the same lines, more people can be involved as stated in the report. Any structure that empowers participation is a good thing.\nOther good thing coming from the new structure is that a small step is being taken to decentralize power. Breaking up into groups by function removes some of the power from a few select people and spreads it around. More can be done, but this is a great beginning. There is no \u0026lsquo;quarterback\u0026rsquo; pro se of the ICoC anymore.\nThe HOPE tax is back, but it is voluntary and explained correctly ahead of time. As I have said before, having churches pay for administration to allow larger agencies to fund programs is a good model. What made it awful before was that some churches were told that their money went to programs when it really went to overhead. This made some ministers into liars when they begged for money \u0026rsquo;to go to Africa\u0026rsquo; when it was really going to Pennsylvania.\nThis should also allow individual churches some expectation of disclosure. In many charities, those that fund overhead typically have some measure of trust between staff and donors. In other words, if the donors ask questions, the staff, bend over backwards to answer them.\nIf every US church (cooperating church and non-affiliated church) gave $1 per week per member, it would be around 1.75 million dollars. This would cover salaries (1.1 million per 2006 990 form) and much of the overall expenses. Considering that overhead plus fund raising expenses top 2.2 million, this much unrestricted cash would be a big help. More on this later.\nSubscriptions to DisciplesToday are going to end. Research has shown that \u0026lsquo;walled gardens\u0026rsquo; that restrict content do not fare well. Check out TechDirt for more in-depth analysis, but free content should be the part of any internet newspaper model. Even the NY Times has recently learned this lesson.\nDelegates of ICoC(Unaffiliated) churches were present in some or all of these meetings. Not only does this begin to demonstrate trust, but it also sets the stage for bridging our split. That may sound strange, but we are already split into ICoC(Cooperating) and ICoC(Unaffiliated). Cooperating churches vote and have power. Cooperating churches can have delegates chair committees. Unaffiliated churches can really only observe. Any measure that empowers ICoC(Unaffiliated) congregations is a step in the right direction.\nNow that this change has started, more progress can be made. That will come in a later post.\n","date":"15 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-15-gang-of-nine-retires/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gang of Nine Retires","type":"posts"},{"content":"The local paper is talking about this event with a press conference in moments. Thirty churches in what many consider the \u0026lsquo;bad part\u0026quot; of town are coming together to do something. These churches span the gamut on denominations - Baptist, Church of God in Christ, Independent Churches, and more.\nI spoke to one of these leaders about two years ago and attended a banquet held to raise money for those fighting to reduce crime and violence. He is dedicated to young people knowing about God and young people being safe in their own homes.\nThis is the promise of unity to me. What will the community think about Christianity as a result of these men? I believe it will be very positive, especially when the sectarian strife ends in order to Do Some Good (TM) for the community.\n","date":"15 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-15-where-unity-matters/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Where Unity Matters","type":"posts"},{"content":" ..yet\n","date":"11 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-11-embrace-your-inner-lolcat/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Embrace Your Inner Lolcat","type":"posts"},{"content":"Alan, a frequent visitor here, has written an essay on the United Plan of Cooperation. Since I didn\u0026rsquo;t write it, it goes without saying that his article is well-reasoned and thoughtful.\nIt has been submitted to DisciplesToday for consideration. I hope that they publish it.\n","date":"11 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-11-why-i-cannot-raitfy/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Why I Cannot Raitfy","type":"posts"},{"content":"The art/science of games in dog latin. In Latin, adjectives must agree with the declension and gender of the noun it modifies. Don\u0026rsquo;t tell anyone, but that makes ars technica wrong. It should be ars technices. (But I like ars technica, so I won\u0026rsquo;t say anything if you don\u0026rsquo;t.)\nMore will show up on Sycarion, but because of the football stuff I\u0026rsquo;m doing, anything that appears as developers notes will have this title.\nJust needed a place holder for the latin phrase\u0026hellip;\n","date":"10 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-10-ars-ludis/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ars Ludis","type":"posts"},{"content":"She is at the doctor this morning. He is examining her to see if one side of her nose has closed back up. Originally, this appointment was scheduled for October 17. Last night she was having trouble, so we made the appointment this morning.\nI hope results are negative.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll let you know as the situation develops.\nUPDATE: She is fine. Turns out that the right side of her nose is better than it was a few weeks ago. It\u0026rsquo;s good news all the way around.\n","date":"10 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-10-dancing-bear-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Dancing Bear Update X2","type":"posts"},{"content":"I can send email out to the outside world, but I do not seem to be able to receive outside email at my work address. I can receive it at other addresses. So, if you send it to me, you\u0026rsquo;ll get it from a different address.\nBleh. I can\u0026rsquo;t wait until the upgrade of our infrastructure.\n","date":"8 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-08-more-issues/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Issues","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve felt somehow conflicted lately. No surprise.\nI feel 80 million times less stressed now that medical issues with our children have run their course. Yes, my son will be short. I am short. Yes, he will be moderately deaf. Yes, she had seven surgeries to her nose.\nBut it\u0026rsquo;s done and my wife and I have felt a great weight lifted.\nBeing in crisis mode for this long, though, has taken its toll.\nI struggled mightily at the birth of my daughter. I didn\u0026rsquo;t struggle with church, or the UP, or work. I struggle with the big question, why. I found an answer that serves for now. But after finding that answer, there wasn\u0026rsquo;t much left to do anything else. In some ways, it\u0026rsquo;s like Elliot Ness. After Capone was gone, then what? He went on to do many things, but none as fulfilling as locking horns with Capone.\nNot that I was going after God for tax evasion (though one of my senators tried to issue a cease-and-desist order against Him.), but more like a lack of direction. I could actually get serious about theological training. I could just read and pray as I try to always do. I could do a lot of things.\nSo that\u0026rsquo;s why I say more is coming, though I don\u0026rsquo;t know what it is. Should be interesting, no?\n","date":"7 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-07-more-coming/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Coming","type":"posts"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s 370 churches on the UPC, now.\nIt appears that recent efforts to get Athens, GA to sign and San Diego to sign were not successful. San Francisco, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, in the US, Toronto and others in Canada and most of Europe still do not appear.\nNo big deal. It seems that those that will sign have signed, those that haven\u0026rsquo;t will not. Of of the only two real reasons for the mention is that the \u0026ldquo;Cooperation Churches\u0026rdquo; now have their own website:\nhttp://icocco-op.blogspot.com/\nThe other reason is due to the fact that those that have signed now have a collective name. I believe that the name has no intention of malice to those that haven\u0026rsquo;t signed. That said, there is now an easy reference to the 370 churches as a group. There are those that are a part of the Cooperation Churches and those that are not. In discussion, it can be said that the Los Angeles International Church of Christ is one of the Cooperation Churches.\nBe careful steering committee. How are you going to collectively talk about those that haven\u0026rsquo;t signed?\nNow that one side has a name, a banner, a steering committee, regional representatives, and the beginnings of larger churches acting as pillar churches\u0026hellip;\nAll we need is a president of the steering committee. After all, every team has to have a quarterback, right?\n","date":"7 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-07-the-hits-keep-coming/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Hits Keep Coming","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/computers/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Computers","type":"tags"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m learning awk. I know, I know, perl can do all the text extraction stuff, it\u0026rsquo;s better, it\u0026rsquo;s the 800 pound gorilla of text processing languages.\nBut I understand awk better, I guess it\u0026rsquo;s just me.\nBasically, along the lines of the football stuff I mentioned earlier, I have a program that generates entire seasons of football games. The player information and team information is pretty detailed. It takes some time to create a team, but only about 25 seconds to generate an entire season. Considering that I\u0026rsquo;m rewriting history from 1985, that\u0026rsquo;s 21 seasons in the fall league and the spring league, as well as some college stuff. Why? History, especially alternate history, has to be self-consistent. If I start talking about a USFL Hall of Fame in Trenton and the ongoing battle with the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, I need to have players and player stats to write a convincing story.\nAnyway, the issue I had was taking the stats of a given game in my alternate reality seasons and putting them in a database.\nThe guy who wrote the computer game (GPL of course) tried to write a perl script, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t work. I tried to fix it, but it was quite difficult as it takes me a while to translate English to perl search routines.\nSo, I figure, I can deal with a two step process of extracting data into comma separated files and loading a database from those files. So far, I can extract many of the statistics pretty well, but there\u0026rsquo;s more to do. It sounds like a lot of work, but really, all I\u0026rsquo;ve had to do is figure out how to create teams from statistics and now run data extraction scripts to place new stats into a database. The hardest part was giving up on perl, for now.\nSo, yes, I am using a program originally written when I was 6.\nHere is an example output of a game: (It\u0026rsquo;s really long)\nQtr: 1 [15:00] Kickoff taken on the 10 James Thrash returns it: 22 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 32 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [14:41] Skip Hicks run: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 32 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [14:21] Brad Johnson sacked: -15 by Hannibal Navies 3rd and 25 Washington Redskins on their own 17 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [13:52] Stephen Alexander catch: 9 fumble 4th and 16 Washington Redskins on their own 26 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [13:28] Tommy Barnhardt punt travels : 48 Iheanyi Uwaezouke returns it: 42 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 32 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [13:01] Tim Biakabutuka run: 5 2nd and 5 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 27 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [12:40] Williams Floyd catch: 5 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 22 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [12:13] Tim Biakabutuka run: 8 2nd and 2 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 14 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [11:54] Brad Hoover run: 4 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 10 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [11:26] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 2nd and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 10 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [11:16] Wesley Walls catch: 2 3rd and 8 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 8 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [11:06] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 4th and 8 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 8 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 0 Qtr: 1 [10:56] FG missed 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 20 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [10:46] Stephen Davis run: 7 2nd and 3 Washington Redskins on their own 27 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [10:25] Larry Centers run: 11 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 38 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [10:15] Stephen Davis run: 1 2nd and 9 Washington Redskins on their own 39 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [9:54] Stephen Alexander catch: 18 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 43 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [9:25] Stephen Davis run: 14 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 29 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [9:05] James Thrash catch: 15 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 14 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [8:47] Stephen Davis run: 1 2nd and 9 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 13 yard line Washington Redskins 0 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [8:29] Stephen Alexander catch: 13 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 6 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [8:02] PAT good Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 0 Qtr: 1 [8:02] Kickoff taken on the 13 Michael Bates returns it: 16 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 29 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [7:44] Tim Biakabutuka catch: 29 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 42 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [7:34] Williams Floyd run: 7 2nd and 3 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 35 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [7:24] Brad Hoover run: 0 3rd and 3 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 35 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [6:58] Mushin Muhammed catch: 10 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 25 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [6:31] Brad Hoover catch: 17 1st and 8 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 8 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [6:13] Mushin Muhammed catch: 2 2nd and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 6 yard line Carolina Panthers 0 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [5:54] Kris Mangum catch: 6 Touchdown Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers 6 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [5:27] PAT good Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [5:27] Kickoff taken on the 19 Adrian Murrell returns it: 26 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 45 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [5:09] Stephen Davis catch: 35 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 20 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [4:48] Holding: -10 1st and 20 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 30 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [4:29] Larry Centers catch: 2 2nd and 18 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 28 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [4:11] Personal foul: -15 2nd and 33 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 43 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [3:44] Picked off by Jimmy Hitchcock: 9 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 48 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [3:20] Mushin Muhammed catch: 28 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 20 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [3:01] Brad Hoover run: 1 2nd and 9 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 19 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [2:51] Tim Biakabutuka run: 4 3rd and 5 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 15 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [2:27] Steve Beuerlein throw batted away by Shawn Barber: 0 4th and 5 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 15 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 7 Qtr: 1 [2:18] FG missed 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 20 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [2:09] Larry Centers catch: 15 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 35 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [1:50] Brad Johnson throws incomplete: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 35 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [1:41] Stephen Davis run: 8 3rd and 2 Washington Redskins on their own 43 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [1:12] Stephen Davis run: 5 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 48 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [0:48] Stephen Davis run: 20 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 32 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [0:29] Holding: -10 1st and 20 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 42 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 1 [0:10] Albert Connell catch: 18 2nd and 2 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 24 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [15:00] Stephen Davis run: 1 3rd and 1 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 23 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [14:36] Irving Fryer catch: 20 1st and 3 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 3 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [14:07] Holding: -10 1st and 13 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 13 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [13:57] Stephen Davis run: 6 2nd and 7 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 7 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [13:39] Brad Johnson throw batted away by Eric Davis: 0 3rd and 7 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 7 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [13:30] Brad Johnson scramble stuffed: -2 by Doug Evans 4th and 9 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 9 yard line Washington Redskins 7 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [13:03] Washington Redskins score a field goal Washington Redskins 10 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [12:53] Kickoff taken on the 2 Michael Bates returns it: 17 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 19 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 10 Qtr: 2 [12:24] Picked off by Eddie Mason: 19 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 16 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [12:06] PAT good Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 7 Qtr: 2 [12:06] Kickoff taken on the 16 Michael Bates returns it: 24 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 40 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [11:48] Mushin Muhammed catch: 18 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 42 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [11:30] Tim Biakabutuka catch: 16 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 26 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [11:11] Mushin Muhammed catch: 2 2nd and 8 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 24 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [10:50] Wesley Walls catch: 13 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 11 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [10:41] Movement: -5 1st and 15 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 16 yard line Carolina Panthers 7 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [10:20] Tim Biakabutuka catch: 16 Touchdown Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers 13 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [9:59] PAT good Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 17 Qtr: 2 [9:59] Kickoff taken on the 7 James Thrash returns it: 46 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 47 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [9:40] Brad Johnson scramble stuffed: -1 by Jay Willaims 2nd and 11 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 48 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [9:22] Stephen Davis catch: 6 3rd and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 42 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [8:54] Larry Centers catch: 13 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 29 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [8:27] Larry Centers catch: 4 2nd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 25 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [8:08] Stephen Davis run: 3 3rd and 3 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 22 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [7:44] Stephen Alexander catch: 19 1st and 3 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 3 yard line Washington Redskins 17 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [7:15] Stephen Davis catch: 3 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 23 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [6:55] PAT good Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [6:55] Kickoff taken on the 8 Michael Bates returns it: 17 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 25 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [6:34] Tim Biakabutuka run: 46 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 29 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [6:15] Steve Beuerlein scramble: 6 fumble 2nd and 4 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 23 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [5:55] Tim Biakabutuka run: 0 3rd and 4 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 23 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [5:27] Brad Hoover run: 7 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 16 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [5:03] Tim Biakabutuka run: 3 2nd and 7 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 13 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [4:44] Tim Biakabutuka run: 1 3rd and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 12 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [4:16] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 4th and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 12 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [4:06] FG missed 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 20 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [3:56] Stephen Davis catch: 2 2nd and 8 Washington Redskins on their own 22 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [3:38] Albert Connell catch: 18 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 40 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [3:29] Stephen Davis run: 8 2nd and 2 Washington Redskins on their own 48 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [3:10] Stephen Davis run: 1 3rd and 1 Washington Redskins on their own 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [2:43] Adrian Murrell run: 1 1st and 10 Washington Redskins at mid-field Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [2:19] Larry Centers catch: 4 2nd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 46 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [2:09] Stephen Davis run: 0 3rd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 46 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [1:44] Brad Johnson throws incomplete: 0 4th and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 46 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 2 [1:34] Tommy Barnhardt punt to the 1 Iheanyi Uwaezouke returns it: 21 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 22 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [1:25] Wesley Walls catch: 32 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 46 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [1:04] Tim Biakabutuka run: 4 2nd and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 42 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [0:44] Brad Hoover catch: 10 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 32 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [0:17] Brad Hoover run: 0 2nd and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 32 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 2 [0:08] Tim Biakabutuka catch: 14 timeout Carolina Panthers 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 18 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [15:00] Kickoff taken on the 3 James Thrash returns it: 10 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 13 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [14:40] Champ Bailey catch: 38 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [14:21] Brad Johnson throws incomplete: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [14:12] Brad Johnson throws incomplete: 0 3rd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [14:02] Larry Centers catch: 2 4th and 8 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 47 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [13:52] Tommy Barnhardt punt down in the end zone 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 20 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [13:43] Tim Biakabutuka run: 7 2nd and 3 Carolina Panthers on their own 27 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [13:25] Wesley Walls catch: 7 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 34 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [12:58] Brad Hoover run: 1 2nd and 9 Carolina Panthers on their own 35 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [12:48] Steve Beuerlein sacked: -1 by Bruce Smith 3rd and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 34 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [12:23] Illegal procedure: -5 3rd and 15 Carolina Panthers on their own 29 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [11:54] Tim Biakabutuka run stuffed: -1 by Eddie Mason 4th and 16 Carolina Panthers on their own 28 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [11:29] Ken Walter punt travels : 40 Deion Sanders returns it: 15 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 47 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [11:00] Stephen Davis run: 4 2nd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [10:39] Stephen Davis run: 0 3rd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 49 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [10:10] Larry Centers catch: 3 4th and 3 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 46 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [9:45] Tommy Barnhardt punt down in the end zone 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 20 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [9:35] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 2nd and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 20 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 24 Qtr: 3 [9:25] Steve Beuerlein scramble: 1 turnover fumble 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 21 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [9:01] Skip Hicks run: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 21 yard line Washington Redskins 24 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [8:42] James Thrash catch: 21 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 30 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [8:16] PAT good Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [8:16] Kickoff taken on the 1 Michael Bates returns it: 16 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 17 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [7:57] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 2nd and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 17 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [7:47] Mushin Muhammed catch: 18 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 35 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [7:23] Movement: -5 1st and 15 Carolina Panthers on their own 30 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [7:02] Delay of game: -5 1st and 20 Carolina Panthers on their own 25 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [6:43] Mushin Muhammed catch: 30 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 45 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [6:23] Tim Biakabutuka run stuffed: -3 by Eddie Mason 2nd and 13 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 48 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [6:03] Steve Beuerlein throws incomplete: 0 3rd and 13 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 48 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [5:54] Mushin Muhammed catch: 14 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 34 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [5:26] Steve Beuerlein sacked: -7 by Bruce Smith 2nd and 17 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 41 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [5:07] Steve Beuerlein sacked: -2 by Marco Coleman 3rd and 19 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 43 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [4:43] Tim Biakabutuka catch: 15 4th and 4 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 28 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [4:16] Ken Walter punt to the 8 Deion Sanders returns it: -5 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 3 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [3:47] Brad Johnson throw batted away by Doug Evans: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 3 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [3:37] Andre Reed catch: 12 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 15 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [3:09] Stephen Davis run: 8 fumble 2nd and 2 Washington Redskins on their own 23 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [2:48] Brad Johnson run stuffed: -2 by Hannibal Navies 3rd and 4 Washington Redskins on their own 21 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 14 Qtr: 3 [2:19] Picked off by Hannibal Navies: 5 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 16 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [2:10] Tim Biakabutuka run: 4 2nd and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 12 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:50] Brad Hoover run: 1 3rd and 5 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 11 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:41] Mushin Muhammed catch: 9 1st and 2 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 2 yard line Carolina Panthers 14 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:17] Brad Hoover run: 2 Touchdown Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:07] Offsides: -5 Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:07] PAT missed Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 3 [1:07] Kickoff taken on the 3 Adrian Murrell returns it: 7 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 10 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 3 [0:58] Brad Johnson throw batted away by Eric Davis: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 10 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 3 [0:49] Adrian Murrell run: 0 3rd and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 10 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 3 [0:20] Brad Johnson throw batted away by Doug Evans: 0 4th and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 10 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 3 [0:10] Tommy Barnhardt punt travels : 41 Iheanyi Uwaezouke returns it: 31 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 20 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 31 Qtr: 4 [15:00] Picked off by Deion Sanders: 40 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 40 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [14:42] Stephen Davis run: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 40 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [14:32] Stephen Davis catch: 15 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 25 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [14:04] Stephen Davis run: 4 2nd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 21 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [13:46] Albert Connell catch: 17 1st and 4 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 4 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [13:19] Stephen Davis catch: 2 2nd and 2 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 2 yard line Washington Redskins 31 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [13:00] Skip Hicks run: 2 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 37 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [12:33] PAT good Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 20 Qtr: 4 [12:33] Kickoff taken on the 14 Michael Bates returns it: 21 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 35 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [12:13] Chris Hetherington run: 11 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 46 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [11:53] Tim Biakabutuka run: 1 2nd and 9 Carolina Panthers on their own 47 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [11:33] Tim Biakabutuka run: 10 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 43 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [11:05] Tim Biakabutuka run: 6 2nd and 4 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 37 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [10:44] Iheanyi Uwaezouke catch: 26 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 11 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [10:18] Brad Hoover run: 0 2nd and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 11 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [9:59] Mushin Muhammed catch: 8 3rd and 2 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 3 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [9:33] Brad Hoover run: 2 1st and 1 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 1 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [9:06] Offsides: -5 1st and 6 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 6 yard line Carolina Panthers 20 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [8:46] Williams Floyd run: 6 Touchdown Carolina Panthers Carolina Panthers 26 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [8:25] PAT good Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 38 Qtr: 4 [8:25] Kickoff out of bounds 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 40 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [8:25] Andre Reed catch: 14 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 46 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [8:05] James Thrash catch: 12 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 34 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [7:56] Stephen Davis catch: 4 2nd and 6 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 30 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [7:46] Stephen Davis run: 1 3rd and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 29 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [7:37] James Thrash catch: 5 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 24 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [7:10] Stephen Davis run: 6 2nd and 4 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 18 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [6:52] Stephen Davis run: 7 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 11 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [6:43] Stephen Davis run: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 11 yard line Washington Redskins 38 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [6:23] James Thrash catch: 11 Touchdown Washington Redskins Washington Redskins 44 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [5:54] PAT good Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [5:54] Kickoff taken on the 8 Michael Bates returns it: 41 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 49 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [5:35] Wesley Walls catch: 17 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 34 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [5:25] Tim Biakabutuka run: 3 2nd and 7 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 31 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [5:04] Brad Hoover run: 0 3rd and 7 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 31 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [4:35] Offsetting penalties, down over 3rd and 7 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 31 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [4:07] Chris Hetherington catch: 5 4th and 2 Carolina Panthers on the Washington Redskins 26 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 45 Qtr: 4 [3:40] Ken Walter punt down in the end zone 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 20 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [3:30] Larry Centers catch: 9 2nd and 1 Washington Redskins on their own 29 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [3:09] Stephen Davis run stuffed: -2 by Lester Towns 3rd and 3 Washington Redskins on their own 27 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [2:40] Stephen Alexander catch: 20 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on their own 47 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [2:13] Larry Centers catch: 10 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 43 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:54] Mike Sellers catch: 26 timeout Carolina Panthers 1st and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 17 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:45] Brad Johnson throw batted away by Lee Woodall: 0 2nd and 10 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 17 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:36] Larry Centers catch: 12 1st and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 5 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:27] Skip Hicks run: 0 timeout Carolina Panthers 2nd and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 5 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:18] Stephen Davis run: 0 timeout Carolina Panthers 3rd and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 5 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [1:09] Brad Johnson throws incomplete: 0 4th and 5 Washington Redskins on the Carolina Panthers 5 yard line Washington Redskins 45 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [0:59] Washington Redskins score a field goal Washington Redskins 48 -- Carolina Panthers 27 Qtr: 4 [0:50] Kickoff taken on the 16 Michael Bates returns it: 17 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 33 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 48 Qtr: 4 [0:25] Mushin Muhammed run: 9 2nd and 1 Carolina Panthers on their own 42 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 48 Qtr: 4 [0:04] Tim Biakabutuka run: 2 1st and 10 Carolina Panthers on their own 44 yard line Carolina Panthers 27 -- Washington Redskins 48 __FINAL__ Carolina Panthers 7 7 6 7 : 27 Washington Redskins 7 17 7 17 : 48 Quarter 1 Washington Redskins 8:02 TD 13 yard pass from Brad Johnson to Stephen Alexander (PAT Wash Kicking) Carolina Panthers 5:27 TD 6 yard pass from Steve Beuerlein to Kris Mangum (PAT Richie Cunnigham) Quarter 2 Washington Redskins 12:53 FG 26 yards Wash Kicking Washington Redskins 12:06 TD 19 yard interception return Eddie Mason (PAT Wash Kicking) Carolina Panthers 9:59 TD 16 yard pass from Steve Beuerlein to Tim Biakabutuka (PAT Richie Cunnigham) Washington Redskins 6:55 TD 3 yard pass from Brad Johnson to Stephen Davis (PAT Wash Kicking) Quarter 3 Washington Redskins 8:16 TD 21 yard pass from Brad Johnson to James Thrash (PAT Wash Kicking) Carolina Panthers 1:07 TD 2 yard run Brad Hoover Quarter 4 Washington Redskins 12:33 TD 2 yard run Skip Hicks (PAT Wash Kicking) Carolina Panthers 8:25 TD 6 yard run Williams Floyd (PAT Richie Cunnigham) Washington Redskins 5:54 TD 11 yard pass from Brad Johnson to James Thrash (PAT Wash Kicking) Washington Redskins 0:50 FG 22 yards Wash Kicking Carolina Panthers team statistics Penalties: 6/30 Fumbles lost: 3 Carolina Panthers individual statistics RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD Steve Beuerlein 2 7 3.5 6 0 Tim Biakabutuka 17 100 5.9 46 0 Chris Hetherington 1 11 11.0 11 0 Mushin Muhammed 1 9 9.0 9 0 Williams Floyd 2 13 6.5 7 1 Brad Hoover 11 18 1.6 7 1 PASSING ATT CMP YDS SK/YD TD LG IN RT Steve Beuerlein 35 26 369 3/-10 2 32 2 103.2 PASS RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD Tim Biakabutuka 5 90 18.0 29 1 Chris Hetherington 1 5 5.0 5 0 Mushin Muhammed 10 139 13.9 30 0 Williams Floyd 1 5 5.0 5 0 Iheanyi Uwaezouke 1 26 26.0 26 0 Brad Hoover 2 27 13.5 17 0 Kris Mangum 1 6 6.0 6 1 Wesley Walls 5 71 14.2 32 0 INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD Jimmy Hitchcock 1 9 9.0 9 0 Hannibal Navies 1 5 5.0 5 0 SPECIAL DEFENSE SACK TFL P.DEF Lee Woodall 0 0 1 Doug Evans 0 1 2 Jay Willaims 0 1 0 Lester Towns 0 1 0 Eric Davis 0 0 2 Hannibal Navies 1 1 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG TB IN20 LG Ken Walter 3 178 59.3 1 1 74 PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG FC LG TD Iheanyi Uwaezouke 3 94 31.3 0 42 0 KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD Michael Bates 8 169 21.1 41 0 Washington Redskins team statistics Penalties: 5/45 Fumbles lost: 1 Washington Redskins individual statistics RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD Skip Hicks 4 2 0.5 2 1 Stephen Davis 24 103 4.3 20 0 Adrian Murrell 2 1 0.5 1 0 Brad Johnson 3 -5 -1.7 0 0 Larry Centers 1 11 11.0 11 0 PASSING ATT CMP YDS SK/YD TD LG IN RT Brad Johnson 47 35 447 1/-15 4 38 2 114.4 PASS RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD James Thrash 5 64 12.8 21 2 Albert Connell 3 53 17.7 18 0 Mike Sellers 1 26 26.0 26 0 Stephen Davis 7 67 9.6 35 1 Champ Bailey 1 38 38.0 38 0 Stephen Alexander 5 79 15.8 20 1 Andre Reed 2 26 13.0 14 0 Irving Fryer 1 20 20.0 20 0 Larry Centers 10 74 7.4 15 0 INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD Deion Sanders 1 40 40.0 40 0 Eddie Mason 1 19 19.0 19 1 SPECIAL DEFENSE SACK TFL P.DEF Bruce Smith 2 0 0 Shawn Barber 0 0 1 Eddie Mason 0 2 0 Marco Coleman 1 0 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG TB IN20 LG Tommy Barnhardt 5 249 49.8 2 1 54 PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG FC LG TD Deion Sanders 2 10 5.0 0 15 0 KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD James Thrash 3 78 26.0 46 0 Adrian Murrell 2 33 16.5 26 0\nTold you it was detailed. :)\n","date":"5 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-05-speaking-of-code/","section":"Posts","summary":"I’m learning awk. I know, I know, perl can do all the text extraction stuff, it’s better, it’s the 800 pound gorilla of text processing languages.\nBut I understand awk better, I guess it’s just me.\nBasically, along the lines of the football stuff I mentioned earlier, I have a program that generates entire seasons of football games. The player information and team information is pretty detailed. It takes some time to create a team, but only about 25 seconds to generate an entire season. Considering that I’m rewriting history from 1985, that’s 21 seasons in the fall league and the spring league, as well as some college stuff. Why? History, especially alternate history, has to be self-consistent. If I start talking about a USFL Hall of Fame in Trenton and the ongoing battle with the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, I need to have players and player stats to write a convincing story.\nAnyway, the issue I had was taking the stats of a given game in my alternate reality seasons and putting them in a database.\nThe guy who wrote the computer game (GPL of course) tried to write a perl script, but it doesn’t work. I tried to fix it, but it was quite difficult as it takes me a while to translate English to perl search routines.\nSo, I figure, I can deal with a two step process of extracting data into comma separated files and loading a database from those files. So far, I can extract many of the statistics pretty well, but there’s more to do. It sounds like a lot of work, but really, all I’ve had to do is figure out how to create teams from statistics and now run data extraction scripts to place new stats into a database. The hardest part was giving up on perl, for now.\nSo, yes, I am using a program originally written when I was 6.\nHere is an example output of a game: (It’s really long)\n","title":"Speaking of Code","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just so you know, no email to or from the outside world can come to me at work. This has been true since Friday. I do not understand our policy at work of keeping quiet about email problems, but it appears to be true. If you do not know already, I do not like secrets that affect people in important ways.\nSo, if you have emailed me since Friday evening around 6pm, comment here or send it to pinakidion {at} gmail {dot} com. I cannot answer any email at all, so it will feel like a monologue until the issue is resolved.\n","date":"1 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-01-lost-contact/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Lost Contact","type":"posts"},{"content":" Bring on the abuse. I can take it. :)\n","date":"1 October 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-10-01-yalc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"YALC","type":"posts"},{"content":"For Dancing Bear, no stent. There\u0026rsquo;s another appointment in two weeks to see if it really has stopped growing back. We also do not have to shove the tube down her nose to keep the airway open anymore either. Finally, peaceful sleep!\nThe visit with the Genetics doctor also provided good news. Our son almost certainly does not have Charge Syndrome and being tested for it would be futile. His only issues at this point are the hearing loss, the external shape of the ear, and his overall rate of growth/weight. More than likely, he will grow at a slow rate like his father and his father\u0026rsquo;s father. There is a chance that it is a hormone issue caused by a skull deformity near his pituitary gland. Even if that is the case, treatment is benign.\nSo, good news from here. Life is good.\n","date":"28 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-28-family-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Family Update","type":"posts"},{"content":" I\u0026rsquo;m sick, I know it.\n","date":"28 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-28-when-you-mix-star-trek-and-lolcats/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"When You Mix Star Trek and Lolcats","type":"posts"},{"content":"Lots of stuff, so rather than a dozen semi-thoughts with their own posts, just one post:\nStent or No Stent Today is the big day to determine if Dancing Bear needs a stent. We are hoping that she doesn\u0026rsquo;t. We\u0026rsquo;d like for this chapter of her life to come to a close. I\u0026rsquo;d like her to be able to say in the future, \u0026ldquo;my nose hasn\u0026rsquo;t given me any trouble in 19 years. All is well.\u0026rdquo;\nUPC is a big deal So now the powers that be are trying to get San Diego and Athens (think Sam Laing) to sign. Why is there this pressure to sign? I guess it is because the UPC doesn\u0026rsquo;t work if every church doesn\u0026rsquo;t sign. A non-signing church cannot vote on regional representatives. A non-signing church is not bound by the decisions of the Regional Group or the Steering Committee. With the guiding idea of unity still being preached that we must all agree on doctrine and practice in order to move forward, it\u0026rsquo;s no wonder that there\u0026rsquo;s pressure. Following this line of reasoning, how can the ICoC be unified if we are not certain of the doctrine and practices of a few scattered churches that claim fellowship with us? How can we be unified is they are not part of the decision making process? How can we be unified if consensus decisions are \u0026lsquo;selectively\u0026rsquo; applied?\nWell, true believers, if unity depends on uniform doctrine and practice, it will not be achieved in my lifetime, or my grand children\u0026rsquo;s lifetime. Doctrine must be treated as also an emotional issue. To pretend that it is not is to ignore the definition of religion, itself.\nBut I digress. The UPC is a big deal again and will be a big deal until after the MOAC 2007 in LA. Ugh.\nHands and Voices A parent advocacy group for families with deaf/hard of hearing children is coming to my state. They have been instrumental is bringing about change in education, insurance, and legislation without being confrontational. This isn\u0026rsquo;t an angry parent\u0026rsquo;s group. It brings together many families dealing with very different issues.\nYou may not know, but there is considerable controversy in helping deaf/hard of hearing children communicate. Do you teach them to be only verbal? Verbal and sign? Sign only? Which sign language do you use? Cueing? Sign Exact English? American Sign Language? ASL in English Word Order? These issues traditionally divide families and support personnel.\nHands and Voices seeks to support all methods, but bring families and professional together for common good. For example, in Colorado, Hands and Voices was part of an effort to make insurance companies cover the costs of hearing aids for children up to age 18. That one is personal to me as you may know. I hope that poorer families never have to face the choices we did. (Thank God for the church I attend and a private foundation.)\nHow powerful is it for a Verbal only person to lobby for the rights of a Signing ASL only person?\nThere are implications in this for Christian unity as well, without resorting to a form of ecumenism that the Restoration Movement tends to deride. More on this later.\nSpeaking of Unity The church I attend is going to have a joint service with a CoC. We had attended a church en masse some time ago. We were not considered Christians at the time, but we were treated very well and shared a meal together. AS far as the upcoming service, I can\u0026rsquo;t wait to see the two ministers share the stage. Look for more info as October 28 approaches.\nFootball? I\u0026rsquo;ve become interested in tabletop games lately, specifically football. I played a Sports Illustrated created game, as well as Statis-Pro Football (avalon hill). Turns out that there are many folks my age and older that still enjoy a good game. Some play these older, out-of-print games. Some turn to newer games like Inside Blitz. I hope to put together a radio show based on tabletop sports games (not just football). Talkshoe or BlogTalkRadio? Hmm\u0026hellip;\nMy interest is in an alternate-history where the USFL survived. I plan on creating an entire history that diverges from our reality in 1985. In real life, the USFL moved to a fall schedule. In my alternative reality, the other owners told Trump where he could go. Trump, as he has admitted in real life, was trying to force a merger with the NFL. The Trump in my alternate reality will take his money and go home, all the while keeping the USFL to gain popularity in the Spring. With lucrative contracts with ABC and upstart ESPN, many things happen to promote American Football.\nYou may not know it, but Canadian Football made an attempt at expansion into the US in 1993. It didn\u0026rsquo;t last, but in 1995, there were five US teams playing CFL. How does this relate? Well, the CFL wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have taken the Sacramento Surge from the WLAF in 1993 if the USFL still existed. For that matter, the WLAF would not have started, much less folded in 1992. Arena Football would not become so popular. (Imagine Kurt Warner becoming the all-time pass leader in the USFL instead of the Iowa Barnstormers.)\nMaybe in October\u0026hellip;\nChildren\u0026rsquo;s Naming Ceremony More later\u0026hellip;\n","date":"25 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-25-potpurri-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Potpurri","type":"posts"},{"content":"But bein\u0026rsquo; the quartermaster I yam, I was already here five days ago. Avast me hearties! None can outfox the real Cap\u0026rsquo;n Jack.\n","date":"19 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-19-this-be-talk-like-a-pirate-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Be Talk Like a Pirate Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"Robert Alter has a new translation of the book of Psalms. In it, he conspicuously removes references to the soul. He claims that ideas of the soul of later ideas superimposed on the text. The result is a fresh text. More than that, I would like this book for the commentary included. This is a hefty book, so it is more commentary than text. It\u0026rsquo;s great for insight into certain time-honored symbols, especially for those of us completely removed from the pastoral life.\nAlter\u0026rsquo;s Psalm 23\nPsalm 23 Translated by Robert Alter 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 In grass meadows He makes me lie down, by quiet waters guides me. 3 My life He brings back. He leads me on pathways of justice for His name\u0026rsquo;s sake. 4Though I walk in the vale of death\u0026rsquo;s shadow, I fear no harm, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff— it is they that console me. 5You set out a table before me in the face of my foes. You moisten my head with oil, my cup overflows. 6 Let but goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for many long days.\n1. The LORD is my shepherd. Although the likening of God or a ruler to a shepherd is a commonplace in this pastoral culture, this psalm is justly famous for the affecting simplicity and concreteness with which it realizes the metaphor. Thus, in the next line the shepherd leads his sheep to meadows where there is abundant grass and riverbanks and where quiet waters run that the sheep can drink. 2. makes me lie down. The verb used here, hirbits, is a specialized one for making animals lie down; hence the sheep-shepherd metaphor is carefully sustained. 3. My life He brings back. Though \u0026ldquo;He restoreth my soul\u0026rdquo; is time-honored, the Hebrew nefesh does not mean \u0026ldquo;soul\u0026rdquo; but \u0026ldquo;life breath\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;life.\u0026rdquo; The image is of someone who has almost stopped breathing and is revived, brought back to life. pathways of justice. With this phrase, the speaker glides from the sheep metaphor to speaking of himself in human terms.\n4. in the vale of death\u0026rsquo;s shadow. The intent of the translation here is not to avoid the virtually proverbial \u0026ldquo;in the shadow of the valley of death\u0026rdquo; but rather to cut through the proliferation of syllables in the King James Version, however eloquent, and better approximate the compactness of the Hebrew—begey tsalmawet. Though philologists assume that the Masoretic tsalmawet is actually a misleading vocalization of tsalmut—probably a poetic word for \u0026ldquo;darkness\u0026rdquo; with the ut ending simply a suffix of abstraction—the traditional vocalization reflects something like an orthographic pun or a folk etymology (tsel means \u0026ldquo;shadow,\u0026rdquo; mawet means \u0026ldquo;death\u0026rdquo;), so there is justification in retaining the death component. I fear no harm. The imbalance between this extremely brief verset and the relatively long first verset, equally evident in the Hebrew, gives these words a climactic effect as an affirmation of trust after the relatively lengthy evocation of the place of fear. You are with me. / Your rod and Your staff. At this crucial moment of terror in the valley of the shadow, the speaker turns to God in the second person, though the rod and staff are carried over from the shepherd image. 5. You moisten my head with oil. The verb here, dishen, is not the one that is used for anointment, and its associations are sensual rather than sacramental. Etymologically, it means something like \u0026ldquo;to make luxuriant.\u0026rdquo; This verse, then, lists all the physical elements of a happy life—a table laid out with good things to eat, a head of hair well rubbed with olive oil, and an overflowing cup of wine.\n6. for many long days. This concluding phrase catches up the reference to \u0026ldquo;all the days of my life\u0026rdquo; in the preceding line. It does not mean \u0026ldquo;forever\u0026rdquo;; the viewpoint of the poem is in and of the here and now and is in no way eschatological. The speaker hopes for a happy fate all his born days, and prays for the good fortune to abide in the Lord\u0026rsquo;s sanctuary—a place of security and harmony with the divine—all, or perhaps at least most, of those days.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s a lot of stuff, isn\u0026rsquo;t it? Well worth the read. I imagine the rest of the book is similarly deep and enjoyable.\nFor the sake of reference, here\u0026rsquo;s another recent annotated version of Psalm 23 with similar depth. This is from the NET Bible.\nPsalm 23\nA psalm of David.\n23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 23:2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. 23:3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me.1 23:5 You prepare a feast before me2 in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh3 my head with oil; my cup is completely full.4 23:6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness5 will pursue6 me all my days,7 and I will live in8 the Lord’s house9 for the rest of my life.10\n1tn The Piel of (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.\n2sn In v. 5 the metaphor switches. (It would be very odd for a sheep to have its head anointed and be served wine.) The background for the imagery is probably the royal banquet. Ancient Near Eastern texts describe such banquets in similar terms to those employed by the psalmist. (See M. L. Barre and J. S. Kselman, “New Exodus, Covenant, and Restoration in Psalm 23,” The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth, 97-127.) The reality behind the imagery is the Lord’s favor. Through his blessings and protection he demonstrates to everyone, including dangerous enemies, that the psalmist has a special relationship with him.\n3tn The imperfect verbal form in v. 5a carries on the generalizing mood of vv. 1-4. However, in v. 5b the psalmist switches to a perfect (dishanta), which may have a generalizing force as well. But then again the perfect is conspicuous here and may be present perfect in sense, indicating that the divine host typically pours oil on his head prior to seating him at the banquet table. The verb (dashan; the Piel is factitive) is often translated “anoint,” but this is misleading, for it might suggest a symbolic act of initiation into royal status. One would expect the verb (mashan) in this case; דָשַׁן here describes an act of hospitality extended to guests and carries the nuance “refresh.” In Prov 15:30 it stands parallel to “make happy” and refers to the effect that good news has on the inner being of its recipient.\n4tn The rare noun (rÿvayah) is derived from the well-attested verb (ravah, “be saturated, drink one’s fill”). In this context, where it describes a cup, it must mean “filled up,” but not necessarily to overflowing.\n5tn The noun (khesed; v. 6) has been the subject of several monographs. G. R. Clark concludes that “is not merely an attitude or an emotion; it is an emotion that leads to an activity beneficial to the recipient.” He explains that an act of is “a beneficent action performed, in the context of a deep and enduring commitment between two persons or parties, by one who is able to render assistance to the needy party who in the circumstances is unable to help him- or herself.” (See G. R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible \\[JSOTSup\\], 267.) HALOT 336-37 s.v. defines the word as “loyalty,” or “faithfulness.” Other appropriate meanings might be “commitment” and “devotion.”\n6tn The use of (radaf, “pursue, chase”) with (tov vakhesed, “goodness and faithfulness”) as subject is ironic. This is the only place in the entire OT where either of these nouns appears as the subject of this verb (radaf, “pursue”). This verb is often used to describe the hostile actions of enemies. One might expect the psalmist’s enemies (see v. 5) to chase him, but ironically God’s “goodness and faithfulness” (which are personified and stand by metonymy for God himself) pursue him instead. The word “pursue” is used outside of its normal context in an ironic manner and creates a unique, but pleasant word picture of God’s favor (or a kind God) “chasing down” the one whom he loves.\n7tn Heb “all the days of my life.”\n8tn The verb form (vÿshavtiy) is a Qal perfect (with vav \\[ו\\] consecutive), first common singular, from (shuv, “return”) and should be translated, “and I will return.” But this makes no sense when construed with the following phrase, “in the house of the Lord.” The term (shuv) appears only here with the following phrase (bÿvet). The form should be emended to (vÿshivtiy; an infinitive construct from yashav, “live”) with pronominal suffix) or to (vÿyashavtiy; a Qal perfect with vav \\[ו\\] consecutive, first common singular, from \\[see BHS, note c\\]). In either case one could then translate, “and I will live \\[in the house of the Lord\\].” The phrase “in the house” frequently follows the verb in the OT.\n9tn Heb “the house of the Lord.” The phrase may be purely metaphorical here, referring to the royal palace where the royal host of v. 5 holds his banquet and lives. If one takes the phrase more literally, it would refer to the earthly tabernacle (if one accepts Davidic authorship) or the later temple (see Judg 19:18; 1 Sam 1:7, 24; 2 Sam 12:20; 1 Kgs 7:12, 40, 45, 51).\n10tn The phrase (’orekh yamim, “length of days”) is traditionally translated “forever.” However, this phrase, when used elsewhere of people, usually refers to a lengthy period of time, such as one’s lifetime, and does not mean “forever” in the sense of eternity. (Cf. Deut 30:20; Job 12:12; Ps 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; Lam 5:20.) Furthermore, the parallel phrase “all the days of my life” suggests this more limited meaning. Psalm 21:4, where the phrase is followed by “forever and ever,” may be an exception, though the juxtaposition of the phrases may be an example of intensification, where the second phrase goes beyond the limits of the first, rather than synonymity. Even if one takes both expressions as referring to eternal life, the language is part of the king’s hyperbolic description of the Lord’s blessings and should not be taken literally.\nI am not a master of Hebrew, but I appreciate the readability of Alter\u0026rsquo;s notes versus the comprehensiveness of the NET notes. Still, I appreciate the NET Bible for what they have done. Thanks for the notes!\n","date":"18 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-18-new-translation-of-psalms/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New Translation of Psalms","type":"posts"},{"content":" You scored as Preterist, You take the historical setting of the Bible very seriously, and believe that passages like Daniel 7 and Mark 13 were speaking about their own day rather than the End of Time, though there will still be a time when Jesus is \u0026lsquo;unveiled\u0026rsquo; and there will be final judgement and new creation. Preterist\n100%Moltmannian Eschatology\n50%Dispensationalist\n50%Amillenialist\n50%Premillenialist\n25%Postmillenialist\n25%Left Behind\n0% What\u0026rsquo;s your eschatology?\ncreated with QuizFarm.com\nI agree with the Preterist part, but the Moltmannian Eschatology and DIspensationalist is not me at all. Preterist / Amillenialist is how I\u0026rsquo;ve always seen myself, though the other way around.\nWhadaya Know?\n","date":"15 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-15-whats-my-eschatology/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What's My Eschatology","type":"posts"},{"content":" My family has a pirate theme. I marched up the isle of my wedding in a pirate shirt. My groomsmen had pirate shirts. My music was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. Each of us has a pirate theme shirt we wear on Saturdays (I have two, one that matches our son\u0026rsquo;s shirt.) Avast me hearties! It\u0026rsquo;s deep in the home of pinakidion.\nIn some ways, it comes from my heritage. Growing up in the land of Blackbeard can do that do you. Supposedly on my mother\u0026rsquo;s side, we have generations of seafaring pirates. I\u0026rsquo;ve spun the yarn of how my recent ancestors acquired orange juice (See Nag\u0026rsquo;s Head intro).\nStruck by Semithought! More later\u0026hellip;\n","date":"14 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-14-pirates/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Pirates","type":"posts"},{"content":"Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.\n-- George Santayana\n","date":"12 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-12-fanatic-quotation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fanatic Quotation","type":"posts"},{"content":"The emergency meeting of the Midwest churches on or around this weekend does not involve Omaha, as far as I know. The Midwest churches are lead by Chicago. Most member churches are in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.\nI know no more about it than you do. In some ways, I can honestly say, \u0026ldquo;Sorry, not my area.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"12 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-12-just-an-fyi/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Just an FYI","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes.\nIt feels good to know that your wife is your biggest source of encouragement and strength. It also feels good to have the love of others here and abroad.\nEveryone is doing well. It\u0026rsquo;s true that Dancing Bear requires a stent in her nose after all these surgeries, but she will do fine. In five years, she won\u0026rsquo;t remember any of this. As a famous president has said, we only thing we have to fear is fear, itself. Not having a name for what they have can be a bigger concern than it should be. It may very well be that there is no name for the syndrome our children have. The Spirit intercedes when we do not have the words to pray. It also seems that he provides the care we need when they are no words for our troubles.\nThanks again to everyone. I feel very loved. You do not have to know what it is like or know what to say. The alphabet of love starts with compassion and ends with service. I have also been shown all the letters that lie between.\n","date":"7 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-07-more-thanks/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Thanks","type":"posts"},{"content":"The preface of the UPC (dated March 11, 2007) states:\nWe are asking each church leadership to prayerfully consider ratifying this plan after discussing it with their members. For ratification, send an email to Unity@chnts.net. Beginning April 3rd, we will publish a continually updating list of churches that affirm this Plan for United Cooperation.\nRatify is defined as:\nto confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction: to ratify a constitutional amendment.\nAccording to Roget\u0026rsquo;s New Millenniumâ„¢ Thesaurus, synonyms include the words approve, certify, license, uphold, validate, and sign.\nThe only difference between signing the Declaration of Independence and signing the UPC is that the Declaration of Independence had the signatures attached to the bottom of the hand-written document. In our internet age, our signees were listed on DisciplesToday website. Really, what is the difference between this and this?\nForgive me for breaking decorum, but the “no place to sign” phrase is not cute. It is not funny. It is not accurate. It is not true. Stop saying it. I’m an English Major and I understand the principles of effective propaganda and its use in the political arena. The first principle is, “A lie told often enough becomes truth.” The first time someone said, “no place to sign” it was witty. There are no blanks to fill in on the UPC and no notes that say, “please sign here”. These things are absent from the Declaration of Independence, too. Each successive time the phrase “no place to sign” has been repeated, however, it is propaganda. The second principle is that maintaining the lie requires the powers that be “to use all of its powers to repress dissent…” At this point, not only does it appear that criticism of the UPC is unwelcome, but not choosing to ratify is also unwelcome. Dissent is not disloyalty. Kip has this problem, and now we, the descendants of his teaching, are dealing with the same issues.\nGordon Ferguson said a couple years ago that the UPC would be temporary and that it would not be very important in the long run. I was beginning to believe him as nothing had really happened. Sure, I didn’t like trips all over the US to convince others to ratify, but little appeared to have come of those trips or of the UPC itself. Now, a month ahead of the next ILC, two committee members have written about it. One committee member is planning trips to discuss the UPC with the leadership of at least one church that did not ratify. Why all this plotting and scheming? Some astroturfing, but there’s no indication of the reasons behind it. One thing is clear, though, the UPC is not viewed as temporary, at least by the current committee.\nIt’s a shame that the voices of others that said a creed would lead us to political bickering were not heeded. We are now using the weapons of this world to deal with spiritual matters. Instead of the Spirit to unify us in the bond of peace, we are making flights and personal visits and campaigning on all the official channels. We have sound bites and stock answers to questions and smooth sounding articles dripping with gooey sweetness. We will reap what we have sown with all of this. The sooner we actually deal with issues and consider other alternatives, the sooner we can soften the damage we have already done. It may be too late.\nIt’s more of a shame that non-ratifying churches continue to receive pressure to ratify. It is well past time to leave well-enough alone. It is stated in the Q and A that non-ratifying churches are still our brothers and sisters in the Lord. We, as a denomination, need to start acting like it. Some just do not believe in 100% of the beliefs and practices stated. Deal with it. I understand that this makes the delegate system unworkable, but that is something that should be discussed.\nI guess we will all find out in October.\n","date":"7 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-07-yet-more-upc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Yet More UPC","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s one thing to have a doctor tell you something bad, it\u0026rsquo;s another to receive a letter written to your pediatrician (but cc\u0026rsquo;d to you) saying something bad. I know, sounds weird. I didn\u0026rsquo;t get it at first.\nWe received a letter in the mail that was addressed to our pediatrician. We were cc\u0026rsquo;d, so that\u0026rsquo;s why we got a copy despite being addressed to our pediatrician. The letter was dated Aug 9 and postmarked Aug 20. It contains some notes saying that we tested negative for Towns-Brocks Syndrome and that we should be tested for CHARGE Syndrome. CHARGE is bad in that the range of issues could include sudden decline and death. The last two sentences went on to explain that CHARGE is transferable, so they had a 50% chance of giving their kids CHARGE, if that is the correct diagnosis.\nAt first, it was the talk about CHARGE. As with any disease or syndrome, the worst cases pop up first in Google. So every time we get a letter with a new prognosis, we\u0026rsquo;re going through this ugly research phase. In this case, worst case is a report from another family that their child was normal until age 2, then their health went downhill. Is it a \u0026lsquo;de novo\u0026rsquo; case or did they get it from me? If I have it, there are some health risks associated with it that I need to deal with for myself.\nBut then, the feelings were very angry. We met with the pediatrician on the 27th. Why didn\u0026rsquo;t he tell us about this? Why did he mention CHARGE, but leave out what the genetics doctors said? The geneticist said that he wanted to see us right away for an appointment. What is with this guy?\nSeptember, all our deductibles start over. We could have been tested in August when it would have been free, you know. Especially since the letter was dated August 9.\nSo, more to find out on Tuesday.\nWe decided to have a fun three day weekend. Good friends are here for us to support us. So much love has been given to us! We have worked through the shock and Tuesday I get to do good cop, bad cop with a couple of doctors. (I think I\u0026rsquo;m the bad cop. Then again, I think my wife believes she is the bad cop. Maybe bad cop, worse cop) Until then, we are going to just enjoy the three day weekend.\nWe have discovered that Dancing Bear enjoys laughing at Mommy and Daddy when they have hiccups. We have discovered that Baby Bear is more courageously diving off furniture. (We have a mattress in the living room, now.) I think all of us have laughed so much the past two days. My wife took time to re-read Order of the Phoenix and I have spent time with Statis-Pro Football, an old football game originally published by Avalon Hill (now owned by Wizards of the Coast). It\u0026rsquo;s been a good time.\nSure, I think of Habakkuk again. (How long O Lord?) and Soren Kierkegaard and Albert Camus. (fatalism) I even read where Pope Benedict spoke of \u0026ldquo;enduring the silence of God\u0026rdquo;. I get tired of holding Dancing Bear down twice a day and watching a tube go into her nose and down her throat.\nBut our son is talking about cooking with eggs again. He says that they are hot. He also says that the baby is eating and he is asking for water to play with. He talks about raisins and apricots and dogs and cats. Oh and by the way, the cat is eating. Also by the way, where are you hiding the pots and pans? Is it time to go in the car, yet? You think the baby wants to go? Is this funny (holds strainer to his face) or is this funny (holds block to forehead) or is this funny (falls straight back on the floor a la Nestea Plunge)? Look, I\u0026rsquo;m pointing at my brain.\nOur son has a great future as a blogger.\nIn the end, it seems to br a matter of putting a name to it. All the experts are scratching their heads and saying, \u0026ldquo;but both of them have choanal atresias (nose blockage) and they are expressed differently\u0026rdquo;. It seems to be the Mother of All Caveats. I\u0026rsquo;m starting to count the number of times I hear that said. Once, I even said, \u0026ldquo;Did you know that babies are obligatory nose breathers?\u0026rdquo;\nIn 2003, there were two known cases of choanal atresias in siblings that are not twins. (This doesn\u0026rsquo;t count the four cases where the parents were consanguine. You look it up, it\u0026rsquo;s the best euphemism I\u0026rsquo;ve ever seen.) I can\u0026rsquo;t find more recent statistics than that. All the syndromes to date speak of some form of mental retardation, but all involved note that our son is pretty smart. (Obsessed, yes, but smart.) In some ways, it is special to think that our children are medically rare, almost unique.\nBut I didn\u0026rsquo;t need a doctor to tell me that they are rare.\n","date":"3 September 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-09-03-more-difficult-news/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Difficult News","type":"posts"},{"content":"The UP (now the UPC) is back in the news again. This time, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t me. First, Scott mentions it, then Mike. It makes me think that the steering committee is trying to drum up support for the UPC again. Why? Are they going to try to get more people to sign or something? Why on earth do that?\nIn any case, the following is the history of the UPC based on available documents.\nHistory of the UPC (Statement of Facts) At the Seattle ILC, the process to draft the UPC began. Who asked for it to be drafted? The 33 member planning committee for the next 2006 ILC in Virginia Beach, Va This committee of 33 nominated 9 brothers by secret ballot to coordinate proposals for unity and revival. (The 33 are assumed to be a similar to the 31 that met at the 2003 ILC in Chicago.) Who presented this idea of a select nine person \u0026ldquo;Brotherhood Group\u0026rdquo; to the planning committee? The leaders of the Los Angeles Church of Christ.\nPrevious to the 2005 ILC, LA presented its own unity proposal via its website on August 25, 2005. (This was replaced two days later by a revised version, then later removed altogether.) This proposal was born out of a meeting in Portland during the World Missions Jubilee on the afternoon of Aug 20, 2005. At that meeting, Al Baird, Bruce Williams, Steve Johnson, Doug Arthur, John Louis, Mike Fontenot, and Kip McKean discussed how to word the statement of core beliefs as a part of LA’s proposal. As stated in both versions of the Call to Unity, the leadership group of the LA Church of Christ initiated the August 2005 effort.\nTherefore, it is important to understand the origins of the present UPC. It came from an effort by the LA church to unify our family of churches. This effort was LA’s second effort at unity, the first being the CALSURE/Affiliation Agreement instigated by Harvey Woodford. In April/May 2003, many emails and proposed agreements floated around. At first, the contention centered around the formation of a \u0026ldquo;kingdom level\u0026rdquo; group that could decide matters of church conflict and doctrine. Subsequent amendments all but removed the power of the central group. The ability for the ICoC to exist as a parent company to handle benefits and liability insurance was all that remained. As many as 100 US churches signed this affiliation agreement, however, a board of delegates never met to call a unity meeting as described in the final document. Many churches discovered that they could purchase liability insurance much cheaper locally, so this effort failed. In 2004, a memo was sent to the churches that the ICoC would exist as a corporation as basically an empty shell.\nUnity, however, was a major topic of concern at the 2004 ILC in Chicago. A Unity discussion called a \u0026ldquo;crucial conversation\u0026quot;took place on September 23, 2004. A group of 31 men chosen by the Tony Singh and Steve Staten met to discuss issues of \u0026ldquo;ethics, core convictions, missions, collaboration, communication, and other topics.\u0026ldquo;Although two outsiders were to report, 2 of the 31, Andy Fleming and Phil Lam presented the report on September 25, 2004.\nOne item to note from the report (I have the audio) deals with identity. The three points around identity were: we can only define ourselves and not others, a name change cannot be explained to members in the “third world\u0026rdquo; and a redefined ICoC should keep its distinctives. The redefined ICoC would be about evangelizing the world and discipling relationships defined through the one-another passages. The other item of note is that the decision was made to have yearly conferences. Seattle offered to host 2005, and the rest has been mentioned above.\nOddly enough, much was made of unity with other Restoration Movement Churches in Chicago, but not much has been said since.\nFor the record, there was only one mention of the 2003 ILC in Dallas on upcyberdown. I attended personally and can attest that this meeting was more about mutual encouragement than anything else. Yes, Bob Gempel yelled at us for not giving like we used to and Kip autographed a Bible in the lobby. (I saw both of these events personally and will sign an affadavit to that effect.) However, unity was more of a hope than an agenda item.\nConclusions\nGiven the history after 2003, the lead committee appears to be whomever organizes the next ILC. The organization committee of the 2004 ILC became a select group of men to discuss unity and international issues. This select group was supplanted in 2005 with a Brotherhood Group and finally a Steering Committee was formalized, complete with term limits.\nDespite over 40 different proposals sent to the Brotherhood Group, and discussion with hundreds, the final UPC is very similar in content to the original Proposal forwarded by the LA leadership in August 2005. Remember that these tenets of common belief and practice were written largely by seven men, Al Baird, Bruce Williams, Steve Johnson, Doug Arthur, John Louis, Mike Fontenot, and Kip McKean.\nIt is illogical to believe that there is a coordinated conspiracy by any select group to \u0026ldquo;take control\u0026rdquo; of the ICoC. A consolidation of power do not prove the intent of those that benefit from that consolidation. Implications (Reasonable Inferences)\nOne of the biggest implications is that the ICoC on paper has become a paper tiger of its former self. A comparison of the LA unity document and the present UCP is similar in content. However, the UCP is a milder version of the basic tenets in LA’s document. In other words, doctrine has softened, but not really changed.\nA few men make the rules. With all the talk of diversity and early efforts to include as many as possible, there are nine leaders of the ICoC. Their power is not fiat as Kip’s was, but their influence is considerable. Remember that the House of Representatives consists of 430+ members, but the agenda is set by the Speaker of House. In the same way, we have 70 delegates, but the agenda is set by the nine.\nWithout change, we will revert back to what we were. Now, two years after the UPC and four and a half years after HKL, we see the results of our folly. Things are going back to what they were pre-2003.\nMore later, especially with recent mentions of the UPC.\n","date":"29 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-29-the-return-of-the-upc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Return of the UPC","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026hellip;now there is bacn. Bacn is defined as email you want, just not right now. Read the site for explanations.\nMore is coming, especially in comparing Alan\u0026rsquo;s article of Family Dynamics with this one about being Christians, anyway.\nIn a sentence, it is a gross simplification to say that the basis of unity is doctrine. (A longer peace on unity by doctrine can be found here.)\nMaybe you have some bacn of your own, now, especially those that read via RSS. :)\n","date":"27 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-27-first-there-was-spam/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"First there was spam","type":"posts"},{"content":"I did communion this past Sunday. Thanks to my friend on the sound board, it was recorded.\nGrace Puzzle\n","date":"21 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-21-i-need-grace/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Need Grace","type":"posts"},{"content":"Everyone involved with the ICoC is waiting for news from the World Missions Jubilee in Portland this past weekend. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that there will be a mention of the situation in Salt Lake City. Jay, the former minister there, mentioned moving to LA to receive more training in his last sermon. Those of us in the ICOC know that means, \u0026ldquo;Kip fired you.\u0026rdquo; Yet, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear that the congregation wants a replacement from LA. Who knows? The situation is fluid and the end is bound to be different from anyone\u0026rsquo;s conjectures.\nStill, I imagine that sermons in LA will mention the weakness or lukewarmness of Salt Lake for months to come. With no one to really stop Kip from saying what he really wants to say, I imagine the article after the one about the Jubilee will belittle and criticize his former congregation. Then again, who can predict the moves of the Great One?\nIn other news, Seattle\u0026rsquo;s blog mentions the need for the Plan for United Cooperation. Me and other readers here commented to the post about other avenues of cooperation that were also encouraging. This prompted responses here and here.\nFirst, congratulations on the baptism. I look forward to the day that my children come to the Lord. Second, I think it is great that a non-UP congregation works together with a UP congregation. I believe that this kind of cooperation, as well as cooperation with other Restoration Movement churches is critical for all of us. I believe in the efforts of those within the RM to bridge the historic gaps that divide us. We need each other. More than that, I believe that cooperation with non-RM churches is also critical. There should be no limit against working with other men and women that call upon the Lord. That is a subject for another column.\nAs someone that believes in unity, I think the UP is relevant to the discussion of working with other churches. When RM cooperation was mentioned during the formation of the UP, all that was said was, \u0026ldquo;any church can sign that desires to do so\u0026rdquo;. Would a document of this kind be any help to RM Unity efforts? I do not believe that it would.\nI understand that the UP was primarily a tool to establish order in a confusing time. I disagree that order was more important to establish than righteousness. To my knowledge, we, as a denomination, have done nothing publicly to deal with our past and present teachings that led us to where we are now. I\u0026rsquo;m not talking about individual church efforts - I\u0026rsquo;m talking about high-level folks saying unashamedly that we are going in a new direction as a result of our repentance of shameful acts. Instead, order is still the number one priority. Those that disagree create varying amounts of disorder and it does not appear that disorder is tolerated.\nWithin the RM, though, we do not need order. We also do not need a call to minimum standards and clarity. It would be nice for all of us in the RM to get together in a room and vote that will be unified. However, lacking the efforts to even try to get us all in a room, there is a more excellent way. We should be looking for ways to serve one another instead of ways to get along with each other. When Jesus showed the full extent of his love, it was by taking the role of a servant. He went on the tell his disciples that people will know you are his disciples by the love for each other. Love wins the day. The Pharisees searched the Scriptures because they believed they were saved by their efforts. Jesus chided them for their short-sightedness. I pray that we do not become as short-sighted.\nSmall things happen. A new website, a few articles, VBS, and more. When we humble ourselves to let others love us, when we humble ourselves to love others, God works. Only God can bring us together by the call of His Spirit within us.\nAs far as Salt Lake, are we going to get them sign the UP like we did in Syracuse? I hope not. I hope that others, like the church in Denver, will choose to serve. The church I attend has folks that know members there. We should offer to help - not because we want more people on our team, but because it is the right thing to do.\nAs far as UP congregations, we need to serve them, too. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter if others signed with the hearts - there\u0026rsquo;s not a place to sign the thing anyway. Love covers over a multitude of sins, including the creation of divisive document.\n","date":"14 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-14-one-of-those-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"One of Those Things","type":"posts"},{"content":" Actually, I am around. Moonlighting project is keeping me busy. I\u0026rsquo;ll be around next week.\nNeedz monies. kthxbai.\n","date":"10 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-10-dont-mind-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Don't Mind Me","type":"posts"},{"content":" Don\u0026rsquo;t know why it\u0026rsquo;s funny, but it is to me. I now await the scorn of Scott and others. :)\n","date":"4 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-04-yes-i-need-halp/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Yes, I need halp","type":"posts"},{"content":"UPDATE 8/7/2007: Spoke to my father-in-law in Vermont. He is fine.\nUPDATE 8/4/2007: Still no word from father-in-law. We believe that he and his wife are in Vermont. Where they went in Vermont is a notorious cell phone dead zone. Thus we are waiting, but pretty sure that they are okay.\nI suppose that you\u0026rsquo;ve heard about this on the news. In case the link is down, the Interstate 35W bridge across the Mississippi river collapsed at about 6pm CDT. This bridge is just east of the Metrodome.\nTo give you an idea, here is how far away it is from where we got married. We got married just a minute east of my father-in-law\u0026rsquo;s house.\nWe have not heard from my father-in-law or his wife. We have no reason to believe that they were in the area. They are retired and have no need to take busy streets during rush hour. It is possible that they were in transit from their home to a house in Grand Marais, about six hours north, but it is still unlikely.\nMy mother-in-law and sister-in-law, along with my nephews are in upstate NY, so I know that they are okay.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll let you know as things progress.\n","date":"2 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-02-recent-event/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recent Event","type":"posts"},{"content":"Recent Comments work, now. I know you just love reading about Babbage\u0026rsquo;s Engines, but now you\u0026rsquo;ll have to stick with recent comments on this site.\nOf course, this means that the feeds from the other portal sites are broken. I\u0026rsquo;ll see if I can get them working without breaking other plugins.\n","date":"1 August 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-08-01-small-bug-fix/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Small Bug Fix","type":"posts"},{"content":"Back to work, I am. Fun. Fun. Fun.\nSeriously, though, five days on vacation with the family was a lot of fun. Took some cool video of the children, somewhat enjoyed a trip to Lincoln, slept, worked on a moonlighting project, etc. The list goes on. I had several long stretches away from a computer. I had a half day to write. All in all, I feel quite refreshed. It\u0026rsquo;s true that once back on a computer, I could have done with out reading this or this or a lot of goofy emails. The first link parses the difference between an ideal and a vision. Basically, an ideal is not readily quantifiable, therefore it is useless. The second link is just disturbing (but it\u0026rsquo;s subtle). Ugh.\nI plan on finishing the Next Awakening series of posts. They are on paper at this point. Transcription is not my strong point. (Not much really is, come to think of it.) I also spent some time developing material for Sycarion and Prairiecomber, but more drafting than anything. We\u0026rsquo;ll see. Lots of links to post that I may never get around to. Not much else.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been encouraged about recent events, especially those pertaining to unity. I look forward to more fellowship and dialogue as the days move on. I had decided at the beginning of the year to speak more to unity and to what can be done. I admit, it\u0026rsquo;s been difficult.\nOn that topic, something to think about. Why do the one-another passages have to be implemented? A friend pointed out to me how peculiar that phrase is. It\u0026rsquo;s like trying to implement Acts 2:40. Do we implement saving ourselves from this corrupt generation? A better example might be Ephesians 4:2, how do you implement complete humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance? It is possible to put into practice a methodology to fulfill this passage? This isn\u0026rsquo;t saying that discipleship is wrong, teaching younger men as counseled in Titus should be implemented. When it comes to some one-another passages, it seems like we are trying to implement the Holy Spirit into the lives of Christians by human means. (Galatians 3:3)\nMore on the way.\n","date":"30 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-30-return-to-the-semicube/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Return to the Semicube","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had to take the last days of vacation before the end of the year (Aug - Jul for employees). So, I am off today, tomorrow, and Friday. Saturday, we are going to a seminar about breastfeeding in Lincoln. Sunday is our quarterly service in Lincoln, but because it is outside and scheduled to be really hot, we are staying in town. Right now, we are going to Southwest, but that may change to a friend of my wife\u0026rsquo;s church.\nSo, no editing duties for me :) , but I do have half a day to myself at home. This, of course, means writing time for most of it.\nQuick Answer to a Question by Milly\nSo, Milly, the short answer to the question, \u0026ldquo;Why won\u0026rsquo;t you like the next Awakening?\u0026rdquo; is this: I won\u0026rsquo;t like it because I believe that instant Bible Knowledge will be a substitute for real Biblical insight. Scott has linked to Biblemap.orgon his site. This is a great tool that I think is a precursor to some of the Bible scholarship that is to come. Getting a sense of the distances involved between location can provide some insight, plus it helps visual learner form context around the Biblical story. However, knowing where Jesus\u0026rsquo; miracles took place is not the same as understanding the significance of those miracles. (This is almost the same idea that appears in Phillip Yancey\u0026rsquo;s The Jesus I Never Knew)\n","date":"25 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-25-on-vacation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"On Vacation","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m in the process of changing my links. One category will be RM Unity. The links so far are:\nhttp://www.restorationunity.com http://www.poeministries.org http://www.connect4change.net/cms/index.php http://www.disciple-heritage.org http://lmouser.wordpress.com http://oneinjesus.info/\nAlan will be in a category of people I know, which I understand is odd as I\u0026rsquo;ve never met him in person. Gregg, an associate editor of connect4change that I see every week, will have that website in this category. Chalk it up to one of the mysteries of life, the belief that some things are truly unknowable and unclassifiable, or the random mind of yours truly.\nAs a side note: I haven\u0026rsquo;t forgotten about the next big thing. It will be written at some point. In the meantime, two ideas for thought:\nall information is becoming miscellaneous the next generation favors texting over email The first sounds odd at first. Basically, the internet community continues to focus on bringing a totally customized experience bringing you just the information that you want. The community offers this to every individual, no matter how different the information may be to that individual. In this context, that\u0026rsquo;s why all information is miscellaneous. Think about it.\nThe second deals with how communication changes. When communication changes, so does the experience of the Christian faith.\n","date":"24 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-24-all-in-one-place/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"All in One Place","type":"posts"},{"content":"Normally, I\u0026rsquo;m not the type of card carrying English major to correct mistakes, but I couldn\u0026rsquo;t resist this little correction.\nLiterary Illusions\nTurns out that I didn\u0026rsquo;t buy the book at all. My wife wants to wait for a better time to read it. So, no trip to the airport. (Turns out the grocery store had copies at $20.99.) All the critical stuff has been spoiled for me already.\n","date":"24 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-24-im-in-reuters/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I'm in Reuters","type":"posts"},{"content":"In the spirit of Restoration Movement Unity, here\u0026rsquo;s those with an ICoC background reaching out to other parts of the RM.\nwww.connect4change.net\nSince they are looking for church culture articles, I figure folks I know would feel free to contribute. More later\n","date":"23 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-23-heads-up/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Heads Up","type":"posts"},{"content":"Wanted to see if the interface was any better.\nSo far, the jury is out. It makes me define a font face when I don\u0026rsquo;t want to do that.\nAargh!\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"20 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-20-flock-09-released/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Flock 0.9 released","type":"posts"},{"content":"Part two. Yes, Mark, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it will necessarily be a good thing, either. Like I said, I probably won\u0026rsquo;t like it as much as it gives me hope for something new.\nA Denomination Will Not Fix All Our Problems\nAt this point in America, a denomination means very little. There was a time when being a part of a specific group helped others know what you personally believed and practiced. A person was a Methodist, a Baptist, a Congregationalist, or any of a number of other things. It’s not that a person would believe that their group was the only one to correctly interpret the Bible as much as a reflection of how a person understood Christianity and how they practiced it. Over time, however, a recurring problem arises from a denominational name: history. The teachings and practices may change over time without any guarantee that other Christians or even others in the community are aware of those changes.\nAt this point in time, the easiest way to escape a problematic history is to make up a name. Max Lucado did this with the Oak Hills Church of Christ, now the Oak Hills Church. Most of the largest churches in America have no obvious ties to a denomination. Even Kip McKean has done this twice in an effort to escape an inconvenient history.\nDenominations as Christian Identity also present other problems. A person can be a member of a denomination, yet have different beliefs from the ‘official’ doctrine. Official is in quotes because there are churches that claim to have no creed, but the official beliefs become obvious over time. Being an unwritten creed only means it doesn’t exist on paper, it does not mean that the creed does not exist. Its like wind, you can’t really see it, but you can see the force it exerts on its environment. (I’m sure some folks on the Gulf Coast would love to know the secret of making storms disappear by claiming that wind doesn’t exist.)\nHistorically, it appears that when the church’s doctrine conflicted past the point of comfort, one answer was to form a new denomination. It can be a way for Christians to represent themselves as different from one another without necessarily rehashing those disagreements. (This isn’t always true in more recent history. The Philadelphia Church of God split from the Worldwide Church of God when the WCG stopped publishing their founder’s books. The PCG sued the WCG for the rights to those books and won. Years later, the PCG still defines itself by the perceived evils of the WCG leaders.) Forming a new denomination is also a way for individual Christians to become comfortable with what the new denomination holds as doctrine. This is pretty common. In fact, there are thousands of denominations in the US and Canada. The differences between many are subtle, while others differ wildly. Another answer for differing with your denomination was to influence the decision makers of that denomination to change the beliefs of that denomination. Like any other political office, those that manage a denomination have power over its members. To change the course of a denomination, a member must convince a decision maker with some measure of power. Some members may even choose to run for such an office in order to create change for the entire denomination.\nThese days, though, members usually choose to do nothing. In the American spirit of individualism, the beliefs of the denomination are not seen as important to individual faith. For example, the denomination may teach that speaking in tongues ceased in Early Christianity, but individual members may still believe this as a matter of personal faith. The denomination is seen more as a social function than a source of identity. In other words, a person tends to attend service with people they know. Depending on the church and how they enforce their doctrines, any two members may believe very similar things or in wildly different things. In addition to this, various parachurch organizations exist for more specific causes. These parachurch groups may do more to shape identity than the denomination because church affiliation is secondary to the primary purpose of these groups. A person may identify themselves as a member of Habitat for Humanity much more than a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Rick Warren will tell you that he renamed the church in order to make it more seeker-friendly. Even if history isn’t a problem, it doesn’t appear that folks are interested in a typical name. Names like Community Church, Family Church, House of Prayer, Church of New Beginnings in Christ, Servants’ Quarters Fellowship, etc. appear in an effort to put a meaningful name to a given congregation.\nAll of this moves away from the original point – a denomination will not usher in a new awakening. Denominations are no longer the source of a believers identity. When something new comes, it will, by definition cross denominational lines. In all likelihood, it will be more identified with as a parachurch organization than anything else. I do not believe that crossing denominational lines will make the new awakening more noble or more unified. In fact, as I’ll mention later, I think that members of the new awakening will have more experiences in common than doctrines or practices. Watching the group interact with itself may even appear to be vicious and unloving at times. Whereas parachurch organizations form around a specific cause, the new awakening will tend to form around a specific set of experiences. Denominations tend to form around common beliefs and practices. As such, they are not quick to interact with those of different denominations that share a common experience. This leads me to believe that an individual denomination (or a set of closely related ones) will not be able to implement something new.\nRestoration Movement is Not the Answer\nAlong the same lines as mentioned above, I do not believe that branches of the Restoration Movement, or even efforts for RM Unity will create national revival. One major factor in this is our narrow scope of issues. Most of Restoration Movement differences are actually matters of practices masquerading as doctrinal matters. In many ways, we in the RM have more in common with each other than other similar denominations.\nTo folks outside RM history, so many of our own issues appear trivial. It is remarkable, in a bad way, to many that we had splits over things such as instruments, kitchens, number of cups in communion, and more. In our pragmatic society, even the issue of silence is strange. The common response is, “why limit yourself?”. The answer, of course, usually involves a 15 week correspondence course complete with explanations of early church history, true bibilical interpretation, the Kingdom of God, and baptism. To the post-modern mind, this is overthought, overraught, and overshot. In other words, it takes too long to explain unnecessary details, it goes to far to explain the concept well, and the method of the answer usually answers more than what was asked. I used to personally believe that this was an issue of people’s short attention span. However, as I’ve spoken to people outside the RM, the issue of silence has become more and more peculiar in light of the sheer volume of effort and paper dedicated to an issue that doesn’t really exist to the rest of Christendom.\nI think we in the RM are seen as pedantic. We scrutinize the most subtle aspects of mood and tense of the ‘original greek’, but tend to forbid such scrutiny of our own practices and beliefs. Saying that baptism is not the only thing that saves you is akin to blasphemy and usually met with vitriol at the very notion of such an idea. (And Dan Endelen thinks that only Calvinists are so consumed with being right.) Quoting Ephesians 2:8-9 is met with yet another correspondence course to work through church history, true biblical interpretation, the Kingdom of God, and baptism.\nI love the RM and what it has done for me, personally. I really do. I don’t say any of this casually. I would love for the RM to lead the way to a new era of Biblical study and research. I would love to see s lectureship fill Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. However, we in the RM are a group of related denominations. If no other denomination is going to lead this revival, we won’t either. I do not believe we are any better equipped to address shared experiences than any other denomination.\nWhat our Children Are Doing Now\nThe common elements in many children’s lives are very different than previous generations. My generation had computers at home, I had my first one at age 8. But what this generation has that mine did not was the Internet. The effect of this change is deeper than just blogs and MySpace. How relationships are formed and maintained is very different. How groups of teens and young adults identify themselves is also very different. More importantly, seeing their reaction to the Information Age demonstrates some trends that will certainly affect future spirituality. While not an exhaustive list, here are some items of note:\nMashups are providing insight by comparing two or more seemingly different sources of data. There may be very little understanding of each source of data independently, but the combination of the two or more sources leads to new directions.\nPhysical location is becoming less important in many aspects of life. Folks have casual friends in other countries that share the common experience of playing Halo 2 on the same team. It’s not just games that provide common experiences, though. Some common experiences come from online communities. More than that, with MySpace and YouTube, people are sharing their lives to anyone that cares to comment. With enough positive feedback, ad hoc communities form around a single page or video or picture.\nLet’s look at lack of physical location another way. When I go into a store for a list of 10 things, I have to walk around the store and find those 10 items. All the thousands of other items are physically hiding or obscuring the 10 items I want. (Otherwise, I’d walk in and all 10 items would be on a shelf together at the entryway of the store.) The Internet experience, however, allows for all the other items to be filtered out so that I am presented with just the 10 I want. I don’t have to navigate a store set up that everyone experiences, I have my own custom experience to get what I want.\nCommunication is possible with more than one person at a time. Despite feeling that this may be a bad thing, it doesn’t change the trend that the younger crowd is comfortable with being the hub of a mass communication network. I’ve seen one person simultaneously talk on the phone and hold 12 different IM conversations. The phone call was a four-way conversation. Some of the 12 different IM windows had other talking to each other. Drawing all the connections on a map would look like a web (or more aptly, an integrated circuit).\nThere is a reaction forming to the overstimulation in our society. As strange as this may sound compared to the 16 way communication described earlier, I’ve seen more and more young people look for ways to disconnect.\nThe next generation doesn’t see the world getting smaller, they already understand that the world is vastly interconnected. They are more surprised that remote areas exist, not that it is possible to get an internet connection on Mount Everest. (Of course you can connect to the Internet on Mt. Everest, why wouldn’t you? What I can’t believe is that there’s no hi-speed connection in the western part of the state.) One of the effects of this perspective is that upon meeting a stranger, there are many connections that are automatically assumed to exist.\nAs always, more later.\n","date":"18 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-18-something-new-too/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something New, Too","type":"posts"},{"content":"Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s me, but something about people dressed up as characters as a book sitting in line at a bookstore for hours is unnerving. (I know, I know. Been to Rocky Horror when I was a college student. Went to Interactive Holy Grail showings. Dressed up as a blue crayon for Halloween. It\u0026rsquo;s a paradox.) I never remember to reserve a copy, either. (My wife reads them, I watch the movies.)\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re willing to pay full price, you can do what I did for book six. I bought it at the airport. Airport bookstores don\u0026rsquo;t usually allow reservations and they most certainly will not have hundreds of people dressed up as wizards hanging around for hours. After all, who wants to pay for parking, right?\nHere in the city I live, the Quick Park is 75 cents for the first 15 minutes, the first 5 are free. I can park, get to the bookstore and leave before having to pay. If I do hesitate, then I\u0026rsquo;m only out 75 cents. Even better, I can usually get the audio book with little to no trouble.\nIf I get Slashdotted, well, it\u0026rsquo;s my fault.\n","date":"17 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-17-didnt-reserve-a-copy-of-the-final-book/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Didn't Reserve a Copy of the final book?","type":"posts"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s going to be a few of these posts. This one provides background and some of the things a new awakening is not. I wanted to end the first one differently - I wanted to start exploring what this new awakening is. That must wait for another post.\nBackground\nMy brother from another mother, Scott, is a part of a class in his church looking at the state of morality in American Christianity. They are asking such questions as \u0026ldquo;Is it declining? Is it just different? If it is in decline, when did the decline start?\u0026rdquo; This class was mentioned on the Rocky Mountain Religious Ride a couple weeks ago and I spent some time answering these questions and more.\nAs an aside, I should mention that I am prone to spoonerisms and other issues when speaking spontaneously. For that reason, I usually avoid it. Many times I hear myself and wonder,\u0026ldquo;DID I REALLY SAY THAT?\u0026rdquo; _because I am unable to hear how it sounds to the audience until I hear it later. When I do communions or lessons, I spend a lot of time rehearsing the actual lesson and what I\u0026rsquo;ll say to prevent all manner of strange utterances.\nFor example, I mentioned on one show the effect of my father on my faith. What I meant to say was that I was grateful for his influence and constant instruction. When my life gets sour, his groundwork during my earliest years provided a foundation of faith that is always there. What I actually said on the radio made it sound like my father didn\u0026rsquo;t know what he was doing and that I wished it had been done differently.\nI really am a terrible spontaneous speaker and not much better as a spontaneous writer. Editing helps make this site easier to read, but there are still issues of missing words, odd grammar, and a host of other things. I really should\u0026rsquo;ve been a math teacher - reading and writing is such a big pain for me._\nI framed my answer in the historical perspective of the Great Awakenings. These awakenings are marked times of revival and spirituality. I contend that the SecondThird Great Awakening was the last one of any great national effect. This was the one the brought about reforms in our society like caring for the mentally ill, reforming the prison system, establishing women\u0026rsquo;s rights, creating public elementary schools for children, etc. Political and social activism was on the rise and the effects are still felt today.\nWarning! History Follows On the Ride, I said the Second Awakening and in my earlier post, I repeated the error. I was confusing the Second and Third Awakenings. The Third is associated with the Social Gospel, not the Second, although the Third was built on the principles of the Second. To oversimplify it, the Third was different from the Second in that the Third Awakening dealt with issues of poverty as more of a focus. The Second Awakening was instrumental in founding the Restoration Movement family of churches (Look up Barton Stone, et. al.) The third was more about social reform through denominational groups and some parachurch organizations. Consider that the Salvation Army gained prominence during this time, as well as the YMCA. On the theoligcal front, Dwight Moody started up his activities in Chicago after the Civil War. I didn\u0026rsquo;t consider the Third for some time because this time period marked two tragic events: the Civil War and the removal of many rights established during reconstruction. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to imagine the Civil War occuring in the middle of a national revival. It\u0026rsquo;s also hard to imagine that the Holy Spirit would inspire politicians to repeal the rights of former slaves established during Reconstruction. Still it\u0026rsquo;s hard to ignore the lasting impact of Dwight Moody, settlement houses, and others. So, I\u0026rsquo;ll stick with the Third for now.\nNew Awakening\nTalking about the moral state of American Christianity sparked a connection to a great hope that I have. I call it an Awakening because it fits with the description that others use. I understand that many use it as a warning that their pet cause will one day become the norm in the rest of the Christian world. One example I\u0026rsquo;ve found says the next great awakening will redefine biblical giving because the Bible doesn\u0026rsquo;t speak about weekly contributions. Other examples seem to believe that we\u0026rsquo;re in a new awakening already. Saddleback has an article on their website asking if it\u0026rsquo;s already begun because the spiritual depth of conversations has increased. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that if I kept looking, the notions of the Next Awakening would range from the truly bizarre to the mundane. It is possible that I am a big kook for my vision of the future.\nSo be it. Basic Ideas\nMajor religious efforts now are not the foundation of some great revival. What our children are doing now will shape Christianity in the future. The Next Great Thing will be very different from what is happening now. (as an aside) I will probably not like it much when it happens. It\u0026rsquo;s Not Happening Now\nI\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned a few things that the New Awakening will not be. As I said, sometimes an idea comes by shading out what the idea isn\u0026rsquo;t. It\u0026rsquo;s a negative space way of thinking that is more inductive that deductive. Unlike some others, I start by believing that it is not happening now. Here\u0026rsquo;s some of the major trends happening now and why they\u0026rsquo;re not \u0026lsquo;it\u0026rsquo;.\nThe Megachurch Phenomenon\nSaddleback has certainly gotten the attention of many. Joel Osteen has the largest congregation in the US. The Potter\u0026rsquo;s House of TD Jakes continues to grow. Even my city has a large church of thousands and a Willow Creek type church of a couple thousand. In urban areas, there\u0026rsquo;s bound to be one or more of these large churches. Most of them have grown by thousands in recent years and promote programs for every kind of activitity.\nThey are not working well. A megachurch tends to grow only as large as the lead minister can effectively handle. Beyond that point, the church seems to plateau, and in some cases decline. The primary failure of these and likeminded churches is that they are only focused on growing one congregation. There can be all kinds of outreach programs, they can have wonderful small groups, profound teaching and instruction. Yet, it is all designed to grow just the one congregation.\nRather than plant another Lakewood, Osteen and company go on the road and broadcast on TV (Over 92% of American households can see Lakewood\u0026rsquo;s Sunday morning service). Potter\u0026rsquo;s House in Dallas (not the same of Potter\u0026rsquo;s House ministries) is only one congregation. Saddleback has a P.E.A.C.E. plan to engage communities all over the world and, of course, the Purpose Driven series of products to help a congregation, regardless of doctrine. Willow Creek has an association (not a denomination). Still, is there a Saddleback in Illinois? Is there a Potter\u0026rsquo;s House in Georiga? How about Lakewood North in New York? At least Saddleback and Willow Creek are involved in other congregations, but there\u0026rsquo;s no planting. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem sustainable over time. The Church Emerging Will Continue to Do So\nI must confess that I love listening to Brian McLaren speak. I enjoy his articles, too. Reading any of the websites from the canon of Emergent Church Leaders will provide thought-provoking content. I even understand a reluctance to say what you are by talking about what you are not. More than anything, I enjoy the non-answers to questions reminding me of so many English papers I wrote and graded over the years. It all sounds and tastes so very good. It\u0026rsquo;s like mental doughnuts. Mmmm. doughnuts.\nAt the end of the argument, though, there is only new ideas of how to do church. I know, it\u0026rsquo;s also about engaging the culture and demonstrating a new hermenuetic. (I can use larger words, too.)The books and articles sound so profound and compare interesting ideas together. However, my experience thus far with the Church Emergent, is that there is no large personal change. A Christian of any tribe becomes like the culture around them in order to speak to them. It appears to be preoccupied by how much a Christian can be a member of his or her culture and still be a Christian. I still contend that as \u0026lsquo;aliens and strangers\u0026rsquo; on this world, Christians are more members of their own culture trying to reach out to the fallen cultures around us. If the Churh Emergent had been around for any of the previous Awakenings, I do not believe they would have been agents for social change. The next awakening will involve social change. As such, that pretty much leaves this movement out of it.\nA Denomination Will Not Fix All Our Problems\nAt this point in America, a denomination means very little. There was a time when being a part of a specfic group helped others know what you personally believed. A person was a Methodist, a Baptist, a Congregationalist, or any of a number of other things. It\u0026rsquo;s not that a person would believe that their group was the only one to correctly interpret the Bible as much as a reflection of how a person understood God, Jesus, church, salvation, and other spiritual matters. Over time, however, a recurring problem arises from a denominational name: history. In this point in time, the easiest way to escape a problematic history is to make up a name. Most of the largest churches in America have no obvious ties to a denomination. Even Kip McKean has done this twice in an effort to make something new.\nRick Warren will tell you that he renamed the church in order to make it more seeker-friendly. Even if history isn\u0026rsquo;t a problem, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear that folks are interested in a typical name. Names like Community Church, Family Church, House of Prayer, Church of New Beginnings in Christ, etc.\nHate to do it, but more later\u0026hellip;.\n","date":"16 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-16-something-new-is-coming/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something New Is Coming","type":"posts"},{"content":"Depending on who you talk to, there have been anywhere between two and four Great Awakenings in the United States. I am one of those that say two, Wikipedia and others say four. I don\u0026rsquo;t tend to believe that the third and fourth count. That\u0026rsquo;s why the title says 5/3, I\u0026rsquo;m not really interested in determining the numbers of Great Awakenings in the US.\nStill, as I had mentioned on the Rocky Mountain Religious Ride, I believe that a new awakening of Christians will come soon. What does that mean? I think it means a time when many in the US will be looking to God and freely talking about Him in our day to day lives. I do not believe it will be some golden age of prosperity for the US, but a great time for Christianity. I believe many will come to know Him in a meaningful way and act on the faith they receive.\nMore tomorrow when I have time. Before I go, though, here are a few things that I believe that this great awakening is NOT:\nIt is not the megachurches movement. It will not come as a result of the Church of the English Majors (aka Emergent Church) It will not come from the Restoration Movement or the churches of Christ as they exist now. It will not be the rise of a denomination or a group of denominations. It will not be the resurgence of the house church movement.\nIt will involve technology somehow. It will be honest and straightforward. It will not rely on the historical framework for hermeneutics as mentioned in Reading the Bible for All Its Worth. It will be a different hermeneutic altogether. It will show up as quickly as YouTube did. Our children are going to love it.\nMore later.\n","date":"14 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-14-the-53-awakening/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The 5/3 Awakening","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, I was tagged by Salguod for a meme about eight things you may not know about me.\nProblem is, I generally withhold information for the sake of continued employment and to protect certain folks. Lots of stuff from childhood and really obscure stuff. Here goes:\nI flunked out of college twice. I took classes at three different places, but only flunked out of NCSU. (I did not finish at NCCU or College of the Albemarle.) I wrote science fiction stories when I was a kid. My favorite was one where it turns out that Mars is the location of Heaven. (I wrote it at age 11.) I did computer projects for the science fair my last two years of high school. Both of the programs failed on science fair day because they would not load from the cassette tape. In college, a friend of mine and I managed to get fired from both school newspapers. My favorite articles were Budget Cuts (due to budget cuts, we could only use 35 vowels.) and Running for President (We combined our ages and ran for president as a symbiotic being. Our VP was a symbiont including a man that had a perfect score on the logic section of the LSAT.) In response, we started our own. I wrote an article on how to win a five dollar bet by cooking hamburgers on a coffee pot. I registered as a Republican in North Carolina in order to vote against George Bush, Sr twice. (Once in the primary where I voted for Alan Keyes, and once in the general election where I voted for Clinton.) I have had a street preacher stop their message and use me as a centerpiece of his message that the church I attended at the time was evil and godless. (Years later when I served on jury duty, he was preaching outside the county courthouse. He recognized me, stopped handing out tracts and left.) My friends and I once had a marathon D\u0026amp;D session lasting 36 hours. Near the end, the phrase \u0026ldquo;Grey furry giant\u0026rdquo; was inserted in front of every creature encountered. (Grey furry giant snake, grey furry giant kobold, grey furry giant banjo\u0026hellip;) My wife and I\u0026rsquo;s wedding bands were purchased at a Renaissance Festival. She designed her own engagement ring, which she calls her \u0026lsquo;promise ring\u0026rsquo; because I had to actually propose with an eBay fake diamond ring from British Columbia. Okay, I tag Scott and Aaron.\n","date":"10 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-10-eight-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eight Things","type":"posts"},{"content":"The church I attend recently held a Vacation Bible School with an a Church of Christ in town. The key here is that they organized it and we showed up to help. It is important for two reasons; we are actively reaching out to other Christians in town and we let them run the show. We were volunteers, not organizers.\nWe mentioned each other in positive ways in our sermons. The youth minister blogged about it. And we wrote about it on our website.\nThis effort has yielded more immediate effects than our previous ones, but is just as significant. I hope that we do more things like this with Southwest.\n","date":"2 July 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-07-02-local-unity/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Local Unity","type":"posts"},{"content":"Pinakidion.* is a repository of all the things that interest me. In a style similar to Slashdot, there are several different subdomains, each one focused on one specific interest. All the posts from the other sites feed into this one, so that you do not have to visit all the different sites (or subscribe to all the RSS Feeds) to get updates. This network of sites serves as a sort of writing tablet for my thoughts. The internet is pretty easy to access these days, so jotting down ideas on a particular website is straightforward.\nBefore describing the various other websites, I should let you know a few things up front.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t apologize for intentional posts. I will discuss the content and even revise the content. I will apologize to any person involved and make amends as I see fit. But I won\u0026rsquo;t apologize for posting in the first place. I discuss things and folks find me pretty amenable. I don\u0026rsquo;t delete comments I don\u0026rsquo;t like. I won\u0026rsquo;t even delete a comment where I am called derogatory names. The website has a profanity filter, so a nasty comment may look odd, but it\u0026rsquo;s not me editing the comment. I believe in some things very strongly. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean that I am not willing to learn from anyone. Please do not mistake my sometimes strong presentation as an unwillingness to discuss anything. Anything at all. From left to right, beneath the header, the sites feeding here are: Dira - The world of Dira is a role-playing fantasy setting loosely based on the Roman Empire. Lenga, a different setting is based on this world 500 years after the events in Dira.\nD/I - The dev/irregulars site is for news that matters to Geeks. Feel free to comment or post, it\u0026rsquo;s under construction but has fun things.\nSycarion - Sycarion Diversions is home to anything games. This can be card games or board games, but especially focuses on role-playing games. A major project ongoing there is Lenga, a generic fantasy setting for the Action!-System rules.\nMy Family - A site for my wife and I to write about family, write poetry, or say just about anything.\nComputer Biz - My associate(mrtool) and I have done some computer work and used this name. Our original concept was to manufacture a self-repairing workstation for use in rental properties that offer internet service. This has changed to a site holding data for Omaha Linux, a derivative of Absolute Linux. The content doesn\u0026rsquo;t change much, but the Slackware compatible packages created appear on the Absolute forums.\nStudy Hall - This site was created for a friend and I to study the Bible together. Emails became more useful. However, I intend to publish a few expositions of various books of the Bible there.\nPrairiecomber - The Prairie Comber will hold my writing efforts including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. For now, a lot of the material is very old (and it shows!). As I get more serious about writing, it will contain more stories and poems.\nFor My Son - This site hold information about parenting hard of hearing children. As we are sorting through the wealth of information we have, I hope to post it here.\nReligion - COMING SOON!\nAll comments are welcome. See you around the site.\n","date":"29 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2007-06-29-version3/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"About (old site)","type":"pages"},{"content":"Yes, the site looks different. It is different, too.\nBesides the new theme is an upgrade to the latest release version of Wordpress. The other major thing that is different is that all the other Wordpress based sites (PrairieComber, Sycarion, etc.) feed into the posts here. In other words, when a post appears on Sycarion, it will also appear here. (It\u0026rsquo;s like Slashdot in a way. Each subdomain has its own theme, but the repository for all of them is here.\nComing soon, the site that deals with philosophy, the ICOC, and all things weird (like lolcats) will move to religion.pinakidion.org. No need to change the bookmarks as all the posts there will appear here. Clicking on the post title will take you to the religion site, in case you don\u0026rsquo;t particularly want to see posts about Lenga.\nI put quick tags on the comments for easier link creation. I tried to implement threaded comments as well, but they are not working.\nEnjoy!\n","date":"29 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-29-version3-changes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"version3 changes","type":"posts"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s a good discussion about a few posts down about change in the ICOC and other things. Unforunately, I keep getting sidetracked into something funny or just a complete lack of time to put words to paper. One big distraction has been the discovery of lolcats.\nThis has led to loltheologians, lolkip, lolmarty, and a host of others.\nSo, in a vain attempt to get back on track, I\u0026rsquo;m putting this placeholder here for all lol stuff. All links, pictures, ideas, etc. go here. Comment away. If the picture upload doesn\u0026rsquo;t work, email me at pinakidion @t gmail daht com\nSo to start off, my second favorite picture\nand third and fourth\nWebsites I now cannot tear myself away from:\nI Can Has Cheezburger?\nlolcats2\nBut I am not as crazy as wanting to program lolcode\nI can\u0026rsquo;t link to my favorite picture until I get home.\nFor now, here\u0026rsquo;s my entry: Blogged with Flock\n","date":"21 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-21-i-can-has-fun/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I can has fun?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Note: Alan, you\u0026rsquo;re ahead of me. I\u0026rsquo;ll get there, I promise.\nI know, here comes the Apologists out of the woodworks. I guess I am bringing it on myself.\nThere is generally some excitement from friends I know that one apologist or another is having a debate with some Smart Evil Atheist. We hope for something like this exchange based on an urban legend that Albert Einstein delivered these arguments to a professor. It seems so slam-dunk and the end of the story is the conversion of the evil professor.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t ever witnessed such a thing.\nMost theological debates I see start with each person presenting their side, then each person redefines certain key words used by their opponents, then repeat themselves until the time is up. Folks vote on \u0026lsquo;who won\u0026rsquo;. Usually the Christian debater claims some sort of victory and the SEA goes back to teaching at a university somewhere.\nIf debate truly did anything, I would be a hindu today. Swami Vivekananda addresses the World Councils of Religion in the 1890s and basically lays down the argument that Christianity and Islam gain prosperity by subjugation and war. By the end of the council in Chicago, he was receiving three minute standing ovations. (Yeah, I listen to Ravi Zacharias sometimes.)\nBack to the point, though. Some friends of mine are excited about an upcoming seminar featuring a debate and talks on Intelligent Design. My friends think it is quite odd that I do not agree with many of their arguments pointing to ID. I\u0026rsquo;ve been called anti-Christian because I point out logical issues with their presentation. It usually ends with the question, If you don\u0026rsquo;t believe in ID, why do you believe at all?\nThat comes later, first, why I wrote this in the first place. Here are two statements I believe are true:\n* The anthropic principle does not prove the existence of God. * ID is based more in passion than in reason.\nFirst, the anthropic principle which states that the fundamental constants of the universe have set values they have because this is what is required for advanced forms of life. The line of reasoning then moves into the finely tuned universe and other neat vocabulary terms. Ultimately, though, it comes down to the belief that the odds of the universe existing this way without a creator is so astronomically low that it is laughable to conceive.\nWhat I point out to my friends is that this is the prosecutor\u0026rsquo;s fallacy. Basically, the statement that the odds are almost impossible that the universe arrived at its present state by natural selection is meaningless. The only way that this statement has meaning is if we know the odds that the universe exists this way because of a creator. You may believe that the odds are 1:1 that God is the reason that certain universal constants are what they are, but you are trying to prove that by saying that the alternative is extremely unlikely. The odds of both have to be established independently before making comparisons.\nSuppose a family has two children die upon reaching the age of 10 weeks old. What are the odds that both deaths are due to SIDS? You could say that one in 8.5 million that a child would die from SIDS at 10 weeks. I could say that the odds that both dying this way are on in 72.25 million. Surely, something sinister is afoot right? Well, I could also say that only one murder in 10 million is of an infant child. That would makes the odds of murder one in 100 million. Does it support SIDS as the cause because it is most likely? Does it point to a middle option?\nNo, the odds of either one happening are extremely low, but one of them happened. The solution is that evidence presented must be weighed against the fact that both events are extremely unlikely. In other words, I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have an idea of innocence or guilt based on the odds. (See Sally Clark case)\nA good illustration of this that is less grisly than the Sally Ride case is this. Suppose you have 1000 balls in a really large bowl. Some are wooden and some are plastic. We know that all the wooden balls are white. We know that 10% of the plastic balls are white, the other plastic balls are red. Given those facts, I pull out a white ball - what are the odds that it is made of wood?\nFirst time I read this illustration, I said 90%. I said that to myself because I figure that 90% of all the white balls are wooden. The problem is I do not know how many wooden balls are in the bowl. I could have 10 wood balls and 990 plastic ones. That would mean that the entire bowl has 109 white balls of which 10 are made of wood. That means most of the white balls are actually made of plastic!\nOk, so you don\u0026rsquo;t like the anthropic principle. Now what? When I think of ID, I actually like the idea of irreducible complexity. Unfortunately, it is less defensible than the anthropic principle. How did the eye evolve? Even Darwin wondered at this. Yet, not knowing how it evolved is not equal to it cannot have evolved. A person cannot present an argument based on ignorance.\nIs science, therefore evil? I tend to agree with St. Augustine (I think, trying to find the quote) that a Christian should learn as much about the universe as possible in order to learn about God. I believe that we have been given the tools to examine the universe and we create more sophisticated tools as time goes on. I also believe that preconceived notions are more evil than fine sounding arguments. When mankind discovered that the earth, in fact, revolves around the sun, there should have been no religious reaction. Yet, men were made to confess errors in their science and declared heretics if they did not. I feel that in many ways, ID and other attempts to put God in a box sets up the Christian and non-Christian alike to be denounced as heretics on matters in which the Bible is silent.\nI can read Isaiah 40:22 and believe that God inspired Isaiah to write that the earth was round when the rest of the world believed the world was flat. Then again, the world can be round and flat at the same time. Besides, focusing on the shape of the earth removes the point of the series of chapters (40-42) that speak of the coming messiah. Did the Hebrew reader in Isaiah\u0026rsquo;s time really think to himself that now he knows the earth is round? When I speak of the silence of the Bible, I\u0026rsquo;m talking about things like the dinosaurs, and exactly how God formed DNA, and other stuff like that. The Bible doesn\u0026rsquo;t speak about the process of building proteins, nor does it address photosynthesis in plants. But both are marvelous things. I believe in a creator, and thus I regard them as remarkable creations.\nAgain, I believe in God. I believe he created the universe. I do not look out at the world and see mathematical equations scrolling down a la The Matrix. I see the wonder of a cloud, shaped by the wind. I wonder at the veins in a leaf. I marvel at the stars and the unattainable idea of the sheer size of it all. I marvel that the so-called laws of the universe are very different on the quantum level. (I think it\u0026rsquo;s fun that we give quarks names like \u0026lsquo;strange\u0026rsquo;.)\nWhat makes things difficult for thinkers is that our current understanding of God is based on a deterministic approach. In other words, if I can determine a foundational fact, the rest can be built atop this foundation until we have a solid understanding of God. Quantum mechanics presents an issue in that the universe is probabilistic. Because of the uncertainty principle, we can know a particle\u0026rsquo;s position or velocity, but not both. When the position of a particle is measured, it affects the velocity, which includes direction, of that particle and vice versa. As such, once we know a particle\u0026rsquo;s position, we no longer know for certain where it is going. Einstein hated this notion of fuzziness, so he challenged a colleague with an experiment in an effort to remove any idea of probability and fuzziness. Einstein found himself the loser of this challenge to which he replied, \u0026ldquo;God doesn\u0026rsquo;t play dice.\u0026rdquo; His colleague replied, \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t tell God what to do!\u0026rdquo;\nWe love to tell God what to do. If we can get him in a box, we can find ways to manipulate Him, or trap Him in His own words, or force God to \u0026lsquo;rule\u0026rsquo; in our favor. In many ways, I see ID this way. We want the Earth to be young because Genesis can then be read literally. We want science to point to a creator, even if we have to invent the science, so that we can somehow justify our faith as something more than superstition. Hey, I\u0026rsquo;m guilty of this as well. You know how many times I have demanded God to heal my children, bless my wife, provide money, \u0026lsquo;fix\u0026rsquo; the ICOC, \u0026lsquo;fix\u0026rsquo; me, \u0026lsquo;fix\u0026rsquo; ________ ? I tried to back God into a corner and make his do something because of a promise that I read into a passage. It\u0026rsquo;s easy for me to imagine that in trying to understand Him, that I put him in similar corners as well.\nGod has indeed done many of the things I have asked, but he is larger than my attempts to hem Him in. He has come through in ways that I never would have imagined. My faith is renewed, often times because He has done the opposite of what I asked. There\u0026rsquo;s a story about the kanji for change is danger + opportunity that fits here. That\u0026rsquo;s another column for another time.\nDoes a universe that appears random and probabilistic mean that God is not there? I\u0026rsquo;m sure it looks that way - it looks that way to me sometimes. In light of the anthropic principle and the uncertainty principle there are reasonable ideas that are still compatible with my faith. I want my faith to be reasonable, but not at the expense of creating a new branch of science to do so. God has to be big enough that I do not need to do his work for Him. It\u0026rsquo;s true that I have reason to believe because of what I read in the Bible. Ultimately, it is the source of my faith, after all faith comes from hearing the message (Romans 10:17). I did not come to faith because of empirical reasoning (though some do) or because I looked at the universe and sought to disprove Him (though some have tried). I came to faith because I believed what the Bible says. Any discussion of the nature of God is going to lead back to this point.\nNow some I know may think that my trust of this book is silly. I can talk about the canonization and how the Bible came to be. I can even admit that it is easier to believe in some ways that the Quran or the Book of Mormon are easier to deal with because they each have only one author. Some are amazed at the textual consistency of the Bible. Some are amazed that the New Testament can be largely reconstructed from extrabiblical quotations, even if he had no text today. For others like me, though, all of this is just neat stuff to store away from a possible appearance on Jeopardy. I came to know God by putting his words into practice in my life. God addresses life, how to live, how to be , how to love, etc. All of these things deal with the world as I experience it, not the theoretical world as it may or may not be. Belief in God, for me, is made up, in part, of the practice of God. And the practice of God is not a cosmological issue.\nBut I do have an answer for folks that may bring up these scientific ideas as demonstrated the existence or lack of existence of God. It is reasonable enough and logical enough, even if not universally accepted. (What ideas are universally accepted?) As far as the anthropic principle, I believe in a multiverse made up of universes where the fundamental constants are all different from each other. Our universe has billions of observers, others may have none, more, or less observers. The condition for life as we know it have a very narrow threshold. I would guess that some of these universes contain life as we do not know it. Some probably do have life as we know it. The anthropic principle may not point to God, but my belief in God leads me to wonder at his great power. I am one person in a large universe amongst an infinite set of other universes. He cares about me.\nWhen it comes to quantum mechanics and living in a probablistic universe, I again point to a multiverse model suggested by Hugh Everett. I can\u0026rsquo;t explain it any better than Wikipedia:\nThe Everett many-worlds interpretation, formulated in 1956, holds that all the possibilities described by quantum theory simultaneously occur in a \u0026ldquo;multiverse\u0026rdquo; composed of mostly independent parallel universes. This is not accomplished by introducing some new axiom to quantum mechanics, but on the contrary by removing the axiom of the collapse of the wave packet: All the possible consistent states of the measured system and the measuring apparatus (including the observer) are present in a real physical (not just formally mathematical, as in other interpretations) quantum superposition. (Such a superposition of consistent state combinations of different systems is called an entangled state.) While the multiverse is deterministic, we perceive non-deterministic behavior governed by probabilities, because we can observe only the universe, i.e. the consistent state contribution to the mentioned superposition, we inhabit. Everett\u0026rsquo;s interpretation is perfectly consistent with John Bell\u0026rsquo;s experiments and makes them intuitively understandable. However, according to the theory of quantum decoherence, the parallel universes will never be accessible for us, making them physically meaningless.\nWikipedia article on Quantum Mechanics\nIn English, we see things that look like they are uncertain. They really aren\u0026rsquo;t in the scope of existence, but our perspective is limited. One of the main reasons I believe this from a religious standpoint, is that it does allow us to understand God as certain, not uncertain. We see him an uncertain and random because His action don\u0026rsquo;t make sense to us. Just because we see him this way, does not make him this way.\nIt also leads me to see God as outside probability. Of course he knows what\u0026rsquo;s going to happen, he knows what every possible outcome looks like. More than that, when God, who is able to embrace all probabilities speaks to us, his voice cannot be limited like ours. He has total perspective. It would be good to listen to one with infinite perspective on things.\nThe cosmology of what I believe is reasonable, but not modern or widely believed. Still, my goal is not to have the right answer in these matters. My goal is to discover how what I know about God and what I know about science work together. Sometimes I change my view on God (my view is that He is much much bigger than I previously thought). Sometimes it changes my view on science (there are truly unknowable things and we can prove that they are unknowable.) Either way, it\u0026rsquo;s important to me to see God and His possibilities. Trying to put a box around him turns him into an idol that I can control and manipulate.\nI know this is not so well formed. It\u0026rsquo;s an idea that was rattling around in my head until I wrote it down. Maybe I can work out the details later, there\u0026rsquo;s a few loose ends.\n","date":"21 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-21-intelligent-design/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intelligent Design (Updated 6-22)","type":"posts"},{"content":"So you decide to do paper-rock-scissors to see who sits in the front seat. You are an uber-geek and you use your fingers all day to write out those TPS reports. Can they be risked over something as silly as riding shotgun?\nNever fear, Electronic RPS is here. At Prankplace.com, you too can purchase this mighty conflict resolution device.\nThere is no word if there will be an RPS-7, RPS-25, or RPS-101 versions.\nNOTE: I didn\u0026rsquo;t link to prankplace because of other items offered that may be considered distasteful. Go there at your own risk.\n","date":"15 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-15-gadget-saves-the-universe/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gadget Saves the Universe","type":"posts"},{"content":"I like NASCAR and I like little E. I never rooted for his father, but something about Jr is a lot of the good things in NASCAR.\nI do not like Jeff Gordon. In some ways, I think he represents a lot of the not-so-good in the future of NASCAR.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a good chance that they\u0026rsquo;ll be teammates, and that is not so fun.\nWill DEI just give him what he wants? Please? Pretty please with sugar on top?\n","date":"13 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-13-from-nascar/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"From NASCAR","type":"posts"},{"content":"What does criticism of our recent history have to do with the cross? Probably closer to the intent of the question would be, How can you say such negative things at the foot of the cross?\nOn Earth, Jesus did not bring glory upon himself, yet submitted to his calling from God. During his life on Earth, he learned obedience to God through his sufferings. Through his refinement, he was able to become the source of salvation for all that obey him. (Hebrews 5:4-8)\nIn one sacrifice on the cross for all time, the penalty for sin was paid in full. A priest no longer had to offer sacrifices to cover the sin of the people, Jesus provided atonement once for all. (Hebrews 9:24-28) The connection between God and man was no longer through a caste of men serving as go-betweens, Jesus is our mediator. (Hebrews 9:15) Because of his blood, we can approach the throne of God with confidence. (Hebrews 10:19)\nWhen he rose from death, he demonstrated the working of God’s mighty strength. Jesus did not just overcome sin, but death itself. (Ephesian 1:18-21) Once, we were dead in our sin and in our desires of the flesh. Now, we have also been raised from our spiritual death to demonstrate the working of God’s strength in our lives. (Ephesians 2:4-7) It is God’s grace and our faith that saves (Ephesians 2:8) not any work of any man or priest. It is not even by our own strength we are redeemed.\nAs this is what Jesus’ death and resurrection represent to me, now the present criticism can be addressed.\nIt is true that we have addressed our former leader. He had to be first in all things, even harming congregations and carelessly disrupting lives in order to be first. Instead of submitting to God’s call for him, he sought to bring glory and honor only to himself. Anyone that has tried to help him address his sin has been eventually rebuffed. Those that attempted to help him individually includes Sam Laing (RTR 3), Steve Staten, Al Baird, Bruce Williams, and Doug Arthur. I’m certain there were others who’s efforts were never made public.\nIn the end, a collection of his friends even publicly warned him, but to no avail. He was put aside as he should have been. I was upset that such action wasn’t taken much sooner. With all the warnings and rebukes from the pulpit to avoid sentimentality in regards to sin, it felt hypocritical that leaders used the excuse of grace to mask their own personal feelings for their friend, Kip. In retrospect, this may have been the first warning sign that our old paradigms were in great need of change.\nYet, even in the repudiation of our founder and leader, there was no call to repent of our errant theology. We focused on the man without addressing his message. We cast him out without considering the implications of the teachings we held dear in order to fulfill his vision. While calling over and over for Kip to repent, we avoided looking at ourselves and striving for our own repentance as well.\nHis reaction to continued rebukes was worldly sorrow and superficial change. Our reaction was little different, and this is the difficulty that I continually address. When I look at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, I see the importance of repenting from deeds that lead to death (Heb 5:44) and allowing the strength of God to work in our lives. It is important to address areas where there has been no repentance and where our own agendas replace the Holy Spirit.\nI cannot speak to all churches and situations, but I can speak to what is spoken in public. From what some leaders are saying publicly, it is clear that we, as a denomination, have not repented and we, as a denomination, have little interest in doing so. Order, pleasantness, and silence have become idols to which we sacrifice justice and mercy. As a recent example demonstrates, we are still rebuking those we consider weak instead of bearing with them as Paul encourages us in Romans 15. It appears we have no tolerance for those that do not catch ‘the vision’, and so their needs are seen as a burden to be cast aside.\nIn general, we have not addressed areas of our theology that are opposed to God. We have sidestepped looking at our practices that harm others. We used John 8 to chastise other denominations for their devotion to ‘strange practices’, yet we hold unswervingly to our own traditions without the slightest examination. There are many areas that are in dire need of examination, salvation and discipleship are two of them.\nSalvation We have taught directly and indirectly that our denomination pointed the way to Heaven. We paid lip service to the possibility of believers in other churches, but qualified that to say that we had not met anyone outside our group that was saved. The root of this errant doctrine was our own formula for salvation. From our heritage, we were taught Hear + Believe + Repent + Baptism = Salvation. We added something between Repent and Baptism because of Kip. As he says in RTR1, I taught that to be baptized, you must first make the decision to be a disciple and then be baptized. Even now without Kip, some of us are still adding things between Repent and Baptism. Phrases such as have the heart of a disciple or demonstrate repentance or attend every meeting for two weeks are still taught. The danger is this additional phrases is that we determine what they mean. When we add these things to salvation, we become the gatekeepers for whom enters Heaven and whom does not. (Only Peter had that kind of authority!)\nThe intent in adding these phrases is noble, we desire new Christians to be successful in their walk with God. However, it is the Holy Spirit that enables us to overcome sin. Should a person have salvation (and the Holy Spirit) withheld from them in order to overcome sin? Do we really make people overcome sin by human effort when it is so difficult even with the Holy Spirit within us? Besides, even our Savior tells us in the parable of the soils that many who hear will have difficulty. Are we withholding salvation from some who would be good soil for the sake of trying to strengthen those we believe are rocky or thorny soil?\nOf course, it is silly to think that a man can withhold salvation from someone (John 6:44). The point is that we cannot be the gatekeepers, nor should we try to be. There is more that needs to be examined (Formulas for salvation, rebaptism, and others) but one thing is clear. Through our theology regarding salvation, we attempt to be God or to make decisions for God to others. We need to repent and allow the Spirit of God to work.\nDiscipling In order to meet the needs of so many new converts, Kip implemented a system based on an idea from Crossroads. From RTR 1 Kip says, I came up with \u0026ldquo;discipleship partners.\u0026rdquo; In these relationships, the evangelists, elders and women\u0026rsquo;s counselors, after discussion and prayer, arranged for an older, stronger Christian to give direction to each of the younger, weaker ones. They were to meet weekly, but have daily contact (Hebrews 10:24,25). This idea is furthered explained in the 1988 Leadership Conference by Kip when he says:\n_Friendship is what builds trust. I really believe with all my heart that you will never be able to disciple someone unless you build a friendship with them and thus they can trust you. You see, here is the bottom line and get this down. The person that you are discipling must believe, must trust that you are out for God and their best interest. Because you see there is going to be some advice they will not understand. But if they trust that you are out for God and their best interest, they will obey.\nSecondly, they must believe emphatically that your judgment is better than theirs. This is so important. How can you tell someone what to do, when they are even unsure of what is going on unless they will obey by trust that your judgment is better than theirs? I truly believe that in order to develop this kind of trust you have got to have a time when you are contacting that person every day. Hebrews 3:12 and 13 \u0026hellip; so the premise seems clear. Friendship which builds trust which allows you to be able to guide them and to mold their lives._\nIt can be said that this is now ancient history. Things have certainly changed from almost twenty years ago. However, changing how discipling partners are selected does little to address the deeper spiritual issues. We may not have accountability sheets to fill out anymore, but in many cases, we still have deal with our own ideas of trust, obedience, advice, and friendship.\nWhat has been the effect of our system over time? In my experience, I have seen young men and women struggle with many of the following thoughts and attitudes:\nI am not worth very much to the church or to God. If I claim any rights for myself, I am being selfish. The mission is more important than my own thoughts and feelings. I must please other people regardless of the cost to my person or my values. I have to put myself at the disposal of others without any protest. I need to get my heart right instead of speaking up when something bothers me. We can change the name from discipling to mentoring, but the unhealthy practices and assumptions go unchallenged. When we look at shepherding Christians, the idea that a person has no value to God or the church is contrary to 1 Corinthians 12. Every part is needed and every part has value. More than any other attitude listed above, the idea that the individual Christian has little to no value has been the most destructive. Sadly, this idea has been reinforced over the years by the very system designed to prevent this attitude in the first place. This occurred more and more as the emphasis of discipling times shifted to the discovery and elimination of sin and away from prayer and encouragement. Even encouragement was given in relation to overcoming sin (real or imagined). This isn’t to say that every relationship operated in this manner – but even if only a few did, it is worth the effort to prevent this from happening again.\nThe old discipling system caused other effects as well and many do not change after the hierarchy is removed. Specifically, in dealing with sin, James 5:16 is twisted to mean that you cannot be forgiven of any sin unless you confess it to another Christian. This has conditioned in many of us a need to confess our sins to a person or group in order to feel forgiven. It’s not the confession that the issue, it’s the artificial need for the sake of feeling forgiven.\nJesus is our mediator. Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. He paid the price for all of our sin. We have direct access to God because he went through the temple in Heaven to grant us that privilege. There is no need to confess to another man in order to be forgiven, Jesus took care of that. There is no need to confess in order to feel close to God, we are already standing at the foot of the throne. We can confess our sins to God himself. Whereas we added to salvation make people perform extra work, we also added to the process of forgiveness to make people perform extra work We have become addicted to these additional requirements to the point that they seem to be perfectly natural.\nThough an overused word, it still applies to us. Within the old or new discipling systems we made its participants codependent on each other. A codependent person does not act on their own desires, they react to the perceived desires of those around them. We talk about being proactive, but our discipling system has conditioned us to require a third-party for just about any circumstance in life. For some, this became debilitating. We called this advice, but in reality, it was a request for permission.\nA common question to anything perceived to be unusual was and continues to be Did you get advice? There was great pressure to answer YES. Those that answered NO would quickly rectify the situation in case the question was posed again. In my experience, many of us learned to find the very permissive members that would think anything was a pretty good idea. We weren’t looking for direction or advice, we wanted carte blanche to do what we wanted and still be able to say that we had sought advice.\nRepentance in this area seeks to provide justice to those harmed. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, justice and restitution should be the starting point of any discussion. Instead, however, we have thrown our own people under the bus, or we have allowed them to drift away. It’s about time we stop punishing those that are still hurting and repent.\nOther Areas There are many more areas left to address. We set up warped definitions of leadership. We did not protect the weak. We see peoples\u0026rsquo; needs as burden to the church. We revise our history to the point of incredulity. We lord our authority over others and encourage the same in our leaders. We blame others for our denominations’ mistakes. There are yet more items than these, but we have not even addressed elementary issues. How can we look to more complicated and thorny matters?\nMost importantly, we must address our inability to accept help from those outside our denomination. We worry that people in other denominations will water down the message of the cross while we crush our own people underfoot. It\u0026rsquo;s a false dilemma to ask which is worse, the truth of the matter is that we can get outside help without watering down our doctrine. As mentioned on DToday, one minister, with the help of Abilene University has written a program as a part of his doctoral thesis. Using Paul\u0026rsquo;s leadership style in Corinth as a model, many issues can be addressed and we can repent.\nOverall, we need to repent of our own hypocrisy. We beg God for mercy, yet we offer no mercy to those that dare to call for change. We cry out for bold vision, as long as it is about evangelism. We call for money and missions to save the world for all generations, but we ignore the generations still holding on in our churches. Where is the repentance in all of this?\nWhere is the cross? It is far away in a distant land.\nJesus said, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. God have mercy on us all, I hope we are not too late. The cross compels us to examine ourselves, repent of the hypocrisy and damaging doctrines, and live a new life in the power of God. This is not too much to ask - we would ask no less of anyone that wants to come to Christ.\n","date":"12 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-12-because-the-question-will-be-asked/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Because The Question Will Be Asked","type":"posts"},{"content":"A revisionist look at the ICoC\u0026rsquo;s recent history remarked the following in part three of the series:\nIf everything burned, why are there still around 500 churches spread throughout every continent of the world? How did over 100 churches get planted among us between 2003 and 2007? Can that really be due to the power of men? If everything that was built in our movement was built by the power of men with wood, hay and straw, how did so many people become Christians?\nAfter the Fire: Not Everything Burned\nI have said it before and I\u0026rsquo;ll say it again. Numbers do not show the favor of God, the work of God, or the spirit of God. Numbers show numerical growth. Tying numerical growth to the Holy Spirit puts a Christian in a cycle of not being happy except in moments just before leading another person(s) to Christ. It also causes a Christian to see times of God\u0026rsquo;s refinement as personal weakness instead of the working of the strength of God. There is a big difference, most notably in where attention is focused.\nGod at work creates change and transformation. Sometimes it is in increased numbers, sometimes it is in decreased ego. Whatever the work of God brings into a Christian\u0026rsquo;s life, it is not always moving from one degree of glory to another. The depths and valleys bring growth as well. As someone I know can tell you, I don\u0026rsquo;t think Ezekiel\u0026rsquo;s ministry was ever marked by tremendous growth sustained over time. Yet Ezekiel has some of the most dynamic stories to tell about his relationship to God and His people.\nHere is food for thought using numbers from a large denomination with a worldwide presence:\nFrom 2000-2005 the church grew overall by 13.479%\nIn the US and Canada, the church grew by 9.2% Outside the US and Canada, the church grew by 17.2%\nThe congregations in Cambodia more than quintupled in membership, in Mongolia, membership tripled. In Mozambique, the membership grew by over 5.5 times.\nHey, even the membership in the British Virgin Islands grew by 140%\nCan this kind of growth be the work of men? Is it the work of God? What would you need to know to make that determination?\nDuring the same time period, the ICoC has shrunken by 25.66% :\nIn the US and Canada, the church shrank by 32.17% Outside the US and Canada, the church shrank by 20.2%\nThat\u0026rsquo;s just to compare apples with apples based on the most reliable data available. Since 2005, the big denomination has grown by yet another 2.33%. The ICoC has continued to dwindle another 5 - 6%\nDoes God have a plan for the ICOC? I believe so, otherwise, we would have been completely destroyed. Looking for the working of God\u0026rsquo;s strength, though, requires that we look in unaccustomed places. Our usual haunts (numbers) and our usual rhetoric (shut up and baptize) are not encouraging. My hope is that the ICoC is not like Egypt which was built up only to be destroyed as an example to the whole world.\n","date":"11 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-11-if-everything-burned/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"If Everything Burned...","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thinking about a board game based on this machine. Just jotting down a few ideas:\nMove proceeds around a board as player assemble pieces to construct their machine. The first to make it to the patent office with a working analytical engine wins. Players first make a difference engine and either patent it or build one by commission. Pieces from difference engine funds analytical engine.\nIf a player builds one for patent and not commission, he or she can use all the pieces of the difference machine to build analytical machine. Everyone else can only reuse their original (before being commissioned) pieces.\nThere are three pieces - spacer, cog, and rack.\nThe rack is a piece that allows the machine to be built ‘up’ a level. Presumably, the more racks, the more variables that can be calculated at once, but also the longer it takes to finish the machine.\nThe spacer allows the machine to be built ‘out’ a level. Presumably, the more spacers, the more decimal places that can be calculated for each variable. Once a spacer is added, it is added to every level.\nCog is a bit of machinery that fits on the grid created by racks and spacers. For example, a machine with 5 racks and 8 spacers would require 40 cogs to complete.\nThere would need to be a funding source, so I guess each player is a hobbyist until if and when a company commissions a machine to be built. Each would have different specifications and different advantages (more cogs per turn, alternate build rules, etc.)\nUpon completion, they would get paid and then start to build the analytical engine.\nNeed to add in bonus or random elements like:\nAda helps your project (build at twice the rate)\nBuilding trouble (destroys rack or spacer)\nLose funding. Keep your pieces, lose those purchased by company commissioning the machine.\nCogs go bad and must be replaced. or only red cogs go bad.\nAn entire rack goes bad and must be replaced.\nA green rack goes bad or a red rack goes bad.\nPiece would be two different colors to distinguish pieces built by you, the inventor, and those purchased by company commissioning you. Say Green are built by you and red built by company. When difference machine is finished, you can use only the green pieces to start analytical engine. (Thus if you built it entirely yourself, you could reuse all the pieces.)\nAnalytical Engine would need fourth piece, don’t know what to name it. Maybe replace cogs or modify cogs. Maybe analytical cogs cost more, but difference cogs can be modified very faster. For example in one turn you may get an analytical cog or convert three difference cogs to an analytical cog.\nBuilding rules:\nRack pieces can only be removed from the top down, not the bottom up.\nRemoving a spacer affects every rack. The cogs lost cannot be reused. (Someone may remove a spacer in order to finish their machine faster.)\nWhen you start on your analytical engine, you must add at least one rack and one spacer.\nA difference machine must be at least 6 racks by 6 spacers.\nUnless directed by card or company paying you (difference engine only), you can only add the piece you land on while moving your token around the board. If you are being paid to build, it must be a red piece. If you are going it alone, it must be a green piece.\n","date":"6 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-06-babbages-engines/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Babbage?s Engines","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/portal-updates/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Portal-Updates","type":"tags"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve asked some of you personally, now I\u0026rsquo;ll ask all of you publicly.\nWhich posts do you like the most?\nI\u0026rsquo;m learning a markup language called LaTeX used for making professional quality printed information. I\u0026rsquo;d like to get practice using it for book layouts. I have no illusions of being published or anything like that, I just want practice. At the end, the pdf will be available here.\nYou can also mention posts you\u0026rsquo;d like me to finish. Some semithoughts are rather grand in scope, yet narrow in execution.\nThanks in advance. Take the month of June to decide.\nUpdate June 4: At first, I didn\u0026rsquo;t understand the meaning of \u0026ldquo;stuff from the heart\u0026rdquo; because it is all from the heart. But I follow now, I believe. Basically stuff about my life and family. Thanks for the votes thus far. I\u0026rsquo;ll put up a list from time to time so you can let me know about specific stories if you like.\nSpecific votes thus far: Fistful of Diamonds is the story about playing cards. Better Living through Oat Rings is so entitled to avoid using a trademark of a certain cereal company. Eye of the Sparrow about a fire hazard.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s also been a vote to finish an article about the Christian pocket universe.\n","date":"1 June 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-06-01-whatre-your-favorites/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What're Your Favorites?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was feeling stressed a few nights ago. I wanted a quiet place to just be. There had been a lot of thinking throughout the day and I was quite tired. My wife, though tired herself, insisted I go. I think she was hoping that I would evolve just enough to use words and phrases instead of occasional grunts and gestures.\nThag go cave.\nOur son was playing quietly and our daughter was cooing and watching the trees outside our back window. It was almost idyllic - I could imagine them on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. It was that beautiful. Somewhere deep down, I was vaguely aware of it, but all I could produce were muffled gargling sounds and a weak smile.\nCan you please go upstairs now?\nWith all quiet on the Western Front, I made a break for it. Break may be too strong of a word. I dragged my own carcass down the hall to the stairway. Because my wife has the children all day, I made it a point to avoid groaning or other Neanderthal noises that could be construed as an attempt at sympathy. I\u0026rsquo;m an devolved life form, not a complete jerk.\nFinally arriving in my office chair, I attempted a quick transformation via Wikipedia. I was not successful. I tried to watch TV, but there was nothing on worth watching. M*A*S*H* is on 22 out of 24 hours in a day on some channel somewhere, but this was in that magic time slot taken up by actual programming.\nThag hate media.\nAt some point, I settled into the papa-san chair and watched the trees outside like my daughter. This was very successful. My daughter is smart like my wife.\nAfter practicing a few monosyllables and even a disyllable word or two, I felt ready to rejoin the family. As I approached our living room, I heard our son talking and playing and having a good time.\nThag is happy. Talk with wife. Wife pretty.\nWhen I came into the living room, I was greeted with something I couldn\u0026rsquo;t quite explain. It would take more than grunts, so I asked my wife to comment. My wife explained that she was feeding our daughter and had just noticed that the house had gotten very quiet. Looking around, she happened to see a tiny hand reaching up and then\u0026hellip;\nFWOOSH!!!\n(It\u0026rsquo;s a big file, so be prepared)\nWe laughed out loud for a good five minutes. Our son would look over at us and smile with pride that he had made his parents happy. However, the Oat Rings required his attention, so he would return to cooking with them. Cooking, to my son, is pouring the same twenty or thirty from one bowl to another. Occasionally, he samples one or two to make sure the flavor is right.\nNeeds more mixing, he says as he begins pouring them in five different pots and pans.\nAmused, I begin to pick them up and put them into a container. My wife\u0026rsquo;s son at this point decides that he will take up farming. He gracefully picks up a handful and thoughtful scatters them like a man sowing seeds. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to sow the oat rings he\u0026rsquo;s sitting on, he wants to sow the one I had just picked up.\nI turn it into a game and he starts to help me put them into a container. However, I am slower than he, so when the container fills up, he went back to sowing seeds with both hands.\nI got to sow the north forty acres by sundown\nAfter a while, I sow oat rings with him. Why fight a good idea for having fun, I think. My wife then laughs at both of us. She must really like having two boys in the house. It is so much fun.\n","date":"30 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-30-better-living-through-oat-rings/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Better Living through Oat Rings","type":"posts"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t know exactly why it\u0026rsquo;s fun, but it is. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the guitar riff. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the ending.\nLost a bit of time on the ending.\nIn case you\u0026rsquo;re wondering, it is family and work friendly, I don\u0026rsquo;t do the other kind of stuff. Homestarruner is blocked at my work, but it may not be blocked at yours. Enjoy!\n","date":"29 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-29-one-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"One Two","type":"posts"},{"content":"and ended up on the Rocky Mountain Religious Ride with my friend SpiritualTramp.\nNow, I came in a bit of a bluster and couldn\u0026rsquo;t seem to land on a point. Yeah, I was rearranging the bedroom and slightly distracted. I gave away my really liberal politics talking about Iran\u0026rsquo;s democracy and the effects of religious hate speech. I brought up Falwell, but forgot to mention Pat Robertson.\nOh well. I was going to try to explain it, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think it is really worth it. I am a much better when I prepare something in advance. Next week, I\u0026rsquo;ll be better. I certainly won\u0026rsquo;t sound so angry.\nI gave my religious history in thumbnail form and of course there are things I wished I had said, things I wished I had kept to myself, and so on. I also threw out the parting shot, there really is no such thing as a non-denominational church. We\u0026rsquo;ll be talking about divisions next week.\nI promise I\u0026rsquo;ll be more civilized and prepared.\n","date":"28 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-28-so-i-called-a-friend-of-a-friend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"So I Called a Friend of a Friend","type":"posts"},{"content":"I want to expand on these things this three day weekend. I may even mention a few on the Rock Mountain Religious Ride, a show co-anchored by my lifelong friend, SpiritualTramp. My thanks to TTK for some inspiration for a couple of these. Thanks also to Salguod for the article he sent to me.\n1. Works Greater than These This was an article sent to me from Salguod. It was a welcome perspective on some of the struggles I have had lately.\n2. Ekklesia The following verses all contain the word ekklesia. Note, ekklesia is a singular word, even if it appears as \u0026lsquo;churches\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;assemblies\u0026rsquo; in the English text. (Your translation may vary.) There\u0026rsquo;s 110 of them. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t include the gospels.\nAct 2:47; Act 5:11; Act 7:38; Act 8:1; Act 8:3; Act 9:31; Act 11:22; Act 11:26; Act 12:1; Act 12:5; Act 13:1; Act 14:23; Act 14:27; Act 15:3; Act 15:4; Act 15:22; Act 15:41; Act 16:5; Act 18:22; Act 19:32; Act 19:39; Act 19:41; Act 20:17; Act 20:28; Rom 16:1; Rom 16:4; Rom 16:5; Rom 16:16; Rom 16:23; 1Co 1:2; 1Co 4:17; 1Co 6:4; 1Co 7:17; 1Co 10:32; 1Co 11:16; 1Co 11:18; 1Co 11:22; 1Co 12:28; 1Co 14:4; 1Co 14:5; 1Co 14:12; 1Co 14:19; 1Co 14:23; 1Co 14:28; 1Co 14:33; 1Co 14:34; 1Co 14:35; 1Co 15:9; 1Co 16:1; 1Co 16:19; 2Co 1:1; 2Co 8:1; 2Co 8:18; 2Co 8:19; 2Co 8:23; 2Co 8:24; 2Co 11:8; 2Co 11:28; 2Co 12:13; Gal 1:2; Gal 1:13; Gal 1:22; Eph 1:22; Eph 3:10; Eph 3:21; Eph 5:23; Eph 5:24; Eph 5:25; Eph 5:27; Eph 5:29; Eph 5:32; Php 3:6; Php 4:15; Col 1:18; Col 1:24; Col 4:15; Col 4:16; 1Th 1:1; 1Th 2:14; 2Th 1:1; 2Th 1:4; 1Ti 3:5; 1Ti 3:15; 1Ti 5:16; Phm 1:2; Heb 2:12; Heb 12:23; Jas 5:14; 3Jn 1:6; 3Jn 1:9; 3Jn 1:10; Rev 1:4; Rev 1:11; Rev 1:20; Rev 2:1; Rev 2:7; Rev 2:8; Rev 2:11; Rev 2:12; Rev 2:17; Rev 2:18; Rev 2:23; Rev 2:29; Rev 3:1; Rev 3:6; Rev 3:7; Rev 3:13; Rev 3:14; Rev 3:22; Rev 22:16\n3. ICoC History and Disaster comparisons Chicago Fire? A more apt comparison might be New Orleans. Along the lines of the Chicago Fire of 1871, though, here\u0026rsquo;s a couple thoughts:\nCause of the Fire As with any tragedy, it seems to feel better if the blame can be laid at someone\u0026rsquo;s feet. This can be done in religion by making everything Satan\u0026rsquo;s fault or God\u0026rsquo;s fault. It can also be done by finding the one person responsible. Indicting a system, or indicting inaction is much more difficult. It\u0026rsquo;s easier to have \u0026ldquo;The Enemy\u0026rdquo; pointed out and punished as an effigy of our own feelings of loss.\nO\u0026rsquo;Leary was an immigrant woman and Catholic. This made her the perfect scapegoat for the fire. The man that wrote the article claiming it was her and her cow retracted the story 22 years later. It did start in the neighborhood, maybe even in the barn.\nKreite wrote the letter and he made the perfect scapegoat as someone that unleashed it on the internet in a rash decision. Truth is, he wrote it to the leaders, it was another person that leaked it to the ICCDF, not Henry. After it was already out, Henry revised it a bit and re-released it publicly.\nWarnings about a Coming Fire Warnings can go unheeded because it is inconvenient to deal with the issues.\nThe Chicago Tribune had been writing for months that construction was shabby and that a great fire would occur if not corrected. Even a month before the great fire, an article was published that details the unsafe construction carries out in the name of economical propserity. The business community took great offense at this.\nFolks had been warning the ICC for years that we were going to have a crisis. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until a so-called fire swept a lot of things away that the idea of change was even introduced. Of course, any critics beforehand were marginalized and labeled as being divisive. It was not convenient to address the critics at all, much less as thinking adults that may actually have a point.\n4. Better Living thru Breakfast Cereal Our son recently decorated the living room with an entire box of oat ringed cereal. It was about 1/4 inch deep in places. The best remedy was a good laugh and enlisting his help with the cleanup. Pictures to follow.\n5. Paradox of Faithful Service Based on Yehuda\u0026rsquo;s article mentioned in a previous post.\n6. Unity through Doctrine Can unity be achieved through doctrine? It is the clarion call from many within the RM, but is it the right call?\nKeep in mind that a conservative COC mindset comes from CENI (Command, Example, and Necessary Inference) and the prohibitiveness of silence. One criticism of the CENI hermeneutic is that all doctrine eventually becomes a salvation issue. When a conservative CoC calls for unity through doctrine, it is often a unity through everyone having the same doctrine. Coming from something other than a CoC mindset, is it realistic to call for an agreement that would mean the elimination of secondary doctrine?\n1 Timothy 4:16 calls us to watch our life and doctrine closely, not just our doctrine. Is there something about my life and/or the life of the ekklesia that can bring about unity? Love. The apostle John is said to have repeated \u0026ldquo;love one another\u0026rdquo; enough that some thought he was senile. Can I love my brother with whom I disagree in matters of doctrine? Love comes first, doctrine may follow some time later. God is the ultimate judge - am I patient enough to love first and hope for uniform doctrine later?\n7. The Abilene Paradox A dangerous form of groupthink common in today\u0026rsquo;s American culture and business. Link here to the wikipedia article.\n","date":"25 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-25-fragments/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fragments","type":"posts"},{"content":"One of my interest is games and I keep Sycarion around to separate my game rantings from my religious rantings. Although my interest in games is different from Yehuda\u0026rsquo;s, I enjoy reading his site. He keeps up with all kinds of board games that look interesting, especially Settlers of Catlan.\nUnlike me, he does not separate content having only one site for everything. Today\u0026rsquo;s post was about the meaning of service to God. Rather than say anything now, I figured you would enjoy reading it and discussing it in comments.\nThoughts on Serving God\n","date":"25 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-25-godly-service/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Godly Service","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/spiritual/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Spiritual","type":"tags"},{"content":"Not that a formula for making soda can be \u0026lsquo;open sourced\u0026rsquo;, but just in case you have a spare weekend or three\u0026hellip;\nHow to make your own cola that tastes similar to commercial products.\nNotes\nMake sure you get gum arabic from a food store, not an art store. Art store gum arabic is cheaper for a reason, it shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be eaten. Neroli oil is very very expensive. 75% phosphoric acid is some really corrosive stuff. Don\u0026rsquo;t think so? Watch hot dogs dissolve in it. And for the love of mike, don\u0026rsquo;t even bother with caffeine. Or, you can just pay your $1.29 at the checkout counter of the grocery store.\n","date":"24 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-24-open-cola/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Open Cola","type":"posts"},{"content":"Victim, Vanished or Visionary? What an amazing way to classify your parishioners. They are visionaries, or they are just hanging around using up resources. Nice.\nHere we have an example of a leader bullying those that are hurting or needy. To accomplish this, life situations of those that are hurting are greatly oversimplified. This is necessary so that the trite advice given later will apply to any and all situations.\nThe Victim is a disciple who hasn\u0026rsquo;t recovered from past wounds and hurts. The Vanished are disciples who\u0026rsquo;ve allowed their faith to become dull and flat and therefore have vanished from making any impact in the church. The Visionary is the disciple who is eager to exercise his faith, to be a part of something bigger than himself and to be useful to the Lord.\nFrom the linked article\nMessage to the victims - GET OVER YOURSELVES. You\u0026rsquo;ve used up the allotted time for grieving, so apparently you are not active in dealing with your pain. GET GOING! Message to the vanished - YOU DON\u0026rsquo;T IMPRESS ME OR JESUS. Get to work!\nFrom the article, some characterizations of the victims and vanished:\nToo often, the victim or the vanished individuals look at their lives and conclude they have nothing to give to the Lord or His church. Too often, the victim and the vanished excuse themselves by letting their hearts get triggered by old terminology or unpleasant memories.\nSometimes we need to take a hard look at ourselves and draw the conclusion that we could use a spiritual makeover. Yet victims and the vanished largely refuse to travel on this thrilling road. The victims are adamant that they\u0026rsquo;re not the ones who need changing, and the vanished frankly don\u0026rsquo;t want to put the necessary energy into the process.\nFrom the linked article\nIn other words, victims are blame-shifters and the vanished are lazy. There is no room for disagreement as that means, by definition, that you are playing the victim. The remedy? Stop being defeatist and get going. There is no room for people that are not doing \u0026lsquo;awesome\u0026rsquo; things for the Chicago church. If you\u0026rsquo;re not awesome, you must be lazy. Anyone without a resume of recent accomplishments needs one sure fire cure - a rebuke to get to work.\nThis article and the ones from the previous post spring from two glaring omissions in recent years. One is making any change at all in how we view discipleship. The other is how we misconstrue the ekklesia, commonly referred to as the church.\nJeff Jornigan wrote in an older article about misconceptions of discipleship\nMisunderstanding #1: Spiritual accountability can be imposed. Misunderstanding #2: Accountability means that someone leads and someone follows. Misunderstanding #3: Accountability focuses on performance.\nThe conclusion of the matter, to quote the article: Our accountability relationships are to encourage one another and to have a ransoming effect by \u0026ldquo;buying back\u0026rdquo; lost intimacy with Christ. Then we are free to pursue righteousness, wooed by love and not hounded by duty.\nAlso, discipleship on a timeline just doesn\u0026rsquo;t work. I hope to read this book, soon. From the sample chapter:\nSo, if your agenda has time tables on it, throw it away\u0026hellip;. I have found that it can often take a decade for a person to decide to follow Christ, to manage to overcome the major problems in his or her life, and then, finally, to begin to bear fruit in the lives of the people around him or her. \u0026ldquo;Oaks of righteousness\u0026rdquo; do not grow up overnight.\nAs for ekklesia, there\u0026rsquo;s not enough space to address that. Look up the word in Vine\u0026rsquo;s. It means \u0026ldquo;the called out ones\u0026rdquo;. It has been translated \u0026ldquo;church\u0026rdquo;. Substitute \u0026lsquo;called out ones\u0026rsquo; for the word church and you\u0026rsquo;ll see what I\u0026rsquo;m getting at.\nMore later, gotta run.\n","date":"23 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-23-the-bully-pulpit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Bully Pulpit","type":"posts"},{"content":"But Diotrephes is at it again.\nCalling for all of us to get along and tear down the wall of hostility has got to be the epitome of chutzpah. How can he blame a group of people for creating a wall that he created himself? Remember the prayer to plant churches in 5 cities with dead and dying ICOC congregations? (House of Prayer, 2004. No longer online.)\nThen again, in a quest for one-up-manship, the new MOAC has been announced.\nThe focus of the conference this year will be to encourage, equip, challenge, and inspire church leaderships to build dynamic and growing churches that will effectively reach all generations and last for all generations. When we look at Jesus’ ministry, his impact was multi-generational and spanned future generations. We will explore the vision, the courage, the passion, the humility, and the sacrifice that will be required of all of us to have that same impact now and into the future.\n_For All Generations advertisemen_t\nOn side side, we have one church in LA that wants to evangelize the world in one generation. They are \u0026lsquo;sold-out disciples\u0026rsquo;, This means that they are apparently more intense than just a regular \u0026lsquo;disciple\u0026rsquo;. Now, we have a Courageous-Passionate-Humble-Sacrificial disciples that will reach all generations. This apparently means that they are not as short-sighted as the \u0026lsquo;sold-out disciples\u0026rsquo;.\nConsidering that both leaders think the ekklesia extends only as far as their respective calling circles, the impact they will have for generations is different than what they intended.\nYou have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us.\nPsalms 44:14\n","date":"23 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-23-whos-first/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who's First?","type":"posts"},{"content":"And now, the world\u0026rsquo;s fastest furniture.\nI think about a 92 mph sofa and it reminds me of a 151 mph motorcycle. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I\u0026rsquo;m ever late enough for work to try either one.\n","date":"16 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-16-couch-surfing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Couch Surfing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yehuda at Jerusalem Gaming blog has an idea to spice up Rummy with Action Cards.\nThe article is here\nEnjoy!\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"15 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-15-this-aint-your-mothers-rummy/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Ain?t Your Mother?s Rummy","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have criticized HOPE Worldwide in the past for two main reasons. One, is the cash that local branches must pay the central office in the form of management fees. (This allows for creative accounting of program expenses). The second reason was that it had become a quagmire of middle management.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve also linked to the good things that they do, and here is another one. DisciplesToday is carrying an advertisement for aid workers in the Kabul Office. These are pretty specific needs that cannot be filled by just anyone. This shows me that my second objection, the middle management quagmire, is improving. In the past, someone would have been assigned by the World Sector Leaders. Here is a real ad for a real need. The local office has pushed for something and word is getting out. This is great.\nReal help is being delivered on the ground in Afghanistan. There are a lot of challenges in a place like this and not a lot of charities are doing work there. I hope that they will get the workers they are asking for very soon. I wish that I could go and help myself, but I don\u0026rsquo;t meet the qualifications very well.\nJust passing along a good word for Monday.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"14 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-14-good-news-from-afghanistan/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Good News from Afghanistan","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve had a habit in recent years of using Calculus or any other kind of math as a way to relax. It used to be that I would grab a copy of my old Calculus book and read couple chapters or do a few problems. Sleep would be upon me before I could say\u0026hellip;\nSorry, I dozed off thinking about it.\nIn any case, one of my hobbies is probability. I will lose sleep trying to determine certain odds. For example, if I roll three dice, what will be the most likely roll (10 or 11) and what are the odds in rolling it (one in eight for both). For a variation of that, I did some number crunching using modulus, a function that serves as a basis for a lot of number theory. Modulus, is simply the reaminder (for my purposes). So, the modulus of 10 divided by 3 is 1. Stated another way, MOD3 of 10 is 1.\nFor what it\u0026rsquo;s worth, I put some stuff on Sycarion dealing with modulus and the result of rolling three dice. I know, you\u0026rsquo;re thinking I need to get out more. Truth is, it is one of the things that helps me deal with tension. It\u0026rsquo;s why I can post angry posts one day and pretty level posts the next. Give the brain something to do and the heart can catch up in processing things.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure many would not consider MATHWORLD a vacation, but it feels like one to me. Thank goodness for wolfram.com.\nNow, what are the odds of rolling an 7 on a six-sided die and a four-sided die added together\u0026hellip;\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"14 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-14-soothing-math/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Soothing Math","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been home for over a week. Home, of course, means that I go to work and then come home immediately without a six-hour pitstop at the NICU. In many ways, life is good.\nI have not been able to go to church events for quite a while, and I miss folks a lot. I really do. It\u0026rsquo;s strange to think that folks haven\u0026rsquo;t seen me for two weeks and then I show up as a substitute teacher on Sunday covering Hebrews 7. Still, the outline isn\u0026rsquo;t mine and I hope it generates a lot of discussion. I\u0026rsquo;ve always tried to be more of a facilitator, anyway. Things I feel like I need to say, I say here. Class is an organic experience of people to me, not a captive audience.\nI digress.\nFolks have sent me lots of wonderful gifts, emails, prayers, money, clothes for Dancing Bear, and more. One couple got us a double stroller. That allowed me to get a really good rocker glider for my wife. We are very blessed with good friends.\nI feel better, in part, because of a more \u0026rsquo;normal\u0026rsquo; life. I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to talk to the minister and to friends and family. Sharing the experience helps to deal with the myriad things I feel about it. I know that people are there when circumstances send me off to the Ozone. (O God, where are you? O God why did this happen? O God when will it end? O God how is this your will.)\nA friend sent me a book by Stormie Omartian. I had never heard of her before I read this book. I had to skip to the chapter that interested me first before reading it through. I struggled through the theology to arrive at what I knew to be true, but didn\u0026rsquo;t want to admit.\nYou don\u0026rsquo;t get to find out why.\nTwo passages address the why in some way.\nJohn 9:2-4 deals with a common presumption. A blind man came to Jesus and his disciples. The disciples ask, \u0026ldquo;Who sinned?\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s easy to say that the circumstances a person is in is due to their own sin or error. However, he was born blind for God\u0026rsquo;s purposes alone. Jesus made it clear that sin did not do this to the man. God allowed it/ordained it for this moment in time that His own purposes.\nYes, I still struggle with this passage because the man was blind for years. I thought about the things he missed, the 20 years of the community assuming that there was some great sin in the family, the 20 years of mistreatment. Ugh. Why would this be allowed/ordained?\nYet, it\u0026rsquo;s important to remember that the man was not incomplete because of his blindness. I have to remember this with both our children. Our son has a hearing loss, but he a whole person with diminished hearing, not a person missing 10% of himself. He is not damaged or incomplete in any way. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be fixed as he is not broken. He loves to entertain, he would crawl out in the middle of the NICU and get the nurses to laugh. He will laugh at you until you laugh back. Actually, he chuckles at you. This chuckle is his own trait, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t come from either one of us.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s true that cutting-edge technology will probably arrive here in a year or so that will implant his hearing aid and give his close to 100% hearing. But better hearing will not make him a better person or more complete.\nSometimes we think that we have to be spiritually perfect to be useful to God. We see ourselves as incomplete, at least I know that I do. If I could overcome this struggle, if I could quit eating emotionally, if I could go to seminary school, if I had more money, if I had more patience, if I had the gift of discernment, etc. etc. Before the Holy Spirit, we were not whole, we were separated from our creator. With the Holy Spirit, however, we are whole. The gifts and talents we have do not make us whole. Our battle against sin is not what makes us whole. Our struggles do not make us whole - with the Holy Spirit, we are already complete. We have everything we need to admonish, encourage, instruct, and love one another. This is not because of some great gift outside the great gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul asked why he had a persistent problem, a thorn in his flesh. God answered him saying, \u0026ldquo;My grace is sufficient for you.\u0026rdquo; Paul had everything he needed already, even though Paul thought that he was somehow hampered in his effectiveness for God.\nThe other passage is from Hebrews 12:5-6. The Lord afflicts those whom he loves. The text literally says that he trains (as in discipline) his children and he scourges them. mas-tig-o\u0026rsquo;-o means only one thing, to flog. Many take it figuratively and translate it to mean \u0026lsquo;chastise\u0026rsquo; or even \u0026lsquo;corrects\u0026rsquo; as it says in the Message Bible. I disagree. In this specific case, affliction is a mark of love. There are many that serve God and lead lives of affliction. I think of the late John Paul II and all that he did while literally crippled. I think of the apostle Paul and his beatings, emotionally and physically. I think of Jesus himself who spent periods of time homeless and moving around. Betrayed in the end by a selfish friend, and abandoned by all but the women.\nJesus\u0026rsquo; affliction serve to heal us, but also to demonstrate his ability to be the perfect High Priest. He learned obedience in his suffering (Heb 5:8). He not only relates to what we feel, but he goes through it with us. God the Father allows/ordains the events of life, God the Holy Spirit comforts and empowers us in our troubles, God the Son walks with us as we go along. Sometimes I forget the roles of each person of the Trinity and blanket it all on God the Father. I forget the distinct and separate person of Jesus that sacrificed everything, travels with me, and speaks to the Father on my behalf through his perfect blood.\nI still struggle with what all of this means. Affliction = Love is an equation I feel like I escaped from when I left the ICoC. (We Oppress you and control you because we love. Please don\u0026rsquo;t be angry at us because we love.) Sometimes, I feel like Christianity is akin to the drug dealer\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;The first one is free\u0026rdquo; tactic. (Forgiveness, Grace, Eternal Life were all given freely at the cross, but now that you are hooked on God and dependent on Him, everything else is going to cost you.) Praying this whole time has felt very strange and disconnected. (Well God, since you have already ordained/allowed everything since the creation of the world, I guess I\u0026rsquo;m just saying this for my own mental health.)\nYet, there is something that will not let me give up entirely, though I\u0026rsquo;ve said it dozens of times recently. I\u0026rsquo;m not like John Paul, or Paul, or Jesus because of what has happened. I just hope to be more like them as I deal with it. I want to be able to say and mean, \u0026ldquo;The Lord Gives and the Lord Takes away, Blessed be the Name of the Lord.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"11 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-11-where-it-is/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Where It Is","type":"posts"},{"content":"Heads up English Majors and other mathematically challenged folks! MOD7 Dice Sheets are now available on the Downloads page and at the links below. (I have an English Literature Degree by the way.)\nThe frequencies of each roll are given at the bottom of the page. They are generated completely at random, but you may decide to use a different sheet based on the frequencies given.\nAs noted on the sheet, it only works well if you start on the upper left corner and move down the columns. Remember to cross out numbers already used.\nMajor MOD7 Rolls | Minor MOD7 Rolls\n","date":"9 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-09-mod7-dice-sheets/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"MOD7 Dice Sheets","type":"posts"},{"content":"As always, there may be a name change as I discovered a company named MOD7 and I do not want to harm their business (though I don’t think I really could. I have four readers.)\nChanges in DEF Ability\nBecause MOD7 uses a smaller range of numbers to determine success (0-6 instead of 3-18), changes have to be made in DEF and in many Traits. DEF is changed to 3+REF from 10+DEF. Without this change, an average person (Stats and skills of 3) could never successfully attack successfully.\nFor example, Joe, an average guy is in a fistfight at a bar with Andy another average guy.\nOld Rules: Joe uses STR + Unarmed Combat Skill + Roll. Andy uses DEF + REF. Since both are average guys, Joe is trying to meet or beat a TN 16. (DEF = 10 + REF or 10+3. REF = 3) He had a STR of 3 and a skill of 3, meaning he has to roll a 10 or better to strike Andy. Using 3D6, Joe had a 0.625 chance to hit Andy.\nBecause a MOD7 roll cannot go higher than 6, Joe could never hit Andy, even if he surprised him.\nNew Rules: Joe uses STR + Unarmed Combat Skill + Roll. Andy uses DEF + REF. Since both are average guys, Joe is trying to meet or beat a TN 9. (DEF = 3 + REF or 3+3. REF = 3) He had a STR of 3 and a skill of 3, meaning he has to roll a 3 or better to strike Andy. Using a MOD7 roll, Joe has a 0.574074074 chance to hit Andy.\nChanges in Traits and Modifiers\nNeedless to say, traits that give +3, +6, +9 modifiers to skills or attributes would present a similar problem. Rather than list the specifics, here is the general guideline:\nTraits that affect skills are +1 (Convenience) +2 (Edge) +3 (Gift)\nTraits that affect initiative are +2 +4 +6\nTraits that affect health or damage remain unchanged\nFor example: Hard to Kill remains unchanged +2 TGH, +4 TGH, +6 TGH applied to piercing damage. However, Athletic is changed to +1, +2, +3 to all Athletic Group skills.\nFast Reflexes is partly the same and partly changed. Convenience is still +2 INI, but +1 to Awareness Skill Rolls. Edge is +4 INI and +2 Awareness rolls, Gift is +6 INI and +3 Awareness rolls.\nFast Healer is also only partially changed: progression on the Time Chart remains the same, but skill bonuses at the Edge and Gift levels are +1 and +2 respectively.\nFull list comes later.\nAs far as modifiers are concerned, modifiers to Initiative are the same, modifiers for attacking or any other skill roll are reduced by 2/3 rds rounding up. The numbers aren’t easy rounded, so a full chart will be created at some point in the future. Below are examples:\nCombat modifiers for size:\nTarget Size ………………………………………………. Modifier\nGargantuan, 32m or more (ship, bridge) ………………. +4\nHuge, 16m or more (whale, house) …………………….. +3\nVery large, 8m or more (city bus, big mecha) ………….. +2\nLarge, 4m or more (horse, car, tree, sm. mecha) ……… +1\nMedium, 2m (human) ………………………………………. 0\nSmall, 1m or less (dog, barrel) …………………………… -1\nVery small, 1/2m or less (cat, head, limb) ………………. -2\nTiny, 1/4m or less (mouse, bullseye) ……………………. -3\nDamage rolls are still the same\nIf a greatsword does 4D6 damage, it still does 4D6 damage. Theoretically, it would be four Major MOD7 rolls added together, but that would be impractical. Roll (add together 3d6, divide by 7, find the remainder) 3 + roll (add together another 3d6, divide by 7, find the remainder) 2 + roll (add together another 3d6, divide by 7, find the remainder) 0 + roll (add together another 3d6, divide by 7, find the remainder) 4 for umm, err. 12 points of P/L damage. Hah! Take that thou varlet!\nIt slows down play and besides, it’s a whole lot of trouble. It’s one thing to do that for one roll (Skill roll, initiative, etc.) it’s another to have to add a series of Mod7 rolls together.\nHowever, if you do want to still use MOD7 rolls for damage or any other rolls, Dice Sheets will be provided with pregenerated Major and Minor MOD7 rolls. Simply add up as many as you need down the column to get your total and then cross them off the sheet. The numbers are created by a True Random Number Generator to provide dice rolls. Then three dice rolls are added together and modulus 7 is taken from the total, just like any other MOD7 roll. In short, it saves you from the math. Using a TRNG prevents the biases to low number that occurs in many spreadsheet programs with Psuedo-Random Number Generators in them.\n","date":"9 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-09-more-mod7/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More MOD7","type":"posts"},{"content":"I’ve done quite a bit of work in exploring dice mechanics in various games. Here, I’m writing down a different mechanic for a role-playing game that is different from what I’ve seen. If someone has already developed this idea, then please let me know. The name MOD7 comes from the mathematical operation called modulus. The modulus is the remainder after you divide two numbers. For example, 16 divided by 5 is 3 with a remainder of 1. Another way of saying it is the remainder of 16 divided by 5 is 1. Still further, the modulus 5 of 16 is 1. All three are different ways of saying the same thing. Modulus is a term used when you only care about finding the remainder.\nSo the name MOD7 means we are looking for the remainder of something after dividing it by 7.\nBasic Mechanic:\nIf Attribute + Skill + MOD7 roll is equal to or above a target number, the action has been performed successfully.\nMOD7 Roll:\nThere are two kinds of MOD7 roll, a major and a minor roll. A Major roll is the modulus 7 of the total of rolling three regular six-sided dice. In other words, roll three regular dice, find the total, and figure the remainder after dividing that total by 7. A Minor roll uses two regular dice instead of three. Most players will only use a major MOD7 roll.\nToo Much Math?:\nAt first, it seems like a lot of work to get a number. It becomes automatic after a few rolls. However, if you want a table to make things easier at first, here it is:\n3 — 3\n4 — 4\n5 — 5\n6 — 6\n7 — 0\n8 — 1\n9 — 2\n10 - 3\n11 - 4\n12 - 5\n13 - 6\n14 - 0\n15 - 1\n16 - 2\n17 - 3\n18 - 4\n**\nWhy bother?**\nThe reasons behind this mechanic are:\nthe chance to roll a zero a way to give players a small advantage that is fairly invisible a more equal chance of rolling any number Rolling Zero\nThe chance to roll a zero is to add some variety. Rolling a zero is not an automatic failure. It merely represents those times that ‘luck’ isn’t on your side. The good news is that players have a better chance of rolling anything rather than a zero. Folks that use a minor roll (usually controlled by the game master) have a better chance to roll a zero.\nInvisible Advantage\nThe major roll has more chance of success than a minor roll, but it isn’t apparent from anything other than the number of dice thrown. The advantage isn’t huge, but it’s enough to make a difference. In the math section, you can see the breakdown of exactly how much of an advantage the major roll provides.\n_\nEven Distribution of Rolls_\nRolling three dice and using the total alone tends to give you average rolls. In other words, you’ll roll average rolls more often than small or large rolls. This is seen by many experienced rpg players as giving an advantage to players with powerful characters. Although the distribution isn’t as even as just rolling one die, the distribution of rolling 1 through 6 is the same, only rolling a zero is different. For a major roll, roll tend to be something other than zero. For minor rolls, they tend to be zero.\nTarget Numbers:\nSetting a target number for an action is up to the Game Master, though some guidelines are provided later on. To give some meaning to the numbers, descriptive adjectives are provided in order to give a sense of scale.\nTN 5 - Easy\nTN 8 - Tricky\nTN 11 - Difficult\nTN 14 - Challenging\nTN 17 - Demanding\nTN 20 - Extreme\nTN 23 - Legendary\nTN 26 - Mythic\nThose familiar with the Action! System should recognize the adjectives. The MOD7 system uses some terminology from the Action! System game as provided by the OGL.\nTHE MATH:\nNothing extremely technical here, just the percentages of rolling certain things.\nMajor roll\nRoll — Chance to Roll — Chance to = or exceed\n0 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 1.000000000\n1 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.861111111\n2 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.717592593\n3 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.574074074\n4 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.430555556\n5 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.287037037\n6 ——- 0.143518519 ——- 0.143518519\nMinor roll\nRoll — Chance to Roll — Chance to = or exceed\n0 ——- 0.166666667 ——- 1.000000000\n1 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.833333333\n2 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.694444444\n3 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.555555556\n4 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.416666667\n5 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.277777778\n6 ——- 0.138888889 ——- 0.138888889\n","date":"8 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-08-mod7/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"MOD7","type":"posts"},{"content":"As some of you know, I wrote a post about my current anger and frustration over recent events, then removed it. I began writing it as a public post, but decided to make it private at the end. I had been writing it for a few days, but just couldn\u0026rsquo;t take out a lot of the vitriol. At the end, I was still pretty upset and I forgot to make it private.\nTo those that read it I just want to say that my feelings do not come from a lack of support or prayers from anyone. I am truly grateful. I feel very loved and accepted. It has been wonderful sharing this difficult time with you.\nI am angry at God alone, not any one of you. This is nothing new for God and me, unfortunately, but it is new that it is this intense. As I said, I will probably seek professional help soon. I am not well at all.\nTo anyone that wishes to offer advice, I only ask that you do not say or imply \u0026ldquo;God is in control\u0026rdquo;. He was in control when we were given a rare genetic syndrome that is transferable. This means our children may have children with worse predicaments than they have. We are awaiting confirmation of the diagnosis of Townes-Brocks syndrome. If confirmed, we are certainly done having children and I will have to break the news to our children when they are adults that having children for them is a large risk. If it is not confirmed, we may a very rare (only 11 known cases) form of Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s syndrome that is hereditary.\nOthers have been through worse, I\u0026rsquo;m sure. This is, however, more than I can handle at this present time. I will probably not post anything for a while.\n","date":"7 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-07-about-last-night-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"About Last Night","type":"posts"},{"content":"Let me tell you up front. This is a bad post. You won\u0026rsquo;t feel good or inspired at the end. No, this is a post marking a hiatus for me. I only thought it was fair to say that up front.\nI see our beautiful daughter, at home, asleep. I see our son in one of his many contortionist positions he considers comfortable enough for sleep. My wife is peacefully asleep as well.\nThe house is quiet. Hot, but quiet.\nThe heat prevents me from sleeping despite very wonderful sounding storms outside. It makes me think of summer at home to hear the thunder late at night. It is usually a great comfort. But there\u0026rsquo;s more than that. I have been awake for many nights now and I thought that once she was home, I would sleep better. Such is not the case. I cannot sleep because I am unsettled.\nI have rationalized natural disasters as a hazard of where you live. If you live on the oceanfront, you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be upset when a hurricane levels your house. I\u0026rsquo;ve even thought to myself why these storms are needed. Lightning puts nitrogen in the soil. Hurricanes shift water temperature around in globally beneficial ways. Earthquakes have benefits as well, and the list goes on. I think DJ had a column on it as well as part of his theodicy.\nTheodicy is the area of theology that deals with the existence of evil. All theodicy starts with the question, \u0026ldquo;How does evil exist if God is omnipotent and all loving?\u0026rdquo; Some redefine or clarify \u0026ldquo;all loving\u0026rdquo;. Some clarify or redefine omnipotent. Some say that the world is fallen and therefore all evil and suffering is bourn of Adam\u0026rsquo;s sin. Some go into great detail to discuss the effects of free will and those that choose sin. Things that do not appear to be caused by a sin are either linked to a sin somewhere in time and space, or are explained away in other ways.\nI have read quite a bit of theodicy lately and I do not but any of them. Every theodicy I have read is pretentious (to know the mind of God) and somehow limits God. Either God cannot overcome the fallen world for some reason or God cannot circumvent the will of evil men or natural disasters. Both ways point to a deist God more than the God of the Bible. Yes, there are elaborate explanations, but I do not buy them. They do not work for me. There are even explanations that say God can overcome both the fallen world and the will of evil men. However, it does nothing to explain why he acts in some cases and is silent in others.\nWhere does this come from? Not the tornadoes that hit Kansas, but the suffering of our daughter. I know that she was not afflicted because of my sin or hers - Jesus said that the man born blind was born blind for the glory of God. It does not comfort me that our children have genetic disorders for the glory of God. Surely glory could have been attained without afflicting children.\nGod does not cause evil, as James says. So he may not have directed these things to happen. If he did, then what has happened to our children is not evil. Otherwise, he allowed it to happen, which is the same thing. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Maybe it is not evil what has happened to our children, but it felt evil.\nEveryday was either the uncertainty of what a test result was or another piece of bad news. Her skull hasn\u0026rsquo;t grown since birth. That was what we were told just as she was allowed to go home. Can\u0026rsquo;t we just enjoy her being home? As it is, they called today to schedule the MRI. So much for a day of peace. Before that, it was watching her angry at the breathing tube for five days. Each of those five days, my wife asked me and God for relief from her pain and sadness. Each of those five days, I was unable to do so. Then it was the tests for Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s. Then it was questioning our son\u0026rsquo;s diagnosis and a consideration that they both have something called Townes-Brocks Syndrome. If it is still Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s, then we are one of eleven families with multiple Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s children. ONE OF ELEVEN. If it is Townes-Brocks, not only are we one of a couple hundred families, but it is transferred from parent to child. In other words, our children will have Townes-Brocks children and the symptoms can be very mild or very severe. Everyday they weighed her and they weighed her poops. One day, they said she lost 10 oz and it seemed that it would be a month before she came home. Her weight went up and down. We concentrated on her eating so much, we overfed her causing her to throw up. Unfortunately, throwing up aggravates the nasal surgery. For eighteen days I watched her vital signs and tried to figure out if a given heart rate was good or not.\nOthers have been through worse, I know. But God made a promise to not give us more than we could handle.\nHe didn\u0026rsquo;t hold up his promise to me. I\u0026rsquo;ve snapped and I know it. I pray in tears and screams and anger. (Anger is not a sin, but what I am doing in my anger is.) I am detached. I am not in touch with reality in many ways, at least not with spiritual reality anyway. I regard prayer as futile, but pray anyway because it is written, \u0026ldquo;You do not have because you do not ask.\u0026rdquo;\nIt seems that God has made up his mind what He is going to do. He isn\u0026rsquo;t swayed by prayers - as it is written, \u0026ldquo;I am not a man that I should change my mind\u0026rdquo;. It has been pre-determined since the beginning of the world as is as unyielding as death itself. He will not budge, He will not speak directly. He cares, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, but the only comfort is \u0026ldquo;it will work out in time, you\u0026rsquo;ll see.\u0026rdquo; (Romans 8:28)\nNo. I do not believe that anymore. I want to, but I don\u0026rsquo;t. As miserable as I feel, I cannot trust an all-powerful God anymore with my heart and my prayers. This, of course, makes them a waster of time because I am praying without faith. I\u0026rsquo;ve prayed reflexively for so long, I have to stop myself in mid-sentence and apologize for taking His name in vain.\nI used to wonder at storms. I used to do a lot of things.\nI may not write for awhile. I will get professional help at some point. I may make peace with God.\n","date":"6 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-06-from-where-i-sit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"From Where I Sit","type":"posts"},{"content":"Work has a limit, so rather than have the email guys yell at me for eating up bandwidth, I\u0026rsquo;ll post them here.\nTwo pictures, one is a close up of our daughter. The other is me holding our daughter. Our Baby Girl Me and She\n","date":"3 May 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-05-03-i-didnt-put-everyone-on-the-email/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Didn't Put Everyone on the Email","type":"posts"},{"content":"I want to take the time to thank a lot of people. This should be my last post about our daughter unless something changes dramatically. Anyone that wants details can email me. Treatment for her will be quite manageable, but will take about six months in total.\nThanks to salguod for a wonderful post and well-wishes. The song lyrics were very helpful, especially as I shared to you that my struggle has not been a lack of faith that Elani would be okay. Next time you actually speak to me on the phone, I won\u0026rsquo;t sound as distracted, I hope.\nThanks to Scott for the prayers. I\u0026rsquo;m not really sorry that we are devoid of cigars for this birth. We look pretty green in the picture I have.\nThanks to mrtool for the rambling phone call Thursday or Wednesday (I don\u0026rsquo;t remember.) and for checking on me quite a bit. I called you back and left a message earlier. Visitation will be Friday night or Saturday if all goes well.\nThanks to Rock for the thoughts and prayers and encouragement. I was honored to help read pre-release versions of your book. I really look forward to seeing you again and introducing you to my son and daughter.\nThanks to Milly for the continued prayers and support. Thoughts of chickeny goodness kept me going.\nThanks to Mark for the prayers and support. If there is a next time, I hope you win the pool. I also hope that both our churches back out of the UP before the end of the year.\nThanks to beg, the squeamish (You should have seen the eye exam, I actually wretched.) for the prayers.\nThanks to Alan for the prayers and support - not just for Elani. There is a reason you are an elder.\nThanks to TTK for the prayers and thoughts. You\u0026rsquo;re right, Elani arrived first. For the rest of you, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know the news she preempted after someone finally decides to post it.\nThanks to my buddy Kurt, who really should move to Nebraska. It gets cold here. Seriously, though, thanks for the thoughts and prayers. I know I said that I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t ask for it anymore, but seriously, I no longer want my five percent (or six percent).\nThanks to Bobber for the prayers and blessings. I thought about you during the ordeal, especially my very warped, and unCalvinist perspectives of predestination that many would call Calvinist. Thanks for the things you have shared here.\nThanks to Daughter for the thoughts and prayers. See you at Nonny\u0026rsquo;s site - I\u0026rsquo;ll post more.\nThanks to P. Allan Fredrick for the many thoughts shared. I value what you share and appreciate hearing from you from time to time.\nThanks to my mother-in-law, our son\u0026rsquo;s first babysitter. She kept watch over him for many, many hours, especially after the loss of her own mother a few days before. I\u0026rsquo;m glad that I could create a temporary website for her.\nThanks to both families for their love and support. We long to see you, especially my family in NC. We had planned for summer, but Elani\u0026rsquo;s continued care may require a delay until September. (It won\u0026rsquo;t be October because our son won\u0026rsquo;t be free for half that month.) We appreciate the thoughts and prayers.\nThanks to the many churches that had Elani for their prayer lists. This list is not limited to and includes: The Omaha Church of Christ, The Colington United Methodist Church, and The Jarvisburg Church of Christ\nThanks to many across the country that only knew a name mentioned by a friend. Folks in Texas, California, North Carolina, Ohio, Indianapolis, New York, Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Mexico, Washington, Utah and other places have prayed for her in one form or another. Those prayers and/or thoughts have been from individuals of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, LDS and Buddhist faiths as well as individuals that find their spirituality in Native American traditions.\nThe internet can make the world very large and very small at the same time. I am grateful for how small it has made the world for this time of temporary grief and sadness. I talk about unity sometimes and how much it means to me. In some ways, our daughter has been a part of something larger than i have ever seen. Six degrees of separation? Maybe twenty years ago. I\u0026rsquo;d wager of no more than five.\nI also want to thank the United Methodist Women of Nebraska that met together in Alma, Nebraska in June of last year. Alma has about 1200 people that live there. Our daughter has a beautiful quilt because of their simple encouragement of love. See, small churches can do a lot.\nLastly, there are many that I may never know that have offered encouragement, prayers, and other things. I am grateful, even if I am not currently aware of what you have done. I do not believe that any prayer is too small or insignificant. God hears them all.\nThank you.\n","date":"25 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-25-profound-gratitude/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Profound Gratitude","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to everyone for the support. I feel a lot better now, thanks in part to prayers and well-wishes. Also thanks in part to a good lesson about Hebrews 4:14 - 5:10. More on that later.\nMost of my difficulty has been with God and not the fact that surgery was coming. Still, they are going to put my baby under and it is unnerving.\nJust wanted to let everyone know.\n","date":"23 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-23-surgery-at-11am-cdt/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Surgery at 11am CDT","type":"posts"},{"content":"I go to work on Wednesday thinking in the back of my mind that my wife may give me a call and say come to the hospital. It\u0026rsquo;s what happened with our son, so I figured it might happen again. There\u0026rsquo;s a certain advantage to avoiding the worry of whether or not to drive to the hospital because the contractions are a certain length apart. It\u0026rsquo;s almost like going to a baby store.\nSure enough, my wife calls and I quickly post a few words here to let folks know. (Another advantage. Had I been at home, there would have been no post.) Knowing the drill, I calmly and casually beat down the door to my office and run to the car. Everything was calm and serenity in my mother-in-law\u0026rsquo;s Honda, which was a good thing. There was all kinds of chaos going on around my car: people diving onto the ground, cars swerving, and lots of people waving their arms yelling and carrying on. Like I said, the calm of the car was comforting as the stick-shift groaned and gasped into unfamiliar gears.\nI got to the maternity ward and everyone was happily awaiting our blessed event. It turned out that my wife\u0026rsquo;s water was dangerously low, so they were going to induce her as mildly as possible. It involves something called posteglanderin (sp) and is a good bit milder than petosin. We wiled away a few hours waiting for the effects to take hold. My son played happily on the floor and generally made certain that he was the center of attention for as long as possible.\nI have no idea where he gets this need to be a ham.\nAbout 7pm, my wife begins to wonder if she is feeling contractions or not. The monitor says that she is, but she is never quite sure. As she had decided to have no , and no epidural, we began the relaxing exercises to deal with the pain. As the medicine took effect and the contractions came more frequently, my wife became the picture of calm.\nSeriously, ask anyone that was at the birth. They would watch the contractions on her belly, read them on the monitor, and stand agawk that her expression never changed from one of perfect serenity. She was in another place. This turned out to be good as I popped my ankle while sitting next to her. She didn\u0026rsquo;t hear the pop or the muffled strangulation noises coming from me as I searched for my happy place. Our friend signed to me asking if I was ok. I signed back that I was trying to be calm like my wife. I bit my hand to demonstrate how much it hurt - I noticed later that I still had the bite marks.\nAbout 10:30 pm, she decides to go to the bathroom. When she doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to come out, I know that the baby is coming. She asked for the bathtub to be filled and I am relishing the idea of climbing into the jacuzzi tub with her for the final part of the birth. After what seemed to be a few days, the tub finally fills enough for her to get in. It\u0026rsquo;s then that I realize that this was the room with the single tub, not the family sized tub. She also indicates to me that she doesn\u0026rsquo;t want the jets running. Sorry, Kurt, no jacuzzi action was involved in the birth of our daughter.\nOnce in the tub, she finally breaks her silence to say that she is not going to be able to finish the delivery. She didn\u0026rsquo;t raise her voice at all, she said it about as matter-of-factly as you would tell someone that you\u0026rsquo;re going to the store. By this time, the nurse midwife and two nurses are in the room, but not the bathroom. The nurse midwife quickly reassures her and everyone prepares for another long period of labor.\nWhat happens next can only be described as a tornado. There was a lot of concentrated, yet furious activity that occured in the space of about five minutes. I was sitting on the tile floor next to the tub with my hand of my wife\u0026rsquo;s shoulder. I figured out that my role was to be seen and not heard. (This was much better than last time where my role was to be chided, cramped, and not comforted.) The touchstone to the malestrom was my wife saying, \u0026ldquo;I think I need to push.\u0026rdquo;\nThe nurse midwife asks where the pressure is occuring and as my wife is saying where it is, she lets out her only yell. My mother-in-law and my son wake up upon hearing this and make their way to the bathroom. The third year med student in the bathroom with us begins to process what is happening, but is somewhat frozen by the effect of everyone else\u0026rsquo;s activity. The nurse midwife throws off her coat in a Zorro-like motion and dives with outstretched hands toward the tub. The nurse in the other room hears the nurse midwife\u0026rsquo;s order for something, and dashes toward the bathroom as well. Our family friend, a physician\u0026rsquo;s assistant and witness to hudnreds of births knows that she needs to get the video camera, but is unable to move toward the camera to retreive it due to the flow of people coming in. It was something like a salmon swimming against the current and all I could think was that our child would be born soon and I hoped that it was a .\nMy wife is the eye of the storm. She pushes without much sound and I see our child make an entrance into this world. The nurse midwife asks my wife to push, despite the lack of a contraction. She pushes one more time and our daughter is born.\nMoments later, my mother-in-law, our son, the nurse from the other room, and the video camera arrive simultaneously. Our friend asks me how to work the camera, but I find I don\u0026rsquo;t remember myself. I take the camera and go on instinct, an instinct which proved to be right.\nWhat Happens Next\nOur daughter is very beautiful. She was, of course, covered in white mikly fluid and a lot of other things. I got to cut the cord and see her snuggle against her mother\u0026rsquo;s chest. Her big eyes and dark hair are the most beautiful I have ever seen.\nHowever, we all notice that she is not turning pink, but remains quite purple. I see her quiver her bottom lip and realize that she cannot breathe.\n\u0026ldquo;Not again,\u0026rdquo; I think. \u0026ldquo;Lord God Almighty, not again.\u0026rdquo;\nMy wife was able to hold her and the team tried all kinds of things to encourage her to breathe. Nothing is working and the nurses go to rush her to the nursery for more care. My wife and both think that it is happening all over again and we sit in shock for awhile. The nurses encourage her to move to the bed to deal with the placenta and cord and all of that. I lose perspective of time and space long enough to just try and focus on my wife.\nSome time later, they come in and tell us that they cannot pass anything through her nostrils. Babies, by definition, can only breather through their nose, so she was rushed into the NICU and intubated. We have a few more visits with other doctors, but the long and short of it turns out to be that, like our son, she has a blockage in her nose. Unlike our son, it is her entire nose.\nI think I can tell you that I was very angry.\nI hospitals and as nice as the staff is, I really really do not like ICU. I spent 11 days in the NICU with our son and I had hoped to avoid seeing the brand new NICU. This was not meant to be, I guess.\nThere are a lot of very good people here. All of this is really comfortable in a strange way. It was like driving my morther-in-law\u0026rsquo;s stick shift, it all came back to me after a little bit of time. I have relationships with all these people that I saw exactly 18 months ago for a similar thing. We can all compare stories and contrast them with our son\u0026rsquo;s experience. A part of me wishes that I had met these people in everyday life and not as a result of their professional expertise.\nTwo children with blocked airways. Two surguries. Two NICU stays. Two six figure hospital bills. Two missed opportunities to come home with our new child like most Americans do. Somedays, I hug the bassinet with our daughter and cry. Somedays, I just look out the window. I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be as comfortable with all of this as I am. I had hoped for something more and it upsets me that it did not happen.\nI think about how good the coffee is in the family room of the NICU. I think about the surgery our duaghter will undergo. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to our son\u0026rsquo;s, but it is more risky as she cannot breathe at all without being intubated. I think about talking to the surgeon that operated on our son and how he remembers us from only 18 months ago. The staff is the same, no one appears to have aged very much at all. I look like I\u0026rsquo;ve aged ten years. My long hair is graying quite a bit when it is clean and I look tired. As with everything else in this world, I feel every emotion at once. My feelings sort out on paper like marching toy soldiers. They are not as organized in my mind.\nPray for our daughter. I beleive that she will be totally fine. There is not indication of Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome or other genetic defect outside of her nose. She is doing well and is exceedingly beautiful. If things go well, she will be operated on in a couple days. I am not worried about her health. Pray for me - this is hard to accept for me. I am grateful for my wife who once again is the calm of the storm.\nHer name? Elani Rose Payne was born at 10:55 pm on April 18th. She was 19.5 inches long and weighed 7 lbs 10 ounces. She is strong-willed and spirited. She demands nothing less than to be treated like the princess she is. She is loved by many.\n","date":"20 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-20-its-a/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's a Girl","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m off to the hospital.\n","date":"18 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-18-the-baby-is-on-the-way/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"THE BABY IS ON THE WAY","type":"posts"},{"content":"In times like these, I really feel that the best thing to do is say little and pray much. My wife is a very sensitive soul and she is grieving the tragedy at Virginia Tech. I think it is appropriate to mourn and reflect. The biggest struggle for many Christians, I imagine, is how a loving God allows tragedies like this to happen in the first place. I\u0026rsquo;ll be the first to tell you that I do not know the answer - I don\u0026rsquo;t even have a opinion. This is something that I have to work out in my own heart, especially at shocking events like the Va. Tech shootings, or Darfur, or our Government, or why certain individuals are still in power within the ICOC.\nThe one thing that I do know, however, is that this reaction from Dare2Share founder, Greg Siter is way off the mark. I feel like it is important enough to write something about careless and thoughtless reactions to tragedy.\nAs far as is known at this point, the fault of the shootings is Cho-Seung-Hui\u0026rsquo;s. He pulled the trigger. Blaming violent video games for this shooting is irresponsible - I suppose that what is happening in Darfur is because members of the Janjaweed played too much Mortal Kombat. I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen a report yet that speaks of Cho\u0026rsquo;s addiction to World of Warcraft or Halo2.\nWorse yet is somehow blaming yourself and by extension, the entire Christian community for not doing \u0026lsquo;something about it\u0026rsquo;. The something is not defined, nor is any real reason given for Greg\u0026rsquo;s culpability in this tragedy. The causes and solutions are much more complex in the real world than banning violent video games. There is no simple one-sentence answer.\nI think about the reasons for tragedies like this and I have to understand that I do not know the reasons. If I spend time forcing the blame, I\u0026rsquo;m certain that I could rationalize blaming the President, the Virginia State Government, Va. Tech Administrators, Blacksburg police and Swat teams, specific department heads, immigration policies, inflation or the economy as a whole, Satan, American culture, South Korean culture, and many more. I guess for Greg, the first socially acceptable recipient of the blame was violent video games and violence in American culture. It is Cho\u0026rsquo;s fault, but assigning fault still doesn\u0026rsquo;t answer the question, \u0026ldquo;why?\u0026rdquo;\nI ask God this question a lot, especially in regards to this. I pray for wisdom and wait for an answer. I know I may not get one and that is difficult. I know that I may not like the answer and that is also difficult. Somehow, though, I believe I know enough that I do not envision the Almighty answering by saying that I need to picket Gamers for selling Grand Theft Auto.\nMore than that, though, my question has more to do with why God allows it to happen, not why it happened at all. I think others, like my wife, struggle with that question more. Maybe I am weird and out-of-touch, but it is easier for me to believe that a person can convince themselves that shooting random people is the right thing to do rather than believe that God, knowing it will happen will choose to allow it to happen. I\u0026rsquo;m not Arminian enough to say that God was powerless to stop it. I\u0026rsquo;m not Calvinist enough to believe that it was preordained before the creation of the world. I\u0026rsquo;m not simplistic enough to believe that the answer lies \u0026lsquo;somewhere between these two extremes\u0026rsquo;. A logical fallacy is still a logical fallacy.\nSo in the middle of my struggles to understand why, I don\u0026rsquo;t appreciate those divert the question. I would love to blame Hollywood and Rockstar Games and make them pay. Truth is, though, that the battle is not against physical things. There is no map with X\u0026rsquo;s to mark the locations of the enemy. The battle is internal and spiritual - to trust God when it feels easier to doubt Him.\nThe site of this massacre is sacred ground. It is the place where 30+ souls transitioned from Earth to the grave. It should be respected and treated with dignity. There is no doubt that Cho-Seung-Hui was a troubled soul - his struggles may never be known. There is no minimizing the sense of loss and pain that many feel at the loss of loved ones. What can we do now? We can embrace those hurting. We can help families to heal and forgive. We can be there for each other as we struggle to understand what this means to each of us. We can pray.\nShame on you Greg. There\u0026rsquo;s no excuse for this guilt-mongering and thoughtless response.\n","date":"17 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-17-sacred-ground/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sacred Ground","type":"posts"},{"content":"That means a few folks are starting to drop off the list.\nBut never fear, you\u0026rsquo;re second chance is here!\nWe\u0026rsquo;re hoping something happens by Wednesday at the latest, a family friend cannot be with us during the delivery if Dancing Bear comes any later.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all the news!\n","date":"16 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-16-no-baby-yet/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"No Baby Yet","type":"posts"},{"content":"No Baby Yet.\nOkay, let\u0026rsquo;s take a guess at when you believe Dancing Bear will be born. The original due date was April 11. Our son was born around 6pm and was 11 days late. Most non-scientific means of determining gender point to Dancing Bear being a girl. There has been no indication yet that labor has begun.\nPost your guess of the day and hour in the comments. UPDATE FROM DOCTORS APPT: The baby is at -1 Station, dilation is 2cm. So all you folks guessing late are probably more accurate.\n","date":"13 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-13-baby-pool/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Baby Pool","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been fascinated lately with variations on chess. The one played by many in Europe, including current Grandmasters, is Janus Chess. The board has two extra spaces (10 x 8 board) and each side has a Janus, a combination of a knight and bishop.\nHaving a combination piece means that a player can be checkmated with a Janus alone.\nReading about it, though, I stumbled upon a website with many, many different chess variants. People have combined pieces of all kinds, including ones from Shogi (chinese chess) and Tamerlane. Folks come up with some wild variations, including some rather unplayable ones. There’s a rabbit that can make as many knight moves in a counterclockwise fashion as it can. (Am I in check from your rabbit? Let me check.) There’s variations of the knight that make the “L” longer, wider, or both. There’s a checker piece that captures by jumping. The list is really large at chessvariants.org.\nMy favorite, however, is Chess with Different Armies. Four different armies have been playtested by the inventor and it is fascinating to see a game being played. Both sides are pretty much equal, but the tactics of each of definitely not the same. I imagine a tournament where players can switch armies between matches. I imagine two variant armies squaring off will be the most exciting matches.\nIf I ever live out my fantasy of opening a store, I’d like to create and sell Chess with Multiple Armies. It could be like the release of Deadwood with new armies every year. Heck, I may do that anyway.\nOf course, I also like Arimaa, designed to confound computers. Enjoy the wikipedia reading.\n","date":"13 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-13-chess-variants/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Chess Variants","type":"posts"},{"content":"And no, Dancing Bear is not here, yet.\nFirst, I have to say that Wordsworth is one of my favorite poets, next to T.S. Elliott, Williams Carlos Williams, et al. I\u0026rsquo;m not even that upset about putting \u0026ldquo;Daffodils\u0026rdquo; to hip-hop music. After all, Nas has recently declared that hip-hop is dead. However, there is something fun in watching a giant red squirrel deliver what is 95% Wordsworth poem in syncopated recitative.\nAnother is that Kurt Vonnegut, Jr is dead at 84. I first encountered Welcome to the Monkey House as a play in high school. I played the role of Harrison Bergeron, mainly because I had the voice for it, though not the build. I did not make it through Slaughterhouse Five, but I did read his other works and a couple of essays. Here is someone that thought differently than others, and I appreciated that a great deal.\nHe said in 2005 that he wanted his epitaph to be \u0026ldquo;The only proof he needed for the existence of God was music.\u0026rdquo;\nLastly, my cousin in going a book tour. His book, Inside the Danger Zone, is a look at an incident involving the attack on the USS Stark. The synopsis on his site is better, so you should read it there. Congrats on a great first book. I look forward to the second.\nThe only thing that I\u0026rsquo;ve written lately, is a reworking of the Wikipedia article of Durak. Durak is a Russian card game that looks like fun at parties. The original article confuses the rules with strategy tips. This is how most of us describe the rules of the game. In a conversation, this works quite well, but in a written medium, it is terribly confusing.\nSo, for your perusal, here are the rules of Durak, edited by me.\nDurak\nPlayers 2 to 5 players.\nRequired Materials Traditionally, a deck of 36 cards ranked A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 are used. This can be achieved by removing numerical cards 2 through 5 inclusive prior to play.\nSetup The deck is shuffled, and each player receives six cards. If multiple games have been played, often the loser of the previous game shuffles. If any player has six cards of the same color, the game is reset.\nThe top card of the remaining deck is drawn and placed face up on the table. The remaining cards are then placed face down across the revealed card so that the rank and suit of the revealed card is visible. All of these cards, including the face up card, comprise the draw pile.\nThe revealed card at the bottom of the draw pile determines the trump suit.\nThe player with the lowest trump plays first.\nGameplay The starting player is the first attacker. The player to the attacker\u0026rsquo;s left is always the defender. After each turn, players replenish their hands from the draw pile and play proceeds clockwise. The attacker opens the turn by playing one card face up on the table as an attacking card. The player to the attacker\u0026rsquo;s left is the defender.\nThe defender has three options:\nPass on the attack: To pass-on an attack, the defender must play a card of the same rank on all the attacking card(s). Once played, the turn ends. The player becomes the new attacker and the person to the player’s left becomes the new defender.\nRepel the attack: To repel an attack, the defender must play a higher ranked card on each and every attacking card. Cards of the trump suit are considered higher than any card in a non-trump suit. Once a defender has begun to repel an attack, any player (except the defender) can add attack cards provided that the new attack cards have the same rank as a card already in play and there are not more attacking cards than the number of cards in the defender’s hand.\nFor example, if Player A attacks Player B with a Jack and Player B repels with a Queen leaving three cards in his hand, any player (even Player A) can add another Jack or Queen as an additional attacking card. No more than three additional attacking cards can be played.\nWhen the defender has successfully repelled an attack, all cards in play are discarded and the turn ends. Once an attack is repelled, the player begins a new attack on the player to their left.\nConcede: If a defender is unable to successfully repel or pass-on an attack, he or she must concede defeat. Any player (except the defender) can add attack cards provided that the new attack cards have the same rank as a card already in play. Once any new attack cards are added, all cards in play are placed in the defender’s hand and the turns ends. The defender also forfeits his or her turn. The player to the left becomes the new attacker and play continues.\nDefense\nThe defender is responsible for determining the order in which other players added attack cards while repelling or conceding an attack.\nIf the defender runs out of cards in his or her hand while successfully repelling an attack, the defense is successful and the turn ends immediately. This usually happens when an attack is passed on several times.\nIt is possible for a defender to concede after he or she begins to repel the attack. This usually occurs when players add other attack cards which the defender cannot overcome. Changing from repelling an attack to conceding an attack does not change the order in which other players added attack cards.\nEnd of turn At end of a turn, whether or not defense was successful, the players replenish their hands from the draw pile. Each player in sequence replenishes his or her hand to six cards as long as cards remain in the draw pile. In order, the attacker replenishes his or her hand first. Next, other players contributing attack cards replenish their hand. These players proceed in the order determined by the defender. Finally, the defender replenishes the cards in his or her hand. Any player that does not have any cards after replenishing is out of the game. Play continues clockwise. No players may examine the discard pile at any point.\nCulmination of the game The last person left in the game with cards in his or her hand, is the loser (the durak). The durak will be the dealer for the next game, and the person to the left of the durak is the first attacker of the next game.\nDurak with Epaulettes (Shoulder decorations) If the very last card played by an attacker is the lowest rank (6 in the standard game) and the defender concedes, the defender is cheerfully pronounced \u0026ldquo;durak with epaulette\u0026rdquo; and the low card is slapped onto the shoulder of the loser. If the last two cards played by an attacker are both of the lowest rank, the attacker slaps a card on each shoulder.\nThese endings are considered by some to be a demonstration of skill, because the winning attacker makes himself or herself handicapped by keeping the lowest ranked card through the final part of the game.\nClarifications\nAs soon as a defending card has been played, the defender no longer has the option to pass the attack to their left; they must defend or fail.\nIt is possible for the defender to concede, by picking up all attacking cards before any defending cards are played.\nOptions / Variants\nThere is also a \u0026ldquo;Pairs\u0026rdquo; variation of the game, which can be played with four players. In this version, teammates sit across each other, and the game goes normally. The difference is that a player cannot add to an attack on his or her partner. The team which has both their players lose all their cards is the winner.\nFor six players, the rules are the same except that the deck has 40 cards. The 40 card deck of 40 cards is ranked A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. For eight players, the a standard 52 card deck is used with the same rules.\nFor a two person game or four person game of two teams \u0026ldquo;epaulettes\u0026rdquo; are an actual score point. Once a player or team receives an epaulette with a 6, points are scored if a team or player can confer an epaulette of a 7 onto the durak. Play continues until an ace card is landed onto someone\u0026rsquo;s shoulder. The team or player conferring the epaulette of an ace is considered the winner.\n","date":"12 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-12-literary-notes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Literary Notes","type":"posts"},{"content":"Hey, what do you know, a more later that actually has more later.\nCue the band, The Last Day is upon us.\nI have been thinking a lot about what a community looks like, especially the ekklesia, commonly known as the church. How does ekklesia express community? Moreover, what does this look like in worship, decision-making, and even corporate discipline?\nHere are factors I would consider to be important:\nSacred Space 1 Peter 2:4 – 10\nThe author of Hebrews and Peter share a common thought in regards to sacred space. The community of believers is God’s sacred space, not a temple or an ark. In this passage, Jesus is described as a living cornerstone, and all the believers as living stones being built together into a house of God. Sacred space on Earth is not so much a patch of ground but the union of human hearts.\nWhen believers come together, especially in worshiping together, seeking divine guidance, or helping each other, it is important to focus on this aspect of holiness. It should be plain to everyone that the gathering of believers creates sacred space. Hymns and prayers can serve as a reminder of this important principle. Therefore, it is important that when believers come together to worship, there needs to be a reminder of some kind to establish the idea of sacred space in everyone’s mind. The Spirit will always work, but being mindful of our own sacred space allows each of us to participate in that work. I have this mostly written out, but cannot transcribe it right now.\nListening James 1:19 - 21\nBeing slow to speak and quick to listen is easy enough to say, but very difficult to execute. What does it mean to be quick to listen? Practically speaking, being quick to listen includes the following:\nHearing another person without focusing on your own agenda Searching for the meaning of what another person is trying to say Asking questions Withholding assessments until a person is finished sharing. Seek Understanding Proverbs 18:2\nThe experience of God is what motivates an individual believer. Are we trying to give advice more than understand another brother\u0026rsquo;s experience?\nSilence and Reflection Psalms 46:10\nSelf-Control\nBeing Orderly\nBuild Trust\nWhat is said in the assembly, stays in the assembly.\nWhat does this look like practically? In some ways, not much different than a small group meeting. In others, it could look very different.\nMore later about practical expressions.\n","date":"10 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-10-building-community-broad-scope/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Building Community - Broad Scope","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife has a big dream: she wants to build community through art.\nIt is simple to say and at first, I thought it was difficult to implement. However, we have pictures we share of her \u0026lsquo;baby shower\u0026rsquo; for Dancing Bear (expected Wednesday). So, it is not as difficult as I first believed. After all, building community is involved with whomever shows up, not a quorum.\nAs we were talking yesterday about what this dream looks like in our future, we were talking to her mom about various ideas. I tend to look for the largest scope possible. How can art help heal the racial divisions in our city? How can art bring together various factions and schisms of the RM?\nHow can art bring our cul-de-sac together?\nI met most of the people in the cul-de-sac under two circumstances: one was during deep snows and we shoveled out each others\u0026rsquo; driveways. The other was my complaints at fireworks being set off. (They are illegal within city limits. I waited until 11PM to complain.) Every once in a while, I talk to a couple of my neighbors - it\u0026rsquo;s not anything really special. I know a few of them, but only superficially.\nSo what if our cul-de-sac had a small event this summer?\nMost of us have gas grills, so food isn\u0026rsquo;t a big deal. But what if we had a cookout, a child-art activity or two, and a drumming jam session at the end? Now we got a community building idea underway. What\u0026rsquo;s more basic than grilled meat in the summer? What\u0026rsquo;s more fundamental in music than a drum?\nI\u0026rsquo;ll let you know how it all turns out.\nMore later.\n","date":"9 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-09-building-community/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Building Community","type":"posts"},{"content":"Tonight is the second half of teach week. My small group (and I think every small group in the church I attend) has been going through the last events in Jesus\u0026rsquo; life culminating in the resurrection. Week one was the Last Supper, week two was the Trial, this week is the crucifixion, next week is the resurrection.\nI was a bit bummed that we didn\u0026rsquo;t have a Palm Sunday sermon. I grew up with the tradition of Easter being a big honking deal. There were seders all over, watching the sun rise over the ocean on Easter morning, and many other things. My dad is really big on Lent, but I never figured out why. Palm Sunday was \u0026rsquo;the buildup\u0026rsquo; and I miss it in a way. (The Buildup while I was growing up wasn\u0026rsquo;t hype or any kind of hyperthermodynamathayes. It was more or less an exultation of the Christ. Various ministers I have known really tried to infuse a sense of the excitement of the Triumphal Entry.)\nBut I digress\u0026hellip;\nCovering the Crucifixion is a bit of a big deal to me. The way I used to teach about it involved all kinds of dramatic presentation. It was pretty shamelessly theatric. Folks said that they enjoyed it and that it really moved them. I used to say that everyone I led the Cross study with got baptized. There\u0026rsquo;s a time and place for dramatic presentation (think Mel\u0026rsquo;s movie), but I was downright manipulative. I hope a lot of that doesn\u0026rsquo;t come back.\nAs far as Sunday, it went well. The big point that I hoped to make was that unbelief is not so much a lack of understanding as much as a lack of trust. That seemed to open folks up to share about various things. As far as the weird handbook, it was pretty conservative on this chapter as well. One thing about the Handbook: it is not broken up into chapters. It takes some effort to find things that pertain only to a given chapter. The Greater than Angels concept from Hebrews 1 seemed to get a lot of ink, but Greater than Moses was just casually mentioned. Oh well.\nFor those that were not there, I used all four of the previous columns. Neckties, brakes, all kinds of things. I enjoyed it, I think some others did as well.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all for now, I\u0026rsquo;m off to switch drivers of the car with my wife.\n","date":"4 April 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-04-04-teach-week-part-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Teach Week part Two","type":"posts"},{"content":"Monday, I went to a friends house and changed the brake pads on my car. You have to understand that I may have remembered almost everything from High School, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t take Shop. Put another way, I have very little ability with the care and maintenance of an automobile. Yet, I actually changed one of them myself, instead of contracting the work out like Tom Sawyer. (My brother still claims that the only time I mowed the lawn before college, I subcontracted it out to a friend for part of my allowance.) It\u0026rsquo;s not like someone (MrTool) hadn\u0026rsquo;t shown me before. I just had to do it. I am grateful for the immense patience given to me.\nIt turns out that I managed to put one of the brake pads on backwards. This made the show larger than normal causing me to grind the rim itself. I also ground the rotor as well, because the wrong side was performing the braking action. With the help of a co-worker\u0026rsquo;s tools, I was able to correct this in the parking lot. (I have a socket set, but it\u0026rsquo;s somewhere in my garage\u0026hellip;)\nThere are other things which, despite the best folks showing me, I just cannot grasp them: I cannot tie a necktie. Really, I cannot tie one. I\u0026rsquo;ve had tons of people show me. Just like curing hiccups, though, most are convinced that their unique combination of methodology and personality will be the great shaft of light into my darkened understanding. I repeat, I am unable to tie a necktie and this is not something that needs to be fixed. Kurt, MrTool, this is the wide open opportunity to compare notes. I still have at least one tie from each of you that you tied for me that remains tied and hanging in the closet. (I also have one from my brother-in-law.)\nI have learned to accept it, begrudgingly. I hope you can accept it, too. I cannot tie a necktie. I have aggravated salespeople. I\u0026rsquo;m talking upscale salespeople who believe that the customer can do no wrong. Trust me, an hour plus tying a necktie the wrong way will send even the most loving, patient soul screaming into the parking lot. (He actually said, \u0026rsquo;excuse me\u0026rsquo;, and I never saw him again.) I have aggravated myself standing in front of a mirror thinking that this is such a simple thing, how can I be this terrible at this? Seriously, I have aggravated myself to the point of rage trying to tie one.\nThe first one of you that gives me a necktie for Christmas\u0026hellip;\nHumility is important in both cases. In the first case, it\u0026rsquo;s good to ask for help and accept help. In the second case, it\u0026rsquo;s good to know your limitations. I am just grateful for my friends that put up with me.\nMore later.\n","date":"30 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-30-got-to-know-limitations/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Got to Know Limitations","type":"posts"},{"content":"Next week promises to be busy. Sunday is Hebrews 3 for the whole church and Wednesday is Matt 27 for the small group. Last night, when our small group leader said that he would be out of town, he asked for volunteers to lead the small group. The other two guys in the room pointed at me. I hesitated and then pointed at one of them and I didn\u0026rsquo;t see what mrtool was doing.\nGadzooks, I\u0026rsquo;ve been drafted.\nOur minister likes Greek, so there are a couple points that can be made with Greek for Sunday. I\u0026rsquo;ll tell you what my Greek teacher told me in school after dealing with me for four semesters: You are a tremendous scribe, each letter is almost perfect. I asked about my various translation work. He reiterated the praise for my penmanship. I think I am better at it now because of my independent study of linguistics and language, but I do not consider myself an expert in any way shape or form.\nI enjoy small groups these days. We are studying the events of the Passion Week and four simple questions keep us going as we progress through the events. (These are now the right questions).\nWhat catches your eye as you read this passage? What do you think of Jesus from this reading? How could this story continue today? What does this story require of us? In looking at the trial of Jesus, one thing sticks out: Responsibility. Jesus is the only one that really takes any responsibility in both trials. Jesus says under oath that he is the Messiah. That convicts him of blasphemy. The Sanhedrin says they can\u0026rsquo;t take money back from Judas because of the law, but fail to follow the law in regards to the trial at all. Pilate washes his hands of the whole thing. The scene is painted as if the whole city had lost their mind.\nAs my wife pointed out, it\u0026rsquo;s scary how the hysteria of the moment can grip everyone. Pilate, completely out of character, tries to appease the crowd. (Skeptics still point to this as a criticism of the gospel account.) Peter, who was slashing at servants the night before is freaking out at being identified with Jesus. (I would, too.) The Sanhedrin is in such a hurry to find Jesus guilty, protocol gets thrown out the window. The crowd wants a murderous zealot back. Again, who\u0026rsquo;s the only sane one in the chaos?\nWe also talked about some conjectures and it was neat to think about. Personally, I thought about why Judas was stealing money in the first place. If he was buying food, it would have been pretty noticeable. (Say there Judas, where did the five donkeys loaded down with dates, olives, wine, cheese, and lamb come from?) The same with expensive things. (Say there Jesus, should we really be carrying around all these gems and jewelry? I thought the great pearl was more of an illustration.) The only thing I know that requires a lot of money with nothing to show for it is gambling. A perfume worth a year\u0026rsquo;s wages could pay off a lot of gambling debt. But that is wild speculation, there\u0026rsquo;s no real support for it.\nAnyway, I\u0026rsquo;m off to prepare for the week ahead. I keep thinking of the Greek word for exhort from Hebrews 3:13\nπαρακαλέω par-ak-al-eh\u0026rsquo;-o; to call near, that is, invite, invoke call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, entreat, pray.\nThe heart of the matter is that I enjoy facilitating a discussion. I look forward to what folks have to say on Sunday. I best understand the Bible in the context of a discussion with someone else. I have strong opinions, but hearing a different perspective is usually pretty enjoyable. (I think you guys know of possible exceptions.) I hope folks have a lot to share. At the very least, I\u0026rsquo;m hoping for someone to share something unexpected.\nI have a bunch of old, conservative commentaries. Most of them are in agreement about the 19 verses of Hebrews 3.\nJesus is Greater than Moses. Moses is a servant, Jesus is the builder (and owner) of the house - this makes Jesus greater than Moses. Warnings about remaining faithful and not giving up. Encourage each other, guard against sin because it is deceitful. There\u0026rsquo;s certainly a lot there to consider, especially the importance of moving forward as opposed to moving backward. I don\u0026rsquo;t mean this in a \u0026ldquo;focus on the solutions, not the problems\u0026rdquo; type of way. The original recipients of the letter were looking at abandoning the Christian faith and returning to their roots in Judaism. Moving forward to them was a matter of perseverance, not overlooking real issues. That\u0026rsquo;s why encouragement is so important. How much easier is it to hold on to your faith when surrounded by a community of people that believe God has provided and will continue to provide in every difficulty?\nCompare this kind of encouragement to \u0026ldquo;you can do it\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;God is in control, he knows what he\u0026rsquo;s doing\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;repent so that God can bless you\u0026rdquo;. There\u0026rsquo;s a world of difference. \u0026ldquo;You can do it\u0026rdquo; shifts the focus to you away from God. God promises many things to us, amongst them, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us words to say, strength, comfort, helps us to pray, communicates to God on our behalf, and more. \u0026ldquo;God is in control\u0026rdquo; makes God an autopilot. In my religious background, this phrase was used to imply that God had a good reason for allowing the difficulty and that you would understand why when the difficulty passed. Usually understanding why God allowed something to happen helped us to become better Christians somehow. This is not what happened to Job - God made a point to demonstrate that his reasons are not as simple as we make them out to be. Sometimes his reasons are unknown to us. I would be hesitant to say that Job was a better follower of God after his ordeal. \u0026ldquo;Repent so that God can bless you\u0026rdquo; again makes God\u0026rsquo;s providence conditional on what you do. It\u0026rsquo;s as if God will not work on your behalf because a sin committed recently. Really? When did the promise of the Spirit change? When did God change his mind and forgive a person\u0026rsquo;s sins up until he or she saved, but makes all future forgiveness conditional from that point on? (This is a non sequitir. God\u0026rsquo;s forgiveness has nothing to do with \u0026lsquo;when\u0026rsquo; a person is saved.)\nBut back to the point.\nConservative commentaries say largely the same thing and what they say is valuable and largely trustworthy. But I also have a really strange Bible Handbook that is \u0026ldquo;out there\u0026rdquo;. Every once in a while, this handbook provides a good insight that fits the text of the passage, but comes from a completely different direction. I do not know what it says about Hebrews 3, but this handbook is the closest sensation I have to hearing something that is unexpected.\nSee some of you Sunday. Otherwise, I hope to share more next week.\n","date":"29 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-29-teach-week/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Teach Week - Updated 3/30/2007","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife had a non-traditional baby shower for Dancing Bear this past Saturday. Dancing Bear, if I hadn\u0026rsquo;t mentioned it previously, is our name for the baby-to-be until he or she is born. It is easier that saying they (my mother thought we were having twins when I said that) or saying he/she. We do not know the gender or anything else about him or her, except that he or she loves to move. He or she loves to move constantly, at all hours of the day or night. My wife just fell asleep on the couch and I can still see Dancing Bear moving. (See, it\u0026rsquo;s easier than all that he or she stuff.)\nWhat is non-traditional? First, everyone sat down to a meal. My wife had made a quiche and SAM (her version of comfort food) served as a dip. Everyone was asked to bring a story to celebrate motherhood or our son as an older brother or Dancing Bear as our new arrival. The stories were shared as each of the guests painted my wife\u0026rsquo;s belly. Despite my wife\u0026rsquo;s desire to not receive gifts, the painting was followed by the giving of gifts.\nThey never made it to the Raqs Sharqi.\nI should tell you that my wife subscribes to the theory that this dance evolved from moves designed to aid in birthing. Both of us believe that it began as an ethnic dance, thus the Arabic name I used instead of the English name that has all kind of negative connotations.\nIn any case, the women that attended felt that painting the belly should be a new tradition established here. I hope it takes hold. My wife felt extremely beautiful and she gushed all day.\nThe Lord provides for times like these. I had thought at the time that this was done to help my wife feel close to a select few women friends.\nIt turns out that my grandmother-in-law, who had been sick for a while, passed away Saturday night. We had heard last week that she might have four to six months. We had made plans to travel to see her. I had never met her in person and she had never met our son. As it turned out, the first call we received was that she had stopped the chemotherapy and had her pain medication increased. The prognosis changed from 4 -6 months to days. I took the call, so I had the unenviable task of relaying this to her.\nMy wife has never had a family member die. She asked many questions familiar to me. In the end, though, she asked me if it seemed like her grandmother had accepted her mortality. About then, we got the second call which said that she had passed shortly after we received the first call. Fortunately, my mother-in-law and most of the family made it there before it happened.\nI considered our son for a long time after that.\nI made a promise to myself a long time ago that I would never ever think to myself that I want to hold my son a little tighter. I have always taken this to mean that it is tempting to take the children for granted, so when reminded of the inevitability of death, take the time to spend a poignant moment with them. I did not understand why it would be necessary. I still do not. Maybe it is my intense nature.\nHe certainly didn\u0026rsquo;t think it was necessary. Whatever \u0026lsquo;precious moment\u0026rsquo; we may have been able to experience evaporated in the seventieth chorus of \u0026ldquo;Itsy-Bitsy Spider\u0026rdquo;. After that, he wanted to tell me all the adventures of our cat, Shahkah. Considering his vocabulary, the story goes, \u0026ldquo;Shahkah eats. Shahkah {is over} there. YAY! Shahkah. Shahkah {is} upstairs.\u0026rdquo;\nI did, however, consider the new life of our son and the passing life of our relative. Our son transitions from baby to child and later from child to adult. The other has transitions to the grave to await the resurrection on the last day, and later to judgment. I am reminded of lines of a hymn written by Jeanne Wilson\nTime is filled with swift transition, Naught of earth unmoved can stand, Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand.\nTrust in Him who will not leave you, Whatsoever years may bring, If by earthly friends forsaken Still more closely to Him cling.\nCovet not this world’s vain riches That so rapidly decay, Seek to gain the heav’nly treasures, They will never pass away.\nWhen your journey is completed, If to God you have been true, Fair and bright the home in glory Your enraptured soul will view.\nJennie Wilson - \u0026ldquo;Hold to God\u0026rsquo;s Unchanging Hand\u0026rdquo;\nMy son sleeps peacefully as I go in and kiss his forehead. Maybe I am not so intense after all.\nThe Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.\n","date":"26 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-26-circle-of-life-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Circle of Life","type":"posts"},{"content":"You paid attention during 97% of high school!\n85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don\u0026rsquo;t get scores that high! Good show, old chap!\nDo you deserve your high school diploma?\nCreate a Quiz\nI guess I paid attention.\nTake the quiz for yourself here.\nMy best friend from high school scored well. I\u0026rsquo;m surprised considering how much D\u0026amp;D we played in high school.\n","date":"26 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-26-high-school-quiz/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"High School Quiz","type":"posts"},{"content":"The entire text of a post is contained in the RSS. I already know that the entire text of the comments are in their respective RSS as well.\nJust though you\u0026rsquo;d want to know.\n","date":"26 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-26-rss-stuff/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"RSS Stuff","type":"posts"},{"content":"I wanted to ask all of you for prayers, but have not been able to. I have felt really burdened and sad. I thought about trying to focus on real unity, but my only thoughts seemed to be about real division. I thought about frustration with projects, family, church, and myself. After a while, all I had was the sense of frustration and a focus on \u0026ldquo;what not to do\u0026rdquo;.\nI talked to our minister this evening and it really helped. Without going into detail, I left feeling hopeful. I also left thinking about the difference between \u0026ldquo;what not to do\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;what can be done\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s not like there\u0026rsquo;s a good pithy quote that was the turning point for me. I\u0026rsquo;m sure I could create one with enough time. What really struck me, though, was that both perspectives are valid. (Remember the post on the middle path?) I\u0026rsquo;ve not been holding on to both extremes in my life, I\u0026rsquo;ve been more and more dedicated to \u0026ldquo;what not to do\u0026rdquo;. I found myself with the original demon and 7 of his friends in my heart.\nI took these things out on everyone around me. My employer has not gotten my best work. I quit writing altogether. I complained about a lot of things offline. I withdrew into a shell. I said things to my wife I wish I could take back. The list continues ad nauseum.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to focus more on what can be done. The trick is to hold to this and not let go of the other.\nI had wanted to write more, but it\u0026rsquo;s late. I hope to finish this later today.\n","date":"20 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-20-feeling-better/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Feeling Better","type":"posts"},{"content":"Welcome to the website. I use this site as a handy journal to record my thoughts and feelings. The difference, of course, is that I do not write privately. Some of my posts are angry and some are sad, but some are happy. I do not apologize for what I write, but I will discuss anything. If I am wrong, I will do what is necessary to make it right, if possible.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s been a few changes over the past three years to the site. The biggest change recently, besides the upgrade, has been the addition of several subdomains. This site serves to discuss Christianity, the ICoC subculture, my life, some philospohy, and the occasional miscellany ranging from politics (very very rare) to games to computer culture to Chick-Fil-A(TM). As far as Chrisitianity goes, I come from a Methodist background from childhood. In college, I studied several religions without participating in them. I considered myself Christian with no real denominational ties. I joined the International Churches of Christ in 1991. In the spring of 2006, I asked to be considered a non-member of the church I attend. I am still active in this church and its events because I want to be in this community of people and raise my children here.\nAs far as theology or philosphy is concerned, I can be pretty ambivalent. However, I do believe in a few things very strongly:\nI believe in the righteous cause of those that cannot defend themselves. I believe in challenging authority that hurts people under the guise of religion. I believe that honesty is its own reward and one of the highest ideals. I believe in the inherent good of individual people. From left to right on the top of the page, the auxillary sites are: Dira - The world of Dira is a role-playing fantasy setting loosely based on the Roman Empire. Development here is being moved to another site, so this may disappear in the future or change locations.\nD/I - The dev/itreegulars site is for news that matters to Geeks. Feel free to comment or post, it\u0026rsquo;s under construction but has fun things.\nSycarion - Sycarion Diversions is home to anything games. This can be card games or board games, but especially focuses on role-playing games. A major project ongoing there is Lenga, a generic fantasy setting for the Action!-System rules.\nMy Family - Old website my wife and I set up for our wedding. It will change sometime in 2006 into a site for both of us.\nComputer Biz - My associate(mrtool) and I have done some computer work and used this name. Our original concept was to manufacture a self-repairing workstation for use in rental properties that offer internet service. We still build computers when we can. The fate of this site is uncertain at this time.\nStudy Hall - This site was created for a friend and I to study the Bible together. Emails became more useful. However, I intend to publish a few expositions of various books of the Bible there.\nPrairiecomber - The Prairie Comber will hold my writing efforts including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. For now, a lot of the material is very old (and it shows!). As I get more serious about writing, it will contain more stories and poems.\nFor My Son - This site hold information about parenting hard of hearing children. As we are sorting through the wealth of information we have, I hope to post it here.\nFeel free to comment on this or any of the other auxillary sites. And again, welcome to my diary.\n","date":"20 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-20-version2pinakidion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"version2.pinakidion.*","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know, I know. Working on it.\nUPDATE: March 19 - It seems to vacillate on and off. Not sure why. Even one of my websites with STATIC pages goes down.\n","date":"16 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-16-website-problems/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Website Problems","type":"posts"},{"content":"Where you been, Pink?\nMaybe the more important question is, \u0026ldquo;Where are you, Wax Tablet?\u0026rdquo;\nEither way, I (we?) have been working on a few things coming due this month and next. I haven\u0026rsquo;t been good about updating them on the various sites. Since the only system I work on is down indefinitely, here\u0026rsquo;s some detail and a lot of it. So here\u0026rsquo;s the deal:\nThe computer project for work is almost done. I have an old Pent II MMX 200mhz computer as a test box. I wanted to show that if this box can run pretty fast, imagine what it will do on a refurbished Pent III?\nThis crazy project has kept me awake at night trying like the test pilot guy in Apollo 13. Something like, \u0026ldquo;I have to get this thing booted and running office software on less resources than that TI-30 calculator over there.\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s overstating it a bit, but it is how I feel, complete with sleepless night and backaches.\n***TECHNICAL WARNING: GLAZE OVER IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT KERNEL MODULES AND ASSORTED THINGS*** The latest crazy effort involves backporting inotify into the 2.4 linux kernel. Yes, the 2.4 kernel. The really old computers will have a 2.4 kernel patched with inotify (for swapping thumbdrives, instant screen refreshes, etc.) the newer ones will have a 2.6 kernel. The 2.4 kernel is just so much faster on the older boxes and I\u0026rsquo;m only missing this one little thing.\nI\u0026rsquo;m on day two of compiling this custom kernel. An old box can only crunch this stuff so fast\u0026hellip;\nI even thought of putting Metisse on this thing, but that\u0026rsquo;s a bit much. In the meantime, I\u0026rsquo;ve tried various Openbox setups, Enlightenment to look like a Mac, IceWM setups, Fluxbox, etc. Name it and I\u0026rsquo;ve tried it. (Including an exotic Metacity + LXPanel. The guys at Austrumi can do it, so can I.)\n***OKAY YOU CAN COME BACK NOW. IT WASN\u0026rsquo;T THAT BAD***\nAll the major stuff has already been addressed. Office software, pretty backgrounds, custom utilities made by this guy, stability, low resource usage. The result can look pretty and I think it does.\nI hope to present this stuff to the powers that be within two weeks. The presentation in very rough draft form is this:\nThe need: Families need their children to learn computer skills to keep up with present curriculum and to compete in the modern job market.\nThe opportunity: We store hundreds of functioning computers because the cost of disposing of them is prohibitive. We can use these computers, plus the thousands of soon-to-be decommissioned computers to meet this need.\nThe nuts and bolts: This can be done through the use of readily available software. The set-up required to do this well includes a straight-forward installation process, space for training, and well-defined procedures.\nLife-Cycle of a Computer to Be Refurbished:\nWhen the computer arrives, it will be paired with a serial number and information sheet.\nIt will then be connected with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and booted with DBAN. (Darik\u0026rsquo;s boot and nuke.) Note: DO NOT CONNECT TO THE NETWORK UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO. If the computer successfully boots, DBAN will wipe the hard drive in preparation for the next steps. If it does not boot, it will move into a triage area to see if it can be repaired. Computers that cannot be repaired will be disassembled for spare parts. The hard drive will be wiped by alternate means before storage.\nOnce the hard drive is cleaned, the computer will be booted with a live CD. Note: DO NOT CONNECT TO THE NETWORK AT THIS POINT. The purpose of the live CD is to determine the system configuration. (I\u0026rsquo;m sure there\u0026rsquo;s a better way to do this besides guessing at what gets you into BIOS.) Information about the processor, processor speed, memory and hard drive size will be recorded on the information sheet.\nAlso check for the presence of a network card, a sound card, graphics card, and/or USB port. Note these on the information sheet as well.\nCompare the information recorded with the minimum requirements on the information sheet. Note components that fall below minimum requirements. If the computer is missing required equipment as noted on the information sheet or falls below minimum standards, check inventory for the needed components and install as available. If the computer cannot be raised to minimum standards, place it into the StandBy area and give the information sheet to processing. Make sure that the computer in standby has a serial number on it before moving the information sheet that goes with it.\nIf the computer meets minimum standards, bring it to the install center and connect it to the network. When the computer is turned on, the server should begin the software install. (Detailed instruction will go here when they are finalized.) If the computer is not recognized by the server, contact the coordinator who will determine if there is a hardware or software issue. You will be instructed if an alternate install will be used.\nOnce installation is completed, boot up the computer and perform the final installation tasks as listed on the information sheet. Note: these tasks could be automated. This is done to ensure that the server properly installed the software. Any issues discovered at this point should be handled by a coordinator.\nWhen the finalization tasks are completed, submit the information sheet for processing and place the entire unit in the Finished area.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more stuff to it, but it\u0026rsquo;s a very rough draft. I need a better way to determine the specs, if possible, without BIOS.\nLenga\nI\u0026rsquo;ve also been writing about Lenga quite a bit, but it\u0026rsquo;s more of the nuts-n-bolts of the world than anything creative. I\u0026rsquo;ve gotten to the point of working out the economy and how much things cost. This is being done for the game more than the story. It may seem a bit extreme, but I want Lenga to be internally consistent. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be realistic, just consistent. How does the presence of magic affect the economy? Magic generally speeds up production, but the associated costs are higher or lower depending on the magic used. Magic swords are incredibly expensive. Magically produced foodstuffs can actually drive costs down. (Sure the farmer spent a lot of money on the magic in the fields, but his yield is 10 times higher with the same amount of seed.) Unscrupulous merchants can try to trick people into buying worthless junk. Etc.\nBesides that, corn did not exist in medieval England, but the Ganarii have it as a staple in their diet in order to conform with their food purity laws. (There\u0026rsquo;s only two: no magic and no eating the skin and other organs of an animal.) Since they cannot know if magic was used in any step of the process for most grains, they grow their own. The Ilosians have a brewed drink like chocolate, which also did not exist. I want to know all this stuff so that I can write accurately about where these different species are coming from in their world view.\nThe other thing to go along with that are the languages used by the people of this world. So far, the Latin-like language is completed. As the Bedrian Empire once ruled the world, Bedrian names of objects abound. Armor is asipa (plural asipae), (though the Gruyet have an armor called boozhni). A sword is an abilus, a greatsword is a raunabilus. Something that is beautiful is varga and a butterfly is a coxplaris. Thus you could have a coxplaris vargox, a beautiful butterfly. A child is called a sortanus. The list goes on.\nThe language of magic is also underway, but progresses more slowly. Okmius gorperab tezechu ahen means (under the order of elemental fire) I throw (gorper+ab) fire (tezech+u) over there (ahen). I have the words, but making sentences is difficult. The language has no adjectives.\nAh well. Ambition, thy name is pinakidion.\nHebrews I\u0026rsquo;m also teaching Hebrews this quarter. I have two classes, one of them on April Fool\u0026rsquo;s Day. The other is in May. For April 1, I am charged with Hebrews 4. In May, I get Hebrews 11. Gregg is generous in giving me the good chapters. With a Dr of ministry in the audience, the standards are higher and I enjoy it.\nThe Most Important Yes, there\u0026rsquo;s the custom computer for my wife, but the most important is the coming of Dancing Bear, our second child. We don\u0026rsquo;t know if Dancing Bear will be a boy or a girl, thus the name. No information on the names we may use, my wife doesn\u0026rsquo;t want anyone to know.\nMost evenings for us are going through the various Bradley exercises and relaxation techniques. I talk to Dancing Bear, as does our son. Dancing Bear is very responsive to any sound, especially my voice and music. April 11th is the big day. We are very excited.\nUnfortunately, I don\u0026rsquo;t have the experience of taking my wife to the hospital. She went in for an appointment and they checked her in last time. This time, I\u0026rsquo;ll be timing contractions and all of that.\nAll the News Fit to Print\nThat\u0026rsquo;s about it. Hope you are well. I may not post much at all in April. See you soon.\n","date":"13 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-13-another-infamous-lag-long-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another Infamous Lag (Long Post)","type":"posts"},{"content":"John Engler has written a great article about Barna\u0026rsquo;s definition of a revolutionary. It is a good read and something that resonates with me.\nRemember my dream? You know, the one with the people in my house?\nMore later.\n","date":"8 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-08-revolutionary/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Revolutionary","type":"posts"},{"content":"My dad asked me today, \u0026ldquo;What happened with you and your church?\u0026rdquo;\nA good conversation followed.\n","date":"6 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-06-remind-me-later/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Remind Me Later","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/world-of-dira/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"World-of-Dira","type":"tags"},{"content":"The newest list of churches signing the UP comes out. Interesting stories behind the new signers in the US. And for the record, this article uses language talking about signing.\nAlberqueue, New Mexico - Visit from Bruce Williams as detailed here. Alberqueue signs.\nChippewa Valley in Eau Claire - All the churches sponsoring them signed, the minister planting it wanted to sign, it all makes sense. Not a big deal to the church there, not done for money reasons. Knowing the minister there, it was done because he wanted to. He wanted to sign it when he was here.\nGreater Hartford Church of Christ - Now two of the three churches in Conneticut have signed. Remember when there was only one and not three churches? The Southern Conneticut Church of Christ has not signed. Turns out that Groton/London was a name change. Always been three churches, though one was a sector of Boston. I got the story for them wrong.\nNorthern Virginia Church of Christ - South Region: The North doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to sign. You\u0026rsquo;d think the UP proponents would not allow one region to sign and another not to sign. The UP itself magnifies the differences of opinion for future church direction. The minister resigned. Don\u0026rsquo;t be suprised if the leader of the South Region takes over. Sad, really.\nReno, Nevada - Visit from Gordon Ferguson talking about the split with Kip and the Portland Discipling Movement. Reno signs.\nSyracuse, New York - Group breaks from Kip\u0026rsquo;s church there and signs the UP.\nI do not know about the others overseas. I can say that at least there is an admission that some churches simply choose not to sign. The percentage has also changed to be lower.\nOh well. Yet Another UP post down the tubes. Why do I talk about unity and deride the UP? The UP is exactly backwards of how to acheive any real unity.\n","date":"2 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-02-my-barbaric-yaup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Barbaric YAUP","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I mentioned earlier, the church I attend went to another Restoration Movement church last Sunday evening. Most of us were there, meaning about 60 out of 100 members. We were welcomed and treated cordially. I got there a little late, but I saw that we were given the center section.\nThis is a big event for an ICoC congregation, of all things, to decide to worship with someone else. It\u0026rsquo;s one of those things that says, \u0026ldquo;God is here, too.\u0026rdquo; What may be a larger event is a predominantly-white church worshipping with a predominantly-black church in this city. As the birthplace of Malcolm X, it\u0026rsquo;s surprising that race relations are not much better now than they were in his lifetime. Sure there\u0026rsquo;s a veneer of progress in race relations, but it is not much more than that. I have seen passive-aggressive growing up in the South, here it is just plain aggressive.\nBut that is a side point for another post.\nWhen I arrived, service had started and the bulletin stated that the message was entitled \u0026ldquo;Almost a Christian\u0026rdquo;. For the next 45 minutes, I heard \u0026ldquo;The Church\u0026rdquo; study from FP circa 1980. The difference, of course, was that it was directed at us. It didn\u0026rsquo;t take long to figure out that I was an \u0026ldquo;Almost Christian\u0026rdquo; like Festus because of instrumental music and that the church I attend is not led by Jesus.\nI laughed, actually, and laughed out loud. I figured that I had done this very thing for over a decade and that I deserved to have it preached back at me. It struck me as funny because it struck me that self-righteousness can be hidden as conviction very easily. You know, you just have to laugh at yourself when the truth is revealed to you.\nAfterwards, we were treated to a meal in the fellowship hall downstairs. Many of us stayed for over an hour talking to various folks. One person remarked that we should focus on what we have in common (a person from their church, not the one I attend). It seemed that talking and sharing came easily as we ate good homemade food. I spoke with the assistant minister that delivered the message for some time.\nFor those that do not know what I look like, you have to understand that I have long hair. It is past shoulder length. In a conservative RM church, long hair is seen as a violation of 1 Corinthians. In some ways, I was not the best person to engage in a conversation because I was already putting the asst. minister in an awkward position.\nStill, he was very friendly and we talked for some time about various things. He was really engaged with a friend of mine that grew up in the conservative white churches of Christ. They talked about shoes, work, church history, and several other things. It would be safe to say that a real connection was made that will last beyond this one time event.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a few things that I learned from the event that I hope will prove useful to others:\nBoth churches were true to themselves.\nThe NOCoC (the church we visited) took their one best shot to speak to the sins of us \u0026lsquo;Crossroaders\u0026rsquo;. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure that I would have expected anything less. I\u0026rsquo;m also glad that they did. In any fruitful talks, both sides have to be completely honest, and they were. We were considered guests, not brothers. The reasons for this were doctrinal. We have a fundamental disagreement in hermenutics and thus several disagreements on doctrine as a result. That has now been put on the table for all future events.\nThe OCoC (the church I attend), came as themselves. They didn\u0026rsquo;t come as ambassadors of some new great wave of peace. They didn\u0026rsquo;t come as judges of the NOCoC. They came as people that love God, they came as parents of small children, they came as folks interested in seeing how other experience God. As such, we were able to talk to other people that were also just being themselves. For all the signifigance of the service, you would not have thought it to be there. It seemed like just another Sunday night service in many ways. That is also a very good thing.\nUnity is Not Easy\nExpecting to be welcomed with open arms is naive. It would have been great, mind you. But both sides have much to learn to come together as brothers. The first step has been taken and more will follow.\nUnity is not about winners and losers, so I don\u0026rsquo;t think of last Sunday as a victory for either church or for some nebulous concept of RM unity. It\u0026rsquo;s not a great triumphal victory for God and mankind. I get tempted to hype things in this way, but to see it for what it really is helps the cause of unity much more than patting backs. This was necessary and it needed to be done as soon as was possible. Now, there is much more to do.\nI look at it this way: There are crowds at the start and finish of a marathon. There are few at the mileposts in-between. The real victories emerge at the mileposts away from the crowds. The real victories for God will come in the places between last Sunday and fellowship with our brothers in Christ.\nNext stop? Probably a service with the Southwest CoC or the Kingsway Christian Church in a few months. Next stop with the NOCoC? I dunno. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know what they preach on Sunday night when we\u0026rsquo;re not expected.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"1 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-01-adventures-in-unity-chapter-one/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Adventures in Unity, Chapter One","type":"posts"},{"content":"We have a blizzard warning in effect. Two major interstates are closed. The police are telling people not to drive and that they are only responding to major accidents.\nI am at work because all of us are designated staff. In the superintendent\u0026rsquo;s defense, the 8 o\u0026rsquo;clock appointment for my boss was here. Then again, she works at this building as well, so she had to be here like me.\nArgh! Argh! Argh!\nOkay, I\u0026rsquo;m better now. On to next episode\u0026hellip;\nUPDATE: http://pinakidion.us/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/extend.thumbnail.jpg\n","date":"1 March 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-03-01-flagellation-of-an-equine-carcass/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Flagellation of an Equine Carcass","type":"posts"},{"content":"I do have good news that I\u0026rsquo;ll share in another post.. The good news is that many people in my church attended a \u0026lsquo;black\u0026rsquo; Church of Christ Sunday evening. There was a reception afterwards. A good time was had by all.\nThis morning feels weird and I think I figure out why. Just in time to take advantage of the post Da Vinci Code high, James Cameron (think Titanic director) claims to have found the tomb of Jesus and his family.\nFor the record, it is claimed that his son\u0026rsquo;s name was Judah. Some are already calling the disciple reclining on Jesus during the Lord\u0026rsquo;s Supper, Judah son of Jesus.\nThey did their homework, but you can judge for yourself on the Discovery Channel March 3.\nDue to the vehement debate to follow in religious circles, no one will ever be able to substantiate this or disprove this with any certainty. Tis a shame, I guess. Moreover, some imaginary significance is going to be given to the cross symbol of the tomb purported to be Jesus\u0026rsquo; tomb. And because this offers suggestions that Mary Magdalene was Jesus\u0026rsquo; wife, I\u0026rsquo;m sure the whole issue of Dan Brown\u0026rsquo;s books being works of *fiction* will be endlessly hashed out.\nYet there is something that seems even more weird with today. I think that it is the knowledge that someone has invented a 101-gesture version of Rock,Paper,Scissors.\nBetween the two of them, I\u0026rsquo;m more worried about the Rock,Paper, Scissors game. It started with 5 gestures, but that appears to have been a gateway addiction. I can relate. Had he not done it first, I may have been tempted to try.\nSo if today feels especially strange, consider that Community (Sign 53) Gathers by Cross, Makes Money, Hunts Vampire, Finances Airplane, funds Helicopter, Plays Video Game and Survives Tornado, but Quicksand Threatens Community, Pit threatens Community, Rock solidifies Community, Death saddens community, and Wall surrounds Community. With 50 outcomes that win and 50 that loses, who can remember all of them.\nThen again, Cross overcomes Death in this game and in real life. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s not so strange after all.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"26 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-26-this-just-in/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Just In","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found an article that parallels a lot of things I have experienced in my experience with the ICoC.\nWe Can\u0026rsquo;t Do Megachurch Anymore\nHere was a church that dreamed big and got themselves into massive debt because they were going to be the largest church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Yet, somehow it never really happened. Twenty years later, they are still trying to pay for it.\nA new minister came in and the wave of new teaching and attitude was hoped to change things. In truth, things appeared to change. To those concerned with headcount, though, it could look like a disaster. They lost over a third of their membership.\nReading the article, I almost thought it was my experience all over again. Older members are leaving, there are issues with past leadership, the list goes on. Yet in the middle of this, there is still a great reflection on the way ahead for them. Considering steps 1,3, and 4, I think this is also the way ahead for the ICoC specifically, and any recovering megachurchaholics out there.\n1. Be Honest with the Present Condition\nFrom the article:\nPeople kept asking: Why have our long-term members left? When are things going to get back to the way they were? What\u0026rsquo;s wrong with us?\nSuch questions can squelch even the most sincere brainstorming sessions. The hard truth we\u0026rsquo;ve tried to communicate through all of this is that the glory days of the past are exactly that—past glory days. We\u0026rsquo;re not to try to return to them. Garnett will never again be the church it once was. We have to do the difficult thing of letting go of our former glory in order to allow God to do a new thing in us.\nSaying that the old days were better is considered unwise. Not just by this group of church leaders, but by Eccl 7:10. I agree with Wade that the worst thing during a brainstorming session is, \u0026ldquo;Let\u0026rsquo;s have an event like we used to have.\u0026rdquo;\n2. (Gee, we never had a building)\n3. The most life-giving activities of our church aren\u0026rsquo;t necessarily going to happen when we meet on Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, D-Time, Leader\u0026rsquo;s Meeting, Prayer Breakfast, Evangelism Seminar, Teaching Conferences, Unity Delegation Events, etc. etc.\nAgain, from the article:\nChurch leaders in event-driven and personality-centered churches tend to gauge success by headcount, the number of people who show up. This is what leaders talked about, and subsequently members tended to judge success by how pews and collection baskets were filled.\nSome things are just good to do for the sake of doing them. Jesus certainly didn\u0026rsquo;t have to turn water into wine. It saved the wedding couple from embarrassment. Isn\u0026rsquo;t it tempting to think, \u0026ldquo;Wasn\u0026rsquo;t there a better use of Jesus\u0026rsquo; energy than saving a couple at a small wedding some embarrassment?\u0026rdquo;\nSeriously, there\u0026rsquo;s the Open Door Mission in town that folks here have embraced for 10 years or more. That\u0026rsquo;s good stuff. I need to include these things into my Christian life. HOPE events are fine, but really, just be a part of something already existing. It\u0026rsquo;s important to join things like Habitat for Humanity or even smaller things as mentioned in the article. One of their events was teaching Spanish to local fireman. Where\u0026rsquo;s the headcount in a thing like that? Where\u0026rsquo;s the headline for a website or investment prospectus for these things?\n4. Be a part of the community.\nThe Church of the English Majors loves jargon and bless their hearts, I\u0026rsquo;m sure it helps someone. Whatever living missionally means, or whatever being a missionary into your own culture means, what comes across is pretty straightforward: be involved in the community.\nBeing involved in the community helps us (me included) to *be* Jesus for others, not *do* Jesus for others. Again, from the article:\nAnything aside from a Christ-centered approach is out in favor of teaching one another how to be incarnational presence of Christ, in practical ways in our jobs, neighborhoods, PTAs, and sports teams.\nI know I quoted a good part of the article, but it is a good read.\n","date":"22 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-22-not-emerging-but-growing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Emerging, but Growing","type":"posts"},{"content":"A brief mention of Sunday\u0026rsquo;s events is in order.\n350 miles - boredom, boredom, boredom. Kurt Busch once again leads the most laps until he and Stewart crash.\nAfter that, all kinds of things happen. It\u0026rsquo;s not just crashes, it\u0026rsquo;s potential history in the making. Mark Martin in his 23rd Daytona could win one. (Keep in mind that Kyle Bush wasn\u0026rsquo;t born when Martin made his first Daytona run in 1977.)\nOn the last lap, Kevin Harvick wins by a nose - 0.02 seconds to win the Daytona 500.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t nothing against Harvick, but I was upset. I really hope Mark Martin would win.\nSo now we have a place for NASCAR-related comments. Details, I\u0026rsquo;m sure, to ensue.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"20 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-20-daytona/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Daytona","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was reading the blurbs on Disciples Today and came across a breif description of \u0026rsquo;the sermon under the mount\u0026rsquo;. I didn\u0026rsquo;t read all of it, but what I did read was the same or similar to others like it I had read.\nI tend to believe that the evil one is more subtle. Having once been an angel, I\u0026rsquo;m certain that he is smarter than me. But I thought about some of the lies that I have believed (or still believe!) and thought that if he were to pervert Matt 5 to confuse me, it would sound something like this.\nThen he began to teach me by saying:\nBlessed are the rich in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.\nBlessed are those who mourn inwardly, for they are a comfort to others.\nBlessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.\nBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be vindicated. Blessed are the obedient, for they will be shown grace and mercy.\nBlessed are those that live by their heart, for they will see God.\nBlessed are those that fight for righteousness, for they will be called the soldiers of God.\nBlessed are those who are persecuted, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.\nBlessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you. Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.\nYou are the salt of the earth. But when salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. Do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. Put it instead on a lampstand to give light to all in the house. In the same way, shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds.\nDo not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do this will be called least on earth and in heaven, but whoever does them and teaches others to do so will be called great on earth and in heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.\nYou have heard that it was said to an older generation, \u0026lsquo;Do not murder,\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.\u0026rsquo; But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says \u0026lsquo;Fool\u0026rsquo; will be sent to fiery hell.\nWhen you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, place your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled your Father in Heaven and then go reconcile with your brother.\nReach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not at all get out until you have paid the last penny.\n\u0026ldquo;You have heard that it was said, \u0026lsquo;Do not commit adultery.\u0026rsquo; But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart.\nIf your right eye causes you to sin, tear both eyes out and throw them away. It is better to be blind than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut off your entire arm and throw it away. It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.\nIt was said, \u0026lsquo;Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.\u0026rsquo; But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.\nAgain, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, \u0026lsquo;Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord. But I say to you, avoid taking oaths at all-not by heaven, because it is the throne of God, not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. For once an oath is spoken, you are bound to it.\nYou have heard that it was said, \u0026lsquo;An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.\u0026rsquo;\nBut I say to you, do not resist the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well and open your arms for an embrace.\nAnd if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, also give him your coat and sandals.\nAnd if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two and cheerfully offer a third.\nGive to anyone who asks you, and do not reject the anyone who wants to borrow from you.\nYou have heard that it was said, \u0026lsquo;Love your neighbor\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;hate your enemy.\u0026rsquo; But I say to you, pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.\nFor if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don\u0026rsquo;t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don\u0026rsquo;t they?\nSo then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.\nScary, huh? Less than 2% of the original text was changed from the NET translation. That, for me, is how I get the most messed up. It\u0026rsquo;s the slight twist of a couple ideas that send me off into deep pits.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"20 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-20-satanic-verses/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Satanic Verses","type":"posts"},{"content":"I do this everytime it snows and school is cancelled. So, I\u0026rsquo;m just going to get it out of my system before I jump into the car and battle 5 inches of unplowed snow:\nWhen school is canceled, only essential personnel are supposed to report. Usually, this means one custodian and the principal. The custodian is there to take care of the building and check on it. The principal is there in case parents attempt to drop off any children. (And they do.)\nBack at administration HQ, where I work, the argument over whom is essential and who is not created a tremendous vaccuum of leadership. In other words, rather than make a decision, it was decided that everyone at the administration building is essential personnel. This includes the folks with a job description to answer technical question from the schools only. So, 300 of us are all converging on one spot with only two different access points at roughly the same time from all over the city on unplowed roads.\nIf I cannot make it to work, I am charged a vacation day. If I don\u0026rsquo;t have a vacation day, I\u0026rsquo;m docked. (Cannot use a sick day.) I can opt to stay home and take a vacation day, but a department must have coverage. This was defined for us last year because coverage doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean one person in a department of 30. Coverage is approx 50% of your department. I\u0026rsquo;m in a department of 4, so rather than coordinate on the phone at 6am, it\u0026rsquo;s easier to just come into work.\nMost other business have canceled their work day or allow employees to work from home. Times like this I ask myself why the VPN has been nixed for five straight years. The answer is not security, by the way.\nSo, off I go. Ugh!\nSorry to burden you with my complaint. I know, in my head, that others have it worse.\n","date":"13 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-13-typical-complaint/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Typical Complaint","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am still here. First, let me get some business stuff out of the way.\nI cannot check email at work except for my work address. My work email cannot accept email from outside of the company - nobody\u0026rsquo;s email can at the moment. It has been this way for a few days. We don\u0026rsquo;t use Outlook or any of the *nix products, it\u0026rsquo;s unique.\nSo, I love all of you, but you\u0026rsquo;ve had no way to contact me short of calling me, and I haven\u0026rsquo;t been well enough to answer the phone if you have. Not sick, just tired. Imagine staying awake for 72 hours, that is the equivalent of what it\u0026rsquo;s been like the past few days.\nSo, you can email me at a pinakidion address, but I can\u0026rsquo;t answer until nighttime. When my work email works again, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\n************************** Outside of that, I have spent the last three weeks finishing Lenga. The world is complete with some descriptive bits needing some attention. I\u0026rsquo;ve also come close to getting a prototype for the computer project I mentioned earlier. I say prototype because it is a *nix solution.\nAs mrtool pointed out to me, now I need a story to take place in this world of Lenga. Maybe this summer\u0026hellip;\nWhat I hope to talk about soon are:\nWe talked with one of the churches of christ in town and failed the test of fellowship. We are instrumental (though in theology only, the last time we actually *had* an instrument was long ago) and so we can attend their church as guests, not brothers. It\u0026rsquo;s okay, in building unity, these things will happen.\nAlan did a great series on CENI, Command, Example, Necessary Inference. It is the hermenutic of most conservative churches of Christ. Discussing it and a model of spirituality at the church I attend gave me some food for thought that I\u0026rsquo;d like to share. They are related, really.\nWe had a heat wave here of 38 degrees yesterday. It is short lived as the snow and 10 below temperatures will return. For those that like the cold, all I will say is that you are welcome to pay my heating bill.\nMore later, just letting everyone know that I am, indeed, alive.\n","date":"12 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-12-despite-rumors-to-the-contrary/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Despite Rumors to the Contrary","type":"posts"},{"content":"It has come to my attention that another role paying game used the term ‘Hesperian’ to refer to a Roman-based society in an alternate future. Although I came up with Hesberian independent of them, the folks at Steve Jackson Games came up with it quite a bit earlier than I did. I do not want to infringe on their trademarks at all. It’s obvious to me that as they have prior art (I know it’s not a copyright thing) I need to change.\nSo, the Hesberian Empire material I came up with will have its name changed again. I am making certain that there are no duplication of specific people mentioned in other products. Awrelius will have a name change to Cutelium, but others with different names should be okay.\nHenceforth, the empire that dominated Dira and influences Lenga is known as the Bedrian Empire.\nNKQB\nNabrolus Kenuraque Bedrianus\nFor the Senate and Ken of Bedriana\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"2 February 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-02-02-more-cosmetic-changes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Cosmetic Changes","type":"posts"},{"content":"1. Boil water on the stove 2. Add boiling water to 1 gallon plastic decanter. 3. Add two family size teabags to steep. (Steeping time varies, I usually have 30 mins.) 4. Place plastic decanter in -25 degree windchills. 5. Wait 25 minutes, your iced tea will be created as one large ice cube. (Or should I say tea cube.)\nTune in next time for more Fun With Wind Chill\u0026hellip;\nIn other news, I\u0026rsquo;ve been writing about Lenga these days. Sure, I could mention that a certain someone now has their own website. This is, of course, not to be confused with kipmckean.com.\nI could mention that Brian Felushunko now has a blogger account. Brian is the evangelist of the Vancouver Church. I know because of DisciplesToday. I am happy that DToday produced a news item about a non-UP church.\nWhat I will mention, with its own post eventually, is that the church I attend has been invited to join the evening worship service of another CoC in town. At the end of Feb, we will be going to the so-called \u0026ldquo;black\u0026rdquo; church of Christ in town to worship together. I am greatly encouraged by this development and I hope it leads to more such events.\nHiatus will end shortly. I\u0026rsquo;m teaching a class in March and I\u0026rsquo;ll post the notes. See you soon.\n","date":"30 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-30-how-to-make-iced-tea/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Make Iced Tea","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m driving home from a department store earlier tonight when I notice a woman on the sidewalk just ahead of me. I\u0026rsquo;m thinking about going to midweek tonight and trying to get home in time for dinner with the family before leaving. I\u0026rsquo;m also thinking about being on time and not being late.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s then that I notice that she is having a seizure. Not a small one, a grand mal seizure of the kind my niece used to have.\nYou know that for the briefest of moments, I actually thought that if I continued home that someone else would take care of this woman.\nAs it turns out, while I was running inside the store to get them to call 911, another woman did come to her aid. When I ran back out, the seizure was over and the two women were talking. Fortunately, the EMT\u0026rsquo;s arrived less than a minute later. This woman had been seizure for at least 2 minutes and she was lying on snow and ice two feet from one of the busiest streets in the area.\nGod is indeed gracious to all of us. I\u0026rsquo;ll gladly suffer bronchitis knowing that this woman is now okay. I am truly grateful for the other woman, whom I met briefly, for being there. As far as I know, the woman is doing okay.\n","date":"18 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-18-ever-lived-a-parable/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ever Lived a Parable?","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is cold. Keep in mind this is after the sun came up.\nKurt, I know you hate it when I do this, but seriously, dude. This is not fun.\n","date":"16 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-16-fingers-stuck-together/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fingers Stuck Together","type":"posts"},{"content":"It looks like the conference mentioned in a previous post will be happening this summer.\nOn August 4, 2007, the Unity Summit will commence here in town.\nThe tentative itinerary features speakers from the ICoC, Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Churches, and Black Churches of Christ (sic). Topics for the summit include, but are not limited to, church history, preaching and mission work. The goal is to have messages and discussion on every topic from each of the four perspectives.\nSome speakers have already agreed to come. As the title suggests, sometimes you just need to ask.\nAugust was chosen because it is between the Summer Session and Fall Session for speakers that teach in a college or university.\nKeep praying as we hope to fill out all topics with speakers from all four perspectives. A lot of work remains to be done, but folks at the church I attend are committed to seeing this happen.\n","date":"16 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-16-sometimes-you-just-need-to-ask/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sometimes You Just Need to Ask","type":"posts"},{"content":"When I think about coming together with other Christians, my thoughts usually make their way to a basic question. That question is, \u0026ldquo;How far are you willing to go with this thing?\u0026rdquo;\nI was excited to hear that the church I attend may have a joint service with another church in town. That\u0026rsquo;s right, two groups worshiping together as one. Considering the history of the city I live in, what makes it more striking is that this church is a \u0026lsquo;black church of Christ\u0026rsquo;(sic). (I say sic because it\u0026rsquo;s a strange and outdated term to me.)\nIf I were them, I would have been a lot more skeptical of us. I would have been someone saying, \u0026lsquo;what do they really want.\u0026rsquo; I\u0026rsquo;m not sure that I would have been readily trusting and that speaks to my own heart, unfortunately. The fact that they are considering a joint service demonstrates to me how hungry people are for coming together in Christ. To allow a \u0026lsquo;Crossroads\u0026rsquo; church to come in is a really big deal.\nMaybe I\u0026rsquo;ll meet my counterpart asking me if I really care about unity or if I\u0026rsquo;m doing this for my own self-serving reasons. I\u0026rsquo;d really like that.\nI read Psalm 133 and wonder what it looks like. I believe it looks a lot like a worship service where we all come together to honor God. This isn\u0026rsquo;t the answer to the question, \u0026ldquo;how far..\u0026rdquo; but it is a step closer to that answer. I pray that this will work out and that God will be honored.\n","date":"14 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-14-how-far/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How Far","type":"posts"},{"content":"In finalizing Takteek, mrtool and I had an idea to use dice to determine the outcome. Basically, there would be one die for each rank. If a 3 attacks a 2, 3 six-sided would be rolled by the attacker and 2 six-sided dice would be rolled by the defender.\nThe idea is a sound one that I hope we get to test tonight.\nHowever, I thought that it made sense to give the defending piece a small advantage. The reason being that in many pre-modern battles, a weaker force could defend against a much stronger force. One extreme example comes from Rome’s conquest of Britain. In one battle, the Romans were outnumbered 10 to 1, yet emerged victorious.\nOne idea was giving the defender an additional die. Another idea was giving the defender eight-sided dice to use. I compared these two scenarios with the default rules using an attack by a 2 piece on another 2 piece.\nUnder normal rules, the attacking piece will win outright 44.3673 % of the time, tie 11.2654% of the time and lose outright 44.3673% of the time. In English, both pieces have an equal chance of winning or losing (where a tie is considered losing because both pieces are demoted).\nAdding a die to the defender, the attacking piece will win outright 15.2006 % of the time, tie 6.9444 % of the time and lose outright 77.8549 % of the time. In English, the defending piece has a huge advantage.\nAllowing the defender to use eight-sided dice, the attacking piece will win outright 27.5608 % of the time, tie 8.5069 % of the time and lose outright 63.9323 % of the time. In English, the defending piece has a big advantage.\nThinking about this, I would lean more towards the eight-sided dice option, but the advantage still seems pretty large. It makes attacking with pieces with a rank of two almost useless. If you have a piece that has little more than a 1 in 4 chance of winning, presuming it attacks a piece with a rank of 2 is pretty dismal. Then again, they would serve as useful scouts, finding out the rank of the opposing piece.\nAdding another die to the defender is definitely out. That’s just too much of an advantage.\nIn a perfect world, I think the defender should use seven-sided dice. The advantages are smaller, but still significant enough. However, I don’t have the money to purchase seven-sided dice at 5$ each. Besides, the goal is commonly available materials. Eight-sided dice are not as common as regular dice, but not very hard to get (and they tend to be inexpensive if you forgo the 733t dice used by role playing gamers).\nAnywho, just a post to let everyone know that Takteek is not dead.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"12 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-12-crunching-numbers-on-takteek/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Crunching Numbers on Takteek","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, I finally finally figured out what is going on with me.\nIt turns out that I am allergic to just about everything except food. Everything means dust mites, dog dander, cat dander (I have a cat), cockroaches, molds, grass (except Kentucky Fescue), etc. You name it, I am probably allergic to it.\nCongestion + CPAP machine = No Sleep. No Sleep means declining health. Declining health means other bad things.\nUgh.\nSo, now I have a prescription for the allergy symptoms and wonder of wonders, I feel much better. Three nights of sleep in a row. I have energy, again. Yay!\nOur son, BTW, made a full recovery. He is back to his playful self. Of course, he is a hairbreadth away from walking (IE sprinting), so the fun has just begun.\nMy wife, though, is beginning to feel the third trimester. The first trimester was really scary and it was a big deal. This is less of a big deal, but serious enough to get checked out. Considering how absolutely cold it is now, I\u0026rsquo;m not surprised she\u0026rsquo;s feeling off.\nMore later, just felt the need to tell everyone that, like everyone else that moves here, I have developed several allergies I didn\u0026rsquo;t have before.\n","date":"12 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-12-health/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Health","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sometime ago, I had contacted a CoC minister and asked for help in building a good adult education ministry. He gave me some good advice and I appreciated that. He and our minister at the time met together and had a good talk.\nUnfortunately, it didn\u0026rsquo;t go anywhere. I stopped writing. The two times I came to visit his church, he wasn\u0026rsquo;t there. I regretted that, and I wrote to him recently saying as much.\nEarlier this week I also mentioned to him that the current minister is very interested in other churches in the area. I provided our minister\u0026rsquo;s contact information and emailed both people. I hoped something would come of it.\nI did not get an email back, but he did post this message on his blog. BTW, I also passed along Alan\u0026rsquo;s blog and Doug\u0026rsquo;s blog.\nAs far as other efforts in unity, there has been talk about working with a COGIC, a CoC, a \u0026lsquo;black CoC\u0026rsquo;, an Independent Christian Church, and a Vineyard church on various things.\nThe COGIC is for community involvement. I went to a sponsored dinner various church leaders held over a year ago and met all kinds of people doing real good for the community. The RM churches are for conversations and more. The Vineyard church is because we rented the same building for years. In fact, they still let us use their new building for free and one of our deacons has a key. We\u0026rsquo;ve had a wedding or two there. (We\u0026rsquo;ve also had a wedding at the CoC I mentioned earlier.)\nYou Ready for Some Football? More concretely, me and another guy are hoping to promote unity and save our football league at the same time. We\u0026rsquo;ve started now contacting other churches and trying to put a league together. The good news is that we have an extra $50 for referees for the league next year. At $15 a person and eight church teams, we could even get new uniforms. Of course, there have to be changes in the football league, but that is easily overcome. The challenge will be whether or not enough people participate.\nTo provide some background, what usually happens is that we have members + a team of college students. Over the past few years, fewer and fewer people participate because of flare ups and disagreements on the field. It got really ugly this year with disagreements and with certain issues raised by non-members. I, myself, walked off the field during the first game.\nSo there\u0026rsquo;s no guarantee that this will work. However, I do know that it can be a least interesting to others, if we are organized well-enough. The 2007 season may not have eight teams, but if there are four, I think it will be worthwhile. Maybe by 2010 we can realize a league that invites others to join.\nOne can hope.\n","date":"12 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-12-in-local-news-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Local News","type":"posts"},{"content":"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it. - Flannery O\u0026rsquo;Connor\n","date":"12 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-12-truthiness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Truthiness?","type":"posts"},{"content":"In case you\u0026rsquo;re wondering, yes, I\u0026rsquo;ve heard about Syracuse. It is actually one place where I don\u0026rsquo;t know anyone (though I have a friend in MN that knows someone a part of the iCoke there.)\nAs I wrote somewhere else, is Bruce Williams going to fly up there and tell them that no one can sign the UP? (It\u0026rsquo;s near the bottom of the page entitled The Syracuse Story.)\nYes, I\u0026rsquo;ve heard about Northern Virginia where I did know folks, including one of the sweetest women I ever knew. I visited her and some friends a few years ago. I was trying to get her to marry my buddy Neil. Guy who leads the south wanted to take over, so now he is. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot of conjecture that I\u0026rsquo;ll keep that to myself. I want to be able to be unified with someone that thinks that we need to move back toward some of the practices we used to hold sacred. Key phrase, move back, not reintroduce wholesale. I don\u0026rsquo;t think we can have the old practices without the old abuses (AKA the kinder,gentler ICoC), but some believe that they really can have \u0026lsquo;accountability\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; and \u0026rsquo;evangelistic goals\u0026rsquo;, but be nicer to each other. In some ways, embracing a brother like this is like embracing a Calvinist as my brother in Christ whom I will see in Heaven. I can embrace my Calvinist brethren, I hope to be able to embrace my conservative brethren as well.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t finish the thought on Middle Paths last week, but one of the points is that the space halfway between two opposing sides is not always right. In matters of unity, the challenge is call another \u0026lsquo;our brother\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;our sister\u0026rsquo; that has the opposite viewpoint, as I said earlier.\nHowever, the other point I hoped to make is that sometimes one side really is wrong. When it comes to Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches, he is wrong and those that ally themselves with him are wrong. How can I say that? It\u0026rsquo;s simple, Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches are all about Kip. He is the star, as he has said himself. This isn\u0026rsquo;t a disagreement about Scripture or doctrine. As can be abundantly proved, conservative ICoC\u0026rsquo;s and Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches are theologically the same. The issue is Kip. Those that disagree with him are excommunicated. This includes the ICoC which he helped build.\nBut if someone wants to be one with others, like Salt Lake, then there needs to be understanding. When Salt Lake reaches out to the ICoC, it is not the time to thunder against Kip, or their association with Kip. It is time to say, \u0026ldquo;Thank you for wanting to be a part.\u0026rdquo; When the small group from Syracuse wrestles free of Kip, it is time to say, \u0026ldquo;We are here to help you heal.\u0026rdquo; Not ask them what they were thinking when they followed him in the first place. More of this is going to happen in LA, New York, Chile, Hawaii, and anywhere else that Kip has a church and we need to be there for them.\nAnyway, in passing, I heard about the two events.\nPS: iCoke is an acronym, but you\u0026rsquo;ll have to guess what it means.\n","date":"11 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-11-in-passing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Passing","type":"posts"},{"content":"God meets us halfway? I grew up being told that God will always be there to meet you halfway. This was a corollary to the expression, \u0026ldquo;God helps those that help themselves.\u0026rdquo; For a long time, this was how I understood the tension between works and grace. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t that God didn\u0026rsquo;t have grace and love me just as I am, I just figured that I needed to be about the Lord\u0026rsquo;s work to provide him opportunities to help others. In retrospect, I guess that I was determined to somehow make the Christian life about me and what I am doing instead of Him and what He is doing.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s still a difficult question, especially in light of Scripture that urges the idle to be warned.\nIt is tempting to say that the answer lies somewhere between all works and all grace. After all, we know that relying on all works will not earn us anything. Then again, we also know that grace has limits - to some it is limited salvation, to others it is losing one\u0026rsquo;s salvation: either way it is a limit to infinite grace to all men. James and Galatians seem to be complete opposites, in fact, James seems to be paraphrasing Galatians throughout. I\u0026rsquo;ve often thought, which book is right? I\u0026rsquo;ve also thought, which book is more right?\nI may not know a perfect answer, but I do know that the arguments in James and Galatians are both right, even if I do not understand how that is possible. Trying to find a middle ground between the two is saying that each book of the Bible is saying something that is not entirely true. James reads that faith without deeds is dead. It cannot be partially true. There is no provision for \u0026lsquo;some deeds\u0026rsquo;, and even if there were, would it be considered half-alive or half-dead?\nPaul says in Galatians that if obeying the law could impart righteousness, Jesus died for nothing. Again, no room for partials here. Can someone obey part of the law and get partial righteousness? If what we read in the rest of Galatians is true, the answer is no. There\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as partial credit under the law.\nIt could be argued that there is no partial credit under grace, either.\nMeet each other halfway? The point, though, is not a examination of the role of grace and works in Christian life. The point is that a middle path is not the way to understand the roles of grace and works. American society values compromise and meeting someone halfway, but there is no compromise allowed here. This could make the Bible very distasteful to modern (post-modern?) sensibilities.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s take another example. I\u0026rsquo;ve read about various Biblical teachers that are very conservative and claim that the best path to God is through being a real conservative. I\u0026rsquo;m thinking in Restoration Movement terms, here. This means a conservative is dedicated to, among other things, the idea that silence is prohibitive. Others claim that a liberal path is better by staking a claim on the mantra, \u0026ldquo;Free in Christ\u0026rdquo;. In terms of silence, it means that silence is permissive. Can a happy medium be reached by saying that silence is sometimes permissive? Better yet, is silence permissive with caveats? No, there is no medium. The restriction of silence is an extreme position and there is no room for compromise.\nGiven that there is no real compromise on the interpretation of silence, how does fellowship work?\nHalfway through the article These first two ideas may be oversimplified. It could be said that the faith/works issues and the meaning of silence in the Bible are very complex issues that cannot be stated in terms of black and white.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s go into an oft-quoted passage and get to the matter at hand:\nAccept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man\u0026rsquo;s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else\u0026rsquo;s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.\nOne man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. \u0026hellip; Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother\u0026rsquo;s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.\nLet us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.\nRomans 14:1-6;14-20\nOne man eats meat sacrificed to idols. Another will not. Our modern sensibilities would try to convince the \u0026lsquo;weaker\u0026rsquo; brother is eat just a little meat. We\u0026rsquo;d tell the \u0026lsquo;stronger\u0026rsquo; brother to eat a little less meat. What it halfway between meat is okay and meat is not okay? Halfway is that \u0026lsquo;some meat is okay\u0026rsquo;. Isn\u0026rsquo;t abstaining from meat an extreme position? All kinds of Scripture can be quoted to the \u0026lsquo;weaker\u0026rsquo; brother that all food is clean, Jesus himself declared all foods clean. But that is not what Scripture says to do.\nFrom the same passage, one man holds one day holy, another treats everyday the same. What is the compromise in this situation? A suggestion that each man hold three days holy. Is this really tenable for either brother?\nWhy is it, then, that when we encounter a brother that believes differently than us, that our first urge is to seek a compromise?\nHalfway, Half the Time It\u0026rsquo;s easy to quote the last part of Eccl 7:18 from the NIV, \u0026ldquo;The man who fears God will avoid all extremes\u0026rdquo;, however we do not quote the first part that says that this same man will grasp both extremes. Many other English translations do not even say \u0026ldquo;avoid extremes\u0026rdquo;, but it appeases our modern (postmodern?) sensibilities that the middle ground is best. We like centrist candidates in politics. We strive to live somewhere between rich and poor and generally consider ourselves middle class.\nStill, it is much easier to make a rule that the middle ground is best and just leave it at that. Who wants to think through the extreme positions anyway?\nConsider that the basic tenets of Christianity are rather extreme. Jesus is considered God. Jesus claims that he is the only way to God. It\u0026rsquo;s extreme to believe that 2/3 of planet earth is not saved because they believe something other than Christianity.\nDoes this mean that a compromise is always wrong? Absolutely not. Replacing a rigid rule with the opposite, yet equally rigid rule is no better. Consider that conference in Acts 15. When all was said and done, Gentiles believers were encouraged to follow some of the cleanliness laws. It certainly was a compromise to enforce anything less than the entire Torah, yet they did not get away totally free, either.\n","date":"6 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-06-middle-paths/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Middle Paths","type":"posts"},{"content":"The first step in any journey is the toughest.\nF. LaGard Smith spoke to a few folks in the ICoC, as well as CoC and Independent Christian Churches. I would be surprised that any of the ICoC attendees could host a conference like this at their home church. I\u0026rsquo;d be surprised if it would receive much positive coverage at various conferences.\nStill, it would be good to have such a conference sponsored by an ICoC church. Abilene and Pepperdine have made overtures to us. We attended the conversations, but not much happened after that. It\u0026rsquo;s our turn to reciprocate, no matter how few have any real desire to do so.\nIndividuals have done a lot of work, but imagine what would happen if an entire church would embrace reconciliation.\nSo I am going to help bring such a conference into existence. If you want to help, email me or comment here. What do you think is necessary for such a conference?\n","date":"3 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-03-bring-us-back/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bring Us Back","type":"posts"},{"content":"Weakest month in terms of writing\nA new serial started on PrairieComber. Other than that, all other posts have been here. The month began with the a pretty large case of denial and the family was sick most of the time. Here and there, some bright glimmers of family and gratefulness peaked through.\nAnd that was December 2006.\nYear End Notes As I always do at year end, any draft or fragment is changed into a Semithought and posted. Semithoughts are completely unrefined, that\u0026rsquo;s all I\u0026rsquo;ll say about that.\nOtherwise, it\u0026rsquo;s been a prolific year writing about various things. As is my perchant, however, none are finished. Lenga is very-well defined whereas a year ago it was a string of ideas. I wrote the rules of a few games and my friend mrtool created boards and pieces for one of them. (I need to bring them with me Friday, as well as dice to play the dice version.) I began a serial and enabled my wife to post pictures of the family and her poetry.\nAll in all a good year.\nThe Future I added a new category about Unity called Bring Us Back. I feel hopeful and inspired for 2007. Most of this is believing that some good things can happen for churches to come together and do something for God. What has sparked this? A conversation with a fellow dreamer with the connections to make something actually happen. More on this later.\nOtherwise, I will probably remove the Advocate site. There was a lot to post, but it is all in handwritten notes, or forgotten sources for information. I will work more on the Study Hall site and finally finish Lenga. As far as the Computer Biz goes, I hope something will happen this spring. As of right now, I want to use a Slackware derivative, but compiling it with dbus, hal, and other things to enable thumbdrives is proving to be difficult.\nThanks to my friends for reading. It was a great year fraught with sadness, difficulty, despair. It was a tough year filled with joy, celebration, grace, and peace. Thanks again.\n","date":"3 January 2007","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2007-01-03-december-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"December 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I mentioned earlier, our son is sick. This time last year, I was learning more about the human ear and baby functions than second-year med students.\nThis year, I actually get to use some of it.\nMore correctly, my wife gets to use it while talking to half of the doctors we\u0026rsquo;ve seen this week. I get to say, \u0026ldquo;hold on and talk to my wife when she\u0026rsquo;s done talking to your nurse\u0026rdquo; to the other half.\nIt turns out that during the holiday season, it is pretty hard to see all the really good doctors that you take the trouble to line up during the rest of the year. Quite understandably, they have all worked in their respective fields long enough that they spend the holidays with their families. So, our family has been in two offices and Urgent Care thus far. Next week, we\u0026rsquo;ll be in our real peditrician\u0026rsquo;s office and seeing the ENT that surgically repaired by son\u0026rsquo;s Choanal atresia.\nAh yes, it\u0026rsquo;s a special time of year. :)\nThe issue with seeing alternate doctors is not a question of their skill. So far, all of them have been quite good, knowledgeable, and helpful. One of them was even familiar with Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome. The issue has been trying to explain everything to each doctor. It goes someting like this:\n************************************************************************* We believe he has an ear infection, though it could possibly be a urinary infection as well. No, no one has ever been able to see in his ears, so the ear infection cannot be confirmed by sight. Yes, his symptoms are consistent with an ear infection otherwise, and yes we know that the other symptoms are consistent with a variety of other diseases, including a simple viral infection.\nYou can try to look in his ears, but he\u0026rsquo;s going to scream and you\u0026rsquo;re going to see a lot of nothing.\nYes, they are really narrow, aren\u0026rsquo;t they? They\u0026rsquo;re twisty, too. You should see his MRI. Anyway, he\u0026rsquo;s screaming all night through, can\u0026rsquo;t you simply give us an antibiotic? No, we don\u0026rsquo;t believe in solving everything through medication, ask our peditrician about the war over vacinations we had. Yes, he has had all his vacinations, it just took longer than most babies his age because of the MMR.\nNo, no, that really has nothing to do with why we\u0026rsquo;re here today. Note the screaming child - this is why we are here today.\nWell, he had a catherer put into him Friday to try and determine that, but they didn\u0026rsquo;t get enough urine to do a strip test at the clinic. No, you may not catherer our son again, call the hospital, they should have the results today or tomorrow.\n102 Thursday, 102.3 yesterday, 100.0 this afternoon at 12pm. The one Thursday was an armpit measurement. Yes, we did call Thursday, they said to come to the clinic yesterday. They told us to come here today. No, the one today was rectal. Well, he\u0026rsquo;s been taking Glycolax for constipation on and off for three weeks. We couldn\u0026rsquo;t do an effective rectal Thursday. Yes, today he pooped more than a Great Dane after Thanksgiving.\nLook, we\u0026rsquo;re delirious. No sleep in five days. I\u0026rsquo;m not entirely certain what it means, either.\nThe rash that covered his face this morning came after one dose of Amoxicillin. Yes, we know that allergies do not normally appear after one dose. His father is severely allergic to penicillin - his respiratory arrest occured after one dose. No, our son did not go into respiratory arrest, his father did when he was a tiny child. Really, though, he\u0026rsquo;s got a rash that makes him look like Mister Miracle. Can\u0026rsquo;t we try a different antibiotic? Isn\u0026rsquo;t there a salve or something we can put on him to alleviate his itching?\nThe Justice League. Minor character. Escape artist.\nYes, honey, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you finish telling them what happened. **************************************************************************\nI\u0026rsquo;m not upset, mind you, even if the one doctor did not even know who the Justice League are. It did get difficult to repeat the same things over and over. Most of them tried to be patient as we(read my wife) explained everything to them. I think two of them stopped taking notes after a while because they couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe that our son\u0026rsquo;s medical issues keep preventing a simple diagnosis. Our doctor today was very honest in saying, \u0026ldquo;no one knows for sure what is wrong, so I\u0026rsquo;ve learned to trust the mother.\u0026rdquo;\nI got testy with one doctor, I think it was because she reminded me of a Gilmore conversation circa season one. What I mean is that there were rapid-fire three word questions. She also tended to cut us off after we said four or five words. She wasn\u0026rsquo;t trying to be rude, she was trying to arrive at a simple diagnosis. I truly believe she was doing her best to help us.\nThe first season was in 2000, before I gave up TV, but I digress.\nAt the end of it all, what have I learned? I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that God loves us very much. You see, we didn\u0026rsquo;t really have the money budgeted to pay for all of this. Too much was spent on Christmas to cover three co-pays and two perscriptions six days before payday. For my wife, a good friend happened to be in the pharmacy when she was picking up the second perscription. She got to share and be heard. It turns out her friend\u0026rsquo;s middle child had RSV this week, so she could relate.\nFor me, I got to spend some time alone so that I could get perspective. After a few minutes, I just had to laugh at myself. Last week I was stressed about work and about a feeling of futility in my walk with God. This week, I get to see him work in a lot of different ways. You see, if this had happened in November, we would have no money for a couple of bills and food would have been reminiscent of college. We paid off his actual birth in November, so this month, we had a sizeable chunk of money available. Had it happened in October, we would have little money for bills or any kind of food, we had just paid off my CPAP machine and my wife\u0026rsquo;s uninsured prenatal visit. In addition, it was his birthday and our anniversary.\nMore than that, God allowed me to see the humor in it all. I never thought I could find humor in our son\u0026rsquo;s health. Call me weird, but once I got over my fear that he was dying, I could appreciate the circumstances and my rather unique approach to parent-doctor dialogue.\nGod promises to tend to our needs. I needed to know that our son would be fine and I really needed to laugh. I\u0026rsquo;m saving this story to oppress friends at parties with. It tickles me when I think about it.\nHappy New Year everyone! I hope your year is filled to light, laughter, love, and joyfulness.\n","date":"31 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-31-sickness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sickness","type":"posts"},{"content":"In college, I had a very brief acquaintance that worked as a photographer for the school newspaper. Chris, whose last name escapes me, was a talented photographer and sketch artist. He and I usually spent time together at the newspaper trying to make deadlines. Mike, with whom I co-authored several articles, would toss around ideas and I would get worked up about them and furiously pour our thoughts into XYWrite. Chris would usually be in the back putting together print ads or doing some touches to layout before it was sent to print. We\u0026rsquo;d bounce things off him in the rare moments we could get him away from doing layout.\nThe thing I remember about Chris most, was his Happy Atheist Club. To understand the forces involved in forming this fully-funded student organization, you have to understand some of the atmosphere on campus at that time. We had two preachers that would come and inform the student body at large that they were, in fact, condemned to Hell. (They did not specify Tartarus or Gehenna, but it was usually pronounced like hail, only with two syllables. Hae-yel.)\nOne of them, a man known only as Rev. Birdsong, would begin by talking about sin and then pointing it out to students as they walked by him. Large crowds would gather to jeer at him. Smaller crowds of Campus Crusade and other group would gather and try to reassure the crowd that *they* were not like Rev. Birdsong and that although a brother in Christ, he was a nut. This usually brought jeers on the Crusaders who were pressured to simply disown him entirely. No matter how nasty the crowd became, they would always say that he was a brother in Christ, just not a good example at the moment.\nThe other man came with his family and a 9 ft cross he carried around. His wife was completely clothed from head to foot. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t a burqa, they are designed to be functional. This was something that appeared to be bedsheets with eye holes. She carried a sign that read, \u0026ldquo;I love my husband.\u0026rdquo; The kids wore t-shirts that read, \u0026ldquo;You are going to hail.\u0026rdquo; (I was hoping for Jesus rains.) Whereas Birdsong would warm up the crowd with fire and brimstone, this guy would go straight at pointing out people\u0026rsquo;s sin and informing all within earshot of their eternal destination. No one gathered around him, though at a distance, the same Crusaders and Navigators were assuring people that this guy, although a brother in Christ, was a nut.\nChris did not grow up religious, so he believed the entire scene was laughable. However, he was moved by the loyalty of these Crusaders and Navigators. They did not know Bridsong or the other guy. They didn\u0026rsquo;t appear to go to the same church or have any kind of relationship. Despite this, they stuck by these men. Sure they did not condone their message or delivery vehicle, but they were always there.\nHe had shared with me that some of his atheist friends seemed to have a cosmic grudge against God. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t so much that they didn\u0026rsquo;t believe that a god existed, it was that they believed that the only God in existence was a terrible villain. As a man that enjoyed discussion philosophy, he was generally discouraged by some of these friends because the discussion would get steered into a God-bashing contest. It would have been different if they were bashing a different God each time, you know, Vishnu on the first week, the Christian God the next, etc. However, it was always the Christian God that received their ire.\nHe decided that he wanted to form a club with happy atheists. He described a happy atheist as a person that was relatively well-adjusted, did not believe in God, and did not have an ax to grind against a deity. They met Sunday mornings at 10am for coffee and talked for about 2 hours. Oftentimes, as he would say, they would defend their bitter brethren, but reassure each other that they, the Happy Atheists, were more rational and even-keeled than them.\nTo be fair, he also formed the club to get money from the Student Senate. At the time, any official student organization could get money from the Student Senate to fund projects. Every year, Campus Crusade, the Navigators, Campus Advance, and others would get monies to fund retreats, campus events, even missions work. Chris figured that too much money was going to these religious groups, so he would get a piece of their action by forming a group that was similar to a Christian group. The logo was a smiley face and the coffee mugs were a collectors item on campus for a short while. After the first year, Chris\u0026rsquo; group was funded. They used these funds to sponsor a panel discussion on the nature of existence, if I remember correctly.\nChris and I would talk from time to time. I shared that I had a couple problems with God and that I knew very few people that didn\u0026rsquo;t. It surprised him to hear that. He asked, \u0026ldquo;why do you follow Him, then, if you don\u0026rsquo;t see eye-to-eye on everything?\u0026rdquo; I asked him if he thought his parents didn\u0026rsquo;t exist because he couldn\u0026rsquo;t understand them. I was certainly glad that my parents continued to persist in believing in my existence despite not understanding me much at all. He accused me of trying to be cute and changing the subject. (I was.) The point, I shared with him, is that we meet God on His terms, not ours. I may not agree with Him at times, but it is He that sets the terms and the laws of the universe, not me. He set the terms of our relationship, but not in some authoritarian way. Instead, he chose to offer his son. We may not agree, but He is willing to be my friend in the meantime and allow me time and space to work out our differences.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know whatever became of Chris. He graduated a year later and the club folded without his leadership. In my brief acquaintance with him, I remember that he prized loyalty, which is probably why I like him so much. More than anything, he was just fun to be around.\nI remembered him today because of something I saw on TV this morning. Our son has an ear infection (and possibly more). Nothing puts me to sleep like 4am TV, so I figured I\u0026rsquo;d give it a shot. So at 4AM, I saw a program paid for my the Philadelphia Church of God. For those that may not know, they are the breakaway group from the Worldwide Church of God, founded by Herbert Armstrong. The WCG renounced many of the teachings of Armstrong after his death. The PCG honors almost all of Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s teachings, including Sabbath keeping. THE PCG talked about the legacy of Armstrong and their \u0026lsquo;David and Goliath\u0026rsquo; struggle to publish Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s works. Apparently the WCG took the PCG to court over copyright and lost. In addition to all of Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s works, they were also hawking the book that \u0026rsquo;exposes\u0026rsquo; the error of the WCG and why the current leadership is dismantling Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s legacy.\nWhat reminded me of Chris was their loyalty to a man, now dead. They have overcome in court and endured a church fracturing. Now, it appears that they are buying air time. All of this is done to proclaim their loyalty to their former leader. It\u0026rsquo;s true that the majority of the program was WCG-bashing, but that\u0026rsquo;s the topic of a different post.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"29 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-29-happy-atheist-club/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy Atheist Club","type":"posts"},{"content":"It was a great Christmas for the pin\u0026rsquo;k\u0026rsquo; household. I spent more time with our son than when he was in the NICU. He got one of the much-sought-after T.M.X. dolls, known to the rest of the world as the 10th anniversary edition Tickle Me Elmo. It\u0026rsquo;s creepy that he laughs at you as you open the package.\nHonestly, though, he enjoys the wooden blocks (my idea) and musical instruments (wife\u0026rsquo;s idea) more than anything. My mother got me magnetic sculpture toys \u0026ndash; tool, it\u0026rsquo;s the same one as your son has, only I also got the 60 piece kit, too. I\u0026rsquo;ll write more about Christmas tomorrow. Suffice it to say that it was a truly wonderful Christmas.\nWickersham Brothers I watched Horton Hears a Hoo and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t shake the image of the Wickersham Brothers from my mind. For those that haven\u0026rsquo;t seen it (or read this one of Dr. Seuss\u0026rsquo;s work) the Wickersham Brothers decide that because Horton hears something that they neither understand or believe, that Horton must be \u0026rsquo;taught a lesson'.\nNo need to say more, really.\nPersonal Health\n","date":"29 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-29-potpurri/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Potpurri","type":"posts"},{"content":"As the old saw states, there is nothing civil about a war, especially this one.\nAccording to his sermon delivered yesterday, Kip is moving to LA in March 2007. I really do not believe that there will be a clear winner in this contest. However, I do think it is going to be ugly. What will happen at the big brouhaha meetings, now?\nThe ICC is coming to Manhattan as well in summer 2008.\nHis highness has also wept the loss of the Chile churches, but has gained a congregation in Estonia and another in Congo. Now he has one on every continent.\nMatthew 12:43-45 seems to ring true - the LA ICC being emptied, swept clean and put in order is about to have something worse happen. So it was with Jesus\u0026rsquo; generation, so it appears to be with ours.\nGranted, generation meaning ICoC and ICC people. The whole of Christendom has little time or notice of Kip, Bruce, Al, or any of the other castaways.\nI feel badly for the folks in Russia and Eastern Europe. Next to Chicago, the North and East regions of the LA church provide the most financial support to the ICoC churches in the former Soviet empire. $300K is hard to replace by a group of US churches that are very small. Then again, if the money from LA dries up, maybe the Eurasian Missions folks will not give a 25K kickback to the Chicago church while remaining underfunded. That, however, is another story entirely. (Believe it or not, I\u0026rsquo;d still send money to this organization, but only as restricted funds. Except for this one and hopefully solitary lapse of ethics by the board, the finances have been handled well. Couple this with an unheard level of openness\u0026hellip;)\nI\u0026rsquo;ve heard about ministers visiting the small churches out there and it was encouraging news. Maybe I am sentimental again, but having grown up at the very end of the Cold War, there is something about working with Christians in Siberia that is appealing to me. More importantly, when people go to actually help others it means something.\nBack to the matter at hand, calling it a Civil War may be overstated. Maybe sectarian violence is a more appropriate term. However, this conflict doesn\u0026rsquo;t involve violence against blood and bone - it is the violence against mind and soul.\n","date":"19 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-19-civil-war/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Civil War","type":"posts"},{"content":"My family has come to visit on successive weekends. I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed seeing my father, brother, and mother. Last weekend was Dad and my brother. I was especially happy that my brother was here, he had never seen my son in person. Go figure, my son absolutely loves my brother.\nWe went out to dinner and celebrated my birthday. We went and got a Christmas tree. We had a large time. I feel badly that my father rented a big SUV to help carry the tree only to carry a four foot tree. That\u0026rsquo;s okay, though, it was large enough for all of us to take one vehicle instead of two. We were all together and that was good.\nMy mother was here this weekend. She had more packages for my son than the law allows, but she also had presents for me. I got a gas grill, a serious gas grill, for my birthday/Christmas. It has a side burner (ooh, aah). I even got a messenger bag that says, \u0026ldquo;Danger, Men Cooking\u0026rdquo;. I\u0026rsquo;ve decided that I\u0026rsquo;m going to open the garage door and grill in my driveway when the snow comes in a couple days. More than that, I want to repay my neighbors for their hospitality and grill when we were eating rice and beans for a month.\nI was really happy that my mother could hold my son. My son loves social gatherings and people - as long as they are five feet away. Thanks to prayers and some hard work, he warmed up to her quickly and enjoyed her. He even played with my step-father. We didn\u0026rsquo;t get to see my son open his special present, but I will videotape it and send it home.\nI asked for sand from home as a present and she brought me six gallons of it. Maybe it sounds strange, but I felt like I needed a physical piece of home for me and my son. As a part of teaching him about his heritage, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I could explain home as well without some of its soil.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t written much this month, it\u0026rsquo;s the slowest one since I started. However, this month has been full of good memories and holiday events. I almost look forward to January to get a vacation from December! (I say that, but I really have enjoyed this month and seeing my family.) Maybe things will get back to normal, however that is defined by the world at large.\nSee you around.\n","date":"19 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-19-slow-month-good-month/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Slow Month, Good Month","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am feeling better. Between the vitamin D (thanks Bobber) and actually getting sleep, life is good.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve had no real time to write, lately. I have the usual times throughout the week, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t had the Saturday 3-hour block in three weeks now. It wears on me a bit as ideas \u0026lsquo;back up\u0026rsquo; in the ol\u0026rsquo; noggin\u0026rsquo; and give me a headache. Fortunately, most of the ideas are on scraps of text documents on a few different computers.\nOne of the characters in Winesburg, Ohio wrote his ideas on scraps of paper that became hard balls in his coat pocket. He would throw these hardened ideas at his only friend and laugh saying \u0026ldquo;That is to confound you, you blathering old sentimentalist\u0026rdquo;. I believe that I have a few of these \u0026lsquo;paper pills\u0026rsquo; of my own. However, I am not Doctor Reefy. It seems that I am the blathering old sentimentalist, instead.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s the time of year for being sentimental, so what can I say? I think it\u0026rsquo;s the Christmas lights on the old houses I pass on the way home. One of them, my wife\u0026rsquo;s favorite, has nothing but the old style blue lights weaved into the bushes and tiny front porch at the front of the house. At night, these lights shine out like tiny pieces of the brightest summer sky poking out from a black cloth. There is not a good word for the sense of sophistication shown by these simple decorations. It\u0026rsquo;s the kind of sophistication that was once considered quite smart, but is now seen as quaint. It\u0026rsquo;s as if stringing up hundreds of feet of these bulky lights is not as grueling as setting up some modern showcase of inflatable snow globes.\nThe friendly lines and smiling windows of old houses make me fond of them. Older houses say that a family moved here to stay and grow old with the house together as if the house itself is a member of the family. Newer homes usually sigh that they are a step for someone to rest awhile before moving to a bigger, better, newer place - they are not allowed to age gracefully and strive for a sense of eternal youth.\nBut I digress. Family is the thought for this time of year. I have managed to visit with mine this year and it makes me happy that we have yet one more year to celebrate Christmas together. Some things have changed, I married into a family that observes Passover and occasionally Chanukah. There are dreidels on our holiday cards and we think about the miracle of light. Yet, the important things have not changed. We are a family and we stay together. For this, I am eternally grateful.\nNext year\u0026rsquo;s holiday card will have four smiling faces instead of three. By then, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that I\u0026rsquo;ll have a menorah to teach our oldest about a part of his heritage. (I should also have about ten feet of gill net strung up for similar reasons, but that\u0026rsquo;s not a holiday thing. Then again, maybe I should hang a gill net behind us for the card next year. Hmmm.) By the time next Christmas rolls around, I\u0026rsquo;ll once again be ready for the respite that comes for a brief time at the end of the calendar year. It reminds me of home and family, respites from the world and it\u0026rsquo;s ceaseless striving.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be sentimental for as long as I can.\n","date":"13 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-13-a-paper-pill/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Paper Pill","type":"posts"},{"content":"Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know\nyourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If\nyou know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you\nwill also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.\nSun-Tzu, Art of War, Chapter 3 verse 18\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"11 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-11-conspiracy-theories/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Conspiracy Theories","type":"posts"},{"content":"Technically, I\u0026rsquo;m a few hours older, but what\u0026rsquo;s a couple hours between friends?\nI found that a lot of things happened on December 11. A good list is here.\nWhat do I want for my birthday? Sleep. My CPAP machine is not working well and that has been the primary cause of my recent health decline. Granted, Vitamin D intake was also an issue as well of other dietary concerns. However, the bulk of the issues stemmed from not sleeping at night. I have an appointment to adjust my machine, so I should be okay, soon.\nIn any case, thanks to everyone for the well-wishes on my birthday. Dad, my brother, and I had a good time this weekend. I got steak last night and a great view of the city and the company of family and friends. That\u0026rsquo;s all I really want.\nBut I also got a 1GB USB Stick and a 1 or 2 GB SDflash card for use in a video camera. My geekiness is about to increase five fold. Mwa-ha-ha-ha. I also got a ton of batteries for all of our son\u0026rsquo;s toys. Talk about a practical gift!\n","date":"11 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-11-im-as-old-as-the-libertarian-party/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I'm As Old as the Libertarian Party","type":"posts"},{"content":"James M Stevens has a great Christmas story to tell that reminds us that heart trumps talent.\nMerry Christmas.\n","date":"7 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-07-christmas-singing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Christmas Singing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Not much going on around here these days. I\u0026rsquo;m not feeling well. Besides that, any time I have to spare is spent on the computer project. I need to post some things on the Computer Biz site to mention some changes and progress thus far.\nI did communion last Sunday, but it was not recorded as we were in a different-than-usual location. In a way, I\u0026rsquo;m glad it wasn\u0026rsquo;t. What I had in mind and what I said were two very different things. The point was that little things mean a lot: it is the nature of both sin and hope. Hope starts with a little thing, in this case, the birth of a child. No small thing, except in comparison with the salvation of the world. I shared about my life in college and how my descent began with a small lie and turned into a nervous breakdown.\nI told the three day story and I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to. The three day story is being so angry and unable to cope that I sat in a bean bag chair in my dorm for three days without moving. I didn\u0026rsquo;t move for any reason at all. I didn\u0026rsquo;t eat or drink or anything. I stared at a spot on the wall as my sole occupation.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t want to go into some sensationalist thing, but I did anyway. Oh well.\nI do look forward to my father and brother visiting this weekend. My brother has never seen our son in person. It is 8 now, but it will be in the 50s for their visit. How cool (or warm) is that?\nI\u0026rsquo;ve made an appointment with the doctor, so I might be feeling better soon. Otherwise, that\u0026rsquo;s about it. I feel a lot of ennui lately and I shrug a lot. Maybe the family coming to town will brighten my spirits to some extent.\nSee you around\u0026hellip;\n","date":"6 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-06-continuing-on-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Continuing On","type":"posts"},{"content":"DVD of the Gospel of John\nAnything about Monsarrat.\n","date":"2 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-02-gift-ideas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gift Ideas","type":"posts"},{"content":"It will be released on the free side of DToday at some point, but the editors have released a statement about Kip and the formation of the International Christian Churches.\nIf you have a membership, you should go read it. This is the most explicit statement to date. In it, the conclusion is very clear, the new ICC is a about following a man named Kip McKean. I appreciate this very detailed and thought-out response. It took a lot to write it as many of the authors were close, personal friends with Kip.\nHowever, to claim that this present situation is not like the split with the CoC\u0026rsquo;s in the 1980s is pathological denial. The explanation given is that the split in the 80s came about because of\nsignificant differences of conviction between the typical traditional Churches of Christ and the Boston Movement including the biblical expectation that every disciple be committed to God, the church, discipleship and evangelism. While the separation process was not always a godly one on either side, the need for a new movement was well established by the differences of convictions.\nIt can be argued that there are significant differences of conviction between the typical ICoC and the Portland Movement including the biblical expectation that every disciple be \u0026lsquo;sold-out\u0026rsquo; for God, committed to God\u0026rsquo;s Kingdom on earth, discipling one another and evangelizing the world in one generation. If the Boston Movement can be allowed to separate because of two different levels of conviction, so can the Portland Movement. Boston was about following Kip, too, otherwise so many people would not have moved to Boston to be trained by Kip in the 80s. Now, they are all moving to Portland to be trained or even retrained.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s back up here. Kip is saying the same things as he did in the 80s. He is doing the same things as he did in the 80s.\nWhat changed that made forming this new church divisive and egotistical as opposed to forming a new church in the 80s?\n","date":"1 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-01-denial-not-just-a-river-in-egypt/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Denial, Not Just a River in Egypt","type":"posts"},{"content":"Dira Not worth mentioning, but a couple of small edits took place on the Dira site. Dira covers the events of the Hesberian Empire and the dawn of magic. Lenga occurs 500 years after the birth of magic.\nLenga New link. Basically, it is a Lenga-English dictionary. I\u0026rsquo;ve put in five terms, I have about 400 defined.\nSycarion I made quite a few posts on Gold Rush Games forums. I copied them over to Sycarion. This was done mainly for copyright reasons - items on Sycarion are Creative Commons. Stuff on the forums is not really anything.\nLenga, the game, has come along. As mentioned in the posts, I have one example of a spell, the game mechanics of magic have been roughly worked out and more.\nMy Family My wife has posted a poem and we have included small \u0026lsquo;mini-galleries\u0026rsquo; of our son. Pretty cool for me as it took a long time to get the gallery to work.\nComputer Biz More technical stuff for the computer project mentioned here. Absolute Linux has its fourth release and I am still working on spit-and-polish for the powers that are. The big post for me was getting a graphical log in that was smaller than KDM or GDM. Entrance is smaller and it has the eye candy that you\u0026rsquo;d expect from Enlightenment.\nThings are bogged down at the moment because there are things that don\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;just work\u0026rdquo;. One is burning CDs. On the other hand, Absolute is the only Linux that has correctly configured by flat-panel monitor at home higher than 800x600.\nStudy Hall I began uploading an exposition of Galatians, but they do not appear on the site at the moment. I hope to have this fixed this weekend.\npinakidion.* This month started with a look at a future challenge of the church, helping registered sex offenders find housing. Most of the month, I was not feeling well, so many of the posts were General goofy things.\nComing for a Visit was a look at Bruce Williams pitching the UP at a non-signing church. I also talked a bit about the local Senate election.\nOf course, I took great delight in counting my blessings in the Thanksgiving post. Thanks to everyone for the warm thoughts, especially when it is 8 outside right now.\nLast and not least, the month ended with The Baptism Post. Get your comments in now, they automatically shut off in ten days. If you want to continue the discussion after that, you can post on the forums (discuss.pinakidion.org) or become an author and post here. I\u0026rsquo;m fine either way.\nWrap-Up\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all the news that is fit to print. Busy in some ways, not busy in others. My family is coming to visit this month, so I expect more photos. I also have no goals for December because of the visits.\nSee you around and Merry Christmas.\n","date":"1 December 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-12-01-november-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"November 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s simple, throw frozen hot dogs.\nHow people come up with this stuff amazes me.\n","date":"29 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-29-calculating-pi/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Calculating Pi","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Partners in the Gospel series of articles has stirred up controversy in the subculture formerly known as the ICoC. In them, it seems pretty clear that Kip is trying to justify a split with the ICoC.\nI mentioned an article posted by Salt Lake asking to not be on any list because of their concerns over being divisive. It appears that similar sentiments are voiced in Central America, especially in regards to the former ICoC churches in Honduras.\nI say similar because Hector Cardona comments about being considered \u0026lsquo;divisive\u0026rsquo;. William Ellis, the missionary keeping the blog exhorts Hector to take the same view as the Salt Lake church.\nOn the icmea.org website, an official publication dated November 10, 2006 explains the situation with San Pedro Sula and the Honduran churches. Don\u0026rsquo;t worry if your Spanish is rusty, it is essentially the same letter written by LA in regards to the new LA church, including the history of Kip\u0026rsquo;s sabbatical and the two letters written to him last year. Only the names and locations are different. Mexican and Central American churches are warned to cut off all contact with Hector and Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches.\nNo surprise that the letter is basically the same as the HQ for Mexican and Central American mission work is where? LA.\nAnother, more lengthy piece is more deliberate and detailed in addressing Kip\u0026rsquo;s claims. I actually met the author of this document, named Aurturo (cannot spell last name). He has planted churches throughout Mexico by creating small Bible schools. Pretty creative, eh?\nI mention this because the battles against Kip are now being waged on more fronts:\nHawaii - Gordon and LA Elders. Central and South America - LA Europe and Russia - Sean Wooten sent by Boston Midwest US - Steve Staten SE Asia - Phil Lam and Scott Green (Kip went to Vietnam and other churches two years ago and was providing financial assistance to them. I do not know if that assistance is still being accepted.) Throughout the US - Gordon, that I know of. He mentioned a trip to Reno and other places.\nI would guess that all these battles is keeping Kip pretty busy. No new articles, no posted sermons, etc. This definitely isn\u0026rsquo;t the CoC response he got 20 - 30 years ago. These guys are a whole lot more coordinated in their fight.\n","date":"29 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-29-in-central-america/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Central America","type":"posts"},{"content":"As a rule, I generally don\u0026rsquo;t discuss baptism. The main reason is that such discussion sways no one. Baptism ties into salvation, and no Christian wants to discuss why they may not be saved. Ultimately, it usually comes down to the question, \u0026ldquo;Do you think I\u0026rsquo;m going to Hell because I wasn\u0026rsquo;t baptized like you?\u0026rdquo; On the other side, the question comes down to \u0026ldquo;Why don\u0026rsquo;t you follow the simple teaching of the New Testament?\u0026rdquo; The first question hits the emotional issue that only CoC people (and their derivatives) are saved. The second question hits the emotional issue that only CoC people can correctly divine the Word of God.\nNeedless to say, this captivates my interest like watching mold spores grow. It just gets uglier over time.\nBut, seeing as there is a posting lull here and seeing how a pretty thoughtful link was provided by Bobber, I figured, why not? I may regret it, but who knows? The folks around here are a pretty thoughtful bunch - maybe this discussion will be different. Granted, most folks here are CoC or their descendants, so it may be preaching to the choir.\nThe only ground rules I propose are these:\nNo Greek. I took two years and I do not feel qualified to argue various English translations of Greek words. This is an arguing over words and not useful. Ask questions without making it personal. For example, do not ask, \u0026ldquo;Do you think I\u0026rsquo;m not saved?\u0026rdquo;. However, it is a fair question, \u0026ldquo;are those not immersed in water saved?\u0026rdquo; as long as it doesn\u0026rsquo;t lead into, \u0026ldquo;you know I wasn\u0026rsquo;t immersed\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; If you do not know, say that you do not know. It is acceptable to not know everything. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Do not invalidate an argument because enough Scripture is not quoted in presenting that argument. Asking for clarifying Scriptures is needed - I\u0026rsquo;m not talking about that. I\u0026rsquo;m talking about dismissing a viewpoint because Scripture wasn\u0026rsquo;t quoted in every step. If you believe that a point was made that is outside of the Bible, ask for a Scripture. Enjoy the discussion. If you\u0026rsquo;re not enjoying it, take a break. There is enough evil in the world to battle that we do not have to devour each other. This applies especially to me. Joel Garver begins with thoughts about salvation as an ongoing process. In response, I would say that salvation is a journey. Like any journey, it requires continued effort and movement. The end of the journey is God\u0026rsquo;s Judgment and ultimately Heaven. Like all journeys, it also has a starting point. I would consider baptism a starting point on that journey. I agree that the sequence, \u0026ldquo;Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, etc.\u0026rdquo; usually presented is arbitrary. It may be useful as a teaching tool to help someone come to faith, but like any other tool, it needs to be seen as a man-made device, and not a creed. I also agree that the Spirit works on those that believe and do not believe. A person that hears the Word of God, like the parable of the soils, can have various reactions. The Word of God is powerful enough to encourage the soul to begin the journey of faith and encourage another to persevere at any stage of their own journey. I think of the proverb that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.\nFaith in trusting in God and His promises made through His Son, the Christ and His Word, the Bible. Before a person is saved, he or she must come to faith, drawn by the Spirit. Once a person is saved, they must persevere in that faith. Baptism is one of those promises - through baptism the promise of the Holy Spirit and a new life with Christ are offered. When Joel discusses belief before, during, or after baptism in point 4, it strikes me as a non sequitur. Belief is not what saves, even the demons have belief. How can a person trust in baptism retroactively? If a person is baptized it has to be for a reason, even if it is, \u0026ldquo;because I was told to by the priest\u0026rdquo;. Baptism is the claim of a promise, not a theological proposition. The disagreement, as I understand it, deals with understanding what is promised.\nThoughts?\n","date":"29 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-29-the-baptism-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Baptism Post","type":"posts"},{"content":"Fearlessly poised, eagle eyes magnetically\nFasten mine to yours;\nIn a homemade gill net I am caught in your grey sea depths-\nWise as dolphins, youth vibrantly pours forth,\nSoundless waves echo, bounce and gyrate off ocean floor\nPing-ponging their way along a pinball trail-\nAs your spirit dives into empty air.\nYour lithe body paints a freestyle dive on an empty air molecule canvas-\nEach skin cell sheds cleanly, recording your energetic pulls at air strands.\nI catch you\nA smile lurks and quirks.\nAgain my eyes are fastened to your intense ones\nAnd find that it is\nMyself\nwho is captive to\nyour eagle eyes\n","date":"27 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-27-eagle-eyes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eagle Eyes","type":"posts"},{"content":"Jasper is finally weaned onto regular milk. Both he and mom survived along with a few tears and help from Jasper’s Dad!\nNow, he is a regular milk and bread man, just like Granpa Pranis.\nLately he has enjoyed exploring the world of food as he painted himself in cereal.\n","date":"27 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-27-jaspers-weaned/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Jasper?s Weaned =)","type":"posts"},{"content":"Someone decided to build a six-axis mouse for use in 3D modeling. From a math perspective, it\u0026rsquo;s a three axis mouse, x,y,z or horizontal, vertical, and depth, respectively. The writer of the article counts the x axis twice, once for \u0026ldquo;left\u0026rdquo; and again for \u0026ldquo;right\u0026rdquo;, the y axis twice (up and down) and the z axis twice (near and far).\nAnyway, after using three old computer mice, here is his final work.\nHe mentions that the math was \u0026ldquo;mind-bending\u0026rdquo;, but I think the entire project was mind-bending, thus the title.\nHowever, I do think he is right that it\u0026rsquo;s a good model for the next PS4/XBOX3/NINTENDO YU? platform.\n","date":"27 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-27-smarter-than-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Smarter than Me","type":"posts"},{"content":" From 62 to 26 overnight,\nFrom 62 to 8 in two days.\n","date":"27 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-27-why-folks-here-get-sick/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Why Folks Here Get Sick","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thomas Quasthoff is a great baritone singer. My son and I watched him on the ARTS channel this morning. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t in the room watching the performance at first - I heard beautiful, clearly enunciated singing in a booming baritone. That\u0026rsquo;s hard to do. Pavarotti was the last one I knew of.\nWhen I saw the performance, though, I was struck by his appearance. He was a thalidomide baby.\nI read this interview and thought that this attitude is the one I want our son to have.\nMore later.\n","date":"24 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-24-a-great-voice/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Great Voice","type":"posts"},{"content":"I hope that everyone has a great holiday season. I plan to have a great time. Four days off is a good thing for me. Avoiding Black Friday is the highlight of my time off.\nWe are visiting friends houses almost every night this week. Tuesday was a dinner with some friends. Wednesday is pumpkin pie with a couple that live very closeby. Thursday will be Thanksgiving with the family that hosted my wife up until we got married. A good time.\nI also look forward to the annual Turkey Bowl. It\u0026rsquo;s a full contact block, tag-to-down footbal game played with whomever arrives by 9am. Some years, it\u0026rsquo;s played in ice and snow. This year, it will be about 50 degrees at game time.\nAs this time of year approaches, I naturally think about the things for which I am thankful. This year is no exception. As always, I am thankful for God - He puts up with a great deal from me. I am also thankful for my wife who also puts up with a great deal from me. I am joyful that our son continues to be a happy boy. (He is still scared of mrtool for some reason, but I am hopeful that will change.) I am grateful for my online and offline friends. I appreciate how much they truly give to my life. Bobber always has a good and thoughtful word. When I visit St. Louis again, I intend to look you up - we don\u0026rsquo;t have to go to Chik-Fil-A. Alan is always a welcome sight as well. I do not know if I\u0026rsquo;ll ever get to ATL again, but if I do, expect an email. Of course mrtool, my long-suffering roommate is a great friend - I enjoy our Fridays. Salguod is always thougtful and I appreciate his site and commentary here. I keep intending to call you, but never remember to. I know I sound quite a bit different on the phone than I do online. :) Thank you for stopping by and your support and emails. I am also grateful for Rock, my cousin, and Capteucalyptus, my life-long chum. I will be in NC this spring after the second baby is born. I hope both of you get to meet my children. Milly and daughter also pop by from time to time and I am glad they are here. Milly\u0026rsquo;s description of chickeny-goodness can get me through a tough day. Daughter\u0026rsquo;s perspective is helpful, especially as I am prone to male-centered thinking. (Male-centered thinking tends to believe that the solution with the fewest variables is best and it takes every opportunity to oversimplify the number of variables to less than four.) I cannot forget TTK: thank you for all the emails and the well-wishes. I still pray for you and your husband every day. I would be remiss if I did not mention Kurt. Dude, the videos and emails are great. Keep them coming. If there are others I have forgotten, my deep apologies.\nI am also grateful for my family on both sides. My wife\u0026rsquo;s sister always gives us thoughtful gifts, espcially music from here. I am grateful for my mother-in-law for her tremendous patience and wisdom. I am grateful for my father-in-law who made a CD for our son as well as visited us for his first birthday. Thanks to his gift early in our marriage, our financial circustances are in a better place. I am grateful for my own parents who have given so much to us. I wish we were not separated by half a country so that you could see your grandson whenever you wished. Thanks to my Dad\u0026rsquo;s purchase of the Catera, I have not been burdened with a car that is ill suited for the midwest. Thanks to my mother, we are able to get special things for our son. Of course, I am always thankful for my brother who is always there for me.\nI had a friend in Chapel Hill once tell me that I had an old soul. It is true, I\u0026rsquo;m afraid. I think I have felt like an old man since my 20s. When I was growing up, I did not live or think this way and I miss that person terribly some days. However, I am grateful for the circumstances that lead to the development of my aged soul. It\u0026rsquo;s the best way I can state that I am grateful for a nervous breakdown - thanks to that dramatic event, I took my own life more seriously and thoughtfully. I did not destroy myself or destroy more people than I already had at that point.\nI am grateful for the real second life I\u0026rsquo;ve been able to have here in the midwest. Thanks to what many considered a very bad decision, I feel more free than I have in a long time. In my quest for inner peace, moving here has been the greatest act of providence God has given to me.\nHappy Thanksgiving to everyone. I truly hope you have a blessed holiday.\n","date":"22 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-22-happy-thanksgiving/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy Thanksgiving","type":"posts"},{"content":"My little alcove of modern townhomes in one of the older sections of this town make it a popular stop for JW \u0026amp; LDS missionaries. I have two copies of the Book of Mormon, one was published in 1899, the other a few years ago. LDS missionaries love to look at the old one. JW missionaries find it interesting as well, but for different reasons.\nThe watchtower folks have decided that they are leaving flyers is better than conversations. I only make a note of the latest one because of the headline:\nTHE END OF FALSE RELIGION\nConsidering my recent posts, I considered it ironic.\nMore later.\n","date":"18 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-18-flyer-in-my-door/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Flyer in My Door","type":"posts"},{"content":"I think I need to redo some of the Lenga traits. I originally had the power trait adding to the amount of Mana. That doesn’t work well. Instead, I propose this:\nTahares suffers penalities to TN and increase to mana ceiling. They cannot purchase the trait that provides bonuses to TN.\nPaucalus suffers penalities to mana cieling and bonuses to TN. They cannot buy trait that increases mana ceiling.\nThe power trait will not increase the multiplier to compute mana for a spellcaster.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"17 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-17-lenga-traits/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Lenga Traits","type":"posts"},{"content":"How would you handle a trait type spell, like Growth (Trait: Tall), which increases the size of a character by one size level?\n-Nightmask1\nI hadn’t done this one yet, so here is the off-the-cuff idea:\nPhysical Growth - Earth Spell - TN 15 Cost 2\nDuration: 30 sec per Skill Level\nRange: 1 meter\nLenga Translation: (dictionary on another computer)\nNarrative:\nThe subject of this spell doubles in size and increases their weight eightfold. The effect lasts only a few minutes. Clothing and nonmagical equipment increase proportionately in size as well. Magical items do not change size, as such this spell will not function on creatures wearing magical armor.\nGame terms:\nThe subject of the spell increases one level on the size chart. They gain the temporary benefits of +2 STR and +1 LIF. Melee weapons gain an additional dice of damage and suffer -1 Init penalty for the duration of the spell. Penalties toward the TN for distance and target moving apply and are cumulative. The intended target must be in the line of sight for the spell to function.\nNotes:\nThis spell cannot be used to crush the target in a confined space. If the target is wearing magical armor, the spell will fail. Use the Effect Number to find the greatest consequence on the Spell Failure table.\nMeta:\n(Shape) Double the cost for double the size increment and associates benefits, the spell cannot be used to ‘triple’ a creature’s size, it only works in factors of two.\n(Shape) Double the cost for moving up one or down one step on the time chart to increase duration. (For example, by doubling the cost, the duration is 5 minutes per skill level)\n(Control) One mana point can be spent to offset penalties for distance and target moving by one point.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"17 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-17-posts-on-goldrush-games-seven/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts on Goldrush Games Seven","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, now that another UP post has been finished, it\u0026rsquo;s time to get down to real business.\nHow to Regain Control of a Spooked Camel\nYou know, this is useful information. I used to have a shorter version of this taped to my wall at work. (I still have the handy card, in case I win the lottery, stay here and wander a few miles away from civilized areas.\nHow Not to Do Origami\nI actually learned origami to learn patience. I can do a fair job at most things. I used to be origami to be able to tell Luke 12 to my friends. (Purse, raven, lily, etc)\nThis origami, though, requires too much sugar consumption and way too much time. Even I have limits to what I\u0026rsquo;ll spend my time doing. (Many accuse me of having way too much time myself.)\nHappy Thursday, more posts to follow this afternoon.\n","date":"16 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-16-business-as-usual/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Business as Usual","type":"posts"},{"content":"More jargon than the law allows, but a rough draft of what I\u0026rsquo;m doing with the computer project I mentioned earlier.\nThe screenshot below is just what my desktop looks like. Remember, it is a Pentium Pro 200Mhz computer. An old Gateway E3000 to be exact.\n","date":"16 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-16-computer-stuff/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Computer Stuff","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned before, Bruce Williams, lead evangelist of the LA Church, has offered to visit any church with questions about the Unity Proposal. This offer is free and available to anyone that desires it. He will not force a visit on anyone that does not wish one.\nAfter hearing about these visits and reading about his work in South Korea, I was interested to hear what one of these visits was like. I pestered an online friend for an mp3 and the rest, is quite literally, history. At the end of this post will be my notes from the recording I received.\nThe sticking issue for me was an attempt to find out what he is actually telling people about the UP. As I continue to grapple with what is happening with the ICoC, I have resolved to act locally while thinking globally. I spent 2003-2005 trying to act globally and locally and it almost killed me physically, emotionally, and spiritually. My experience has shown me that positions about various issues pertaining to Henry\u0026rsquo;s Letter were firmly entrenched as early as March 2003. These positions vary quite a bit. Not surprisingly, many \u0026lsquo;reformers\u0026rsquo; were and are as equally unyielding as the conservatives. The conclusion for me, has been to continue involvement locally. Despite hesitation and nervousness, I went to a small group leaders meeting to offer help. I decided ahead of time that I only wanted to help - I had no agenda.\nBut I digress. This is a post for what it\u0026rsquo;s worth about what I heard on the tape. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to email Bruce (again) or the nine (again) or anything else. Again, the notes will appear at the end.\n**Underlying Assumptions\n**\nThe message was simply going through the UP with explanatory remarks followed by a question and answer at the end. The framework of the presentation appeared to be this:\nHumility is the key to our churches moving forward. Some time was spent talking about the number of proposals and the mistakes of the past. Bruce remarked that the greatest sin of the LA church and leadership is general was the lack of respect for local leaderships. Decisions were made sometimes completely without input from a local church. Going forward, we should all respect each other.\nA contrast was made between the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 to the early church. More can be made about this comparison. I will only say that the founding of Babylon and the founding of the church may not be a relevant comparison. God scattered the church in Acts, but the reasons were quite different.\nWe need to clearly state what we believe. Two different reasons were given for this. One was the uncertainty amongst churches in the ICoC. The other is that we must define ourselves or we will be defined by others. I will say that the uncertainty about what we held as basic beliefs did occur. There are churches of the former ICoC that openly question baptism from the pulpit. However, most of the uncertainty came over practices, not doctrine. There is a huge difference between questioning practices and questioning doctrines. I do agree with Bruce, that asking questions is good, but that there is a time to make decisions about those questions. I probably disagree with Bruce that certain matters can be left undecided - every matter does not need an answer right now.\nAs to having others define the church, I\u0026rsquo;m not certain why this is a large problem. I see the point and I understand from church history that Christians had to defend \u0026lsquo;who they were not\u0026rsquo; very early on. They were accused on being cannibals (eat the body and blood of Christ), atheism (no images of God in worship), and other things. It seems that Peter encountered unfair characterizations about himself and the church. His answer was to 1 Peter 2:12. Still, Paul says to be careful in our treatment of outsiders so that we can answer everyone. As such, I can understand why folks would want to have a statement of faith in writing.\nWe need to function as a church community again. The church community was explained on a local and global level. It is difficult to separate them in Bruce\u0026rsquo;s remarks. He did mention that references to \u0026ldquo;the church\u0026rdquo; in the NT almost always meant \u0026ldquo;the universal church\u0026rdquo; and not \u0026ldquo;the local church\u0026rdquo;. Aside from that, community required two key factors: supporting biblical patterns in the church and creating a means of cooperation.\nSupporting Biblical patterns is pretty broadly stated. Specifically, this broke down into discipling relationships, women instructing women, dating only Christians, and the interdependence of churches.\nGreat care was taken to explain that discipling relationships did not mean what we had before. As I have said before, and one of the questioners alluded to, without any significant training and change of practice, it is inevitable that the old manner of discipling relationships will return. A man can be cured of demons in his heart, but if it remains empty, they will return more powerfully than before. Still, wanting help and advice is a good thing. More on this later.\nAs far as women teaching women, I\u0026rsquo;m way out in left field on this one. A prophetess spoke to the entire church in Acts. Breaking it down to differentiate \u0026lsquo;sharing\u0026rsquo; vs. \u0026rsquo;teaching\u0026rsquo; is downright time-wasting. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;m so much a part of this corrupt generation that allows women professors that I am desensitized to the dangers of women teaching men. My best professors were women. But that could go round and round forever. No mention of paid women staff was made. There wasn\u0026rsquo;t even a lament of the general lack of women on staff.\nAs far as being unequally yoked, Bruce went to great lengths to explain that a person isn\u0026rsquo;t a Christian because they say they are. A person is not a Christian, even if they got baptized. (this was said at about the 36 minute mark.) The point was made that repentance had to be preached.\nWithout getting into the ends and outs of this one, this is how reading Corinthians to forbid dating non-Christians was presented to me. \u0026ldquo;Do you work for a non-Christian?\u0026rdquo; If you do, you are unequally yoked. Think about it for a minute.\nIn regards to interdependence, this was contrasted with independence and the word \u0026ldquo;hyper-autonomy\u0026rdquo;. He didn\u0026rsquo;t go into detail on this, deferring to the paper written about Interdependence published on DisciplesToday. The main point made was that the UP is about relationships, not just shared beliefs. A point was made that we need to be working together.\nAll organizations have structure, form and leadership. Specifically, the regional reps were mentioned with some detail. One new fact emerged that reps can only serve a two-year term and must be replaced. The meeting in Va. Beach was described as \u0026ldquo;talking about conferences and needs\u0026rdquo;. Comparisons were made between the old WSL structure and the new one. Having more people (about 65-70 instead of 12) and having them rotate out periodically is seen as preventing anyone from making a power grab.\nLet us be trained by discipline and grow together. Hebrews 12 was quoted. The point was made that we should be trained by what has happened. In addition to that, we should grow together and help each other mature. Maturity does not mean leaving the mission behind, Mission and Maturity are of equal importance. Lack of numerical growth does not show maturity.\nI agree that we should be trained by our discipline. Unfortunately, we have not been. For fear of overreacting, only cosmetic changes have been made, if that. I do not believe these superficial changes will last. More importantly, though, it is important to say that an abundance of numerical growth does not show maturity - our own past has proven that.\nThoughts on All of This\nThe presentation certainly sounds very good. I think many will listen and think it doesn\u0026rsquo;t sound very bad at all. Even I was encouraged by what sounded like a different message I had heard and read. The prepared message was certainly polished through constant use. Here are some ideas that occurred to me upon reflection.\nThe mainline churches of Christ are not the same as they were when you were a kid. For someone that does not want us to talk negatively about churches, he certainly took some shots at the CoC. The most outrageous assertion was that the many CoCs in a given town are mostly due to the splits from an older CoC. They were labeled as having \u0026lsquo;hyper-autonomy\u0026rsquo;. It was implied that members of the CoC were not suitable for dating. It was stated that we are unique in teaching that every member needs to be committed to God. There was more, but the point has been made. The CoC is not your father\u0026rsquo;s church anymore. A couple of the fastest growing churches in the US are CoC. Anyway, as a result, I think I am going to talk more in the future about Independent Christian Churches instead of CoCs. There\u0026rsquo;s a few of them in the list of 100 fastest-growing churches, too.( I only mention that because growth appears the language of God\u0026rsquo;s favor.)\nWe are not very different from Kip Really, we\u0026rsquo;re not. It is still believed that we are the only ones that teach total commitment. We still need to put everyone together based on following the same doctrines and practices. There is still an intolerance for different perspectives. Outside help is designed as the ministers in a different areas of the US from our own denomination. As someone else remarked, bad company corrupts good character. We keep company with ourselves, so it is almost certain that we will return to what we were, if we haven\u0026rsquo;t done so already.\nNot Affirming the UP Does Not Equal Wanting to be Separate Two questions were asked about churches that do not sign. There was a colossal inability to see that a church, like Toronto, could affirm the need for working together, yet choose to not sign the UP. (For the record, it appears that Vancouver was the first to use the \u0026ldquo;sign on\u0026rdquo; terminology.) When asked about churches that do not sign, the answer devolved into a need for cooperation, not for separation.\nInstead of Asking Why Not, Ask Why? The short answer for why not sign is:\nConfusing doctrine and practices. The importance of the Trinity is not equal to the mandate to date only \u0026ldquo;Christians\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s about relationships. As the International Christian Churches are fond of saying, unity cannot be legislated. I live 1400 miles away from my family and I don\u0026rsquo;t get home often. This causes friction in our relationships with my family, but none of us are going to call it off. We certainly aren\u0026rsquo;t going to come together and draw up a written contract so that we know what to expect from each other. Seeing Problems Is Not the Same as Solving Problems This is the pot calling the kettle black, here. However, the fact that I do this doesn\u0026rsquo;t make it right. Seeing that personal responsibility isn\u0026rsquo;t taught is not the same as implementing a plan to teach it. Seeing that we should be more respectful of local churches is not the same as actually being more respectful. Start with respecting Toronto, Vancouver, Gainesville, and the churches that haven\u0026rsquo;t signed the UP.\nWe Weren\u0026rsquo;t United Before Henry\u0026rsquo;s Letter, We Were Compliant Unity is not uniformity. We were largely uniform before Henry\u0026rsquo;s Letter. If there was, as stated in the presentation, a lack of relationship and respect before Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter, how can it be asserted that we were united?\nEpilogue\nNot much different than what I\u0026rsquo;ve said before. Then again, neither is the presentation. It\u0026rsquo;s why, as I said in the beginning, I have quit acting globally aside from sharing my thoughts. I may be wrong, but in the end, I\u0026rsquo;m not angry anymore. I\u0026rsquo;m really quite sad, and that comes through in a shrug when I discuss these things in person.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re not going to change on a global scale. God will simply have to eliminate us once and for all or allow us to slowly fade out. We didn\u0026rsquo;t get the message. We just had to find ways to change as little as possible. Forgive us our hubris, Lord.\nThe best hope is locally. There\u0026rsquo;s hope there. We can work with people we know and trust. We can work with other churches locally. We can learn to take personal responsibility for what we have and have not done for our members, our community, and our cities.\nNotes\n17:25 Bruce talks about LA Unity Plan\nsays that folks were concerned that LA was about to take over and he could see why they felt that way.\nOf course, naming himself as the new Kip would be an alarming thing.\n18:53 - Ephesians 4, embodiment of unity plan\nBe completely humble, patient, every effort to keep the unity of peace\nConcept of unity is dear in the churches, mentions John 17\n20:30 Bruce says that our unity will show the world that we are from God\n21:42 - Page 3, Humility\nCompares UP to Tower of Babel\n23:17 - Went over dozens of proposals\n24:30 - What role does humility has in someone becoming a Christian? First time you had been that humble. It enabled God to work. As a church we lost our humility, particularly amongst the leaders.\nNeeded to respect each other more and not compete with each other. Greatest sin of the LA Church, we didn\u0026rsquo;t respect other leaderships enough.\n27:18 - Contrasts ICoC look for other churches vs. what he grew up with in the mainline CoCs. Talks about overcorrections.\n28:48 - Shared Beliefs\n30:00 - What do we believe as a family of churches? Nothing wrong with questioning everything, we need to \u0026lsquo;come in for a landing\u0026rsquo;\n30:34 - Written because others have said, \u0026ldquo;I didn\u0026rsquo;t think we believed that anymore.\u0026rdquo;\n32:00 - Americans cherish their freedoms, we need to think about others, not just ourselves.\n33:25 - The UP is done because of love, the ICoC did not do that enough.\n34:00 - expectation that everyone is totally committed to God. Analogy to marriage as each one totally committed to the spouse. This message is not\nexpected outsides of our fellowship. Bruce doesn\u0026rsquo;t know where it is taught. (Has he looked?)\n35:30 - dating only Christians. Saying you\u0026rsquo;re a Christian, not the same as being one. Doesn\u0026rsquo;t even pertain to those that have been baptized.\nRepentance needs to be preached.\n36:35 - Church community.\n37:18 - Discipling relationships philosophy based on Scripture. says because there is lots of divorce, one doesn\u0026rsquo;t eliminate marriage.\n38:18 - Churches supporting women.\n39:20 - Women should study with, disciple, and lead other women. It is not good for men to do these things.\n39:40 - Biblical pattern that women teach women\n40:00 - Not enough respect given to local leadership. Decisions made about ministers and leaders where the local leadership was not even considered.\nThey need to be regarded, at the same time, it needs to be understood that we need each other. Not every church can have the kind of leadership that\nother churches have.\n41:25 - No putting down other churches or critiquing in public.\n41:54 - Mature conflict resolution. Hyperautonomy prevented working through an impasse. We matured in marriages because of outside influence.\nLearn from other groups, good and bad. No connection, conflict goes unresolved and churches split. implies that the number of CoCs in a city are due to a split.\n43:35 - Course corrections:\n44:36 - Will make adjustments as we go along.\n44:57 - Independence, no. Interdependence, yes.\n46:00 - Isn\u0026rsquo;t autonomy more biblical? Addressed in Hyper-Autonomy article.\n46:05 - It\u0026rsquo;s relationships, not just shared beliefs.\n47:13 - We are corrected the overcorrections. Contemporary religion overemphasizes experience and other things.\n47:57 - If we don\u0026rsquo;t define who we are, the source of our definition will come from elsewhere.\n48:02 - Regional Cooperation and Partnership\n49:00 - church in NT refers to Church Universal most of the time in the NT\n50:48 - Refers to outside help between congregations.\n51:35 - Bruce came because he wanted to say, \u0026ldquo;we need you!\u0026rdquo; (Does not signing mean to him \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t need you?\u0026rdquo;)\n52:39 - Want to see more campus ministries planted so that our kids can go places where there are strong campus ministries.\n53:56 - recommended groups\nChanged from printed form\n54:37 - Representatives. Outside of the select few. In Va. Beach, regions sent reps. 65-70 met together and talked about conferences and needs.\n55:40 - Concluding Vision. (Trained by discipline, Heb)\n58:06 - Mission and maturity are of equal importance. Lack of numerical growth is not a sign of maturity.\n58:41 - If we agree to these things, let\u0026rsquo;s state it publicly.\nQuestions:\n1. Received negative responses to the UP? If you\u0026rsquo;re focusing on the Bible, what\u0026rsquo;s the need for the agreement?\nThe fellowship and unity in the mainline church didn\u0026rsquo;t happen.\nWe are just trying to help each other, we are not trying to control each other. Deflected back into the maturity thing, we didn\u0026rsquo;t allow people to mature.\n2. Came from Europe are there any efforts to help them?\nSean Wooten hired to help them. Almost all of the churches there are weak. This is an example of what happens when churches are left to themselves.\n3. Regional representatives - concerned on GSLs. Is there going to be a check and balance if we begin to see hierarchal structure return?\nRegional reps allows for accountability.\nReps can only serve for two years and they must term-out. The rotation of people should prevent issues.\nCertain people because of their experience will naturally have influence.\nIf anyone tries to return from hierarchy, it will be shut down. Make sure that we don\u0026rsquo;t read things into certain actions and overreact.\n4. What types of things are being done to prevent overdependence on each other?\nBruce saw this coming many years ago. Must teach more about personal responsibility.\nDoesn\u0026rsquo;t mean that we don\u0026rsquo;t need each other. It\u0026rsquo;s like children. They need to own mistakes\u0026hellip;\nIn LA, have DPs and new Christians have more mentoring, but evolves into mutual relationship.\nSomeone needs to be responsible for \u0026lsquo;making it happen\u0026rsquo; while looking to mutual helping.\nThere needs to be structure and organization. Our family has it.\n4b. We raise up people so fast very quickly, we leave young leaders hanging. Unqualified people were in wrong roles.\nYes, we need leadership training. Yes, that is an ugly word for some, but we need more training.\nFamily Group ends up being a nurturing place for many.\nLeadership has more to do with gifts than roles. What are a person\u0026rsquo;s gifts, Romans 12. Cultivate everyone\u0026rsquo;s gift.\n5. Organization, DP. We are going to have specific disciplers again? Can we find our own disciplers?\nLocal decision.\nLA tried - they do it within the family group. Some are people that no one wants to get with, and we need to help, them, too.\nHave a blend of both self-directed and assigned.\nMentioned overcorrection again, said that many began to look only to their own needs. Seek first the kingdom.\n6. Larger churches, still some leadership structure. Very bitter Christians to lose leadership, took unpaid folks long time to set up staying together.\nLots of churches like this. What are we doing to pull these churches in? Can we afford to send someone there? No one knows about the small congregations\nPeople are moving from these small places.\nThis is why we wanted to have regional instead of international structure of leadership. Regions should take care of each other. The reaction weakened\nmore than the past sins, we never would have allowed this to happen in the past. We don\u0026rsquo;t have a level of leadership that focuses on only regional\ngroups. Back to the \u0026ldquo;we need each other, larger and smaller churches. We need each other.\u0026rdquo; In about 2-5 years, we are all going to need each other.\n7. We are weak in helping others in areas of addiction, teens, etc. We\u0026rsquo;ve lost DPI and educational areas. Will we fall into same things we did before because we don\u0026rsquo;t know\nany better. What is happening with HOPE WW? What are the expectations with helping HOPEWW.\nDPI still exists. They are putting out fewer books, much fewer than before.\nOne of the things that has been damaged is HOPEWW. Met with Bob and Pat Gempel. LA has committed to support Hope, they say that HOPE would have caved without LA.\nFor every dollar we give, they can get $25 from the governments. We (churches) give unrestricted funds, that turns into restricted funds from other groups.\nAsking for $1 per week per member (Assuming 65000 members, that\u0026rsquo;s 3.38 million dollars). They are selling their building because they are strapped for cash. Questions raised and things said were not accurate.\nThe accusations snowballed. Have their been challenges? Yes, they handle above board and ethically. Nothing like what has been circulated.\n8. Are they going to make it easier for congregations to manage local money?\nHOPEWW does things globally. Global projects are supported by them. On the local level, LA setup HOPE LA. Benevolent money given to them and that\nis managed locally. HOPEWW cannot redistribute money to all the churches locally. They do not have the support that they need.\nSome of us feel like giving to other projects, but we don\u0026rsquo;t know where the money goes. These are brothers and sisters in Christ. They have low overhead.\n9. If not against you, they are for you. We\u0026rsquo;re not being proactive\u0026hellip;\nTrying to reach out and answer questions and respond to concerns. We fell that if churches do not get a connection, they will get weaker.\nIs that going to affect my attitude toward them? No, you care for what you give birth to.\nWill this divide us? Aren\u0026rsquo;t we divided right now? We are more divided. We need to come together. We need to overcome our fear of repeating the past instead of doing nothing.\nWe shouldn\u0026rsquo;t put it writing? Creeds? Why do people hold on to this? No biblical support for stating that we shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have a creed. There\u0026rsquo;s something for\nputting it in writing, it makes it clear and provides a starting place. How can this divide us if we are already divided?\nWhat will happen to these churches? If there\u0026rsquo;s not a connection, they will get weaker. I understand the concerns, but I don\u0026rsquo;t agree that things are great.\nHe says that that is the underlying assumption.\nWe are going to make mistakes, but avoid repeating them.\n10. What is the difference between a church that signs and a church that doesn\u0026rsquo;t sign, but still committed to relationships?\nWe\u0026rsquo;re asking if you agree with these statements and principles? There\u0026rsquo;s no place to sign. It\u0026rsquo;s a statement of public affirmation. \u0026ldquo;If they affirm it,\nthen, Amen \u0026ndash; then we will do everything we can to work together. We gotta have a starting place.\u0026rdquo;\nIf they don\u0026rsquo;t publicly affirm it, I\u0026rsquo;d ask them why. Instead of why do it, ask why not do it? What\u0026rsquo;s holding back leadership\nfrom letting people know that we want connection and that the body is more than just ourselves. This is the essence.\nThis is getting lost and I don\u0026rsquo;t know how.\nNo step of the nine going to congregations before asking for ratifications. face to face is just good for it.\n11. (Not really a question)\nPray for LA. Things aren\u0026rsquo;t perfect. We have challenges.\nLA has come on their own nickel. They\u0026rsquo;ve only asked for us to cooperate.\n12. Where do we go from here? (to ABQ leaders)\nGet input from you. See where everyone is at. Are there things we haven\u0026rsquo;t thought about? Put it together and decide what we\u0026rsquo;re going to do.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"14 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-14-coming-for-a-visit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Coming for a Visit","type":"posts"},{"content":"Lots of work on the computer project. Trying to get the software to look just right.\nI feel better now, physically. I needed some sleep and I got quite a bit of it. I also had some non-computer, non-writing fun. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned that my spirituality is helped by having something inspirational nearby. As such, I don\u0026rsquo;t put our son into the nursery on Sunday - it helps me focus on worshipping God when nothing else has. So far, he hasn\u0026rsquo;t been disruptive, but I know that the time until he will be is shortly approaching.\nMaybe it was partly mental because of the upcoming small groups meeting the church I attend had this Sunday. I haven\u0026rsquo;t been in a function like this since I left the Advisory Group. I remembered what I didn\u0026rsquo;t like about the last time about these kinds of meetings.\nIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t bring out the best in me.\nWe\u0026rsquo;re human, so all the human things came out. Some couples disagreed within themselves about whether or not they wanted to lead. Some couples wanted to have a group made up of entirely \u0026lsquo;sharp\u0026rsquo; people. Some couples wanted to get out of leading a small group. Some couples aired dirty laundry.\nWe all wanted to help, though. Being human, I fell into my issue of wanting a quick and simple solution. I also volunteered to lead a small group when no one else wanted to. I was tempted to take some things personally, but decided not to - this was a good decision. I kept remembering that we mostly wanted to help. Those that had less-than-noble purposes would reap what they sowed.\nIt ended well with encouragement by many. I feel like my wife and I are in a good group. We\u0026rsquo;ll be the young ones. (Unless mrtool wants to join our group, then he\u0026rsquo;ll be the young one.) I cannot complain, I got my choice of group - what could be better? Like I said, I\u0026rsquo;m actually happy about it.\nNo, I\u0026rsquo;m not about to descend into a d-group. I\u0026rsquo;ve ridden that train to the end of the line. Family, yes. I want a spiritual family. The fifth century church fathers of the North African desert can keep their spiritual minders. I hope for a family.\nNothing\u0026rsquo;s final, though. I think many of us thought it was an idea meeting and preliminary groupings. We did the preliminary groupings and that took most of the time. I think it ended as well as it could.\nTomorrow, though, I\u0026rsquo;ll warn you will be YAUPP - yet another UP post. Bruce has been offering to go to churches to explain their side of the UP in an attempt to get people to sign. I now have the tape of one such talk to a non-signing congregation.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll just say this - Assumptions will get you into trouble every time. My assumptions get me into trouble. So should Bruce\u0026rsquo;s.\n","date":"14 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-14-november-thus-far/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"November thus far","type":"posts"},{"content":"Beef Rendang from Sumatra. And you may have thought all they had was coffee.\n","date":"11 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-11-great-recipe/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Great Recipe","type":"posts"},{"content":"Ugh. May post Monday, I dunno.\nAs far as Dubya, I voted for him in 2000. He turned out to be completely different from the \u0026lsquo;Great Compromiser\u0026rsquo; I understood him to be in Texas. He seemed to be the person that had never run a successful business (including the Texas Rangers) instead of the policy maker he was reported to be in Texas.\nBesides, Gore, at the time, struck me as completely the wrong guy.\nHas he been gracious since losing the House and Senate, yes he has. Real class, even if the situation forced it on him. It was, as he said, \u0026ldquo;a cummulative thumping\u0026rdquo; on Tuesday. At least he fired Rumsfield. He should fire Rice and apologize to Powell. The Republican party is pretty shameless in piling it on Bush now that they lost. It\u0026rsquo;s why I\u0026rsquo;ve changed my mind and will not vote for Sen McCain, the guy I really wanted to win the nomination in 2000. (I still have the t-shirt.)\nStill, Bush said two days before the election that handing over the country to the Democarts means that the terrorists win. You gotta have some humility after that kind of statement.\nOtherwise, bleh. Cobwebs in the brain.\n","date":"11 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-11-still-not-well/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Still Not Well","type":"posts"},{"content":"We hold dear what our Declaration of Independence says, that all have got uninalienable rights, endowed by a Creator.\nGeorge w. Bush\nMoscow - 05/24/2002 to community and religious leaders\n","date":"10 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-10-more-dubya-quotes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More Dubya Quotes","type":"posts"},{"content":"I subscribe to Discover magazine. These days I actually read them, despite what mrtool may say to the contrary. :)\nThere\u0026rsquo;s an article about the scientific search for religion that is very much worth reading. I came away from it with a deeper faith, not a shallower one. Not bad considering that the first part of the article concerns a machine designed to give you a \u0026lsquo;religious experience\u0026rsquo; when it is turned on.\nMore later, but I wanted to express that I have had encouraging thoughts lately, despite the spate of posts today.\nWhodathunkkit? God in a Discover article\u0026hellip;\n","date":"9 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-09-finding-god-in-discover/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Finding God in Discover","type":"posts"},{"content":"A man tried to buy an election here and he lost. He lost big. He campaigned in a way reminiscent\nof Jesse Helms with a twist. He bought all kinds of domain names like (name of opponent)facts.com, search for truth.org, and all kinds of other bologna. He has never held any political office of any kind and spent millions accosting us with crazy ads. He even had a cartoon ad similar to the JibJab folks.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s like a relative of mine says, you cannot polish a turd.\nHe never really said what he was going to do for the state. He only talked about what he was going to do for the country. On his website were detailed policy statements. Local agriculture, one paragraph. Border Security, pages and pages. A Democrat named John Edwards tried that. He even got to pretend to be a senator for two years before being a VP candidate. Where is he now?\nSpeaking of Dems, Lieberman ran for his senate seat and VP in 2000. He lost the White House, but retained his Senate seat.This time he ran as an independent for that same senate seat and beat the guy that defeated him in the primary. His state loves them some Joe Lieberman. Last time he ran no campaign and won. This time, he ran without party help and won. What\u0026rsquo;s next in 2012?\nSen McCain of Arizona has remarked that this is a wake-up call for the GOP. I think the wake-up call was discovering that there was no Post-Iraq strategy. Me and everyone else just hit the ol\u0026rsquo; snooze button when we got that call. Maybe our wake-up call was September 17, 2003 when our President says the following two things at different speeches that day:\nThere\u0026rsquo;s no question that Saddam Hussein had Al Qaeda ties.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11.\nSo Nancy Pelosi gets control of House committees that can investigate the Bush administration\u0026rsquo;s most controversial decisions on foreign, military and energy policy. Tell us, Chuck, what have we just won.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s right Pink, with Pelosi in power, we\u0026rsquo;ve all won riveting congressional hearings! Get you collectible cards now and cash in on eBay!\nGotta fix the announcer voice generator. It sounds too much like spam. Then again, I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to different flash ads for my local paper. I need to get back to Falsh-blocking LowermyBills.com instead of certain aforementioned candidates.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"8 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-08-election-posting/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Election Posting","type":"posts"},{"content":"It surprises me how folks named, \u0026ldquo;One of the Top 25 Evangelicals\u0026rdquo; seem to be dubbed as such for the size of their church, not the character of their pastors. I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be surprised, it is the American way to equate church size with spirituality.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve railed on the ICoC for being an insular subculture. Outside help has got to be more than another evangelist half way across the US or the world. It has to be outside the ICoC. Without outside perspective, we are only going to hear the same biases, the same assumptions, the same basic teaching we\u0026rsquo;ve always heard. Listening to the messages from the ILC demonstrates that - we need regional groups, we need to get back to discipling, we need to evangelize our way out of the so-called Firestorm.\nHowever, this kind of insular behavior is not unique to the ICoC.\nMark Driscoll decided to weigh in on the Haggard situation by saying this:\nMost pastors I know do not have satisfying, free, sexual conversations and liberties with their wives. At the risk of being even more widely despised than I currently am, I will lean over the plate and take one for the team on this. It is not uncommon to meet pastors’ wives who really let themselves go; they sometimes feel that because their husband is a pastor, he is therefore trapped into fidelity, which gives them cause for laziness. A wife who lets herself go and is not sexually available to her husband in the ways that the Song of Songs is so frank about is not responsible for her husband’s sin, but she may not be helping him either.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think that Mark hears what he is saying. You cannot say that it\u0026rsquo;s not the wife\u0026rsquo;s fault, but really it sorta-kinda is the wife\u0026rsquo;s fault. More than that, I believe that his idea of what goes on in a woman\u0026rsquo;s mind is pathetic. Where would he get these ideas from?\nYou don\u0026rsquo;t get to stand on Eph 5:22 without Eph 5:25-27. Yes, I think man and wife need to have frank sexual conversations. Yes, I think it is tempting for some spouses, men and women, to care less about their physical appearance after marriage. I\u0026rsquo;ll even give you that most men in a marriage desire a physically attractive wife and list it as their primary need. But if I commit adultery, I do not get to stand before the throne of God and say, \u0026ldquo;this wife you gave me didn\u0026rsquo;t help me by staying in shape.\u0026rdquo; Adam tried that defense with the forbidden fruit - it didn\u0026rsquo;t work for him and it doesn\u0026rsquo;t work for us.\nThen again, I\u0026rsquo;ve been looking to outside-of-the-ICoC blogs and sermons for my own inspiration. It\u0026rsquo;s bound to happen that something comes along that really bothers me in a bad way. I\u0026rsquo;ve certainly had some thing bother me in a good way. More on those later.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"8 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-08-insular-cultures/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Insular Cultures","type":"posts"},{"content":"**Matthew 21:28-32\n**\n\u0026ldquo;What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, \u0026lsquo;Son, go and work today in the vineyard.\u0026rsquo;\n\u0026quot; \u0026lsquo;I will not,\u0026rsquo; he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.\n\u0026ldquo;Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, \u0026lsquo;I will, sir,\u0026rsquo; but he did not go.\n\u0026ldquo;Which of the two did what his father wanted?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;The first,\u0026rdquo; they answered.\nJesus said to them, \u0026ldquo;I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s the political season again and thinking about local laws has lead me to a controversial idea. That idea is that if Jesus were here, he would probably be helping registered sex offenders find housing. I don\u0026rsquo;t think it would be a political thing or that it would be on TV. I imagine it would start as one person being helped and others coming along as word-of-mouth advertising spreads. Considering that his time on earth was short, I don\u0026rsquo;t imagine that he would allow it to sidetrack his ministry. Still, it answers the quintessential What Would Jesus Do question for me. (I usually despise the theology behind the asking of that question. That\u0026rsquo;s why I say it answers the question for me, not everyone. This is my idea based on my understanding of Jesus, not a moral imperative because I say so.)\nI could see this parable being told in our time. I could see Jesus saying that the so-called morally-depraved are entering the Kingdom of God ahead of you.\nOf course, the consequences of this idea are many. For one, the first person that commits another crime after being helped will begin a public outcry against people doing this. It won\u0026rsquo;t matter about the others that have not re-offended. It won\u0026rsquo;t matter if all but this one became a Christian. In the search to assign blame, it will be reasoned that if this group did not exist to assist someone that needs to be permanently punished for the rest of their lives, the person may not have re-offended. Peh.\nAnother consequence, as I mentioned earlier, is that no church will go along with it wholeheartedly. Rick Warren can talk all he wants about being a part of the community, but it\u0026rsquo;s only for the socially acceptable causes. I pick on Pastor Warren because any church based on polls of the community will never ultimately challenge the community. Even those that bought into the Business Driven Church could not readily endorse such a proposal because the proposal itself is bad for business.\nStill, with all of that, it is possible to provide this service with a minimum of fuss. Most cities provide a list of their schools with addresses. Many states list all the day care facilities by address. It would seem possible to use Google Maps API to cross reference this data and shade in areas that are approximately 2000ft away from all the listed addresses. If this software was presented to the state workers that work with offenders, it makes their job that much easier.\nAgain, all of this came up in thinking about this political season. It also came up with my continued search into who Jesus is. Jesus was friends with society\u0026rsquo;s worst. He hung out with those that no one would be caught dead being seen with. He even defended some of them publicly (John 8, Luke 7). I think as someone that calls himself a follower of this man, I need to consider his life and actions.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"8 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-08-more-on-future-challenges/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"More on Future Challenges","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today is election day. As I\u0026rsquo;ve been mulling over voter guides and desperately searching for issues instead of rhetoric, one issue stood out. The measure would say that a person on the sexual offender register cannot live within 2000 feet of a school, daycare center, and a few other places.\nThere are some cities in my state that have passed local ordinaces saying that no one on the sexual offender register can live within city limits. The current law is 500 feet, or just over a block. It effectively means that an offender cannot live next door to a school, day care, etc, etc.\nThe reason that stood out to me is because of a map where I work. It is a street map with every school in the city marked. Thinking about 2000 feet as half a mile, I tried to figure out where a person could live if this law took effect.\nA person could live in some of the most dangerous parts of town. An offender could also live in the poorest section of town. Okay, poorest section of town is not a big deal in the sense that it\u0026rsquo;s not a bad thing to live in a poor neighborhood. However, I also noticed that this person could not effectively live in a middle-class or upper middle class neighborhood. This person could live in some middle class places in the western suburbs, but that would be an iffy proposition because if a school is built, they would have to move without compensation. (I know where the planned schools are being built, and it effectively eliminates the western suburbs.) Oddly enough, if an offender has enough money, he or she could live in some of the most exclusive neighborhoods. Odds are though, that if someone found out, a new daycare would spring up overnight.\nThe result is that a person on the register can live in limited parts of the city. The other option is to buy a parcel of farmland and build a house, hoping that a development won\u0026rsquo;t move in 10 years or so. Again, once a daycare or school is built within the allotted distance, they are forced to move on their own dime.\nWhat does this have to do with the category?\nSimple really. I believe that a church is sooner or later going to get into the business of helping offenders find a place to live. When that happens, the reaction of many so-called God-fearing men and women will be severe. I imagine that if a church began doing something like this, the membership would leave in droves. After all, do you want to help a registered sex offender? Do you believe that whatever shunning and difficulty they have they brought on themselves? Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t they have thought of all this before they did what they did?\nMany Christians, including myself, talk about being a friend to the friendless. We read about Jesus being a friend of tax collectors and sinners in Luke and Matthew. Do we think of the registered offenders as sinners? Yes, but we also think of them as untouchable, unreachable, and unimaginably evil. I think many of us know that God has paid the price for their sins as well, but it is not a comfortable thought.\nmore later.\n","date":"6 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-06-a-future-challenge/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Future Challenge","type":"posts"},{"content":"pinakidion.*\nThe big thing here was the computer project, a recurring dream, and a few words about the identity of Wax Tablet. On a side note, I managed to post 26 times publicly and once privately in October - that is almost one a day. I make it a point to write somewhere everyday if I can. (Sometimes the writing is offline and not public.)\nI have cinematic dreams, but remember very,very few of them. I think I have the same six or seven over and over, but I don\u0026rsquo;t know for certain.\nThe computer project led to next update\u0026hellip; Computer Biz\nOriginally, the was set up before I was married to go into business with mrtool and my father. The business didn\u0026rsquo;t pan out. With permission from mrtool, I\u0026rsquo;ve revamped the site to hold information on the technical progress of the project. Yes, mrtool, I kept the same idea of green as an identity color.\nPackage lists, downloads, and other news will appear there shortly.\nMy Family\nMy wife has not posted like she would like, so the family website gets unused. To spruce things up, I added a countdown to the birth of our second child. Unfortunately, it turns out that the due date is three weeks later than originally thought. The new date is April 11th.\nThe countdown is broken now. I hope to fix it soon.\nSycarion\nMore on Lenga was posted without details. Some have wondered why I\u0026rsquo;d go through all the trouble of creating a language to explain how magic works. Call it neurosis, I guess.\nFor the record, I\u0026rsquo;ve never read any book written by Tolkien and will not until I am finished writing about Lenga. I have a bad habit of copying the styles of those I read and I am trying to find my written voice.\nTakteek is coming along well. Mrtool brought over some boards he made of various shapes and sizes. We\u0026rsquo;ll play next week, I was babysitting this week. So far, I\u0026rsquo;ve only won one game.\nThe rules are being written in an XML format because of the wide number of options available to play. I\u0026rsquo;m not very good with XML, so it may not work.\nThe Month Ahead\nThe goals stated here are not often met completely, but I feel it is still good to aim for something.\nSycarion\nActually post the details of Lenga\nComputer Biz\nThis is where the bulk of posting will be for awhile. The goal is to have a working demo before working on a Kickstart-like program for Slackware.\nMy Family\nI hope my wife will post. Barring that, I\u0026rsquo;ll either fix the countdown clock or remove it.\nFor My Son\nLearned a lot from the Deaf/Hard of Hearing folks in the community. There is much to share.\nStudy Hall\nI have the exposition of Galatians and 1 John ready to post.\n","date":"5 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-05-october-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"October 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m incapcitated, so no portal update for awhile.\nFound out that the baby is due on April 11,2007 not March 17,2007 as previously thought. Otherwsie, the ultrasound didn\u0026rsquo;t come up with anything unusual. I\u0026rsquo;ll update the coutdown on my wife and I\u0026rsquo;s personal site when I feel better.\nHey MrTool, we\u0026rsquo;re still on for Friday. If you have a spare sound card lying around, that would be great.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s see, not much else for me. Yeah, I added actual discussion forums (now discontinued), but that\u0026rsquo;s more for me to get practice working with phpbb. Write all you want or don\u0026rsquo;t want, all I\u0026rsquo;m saying is that they weren\u0026rsquo;t created to fill a real need for Yet Another Discussion Forum..\nI\u0026rsquo;ll change the Computer Biz site to keep track of the computer project sometime soon. So far, though, there\u0026rsquo;s been a lot of technical stuff going on in that space. The test computer is an ancient Gateway E3000. Yup, Pentium(r) Pro 200 mhz with MMX. At this point it has two \u0026lsquo;modes\u0026rsquo; which are really two different window managers. One is configured to work like a Mac(R) using Enlightment. The other is configured to work like a legacy PC using Xfce. The Mac(R)-like one runs really fast. The whole thing is beginning to look really slick. Many thanks to Paul Sherman, the guy behind Absolute Linux, the folks that make slapt-get, the maker of Guten-Py, the Enlightenment guys, and many others that have created wonderful programs and tweaks.\nSlackware is a great development environment.\nLook forward to a weekend at home. Just want to sleep. Zzzzzz.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"2 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-02-sick/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sick","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am telling you that if stories of the supernatural creep you out, don\u0026rsquo;t read this post.\nReally. I\u0026rsquo;m going to divulge a part of my past that I reflect on every year about this time. If spooky stuff gives you the heebie-jeebies, turn back now. Read about my wedding outfit or about the random Dubya quote. Better yet, read something edifying and go to Alan\u0026rsquo;s blog.\nYou have now been warned.\nWhen I studied the Bible(TM), I got to that part that really determines if you trust the people leading the studies or not. You tell them about all your past.\nThe trouble was, I didn\u0026rsquo;t have the sexual sins they wanted me to have. I was hammered for lying because all guys have either had premarital sex or masturbated. I have done neither. This infuriated them and sent them for a real loop. They had to settle for heavy petting in High School - they were really disappointed, I think.\nThe two big sins I had to deal with were lying and witchcraft. When I say witchcraft, I do not mean pot, cigarettes, or alcohol. I mean honest-to-goodness witchcraft. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I was a serious student, but I dabbled in it and was gratified by the power I thought I had.\nIt started when I was 10 or 11. I became fascinated with ghost stories. They had to be somewhat verifiable to really spook me. I had pictures of ghostly figures on stairs, phantom faces in the window of a lighthouse (the top windows), and more. As much as these stories scared me, a part of me wanted to investigate the truth about these ghosts. The fact that they were dead, but somehow still connected to earth really fascinated me. I also wondered how all this meshed with the Bible and Christianity.\nThat got me to poltergeists. I had heard some talk about casting out demons and whether Jesus cast out real demons or metaphorical ones. At the time, I believed the movies, The Exorcist and the Amytiville Horror as mostly true stories. Still, the demons in these stories did not act like the ones in the Bible. I figured that there had to be something else to this.\nWhen I was 12, I went to see my cousins and we got around to playing with a Ouija board. We noticed that if either me or my cousing were one of the people touching the pointer, that it moved faster. We decided that both of us should, and I kid you not, the pointer took off. We spelled words as fast as we could read them out.\nSo I thought that she was pushing it, so I pushed back. She did the same. We decided that we would just put our tips straight up-and-down on the pointer so that there was no way either or us could be pushing it.\nThe spirit spelled out \u0026ldquo;It is not you, it is me.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"1 November 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-11-01-youll-be-warned/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"You'll Be Warned","type":"posts"},{"content":"In one version of a series of events, Russ Ewell of San Francisco, err - Bay Area Church sent Kip to Portland. I\u0026rsquo;m certain that Kip would have been hired somewhere eventually, but not in 2003.\nNow, there is an International Christian Church in San Francisco.\nThis is a \u0026rsquo;thank you\u0026rsquo;, I guess for all the help in getting a job when no one wanted to acknowledge that he existed.\nThere is something that I am noticing about these new churches, though. As best I can tell, none of them are larger than 15 - 20 folks. They are meeting in homes and loathe to mention their numbers. It seems that these new churches are basically made up of a Bible Talk or Family Group that wants things back the way they were.\nRemember the group in Stockholm? Maybe ten people, if that. Hilo? 12 -15. Honolulu? Less than that. LA? Not the 10,000 of yore (though it was later found that the Rose Bowl service actually had closer to 8900 in attendance). LA is Ron Harding and a couple Bible Talks. The only exception seems to be Kiev, Ukraine, but there\u0026rsquo;s no telling which source is correct in estimating their membership. (For the record, ICC says about 200, ICoC says about 20. Guess which acronym is which.)\nThe Bay Area Church, by the way, is the largest non-signer of the UP. They went to the ILC in Va Beach, but they are still the largest non-signer. I wonder if anyone is going to visit them to share perspective (based on my experiences with Russ, I doubt it).\nDon\u0026rsquo;t know why I mention all this except to say that I was in the middle of writing about my past and its connections to Halloween, sorta. I think I needed a break from the heebie-jeebies.\n","date":"31 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-31-bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bite the Hand that Feeds You","type":"posts"},{"content":"Elephants recognize themselves when they look into a mirror.\nConsidering their reputation for memory, I would hope that they could remember themselves.\nOkay, back to work. That\u0026rsquo;s the weird factoid of the day.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"31 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-31-memory-of-an-elephant/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Memory of an Elephant","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, thanks to SSH, I\u0026rsquo;m back.\nfrom now on, no more playing with file permissions.\nin any case, I\u0026rsquo;m back, life is good.\nJust to let you know that because it\u0026rsquo;s our anniversary, I won\u0026rsquo;t be around until tomorrow, Tues Nov 1.\n","date":"30 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-30-its-back-sorta/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's Back, Sorta","type":"posts"},{"content":"ICOCINFO comes back with a new post.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not on the main site at all. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s like an easter egg. (Actually it\u0026rsquo;s a page that comes up when certain churches are searched for.)\nMan, this fall has all kinds of things happening. Nonny\u0026rsquo;s site is doing a booming business. The ILC, the International Christian Churches, Salt Lake, UP dramas, DToday is promising a makeover, etc. etc. etc. Now Kelcy makes a new post.\nI\u0026rsquo;m thinking that the lost awaited RTR4 is on the horizon\u0026hellip;\n","date":"27 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-27-after-six-months-off/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"After Six Months Off","type":"posts"},{"content":"I feel this out of it today.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s an old saying in Tennessee\u0026ndash;I know it\u0026rsquo;s in Texas, probably in Tennessee\u0026ndash;that says, fool me once, shame on\u0026ndash;shame on you. Fool me\u0026ndash;you can\u0026rsquo;t get fooled again.\nGeorge w. Bush\nNashville, TN 09/17/2002 Speaking at the East Literature Magnet School\n","date":"27 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-27-how-i-feel-today/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How I Feel Today","type":"posts"},{"content":"I wrote about the increasing number of blades on a razor here on Sep 15 2005. Now, the Economist is looking at theMoore\u0026rsquo;s Law effect on the number of blades in a razor. The write suggests that additional blades follow a hyperbolic curve, not the curve suggested by Moore\u0026rsquo;s law.\nIn English, instead of a 14 blade razor in 2100, it will be on shelves within four years.\nI am still claiming the TM on the Phlebotomizer - the 40 bladed wonder.\nGlad I use an electric myself.\nJuly 5, 2026 Update:\nI now use six-bladed razors from the Dollar Shave Club and five-bladed razors from Harry\u0026rsquo;s. Shrug\n","date":"26 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-26-ahead-of-the-curve/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ahead of the Curve","type":"posts"},{"content":"Salt Lake has asked to be on nobody\u0026rsquo;s list.\nThis includes the UP and Kip\u0026rsquo;s list from his recent article.\nHere is a group of people, as best I can tell, that are following the guidelines set out in the UP without signing it. There is a connection to Salt Lake from here, our former minister (two ago, before the present one and the one that moved to plant a church in Wisconsin) is a leader there. That\u0026rsquo;s why I care so much. For the longest time, I thought that if Kip could get a foothold here, it would be through them. However, in my talks with folks there, I soon changed my mind and realized that their mindset is not heading that way.\nI believe that Kip is going to ridicule them in public and private. I\u0026rsquo;d be surprised if the Portland speaker mentioned in the article makes it there to speak. I hope I am wrong about the ridicule.\nIn ten years or so when the International Christian Churches (Portland Movement) crumbles, I believe the SLC will be there for folks damaged like we are. I\u0026rsquo;d like to believe that this article is a signal of God\u0026rsquo;s providence in the future.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t agree, however, with trying to straddle the fence on both sides. Kip is a false teacher - we didn\u0026rsquo;t do enough four years ago to deal with it and we reaped the whirlwind. Not dealing with Kip\u0026rsquo;s error will do the same. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe Kip will allow this - I\u0026rsquo;m certain that cities with \u0026rsquo;two churches\u0026rsquo; are not really keen on this idea, either.\nStill, I wish them well. I\u0026rsquo;m an idealist at heart, I hope it works.\n","date":"26 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-26-unenviable-position/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Unenviable Position","type":"posts"},{"content":"I keep having the same dream for the past few nights. I do not know what it means.\nIt begins with people coming over to my house or with me going to someone else\u0026rsquo;s house. I see people that I don\u0026rsquo;t know, but I\u0026rsquo;m able to say hello and chat for awhile. I think it is a Wednesday night or a Thursday. For some reason I keep reminding myself that it is not Sunday morning.\nAfter some time, I tell everyone that it is time to start. At this point, I become an observer in the crowd as I see myself doing this. From this point forward, whenever I speak to the group, I see myself as a memebr of the group. When I think to myself, I am \u0026lsquo;myself\u0026rsquo; again looking at the group.\nI welcome everyone to wherever we are and briefly talk about how all of us are here to worship God. I explain that I coordinate things, but that this service is participatory as explained on the website. I encourage those that did not know that it is okay to feel like you are not ready, we all felt that way at first. After more words of welcome, I ask if anyone has anything Scripture to share or song to sing. I remind people that a time for sharing what the Scripture means to you will come later, for now this is just for reading Scripture. Someone begins a song for the church and we all fumble through a songbook that I do not recognize. After the song, someone reads from a Psalm. Another person reads a passage from Matthew and mentions why its important. I remember thinking to myself that it is okay that this person didn\u0026rsquo;t follow protocol - this is about worship. As long as it doesn\u0026rsquo;t get out of hand, this is still orderly worship. Another song follows, this one slower than the first and the crowd is more confident of the words and tune. Three more share passages, though I\u0026rsquo;m not sure which ones.\nAfter a pause, I ask if anyone else has something to share. No one else does, so I begin to tell the group that this is the time for prayers. A person can just pray aloud, or mention a prayer need. Various people pray for forgiveness, some pray for the health of a relative. A couple of people simply state a need instead of pray - one for job stuff, another for Spiritual strength in the trials of life. I think to myself that this last person used peculiar language to express himself and reminded myself that this was bound to happen. For some reason, I remind myself that we (the group) are not all from the same tradition. After another silence, this one longer than the last, I ask if there are other prayers. A woman in the back asks for more time of silent prayer, so we all bow our heads in silence. After a few minutes, she asks if there are any other prayer concerns and no one else shares.\nThen I say that this is the time in our service to share personal testimony about the power of God in their lives. I also mention that the Bible speaks about being reconciled with your brother and leaving the gift on the altar and be reconciled before presenting the gift to God. I explain that we will take a five minute break for coffee and that this would be a great time to reconcile if you need to do so. I mention the coffee break, but don\u0026rsquo;t remember it actually happening.\nMy perspective changes to that of a person that needs to talk with someone else. I (as someone else that\u0026rsquo;s not me) pull aside another man and explain that I am angry at him for some reason. I don\u0026rsquo;t remember exactly what the problem was, but we spend ten minutes or so really hashing it out - it\u0026rsquo;s not a Hallmark(R) moment for a while. However, we do eventually come to a conclusion. After an embrace, we return to the group. My perspective switches back to me again as I hear a woman share of being healed of some sickness. After her, a man shares about God working in his life, but I don\u0026rsquo;t remember what he shared. A pause occurs and I ask for any other testimony this evening. No one shares. I turn to Eric and ask him to share his testimony to lead our thoughts for communion. My dream fast forwards past his testimony and the passing of plates. I pray for the bread, the body of Christ, and the fruit of the vine, which represents his blood and we all partake together in unison.\nAfter this, someone begins to sing a \u0026lsquo;worship\u0026rsquo; song, I believe it is \u0026ldquo;humble yourself in the sight of the lord\u0026rdquo;. When the song concludes, I once again pray in thanks for the sacrifice of Jesus. Upon finishing, everyone straightens up and I ask if anyone has any encouragement or word of exhortation. Two or three people share passages and speak about them. One person asks a question of the last person to share and a discussion ensues about the meaning of a particular passage. I remember thinking that I often try to minimize conflict and that I just need to let this one work out. I am relieved when it does. After a pause, I ask if anyone has anything at all that they want to share - a few thank you\u0026rsquo;s emerge for the folks that shared.\nI thank the speakers as well and ask the crowd to open to John 1. I speak about the divinity of Jesus for some time. In other dreams, I am in different chapters of John and they do not go in order. Part of me is thinking that I always share from John, but that as this group continues, other series will be taught by me and others that will complete the group. When I am finished, I ask if there are any questions about my lesson. A discussion begins about the God-man Jesus and what that means. A young man, about 20, starts to move his reasoning away from Trinitarianism, but someone else in the crowd directs him to other passages. Others share and discuss various things. When the discussion ends, I ask if there are any other comments.\nI then share that folks need to sign up to share their testimony and teach a lesson series in the coming weeks. I again mention the website or the printout of the website signups and encourage people that the Spirit of God gives us all something to share. I then give a benediction:\n\u0026ldquo;May the peace of God be with you now and forever. Amen.\u0026rdquo;\nThe group then begins to talk amongst themselves. I go into the kitchen to escape the noise and grab something to eat. I look at the time and realize that we had been in that room for almost 2 hours and notice my legs are stiff. I talk to some folks, the only thing consistent in what we talk about is someone asking me, \u0026ldquo;so what do you do since service is participatory? What is your role and what are you paid for?\u0026rdquo;\nIn some dreams, I am still working, so I tell them that I coordinate to provide orderly worship, but that I work 9 to 5 like them. In other dreams, I tell them that I guess I am a pastor. I\u0026rsquo;m available for counseling, visitation, work in the community, etc, all the same things any pastor does. The difference is that I don\u0026rsquo;t worry each week about what will happen on Sunday.\u0026quot; The last one is odd, because we always meet at night in the middle of the week in my dreams.\nOnce in a while there\u0026rsquo;s a vague sense in my dream that there is some tension between one member of the group and the church they attend on Sundays. Sometimes the problem is that I state my Restoration Movement beliefs on the website and that his church is not RM, nor do they like RM theology and they are concerned about our orthodoxy.\nSometimes it is a minister that wants to know, \u0026ldquo;what exactly do you think you\u0026rsquo;re doing?\u0026rdquo; They go on to explain that the first century church did this or that. In one of these confrontations, I ask if the church that met in the home of Philemon had a kitchen. He explains that a Roman kitchen is not like our modern ones, so I ask if I should remodel the house.\nSometimes there\u0026rsquo;s just a vague uneasiness about something, but I cannot put my finger on it.\nIn other variations of the dream, I am not \u0026lsquo;coordinating\u0026rsquo; at all. Someone else is teaching a series on something - all I do is usually lead a song, if anything. I think I\u0026rsquo;ve had about a dozen of these dreams, but I\u0026rsquo;m not really aware if this was one big dream that left the impression of multiple branches, or multiple dreams. I remember last night\u0026rsquo;s dream, and that triggered the memory of the previous dreams. Before last night, I don\u0026rsquo;t remember dreaming this at all.\nAnyway, that\u0026rsquo;s it. I am not sleeping much. Apparently when I do, this is going on. I just wish I could remember the good things people share in these dreams.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"24 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-24-recurring-dream/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recurring Dream","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have a meeting about the home computer giveaway project on Wednesday. I hope to get some clarification of what our 2nd in command IT guy is looking for. I volunteered a solution, but he publicly mentioned his desire to make this happen two weeks ago.\nOne other reasons I am excited for this project is that I want to help the community at large. To the best of my understanding, this kind of thing is perfect for me. I get to do what I love and to know that I am helping kids.\nYes, I am a true believer (not in the Eric Hoffman sense of the word, but almost) in Linux, mainly because of the philosophy behind it. I know that its not pragmatic at times. I\u0026rsquo;d rather be pragmatic than philosophical at this point. What good is a beautiful project that helps very little or not at all. It\u0026rsquo;s a waste of time for all involved.\nAnyway, I am looking forward to Wednesday. I\u0026rsquo;ll be certain to let everyone know how it turns out.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"23 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-23-upcoming-wednesday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upcoming Wednesday","type":"posts"},{"content":"Not much to say about the meeting of the First UP Conference\nThe Co9 is in full swing - we know where all the international events are next year, and it\u0026rsquo;s a good thing. Really, it is.\nI will say two things.\nOne, if someone hasn\u0026rsquo;t signed, let them not sign. It is past time to accept that some are just not going to sign this thing anytime soon. Get over it.\nTwo, Al and Bruce on a committe together. Imagine that. Got to keep the LA continuity going, at least during this critical juncture.\nOtherwise, no news here. Enjoy your Sunday, I\u0026rsquo;m off to house church at a friend\u0026rsquo;s house.\n","date":"22 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-22-what-ttk-said/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What TTK Said","type":"posts"},{"content":"My only other question is how do you decide when you’re Pinakidion and when you’re Wax Tablet for commeting?\nsalguod\nWax Tablet never writes a post, but makes appearances here from time to time. Those that know me understand that this is an inside joke. Someone on salguod.net mentioned something about names and I commented something like \u0026ldquo;that\u0026rsquo;d be like calling me wax tablet\u0026rdquo;.\nIn May of this year, WT began making an appearance here. His first appearance came in a May 16th comment explaining the meaning of a series of mysterious numbers in one of my comments. He has also appeared at salguod.net in May of this year and possibly earlier - even Google(R) has its limits.\nWhen does WT show up and when does pinakidion comment? Honestly, I do not know, it\u0026rsquo;s what my fingers type just before I write the comment.\nNow that your question has been artfully dodged, we resume our regular writings, already in progress.\npinakidion tag\n","date":"22 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-22-who-is-wax-tablet/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who is Wax Tablet?","type":"posts"},{"content":"The original title was, \u0026ldquo;What I\u0026rsquo;m Famous For\u0026rdquo;. Where this title came from is anyone\u0026rsquo;s guess. Goodness, what the subconscious will generate.\nLA has now marked Kip again. I say again, because Bruce and Al were signers of the 1st and 2nd letters to him. According to Gordon in Hilo, the second letter was a marking.\nMaybe they just responded to a triple-dog dare.\nSomeone recently went to the LA leaders and told them that if they really wanted unity, they needed to give. Years and years of pulling the most zealous and brightest, pulling in money for pet projects, and being the Jerusalem of the movement has created a lack of trust. This person was trying to say that they should give back, although that is a part of it. This person was saying that they should simply give with no strings attached. This kind of giving promotes trust, love, and peace.\nBeing one of those that does not trust the leadership in LA, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure I would have ever seen such gifts as pure-hearted. At this point, what would lead me to believe in a pure-hearted giving to others is probably too much for the current administration to publicly admit. Am I setting a standard too high? I do not know. I do know that the begining is simply adhering to the changes promised in 2003, but that\u0026rsquo;s a different post altogether.\nWhat strikes me about the LA church\u0026rsquo;s letter is how different it is from Gordon\u0026rsquo;s response. Gordon, er Phoenix leadership urges. LA says that if you visit them, you\u0026rsquo;re out, too. Gordon met with people that visited the Phoenix splinter group while still attending Phoenix proper. From what is stated in the LA letter, fence-sitting and uncertainty are not allowed - those who are not with us are against us.\nInsert famous over-used quote from Joshua here.\nUltimately, we reap what we sow. It is fair to say that LA has been sowing this very thing for years. The time has come to reap the harvest. The irony of what we as a \u0026lsquo;movement\u0026rsquo; did since 1983 is striking. We split CoC\u0026rsquo;s, we pruned churches wholesale, we pronounced our brother in the RM as dead and dying. Now we are the ones dead and dying. Dire pictures of circling vultures are painted and promises of Yet Another Restoration flow like a river.\nIt serves all of us right, especially LA.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not innocent in this matter, either. The same is true of me as well. I did the same things. I have continued to sow other things in my life and online as well. The harvest will come for me as well.\nWhen I first wrote here, I was very angry. It could be argued that I still am. I said a lot of things that agitated people all over the world. Big name evangelists and elders stopped by to comment. A couple of times, when I realized that the readership was larger than a few friends, I even tried to pull the plug.\nIt very well could be that the total disintegration of the ICoC is being allowed by God as a demonstration of his power over hubris. How does God describe Egypt? \u0026ldquo;I rose them up for this very purpose.\u0026rdquo; Then again, that would assume that the ICoC was and is important enough to be made into a spectacle. The Worldwide Church of God had a similar disintegration, yet we didn\u0026rsquo;t know about them. The UBF is having a similar disintegration, yet we know even less about them. The WCG came out of it as a member of the Evangelical churches council worldwide. What makes them distinct from many other evangelicals is only their history, not much else. The UBF had their \u0026ldquo;God\u0026rsquo;s man on Earth\u0026rdquo; pass away and they are simply fading away. Who knows God\u0026rsquo;s purposes? It could be that all these things are unrelated.\nWhat seems certain is that more letters like LA\u0026rsquo;s or Phoenix\u0026rsquo;s are coming. Too much energy can be spent worrying about Kip\u0026rsquo;s next target. Besides, Kip telegraphs everything - if he hasn\u0026rsquo;t mentioned your city, he\u0026rsquo;s not coming there. Fact is, we didn\u0026rsquo;t do anything 3.5 years ago and it\u0026rsquo;s too late now. A message like Gordon\u0026rsquo;s was needed before the 1st letter was written by the 65.\nMore splitting is in the near-term future. I don\u0026rsquo;t relish saying that. I hope God will work a miracle and actually build trust amongst ourselves. Until that time, it appears like Kip\u0026rsquo;s faction, independent factions, non-UP factions, UP factions, and other splits will continue to be realized.\nEven in light of God\u0026rsquo;s mercy, it is impossible to escape that we really brought all of this on ourselves.\n","date":"21 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-21-could-be/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Could Be","type":"posts"},{"content":"It seems that the no. 2 IT guy at my work eagerly wants to discuss the computer idea mentioned in the previous computer post.\nThanks to mark, I asked what the goals are. The bad news is that I won\u0026rsquo;t know until the meeting takes place.\nI was very quick to point out a few things that are important to note and many more I\u0026rsquo;m not aware. For now, these are issues to keep in mind.\nIn Jacksonville, FL, there is a recycle computer programs that tries to do printers as well as computers. I cannot imagine that being practical to us as we have no way of storing them and sorting out ink catridges. Ugh! Ugh!\nOk, seriously, here are the issues.\nInternet connection. What good is the computer without a printer and an internet connection?\nMicrosoft will let us be a refurbishing joint and only charge $5 per license for the operating system not including MS Office. The OS would be Windows Me, Windows NT, or older versions. In January, it might include Windows 2000. There is an advantage to using Windows as that is what each computer currently has installed already.\nAny version of Linux we use is free, but it still won\u0026rsquo;t have MS Office. Not only that, some programs may not be compatiable with curriculum.\nWe need a good delivery system and a way to identify the computers to prevent them from appearing at a pawn shop the next day.\nIf we do not provide printers, will we provide tech support?\nIf they purchase internet and we use Linux, will the provider help them to get it working? (It should work fine, but most places hear Linux and say \u0026rsquo;not supported\u0026rsquo;.)\nThis project needs space and it is at a premium at the administrative building. Not only is space needed for computers, but a working area, storage for components, storage for items to be disposed, etc.\nA similar program is already in place to loan computers for up to a week and check them out like a book from the library. Will this project loose their funding? Will we be able to get separate funding? Can we merge these projects?\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more, but I am excited to be able to at least pitch the idea. If any of you have any ideas, please share. There is a great desire to do something good, but if there are potential issues, that need to be thought of ahead of time. Any input welcome, even \u0026ldquo;this will never work because\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"21 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-21-exciting-news/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Exciting News","type":"posts"},{"content":"Here\u0026rsquo;s a category I haven\u0026rsquo;t mentioned in a while, Computers.\nOne of the higher-ups at work is looking to give away computers to families in the area. Computers are a part of the curriculum, but what happens when you cannot use one at home for practice?\nThe higher-up has even spoken to Micheal Dell about this.\nYes, that Micheal Dell.\nI had an idea of using some variation of Ubuntu, specifically Edubuntu. The issue with that is the computer requirements to run the system. It\u0026rsquo;s low, but it reaches the threshold of our surplus computers\u0026rsquo; abilities. A secondary goal is to reuse our warehoused computers, so we need requirements that are pretty low.\nEnter Slackware.\nThe oldest and arguably the most conservative distro of Linux has two things that work in its favor. One is the low requirements. Two is that compiling programs for it is a snap because there is minimal customization to the kernel (like Ubuntu) or to the large pieces of software (like Fedora). If there\u0026rsquo;s not a package for that great piece of new educational software, it can be compiled pretty easily. (the only place easier would be Gentoo.)\nThere are a few projects that, if put together, just might be the perfect fit.\nSlackware, of course Swaret parts of Absolute Slackware\nand for the back end to mass install these computers\nSlack-Kickstart\nAbsolute has a modified KDE package that I like. Kickstart is just convienient (no hordes of volunteers with CDs). Swaret allows for the creation of a weekly cron job to update automatically, if the person has an internet connection. Slack, as a whole, is a good framework to build a good distro without a bunch of extra packages.\nI hope to be able to actually get permission to try this at work. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\n","date":"19 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-19-enjoying-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Enjoying Work","type":"posts"},{"content":"There was a conference, right?\n(crickets chirping)\n","date":"18 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-18-last-weekend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Last Weekend","type":"posts"},{"content":"I think I\u0026rsquo;ve heard or used that word so much over the past two weeks that I am starting to introduce it in every conversation.\nHow are you doing, Pink? I\u0026rsquo;m fine, have you pooped lately? My son hasn\u0026rsquo;t.\nSeems that our son has been constipated since the weaning. I saw his wonderful personality evaporate while he whimpered quite a bit. We tried all kinds of things, the doctor saying try less milk, more milk, apple juice, cherry juice, prune juice. It was pretty mild until Friday night. After that, it was misery all around. The doctor said he\u0026rsquo;d be fine until his Monday appointment.\nThe good news is that he is now doing very well. Him and I played by ourselves and he was engaged in toys and crawling and sitting up and talking.\nBTW he went to his study at Boys Town today. He is making very clear and distinct sounds in his babbling, something that doesn\u0026rsquo;t tend to happen in similar infants with a hearing loss. The researchers said that he was a star today. Compared to one month ago, he\u0026rsquo;s added an entire class of sounds. YAY.\nWell, my wife and I are looking forward to getting sleep. He is falling asleep earlier than usual, I imagine he is exhausted like us. I hope tomorrow will find a more rested family.\nOther Poop Outside of his digestive issues, I had a monitor burst into smoke and flames at work a week ago. The image skewed a bit and the next thing I knew, the sound of frying bacon and a loud pop. White smoke spewed out the top of the monitor (on and off). Little flames leaked out the vent holes in the back of the monitor.\nHigh drama.\nOf course, the replacement monitor came the next day and it didn\u0026rsquo;t work. The replacement for the replacement monitor does work, but it is the exact model and age of the one that exploded.\nAt least it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a Sony battery.\nTo make the week complete, the Sony monitor at home died. No smoke or fire, just a lack of an image. On the plus side, I have a 15\u0026quot; flat panel sitting on my desk. On the down side, it is not supported by Linux very well, so I have 800x600 resolution in \u0026rsquo;thousands of colors\u0026rsquo;. This is Fedora\u0026rsquo;s way of saying that graphics just isn\u0026rsquo;t your thing on this computer.\nSycarion Turns out that my friend, mrtool, has created game pieces for the L\u0026rsquo;Attaque variant I created on the game site. They are these neat little disks with numbers stamped on them. They look sweet. I hope Friday to have a board done and take pictures. Sweet.\nAlso turns out that I created YASD (yet another subdomain). This one uses a dictonary program called Glossword. It exists to mark the progress of the creation of the Lenga language. The grammar is outlined and I\u0026rsquo;ve created the numbers and a few special words. None of this is on the site, however. I\u0026rsquo;ll link to it when it actually contains content.\nMisc Our son\u0026rsquo;s birthday party was a success. There was some friction with the family, but our son had a good time considering that he was feeling awful. We have three pianos for him. My wife and I both play, so it was a natural gift. Yes, he plays with all three and loves them, no joke.\nMy work is trying to come up with ways to give away computers. I hope that I can convince them to try a modified Edubuntu installed on our surplus computers. No internet, but it will have a bunch of other things. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know if that happens. I secretly hope that I can transition to running this program, but that\u0026rsquo;s just me.\nOtherwise, not much else. I\u0026rsquo;ve been stretched and pulled in all kinds of directions. I think I even went crazy for a brief moment - considering that I\u0026rsquo;ve actually had a nervous breakdown before, I know what I\u0026rsquo;m talking about. But God is faithful and I am joyful.\nNot happy, but joyful.\nSee you when I am more coherent. For now, a large polystyrene object is calling me.\n","date":"18 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-18-poop/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Poop","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was wrong. The new website was not created in WordPress. For the record, the site was created/drafted in Dreamweaver.\nThe LA International Christian Church site, in Dreamweaver, not WordPress.\n","date":"14 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-14-not-wordpress/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Wordpress","type":"posts"},{"content":"Triskaidekaphobia has the country in the throes of fear today. More specificaly, paraskavedekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th instead of just the number 13) Images of Jason(R) occur to some and I\u0026rsquo;m sure that sales of 60s era white hockey masks are selling like hotcakes. Any image of bad luck makes an appearance to others. If the superstition is still around that I had as a kid, there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of silly walks on sidewalks today. John Cleese would be proud.\n(Don\u0026rsquo;t step on a crack.)\nFear is overstating it. Today is more like an a stranger that shows up in random places on the calendar. It knows all seasons and all months. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t wait for a special year (Feb 29) or skip a millenium (Feb 28, 3000 is followed by Mar 1, 3000). The only rule is that it must appear on a Friday. Sure, there are various movements afoot to fear the dreaded Monday the 13th (unless it\u0026rsquo;s Columbus Day and therefore a Federal holiday), but no one is afraid of Thursday the 13th. (Which occured on April 13th and July 13th this year, September 13th and December 13th, next year) Though folks in Greece and Spain are afraid of Tuesday the 13th. (Dum da DU-UM!)\nAnyway, today is sort of an unofficial holiday honored by trying to pretend that an unseen force is trying to make this particular day extremely difficult more than any other day. What makes this force so insidious is that the cycle of \u0026lsquo;attack\u0026rsquo; days are part of a 28 year cycle. By the time you get used to it, you\u0026rsquo;re gone. Very few make it through three complete cycles in this world.\nTomorrow, more than one person will express relieve for making it past another Friday the 13th as if a fortune teller told them that they would die on a Friday the 13th sometime in the future.\nBefore leaving, one Friday the 13th factoid you should know:\nFeb 13th, 1970, Black Sabbath\u0026rsquo;s first album released. I know, your life is further enriched by Wikipedia and the perpetual calendar spreadsheet I created a couple years ago. Just had to mention all this.\nBlogged with Flock\n","date":"13 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-13-american-superstition-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"American Superstition Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"What can you do against the lunatic who is more intelligent than yourself, who gives your arguments a fair hearing and then simply persists in his lunacy?\nGeorge Orwell\n","date":"11 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-11-applies-to-me-and-others/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Applies to Me and Others","type":"posts"},{"content":"This past weekend, we had to wean our son. He weighed less a week ago than he did two months ago (one pound, to be exact). It wasn\u0026rsquo;t so much that he lost weight - it was that he was not gaining weight. Here he is, 11 months old and not gaining weight. I wondered if it was the Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s or his reaction to our stress about the pregnancy or something worse.\nMy wife correctly figured out that although he was nursing every 45 minutes to 90 minutes, he was simply not getting enough nutrition.\nShe\u0026rsquo;s wonderful at stuff like that. Smart and pretty. I really lucky she still puts up with me.\nSo, we had to get him from nursing to at least a bottle. We decided to start on Friday afternoon had hoped it would only take the weekend. After all, the saying goes that when he\u0026rsquo;s ungry enough, he\u0026rsquo;ll eat.\nThe first eight hours was all that it took for him to understand that he was not going to nurse anymore. We spent the next 28 waiting for him to accept eating something else. This twenty-eight hours included his first real spoken words, Mama. (His first sign was milk. What can I say, he likes to eat.) We also stayed up all night, tried all manner of comfort and encouragement, the typical things. I got the distinct pleasure of him screaming at me for three hours straight. In the end, though, we woke up Sunday morning and saw that he was drinking from a sipee cup. He\u0026rsquo;s been doing it ever since.\nWhile I held my son, I realized that there was no way on earth for me to communicate to him that everything was going to be okay. I had no way that he could easily understand for me to say, \u0026ldquo;look here, drink from this cup.\u0026rdquo; I also understood it was the best way for him to wean, despite the medical pressure to do so.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t get upset at him, how could I? He\u0026rsquo;s a baby. Despite the great mental prowess he\u0026rsquo;s shown so far, he\u0026rsquo;s still not able to understand spoken English like an adult. It would be cruel of me to expect him to react like an adult or even to keep telling him to drink from the cup. All I could do is comfort him as best I could, keep offering the cup, and hope for the best. I knew he would eventually do it, I just didn\u0026rsquo;t enjoy the process. I\u0026rsquo;m one of those softies that runs at top speed to get him whatever he needs (and sometimes to get things he wants).\nI thought about how God feels about us when we just do not understand. I used to think that he\u0026rsquo;d cross his arms and keep checking his watch wondering when I\u0026rsquo;d understand. Of course, since he\u0026rsquo;s Love, he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t really yell at me. But somehow, he\u0026rsquo;d be disappointed the entire time. I imagined him half-joking to the other angels, \u0026ldquo;Finally he got it, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure he\u0026rsquo;d get this one!\u0026rdquo;\nThere are some things that just have to be endured. Sure God is sovereign and he can just fiat the solution. ZAP! Here it is and quicker than a microwave. POW! The miracles are just raining down. I wish it could be that way for everything, but God never promised instant gratification for our every whim.\nMore importantly, I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that he is tapping his foot, impatient with us that we are not taking the next step on our journey. He is not standing there pleading, \u0026ldquo;For the love of me, just do this simple thing!\u0026rdquo; If I, a sinful man, can look at our son in love and accept him for who he is while completely believing in him - surely God can do the same, if not more.\nThis is an image of God I like because he is not some Santa Claus god, or a permissive god, or a god that is as subject to creation as I am. No. He is deliberate, loving, faithful, and most of all, present. From my perspective, all I can do sometimes is demonstrate that I am angry and frustrated and sad. He knows that sometimes I cannot or will not understand no matter what He says. Instead of getting angry, he looks to comfort, offer, and wait. The expectation hasn\u0026rsquo;t changed, but he\u0026rsquo;s not going to give up because He always trusts.\nWade Hodges has said recently in a sermon that we sometimes do not experience God because we are impatient with Him. I\u0026rsquo;m certain that I am, especially with some of the church drama. I can shake my fist and demand that justice is served NOW! But God knows what lies in store. Here He is, comforting, offering, and waiting in love.\nIn 1 Corinthians 11, God is described as being always faithful and always trusting. I understand better what that means. More importantly, I felt God for the first time in a long time. Not an emotional response or a good feeling - I just felt Him closeby.\n","date":"10 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-10-weaning/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Weaning","type":"posts"},{"content":"Another good sermon.\nDuring the message, I figured out what has been really bothering me for a long time. No, it\u0026rsquo;s not the UP or the machinations of the Big Name Evangelists(TM), though that stuff does hurt my feelings deeply. It comes from a quote from a German theologian (cannot spell the name) which basically stated that if you figure out God and put him in a box, all that remains is your own guilt and shame. Why? Because God stops being dynamic. If you\u0026rsquo;ve figured him out, He doesn\u0026rsquo;t change for you. Faced with a static God, a person realizes that everything comes down to you and being your fault.\nListen to the actual quote, it\u0026rsquo;s better. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to find it on the MP3, now. It\u0026rsquo;s after half-way through.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been looking for all these sermons (and I still am) and listening to anyone out of the ordinary because I\u0026rsquo;ve put God in a box. It may not be the ICC box or the Restorartion Movement box, but it is my own.\nI really am a closet Calvinist, but not the real Calvinist, the real harsh type called supralapsarianist. A supralapsarianist basically believes that God didn\u0026rsquo;t just forsee the fall, but ordained it. Not only did he ordain the fall, but he determined the elect prior to ordaining the fall, even before the creation of the world. Within this group is a group called Hyper-Calvinists. In essence, a hyper-Calvinist reasons that God will do what he will do so it is futile to try to evangelize (God will save whom he will save), plead with God (God is not a man that he should change his mind), deal with sin (either I am elect or not, what difference does it make?)\u0026hellip;\nFatalism is a terrible thing, really. Hyper-Calvinist are not all fatalist, but I am. Thus, I say here as I have said in private for years, \u0026ldquo;I think I am a closet Calvinist.\u0026rdquo;\nIn any case, somewhere along the line, I thought I understood God as well as I could. I was a Pharisee of Pharisees for the ICC theological box we put God into. I believed we were the only ones saved, even telling my own father. I put-down other churches and taught that only disciples were saved, but that Christian was a label for false disciples. I abhored compromise and worked as hard as I could within the box, confessing sin at the drop of a hat, making every meeting, etc. etc.\nWhen I shed that box, I worked hard to find God and listen to how he was larger than the narrow box I had put him in. Now three years later, I find that I\u0026rsquo;ve put him into a box again. I quit overreacting to small things that even remotely resembled the \u0026lsquo;old school\u0026rsquo; ICC only to weave a more oppresive system than Kip could ever invent.\nReally. At least in Kip\u0026rsquo;s theology, he gets off scott-free.\nHearing this sermon, in conjunction with a message from Ravi Zacharias has really made me excited to experience God again.\nConsidering the post from this morning, it\u0026rsquo;s amazing the difference a half day makes.\n","date":"9 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-09-at-church-today/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"At Church Today","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just in Time for the conference next week, we have the rest of the churches of Brazil agree to the UP.\nI\u0026rsquo;m certain that instead of allowing people to work through their delay in signing, someone or some few flew there and \u0026lsquo;presented their case\u0026rsquo;. This, of course, is coded language for \u0026lsquo;signing is showing unity.\u0026rsquo;\nTWO LEGS GOOD FOUR LEGS BAD\nThe tolerance for a \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;wait\u0026rsquo; vote is basically none. What a surprise.\nThe Unity Group has dissolved as their purpose has been served. That\u0026rsquo;s one positive step, a temporary group performing one specific function that shuts down upon completion. This couldn\u0026rsquo;t have happened in the old ICC, where committees were whim-based.\nDToday has also greatly toned down the cheerleading aspect of reporting it. Too little, too late. Then again, they had the luxury of changing tone this late, it already appears that the editor\u0026rsquo;s wishes are going to come true. Why not throw a bone to us critics at the end? In any case, it finally happened and yes, I\u0026rsquo;m glad that it did.\nSo there\u0026rsquo;s now about 61% of churches signing (Kip churches not included). I didn\u0026rsquo;t include Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches this time because there\u0026rsquo;s enough of them now to statistically throw off the numbers. He now has a church in Hilo and LA.\nYes, Los Angelos has their own International Christian Church. No website, yet, but I\u0026rsquo;m sure a WordPress based site is coming in the near future.\nThe point of this post, though, is that my purpose in sharing my struggle with the UP and the machinations of its proponents is coming to a close. There\u0026rsquo;s no point in talking about the UP any longer as the meetings this week in Va. Beach will cement it as law for the new ICC.\nOne of the Nine can finally get the name change he wants. Another can pursue the position of Lead Evangelist of the ICC (or whatever new name is developed) that he has been trying to get since 2003. Yet another can begin policing what the ICC members say and work to quell criticism. \u0026ldquo;Scenes\u0026rdquo; will now be created for the ICC teachers to work behind, after all, they have never been able to do anything publicly. (Yes, I say this despite the fact that I have sent and continue to send money to DJ.) What began with Abilene will fizzle to mainly local efforts until a committee is formed by the new central body to look into it. At that point, it will be a non-issue. Everyone can talk about getting back to normal, and why not. All the same players are there, all that happened was a few deck-chairs got rearranged.\nMore importantly, the history of what happened from 2000 to now will continue to be rewritten and revised:\nIt\u0026rsquo;s Henry\u0026rsquo;s fault (insert character assassination here) Critics are rebellious souls that do not believe in Biblical conflict resolution The Internet is bad (and bloggers are worse) If the World Sector leaders had been able to enact their transition plan in 2002, none of this would have happened. The period of ungodly autonomy is over. (Insert obligatory reference to the book of Judges) We fulfilled the promises of change we made in 2003. Tell me that it hasn\u0026rsquo;t crossed any of the Big Name Leaders\u0026rsquo; minds that this new group is Isaac and those that didn\u0026rsquo;t sign are \u0026ldquo;Sons of Hagar\u0026rdquo;. (Oh, those Ishmael churches will be okay and God will protect them, but us Isaac churches are the child of promise.) Seriously, find one of the Nine in November, or DToday, or any other Big Name Evangelist(TM) that doesn\u0026rsquo;t have that analogy in mind.\nI continue to move on. I did everything I could and my conscience is clear. We didn\u0026rsquo;t change, we missed the boat - we missed the entire (emphatic adjective) ocean. After this week, efforts can begin to convince the remaining churches to sign. There\u0026rsquo;ll be much ado about the regional reps and ironing out some of the issue that come from non-signing churches. The answer, of course, will be to put pressure on non-signing churches.\nWhen it came down to it, this is really what most people wanted. They wanted something that looked at lot like \u0026rsquo;the old days\u0026rsquo;, you know the prime of the movement before it was corrupted. (To some, this is 1998, others 2000, still others 1983, for me it would be 1974 if I had to pick.) There wasn\u0026rsquo;t many of us that wanted substantial change and I may have been one of the most radical amongst those that stayed involved. Even those that wanted more modest reform were not that many. So, it\u0026rsquo;s up to us to figure out how to stay a part of this organization or get out.\nI do not think it is sour grapes to realize that despite all your efforts, things didn\u0026rsquo;t go according to hopes and dreams. It is sour grapes to say that you didn\u0026rsquo;t want or hope for great reform in the first place. I do not think it is bitter to believe that people have made the wrong choices and that you weren\u0026rsquo;t heeded in your efforts to help. It is bitter to say that you\u0026rsquo;ll never offer help again because you\u0026rsquo;ve been wronged. Through this entire process, I have not been wronged by anyone, even members of the Nine that traded email with me. No matter what happens next, I believed then and I believe now in a great dream of what we can be for God. If an opportunity for great change comes again, I will be there.\nOn to the next episode\u0026hellip;\n","date":"8 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-08-the-last-of-the-feelgood-thrills/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Last of the Feelgood Thrills","type":"posts"},{"content":"Not much in September outside of this site. Between the new baby, work, and other things, I\u0026rsquo;ve been a bit sparse in content.\npinakidion.* Biggest thing is removing the forums, no one was using them anyway.\nThe permalinks are back to including the name of the post or page instead of the p?=553 format.\nMore UP stuff, of course, as well as the first video posting. (Thanks to Capt. Eucalyptus)\nThanks again for the suggestions. I take some time listening to the sermons and resources suggested.\nSycarion Through a Google search, I discovered that an RPG product uses a term for a magician that is almost identical to one of the terms I was using for Lenga. (echewe) The other products name and mine come from the same Kiswahili word - mchewai.\nAs a result, I went back and completely reworked the Lenga language and the terms for the two types of magicians. I haven\u0026rsquo;t posted that information, yet.\nThe rest of my spare time lately, has been reworking Lenga. It is more of a proper conlang, now, complete with grammar. Just need to increase the lexicon from 40 words to about 400.\nOur Story Added a countdown to our next blessed event. Only 158 shopping days left today!\nFor October\nI hope to finish the rules to my L\u0026rsquo;Attaque variant (think Statego(R), another L\u0026rsquo;Attaque variant). I hope to finish the Lenga language enough to produce a few example sentences. I hope to actually add something to Prariecomber and The Advocate. I\u0026rsquo;m certain I\u0026rsquo;ll mention our son\u0026rsquo;s birthday I also hope to write about some sermons I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed lately. See you around!\n","date":"7 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-07-september-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"September 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.\nIs there anything of which one can say, \u0026ldquo;Look! This is something new\u0026rdquo;? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.\nEccl 1:9-10\nIt appears that there is a church in Portland that is non-demoninational, yet part of a denomination. The sermons are a bit odd sometimes, but the crowd loves them and the church is growing at an incredible pace. Thousands have left this church and its affiliates creating an entire subculture of those that feel fleeced emotionally, spiritually, and financially. All they need is a Delphi forum and it would be complete. (Argh! the Delphites!)\nSound familiar? It\u0026rsquo;s not who you think.\nI found a part of the disaffected subculture here at their blog. I read a few posts and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get over the similarity. I\u0026rsquo;m not suggesting people go there, church drama is plentiful. What I am saying is that seeing it has been helpful to me. In short, this type of conflict I feel is not singular to the ICOC.\nThe saying is that misery loves company - that is largely true. Get a group of miserable people together and you can almost see it circulate in the ceiling fans. I\u0026rsquo;m not miserable, though. Hurting, yes, confused, at times, more introverted, mo\u0026rsquo; definitely, but miserable, no. Like my psychologist says, I do the healthy things needed to deal with the big issues of life. However, seeing a parallel situation reminds me that I am not alone. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t join their support group tomorrow, but I can see something of my friends and I in how they deal with their situation.\nBecause of this, it helps me to understand better what is petty, what is serious, and what is just goofing around. I figured out a while ago what vindictive is. Reveal.org is serious, My Evangelist comics are goofing around, looking for a needle in a haystack is vindictive. After a few posts, of City Business Church, I just have to cringe at myself for being obtuse at times.\nYes, I posted a comment there. They see the similarities, too.\n","date":"3 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-03-parallel-universe/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Parallel Universe","type":"posts"},{"content":"RC Sproul is great to hear on the radio. I do not always agree, but it is thought-provoking and I almost always consider it a good use of my time. I must confess, though, that the radio format for the station here plays one sermon in five sections, so it takes a week to finish. There was a time when people sat through 2 hour sermons excitedly. Maybe I am a part of the wrong generation, untimely born too late. I hope to post some things from there in the future.\nI also enjoy Ravi Zacharias at times. I read \u0026ldquo;Let My People Think\u0026rdquo; occasionally. I don\u0026rsquo;t tune in a lot, though, because sometimes I believe he splits hairs. It\u0026rsquo;s not unlike other teachers I have heard and respected. It\u0026rsquo;s also a habit that I conscientiously attempt to break in myself at every opportunity. Why? Splitting hairs ultimately comes from a black-and-white mentality. Something is wrong OR it is right AND there is NO exception. Kind of makes Romans 14 sound like Open Theism by comparison.\nAllastair Begg is also good. Wade Hodges wrote a great series on the Emerging Church of Christ. I have issues with the Church of the English Majors (emerging church), but it is always interesting and helpful.\nLest you think I forgot something, I also enjoy other sermons. Thanks to salguod, I heard a great sermon from someone within my own church history.\nNot to harp on this, but it is amazing what you are able to do when you do not watch television. (Except football, an hour of the history channel, and the occasional Who\u0026rsquo;s Line Is It Anyway episode with the spouse.) It works out to be between 3 and 5 hours a week.\nAnyway, thanks again and keep them coming. I\u0026rsquo;m still looking for others in my own denomination as well, just not the typical names, though. At this point, I believe the typical names are akin to the Republican leaders in Washington and former Rep M. Foley. They knew this guy was crossing the line between one and five years ago, and they left him on the committee for abused and endagnered children. Things changed only when someone got caught. Same with us. (I was a part of it, too. I\u0026rsquo;m not innocent in this matter.)\nThanks again. I am grateful for all the suggestions thus far.\n","date":"3 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-03-thanks-for-the-requests/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thanks for the Requests","type":"posts"},{"content":"It comes near the end. If you don\u0026rsquo;t know the backstory, it\u0026rsquo;s ok. Let\u0026rsquo;s it wash over. (However, the Teal Screen of Near Death is a detail to watch for.)\nThen comes the punchline. I\u0026rsquo;d like to do this to the stock spam I get, though I know it won\u0026rsquo;t stop it.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a Homestar Runner link.\n","date":"3 October 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-10-03-the-most-deleted-email/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Most Deleted Email","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned that I look for good sermons. I\u0026rsquo;d like your help in finding good ones.\nThe speaker is largely unimportant, but I will say that I have a hard time hearing certain speakers that are loud.\nPlease, no sermons from LA or Chicago. The last one I heard from Chicago about the Power of God has God calling us ungrateful pigs because we do not appreciate how much he shields us. 1 Peter 1:5 doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite convey that to me according to various commentaries I have. The speaker is from LA, so I don\u0026rsquo;t expect much from either place. Don\u0026rsquo;t believe me, 40:19 on the recording.\nIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be CoC or even Restoration Movement. I grew up with great Baptist preachers and my favorite preacher used to work for Pat Robertson. It also doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be an audio file. I\u0026rsquo;ve read a lot of Puritan sermons, my favorite being Boniface.\nAny help would be greatly appreciated.\n","date":"28 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-28-a-request/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Request","type":"posts"},{"content":"If this works, then this is the new Anthem for 2006.\n","date":"28 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-28-anthem-2006/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Anthem 2006","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am not always very coherent these days. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent the last three fighting a cold. My wife is nursing our first and pregnant with our second - ergo Dad does a lot of work at home. As such, I feel the need to clarify some things I\u0026rsquo;ve written that didn\u0026rsquo;t match the idea in my mind when I wrote them.\nThe Pregnancy Our first child was unintentional. Only the first child was unintentional. Our original plan was to wait until 2007 to have children, save money and travel in the meantime.\nOur revised plan, after having the first child, was to have the second as soon as possible. The second child was planned. We totally planned to be pregnant this year with the second child. What was unexpected was how quickly she got pregnant once we started trying.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t give names for myself, wife, or kids. I usually mention names in audio segments, though. Basically I do not want someone to Google my name and arrive here. I know that makes references confusing sometimes, even to me.\nHawaii What the response of the folks from Oahu and even LA has been to Kip\u0026rsquo;s takeover bid is largely wonderful. It\u0026rsquo;s true I think these things should have been said years ago, but the fact it is being said at all is wonderful. I am greatly encouraged by how Oahu is handling a difficult situation. I hope the rest of us follow suit and learn from how they are dealing with the struggle. I intended to mention some further refinements without bashing the folks there. Having dealt with many, many similar situations, the last thing they need is \u0026lsquo;advice\u0026rsquo;. It is good that folks there are beginning to see the good that God has created in them. I firmly believe that when God writes his laws on our hearts, part of the intention is to be able to look inward and see good things, not just evil.\nUnity Proposal I really am trying to get away from it.\nPortal Sites and Semithoughts Unlike here, I usually don\u0026rsquo;t post raw thoughts on the other sites. I would have a window of Flock open all day long if I did that. My boss does expect me to get work done. However, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t keep me from writing at night or in the early morning. I have a bunch of scrap paper and Open Office document fragments all over three computers with various ideas. When I get my next weekend retreat to write, I hope to post all of it.\nDialogue with Edgar Edgar is not a real person. The \u0026lsquo;I\u0026rsquo; in the story is not me. This is a dialogue format similar to \u0026lsquo;Dialogue wit Trypho\u0026rsquo;. I\u0026rsquo;m using this vehicle to work out my own understanding of what is going on around me. Edgar represents many I have written to from high-up leaders to regular joes like me. Ian represents others, not just me, that struggle with various tensions about our involvement with the ICOC. The big question is always, Why do you still go if what is going on bothers you so much? I do not accept the answer of I stay because of the relationships, though I know many that do. Some of us hold on because of sheer stubbornness. Why not? Some of us suffered abuse for 10, 15, 20 years, what\u0026rsquo;s another 10 at this point? The old expression Better the devil you know that the one you don\u0026rsquo;t is all too true in these cases. Some of us really cannot overcome the fear of \u0026lsquo;another church\u0026rsquo; and all the anxieties that come with it. Not only is it new people, but it\u0026rsquo;s a new dynamic and hermenutic. The other church isn\u0026rsquo;t the Bogeyman, but that\u0026rsquo;s another series of posts entirely. Others still just do not know what to do and hover in stasis. I\u0026rsquo;ve been that way, so I understand the feeling that the entire world is in flux and that it would be nice if there was just a couple of stable things to lean on.\nBack to the point, Edgar is going to address an issue that is brought up by conservatives in the ICoC. The issue is that people who are hurting over how things are going are 99% of the time, not reading their Bible. I believe the intent is to say that those with problems are not getting anything from their Bible Study. The underlying assumption is that if they were strong in their relationship with God, they wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have these issues. This assumption leads to another supposition that God\u0026rsquo;s spirit is talking to me through the Bible and I do not have issues. That leads to a conclusion that if the same Spirit speaks to you through God\u0026rsquo;s Word that speaks to me, you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have any issues either.\nIan\u0026rsquo;s answer at this point will reflect some of my own struggles as of late, namely that I do not \u0026lsquo;get anything\u0026rsquo; from my Bible Study recently. Every time I read, I hear old paradigms that I believe are wrong. When this happens everyday for several weeks, it gets difficult to want to read at all. I do read, but I can\u0026rsquo;t say that I \u0026lsquo;get\u0026rsquo; much from it. At this point, I rely on non-ICoC sermons I can find on the internet, or sermons from our new minister. I can\u0026rsquo;t read the Gospel of Mark without thinking \u0026ldquo;Disciples obey immediately\u0026rdquo; and the implication often preached \u0026ldquo;Disciples follow without thinking about it, first\u0026rdquo;. I read Hebrews and keep redefining who the \u0026lsquo;circmcision\u0026rsquo; group is in my life and hearing that missing one church meeting is a cardinal sin. I bailed out of Ephesians when I could not separate unity as mentioned in Ephesians and the UP mentioned by the Nine. Other bad associations follow like:Titus and Timothy is about raising up young evangelists. Revelation is a motivation to work harder for time is short. The prophets are the radical examples of how to live NT life. Exodus is the only definitive work that describes God, Nehemiah and Ezra are about building up the Kingdom. The list goes on. So far, only the Psalms, Ecclesiates, and some Proverbs feel safe, but even that has the association that those are the books that only weak people read. As such, it is difficult to see myself as weak in a godly sense (I can do nothing without God) as opposed to weak in a wordly sense (I am nothing and should do nothing until I feel better). The former says that nothing is impossible with God, the latter says nothing is possible even with God.\nHow this relates to the dialogue is that some critics are weak. Even if they are weak according to the horrible way the ICoC defined weak over the years, that weakness is not justification for dismissing the problems they see. I struggle to see God, others do, too. We\u0026rsquo;ve had enough pushing aside the weak because they interfere with the so-called Mission. Now we\u0026rsquo;re pushing aside \u0026rsquo;the weak\u0026rsquo; because they interfere with so-called Unity. This is not right.\nOther Bits Acutally, that\u0026rsquo;s about it. As always, I don\u0026rsquo;t delete comments and I usually leave things I\u0026rsquo;ve written and make edits pretty obvious. (Ergo, this post.)\n","date":"27 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-27-errata/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Errata","type":"posts"},{"content":"By now, I\u0026rsquo;m sure those that care already know about Kip\u0026rsquo;s grab for Hilo and Honolulu. Here is part 2. I also imagine that some have heard the other side of the story from Oahu. It\u0026rsquo;s the eighties all over again with the reconstructions and \u0026lsquo;calling out\u0026rsquo; of the truly dedicated from the lukewarm.\nHearing Oahu\u0026rsquo;s side of it, I was struck by the humility of one speaker and how he talked about healing. Sure there have been apologies, but there needs to be healing for what was done to the churches in Hawaii (and worldwide for that matter). As he spoke about being able to see good in himself and others, I was encouraged. It seems that the folks over there are in good hands.\nHowever, it does strike me that it took listening to Kip in person in Hilo to figure out what Kip was doing there. He read the letter from the 85 to Kip written almost two years ago to the congregation, but where was this letter last week? It feels weird to say that they have done well for being two years late. We all should have been talking about Kip and worked through that and done so publically. Waiting until he arrives is far too late - it makes it look like its about him and not his doctrine.\nIs Kip a threat? Long term, no. In the short term, however, there is a desire by some to \u0026lsquo;be allowed\u0026rsquo; to be zealous. A masquerador, like Kip, can come in and manipulate that desire. Our brothers and sisters that desire to \u0026lsquo;be radical\u0026rsquo;, however grating it may be to me, need to be loved and accepted as well. In this regard, it\u0026rsquo;s good to talk about Kip and what he represents, especially as some think that his mission, purpose, and zeal are good despite his bad doctrine and lack of repentance.\nThere was also a part of the recordings that mentioned the UP. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that it was an intentional promotional plug, but it does bother me. Unity won the day, but not because of the agreement. Did the relationships grow fond overnight after signing or were they there because of 10+ years of relationship? I believe the latter is true, the first speaker (I forget the name) being baptized by one of the folks from LA. Everyone else involved seemed to be a part of the mission team in the 80s. I don\u0026rsquo;t think the UP brought them together to deal with Kip, I think their long history together did. I would hate to think that no one would help Chattenoga, if the same thing were happening to them.\nAll in all, I pray for the folks there, like I pray for the folks in Wichita and elsewhere. I hope folks can come together, not in fear, but in recognition of the need of each other. This does not excuse the need for help outside the Church of Christ paradigm, but it goes a long way to keep people together for reasons other than some artificially created zeal over saving the world in six years. I really hope that the good of what was said is indeed true.\n","date":"26 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-26-hawaii/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hawaii","type":"posts"},{"content":"Introduction I was in Chicago flying east. I had hoped to see family soon, but stuck at Midway with a very long layover, I made the best of things making a phone call. Talking to someone, I mentioned my email address, which happens to contain the name of the church I attend in it. I finished up the call and began thought of lunch when I noticed a man standing nearby. When I saw him, he said, \u0026ldquo;Hey Brother, how are you doing?\u0026rdquo; and he came close so that we could embrace.\n\u0026ldquo;I am well,\u0026rdquo; I said, \u0026ldquo;but forgive me as I do not remember you at the moment.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;You may not know me at all, but I recognized the name of the church you mentioned on your phone call. Forgive me if that seems rude, but I couldn\u0026rsquo;t help but overhear. My name is Edgar, by the way, I\u0026rsquo;m actually heading to the big conference, but my flight doesn\u0026rsquo;t leave for some time.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Neither does mine,\u0026rdquo; I said, \u0026ldquo;so let\u0026rsquo;s talk for awhile over lunch. My name is Ian.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Lunch would be awesome, Ian,\u0026rdquo; said Edgar.\nTalk of the Conference, Edgar defines Unity Edgar began by sharing his excitement about the conference. \u0026ldquo;The conference will be inspiring,\u0026rdquo; he said, \u0026ldquo;because of the unity that it will build. Do you know who you\u0026rsquo;re roommate is?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m not going to the conference,\u0026rdquo; I said, \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m going home to see family.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Oh, okay. I bet you\u0026rsquo;re disappointed to miss the conference, though. It\u0026rsquo;ll be great to see thousands of disciples singing together again.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m not disappointed,\u0026rdquo; I said, \u0026ldquo;but I hope you and everyone else has a good time. I admit that it would be great to hear over a thousands people singing together. I\u0026rsquo;ve always enjoyed that. But I assume there will be other conferences I can attend. To be honest, some of the classes don\u0026rsquo;t sound very interesting, but maybe that\u0026rsquo;s just me. I\u0026rsquo;m excited about seeing my family as I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen them in a couple years.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Well, Ian,\u0026rdquo; he replied, \u0026ldquo;I guess I understand where you\u0026rsquo;re coming from. I\u0026rsquo;m just excited to see the church get back to what is important and come together in unity. We haven\u0026rsquo;t done well in keeping about our purpose or about being unified over these past few years. It just means a lot that people can look past debateable issues and come together for what\u0026rsquo;s truly important.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;What do you think is truly important?\u0026rdquo; I asked.\n\u0026ldquo;Unity,\u0026rdquo; said Edgar, \u0026ldquo;Without unity, the rest doesn\u0026rsquo;t really matter, except for matters of salvation of course. I mean, we have to be unified on more than just the fundamentals. We need to work together as one man to contend for the Gospel of Jesus.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m not trying to be cagey, but you\u0026rsquo;ve said something interesting, especially the part where contending for the Gospel as one man is mentioned,\u0026rdquo; I said. \u0026ldquo;What exactly is unity to you?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Unity is loving your brother, first and foremost,\u0026rdquo; Edgar said, \u0026ldquo;Loving God is the greatest commandment, but the best way to show it is loving your brothers and sisters. Loving your brothers and sisters means working out whatever divides you from them. If I am not loving my roommate, a fellow disciple, I need to get together with him and work things out until we are unified again.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"25 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-25-dialogue-with-edgar/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Dialogue with Edgar - I \u0026 II","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife is expecting with our second child.\nI abhor secrets and I am terrible at keeping them. Sitting on this for weeks has been well-nigh difficult. I think everyone knows anyway, but just in case we\u0026rsquo;re going to tell everyone Sunday. I\u0026rsquo;m telling my family in a few hours later today, so if you know them, please wait a few minutes more.\nIn any case, this one was planned (not that I love our son less because he wasn\u0026rsquo;t) although we were only trying for two weeks when she got pregnant.\nThis, of course, means that our son will have a sibling only about 17 months younger then him. Unlike Archie Manning, I\u0026rsquo;ll only have to wait *one* year for our second son to be drafted by the NFL.\nBut I\u0026rsquo;m ahead of myself. I\u0026rsquo;m talking about our second child, not our retirement plan.\nWe won\u0026rsquo;t know the gender until birth. I\u0026rsquo;ll be happy no matter what, but I hope for a girl.\n","date":"22 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-22-the-truth-can-now-be-told/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Truth Can Now Be Told","type":"posts"},{"content":"As a Homestar Runner fan, I consider it important to impart a sense of fashion chic to the rest of the world. I know, I know, everyone wants to be a fashion template like me, but \u0026hellip;\nOkay, you can stop laughing. That milk through the nose looked like it stung a bit.\nIn any case, I own this very cool and eye-catching t-shirt: (Trogdor the Burninator Black Tee, with Majesty)\nI hope to purchase this matching shirt for my son: (Baby Trogdor with High Cuteness Factor)\nHowever, it is important to point out that the following shirt, while also cool, is not the same as the first shirt I mentioned: Here endth the lesson.\n","date":"20 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-20-matching-shirts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Matching Shirts","type":"posts"},{"content":"Needed a place to write this down, but the desk is covered with work-related stuff.\nNebr. State Christian Convention\nThe 2006 Nebraska State Christian Convention will be November 3rd and 4th at the Ramada Inn in Kearney. This year\u0026rsquo;s theme, Jesus-Centered Life, will feature inspiring main sessions with Bob Russell, former senior minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky; uplifting praise and worship, led by Ron Leach, Director of Worship Arts at Nebr. Christian College; adult workshops; children\u0026rsquo;s programming; and junior high events.\nRegistration fees are $5 for children, K-6th grade; youth $10; adults $20. Senior high youth are welcome, but are encouraged to attend Turning Point at Nebraska Christian College the same weekend. Registration may be sent to NSCC, c/o Lydia Shaw, 1200 N. 13th St., Norfolk, NE 68701\nSpecial convention pricing for rooms at Ramada Inn is $59 per night, available November 2, 3, 4, and 5.\n","date":"20 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-20-not-to-myself/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not to Myself","type":"posts"},{"content":"The UP group has spoken.\nAnd all I could think was, \u0026ldquo;Resistance is futile, you will become assimilated.\u0026rdquo;\nMid-summer vacations, distance, translations, internal challenges and other complications have slowed the pace of affirmations. However, we believe more churches will agree with and commit to the plan in the next couple of months.\nWe will continue to make every effort to reach out to the congregations that have not affirmed the Plan for United Cooperation, and we pray they will cooperate.\nCooperation provides regular, faithful encouragement from sister congregations (especially within a region) helping to protect congregations from heresy, lukewarmness, and fruitlessness.\nQuotes from the article\nOn another topic, I\u0026rsquo;m glad that they recognize some issues with regional representation.\nGod has an ability to work in the darkest moments. I don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s overdramatic to say that this is a very dark moment for the churches that formerly made up the ICOC. Those that were in charge before are going to put themselves back in charge again. The positions stated are just as extreme as ever, though buried in the gooey sweetness of political correctness. In a time when more and more people see less value in demoninational distinctiveness, we push harder and harder to codify our distinctives. In the end, we\u0026rsquo;ll have the same leaders, the same plan, with the same doctrine and the same message. Is it no surprise that we will acheive the same result?\n","date":"19 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-19-out-of-thoughtful-reponses/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Out of Thoughtful Reponses","type":"posts"},{"content":"I start the day at work with a browser open to my personalized Google home page. In the top-right corner, I see the weather for four cities I care about.\nFun, eh?\nSaturday doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear, but we went from 89 to 55 while keeping 70% humidity. That is some cold air moving through.\n","date":"18 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-18-right-corner-of-google/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Right-Corner of Google","type":"posts"},{"content":"The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.\n1 Peter 4:7\nI\u0026rsquo;ve thought a lot about resolving conflict lately. My wife and I have worked through some recently and I am continuing to work through conflict with church. At the center of each conflict are two sides that are unwilling to change. At that point, the options are compromise, tolerate, or accept. A compromise attempts to make both parties \u0026lsquo;happy\u0026rsquo;. Toleration means that each party will allow the other party to hold their position, even if they do not like it. Accepting means seeing the other parties persepctive as valid. Not valid for them, but valid for anyone.\nAnother aspect of conflict is the emotional energy spent. It amazes me that so many of us believe that humans are rational creatures and that being rational will ultimately solve conflict. We\u0026rsquo;re not. Conflict ends much sooner when the emotional aspect of the conflict is worked through. Sure you can keep yourself from being controlled by your emotions, but you\u0026rsquo;re feeling them during the conflict. I\u0026rsquo;m not talking about losing control of your emotions during a conflict. I\u0026rsquo;m simply saying that conflict generates emotions and those emotions must be taken into consideration to work through the conflict completely.\n(gap here)\nIn a conflict, I ask myself, \u0026lsquo;why?\u0026rsquo; I want to know if I\u0026rsquo;m just not giving in to the other side because I\u0026rsquo;m upset or because I really believe what I\u0026rsquo;m saying. I try to form a sentence, I\u0026rsquo;m not seeing your perepctive because\u0026hellip;\n","date":"15 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-15-clear-thinking/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Clear Thinking","type":"posts"},{"content":"To the members of the Unity Committee:\nComposing a list of concerns for an entire church, even a small one of barely 100, is a daunting task. The only consensus that can be suggested is an ambivalence to the proposal and a focus on local concerns. In asking various members about their thoughts, it became clear that there are members that have little concern with the Unity Proposal as written. It would be unfair to them to present a list of concerns without presenting their list of accolades for the Unity Proposal. In short, it does not appear that there is one list of concerns or one list of accolades that can be written to represent the Omaha Church of Christ. In lieu of this, this document will attempt to express the range of concerns and accolades expressed by members and former members of our church in response to the Unity Proposal.\nIn regards to accolades:\nSome believe that you, the group of nine brothers, should be praised for your hard work to bring unity to our churches. Some believe that it is good to define who we, the ICOC, are instead of critics. Some also believe it is good to define who we are instead of who we are not. Along those lines, some believe that it is good to have a statement of beliefs like other churches in the area. It is seen as good to be straightforward and honest with the community. Some believe that it is important to express unity by signing the Unity Proposal. Some believe that it is a sign of progress to begin \u0026lsquo;coming together\u0026rsquo; again. Some believe that the Unity Proposal represents a movement away from fear and mistrust and a movement towards brotherhood and fellowship. Some believe that the majority of churches signing the Unity Proposal demonstrates the Holy Spirit\u0026rsquo;s work in bringing the ICOC out of a dark time. Some in our church believe that the Unity Proposal is a step in the right direction. For them, there is an inherent trust that the details can be worked out over time as the former churches come together. As stated on page four of the Unity Proposal, “ We would be the first to tell you that the following plan is not perfect. We are certain that there will be things that will stand out to you that you would have put in or left out or that you wish we could change or have said a little differently”. Those who feel this way also feel the option to remove the local church from the Proposal is a safeguard against any perceived \u0026lsquo;abuses\u0026rsquo; of the procedures outlined.\nThose that believe it is good to have a statement of beliefs agree with Steve Staten\u0026rsquo;s comments about the benefits of such a statement. From the definition of a belief system, this sentence express it best: “These statements are usually lists comprised of interpretations of Scripture to let members and outsiders know their core doctrinal positions.“ As such, it is seen as a safeguard to the previous practice of \u0026lsquo;discovering\u0026rsquo; new doctrines from time to time. To those that support the statement of faith, it is comforting to know what a given congregation believes, especially when traveling.\nThose that believe the Unity Proposal represents a \u0026lsquo;coming together\u0026rsquo; are encouraged by stories of missions work, interchurch cooperation, and inspiring conferences. This new spirit of working together is likened to doing the good we did before the aftereffects of the Henry Kriete letter. This coming together is seen as necessary in order to \u0026lsquo;get about the Master\u0026rsquo;s work”. For now, the Unity Proposal is seen as necessary so that we can return to the \u0026lsquo;good things\u0026rsquo; that made the ICOC distinct in reaching the world for Christ.\nAlthough shorter, this list represents a great depth of feeling and passion for unity, brotherhood, and preaching the Gospel to a fallen world.\nIn regards to concerns:\nSome believe that the Unity Proposal represents a line in the sand that can only separate us from one another. Some believe that the creed presented in the Unity Proposal contains theological problems. For example, placing the doctrine of the Holy Spirit with equal importance to the practice of dating only \u0026lsquo;Christians\u0026rsquo; is seen as bad theology. Some are concerned with the admonition in the Q\u0026amp;A document to sign only if there is 100% agreement with the Unity Proposal as written. Some are greatly concerned about the growing atmosphere of mistrust against those that do not choose to sign the Unity Proposal at this time. Some are concerned that the Unity Proposal was presented to the church locally as “sign and be unified” with the clear implication that refusing to sign was seen as somehow being less unified. Some are concerned that the structure proposed in the Unity Proposal is a return to a hierarchal structure, either now or in the near future. Some are concerned at the perceived lack of repentance at the highest levels of our former movement in issues pertaining to a culture of control, \u0026lsquo;One True Denomination\u0026rsquo; style thinking, and addressing the historic sins of our movement. Some are concerned that any talk of unity must include other denominations, especially \u0026lsquo;mainline\u0026rsquo; Churches of Christ and Independent Christian Churches. It is important to note that this list need not be based on the intent of the Unity Proposal to represent their real concerns. In a similar fashion to the list of accolades, intent of the writers is a secondary matter. It is also important to note that these concerns should not be dismissed, minimized, or treated with contempt as those concerned have also expressed a great depth of feeling and passion for unity, brotherhood, and preaching the Gospel. If the accolades of the Unity Proposal are accepted with open arms and a spirit of love, these concerns should be accepted in the same way.\nThose concerned with an atmosphere of mistrust as stated above are upset that public comments by one of the Proposal\u0026rsquo;s authors and perceived \u0026lsquo;cheerleading\u0026rsquo; by DisciplesToday. The proposal author in question has since apologized, but DisciplesToday continues to use the questionable statistic of over 70% of members agreeing to the Unity Proposal. Churches sign the Unity Proposal, not members. Looking at the wide range of thoughts of our little congregation, it is difficult to imagine that in all other churches, every member agrees without reservation.\nThose concerned about the \u0026lsquo;all or nothing\u0026rsquo; implication of Question 6 in the Q\u0026amp;A document have expressed a sense of confusion that this statement appears to contradict the Unity Proposal, itself. The all or nothing sentiment is seen as similar to Gordon Ferguson\u0026rsquo;s comments on the proposal. In his remarks, he makes a comparison of the Unity Proposal to using shepherding sheets to \u0026lsquo;determine who they\n\\[the elders of Phoenix\\] are responsible for\u0026rsquo;. To those concerned, it is offensive for any member to be asked to prove their loyalty by formally signing a document of any kind.\nThose concerned with a return to some form of hierarchal structure do not like the idea of regional representatives as presently stated. There is expressed interest in meeting the needs of other churches with financial, spiritual, and emotional support as well as church planting. Last year our church sponsored four missions projects, including a church planting. However, the idea that certain matters of theology and/or practice will be decided outside the local church is seen as akin to the former World Sector structure. For those concerned about regional representation as written, there is little difference between the old church structure and the newly proposed structure.\nIn addition, regional representatives present a problem for regions composed of signing and not-signing churches. Non-signing churches cannot be a part of determining the representative per the proposal. Non-signing churches are also not subject to the decisions of the larger governing body, though decisions by that body may affect the region itself. It is unclear how situations like this can be handled under the current proposal. Some have suggested that for this reason, the Unity Proposal can only work if every church signs it.\nSome are concerned about implications that those who choose not to sign are somehow spiritually weak. The implications seen to date have been that those choosing to not sign have a lack of trust, a lack of desire for unity, or a lack of strong convictions. The original draft of the Question \u0026amp; Answer document blatantly stated that those choosing to sign “give us an awareness of those churches that want to take part in an active fellowship amongst one another.”. Other church leaders have stated on their websites that churches not choosing to sign have no good reason to decline, implying insecurity or selfishness as the motivation. To those concerned, this appears as hypocrisy that “The door should never be closed for a church to later join or withdraw their association at anytime for any reason.” yet choosing not to sign is seen as a spiritual problem. This also begs the question, “What happens to a church that withdraws from the Unity Proposal?” It is felt that this question should be addressed publicly.\nSome are concerned that such a document is not necessary. Those that feel this way point to our own local history as proof. When the World sectors ended, we met with former churches of our World Sector, but the extreme distance between us and the nearest church in our world sector (Missoula) made continued work impractical. At the urging of other church leaders, we strove to establish and enhance relationships with Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri churches. Sometime later, we joined the Heartland Churches. Members attend regional events and Omaha even sponsored two conferences and a marriage retreat since 2003. All of this was done by the work of the Holy Spirit without a document – to those that feel this way, it is uncertain what the document will actually do to build unity.\nThose concerned over the scope of the proposal wish for a broader unity and brotherhood to be explored. For them, what began at Abilene with such promise has fizzled recently. Efforts to talk to local churches has met with some success, many of the churches contacted have been open to the idea of dialogue, even those violently opposed to the church when initially planted in Lincoln. For those that believe this, it is strange to attempt unity within ourselves before attempting a larger unity with other Christians.\nAs stated earlier, the majority of members express ambivalence towards the Unity Proposal. Their concerns are mostly local such as evangelism, acquiring a building, beginning a campus ministry, decreasing participation in benevolence work, financial concerns, and local issues that have created conflict between our own members. For some of them, the proposal is seen as a distraction from critical issues at hand. Those that strongly support or strongly criticize the proposal are considered to be directing their energies inappropriately. Their views should be embraced as well.\nAs one commissioned to write the concerns of the Omaha Church of Christ with the Unity Proposal, great effort has been taken to fairly represent the views of various members. The only method not employed was a call for public comment. As such, there may be inaccuracies and omissions in all three perspectives. On a personal note, it is sad that an attempt at unity should fracture our little church. I am hopeful that unity can be achieved, but it will not be by a uniform set of beliefs and practices. Such efforts, regardless of intent, can only divide and separate. There is little evidence that anyone can be or is willing to be persuaded in changing their perspective of the proposal. As such, it appears to function only as a stumbling block in brotherhood. I cannot help but feel that it would have been better if the document as written had never been introduced at all. May God have mercy on us all.\n","date":"14 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-14-draft-submitted-to-the-board/","section":"Posts","summary":"To the members of the Unity Committee:\nComposing a list of concerns for an entire church, even a small one of barely 100, is a daunting task. The only consensus that can be suggested is an ambivalence to the proposal and a focus on local concerns. In asking various members about their thoughts, it became clear that there are members that have little concern with the Unity Proposal as written. It would be unfair to them to present a list of concerns without presenting their list of accolades for the Unity Proposal. In short, it does not appear that there is one list of concerns or one list of accolades that can be written to represent the Omaha Church of Christ. In lieu of this, this document will attempt to express the range of concerns and accolades expressed by members and former members of our church in response to the Unity Proposal.\n","title":"Draft submitted to the Board","type":"posts"},{"content":"but it might save you.\nHow to dissaude yourself from creating a Blog.\n","date":"13 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-13-a-little-late-for-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Little Late for Me","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had this great idea - let\u0026rsquo;s take the new minister to a movie. It will be great. I\u0026rsquo;m not much of a movie guy, but it\u0026rsquo;ll be fun.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ve seen Invincible? And World Trade Center? Okay, let\u0026rsquo;s go see Hollywoodland. It\u0026rsquo;s supposed to be kind of like LA Confidential. Could be fun\u0026hellip;\nFor those that do not get the joke, you must realize that Hollywoodland has zero redeeming value. ZERO. There is no way to pull a good thing out of this movie. No, the ending doesn\u0026rsquo;t even come close, though it is the most positive part of the movie. Ugh! Over 2 hours of continuing misery that just leaves you feeling grimy. Seriously, this movie starts depressing and sinks into some worse-than-life cesspool of 50s era Hollywood gone awful. I think Holywood is sleazy and depraved in places, but really.\nSo let me tell you what I really think about this movie. :)\nThe minister was good about it, though I felt really badly.\nThe talk we had afterwards, though, was encouraging to say the least. I think I had just wanted to thank him for the sermon on Sunday and thank him for the ILC 2003 in Dallas. The first I enjoyed as probably the best thing I\u0026rsquo;ve heard from a pulpit in quite a long time. The latter because it gave me an opportunity to talk to some people that I really needed to talk to, thus starting my journey to make sense of my ICoC experience.\nAfter that, we talked about family and some common church experiences. We shared about a lot of things, really. I had expressed a real interest in going to Abilene for the conference, but I cannot afford to go. He offered to let me room with him. Maybe we can go to another conference in the near future, he said later. We talked about some things that have happened, but also just about what it means to be here in this city and part of this congregation.\nI left feeling very encouraged. Not because I was heard on some crucial issue, my windmills are obvious to most everyone, but because I had to have a good conversation with a minister. I wanted to have a conversation with the right amount of spirit, frankness, levity, and divulging to build respect for someone concerned about the spiritual health of the church I attend.\nLike I told him, it\u0026rsquo;s just good to have a good story every once in a while.\n","date":"13 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-13-you-did-what/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"You Did What?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Over 70% sign\nThey list 324 churches, about 30 that do not exist on the church locator. They should publish the list of churches that they are using because verifying their numbers is almost impossible. In my attempt to do so, I cannot match the Church Locator exactly, or even all the churches that are undecided. For statistical purposes, however, it only affects my numbers by less than 2% plus or minus.\nAside from that, the percentage of CHURCHES signing is now 56%, regardless of whether or not you count Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches. I still find the \u0026lsquo;members signing\u0026rsquo; grandstanding distasteful at best, manipulative at worst.\n","date":"12 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-12-not-that-anyone-is-keeping-track/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not that anyone is keeping track","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s one of those things that can slip the mind on days like today.\n168 People Killed 19 Children Killed 1 Rescuer Killed (Rebecca Anderson) 850 People Injured 30 Children Orphaned 219 Children Lost at Least One Parent 462 People Left Homeless 7,000 People Left Without a Workplace 19% of the population in the city attended funerals for bombing victims Where was I on April 19, 1995? I was sweating out one last final before finally graduating from college. It was Shakespeare, whom I loved, but having a class at 8am, I was in danger of not getting the \u0026lsquo;C\u0026rsquo; I needed to pass.\nI was wistful about the future as the King of Bagwell Dormitory. I was about to put aside the crown. I thought about joining the real world and about a woman I was in love with at the time. I thought about visiting home for the summer.\nI was also dealing with the excrutriating pain from my busted ankle. I had a temporary handicap sticker and I enjoyed being able to leave my dorm 10 minutes before an exam and still make the exam on time.\nWhile I was pretending to study, I heard that some alien landscape had been hit by a terrorist. It was the first time I remembering hearing that word - it wasn\u0026rsquo;t until years later I thought about what that really meant. I wondered who would attack a building in Oaklahoma City. It was a federal building, according to the news, but no one was really certain of its signifigance.\nI wasn\u0026rsquo;t scared much until they found McVeigh and his accomplices. I thought, \u0026ldquo;This guy looks totally normal.\u0026rdquo; and it made me shudder a bit that I expected someone grotesque. McVeigh is grotesque, but his appearance is not. I guess I wanted his outer appearance to match the crime.\nOver time, I went back to my normal life and didn\u0026rsquo;t think much of it until the Unabomber became media-popular some years later. I do not believe I respect their memories less because I have chosen life and continue to pursue it. I did not know any of them, but if I were one of them, I would want people to grieve for a time and then choose life and get about theirs.\nFive years ago, I watched in horror as the second plane struck the other tower on live TV. I ran to my computer and tried to identify the one plane reporters said was still in the air. Minutes before it was announced, I found Flight 93 and watched the blip on my screen that corresponded to its approximate location. When it disappeared, I marveled at why the hijackers decided to attack a field in Pennsylvania. (I know it\u0026rsquo;s weird, but I really thought that.)\nI felt numb for three days afterwards. I wrote a poem about it three months later that is now lost.\nToday it appears that the events of five years ago are being used to launch a presidential bid, validate a flagging presidental term, and to point out many presidential errors. The entire country appears poised to remember a pivotal moment in time\u0026hellip;\nand yet it all feels artifically generated to me. Certainly the families and friends of victims are still suffering genuine loss and will continue to do so. It\u0026rsquo;s not them, at all. It\u0026rsquo;s the news coverage and the presidential speech and the cynics saying that it is great that Monday Night football has moved to ESPN because the president cannot interrupt the broadcast. (Irony of ironies, the first game is near Washington, DC!) It\u0026rsquo;s the coverage of Gov. Pataki and an attempt to paint him as a political opportunist. It\u0026rsquo;s seeing the videos show over and over and the Discovery Channel dissecting the crashes detail by detail.\nIs it me or have we forgotten the people while remembering the event?\n","date":"11 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-11-not-forgotten/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Forgotten","type":"posts"},{"content":"Don\u0026rsquo;t normally post links to good sermons, but this one was just too good to me. I\u0026rsquo;m subjective, I know, but it\u0026rsquo;s only 21 minutes long. (Good and short!)\nFools for Christ\nNeed a sermon that is not so good? Sure, just for old time\u0026rsquo;s sake. Jesus Church\n","date":"11 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-11-spike-in-the-flesh/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Spike in the Flesh","type":"posts"},{"content":"What a bitter disappointment!\nI was expecting a lesson from Gregg and looking forward to more insights about worship and Ordo and other things. I forgot about the fucking Jubilee this weekend. Turns out that tonight was a retelling of Frank Kim\u0026rsquo;s main message. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe it, some ill-informed Old Testament decontextual tale about God saving his movement. UGH! AND I ONLY CAUGHT THE LAST TEN MINUTES!\nYes, the two greatest commandments were taught and I thought, \u0026ldquo;finally, something that doesn\u0026rsquo;t end with Matt 28:18-20. No, I was wrong. It was presented as fulfilling the \u0026rsquo;love your neighbor\u0026rsquo; scripture. UGH! Double Ugh! Then there was the sharing about not inviting the cashier from the grocery store. UGH! UGH! UGH!\nWhat a waste! I felt like it was a waste of time, energy, and effort to go. I should\u0026rsquo;ve just stayed at home. I should\u0026rsquo;ve known - maybe not. Still, I wish I had\u0026rsquo;ve known. I would\u0026rsquo;ve been sick. UGH!\nAfterwards, I talked about job stuff and I said some things I wish I hadn\u0026rsquo;t. I felt like the dam broke and all my frustrations about the house, work, my weight, and everything just came out in a haze. UGH! It hurt my feelings that my friend suggested that Laryssa needs to return to work. I thought, GREAT! Now it\u0026rsquo;s my dad AND my friend telling me this crap. UGH!\nThen we somehow got onto church stuff and I kept talking when I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to. UGH! UGH! UGH! I kept screaming at myself to shut up, but it came pouring out. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t stop it and I felt so stupid and ashamed.\nOn top of that, I got home late, which I didn\u0026rsquo;t want. Just wasted time trying to talk to a friend.\nI prayed, but there\u0026rsquo;s nothing happening when I do. I\u0026rsquo;m just frustrated and tired. I wish all the church crap was gone and I could just stay home and clean the house and write and just be left alone.\nI miss being happy. I feel like I\u0026rsquo;m falling apart and I\u0026rsquo;m alone. Why am I charging at windmills? It does no good. I wish I could just be like everyone else and not think about these church things. I wish I could just trust like others seem to do. I wish I could not get angry at those that feel like we should return to what we were (in whatever degree).\n","date":"7 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-07-bitter-wednesday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bitter Wednesday","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sycarion: Playtested a game called Tactique or Tactical March. It is similar to Stratego(R), but based more on Chinese Chess. Thanks to tool for the Duct Tape pieces. The game is modular with six different sets of \u0026lsquo;add-on\u0026rsquo; rules to make the game more challenging (and longer). For example, you could play with rankless pieces and use dice to resolve the winner. You could have different attack/defense numbers. You could have a different sized board (or a hexagon board). You could have all three. More details forthcoming.\nAlso provided a draft of Greed, akin to Monopoly(R). Not tested, may be discarded.\nAlso also provided a Geography of Lenga. Some browsers may not display the name of the third country correctly. It is Il-Zehar (spelled eye-ell dash zee-e-aich-ay-ar). The Ogdan have been renamed the Gruyet (groo-YAY), but the change has not been made to the website.\nWork continues on Lenga, but it is slow due to other considerations I cannot post about. It is also why I have posted little here.\nPrairiecomber: Power to the People serial stalled as the details of the exploit mentioned became problematic to explain or even make reference to. The story wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to focus on the technical aspects of the crime, but on the central relationship. However, the premise of the hack only works if I don\u0026rsquo;t explain it - I am not a network guy.\nI figure the serials would do that from time to time, I just want to writing exercise.\nAnother story set in Lenga called Barat is in draft form - it is a story of how a young spellcaster discovers himself.\nAlso, the theme presented problems in some browsers, so it has been changed.\npinakidion.* A couple of My Life posts, more on the Unity Proposal, communion, and good teaching from the new minister. Not a bad month, even if I say so myself.\nThe forum idea didn\u0026rsquo;t take off, so I\u0026rsquo;ll probably take them off. Besides, I miss my old permalink structure.\n","date":"6 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-06-august-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"August 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.\n- W. Somerset Maugham\n","date":"6 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-06-quote-on-writing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote on Writing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Here is the communion I gave on August 27th.\nSigns.mp3\n","date":"4 September 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-09-04-sign-language/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sign Language","type":"posts"},{"content":"s fffffffffffffffff AAAAAAAAQ11111!DDSE D H TTTTTTTVTTTTTTT hbnnnnnnnnnnnnnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb h\nJanuary - International Sunday attendance exceeded 100,000\nJuly - goal of having disciples in all 50 states reached with the plantings in Fargo, North Dakota; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Burlington, Vermont\nChurch Growth Today names LA Church the fastest growing church in North America (2nd year in a row)\nNelson Mandela receives first HOPE Unity Award\nHOPE worldwide registered with USAID\nBaghdad planted\nMorocco, Turkey and Iraq plantings\nLA Church breaks 10,000 Sunday attendance\n200th church planted: Pakistan\nWorld Missions Leadership Conference – Johannesburg\nIn 1995, just as the Internet was beginning to explode, people in a number of Christian discussion groups on the Usenet, the Internet\u0026rsquo;s bulletin board system, started complaining that people discussing and arguing about the International Churches of Christ were drowning out other conversation. At the request of a former member, Chris Lee, the Usenet newsgroup alt.religion.christian.boston-church was created.\nThis year also saw the appearance of the first WWW pages by former members. The ICC itself didn\u0026rsquo;t get on the WWW for another year, which may explain the ambivalent attitude its leaders have towards the Internet. It was a source of information about the ICC which the leaders could not control, and access to which they could not block. Increasingly, current members who were having doubts about the group would search the Internet for information, find the WWW sites of former members, and end up leaving.\nIn 1995, at a leadership conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Al Baird, one of the ICC\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;World Sector Leaders\u0026rdquo;, referred to the \u0026ldquo;shepherding crisis\u0026rdquo; in the ICC. In this same speech, he estimated that there were two former members for each current member in the group. The ICC leaders resolved to change how the church operated to prevent this \u0026ndash; again.\n","date":"30 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-30-back-in-1995/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Back in 1995","type":"posts"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s a big conference nearby occuring over Labor Day weekend. This is not to be confused with a similarly titled conference with an entirely different purpose.\nIt appears that only about 20 are going from here. This means, of course, that we\u0026rsquo;ll have regular service over the holiday. I decided to ask why folks are not going. I also asked a few that are going the reasons they are attending.\nThe number one stated reason for not going was expense. Most of that expense being gasoline, but also eating out with the family for a few meals, and the conference fee. One person remarked how they could easily spend $500 for the entire weekend.\nThe second stated reason for not attending was that it was not a \u0026lsquo;kid-friendly\u0026rsquo; experience. Husbands and wives do not get to attend much of the conference together and one of them is always with their children. One person expressed a desire to have conference organized more like this one in Dallas.\nA friend and I talked for a bit about having our own conference and having it be kid-friendly. I think it would be great. Would anyone attend? It\u0026rsquo;s still expensive to travel for gasoline.\nThe number one reason that people expressed a desire to go was fellowship. This was either personal fellowship with folks they know, or fellowship for the sake of their children. Teen camp occurred recently and many teen parents are attending, in part, so that their teen children can see their friends.\nThe number two reason for attending was to find out about other ICoC churches. There was an expressed interest in how others handle specific issues.\nNote This is not a scientific survey. It is entirely possible that what me and others discussed is not reflective of the entire church I attend. I just thought it was interesting.\n","date":"29 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-29-kid-friendly-conferences/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Kid-Friendly Conferences","type":"posts"},{"content":"My letter of concerns in regards to the UP will be upgraded to something larger. The church I attend is now seeking to send along a note about its concerns with the UP.\nI been asked to draft it.\nYes, I literally danced when telling someone else about the news. Immature, I know.\nNow, however, a member of the board and someone I consider a friend, is having the same feelings I have been having for a while. Whereas I am estatic that we are saying something publically concerning the UP, he appears to be concerned that we are pulling away from a good thing. It makes me sad, for his sake. It also confirms my primary objection to the UP - it is inherently divisive. Now it threatens to divide me and my friend.\nI know, it\u0026rsquo;s not the document that divides us, but how we look at it differently that does. There should be room for us to look at quite a few things differently, especially matters of dispute that have nothing to do with primary theology. In a way, it appears that the UP has demonstrated how different members of the ICoC subculture really are from each other. I can deal with someone I know being very different from me, especially a person that helps the church I attend manage its money well. Had majority opinion ruled, we might be burdened with a building payment we cannot really afford at this moment. I see him as a kindred spirit that can do what he believes is right, even in the face of many that wish to do otherwise.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve gotten the various things others have written about the UP. By various things, I mean \u0026lsquo;official\u0026rsquo; church responses. I\u0026rsquo;ll post my draft here when it is done. I assume the final draft will be on the church\u0026rsquo;s website.\nWhat a long strange trip it\u0026rsquo;s been.\n","date":"29 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-29-note-of-concern/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Note of Concern","type":"posts"},{"content":"but only because of other activities. Really.\nI spend a lot of time on my hobbies these days. I haven\u0026rsquo;t had a hobby since high school, but my hobby back then is too much like work right now. Sure it was great to input 3000 lines of BASIC for a science fair project, but I do too much SQL to enjoy coding these days.\nAs mentioned earlier, one of my hobbies is games of all kinds, mainly board games and card games. I also do role-playing games, but mostly for content, not for actual playing. Lately I have been parsing out the various rules for a game that resembles L\u0026rsquo;Attaque (Stratego) and creating the gameboards for it.\nI am able to see a counselor again. It\u0026rsquo;s funny, I remember the sermons talking about discipling as a service provided freely for which others spend hundreds a month. $35 a month to talk to someone that is completely removed from ICC history is well worth it. Besides, we end up talking about the important things in life more often than anything else. Important as in family, our son, employment, handling disappointment, etc. Talking about God and theological issues - that I can do for free. :)\nThings at work have become really busy thanks to a software upgrade. As such, I have a ton of semithoughts, but nothing very well thought out. Oh well. BTW communion will show up sometime next week.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s me recently.\n","date":"29 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-29-slow-august/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Slow August","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was able to give thoughts for Communion today. I\u0026rsquo;ll post the file when it can be uploaded. It was cathartic, to say the least, to simple focus on God and not a lot of other things church and not church.\n","date":"27 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-27-coming-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Coming Soon...","type":"posts"},{"content":"If a minister you know made this film, what would you think?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s dark and disturbing, kind of like the Cask of Amantilado by Poe. In fact, that gives away some of the plot.\nPart of me things nothing of it. I\u0026rsquo;ve written stuff that many would consider inappropriate for a Christian author. Being creative sometimes requires exploration of dark things.\nA part of it, I guess, is that I know the minister and that this exploration of his dark side is shocking to me because I cannot reconcile it with his sermons and personal interactions.\nSo I\u0026rsquo;m asking, not telling. Without using his name or location, what do you think? I really don\u0026rsquo;t want this to get sidetracked into a discussion about his church or associates. (I believe the elders of his church are in the production credits somewhere.)\n","date":"24 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-24-i-dont-know-what-to-think/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Don't Know What to Think","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today was one of those special days that happens all too rarely in day to day life. I get busy or I get distracted with money, ministry, politics, or some combination of the three. Today was about what is truly important and one of the greatest blessings in my life.\nAll of us started off today planning to go to a half-off kidz sale at a Lutheran church in a small town outside of here. They had converted their gym to a thrift store. We hoped to find a stroller for our son, who is now too big for the baby carriers we have. I was surprised to find a very rugged stroller for $20. We used another $15 to get two sets of clothes and new toys for him. He loves the toys, yet still prefers to wear as little as possible.\nComing home, we talked for a bit before lunch. Afterwards, my wife feeling ill, went upstairs for a nap. Our son and I played for two hours. He laughed as naturally as breathing and other things to say besides. I think he out-talked both of us today, and that is a Herculean task!\nWhen she awoke, I went to spend my usual Saturday time writing. This week was finishing up a chapter of my cousin\u0026rsquo;s book and writing more polished rules to Tactique, a game my friend and I playtested last night. I had some notion to write about other things, but I only got a few fragments jotted down. Otherwise, I posted a comment or two around the Internet and left it at that.\nAfter writing, my wife and I just talked. I mean the kind of talks that two people in love have about matters of the heart. We love each other and it needed to be said with poetical and emphatic force. We talked about growing up and why we love the things we love (besides each other). Moving outside to a mild day, we listened to the radio and watched the Blue Jay dart across the sky. We danced to the radio with our son and laughed at Garrison Kellior (and the rest of A Prairie Home Companion).\nMoving back inside, our son and I played for another three hours. He rolled around the floor and laughed and explored and smiled at me. We talked about the usual things, you know, politics, the price of gas, some diaper scandal in the Midwest, who\u0026rsquo;s running for President amongst other things. He made some pretty strong points about teeth being worth the pain as well as poignant editorials about music. To do him justice, you have to hear it from him, but he tends to favor melodic songs that tell a story. He likes that kind of music so much, he shakes from head to toe upon hearing it.\nMy wife prepared the menu for the coming week and wrote to a mutual friend in Texas in the Air Force. We pray for her a lot - she wants to learn medicine and help people and we are afraid she may do the exact opposite. She was there for my wife when she moved here to see if our relationship would lead anywhere. She was in our wedding and visited us in the hospital shortly after our son was born. An amazing 18 year old - she does her parents proud by who she is.\nAs the evening drew to a close, we sang calming songs with our son and prayed together. All of us hope for a good night\u0026rsquo;s sleep. We also hope to get in touch with sacred space at service tomorrow. We hope for a lot of things, but more than anything, we are grateful for days like today. A day of blessings.\nWhen we discovered we were pregnant with our son, I began a shift in thinking about the future instead of always thinking in the present moment. What will be best for our son in two years, five years, ten years? How can I save now in a Plan 125 to help with college? When will he eat solid food? How long will these cloth diapers last?\nAt one point in our morning playing time, I hugged him tightly and wept over him. I prayed that he would be happy. I prayed that he would be safe from evil men and well-intentioned complacent men that will do him harm. I prayed that he would not have my struggles with God and I told him again that God loves him, and Mommy, and Daddy. I confessed to God that I may only make it to Heaven as one escapes flames, if I make it at all, so I prayed that our son would not inherit the sins of his father. I prayed that I want our son to know that he can make a difference in the lives of others, and that doing the right thing is sometimes difficult, so there is always grace.\nIt struck me later, though, that there are times to think about the present moment. Tomorrow has enough evil of its own. Today, though, is where the opportunities are. And what opportunities came today! I will always remember spending so much of a day with our son and doing the verbal drills and rolling on the floor and the new (and now silent) telephone toy. I will remember the easy conversation between my wife and me. I will remember dancing in the backyard to great music and our son smiling with us. I\u0026rsquo;ll remember seeing him at the exact moment waking up and recognizing his dad.\nSo today is precious and wonderful and full of blessings. Days like today help me to understand a bit of what Heaven may be like.\n","date":"20 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-20-a-day-to-remember/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Day to Remember","type":"posts"},{"content":"We take this commercial break to bring you\nStar Trek(R) Motivational Posters\nYes, everyone has already linked there. I figure it\u0026rsquo;s about time I get hip.\nI like the one about Captain Kirk and the Mind Meld.\n","date":"18 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-18-be-motivated/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Be Motivated","type":"posts"},{"content":"Bringing the total to 315, an additional 12 churches are the latest committing to the Plan for United Cooperation. This brings the total to 70% of the disciples listed in our Church Locator. New to the list are seven churches from the Middle East, one from London, one from the Philippines and three from the US. See the list of committed churches below. Several other churches have announced their agreement in principle with the Unity Proposal but not wishing to commit at this time.\nDisciples Today Article - August 13,2006\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a few things to keep in mind about the 70% statistic:\nThe Church Locator does not list all of our churches. The Chicago International Church of Christ is not listed, neither is Rancagua Church in Chile. The second church in Eqypt listed as signing the UP, for example, is not on the list. Neither is the Metro Languna church. Not all churches gave their membership, so at best we can only estimate. This estimate is probably as close as we can get if we talk about individual members. Some churches listed in the locator do not exist. For example, Des Moines does not exist and neither does Rapid City, SD. The three members there are military and attend church in Denver. The churches in India do not match those listed on the Indian Churches of Christ website. Accounting for three of these four things, the estimated number of churches from our \u0026lsquo;historic\u0026rsquo; movement is 558. This includes the various Portland churches, using the Indian churches as listed on the website, and removing churches that do not exist. The fourth, not knowing the membership amounts in various places, shall be compensated by counting number of churches that signed. This is done because that number, though still an estimate, is more likely to be accurate.\nAnd for those that object, leaving out the Portland churches, not already on the church locator affects perecentages by half a percent overall, half a percentage point in the US, and much less everywhere else (0 in Africa).\nPercentage of churches signing the UP per \u0026lsquo;region\u0026rsquo; is:\nAfrica 70 churches 43 yes 27 undecided 61.43% approve the UP Asia/Pacific 130 churches 108 yes 22 undecided 83.08% approve the UP Canada/United States 163 churches 74 yes 80 undecided 9 no 45.40% approve the UP Eurasia 46 churches 38 yes 8 undecided 82.61% approve the UP Europe 60 churches 11 yes 49 undecided 18.33% approve the UP Lat. America/Caribbean 75 churches 35 yes 40 undecided 46.67% approve the UP Middle East 14 churches 9 yes 5 undecided 64.29% approve the UP\nWORLD 558 churches 318 yes 231 undecided 9 no 56.99% approve the UP\nNo votes are counted only if I have word from a member or have publicly stated that they would not sign. I believe the number is slightly larger, but cannot confirm it.\nThis says a few things:\nThe undecideds appear to be in North America and Europe. The overall percentage of churches approving the UP is approx 57%. This would also appear to support information from Andy Flemming\u0026rsquo;s Missions report that former World Sectors have changed less than churches in North America and Europe.\nThis is a for what it is worth. Statistics can show anything you like when there is a semi-informed public. You can count members and make it look like almost 3/4 of all ICoC members ratify the UP. You can count churches and make it look like slightly more than half. Either way this counting should be irrelevant. It should not be important who signed and who didn\u0026rsquo;t. My guess is that the Gang of Nine has figured out that the UP only works if everyone signs it. As long as there are non-signers, there are issues that could create more division, not less.\n","date":"16 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-16-fun-with-numbers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fun with Numbers","type":"posts"},{"content":"The International Astronomical Union votes on a new definition of a planet on August 24 of this year. If this definition is accepted, the list of planets grows from nine to at least twelve.\nMercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Charon 2003 UB313 a.k.a. Xena\nIf accepted, though, other bodies would qualify. How about planet Sedna?\nIn case you think that astrologers will have to change, many of them already believe that there are twelve planets.\n","date":"16 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-16-twelve-or-twenty-four-planets/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Twelve or Twenty-Four Planets","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have an anti-spam device that closes comments after 21 days. So here is Round Two of Membership Has Its Privileges for anyone that still wishes to comment. If not, that\u0026rsquo;s totally fine. It\u0026rsquo;s not like we haven\u0026rsquo;t said plenty about the UP.\nDouglas Jacoby has commented somewhat publicly about the UP. It took a bit to find, but here are his comments. 200 ICoC people against one CoC professor - this is balance?\n","date":"10 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-10-membership-has-its-privileges-too/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Membership Has Its Privileges, Too","type":"posts"},{"content":"Last night we had a lesson about the Ordo - basically the order of worship and what worship means. I have to say that hearing someone that has theological training is refreshing to my heart. Last night, I really needed something to engage my mind and heart.\nEarly church worship had three parts - Word, Water, Bread/Cup. The Word is pretty obvious, it stands for preaching or reading from the Scriptures. Water, though, is not always baptism, it is also testimony. Testimony is sharing the story of our lives - it could be our conversion, it could be that critical turning point in our lives. It is whatever demonstrates to work of God in our lives. Bread/Cup is communion, of course.\nOur minister suggested that we incorporate testimony into our worship so that we can hear each others\u0026rsquo; stories. He knows some from his days in Denver, but so many have moved in from everywhere, he wants to know their story as well. When asked if we know the story of most of the members, no one felt that they did.\nThe main point, however, was not really liturgy. (Though the church I attend may move more towards a liturgical service.) The main point was about the sense of sacred space. For some, this sense is helped by a church building - the place to worship God doesn\u0026rsquo;t move and everytime a person comes here it is to worship God. For some, this sense if helped by a personal place with great meaning - for me it is the ballfields at night of my old church. For others, it is seeing other church members, no matter what the location and for still others, it is something completely different. The point was to claim that sacred space in our lives, individually and corporately. AFterwards, I commented that I have failed to do either as church on Sunday has become about conflict, needs, hurts, issues, and frustration. More importantly, there is no sacred space for me personally anywhere closeby. The nearest space is 1100+ miles away in Orange County, NC.\nSo I am in search of sacred space locally. You have any stories about sacred space?\n","date":"10 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-10-ordo/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ordo","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you start hearing about bugfog, the link is where it appeared first. I didn\u0026rsquo;t coin it, but it sounded cool.\nBuGFoG stands for \u0026ldquo;By Geeks, For Geeks\u0026rdquo;\nAs to what the u and o stand for, your guess is as good as mine.\n","date":"7 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-07-new-coined-word/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New Coined Word?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on other things as mentioned. Not much to write about otherwise.\nGod and I are going through a season of change. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I love him any less, but we are having difficulties that have to be worked out. It\u0026rsquo;s not life or a specific circumstance really. A large part of it is honestly not having much fun recently - something that is not His fault. No fun for me means very hard time focusing on a relationship that is not tangible in the sense that my relationship with my wife is tangible. Again, not His fault. I\u0026rsquo;ve always had a great weakness in only being able to focus on what is directly in front of me.\nIn times like this, I try not to make bad decisions, but I do. I\u0026rsquo;ve engaged the Delphites and that usually doesn\u0026rsquo;t end well for me. One delphite in particular belivies that there is some vast conspiracy afoot in the new ICoC. Another believes that Kip will reemerge as the World Leader in Charge. Peh. There is no conspiracy and no secret agenda - most folks are quite plain in wanting a nicer version of the old days back. See, not good for the kid to mess with the Delphites.\nFinancially, the situation is better, but still tight. We were fine this month until the car died. Turned out to be a dead cell in a battery. Still hope to get home, but that may be put off until November.\nWe have a new minister and I enjoy talking to him. He is a great guy to talk to, I was happy to do what little I could to help him move in. He was really grateful for the help - I was glad that he didn\u0026rsquo;t take such help for granted.\nI got a card from one of the parents. They thanked me for what my partner-in-crime and I are teaching in class and gave me a bottle of juice. This is a family that has much less than I have, plus a 1.5 hour drive each way to church. I was greatly humbled by their gift. I am also sad that they may not be able to continue the drive. Actually, few of the folks make the drive these days. I don\u0026rsquo;t blame them, it\u0026rsquo;s too expensive. I certainly don\u0026rsquo;t have the budget for an extra $40 in gas just to go to church.\nNeccesity being the mother of invention, they are making friends with the mainline CoC down there. Maybe it will spark something, I certainly hope so.\nOutside of that, no grand schemes here. Thanks to the kids, I get to enjoy the study of the Gospel of John. Last week we overturned tables. This week, we\u0026rsquo;re born again. Next week we get to draw water from a well. Not bad, really. Wish I had more than two children in the class, but they are fun.\nMy friend, tool, finally got a tech job. Woohoo!\nNow if I can get a rich relative to float me $100K to open a Chik-Fil-A(R) in this city\u0026hellip;\nAnyway, don\u0026rsquo;t forget your Ivory(R) soap, Mentos(R) and Diet Coke(R) on the way home from work. It\u0026rsquo;s the best $5 entertainment show you can get.\n","date":"4 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-04-lately-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Lately","type":"posts"},{"content":"pinakidion.* The month began with the return of Homestar Runner and writing the board about the Unity Proposal. Along the way, discussion forums were added only because the plugin seemed neat. One big thing i may not have mentioned is that I had to change the permalink structure to get the forums to work. If you link to a specfic post here, that link will no longer work.\nI made a huge gaff in an analogy about the ICoC and the Worldwide Church of God that sparked a look at the history of the WCG. Turns out that there are some similarities quite striking. More still needs to be done on that.\nWe also all learned how to expand Ivory(R) soap. Yep, this has been a good month.\nDev/Irregulars The captain has been writing all the articles, but I managed to add one in July about Tesla Motors. They have made an electric car that runs lithium/ion batteries. You know, the batteries used to power a laptop. Check the link to see for yourself.\nSycarion Diversions Work on Lenga progresses, to the detriment of the rest of the portal. The rules are completed, now the sections that deal with buying equipment and the spellbook are being created. Still, two posts escaped, one on the Kirmenians, the other about Everyday Magic. Everyday magic is pretty much what it says, pieces of magic that are a part of typical life. One of the examples given stretches that last little bit of spice a bit longer, another purifies a handful of water. Details on the link.\nCome September, the rules for Lenga should be complete.\nMy Family The website has been redone. At this point, it holds pictures of the fam, but will soon feature more day to day life stuff of my family. My wife wrote a poem for the site that is not published, yet.\nPrairie Comber The Power to the People serial started strong, but chapter 6 and 7 stalled on my computer. Damascus, a story about the redemption of a cruel man, has been lost to all time. I no longer have a copy of it. Other Outer Banks stories, like Fistful of Diamonds, should appear soon. Recent poetry should also appear.\nThe Advocate Only the article about Phonemes appeared. The big news is that primary training for my son is now handled through Boys Town. We are also participating in a study led by the world renowned staff at the clinic. In many senses of the word, our son is getting some of the best care in the world.\nArticles about Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome may not appear after all. Our son\u0026rsquo;s case appears to be mild by comparison. Our pediatrician said we were his first Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s, now he has two. We have offered to speak to the family, but nothing has happened yet.\nBusy, yes, but still working on things. A couple weeks ago, I had a personal retreat to write for several hours. Most of that work will benefit Sycarion more than here.\nPlans for the future still include posting all my early writing and poetry on Prairiecomber. Finishing Lenga, of course, as well as finishing various semithoughts not appearing on this site. The investigation into the hermenutic history of the ICoC lead nowhere. The result of the research was that outside of Kip\u0026rsquo;s writings and sermons, there was no heremenutic. Our own writings about understanding the Bible boiled down to finding the command to obey or promise to claim. The only exception, in a sense, was Shining Like Stars by Douglas Jacoby. Otherwise, the future of the portal is not really known. I\u0026rsquo;ll write about something, I\u0026rsquo;m certain.\nSee you around!\n","date":"2 August 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-08-02-july-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"July 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"Tonight at midweek we had a lesson based on this book by Larry Crabb. Larry is one of the pantheon of authors in the mold of \u0026ldquo;Sacred Romance\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Wild at Heart\u0026rdquo; by John Eldredge. Sacred Romance, pretty doggone cool. Wild at Heart, well, um, did I mention Sacred Romance?\nI want to read this book based on the lesson given this evening, mainly because so many responded to how it helped them. I\u0026rsquo;ll be honest, I don\u0026rsquo;t understand the main concept as presented - meaning the concepts of upper room and lower room. I do understand the concept of making the church community the safest place on earth.\nAs I understand it, the lower room is the unspritual life and the upper room is the spiritual life. Living in the upper room is described as\nFinding ourselves wanting to bless people more than use them. Discovering an unshakable joy that survives the most crushing disappointments. Noticing a patient and kind gentleness nudging aside our irritation with people. Experiencing ourselves as solid and whole in the presence of those who used to intimidate us. The lower room is described as welling up four negative (my word, not his) passions:\nPassion for Self Passion to Control Passion to define life and death on our terms (I didn\u0026rsquo;t understand this one.) Passion to Perform The speaker remarked that this analogy helped him to understand his spiritual relationship to God. He understood the book to talk about moving from the lower room to the upper room. I missed the heart of the message at this point, due to a coughing fit. When I came back, though, folks were sharing their thoughts.\nPersonally, I could never define myself as being in the upper room. Call it a weakness, a spiritual malady, a personality quirk, or what have you. I have experienced all of the things described, just not all at once. Beyond that, was Jesus in his lower room when he cleared the temple in John 2? or called the Pharisees names? or when he called Herod a fox? How can the markers of spirituality be feelings and experiences?\nI want to read the book because my brief introduction leads me to believe that passion is to be minimized. (There is no passion in the upper room, only the lower room.) It also leads me to believe that what is important is what I feel, not what I do. (I would contend that both are misleading.) I have a hard time believing that either of these is true.\nHaving said all of that, what did resonate was a small part of the descriptions of each room. In the upper room, God arranged the furniture. In the lower room, the self arranges the furniture. The upper room, to me, could be seen as Colossians 3, focusing on things above. Under the same analogy, the lower room could be seen as focusing on the things of this earth, like Peter when he walked on the water briefly. Moreover, God controls the spiritual life while the self controls the life of the flesh.\nI can understand that temptation is all about lowering our gaze. I can understand that the evils of life can beat someone down enough that they will not look up literally or figuratively. I can understand deciding that it is easier to live a life for self rather than live for God and trying to find happiness in the persihable things of this earth. The entire analogy resonates with Proverbs 15:24:\nThe path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.\nProverbs 15:24\nThe message tonight went on to explain the need for others in our life to help us. I believe Larry describes spiritual friends and spiritual directors at this point. I do not know what the speaker tonight said about this in more detail. (the aforementioned coughing fit.) However, I do understand how good a timely word can be (Prov 15:23). Despite all the garbage of spiritual mentoring I endured, I still understand that I am not always the best person to discern what is going on in my life. Outside help means a lot of things, especially in an individual\u0026rsquo;s life - my life. Outside help means talking to trusted people inside and outside my church heritage and asking them what they see. It can even mean asking a friend of a friend. I have received an apt word from folks of different faiths and cultures, as well as just plain bad ideas. (All the junk cannot be blamed on my parents or the ICoC subculture, though it would be rather conveinient to do so.)\nIn any case, I dream of a sacred community that I see in the New and Old Testament. A community where we are all royal preists. A place where we are all brothers and sisters. A family to belong and a people with a distinct culture. I haven\u0026rsquo;t come close to experiencing this, but I imagine what it would be like. A place to feel safe, as the title suggests.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I don\u0026rsquo;t dream of some utopian church experience - that awaits in Heaven. However, it is still important to build or find what is best in Christian relationships wherever God has placed me.\nSo far, it seems to be okay. But like I said earlier, I\u0026rsquo;m not always the best judge of what is going on around me.\n","date":"27 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-27-the-safest-place-on-earth/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Safest Place on Earth","type":"posts"},{"content":"Not much with me lately, I spent last Saturday writing and most of this week nursing a cold. Last night, I made some lentil soup that is simply fantastic. I am an unabashed canivore, but this was great. The whole house smelled good for hours.\nYes, our son is still quite adorable.\nThings are getting better, though I have trouble sleeping. The C-PAP machine I use for my sleep apnea is great when you are not congested. When you are congested, well, the pressure gets intense, the lungs feel weird, lotsa coughing, in other words, a sinus headache with pnuemonia. Ugh.\nBy the way, did I happen to mention that our son is adorable?\nAnyway, I wrote quite a bit, but most of it is spread across six or seven themes. Sometimes I publish unfinished stuff as \u0026lsquo;Semithoughts\u0026rsquo;, but I want to finish these, thus no posting. One is a study of the history of the Worldwide Church of God. The other involves the use of logic in order to be clear-minded. I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed studying the Gospel of John again, especially as this was prompted by the need for different material for the children\u0026rsquo;s ministry. There\u0026rsquo;s also a lot of stuff for Sycarion, but that will appear on that site.\nAs far as the children\u0026rsquo;s ministry the present unit was Revelation. Not a book for eight year olds, but the first two lessons were pretty accessible. Unfortunately, the kids got really bored and one parent got concerned. All her child learned was that Revelation was scary. So I went to skip ahead, but the lessons were for a NT review - okay except for the fact that the kids I have just matriculated into the third and fourth grade class. Nothing to review, really, except Revelation. So I skipped ahead to the last unit and that was unusable as well. The unit is entitled God\u0026rsquo;s Modern Movement.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t flip out, I promise. I talked to two deacons about how to handle it and we had some good ideas. It could be the history of the church I attend, it could be the history of the Restoration Movement, or it could be about unity. I wanted to do a RM unit, but I thought about crafts about Alexander Campbell and it felt just as weird as having a pre-class activity about the Gempel\u0026rsquo;s living room. My wife had a great idea for unity - the craft involved using three sticks to illustrate that a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Paint one stick bright pink and talk about what it means to think you\u0026rsquo;re better than someone else because you\u0026rsquo;re different.\nI love my wife.\nIn any case, it just seemed easier to go through John. The concerned parent I mentioned earlier thought that was a great idea. She was concerned that the curriculum gets away from the stories of Jesus sometimes. (We agreed that adults do this a lot, too.) Whaddya know, happy kids and parents.\nI decided not to write on YADA - yet another discipleship article - after a while it just becomes to tiresome. The ICC mindset still only allows for three solutions to problem: baptize more people, disciple people more effectively, extoll the virtues of leadership.\nRick Warren has said that most of the great changes in the Bible took place over 40 days. For us in the ICC subculture, it seems that we cycle every 40 days. Every 40 days, a theme seems to repeat itself. I wonder if any of us could go without studying discipleship, leadership, or evangelism for more than a month without feeling guilty about it. That\u0026rsquo;s why it\u0026rsquo;s no suprise to me that it appears as a sermon or article topic all over at least once a month.\nAnyway, outside of some things coming together, the only other thing I can think of mentioning, besides the excessive adorability of our son, is that Monopoly has decided to stop using paper money. They have opted for a Visa(R) debit card, instead. Yes, it says Visa(R), not something that rhymes with Visa. Don\u0026rsquo;t worry, though, purists can simply print their own money if they want.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll link to it when it appears, but my wife wrote a great poem about our son. It\u0026rsquo;s great.\n","date":"26 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-26-good-eats-and-other-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Good Eats and Other Things","type":"posts"},{"content":"The question was, \u0026ldquo;How long will Kip last under the direction of the Baltimore Dougs?\u0026rdquo;\nThe latest proclomation reverses all the work they did.\nAbout 40 days ago, there was debate over the difference between forgiveness and trust. I can and have forgiven Kip for what he has done to the fellowship and to me personally. Can I trust him? Not without some major changes. At this point, my trust will be restored only after he receives professional help and a resignation from the ministry. Not a spot leading a region somewhere, nada employment as a minister. Not a BTL, a GSL, region leader, not a BTL asst, nothing.\nIn many ways, he has no effect on my life except to feel some sadness and what he is doing. I do not believe that he is really dividing the ICC anymore - those that want to follow him have already moved to Portland.\nJust a thought or two.\n","date":"25 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-25-about-40-days/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"About 40 Days","type":"posts"},{"content":"So here we go. I wanted to get away from this, but the effects of setting up a Shibboleth continue to appear. I fully realize that this was most likely not the intent, but the effect is the same.\n**Wednesday, October 11th has been set aside for Regional Meetings.**Regional Meetings are being coordinated for those Churches that have ratified the Unity Proposal. As long as there is space available, which is limited, we will be happy to coordinate a venue for you.\nThose that didn\u0026rsquo;t sign are on their own, I guess.\nIt reminds me of various IT conferences where one of the sponsors wouldn\u0026rsquo;t allow a specific speaker/topic. Usually, the folks organize their own meeting at a coffeehouse.\nFor the church I attend, this technically means that some of the churches we currently work with won\u0026rsquo;t be at a meeting on Oct 11, but will be at our own meeting(or conference call) in September. I know what will really happen is that one of the signing churches will book the space and all 12 will attend - no one is going to stand at the door and check nametags.\nStill, who will Calgary meet with? Everyone else in Canada didn\u0026rsquo;t sign. Maybe they can go to the moot across the street. I imagine that the New England folks will allow Boston to attend and the Florida churches will still invite Orlando to attend.\nAll of this still is separate from the other split that may happen - will Portland, Syracuse, Savannah, Santiago and others send a delegate? Probably not.\nFor a preview of how this will end, I invite everyone to read the history of Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s Worldwide Church of God. There truly is nothing new under the sun.\n","date":"19 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-19-a-dead-horse/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Membership Has Its Privileges","type":"posts"},{"content":"The discussion forums (no longer available) are working. No reason for them except that I thought it was different. All I had to do is change my permalink structure to get it to work.\nOrginally, it was going to be a place to talk about stuff I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to post about (politics) or subject I wanted to drop (the UP). However, I seem to be posting about these things anyway.\n","date":"19 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-19-threads/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Threads?","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife and I\u0026rsquo;s website has been updated - a conversion from Mambo 4.5 to Wordpress 2.0.3 is complete. It has trouble with graphics for some reason, thus no pic of where we got married.\nA few pictures of our son are available at this link.\n","date":"16 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-16-my-family-updated/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Family updated","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered that I have become insincere. It\u0026rsquo;s not like I intended to be this way, but it\u0026rsquo;s the result of a drift over time. Specifically, I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to use the phrase, \u0026ldquo;I have a Mulsim friend\u0026rdquo; as some kind of currency. In other words, as a way to elevate myself I have pointed at an honorable thing I am doing as a way to look more forward-thinking than I really am.\nThis myth is officially considered busted.\nThe truth is, this person is a co-worker and outside of some dialogue a few months about God, Jesus, and the treatment of Muslims in this country, we haven\u0026rsquo;t spoken much recently. More importantly, though, I haven\u0026rsquo;t been over to their home and met the family. I\u0026rsquo;ve not been a part of their life at all. This person has asked for my advice in regards to professional matters, but I have asked them nothing. Is this person really a friend I have? I don\u0026rsquo;t think so. This is a co-worker and not much more than that.\nI grew up in the South and heard a similar phrase pretty frequently.In this case, it was \u0026ldquo;I have a Black friend\u0026rdquo;. It was used in the same way, a way to gain some currency in the community. It was a badge saying, \u0026ldquo;See, I\u0026rsquo;m not racist, I have friends that are different from me.\u0026rdquo; But all of us knew whether it was genuine or not.\nOne good thing I can say about the ICoC subculture is that attempts were made demonstrate real brotherhood across racial and ethnic lines. It later became a propaganda tool as well, but in places the KNN cameras and Geographic Sector Leaders feared to tread, real brotherhood was forged. (And I\u0026rsquo;m not talking about the gerrymandering to artifically create diverse Singles and College households. This is the real thing where two people from two different worlds share their lives together. There are so many great stories in these places.)\nWho is my neighbor? Luke 10:29-37 could have easily been told today like this:\nBut wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, \u0026ldquo;And who is my neighbor?\u0026rdquo;\nJesus took up the question and said: \u0026ldquo;A man was walking to his car and got mugged. The mugger took his wallet, car keys, and even his shoes. Then the mugger beat him up, and fled, leaving him on the sidewalk. An evangelist, on his way to seminar, happened to be going down that road. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way, a local minister, when he arrived at the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But an illegal alien, came up to him, and when he saw the man, he had compassion. He went over to him and tended to him as best he could. Then he put him in his own car and brought him to a hospital. Before leaving, he put four hundred dollars in the man\u0026rsquo;s pocket.\n\u0026ldquo;Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;The one who showed mercy to him,\u0026rdquo; he said.\nThen Jesus told him, \u0026ldquo;Go and do the same.\u0026rdquo;\nThe old answer for me would have been to try and make five new friends that are not like me. It\u0026rsquo;s pretty childish to do that, mainly because this method did nothing but make me feel better. What I can do, however, is look for ways to help others. This is the working a soup kitchen type of thing, though that\u0026rsquo;s a great way to serve others. I mean the kinds of things that happen as you go through life. You can buy a couple gallons of gas for the person behind you, offer a kind word to someone grieving, the possibilities are endless. It\u0026rsquo;s not that these smaller gestures are great in and of themselves. It\u0026rsquo;s that the practice of the small things prepares us for doing the \u0026lsquo;big\u0026rsquo; things.\nHis master said to him, \u0026lsquo;Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.\u0026rsquo;\nMat 25:23\n","date":"13 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-13-i-have-a-fill-in-the-blank-friend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Have a (Fill-in-the-blank) Friend","type":"posts"},{"content":"How to expand Ivory(R) Soap.\nIt is just what it says.\n","date":"11 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-11-because-we-all-need-this/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Because We All Need This","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was talking with someone in church today and an interesting idea came up. This person wanted to think about what the ICoC is supposed to have learned from the events from HKL to now. His idea started with a basic question - If everything that has happened to us was discipline from God, what have we learned?\nSo what have we learned?\nI\u0026rsquo;ve learned a few things, personally. At the risk of sounding cynical at time and melodramatic at others, I have learned the following things:\nNot everyone is going to Hell. It\u0026rsquo;s true that not everyone is going to Heaven and the road is still narrow, but the boundaries are set by God, not me or anyone else. Middle management is always the first to be fired. A man reaps what he sows. Those that seek God will find him. God will lift up the man (or woman) who humbles himself in His presence. There are more spiritual gifts than leadership and musicianship. The Bible is not the Sword of Damocles, His preists are not His enforcers. What is whispered in secret will be shouted from the rooftops. We only defend the things we truly value. Those that rely on power and privilege continue to defend their power and privilege. I wasted a lot of time on trivial things. I was knitted in my mother\u0026rsquo;s womb, not cast from a mould. It is better to suffer the wrath of others than to suffer the wrath of yourself. Love that is freely given is freely returned. Love that is conditionally given, is conditionally returned. Outrage is neither hatred nor rebellion. Being nicer does not necessarily equate to being more spiritual. God is happy that He created me. There is a time to tear down. Sometimes the only way to rebuild is to completely start over. It is okay to share about God to others. We wanted to multiply, but only acheived duplication. Forgiveness is freely given - respect is earned over time. Do not say that the old days were better than this, such talk is unwise. Control comes in various forms - presenting limited choices is one of them. Don\u0026rsquo;t always wait for some to do the right thing - don\u0026rsquo;t always push others to do the right thing. There\u0026rsquo;s more, but that\u0026rsquo;s the basic gist. What have you learned?\n","date":"10 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-10-an-interesting-idea/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"An Interesting Idea","type":"posts"},{"content":"Under its present course, I believe the ICoC will look very similar to the following:\nDiscipleship Policy Worldwide Leadership Model Of course there\u0026rsquo;s the policy council and the ministerial council. Evangelistic Goals Leadership Training International Leaders Conference \u0026lsquo;Kingdom\u0026rsquo; News Updates\nI\u0026rsquo;m not saying that it is all bad. It is just quite similar to who we used to be and where we are heading.\n","date":"10 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-10-what-the-future-holds/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What the Future Holds","type":"posts"},{"content":"The first ever commentary from African Protestant Theologians has been finished. Just like reading old commentaries can help a person to distinguish Bible from culture, reading a commentary from a conglomeration of over 250 different cultures can help as well.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s the difference between learning the book, Things Fall Apart from an Igbo person that was raised in the villages versus learning about it from a Anglo-Saxon American male. The former describes the Igbo culture, the latter compares a story to a Greek tragedy. Closer to home, it\u0026rsquo;s the difference between how the North describes the Civil War and how the South describes the War of Northern Aggression - it\u0026rsquo;s all a matter of perspective.\nI have too many books, but I would like to get this one if I could. How wonderful to see Jesus through the eyes of someone entirely different from me.\n","date":"6 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-06-a-real-paradigm-shift/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Real Paradigm Shift","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I mentioned earlier, the board asked that I write my objections to the UP for them to consider. Our new minister apparently advised a different church to do the same thing due to the division that it was causing. My stance that I do not want to be considered a member over this has caused hurt feelings all around, especially as I am respected here. This will be my last post on the UP, as far as I know.\nI wrote:\nAs far as why I wish we hadn\u0026rsquo;t signed the UP, there\u0026rsquo;s a few basic reasons. Practically, it puts us in a difficult place when trying to do things regionally. Problems arise when we try to implement the regional representation parts of it. For example, there are 12 churches in the Heartland region. We formed it informally in 2003-2004 to help each other out. No leader, no administration, just the ministers of 12 churches on a conference call trying to coordinate events and meet needs. Seven churches have signed, but five have not. We cannot send a regional representative, but if we do, the other five have no say in who that person is. If they are given a say, then the UP is meaningless and we should get out from under it. It\u0026rsquo;s small, but it\u0026rsquo;s the kinds of things that split up the Restoration Movement in the first place. Even if the remaining five sign, other issues arise in other places, especially since Boston, San Francisco, and churches in Atlanta have not signed. In fact, just over half the churches in the US have signed, less than that in Canada and South America.\nMy big concern is that the UP presents a litmus test for historic doctrine and practices. By the very nature of a litmus test, this divides churches into \u0026lsquo;signing churches\u0026rsquo; and \u0026rsquo;non-signing churches\u0026rsquo;. Much has been said about the necessity of signing the UP – the question and answer document states that this is necessary in order to find which churches hold to our historic doctrines and practices. Similar sentiments were echoed by Gordon Ferguson in his DisciplesToday article when he spoke of the need to find out which members for whom the elders were responsible. In both cases, members are being asked to sign a document to demonstrate their loyalty. Aspects of this are similar to the story of the Gileadites in Judges 12: 5-6. The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim. In order to prevent the survivors from escaping, the Gileadites came up with a way to determine who was a true Gileadite and who was not. When a survivor of Ephraim tried to cross, a Gileadite would ask the survivor to say \u0026lsquo;Shibboleth\u0026rsquo;. If the survivor did not pronounce the word correctly, they seized and killed him or her. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time (Judges 12:5-6). Although death is not the penalty in this case, the effect is the same: the UP attempts to determine \u0026ldquo;who is one of us\u0026rdquo; - effectively splitting us into two groups.\nThirdly, the UP requires 100% agreement in order to sign. The wording of the agreement itself is vague, but the Question and Answer document makes it clear. Question 12 asks whether or not a church should sign if they agree with most of the plan. The answer given was, \u0026ldquo;No\u0026rdquo;. Having this requirement does not allow for freedom in disputable matters as stated in Romans 14. Instead,certain practices are mandated by the agreement. For example, the UP states that an evangelist should be responsible to other evangelists in his region. I disagree, I believe that an evangelist should answer to the elders first, then to the members of the church. Encouragement and help from others, yes, but answer to them, oh no. As things are now, I can disagree with someone in another church and still strive to be brothers. Under the UP, I am now unable to believe as I do because the practice with which I disagree is now bound to me through the signing of the church.\nI understand that we could sign it in order to show unity and just not implement certain sections of the UP, but Jesus said to let your yes be yes and your no be no. If I sign something, I am saying that I will fulfill my obligation. I didn\u0026rsquo;t sign my marriage license only to pick and choose which parts I will live up to and which parts I will disregard! This is not binding or sacred like a marriage agreement - we can back out at any time. It is, however, dishonest to sign on the one hand and reserve judgement on the other. The framers of the UP did not give us that option. I understand that some may do this in an effort to seek a middle ground, but the agreement requires 100% agreement and leaves no room for middle ground.\nThere are other minor issues, but that is it in a nutshell. However you wish to convey or not convey this email I leave to you. The whole enterprise has made me quite sad, but has not diminshed my love for anyone in the church, especially those that chose to sign the UP. I want to be in community with the people of this church. In this matter, I would prefer that my conscience would go away in matters like this.\nMe - July 4th, 2006\nI hope this is the end of it - the UP and my posting about it.\n","date":"6 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-06-message-to-the-board/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Message to the Board","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed reading Alan\u0026rsquo;s investigation into Restoration Movement history. Campbell, often quoted by more conservative RM scholars, appears to have been more liberal than I previously thought. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t raised in the RM and I really didn\u0026rsquo;t become a part of it until a couple years ago. (Yes, the ICC was a branch of a branch within the RM, but so were the Branch Davidians. I was a part of the RM as much as they were.) My brother became a part of it a few years ago, being baptized in a CoC in Jarvisburg. We have always been brothers and are brothers in more ways than one. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t say that he is a theologian, but he has had a deep belief in unity that I have only recently embraced.\nCampbell appears to me as more of a liberal and that has made me think about how he and God have been interpreted.\nThis is the part where Kant comes in.\nAs Alan has chronicled, the RM went from seeking unity in essentials in seeking uniformity in everything. Along the way, a paradigm shift occurred. It\u0026rsquo;s as if the motto changed from \u0026lsquo;finding our way\u0026rsquo; to \u0026lsquo;finding the only way\u0026rsquo;. To this end, I think Kant sheds some light on the folly of this.\nKant divided the universe into phenomena and noumena. Noumena exist outside what we can perceive, but they do exist. Phenomena are those things we can perceive. I tend to think of God as a noumenon that sought to be perceived. Not happy with what we can perceive about God, a lot of effort is spent trying to understand that which we cannot know.\nJesus claimed to be divine and allowed others to make such a claim. (John 1, et al) In Luke, he is named \u0026ldquo;God with us\u0026rdquo;, or ironically enough, Immanuel. He lived an breathed amongst us and suffered himself to die. Although existing outside perception from the beginning, he came to us and allowed himself to be known.\nThe record left us about his life is scant. Despite over thirty years of life and three years of ministry, there are but a few pages left by eyewitnesses. As far as we know, he never traveled more than some miles away from Nazareth except for the time spent in Eqypt as a child. He said very little that we know of - by comparison, we know more about what Abraham Lincoln actually said than Jesus. This would be without Lincoln\u0026rsquo;s own records. We know more about what Socrates said through his student Plato than what we know about what Jesus said. The record is quite reliable, just small in quantity. Add to that the ultimate economy, Jesus boiled down his ministry into two sentences. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:16)\nYet, to this Spartan record, we have all sought to expand it. Some of this was out of neccesity, especially with the early church. Jesus left it to Peter and the others to work out some of the details. (Matt 18:18) In Acts 15, they had a council to work out the question of Paul\u0026rsquo;s ministry and the Gentiles he converted. (Acts 10 already dealt with the Gentile question in regards to those Peter converted.) Paul ended up dealing with all kinds of issues that Jesus never addressed. Fortunately, Peter considered Paul\u0026rsquo;s words Scripture.\nGoing beyond what is written was and still is sometimes neccesary. Jesus did not address every issue. Paul only addressed some for his day. As it is Scripture, what both men addressed in their times helps guide us today. Faith comes into play when we choose to believe that all of these writings, plus the written law, psalms, and the prophets are Scripture. This is a topic for another day.\nIt appears that since the first century, so much effort has been spent to understand that which we cannot know. The Gnostics searched for secret knowledge from the various apostles, even Judas. The Da Vinci Code speaks of a quest for secret knowledge in our time. As Christians throughout history, we have tried to place God within our own philosophies. As such, Paul spent a lot of time arguing more of Plato\u0026rsquo;s theories than other things. The founding fathers tried to place God within a universe of absolute laws of cause and effect relegating God as a superpower trapped within his own machine. Today, God is placed in all kinds of contexts to justify politics (Religious Right) and justify ourselves (God made me do it). We have put God in a box and called it Systematic Theology. The RM, specifically in conservative circles, has made God the Great Blogger with an opinion on every aspect of our lives. The difference, of course, being that his opinions are instant laws to mankind.\nAll of this spawns from that which we cannot know. People within the RM argue over one cup or many cups, adding kitchens to church buildings, instrumental music, The Sabbath, and other things. Most of these are extruding Scriptures from one context into a theorhetical one. Most of these arguments denigrate into \u0026ldquo;that\u0026rsquo;s how we\u0026rsquo;ve always done it\u0026rdquo; instead of a finer point of Scripture. To this end, it is so much arguing over words. We cannot know God\u0026rsquo;s on these matters and their pursuit is killing us. We do not spend nearly as much time on those things that we can know.\nGod demonstrates paradox after paradox, yet we think that God cannot contradict himself. God is somehow subservient to logic and like a black hole, even he cannot escape. In speaking of God to others, I\u0026rsquo;ve heard, \u0026ldquo;he has to do XYZ because it only makes sense!\u0026rdquo; Really? What part of \u0026lsquo;my ways are above your ways\u0026rsquo; makes him a slave to our understanding? Again, what is important is what we can know. Logical inferences are about as binding to God as Australian law to American citizens.\nWhat we can know is that there is no law against love. Creating a theology of what is love and how can I express love has very little to be cause for error. Contemplating the basics is never too far off track - love your neighbor. Teaching people about Jesus can be done on a postcard. Starting someone on their own quest to understand God can take a few minutes. God is a complex being, no doubt. In many ways, he is unknowable. However, in the ways he is knowable, the ideas are simple. (Not easy, simple.) A college education is not required, just look at the stories Jesus told. There\u0026rsquo;s not artifice in them, just a clear and simple teaching.\nSome have thought that a new Restoration may start in this country. It would be nice, I think. In a way, I hope it doesn\u0026rsquo;t as the result will probably be the same as the first one. We are not content to search what God has given us, we have to know what he hasn\u0026rsquo;t given us.\nJust a thought, as contradictory as it is.\n","date":"4 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-04-kant-campbell-and-the-others/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Kant, Campbell and the Others","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yes, Homestar Runner is back. Gone since May 22, they have finally returned.\nLife is officially good.\n","date":"3 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-03-hes-back/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"He's Back","type":"posts"},{"content":"All the stuff from around the subdomains.\nSycarion Diversions June was a busy month for Sycarion.\nFinal rules for Dice Poker posted. A few Checkers/Draughts variants posted. A discussion of Attribute Scores in the Action! System Notes on Lenga including the basic concept, alphabet, and language. Advocate Things are slowly getting started on the Advocate. The two stories thus far involve the Ling-6 Test and introducing your hard of hearing child to all the phonemes in the English language.\nComing soon, a set of flashcards we use to teach our son all the phonemes in English.\nPrairiecomber The fiction and poetry site began this month. This makes the third unique site name that points to me somehow.\nMost of 1998\u0026rsquo;s Durham and Other Thoughts edited and published. Serial called Power to the People started. The other sites will have work done as time allows. JohnandLaryssa.com will be revamped. Clerry.com will change as well. Dira will become part of Sycarion and D/I will have more posts from me. The StudyHall will soon have notes from 1 John, Galatians, Ephesians, and the Gospel of John by the end of the month. Also, I hope to have a study of various Gnostic Gospels as well beginning with the Gospel of Thomas.\nSycarion will hopefully have the complete rules to Lenga, a supplement to the Action! System published by the end of August. The Prairiecomber will have the complete Durham and Other Thoughts chapbook as well as Fistful of Diamonds and other stories. Stay tuned to find out what happens to Roger and Cherise in Power to the People.\n","date":"2 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-02-june-2006-portal-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"June 2006 Portal Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"A speech pathologist recently pointed out to my wife and I that a hard of hearing child needs exposure to all the individual sounds of the English language in order to speak well. Since our child specifically has a hope of complete normal hearing one day, we are working hard to enable him to speak. It turns out that hearing people pick up all the different sounds (or phonemes) naturally.\nShe gave us an example by producing a couple of the various clicks used in the Xhosa language. We found that we had great difficulty reproducing the clicks because we had not grown up with those sounds. In the same way, hard of hearing children have problems with words that contain sounds they have not been taught. For example, take the word measure. It has five sounds in it, m, eh, zh, u, r. (The u is really quick.) The zh sound isn’t used much in English, but hearing people can usually say measure with no problems. If a hard of hearing child, however, is not exposed to zh, his pronounciation will be quite different. He or she may not even be able to say this word. Try it yourself.\nThe Pathologist produced her own flashcards to use with the children in her practice. Each card had a picture and stressed one individual sound or phoneme in the English language. She regularly goes through all 40 with her children with great success. Even children that receive hearing aids later in life show improvement.\nI’ll get the link to her flashcards. When they’re finished, I’ll put mine on this site. When I searched for English phonemes, I found that no one agrees on how many are in the English language. Some say 38, some say almost 50. I decided that I would use as many as I could distinguish in my own speech. Don’t get bogged down in how many there are in your own searches. Just use the first few pages of your dictionary. Each sounds is given with an example word. A as in father. E as in bed, and so on. Even without pictures, it is worthwhile to use the list of example words in your dictionary so that your child can be exposed to all the sounds in the language.\nGood luck!\n","date":"1 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-01-picture-cards-of-english-phonemes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Picture Cards of English Phonemes","type":"posts"},{"content":"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.\n2 Corinthians 12:9\nI see the bumper stickers saying that Christians aren\u0026rsquo;t perfect, just forgiven. Because of the hypocrisy of the American Christian life, I used to be cynical. I would think that the occupant was using forgiveness as an excuse. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t that forgiveness was so much as a license to sin as it was a free pass to live an unexamined life.\nAt one time, I believed Plato\u0026rsquo;s axiom quite literally, namely that an unexamined life is not worth living. I benefitted from examining my own life, so I believed it was natural that it would benefit others. I fit in perfectly well with a church culture that stressed constant examination and purging. I, like others, assumed that we were becoming more spiritual through this exercise. We also thought that we were becoming more effective in bringing others to Christ. We strove for perfection so that others would be impressed by the work of God in our lives.\nWho\u0026rsquo;s the hypocrite, now? It turns out that I wanted others to be impressed by the work of ME in MY life. I just so happened to have an inside track to God, and yeah, he loves you, too. Don\u0026rsquo;t you see what he\u0026rsquo;s done for me? He can do this and more for you. No, really, he can. Just become a member of my church and you can be a part of our wonderful training program guaranteed to give you a full life and a relationship to God. You\u0026rsquo;ll have awesome kids, you will have awesome friends, and more importantly, you will have an awesome purpose for your life. Don\u0026rsquo;t you want life to the full?\nBeing a Christian is fulfilling and provides great benefits. I have great friends, one of which is helping me to identify my family\u0026rsquo;s cash flow problems. I married a Christian woman. I have friends that are not like me in any way. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that being a Christian is a joyless life of constant self-punishment and monkish study. What I am saying is that the value of the Christian life doesn\u0026rsquo;t come from the blessings God gives us. The value of the Christian life comes from our forgiveness.\nI spoke with a neighbor the other day and he was sharing a sense of longing for spiritual things. He felt like that he hadn\u0026rsquo;t heard a good message in months. He felt like the minister was aloof and preaching to people that weren\u0026rsquo;t like him. When I asked him what he wanted, he replied that he wanted someone to share vulnerably from their own lives.\nAt first, I thought that he wanted a form of preaching I personally thought was unedifying. Sure someone can share from their own life, but what about sound exegesis? First set the sound exegesis, then find the personal application. It\u0026rsquo;s Bible 101 and the minister my neighbor was describing sounded like he was doing just that. But as I continued to listen, I began to understand what he was feeling and the background of what he meant.\nHe sees himself as a sinful man in need of forgiveness. He wanted to hear preaching based on that same paradigm. It seemed that the minister he was describing spoke of his great marriage and his great friends, but not the need for forgiveness. (I don\u0026rsquo;t know the minister\u0026rsquo;s true feelings about it, this was my neighbor\u0026rsquo;s experience.) His need was to be reminded that he is forgiven and that all Christians need forgiveness. My neighbor believes that God\u0026rsquo;s power is made perfect in weakness and wants to see that power realized in the lives of others.\nSo I look at my life and ponder - am I happy because of my blessings or because I\u0026rsquo;m forgiven? My circumstances are unpleasant in some regards. My wife\u0026rsquo;s health is taking a downturn and I feel weary much of the time. However, the truth is that I am still forgiven. I am still an heir of Christ. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel comforting right now, but the hope of Heaven does help. God is love and by his presence provides hope - at this point is seems that this hope is his power in weakness.\n","date":"1 July 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-07-01-the-forgiven-life/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Forgiven Life","type":"posts"},{"content":"Turns out that the church I attend has a new minister. He\u0026rsquo;ll be here soon - he should finish his PhD by August. His wife is finishing her degree as well, so full-time work should start in August. He says that he doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to move again. I hope that is right. I\u0026rsquo;ve had a Big Name(TM) make that promise before and it lasted 11 years. I can deal with about 10 years keeping in mind that no one can really know if they have to move or not. I just hope the circumstances are different.\nSo, yes, I\u0026rsquo;m happy about it. I look forward to seeing him next week.\n","date":"25 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-25-the-search-is-over/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Search is Over","type":"posts"},{"content":"Do I contradict myself?/ Very well then I contradict myself,/ (I am large, I contain multitudes.)\nWalt Whitman\nI\u0026rsquo;ve begun to take my writing more seriously and so I am eager to do the business of writing. The business of writing is a nice way of saying generating content. I\u0026rsquo;m like most amateur writers in that I enjoy thinking of an idea more than actually committing it to paper(or mySQL database as the case may be). I started to spend time exploring my various interests and recently created subdomains in order to make it more accessible. In a sense, it creates different compartments of my interests and that appeals to me. Not only that, instead of a few large databases, I have 100 small databases. If I could, I\u0026rsquo;d redo all the sites as a PostNuke install with multisite mods. I would invision it to look like Slashdot or something similar. That would allow me to login once and write to many places. Unfortunately, the db problem is hard to overcome.\nJust in case, though. Don\u0026rsquo;t use pinakidion.net for a while. I\u0026rsquo;m going to play with converting all this into a portal using the *.pinakidion.net addresses. Right now, all the subdomains are on *.pinakidion.org. If it works, that will be great. If not, well, I have to login to six different places.\nOn a side note, a friend suggested that I go into the naming business. After all, google searches on pinakidion and sycarion point overwhelmingly my sites. Pretty soon, I\u0026rsquo;ll have a third. If you need to name something, let me know. I won\u0026rsquo;t charge, I promise.\n","date":"24 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-24-the-portal/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Portal","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s not that I don\u0026rsquo;t talk about politics. I frequently do as a matter of course. The thing is, I don\u0026rsquo;t post about it, usually. The politics I spend my time with involve local affairs - mayor, local representative to Congress, state senator, M.U.D. board, etc. These thing affect me most and are pretty much worthy of my attention. National politics, on the other hand, affect society, but not me as much. My sporadic attempts to talk about national politics betray my ignorance.\nWhat is different this time is that a book is saying something that I have believed in part for a long time. I believe the Religious Right has come to believe that real Christians support the Republican party. I\u0026rsquo;ve had experience with the implied threat to be like other real Christians. The only difference was party affiliation. The Religious Right wants us all to be Republicans of the most conservative sort. The ICoC wanted us to all be disciples(htdm) of the most radical sort.\nNo thanks, I\u0026rsquo;ve starred in that movie with editorial control over the script.\nThe book, Thy Kingdom Come, is written by one of the editors of Christianity Today. He talks about the origins of both the Religious Right and of Evangelical Christianity. I look forward to reading it at some point.\n","date":"23 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-23-interesting-book-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Interesting Book","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today we\u0026rsquo;re testing the fire alarm system. It\u0026rsquo;s done about six times a year. For some reason it has to be done during the daytime. This means a 90+ dB alarm going off every few minutes from 8:30 to whenever. Sometimes the bursts come less than a minute apart.\nIt would be bearable if the alarm was not in my office.\nAt least I interview for the DBA job today. Yay!\n","date":"21 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-21-at-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"At Work","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was apporached today to write a set of concerns about the Unity Agreement. The initial question was, \u0026ldquo;How do you feel about the direction of the church?\u0026rdquo;\nI was honest - my only real concern at this point is that we signed the UP. However, I believe the leadership is doing the best they can to take care of folks, find a new minister, and provide direction for the church. It\u0026rsquo;s why I keep attending and giving contribution when I can - I want to be with these people. I enjoy the community and I want my son to be like the good qualities in the folks I know here. This church also provides spiritual stability for my wife and I\u0026rsquo;m glad she is beginning to experience community. I\u0026rsquo;ve been called an adopted son-in-law today, in addition to other nice things like \u0026lsquo;first-time father\u0026rsquo;. (My wife is the adopted daughter).\nWe discussed it for awhile. I wish people were not hurt by the decision I made about my membership, but I understand why they would feel that way. I don\u0026rsquo;t fault them for that. I feel terrible about it myself. I keep praying that I am not doing the right thing so that I can just say, \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m being pig-headed\u0026rdquo; and go back to the way things used to be.\nThere was no condemnation, but a very reasonable and heartfelt exchange. I didn\u0026rsquo;t get angry, though I did get sad. I do not like seeing a friend hurt. I do not like feeling like I am the cause of it, especially over a piece of paper.\nTo this end, I was asked to write a list of greivances. That part was pretty easy and we even agreed on a couple of issues. I\u0026rsquo;ll provide the list sometime soon. Because this is something more or less official, it won\u0026rsquo;t be of the diary-quality stuff I write here. I record my thoughts at one given point in time here. This will be the serious version and not the I-can\u0026rsquo;t-believe-we\u0026rsquo;re-returning-to-our-own-vomit version.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve since learned that one church that recently was recorded as a signing church was nearly split in half over this issue. There appeared to be no neutral ground. The resolution involved at least one Big Name(TM) that isn\u0026rsquo;t a part of the Gang of Nine. The solution was to sign the UP, but produce a list of caveats and issues. That is, in essence, what I have been asked to write.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t know how that was neutral ground, but if it worked for them, I hope it will work for me. Then again, no one said for me to write this and then reconsider my membership. I hope for the best.\n","date":"19 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-19-a-set-of-concerns/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Set of Concerns","type":"posts"},{"content":"WikiHow is a wonderful website. True, a reader needs to exercise caution as some of information is dubious at best. However, as far as practical guides go, it is pretty well done.\nToday\u0026rsquo;s entry involves helping a friend that\u0026rsquo;s been arrested. Past entries have ranged from Making a Lava Lamp with Household Items to simple recipes to origami.\nEnjoy!\n","date":"19 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-19-because-you-never-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Because You Never Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife has provided an entire weekend of Father\u0026rsquo;s Day for me. Have I mentioned lately that I married a wonderful woman? Really? Well, I have married a wonderful woman.\nYesterday was a chance to have a mid-morning date. We also saw the Pixar film Cars. Today, I had a great Stout produced by Upstreams and a great roast beef sandwich. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t a Guiness Stout, but it was brewed locally. I got to spend time at home playing with our son. To that end, I got a new toy for us - a marionette of a siamese cat. Considering how much our son loves our real siamese cat, he loved the puppet. More than anything, I enjoyed knowing that I was making him laugh for quite some time.\nTonight, my wife made a linguine served with marina sauce made with zucchini and turkey Italian sausage. I thought her lasanga was wonderful. Then again, with all the stuff fresh from the Farmer\u0026rsquo;s Market\u0026hellip;\nLife is good. I feel like I have been honored by my wife all weekend. As it says in Proverbs, what man can find anything better?\n","date":"19 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-19-fathers-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Father's Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife and I are walking along late this afternoon in a shopping complex when a security person in an SUV stops his vehicle and motions for us to walk towards him. I quickly checked a few things because this seemed like strange behavior for an officer towards my wife. I don\u0026rsquo;t have long hair currently. I\u0026rsquo;m not in a car, so seatbelts are not an issue. I\u0026rsquo;m not showing my midriff. My son is happy. My wife and I are both walking on the sidewalk. I haven\u0026rsquo;t stolen anything. I didn\u0026rsquo;t spit.\nIn short, I\u0026rsquo;m wondering why on earth security needs me. In my past, this is 9 times out of 10, a bad thing.\nHe said, \u0026ldquo;I just had to tell you that your son is very cute.\u0026rdquo; He went on to explain that he had a six month old at home and that his child and ours both have really big eyes.\nWhat a great day this has been. I have official confirmation that our son is so cute that he can literally stop a moving vehicle.\nYeah, I also saw Cars, but our son is totally cute. And it\u0026rsquo;s not just me saying that.\n","date":"18 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-18-your-son-is-cute/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Your Son is Cute","type":"posts"},{"content":"But I\u0026rsquo;ve decided that the President\u0026rsquo;s approval is so low, he should just aim for zero. A co-worker and I struggled to figure out how this was even possible. It seemed that doing nothing would make some people think better of him. It also seems that any action that upsets one constiuency(sp) will please another. After much thought, though, we propose the following agenda to acheive single-digit popularity ratings:\n1. Build a wall between Siberia and Alaska for security. As part of a Homeland Security Initiative, this wall will serve to keep out terrorists that attempt to walk across the Bering Straight to infiltrate our country. Once in Alaska, a prospective terrorist would only have to make their way through Canada to reach the lower 48.\nThis would upset Russia, Alaska, and Canada. It could also potentially upset Native Americans.\n2. Join the EU. Tell the world that we are abondoning the dollar for the Euro in two years.\nThis will alienate the Religious Right, any economist worth his/her salt, Europe, China, Japan\u0026hellip; Basically almost everyone.\nAs a coup de grace, we figure that the last resort is simply to immediately kill Medicare and Social Security, but require all current workers aged 18 or older to contribute until they die.\nJust goes to show how difficult it is to go lower than 30% approval rating. Picking on a reporter with visual problems can almost get you there.\n","date":"15 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-15-i-should-know-better/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Should Know Better","type":"posts"},{"content":"We do what we must, and call it by the best names.\nRalph Waldo Emerson\n","date":"15 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-15-quote-of-the-days-or-so/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote of the Days (or so)","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know what your book says about him, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean that it is true. Listen here, Mark, I know that you think everything in books is true, but that just idn\u0026rsquo;t so. This guy writes about local history, but he weren\u0026rsquo;t here to live it. He\u0026rsquo;s from New Jersey. What does he know about us? Nothing. Not a dang thing. Take for instance what he says about Buffalo City, or what he don\u0026rsquo;t say. They had a train stop that went to Atlanta and Charleston. He don\u0026rsquo;t even mention that, but he sure goes to a lot of trouble to talk about all the stores they had and the electrical lights and all that modern stuff. Daddy told me all about Buffalo City. Your Grandma lived there. While your Grandpa was courting her, he would drive up there and try to sound all up-to-date by naming all the new stuff they had and bragging about how he knew how to work the new washing machines.\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s another story, and you idn\u0026rsquo;t at all interested in stuff like that.\nSee, Matherson did a lot for us back when we didn\u0026rsquo;t have nothing. So the way this Scott Myrick talks about him is a disgrace and it just idn\u0026rsquo;t true. It just idn\u0026rsquo;t true. Besides, Scott didn\u0026rsquo;t grow up around here and he just don\u0026rsquo;t know.\nWell Mark, if you want a book to tell you and not your own Pop, then let me get a book of this old shelf here that explains it all clear. Daddy wrote this book some years ago. He kind of did it in honor of Matherson just before he died about 20 years ago. Daddy wanted to set the record straight after they almost sent him to prison for bootlegging. (I say almost because a certain Lawrence Needham had a heart attack on the witness stand.) I wish you could\u0026rsquo;ve met Matherson, Mark. He was a great ma\u0026ndash;\nDag blast it Deuteronomy, get out of my lap. Can\u0026rsquo;t you see I\u0026rsquo;m trying to read this book?\nWhat?\nAlright, get yourself comfortable on the armrest you blasted old cat.\nNow, now, that\u0026rsquo;s enough of that, settle down. You crazy, good-fer-nothing - I suppose you knew I was going to talk about your father again. You\u0026rsquo;re just like him, yes you are. You\u0026rsquo;re as old as the hills and crazier than anything.\nWhere was I \u0026ndash; Oh yeah. Like I said, Matherson was a great man. He sure helped a lot of people back during World War II. Anyways, Daddy fancied himself an author, so he sat down and wrote The Definitive History of the People of the Outer Banks. The women bought it for the recipes and the men bought it to see what Daddy said about them. But he didn\u0026rsquo;t write it for everybody living around here. He wrote to people who don\u0026rsquo;t understand the way we do things and call things. Somewhere in the beginning, he\u0026rsquo;s got somethi\u0026ndash; Here it is. Look at this Mark.\nPronunciation Guide to Outer Banks Place Names\nChicamicomico chick-uh-muh-CAHM-ee-co\nRodanthe row-DAN-thee (th as in thisle)\nBodie Island BAH-dee EYE-land\nDasamankapeck daas-uh-muhn-KAY-pik\nCorolla ca-RAH-la\nManteo MAN-tee-oh (not man-TAY-oh)\nAnyway, you want to know about Matherson, flip over here and read what really happened.\nFrom chapter 4 of The Definitive History of the People of the Outer Banks\nA Brief Note Regarding Jeremiah Levi Matherson\nJeremiah moved down to the Outer Banks in September of 1937 shortly before the Prince of Serbia was assassinated. Jeremiah owned and operated a general store since then around where milepost 16 is today. The store opened in 1938 and despite all odds, his store did well.\nWhen he arrived, he was a man of 48. He was a tall heavy-built man with a short military cut and graying hair. Some have made the comparison to Clint Eastwood, but Jeremiah was thicker in build. He talked with a slow Virginian accent, but had clear elocution. He was a respected man in the entire community, even until the day he died on March 6, 1988 at the age of 96.\nTo best describe the man, however, one has to know the history of Matherson, NC. It\u0026rsquo;s a small dot that appears on many of the older maps of the area. There is nothing of great historical significance to this small town, except in the life of its founder, Jeremiah Levi Matherson.\nAn Incident Involved in Causing the Founding of Matherson, NC\nIt must be understood that local history is saturated with pirates, bootleggers, blockade runners and other would-be Robin Hoods; each to his own time and station. Their crimes did not change the fact that they were, by and large, a good and wholesome people. No one missed church on Sunday.\nSo, when a small dot appears on an old map called Matherson on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, do not judge the man in light of recent events. After what has been said about the town\u0026rsquo;s mayor (and founder and fireman and postman), he might be considered a crazy man at best, and a menace at worst.\nThe town itself was not very big, it comprised of two acres of sand, a two story store/house and a rusty old Model T the children called the Firetruck. The two acres of sand had a few tress dotted here and there, but was unsuitable for any agriculture or grazing of animals. The Model T was a 1907 and had the reputation for carrying around the Wright Brothers when they returned to performtheir experiments a few years after making their historic first flight at Kitty Hawk. When it came to rest in front of the General Store, it\u0026rsquo;s reputation declined to that of a mailbox.\nThe General Store was the only structure around for miles. He was advised not to build it at all by Elmer Beecham and his boys, but when he decided to put it up, they helped with the construction. It was a two story building without a cellar. Jeremiah lived upstairs and the store was located downstairs opening up into a large front porch. On the porch, many of the town\u0026rsquo;s leading men could be found playing checkers and clabberjasz with the occasional game of pinochle. Among the most frequent visitors were Judge Tillett, Officer Jeffrey Etheridge, his brother Bobby and Mark Pritchett, the card player. The other mainstay of the front porch was Numbers, Jeremiah\u0026rsquo;s grizzled old six-toed gray tom cat that guarded the front door of the store. Whenever anyone visited Jeremiah, you had to pay your respects to Numbers. Otherwise, he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t let you in.\nThe store was always full of good food like pig, chicken and the occasional ground beef. The most popular section of the store, however, was the cooler full of Coca-Colas to the right of the door just as a person would leave the store. If you bought enough merchandise, Matherson would give you one or two for free. Even during World War II, the store stayed full.\nShortly after the ration system started in the US, a new sheriff came to town. He wanted to be called Sheriff Needham, so that was what he was called. He had noticed that an occasional customer or two seemed to be leaving with more than the allotted cheese rations. He also noticed that people purchased some items that he wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure were legal to buy or not. Sheriff Needham had been known in Atlanta for being a very tough policeman that always got the job done. His curiousity about Matherson\u0026rsquo;s store was enough for him to come out of retirement. At least come out of retirement this one last time. After becoming sheriff, he started to investigate Matherson.\nOfficer Zachary Taylor was in charge of the investigation. He would use the most modern surveillance techniques on every stakeout of Matherson. He became an expert at camouflage and even discovered a way to stay hidden behind trees thinner than he was. Zachary would always talk about how he read that the FBI used this tactic or this special device to catch suspected criminals. Since the department was low on resources, he convinced the local government offices to drink plenty of Ovaltine, so that they could get their equipment by ordering from programs on the radio. (He sounded just like the announcer when he would query, \u0026ldquo;Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?\u0026rdquo;) Zachary had planned to swoop down and arrest the prime suspect in the Matherson case when Jeremiah was least suspecting.\nOne day, in the course of the investigation, Jeremiah noticed Officer Zachary trying to spy from the thornbush in front of the porch.\n\u0026ldquo;Judge, is that legal in this state?\u0026rdquo; asked Jeremiah.\n\u0026ldquo;Well, it can be if they figure that you\u0026rsquo;ve done something. But Zach\u0026rsquo;s been doing this for a couple of weeks and hasn\u0026rsquo;t found anything. If you took them downtown, you\u0026rsquo;d win.\u0026rdquo; Judge Tillett paused to ponder his next move. Then looking at Jeffrey Etheridge he said, \u0026ldquo;But just remember Jeremiah, there ain\u0026rsquo;t no law against being stupid.\u0026rdquo;\nBy this time, in full view of all the leading men of Dare County, he had sneaked to the side of the porch and waited hoping to overhear Matherson incriminating himself. Everyone kept on playing checkers for about 30 minutes until Jeremiah came out of the store with two Coca-Colas. He walked over to the edge of the porch, leaned over and handed an unsuspecting Officer Zachary one of them.\n\u0026ldquo;After a hard day of policing, you deserve a coke-cola. Besides, if I was a snake, I\u0026rsquo;d a-bit you sometime ago. \u0026quot;\nThus ended the criminal investigation by Officer Zachary Taylor.\nNow Jeffrey Etheridge had laughed because he knew that he was much smarter. He had been playing checkers on the porch for some time in order to gain their\nconfidence. He figured that he was now one of \u0026rsquo;them\u0026rsquo;. He had always thought that he would get more information using his way. Now that Zach was gone, he hoped that they would finally start talking about Matherson\u0026rsquo;s supplier or about the expected shipment. But, since they had made fun of a fellow officer, he decided that he needed to defend his compatriot.\n\u0026ldquo;Now you don\u0026rsquo;t run a crooked checker game do you Matherson?\u0026rdquo; he blurted out. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s a felony offense to gamble.\u0026rdquo; Jeffrey knew that he had said the wrong thing, especially with Judge Tillett sitting directly across from him. At this point, though, he had to make good with his threat as best he could.\nDrawing himself up to his full height, he swaggered around the porch (thumbs in belt loops) saying, \u0026ldquo;Now cheating is a felony offense. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to say nothing, but I have lost five straight times and that just don\u0026rsquo;t happen. I suspect that there is foul play involved and I have my suspects.\u0026rdquo;\nHe continued carefully eyeing everyone in an attempt to stare them down. After a few more minutes of testy silence, he said, \u0026ldquo;Now I would not suspect Your Honor,\u0026rdquo; he said looking at Judge Tillett, \u0026ldquo;you beat me fair and square. But there is an EX-CONVICT among us. Maybe he would know something about some gambling goin\u0026rsquo;s-on. In fact, I would almost say that\u0026ndash;\u0026rdquo;\nJeremiah interrupted saying, \u0026ldquo;Now Jeffrey, that was out of line. I\u0026rsquo;m going to have to ask you to kindly leave.\u0026rdquo;\nOfficer Jeffrey Etheridge quit swaggering and jerked his head at Jeremiah, \u0026ldquo;Now listen here you numbers running, backstabbing convict, if I had wanted your\nworthless opinion, I\u0026rsquo;d have asked for it. Now I am an ON-DUTY officer and I can sit wherever I want as long as I\u0026rsquo;m on a case. You got all kinds of things runnin\u0026rsquo; in and out of this store and it don\u0026rsquo;t make no sense. I aim to find out who you\u0026rsquo;re theivin\u0026rsquo; in order stock this place. People around here think you killed your wife, your lucky I don\u0026rsquo;t dig up the place to look for her body.\u0026rdquo;\nThe now former Sheriff Jeffrey Etheridge is well known as being a gracious speaker and a kindly man to anyone. So many of you may wonder how such terrible\nthings can come out of his mouth.\nThe transformation of a man of ignoble character begins at this point.\nJeremiah was visibly upset, but he calmly strode toward Jeff until he was a moment away from his face. \u0026ldquo;Now Jeff, I was in prison and everybody knows that. If you want to know where I buy my stuff, all you had to do was ask. \u0026quot; His voice began to rise, \u0026ldquo;But I did not run any numbers in my past and I do not run numbers now. I have not ever betrayed my friends and most of the time I\u0026rsquo;ve ever treated people that don\u0026rsquo;t like me pretty well.\u0026rdquo; Materson began to be visibly upset as he continued, \u0026ldquo;Now you listen to me and you listen good – I have done things in my life I am not proud of, but I do not cheat anyone, I do not gamble, I do not talk about people behind their back, and whatever people may think around here, I CERTAINLY DID NOT KILL MY WIFE! \u0026quot; Jeffrey\u0026rsquo;s eyes got very large as Jeremiah continued, \u0026ldquo;If you weren\u0026rsquo;t an officer, I\u0026rsquo;d strike you down right now. What do you know about me, what do YOU know about anything? I robbed a bank. I did my time and paid my price.\u0026rdquo; Jeremiah drew a deep breath before adding, \u0026ldquo;NOW GET OFF MY PORCH!\u0026rdquo;\nOfficer Jeffrey was about to comment when Jeremiah turned and grabbed him by the ear. \u0026ldquo;All right. You want to act like a child, I\u0026rsquo;ll treat you like a child.\u0026rdquo; And before anyone could react, Jeremiah had thrown him off the porch by his ear. Jeffrey had muttered something, but he gave no defense and quietly escaped into the background.\n* * * * *\nAbout two weeks later, while Jeremiah was putting a sign down in front of the Firetruck, Sheriff Needham arrived with a search warrant.\nSheriff Needham was a thin man with an annoying nasal voice. Most people would give him what he wanted just because they didn\u0026rsquo;t want to hear him speak. He looked to be about thirty for most of his life because his stayed a healthy dark brown. The only way people could ever tell that he was getting older, was that his glasses got thicker. He was generally not regarded as pleasant until you got to know him very well.\nTwo weeks after Jeffrey\u0026rsquo;s Transformation, Sheriff Needham arrived to search the store and the upstairs apartment for illegal whiskey. Jeremiah never looked up while Needham peered over his thin horned rimmed glasses.\n\u0026ldquo;Stop right there, Lawrence Needham.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;My name is Sheriff Needham and I am here to serve out a search warrant for illegal whiskey. We have sufficient cause to search the premises. Would you like me to search with you, or detain you while I look?\u0026rdquo;\nAfter a pause, Jeremiah continued sinking the sign. \u0026ldquo;Lawrence,\u0026rdquo; he said, \u0026ldquo;you are out of your jurisdiction. This here is the glorious town of Matherson, North Carolina. As mayor, I have already refused the service of local police and county sheriffs in lieu of our own local police force. In order to serve the warrant, you must contact the Chief of Police in Matherson, NC.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Now Jeremiah,\u0026rdquo; he said, \u0026ldquo;don\u0026rsquo;t be foolish. I am the sheriff and I am in charge around here. Now step aside so I can serve this warrant and knock off this foolishness.\u0026rdquo;\nJeremiah grabbed the sheriff by the ankle to stop him, but Sheriff Needham was so startled he fell. \u0026ldquo;Excuse me, but you are disturbing the peace in this town and I am going to have to kindly ask you to leave. I suggest you do so before you are arrested.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Why\u0026rsquo;d you do a fool thing like that!\u0026rdquo; shouted Needham spitting out sand, \u0026ldquo;I told you I have jurisdiction and now all you\u0026rsquo;ve done is make me mad!\u0026rdquo; Sheriff Needham stood up, \u0026ldquo;I was going to be nice, but now I am going to have to put you under\u0026ndash;\u0026rdquo;\nA gun shot went off. The only sheriff of Matherson, NC marched deliberately towards Sheriff Needham. \u0026ldquo;Sheriff Needham, you are out of your jurisdiction. Now kindly leave. I am sheriff in this town and you are a hair\u0026rsquo;s-breath away from being arrested.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Jeffrey,\u0026rdquo; said Needham, \u0026ldquo;what in the sam-hill are you doing? Get out of my way\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;I am doing my job. I will not ask you again.\u0026rdquo; Sheriff Jeffrey Etheridge stood firm, eyes unmoving, \u0026ldquo;and leave the search warrant with Jeremiah before you go.\u0026rdquo;\nSheriff Needham never did live down that moment and tried to prosecute Jeremiah Matherson for the rest of his life. But that is how the town of Matherson, North Carolina was formed and that is the character of the man named Jeremiah Levi Matherson.\nThroughout the rest of World War II, everyone eventually ended up in Matherson\u0026rsquo;s store because it was the only dependable one. He was sometimes short on butter and milk, but there was plenty of everything else. Even Mrs. Needham began to go there, but without her husband\u0026rsquo;s knowledge, of course. I do not know if he ever violated the ration system or how he came to be the only store that had plenty of food. What is known to every resident of the Outer Banks during that time is that without his little store, we all would\u0026rsquo;ve starved during the war. Instead, Jeremiah saved us all. If this is truly the \u0026ldquo;crazy old man\u0026rdquo; that the press says he is, then the good Lord help al us crazy old men trying to do something for the people of this world.\nSee now Mark, Matherson wasn\u0026rsquo;t a crazy old man like this Scott fellow would like you to think. He helped a lot of people and put up with a lot. You just can\u0026rsquo;t judge a man by his past, Mark. If someone did that to all of us, we\u0026rsquo;d all be crazy. Now you take this book and read it if you want to know the history. I know that this idn\u0026rsquo;t your regular textbook, but I know that it\u0026rsquo;s true. And I don\u0026rsquo;t care one bit what your teacher Mr. Needham says.\n","date":"15 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-15-the-trial-of-jeremiah-levi-matherson/","section":"Posts","summary":"I know what your book says about him, but that doesn’t mean that it is true. Listen here, Mark, I know that you think everything in books is true, but that just idn’t so. This guy writes about local history, but he weren’t here to live it. He’s from New Jersey. What does he know about us? Nothing. Not a dang thing. Take for instance what he says about Buffalo City, or what he don’t say. They had a train stop that went to Atlanta and Charleston. He don’t even mention that, but he sure goes to a lot of trouble to talk about all the stores they had and the electrical lights and all that modern stuff. Daddy told me all about Buffalo City. Your Grandma lived there. While your Grandpa was courting her, he would drive up there and try to sound all up-to-date by naming all the new stuff they had and bragging about how he knew how to work the new washing machines.\nBut that’s another story, and you idn’t at all interested in stuff like that.\n","title":"The Trial of Jeremiah Levi Matherson","type":"posts"},{"content":"Mark was sitting on the front porch of Matherson\u0026rsquo;s store watching the town\u0026rsquo;s most prominent men play cards. Mark wasn\u0026rsquo;t playing today. In fact, it is said that the two surest ways to throw away money are to buy a boat and play cards with Mark Pritchett. Anyway, today he was not in the business of making money for his boat. Instead, he was trying to teach his grandson the art of playing cards. Mark had always considered the art of cards as the one good thing he could give to his children and to their children. (His son Matt made his own way through college.)\n\u0026ldquo;Now Caleb, the first thing you do is play cards where there\u0026rsquo;s a cat. Cats are instinctive. They know who\u0026rsquo;s going to win the money and how long a person\u0026rsquo;s going to play before he leaves.\u0026rdquo;\nCaleb listened on with temporary devotion.\n\u0026ldquo;Now you see Ol\u0026rsquo; Numbers, there? He\u0026rsquo;s been here about as long as I have. Now, he weren\u0026rsquo;t raised no dummy, he knows what he\u0026rsquo;s doing. \u0026quot; Mark paused to catch his breath. \u0026ldquo;Now see,\u0026rdquo; he said pointing to the cat, \u0026ldquo;he\u0026rsquo;s sitting under Zach over there and a-wagging his tail. That means Zach\u0026rsquo;s gonna win, but he ain\u0026rsquo;t gonna play for more than twenty minutes or so. You got that?\u0026rdquo; Mark pointed at Officer Zachary Taylor and Judge Tillett. \u0026ldquo;Now listen very carefully to what they say.\u0026rdquo;\nCaleb nodded and gazed over at the combatants on opposite stage.\n\u0026ldquo;Alright, Judge,\u0026rdquo; Officer Zachary said, \u0026ldquo;you gotta bid.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;With this hand you dealt me? I tell you, Zach, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t bid on this pile of refuse.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Reh what?\u0026rdquo; Officer Zachary asked with rapt attention.\n\u0026ldquo;Refuse, Ref- Oh, never mind. From the looks of these beauties, I\u0026rsquo;m going to have to ask for a schmeiss.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Granddaddy, what\u0026rsquo;s a smiess?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Schmeiss,\u0026rdquo; Mark said, \u0026ldquo;that means the Judge wants Zach to redeal the cards.\u0026rdquo; Leaning farther up on the edge of his chair, he continued, \u0026ldquo;But the rules ain\u0026rsquo;t important, watch the men.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Well, if you\u0026rsquo;re going to press me like that Judge, I\u0026rsquo;m going to have to call Diamonds.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Diamonds?! Zach, someone is really watching over you today.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Why\u0026rsquo;d he say \u0026lsquo;Diamonds\u0026rsquo; Granddaddy?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Shhhh. He said it to call Diamonds the trump suit in this hand, but the rules ain\u0026rsquo;t important. Watch the men Caleb, watch the men.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Well Zach, I\u0026rsquo;ll have to say twenty.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;No good.\u0026rdquo;\nJudge Tillett began to smile in the little corners of his mouth. \u0026ldquo;Maybe a ray of sunshine is coming this way.\u0026rdquo; He then scored himself twenty points.\n\u0026ldquo;The Judge is about to get stomped. You see that smile on Judge Tillett\u0026rsquo;s face? He thinks he\u0026rsquo;s got a hand now even though he don\u0026rsquo;t. Now let\u0026rsquo;s see what happens to his little smile now.\u0026rdquo; Three more cards were dealt. \u0026ldquo;There it went,\u0026rdquo; Mark laughed to himself, \u0026ldquo;He\u0026rsquo;ll be lucky to take a trick. That, Caleb, is a man with no diamonds.\u0026rdquo;\nCaleb quit enjoying the spectacle his grandfather saw. It was just a fancier way of playing Go Fish to him. So, he decided to put the time he was spending with Mark to better use.\n\u0026ldquo;You and Numbers always lived here, Granddaddy?\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Yep. We\u0026rsquo;ve been here our whole lives.\u0026rdquo; Mark pulled his eyes away from the card game to look at Caleb. \u0026ldquo;I ain\u0026rsquo;t never been off of this island except during the war. You\u0026rsquo;d of loved Paris. About this time of year, all the flowers are in bloom and everybody is outdoors. Those French people are real nice and they were really glad to see us.\nYou know, I remember my friend Rodney. We\u0026rsquo;d pile into some stranger\u0026rsquo;s car and circle the Arc D\u0026rsquo;Triumph shouting about Hitler and what a windbag he was. Other times, we\u0026rsquo;d talk to the ambulance drivers, most of them were Americans, and try to figure out what to do before we had to move out to the front. One time, Rodney said, \u0026ndash;\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;Said what, Granddaddy?\u0026rdquo;\nMark breathed a heavy sigh. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s not important, Caleb. That was a long time ago.\u0026rdquo; Looking up, he brightened. \u0026ldquo;See that? They\u0026rsquo;ve only played a couple of tricks and the Judge knows that he\u0026rsquo;s lost big time. You can tell by the way he\u0026rsquo;s holding his cards. It\u0026rsquo;s the eyes, too, boy. They never lie. You can always tell about a man by his eyes.\u0026rdquo;\nInterrupting, Caleb said, \u0026ldquo;What happened to Rodney in Paris, Granddaddy?\u0026rdquo;\nOl\u0026rsquo; Numbers had wandered inside the store to take his mid-afternoon snack. After two more hands of cards, Officer Zachary told the judge that he had some official business to take care of, so the two men parted company after long good-byes. Birds mutely chirped in the nearby trees and the wind produced a small gust causing Mark\u0026rsquo;s thinning hair to ruffle slightly. Matherson decided to come out on the porch since Officer Zachary had now left. He brought out two Coke-Colas and gave one to Judge Tillett.\nThe Sun traveled a little less than a degree in the sky.\n\u0026ldquo;So did Rodney die, Granddaddy?\u0026rdquo; Caleb asked too loudly.\nMark was back in Paris during the war. He remembered asking Rodney if he wanted to play Go Fish to pass the time. All that Rodney said was that Mark needed to learn how to play serious cards. \u0026lsquo;That\u0026rsquo;s how it began\u0026rsquo; Mark mused. They had talked several times of staying in Paris. Rodney was engaged to some French beauty and Mark was trying to court three women at the same time. They had figured on going into business running a nightclub or working for Rodney\u0026rsquo;s future father-in-law or maybe even moving to Madrid. They had so many plans to take over the world\u0026hellip; and it all started when Mark asked if he wanted to pl\u0026ndash;\n\u0026ldquo;Huh, what?\u0026rdquo; started Mark coming out of a dream.\n\u0026ldquo;I SAY DO YOU WANT TO PLAY SOME CARDS?\u0026rdquo; shouted Matherson.\n\u0026ldquo;Oh, uh, sure, Jeremiah.\u0026rdquo; He said while traveling back to the present, \u0026ldquo;Just deal them out,\u0026rdquo; he whispered.\nOl\u0026rsquo; Numbers came out of the big front door and jumped into Mark\u0026rsquo;s lap. Absent-mindedly, Mark began to scratch between his ears. Picking up his cards, he stared at the fistful of diamonds in his hand.\n","date":"13 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-13-fistful-of-diamonds/","section":"Posts","summary":"Mark was sitting on the front porch of Matherson’s store watching the town’s most prominent men play cards. Mark wasn’t playing today. In fact, it is said that the two surest ways to throw away money are to buy a boat and play cards with Mark Pritchett. Anyway, today he was not in the business of making money for his boat. Instead, he was trying to teach his grandson the art of playing cards. Mark had always considered the art of cards as the one good thing he could give to his children and to their children. (His son Matt made his own way through college.)\n“Now Caleb, the first thing you do is play cards where there’s a cat. Cats are instinctive. They know who’s going to win the money and how long a person’s going to play before he leaves.”\nCaleb listened on with temporary devotion.\n“Now you see Ol’ Numbers, there? He’s been here about as long as I have. Now, he weren’t raised no dummy, he knows what he’s doing. \" Mark paused to catch his breath. “Now see,” he said pointing to the cat, “he’s sitting under Zach over there and a-wagging his tail. That means Zach’s gonna win, but he ain’t gonna play for more than twenty minutes or so. You got that?” Mark pointed at Officer Zachary Taylor and Judge Tillett. “Now listen very carefully to what they say.”\n","title":"Fistful of Diamonds","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife and I watched Arabian Nights on Sci-Fi this past weekend. It reminded us of our desire to search out our story in the Bible and tell stories to each other. When we speak of biblical things, it is often in a story. However, we have not recently told stories to each other.\nLast night, she told the story of a dancer emerging. We hummed the Nutcracker Suite and danced in the living room. We talked about how we could grow closer to God and enjoyed a nice stir-fry dinner.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to the story, of course, but it was a beautiful time. I\u0026rsquo;ve told old pirate stories and shared from a collection of short stories about my home. She has retold Patrick McManus stories and tales of braving the boundary waters in northern Minnesota. Recently, though, we have enjoyed telling stories once again.\nPart of it is growing up with stories. Both of us did. My wife\u0026rsquo;s family did not watch TV, our family did, but our relatives told all kinds of tales. We look forward to passing on this part of both our heritages with our family.\nI look forward to sharing more stories, especially those of our son. He is my parent\u0026rsquo;s revenge: he is stubborn like his old man.\nFor the near future, I\u0026rsquo;ll post the stories I wrote almost 15 years ago about my hometown (in an alternate universe.)\n","date":"13 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-13-stories-at-home/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stories at Home","type":"posts"},{"content":"an apology.\nCompare the terms of repentance with the ones stated below by the group of 84:\nWe challenge you to make your life match your teaching and your doctrine. Because we have had so many conversations with you about these things over many, many years, and so that you clearly know there is a way for you to repent, we challenge you to repent in these specific ways:\nPrint, publicly apologize for and stop:\nYour continued pride, arrogance and anger.\nYour selfish ambition, seeking to be first and continually drawing attention to yourself in your sermons, your publications and your conversations.\nJudging and condemning other churches. As pointed out in the Seattle letter to you, the slander towards the New York City Church was never repented of. Numerous other examples litter your writings and speeches.\nBlaming other people for many of the problems you helped author that are making many of our churches weak.\nCausing division among faithful Christians by “calling out the remnant” and starting churches where there are existing churches of disciples.\nRecruiting people to move to Portland and dividing people from their church families in order to start new congregations in the same city.\nBlaming other people for the problems in your own family.\nThe immoral ethics of sinning deliberately now and asking for forgiveness later.\nTake these steps to turn around and guard your heart for the future:\nIdentify a group of five of your lifelong peers who have confronted you on your sin and whom you are willing to submit to for discipling your life, your heart and your ministry.\nUse your website to promote all people, churches and messages that are biblical and that are advancing the gospel in any way.\nBuild your ministry through planting and watering in your own city. Renounce recruiting and playing politics with the ministry.\nRegularly invite into your ministry mature brothers who know you well, will speak the truth in love and who are committed to brotherhood unity, biblical doctrine and to evangelism.\nPublish a statement with the approval of the five brothers in your peer discipling group (see #1) affirming: a. Your repentance and godly sorrow b. Your commitment to cooperate with other churches who have the same convictions without your claiming a leadership role and without your having to dominate others. c. Your commitment to each of the above on this repentance list.\nReconcile with the churches you have offended.\nSo why will he listen to DA instead of the other 84? (Doug Arthur was not one of the original 84 or even the 64 from the first letter). How long will he submit himself to the Baltimore Doug\u0026rsquo;s?\nIn a way, I feel sorry for them - they were trying to bridge the Kip churches and the rest of the ICoC. In about two or three months, when Baltimore doesn\u0026rsquo;t grow faster than Portland or when some other criteria is not met: he\u0026rsquo;ll turn on them as well. I regret that in my own life, I usually learn things the hard way. What\u0026rsquo;s going to happen to the Baltimore Doug\u0026rsquo;s is really hard - the real faith-shattering type of hard. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t wish that on anyone.\n","date":"12 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-12-and-now-for-something-completely-different/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"And Now for Something Completely Different","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve spent a lot of time lately writing variations of simple games. It\u0026rsquo;s not that there\u0026rsquo;s a budding gaming company in the works, I don\u0026rsquo;t think its there. It\u0026rsquo;s just an outlet really. I haven\u0026rsquo;t had much of an outlet for a long time and it feels good to expend energy on creating/tweaking something.\nI say tweaking because there\u0026rsquo;s more modifying involved as opposed to creation.\nIt helps me appreciate the wonder of God that he did and does create. Look at the variation of the species - eight new scorpions found recently, huge squid in the South Pacific, bacteria that live in superhot places, it\u0026rsquo;s amazing the diversity. There\u0026rsquo;s also the details involved - every gorilla has a unique nose print, salmon swim back to the place they were born, miles of various tubing in the human body, and much more. God created all of it. God planned it and spoke it into existence. That\u0026rsquo;s cool to me.\nMaybe that\u0026rsquo;s why I was attracted to aspects of LDS(Mormons) Mysticism some time ago. The idea that God created other world and allowed us as ascended being to create other worlds has strong attraction for me. I\u0026rsquo;ll be the first to ask God for a holodeck in Heaven. In retrospect, I think I preferred the holodeck in Heaven rather than my own pocket universe because I knew the creation inside the holodeck wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be real. Saying \u0026ldquo;End Program\u0026rdquo; wouldn\u0026rsquo;t kill anyone or harm anyone. It is essentially smoke and mirrors. Having my own pocket universe, though, that\u0026rsquo;s serious stuff. Can you create a universe and produce Universe 2.0 some years later? Could you really tell your first creation that they are now obsolete? In essence, I enjoy examining and playing with ideas, something best done on paper rather than flesh and blood (whatever forms that may take). Anyway, I\u0026rsquo;ve said all this before, so it\u0026rsquo;s nothing new. Just rambling along on a Monday.\n","date":"12 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-12-recent-ideas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recent Ideas","type":"posts"},{"content":"We learned about a simple test this weekend that is useful to parents. The Ling 6 test covers the spectrum of English sounds in order to give an accurate representation of a child’s hearing. Instead of testing for volume, it also tests for frequency. The initial sounds are lower frequency and they work their way up to higher frequencies.\nA better explanation is here:\nFor example, if your child suddenly has difficulty with sh and ss sounds, it can help to diagonse a change in your child’s hearing or a malfunction in the hearing equipment. Normally, we test just to see if the battery isn’t dead, however, this test allows anyone to get a snapshot of hearing at any one time.\nIt is critical to use this test everyday. The provided link also gives instructions for giving the test. It’s important that in a quiet environment, the child signifies that they hear the sound without repeating it back to you. It is also important that they do not see your face when making the sound, otherwise, they could be imitating a visual cue instead of actually responding to what they are hearing.\n","date":"7 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-07-ling-6-test/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ling 6 Test","type":"posts"},{"content":"President Bush is in town today. Our local newspaper, of course, told everyone where he is staying creating the need for insane security anywhere near downtown. Thanks, guys.\nWhat strikes me as odd as I make my rare foray into politics, is that I received a survey from the Democratic Party National Committee yesterday while I was out of town. The survey was full of false dilemmas, so I answered \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t Know\u0026rdquo; for most of the questions. However, they did provide a space to write my thoughts. They assured me that they would listen regardless of whether or not I sent a $35 check.\nAhem.\nSo this is what I said to the DNC without sending a check.\nTo the DNC:\nI appreciate your concern over my views as a registered Democrat in the state of Nebraska. This is considered a predominantly Republican state as evidenced by George W. Bush\u0026rsquo;s several visits here. Given the space provided, I wish to share three basic thoughts with you.\nThe country is starving for someone with integrity. Substance is more important than presentation. The Northeast corner of the US does not represent the Democratic party. Integrity Many people I know bought into the image of President Clinton as \u0026ldquo;Slick Willie\u0026rdquo;. Despite the irrelevance of the Monica Lewinsky ordeal, seeing him attempt to parse a two-letter word damaged what little integrity he was perceived to have. Real people know what is \u0026ldquo;is\u0026rdquo;. Al Gore was too connected with President Clinton to be perceived as having integrity, though his term as senator demonstrated he had some. Senator Kennedy is shown to get a lot of work done, but he has never successfully run for office because of Chappaquidick. (Turns out he ran in 1980. Oops!) I can think of only a few Democrats senator that can be perceived as having integrity - and no, one is not Senator Leiberman. I\u0026rsquo;ll talk about them later.\nFact is, Senator McCain is one of the few politicians perceived as having at least some integrity. For awhile, he was perceived as wanting to do the right thing instead of the party thing. Fortunately for you, he is now trying to make the Religious Right happy. Doing things like speaking at Liberty Unviersity\u0026rsquo;s graduation is an attempt to make everyone in the GOP like him and repair riffs with Rev. Falwell, Pat Robertson, and the like. As I said, you\u0026rsquo;re lucky he is doing that as Democrats have fewer candidates that represent integrity at all. Sen Obama comes close - his appearance on the Daily Show was frank and to the point, as well as appropriately funny.\nFind someone with integrity. Senator Hillary Clinton is not that person. John Edwards is not that person. Senator Kerry is not that person. Chairman Dean is not that person. It is important that this person with integrity is new to the media and the country at large. The faces you are currently touting to run for President in 2008 will all lose barring the GOP appoints a person viewed as having less integrity or if they nominate Governor Jeb Bush.\nSubstance A better word might be gravitas. No politician of superstar status is seen as having much gravitas. It\u0026rsquo;s no wonder really. The DNC invented an issue labelled \u0026rsquo;electability\u0026rsquo;. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t a real word before 2000 and it wasn\u0026rsquo;t used exhaustively until 2004. Whatever you think it takes for a person to be elected is completely wrong. Chairman Dean said that the reason we lost in 2004 was that the message didn\u0026rsquo;t get out. People of all parties laughed at that response as is was so far from reality as to be ludicrous.\nWe lost because we presented no one with much substance. Senator Kerry had some substance to him, but the label of flip-flopper stuck. If he runs again, that label will stick again. The VP candidate was a half-term senator chosen because of his youth and glibness. Youth and glibness do not win elections. If they did, why did Americans vote for George W. Bush in the first place? He is neither young nor glib. In fact, there is a cottage industry centered around his misuse of the English language. No, Dubya was seen as having more substance than Kerry for a variety of reasons. That is not saying much - comparing two anthills when you\u0026rsquo;re looking for a skyscraper has the same feeling.\nFortunately for us, the GOP has bought into the myth of electability as well. For some reason, they currently believe Senator McCain is not electable. They cannot get General Colin Powell to run, if he ran he would win in the biggest landslide in history. Unless they pull out a wildcard like Hagel (Nebraska) or some successful moderate governor, we are safe. So I beg you to find someone with some gravitas to nominate in 2008.\nWhen I look around the party, I see people like Senator Feingold. He is relatively young. More importantly, he is the only senator that voted against the Patriot Act in 2001. The only one. We should be drumming this fact up with all possible fervor. With the concerns over personal security that have arisen out of the original Patriot Act and its successor, this is crucial. Senator Feingold did something that at the time was extremely unpopular. History has proven him right. No, he\u0026rsquo;s not a moderate, but he has demonstrated that he can do the right thing under pressure.\nTake a look at Senator Byrd. Whenever he is asked a question, he answered plainly and clearly. Listening to him gives people a sense that he knows what is going on in Washington. Again, forget the word electable. I know that he is from West Virginia. I know that he is in his late eighties. I know that he has not been strictly party line in some areas. Great! Sign him up for 2008 now. If you really cannot get past these two irrelevant factors, see if he has a protege and sign him up instead.\nGive Senator Obama some time to serve in Congress. Once he has a couple of terms under his belt, he would also be good. He is all the things you think you like about John Edwards plus he can actually speak for himself and he actually has some experience.\nLet me tell you about myself so that you may understand why I am concerned about substance. I have a good paying job. I make about 49K a year. However, I pay $670 a month for insurance and this insurance only covers 80% of my bills. My son\u0026rsquo;s birth was $112K before insurance because of NICU treatment, surgeries, and other things surrounding his Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome. You know that insurance companies consider a hearing aid \u0026ldquo;a cosmetic enhancement\u0026rdquo;? Mine does, and it\u0026rsquo;s not just here. Why? Blue Cross/Blue Shield is in every state. Their upper management gets bonuses in the millions while their customers are getting insurance that barely allows them to get by. Check it out if you don\u0026rsquo;t believe me - insurance companies do not consider a hearing aid a medical expense. I am a Democrat because I believe that the insurance industry doesn\u0026rsquo;t serve me or most other people in this country. It needs to be changed. Are you going to put up a candidate that just parrots the party-line? Are you going to nominate a person that has mock-outrage at all this, but has been rich his entire life? I want something done, but I won\u0026rsquo;t vote for someone that looks like they are just saying the right things to get elected.\nGive up this electability myth. It is killing you and all the rest of us.\nWho are Democrats? Polls lie. The NE corner of the US doesn\u0026rsquo;t represent the Democratic party. Thinking this way limits the range of input to our detriment. Yes, they should be heard and no, the Midwestern Democrats should not become the new policy police. However, I believe that most independents feel a Democrat has to be in New York or Vermont in order to be a real democrat. This perception has got to go.\nThank you for the opportunity to express my views on the state of our party.\n","date":"7 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-07-the-dnc-and-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The DNC and Me","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is where information my wife and I discover about hard of hearing children will be found. We also hope to provide information for parents of hard of hearing children, especially infants.\nSince our child has perfect cochleas, we are one of the few not really excited about CIs. They are great, but we do not need them and thus we feel a little left out.\nIt is our hope that we can provide a service for others so that they can more readily find good information than we did.\n","date":"7 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-07-welcome-to-the-advocate/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Welcome to The Advocate","type":"posts"},{"content":"and 100 mySQL databases.\nHmmmm. this site is up to 5mb in 2.5 years of usage, so the answer seems obvious.\nStore all the important stuff in addition to the various creative projects.\nAs such, I created The Advocate, a place to store information and links about hard of hearing infants and parents of them. We\u0026rsquo;ve received a lot of help from some truly great people. We have also found ourselves misdirected by a few and left behind in the default answer these days to any hearing loss: cochlear implants.\nOur son has a bone-conducting hearing aid because his cochleas are totally fine. He will either have surgery to correct his ear canals, have some other procedure done currently unknown to us or always have hearing aids. He does not need a CI or an FM transmitter system.\nIn any case, like everything else, I\u0026rsquo;m compartmentalized it and given it its own subdomain because most things here are my life and religious posts.\n","date":"7 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-07-what-to-do-with-500-subdomains/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What To Do with 500 Subdomains","type":"posts"},{"content":"My friend Neil is dying. At this point he has about two to three weeks. He has complete renal failure and now a blood condition will not allow him to get dialysis. Even a kidney donation at this point will not help. I would have gladly given him one.\nI spoke to him yesterday and he is surrounded by friends. An elder is managing the 24 hour schedule of who is with him at all times. Lots of church friends are there. I\u0026rsquo;ve spoken to folks that I haven\u0026rsquo;t spoken to in over a year - I wish we had spoken sooner under better circumstances.\nWhen I spoke to him, he said that he was blessed that he had opportunities to say what needs to be said to everyone. He said that he was glad to be able to say goodbye. We spoke of our mutual respect and friendship. We recounted the days of the two of us travelling all over - I never knew which was of us was the sidekick even though I always drove. We talked about the blessings of life and family and many other things.\nAnd then he said, \u0026ldquo;Goodbye, John\u0026rdquo;.\nI had hoped he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t say it and I have cried every time I think about it. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t the \u0026ldquo;talk to you later goodbye\u0026rdquo;, though we will talk more this week. It was the terminal goodbye.\nI have no fear of seeing him in Heaven - even if my perspective may be different. But I do grieve the loss of my friend. A eulogy will come later, but as he is not yet dead, a review of his life feels premature. What I will say is that I am very sad that I cannot be there, but very happy that we can talk and be there for each other one more time. I think of Heaven and how he will no longer be limited in his body, although he never really allows it to limit him now. (okay, I know technically he\u0026rsquo;ll be in Paradise, suburb of Sheol awaiting the last day and the final resurrection, but you know what I mean). Anyway, I feel conflicted as always - happy that he will soon be home and sad that he is leaving. In some ways, I look forward to him meeting Malcolm Ryan. They will hit it off really well, I think.\n","date":"5 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-05-saying-goodbye/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Saying Goodbye","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was reading an article about Ballmer’s comments on Windows on servers. Apparently, he claimed that Linux was not gaining market share on the server side, and that raised the ire of the Digg community. One poster, however, wanted to find a source of actual sales numbers. His last sentence read, “I\u0026rsquo;m not defending him, but please look for the numbers before calling him an effin liar.”\nI spent ten minutes wondering what the adjective “effin” meant.\nWhen I realized that it was a euphemism, I laughed at myself. Sometimes I can be danged literal.\nI was about to continue on with other things (like paying bills) when I began to think about the use of euphemisms. It’s an age old question – is a euphemism for a profanity profane itself? More pointedly, am I breaking the third commandment by using a euphemism? Am I, as Mennonites contend, not letting my “yea be yea and my no be no” when I use any kind of expletive?\nIn pondering the question, I thought about two series of articles from two different bloggers. The first is a series on “The Little Things” posted on the Cerulean Sanctum. The second is a series on the Sandbridge Creek address and aftermath posted on Christian Unity. The former speaks to the need to focus on the little things because they make a difference in our lives. The latter speaks to the danger of binding inferences, which usually appear in the form of binding little things as divine mandate. (By little things I mean things such as one cup, one loaf, no kitchen attached to the sanctuary, etc, as opposed to big things like the divinity of Jesus.)\nThis also lead me to think about the definition of spiritual depth. The Pharisees defined spiritual depth by the hedge they placed around the Torah. As Jesus remarked, they even tithed their spices. Some Christians define spiritual depth by their wealth of knowledge: Did you know that the word unicorn is used eight time in the KJV(AV1611)? Did you know that God is not mentioned in Esther? Other Christians define depth by what they do. As Paul remarked to the Corinthians, if a person moves mountains, heals the sick, and gives their possessions to the poor and yet doesn’t have love, the actions were meaningless. Still others look for some mystical connection. Talk to any good Kabbalahist and you will find the number of the word ‘love’ and the number of the word ‘oneness’ is the same. That fact means that love is related to oneness, presumably oneness with God. Other items are used as markers of spiritual depth as well. These include length and/or intensity of prayers, amount of liberty, allegorizing the Old Testament, learning Greek and Hebrew (with bonus points for learning Aramaic), reading multiple translations of the Bible, and the rate of gaining ‘new’ insights.\nAll of these things are important, even the mysticism (though not through numerology), but are they spiritual depth? Do they demonstrate spiritual depth even if they are not good measures of spiritual depth?\nWhat does any of this have to do with breaking the third commandment? Good question. My overall thoughts lead me to wonder if focusing on little things like this is truly beneficial. Minutia lead to the fractionalization of the Restoration Movement. Focusing on the little things ultimately led the Pharisees away from God. Is it a good practice to focus on these little things in my life?\n","date":"5 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-05-the-little-things-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Little Things","type":"posts"},{"content":"Stephen Colbert addressed the graduating class of Knox College last Saturday, June 3.\nAside from some of the political satire, he became sincere at the end when he spoke about improv comedy in Second City.\nBut you seem nice enough, so I’ll try to give you some advice. First of all, when you go to apply for your first job, don’t wear these robes. Medieval garb does not instill confidence in future employers—unless you’re applying to be a scrivener. And if someone does offer you a job, say yes. You can always quit later. Then at least you’ll be one of the unemployed as opposed to one of the never-employed. Nothing looks worse on a resume than nothing.\nSo, say “yes.” In fact, say “yes” as often as you can. When I was starting out in Chicago, doing improvisational theatre with Second City and other places, there was really only one rule I was taught about improv. That was, “yes-and.” In this case, “yes-and” is a verb. To “yes-and.” I yes-and, you yes-and, he, she or it yes-ands. And yes-anding means that when you go onstage to improvise a scene with no script, you have no idea what’s going to happen, maybe with someone you’ve never met before. To build a scene, you have to accept. To build anything onstage, you have to accept what the other improviser initiates on stage. They say you’re doctors—you’re doctors. And then, you add to that: We’re doctors and we’re trapped in an ice cave. That’s the “-and.” And then hopefully they “yes-and” you back. You have to keep your eyes open when you do this. You have to be aware of what the other performer is offering you, so that you can agree and add to it. And through these agreements, you can improvise a scene or a one-act play. And because, by following each other’s lead, neither of you are really in control. It’s more of a mutual discovery than a solo adventure. What happens in a scene is often as much a surprise to you as it is to the audience.\nWell, you are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what’s going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say “yes.” And if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who will say “yes” back.\nNow will saying “yes” get you in trouble at times? Will saying “yes” lead you to doing some foolish things? Yes it will. But don’t be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes.”\nAnd that’s The Word.\nStephen Colbert\nI believe that cynics stopped saying yes, much less yes-and because of the chorus of nos. From personal experience, I can tell you that most cynics are sensitive souls that simply wall off reality and people because they are tired of hurting. All of that said, however, it is true that cynicism is a false wisdom. Cynics learn nothing because they already know it all.\nMaybe all a cynic needs is a few yes-and\u0026rsquo;s.\n","date":"5 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-05-yes-and/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Yes-and","type":"posts"},{"content":"Mavinian Cards Work began in May on the Mavinian Deck of Cards, so I\u0026rsquo;m counting it as the May update despite being finished on June 3. They would have been finished on June 2, but I forgot the one cards in all five suits. Consult Sycarion Diversions for more details in printing your own and the background behind these cards.\nA Card Game - Skirmish A variation of War! that basically allow five attacks at a time instead of one. Fortunes in this game change quickly and playtesting showed that the game can be long. More details on Skirmish are on the Sycarion Diversions website here.\nWhat Kind of Poker is This? Not a card game and not a dice game, but wild enough to be unpredictable. The rules need more fine-tuning and playtesters are welcome. This variation of poker has no flushes and uses dice as a fifth suit. Hands range from six of a kind to one pair and feature unusual hands such as the Longtom (a four of a kind and a pair), a four card straight, and a Double Barrell (two sets of three-of-a-kind).\nFor comments about playing Dice Poker or refinement of the rules, please respond to the Dice Poker post on Sycarion.\nLenga The progress on Lenga has been updated. Out of 22 chapters in the outline, five are completed. Much work to do!\nIt has been disheartening lately that Goldrush Games, the creator of the Action! System has had difficulties with their website. The forums have been gone for over a month. Later in June, I hope to offer them space on the Sycarion site.\nDomains I plan to purchase a domain for Sycarion Diversions later this month. I am not certain what address it will be.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all for now. See you at the end of June!\n","date":"3 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-03-may-2006-sycarion-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"May 2006 Sycarion Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"Two more churches respectfully decline the UP.\nCentral New Jersey\nNashville Church\nThat makes about 8 saying no, a 250ish saying yes, and 180ish \u0026ldquo;Still Thinking\u0026rdquo;.\n","date":"2 June 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-06-02-fwiw/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"FWIW","type":"posts"},{"content":"True to my word, I have removed my page of the original article. The apology appears here.\nI tend to be passive-aggresive. This time I (and others) chose to write to the people involved. There was disagreement, but the right thing has been done for Toronto, Vancouver, and others that chose not to sign.\nDespite the wording of the apology, this was never about me or my interpertation. It was about staying true to the wording of question 6 in the Q\u0026amp;A and the stated spirit of the UP.\n","date":"31 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-31-the-right-thing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Right Thing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Now in Wordpress 2.02 glory. The comments issue has been resolved. The good news is that I got to keep my present theme.\n","date":"31 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-31-upgrade-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upgrade!","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his job depends on not understanding it.\n- Upton Sinclair\n","date":"27 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-27-quote-of-the-day-3/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote of the Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"When I awoke this morning, I realized that I was preoccupied with many things.\nFor years when I awoke, I would be angry and I never knew why. I found that neither the previous day\u0026rsquo;s happenings nor mediatation before sleeping changed this from occurring. After a while, I just accepted that I would wake up angry for the rest of my life.\nHowever, without realizing it, I was awakening each morning less angry than the day before. I say that now, because I no longer awaken to a feeling of being angry at everything and nothing at all. What allowed this change was persistence and time.\nI accepted that I would awaken angry because it prevented me from getting more upset than I already was. At the the same time, I prayed and I meditated. I had this Kirkregardian fatalism about it - I would do the right thing even if it seemed to be meaningless. Besides, I thought, Paul was made perfect in weakness - his struggle with something larger than himself defined him. His struggle allowed him to live in humility. His struggle helped him to remember that he was not better than those to whom he preached. In some ways, it was his Total Perspective Vortex (without the nasty side effects).\nOne day I woke up and I realized that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t angry. I was actually pretty happy. My circumstances hadn\u0026rsquo;t changed, I was being asked to move out of the house I lived in. There was no shaking it, though, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t angry and I was excited to have this one day of repreive. One turned to two, two to four, four to thirty, thrity to hundreds. There are times that I still awaken to being angry or being deeply sad (inward-facing anger type of sadness). A few months ago, I had awoken angry everyday for two weeks - I had maintained praying but had stopped meditating. I also got some good advice to deal with the physical aspect, not just the emotional and spiritual aspects. So, I still take time every morning to pray, meditate, and also perform a personal ritual to remove physical tension that comes about from my wrestling with God.\nI say all this because recently, I have awoken preoccupied. It feels like a stress kind of thing, but it comes out as sadness sometimes. It literally feels like I become aware of the end of a conversation just as I am waking up. My first thought is \u0026ldquo;what did you just say\u0026rdquo;? The thought then repeats and a host of others start crowding for attention in recognition that I am somewhat conscious.\nBiblically, it is the mentality of the third soil. I am caught up in the worries and cares of this life. I have even shifted my focus away from God being my source of joy to a stock sale being my source of joy. I never knew I had 12 shares of Met Life stock until recently, so I sold them because my family and I are way-past broke.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s been said before - when Peter kept his focus on Jesus, he walked on water, when he focused on the storm, he sank. And yet, the grace of God is that he sank slowly: he had time to call out to Jesus and time for Jesus to walk(not run) over to help him up. In my life, I am glad that the grace of God has allowed me to sink slowly. I have time and space to call out for help.\nI mention my previous difficulty because I am aware that this present darkness will change the same way. Even when the money comes and I enjoy the good friends God has blessed me with and I live at peace with my neighbors, I am going to awaken to a stream of unrelated thoughts for awhile.\nWhen I prayed this morning for quite awhile, I did not feel better at the end. I did not even end with \u0026ldquo;Amen\u0026rdquo;. I went from casting my burdens upon him to getting upset that certain things are happening in the first place. So I stopped. I hope that later I can be clear-minded so I can pray. This post is a part of that process.\nAs good as it will feel, a check in the mail today is not the answer to all my problems. It will alleviate my circumstances a bit, but it is not the answer. The answer is and always will be God.\nThrough God, four friends helped me financially this month. Without their help, we wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have made it with all utilities on. I also would not have the crates of Ramen noodles. Through God, another friend, not knowing of our financial situation, gave us several pounds of venision, beef, and pork sausage. Someone else paid for my wife to go to the women\u0026rsquo;s retreat. Through God, she was able to deliver a small talk that some people really enjoyed. Through God, the DBA job has finally been posted, but it will be open for only four days (this is a good thing for internal candidates like me). Through God, we have good friends that we can share other things with and have them share with us. Through God, I have two communities of friends to bring joy and happiness. Through God, I have a wonderful son that laughs all day.\nAll of this is the grace of God that I was sinking slowly.\nIn a few months time, I hope to awake to a brand new day - again.\n","date":"27 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-27-this-present-darkness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Present Darkness","type":"posts"},{"content":"Trying to find a good 3-column theme, but the best looking one has REALLY TINY PRINT.\nI changed the font size, but then it looked weird.\nOh well.\nBack to the standby for now.\n","date":"26 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-26-playing-around/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Playing Around","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing some work on the Sycarion Diversions site. Just as something to occupy my creative juices, I worked up a couple of card games. Skirmish is a variation of War! and I have playtested it with my wife. It takes longer than a traditional game of War! and the tables can turn *very* quickly. It can be disheartening to have all but 10 cards and suddenly start losing badly (which happened to me). She ended up winning two of the three games we played.\nDice Poker is not playtested yet and I would like to at some point in the future. As it has no flushes, it features quite a few hand usually seen in other varations of poker.\nWhat I can tell you is that because of the ability to combine dice, determining the odds for every time of hand is quite difficult, mainly because I haven\u0026rsquo;t figured out how many possible hands exist. What I can say is that there are only 20 possible ways to get a six of a kind, and that makes it extremely rare. It also appears that a double barrell (two three-of-a-kinds) is really rare as well, but I\u0026rsquo;ll know more once I can figure the odds.\nAnywho, game design is something of a hobby that I enjoy and have enjoyed for a long time. It is only recently that I decided to add other game design projects in addition to role-playing games. (They have a shorter production cycle.)\nFeel free to look over at sycarion.pinakidion.org and try out a game or two.\n","date":"24 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-24-something-for-fun/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something for Fun","type":"posts"},{"content":" Bruce Williams # \u0026ldquo;All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud\u0026hellip;Humble yourselves, therefore, under God\u0026rsquo;s mighty hand\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; (Galatians 5:5-6)\nThis is a powerful passage of Scripture! It encapsulates some of the most fundamental of teachings of the New Testament. It gives us the code, the \u0026ldquo;rabbit\u0026rsquo;s foot\u0026rdquo; (for you Mission Impossible 3 fans) of true unity in Christ: humility toward God and one another. God makes it very clear that there is an absolute connection between our humility before God and one another. (1 Peter 5:5-6) It is impossible to be truly humble before God and not be humble before our brothers and sisters in Christ. Is that not what empowered us to be bonded and united with the church after our baptism? Once we are raised with Christ out of the watery grave, we are given the Holy Spirit that empowers us with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24)\nThe number of congregations that have stated their agreement and commitment to the Plan for United Cooperation is now up to 214! Your thousands of prayers are being answered! It has been so encouraging to see the number of churches that have publicly stated their commitment to and the application of these spiritual principles that are laid out in this plan.\nI have not spoken to anyone who believes that simply stating a commitment to this plan will, by itself, restore or increase unity. We all know that the unity must come first from our recommitment to a true self-denial toward Christ as Lord; then, that same openness and humility can be (and needs to be) demonstrated toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s continue to pray for God to deepen and increase our humility and unity.\n","date":"22 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-21-bruce-on-the-unity-plan/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bruce on the Unity Plan","type":"posts"},{"content":"The recent evagenlist\u0026rsquo;s corner article is buried, now. No surprise, there\u0026rsquo;s no apology to Vancouver, Toronto, or any other churches that choose not to sign.\nFor reference, the link to it is here. If it is removed, I have transcribed it here.\nWhenever an apology appears, I\u0026rsquo;ll take it off my site and provide links and a top page post for it.\n","date":"22 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-22-no-surprise/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"No Surprise","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just to say that the only people that should be raising a fuss at the Da Vinci Code is Opus Dei.\nIt isn\u0026rsquo;t libel, it is defamation. Fine line, I know, but the implication that this group would resort to murder to cover up something has demonstrated harm to the group\u0026rsquo;s reputation already. This implication is made couched in a fictional story - that\u0026rsquo;s why it is not libel. The author does not purport these statements to be true. However, these implications have had a definite effect.\nCase law, though, may side with the author. That\u0026rsquo;s just me, keep in mind that IANAL.\nI can also understand that religious leaders may want to provide resources to deal with issues that arise as a result of reading this book. As I said earlier, step one is reminding people that this is not real, even though it is printed in a hard-cover book. Charging for it, though, is my beef. If someone spent $20 on the book and $8 on the movie, they have already been ripped off. Why compound this with another $20? If the person is really having a crisis of faith after the book and/or movie, they really need some help without the price. It just seems too opportunist. Besides, why explain the myth of Magdalene in France, the real work of Opus Dei, the life of Da Vinci, and go on and on about canonization when it comes down to one simple premise. MM was not Jesus\u0026rsquo; wife.\nFor example, a good argument that Jesus was not married is found here.\nThere is also no ancient document that suggests Mary Magdalene was Jesus\u0026rsquo; wife - even if you dig up the Gospel of Philip, all you find is that she\u0026rsquo;s the most important disciple, not that she\u0026rsquo;s married to Jesus. The closest thing you get to MM=wife is a fragment describing Mary Magdalene as one that Jesus kissed. (Judas kissed him, too. Jesus kissed other people, too.) If you want to hang your hat on that, go ahead. At this point, you\u0026rsquo;re just believing it because you want to believe it.\nOnce it can be established that there are no ancient or old claims of Magdalene being Jesus\u0026rsquo; wife - the rest comes into focus. Who cares about the Priory of Sion? MM wasn\u0026rsquo;t his wife. Who cares about the V symbolizing the exalted feminine? MM wasn\u0026rsquo;t his wife. Who cares that John the apostle looks too feminine to be male or the position of his/her hands or the position of Peter\u0026rsquo;s hands in the painintg? MM wasn\u0026rsquo;t his wife. You think Da Vinci painted the Last Supper by working from a photograph? Maybe he was the 13th Apostle (not Rufus) and he was working from personal memory?\nAll that being said, enjoy the movie as a fanciful tale full of intrigue and action. I plan on seeing it - it will be a fun diversion. Hey, I want to see the cool special effects applied to Da Vinci\u0026rsquo;s paintings. That should be cool.\nBTW: Rufus appeared in the movie Dogma.\n","date":"19 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-19-da-vinci-postscript/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Da Vinci Postscript","type":"posts"},{"content":"Let me get this rant out of the way before getting serious. As stated in the preface, it is a work of fiction.\nIs anyone out there listening? It\u0026rsquo;s fiction, made up, the opposite of real life, not fact.\nNOT FACT!\nRon Brown writes Angels and Demons six years ago with the same main character discovering the battle between the Illuminati and the Catholic Church. There\u0026rsquo;s some bruhaha about it, but it dies off fairly quickly. Now the same hagiologist finds that the Catholic Church is using Opus Dei to protect the descendants of Jesus and maintain orthodoxy. I\u0026rsquo;m assuming his next book will involve the Freemasons somehow. It\u0026rsquo;s the only large secret organization left that Robert Langdon hasn\u0026rsquo;t dealt with.\nMy questions are:\nWhy didn\u0026rsquo;t the Vatican send Opus Dei to go after the Illuminati if they\u0026rsquo;ve been fighting for centuries? Why doesn\u0026rsquo;t Robert Langdon work as a CIA agent - he\u0026rsquo;s escaped attacks from two super-secret, centuries-old, quasi-mystic organizations? Then again, there are people that believe the Illuminati exist simply because of Angels and Demons. Recent polls have shown that the Da Vinci Code has caused some people to question their beliefs. Verisimilitude is the mark of a good writer, but really - when you put a fiction book down, suspension of disbelief is supposed to go away!\nAND who are these nuts that are trying to get on the gravy train by writing books that disprove the Da Vinci Code? It\u0026rsquo;s a work of fiction! I\u0026rsquo;ve never seen anyone try to disprove the Hound of the Baskervilles. No one has tried to disprove Little Women. Maybe closer to the subject matter, no one believes that the NSA has a quantum computer that can decipher any encrpytion scheme because of Digital Fortress. I guess it gets to me that people, in the name of God, go out of their way to disprove a work of fiction for money. Ugh!\nBoy, you make up stuff about the NSA and you get panned on Amazon. You make up stuff about the Catholic church and you get some attention. Mess with Jesus and the whole world starts throwing money in random directions as if the apocolypse is upon us.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re going to disprove something, go after a work that claims to be non-fiction. You know, claims to be real, genuine, thoughtful, offers evidence of a logical albeit controversial conclusion, etc. (I\u0026rsquo;m talking about Holy Blood, Holy Grail.)\nI feel better - more thoughtful stuff to follow\nThe best explanation I have seen for the Da Vinci Code was actually on A\u0026amp;E. Pretty quickly, the narrator talks about using the mystery of Leonardo da Vinci, the mystery of a secret group like Opus Dei, and the sometimes problematic issues of canonization to weave a fantastic story. The mind fills in the blank with all kinds of possibilities in the face of the unknown and the unknowable. In short, to make a great thriller that draws on historical people, groups, and events, you need three things: An enigmatic central figure A Religous Secret Society Liberal Use of Christian Mythology\nDespite all the religious material out there, I found this secular perspective the best stated explanation of the \u0026lsquo;code\u0026rsquo;.\nLeonardo, the mystery dude Da Vinci never really talks about himself. He investigates the range of human knowledge in his notebooks, but never examines himself. In this day and age of supreme self-consciousness, it is almost impossible to imagine a person that produced so much material without writing about himself. Because of this, the man himself is quite a mystery.\nYou get the sense that he didn\u0026rsquo;t share the same beliefs as the Catholic Church, but he never really says it. Despite this, though, he creates a masterpiece in the Last Supper that uses the Catholic symbols very well. He wrote in a backwards script in his journals and this makes the facsimiles of his journals look almost arcane. To this day, many fictional representations of spellbooks tend to look like something out of Da Vinci\u0026rsquo;s notebooks - a diagram or two and marginal notes written backwards. Why backward scripting? He was left-handed and allowed him to write freely across the page. It is easier to write backwards left-handed rather than backwards-slanting. (Try it!) He deeply investigated human anatomy and made detailed drawings and cross-sections. He designed weapons of war. He studied the flight of birds and thought about human flight. Studying all his notebooks is almost a complete education in itself! Working on all of the information, it would seem that he spent a lot of time to himself - he had to to produce this work. He called the Mona Lisa his master work and took it with him wherever he went, but he never explained why. For lack of an explanation, all kinds of theories have been put forward. Whatever his true reasons, Mona Lisa\u0026rsquo;s smile and androgyny has inspired many.\nBasically, here is your enigmatic central character. He is a genius, but little is known about him personally. He obviously has a great deal of knowledge. The author merely has to suggest that he has some kind of secret knowledge and the rest can follow. The suggestion looks like this: A guy this smart had to know something that we don\u0026rsquo;t know, right? Throw in some of his quirks and something as ambiguous as art and Da Vinci\u0026rsquo;s your guy.\nSecret Societies of the Pious and the Powerful No one had really heard of Opus Dei before the book. I have a friend with a relative that\u0026rsquo;s a member. Third-hand info is that this family member enjoys his membership and the organization. First hand experience being a member of a secretive religious organization, I can say that it is fun for awhile. In any case, you take the fact that this small group within the Catholic Church commands quite a bit of resources without looking into their history, and all the mind fills-in-the-blanks with all kinds of things. All a good thriller needs is to point out its secret rituals (which can be genuine), play up the secrecy and point out some unexplainable events in the organization\u0026rsquo;s past. Thus the recipe for a conspiracy - thus this secret group is involved in some conspiracy.\nEver notice that most conspiracies are explained with questions? Examples include: Why was there no footage of a plane hitting the Pentagon? Why would the government deny that a missile hit it instead of a plane? Why would Kennedy fall backwards if shot from behind? How could a bullet take this weird journey and come out pristine? Why would two people make deathbed confessions about the death of Jimmy Hoffa? Why does the Catholic Church allow the radical Opus Dei folks to exist? How did my son remove his hearing aid without using his hands?\nDazzle with Brillance, Baffle with Baloney To many Christians, the Bible must have come down as Jesus rose into the sky. To suggest that early Christianity struggled with orthodoxy can even shake the faith of some. What did they do without a Bible for four hundred years? Well, that question assumes a lot, but that\u0026rsquo;s a topic for another post. Point is that there was ambiguity about certain things we take for granted twenty centuries later. Play of the ambiguity and there is fodder for all kinds of things.\nThe easiest thing to do is remark about why certain gospels were chosen and certain others were not. The Egerton Gospel isn\u0026rsquo;t that controversial, why was that left out? What about the Gospel of Thomas? Go to earlychristianwritings.org to read a copy and the mind is on its way to filling in blanks once again. Like any other book, reading it outside of its history and context can lead to all kinds of strange readings. (But it is fun for a creative exercise). Most people read the Apocryphon of John and reject it outright because it is \u0026ldquo;weird\u0026rdquo;, despite the fact that at least one group of Gnostic Christians considered it inspired. Introduce the Gospel of Thomas, which is \u0026lsquo;weird\u0026rsquo; in two places and contains stories found in the other gospels, and it isn\u0026rsquo;t so clear.\nBack to the point - in Da Vinci\u0026rsquo;s code case, there is the contention that Mary Magdalene is Jesus\u0026rsquo; wife and they had children. This comes from modern speculation but hey, it is scholarship. Mix in the Gospel of Mary with Mary\u0026rsquo;s conflict with Peter implying that Mary was held above Peter and there\u0026rsquo;s all kinds of fun you can have.\nDIY Master Thriller Umberto Eco wrote Focault\u0026rsquo;s Pendulum for just this scenario. A group of people try to invent a conspiracy with the Knights Templar and the conspiracy sucks them in. The characters in the book know ahead of time that they are making things up, yet they still eventually believe in their own myth. It\u0026rsquo;s dense, but worth the read.\nOkay let\u0026rsquo;s make our own. First, we need one engimatic genius:\nHieronymus Bosch - check\nThen we need a secret organization:\nHB was a member of the Bortherhood of Our Lady, one of many groups supposedly devoted to the worship of Mary. - check\nNow we need some Christian Mythology:\nThis one is tricky. The big myths are covered already. Let\u0026rsquo;s use the Gospel of Judas.\nSynopsis of the Next Great Thriller Okay, here\u0026rsquo;s the story. HB joins the Brotherhood of Our Lady, a wealthy group in his hometown. They owned most of his work. Not all of it was made public. HB, as a member, finds that the group is a sect of Gnsotics that reveres Judas. A cryptic message - ADJACENT SIN WON US - is found in the corner of HB\u0026rsquo;s painting \u0026ldquo;Tempation of St. Anthony\u0026rdquo;. The outer panels, featuring the arrest of Jesus shows Peter and Jesus, but not Judas. Another painting, one of many about the Last Judgement has all 12 apostles in Heaven, including a figure in black - is this Judas? Our hero struggles to come to grips with the machinations of this secret Brotherhood of Our Lady with groups worldwide on every continent. Puzzling through the strange remark on HB\u0026rsquo;s painting and images of the apostles, he comes to the stunning realization:\nJUDAS WAS INNOCENT. (anagram)\nNot bad for ten minutes work, if I do say so myself.\n","date":"19 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-19-obligatory-da-vinci-code-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Obligatory Da Vinci Code Post","type":"posts"},{"content":"Personally Good news is that I am in contention for a DBA job where I work. The difference in salary is about 50% if I get paid what the other two are paid. Even a 25% increase would be useful.\nBills are starting to go down, so we should be okay in the meantime.\nTabs I changed the tabs at the top of the website to diversify my interests. Most folks come here for the religious posts, so I\u0026rsquo;ll take the other posts and put them somewhere else. Links to the Blogroll and other sites of interest are on the right side. At some future time, I\u0026rsquo;ll change the theme to a three column format to make it easier to see.\nI Do Attend Church Last week my wife was sick and this week we were at a wedding in MN. The woman that sang at our wedding got married herself.\nI got to see Joel and we talked about what he is doing in preparation for the Chippewa Valley Family Church planting. It was heartwarming to hear about the folks he\u0026rsquo;s already met and talked with. In any case, it\u0026rsquo;s our loss.\nI heard the sermons from the past two weeks. Considering his history here, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that Gregg M. will be our new minister soon. I asked someone to ask him about his version of events in Dallas and the financial board informed me that they will implement checks and balances if necessary. On the positive side, he is involved with Abilene and a few unity projects. On the down side, he was the president of the board for HOPE Worldwide. We\u0026rsquo;ll probably get messed up with HOPE again and that will be a crying shame.\nI have no vote in the matter, so I cannot really complain what happens next. We\u0026rsquo;ll just see.\n","date":"16 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-16-just-so-you-know-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Just So You Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"Bruce Williams, one of the Nine has written about the Unity Proposal on LA\u0026rsquo;s website. Signers of the UP are called \u0026lsquo;courageous\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;humble\u0026rsquo;. The clear implication is that those not signing are not humble. Considering that only three churches have put something on their website saying that they would not sign, it is strange that so much attention is given to the plan\u0026rsquo;s detractors. There\u0026rsquo;s 221 signers now, that\u0026rsquo;s about half. Mexico joined, so yes, that is the taste of crow in my mouth. Anyway, here\u0026rsquo;s the end of his article in full.\nWith all the upheaval that has taken place over the last several years, it has become difficult to know where a church leadership stands regardless of what name is over the door. At one time, these questions would have seemed moot because of the way the churches began and were shepherded; this enabled much continuity of thought and mind. There are many good-hearted brothers and sisters who want to know where churches and their leaders stand on the teachings and expectations outlined in the Plan for Cooperation. These are legitimate questions because we all have heard of some churches and leaders who have abandoned some of the basic spiritual principles of training and assistance that enables a church and its leadership to continue to grow spiritually and numerically.\nBruce Williams\nIn other words, we need to know who is one of us before we can be unified with you.\nSurprising is that Bruce talks about churches abandoning the principles that allow churches to grow numerically while LA is still shrinking and hasn\u0026rsquo;t shown growth in five years (at least). More importantly, we now have one of the nine that is not abiding by their own advice to other churches:\n6. How should those churches be treated that choose not to sign up? There may be many different reasons why some churches may not sign up. They are still our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we need to continue to respect, love, and cherish one another in the Lord.\nUnity Q\u0026amp;A from March 11.\nI understand that everyone wants to feel like visiting another church that used to be ICoC isn\u0026rsquo;t like walking into a snakhandler\u0026rsquo;s convention. Think about why. We were all mandated to be the same. Now that no one is mandating doctrines and practices, it falls on some agreement to ensure that we are all on the same page.\nSo what happens when one of these guys goes to a church with optional d-partners? Are they going to take them to task? Hey Atlanta, I think he\u0026rsquo;s talking to you and to the folks in Toronto and Vancouver (both churches).\nI thought that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get angry at the UP anymore. I think the Gang of Nine needs to muzzle him before he discredits the whole lot. He needs to make a public apology to Vancouver and Toronto at least. He should also apologize to the folks in Atlanta, New Mexico, and other places that have decided not to sign. What a jerk!\n0515201316054\n","date":"16 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-16-now-the-truth-comes-out/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Now the Truth Comes Out","type":"posts"},{"content":"My Son I had intended to call my son kathemai on the site - his name appears in Rev 4:3 like mine appears in Luke 1:63. However, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get past the word meaning \u0026ldquo;he that is seated\u0026rdquo; looking like the feminine name, Kathy Mae. Since my son now prefers to sit up over anything else, it seemed appropriate.\nIn any case, today is the first day that I remember where he looked at me and grinned. He genuinely smiled at the recognition of his papa, and not because he thought that my nose was a great chew toy. In my estimation, this is the first day he recognized his Dad. (As compared to Mom, whom he recognized around day 18.)\nLiterary Theory Some have decried the death of literary theory in American circles. I dunno. I read Derrida, Lacan, Russell, and others in college and it was not enjoyable or even meaningful to me. Most of the folks I read appeared to be more interested in philosophy and the search for meaning as opposed to providing any real ideas about art and literature. All I got from Derrida was a very obscure and meandering way to say \u0026ldquo;the artist\u0026rsquo;s intent is not necessarily important to understanding his/her work\u0026rdquo;. (I\u0026rsquo;m sure that he would have said that I was not reading his work correctly and that I am obviously oversimplifying concepts I do not understand. Oh well.) The last essay of any note that I read and enjoyed about literary theory was written by T.S. Elliot, Tradition and the Individual Talent (1919). Maybe I have simply appreciated his ideas summed up in this quote \u0026ldquo;literary criticism should be completed by criticism from a definite ethical and theological standpoint.\u0026rdquo; I could write more about this, but on to the point\u0026hellip;\nI believe there is no real literary theory in the US because our culture as a whole is anti-intellectual. One author, Paul Auster has remarked that we have been this way since Andrew Jackson was president. Again, there\u0026rsquo;s something to that sentiment that would require another series of posts.\nSeriously, though, the US is largely anti-intellectual. We do not want intellectual political leaders (Dubya,Nagin) or commentators (O\u0026rsquo;Reilly, Limbaugh, Franken). We do not want intellectual religious leaders (Falwell, Joel Osteen, e.g.). We do not want intellecutal artists (Spears, 50 cent, Aguliera, Mapplethorpe, Clive Barker, and many more in every discipline). Very few go to see Ted Kooser, the US Poet Laureate, when he travels outside Nebraska. Truth be told, most folks here in Nebraska wouldn\u0026rsquo;t know what he looks like. If they saw him, they\u0026rsquo;d probably ask him what he thinks of Steve Spurrier. (He looks like Lou Holtz). It\u0026rsquo;s no great secret that we pay Tom Cruise 100Mil a film, but we really follow him because we wonder about Katie Holmes and the practice of complete silence during a Scientologist birth. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that art has to be some huge intellectual exercise, I\u0026rsquo;m going to watch MI:III when it hits the dollar movies. I am saying that there is a place for at least a little thoughtfulness - some evidence that effort was put into a work. No one should have to read How to Do Things with Words by J.L. Austen, but at least read Brooklyn Follies or How to Eat a Poem before moving on to Stephen King, Clive Cussler, or tuning in to the next episode of American Idol.\nChristianity and the First Internet Generation We grew up with computers - I was programming basic at 8. I surfed the web in 1989 with this really cool browser called Mosaic. We were all \u0026lsquo;connecting\u0026rsquo; to the university mainframe in order to play MUDs. I did spreadsheets with Microsoft\u0026rsquo;s Multiplan on a TI-99/4A. I even attempted two computer projects for the science fair only to have the programs crash both times. Those were the days.\nDuring all this, however, members of my generation found a new resource to gather information, the internet. Quite frankly, so much info poured in that we really didn\u0026rsquo;t know what to do with it. (We were, after all, the generation that played Trivial Pursuit.) Not knowing what to do, we simply tried to memorize it all. In the process, the definition of an intelligent person shifted from a person with great mental ability to a person with tremendous recall.\nPeople my age that strive to be close to God seem to make the mistake that their relationship to God is somehow marked by how much they can cram into their skulls about the Bible, its culture, its languages, etc. As Yancey has said in \u0026ldquo;The Jesus I Never Knew\u0026rdquo;, he could list all of Jesus\u0026rsquo; miracles in order, but had failed to understand the signifigance of any one of them.\nMore later.\nFriend in MN A friend of mine in MN is going to start a ministry in a couple years specifically aimed at the gay community, mainly because he was a part of that community for a long time. As he said to me, the goal is not to change from homosexuality to heterosexuality, but to strive for holiness. As he pointed out to me, the opposite of homosexuality is holiness, not exchanging one sin for another.\nHe regularly talks to the folks at Adullum Underground, but doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to be making much progress. I read on Adullum every once in a great while just to see how he is doing. Every time I go, though, I cringe because I recognize myself at 19 in almost every post. More later.\n","date":"15 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-15-bunch-of-semithoughts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bunch of Semithoughts","type":"posts"},{"content":"Saturday, our family became a part of a peer group of deaf/hard of hearing families. It felt good to talk to other parents and to hear from others that understand. It was the first time that I remember where I spent more than fifteen minutes around two people signing. The group covers every approach to dealing with hearing loss, but most chose total communication - sign and speech.\nWhat was meaningful to us was the chance to work through our grief. In all the information I have read to date, it is normal to grieve hearing loss for months. It is also normal to go through the five stages of grief repeatedly. The number one thing we could do to work through our grief was to meet other families with deaf/hard of hearing children, especially families with hearing parents. In this case, the suggestion has proven true - in some ways it feels like a warm sunbeam. It turns out that a family is five houses up the road - single mom, four deaf children, very organic/natural, and a great soul. For my wife, it was good to not only find a hearing mother of hard of hearing children, it was good to find one that holds similar parenting/life choice beliefs.\nMy wife used the analogy of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon to describe her feelings and it serves as a metaphor to describe my own feelings.\nThe Struggle with God See, I don\u0026rsquo;t struggle with the existence of God. I don\u0026rsquo;t even struggle as much with bad things happening to me. Most of the time, my struggles are the result of my own foolish actions or unwise choices. How can I be angry at the universe and/or its creator if I create 90% of my own dramas?\nWhat upsets me is that God has the right of non-disclosure. He has total perspective, but he does not need to share any of it with me. He can keep a secret and make His decisions in secret if He chooses. I know that God works for the good of those that are called according to His purpose, but he gets to see the end of the story before I do. I read Job and I think, \u0026ldquo;I can\u0026rsquo;t believe you did this to Job and never told him why. Job would probably curse you if he found out that the source of his troubles was a stupid bet. If not him, then I certainly would. Are You in a bet regarding my life, now? Is that why you keep these big secrets from me?\u0026rdquo;\nAs such, my emotional reactions to difficulties tend to start with ambivalence to God. I figure that since God already knows the outcome, He has already worked out the best possible one. This, of course, frees Him from any accusation from me, so why bother? His answer can always be either, \u0026ldquo;my ways are not your ways\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;if you had My perspective, you\u0026rsquo;d understand that what is happening and will happen really is the best possible outcome for everyone.\u0026rdquo; So I ask if He can impart a little of this precious perspective with me. His answer tends to be, \u0026ldquo;Of course, my son. You\u0026rsquo;ll understand in time.\u0026rdquo; At this I usually tell God that I tend to gain this perspective after all the junk already occurs. I ask Him if He\u0026rsquo;s talked to His son lately about what life is like for those of us that DO NOT LIVE OUTSIDE OF TIME. Being outside of time, I continue on, You can see that I have already learned my lesson, worked through my aggravation with You, etc. etc. The problem is that I am not there yet. Again, this perspective thing is a real issue with me.\nGod then usually reminds me that he is not Douglas Adams. He isn\u0026rsquo;t using weird verb tenses to talk about our life together or to talk about my present difficulty.\nSo I laugh - not because God can paraphrase Douglas Adams (as ironic as that is) - but because I fear that I am not talking to God at all. My first reaction is to belive that this is proof that I really am just talking to some construct in my mind that I call God. God doesn\u0026rsquo;t reference the Hitchhiker\u0026rsquo;s Guide to anyone else. It sounds like something I would say and if God\u0026rsquo;s voice sounds like my own, maybe I really am crazy.\nThen I laugh again because if God didn\u0026rsquo;t use the Hitchhiker\u0026rsquo;s Guide, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t really listen.\nI know full well that I am putting words in God\u0026rsquo;s mouth as I wrestle with Him. You would think that this puts Him at a great disadvantage. (It doesn\u0026rsquo;t.) However, something about Him comes through either in nature or Scripture or both. I may never know exactly what He would say to me if I heard His voice as clearly as I hear my own, but I can know something about His thoughts by what He has done already.\nThe Point of the Title There is a biological reason for butterflies to struggle out of their cocoon. If a well-intentioned person removes the cocoon too soon, it hurts the butterfly for the rest of its life. Spefically, working through the chrysallis forces blood into the entire surface area of the wings. Without the struggle, the wings do not gain the strength or health needed to allow the butterfly to fly. Somehow, God has created each cocoon to be just the right strength for each butterfly. Some emerge sooner than others, but always after the necessary refinement to their wings.\nMy wife and I had a long talk yesterday. She was feeling distant from me and was frustrated by this. I wanted to get upset at her because I am generally weary of all our other difficulties - so I just want to be left alone. I get frustrated that I makes 49K gross, yet three days after payday we are broke. I get frustrated that I am seeking professional help with my struggles with my denomination past and present seemingly to no avail. (And no, leaving doesn\u0026rsquo;t automatically help.) I get frustrated that my wife and I greive over my son\u0026rsquo;s hearing loss in different ways and that somehow I am the bad guy because I tend to greive faster. I get frustrated that I have to pretend to be busy some days at work. I get frustrated and these and many other things. But most of all, I get upset that it appears that all of this is caused by my inability to let go.\nSo I understand that she is feeling neglected by me.\nYet in all of this, God does not let me out of the chrysallis too soon. It\u0026rsquo;s not because of lack of concern, but because He is truly aware of what is happening.\n","date":"8 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-08-butterflies/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Butterflies","type":"posts"},{"content":"No updates here in a couple years. I think we’ll start using this for our son’s pictures, but I’ll let you know.\nAnyway, I hope to update the site and the software soon.\n","date":"5 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-05-been-a-couple-of-years/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Been a Couple of Years","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/role-playing-games/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Role-Playing-Games","type":"tags"},{"content":"I begin double employment soon, but the reason I haven\u0026rsquo;t posted much lately is that I have been working on other things. Mostly, I\u0026rsquo;ve been dealing with work stuff now that we are in the national media.\nOutside of that, though, I have been working on one of my hobbies - world design. This time, instead of Dira, it is generic place for the creators of the Action! System. The rules are free (as in beer and as in speech), under the OGL. (The OGL is closer to the Creative Commons License is some ways than the GPL.) One company has made a fantasy setting, but there are no free rules for magic. Since the forums went down, there is not even a quick guide to converting from other systems.\nAs I am want to do, though, I did not want the generic rules to reflect Yet Another Middle Earth Like System. Unlike Dira, though, there would be elves and such, because the generic rules need elements of the familiar to RPG folks. So, I came up with the following goals:\nBlend elements of Chinese and Japanese ideas of magic with the traditional western elements. Create a magic language that is not Latin and does not sound like Latin, yet is simple to use as a role playing device. Allow for low magic settings and high magic settings. Work out the mechanics of spellcasting and magic item creation in an almost textbook fashion. This allows non-spellcasting characters to learn magic, yet still be unable to use magic. Move away from the idea of \u0026lsquo;formal schools of magic\u0026rsquo;. Set up different types of magic that are distinct, but not stronger/weaker than others. I published a bit about lenga, the language of magic earlier. The grammar is similar to Esperanto (Nonus end in a, plural is denoted by a tse- prefix, verbs have three tenses, adjectives end in e, etc.) and the vocabulary is inspired by various Bantu languages. I enjoy fiddling with this.\nThere are two types of spellcasters in this system, echewa and surgura. Echewa believe in strict mental discipline and controlling the wild force of magic through formula and intense study. As such, they excel in magic requiring control. The cost for their percision is power. Surgura believe in directing, but not controlling magic. As such, they tend to create various mental and physical buffers to encourage magical force into desired outcomes. As such, they excel in protective and shielding spells, but tend to have unreliable outcomes when using magic. A person cannot become both, nor can they switch.\nSpells are divided into five groups representing the five forces of nature: Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, and the Void. A spellcaster can focus on one group, or cast spells in all five. There\u0026rsquo;s no difference in the magic available to an echewa or surgura - the difference is in the effect.\nAs I stated some time ago, casting a spell has five components - the first one is a mental ability that is available only to spellcasters.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s what I\u0026rsquo;ve been up to. I hope to have my idea playtested next month. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\n","date":"3 May 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-05-03-taking-some-time/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Taking Some Time","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thank you for your generosity. You know who you are.\n","date":"28 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-28-my-extreme-gratitude/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Extreme Gratitude","type":"posts"},{"content":"I understand the pros and cons of celebrating a spiritual birthday. I understand that within the ICoC subculture, spiritual age was a yardstick of maturity - or a means to berate you for not being spiritual enough. (Your ten years old as a disciple and you still struggle with that? How do you think God feels about you?)\nHowever, I still use this time to think about my life and reflect on my Christian walk. Considering recent events, it seemed good to continue this tradition. I didn\u0026rsquo;t do this last year, \u0026ndash; it was the first time in 14 years. Today at 15, I think about a few things.\nAmbivalence is not always healthy. Love covers a multitude of sins. Blessings come at the perfect time.\nAmbivalence Is Not the Solution I have become cynical about certain things over time. I try to be positive(whatever that means) and hopeful, but ultimately cannot sustain it for any length of time.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve learned that cynical people are usually those that used to have to grandest dreams and hopes. A person doesn\u0026rsquo;t become jaded without something to be jaded about. Proverbs says that a dream deferred makes the heart sick. I believe a symptom of that sickness is cynicism. The grander the dream, the deeper the wound. At some point, a person can even become snide.\nOver the past year, I have been snide and cynical. (Despite the rhyme, cynical and critical are not the same thing.) I have also been naively hopeful. Being eternally optimistic at heart, I switch between the extremes of big dreams and shattered hopes. I have these great visions and hopes for the future and when they do not come to pass, it is difficult to accept. One of my largest character flaws is lack of follow-through. Sometimes the vision fails because I do not get enough people on board at the beginning to sustain the project. Sometimes it is all in my head and I am unable to transfer the vision to anyone else. Everytime, though, I am greatly disappointed that it did not work out.\nOne solution is to not hope at all. It\u0026rsquo;s unrealisitic to try for this one and probably unhealthy. Another solution is to attempt to scale back the grandness of these hopes and visions. Easier said than done, I don\u0026rsquo;t have small ideas that gradually build up in scale, they arrive half-baked and huge at the start. Of course, being prone to getting carried away, the idea gets larger from there, despite starting out too big in the first place.\nThe best way to deal with this is to break the grand vision into smaller visions. It keeps me from overpromising and it keeps me focused on follow-through.\nFor example, this year I wanted to embrace unity in my Christian walk. On aspect of this unity is community involvement with people that claim the name Christian. To that end I spoke to various people within and without the Restorationist Movement. The most positive interaction came from a group here in town called Bridging the Gap Ministries. I can now connect this group, largely African-American, to the church I attend, largely white. Bridging the Gap does things in neighborhoods that many are afriad to visit. My neighbor, a barber, has worked in these neighborhoods for awhile as well. One connection brings three sets together - that it the essence of unity to me. Things have flagged of late with BTG, so I need to put some time into that connection and do what I can. However, it is manageable and involves a couple hours over the next two weeks.\nMy mother and step-father are part of an aging, but active group known as the International Order of Odd-Fellows. If I became a member of this group, I would have international connections to all kinds of people dedicated to helping others. I would be a fifth generation member, something of prestige within the orgnization. The benefit of the Odd-Fellows is that they are eager to be involved and tend to have money going unused year after year. Connect people that have money and motivation to help others with another group that is already actively helping others and you have something to build upon. Considering the benefits, this costs me two meetings a month and some weekly phone calls. When I think about building unity, I think about people doing this very thing: making connections from church to service group to parachurch group. If only the people in these three groups did this, I believe that we would eventually connect with the Rotarians and Kiwanis, not to mention people from all around the city that just want to help.\nAll of this is just a part of Christian unity that can demonstrate that people calling themselves Christians can make a difference in the community. As far as deeper unity within the church, my efforts thus far have not been as successful. I plan on attending classes taught at Christ Community Church at the invite of a friend. The president of Grace University, where my former minister was trained, is teaching a class on comparative religions. Considering that CCC has some roots in the Restoration Movement (think Willow Creek), I hope to make some connections there either through Grace University or through CCC. The worst thing that can happen is that I attend a free class with lots of good information.\nAnother aspect is akin to church unity. In that regard, I am finished with contacting people all over the ICoC subculture. All I have accomplished to that end is antagonizing so-called leaders in high places. They are not able to help me at this time, so I am going elsewhere. As Jesus said, those that are well do not need a doctor. True there are exceptions, so I do not want to hinder them in any way. Major folks from Abilene and Pepperdine are quite accessible and tend to be thinking about unity quite a bit these days. I stay in touch with them as I am able through listservs. Folks from the Willow Creek Community Church (like the CCC mentioned earlier) are also interested in unity. I frequent some websites with other like-minded people and viola, the stage is set for doing something rather than talking about something.\nThat doing something starts small, like a study group that meets together, or a community project, or something else. It can be anything, even a picnic. Ultimately, it would be great to have a monthly (at least!) worship service altogether. More than anything, just have an event that can lead to relationship building. I support the church I attend hiring a NON-ICoC minister and a ton of them have applied. It may not happen, but it would be great.\nMore later.\n","date":"28 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-28-spiritual-birthday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Spiritual Birthday","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Unity Plan is still a bad idea. Tonight, my old church in NC is going to announce that they are not signing it. I doubt they will post something on their website. Just in NC, you have five churches - two that signed it (Greenville and Fayetville), one that will not sign (Triangle), one that is ambivalent (Triad), and a final one that no one knows what they will do (Charlotte). Relationships were strained a couple years ago, but they were meeting together sometimes. This UP did not help, especially with the mentality of \u0026ldquo;we have to know who\u0026rsquo;s committed in order to know who we\u0026rsquo;re responsible for.\u0026quot;(sic) Now a big question when they get together is, \u0026ldquo;why did you/why didn\u0026rsquo;t you sign?\u0026rdquo; That is assuming that they still meet monthly.\nThe admonition to form a regional group may or may not be heeded - all of them are sending folks to Beachstock. (Ironic.) Point is that this plan has exacerbated problems that were already there. They had problems before and all five churches need to work together to work through them - however - trying to separate the sheep and the goats pushes them further apart. Is Triangle the goat now for not signing? Is Fayetville a sheep for signing? Is the Triad righteous for not saying which way they will go? Personally, I think their issues are theological and historical - if it is worked out, it will take quite some time.\nIn 2004 at the Dallas M.O.A.C. I spoke to leaders from churches in NC and VA. The idea of forming a regional group or even calling Mitch to offer encouragement seemed a distant hope. Things have changed some and I hope that the differences can be worked out despite the UP. Oddly enough, the only person that said they would call was Wyndham Shaw, the man that baptized Mitch.\nWhat I have come to peace with, is that the church I attend has signed it. I do not agree with their decision. I believe it was the wrong one. I believe that the rationale behind signing it is not valid. Despite that, I can accept that they have signed it and that I can be respected for disagreeing. I disagreed with the 40 Days of Purpose Campaign and we worked through that. I am at peace with the fact that I want some kind of relationships with the people here, even if I place membership elsewhere.\nI am not at peace that this was done in the first place - but I have chosen to give up fighting about it. There is a time to pursue and a time to give up. I give up. I think all the people that are going to sign, except NY and San Antonio have signed. Given that, the UP is hardly a mandate, especially from the US churches. I think that fact will void the UP and something like what I and others have proposed will be done. Even if everyone suddenly signs, then I will move on. I have said what I needed to say about it.\nJohn Engler had once said that some find peace within the ICoC subculture by forming their own little \u0026lsquo;safe\u0026rsquo; groups of trusted friends. It allows them to stay a part of the church while not agreeing with decisions and events elsewhere. That is my separate peace that I have acheived. When my wife and I move in a few years, the likelihood that I will be a part of the ICoC congregation there is almost zero. I do not want to fight these battles all over again. I\u0026rsquo;d rather go somewhere with a different set of problems.\nKnowing this has allowed me to live my life in what I percieve as a healthy and honest way.\n","date":"28 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-28-unity-plan-postscript/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Unity Plan Postscript","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife is reading this book and it shaped her thoughts for communion yesterday. As an aside, I have to mention that I did not introduce her, nor did anyone else. Those within the subculture know what I mean.\nThe flash player below will play her communion.\n/AsySound.swf?http://pinakidion.us/wrath.mp3\nI am very proud of her for wanting to share something so deeply personal in order to talk about her wrestling with God.\n","date":"24 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-24-celebrating-the-wrath-of-god/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Celebrating the Wrath of God","type":"posts"},{"content":"For those that want to know the conclusion before the details, here it is:\nI\u0026rsquo;m staying for now. I better understand the perspective of the board and the minister - we actually want the same things and have a very similar line of thought on almost everything. It\u0026rsquo;s funny that with the same thoughts and reservations, one side can conclude \u0026ldquo;Sign it because it doesn\u0026rsquo;t hurt us\u0026rdquo; while the other side concludes \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t sign it because it can only hurt us\u0026rdquo;. The real work of any kind of unity requires us to work together despite two different conclusions.\nI took a stand for something I strongly believe. I also committed myself to working it out until I got an answer - and that answer could have been that I leave the church I attend. I wanted a certain answer, but I was and still am willing to accept that an agreement cannot be reached (thus I leave). I feel like the minister did the same - he strongly believes in togetherness and family. He was committed to me as a friend and wanted to understand why I am outraged at the UP. He was hoping that I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t leave, but would be my friend either way.\nHere is the rationale of where we disagree, as I understand it: Local authority trumps all in this agreement. The agreement itself (as opposed to the Q\u0026amp;A) says that local autonomy is the primary rule. As such, anything in the agreement is optional, especially as there is no real method of enforcement. In other words, if someone says that we have to abide by something in the document we as a local church disagree with, then we can opt out of the agreement altogether. As such, the agreement has no binding power over anyone. Signing it is an assent to the intent of the writers, not to the provisions of the agreement itself, necessarily. Other auxillary documents explain that this agreement is meant as a temporary step and a first step towards the goal of unity. The document itself asserts that areas may need to be rewritten.\nIn English, the plan is a pretty good idea, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t bind a local church to anything. Signing it demonstrates support for the intent to create unity.\nHere is my contention: The Q\u0026amp;A, an auxillary document mandates a complete yes or no. Based on other auxillary documents in addition to the Q\u0026amp;A, the intent was to find those that maintained a specific set of beliefs and practices. Based on a set of shared beliefs and practices, steps could then be taken to address certain local and global concerns through the proscribed measures. There is no room to declare certain parts optional - therefore signing this agreement is an assent to all of its contents, regardless of the local church\u0026rsquo;s intent. Jesus said \u0026ldquo;let your yes be yes and your no be no.\u0026rdquo; It is disingenuos to sign it saying, \u0026ldquo;We agree to all of it\u0026rdquo; when we really don\u0026rsquo;t agree with all of it.\nIn English, the Q\u0026amp;A demands that signers agree 100% or not. Signing it states that a church believes in all the stated doctrines and practices contained in the plan.\nSo we are both going to get clarification from the Unity Group about various things. He\u0026rsquo;s going to ask about how binding the plan is, and I\u0026rsquo;m going to ask about the \u0026lsquo;all or nothing\u0026rsquo; clause in the Q\u0026amp;A. Both of us marvelled at how the document and the Q\u0026amp;A can be so different (in all its incarnations). Both of us expressed areas of agreement in regards to the plan as well. The practical plans are good and I believe helpful with one caveat - outside help means outside the ICOC umbrella.\nAs far as other matters, I spoke about the things I\u0026rsquo;ve written here, and to the Unity Group. I spoke about my antagonism with the Unity Group and others. I talked about how I do not trust a couple members of the group, and how that gets in the way of looking at the agreement strictly on its face. I feel like I was not penalized for having these strong beliefs. I freely admit that I have said things here that I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have - but I would rather be honest than polite. I am a radical and a liberal and I am proud of that. This is not over, yet, but I hope to be able to acheive some kind of separate peace.\nI do have to admit that I have been in a very dark place since all this began. It\u0026rsquo;s what happens when the mind and heart have a severe disconnect. The mind was and is resolute that the UP is a bad idea. The heart was and is resolute that I am committed to my friends here. That conflict still continues, but the heart has been assuaged by an intelligent, rational discussion that healed the mind. Of course my mind enjoyed the discussion, especially when we discussed provisions of the UP, some of them line by line. My mind holds dissent, but the heart enjoys being heard and respected for the difference. Not only that, I respect the perspective of my minister and understand the rationale behind it.\nAt the end of the day, I want to do the right thing. End of the day, is the key phrase as my minister half-joked with me. He\u0026rsquo;s right, of course, and we both enjoyed a laugh about it.\nLast thing - this whole conflict proves my point. Two people with very similar thoughts came to polar conclusions. Tell me that drawing a line in the sand, or even trying to legislate unity is the right thing to do. Were it not for the relationships I have and the respect given to me for a dissenting opinion, we would have damaged our friendship and possibly lost it. All of this over 12 pieces of paper. Peh! Saint Bernard of Clairvaux said, \u0026ldquo;Hell is full of good intentions or desires.\u0026rdquo; Sometimes I think that is overly judgemental and harsh. Other times, I\u0026rsquo;m not so certain.\n","date":"21 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-21-breakfast-at-ihop/","section":"Posts","summary":"For those that want to know the conclusion before the details, here it is:\nI’m staying for now. I better understand the perspective of the board and the minister - we actually want the same things and have a very similar line of thought on almost everything. It’s funny that with the same thoughts and reservations, one side can conclude “Sign it because it doesn’t hurt us” while the other side concludes “Don’t sign it because it can only hurt us”. The real work of any kind of unity requires us to work together despite two different conclusions.\nI took a stand for something I strongly believe. I also committed myself to working it out until I got an answer - and that answer could have been that I leave the church I attend. I wanted a certain answer, but I was and still am willing to accept that an agreement cannot be reached (thus I leave). I feel like the minister did the same - he strongly believes in togetherness and family. He was committed to me as a friend and wanted to understand why I am outraged at the UP. He was hoping that I wouldn’t leave, but would be my friend either way.\n","title":"Breakfast at IHOP","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m writing this because I have good friends that ask about me. I want to write it only once, instead of several times in individual emails.\nI have not written in seven days. Not much has really happened in those seven days, thus nothing to really write about. Kelcy\u0026rsquo;s site is dead for nine days, now. I update the scoreboard as I find out who\u0026rsquo;s on one side of the line and who\u0026rsquo;s one the other. Nonny\u0026rsquo;s not up to much and even the Delphites are not as juiced as usual.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve written about Ephesians, but it\u0026rsquo;s on paper. That dooms it from appearing on the site as I am a terrible transcriptionist. I\u0026rsquo;ll try. I plan on adding the study of 1 Thessalonians and Galatians as well.\nI did not write about the Chick-Fil-A(TM) Chronicles yet, my buddy beat me to it..\nMostly, my employer has been in the national news, so I\u0026rsquo;ve been on the down-low. The last thing I need is for the national media to start contacting me. I don\u0026rsquo;t think they would, but why invite trouble at this point? If I had this or the church issues to contend with, well, bring the noise. With both, however, I do not feel up to the challenge. First I\u0026rsquo;ll deal with church issues, then maybe the local and national media.\nI meet with the minister tomorrow morning. Either way, the previous posts will return along with the conclusion of the matter. I did a little posting amongst the Delphites, but mostly to defend the minister from some off-the-wall accusations.\nMy son is doing well, he\u0026rsquo;s up to three hours a day with the hearing aid. He continues to laugh about so many things that I have started laughing a bit as well. I keep trying to tell him that mommy and daddy are beyond broke, but he just thinks life is grand. I agree.\nI am pensive these days. I think too much, but that surprises no one. I enjoy my son and my wife. I\u0026rsquo;m glad to live in a place with some greenery - my son loves to touch the saplings planted in our yard. It\u0026rsquo;s our afternoon ritual.\nAs I embark on working two jobs, I still believe that I\u0026rsquo;ll have time to write. Writing keeps me sane, for the most part, so it is like breathing to me.\nFor the past few days, I\u0026rsquo;ve been writing information for a magic/superhero system for the Action! System RPG. I think my ideas are a bit different without being overly complicated. The meme for the magic system is based on a more Japanese cosmology. It makes for some interesting situations. For example, there are healers that treat wounds and healers that treat disease. There is no all-in-one-healer/medic class as seen in most games. (Consequently, there is not one spell that heals all diseases. I always hated that about D\u0026amp;D.) There are also only five schools of magic, based on elemental focus. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Void. Earth spells deal with the earth, but also with healing wounds and the body. Air deals with the mind, but it also deals with growth of all kinds. Fire spells deal with light and heat, but also deals with animals of all kinds (except marine creatures). Water spells deal with plants, in addition to blood, healing diseases and marine life. The Void deals with those things outside current perception, the stars and other celestial bodies. Unlike many other systems, a person can have more than one focus. The schools serve more as a means of classification than anything else.\nAny given spell is invoked with its elemental focus. To that focus is added a verb that describes the action. To the verb is added an object to receive the effects of the spell. The last word gives some indication of the effect desired. The subject is assumed to be the caster. Only extraordinary wizards can cast a spell \u0026lsquo;as someone else\u0026rsquo;. Spells use their own language and wizards converse in that language frequently. Fortunately, a wizard must first learn to invoke magic with la kela lenge, the magical voice and focus the energy through a token (such as a wand or amulet) to cast a spell. To start a small fire (say for camping), the wizard would invoke la kela lenge, focus energy through a wand (or other token), say muta ambas hakain muja (create very small fire over there) and make an appropriate gesture pointing to a specific place, thus igniting the pile of wood (or whatever you point at) for the campfire. If the wood was green or it was otherwise wet, the wizard may change the last word to mbala to produce a slightly stronger effect. In actual play, you do not have to use Lengo (the language).\nSo, I\u0026rsquo;ve been busy, just not around. Needed to have some mental play before getting down to bid-ness, if you know what I mean.\nSee you soon.\n","date":"20 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-20-seven-days/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Seven Days","type":"posts"},{"content":"Some time ago,\n","date":"17 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-17-we-werent-the-only-ones/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"We Weren't the Only Ones","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m behind on the \\[Ephesians\\] meme, but I will catch up by this weekend.\nNo progress in other areas, due to my lack of availability. I asked the potential new minister what he thought of the UP and I heard a speech about the silent majority needs to overpower the vocal minority. Ugh.\nMy buddy has really started work on the Chick-Fil-A chronicles, click on the tool link at the top of the page to read on.\n","date":"13 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-13-catching-up/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Catching Up","type":"posts"},{"content":"Dark place last week, I admit.\nYes, I took my posts down - I was afraid of outside involvement again. Serves me right for publishing my thoughts and feelings in a public place. I\u0026rsquo;ll put them back up once current talks with various people conclude. I hate doing things this way, but in a culture of \u0026ldquo;calling people without first calling you\u0026rdquo; what can you do?\nI get to church yesterday and someone says \u0026ldquo;I found this envelope with your name on it.\u0026rdquo; In the envelope was $100 cash.\nI know, it\u0026rsquo;s not like someone is paying me to attend, it\u0026rsquo;s just that this is the kind of people here. Good people that understand Christ-likeness. I want to be more like my friends and family here.\n","date":"10 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-10-one-reason-why-i-attend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"One Reason Why I Attend","type":"posts"},{"content":"My friend and former roommate has begun the Chick-Fil-A Chronicles on his site.\nI wrote about this trip here amonst other things going on that week. Ah, the chickeny goodness.\nSoon, the story of a Chick-Fil-A in Charleston, WV.\nThe saga begins\u0026hellip;\n","date":"9 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-09-chick-fil-a-chronicles/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Chick-Fil-A Chronicles","type":"posts"},{"content":"Praises to God From the beginning of this letter, Paul offers praise to God. Not just God, the Father(1:3-6), but also God, the Son(1:7-12), and God, the Holy Spirit(1:13-14).\nGod the father is praised to \u0026ldquo;the glory of his grace\u0026rdquo;(v.6) which has been present since creation. God knows what he is doing and more than that, he enjoys it. When he called men to be reconciled to Him through Jesus, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t from a sense of duty or from exasperation pushing Him into saving mankind. No, it is God\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;pleasure and will\u0026rdquo; to save us through His son. Throughout this passage, it is clear that God knows what He is doing, and He enjoys doing it. What he is doing/has done/will do is to reconcile mankind to himself through his grace.\nGod the Son is praised because we are redeemed through his blood. Through his blood we are able to know God and his grace. Through his blood, we are also forgiven of our sins. We are not just forgiven, but forgiven according to His grace. In other words, This grace is \u0026rsquo;lavished\u0026rsquo; on us \u0026lsquo;with all wisdom and understanding\u0026rsquo;.\nGod the Spirit is praised as a seal. In the more modern experience, a seal marks ownership and authenticity. A letter sealed in wax indentifies the author by the impression of his/her ring on the seal. It has been argued that the Holy Spirit, in effect, shows the christian as belonging to the father because of the signet seal on our lives.\nHowever, the seal in this case is linked to inheritence. The Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Basically, the Spirit promises that the rest of our inheritance is coming to us. First, God chose, then at salvation, He made men and women His children. Finally, in the resurrection, the earthly body will be reedemed. The inheritance is the full redemption of mankind, body and soul. This redemptive work began at the creation and will end with the final resurrection.\nPraise of the Ephesians Paul spent almost three years in Ephesus - it seems strange that he would have heard about their faith. It\u0026rsquo;s possible he\u0026rsquo;s referring to those who came to Christ since he left. It\u0026rsquo;s more likely that this refers to other recipients of this circular letter. This is similar to praying for a friend of a friend - you may not know who you are praying for, but based on the word of someone you actually know, you offer prayers to God. Epaphras visited Paul in prison and told him of everything happening in Asia. Since Paul wrote Colossians at the same time and included that letter with this one, it is likely he heard about the Colossians faith through Epaphras.\nMore importantly, Paul prays that they(readers of this circular letter) may grow to know God better through wisdom and revelation. Wisdom usually comes over time, revelation came at the urging of God through individual Christians in the church. Paul makes it a point to pray from both, not just the euphoria of new insight, but also from the patience and perseverance that comes through wisdom.\nFeel the Power Paul prays that they may be enlightened in the hope of their inheritance and in the great power for believers. Inheritance was touched on earlier, but Paul goes to great lengths to talk of this great power. This power raised Jesus\u0026rsquo; body from the dead - it gives life. This power raised Jesus to the right hand of God - it has authority. How much authority? It raised Jesus above all titles of the present, and future. Remember that the Ephesians burned thousands of magical scrolls - they believed in all kinds of celestial beings, not just angels and demons. Paul is making the point that Jesus is above all of them, no matter what they imagine the other celestial beings to be.\nMore in Chapter Two\n","date":"7 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-07-ephesians-chapter-one/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"[Ephesians] Chapter One","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"7 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/expositions/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Expositions","type":"tags"},{"content":"There\u0026rsquo;s a lot of buzz about the recovered Gospel of Judas. In a made for TV style, the National Geographic Channel promises a tell-all show this Sunday night.\nThe Cainites are not new to Christian historians. Since they considered the god of the Old Testament evil, anyone punished by this god was revered. It\u0026rsquo;s no surprise they revered Judas Iscariot as well. The New Advent website provides the following definition:\nA Gnostic Sect of the second century was called Cainites or Caianites. They regarded all characters held up to retrobation in the Old Testament as worthy of veneration, as having suffered at the hands of the cruel God of the Jews; hence Cain, as the first man cursed by Hysteraa, the Demiurg, claimed their special admiration. This sect of Antinomians never found many adherents, and Hippolytus at the beginning of the third century dismisses them with the bare mention of their name.\nTalk about rooting for the underdog\u0026hellip;\nThe fact that this is touted as a rival to the accepted Gospels demonstrates large-scale ignorance of how the New Testament was formed in the first place. I am hopeful that this national interest will spark some educational opportunities to learn about canonization. I think our national skepticism can easily question the decisions made by various councils. I\u0026rsquo;ve been there myself.\nI used to use a table like this one to read certain extrabiblical books and try to come to some decision on my own as to their canonicity. After all, if Irenaeus the Shepherd of Hermas to be biblical, it must have some value. I also marveled at all the books that Clement considered canonical enough to cite in his works. He cited obscure books like the Gospel to the Egyptians and others. I was ready to dive into all of these to make up my own mind.\nThen, in Greek class, my professor began telling us about Julius Africanus. He wrote a history of the world trying to come up with a date for creation. He also wrote a few other things here and there. Of interest to our professor, though, was a letter to Origen. Tersely and forthrightly, Julius chides Origen for preaching from the Book of Susanna, a book in the OT Apocyrpha. Origen\u0026rsquo;s response was not overly critical, but in a roundabout way, Orgien basically says that he can preach authoritatively from it if he wants to. He can discern the difference between the recommendation to read it and the admonition to avoid teaching from it.\nThat got me thinking - here is the great Origen and this obscure guy from Emmaus. Where did he get the confidence to chide Origen? He simply trusted that his earlier predecessors did their due diligence in determining the canon. It also got me thinking that surely God would not allow the Bible to stand for centuries only to get one book wrong. I realize that the NT wasn\u0026rsquo;t officially canonized by the time of Julius Africanus, but the disputes were much smaller by then. (Earliest NT canon that matches the current accepted NT is 354.) In any case, God knows the message He wants to impart. Either he will allow his message to be obscured or not. Like Julius, I choose to believe that God knows what he is doing.\nGranted, I don\u0026rsquo;t think this act of faith excuses good research, but let\u0026rsquo;s face it. With all the things that can be researched, is this a higher priority than trying to understand the current canon, first? After almost twenty years of study, I don\u0026rsquo;t think I have understood the present canon well enough yet! I\u0026rsquo;ve done my little foray into it and I\u0026rsquo;m content to stick with what we\u0026rsquo;ve got.\nBut that doesn\u0026rsquo;t make for good television. Ask Dan Brown.\n","date":"7 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-07-gospel-of-judas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gospel of Judas","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Scoreboard has been updated as of today for those that need to know who is on which side. After all, some need to\nhave an awareness of those churches that want to take part in an active fellowship amongst one another.\nUnity Proposal Q\u0026amp;A - Feb 23, 2006\nIn the next week or so, there should be another rewrite of the question of this being a creed. There will be a few more no votes and a lot more yes votes coming in. Whatever.\nI basically wanted to have a post saying that my continued interest in the ICoC is waning fast. I plan on writing more about expositions, computer stuff, and my life in general. The ICoC blew their big chance and this is the beginning of the end.\nI also do not plan to comment on the church I attend. I do not consider myself a member, but a visitor, so their business is solely theirs. If I speak (doubtful) I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know. My wife is giving communion on Sunday, so I plan to have that here. (No, I\u0026rsquo;m not doing it with her or even introducing her on stage.) If things change, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know. I\u0026rsquo;m teaching the 3rd and 4th graders this summer, so you can hear the sermons on the church\u0026rsquo;s website like I will. Please do not ask me about the church I attend.\nSome have said to me that there is no such thing as a perfect church and they are right. I am not looking for a perfect church. I am looking for a church with a set of problems I can live with. Telling me that I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t leave because there\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as a perfect church is like telling someone to stay at their present job because there\u0026rsquo;s no such thing as a perfect job. Besides, I\u0026rsquo;m not leaving - I believe that unity is relational and I intend to keep these relationships as God allows.\nTo that end, I believe in unity. I want to be unified with brothers and sisters everywhere. I can be unified with some ICoC congregations because I am no longer a member. I want to be unified in the sense that I know there are Christians in the ICoC and I believe that with all my heart. I do not agree with all their doctrine. This is the same kind of unity I feel towards my brothers and sisters in the mainline chruches of christ. They have doctrine I do not agree with, but they are baptized for the forgiveness of sins, just like me.\nI believe in being a member of a church - relationship with God is individual and corporate. Without some kind of corporate worship and fellowship, a large part of Christianity is lost. I will eventually be a member somewhere - it may even be the church I currently attend. Right now, though, it will just take some time.\nI have a great hope of Heaven and a great hope of unity here on Earth. I plan to pursue it as best I can.\nPOSTSCRIPT I appreciate the comments. I feel like I need to say something, though.\nI am not doing this just to prove a point. I\u0026rsquo;m trying to do what I believe is right for me and my family. I\u0026rsquo;m not looking to be some model of any kind. The situation is fluid and could change drastically at any time. The end result of this may be that I end up being a member again.\nAs I said before, I write my feelings here, but rarely write about my actions. This is a psalter, not a documentary. I want to be resolved about this, not just heard. I\u0026rsquo;ve been heard. I respect what one deacon has shared with me about his persepctive. I could very well be in the wrong, though presently I do not believe I am. I realize that I am putting some people that do not care about the UP in an awkward position. These people are my friends and have been very good friends to me since I moved here - thus this is difficult. I hope it can be resolved in a way satisfactory to everyone. I believe in the ability of most folks here to work issues out. I am not simply going to walk out.\n","date":"7 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-07-recent-events/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recent Events","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found a blog entry elsewhere about the proliferation of awful Christian merchandise. It reminds me of a book my wife and I are reading about raising our son.\nDr. Kimmel questions the value of insulating our children inside an artificial Christian culture. In other words, they can listen to rock, but only Christian rock. They can listen to the radio, but only Christian radio. All the board games are Christian, the video games are Christian, etc.\nBased on my own experience, it looks like American Christians are trying to create their own pocket universe inside of our culture. The thing is, the pocket universe is incerdibly similar to our own, but usually of B-Rate quality.\nMore later.\n","date":"5 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-05-authenticity-and-marketing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Authenticity and Marketing","type":"posts"},{"content":"It was a fun 14.9 years. True to my word, I will not be a member of a church that signs this sectarian agreement. I do not agree with the doctrine stated for salvation, nor do I believe that mandating extrabiblical practices aligns with Romans 14-15. You ask me to stand on one side of a line, I will.\nhttp://www.disciplestoday.com/Headlines/060403_ChurchesAgreeUnityPlan.aspx\nI was still talking to the minister about this, I didn\u0026rsquo;t think we had agreed to it, yet.\nHeaven save us from ourselves.\n","date":"4 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-04-4281991-432006/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"4/28/1991 - 4/3/2006","type":"posts"},{"content":"When I was in college, I took an African literature class taught by Chima Nwankwo. He was raised in Igbo villages in west Africa in what is now Nigeria. When we read \u0026ldquo;Things Fall Apart\u0026rdquo; by Chinua Achebe, he sang the Igbo parts and translated them for us.\nWe compared two authors writing political novels about their respective home countries. One writer had left her country 15 years before the publication of her novel. The other was still in his country. As we discussed these books, the discussion turned to what it means to fight for change. I will never forget what Chima said\u0026hellip;\nHe said that since the author had left, she had no business trying to fight for any change. She had left the struggle and has now become willingly disconnected from the conflict. Her only information is second-hand. If she had wanted to evoke change, she should have stayed.\nThat is has been eating away at me for some time. I am tremendously disappointed. I hope this changes soon.\n","date":"4 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-04-african-lit-class/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"African Lit Class","type":"posts"},{"content":"UNITY PLAN SCORES: The Unity Plan for Cooperation has recorded the first list of churches to adopt the proposal.\n2006 SCOREBOARD UPDATE: Here\u0026rsquo;s where we stand this week (as of 4/18):\nChurches that have signed the Unity Plan: 144 Churches currently deliberating the plan: 411 Church that have presently declined the Plan: 6 Latest yes votes**8**: ASIA/PACIFIC Korea: Seoul (West, East) Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA United States: Antelope Valley Church of Christ, Bloomington Church of Christ, Columbia Church of Christ, Bozeman Christian Church, Central Montana Christian Church (Great Falls), Missoula Christian Church, The Memphis Church\n****************************************************************\nSURPRISE! A church affiliated with the Portland International Church of Christ has signed the agreement. Unlike the Salt Lake Christian Church that deliberated last Wed (4/12), the Greater Baltimore Church of Christ has signed on to the plan. It is tempting to find evidence of a conspriacy or of a split within the other ICC. If this editor were to offer a conjecture, it would be that leaders of Baltimore, like many other churches, simply did not think through the implications of the written document. Instead, they did not want to look like they were disunified, so they signed the document.\nAs of April 14, 2006 Count of yes votes (6): AFRICA Nambia: Windhoek Church of Christ\nMIDDLE EAST Cyprus: Limassol Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA United States: Ft. Wayne Church of Christ, Lawrence Church of Christ, Greater Baltimore Church of Christ, Amarillo International Church of Christ\nAs of April 7, 2006 The new no vote (1): NORTH AMERICA United States: Tuscon City Church of Christ\n****************************************************************\nAs of April 7, 2006 Count of yes votes (13): ASIA/PACIFIC Korea: Bu-Chun Church of Christ, Bun-Dang Church of Christ, Busan International Church of Christ, Dae-Gu Church of Christ, Seoul (South, Frontier, North) Church of Christ\nPapua New Guinea: Gumine Church of Christ, Port Moresby Church of Christ\nEUROPE UK: Bristol International Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA United States: Bakersfield Church of Christ, Denver Church of Christ, Hilo Church of Christ, Lansing Area Church of Christ, South Sound Church of Christ (Tacoma)\nCount of no votes (1): NORTH AMERICA Canada: Toronto Church of Christ\n****************************************************************\nAs of April 3, 2006 Count of yes votes (117):\nAFRICA: Nigeria: Kaduna Christian Church, Abuja Christian Church\nSouth Africa: Cape Town Church of Christ\nASIA/PACIFIC: Australia: Brisbane Christian Church, Melbourne Church of Christ\nChina: China Mission Council 18 churches\nFiji: Fiji International Church of Christ\nIndia: Ahmebad Church of Christ, Ahmed Nagar Church of Christ, Alleppy Church of Christ, Aluva Church of Christ, Bangalore Church of Christ, Chandigarth Church of Christ, Chengalpet Church of Christ, Chenganacheri Church of Christ, Chennai Church of Christ, Coimbatore Church of Christ, Coonoor Church of Christ, Dimapur Church of Christ, Gadag Church of Christ, Goa Church of Christ, Guwahati Church of Christ, Hubli Church of Christ, Hyderabad Church of Christ, Kalpakkam Church of Christ, Karaikal Church of Christ, Kochi Church of Christ, Kolar Gold Fields Church of Christ, Kottayam Church of Christ, Lucknow Church of Christ, Mangalore Church of Christ, Mysore Church of Christ, New Delhi Church of Christ, Pondicherry Church of Christ, Pune Church of Christ, Quilon Church of Christ, Ranchi Church of Christ, Solapur Church of Christ, Thiuvalla Church of Christ, Tirunelveli Church of Christ, Tichur Church of Christ, Trichy Church of Christ, Trivandrum Church of Christ, Tumkur Church of Christ, Vizag Church of Christ\nIndonesia: Bali Church of Christ, Batan Church of Christ, Jakarta Church of Christ, Jayapura Church of Christ, Manado Church of Christ, Medan Church of Christ, Pontianak Church of Christ, Semarang Church of Christ, Surabaya Church of Christ, Yogyakarta Church of Christ\nMalaysia: Johor Bahru Church of Christ, Kota Kinnabalu Church of Christ, Kuala Lumpur Central Christian Church, Metro Penang Church of Christ, Petaling Jaya Church of Christ\nMongolia: Ulaanbataar Church of Christ\nNepal: Katmandu Church of Christ, Pokahara Church of Christ\nSingapore: Singapore Central Christian Church\nSri Lanka: Colombo Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA: United States: Los Angeles Church of Christ, Groton / New London Intl. Church of Christ, Chicago Church of Christ, Worcester County Church of Christ, Detroit Church of Christ, Omaha Church of Christ, The Fayettville Church, Greenville International Church of Christ, Toledo Church of Christ, Oklahoma City Intl. Church of Christ, Rogue Valley Church of Christ, Philadelphia Church of Christ, Pittsburgh Church of Christ, Austin International Church of Christ, Dallas / Ft. Worth Church of Christ, Hampton Roads Church, The Harrisonburg Church, Roanoke Valley Church, Greater Richmond Church of Christ, Seattle Church of Christ, Spokane Christian Church, Madison Church of Christ, Milwaukee Church of Christ\nEURASIA/EUROPE: Estonia: Tallinn Church of Christ, Tartu Church of Christ\nHungary: Krisztus Magyarorszagi Egyhaza\nLatvia: Riga Church of Christ\nLithuania: Vilnius Church of Christ\nNorway: Bergen Kristi Forsamling, Oslo Kristi Forsamling\nSweden: Stockholm Kristi Forsamling\nLATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN:\nNone\nMIDDLE EAST:\nNone\nUNDISCLOSED LOCATION:\n4 churches\nCount of no votes (4): Editor\u0026rsquo;s Note: This list includes churches with any heritage connected to the International Churches of Christ.\nAFRICA:\nNone\nASIA/PACIFIC:\nNone\nNORTH AMERICA: United States: Portland International Church of Christ, Toronto International Christian Church, Vancouver Church of Christ\nEURASIA/EUROPE: Ireland: Northern Ireland International Christian Church\nLATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN:\nNone\nMIDDLE EAST:\nNone\nUNDISCLOSED LOCATION:\n*WHO WILL KNOW?*\nScoreboard Archive None yet\n","date":"4 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2006-04-04-scoreboard/","section":"Pages","summary":"UNITY PLAN SCORES: The Unity Plan for Cooperation has recorded the first list of churches to adopt the proposal.\n2006 SCOREBOARD UPDATE: Here’s where we stand this week (as of 4/18):\nChurches that have signed the Unity Plan: 144 Churches currently deliberating the plan: 411 Church that have presently declined the Plan: 6 Latest yes votes**8**: ASIA/PACIFIC Korea: Seoul (West, East) Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA United States: Antelope Valley Church of Christ, Bloomington Church of Christ, Columbia Church of Christ, Bozeman Christian Church, Central Montana Christian Church (Great Falls), Missoula Christian Church, The Memphis Church\n****************************************************************\nSURPRISE! A church affiliated with the Portland International Church of Christ has signed the agreement. Unlike the Salt Lake Christian Church that deliberated last Wed (4/12), the Greater Baltimore Church of Christ has signed on to the plan. It is tempting to find evidence of a conspriacy or of a split within the other ICC. If this editor were to offer a conjecture, it would be that leaders of Baltimore, like many other churches, simply did not think through the implications of the written document. Instead, they did not want to look like they were disunified, so they signed the document.\nAs of April 14, 2006 Count of yes votes (6): AFRICA Nambia: Windhoek Church of Christ\nMIDDLE EAST Cyprus: Limassol Church of Christ\nNORTH AMERICA United States: Ft. Wayne Church of Christ, Lawrence Church of Christ, Greater Baltimore Church of Christ, Amarillo International Church of Christ\nAs of April 7, 2006 The new no vote (1): NORTH AMERICA United States: Tuscon City Church of Christ\n****************************************************************\n","title":"Scoreboard","type":"pages"},{"content":"The church in Ephesus has an interesting history. Before getting into that, though, it is important to understand who the Ephesians were.\nEphesus was the greatest city in Asia at the time Paul visited there. It was an urban center on par with Corinth, Alexandria, Antioch, even Rome, itself. The harbour lead to the Aegean sea and served strategic purposes throughout history. It was also the seat of the Roman government at the the of Paul\u0026rsquo;s visit - this meant they also received money from Rome for various public projects. Ephesus was a beautiful city and comparable to Paris or Boston or Los Angelos in our time period.\nIt boasted the great temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Inside the temple, merchants dealt in goods from far and wide - archelogists have found goods made in Persia and India on the site. Oddly enough, the original temple was burned the night Alexander the Great was born, it was said that Artemis was concentrating on the birth of Alexander too much to defend her temple from attack. Herostratus only wanted to be remembered, yet ironically was overshadowed in history by a birth miles away. Because the original temple was destroyed, the new temple was constructed almost entirely in marble, thus earning a place among the seven ancient wonders.\nArtemis was worshipped by the Greeks for centuries. Most of the ancient world identified her as a hunter, child of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Apollo. She was usually indentified as the goddess of the hunt shown with drawn bow and arrow. However, the Ephesians had a unique claim to her that allowed the people to claim \u0026ldquo;Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!\u0026rdquo; Little is known about the object, but, according to Acts, this image \u0026lsquo;fell from the sky\u0026rsquo; and somehow became associated with Artemis. As she was worshipped as a fertility and earth goddess, this object may have conincided with a great harvest. This is purely speculation, however. Although the origin is lost to history, the mention of this object allowed the city clerk to get the mob\u0026rsquo;s attention before that acted against Paul (Acts 19:35).\nThe ministry in Ephesus began off-handedly. Paul and others (Timothy, Priscilla, Aquilla, possibly Titus(?) and Tychius) were on the way to Antioch from Corinth. Paul took a Nazarite vow in Cenchrea, thus shaving his head. When they stopped in Ephesus on the way, Paul went to the synagogue to preach. Although asked to stay, he continued to Antioch by way of Macedonia. Priscilla and Aquilla decide to stay in Ephesus.\nApollos, then only a disciple of John the baptist, arrives sometime after Paul leaves. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue to preach about Jesus. I can imagine the the members of the synagogue were suprised that God had sent two believers to preach, especially two believers that did not know each other, yet both preached that Jesus was the Messiah. Apollos did this for some time before Priscilla and Aquila heard of him. Finding that he did not know about the Holy Spirit, they taught Apollos about Him. With more complete knowledge, Apollos wishes to continue preaching in Achia - Priscilla and Aquila send him with letters so that he will be welcomed by Christians there and elsewhere.\nBecause of Apollos, it\u0026rsquo;s not surpising that Paul returns and finds disciples of John the Baptist there. It is possible they had only recently come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Like Priscilla and Aquila, Paul gives them \u0026lsquo;full instruction in the Lord\u0026rsquo; and they are baptized.\nAt this point, Timothy had to be with Paul because Paul mentions this journey in both letter to Timothy (1Tim 1:3; 2Tim 1:18). He again preaches in the synagogue for three months. However, the reaction this time is much less favorable. When folks start maligning the Christian faith, he moves to the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Some believe that this was a midrash hall - in other words, a place where the pracitical aspects of the Jewish faith were discussed. It seems more likely, that Tyrannus was a teacher of rhetoric. As such, Paul would have been no competition to his students. Paul preaches here for another two years.\nIt is important to note that the effect of the gospel was large scale repentance from witchcraft. People publically burned their \u0026lsquo;magic\u0026rsquo; books in public. Considering that Ephesus later became home to the cult of Isis, these magic treatises and books may have been Eqyptian in nature (Book of the Dead and the like). The value amounted to several years of wages. In order to capture the scale, I imagine this would be like everyone in Boston publicly burning their copies of Harry Potter books. (I am not condemning the books or saying that they are witchcraft, I just couldn\u0026rsquo;t think of a different wildly popular book series as an example.)\nPaul mentions fighting wild animals in Ephesus, but Luke does not write about it in Acts. He is almost lynched by a mob that disbands only after the city clerk threatens to arrest the mob. The mob seems motivated by money - with hundreds not worshipping in the temple, business was not so good. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that some things are really motivated by money, but cloaked in religious piety.\nFrom a Christian perspective, Ephesus enjoyed many \u0026lsquo;big names\u0026rsquo; of the first century church. Apollos began there, Paul stayed for almost three years, Timothy stayed for longer. The apostle John lived there before his exile. If anyone had a chance to hear about Jesus from eyewitnesses, it was the citizens of Ephesus. Considering that the work was largely started by Apollos by reasoning with the Scriptures and continued by Paul who reasoned the scriptures for two more years, it is not suprising that John has to chide them in Rev 2 that they have lost their first love. As it says, they worked hard, they had good doctrine, but the heart was missing. Paul\u0026rsquo;s letter, thirty years before John\u0026rsquo;s, seems to hint that matters of the heart should be addressed.\nAs best can be determined, this letter appears to have been written around 62 AD while Paul is imprisoned in Rome. Two other letters accompany this (Colossians and Philemon). Apparently, a house church is now meeting in Philemon\u0026rsquo;s home and Apphia may be his wife. Considering the numbers of converts needed to begin a mob, it seems unlikely that the entire church met in Philemon\u0026rsquo;s home, especially if they met in the presumably larger lecture hall. I\u0026rsquo;ve been in a Roman house, it could easily hold 100-200 folks without alarm. Some histories place the membership of the church of Ephesus in the thousands, though it may not have been so high in 62AD.\n","date":"3 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-03-ephesians-background/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"[Ephesians] Background","type":"posts"},{"content":"After ten years, Herb Sendek heads to Arizona State to be the new men\u0026rsquo;s basketball coach.\nHe became the coach the year I graduated, allowing all-around-nice-guy Les Robinson move into a role better suited to his talents, Athletic Director. I still remember Les giving me a pizza the first year he was coach. Robinson was brought in to clean up Valvano\u0026rsquo;s mess, not to win. Sure enough, he did just that. Sendek was brought in to win, and he did pretty well. He tried about seven different offenses in his ten years, it reflects his coaching prowess, I believe, to work with what he had rather than recruit into a specific system.\nThe search begins now - I wonder who will apply?\n","date":"3 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-03-change-at-alma-mater/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Change at Alma Mater","type":"posts"},{"content":"Those that signed on will be published soon, you might think I\u0026rsquo;d be interested in who signs it and who does not. Well, that would play into the very problem this thing creates in the first place. Personally, I hope that so few people signed it that they decided to wait another week to publish the list. No matter what, though, it all starts tomorrow.\nAnd it\u0026rsquo;s not an April Fool\u0026rsquo;s joke.\n","date":"3 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-03-the-list/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The List","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s funny what is awful to me may be helpful to someone else.\nThe Salt Lake Christian Church is wrestling with the Unity Proposal. This is a church replanted by Kip. So far it is the only one I know that is even considering the plan.\nKip\u0026rsquo;s church in Toronto said that it was just talk. The folks in Kip\u0026rsquo;s church in Ireland and Chicago echoed similar sentiments. I have no word from Kyiv, but Kip himself says that \u0026ldquo;you can\u0026rsquo;t mandate unity\u0026rdquo; in his latest sermon.\nSo here is Salt Lake, the only one of Kip\u0026rsquo;s churches I know that is actually considering this proposal.\nThat must be a tough place to be. Like the All Nations Church of Christ in Georgia, these folks have tried to stay neutral in regards to Kip and the group of 84.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, the agreement is still theologically bad. However, as God tends to bring good from bad things, something good may yet come from this for the folks in Salt Lake. The good may not necessarily be separating from Kip. The good may be examining who they are and making a statement, though I understand their wish to not be involved in the whole thing.\nAs my minister says often, \u0026ldquo;We live in interesting times.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"3 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-03-tough-place-to-be/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Tough Place to Be","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know, I said Monday. This is not an introduction, just some random notes so that I have a place to write them down.\nIt seems that the churches in Asia have a natural connnection. Paul started the church is Ephesus and stayed there for about three years. While there, Epaphras became a Christian (Acts 19:10) and subsequently took the message to Colosse (Col 1:7-8). At some point, through Paul, Epaphras, or others, churches started in Laodicea (Col 4:15) and Hierapolis.\nPaul wrote four letters while imprisoned in Rome, Ephesians being one of them. (Ephesians was written at the same time as Colossians and Philemon. Philippians was written later.) It seems likely, that letter to the Ephesians was meant to be circulated around Asia. Tychus was sent to the area to bring the letters, so it doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem like much of a stretch.\nPaul went twice to Ephesus. Once briefly from Corinth, then more deliberately from Ceasarea. On his second visit, Paul preached in the Tyranus Hall in Ephesus for quite some time. He also ran afoul of silversmiths. He encounters disciples that only know the baptism of John (Acts 18:1-7). It\u0026rsquo;s no surprise since Apollos had been teaching there for some time before Priscilla and Aquilla taught him the baptism of Jesus (Acts 17:24-26). Apollos went to Corinth, I guess, before setting everyone else straight.\nPaul saw the repentance of many that practiced witchcraft. He also encountered the Seven Sons of Sceva. All in all, it seems the message was quite successful here, allowing \u0026rsquo;everyone in the province of Asia\u0026rsquo; to receive the message.\nActs doesn\u0026rsquo;t tell the story in chronological order in this part, so I\u0026rsquo;m still working through some things. On his first visit, he had just cut his hair in Cenchrea as part of a Nazarite vow. This would have meant that he would grow out his hair until he could visit the temple in Jerusalem. He made have completed his vow before he returned to Ephesus or not. I think he did, but I\u0026rsquo;m not certain.\nInteresting stuff thus far.\n","date":"1 April 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-04-01-ephesians-notes/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"[Ephesians] Notes","type":"posts"},{"content":"Doug and I are going to study the book of Ephesians together. We are going to try to do it a la Reading the Bible for All Its Worth. There\u0026rsquo;s a lot of work upfront, but I hope it is worth it.\nAll posts from us will have Ephesians in brackets for the Googlers of the religious blogosphere.\nIf anyone else wants to join, feel free. The only rule that I am placing on myself is No Commentaries. Bible Dictionaries ok, Eerdman\u0026rsquo;s Handbook ok - but no commentaries.\nIt will basically go like this:\nFind out the history of the Ephesian church in Acts. This provides some context. Use whatever resources you have (except commentaries) to discover when and where it was written. Read the book in one setting. Answer the who and what questions. (I have to keep in mind that this is an overview, I can get bogged down in minutia this early.) For example, who are the Ephesians? What is the author saying to the original audience? What situation is the author addressing? What does Paul say is happeneing to himself? Whom does he address specifically? What does he say about God? Go through the chapters and answer the why questions. Why is Paul saying this to them? Why did he use this example? Why does he mention certain people? Lastly, after going through chapter by chapter, review your notes and ask How does this apply to me? The first post will appear Monday, and all other posts will appear Monday and Thursday for the month of April.\nI look forward to it. Thanks for being my friend, Doug.\n","date":"30 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-30-ephesians-meme/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"[Ephesians] Meme","type":"posts"},{"content":"A day of prayer and fasting was held yesterday in regards to the unity proposal.\nNow, we wait for this Monday when the list of ratifiers appears on DToday.\nAfter wrestling with this for over a month and posting my thoughts here, I am still choosing to take a stand on this Unity Proposal.\nI can abide the return to discipling partners because it is voluntary and transitory. I do not agree with it, but I am willing to consider myself the weaker brother a la Romans 14 and let it go. I can abide supporting HOPE Worldwide again - I believe they still engage in one questionable practice of garnering cash from overseas, but they have eliminated many positions that should not have ever existed. Again, I can consider myself the weaker brother because I cannot prove my perspective to most people here. I originally voted for our participationg in the Eurasian Missions Society without sending money. Now, whether we send money or not, they appear to be above board. Besides, Kip has appeared in the Ukraine, so they need whatever help we can send. I want to be unified with other churches. I do not believe that every individual congregation is an island unto itself.\nHowever, this is the final straw. I cannot abide a return to our bad theology. I cannot abide setting up a shibboleth to see who is towing the party line. Jesus did not pray 1 Tim 4:16 in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed that we would be unified. More importantly, though, most folks here seem to want the unity proposal. Why should I create problems for them? They have wrestled with it and come to different conclusions.\nI have prayed and wrestled and hoped for so many things. My faith in change is all but gone and I cannot live with the present reality. Make no mistake, I have not left my church. I am, however, feeling faithless and hugely disappointed. I did not draw this line. Others drew it and asked where I will stand. I stand on one side, and many I know are on the other.\nIn Grace Based Parenting, Dr. Kimmel says that there are two fundamental truths he wanted to teach to his children:\nYou are a gift from God, go make a difference. You may struggle doing the right thing sometimes, but you\u0026rsquo;re forgiven. I am struggling to do the right thing and I want my son to do the same. The right thing appears to take me on a path that diverges from the path of my friends - and thus I hesitate where I usually push ahead. It may be knightly to tilt when you should withdraw, but I am neither knightly nor noble. I am only a man. I pray and search for God with everything I have.\nI will be okay, I just need to express some deep sadness and disappointment. I am still hopeful that things will be different. I still trust that God has His own purposes in mind. I am grateful that He has led me down this path for all its ups and downs, even if this \u0026lsquo;downturn\u0026rsquo; feels really painful\n","date":"30 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-30-the-day-after/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Day After","type":"posts"},{"content":"This unknown person was seen using the facilities just south of the Virginia state border. It should be noted that the nearest road was 4 miles away and the nearest gas station almost twice that far away.\nA certain former friend took this picture in an attempt at humor - to protect from blackmail during the Christmas Banquet, it is being published here, although slightly altered to obscure the identity of the subject.\nWait until the banquet, my former friend. Wait until the banquet.\n","date":"28 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-28-seen-just-south-of-the-border/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Seen Just South of the Border","type":"posts"},{"content":"We made it home. I am posting from Rock\u0026rsquo;s house. I am giving him pictures of my son.\nI wanted to stop in St. Louis, I really did. I did not read the blog until just now, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t know. I also thought about going to Columbus, but it was three hours out of the way. For reasons that I cannot explain here, time was critical and the trip was risky. We were about to go through western NC, but the route was carefully planned for the reasons that the trip was risky in the first place.\nI added a link to Chick-Fil-A(R) because the story of the trip will be posted here. It\u0026rsquo;s long and will take several posts. Yes, chicken sandwiches feature prominently.\n","date":"25 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-25-mission-accomplished/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mission Accomplished!","type":"posts"},{"content":"My father bought my Cadillac from me so that I could get out from under it. Maybe in the future, I can buy it back from him. For now, though, it is a roughly $500 month headache taken away. Seriously, the payment was only $299, the insurance required by the lease, was the worst part.\nAnyway, me and close friend Shane (aka tool) are off to the East Coast on a driving excursion.\nThe highlight, of course, is Chick-Fil-A(R).\nReason #1783 of why it\u0026rsquo;s good to love Chick-Fil-A(R):\nYou can create a map on their website of all their stores on a given route.\nFull size map is here\n","date":"23 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-23-off-to-the-coast/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Off to the Coast","type":"posts"},{"content":"We have our first church voting \u0026rsquo;nay\u0026rsquo; on the Unity Proposal. Actually, this is the first church I know that has published a decision at all. I assume that Los Angelos, Chicago, San Antonio, New York, and Hampton Roads will endorse it because a leader of those churches helped draft the plan in the first place.\nSo, it has started. I do not believe that this is an isolated incident, although others that vote \u0026rsquo;nay\u0026rsquo; making a public statement may be rare. I also believe that it will be a somewhat rare event that a \u0026lsquo;yes\u0026rsquo; vote will be on a church\u0026rsquo;s website, namely because the list of ascenting congregations will be listed on DToday.\n","date":"23 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-23-the-first-shot/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The First Shot","type":"posts"},{"content":"I did communion yesterday. I talked about stories. In many ways, this site is one side of my story. I say one side because it only records my thoughts at a given moment in time. Unless I make mention of it, it does not track what I do.\nAnywho, here it is:\nStories\n\\[http://www.pinakidion.us/story.mp3\\]","date":"20 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-20-our-story/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Our Story","type":"posts"},{"content":"I now know how to create my own Gangster Bankroll.\nPlease alert Dynamite Hack, if they are not the authors of the e-how.\nSomehow this seems appropriate after last night. After a three hour talk about what we can do for our church, we end up quoting Jump Around and Triumph to each other.\n\u0026hellip;Word to your Moms, I come to drop bombs: I got more rhymes than the Bible\u0026rsquo;s got Psalms\u0026hellip;\nEverlast from the group House of Pain\nYes, I have strange friends. Good friends, but strange friends.\n","date":"16 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-16-a-useful-howto/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Useful HowTo","type":"posts"},{"content":"Bill,\nNow that I am the entire first page of a google search for the word pinakidion, I figured I\u0026rsquo;d post this. Scott and I have been looking for you for years. Look, I know I didn\u0026rsquo;t call you back in 1990, but I really want to now. Scott and I have been looking for you independently for a number of years.\nScott didn\u0026rsquo;t find me until a couple years ago.\nRemember the 36 hour binge of D\u0026amp;D that forever put \u0026ldquo;gray-furry-giant\u0026rdquo; in front of everything for a month? Remember when Scott lived close to the High School?\nJust find one of us. Post, write, call, send a telegram postage due, I don\u0026rsquo;t really care.\nI know this may seem sudden, but we really have been looking for you.\n","date":"16 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-16-apb-for-bill-hatcher/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"APB for Bill Hatcher","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am famous for my more-later\u0026rsquo;s. It usually means that I had a series of complete thoughts, but not a complete idea, or the time to develop the complete idea. Well, this time, I think I have the time to finish at least one of these more-later\u0026rsquo;s. This one pertains to the theological issues in the Unity Proposal. It is long.\nThe theological issues are:\nThe inconsistency of our overall theology. Unresolved issues regarding Control and Obedience Do We Have a Consistent Theology?\nLooking at our overall theology, we appear to be making contradictary claims about the apostles. On the one hand, we claim that the apostles were foundational only. On the other, we claim that the need for apostles (with a different title) are needed today(See the section \u0026ldquo;But We Have No Apostles!\u0026rdquo;) We claim that the hermentuic of the traditional Churches of Christ are a barrier to a biblical understanding (again, the Hyper-Autonomy article) without seeing the issues in our own hermenutic.\nAs far as the miraculous gifts, we begin in Ephesians 2:20 and say that the apostles were only foundational to the church and therefore not continuing offices. We move on to Hebrews 2:3-4 which says miracles were performed by apostles interpreting that to mean that only apostles performed miracles. (Ananias\u0026rsquo;s miracluous healing of Paul is explained differently.) We then conclude that after the passing of the last apostle (usually John), miraclous gifts performed through people ceased. We also contend that the office of an apostle is not necessary now as their function was fulfilled in laying the foundation of the church for all time. This ties in to many other facets of our theology as well, but those ties are outside the scope of what this post.\nIf the function of the apostles have been fulfilled in laying the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20), then it is difficult to say that the role of an apostle is needed today. The arguement as I understood it is that the office of the apostle is no longer needed, but the role is needed. The only biblical reference to this inference was stated\nThis approach involves a group of qualified people with moral and relational authority acting as representatives and working in consensus to meet the same existing needs that were once met by the apostles and their first century coworkers (i.e., prophets, evangelists, and shepherd-teachers \u0026ndash; Ephesians 4:11-13).\nICOC Unity Group\nEphesians 4 speaks to the present reality of the church as it exists at the time Paul was writing. At the time of the writing, all of these offices existed. Christians have been fashioned through the Spirit into one body, (Eph 4:4, Eph 4:12, Eph 4:16), belonging to one God (in contrast to the many gods of the pagan world) by one way of salvation through faith, brought out especially by the significance of baptism (Eph 4:1-6). Christian unity is more than this: It is also shown in the spiritual gifts to people to serve in making the community more like Jesus (Eph 4:11-16). In other words, the principle is that God arranges us so that we can build the body of Christ through various means.\nAs the apostles and prophets do not exist today, the principle must remain that God has made each of us in order to build up the body of Christ. There is nothing in this principle that says anything about relational authority - it says that we should use our gifts to help each other become mature in Christ. In agreement with the group, I will say that one gift is the gift of administration. This gift can and does help churches work together regionally and globaly. This gift also implies a certain amount of authority within it. You have to have authority over a bank account in order to write checks, you have to be the decision maker in a charity group in order to decide which projects will be funded. However, this authority is not ecclesiatical authority.\nThis may seem like a fine point, but the justification for the role of an apostle being needed is predicated on the perceived need of persons with \u0026lsquo;regional authority\u0026rsquo;. Considering our history with misunderstanding authority, it is important to avoid inserting assumptions about authority into verses that have nothing to do with authority. (Since 1983, we have had at least three \u0026ldquo;A New Look at Authority\u0026rdquo; papers written . Two by Al Baird and one by Douglas Jacoby. Since 2003 almost everyone has done a sermon about it.) The assumption about regional church authority is stated and then justified, however, the verses in Ephesians used do not imply any kind of church authority and thus are not valid for their point. After that, their examples are all of apostles exercisizing their God-given authority as they were fulfilling their God-given purpose.\nLet me be clear, we need each other in the body of Christ. I believe this extends, in our particular situation at this specific time, to the Churches of Christ and the Independent Christian Churches, as well as those in historic fellowship. I believe that we need to cooperate and come together to meet common needs, especially taking care of our churches that feel abandoned by the aftermath of HKL. I believe that it is possible for two or more adults from our historic fellowship can sit down and discuss how to meet needs and work toward meeting them without the imposition of some kind of theocratic structure. It is already occurring that two restoration churches leaders can sit down and discuss building bridges - that needs to continue to happen. After a little bit, the talking should result in something actually being done. Like the group has said, this can include various travelling teachers (or teachers accessible online) to fill in needs. Sure we have Douglas Jacoby, but we could also have folks like Tom Olbrecht (who met with Boston leaders) or Jack Reese from ACU or Bob Russell from Southeast Christian Church. We can attend various Elderlink events and even create our own. We truly need each other and should not say \u0026ldquo;we do not need you\u0026rdquo;.\nControl and Obedience\nWe had a culture of control. No one seriously disputes it. Inasmuch as we have admitted to that sin, we have not dealt with our desire to have control. As it says in James, our desires give birth to our sin. If we do not control (not eliminate) our desires, it will give birth to sin again. We also have to deal with our desire for someone else to have control over us. Although much has been written about the right and wrong of being in control, virtually no print is dedicated to the desire to be controlled. Without dealing with the desire to be controlled, we will go back to the system we had before. The Israelites cried out in the desert that their needs were met in Egypt despite the hardships placed on them - I see the same things happening now.\nIt is short-sighted to discuss the issue of control only as an issue of the leadership. It is illogical to describe solutions to this issue by comparing it to a pendulum. As stated by me and others, trying to place a solution between two extremes is a logical fallacy. To this point, we have begun to own up to our desire to be in control - the Unity Proposal goes to great length to say that local church authority will not be compromised. Other leaders and teachers have confessed their control issues and vowed change (though some have not). However, only our critics spend any time or effort trying to get members to think for themselves. We can be as cautious as humanly possible to avoid exerting unhealthy control over anyone, but if a person continues to ask for that unhealthy control they will get it from someone. This makes life for any leader difficult and an issue that troubled me personally when I was on the Deacon Board of my church.\nWe should be teaching responsibility to people, not insist on various level of authority. A guideline that I would suggest would be like this: If an church leader is responsible for something or some area of ministry, then it is reasonable to assume that he or she should have the authority to carry out that responsibility. If, however, someone else is primarily responsible for the outcome of a given decision, church leaders would be out of line for suggesting that they should make the decision.\nFor example, I am responsible for raising my son. It is out of place from someone else to tell me how to raise my son, though it is good to provide help from Scripture or experience. I would be foolish to insist on raising my son without help, but my foolishness does not give anyone the legitimacy to start giving orders. (Obviously, I am not talking about extreme cases here.)\nIn the same way, the local church is responsible for decisions made that affect its membership. A given church may do foolish things, but that does not empower any other outside church leader to start trying to \u0026lsquo;fix\u0026rsquo; issues in the local church. It is tempting, especially since five years ago, a given church leader had the authority to do so. Reading Ephesians 5, Paul speaks of certain areas where a Christian is responsible in his or her life. The key passage being:\nBe very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will is.\nEphesians 5:15-17\nA great article that deals with this in more detail can be found here. (I do not necessarily endorse this group, just this particular article.)\nAnd? And nothing, really. These are the areas that concern me about the agreement. I think our bias towards control and obedience heavily influence us to believe that unity implies some kind of authority. Unity implies cooperation, not authority. We can work out common issues without forming a permanent central group. We can travel from place to place teaching each other and receiving help from others. I do not support this agreement. It is biblical sounding and it rhymes with various biblical ideas. However, it is also founded on assumptions that I do not believe are biblical.\n","date":"14 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-14-the-theological-issues/","section":"Posts","summary":"I am famous for my more-later’s. It usually means that I had a series of complete thoughts, but not a complete idea, or the time to develop the complete idea. Well, this time, I think I have the time to finish at least one of these more-later’s. This one pertains to the theological issues in the Unity Proposal. It is long.\nThe theological issues are:\nThe inconsistency of our overall theology. Unresolved issues regarding Control and Obedience ","title":"The Theological Issues","type":"posts"},{"content":"Two days early, the proposal was released.\nNot much changed in the plan itself except that it is a plan and not a proposal. The Q\u0026amp;A had some extensive rewriting. The comment that appalled me last week has been changed.\nIt seems that my church will sign on. This makes me sad.\nPersonally, I\u0026rsquo;m just tired. I pray Psalm 53 and take comfort from Psalm 37. No matter, though. Unless a miracle happens, not much will change and it feels like we are returning to our vomit. Ultimately, we did not change our doctrine, barely modified our practices, retained our peculiar vocabulary and maintained an uneasy practice of being the one true denomination.\nWe blew our big chance.\nSome have thought this might be a reaction to Kip. It just might be. I mean, we are trying to do what Kip does through legislation. The difference is that we seem to require committees while he works through his magnetic personality. Considering that one of the Gang of Nine has said publicly that he hopes to stamp out anyone that speaks against \u0026rsquo;the church, whether it is Kip or some blogger\u0026rsquo;, there may be other agendas at work.\nConspiracy theories, though hold no attraction for me in this matter. The only agenda is trying to get back something of what we once had. I believe we never truly had unity, thus returning to a form of what we were will not bring it back, either. I applaud the effort, but disagree with the execution.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s an overreaction, plain and simple. If our present state is a result, as the Gang of Nine affirm, of an overreaction, the answer is not a severe course correction. Growing up running a couple of boats, I know what happens when you oversteer, the boat capsizes. I fear the same will happen here. (Granted the entire arguement is invalid from them and me- the pendulum swing so often quoted is a logical fallacy of the middle ground.)\nEven if I am wrong about this, this is not what I want spiritually for my family or me. More later.\n","date":"12 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-12-the-final-final-plan/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Final Final Plan","type":"posts"},{"content":"I do not always appreciate the comics drawn by Sincamper, a former staff member of the ICoC. However, some of them really strike me as so true that I have to laugh (and wince) at myself because I was there.\nFor example, when someone was being baptized, nothing ruined the moment more that the following (which I have seen happen):\nNothing demonstrates the tendency for all of us to revise our history than this cartoon about an elder:\nIt amazes me sometimes the things that God has saved me from by being in a good place.\n","date":"10 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-10-a-different-look/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Different Look","type":"posts"},{"content":"I met with Pastor Gibson today to talk about a banquet he is holding to recognize Christian leaders in the community that are making a difference. We talked for almost an hour. He is hoping to get those that claim to be Christians to come together and do something for the community, this banquet being an initial step.\nI shared with him a desire to really help people, the main reason I became a Christian in the first place.\nWhen I think about unity, I believe that there is a time to do something. I have found in my life that one thing that can build goodwill and togetherness is a common project. Pastor Gibson and I have disagreements about the finer points of doctrine, not about salvation, but about gifts of the Spirit. I can spend three hours going back and forth with him about cessation of certain gifts. We disagree on Biblical hermenutics - I tend to take a historical approach, he seems to take an allegorical approach. We could spend days talking about the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. My approach is modern, his is more inline with second century thinkers. We have very different church cultures - I prefer more contemplative and quiet services, he prefers energetic services. Someday we will talk about how we can help each other in this way.\nBut when it comes down to it, am I really being a Christian? Am I serving my community? Here is a man that believes he is called by God to serve the community through education, ministry, and just caring. He is getting different people involved and trying to help those hurting in our city - those that need to see God in their suffering.\nI want to help. I told him that I tend to be good on ideas and bad with details, but that I want to be involved. I offered the two things I know I can do well: present material extemporaneously (definition 2, without notes) and work on computers. As the organization comes together, I\u0026rsquo;d like to join its board of directors. It is in the process of being licensed as a 501(c)3.\nWhy was I excited to post about this? Because it is time to exercise my faith instead of talk about it. If people within the ICoC subculture do not understand my vision of unity, maybe a demonstration would be more helpful. To many people, talk is cheap. When I say that I believe the ICoC needs outside help to understand unity, this program is a demonstration of one kind of help we need. This is the kind of help that shows that those that profess Christianity can come together and do Christian things. No single denominatioh has to do everything themselves. (The other kind of help would be best received by those more closely associated with us doctrinally. This kind of help includes issues of polity, caring for members, leadership culture, and the like.)\nWhat I Am Not Saying I am not saying that doctrine is unimportant. I am saying that I will not use doctrine as a barrier to perform acts of Christian service in my community. A non-Christian does not tend to understand why we cannot come together to do good, even if we disagree about doctrine. My Muslim friend, especially, does not understand why people would spend so much time trying to convince \u0026ldquo;other Christians\u0026rdquo;(her words) that they are not Christians because they are not the same as you are. Yes, it is oversimplifying and inaccurate, but non-Christians I know see do not understand that.\nI feel comfortable teaching someone doctrine. More importantly, I feel comfortable teaching them how to determine doctrine for themselves. What I cannot do, though, is effectively explain 2000 years of sectarianism. I can teach that how a person lives and what a person believes is equally important (1 Tim 4:16). What I cannot do is demonstrate how doctrine can be used as an excuse to live a less godly life. I also cannot reconcile Mark 9:38-41 with having to serve the city only within my denoimination.\nI look forward to letting you know more as things develop. It is encouraging that there just might be a place for a liberal like me, I am doing this with my minister\u0026rsquo;s blessing. Pray for us that we can make a difference in our city.\n","date":"9 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-09-bridging-the-gap-ministries/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bridging the Gap Ministries","type":"posts"},{"content":"I could not make it home. It turns out that even bereavement fares are $500 these days. Not only that, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be back here in less than four days. I would have loved to be home, but with the move and other things, my family needs me here. I talked to Mom and she is holding up as best can be expected under the circumstances.\nMan, did the Unity Proposal get a lot of attention while I was away. I have no internet at home until Friday, so I have been blissfully unaware of discussion going on here.\nI hope to post later today about something positive in regards to unity that is going on here in town.\n","date":"9 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-09-still-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Still Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"In celebrating the birth of my son, it is now time to celebrate the passing of my grandmother. She died this morning resulting from complications of diabetes, a condition she has had for longer than I have been alive. The funeral is Friday at 2pm, and I am trying to get home.\nThis is not how I wanted to come home to visit.\nHowever, she suffered for quite a while and now she is at rest. I pray that she is also at peace.\nShe told stories of running with the revenuers - the folks that ran moonshine during Prohibition would ask ladies in town to travel with them to make deliveries in order to avoid suspicion. I do not remember if the feds ever caught the folks she rode with or not.\nShe was always proud of her grandchildren, her great grand children, and her great-great grandchildren. She favored my brother, Marcie, and me, and always enjoyed our visits. When my brother had his first, you would have thought that she had won the lottery. The same was true for Marcie and me. She always loved children.\nShe had six of her own. In turn, she had 26 grandchildren, 54 great-grandchildren and 9 great-great grandchildren. We would all get together about once a year at the Odd Fellows/Rebekah Lodge and catch up. Unlike my father\u0026rsquo;s side of the family, my mother\u0026rsquo;s is spread all over: Germany, Louisiana, Nebraska, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, and a few others if I thought about it long enough.\nKnowing my family, this trip to the lodge will be like most others. They\u0026rsquo;ll be a couple of arguments. Uncles and aunts will disavow each other. Everyone will blame someone else for some minor thing going wrong. In general, there will be an argument about who was supposed to open the lodge and questions of why we couldn\u0026rsquo;t use so-and-so\u0026rsquo;s house, etc. The kids will play in the main hall or the field out back. At least one jello mould will sit untouched and then the creator of this gastronomical delight will believe the family hates her. Throughout will be some crying, yelling, and general carrying on. Once the pig is done, though, everyone will eat, have a good time, and scratch their heads wondering why they were angry in the first place.\nAnd then we will grieve.\nAs such, I believe we will celebrate death in much the same way we celebrate life - with all our heart and soul.\n","date":"6 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-06-circle-of-life/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Circle of Life","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s funny, I have two copies of the Final Unity Proposal. I got one by hard copy per instructions on page one. The other arrived by different means.\nI really have too much to do to deal with this, so let me say this after reading it all weekend.\nThere is a lot of \u0026rsquo;not-so-bad\u0026rsquo; in the document. I think encouraging regional participation is a good thing. I think defining who we are instead of defining who-we-are-not is a great thing. I believe a meeting to determine how we can help churches, like SE Asia and Australia currently receiving little to no help, is a fantastic thing.\nOverall, though, I am sorely disappointed. As the proposal itself mentions, we had a great oppotunity to do something and all we did was come up with a wordier version of the LA Unity Proposal. We could have joined the call for unity amongst the Restoration Movement churches. At least, we could have encouraged seeking outside help from other fellowships. We could have emphasized our own need for humility in judging entire denominations as apostate. Instead, we keep using a code phrase - baptized disciples to represent the extrabiblical command that believe, reprent, be baptized (Acts 2:36) is not enough. It needs to be believe, repent, commit to being a disciple, be baptized. I thought we recognized that doctrine as error some time ago.\nFor Alan, this is all that is mentioned about \u0026lsquo;other fellowships\u0026rsquo;.\nWe have no desire with this process to formulate judgments about any of those in other fellowships. We agree that, “We are not the only Christians but are Christians only”. The design of this proposal is to strengthen the bonds between some 500 churches that share a common history and heritage so that we might continue on our journey together in faithfulness to God on the way to heaven. Additionally, we originally thought the document might be somewhat shorter, but became convinced during the process that the present length was necessary for clarity and fullness.\nTo those worried about a return to our \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; paradigm:\n10. Our membership in each congregation constitutes baptized disciples, men and women who have pledged to live their lives as saints of God in the holiness he requires. Our members agree to strive to be devoted, not only to their Maker, but to the body life of the church. This includes making wholehearted efforts, for example, to attend each \\[applicable\\] meeting of the body, and pursuing joyful, watchful, challenging, and encouraging “one another” relationships in which we spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Acts 2:42, Romans 12:10, Hebrews 3:12-13; 10:24-25).\nI know what the above sentence means in real English. It\u0026rsquo;s a statement that says, \u0026ldquo;we believe in discipling partners\u0026rdquo;.\nMore appalling is the supplementary doucment of Questions and Answers:\n6.How should those churches be treated that choose not to sign up? There may be many different reasons why some churches may not sign up. They are still our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we need to continue to respect, love, and cherish one another in the Lord. But it does give us an awareness of those churches that want to take part in an active fellowship amongst one another.(Emphasis added)\nI want to take part in an active fellowship, especially with former ICoC churches and Christian Churches in town. I simply do not agree with the Statement of Beliefs and practices.\nHowever, I\u0026rsquo;d be surprised if my church did not sign it. Honestly, there\u0026rsquo;s no benefit to us to sign it. We already meet regionally and hold events together. We go to each others conferences and the leaders meet together once or twice a month. This agreement gives us no benefit\nI hope that I was wrong in what I wrote to the group earlier. I said that trying to include a statement of beliefs and practices will draw a line in the sand and potentially divide us. We may say that churches are our brothers and sisters that do not sign it, but if the framers of the proposal believe that non-signers are not interested in unity, no one else will believe that they want unity.\nWorse yet, some of Kip\u0026rsquo;s splinter churches could sign this agreement without qualms. In theory, they believe the same thing. They send people to the ILC (this year in Va. Beach), they maintain regional contact and international missions. What will we do if Chris Broom\u0026rsquo;s church signs the agreement?\nI had great hopes, but a liberal like me has little place in this framework. Let\u0026rsquo;s start talking about helping each other out and taking care of our own. After that, we\u0026rsquo;ll just have to see.\n","date":"6 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-06-two-copies/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Two Copies","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am in-between places at the moment, so I am not able to write very much. Hopefully, we will be moving to a nice townhome this weekend. No internet access where I am staying at night.\nInteresting things going on with the Unity Group\u0026rsquo;s latest. It is largely a positive and helpful article, if not a bit much on the editorial side. Someone wrote in one paragraph what the group wants - they want to have a representative council like they wanted to have in 2003. For those that do not know, the plan was to have a unity meeting in 2003 after the World Sectors dissolved at the end of 2002. That unity meeting never took place and it is the subject of much revisionist history from Kip and from current leaders.\nIn any case, the plan appears to be a meeting to sit down and talk about these things. Great! Let\u0026rsquo;s set a time and place. How about Kansas City? It\u0026rsquo;s not too expensive and it is centally located to all cities in the US. Hotels aren\u0026rsquo;t outrageously expensive and neither is meeting space. October sound good? Chicago is not good as it is too expensive. LA is not good for the same reason and it is too far (and too expensive) for some east coast churches. Washington DC or Atlanta is the same, but for west coast churches. By all means, don\u0026rsquo;t make this a part of August\u0026rsquo;s seminar in Norfolk, Virginia. Keep in mind that since HKL, not every church has a lot of money anymore to send delegates. Let\u0026rsquo;s make some decisions to facilitate having the most people attend, not just the right people to attend.\nMy only remaining disappointment is that a lot of time is spent telling people what to believe instead of what to do to move forward. I can imagine that it took a while to agree that the best course of action is to have a sit down meeting together. LA\u0026rsquo;s original proposal was to re-create to World Sectors because it would be expedient. Similar proposals are also aimed at being expedient. My proposal was the same way - let\u0026rsquo;s not have a bunch of meetings about what unity means, but have a meeting about who will take care of remaining churches that do not get support. (I figured that it assumed unity and wouldn\u0026rsquo;t delay aid getting to other churches.) It may seem like a let down that after all this time, the result was to have a Continental Congress. I do not believe it is a let down at all, but the demonstration of much needed restraint.\nAgain, let each church appoint a delegate and let\u0026rsquo;s get talking. Time and place are all that is needed. I would hope that it would be an event without a lot of special music and dance programs. Let\u0026rsquo;s get to business and finally start talking. I do not believe a universal standard of a delegate is neccessary, each church can make up its own mind whom they send. Following the Jerusalem Council model, a popular study topic these days, each church sent a delegate of their own choice. When the council made a decision, the council sent delegates of their choice (the council\u0026rsquo;s) to spread the decision. And as I noted previously, even this decision was changed later and Scripture contains no mention of a second council to alter it.\nHowever, I get the sense that disagreeing with the Unity Group\u0026rsquo;s treatise on what a delegate should be would warrant the label of agitator. More than that, so many words in this article and many of them spent on commentary like this:\nThese discussions are merely a starting point. If we had had these practices going on in a healthy manner, we would have been better able to confront the problems we shared before, during and after the recent upheaval in our churches. Together we stand, divided we fall.\nTruth is that we simply do not know what would have happened if this had been in place before. For me, I believe I would have more respect for those that purport to be leaders because they would have earned it by exercising temperance, love, restraint, and concern for the welfare of others. Had this been in place, the upheaval would have happened years ago and would have been similar to the Worlwide Church of God\u0026rsquo;s time of drastic reform. Had this been in place, we would have listened to the Church of Christ elders in the 80s and never elevated Kip to be the leader of our denomination. Who knows? Only God knows his purposes for everything that has happened. Unlike many, I believe that hindsight only reveals other options available at the time, not solutions. (Hindsight is not so much 20/20 as it is a pretty like wiping a fogged window to see through it.)\nAll that being said, I am ready for this meeting. It will be contentious and difficult at times, but I hope it will accomplish a lot.\n","date":"2 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-02-just-to-let-you-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Just to Let You Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m moving and the police have ended the standoff two blocks north of my house. Needless to say, I have little time for the lofty ideals of a group of select men. Like many semithoughts here, I hope to develop them later. I really mulled over this for a couple days, but in the end I think Khrushcev said it best:\nPoliticians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.\nNikita Khrushchev\n","date":"1 March 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-03-01-a-time-to-build/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Time to Build","type":"posts"},{"content":"The house I rent is for sale. I thought it would be a good thing. My landlord is nice, but I hoped a new landlord would invest more money into the house. The house is 101 years old and is very drafty.\nOne potential buyer had a professional inspection done. He was quite alarmed at what he found. Liability laws prevented him from telling me exactly what he found, but he was willing to ask the potential buyer if he could tell me.\nThe potential buyer agreed and I discovered that the furnace was in serious trouble - of the emitting CO2 kind of trouble. The landlord sent an HVAC, but he did not find this crack. I paid to have a different HVAC come and they red-tagged it and shut it down. Last night was chilly in the house despite a high of 65 yesterday. We have offers (yes more than one) to stay with friends until we find a new place to live. Life is good.\nMy landlord let me out of my lease, and we are quite glad. As my son gets older, we had no way to really secure the house for a toddler. Again, we\u0026rsquo;re calling folks today for places to stay for up to a week.\nMy wife is hitting the classifieds pretty hard. Yesterday, an hour after the HVAC left, we were looking at a townhouse built three years ago. Cookie-cutter? Ugh, yes. Garage in front with narrow entryway? UGH,UGH,Yes. Good price? Oh, yes.\nI called two apartment places myself that will let us move in today. I guess I\u0026rsquo;ll be coming to you from a different address in a few days. Now, where did I put all my computer equipment\u0026hellip;.\n","date":"28 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-28-leaving-a-neglected-house/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Leaving a Neglected House","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had mentioned the following in a Split of a Split\nChicago International Church of Christ - Jay and Denise Chiappetta.\nIt seems that Chris Broom is moving from Syracuse to Chicago to \u0026lsquo;start\u0026rsquo; the Chicago International Christian Church. Folks are coming from Syracuse, Madison, and from a previously unknown \u0026lsquo;International Christian Church\u0026rsquo; in Florida. Chris appears to see this church as a base of operations to \u0026rsquo;evangelize\u0026rsquo; the Midwest.\nChris also notes that he has asked the leadership of the ICC Chicago Church how the two organizations can peacefully coexist. I do not think that will be a problem. I honestly believe that there will be no reaction or statement made. In three months or so, a carefully crafted response will appear in the Chicago Bulletin or DisciplesToday.com.\nIn any case, I am begining to believe what Chris says near the end:\nTo those that will claim we are dividing our fellowship of churches I say, \u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re already divided.\u0026rdquo; To those who say we are confusing disciples by planting churches in cities where there is already an ICOC church I say, \u0026ldquo;There is already much confusion because of autonomy. The ICOC churches have splintered.\nI hate that we are split, but we are. Some of us want the \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; of old, some of us do not: most do not really care one way or the other and just want to trust God. I dunno. It just seems to be that we are reaping what we have sown and that all of this drama is a natural consequence. I want to remain hopeful, but as a whole, we are not interested in working with other members of the Restoration Movement (much less anyone else). ICC Leaders seem to believe that they can deal with Kip and the other ICC. They believe that they can preach return to the glory days, re-engage our original mission, reignite the dreams of old, re-establish our former governance, resume seeking and saving the lost without teaching reform from the past, repent from corporate sin, refuse to lord authority, or remove the yeast of the Pharisees. I have seen the teaching I mention. It is not a panacea - folks still stop attending my church. It does, however, begin to change old ways of thinking. It makes us a safe place to be, even if we still have large problems to overcome. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen it because outside help (meaning outside the ICC or the other ICC). It really does work.\nAs far as the other ICC, it will mushroom for awhile. The Kiev International Chrisitian Church started this Sunday as well as the new and reproved Chicago ICC. I really do not know who is next. I would suspect a church in Asia or SE Asia.\nI honestly am not sure what to do about Kip, now. It\u0026rsquo;s too late to preach against him - it was too late in 2004 when he returned to Portland. Ignoring the other ICC will not make them go away. It seems there is nothing we can do except pray. Pray I will.\n","date":"27 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-27-the-other-icc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Other ICC","type":"posts"},{"content":"One recurring problem that the Hesberian Republic faces in administering its eastern lands is that enemies of the Republic are able to use magic for gathering intelligence. At first, when the Republic discovered that magic was used to eavesdrop on a persons\u0026rsquo; thoughts, local administrators began sending important messages in Ikan, or using the ancient Hesberian Script, or using another language. The military has a shorthand language used historically to enable all the conquered peoples serving in the infantry to quickly understand orders thought there were as many as 20 languages spoken. However, the problem with using a different language was that the receiver of the message usually needed a translator. The translator was vulnerable to magic eavesdropping, even if the recipient of the message was not. Using the miliatary shorthand language limited what could be said and was not uncommon enough for any real secrecy. The critical weakness, though, was that wizards were usually the ones that knew dead or unused languages better than anyone else. They could use non-magical means and simply intercept the message and read it for themselves.\nCiphers had been in use by the ancient Kings. Most of them were simple subtitutions. The most famous cipher shifted each letter up three positions. The use of ciphers did not seem to help very much. It thwarted to mind-reading magics, but an intercepted message could usually be decoded fairly quickly. One foolish general believed that forcing message to be written in six letter blocks and encoded with the ancient ciphers made his messages invulnerable to magic. EXWWKD WZDVQR WVXFKD JRRGLG HDDIWH UDOOAA BUTTHA TWASNO TSUCHA GOODID EAAFTE RALLXX\nWhat evolved was a series of ciphers called the Tigirian Code. A good cipher needed to be simple, but not so simple that it could be easily deciphered by the enemies of the Republic. The first Tigirian Code simply added a letter at the beginning indicating the shift required. If the first letter was F, then all subsequent letters needed to be shifted \u0026lsquo;down\u0026rsquo; six letters to decode.\nKESTDHZCVPOQZCLHSTWP KTHISWORKEDFORAWHILE\nThe Republic began requiring everything to be enciphered using the Tigirian Code. The person that received the message was vulnerable only after decoding. Securing a person, however, was considered to be much easier than securing a message.\nMore complex variations of the Tigirian Code have been developed. The second code was like the first except that letters were encoded forward ranging from one letter to the number of letters indicated by the code letter. For example, if the first letter was I, the pattern of incrementing letters would be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 repeating. IUJLWBUYSNEHRVFCOQUFVRS ITHISWORKEDFORAWHILETOO\nThe final version included a random series of letters at the beginning to indicate how to increment letters. This code was ultimately harder to decipher magically and by philosophers that favored mathematics. However, it was also usually deciphered incorrectly and required quite some time to decode. It worked like this:\nIf the first part of the message was encoded with a key marked by the first repeated letter. The repeated letter shows the length of the key, the proceeding characters determined the sequence used for encoding. For example, EACDBE, shows that the increment order is five positions long, and would progress as +5 (E),+1 (A),+3(C),+4(D),+2(B). Another example would be a message that begins BDEFJAGICHJ. The key is ten positions long (repeated J) and the sequence would be 2,4,5,6,10,1,7,9,3,8.\nThere are some administrators, though, do not rely on Hesberian ciphers to send critical messages. They use the Mavinian Traders or the Ganarii to cipher and send messages. One important weakness of any of the Hesberian ciphers is that if a message is sent by magical means, it becomes much easier to break the code. The Ganarii in magical lands use magic, so they understand this principle better than anyone. The Mavinian Traders simply use a cipher that is difficult to break, and so are secure more by accident rather than understanding how to foil magical decoding attempts. (It is true that there are a few traders that use magic, but their understanding of magic is not as structured and mathematical as the Ganarii.)\nAwrelius is credited with asking a Ganarii to devise a way to send secret messages resistant to magic. It is unlikely that Awrelius actually commisioned such a thing as magic was still novel and used primarily for warfare during his reign. It is likely, however, than another consul or senator commissioned a code. In fact, it is quite likely that different senators or consuls have independently commisioned such a code - only the Ganarii know of the existence of multiple coding schemes.\nIt is not known how the Ganarii cipher and decipher secret messages. Some believe that they have a machine that does this, especially as the Ganarii helps construct the Great Mill and other machines. Others believe they use some kind of magical cipher in combination with their complex language. Still others believe that they do not cipher the message at all, but simply transmit the message somehow and the written code is just random numbers. IKTZXTIVMFQP GANARIICODES\nThe Mavinian Traders, of course, use their trademark deck of cards to send secret messages. Watching a trader decode a message looks like he or she is playing solitare. No one has quite figured out how they do it. The one disadvantage of using the Mavinian method is that decoding can take some time. The other disadvantage, as compared to the Ganarii, is that not all traders can be trusted. Then again, they have to know something in order to use a deck of 60 cards with three suits to send messages. They claim that they use a cipher, but since each card has a meaning in their own trading language, no one but the Mavinians themselves know for certain.\nOf course, the wizards of the magical lands use diverse means to protect their messages from other wizards. No one, even a wizard, knows if their secrets are safe from other wizards.\n","date":"25 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-25-mavinian-ciphers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mavinian Ciphers","type":"posts"},{"content":"I went to see Saint John\u0026rsquo;s Bible this past weekend. If you do not know, it is a Bible hand copied from the NRSV in calligraphy with pictures called illuminations.\nTalk about beautiful, the picture for the creation was wonderful. It was seven columns with each column representing a day. It included a picture of the Ganges river delta from space as well as the use of gold to represent the sabbath.\nPsalms was by far the most captivating. Threaded throughout were scores of various Gregorian and eastern chant. I say scores because it was the notes only, not the words. These little golden notes culminated in Psalm 150 written entirely in shining gold ink.\nThe illumination of John 1 really moved my wife. It was quite striking but I feel like I cannot really describe it. Let me just say it captures the idea of Jesus\u0026rsquo; divinity quite well.\nIf it comes to your town, go see it. It is great.\n","date":"22 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-22-illuminating-the-word/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Illuminating the Word","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is important to me abide by the principles or thoughts I share here as part of my diary.\nWith that in mind, I went to get professional help with my inability to handle stress well and a lack of an ability to assert myself well. In short, I worry too much and cannot let go. I have been known to literally worry myself sick.\nThe idea first came up in my Family Dynamics class about five months ago. My wife and I agreed on a way to proceed - we also agreed that if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t working that I would get outside help. So, last Saturday, I went to visit my doctor and we discussed particulars that would help us to know if we were a good fit for each other. To my relief, we were. We share similar beliefs about using medication (last resort) and the importance of honesty. He is not the visit every week kind of therapist, but someone that works with someone once or twice a month with homework. My homework assignment this time is to get a complete physical.\nI feel it is important to share all of this because it is what I think about a lot these days. I enjoy my son and family. I want to learn how to handle important issues in our lives without stressing myself out. Practically, this tends to show up in my infamous aversion to the telephone. It\u0026rsquo;s moved beyond the normal, \u0026ldquo;I hate the phone\u0026rdquo; and screening calls - I do not talk on the phone.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to it, but I hope to share it as I go along. I believe in the value of outside help and I look forward to how it can help me and my family.\n","date":"22 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-22-outside-help/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Outside Help","type":"posts"},{"content":"Looking at our history of understanding the Bible, I went looking for what our various authors have said about Bible Study. It\u0026rsquo;s clear fairly early that there is a difference between the teachings of the former \u0026lsquo;Kingdom Teachers\u0026rsquo; and the average evangelists. By and large, I\u0026rsquo;ll stick with the writings of the Teachers with one notable exception.\nAdvanced Christian Training In 1986, the Central London Church of Christ published this book as a tool for training. It covered several topics from counseling to preaching to study to difficult challenges and more. Although not widely distributed, this book offers a look at how the Bible was studies and understood at the time.\nThere are two short expositions; Romans written by Gordon Ferguson and Ephesians by Tony Coffey. It would appear the Romans starts with great detail in the early part of the article, but ends with an entreaty to study the rest on your own. Tony\u0026rsquo;s outline of Ephesians is quite practical and avoids telling the reader what they should understand from Ephesians. Both articles are notably deficient in Kingdom jargon. Both spend much time on exegesis - basically providing more detail about the book and what it is saying rather than looking for how it should apply in the lives of the listeners. Both articles are good reads.\nDeep Convictions Before 1992, the only puiblication dealing with the Bible is A.C.T. First Principles taught what a person must believe to be a member of the Internations Churches of Christ. Second Principles was an outline of the Old Testament. In 1992, a book was commissioned to teach the \u0026lsquo;basics\u0026rsquo; to young christians. In chapter 13, there is a week devoted to understanding Colossians.\nMore later.\n","date":"20 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-20-how-we-understood-the-bible/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How We Understood the Bible","type":"posts"},{"content":"Alan has posted an article on his site that discusses the conservative Chuch of Christ hermenutic. In short, it is called CENi and it stands for Command, Example, and Necessary Inference. Most people agree on obeying direct commands of the Bible, but the other two present some contention. I had a perfect example yesterday, but cannot find the link. So, here is a different paraphrase:\nIn Matthew 26:26, we see Jesus breaking the bread for the Passover.\nWe are commanded to eat of his body. We follow the example in that he reinstituted Passover (which we call communion) for NT Christians. By necessary inference, communion most have one loaf of bread that is broken by each participant. Using this logic, it is therefore a command of God in the Scriptures to perform Communion with only one loaf of bread.\nOur hermenutic was quite a bit more pragmatic, mainly because we believed silence in the Bible was inclusive, not exclusive. A working definition I have in mind at this point would be EPSAY:\nExample, Pragmatism, Structure, Authority, and Youth.\nUsing this hermenutic we would take David and Johnathan relationship and make it an example of discipling relationships, make sure that the person in this relationship was in a bible talk with you because you see them most often, confirmed the need for a discipling relationship, demonstrated the authority of the discipler, and much was made of their apparent youth. I knew of several men that pledged this kind of friendship to their discipler every time they switched. (A couple of them even did the grabbing of the other man\u0026rsquo;s thigh in imitation of Johnathan.)\nBefore going further, I want to look at our history of understanding the Bible. More in the next article.\n","date":"18 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-18-our-hermenutic/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Our Hermenutic - Rough Thoughts","type":"posts"},{"content":"Zdras! One is that our former fearless leader is heading to Kiev, Ukraine on the 26th of this month. Heard a report about it and then read it in Russian. I guess that Steve Johnson will be giving the sermon in two weeks. This would put Churches of Kip on every continent except Australia. Considering that Shawn Wooten, one of the gang of 85, was recently appointed by the European Missions Group to be an \u0026rsquo;evangelist\u0026rsquo; there, sounds like he may have his hands full.\nSpeaking of Working Together The 12th Annual Great Paperchase has been planned. They key book, by F. LaGard Smith, talks about five levels of fellowship with those professing to be Christians. I have not read it,yet , but I hope to have it read soon. From what I have read so far, I see a lot of similarities between the author and me.\nMr Smith receives tremendous criticism for some of his views, especially from more conservative sections of the Churches of Christ. Lest you believe that he is weak (yes it is in italics) on doctrine, he recently added an appendix criticizing Max Lucado. In case you do not know, Max Lucado takes some heat within the Churches of Christ for his \u0026rsquo;evolving\u0026rsquo; view of baptism. Both men have been marked as false teachers.\nThe reason I mention this at all is the fact that some number of folks from the Churches of Christ and Christian Churches will be in attendance. It\u0026rsquo;s almost tempting enough to go myself. I mean that seriously. Even if I do not attend, I would encourage others to do so. It is the beginning of something that should have happened years ago.\nAn Aside (with spleen) I am beginning to wonder if the former \u0026lsquo;Teacher Group\u0026rsquo; is beginning to have Little Man Sydrome. What I mean is the unhealthy perspective that you are perpetually small, ineffective, persecuted, or placed in the role of the underdog. More later\u0026hellip;\nThe Good News Is\u0026hellip; I still encourage people to go - the event will allow for all kinds of connections to be made in a unique setting. It is also a challenge to the status quo of saying that we have brothers in other denominations and actually doing something with them. We need the outside perspective and help. We need to come home and enjoy our family again. Here are folks from other parts of the Restoration Movement that are friendly to us coming to our event. (Why wait until next year? Let\u0026rsquo;s go to their events this year. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t make ACU, but the NACC is nice.)\nIf I decide to go, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know about it. I wish it was still a part of the big Evanglical shindig as originally planned, but this is the next best thing. I pray God blesses this effort.\n","date":"17 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-17-interesting-developments/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Interesting Developments","type":"posts"},{"content":"Pegus, the Titan of strong drink, is the central figure in a popular Hesberian cult. Officially outlawed, no one publically claims to participate in the various Pegian festivals. Despite this, thousands attend the events known for drunkeness and inhibition.\nAnother popular cult, especially among the Mavinian Traders, is the cult of _______. The central figure of this cult is much like a Robin Hood. He gives gifts to all ken that the Gods will not give and/or participates in \u0026lsquo;wealth redistribution\u0026rsquo; from the rich to the poor. This Titan\u0026rsquo;s avatar is usually a simple traveler with nothing but a staff as a weapon.\n","date":"13 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-13-cult-of-the-titans/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Cult of the Titans","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had never been to the Lake of the Ozarks. It was beautiful. More beautiful was scoring a room that normally goes at $227/night for $75. Great facilities and views with a unique layout.\nI enjoyed seeing things become more Southern as I made my way east and south. I did get unsweetened tea when I ordered \u0026ldquo;iced tea\u0026rdquo;, but it had a spoon in it without asking. Alas, no Chik-Fil-A, but good food was not the reason for this getaway.\nJust to get it out of the way ahead of time, there were things I did not like:\nCheck-In was at 3pm and the conference began at 1pm. A very juvenille attitude towards sex. The lesson for couples married up to six years was read straight from this book. I would have listed the sermon, but I only heard the last few minutes. It was so bad, my wife got up and left. She gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, and I do mean everyone. This is the same woman that talked me through the lesson about \u0026ldquo;having your weekly discipling time with your wife\u0026rdquo;. In her take on the sermon, she talked about using a bad hermenutic for 2 Corinthians 5 and prooftexting to force an agenda. Had I not known better, I would have thought that I am having a bad influence on her. Since I actually know better, I remember that she knew how to use the words \u0026lsquo;hermenutic\u0026rsquo; and \u0026rsquo;exegesis\u0026rsquo; properly in a sentence when I met her.\nAnyway, the good things are many (sans bullet points and in no particular order). We went away together for the first time since my son was born. We used to do some things in the brief few months before he was born that we stopped doing. We spent more time together *not* talking about issues, but we talked for hours and hours. We saw friends from Kansas City and made a couple of new friends that also disagree with the present administration on domestic policy. We delighted in how we are different. We renewed our committment to have no area \u0026lsquo;out-of-bounds\u0026rsquo; for discussion. We spoke to each other in poetry. We walked. We ate in too many resturants. We took a road trip, a bona fide road trip. We discovered areas of our marriage that need more attention like discussing the messages we are sending each other with our non-verbal communication. We laughed a lot. She and I had a discussion on Dira in addition to God, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and a bunch of other things.\nHad a great time. Really. Time, greatness: these two words work perfectly together to describe the weekend. The qualities of the past 48 hours were better than good. We\u0026rsquo;re talking Tony the Tiger, here. Making a comparison of this past Saturday and Sunday to others demonstrates a marked enjoyment of the latest Saturday-Sunday combination.\nDude, it was great.\n","date":"13 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-13-marriage-retreat/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Marriage Retreat","type":"posts"},{"content":"Our son is being particularly happy today despite the events going on around him.\nMy house is being purchased and the buyer had an inspection performed before settling on a price. Turns out that we have a gas leak, a cracked furnace, a fried electric wire, and, oh yes, the sewer system cannot handle all the water from our washing machine. Other than that, the house is cold, but pretty much in good shape.\nSo, I rush home yesterday to comfort my panicked wife, but I decide to stop by the store first.\nMy car is still at the store, the starter died.\nSo, I call my friend to come get me from clear across town. He is good for those kind of things. After I get home, I decide to use my other car to get things done - it is dead as well. I guess that is what happens when you do not drive it for months. You just have to love a Cadillac.\nOur son\u0026rsquo;s reaction was to smile at us and demonstrate that he loves us. He really had a lot to say and went to great effort to tell me. He used all kinds of syllables and sounds. He smiled mostly. Sometimes he had this expression I wear sometimes when I am in a concerned mood and trying to explain something difficult to someone else. That\u0026rsquo;s when he used the most varied sounds.\nI wanted to explain it all to him, but I decided it was no use. He was just happy that his mom and dad love him. (And he is beginning to recognize me since cutting off most of my hair.) That is all the important things in his world.\nMy wife is now happy and playing with him. I played with him this morning and his reaction was the same as always: BIG CHEW TOY! YAY!\nI have to laugh at yesterday - my wife says that it is source material for my own version of Pat McManus stories. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that I will enthrall future generations with some magical realism version of events. In my retelling, I think I\u0026rsquo;ll have more mechanical ability with gas appliances and automobiles. I\u0026rsquo;ll also have less money in this story, though I do not know how to pull that off. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to have less than zero when you do not own a credit card. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll have a gas card with a $50 charge. Still working on that part.\nOddly enough, I began to think that God really is a Republican - all of this started happening two days after I officially registered as a Democrat. I guess I should have known when my name was mispelled despite several edits on my part.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t worry, I know that everything in the universe is not cause and effect in this way. I\u0026rsquo;m reaping what I sowed in moving into an old house. Cars break down - it could have happened when I was in Missouri this weekend, at least it\u0026rsquo;s in town. The landlord is sending folks here today to fix things.\nStill, it might be worth a call to the Election Board\u0026hellip;\n","date":"10 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-10-remember-the-laughing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Remember the Laughing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Men are not against you; they are merely for themselves.\nGene Fowler\n","date":"9 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-09-quote-djour/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote d'Jour","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to Andy Flemming, there is some real data on what is happening with support worldwide. Still digesting it, but if the editorial content is disregarded, it seems that Australia and SE Asia are in need of the most help. Australia is not being helped directly by anyone and contributions have dried up from churches that used to support the Pacific Rim World Sector.\nMore later, but this is the kind of data needed to make some decisions. As the ICoC we can get together and figure out how to help our already existing churches overseas. This would be a great way to get help from various Christian Churches and Churches of Christ.\nI\u0026rsquo;m all for Let\u0026rsquo;s Start Talking and other ministries, but we do owe our support to our own churches, first. As long as their staff isn\u0026rsquo;t living an American lifestyle, we should be able to pool together and help out.\nMore later.\n","date":"8 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-08-icoc-missions/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"ICoC Missions","type":"posts"},{"content":"I never realized how little I used to laugh.\nI was amused many times. I could claim to be entertained and could even describe certain things as funny. However, outside of a very few comedians or occasional spots on Morning Radio, I never really laughed. (Unfortunately, my area doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a decent morning show. :( )\nMy son, though, has no problem laughing. He enjoys it. My wife and I can be having a discussion about various things and he is in her lap just laughing and giggling. We can be consumed with what each of us is sharing, he just thinks we are connecting funny sounds together. In retrospect, he is probably right as it pertains to me.\nHonestly, I have laughed almost every day for the past three weeks. He laughs and squeals and giggles, so I just join in. At first, it\u0026rsquo;s because I want to encourage him to be happy. After a while, though, I am laughing because I enjoy laughing. I have no problem raising him to believe that we are happier because he is in our family - I would be more concerned if I tried to say that we were as happy before he arrived.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve heard people say that they\u0026rsquo;ve give all the money in the world for certain things. I feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve given all the money I had for him - and it was more than worth it. I do not think about the money. When I do, though, I usually do what my son does: I just laugh.\n","date":"7 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-07-laughter-is-the-best-medicine/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Laughter Is the Best Medicine","type":"posts"},{"content":"While sitting today, my son heard my voice and turned to look in my general direction. He calmed down in order to focus on me.\nKey facts to know are that infants have only about six feet visual acuity and I was fifteen feet away.\nMy wife pointed out that God appears blurry and with an indeterminate shape to most of us. Yet, she continued, we turn and focus on His voice when we hear it. This voice is calming.\nI love my wife. :)\n","date":"6 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-06-from-my-wife/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"From My Wife","type":"posts"},{"content":"I avoid politics for my own health. I worked for a college newspaper writing editorials - ulcer city.\nHowever, computer stuff raises a few of my hackles every once in a while, so I had to link to a commentary from Distrowatch. Skip down to the part about Google.\n*Insert Pause Here*\nI used to read Slashdot, but lately everyone has been posting about the lateset Google rumor. This year there have been two separate rumors about Google Linux. The spate of rumors emerging lately entitles Google to its own subdomain on Snopes. (Snopes is the website that debunks/verifies commonly held rumors). On a side note, a comment on Slashdot noted that Google was out to create its own religion. I thought it was hilarious.\nOn a further tangent of a tangent (yes there\u0026rsquo;s a term for that), I\u0026rsquo;m surprised that the Hal Lindseys of the Evangelical world have not declared Google as part of the rise of the Anti-Christ. First it was the Soviet Union, then it was the European Union (10 founding countries, ten horns of the beast\u0026hellip;). Google was started with a ten point philosophy, maybe they are the incubator for the anti-Christ. (Fear Google Italy.)\n","date":"6 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-06-goomours/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Goomours","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been asked when I have time to write. The answer is pretty simple:\nI do not watch TV or movies very much. I think too much. TV and Movies I\u0026rsquo;m not criticizing anyone who does, it\u0026rsquo;s a good thing to enjoy a mindless action flick or simply see a great story unfold one chapter at a time. I do watch a show, Crossing Jordan. I\u0026rsquo;ve been known to watch The Planet\u0026rsquo;s Funniest Animals. I realize that this is a far cry from my past when I had actually memorized every episode of M*A*S*H* and Law \u0026amp; Order.\nI believe that me and J.E. (name withheld) are the ultimate M*A*S*H* trivia champions. We had the distinct pleasure of being unemployed together. I had a ton of time to write then and chose to goof off.\nI simply decided what I love to do and did it. In the time that I used to spend in TV, I spend reading or writing.\nBrain Cramps Those that know me have long known that I think too much. I am always trying to figure things out - sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s a mathematical thing, somtimes it\u0026rsquo;s a theological thing, sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s a spiritual thing, and other times, it\u0026rsquo;s a family thing.\nSome people build, I think. Most of the time, I enjoy it. Sometimes, though, it is a real nuisance. Real life likes to intrude upon the platonic world of ideal forms in my mind. As my wife says, it keeps me on my toes.\nNow you know. The only two things I can add are that I don\u0026rsquo;t write at work and I type about 100 words a minute. I usually email a text file to myself and cut-n-paste. On a few occasions, I am waiting for PeopleSoft Global Support, so I have been known to open a text file at work.\nI generally type about as fast as I speak, but not without spelling errors. (And grammar issues and omitted words - it\u0026rsquo;s the dyslexia coming back. Yes, I am midly dyslexic, no stretch.)\n","date":"6 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-06-how-i-write/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How I Write","type":"posts"},{"content":"A good quote:\nNever confuse movement with action.\nErnest Hemingway\n","date":"6 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-06-movement/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Movement","type":"posts"},{"content":"A year ago, I wrote 26 questions as a semithought. The list wasn\u0026rsquo;t composed by me, but it seemed appropriate.\nTwo years ago, I didn\u0026rsquo;t even mention it.\nThree years ago, I was afraid that my new congregation would throw me out.\nWhen asked, the leaders of the Circle City Church of Christ said that it took them five years to \u0026ldquo;figure everything out\u0026rdquo;. We are over halfway there. What have we really changed in three years? I read Honest to God again last night and thought about what is different now.\nThe heirarchy is gone. Some people want it back, but it is most definitely gone. The Delphites believe that it somehow exists akin to the Mafia. Oh well, they\u0026rsquo;re entitled to their opinion. The Discipling paradigm was gone, but has come back. It is back to stay. KNN Reloaded is less propaganda and more informative. All important issues with it aside, I subscribe because it is informative. It is the only universally agreed upon vehicle of information, except ICOCInfo. There are the beginnings of cooperation with others, meaning other denominations besides ours. Dr. Olbrecht has books advertised on DPI. There\u0026rsquo;s attendance in Abilene, and the ICoC even has four speakers this year. Local ministers are meeting with other ministers within their city and forming relationships. Kip has been publicly denounced. His theology hasn\u0026rsquo;t, but he has. In the next two years, I hope to see many things. Unfortunately, some of them are too late to happen now, though with God, anything is possible.\nI hope to see our former and present theology repudiated. This means the discipling paradigm repudiates as biblical mandate and demonstrated as a tool. This means a repudiation of \u0026ldquo;the means justifies the ends\u0026rdquo;. This means a repudiation of \u0026ldquo;back to the glory days\u0026rdquo;. This means a repudiation of growth = spirituality. This means an end to the irrational fear of the internet. This means an end to the idea that we are somehow some special and set apart group to whom God pays particular attention more than other Christian groups. This means a repudiation of the many things that brought us to the point of being torn down in the first place. I hope to see an end to using unity to quiet different perspectives. I hope to see cooperation with our brothers in the Restoration Movement to help strengthen us and share the Gospel with others. (This is in the next two years. Going outside the Restoration Movement will take a bit longer - sorry Scott and bobber). I hope to see us come together and work out a plan to help our sister churches within our denomination without having to be in authority over them. I hope to see an end to the American arrogance that we are somehow more spiritual and should be the ones managing affairs worldwide. I hope to see Hope Worldwide continue to reform and replace the Gempels as President and Vice President. Replace means that they have nothing to do with the organization except volunteer. Along those lines, I hope for non-ICoC board members by 2009. I hope to see the various incarnations of the LA Unity Plan irrevocably defeated. This includes elements of the preliminary proposal of the Unity Group. I hope to see an end to my posts lamenting the lack of change in the ICoC. I hope to see our groupthink treated by truly outside perspectives. This means outside the ICoC and CoC. I hope to see and end to the efforts of some to silence dissent amongst current members of the ICoC. I hope to see members talk of real spiritual change and share with a real honesty, not a manufactured American-businees type of honesty. I hope for a lot of things and I think we are poised to do it, even with our set of current leaders. It is never time to move on, but it is time to do something. I hope that we move ahead and not look backwards. I hope that my fears do not come true.\n","date":"2 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-02-three-years/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Three Years","type":"posts"},{"content":"There are many words not found in the Bible, yet hold great meaning for Christians all over the world. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, yet most Christians believe in it. The word discipleship is not found in the Bible, yet it is a critical component to the maturity of a Christian. There are many more examples of this, but there is one more important word not found in the Bible, and that is the subject of this meditation.\nInterdependence is not in the Bible, but appears to be central to the meaning of \u0026rsquo;ekklesia\u0026rsquo; the word we translate as church. What does ekklesia mean? It literaly means, \u0026ldquo;a calling out\u0026rdquo;. Basically, it was used to label a group called for a specific purpose. In the Bible, it is used of a mob (Acts 19:32), but most often in reference to the assembly of believers. As the \u0026rsquo;ekklesia\u0026rsquo; or community of believers, what is our specific purpose? A fully defined answer can be found here, but primarily, it is to teach the word of God, provide fellowship, remembering Jesus through communion, and prayer.\nLooking at Acts 2:42, it is obvious why the new belivers had everything in common. They had not planned to live in Jerusalem, merely visit for the Passover. The new Christian community pulled together with the purpose of meeting the needs of everyone. Three thousand became believers, but they were definitely in need of each other in order to survive. Instead of merely providing for each other, though, they devoted themselves to the fellowship. Paul would later tell the Thessalonians that they needed no instruction on brotherly love: it would appear that the first church in Jerusalem needed no instruction at its inception.\nLater in church history, we see that in Paul\u0026rsquo;s missionary journeys, one community of believers needed each other. Philippi provided supplies and money for Paul\u0026rsquo;s missionary efforts in Macedonia (Phil 4:15). Macedonia and Achia (think Philippians, Thessalonians, Bereans, Athenians, Corinthians, and Cenchareans) sent money to Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). It is believed that the Romans gave Paul money for a trip to Gaul. There is no doubt that churches in one city knew of churches in other cities (1 Thess 1:4) and that they provided assistance to each other.\nIt is reasonable for administrators to manage the money and needs across several congregations. Peter and the other apostles did this in Jerusalem (Acts 4:35), Paul did this throghout the Gentile world(many references). But what was an apostle\u0026rsquo;s role in all this?\nApostles were called to a specific purpose; Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles and Peter as an apostle to the Jews (Gal 2:8). Paul, in his role, went from place to place preaching first in the synagogues (Acts 17:2), and then anywhere he could, usually the home of a new convert. (Acts 17:7) He spoke in Gentile assemblies (Acts 19:19) and the marketplace (Acts 17:7). To demonstrate his approval from God (1 Co 2:4), he was empowered to heal the sick (Acts 19:12), cast out demons (Acts 16:18), speak in other languages, and other supernatural things. As the apostle to the Gentiles, he had no qualms with sending people to strengthen (many references) or even straighten out a church(Titus 1:5). As God\u0026rsquo;s chosen messenger to the Gentiles, he certainly had a mandate from God to do these things.\nWhat does this wordy and overlong meditation have to do with interdependence? Well, looking the early church, they seemed to require no central agency to help each other. When a need arose, they worked to meet it (2 Co 8:14-15). The need supplied by the apostles, Paul in particular, seemed to be communication between the churches. As one church knew the needs, other churches could provide help. Nothing stopped the Philippians and other Macedonian churches from giving (2 Cor 8:3-4) on their own.\nWhat of conflicts? Seems that the apostles, elders, and folks from three Gentile churches were able to meet adhoc to answer a difficult issue (Acts 15). The letter went out from the apostles and elders, carried by specific messengers. A ruling went out on the difficulty. It\u0026rsquo;s interesting that the ruling was changed later (the prohibitions of eating strangled animals and meat offered to idols were later removed).\nWhat of the current ICoC situation? Nothing prevents any of our churches from helping each other. Chicago started a missions society with several members that send money overseas. Boston and South Florida have done similar things. We should have an adhoc gathering to discuss other churches needs and find churches willing to help. There are still churches that need help.\nNothing prevents a church from planting another - especially in working with another church to do so. My minister wants to plant a chruch in Wisconsin. He asked couples here if they wanted to help. He then went to our church in Minnesota to ask folks to help from there. Looks like about 20 or so will be going on the church planting and this was all accomplished without a central agency.\nWhen Katrina hit New Orleans, many gave to HOPE worldwide. Nothing prevented anyone from volunteering or sending money. Our church gave to three families directly, two of which were not members of our sister church in New Orleans. Other churches sent direct help to the church in N.O. It seems that churches in Texas and elsewhere gave the most direct help. Again, all this without being told from a regional director.\nNothing prevents churches in a regional area from meeting together and helping each other. The Heartland Churches of Christ will even soon have a website. The central resource can help smaller congregations have a web presence. But more importantly, meeting once a month, common issues can be discussed. The Heartland organization has no officers, no oversight of member churches, no creedal statements, and yet events are coordinated and resources pooled for mutual benefit. What need is there for another organization? What other level of working together is needed? When Omaha did the Purpose-Driven Church, the KC church provided materials they customized. When Wichita started using Family Dynamics materials in marriage retreats, other Heartland Churches began sending folks to FD to be trained. When Kip started trying to split churches here, they all met together and made a common statement against Kip. Really, what other interdependence needs to be demonstrated?\nAn even better opportunity for interdependence is available by working with Independent Christian Churches and/or Churches of Christ in a given city. Stadia has shown that these groups can and do work together to spread the gospel. Why can\u0026rsquo;t we work with them as well? Why can\u0026rsquo;t we partner with other groups in our city to help the poor and needy? My church worked with a Vineyard Church two years ago to have a blood drive. We still have a working relationship with them that allows us the use of their building.\nI read about connectionalism and I wonder why it is needed. With the ICoC\u0026rsquo;s unique history, we can be so much more than that. I think this is especially true considering that we are still working through various aspects of our past and an emgerging split. I have no illusions, we have a very long way to go and a lot of work to be done. I think we have demonstrated that we are not mature enough to have any kind of central body with any governance. The good news is that, we probably do not need it. I understand that Amercians in general have an extreme problem with any authority - but even on a pragmatic level, it\u0026rsquo;s simply not needed around here.\nThis isn\u0026rsquo;t to say that there aren\u0026rsquo;t some expedient things about a central governing body (bishopric):\nWe can more easily denounce Kip and his heresy. We can move staff around more easily because local churches will not need the interview process. We can adminster funds to regional churches more easily. We can _____ (help from the audience?)\nWhat about training? The early church had the school in Alexandria. The CoC has Abilene (and Pepperdine and Harding). Abilene brought the ICoC and CoC together. The ICoC has four speakers there. Pepperdine brought the Southern Baptist Convention and the CoC together. This year, the Restorationists of all stripes are talking about unity.\nThat is, except us. We\u0026rsquo;re talking instead of consolidating and cementing ourselves as a denomination. God help us.\n","date":"1 February 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-02-01-on-interdependence/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"On Interdependence","type":"posts"},{"content":"This, of course, sounds like a challenge. :)\nPoets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.\nG. K. Chesterton\n","date":"31 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-31-random-quote/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Random Quote","type":"posts"},{"content":"Still writing something on Connectionalism. It is controversial in a few circles, but is generally accepted among various denominations, especially the United Methodist Church. Before writing my thoughts here, I should say at the outset that I do respect this group for looking to outside models and doing their homework. The article does represent some hard work and careful study.\nThe Gang of Nine have shown the direction they are heading, and it seems that they are going to head in a direction similar to the UMC. The Sothern Baptist Convention is slightly different - they have conventions and regional groups, but those groups can not appoint clergy in its member churches. Under the UMC model, the regional bishopric hires, fires, and moves around staff in member churches. The Central organization also sets policy and doctrine, though in recent years they have opted for very little mandated doctrine and more policy.\nDespite good arguments to the contrary, connectionalism is presented as a biblical mandate. This is based mainly on the argument that although there are no apostles today, the needs exist for the role of an apostle. This is a consistent hermenutic in our church history, mainly that all the offices of the first century church may not exist, but the need for the role remains. (This is also used in reference to prophets.) What I will say at this point is that the authority of the apostles is stressed, while the other roles of the apostles are not. In many writings of apostles, their primary role seems to be one of planting churches. Second, strengthening them. Their authority in other churches seems to have derived from either Jesus himself (the 12, Matthias, Paul) or from planting a church (Paul, Silas, Barnabus).\nAs far as the critique of the \u0026lsquo;mainline\u0026rsquo; Churches of Christ, the comments are accurate according to those that are asked. Various groups exist to facilitate training and missions work, but members of the CoC debate their effectiveness. However, there is an example of maintaing local church leadership and co-operation that appears to be working. Namely, the Independent Christian Churches. There are regional groups, but the one hallmark is the NACC. Another organization, Stadia, has been working to plant churches with good success. They have planted over 100 churches, with many more planted recently, including ones planted by CoC and Christian Church members.\nAs I suggested, we should have a missions society similar to Stadia, or we should simply use Stadia. We have people all over the country itching to plant churches, my own minister is doing just that. There is success is forming groups without ecclesatical authority to plant churches, so why not? There is not a lack of people willing to take part. My concern is that had regional bishoprics been in place, this church might not have been planted.\nAuthority is a thorny issue, especially amongst Americans. Our society is fiercely independent and values independent thought. As a whole, Americans have an unhealthy attitude of authority and hide behind the proverb \u0026lsquo;power corrupts\u0026rsquo; as an excuse to disparage any authority. It is a shame, really. We claim to submit to no one but God, all the while trying to tell Him what to do. I personally believe in local authority and I submit to it. I do not work to undermine the authority in my church locally.\nThere are those that puport to be leaders regionally, nationally, and globally. As with the apostles, I do not think they should be accepted on their word alone, but on a demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I am a cessationist, so how does the HS manifest itself today? See Galatians 6. Like the Bereans, I also went to the Scriptures to see if what they say is true. I have found that half is true, the other half is specualtive. Is the role of an apostle needed today? Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 21:14 lead me to believe the apostles came to lay the foundation of the church. As such, their role is no longer needed.\n","date":"31 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-31-something-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something soon","type":"posts"},{"content":"I led the thoughts for communion today. It reflects the benefits of going out and the men\u0026rsquo;s retreat.\nClick on this sentence for the link to the mp3.\n","date":"30 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-30-speaking-of-hope/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Speaking of Hope","type":"posts"},{"content":"The folks at Gold Rush Games seem to be gearing up for version 2 of their OGL Action! System rules. (See the forums, cannot link to them from work)\nAs they are asking for feedback, I offered one suggestion and plan to offer another one.\nStats Do Not Make Sense Looking at the rules, a person with a STR score of 4 can dead lift 100kg. A person with a STR of 8 can dead life 300kg.\nYet the stronger person, though three times stronger, does twice the damage.\nLooking to the range of the superhuman:\nA person with a STR of 10 can dead lift 200kg. A person with a STR of 20 can dead life 6400kg. The second person is 32 times stronger than the first, yet does only twice the damage.\nI reworked the STR attribute to follow a logarithmic progression so that twice the strength (as measured in amount a person can dead lift) meant twice the damage. Four times the strength, four times the damage. It\u0026rsquo;s not perfect. So far those with average or slightly above average strength cannot hurt another person in a fist-fight. (Yes, this is a large problem).\nChances of Success\nSeeing if you are succesful in a task is straight forward:\nAtrribute score + Skill Score + 3d6 roll = number to compare against Target. If the target number is 12 (Easy), you have an Intelligence of 3 (normal) and a Computer Skill score of 3 (Amateur, but received training and hands-on experience), you have to roll a six or better to be successful.\nLooking at the set of target numbers you have:\nAverage/Easy 12 Tricky 15 Challenging 18 Difficult 21 Demanding 24 Extreme 27 Legendary 30\nAssuming attribute of 3 and skill of 3, you need to roll 6, 9, 12 ,15, 18 respectively. Extreme and Legendary things are just out of reach.\nThe odds for success of an average person are:\nAverage/Easy 95.3% chance of success Tricky 74.0% chance of success Challenging 37.5 % chance of success Difficult 9.25% chance of success Demanding 0.4 % chance of success\nBig jump from Tricky to Challenging. Determining Tricky or Challenging is a judgement call. Dude, what a big shift.\nThe issue comes from rolling 3d6. You have a 1 in 4 chance of rolling a 10 or 11. So if you need a roll less than 12, your chances are good. Need 12 or more? Well, there\u0026rsquo;s the cliff, take a flying leap.\nMy suggestion was changing to 2d12, then the probabilities even out. However, I know they are trying to stick to d6. Using 2d6 makes it worse. Using 4d6 doesn\u0026rsquo;t help much.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s my semi-annual foray into RPGs.\n","date":"27 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-27-action-system-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Action! System 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s not that I haven\u0026rsquo;t been reading 1 Thess. I have read it several times. I just need some time to write things down that I have not had lately. I look forward to taking advantage of a men\u0026rsquo;s retreat to do just that.\nAside from 1 Thess, though, I need to pray through my circumstances. If I have learned anything thus far from 1 Thess, it is that the Thessalonians knew what it meant to be in difficult circumstances. (Huge understatement). Paul didn\u0026rsquo;t talk to them about having Joy in all circumstances, instead, he told them to hold on. He reminded them of the justice of God and that Heaven awaits all believers.\nThis is encouraging to me as I have had the \u0026lsquo;joy in all circumstances\u0026rsquo; verse shoved at me for most of my Christian life. It was presented in a way that was designed to eliminate criticism, not provide comfort as Paul did.\nSo off I go to a small town about an hour south of here. I wish we were going to Villisica, IA again. I enjoyed walking out a ways to a small riverbed where I have prayed in two previous years. I hope I can be alone in our new place - that is what I crave the most. It has been difficult to \u0026lsquo;be still and know that I am God\u0026rsquo; and I have sung Be Still my Soul so much that I do not have emotion left to react to its words.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not that I am feeling low - I am feeling burdened. My credit is shot from the medical (and gas) bills I cannot pay on time. That means we cannot get a house and may have trouble moving out from our substandard house. We do not have money. Were it not for the kindness of my church, my son would not have hearing aids. We barely have anything else. I am frequently tired. I am worried about one of the applicants for our lead minister vacancy at my church. I feel disconnected from my son. I am about to start a second job. I am straddled with a car I cannot get rid of. My son does not like wearing the hearing aid and I am scared that he is going to break it. I am gaining weight and my health is suffering again. More than anything, I feel powerless to change my present circumstances.\nAll of these things are just normal life. I know people with worse problems, I am not the only one to have them. The thing is that my present cicrumstances are getting to me despite renewed efforts in Bible study, prayer, and other spiritual disciplines. I know, a good time with God doesn\u0026rsquo;t get rid of your problems. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that. It\u0026rsquo;s just that time with God provides perspective and encouragement, not solutions. I will always have problems (watch it Shane). They will never go away, just change as my son grows up, my marriage changes, I change, my environment changes, and so on. Since I will never be problem-free, the real search is for hope, faith, and love. Too many times I am looking for hand outs, solutions, and determination.\nSometimes I think too much, so I thought I just needed some fun. Tuesday we rented Madagascar and I loved it. But it is not recreation that I needed this time - this one will only come out with prayer and fasting.\nI hope for a great weekend. See you on Monday.\n","date":"27 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-27-going-out/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Going Out","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is another blog phenomenon. A frequent visitor, bobber, tagged me and I in turn will tag 4 others at the end, someday\nFour Jobs I Have Had\nSoftware Analyst ;) Software Trainer Middle School Teacher Commercial Fisherman (one summer) Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over I really don\u0026rsquo;t watch movies, so these four may be odd, if I can think of four\u0026hellip;\nThe Italian Job Bowling for Columbine The Godfather How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version only) Four Books I Could Read Over and Over I don\u0026rsquo;t read for recreation as much as I did when I was single. I read for a purpose these days. Recently I\u0026rsquo;ve read or am reading, Grace Based Parenting, A Celebration of Sex, The Happiest Baby on the Block. I\u0026rsquo;m not listing the Bible because it really irritates me when others do things like that. I figure I\u0026rsquo;m supposed to reveal something about me that you do not already know. Also, it seems like I\u0026rsquo;m wearing the entire Bible on my forehead as a phylactery.\nFocualt\u0026rsquo;s Pendulum by Umberto Eco anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. How about Strange Pilgrims or One Hundred Years of Solititude? How to Read the Bible for All It\u0026rsquo;s Worth by Fee and Stuart (a book about the Bible is okay) The Meaning of Life by Bradley Trevor Greive (you have to click this one to appreaciate why it is listed) Four Places I Have Lived I haven\u0026rsquo;t lived outside North Carolina much at all. I currently live in Nebraska\nLas Vegas, Nevada Raleigh, North Carolina Colington, North Carolina Portsmouth, Virginia Four TV Shows I Watch TV? What\u0026rsquo;s a TV? Here\u0026rsquo;s four shows I hope to watch if I can.\nCrossing Jordan MythBusters Is the History Channel a show? Law and Order, the original show, not the zillions of offshoots. Four Places I Have Been on Vacation yeah, Shane, I know the Sioux City, Iowa trip wasn\u0026rsquo;t much of a vacation, but it was worth the 12 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.\nRoma, Italia Washington, DC Sioux City, IA Jacksonville, FL Four Websites I Visit Daily Besides the blogs I have listed on the top of my website, I visit these non-blog sites:\nLxer ICoCInfo freshmeat Homestar Runner, it\u0026rsquo;s Dot-Com\u0026hellip; Four Favorite Foods\nshrimp from home prepared any way but raw ngiri-zushi made with yellow-fin tuna chocolate milk Tehran Chicken (menu item from Persian resturant in town) Four Places I\u0026rsquo;d Like to Be Right Now\nhome with my wife and child (it\u0026rsquo;s actually the house to the left of the red marker) home on the Outer Banks Computer Renaissance with $1,000 Vale, Colorado Four Bloggers I\u0026rsquo;m Tagging I don\u0026rsquo;t know, but I\u0026rsquo;ll get there\u0026hellip;\nSalguod Scott\u0026rsquo;s old site and Scott\u0026rsquo;s current site * * ","date":"26 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-26-im-it-oh-the-linkage/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I'm it! Oh the linkage!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Before looking at the text itself, a little background of Paul and company\u0026rsquo;s visite to Thessalonika:\nIn Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in Philippi. At the very end of the chapter, the jailer in their prison becomes a believer. When the city officials declare that Paul and company should be released, Paul demands a personal escort as a Roman citizen. When they are escorted from prison, they go to Lydia\u0026rsquo;s house to encourage the brothers before leaving.\nKeep in mind that they had been flogged. Their visit to Lydia\u0026rsquo;s house may have been a few days.\nBefore making their way to Thessalonika, Paul and company pass through Amphipolis and Apollonia. Amphipolis was the Roman capital of the province of Macedonia, a very rich city. Amphipolis also had a large gymnasium - much of what is known about Greek athletic training comes from the ruins of the site. Despite its size and importance, Paul and company pass through. By contrast, Apollonia was a small village will a seaport. Some commentators have remarked that this would have been a good place to get supplies. However, there is no record of Paul and company preaching here, they continue on to Thessalonika. Why? Because there was a Jewish synagogue there(Acts 17:1).\nAs was his custom, he preached in the synagogue there (Acts 17:2). Jews and God-fearers (converts to Judaism) became believers. He preached there for three weeks before controversy starts. Apparently Jason offers to host Paul and his company - it is assumed that they were believers. In other cities, Paul would preach in the synagogue and find shelter with believers there. (In Corinth, he stayed with fellow tent-makers Priscilla and Aquilla where the three of them did business for quite a while.) When it is discovered that Paul and company are not there, Jason and other brothers are brought before city officials. That night, Paul and company leave (Acts 17:10).\nKeep in mind that Paul and Silas were there for three weeks plus a short stay at Jason\u0026rsquo;s house. They had just spent quite a bit of time in Philippi and they would soon spend 18 months in Corinth. Considering the brevity of their visit, it is understandable that Paul is worried about them (1 Thess 3:5). In fact, Paul went alone to Athens in order to send Silas and Timothy back to Thessalonika (Acts 17:15).\nSpeaking of Berea, the Jews of Thessalonika decided to follow Paul and company there. It was about a 45 mile trip from Thessalonika. This gave Paul, Silas, and the others time to think about what they wanted to do next, unlike their exits from previous cities. After deciding their course of action, they came to the highway (Via Egnatium) and went their separate ways.\nPaul continues to Athens (Acts 17:16) and preaches in the marketplace while waiting for them. The message comes to the attention of Stoic and Epicurean philosophers who bring him to the Aeropagus to hear his discourse.\nAs an aside, Epicurean philosophy is based on presenting \u0026lsquo;plain facts\u0026rsquo; in order to draw inferences about what is unknown. Plain facts are demonstrated in what can be perceived or sensed. In essence, you can only know about the unknown based on what you can see or hear, or touch, or smell, or sense in some way. Stoics, on the other hand, strove to be free from the passions (hate, fear, pain, appetite, etc) and follow where reason leads. The two would argue about the meaning of pain and other feelings - the Epicureans saying that pain helps us to understand the universe, the Stoics saying the removal of pain helps us understand the universe. Considering the two groups, what Paul preaches has the power to appeal to them intellectually. (At least until he mentioned resurrection from the dead.)\nAfter Athens, Paul meets Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth. He stays there making tents and waiting for news from Thessalonika and the rest of Macedonia. With Priscilla, Aquila, and other exiles from Rome in the city, Paul doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to start from scratch in the city, there are already believers there when he arrives. He devotes his time to preaching in the synagogues every Sabbath, but takes the time to write letters. One of these, is the first letter to the Thessalonians.\nTimothy and Silas have much good news to report. They also bring back some questions. Through the course of discussions with Timothy and Silas, they also talk about issues that need to be addressed. After some time and discussion, the three of them come together to pen a letter.\n","date":"21 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-21-1-thessalonians-background/","section":"Posts","summary":"Before looking at the text itself, a little background of Paul and company’s visite to Thessalonika:\nIn Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in Philippi. At the very end of the chapter, the jailer in their prison becomes a believer. When the city officials declare that Paul and company should be released, Paul demands a personal escort as a Roman citizen. When they are escorted from prison, they go to Lydia’s house to encourage the brothers before leaving.\nKeep in mind that they had been flogged. Their visit to Lydia’s house may have been a few days.\n","title":"[1 Thessalonians] - Background","type":"posts"},{"content":"Ever want to mine a bunch of data using google? Well, here\u0026rsquo;s your chance. This link takes you to one of the better guides for using google\u0026rsquo;s advanced features.\nMore fun than a geek should have on a Friday, really\u0026hellip;\n","date":"20 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-20-google-reference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Google Reference","type":"posts"},{"content":"My son\u0026rsquo;s hearing aids come today.\nWARNING! IRRELEVANT ASIDE COMING! DODGE! WEAVE! DUCK! DIVE! AVOID! This is the bright, shiny spot in a week where every possible issue that can go wrong with our Pension software, has gone wrong.\nAnyone know COBOL? I sure don\u0026rsquo;t. And before you offer a class, let me just say that any COBOL programmer worth his salt has seen the code and responded like Marlon Brando in Apocolypse Now.\nThe horror\u0026hellip; The horror\u0026hellip;\nWe now return you to our regularly scheduled post, already in progress.\n..says to the other, \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;d heerd of that there Hind Lick Maneuver, but ain\u0026rsquo;t never seed nobody do it!\u0026rdquo;\nWe apologize for the inconvenience. Those responsible for returning to the correct blog have just been sacked. We now return you to the correct blog, already in progress.\nSo we\u0026rsquo;unz r headen off\u0026hellip;\nWe apologize again for the inconvenience. Those responsible for incorrectly applying the \u0026lsquo;hillbilly\u0026rsquo; filter have just been sacked. Those responsible for sacking those who have been sacked, have also been sacked.\nWhoa, I feel like I\u0026rsquo;ve been somewhere else for a while. Sharp taste of moonshine in my mouth for some reason.\nWe again\u0026hellip;\nI\u0026rsquo;m sorry, the one that feel the need to sack those responsible for sacking those that have been sacked, have just been sacked. Sooner or later, they\u0026rsquo;ll figure out that you just cannot sack the blog owner.\nAs I said, my son will get his hearing aids later today. Frabjous joy, Callou Callay!\nI\u0026rsquo;m so happy I c-\n","date":"20 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-20-they-come-today/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"They Come Today","type":"posts"},{"content":"Distance measured as factors of 60.\nkwet is about 11mm. Next unit up is 60 kwets. Next unit up is 60x60 kwets.\nTherefore measurements are written 10.15.39 or 3600+900+39 (4539 kwets) or 49959 millimeters or approx 163 feet 9 inches.\nGreat distances are measured by adding more numbers in front. Two sets of numbers are used in small construction, five is massive projects.\n","date":"14 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-14-system-of-measurement/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"System of Measurement","type":"posts"},{"content":"I grabbed my friend by the side of the head and told him this.\nThe entire sentence was, \u0026ldquo;Preach the Word, no one else here is going to tell you to do that. You\u0026rsquo;d better do that, or I\u0026rsquo;m coming up there to kick your butt for leaving here.\u0026rdquo;\nI came here in 2002 in a world of misery, but the hope of a new life for the first time since I went to college. I knew no one. I had nowhere to stay. I had a nice car, a little bit of money, and a job.\nThis guy was the first lead evangelist I met younger than me. From the start, he welcome me in. He listened to my hurts and encouraged me to go talk to everyone I was angry at.\nI did. All of them. Sam Laing, Arthur, Kip, all of them.\nI stopped being angry and devoted myself to helping others again. I worked on computers for free. I got some outside speakers to come here. We tried some new ideas. I taught some classes. I enjoyed attending church for the first time in years.\nWe talked about a lot of things. He helped me overcome my fear of speaking my mind. He helped me temper my perchant to bluntness without ever telling me a thing. I saw him struggle to come to grips with our church past. I even defended him when people were trying to tell him how to preach. I saw him also go back to his old church and try to make amends for everything he had done. He answered emails from some of those folks.\nHe became confident in his own calling yet have his own voice. He received criticism from within the church, outside the church, and from other ICoC subculture ministers. Still, he went his own way. He went to a Presbyterian school here to get a theological degree, he reached out to CoC\u0026rsquo;s, a Vineyard church, and befriended a professor that was feeling pretty low himself about his ministry.\nHe officiated weddings (including mine) and memorial services, but he did more than that - he cared. Whatever my feelings are on some of the things done during his tenure here, I always knew that he cared. I wish he was not leaving, but I support him in going after his dream.\nHis dream was to plant a church near he and his wife\u0026rsquo;s family. In this time of post-HKL renaissance, this requires no approval from anyone. With three young children, it was now or never - and I believe the time was certainly now. The message he preaches needs to spread. People need to know that Jesus is the message, not a church, not a system of control, not a mechanical system of theology. Jesus cared and he exemplifies that like no one else I know.\nI truly believe that God brought me here to learn from and learn with this man. Despite both our faults, somehow we ended up helping each other. For that I am grateful.\nI wish you well my friend. Go with God and preach the word.\nOr else. :)\n","date":"12 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-12-preach-the-word/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Preach the Word","type":"posts"},{"content":"My son had a urology appointment today that we have been treating as more of a formality than anything else.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not a formality.\nPreliminary, and I do mean preliminary, results point to issues of reflux caused by improper drainage of one of his kidneys. This condition is associated with his Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s. The effects are more increased urinary tract infections and kidney infections. If the infections occur frequently, that could lead to more medical problems. If the reflux becomes a larger problem, there could be toxicity problems that I currently do not understand fully.\nI guess he\u0026rsquo;ll be drinking cranberry juice when he starts eating.\nIn addition, I received some very bad news that I cannot post about.\nNot a good day, but at least God is still the same. He\u0026rsquo;s still good. He still abides with us.\n","date":"11 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-11-keep-on-praying/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Keep On Praying","type":"posts"},{"content":"Last night, I took an extended shift with my son. If I fall asleep without the CPAP machine, I get no rest. So, though we were spralled out on the chaise (it\u0026rsquo;s the thing that looks like half a couch) in a perfect Hallmark moment for three hours, I am not entirely here.\nWhat?\nOh yeah, so I got an extended shift with my son last night\u0026hellip;\nUh-\nAnyway, I may not make a lot of sense today. Of course this means a post on something random will come later.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t worry Shane, I marked up the paper you sent me - ahh the flashbacks of being an English teacher.\n","date":"11 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-11-um-yeah/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Um, Yeah","type":"posts"},{"content":"Doing the right thing can be difficult, but you are forgiven.\n","date":"10 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-10-grace/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Grace","type":"posts"},{"content":"A new church planted by Frank Davis. Frank was an evangelist in Brooklyn and is now the evangelist for this new church in Atlanta.\nHe also wrote this article saying that God Hates Divorce. How ironic.\nI also forgot to mention the church in Chile as asking for Kip\u0026rsquo;s discipling in 2004, before the Gang of 84 wrote the letter.\nIt never ceases to amaze me in a way.\n","date":"10 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-10-kipism-on-the-rise/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Kipism on the Rise","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had some time to think through what I am feeling. I\u0026rsquo;ve also had a chance to talk to others. Tomorrow night is a big deal for our church, so barring any suprises there, I believe I\u0026rsquo;ve come to grips with this present crisis.\nBackground I\u0026rsquo;ve looked for the history of accountability partners and the like. The Catholic church had spiritual minders in the 5th century, but the minders were imbued with authority. I wanted to look at the history of the kind of mentoring relationships that Purpose-Driven churches, Promise Keepers, Campus Crusade, and others use or have used at one time. John Wesley had a group 200 years ago - he ended up having conflicts in managing the various small groups and became an overseeing evangelist in a way. Outside of that, the first mention I have seen comes from Watchman Nee. Born in 1920 in Mainland China, Nee believed in spiritual authority from teacher to student. I must confess that my knowledge of Nee\u0026rsquo;s works is too rusty to explain here.\nAfter that a little book called Operation Timothy written in 1970 by Connecting Businessmen to Christ. Formed in 1930, they continue to be devoted to one-on-one discipleship. If you read their plans for 2006, it is eerily similar to the Evangelization Proclamation.\nI have this book - it is a series of twelve studies to help a new Christian, something made very clear in the book. Since the original, book two has been published dealing with finances, marriage and other things. Again, the focus is on new Christians, though as a movement, they have increasingly become definied by their one-on-one discipleship lifestyle. Before drawing too many parallels, their National Director, Patrick O\u0026rsquo;Neal, makes $37,500 a year. They manage about four million dollars a year in donations - considering they have 18,000 members, that is not very much. (For you old schoolers out there, that\u0026rsquo;s $222.22 a year per member or $18.51 per member per month. Under our old financial policy in the ICoC, this would have been below poor.) Suffice it to say, I do not believe that they are after money.\nAfter Operation Timothy, I found discipleship partners again in the Shepherding Ministries formed by five prominent charismatic leaders, Derek Prince, Don Basham, Bob Mumford, Charles Simpson and Ern Baxter (also in 1970). They broke up in 1985 after charges of abuse began to surface. Bob Mumford still runs LifeChangers. Charles Simpson runs his own publishing site including a magazine called One-to-One. The other three men have since passed on. For all their work, it seems their organization, besides creating a firestorm, burned out after 11 years.\nThen, I found where Campus Crusade picked up the mantle. The ICoC picked it up from there. Other organizations abound that extol the virtues of one-on-one discipleship as a means to grow into maturity. I discovered that this concept is not unique to the ICoC subculture, but has been in America at least since the late 60s. (Unless you count the Methodist movement in America.)\nI thought that surely such an obvious concept has been taught through time. I seached the entire works of Spurgeon - nothing. Calvin? Nothing there, either. C.S. Lewis? As one man said, \u0026ldquo;Lewis understood that discipleship is a matter of faithfulness in the undramatic episodes of life\u0026rdquo;. You could argue that Tolkien and Lewis were accountability partners of a sort, but it would be more accurate to say they were friends.\nBut the Bible Says\u0026hellip; What is the value of a two hundred year old commentary? You can easily see what your society and culture try to add to the Bible. You can also see what the past culture tried to add as well. With almost two thousand years of Christianity, there may not be any new insight, but there is a lot of insight to discover.\nSo I looked up Col 3:16 and Eph 5:19. These stalwart verses of \u0026ldquo;one-another\u0026rdquo; relationships should have something to offer in the old commentaries. However, it\u0026rsquo;s not there. No mention in Matthew Henry, JFB, Barnes, or others of one-on-one partners to teach and admonish each other. Tretullian shared about Col 3:16 in the context of the Sunday love-feasts. Basically, he, or another person would sing a hymn or share in other ways to the assembly. Seems a far cry from a justification for personal minders, especially for one so close to the original church.\nTired of Bashing Discipleship I decided that I need to stop bashing discipleship. Sounds strange, but it sure sounds like I am, doesn\u0026rsquo;t it? Truth is, I do not bash it at all. When I lost weight, it was because I met with a support group every Saturday morning. Having to weigh in put pressure on me to make healthier food choices during the week. I never would have accomplished very much without the support of a great bunch of men. The accountability of sharing my struggles gave me the courage and strength in weak moments to make good choices. I have always been grateful to them and the man that lead the group.\nYou know, there\u0026rsquo;s no qualifier coming in this paragraph. I started making bad choices again when I left the group. Food is an area of my life that is so weak, that it will require some kind of structured disciplined plan to change my habits again. I do not have the desire to do it on my own. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that there are areas of our lives that feel the same.\nWhat I learned is that my group was a tool through which God could work. Hold on, do not get ahead of me, here. I\u0026rsquo;ve not sold-out in any sense of the word. It was a tool that helped me overcome a very difficult area of my life. It\u0026rsquo;s success, to me, was based on the fact that there was a way to measure progress, an encouraging group of men in a similar situation, and the group was voluntary and temporary. The forced Weigh Down group I was put in a few months earlier did not help me because it was not really voluntary. I was assigned that group by the Sector Leader. Because it was not voluntary, I also believed that it would not be temporary. No matter what, it felt like a losing proposition. I was basically told that I was fat and that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t do anything fun until I learned some self-control.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s the Catch? It appears that this notion of personal disciplers is a modern one. So what in modern society would produce this idea? Something pretty basic, our individualistic culture. Our American society is overwhelmingly geared around honoring the individual. You can say what you want, sue whomever you want, and basically do what you want. Legal precedent and legal precedent continues to affirm to that an individual person has the right to do whatever they want, when they want to do it.\nIn Christianity, this can appear with a great loss of the sense of corporate worship. There was recently an article about a growing number of Christians that do not attend church. (couldn\u0026rsquo;t find the link) Distaste with organized religion is the primary reason given for non-attendance. Considering Paul\u0026rsquo;s words about the church, and yes, the one-another passages, it is important for Christians to regularly meet together. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean that there are creative ways to meet together, just that dissatisfaction with some of your brothers and sisters is not reason to forego church altogether. Find a church somewhere for your own good, not theirs.\nIn any case, the sense of individual relationship with God has been so over-emphasized in this country, that men and women are looking for coaches, mentors, bosses, or any other person to help them with their personal relationship with God. The primary goal of a Christian is not the constant measuring of your relationship to God, your amount of sin, or the personal enrichment activities that make up your Christian walk. The Pharisees made up all kinds of rules to hedge themselves in so that they would not go beyond God\u0026rsquo;s set boundaries of right and wrong. This zealous focus on acheiving something for God as an individual is the same kind of thing. It is good to fight your sin. God says be holy as He is holy. However, your progress as far as your personal purity doesn\u0026rsquo;t save you from lust, adultery, or any other sexual sin. The blood of Jesus saves of from all sin, even after our baptism. Having a coach to keep you accountable on weight goals doesn\u0026rsquo;t save from gluttony or give you any self-control. It is the Spirit of God at work within you that accomplishes that. Call it what you will, d-partner, encouragement partner, prayer partner, whatever - it is still only a tool.\nYou Had Me for a While, but You Lost It Here\u0026rsquo;s the stuff that is more personal to me.\nMaking d-partners a condition of membership is wrong. It\u0026rsquo;s like trying to play golf with only one club. The right tool for the right job is a simple concept that most anyone in construction understands. Discipleship is not much different. Paul said that each man should build with costly stones, not hastily with straw. I believe a partner is the right tool in some situations, specifically for new Christians. However, the goal of maturity is to distinguish right and wrong through constant use, not create a co-dependent soul that cannot make a decision without advice. A d-partner is not the right tool for everyone, simply giving it a new name and saying \u0026ldquo;play nice\u0026rdquo; is being disingenuous.\nThe purpose of a d-partner is to accomplish a specific goal and to be accountable to acheive that goal. An open-ended d-partner without a specific objective harms both people. It isn\u0026rsquo;t really designed for that, especially within the ICoC subculture.\nI\u0026rsquo;m still upset that because a few people asked for d-partners, the whole church has to go through this. D-partners are fine, why did the whole church have to get involved? Find someone and be patient with yourself. Instead, there\u0026rsquo;s a bit of a concern on the part of a few members and some are simply doing it because it was presented to them to do.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not a condition for membership in my church, so I\u0026rsquo;m staying. I do not agree with what is being done, but for now staying is more worthwhile than leaving. Is it silent assent? Maybe. Human beings are not rational creatures despite all protests to the contrary - we are emotional being and we live by making emotional decisions. I\u0026rsquo;ll deal with the feeling of compromising my principles the best way I can.\n","date":"10 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-10-of-discipling/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Of Discipling","type":"posts"},{"content":"For fans of Homestar Runner, there is a new email after a long 35 day wait.\nLife is now officially good.\nGranted, it was up, then down, so I haven\u0026rsquo;t actually seen it, but I read the transcript on HR Wiki.\nWhen I was in high school\u0026hellip;\nWait. Check that. Don\u0026rsquo;t want to remember much about high school. Umm\u0026hellip; chorus trips. First love. Best friend. 36 hour marathon. Okay that was the good stuff.\nCafteria - Sanitation Grade C. Do not want to remember that. Used to have a lunch lady chomping on a cigarette while serving you. Imagine the bus driver from Forrest Gump and you have a good mental image.\n\u0026ldquo;You want mashed \u0026rsquo;taters with that, son?\u0026rdquo;\nSo much for not remembering. I\u0026rsquo;m going to be thinking about that bus driver all day, now.\nWe now resume our regularly scheduled lives, already in progress.\n","date":"9 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-09-35-day-itch/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"35 Day Itch","type":"posts"},{"content":"I met Doug on the phone earlier tonight.\nAs I was spilling out my great frustration/disappointment/conflicted moment, he wrote me and offered to call. I was happy to accept.\nI enjoy meeting people and I can be overexcited sometimes, as he soon found out.\nI told him a couple stories I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe I was telling, but then again, that\u0026rsquo;s a familiar feeling to me. I talked about D\u0026amp;D and playing RPGs as a kid. Yeah, Scott, I told him about drawing battle axes in homeroom. I didn\u0026rsquo;t tell him about the gray furry giant snake except to mention the 36 hour marathon that we had.\nAnyway, I just rattled on about everything and nothing - it felt really good.\nThanks Doug for the tremendous encouragement. I enjoy reading your site, even the car stuff. I wish I could build or work on something with my hands in that way. As it is, I burn out computer hardware - I try to do software. Or work out integrals or mathematical series if I can\u0026rsquo;t sleep at night.\nI think my worn out Calculus book will get some rest tonight.\n","date":"8 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-08-salguodnet/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"salguod.net","type":"posts"},{"content":"There are certain thoughts rattling around in my head that I just cannot shake. Maybe it is me being unfair, maybe I am totally inflexible. Worse yet, maybe I expect people to conform to my standards of spirituality (which may be extra-biblical at best).\n1. Some people simply have to be told what to do.\nIt seems to be true in my experience. You place someone in an environment where they are expected to be responsible for their own spirituality and they do nothing. They are waiting to be told what to do. So a minister or other person sits down with them and explains good things to do and encourages the strengthening of their own personal convictions and makes it clear that they need to \u0026lsquo;go after\u0026rsquo; their own spirituality.\nAfter all that work, there is usually something like this conversation\nBill: \u0026ldquo;Okay, so what do you want me to do next week?\u0026rdquo;\n*pause*\nTed: \u0026ldquo;What do you want to grow in?\u0026rdquo; Bill: \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t know, what do you think would be good to grow in?\u0026rdquo; Ted: \u0026ldquo;What do you think?\u0026rdquo; Bill: \u0026ldquo;I just want input. Seeing as you are not me, I\u0026rsquo;d like objective input on where I am spiritually\u0026rdquo; Ted: \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s fine and I appreacite that, but first I\u0026rsquo;d like to have some ideas of where you want to grow.\u0026rdquo;\n*pause*\nBill: \u0026ldquo;Why won\u0026rsquo;t you just tell me?\u0026rdquo; Ted: \u0026ldquo;Because I am afraid that you are relying on me to make decisions that you need to make yourself.\u0026rdquo;\n*pause*\nBill: \u0026ldquo;So you\u0026rsquo;re not going to tell me?\u0026rdquo; Ted: \u0026ldquo;I will after you tell me what you want to grow in.\u0026rdquo;\n*pause*\nBill: \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;l just go ask \u0026mdash;\u0026mdash;\u0026mdash;-, at least they will tell me what they think.\u0026rdquo;\nThat\u0026rsquo;s not a real conversation, but I\u0026rsquo;ve had conversations like that. It is frustrating that people that claim to be Christians for over a decade or more would be this way. A new person just out of the water, okay, I see that. But several years? What were they doing all this time?\n2. A dog returns to its vomit\nMemory is cheap, at least in the computer industry. In the area of human lives, though, it is precious. The Israelites began to long for Egypt when the going got tough in the desert. The cry went up that at least they had meat while in slavery.\nThat slavery, however, was quite brutal. They had to gather straw AND make a certain number of bricks. We\u0026rsquo;re talking hundreds of thousands of people trying to scarmble to gather straw and then run back to the brick molds and produce a certain number of bricks to avoid beatings. There was no rest every seventh day, this was everyday for the rest of your life.\nSo they go from this to having food literally fall out of the sky. They get to rest every seventh day. Still, there is a longing to return to the slavery of Egypt.\nHuman nature is to gravitate to familiarity. When something is new, it can be scary. At least there were ways of coping with the old abuse. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to think through the fact that the abuse should not be happening in the first place. Hey, I can be this way, too. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t make it any less difficult to wrestle with.\nWhat does this have to do with anything? I desire on the part of members of the ICoC subculture for a return to the good ol\u0026rsquo; days. Proverbs makes it clear that thinking the old days were better than these is not wise. People remember the baptisms, the excitement, the love, the happiness. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to remember the lack of sleep, the lack of freedom in the schedule, the phone calls about so-and-so not doing so well, the weird way we communicated with each other, etc. It\u0026rsquo;s also difficult to remember the complete lack of overall maturity.\nHey, I want the love to come back. I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed that it has ebbed as well. However, I believe that it was never really there in the first place. If given a choice and a group of people do not chooose to serve, it leads me to believe that any previous act of serving was prompted by something other than the overflow of their heart.\nSeriously, this is not about my experiences, it is about the hundreds of others\u0026rsquo; experiences related to me by email, conversation, and observation. As far as what happened to me, I talked to all involved and I am at peace with those things. Without those events, I do not like to think about the arrogant, self-destructive, hateful, alienated shell of a person I\u0026rsquo;d be today.\n3. There are people saved outside the ICoC, but they are apparently too stupid to be of any help.\nNot much here, how many leaders have looked outside the ICoC circle for help? Moreover, how many congregations are doing things with a non-ICoC congregation? Not many.\n4. If you repeat a false statement often enough, it is still not true.\n5. The words you use determine your thoughts.\nThere is a reason that I use the phrase ICoC subculture. The definition of subculture is:\nan ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society (a criminal subculture)\nWhether or not a person is a member of an ICoC congregation, there are definite characteristic patterns of behavior. These patterns are quite distinct from the rest of the culture we live in. Some of these patterns are good - Christians should be counterculture in some ways. Some of these patterns are ridiculuos and unhealthy.\nAny long-time member has a certain vocabulary that has meaning only within the context of the ICoC. Here\u0026rsquo;s a short list of codewords: disciple, awesome, wooden spoon, seeking first the kingdom, deny yourself, prideful, independent, bro, sis, impurity, studies, commitments, possibles, back-burner folks, flat(used to express the superlative), discipling, advice, quiet time\u0026hellip;\nAnyone can recognize a member of the ICoC subculture by overhearing a conversation. They could also be recognized by several other factors - our enforced uniformity (or at best homogeny) from LA on down the chain made sure that we were very distinct. As early as 1987, Flavil Yeakley, Jr. did an informal study of the Boston Church of Christ. He found that after a few years, members tended to become ESFJ on the Myers-Briggs scale the longer they were a member. When presented with this fact, one of the elders suggested that Jesus was ESFJ.\nIn any case, I deliberately use certain words and phrases because of unique perspectives of certain things. I use subculture because it is a reminder that we (I\u0026rsquo;m still a part of the ICoC subculture) are very distinct from those around us. I refer to the Worldwide Leadership Conferences as MOAC (Mother of All Conferences) because it reminds me of the Iraqi claims that the first Gulf war would be \u0026ldquo;the Mother of all battles\u0026rdquo;. Is it derogatory? If you think so, that\u0026rsquo;s you - my label has to do with overblown hype and the bizarre need for each successive conference to be ten times better than the last one. When the conferences change, my label will change. I refer to pre-HKL life in the ICoC as the Smurf Village because that\u0026rsquo;s the best metaphor I can find. I do not use it now because daily life after HKL is quite varied.\nEpilogue Okay, what does all this mean?\nA good friend wrote me an email and suggested that I stick things out in my congregation. He is probably right. I have found something truly special here and it is still special. At the same time, I have said that I will not be a part of a \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; church and promised by son that he would not be raised in a \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; church. That is hard to work through because I no longer feel 100% great about inviting people to my church. ( I really do invite people in the community to my church. I also share about God outside the context of church. (One day, I should write about my dialogues with a Muslim woman at work.))\nBut I am still wrestling with it. Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t I feel good about where I worship?\nI live by Occam\u0026rsquo;s razor for many decisions - the solution with the simplest variables is usually the best. It would seem the simplest solution is for me to go another church. It would make me happy, but not my family. Right now, there doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to be a way out with only a few variables. Praying about this has truly felt like an exercise in irreducible complexity.\nI went to Delphi yesterday and read a bit - not much really. I went to the Toronto Church forums, and it is still the same. I think I am seeing less and less relevance of both these places - they are no longer places for the discourse of ideas, but a gathering place of like-minded friends.\nNot being the vocal ex-member, I have not stories of being \u0026ldquo;free\u0026rdquo;, nor am I dealing with things in my past. I\u0026rsquo;m not the current member that is happy that things are getting back to normal. I\u0026rsquo;m not the current member that is blissfully ignorant of Kip and others. I am also not the current member that trusts current leadership in other churches. I am this rare thing - a current member that is unhappy about the direction we, as a whole, are going, but still committed to being a member of a local church. When the local church begins to look like the overall group of churches, I take pause as I mentioned Thursday.\nI am struggling to see where I belong. If I am becoming marginalized or somehow marginalize myself, maybe it is time to move on. If I am just creating trouble for people that would otherwise be happy without me, I should move on. If I am an \u0026ldquo;outside-the-box\u0026rdquo; thinker that provides a valued different persepctive, I should stay. If I am helping people and not hurting them, I should stay. I guess I do not know for sure. I still want to teach, I am still loved by many, I still have good friends.\nSo, I\u0026rsquo;ll be on all the forums and stuff. I\u0026rsquo;ll post here as I work through this. It\u0026rsquo;s not the kind of thing that goes away with much thought and prayer in a couple of days. This will take a long time, and I can live with that.\n","date":"7 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-07-iron-thoughts/","section":"Posts","summary":"There are certain thoughts rattling around in my head that I just cannot shake. Maybe it is me being unfair, maybe I am totally inflexible. Worse yet, maybe I expect people to conform to my standards of spirituality (which may be extra-biblical at best).\n1. Some people simply have to be told what to do.\nIt seems to be true in my experience. You place someone in an environment where they are expected to be responsible for their own spirituality and they do nothing. They are waiting to be told what to do. So a minister or other person sits down with them and explains good things to do and encourages the strengthening of their own personal convictions and makes it clear that they need to ‘go after’ their own spirituality.\n","title":"Iron Thoughts","type":"posts"},{"content":"I cannot sleep again. A series of events have placed two thoughts in my mind that I do not want there.\nSome people desire their own destruction. My church home no longer feels safe for me.\nI have talked over the past three years with people that truly want to follow Kip. I keep asking why, thinking that if I ask enough questions that I will somehow understand.\nTruth is, I am still trying to understand. I do not get the appeal. I do not know how two letters written by so many authors can be ignored. I do not know how you can split a church without splitting a church. I do not know how he can tell everyone what to do, but his own rules do not apply to him. I really thought that I could at least see their perspective or something. I suppose that I am again foolishly naive.\nIt doesn\u0026rsquo;t make any difference, though, what others experience. Some people just have to repeat the same mistakes in order to understand. They will not listen to reason, personal experience, or anything else. The only thing that seems to be real is their own experience.\nSpecifically, you demonstrate the history of the Shepherding Movement - everyone that has attempted one-on-one mentoring/training/discipling/encouraging has abandoned the idea. Why? It has always devolved into an abusive system, despite all the best intentions. Point this out and the answer is, \u0026ldquo;Well we are going to be different.\u0026rdquo;\nYou try a teach a hermenuetic that provides historical context. You demonstrate that a religious practice is not the same as a religious doctrine. You show that they are reading things into the Bible that simply are not there. You even try linguistic arguments and practical arguments and thought exercises and outside perspectives. The answer is, \u0026ldquo;but it is Biblical.\u0026rdquo;\nWell, I\u0026rsquo;ve had enough. This Don Quixote is hanging up the lance.\nEverything within me says that I cannot stay in a place where I no longer feel safe. I feel safe with certain people, but I am now nervous about being in certain settings. I do not want to be a party to something I think is wrong, even if I am given the option of not participating. It\u0026rsquo;s not just a fear, but a feeling of accepting a practice that has proven destructive in the past.\nThere has simply GOT to be another way, and I cannot shake the feeling that it is easier to stop looking than to simply do what we\u0026rsquo;ve always done, but in a nicer way.\nThe issue is that my wife and I disagree about this. She is trying to reassure me that everything is going to be okay, and that is fine. But I no longer want to be here. I want to be in a church environment where I am not reminded of a destructive practice. I want my feeling of safety back.\nI have good friends that are a part of this church and I do not want to be apart from them. I\u0026rsquo;m sure they will tell me that I am playing the victim to my past and that I will heal in time.\nTHIS IS NOT ABOUT MY PAST - this is about the future I promised my son when he was born. I promised him that he would learn about the discipling movement from a theology class in high school, not from personal experience. I told him he would be free in Christ, not minded by well-intentioned friends. I promised him that no one would make him second guess his walk with God. I told him that he did not have to do anything to be loved by me or God.\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to go away for a while and wrestle with God. Then I\u0026rsquo;ll be able to talk to people. Right now I believe that my church friends will convince me to stay, my other Christian friends will convince me to leave - and those assumptions are not fair to anyone. So, no ICoC subculture posts from me for a while. Maybe no posts at all. This is really bothering me.\nTo be fair to my church, this was presented in the nicest, most sincere, and attempting-to-meet -the-needs-of-hurting-people way possible. There was no malice nor ill intent. Options were given, grace was freely offered. There was absolutely no threat of any kind.\nI simply feel a breach of conscience to be a part of a church that has \u0026rsquo;encouragement partners\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;prayer partners\u0026rsquo; or whatever you call them.\nAnd I have to go pray\u0026hellip;\n","date":"5 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-05-a-look-forward/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Look Forward","type":"posts"},{"content":"To say that yesterday was a difficult day would be litotes in the extreme. (Understatement, that is.)\nI am still sorting through it. Here are the conclusions I\u0026rsquo;ve reached for now:\nI may not post for a while - I need to wrestle through some things. If I do post, it will not be about the ICoC subculture. I have just had a few experiences recently that remind me I am more a part of this hollow subculture than I want to believe. I\u0026rsquo;m glad the Council of Nine isn\u0026rsquo;t going to report until next month, I do not think I could handle it.\nI need to decide my relationship to the ICoC subculture pretty soon. I am afraid that I will simply choose to continue to be a participant because of my friends and long-time association. I am also afraid of walking away from it, because it may create turmoil within my family. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean just membership in my local church (but this is a real part of it), this means communication with pro-Kip folks, anti-Kip folks, who-is-Kip folks, and the folks on the periphery like the Churches of Christ, Independent Christian Chruches, and the Disciples of Christ. It means particpation on the Toronto International Christian Chruch forums and the Delphi Forums. It means my paid membership of Disciples Today. It means reading ICOC Blogspot and ICOCInfo and ICOCNews. It definitely means reading Upsidedown21 and various other ICoC congregational sites.\nI feel very alone and very tired. I feel like I have just wasted my time for almost 15 years, especially the last 3.\nMy son, though, is a gift from God and I feel that very deeply. So is my wife. We can truly talk through anything. I have been blessed to be so loved by her and him. I told her I couldn\u0026rsquo;t sleep because I was troubled. She said, \u0026ldquo;I believe in you.\u0026rdquo;\nAs to what actually happened, I\u0026rsquo;ll talk more about that later as I work through it. As of right now, only my wife and two of my close friends really know.\n","date":"5 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-05-hard-times/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hard Times","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found this article courtesy of Slashdot. It asks, what is your mot dangerous idea. The answers are quite amazing. They range from variations of the death of God to open source currency to a golden age of medicine. Some are even more mathematical in nature like the death of insight. (However mathematical is conception, the application, I fear, is quite broad.)\nMy favorite so far is the Day of Solitude.\nAny votes for your favorite?\n","date":"4 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-04-most-dangerous-idea/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Most Dangerous Idea","type":"posts"},{"content":"Well, we\u0026rsquo;ve all experienced the leap second and made it into 2006.\nUnfortunately, I\u0026rsquo;ll probably write a bunch of checks dated January 2005 for over a month. Yes, I know what I said - over a month. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be surprised to date the Feb gas bill as Jan 18,2005.\nAnywho, I had mentioned draft posts sometime ago. Today I\u0026rsquo;ll put in a solution. Seeing as I want to start fresh this year, I\u0026rsquo;m going to create a new category called Semithought. All of my drafts from last year will be changed to this category and published. I may never finish them. They will not appear all at once because they will have their origin date instead of today\u0026rsquo;s date assigned to them.\nJasper enjoyed New Year\u0026rsquo;s in true baby style - we were up anyway, we changed his diaper, he ate about 6 oz, and he was pretty indifferent to the piano playing Auld Lang Syne. We had fun, though. My wife and I prayed about the new year and talked about successes and failures of the past year. We toasted our failures and relished in our successes.\nThen we collapsed and fell asleep. I think Jasper acutally slept for a four hour stretch this morning. (Yay!) He and my wife are still asleep.\nAgain, Happy New Year. Much love from the Heartland.\n","date":"1 January 2006","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2006-01-01-happy-new-year/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Happy New Year","type":"posts"},{"content":"of a Split of a Split\u0026hellip;\nFor those wondering at home, the splits that I am aware of at the moment are:\nChicago International Church of Christ - Jay and Denise Chiappetta Madison Group (name not known) - Jay Shelbrack Toronto International Church of Christ - Tim and Lianne Kernan International Christian Church of Northern Ireland - James\nThis, of course, is in addition to the other splits Phoenix International Church of Christ - Chris and Sonja Chloupek Stockholm International Church of Christ - Anu and Argo Lips\nCombine that with: Savannah Church of Christ - Now Buzz Banadyga (used to be Steve and Lisa Johnson) Salt Lake Christian Church - Jay and Angie Hernandez Eugene Church of Christ - Jeremy \u0026amp; Amy Ciaramella Central New York Church of Christ - Chris and Theresa Broom La Ceiba Church of Christ - Nelson Bernardez San Pedro Sula Church of Christ - the Escobedos Tegucigalpa Church of Christ - Daniel and Janeth Aquino Église du Christ de Montréal - Daniel and Gillianne Brisebois Quebec City Church of Christ (planted by Montreal recently) Santo Domingo Church of Christ - Angel and Luz Martinez\nWhat do you have? Considering that all of the above churches have claimed \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; from Kip, I\u0026rsquo;d say you have a cohesive group of folks with a common doctrine, purpose, and polity. In other words, a church. (More specifically, a denomination.)\nAnd add in sympathizers in Novosibirsk, Wichita(KS), Seattle, Boston, and Los Angeles.. Note that just because there are sympathizers in a city, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean the church claims discipling from Kip. The listed churches above claim or have recieved discipling from Kip - after the two letters. The only possible exception is Santo Domingo, they have only received money.\nThis, of course, is completely different from the largely unaffiliated Atlanta Christian Church led by Steve Sapp and Kindred Howard. They also helped fund the Martinez\u0026rsquo; in Santo Domingo, but I\u0026rsquo;m sure that Steve Sapp has no inclination to be discipled by Kip. He did not want to be discipled by the Elders in Atlanta.\n","date":"29 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-29-the-split-of-a-split/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Split of a Split...","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been thinking about my blog for awhile. I have been thinking about why I write, what I write, and the like.\nThe Vast and Empty Subculture As far as the ICoC and the blog, I remember when Gordon Ferguson showed up in 2004 to comment on a reaction to one of his papers. I remember when Steve Staten appeared earlier this year to take issue with my use of the name Thomas for Kip. I also remember talking to both of them in Kansas City . A person in India wrote a post about Kip being \u0026ldquo;totally crazy\u0026rdquo; and another woman somewhere in the US wanted me to post a five page response to what has happened to her in the ICoC subculture. A friend here even asked me to post a letter of his experiences in the ICoC. I have written a couple times to a former member of the \u0026lsquo;doomed\u0026rsquo; Milan planting and spoken in person to current members of the ICC in Milan. I even called the church in Houston to tell them that a member of the New Orleans Church of Christ board was in a hotel in town. I asked them to contact him so that he could get a hug and maybe some help. My church ended up helping three families in New Orleans - Shane and I almost took a road trip to help.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve corresponded with Henry Kriete a few times and even had an accidental Reply All that basically told everyone of any stripe of leadership in the ICoC subculture that it\u0026rsquo;s a shame that Henry is made the villian for stating plainly what they supposedly were believing all along. Since then, some leaders seem unwilling to criticize the content of the letter, so choose instead to attack his character. As an aside, let me mention that the ICoC subculture\u0026rsquo;s habit of revising history (and this comes from critics and members alike) will become evident in a few years as we try to continue to come to grips with what has happened since 2003. I\u0026rsquo;m sure someone will eventually write a book that explains that Henry is some kind of anti-hero. I\u0026rsquo;m also sure that someone will write another book declaring him the only honest ICC minister. Both are overstatements in the extreme.\nOutside of the blog, I have written to members of this subculture in several states and five countries worldwide. I have written to folks in the Stone-Campbell tradition that seem to be leaders and even dialogued with the editor of the Christian Chronicle. I received a letter from a Church of Christ minister in Arkansas about my church\u0026rsquo;s website in which he demanded that the word \u0026lsquo;pastor\u0026rsquo; should be removed and we should have \u0026lsquo;associated with the International Churches of Christ\u0026rsquo; in huge letters on the site. When I asked him what we needed to do in order to change and repent of our past, he stopped writing. I\u0026rsquo;ve written to ministers of several demoninations and even arranged to meet with some in town.\nWhy do I write about religion in general and the ICoC subculture specifically? It matters to me. I have a sixteen year investment in the ICoC, the last 14.5 as a member. Although I want less and less to do with the ICoC, I still care about God and my relationship to him.\nDira I never read Lord of the Rings. I read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wadrobe over 20 years ago. I have only read three novels that have anything to do with the Fantasy genre - they were all by Robert Aspirin. The main source of inspiration for the creation of this world (in addition to understanding God\u0026rsquo;s process of creation) is the long, long history of playing role-playing games. When I say RPGs, I mean the pen and paper ones. (I also have not played MMORPGs except for an occasional visit to a MUD in 1993.) I still miss sitting in a room with friends describing a world that was full of adventure. As I got older, I began to look at the stories in this world, instead of the action. I thought about personal stories like the wench-turned-priestess, the urban wizard. I also thought about the personal issues in a world with multiple sentient species like the plight of half-elves in human society.\nI still have the pink notebook of Binam, the second massive universe I created. It has less detail than Dira, but it dealt with life on a binary planet where interplanetary travel was commonplace, even outside the binary planets themselves. Using all the TSR(R) accessories I could find, I worked to create a world where all things were possible - magic, astral projection, travel through various planes of existence, and curiously, a detailed exploration of the Abyss. I still flip through that notebook from time to time. I remember a neighbor of mine played a character named Alexander that I made into the God of War in Binam. He seemed to think that was befitting the guy that drove the Orcs out of his country.\nAfter that, I worked briefly on a world called Backara. It was my first experience with a low magic world, and it sounded like a great place to visit. Unfortunately, two of the main founders, soldiers for the British military, passed away. The website is gone and all I have are a few emails and notes. I worked on the Gainar in that world, a merchant class that dealt with all kinds of goods and prone to use clockwork devices. It\u0026rsquo;s from those initial musings that the Gainarii of Dira were born.\nDira was born out of these experiences and fueled largely by my visit to Rome. Seeing the buildings and learning the culture while visiting the ancient sites excited the creative juices and I began writing immediately. Up until the Rome visit, I was looking of Free RPGs and playing with the rules, but not really creating.\nLike Tolkkien, I like inventing languages. Unlike him, I was happy to have at my disposal some tools that would have saved him at least a decade of work. The Hesberian speak a variation of Latin. The grammar is a little simpler, short vowels removed, and a few tiny things shifted here and there. Spoken, it sounds like Latin or Greek in places. In other places, it even sounds more like Kswahili, though I used only Latin words in creating the language. Why create a language? It seems fundamental that to understand a group of people, you first need to learn their language.\nUnlike many things, I intend to work on Dira for years to come. I actually enjoy it and unlike any other endeavour, I\u0026rsquo;ve tried to quantify mundane things like crop production rates, food needed to support a population, the effects of war on a society, the fundamental nature of magic, etc. It\u0026rsquo;s not that it has to be realistic as much as internally consistent. Gravity should be the same everywhere and so should some others things. I even found a computer program to generate the entire planet. Unlike other programs, I can infinitely zoom in to specific latitudes and longitudes to create detailed maps. Denizens of Dira need to be able to take some things for granted. So far, they can assume that magic comes from a crystalline substance, the Empire/Republic has made contact with all ken on the planet, magic does not work west of the Awrelian Demarcation, Mavinian Traders are not to be trusted, and mathematics is the universal language.\nAll in all, it\u0026rsquo;s a great place to play. Who knows? In a decade or so, I may even tell stories from this world instead of stories about the nature of this world.\nMy Life and Times This year, I\u0026rsquo;ve looked more at my own life and made it public. In the past, I spent so much time commenting about certain things, I never revealed anything about me. Since I stated that this blog is a journal, it seemed strange that I was treating it differently.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed chronicling the life of my son and the evolution of my marriage. I\u0026rsquo;ve also enjoyed noting certain events and what I was doing and how I reacted. I look forward to reading these things to my son when he is older. I also look forward to making a personal book out of everything I\u0026rsquo;ve written in this online journal.\nSomeone once told me that they enjoyed reading about some of the non-religious items on here because it provided an insight into how I think. I still am not sure the right emotional reaction to that, but it feels good. It\u0026rsquo;s not exactly praise for what I\u0026rsquo;m doing, but it\u0026rsquo;s different than saying I care about you. In any case, I am grateful.\npinakidion.* All of this got me thinking about the past of the blog and its future. In the end, I came to the conclusion that I still do not write in order to be famous. I do not write because I think I am some great teacher in the ICoC subculture, though I entertained those thoughts for a while. I do not write for any other reason than for the sake of writing. Writing my thoughts and feelings is helpful in many ways. One way is to help me become more emotionally healthy. The other is to provide a records of first drafts. Yet another is the refinement of the writing craft by the sheer act of volume. (I really wish I had a spell checker here - my dyslexia always makes the grammar weird in places and the misspellings make it worse.)\nI wish the best for anyone that visits here for 2006. May God grant you peace and guidance in the year to come.\n","date":"28 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-28-a-look-back/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Look Back","type":"posts"},{"content":"A recent news story demonstrates the problems involved in religious and political authorities trying to control bloggers.\nOf note in this article is that the reporter points out that blogs have no guarantee of accuracy and are often self-indulgent and boring. Being mostly free in speech, bloggers have no one to provide oversight or demands for accuracy, integrity, and all those other things that make newspaper columnists squirm.\nIn case you have not been informed, a blog is not a trusted news source for anything. As with newspapers and other accounts, without corrboration, a blog is simply an online diary of experiences and thoughts. As no one except God (and maybe Zaphod Beeblebrox) has the gift of total perspective, blogs have no promises of anything.\n","date":"28 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-28-blogistan/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Blogistan","type":"posts"},{"content":"Having four days off, I spent some time thinking about what I think of God and how I treat Him. Because of my spiritual heritage, I always this nagging doubt that I am not doing something right. To that end, let me say that this will not end by a rededication to God and a pledge of more time and/or better quality of time with Him. I am determined to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2). In part, that means breaking thought patterns that lead me away from God. It is because of the sacrifice of Jesus that I can approach the throne of God with confidence (Heb 4:16) not the quality and/or quantity of my time with him in the past.\nBut I digress.\nIn thinking about God, I realized that I have treated God in different ways throughout my life. Some of these ways have a good intent and a kernel of biblical character to them, but somehow got twisted just a little. I attribute this twisting to my own character and conscious choices as much as anything else. Here are some of the strange ways I\u0026rsquo;ve thought about God (and sometimes still do) :\nGod is my dog. God is my Santa Claus. God is my warden. God is a stand-up comic. God is not my Dog Dogs are known for many things, but their chief virtue is loyalty. I have seen dogs loyal to people that treated them in some really bad ways. It amazes me that a dog can wag their tail and run to meet their owners without regard to past treatment. (I even wrote a short story about it some time ago called Damascus.) In short, a dog seems to be always happy to see you in any situation.\nMany dogs are also sources of comfort. A dog will listen to your problems and say nothing in return. A dog will express affection. A dog allows you to give it a hug. A dog will not nag you about eating an entire quart of chocolate ice cream. A dog does not criticize. Even if a dog makes a mistake, they have a way of looking remorseful that can melt away anger. Studies show that dogs have a positive effect on health and quality of life. It\u0026rsquo;s no wonder: they are great companions.\nIt is biblical to see God as both loyal and comforting. Paul\u0026rsquo;s second letter to the Corinthians is all about the God of all comfort. God has compassion for his people. He really cares. When you are distressed, He is the source of comfort. It is incredibly reassuring, especially when troubles have come up in my first year of marriage, issues with my church, family dramas, and the like. God is the one that stands in the empty places of my life providing the reassurance I crave in those times.\nHowever, because the literal voice of God doesn\u0026rsquo;t answer from the clouds, it is also easy to see him as a dog. Unlike a dog, God has something to say about my life. In Hebrews 12, He says that discipline is not always pleasant, but that it is for my benefit. The New Testament is covered with instructions and models of a righteous life. Paul says to run the race of life as if to win (1 Cor 9:24). Jesus, Himself, said to love God with my entire heart, mind, soul, and strength and love others as myself (Mat 22:16). A dog only wants a little love every once in a while - and that is where I can get into trouble.\nMore than that, though, it is sometimes a stuggle for me to see that God owns me, not the other way around. God doesn\u0026rsquo;t need anything from me(Acts 17:25). He doesn\u0026rsquo;t need me to feed him, provide shelter, or give him obedience training. Sometimes I have seen my time with God as doing Him a favor. I can rationalize that God needs time with me because he is somehow worried about me if I don\u0026rsquo;t spend time with Him. God has great love for me and he cares for me, to be sure, but he doesn\u0026rsquo;t greet me with big sad puppy eyes and an accident on the carpet because I\u0026rsquo;ve been away for a couple days. Again, God delights in me and took special care when he created me in my mother\u0026rsquo;s womb, but my time with Him is for me, not for Him. (In many ways, it is like the sabbath; the sabbath-rest was created for humans, not humans for the sabbath-rest.) I believe He enjoys time with me and even laughs with me about some of my personality quirks, but he is not a needy pet craving attention. He can get along perfectly fine without me or my opinions on how the universe should operate.\nGod is not My Santa Claus There\u0026rsquo;s a Christmas play I used to watch that had a unique twist on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. There was a theme of being a Santa Claus to someone and that everyone needed a Santa Claus. I am certain that the intent was to express care and concern for others, but my view of Santa is a bit unorthodox. Santa keeps a naughty list and a nice list and you do not know which one you are on until you wake up Christmas morning. Santa does not want to be seen giving you good things or giving you a lump of coal - it\u0026rsquo;s all in secret. Santa flies by night. Santa shows up at the last minute to ask me what I want, even though he\u0026rsquo;s been watching me in secret all year - shouldn\u0026rsquo;t he already know what I want? Again, this is just me. I realize that the intent of Santa is not to analyze him this way.\nHowever, because I can see Santa this way, it ties in to how I have looked at God in the past. As far as presents go, it similar to the first point. The only difference is the idea that God will give me good things for being on my best behavior. In essence, good behavior equals good gifts from God, bad behavior equals a lump of coal from God. Unfortunately, there is only one judgement from God, so if I look at God as Santa Claus, I have to wait until the Judgement to see if I get a lump of coal or not.\nI get anxious sometimes that I am not on God\u0026rsquo;s nice list, or worse, belive that I am on the naughty list. Compounding this anxiety, I have no real way of knowing which list I\u0026rsquo;m on. (Am I really one of the elect?) This leads me to try and do a lot of nice things so that I can comfort myself that I am really on the nice list. Worse yet, I\u0026rsquo;m not really certain when the good that I do will counteract whatever I did to be on the naughty list in the first place. Unfortunately, all this effort to be \u0026lsquo;good\u0026rsquo; comes from a desire to make myself feel better, not God. It\u0026rsquo;s like praying publically with eloquent prayers, I will have already recieved my reward, a patched-up sense of self-esteem (Matt 6:5). The good news is that God gave me the greatest gift when I was His enemy (Romans 5:10). When I was quite obviously on the naughty list, he gave me the sacrifice of His son.\nThe other way I can see him as Santa, is that he never really gives anyone a piece of coal. Sure Santa keeps a naughty list, but that is for the really, really bad people like Idi Amin, or Hitler, or Stalin. Since I am not as bad as they are, I must be on the nice list. After all, keeping 5 out of the 10 commandments is pretty good, right?\nTrouble is, that sin separates us from God (Isa 59:2). It is true that some sin does not lead to death (1 John 5:17), but the flesh desires things contrary to God (Gal 5:17). Regardless of the nature of the specific sin, it is contrary to the Spirit of God. Sin stands in opposition to God and I cannot serve them both. It takes effort to fight against sin. I may be forgiven, but that doesn\u0026rsquo;t make my desires vanish. God wants to teach me to keep from making the same mistakes over and over. In other words, I am forgiven of the debt, now He is helping me deal with the consequences of my debt. It is of great comfort to be forgiven, but it is not an excuse to be lazy. As mentioned earlier, I want to run in such a way as to get the prize - not because I have to win, but because I want to win.\nGod is not My Warden My wife used to work as a secretary to a warden. She couldn\u0026rsquo;t tell me a lot of things that happened at the facility, but some days we had a good cry together. Wardens see all the ugly things in a prison. They are not allowed the luxury of dealing with their own feelings until a solution is found. They have the keys. They determine the measure of freedom for each prisoner. They are the final authority and they are in control of everything at the facility.\nA warden is also responsible for the rehabiliation of each inmate and seeks to help each one attain the skills he/she needs to be a productive member of society. They set up enrichment programs, arrange for work-release opportunities. Some even strive to fund a library and GED programs. In the end, no matter how benevolent the warden, no inmate is free - each one is subject to the authority of the warden.\nJesus has been given all authority (Col 2:10) by God who is beyond all authority and power. I believe it is important to be reverent to God because of his authority (1 Peter 1:17). Like Jesus, a Christian should live in submission to the Father (Hebrews 5:7). In my mind, there is no doubt of His power and authority over all things, even Satan and his angels. Where I can have an issue, is forgetting that I am free. I am also prone to forget that God hasn\u0026rsquo;t separated me from the world (1 Cor 5:10), he has placed me in the world to grow right where I am (1 Cor 7).\n","date":"26 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-26-who-is-god/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who Is God? (still writing it)","type":"posts"},{"content":"As is my weakness, I enjoy starting things much more than finishing them. When I get tired of the details, it is overwhelmingly tempting to continue \u0026lsquo;research\u0026rsquo; to avoid the work required to finish.\nShane, I hear you laughing at me. Mock me all you wish, I am immune to your taunts.\nAnyway, while I\u0026rsquo;m home, when I\u0026rsquo;m not holding the baby or taking care of my wife, here are a few things I have been working on:\n1. An Outline of Greek Grammar\nTextkit offers a short little public domain book called Greek in a Nutshell by James Strong as a resource. I want to brush up on my Greek, so I am editing this little book for modern consumption. The text sounds over a hundred years old and some ideas do not reflect research since its publication. For example, the concept of a mora to explain pronunciation.\nI do not believe I am a Greek expert by any means. Taking three semsters of it in college does not make me a scholar. I understand it and I enjoy my Greek-English Interlinear, but outside fundamental Greek-English issues, take it with a grain of salt. (I consider the Disciple as a Verb thing to be a fundamental misunderstanding of elementary linguistics.)\n2. Stepping Stones\nI hope to have chapters 3 through 6 written by the new year. I have been feeling low lately, partly because of lack of sleep. Along those lines, there is : \u0026ldquo;Pray and sing for an audience of two\u0026rdquo; 1 Corinthians 14:14-16 (For Chapter 3), \u0026ldquo;Control yourself, do not be controlled.\u0026rdquo; 1 Thess 5:8 (For Chapter 6)\n3. Dira\nI have to update the Encyclopedia Hesberica with new entries from this website. I also need to start working on various histories within other provinces. There is a new map that is computer generated, so I can zoom in on various regions as needed. Because of a new map, the Ogdans cannot physically be southwest of Esbra - that needs to be changed. I also need to figure out where the Secota live as well. Other internal consistencies need to be determined as well, especially the powers of the Gnosceti. Part of the their teachers\u0026rsquo; primary text has been written in order to explain them better in the Encyclopedia.\n4. Household Stuff\nMy house is cold all the time. I need to finish putting plastic on the windows. I did one, I need to do four more. I need to arrange Jasper\u0026rsquo;s room and get the TV in there working.\nAnywho, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. I should be at home, feel free to call me anytime except Sunday.\n","date":"21 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-21-fun-stuff-during-off-time/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fun Stuff During Off Time","type":"posts"},{"content":"In my heritage lies the practice of celebrating \u0026lsquo;Old Christmas\u0026rsquo;.\nIn Rodanthe, a few families gather on January 5th to celebrate Old Christmas. There\u0026rsquo;s usually an oyster roast with music and dancing. Part of the celebration revolves around Old Buck. Every year a family is entrusted with the care of Old Buck, and it is seen as good luck to be chosen.\nOld Buck was, according to some, a wild bull that gave folks trouble until he was shot and killed. Every year two folks don the guise of Old Buck to particpate in the celebration. A troublesome bull like Old Buck never really dies, you know.\nMy family celebrated Old Christmas in name only - there was no oyster roast or dancing and song on Jan 5. However, this year my father and I are going to try to observe it in some way. I have things here for Jasper to learn about Old Christmas and I look forward to teaching him about it through the years.\n","date":"21 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-21-old-christmas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Old Christmas","type":"posts"},{"content":"Undaunted, Kip has now aimed his sights at Phoenix and San Francisco.\nIn his latest sermon, he explains that he is not drawing lines in Phoenix, God is. According to him, the church in Phoenix has become lukewarm and he is only doing his Christian duty in helping out the Chloupek\u0026rsquo;s splinter group. He lists those going, including noted personalities from Portland.\nThe Phoenix situation has, apparently, caused some heatburn in Euguene. A couple there had issues with what Kip was doing in Phoenix. He went to Eugene, as the overseeing evangelist, to straighten it out. It was not clear to me how it was resolved, so I will not speculate.\nSan Francisco, apparently, is now evil because of the name change to the Bay Area Christian Church. Despite a strikingly similar theology to his own, the new Handbook ($12 + postage) apparently does not mention missions work to Kip\u0026rsquo;s liking. For this reason, they are apparently lukewarm as well.\nOf couse, this isn\u0026rsquo;t drawing a line, either, this is God\u0026rsquo;s righteous judgement on them.\nWho\u0026rsquo;s next?\n","date":"20 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-20-and-now-for-something-completely-the-same/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"And Now for Something Completely the Same","type":"posts"},{"content":"When Jasper was born, I began to learn a lot about genetics.\nWe researched Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s and family and friends feared the worst from the pictures of severe cases online. He had everything tested from spinal bones, to kidneys, to eyes and ears, and his nose, of course. He even had his hips ultrasounded because they were concerned that he could dislocate it too easily. The result of all this was surgery on his closed nostril and now, the hearing aids.\nNow that we know how to help him, I am learning a lot about hearing.\nHearing requires four mechanisms working together. These mechanisms are: the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear, and the auditory nerve. To this point, we know that the auditory nerve and the inner ear work just fine. The bone conducting hearing aid effectively bypasses the middle and outer ear. His outer ear has obvious issues; his ear canals are narrow little corkscrews and he has skin tags outside. When he is seven they can either surgically implant half of his hearing aid, or straighten the canals. Because we do not know the state of his middle ear, the outcome of straightening his ear canals is unknown. Maybe he will go to Boys Town one day to test the middle ear. Until then, I am glad that he can hear soon.\nI have also learned a lot about medical insurance.\nHearing aids are not covered. Thanks to the Lions Club, I may not have to worry about that. His birth apparently cost my insurance company over sixty-two thousand dollars. Amazing. My wife\u0026rsquo;s stay was twenty-five thousand dollars. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that Blue Cross/Blue Shield is hoping that nothing else happens with my family. They are very nice, but I am coming to realize that insurance companies are in the business of selling policies, not caring for policyholders. I added my family, so they threw out my payments toward my deductible and made me start over. Our family has an individual deductible instead of a group one. (Thank goodness it is only $250 each).\nI have mostly learned that we are truly wondrously made. Psalm 139:13-14\nWhen David remarked that the human body is wondrously made, he had no idea of some of the systems of the body medical science has illuminated to us. He didn\u0026rsquo;t know how the eyes truly work. He didn\u0026rsquo;t know about the three little bones in the ear that disturb the fluid in the middle ear to produce vibrations. He didn\u0026rsquo;t know that there are miles of blood vessels in each person. He had no way of knowing about stem cells and how adaptable they are.\nLearning about how my son is fearfully made has made me appreciate so much about life. He is physically quite strong for a two month old. He has crawled a little bit and can hold his head up for quite awhile. He can support his weight with his legs. He can reach and grasp things. He knows when he is watching football\u0026hellip;\nOkay, the last one is a bit of conjecture on my part. I admit that he may not be ready for the intricate details of the middle linebacker position. He does, however, know that Daddy loves football. That\u0026rsquo;s good enough for me.\nIt is also amazing to think about the human brain. How God created it and designed its function will likely occupy mankind for ages to come. Experts think that a two-month old\u0026rsquo;s vision is mostly black, white and red and limited to a range of five feet. Yet, he can recognize me, his mom, the cat, and the TV. Oh yes, he can recognize the TV. He really does quiet down for a football game or shows with animals. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t quiet down so much for me, but he does get excited to see his mom. He\u0026rsquo;s indifferent to the cat, but the cat is indifferent to everything, so no one loses in that transaction.\nAnyway, despite the limitation, his brain can recognize many different shapes. Over the next few months, his brain will begin to process sounds and words. He will be able to attach meaning to words. He will also be able to learn the difference between speech and other sounds. For example, he\u0026rsquo;ll know that the cat\u0026rsquo;s meowing is not made up of words, but he\u0026rsquo;ll recognize when my wife and I are talking. He will even babble to practice making the sounds he hears.\nTruly amazing stuff. All of this draws me close to the God of Heaven that made each one of us. We are fearfully and wonderful made.\n","date":"20 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-20-bone-conducting-hearing-aid/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bone Conducting Hearing Aid","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you\u0026rsquo;re a fan of Kip McKean, the title might be A New Hope or The Return of the Jedi. If you are a critic, you may use Revenge of the Sith. Considering what I\u0026rsquo;m about to report, this seems more appropriate.\nKip has visited his splinter group in Phoenix recently. He sent down seven couples to help with the Phoenix International Christian Church. He also visited one of the churches in Honduras, in direct conflict with the efforts of the South Florida Church (mostly South America) and the LA ICC (host the website and yearly conferences).\nKip also mentioned a group from Stockholm. My sources tell me that this is also a splinter group, not the current leadership.\nSo what?\nKeep in mind that Kip also lists places that people visit from in his weekly rantings. He\u0026rsquo;s mentioned Kansas a few times, as well as Illinois, Minnesota, Wyoming, and other states where I know people. This is 1983 all over again - move to the city, receive training, then go out and plant and/or reconstruct wherever you go. Although certainly not vast, it seems the clone army has been mobilized again.\nI used to be one of those clones, so I know.\nDo I think there is some great conspiracy afoot? No. The Gang of 84 made it clear sound like they were arguing over turf, not really doctrine. Kip is simply going out and claiming his turf and the Gang of 84 is left scrambling to keep theirs. The result is a lot of fighting over something that is owned only by God. Kip is trying to build power, most other high eschelon leaders are trying to hold theirs. Both sides have this perverse sense of owning people\u0026rsquo;s hearts and souls.\nI find it ironic that the cheif architect of the discipling system and the man that literally wrote the book on it, has a faction in his own backyard made up of people that think he\u0026rsquo;s not teaching it right.\nI say two sides, there\u0026rsquo;s really three. The third is the great mass of churches maintaing neutrality by ignorance or deliberate effort. Ask a lot of ICC folks and they generally could care less about Kip. They also could care less about many other major figures. These are the folks I truly care about. I hope they are never caught up in this crazy mess.\nSome critics have said that the whole group should just disband. I still do not believe this to be right because it punishes the wrong people. However, I am feeling like there are certain people at the top have too much influence. Kip is one of these people and that is why I write about him.\nKeep praying. I am.\n","date":"19 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-19-attack-of-the-clones/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Attack of the Clones","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you\u0026rsquo;ve seen Monty Python\u0026rsquo;s Dead Parrot Sketch on TV, the title makes more sense. For those that avoid culturally and mentally enriching TV, the title refers to the pet store owner telling the customer(Cleese) that he was in Bolton not Ipswich. When the lie was revealed, the owner claimed that Ipswich was the palindrome of Bolton.\nThe world\u0026rsquo;s longest palindrome that contains no proper nouns (except Panama) is located here.\nWho knew that a decagram was part of the Panama Canal?\nEpilogue\nI know, I don\u0026rsquo;t watch LOST or Survivor or much else on TV these days. I do watch Crossing Jordan. Otherwise, I\u0026rsquo;m all over British Comedies, the History Channel, and the occasional episode of America\u0026rsquo;s Funniest Animals. I believe that television programming has degenerated past the point that I care much for watching it. Ugh.\nHowever, I admit I do not read as much as I would like. After seeing The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe yesterday (courtesy of my church), I would like to read the books again.\nThen again, maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll actually finish writing a book.\n","date":"19 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-19-bolton-ipswich/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Bolton? Ipswich?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Confirmation just received that my son\u0026rsquo;s inner ears are in good shape. Since his auditory nerves are also in good shape, this means that the recommended course of treatment is a bone-conducting hearing aid. Basically, it will use the bones of his head to carry the sound to the inner ear because the shape of his outer ear and ear canals hinders delivery through the normal method.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve now applied to the Lion\u0026rsquo;s Club to get help paying for the hearing aids.\nIn case you\u0026rsquo;re wondering, he\u0026rsquo;ll have a headband on at all times to keep the hearing aids in place. I do not believe they are going to do any surgery, again, because the need for hearing aids should be treatable once he is 7 years old.\nJust wanted everyone to know.\n","date":"19 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-19-the-wait-is-over/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Wait Is Over","type":"posts"},{"content":"My son goes in for the second round of hearing tests today. It is hoped that the tests today confirm that a bone-conducting hearing aid will work. If he gets a hearing aid, it will be the headband type. Because of the potential surgery to correct his ear canals later in life, I do not think they want to surgically implant the hearing aid.\nThe test could be an hour, it could be six - he has to be asleep when they do some of the tests. Actually, he has to be still, but as the recipient of my genetics, his ability to be still is about zero.\nPlease pray. At issue is also the fact that hearing aids are not covered by medical insurance.\n","date":"19 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-19-today-is-the-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Today Is the Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"I avoid politics because of how it affected me in college. In fact, I do not watch CNN or FoxNews or any other news program. I filter my news through cross-referencing CNN stories with the BBC and Al-Jazeera. I\u0026rsquo;ve been known to listen to NPR, but don\u0026rsquo;t tell anyone. I may lose my relationship to God because I\u0026rsquo;m not a Republican.\nI also listen to Focus on the Family on Christian radio. I\u0026rsquo;ve even read a couple books by Dr. Gibson. However, a few days ago, I hear yet more about \u0026ldquo;the war of Christmas\u0026rdquo; and how one school district allows the display of Labafana(sic), the Christmas Witch. Oh no, is the school district combining Wicca with Christmas? Are they being inclusive to the neo-pagans within the school district? Is the end of the world coming as we know it?\nNo. Not only did AgapePress and the Liberty Counsel not do their research, they spelled her name wrong. All over the internet and blogosphere, there\u0026rsquo;s an outcry of how bad \u0026lsquo;secularists\u0026rsquo; want Jesus out of Christmas and they quote this story. Mr. Staver of the Liberty Counsel made the comment now echoed all over FoxNews and Christian radio. It\u0026rsquo;s picked up and good Christians everywhere start praying for the state of Wisconsin.\nFor the record, here is the story of La Befana. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to the \u0026ldquo;Fourth Wise Man\u0026rdquo; stories and is certainly no worse than Santa Claus. Unlike Santa, though, the story of La Befana mentions Jesus and his birth. In a sense, it is more Christian than Santa (unless you equate Santa to Saint Nicholas).\nAlso for the record, the War of Christmas officially began in 1922 when Henry Ford wrote the International Jew. In Chapter 7, is the first mention of anti-Christmas celebrations. If there are earlier mentions, please let me know. Later, in the fifties and sixities, the John Birch Society blamed the Communists for ruining Christmas. They were extreme enough that Sen Goldwater distanced himself from them. Now Bill O\u0026rsquo;Reily claims that George Soros and Peter Lewis are funding this war on Christmas as well as other vast left-wing conspiracies.\nThinking about it, I\u0026rsquo;m sorry I brought the whole thing up. Lunacy in the name of God is not reserved solely for the ICoC subculture. Ugh.\n","date":"14 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-14-the-christmas-witch/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Christmas Witch","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m 34 today.\nI remember when I was about to go to college and I wondered what my life would be like. I thought that the year 2000 was so far away. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t conceive of what the 21st century would be like.\nThanks to my cousin, I grew up reading Ray Bradbury. I watched Star Trek and Dr. Who. I also watched the old Twilight Zone episodes in b/w. My vision of the future was shaped by many of those things. I still believe in the tremendous potential of tomorrow. I never thought the Klingons and the Federation would be allies, but wonder of wonder, they did.\nI started programming computers (if you can call writing in BASIC programming) at age eight. I still fram on them twenty-six years later. I tried to write short stories at age eleven and I still try to write them. I created an entire universe on Airport Rd complete with pro football teams from Jupiter, Vulcan Jedi, and a desert planet with vast oceans just a few feet below the surface. Today, it\u0026rsquo;s a variation of the Roman Empire.\nOver three years ago, I moved to place where I knew absolutely noone. I jumped in the car and drove here, planning on finding a hotel once I got here. I had no other real plans, but I felt free for the first time in a long time.\nNow I am married and have a beautiful son. I have friends, one of which told my wife that I saved his life. I have a good friend that puts up with me and all my grand schemes of our business. I have a wonderful wife that plans and schemes on my behalf. She loves me with all her heart.\nFor my birthday this year, I wish for nothing more than to remember the good things in my life everyday.\nA good friend once told me that I have an old soul. I believe that to be true. I believe I aged four to one beginning my second year at NC State. There are too many things to count to recall them here. I do not believe, however, that I have had more difficult experiences than most. I do believe that I have been blessed with truly unique memories. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t trade them for the world.\nAn ancient Eqyptian blessings says, \u0026ldquo;May God stand between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk.\u0026rdquo; At times, I feel the emptyness. At other times, I feel the shadow of the Almighty upon me. Sometimes I am haunted by the shallow echo of my own footsteps, other times I see my Father defending me (and winning).\nAs with most things, I feel conflicted. Looking at the next 34 years of my life, I cannot guess at what lies ahead. My view of the future is quite hopeful, despite my fears. Whatever happens, I know I am not alone, even if I feel it\u0026hellip;\n\u0026hellip;and that is the wellspring of my life.\n","date":"11 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-11-birthday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Birthday","type":"posts"},{"content":"As always, this is a rough draft\nI hope you\u0026rsquo;ve enjoyed your study of 1 John and learned that you can say with confidence, \u0026ldquo;I am walking in the light.\u0026rdquo; As we mentioned last time, being honest means speaking the truth with integrity. Without security about your salvation, it is very difficult to be honest about your walk as a Christian. Those without security try to do various things to overcome this and they are all harmful.\nFor example, a Christian friend you know may belive that they have to do a certain amount of things each day in order to \u0026lsquo;stay saved.\u0026rsquo; These folks cannot admit to their fear of losing God, nor can they speak honestly about their Christian walk because they perceive a great need to perform. If they are not meeting their own expectations, they can try to overemphasize small deeds or avoid sharing certain areas of their lives with others. As we read in 1 John this past week, \u0026ldquo;perfect love drives out all fear.\u0026rdquo; If you start to become afraid that you are somehow not doing enough or that you have drifted away from God, go back through 1 John to get your confidence back.\nI say this because as we move into what a Christian does, it can become too easy to believe that we are saved by what we do instead of what God has done for us. Let me repeat that: you are not a Christian because of what you do, you are a Christian because Jesus paid the price for yours and my sin on the cross.\nOn the other hand, it can also become to easy to believe that what you do is unimportant. Just like our own parents trained us and expected certain behavior from us, God expects the same. the motivation of God is not control, acheivements, or some kind of gradebook. Instead, as we learned in 1 John, his motivation is love for each one of us. God seeks to train us to lead a life that not only glorifies Him, but gives you life as well. A good life doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean you will not have problems. God, through his love, seeks to train us to handle our problems when they come. As you will learn throughout life, you will reap what you sow. If you sow righteousness, you will reap great benefits.\nStepping Stone number two is: A man reaps what he sows.\nDo not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. –Galatians 6:7-9\nPut another way, if you plant tomatoes, do you expect eggplants in the spring? In addition to being honest, it is helpful to recognize that your actions have consequences good and bad. Being honest about yourself allows you to deal with these consequences in a healthy way.\nMore later\u0026hellip;\n","date":"10 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-10-stepping-stones-week-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stepping Stones - Week Two","type":"posts"},{"content":"There are two forms of chess played throughout the Republic. One from is called Swords and Arrows. It is popular in the Western edge of the current Republic, but considered something of a novelty further East and in Esbra City.\nPlaying games is a part of the Hesberican way - various games are more or less popular among the different classes throughout the Republic. Gambling is considered a form of mental laziness and is illegal. This, however, usually means that the bath houses and taverns play dice and knucklebones in back rooms. It isn\u0026rsquo;t known how popular various dice games are, but most citizens of the empire carry at least on set of dice (those with more money) or knucklebones (from pigs) with them.\nSenators, Generals, and Equestrians, however, tend to carry token for playing chess. Most winehouses have tables with a twelve by twelve checkerboard on top. The most common form of chess usually requires a 12 by 8 table, but the size can vary depending on agreement of the two players.\nHowever, instead of blank tokens and a king for Esbran Chess, Swords \u0026amp; Arrows requires two kinds of tokens in addition to the King.\nThe rules are: An eleven by eleven board is used, there are six Sword tokens and five Arrow tokens. Arrows are places on the back row in every other square (first square empty) The Swords are placed on the row in front of the arrows, also on every other square. (first square occupied by a Sword). The King (or General) is traditionally placed in the player far right square on the back row, but can be placed anywhere on the back row.\nThe Swords can move on the diagonal. The Arrows can move sideways, forwards, or backwards. The King (or General) moves like an Arrow piece An opponents piece is captured when it is flanked on two sides or two opposing corners. The King (or General) cannot be captured, but can be surrounded on four sides to be immobilized.\nThe game ends when the King (or General) cannot move, or when all the opponents Swords and Arrows have been taken.\nStrategy for the game is fairly complex. Frequent players refer to the stages of play as: opening, skirmish, battle, and endgame. There are many different openings with various names. Entire strategies are sometimes referred to as \u0026lsquo;gambits\u0026rsquo; and there are much fewer of them. Experienced players can usually identify an opponents gambit fairly early. This allows them to employ one of the various \u0026lsquo;defenses\u0026rsquo; also named.\nUnlike Esbran Chess, there is only one definitive work on Swords and Arrows written hundreds of years ago by Enekedian, an Ikan philosopher.\n","date":"10 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-10-swords-arrows/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Swords \u0026 Arrows","type":"posts"},{"content":"Site keeps getting hacked. Yay\nI know the cause. Thank you. I do hear you and I will upgrade when it\u0026rsquo;s available. I have a lot to do, okay? My job\u0026rsquo;s proxies block the wordpress site, so I cannot upgrade. You didn\u0026rsquo;t have to delete the entire site.\n","date":"8 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-08-going-crazy/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Going Crazy","type":"posts"},{"content":"This may not work. If it does, then I\u0026rsquo;m going to keep the site changed a certain way.\n","date":"8 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-08-this-thing-on/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Thing On?","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Steppins Stones series I mentioned some time ago is coming along. I worked out most of week one. If you need a hint, think 1 John.\nI have limited access to the blog these days, so I haven\u0026rsquo;t posted drafts as is my custom. Instead, I bring you the In Depth exercise from Week One. The In Depth exercise is for those folks repeating the course or otherwise already familiar with the content. It\u0026rsquo;s not so much busywork as a different perspective on the topic at hand.\nIn week one, (the homework for those that asked for it), there is some setup and orienting information about 1 John. In essence, since 1 John is a letter, understanding it requires many of the skills used to understand any letter (or longer email). The In Depth exercise provides a letter written from a father to his son that provides examples of some issues in understanding epistles in the New Testament.\nThis is the draft, by the way, so it needs real polish.\nIn Depth - Week One: Letters in the Bible This exercise is not required, but is provided to demonstrate some of the issue you may face in reading letters or epistles in the Bible. Below is a Letter from Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield to his son. This letter is the third in a series collected by historians called, Letters to His Son on Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman.\nLETTER III\nLONDON, December 2, O.S. 1746.\nDEAR BOY: I have not, in my present situation, time to write to you, either so much or so often as I used, while I was in a place of much more leisure and profit; but my affection for you must not be judged of by the number of my letters; and, though the one lessens, the other, I assure you, does not.\nI have just now received your letter of the 25th past, N. S., and, by the former post, one from Mr. Harte; with both which I am very well pleased: with Mr. Harte\u0026rsquo;s, for the good account which he gives me of you; with yours, for the good account which you gave me of what I desired to be informed of. Pray continue to give me further information of the form of government of the country you are now in; which I hope you will know most minutely before you leave it. The inequality of the town of Lausanne seems to be very convenient in this cold weather; because going up hill and down will keep you warm. You say there is a good deal of good company; pray, are you got into it? Have you made acquaintances, and with whom? Let me know some of their names. Do you learn German yet, to read, write, and speak it?\nYesterday, I saw a letter from Monsieur Bochat to a friend of mine; which gave me the greatest pleasure that I have felt this great while; because it gives so very good an account of you. Among other things which Monsieur Bochat says to your advantage, he mentions the tender uneasiness and concern that you showed during my illness, for which (though I will say that you owe it to me) I am obliged to you: sentiments of gratitude not being universal, nor even common. As your affection for me can only proceed from your experience and conviction of my fondness for you (for to talk of natural affection is talking nonsense), the only return I desire is, what it is chiefly your interest to make me; I mean your invariable practice of virtue, and your indefatigable pursuit of knowledge. Adieu! and be persuaded that I shall love you extremely, while you deserve it; but not one moment longer.\nSome parts of the letter make sense, even though this was written over 250 years ago. A father is writing his son about his stay in a town called Lausanne. He apologizes for not writing sooner. He thanks his son for writing back about the government of Lausanne. He tells his son about a complimentary letter he received from a Mr. Harte. He mentions another complimentary letter about his son that was from a friend to another friend. He then closes with an expression of his love.\nHowever, there are some issues here that require more information. He mentions a previous letter - is that letter available? Why is he curious about the government in Lausanne? What is the father\u0026rsquo;s \u0026lsquo;present situation\u0026rsquo;? Why is the son in Lausanne? Who are Mr. Harte and Monsieur Bochat? What does OS and NS in the dates mean? What is \u0026rsquo;natural affection\u0026rsquo;? What does the last sentence mean, it seems really odd?\nSome historical searching will give you all of Stanhope\u0026rsquo;s letters (covering over 17 years) including the first one that explains his interest in government. An internet search on his name reveals that in 1746, he was appointed as one of the King\u0026rsquo;s secretary of state. Other searches can reveal some of the other facts as well.\nHowever, the question of OS and NS requires a bit more study. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until the British Calendar Act of 1751 that Great Britian used the Gregorian calendar. Like other Protestant countries in Europe (and the colonies), England still used the Julian Calendar until this act was passed. Lord Chesterfield was writing from England, which in 1746, was still using the Julian Calendar notated as \u0026ldquo;O.S.\u0026rdquo; His son was in a place that adopted the Gregorian calendar already, so when he made reference to the date on the letter from his son, he used \u0026ldquo;N.S.\u0026rdquo; to denote the Gregorian calendar. Clear as mud? Well, folks in Arizona and parts of Indiana probably understand this concept a little better.\nImagine if emails from a friend were dated 10 days old the moment they arrived. That\u0026rsquo;s the situation that Lord Chesterfield and his son were in. Because custom was to date the letter, there was a translation issue right from the beginning.\nI hope this little exercise demonstrates some of the things to keep in mind when reading epistles, or letters in the Bible.\n","date":"7 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-07-in-depth-exercise-for-week-one/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Depth exercise for Week One","type":"posts"},{"content":"This past weekend I attended the World Missions Jubilee in Portland, Oregon. What I encountered there both greatly encouraged and convicted me. I had no idea how far I had drifted in my walk with God. I spent time talking to and, becoming acquainted with many of the disciples in the Portland Church. Without exception, I found them to be some of the most loving, humble and self sacrificial disciples, I had ever encountered…. Although I have never received any formal biblical training, I do read my Bible everyday. The disciples that I got to know in Portland were as similar to the disciples I read about in the Bible as I’d ever met! Ohio\nHello Jeremy, I’m perfectly fine, I even preached “Mother’s Proverb” (Portland Bulletin September 18, 2005) word-for-word to the crowd on Friday night and people were encouraged by the message! Kiev, Ukraine\nKip, I just listened to your sermon on “Preach the Word.” (from the Jubilee Leadership Workshop) All I can say is woza. It was inspiring to say the least. While on a plane traveling back to Charlotte from Boston (on business), it literally brought tears to my eyes. Massachusetts\nIt’s a little too late to call you, so I wanted to send you an email to encourage you to keep preaching the word. I know there are a lot of critics in the movement right now who have compromised what they believe. But if no one else encourages you to keep at it, I want to. I have experienced the same things you wrote about recently with in the church. I see too many disciples who have gone back to the mainline ways, Satan’s lies concerning autonomy and the like. In 2002, while still a part of a mainline church in the Guyanas, where I worked as a missionary, I was inspired greatly by what you wrote. Your writings helped me to see how wrong the mainline church was and what God’s true restoration/revolutionary movement was all about. I studied the Bible with the Rangas in Suriname, where I became a disciple of the Suriname church. Sadly, the mainline church which I previously led did not follow my example…We can never be autonomous. Too many people are forgetting how cold and ineffective the evangelism of the mainline church with their autonomy structure was. I remember! It was so hard to keep money coming in, that you could never stay on the mission field long enough in order to get anything done. We only got people wet. We never built true churches for God! I love you bro and you’re a great inspiration to me. Your online ministry has really called me higher! Kentucky\nLast Sunday the “MIAMI LETTER” came out and \\[a friend of mine\\] said, “Huh, this might not be the whole story.” So he searched for the Portland website (on his own) and read through all the newsletters there and was blown away. He said that his heart burned with many of the answers he’s been asking God for. In one of the newsletters he saw me (USD21) and said, “Hey, I know that brother…I have to talk to him.” When he saw me he asked, “Is Portland for real??? Is it as good as it sounds??? Is everything that is on the website true???” He was so excited! I had to tell him the truth…It is better!!! Florida\nThe reason I am writing this is that I have also noted much lukewarness in my life and the lives of many disciples around me. Though there are some that seem to still have great hope the majority go very visionless and without much hope. I too have felt the burden of trying to stay motivated and focused on what God wants us to do. I know more and more I hear less of world evangelism and church planting and more about building purchases and foundational local ministries (which I understand). Even the past few years our campus/teen ministry has gotten under 100 disciples for the entire church \\[it used to be over 500 disciples\\]…But as for me it gives me hope to read about what you are doing\u0026hellip; I have talked to people of visiting the Portland Church but to my efforts have been discouraged to visit. I am writing this on faith hoping that God will lead me to knowing what to do next…. I would like to know more about what is going on in Portland and maybe visiting one weekend, I hope that my efforts to seek the truth will not be in vain. California\nWe, disciples of Novosibirsk Church of Christ, _____, _____, _______, _______ and _______ are inspired by your serving and devotion to God. We are grateful to Kip McKean for his articles which tell about your acts and teach deep spiritual truths. Despite a defection from true Christianity of almost all congregations in ICOC we share your convictions and purposes. We are in one spirit with you. Novosibirsk, (Siberia) Russia\nPlease forgive me for using this method but I am trying to get in touch with Chris \u0026amp; Sonia Chloupek as we are in a similar situation to them in Brisbane, Australia. This is the only email address on the Portland website, please can you help, we need help here as our faith is ebbing away too. Brisbane, Australia\nThe church as a whole I am not happy with. The church has lost so much and all I hear now is a whole lot of whining. I read the letter (03OCT2005) from the churches to you. It does not surprise me at all, I stand behind you 110%. I believe in what you are doing in the Portland Church…I told my wife the other day that I want to be part of your church in Oregon to start, and go wherever God wants us… Connecticut\nDon’t be discouraged by the letters form the “leaders.” They do not speak for many of us. Many Christians agree with your assessment of the state of our churches and are struggling from within our local congregations to reclaim our purpose and our zeal. The messages posted to your website are one of our main sources of encouragement. Sadly, many in our congregation have confused timidity, cowardice, and complacently with humility. It’s good to know that if the fight gets to be too much for me, that God has provided a “City of Refuge” to which I can escape. Pray for us, we are praying for you. Illinois\nI just wanted to thank you for your website, and the sermons that you have made available. Since becoming a Christian 10 years ago, I have followed the “Boston Movement” with great interest…often saying “that’s just a cult” (repeating what I had heard and read) but with a secret inner desire to learn more and study the materials what you make available. I have always been drawn by the uncompromising stance that you take on sin and what it truly means to become a disciple of Christ…Now as a mother of a young toddler and a baby due in January…I have been once again craving that uncompromising approach to following our Lord and Savior. Although I go to a Calvary Chapel…and I am a lead singer on the worship team\u0026hellip;I still want MORE! I want to be fully immersed in that Christ life…that sold out life! I began by reading about some of the “controversy” surrounding the ICOC…and finally just said…“I’m going to go to that Portland Church website and see for myself.” I listened to your message “Philippi, the Unhappy Church”…and I am totally fired up! I can’t wait to listen to more… Thanks again for your website…and I just wanted to encourage you that all things work together for the good of those that love Him…reading material “against” you has brought me to actually reading your message and your mission. Thank you and God bless! New York\nThis year it has been more obvious to me than ever, that there is only one way to follow Jesus, and this is wholeheartedly! You and the church in Portland have done that, and I long to visit you, although I cannot still. You have been an inspiration to stay humble, close to the Scriptures and speak in love to my brothers and sisters, even when they do not regard it as such! I want to say thank you all, Portland! Keep it up, and stay close to Him that is our head – Jesus Christ!! Stockholm, Sweden\nThank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! For your website! The sermons are the only tie we have to a discipling church. I became a disciple in 1987 in Boston. A group of us gather weekly to listen to Kip’s sermons…As I see it you are the hope of America maybe the world. Perhaps out of the Boston Movement is the Portland Movement without the sins and mistakes of the past. We are praying for you to stay strong in God during these days of stupid letters. You may not be perfect but the fruit of changed lives joyfully praising God shows the Spirit is with you! Indiana\n","date":"5 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-12-05-good-news-responses-from-our-upsidedown21-website/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Good News Responses From Our UpSideDown21 Website:","type":"pages"},{"content":"So you\u0026rsquo;re going to say nothing about other churches anymore, right? That presents a problem when you just have to point at yourself and say, \u0026ldquo;Look at ME! I am out-baptizing you.\u0026rdquo; Never fear, the solution is simple.\nGet other people to say it and publish on your website. (Here is the original article, I quoted on a separate page in case it gets deleted.)\nDo I believe these responses? I don\u0026rsquo;t see much reason to doubt them. They all sound like they are written by Kip, but then again, I sounded like Kip ten years ago. In case there was any doubt about the destructiveness of ICC discipling, here\u0026rsquo;s written proof. Did Kip really strive to equip us by discipling or did he simply tell us when and how to do things?\nI heard something on TV that I could barely believe. I heard Dr. Dodd from the Westside Church preach a sermon on Worship. In his closing remarks he basically said in tears that his job is to equip, not to do everything. It echoed similar sentiments from the minister of my church that he cannot force anyone to do anything though he is tempted often. All he can do is equip.\nIs it really equipping if we all sound the same?\nMany of us, and that includes me, spoke the same way for so long. We sounded the same, we acted the same. We all had \u0026rsquo;d-times\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;quiet times\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;commitments\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;studies\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;back-burner people\u0026rsquo;, \u0026lsquo;kingdom dreams\u0026rsquo; and we all overused the words \u0026lsquo;awesome\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;flat\u0026rsquo;. (Experts among us would use both in a sentence \u0026ndash; That was flat awesome.) That\u0026rsquo;s why it is important for those of us that are refugees from the ICoC to deliberately use different words. (We also need to use something else besides the NIV, try the HCSB or the NET translations.)\nEzra Pound also shouted \u0026ldquo;Make it new!\u0026rdquo; A better quote may be Romans 12:2.\nAnywho, more good news later. For now, sorry to post an unpleasant news item first thing on Monday.\n","date":"5 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-05-not-surprised-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Surprised","type":"posts"},{"content":"The cardinal rule in arguing about religion is this:\nRemember that you are always right because you have received your understanding directly from God.\nAs the Divine Oracle, though, you will have to deal with alternate intepretations of Scripture from time to time. Here are some guidelines that help point out the error of your day to day heretics.\n1. Redefine key words. Go for the verb of the key sentence of a troublesome passage. Failing that, question the subject of this sentence. If the subject-verb relation is particularly strong, go after the prepositions.\n2. Appeal to the Greek. God revealed his message to you in English, but that shouldn\u0026rsquo;t scare you away from intepreting the Greek as well. Point out that the heretic\u0026rsquo;s translation did not correctly translate key words. Plenty of scholars will back you up for the \u0026lsquo;correct\u0026rsquo; translation (especially if God speaks to you in the King\u0026rsquo;s English).\nAgain, go for the verb of the key sentence first. Unlike English, you can argue about tense, mood, voice and person to give you more room. (Hint: Use aorist and middle voice liberally here.)\nIf you have to resort to the subject or object of the key sentence make sure you expound on the difficulties of noun declension and cases. Use words like genitive and dative.\nIf all else fails in English and Greek, argue the prepositions. In Greek, one preposition can mean so many things because they are defined more by context. If the preposition clearly means one thing, you can also resort to arguing context about the preposition. Volumes have been written about eis. Most heretics will not respect you for resorting to arguing about prepositions, but it is an unassilable position. Use this sparingly and only when your would-be heretic has made a good point.\n3. Argue heremenutics - this is for your more educated heretic friends.\nAt a basic level, argue about their method of understanding God and the Bible. You may know that the entire Old Testament is an allegory, but your heretic friend may not. Point out to them that simply being dogmatic is the sign of a weak mind. If you, instead, favor a more literal approach, point out to your Calvinist friend that the Bible is straightforward and doesn\u0026rsquo;t require all that bothersome analysis and deduction. (For extra credit, you can also point out to your Arminian-Pelagiust friends that they are following the cult of pop psychology and/or the mystical mumbo-jumbo of a fourth century heretic.)\nOne tactic is to try explaining that one passage can only have one meaning and work through the troublesome passage using your hermenutic. Since your hermenutic gives you the right answer, their interpretation (and their hermenutic) are therefore wrong.\nAnother tactic is like the previous one where you work through a troublesome verse using your heretic friend\u0026rsquo;s hermenutic. (Say that three times fast.) As you do this, point out all the flaws in their particular approach.\nThe first three are qualitative approaches. However, the discrimating spokesperson for God does not always have time to discuss things in a more-or-less intelligent fashion. After all, with Boar\u0026rsquo;s Head Tavern, Thinklings, Credenda Agenda, Internet Monk, and Pinakidion.* around, you have plenty of examples on how to be a Christian and still be rude, condescending, petty, and even downright nasty. Tune in next week for techniques that will help you point out your heretic friend\u0026rsquo;s error and convince them that they are proceeding directly to Hell after death (do not pass Go, do not collect $200).\n","date":"1 December 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-12-01-how-to-argue-about-christianity/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Argue about Christianity","type":"posts"},{"content":"Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) has posted the ultimate guide to debating on the internet:\nHad me laughing for quite a while.\n","date":"30 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-30-how-to-argue/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Argue","type":"posts"},{"content":"The 2006 Great Paperchase will take place in Washington DC. It will follow the 2006 Evangelical Theological Society meeting. I went to the two previous Teachers’ Conferences and would have gone to one this year had not Jasper been born.\nWhat makes this one so special?\nNo Five Star Hotel included in the price. Encouragement to attend the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Conference and the Stone-Campbell Adherents Group breakout session. Acknowledgement of the Stone-Campbell movement as a part of our history. Will people go to the ETS beforehand? I certainly hope so. It will be interesting to see what happens next.\nI know, I know. You\u0026rsquo;re probably saying, \u0026ldquo;Why does an ICoC conference need to immediately follow a non-ICoC conference in order to encourage ICoC adherents to attend a non-ICoC conference?\u0026rdquo; Hey, progress is progress. I said that I want to be fair and point out positive developments as well as backward trends. In this instance, I have learned that patience is best in matters where others faith is weak - those that move glacially are only hurting themselves. Besides, where there is disagreement, God will make it plain in His time.\nI may have to go to this one. Then again, I may just go to the ETS and say hello to some friends. I have family in DC and I may choose to enjoy the weekend with them. Nothing personal against the ITS intended.\n","date":"29 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-29-upcoming-conference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upcoming Conference","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found out last night that my son has moderate hearing loss. He can hear high tones pretty well, but has what they call \u0026ldquo;moderate\u0026rdquo; difficulty with mid to low tones. How this has hit me is that he has probably never heard my voice. I am certain that he has not heard me hum and sing to him. All he knows of me is how I smell.\nAs far as options go, there\u0026rsquo;s a ton of them. I don\u0026rsquo;t know all of them now because the ENT doctor wants to talk to us about them in addition to going over the results in more detail. Our pediatrician has suggested a specialist in Iowa only because the preliminary options seem to wait longer than is necessary.\nLet me put it this way. One option is to wait until he is 7.\nSpecifically, his nerves are good and the inner ear seems to be pretty good. That means the hearing issue is more related to the shape of his ear and ear canals. As I said earlier, the canals are shaped like corkscrews. Surgery on the canals needs to wait. Unlike the surgery on his nose, he has to reach a certain stage of development first. However, we can also get traditional amplifying hearing aids until that point.\nI have to admit that this was very hard for me to hear. I felt bad that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t with my wife when she heard the news. I also felt bad that I need to wait for options. I spent some time Friday night being pretty angry at God and asking him if I could get out of the \u0026ldquo;character building phase\u0026rdquo; of my Christian life now.\nMy wife reminded me of what is true and my outlook has completely changed. For one, Jasper is healthy. For another, he is wonderful regardless of whatever grief or loss we may feel - all he knows is that his mom and dad love him. She also reminded me that we have found out early, and that provides more options than friends that found out at much later times. She also pointed out that we have more help from hospitals, the school systems, and Human Serivces of the State of Nebraska than we can track. There are multiple advocates for the best for Jasper and we are not alone. Lastly, she pointed out that we have real friends and are surrounded by real family through relatives and our church home. Many have made us meals, called, offered encouragement, and really been there for us.\nAs always, she has reminded me that we are not poor, but rich in the things that matter. That has made all the difference.\n","date":"19 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-19-on-loss-hearing-and-otherwise/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"On Loss - Hearing and Otherwise","type":"posts"},{"content":"Now that you have become a Christian, what\u0026rsquo;s next? Hopefully you will find that this course will help you with the fundamentals of being a Christian. This course is not focused so much on what you believe as much as how you live what you believe. The purpose is to equip with the tools you, as a new Christian need, to live a meaningful and directed life for God. Some of the topics covered will include prayer, bible study, worship, and intimacy with God. Covering these and other topics, you will learn good habits that will serve you in your Christian journey and help you through the challenging times, good and bad, in life.\nThe title comes from a mental image that has helped some - an image of a solid path made up of stepping stones. As you listen to the audio messages each week, you will work through a stepping stone, or key idea, that will guide you through the topic of the week. For example, the first week\u0026rsquo;s topic is Assurance. As you go through the homework, you will read several verses about God\u0026rsquo;s love and God\u0026rsquo;s sovereignty. To help guide you in your studies, this lesson will present the first and most important stepping stone. Lesson From the Farmer\u0026rsquo;s Market\nYou must have honest balances, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. \u0026ndash; Leviticus 19:36\nWhile at the Farmer’s Market, I saw two stands next to each other selling apples. One stand used a digital scale, the other, an analogue scale. I noticed at how each one did business because I wanted to buy apples, but I wanted a fair price.\nI saw that the folks with the digital scale charged per pound and were accurate to the penny. I figured that no matter what, I would be paying the same price per pound that everyone else paid, and I thought that was fair.\nThe other stand, however, seemed to be a little less efficient. I saw a man pick out three pounds of Granny Smith\u0026rsquo;s. As the farmer took the apples and weighed them, the measure came to three pounds and a little over. It was between the big 3 and the next tick, which I assumed was an eighth of a pound. I was surprised to see that the farmer asked for the price of three pounds exactly. The customer said something about it to which the farmer replied, \u0026ldquo;I take an apple off, it\u0026rsquo;s a touch shy of three pounds. I keep it on, it is a touch more. Who wants to get into the business of splitting apples?\u0026rdquo; Another woman came to buy five pounds for making pies. When she mentioned this to the farmer, he asked her questions about what kind of taste she likes in her pies. After a brief discussion, he pointed to a different type of apple and suggested that they would make a better pie. She noted that they were more expensive, so she declined. However, the farmer then suggested that she take two and a half pounds of each to decide for herself. He would only charge for five pounds of the cheaper kind. Amazed by her good fortune, she gladly accepted.\nIt didn\u0026rsquo;t take me long to choose which stand would get my business.\nWhich of these farmers has the more honest scales? Maybe it would help to ask which of these farmers has the more accurate scales? After mulling on these questions for a bit, let me ask you one final question.\nIs there a difference between accurate and honest?\nThe First Stepping Stone\n1. Be honest in everything you do.\nKeep in mind that being honest has more to do with integrity than with accuracy. A person of integrity not only states things accurately, but volunteers information as well. Again, be honest in all you do. When you talk to your friends, be honest. When you talk to God, be honest. When you think about yourself and your own life, it\u0026rsquo;s important to be honest.\nAs you go through the homework for this week, you\u0026rsquo;ll learn that there are good reasons to be honest, not just to avoid Hell, but to be able to draw close and be intimate with God.\nOne last thing, don\u0026rsquo;t put off doing the homework. As the Bible says, you reap what you sow. I urge you to sow consistent and diligent work. I pray that it is helpful to you as you continue to walk with God.\n","date":"19 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-19-stepping-stones-introduction/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stepping Stones - Introduction","type":"posts"},{"content":"The ancient Ikan poet Gajus tells of a land in the far east where they do not worship the Gods or the Titans. Instead they worship a Creator whom they regard as Father. They also live to serve the emissaries of the Father-Creator called the Kwemara. The Kwemara have another name, the God-Killers.\nAs with all ken, in begins with their story of the creation of the universe.\nWhen the Celestial world was created, the children of the Creator soon rose to fight each other for control. Their hostility was so great, that they killed their father, the Great Creator. Upon his death, the two sides ended their conflict to finish the work of creation. The Titans, like their father, finished creating the wonders of the universe: planets, comets, stars. As they completed various sections of the sky, they set the heavenly bodies into motion. They created increasingly fanciful worlds trying to outdo each other. When they finished their work, they set themselves to indulge and enjoy the works they created.\nTo keep the peace, the Gods created a precious few worlds preferring to avoid conflict with the Titans, at least for now. For thousands of years, it appeared that they would not create at all, but instead withdraw into their few worlds and prevent the celstial war from starting again. However, the Gods were creating, but they, like their father, were creating the ken of the universe.\nFor a while, there was a tense peace in the universe.\nHowever, the Titans were not happy sharing the universe with ken. Most of their hatred came from the fact that the Gods created ken. The Titans then began to enslave all manner of ken and subjugate the creation of the Gods.\nThis was exactly what the Gods predicted the Titans would do. Their secret was that they created ken to strive for something outside themselves. For most ken, that something was power. Some strove for knowledge, others strove for art, a few strove to understand the Father Creator. The Gods also created ken to embrace freedom and abhor being controlled.\nAs all ken struggled under the Titans, they invoked the Gods to help them overthrow the Titans. Under the guise of protecting the Father Creator\u0026rsquo;s dream, the Gods fought the Titans in small ways. As ken grew in power, the Gods discovered that ken were capable of being powerful allies. In time, from world to world, the Gods and ken fought together to overthrow the Titans and they were winning the war.\nKen, however, soon discovered that the Gods had little interest in being partners. In worlds where the Titans were conquered, the Gods proved to be indifferent rulers at best. In some circumstances, weary ken began to fight the Gods as well.\nWith constant war all over the universe, all that had been created was in danger of being destroyed. The Gods and Titans had fearsome weapons, but ken, in their drive for power, created weapons that brought fear in the Heavens.\nIn the darkest hour, another stripe of ken appeared and demanded in the name of the Father Creator that the war must end. Although ken possesed awesome weaponry, they could not defeat both the Gods and the Titans. The other two parties were in no better shape. However, these new ken, though not created by the Gods or the Titans, were not considered to be a great threat.\nAccording to the religious texts of those that worship the Father Creator, the rest of the story unfolds as follows:\nThe Kwemara spoke in one voice to the Titans saying, \u0026ldquo;Cousins, we are both from the Father Creator, but you are destroying the work our Father. Do not make us fight you. Would you all perish?\u0026rdquo;\nAt that last sentence, Brumendehus, the first among the Titans laughed. He said, \u0026ldquo;Do you have such boldness as to threaten your cousins, the Titans? We are thousands and you are few. Join us and we will continue the work of our Father. However, the Gods have forsaken our father and they must be punished. Again I say, join us and let us punish the Gods for their pride. When that is finished, we will create in whatever manner you see fit.\u0026rdquo;\nAgain, the Kwemara spoke in one voice saying, \u0026ldquo;We have come to bring peace, but you speak of war and punishment. Our Father knew nothing of war until you killed him. If there is to be punishment, should not you be punished for killing our Father?\u0026rdquo;\nBrumendehus was surprised at this and rebuked them. \u0026ldquo;We did not kill the Father. The Gods made war and destroyed our First Home. It is them that disobeyed the Father and struck against us. Would that we could return to First Home at live in peace, but these schemers and liars and destroyers insist on destroying us like they did our Father. May they perish!\nWe have no quarrel with you, cousins, but join us or be destroyed like them. Whoever is not with us is against us.\u0026rdquo;\nOne last time, the Kwemara begged in one voice, \u0026ldquo;We are not on your side, nor our we on the side of the Gods. We are the heirs of the Father and seek to create as he created. We do not wish to fight. We will not attack you, but if you attack us, you will be annihilated. Do not make us raise our swords against our closest kin!\u0026rdquo;\nAt that, the Titans gave a loud war cry. A legion of Titans charged into battle shouting, \u0026ldquo;Those who are not for us are against us. Death to the Gods!\u0026rdquo;\nSeeing that the Titans were determined to make war, the Kwemara acted as one man. The legion of Titans were no more.\nEnraged, the Titans brought their fearsome weapons against the Kwemara. Again, fighting as one man, the Kwemara destroyed the Titans, their weapons, and even their homes. The few Titans that survived surrenderred and begged their lives.\n\u0026ldquo;Go,\u0026rdquo; said the Kwemara, \u0026ldquo;when you wish to work with us, dear cousins, we will be waiting. Until then, go and destroy no more.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen the Gods beheld their fearsome power, they also sought to make peace. However, the king of the Gods sought to beguile them in order to destroy the remaining Titans. Ikter, the king, spoke with the Kwemara saying, \u0026ldquo;Come cousins, let us go and finish the work of the father. Surely we can even rebuild the First Home. Our kinship is our greatest strength. We will be able to overcome all those that oppose the work of the Father.\u0026rdquo;\nThe Kwemara again said in one voice, \u0026ldquo;Do you mock us as well? Do you believe that we seek to destroy our cousins? We have pleaded with them, but we will not beg you. The Titans were right when they said that you destroyed First Home and began the war that destroyed our Father. Even now, you seek to deceive us into fighting our cousing, the Titans! Do not play games. Lay down your arms and cease this war.\u0026rdquo;\nIkter replied, \u0026ldquo;Do you think we are as weak as the Titans that we should lay down our weapons at your word? We did not need the Titans, we did not need humans on the other ken, and we certainly do not need you. Who are you to correct us, the Gods? We continued the work of the Father and yet you stand in judgment of us?\u0026rdquo;\nAt that the Kwemara replied, \u0026ldquo;You have chosen your fate. Your pride will be your fall.\u0026rdquo;\nWhen the Kwemara finished speaking, half the Gods fell and died. \u0026ldquo;Go,\u0026rdquo; the Kwemara said, \u0026ldquo;when you wish to work with us, dear cousins, we will be waiting. Until then, go and destroy no more.\u0026rdquo;\nThe Gods departed and waited until a better time to involve themselves in the affairs of ken.\nWith only the ken left on the battefield, the Kwemara threw open their arms and embraced the ken. \u0026ldquo;Brothers, you are free. All we ask is that you do not fight each other. Do not listen to the Gods or the Titans, for they are only concerned with themselves. Instead, look to the work of the Father Creator. Protect the weak, embrace beauty, destroy evil.\u0026rdquo;\nAt this, the ken threw down their arms and lived in peace for many centuries.\u0026quot;\nWorshippers of the Father Creator have no admiration of the Hesberian Republic whom they consider an abomination because they make war among ken. Eastern societies invoke the Kwemara to protect them and help them continue the work of the Father Creator. For their disdain of the Hesberians, however, they choose to not make war, for now. They do not possess the weapons of the Kwemara, but believe that the emergence of magic in the world is the work of the Kwemara. They believe that a time of reckoning is coming for the Republic for the destruction they have brought into the world.\n","date":"18 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-18-kwemara-the-celestial-killers/","section":"Posts","summary":"The ancient Ikan poet Gajus tells of a land in the far east where they do not worship the Gods or the Titans. Instead they worship a Creator whom they regard as Father. They also live to serve the emissaries of the Father-Creator called the Kwemara. The Kwemara have another name, the God-Killers.\nAs with all ken, in begins with their story of the creation of the universe.\nWhen the Celestial world was created, the children of the Creator soon rose to fight each other for control. Their hostility was so great, that they killed their father, the Great Creator. Upon his death, the two sides ended their conflict to finish the work of creation. The Titans, like their father, finished creating the wonders of the universe: planets, comets, stars. As they completed various sections of the sky, they set the heavenly bodies into motion. They created increasingly fanciful worlds trying to outdo each other. When they finished their work, they set themselves to indulge and enjoy the works they created.\nTo keep the peace, the Gods created a precious few worlds preferring to avoid conflict with the Titans, at least for now. For thousands of years, it appeared that they would not create at all, but instead withdraw into their few worlds and prevent the celstial war from starting again. However, the Gods were creating, but they, like their father, were creating the ken of the universe.\nFor a while, there was a tense peace in the universe.\nHowever, the Titans were not happy sharing the universe with ken. Most of their hatred came from the fact that the Gods created ken. The Titans then began to enslave all manner of ken and subjugate the creation of the Gods.\nThis was exactly what the Gods predicted the Titans would do. Their secret was that they created ken to strive for something outside themselves. For most ken, that something was power. Some strove for knowledge, others strove for art, a few strove to understand the Father Creator. The Gods also created ken to embrace freedom and abhor being controlled.\n","title":"Kwemara - The Celestial Killers","type":"posts"},{"content":"I wrote a lot about Dira while I was in DC. Thus there were two big updates about that. As always, the drafts are posted here in all their pied beauty. The editing, proofreading, getting the names right, etc. all takes place on the Encyclpedia site.\nThe Kwemara were interesting to me because it was part of a religion that viewed the Hesberian Gods and Titans as enemies. It was also intesting in that they worshipped a dead deity and look for assistance from the Kwemara who act as anveging angels on behalf of all ken, not just humans. As far as Esbrus, I just got tired of making circular references to the capital city of the Hesberian Empire. I may change the name to Esbra, but something about it sounding like Ezra\u0026hellip;\nNext post will be the intro to the course I mentioned. The posts will be rough transcripts of the audio recordings. As a review, the course features weekly meetings preceeded by homework which includes a short audio message. As it attains more polish, the entire class will move to the class.pinakidion.org site. Also keep in mind that the form my church uses will be different in who gives the audio talk and possibly the materials. My work here will be the proposal to the deacons sometime in late December.\nJasper gets the all-important hearing test today. I\u0026rsquo;ll know something by this afternoon. Please pray.\n","date":"18 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-18-recently-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recently...","type":"posts"},{"content":"The center of the Hesberian Empire lies in its own province south of Tecia marked by gently rolling hills. The heart of the city lies between the two rivers, Bristus and Dejperus. According to the last census, Esbrus is home to 200 Senators\u0026rsquo; familes, 22,314 Equestrian Families, 157,922 families of Freedmen, 62,817 Merchant families, 700 registered \u0026lsquo;Magicians\u0026rsquo;,20 Ganarii Merchants, 110,092 Ken Families (Citizens), 602 Families of Ken (Non-Citizens), and 35,000 Soldiers. (Approxiamtely 1.8 million people)\nAbout the Census\nThe Senate usually takes up the debate at least once a seesion in regards to the classes of human and ken within the Republic. The main issues center around the definition of an \u0026ldquo;Equestrian Family\u0026rdquo;, the tracking of Ganarii Merchants, and the question of slavery. Although all slaves were set free under the last emporers, slavery is not technically illegal. Currently, no citizen reports slaves, but instead reports \u0026lsquo;freedmen within the household\u0026rsquo; in order to differentiate servants from family members. (The number of freedmen usually controls the production of the bread dole and so citizen tend to overreport freedmen in order to increase the dole. Excess production is given away during various festivals.) Usually, the senate comes to no new conclusions and the older categories remain unchanged.\nThe Markets\nThe City of Esbrus has three main markets or Ejkura, that comprise the center of urban life, Ejkura Broniroga, Ejkura Awreliani, and Ejkura Nekmus.\nBroniroga, or First Market lies on the Bristus river and contains the oldest and most established commericial district in the city. Families with the deepest history in Esbrus do business here. Those who long for the glory days of the Empire also come here as well as it is almost exclusively human-owned shops. Traditional stores of cloth merchants, butchers, blacksmiths, and the like vie for the attention of shoppers. Until the creation of Ejkura Awreliani, all the senators had their ceremonial toga created here. Equestrian families, however, still tend to have their census graments created here. (Senators are required by law to wear togas with a purple stripe. Equestrian families must wear a blue stripe during the census. Ganarii merchants are required to wear a garment with a dark green collar as Ganarii shun wearing togas.)\nEjkura Nekmus, or the Great Market is the second oldest market in the city. This sprawling complex has everything you can imagine (and a few things you cannot imagine) on display for sale or lease. Merchants from all over the known world of every stripe of ken do business here. Even Mavinian Traders set up shop here, much to the chagrin of local officials and Ganarii merchants. Also located within the Great Market are schools of various sizes in all manner of subjects. Many of the city\u0026rsquo;s great thinkers, poets, and debaters make their livelihood here. Most of the city\u0026rsquo;s registered magicians also live here. Besides the Ganarii school, there are schools for poetry, politics, mathematics, engineering, and magic. (Oddly enough, the study of magic is popular despite the fact that magic does not function within the city.)\nNekmus spreads across both sides of the Dejperus River. The East side of the market is older, the western side looks strikingly different as modern ideas of architecture and art appear more frequently. The western side also features unique shops called Kentegoma. Kentegoma specialize non-Hesberian culture, foods, and social norms. In general, they differ according the outside human cultures or cultures of various ken that live in the city. (These shops are different from the concept of Kentidurma Wards within the city. City officials mark off various parts of the city with high concentrations of various ken as Kentidurma. Most notable are Kentidurma Ganarium and Kentidurma Ilosium.) For many ken, the Kentegoma are the only places to purchase certain herbs, religious items, or other uniquely cultural goods and services. Humans usually treat these stores as curiousities at best. The Hesberian mindset of superiority of Humans and the superiority of Hesberians among Humans is still strong, even in this progressive area of the city.\nEjkura Awreliani was created in honor of Awrelias\u0026rsquo; consulship. The center of this market is regarded as the first wonder of the modern world, The Great Mill. This mill has the capacity to bake enough bread for all freedmen in the city to receive a small loaf daily. Built with the help of the Ganarii, the mill is considered one of the great stablizing forces in Esbrus after the cataclysm. Because of the mill, every citizen is guaranteed basic foodstuffs. Officials with the government say that the mill operates at about half capacity currently, but many consider that a dubious claim. The mill is operated by teams of horses and over 1000 men. A standing contigent of 500 soldiers keep watch over the area, mostly policing the lines for food. In addition to being a popular place for freedmen, the consulship requires that senators and Equestrians families purchase their official clothes in this market. Senators and Equestrians qualifiy for two large loaves a day, but few take advantage of this. It is seen as both a mark of poverty and a political liability. Outside of the Mill and Official clothing merchants, this small market features fruit and vegetables of all kinds, mostly grown from smaller farms. During his consulship, Awrelias called this “The People’s Market” and began the tradition of announcing holidays and festivals here.\nUrban Life\n","date":"17 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-17-esbrus-the-capital-of-the-empire/","section":"Posts","summary":"The center of the Hesberian Empire lies in its own province south of Tecia marked by gently rolling hills. The heart of the city lies between the two rivers, Bristus and Dejperus. According to the last census, Esbrus is home to 200 Senators’ familes, 22,314 Equestrian Families, 157,922 families of Freedmen, 62,817 Merchant families, 700 registered ‘Magicians’,20 Ganarii Merchants, 110,092 Ken Families (Citizens), 602 Families of Ken (Non-Citizens), and 35,000 Soldiers. (Approxiamtely 1.8 million people)\n","title":"Esbrus - The Capital of the Republic","type":"posts"},{"content":"I leave a realtively mild winter weekend in Maryland only to return to snow today.\nNormally, I\u0026rsquo;d love snow, but today is a melancholy kind of day. My car was shown on the news this morning, but only because of the ambulance passing by it. Four houses down, a 23 year old man died at 11:35 pm after shooters unloaded at least one gun into him. I heard it happen while feeding Jasper and talked to the police shortly thereafter.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s one of those things that reminds me that even the Great United States needs God. It also reminds me that we, as Christians, shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be flocking to the suburbs as fast as we can. We are needed elsewhere and if that means living somewhere contrary to popular culture, so be it.\nThere is so much love to spread. Why on Earth are we arguing about IN GOD WE TRUST on the money. ( We\u0026rsquo;re not Deists anymore. I say let\u0026rsquo;s be honest and stamp \u0026ldquo;We Trust Our Money\u0026rdquo; on our foreheads.) Why on Earth are we trying to cleverly hide God in Intelligent Design. Why are folks like Bill Bright and other evangelicals fighting politics? Why is Jesse Jackson now going around with Terrell Owens? Phonies.\nThe hardest thing is to face the phony in the mirror. Seriously. I\u0026rsquo;ve met the neighbors and talked to them, but I haven\u0026rsquo;t done anything for my community, either. I haven\u0026rsquo;t even given a gift to one of my neighbors that gave us some of her prized tomatoes. For all of my indignation at White America for refusing to acknowledge neighborhoods like mine, I haven\u0026rsquo;t done that much either. I don\u0026rsquo;t deserve some accolade for moving here, more people live here out of necessity and they aren\u0026rsquo;t getting any prizes.\nThat is why today is melancholy. Could I have responded to the scene and maybe saved his life? Could I have shared more about God with neighbors? Who knows.\n","date":"15 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-15-back-from-dc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Back from DC","type":"posts"},{"content":"My brother-in-law is getting married this Sunday afternoon, so the family is flying to the east coast. I\u0026rsquo;ll be back Monday night, late.\nI say this so that you do not expect a response anytime soon.\n","date":"11 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-11-off-to-dc/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Off to DC","type":"posts"},{"content":"This week I spoke to our minister about teaching Bible classes again. It\u0026rsquo;s been a while and it appears to be needed. Last time we came on too strong and burned out all our teachers. This go around, it will be different.\nIn any case, I have been talking to new members in my church and I asked them what they need. It seems that although theologically suspect, I received 8 weeks of post-baptism training that isn\u0026rsquo;t being done. One person I spoke to said that they were excited at first, but now feels like they are unable to fight certain things and don\u0026rsquo;t really understand how.\nI volunteered to write a proposal for a new \u0026ldquo;Deep Convictions\u0026rdquo; class that I hoped would be more interactive and hopefully less theologically suspect. I\u0026rsquo;ll post more as it goes along, but the proposal thus far looks like this:\nEach week, every member of the class listens to a recorded 15 - 20 minute lesson. Then they work through various written assignment during the week. These are all designed to be really small. A few minutes a day, not an hour or so. The actual class session will be sharing, directed discussion, and encouragement. The goal is self-discovery, so the exercises during the week will be about asking the simple questions as well as \u0026lsquo;practice\u0026rsquo; for techniques mentioned in the recorded lesson.\nWeek One: Assurance - Am I Really Saved or Will God Change His Mind? Week Two: Six Places to Focus as You Start Week Three: Personal Worship - Singing and Praying Week Four: Personal Worship - Reading Your Bible Week Five: Family - Love One Another Week Six: Maturity - Dealing with Personal Sin Week Seven: What Are My Gifts? Week Eight*: Caring for the Community Week Nine: Sharing Jesus with the World\n*Week Eight can be moved to coincide with our church\u0026rsquo;s week to work the Francis Siena House.\nAnywho, feel free to offer lessons or help or share your thoughts. The more the merrier, right?\n","date":"11 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-11-onward-and-upward/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Onward and Upward","type":"posts"},{"content":"After a recent column, some friends asked \u0026ldquo;who is Mike Fotenot\u0026rdquo;? So for the sake of those that asked or otherwise want to know, here is an article he wrote recently at the request of Scott Green in Seattle.\nThis article, to me, is the epitomy of the kinder, gentler ICoC as opposed to the reformed ICoC. This kinder,gentler ICoC exhibits a form of godliness, but denies its power. What do I think is reformed ICoC? The Argentina letter for one. Some things that Dr. David McAnulty is doing for another. For really challenging reform that is long overdue, there\u0026rsquo;s James Grieg\u0026rsquo;s treatise on the Kingdom of God. I\u0026rsquo;m still working on the last one, and it\u0026rsquo;s pretty good.\nI am not naive enough to believe that anyone, not even me, will perfectly reform. If that were possible, there would be no reason for humility. I was (and a certain extent still am) a part of the system - although I do not know everything nor do I have total perspective, I know enough to recognize the old system when I see it. I think it is obvious to many that also used to be a part of the system.\nI liken it to recognizing old Pepsi labels, it\u0026rsquo;s basically the same symbol and same formula. The red and blue, quasi-yin-and-yang symbol is the same. The taste is distinctive and noticable. In a taste test, a Pepsi can be picked out when compared to a Coca-Cola, RC Cola, Moxie, Cheerwine, or Big K\u0026rsquo;s Classic Cola. Looking at it another way, the commericals have Nascar Drivers, models, actors, politicians, and everyday people. No matter who has been or will be in the commercials, it is still Pepsi and the formula hasn\u0026rsquo;t had a major change since cocaine was removed in 50s. (Coca-cola wasn\u0026rsquo;t the only one that did it.) They\u0026rsquo;ve made a diet version, a caffeine-free version, a caffeiene-free and diet version, they\u0026rsquo;ve added Cherry, and even made limited edition flavors for the holidays. However, it is still Pepsi and it is not the same as other sodas.\nIn short, if I don\u0026rsquo;t like a Pepsi, why would I accept being called narrow-minded by the manufacturer if they only added an extra teaspoon of corn syrup?\nOkay, I\u0026rsquo;ve stretched another anaolgy past reason again. Feel free to resume your normally scheduled programming.\n","date":"10 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-10-367/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Kinder, Gentler ICoC","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s a good thing to have company. I enjoy having laughter ring through the narrow, winding doorways of our home. We probably weren\u0026rsquo;t as overtly spiritual as some would consider midweek, but it was great to be around a group of folks that you know care about you.\nWe ordered pizza, shared stories, played with Micah, played with my son, etc. All around a good night. With all the things going on with Jasper\u0026rsquo;s health and my perchant to somberness, it was great to let go.\nI am so greatful for the love of many.\nHey Kurt, if you\u0026rsquo;re out there, I got to tell the story of you and the street preacher with the big wooden cross. Folks here think you\u0026rsquo;re neat. Wish you could get here December 3, I\u0026rsquo;m the emcee for the Christmas Banquet this year. (Who am I? The MC. \u0026ndash; KRS One)\n","date":"10 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-10-house-full-of-folks/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"House Full of Folks","type":"posts"},{"content":"You can read the entire book here.\nThis little book is pretty interesting as much as I have read thus far. At first, I really thought that the author was going to say that truth was not absolute. However, the absoluteness of truth is asserted more than a few times. Instead, it makes the argument that perspective is relative. The book continues by trying to demonstrate how multiple perspectives can point us to truth.\nMany times the danger in discussing the Bible with other Christians is that one person makes no distinction between their perspective and the truth. In other words, because they hold a belief and can back it up with verses from the New Testament, their belief is absolutely true. Anyone else that disagrees with this person\u0026rsquo;s belief is somehow not grasping the absolute truth of God. In reality, the truth is the same but the perspective is what\n","date":"7 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-07-symphonic-theology/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Symphonic Theology","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am not as crazy as I thought. Here is a letter from Argentina.\n","date":"7 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-07-tierra-del-fuego-and-northward/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Tierra Del Fuego and Northward","type":"posts"},{"content":"In the original letter to Kip, the group of 65 stated these convictions.\nThe Father, Son and Holy Spirit Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, our Lord and Savior. The Bible is the Word of God and is the authority for our life. Jesus called all men to become his disciples, be baptized into his body and to be taught to obey. Every disciple is to be totally committed to God, His Kingdom and to Jesus as Lord and Savior Every disciple is called to participate in the Great Commission of Jesus Every disciple is called to obey the one another passages of Scripture. Every disciple is called to maintain the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace. Every disciple is called to follow the Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. The new letter from a group of 85 states these core convctions: (emphasis at the end is mine)\nOur Convictions: As we go in different directions, we want to again affirm our beliefs:\nThe one true God has revealed himself to us as the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, our Lord and Savior. The Bible is the Word of God and is the authority for our life. Jesus called all men and women to become his disciples, be baptized into his body and be taught to obey him. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is of first importance and the foundation of our faith. Every disciple is to be totally committed to God, His Kingdom and to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Every disciple is called to participate in the Great Commission of Jesus. Every disciple is called to obey the one another passages of Scripture. Every disciple is called to maintain the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace. Every disciple is called to follow the Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. Every disciple is committed to become more like Christ in his or her character. We believe in churches working together, respecting, helping and needing each other to build up the body of Christ. We also believe that God’s intent is for disciples to marry disciples and for married disciples to remain married to each other till death. As I promised, I wrote to the unity group. Instead of a set of by-laws, constitution, and statement of practices, I wrote about a set of principles and a moral dilemma I have that directly affects unity. I say this because I do not want to be mistaken as someone that does not want unity. More than unity (or uniformity), I want change. When I do not see it, I will say something, secure in the knowledge that I can and will be wrong at times. (I might even be wrong all of the time.)\nNot only are the additions disturbing, but as the group gets more members, the convictions appear to resemble the same ICoC core beliefs from years ago. (Keep in mind that both letters are about Kip\u0026rsquo;s behavior and not his theology.) Oddly enough, as more join the coalition of the willing against Kip, the statements of belief are becoming more specific, not less. Determining trends, however, is not my point - that gets into a slippery slope argument.\nAt the core, the formation of these core beliefs is something that I believe will not be helpful. It feels like another \u0026ldquo;believe this or else\u0026rdquo; ultimatum. Sound familiar? Kip had a similar one in 2003. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I do not share some of these convictions. I do share some of these convictions. I also believe that it is a very good thing for every person to establish what they believe and why. Some may choose to do this in a systematic theological way, others may choose a less formal way. Whatever method a person chooses, he or she does this in order to train themselves to distinguish good from evil. The point is that a statement from \u0026lsquo;on high\u0026rsquo; circumvents this very necessary step of self-assessment. In our unity discussions, we wrestle and fight over where we disagree instead of affirm what we do agree. Trying to make a one-statement-fits-all set of beliefs only leads to controversy and arguments. Besides, it\u0026rsquo;s not any different than what Kip is trying to do. The only differences are that we think we are being nicer and we have slight variations of practice.\nAgain, I would prefer that each member church of our future organization be encouraged to form their own statement of beliefs. In light of our history, there will not be too many divergencies from a simple core. Which former ICoC congregation will say that baptism is not necessary for salvation? Will there be a congregation that denies the Trinity? No. In fact, I believe most would even include a statement in regards to the \u0026ldquo;one another\u0026rdquo; passages that we have forced to mean \u0026ldquo;receive discipling from one another either by appointed person or person of your choice\u0026rdquo;. (Making our own statements of belief does not mean that we will avoid the hermeneutical errors of the past, but it will begin the process.)\nAs a whole, the affirmation of beliefs have some convictions of practice and not doctrine. The biggest issue with them led to the title of this entry. This issue is the use of the word disciple in most of the statements.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s start with this statement:\nJesus called all men and women to become his disciples, be baptized into his body and be taught to obey him.\nSo what is a disciple? A disciple is a person that is hears the call of Jesus, is baptized into the body of Jesus, and taught to obey Jesus, himself. What is his body? It is not stated here, but it is commonly taught that Jesus\u0026rsquo; body is the church. (Every ICoC study series I have read, including the one in my church teach this.)Which church? The answer to that question shapes the rest of the set of beliefs.\nIn the Chicago study series, instead of addressing a universal church, it is broken down to an individual level. It says, \u0026ldquo;Christians should always accept individuals who have experienced biblical rebirth based upon the truth of their testimony as well as upon the fruit of their life.\u0026rdquo; In the St. Louis Study Series, the universal church is not addressed, but a member is admonished to \u0026ldquo;be a part of a church where the members are truly members of Jesus’ body; that is, they are true Christians.\u0026rdquo; The Phoenix series and the series by my own church don\u0026rsquo;t even address the issue. In LA, the issue is addressed by saying that the names of the saved are written in Heaven.\nRead these studies and make your own conclusions. Based only on the texts of these study series, the answer to which church is the \u0026ldquo;local church\u0026rdquo;. Basically, when I become a disciple in one of the ICC congregations, the overwhelming majority will believe a disciple hears the call of Jesus, is baptized into the local church, and taught to obey Jesus by members of the local church. Their identity is tied to the local church. At best, there may be other Christians based on individual experience. In essence, there are no other denominations where you can be a disciple.\nSee where I\u0026rsquo;m going? We still have One True Denomination thinking to deal with. Our prescription thus far has been to be ambiguous. Ambiguity may help unity to some extent, but it certainly intereferes with repenting of our own arrogance. In letters calling for Kip to repent of his arrogance, we had better look to our own as well.\nBased on how disciple is defined, the rest of the convictions have all kinds of potential meaning. However, thanks to our ambiguity, we can call ourselves united. For example:\nEvery disciple is to be totally committed to God, His Kingdom and to Jesus as Lord and Savior.\nThe Kingdom, in common vernacular and in a few of our study series, is also the local church. So, a disciple is comitted to God, his local church, and the Jesus.Not bad without context, but how many of us are still teaching Matt 6:33 as \u0026ldquo;be committed to the local church above all else to be righteous?\u0026rdquo; In a couple of series, the Kingdom is our family of churches. Apply Matt 6:33 in the traditional way, and we have what we\u0026rsquo;ve always had for the past 30 years.\nOne more:\nWe also believe that God’s intent is for disciples to marry disciples and for married disciples to remain married to each other till death.\nRemember, who is a disciple? Someone in the local church. Who do we marry? Members of the local church. Again, though, being ambiguous leaves wriggle room for some. I know of folks that dated outside their local church (not just here), but the other person got baptized before marriage. I went to one of our churches recently where an acquaintance was happy that their fiancee was getting baptized. It seemed as if the wedding was now on track because both spouses were now members of the same local church.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s the point of all this? I do not believe that making a universal statement of beliefs is good for our fellowship. When we try to write them in order to include as many as we can, our method thus far seems to be ambiguity so that we can avoid controversy. This stops most in-depth thinking about why we believe what we believe. If we ask indvidual churches to write their own, at least they can grapple with these questions.\nWhat do I believe? Fair question. Keep in mind it is what I believe, not necessarily my church:\nI believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit. I believe that the Gospel is the person of Jesus Christ, not a church, creed, or denomination. I believe that Jesus existed in the flesh, yet was divine: fully human and fully divine. I believe that Jesus is the only way to be reconciled with God through faith in his blood. Specifically, his blood is the atoning sacrifice for my sins and faith in his blood is what saves me. I believe that baptism is an expression of the faith in the power of Jesus\u0026rsquo; blood to save that allows me to participate in the death, burial, and resurrection so that I may be raised to a new life. I do not believe that faith in his blood can be separated from baptism. I believe that those God calls are predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his Son. I believe that the greatest believer must be a slave to all other believers. It is wrong to lord authority over others, especially other Christians. I believe the greatest command of God is to love Him with all my heart, mind soul, and strength and to love my neighbor as myself. I believe that most people will do the right thing given opportunity, support, and love. There\u0026rsquo;s more, but that\u0026rsquo;s the basics to me. It is my creed. The last statement is the only one I believe is not explictly biblical, but I live by it until shown that it is wrong.\n","date":"3 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-03-disciples-creed/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Disciples Creed","type":"posts"},{"content":"Hello group members, I hope the day finds you well.\nI had originally worked up a set of by-laws, constitution, and a set of practices and principles for the proposal, but I realized that I was trying to legislate morality by using the law of the land instead of the word of the Lord. So instead, I simply provide my ideas. At the end of this email is an issue that I do not know how to resolve, but it is very real to me. I hope that this may help your efforts. Again, I apologize for submitting late.\nI believe the best solution for now to meet the goals stated on disciplestoday.com is the formation of a missions society. It seems that Europe is well covered, but other areas are not. This mission society would work with the others already recently formed by allowing these mission societies a membership as well as individual churches. Basically, a church can be a member of a smaller mission society (like International Mission Society in Boston) or they can join the mission society that you will form.\nEach church or mission society would have a delegate on the board - those delegates would elect officers as needed for administrative purposes. For example, the delegates would elect a president, treasurer, and secretary. They could also elect any other officers as needed. The key for this society is that the positions should not be paid and the delegates would have a limit of two terms of six years. This limit would not include actually being a missionary, just serving on the board of directors. Other missionary societies do both unpaid positions and term limits for delegates (specifically Lutheran Missions of Canada) without creating issues in administration. If there is contention about the salary, the society could reimburse the sponsoring church for half their salary. For example, if Church A sends someone to be a delegate that is a member of their paid staff and he/she is paid $85,000 a year, the society would reimburse Church A for $42,500 a year.\nOutside of this, there are a few principles that should be stated in the charter of this missionary society.\n* Handle money wisely, do not allow overseas missionaries to live “American\u0026quot; lifestyles. * Work with other churches, especially groups like Stadia, Let\u0026rsquo;s Start Talking, and other missionary efforts. * Do not create a core set of beliefs, encourage each member church to write their own. * Stop guessing at the number of unsaved in a given country. We\u0026rsquo;re counting only those that are not members of our churches. * Clearly state that this mission society has no relation to the ICCMS or ICOC corporations in LA. * Use means other than expensive conferences to have meetings of the society. In essence limit travel as much as possible, especially travel of foreign missionaries to multiple conferences in the US.\nOn the last point, I realize that all the technology in the world cannot help a person in a dangerous mission field. They cannot simply be called or faxed or emailed. A coordinated effort of meetings in a neutral location have to be worked out weeks in advance. I am referring to missionaries that live in Europe or other places where they can easily keep in touch by email, phone, and other means. Skype is a computer phone program that is free, its use could substantially reduce phone bills.\nIn regards to a core set of beliefs, I believe that stating this will only create a group of churches that will fellowship with former ICoC churches, but will not join the society because of the formation of a creed. However, encouraging each member to make their own is a healthy exercise for everyone. I think this would be an exercise of healthy self-assessment.\nNow to my dilemma. My hometown does not have one of our churches in it. I would like it to have a church like the one I presently attend, the Omaha Church of Christ. However, the nearest one of our churches to my hometown is not like Omaha. I listen to the sermons of this church and read their bulletin and I hear things that I believe are unbiblical, controlling, and unhealthy. What do I do if they decide to plant a church in my hometown? At this point, I would fight it because I believe if my friends and family were to join this church it will introduce harmful doctrines and practices on them. I do not want a fight, nor do I desire to be disunified with this church. However, I do not know what else to do, that is why I am asking and not telling. It is different than if I moved to the area. In that case, I would attend somewhere else for the sake of my health, the health of my family, and our relationship to God. This situation is different. My instinct is to protect my friends and family from what I perceive to be wrong.\nDoes unity mean that I reassure myself with Romans 14 and allow this church to do what I perceive as harmful to friends and family? I can let the aspect of the church culture go, though it is difficult, but the other issues are harder, especially when there is no evidence of reteaching certain concepts. I can certainly talk to the leaders there, but I\u0026rsquo;m still in a difficult place when we disagree about what is harmful and destructive.\nI pray for the spirit of wisdom as you consider the many proposals you received. Honestly, I have my reservations about this whole thing. However, I believe that it will be straightforward enough to recognize the spirit of God in whatever the nine of you decide.\nIn Christ, Me Omaha, Nebraska\n","date":"3 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-11-03-unitychntsnet/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"unity@chnts.net","type":"pages"},{"content":"This poem is a model developed by the author for people to explore themselves through poetry.\nFeel free to leave your \u0026ldquo;Where am I From?\u0026rdquo; in the comments.\n","date":"3 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-03-where-are-you-from/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Where Are You From?","type":"posts"},{"content":"What church calls an article on its website written by an elder a guest editorial? I know, technically he\u0026rsquo;s an elder-in-training. Seriously, though, why is he a guest on his own church\u0026rsquo;s website?\n","date":"1 November 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-11-01-be-my-guest/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Be My Guest","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today, I get the privilege of returning to work.\nThe joy.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I am very appreciative of the time off I was allowed to take. It\u0026rsquo;s been great to be home with my wife and child. I was there during the surgery, stays at the NICU, all the important moments.\nHaving said that, I get to return to SQL Queries, PeopleSoft, and all kinds of fun trying to make a poorly implemented system work in an environment with fundamentally problematic accounting policies. I have proposed several times that I should try to rewrite the system from scratch.\nAnywho, more later, just checking in before the big day. yay.\n","date":"31 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-31-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Work","type":"posts"},{"content":"Now that Jasper is home, we\u0026rsquo;ve had our first night of endless feedings and diaper changes. My boss is great in letting me take two more days to be home in order to care for my family. However, since everyone is asleep but me, I\u0026rsquo;m taking the time to write some things down. I\u0026rsquo;m closeby, but not making noise, so I figure it\u0026rsquo;s as good a time as any. The ICoC or Something Like It\nSoon, some folks are going to put their heads together to figure out the best way for churches worldwide to work together. A look at various missions societies thus far demonstrates that there are big holes in who benefits overseas. Specifically, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.\nWhile there are some good things that can be done, (next article) there is something pretty big to avoid. A lawsuit.\n","date":"27 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-27-things-to-avoid/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Things to Avoid","type":"posts"},{"content":"Jasper is finally home!\nLife is officially good again.\n(Listen for the sound of a lot of stress leaving the proud Dad.)\n(Listen later for the sound of a different kind of stress coming in.)\n","date":"26 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-26-hes-home/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"He's HOME!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes and calls. Rock, I\u0026rsquo;m still going to send you pictures, I promise.\nMy wife and I are having a hard time with constant trips to the hospital. Yesterday was particularly difficult as we expected to bring him home. Unfortunately, he heals so well that his nose is clogged with blood clots. At this point, we do not know when he can come home. It is really hard to hope he\u0026rsquo;ll come home anytime soon.\nI know that many of my friends want to help in some way. To be honest, we don\u0026rsquo;t exactly know what we want. We want to see friends and family, but we do not want everyone to come over at once. We want to express our deep appreciation for all your thoughts and prayers, but we get home at weird times. We\u0026rsquo;re tired and frustrated, yet we feel so loved by many of you.\nOn the practical side, my mother-in-law is with us until the end of the month. She is taking care of our home and arranging meals for us. She has been an invaluable help. My father is coming to visit this Wednesday through Friday. This weekend is our one year anniversary.\nFeel free to call, especially as Shane and Karla are being a bit worn out from questions. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know about visits. My wife can especially use some verbal hugs - this routine has really interfered with normal maternal activities that she has been excited about for months. Again, yesterday was especially difficult for her.\nI am doing okay. I went back to work for some sense of normalcy and to guarantee income. Actually, they will let me take all the time I need and that is great. My employer is great, the office folks took up a collection for us. It is good to feel wanted.\nI hope this helps my friends and famly. If not, email me or call. Thank you again. We love you all.\n","date":"24 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-24-update-for-friends-and-family/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Update for Friends and Family","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just a bit of a random post today. Jasper\u0026rsquo;s surgery went well and we are delighted to have him home soon.\nIn the meantime, I found a new browser called Flock. It allows me to write a blog without visiting my site. It also does a few other things, but this one alone is neat.\nBe back soon.\n","date":"22 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-22-new-browser/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New Browser","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to all that have wished Jasper well during this scary time. Of course, it\u0026rsquo;s only scary to us, not to him. He\u0026rsquo;s fine. He loves to eat, he loves his mom, he makes forceful poops\u0026hellip; he\u0026rsquo;s totally fine. I figure all the right things are in motion for him to say \u0026ldquo;Hi Mom\u0026rdquo; when he gets on TV for the first time.\nJasper has a mild form of Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome. The things we will need to watch for the rest of his childhood include kidney problems, spinal fusing, uneven jaw(though it looks like that will not be a real issue), and possible learning disabilities. So far, the doctors believe that the only real issue for him from the above list is his kidneys.\nAs a result of Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s, he has deformed ears and strange ear canals. All the nerves are there for him to hear, but he failed the hearing test. He may have failed because of his ear canals or the crudity of the test. We\u0026rsquo;ll find out more about the extent of his hearing loss when he goes to Boy\u0026rsquo;s Town next week.\nAlso as a result of Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s, a blockage of some kind of tissue grew in his left nostril. He can only breathe from his right side and he cannot come home until that is rectified. Friday morning (tenatively 9:30 CDT), he goes in to have this blockage surgically removed. If the blockage has blood vessels, the operation will take a little longer and he will have a stint for a couple weeks.\nThanks again for the prayers and well-wishes. Thanks for the flowers, they are beautiful. Call if you want, just know that we are at the Hospital all day. My mother-in-law checks all the messages and serves as the go-between.\nWe are doing pretty well. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry. I write when I can to express what I feel as does my wife. It\u0026rsquo;s been a rollercoaster, but I can honestly say that I haven\u0026rsquo;t been angry at God at any point. I feel like He has been good to us.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all the news that\u0026rsquo;s fit to type. I would have preferred to call, but this is helpful to me as my time is limited these days.\n","date":"20 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-20-jasper-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Jasper Update","type":"posts"},{"content":"Goldenhar.\nSome doctor in 1952 puts a name to something that seemed to happen often enough to merit a name. So he studied it, gave it a proper medical name (OAV - oculo-auriculo-vertebral dysplasia) and at some point, went the way of all flesh.\nSo I have a name to what is affecting Jasper so much. His ears are different. He has a large piece of connective tissue blocking his left nostril. His ear canals are malformed.\nSomehow having a name that covers all of his ailments gives me a power over it. A thing with a name has characteristics to describe it. Once explained, the name alone conveys meaning to others. It makes large and complicated things more portable and easier to handle linguistically and emotionally.\nSo, my son has Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome. He may be hearing-impaired for the rest of his life. He may be the butt of jokes because of his ears. The name carries these fears in it as well as the medical definition. It\u0026rsquo;s just easier to answer the question, \u0026ldquo;How is your son?\u0026rdquo; with \u0026ldquo;he is doing well, but he has Goldenhar\u0026rsquo;s Syndrome\u0026rdquo;. Thanks to the internet, you can do your own research into what that is.\nI think about the new name written by God for me. (Rev 2:17) I imagine getting to heaven and hearing it from Him directly and knowing that it fits perfectly.\nWhen Jasper was five minutes old, I held him and gave him a secret name known only to me. When he grows to be a man, I will give him this secret name and it will be known only to me and him. It makes me sad that my son may not have heard me whisper his secret name to him. Then again, I believe that God has been whispering my secret name to me during my entire life. I long to listen to Him and discover the new name He has for me. I don\u0026rsquo;t say this in a pentecostal manner at all - this isn\u0026rsquo;t a prophecy of anything. However, I know that this new name he has for me encapsulates all the good he put in me. I know that it wil describe my life and make the ideas of \u0026lsquo;who I am\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;whom I was created to be\u0026rsquo; so portable and easy to understand.\nI want to embrace the identity that God has for me, not the identity I have constructed for myself to show the world.\nA large part of that will be determined by stillness and intense listening.\n","date":"20 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-20-power-of-a-name/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Power of a Name","type":"posts"},{"content":"My little guy is tough, no doubt about it. The nurses are quite aware of any displeasure on his part.\nHe loves his mom.\nHe is still in ICU - my wife and I have been through all kinds of scares in the meantime. Essentially, he has trouble breathing because one side of his nose is completely blocked. They do not know if it is a bone blockage or soft tissue. Needless to say, soft tissue is easier to fix.\nHowever, he also failed his hearing test and it was an entire day until we found out that the auditory nerve is fully developed and in place. Turns out his ear canals may not have developed correctly - we\u0026rsquo;ll know more later this week. In the meantime, we have entertained ourselves with some of the strangely odd things that get repeated to us by all the doctors.\nBabies are natural nose-breathers.\nWe heard that said ten times yesterday while we were visiting with the neonatologist, two nurses, the ENT resident (and her friend) and our friendly neighborhood geneticist. I have a rolodex with all the folks we\u0026rsquo;ve seen, but they are all quite insistent that babies are natural nose-breathers.\nTwenty-odd Jasper fans cannot be wrong.\nI wish that he was home, I really hate hospitals and I have spent most of my time in one since last Thursday. I\u0026rsquo;m glad that we went out to a movie last night - we needed the break. Still, Jasper is at the hospital and hasn\u0026rsquo;t been home yet. It\u0026rsquo;s not so much that he will begin to think that the hospital is home that scares me - it\u0026rsquo;s the fact that it is beginning to feel like home to me. I barely recognize my house and if my mother-in-law wasn\u0026rsquo;t here, it would be filthy and unkempt. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to be robbed of taking him home when we left Sunday. It\u0026rsquo;s harder waiting for him to come home.\nIn the meantime, we pray. We don\u0026rsquo;t really pray that he will be a hearing child or that he will have \u0026rsquo;normal\u0026rsquo; ears one day. We just pray that he can come home.\nAnywho, there\u0026rsquo;s so much fun we\u0026rsquo;ve had to this point - I got to read to him and play with sock puppets. I think that most of his toys are really mine, but I have promised to share. Sharing his great toys is pretty tough, too. Oh well, I guess we\u0026rsquo;ll figure that out next week.\n","date":"19 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-19-babies-are-natural-nose-breathers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Babies Are Natural Nose-Breathers","type":"posts"},{"content":"This week while reading, praying, and begging God to keep my family physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthy, I have learned a few things that may not be important to anyone but me.\nMy mother-in-law has heard me share quite a bit about my church past. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard her concerns over my wife\u0026rsquo;s history with the ICoC subculture as well. She respects what we are doing now, but as an expert in restorative justice, she is good at helping people comes to grips with damage done. Oddly enough, though, she just listened.\nI read about Kip and the Brother\u0026rsquo;s Letter and all of that. I felt like someone finally did something. Oddly enough, though, it didn\u0026rsquo;t make me feel any better. I held my breath as I hoped that Kip would respond to 65 of his friends plead with him to change.\nConsidering what my son is going through, I feel silly now for any emotional investment I\u0026rsquo;ve put into the entire situation.\nThe fact of the matter is that I have dealt with all the harm caused to me personally, but I have not dealt with the reason that I am still angry. I spent 10+ years in the ICoC subculture depending on a leader to shine the light in the dark places of the world. I looked up to Kingdom Heroes and all WSL\u0026rsquo;s. I prayed for them and hoped that God would guide them to help people everywhere. I felt comforted that I was in Triangle Church, a place much different than other churches I visited within the ICoC. Our GSL was different, our WSL was different, our evangelist was a \u0026ldquo;worldwide teacher\u0026rdquo;. I looked to all of them to fix problems I saw in the lives of my friends in the church. I looked to them to change certain aspects of leadership, even within our church.\nWhen the HKL validated my secret resentments, I thought that I had broken free of this behavior. Turns out that I have still looked to certain leaders to fix things. I have been angry all this time that certain men, Douglas Jacoby, Steve Staten, Gordon Ferguson, Sam Laing, and various others of the \u0026rsquo;enlightened\u0026rsquo; group known as teachers would address our problems and fix them. When they did not appear to address these issues, I became angry and felt that they weren\u0026rsquo;t doing anything at all.\nTruth is, they are trying to do something, but I do not agree with how they are doing it. So many have been scared of Kip, but nothing was said publically for five years. We have done so much damage through terrible theology, groupthink, and hubris - yet very few risked their titles and positions to do what was right.\nI think it is ironic that the message sent to Kip now is the same as almost 30 years ago. I also think it is hypocritical to publicly deal with the Indianapolis split, publically through KNN yet deal with our newest split in secret. (Oddly enough, it\u0026rsquo;s only because of Kip that the letter written to him to repent is public knowledge at all.) I think it is sad that someone that appears to these 65 brothers to be in such great error go to great pains to fawn over him before rebuking him. If you\u0026rsquo;ve really been talking to him for years as claimed in the letter, then there is no need to butter him up in half of the letter.\nMost of all, I think it tragic that some will think that we have done something by removing the man, but not the theology. McKeanism is still rampant - read the websites of various leaders and it is quite obvious. Read the letter written to Kip, it\u0026rsquo;s still there. We still shoehorn all of the \u0026ldquo;one another\u0026rdquo; verses into \u0026ldquo;you need discipling\u0026rdquo;. Discipling, on various church websites, still means getting input of many areas of your life before acting. When you come from such a groupthink, I-need-to-get-permission-to-move-to-another-city culture, how will using the same verses change how people deal with each other? How can the church culture change by putting the same hermenutic on a body of verses?\nI have decided that I will not look to these men to fix the issues that remain. I do not believe that they will, however, I pray that God will bless their efforts. Who knows, they may end up to have been right all along. I\u0026rsquo;m sure they would agree with me that I should not look to them the same way I looked to leaders in the past.\nUnification I have some concerns over the unification of the churches. I had a plan to submit to the unity folks, but re-reading it, I realized that I was trying to codify behavior into the by-laws. Some Mission Societies have a document of guiding principles, I will probably use that in my proposal, but in the end, I realized that I do not trust the nine appointed to do the right things and I do not trust that they know anyone that will do the right things. What are the right things?\nHandle money wisely, do not let overseas missionaries live \u0026lsquo;American\u0026rsquo; lifestyles. Do not pay board members of the missionary society. At best, the society should reimburse churches for half of the salary of board members, if they insist on being paid. Work with other churches, especially groups like Stadia, Let\u0026rsquo;s Talk, and other missionary efforts. Do not create a core set of beliefs, encourage each member church to write their own. Stop guessing at the number of unsaved in a given country. We\u0026rsquo;re counting only those that are not members of our churches. Use the phone to co-ordinate with other Missions Societies, not big meetings in hotels. It\u0026rsquo;s okay, I\u0026rsquo;m learning that phones are not evil myself. However, I do not believe it will happen. Shawn Wooten still makes over $110,000/yr to live in Moscow, but he always seems to be in the US. We have tear-filled statements about millions of unsaved in Europe as if we\u0026rsquo;re the only ones saved. No initiatives have even been considered with other groups, even those that have built faster and better than us. The same people show up at conferences all over the country. Initiatives thus far have tried to put some authority into a central body as if we needed the World Sectors and central leadership all over again.\nSo, I will submit my ideas and pray to God that he will work things out. I may be surprised, and I hope I will. No matter what happens, I want to remain close to God. What that means specifically is this:\nI will be a part of my present church as long as it helps me learn about God, myself, my marriage, and my son. So far, I have learned so much I cannot imagine leaving. I will stay here as long as I feel a part of the family - and so many have poured out their hearts to us.\nWhen we move to another city, I will not automatically look to the ICoC congregation to place membership. I will find a healthy church that respects its members and strives to draw near to God.\nIf a church is planted in my hometown by the Hampton Roads Church of Christ with Mike Fotenot as elder, I will fight it with all of my being. If Kip or his minions plant a church in my hometown, I will also oppose it. If Kip tries to replant Omaha, I will fight it. I cannot change want people do worldwide, but I can help those whom I love in my spiritual and physical families.\nI will stop being afraid to write my thoughts for fear of censorship.\nI know, with my son in the ICU, someone will probably say that because I have a lot of stress on me that somehow I should be excused. These are things I thought about long before Jasper, the letter to Kip, and many other things. I say them after much prayer, soul-searching, sharing, talking, hoping, and looking to God to guide me through his word. I say them firmly and with confidence that it is the right things for me and my family. I cannot say it is right for anyone else, they will have to do their own wrestling with God.\n","date":"19 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-19-something-i-need-to-say/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something I Need to Say","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thanks to all of you that called or wrote me yesterday and last night. I truly appreciate it. I am grateful for the outporing of love and concern for me and my family.\nThank you very much.\n","date":"13 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-13-thanks/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thanks","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just in case I don\u0026rsquo;t get a chance to call.\n","date":"13 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-13-time-for-phone-calls/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Time for phone calls","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have become aware recently of just how stressed I am. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s not a surprise to those that know me, but I am talking about stress more than usual.\nMy wife and I have been talking about things we do that hurt the other in our marriage. The thing I do that hurts her the most is that I am prone to angry outbursts. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t surprised by that, I have dealt with my temper my entire life. My brother and I refer to it as the family temper as it has been demonstrated through at least three generations.\nHowever, what was surprising to me was the source of the anger. I have tried all kinds of things to modify the behavior, but these fixes are just band-aids for the real issue. The real issue is that I have a limited ability to deal with stress. In my pre-married days, I had comparatively little stress. I would get worked up about something, stress out for a day, then let it go. I could still cope that way now, but only if the amount of stress was limited.\nThese days, I have dealt with a move, a fight with my former apartment complex, a new marriage, a pregnancy, a car that no mechanic will do any work for, money issues, a job I really do not enjoy, delaying a new business, and of course, the dramas involving the so-called leaders of the ICoC subculture. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that I have more coming at me than anyone else - I know people with more stress handling it well. The fundamental issue is that I lack the skills to deal with my stresses and as a result take them out on my wife or feel the effects physically. This goes beyond the simple things like \u0026ldquo;take a walk, recreate, talk it out, etc.\u0026rdquo; This is a block that will require something more.\nMy wife is willing to help make the home more peaceful and do what she can. I have also updated my resume to look for a new job. Currently, much of my stress seems to be work-related. I am also looking into professional help. I have to find ways to take pressure off myself and deal with everyday stresses in a healthy way. I appreciate the support of friends, family, church, and others. Please pray for me in this area, I am determined to do something about it.\nIt used to help to write some things out here and I still plan to. However, I am aware of certain people that have deemed themselves the KingdomThought Police, so somethings will be written privately. I am aware that it will take about five years for anything to be done about whatever I write about the ICoC subculture, but I\u0026rsquo;d rather not waste the energy.\nIn any case, I still hope to write more about Dira, my life in general, and the baby. Oh yes, I will be the world\u0026rsquo;s worst in writing about the baby. Given that I\u0026rsquo;ll be home for a week with a little time on my hands\u0026hellip;\n","date":"12 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-12-stress-test/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stress Test","type":"posts"},{"content":"According to their own letter, it has now taken almost five years to write the following letter to Kip. (The same letter appears on the DisciplesToday website, but requires an account to view.)\nI have mixed feelings, but what else is new.\nTo the authors of this letter, this must have been painful for you to do. If I understand you correctly, taking this extreme step was difficult to take with someone viewed by many as a father in the faith. Despite this, I am glad that you are doing the right thing.\nI am concerned, however, in that he was given so long a period of time when others have not. This appears as favoritism to me, but I understand that my perspective is limited. I have only spoken to many of you once or twice in person, and a few times by email. I have only spoken to Kip once.\nWill you take this long to deal with doctrinal errors that result from 25 years of Kip\u0026rsquo;s teachings? You speak of reform, but I do not see it. This rebuke of Kip is step one, not a final step. Will you persevere to the end? As far as I know, I certainly will - I have not left and I do not intend to leave.\nI have not left because I believe that true reform, reform of the heart, can only take place from the inside. Extrenal pressure can change behaviors, and that is certainly what has happened in light of Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter. However, Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter could not and did not change hearts to begin a true reform - only the working out of each man\u0026rsquo;s salvation in fear and trembling can that kind of heart change take place. Specfically, I had hoped that Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter would have been a catalyst to change. Again, this does not appear to be the case - we have only made our doctrine more community friendly. I have spoken to some of you, read recent writings by some, and listened to sermons of others - what has changed?\nThank you for saying something and detailing what different reactions will look like. Thank you for doing something so very difficult. I pray that we can continue to make difficult and painful choices in order to do what is right before God. I do not want to detract from what you have done. As much as I feel concern, I am grateful that many of you said something publically and directly.\n","date":"10 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-10-thats-saying-something/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"That's Saying Something","type":"posts"},{"content":"Remember that in Hesberian, aj is pronounced similar to ai in English. When followed by another vowel, a y sound is slightly vocalized on the second vowel. In short, the name is me-nai-yen.\nMenajen was a generation removed from Eristotle and yet learned at the school he founded shortly before his death. Menajen was fascinated by numerology and tended to shoehorn all knowledge into his \u0026ldquo;principles of numbers\u0026rdquo;. Started from the principle that all things conformed to a pattern of sevens, he sought to redefine the world.\nObserving a rainbow, he stated that there were seven colors. Studying music, he argued that a five note scale was really an incomplete version of a seven note scale. In medicine, he agreed with Onhedius that there were seven major body systems, seven fluids in the body, etc. He even went so far as to describe the seven humors and their effect on personality. There were seven shapes though the last two were perfect forms that did not exist in the real world, the \u0026lsquo;supersphere\u0026rsquo; and the \u0026lsquo;supercube\u0026rsquo;. He named seven oceans, seven types of sentient species, seven major gods, seven minor gods, seven realms, etc. etc.\nSpecifically in music, he demonstrated that a seven note scale contained the notes from the two types of pentatonic scales. If you imagine the seven notes as 1 -7, he argued that a major pentatonic was notes 1,2,3,5,6 while the minor was 1,2,4,5,7. When critics pointed out Pythagoras\u0026rsquo; circle of fifths demonstrated harmony mathematically and that his seven note scale did not follow a similar harmonic, he simply denounced Pythagoras as a \u0026lsquo;drifting sophist without practical learning.\u0026rsquo;\nThe list of gods he provided was incomplete. For this reason, it is believed that the offended god struck Menajen down. Ironically, he neglected the god of wine and died from alcohol poisoning.\nHis work would have been completely lost except for the emergence of magic centuries later. The numerology of his work appears to explain unknown areas of magic more easily than Eristotle or his followers. The fact that Menajen\u0026rsquo;s theoeries have been demonstrated to be inaccuarate in most areas of knowledge, including magic, has not deterred interest in his writings. Every generation produces at least one mage trying to create a \u0026lsquo;circle of sevenths\u0026rsquo; that explains Pythagoras\u0026rsquo; circle of fifths and corelates with the magic septagram.\nAs a result, an inept magician is usually called \u0026lsquo;Menajen\u0026rsquo;, a \u0026lsquo;seven-seer\u0026rsquo;, or worse. His works are associated with the \u0026lsquo;unlearned\u0026rsquo; in the magic community.\n","date":"6 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-06-menajens-folly/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Menajen's Folly","type":"posts"},{"content":"*NOT FINISHED* A year ago, I started looking at what I called God-Thinking Theology. In part, it was a reaction to reading about efforts to \u0026ldquo;balance out\u0026rdquo; works-oriented theology with grace-oriented theology by leaders in the IC0C subculture. It struck me as odd that an unbiblical practice would require balance instead of elimination. It also struck me as strange that by implication, grace also needed to be balanced out. I certainly do not want grace to be \u0026ldquo;balanced out\u0026rdquo; for me as I have no righteousness of my own to use as counter-balance. I believe I know what was meant: there was a fear that teaching too much grace would demotivate people from acts of service, love, kindness, etc. Still, the bottom line is a concern about what a person does instead of who a person is.\nImperatives Since then, I have thought through various things searching for a God-thinking theology. Being a thinker, I naturally gravitated to search for God through theological means. I read various articles and books about the Theological Imperative(TM). In essence, the theological imperative states that problems come in Christianity (and in churches) when proper theology is not stressed enough. I have come across extreme examples denouncing the heresies of using little plastic cups for communion, dancing, and women wearing only permitted to wear dresses to church. I\u0026rsquo;ve read that the theological imperative is needed to \u0026ldquo;eliminate Arminianism\u0026rdquo; and the \u0026ldquo;damnable heresy of baptismal regeneration\u0026rdquo;.\n","date":"6 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-06-what-imperative/","section":"Posts","summary":"*NOT FINISHED* A year ago, I started looking at what I called God-Thinking Theology. In part, it was a reaction to reading about efforts to “balance out” works-oriented theology with grace-oriented theology by leaders in the IC0C subculture. It struck me as odd that an unbiblical practice would require balance instead of elimination. It also struck me as strange that by implication, grace also needed to be balanced out. I certainly do not want grace to be “balanced out” for me as I have no righteousness of my own to use as counter-balance. I believe I know what was meant: there was a fear that teaching too much grace would demotivate people from acts of service, love, kindness, etc. Still, the bottom line is a concern about what a person does instead of who a person is.\n","title":"What Imperative?","type":"posts"},{"content":"No news to report and I\u0026rsquo;m sure that many are glad. Kip has resorted to yelling at his own congregation instead of others. The legalistic demands of never missing a service, more contribution, etc. etc. have returned full force. He does mention that if what he says is in the Bible, then it is from God. I beg to differ - I\u0026rsquo;ve found that many people have the ability to use biblical words to describe unbiblical things.\nOne word historically used by the ICoC Subculture this way was disciple. A false comparison was made with the word Christian. When a person would ask, \u0026ldquo;what, then, is a disciple?\u0026rdquo; the answer became a lesson in being committed. Using a biblical concept of commitment, everything else that makes up a follower of Christ was conspicously ommitted. That left folks believing that following God only meant to be committed. Biblical words, unbiblical result.\nIn any case, I am working on a draft proposal to send to the unity group. I\u0026rsquo;ll publish it here when it\u0026rsquo;s done, which may be weeks. In the meantime, I enjoy working on Dira and waiting for the baby.\n","date":"4 October 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-10-04-no-news-is-good-news/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"No News Is Good News","type":"posts"},{"content":"My favorite superhero has either been Spider-Man or Batman. Now, with this handbook, I\u0026rsquo;m closer to becoming one of them.\nWaiting on the dishes so I can do another load.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t had my usual Saturdays to write in about 2 months, so most of this is pent-up thoughts that I didn\u0026rsquo;t have a chance to write down until now.\n","date":"30 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-30-batmanr-handbook/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Batman(R) Handbook","type":"posts"},{"content":"And build with the help of eBay and an old 50\u0026rsquo;s era radio. Check out this ultimate mod.\n","date":"30 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-30-coolest-radio-ever/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Coolest Radio Ever","type":"posts"},{"content":"In re-thinking the Ilosians based on their language, I wanted to quickly write down a couple of ideas to expand upon later.\nPhysically, the Ilosians exhibit a wide variation of pigmentation. Within the same clan, pigmentation is similar with individual variations (much like fingerprints or tiger stripes). However, there are a few traits that cover several clans:\nDark pigmentation on the shoulders that narrows to a thin band that runs down the back of the arms to the end of the last digit on their hands. Unusual coloration on the pectorals muscles (Bright red, blue, or yellow) Spots (dark colors) on the face beneath the eyes on their cheeks. Various striping on the sides. Legs being a different pigmentation than the rest of the body.\nTo augment their pigmentation, men add tatoos of intricate designs in many colors. Naturally, green is a rare color for Ilosian pigmentation, so the current fashion is green colored tattoos.\nAlong the lines of their physiology and how it affects their language:\nA very few Ilosian singers are able to make two simultaneous vowel sounds. These singers take years of training to learn how to do it. (Most Ilosians can make two consonant sounds at the same time.)\nMore later, off to clean the house.\n","date":"30 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-30-ilosian-remix-rough-draft/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ilosian remix - rough draft","type":"posts"},{"content":"Waiting for the baby to arrive gives me some time to work on Dira in a bit of a different way. I work on it to keep myself occupied while my wife is asleep or a way to release from the day. My boss and I are trying to get a lot done for actuaries before I leave to spend time with mom and baby, so it\u0026rsquo;s sometimes hard to get a break from my work life and not take it home.\nIn Dira, I want to make sure that the various cultures are not two-dimensional. To that end, I figure that if their language is more detailed and fleshed out, more can be inferred about their culture. For now, I don\u0026rsquo;t want to necessarily create a language from scratch, though I have some tools that would help me do that. I want the Hesberian to feel somewhat Roman. So I decided to use Latin as a base to make a language. I added a sound or two and eliminated some others, but the result is something I hope will vaguely sound Latin, thus feel a little Roman.\nFor example, Sinber Sisarokiris sounds almost Latin. It means, \u0026ldquo;Always armed with an axe\u0026rdquo;. This sounds like a better way to describe the Tolkien Dwarves (Sisarokiris) instead of trying to make up a name (which I did, but have changed my mind) . I could also use Bakmis ( a word that came to mean short in stature) or Birbitis (Bearded like men of antiquity). Granted, there are no Tolkienese Dwarves in Dira, but I think you understand my point. Hesberians call things by Hesberian words, not translated or transliterated English words. It\u0026rsquo;s like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis reverse engineered.\nSo, in time where I want to be creative and disengage without having to \u0026lsquo;finish\u0026rsquo; something, I play with the Hesberian Language a bit. I\u0026rsquo;ve got the vocabulary generated, but I\u0026rsquo;m working on the noun declension system and verb tenses right now. Thanks to the use of Words by William Whitaker, I am able to break down the declensions into variants. For example, Latin noun can decline in one of five ways. However, within first declension nouns, there are quite a few variations. With Whitaker\u0026rsquo;s approach, those variations are arranged systematically. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be 100% accurate, but it does allow for a bit more diversity. After all, I\u0026rsquo;m not trying to re-create Esperanto which has NO exceptions.\nOutside of that, for the really strange, I look at the Ilosian language. The Ilosians have a voicebox that can produce two sounds at once. However, they have only one mouth. This would allow them all kinds of consonants that the human voice system cannot produce. If they produce sounds similar to thrushes (which also have two voiceboxes) you can imagine consonants that feature a trill and any other consonant sound at the same time. Can you imagine having a device similar to bagpipes needed to allow a human to speak this language? They can also produce the same consonant in both voiceboxes in such a way as to sound like two people speaking in unison. Of course, they could also sync the two exactly and sound like one person speaking.\nThen when I add in (for no real reason) that their language is probably tonal, all kinds of possibilities open up. Add to that the fact that their language is usually spoken by repeating phrases three of four times, and other possibilities open up. How can a person born blind tell that a ken is Ilosian? The Ilosian repeats himself rather annonyingly. For now, I haven\u0026rsquo;t devised a way to write in their language, so giving examples is difficult. The best way I can think of the describe the repeating nature of their language is Mojo Jojo from the Powerpuff Girls cartoon series.\n","date":"29 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-29-lingua-franca/","section":"Posts","summary":"Waiting for the baby to arrive gives me some time to work on Dira in a bit of a different way. I work on it to keep myself occupied while my wife is asleep or a way to release from the day. My boss and I are trying to get a lot done for actuaries before I leave to spend time with mom and baby, so it’s sometimes hard to get a break from my work life and not take it home.\nIn Dira, I want to make sure that the various cultures are not two-dimensional. To that end, I figure that if their language is more detailed and fleshed out, more can be inferred about their culture. For now, I don’t want to necessarily create a language from scratch, though I have some tools that would help me do that. I want the Hesberian to feel somewhat Roman. So I decided to use Latin as a base to make a language. I added a sound or two and eliminated some others, but the result is something I hope will vaguely sound Latin, thus feel a little Roman.\n","title":"Lingua Franca","type":"posts"},{"content":"No, he/she hasn\u0026rsquo;t come, yet. In the meantime, though, we are getting ready. The baby room is full of stuff, the bassinet is on the way. My mother is buying a crib and everyone else is joining in. It\u0026rsquo;s truly wonderful to see.\nI look in stores at onesies and I think about holding the baby, our baby. I can only imagine what it will be like in about two weeks to hold a little one. I look forward to loving our child with all of my heart.\nMy wife and I agreed that she would stop working two weeks before the due date. I am so happy that she is home resting and doing little things to prepare for the baby in her own way. She still wakes up with me every morning, though she doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to, and it makes the day special.\nIn the meantime, we decided to attend a marriage class based on Family Dynamics. We\u0026rsquo;re read the book together, but wanted to be in a group setting. Besides that, we need help to make our marriage better - newly married and pregnant, it\u0026rsquo;s tough to know if what we are feeling sometimes is normal. On Tuesdays, we go to class from now until the end of November. I look forward to time to focus on just \u0026lsquo;us\u0026rsquo;.\n*****\nThis past weekend, David McAnulty came to town from Boston. He gave a few lectures on parenting and emotional health. I enjoyed it, especially hearing about goals in parenting at specific age groups. It seemed that the psychological aspect was based heavily on Piaget and that helped me to better understand the framework of ideas he presented overall. I also appreciated that he presented as someone that doesn\u0026rsquo;t have all the answers.\nAll in all, I\u0026rsquo;m pretty excited - even if I stress out about money and household neatness. I don\u0026rsquo;t have the time to keep the house up to standards I\u0026rsquo;d like. I also cannot seem to get the wireless NIC working on my computer, so I stress out that I can\u0026rsquo;t put our finances into the financial program I have on my computer. ARRGH!\nOh well, it will work out, I\u0026rsquo;m sure. Even if it doesn\u0026rsquo;t, the important things are getting done. I\u0026rsquo;ll let everyone know when to celebrate the arrival of Elena/Jasper into the world.\n","date":"28 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-28-oh-baby/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Oh Baby!","type":"posts"},{"content":"I sprained my hand Sunday playing football. To make matters worse, the ball sailed through my grasp into the hands of a speedy linebacker. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel the injury until much later, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t ice it down on take other precautionary measures to reduce the swelling and pain.\nNeedless to say, I woke up Monday realizing the my left hand is not normally twice the size of my right.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve spent the last couple of days since then realizing the things I take for granted. At first I thought that I\u0026rsquo;d be okay with limited use of my left hand. After all, I\u0026rsquo;m more or less right-handed. I write right-handed, but I won\u0026rsquo;t be able to bowl or shoot pool (both of which I do left-handed). However, I soon discovered that I could not do the following:\nHold groceries and unlock the front door. Drive and drink a soda. Open a car door without dropping everything in my arms. Open a can or bottle. Walk on the right side of my wife. Get out of bed without my wife getting out first. Clap. Write and drink a cup of coffee. Swat flies.\nIn fact, I had to re-learn how to do some simple things. Fortunately, I sprained a ligament close enough to my wrist that I can type. However, I have to think about the \u0026rsquo;e\u0026rsquo; key - it\u0026rsquo;s the one I use the middle finger on my left hand to type.\nOn the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.\n1 Co 12:22-23ff\nI think that there are parts of me that I could do without sometimes. I pray for God to give me strength in weak areas or pray for God to remove a character flaw. Sometimes I wonder why on earth does God allow me to keep dealing with the same things over and over. I rationalize it sometimes by saying that I am not doing enough to overcome. Other times, I tell myself that God is doing this to teach me character. Still other times, I think that God has put these in me so that I will need to rely on Him.\nBut when I think about my injured left-hand, I remember that the weakest parts of me are indepensable.\nIn taking an honest look at myself, I realize that one of my biggest weaknesses is accepting limits. I do not accept limits in myself or situations. I am not good at living a balanced life. I am not good at saying \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo;. I am not able to tell when to take the burdens of others and when to let them bear their own. The last one is especially hard as always taking the burdens of others is usually taken as caring and selflessness. I have learned that it is sometimes my desperate attempt to create peace around me by helping solve the problems of others.\nI think of my weakness and greive at how it affects my family and my physical health. I ask God to help me change today, sooner if possible. I do not want to hurt my wife, I do not want to abuse my body.\nBut then I think that this weakness of mine has put me in more diverse situations and allowed me to meet all kinds of people. I\u0026rsquo;ve done so much more than an ivory tower intellectual usually does in my life. I\u0026rsquo;ve loved, lost, and loved again. I\u0026rsquo;ve moved across the country. I\u0026rsquo;ve befriended many of different ethnic backgrounds and religions. I\u0026rsquo;ve been in all kinds of strange jams and seen God get me out of all of them.\nNone of this would have been possible if I had been perfect in this area. I would have said \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; at the perfect time and had strongly established limits. I would also have fewer stories to tell. A lot fewer.\nAnd so I look at my weak hand and think that maybe I am benefitted by it more often that I think. Maybe God really does work through my weakness - and I can be glad of that.\n","date":"23 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-23-left-handed-thoughts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Left-Handed Thoughts","type":"posts"},{"content":"My friend and I had our first two customers over a month ago. He has the framed \u0026ldquo;first dollar\u0026rdquo; in his apartment. Yesterday, I got a lead for two more projects with a third coming in today. Two are repairs and one is an upgrade. I can certainly use the money - both of us can.\nIn other news, we\u0026rsquo;re still working on computers for the condos. Thus far a could prototype OS seems to be MCNLive. It\u0026rsquo;s built from Mandriva, so it has some user-friendly GUI tools. Otherwise, I am looking at Symphony OS. It\u0026rsquo;s not only quite different as far as user interface, but the development tools are Web based.\nThe user interface is basically the Mozilla renderer modified to sit on top of FVWM. You click in the corners to access needed actions and the background screen serves as a top level file manager. (It comes with a more normal file manager, ROX Filer.) The way the screen renders, no window can open larger than the display and no window can cover the four corner buttons.\nSomeone asked the developers why FVWM was chosen and the reason given was that it took some serious configuration to get Mezzo (what Symphony calls Mozilla-rendered desktop) to sit on top. IceWM was the original choice, but it would not work. Personally, I would like to see if I could get parts of Enlightenment to work underneath Mezzo. Enlightenment is supposed to be very configurable, even if it\u0026rsquo;s documentation has to be **. In other words, you cannot view it online on or a Windows system. It has to be compiled and installed in Linux or a BSD.\nWho knows? In any case, it feels good to think about these things again, especially if I can use a tool that allows me to setup something quickly and leave it alone. I might use T2 to build this distro\u0026hellip;**\n","date":"23 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-23-update-on-computer-business/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Update on Computer Business","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, here\u0026rsquo;s the deal. After you warn someone twice, if they don\u0026rsquo;t get it, have nothing more to do with them. Titus 3:10\nYou can hear it all straight from his mouth. Wait for the 29 - 30 minute mark for his version of events at the conference and the letters written about him.\n","date":"22 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-22-guiding-hand-of-god/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Guiding Hand of God","type":"posts"},{"content":"It was bound to happen that sociologists would begin to study \u0026ldquo;the good old days\u0026rdquo; of the ICoC subculture. This book looks specifically at family life and marriage counseling.\nI plan on ordering this book as it appears to be one of the few less subjective looks at the ICoC subculture. Here are the table of contents:\nContents Acknowledgments Introduction: \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s Like Free Counseling all the Time\u0026rdquo; Chapter One: Sacred Counsel: \u0026ldquo;Ambassadors for God\u0026rdquo; Chapter Two: An Unsinkable Raft in a Foreboding Divorce Culture Chapter Three: Collective Performances of Healing Chapter Four: In With the Old and the New Chapter Five: Awesome Kids Chapter Six: Gendered Brothers and Sisters for the Kingdom Chapter Seven: The Kingdom that Promised Too Much Notes Bibliography Index\nI wonder how much access the author had to actual families and materials. It should be interesting to find out. I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know sometime after the baby is born.\n","date":"21 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-21-interesting-book/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Interesting Book","type":"posts"},{"content":"Missions Baltic Nordic Missions Alliance Crouching Tiger Fund Eurasian Missions International Missions Society Taiwan Mission Adventure\n","date":"19 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-19-unity-proposal/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Unity Proposal","type":"posts"},{"content":"The five-bladed wonder has been unleashed on the world. Maybe the next one will be the six-bladed Derringer, the seven-bladed Lucky Shear, or the ultimate forty-bladed Phlebotomizer.\nI hope one day these guys make a combination hobby sander/shaving kit. You know, something where I just sand off the beard instead of using a blade? Five blades to me just increases the odds of neck bleeding. Just felt the need to share some goofiness.\n","date":"15 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-15-fusion-the-5-bladed-wonder/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fusion the 5-Bladed Wonder","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:10, 29-30\nFriday, Elena celebrated her 50th birthday! What an incredible party with the House Church Leaders and other close disciples at the Prestons on Sunday evening! Tony Untalan grilled several juicy ribeye steaks and smoked some tasty salmon, while Russ Preston grilled some unbelievable chicken! Our sisters, especially Therese Untalan, Lana Preston and Marcia Bertalot, went “all out” in decorating the house and planning the party. Marcia even made Elena’s favorite dessert, white chocolate macadamia nut cheesecake! Then to top off the evening, we had a time of sharing. Sister after sister in tears shared their appreciation of Elena for her unwavering, joyful perseverance in the Lord as well as the upward call of her Sarah-like \u0026ldquo;quiet and gentle spirit.\u0026rdquo; All the brothers likewise shared their heartfelt appreciation for Elena’s leadership of the women, her discipling of their wives and kindhearted friendship to all, especially to their children. I was honored to share last. Even at this difficult hour, Elena’s and my love is stronger than ever after almost 29 years of marriage! She is my best friend, my lover, awesome mom, greatest critic, most loyal partner in the gospel and my dear sister in Christ!\nElena Garcia-Bengochea was born in Havana, Cuba on September 2, 1955. She is the third of five incredible children of Dr. Ignacio and Carmen Garcia-Bengochea, whose grandparents were immigrants from Spain to Cuba. Interestingly Ignacio was a classmate, though with extremely different political persuasions, of Fidel Castro in a small Catholic boys high school! At the beginning of the \u0026ldquo;Castro Revolution,\u0026rdquo; Ignacio daringly moved his wife and family of then four kids from Havana to Gainesville, Florida where he eventually received a PhD. in civil engineering from the University of Florida. Elena lived in Gainesville from four years old till her graduation from the University of Florida in 1976. She attended P.K. Young, a private high school, where she was Homecoming Queen, Student Body Treasurer, straight-A student (no Bs!), Captain of the cheerleaders as well as Captain and number one on the tennis team!\nIt was after a Friday evening campus devotional at the Crossroads Church of Christ that I first met Elena. Carmen, her older sister, already a Christian, had invited the soon-to-be freshman Elena and her boyfriend to devotional and had asked me to reach out to her boyfriend. Though he became a friend (and still is) and we studied the Bible, he left at the end of the summer to Yale. After their break-up, Elena was baptized into Christ on August 8, 1972. (I was baptized as a freshman on April 11, 1971.) On September 25, my younger brother Randy was baptized. The following day, I shared God’s plan of disciples only dating disciples and talked about having a double date with him to the \u0026ldquo;Gator\u0026rdquo; football game on Saturday. At first he said he knew no one at \u0026ldquo;the church.\u0026rdquo; But after I insisted he get a date, Randy said, \u0026ldquo;I don’t know her name, but how about that Spanish girl?\u0026rdquo; I said, \u0026ldquo;You mean Elena?\u0026rdquo; He said, \u0026ldquo;Yeah, she’s great.\u0026rdquo; I tactfully replied, \u0026ldquo;Hands-off, she’s mine!\u0026rdquo; I surprised myself (and Randy) with that intense statement! I had told myself not to be interested in her as she was my friend’s former girlfriend. Anyway, I went home after my conversation with Randy and asked Elena out for the game. She said yes!\nWe \u0026ldquo;dated steady\u0026rdquo; for three years and were married by Chuck Lucas and Sam Laing December 11, 1976. Then our dream of working together in the ministry became reality, when I took her back to Charleston, Illinois where I was the campus minister for the Heritage Chapel Church of Christ. (Roger Lamb was the preacher.) In less than three years on a small campus of Eastern Illinois University (9,300 students), God blessed us with 300 baptisms! Yet, that first winter, Elena was doing her occupational therapy internship in Champaign, Illinois, an hour’s drive away. That winter the snowfall was near record-breaking and the adjustments to marriage, daily eight hours of internship and ministry responsibilities proved almost too much. One night after an argument, in tears Elena said she wanted to \u0026ldquo;go home.\u0026rdquo; I too cried and apologized for not taking care of her. Then in April, Roger and I were \u0026ldquo;fired\u0026rdquo; by the church of Christ that supported Heritage Chapel. Our ministry was called \u0026ldquo;pentecostal\u0026rdquo; for our zeal and hand clapping during our singing. Elena never wavered in being by my side, as God gave us financial support in two weeks!\nLater in April of 1979, the Lexington Church of Christ (later the Boston International Church of Christ) asked me to become the preacher and be the campus minister. (After my sophomore year, my ministry dream was to be the campus minister to Harvard.) When we asked several disciples for advice, the responses were either negative or neutral to our potential move to Lexington. This was largely due to their concerns that Lexington was a dead church, where only two had been baptized in the previous three years and it was located in New England, a \u0026ldquo;difficult mission field\u0026rdquo; in the opinion of most in the mainline churches of Christ. In contrast on the night of decision, Elena simply said, \u0026ldquo;Let’s follow your dream!\u0026rdquo; We arrived in Boston on June 1, 1979. That night was the famous devotional in the Gempel’s living room with the 30 would-be-disciples! We lived with the Gempels for two months and built a \u0026ldquo;forever friends\u0026rdquo; bond that lasts to this day.\nIn 1981 our first child was born. It was then after studying the Scriptures in Titus 2, we saw Elena needed to be discipled as a young wife and new mother by Pat Gempel, a strong, spiritual \u0026ldquo;older\u0026rdquo; woman. In spite of facing criticism inside the church for her decision to only work part-time in the ministry while raising our children, Elena continued to be abundantly fruitful in her Bible Talks and be attentive to our children’s needs.\nThe years pass and the Spirit through the Boston Church sent out mission teams, the leaders trained by me and the women trained by Pat and Elena. In 1982 there were the church plantings to Chicago and London. In 1983 came New York. Then came a flurry of plantings; Toronto (1985), Johannesburg (1986), Paris (1986), Stockholm (1986), Kingston (1987), Bombay (1988), Cairo (1988) and Tokyo (1988). In 1988 the World Sector Leaders were selected. This caused rumblings throughout campus ministry churches as well as mainline churches because we built a formal central leadership. Persecution escalated against the Boston Movement churches as we were cut-off from the mainline, one of the charges being we were a \u0026ldquo;cult.\u0026rdquo; Yet Elena was amazing in her loyalty to God, the cause of evangelizing the world, to the movement and to me.\nThough by this time we had three children, Elena was likewise zealous for us go to the mission field. In 1989 we planted Manila and Bangkok as well as lived in Cairo for a month under several death threats to us and our family. Elena powerfully discipled the sisters, loved our children and never felt overshadowed by me but was indeed the \u0026ldquo;wind beneath my wings.\u0026rdquo; In 1990, the Spirit sent us to Los Angeles to serve a hurting church of 154 disciples. Here we labored joyfully for many years. Yes, making many mistakes, but God blessed us with church plantings to Jerusalem and even Moscow, which we led with the Flemings. God allowed us to oversee a church growth movement of \u0026ldquo;sold-out\u0026rdquo; disciples that by the year 2000 reached 171 nations! The Holy Spirit grew the Los Angeles Church to an attendance of 15,000 and a membership of around 10,000 disciples. Also during the 90’s Elena successfully fought for sisters to be respected by being officially employed and paid for their services in the ministry.\nThen in 2001, one of our children began to struggle. Some was our parenting. Yet the viciousness of attacks on us and our children almost destroyed our faith. My leadership sins had produced bitterness and rebellion in many we thought were our friends. We went on sabbatical in the fall of 2001 and resigned in 2002 as Leaders of the World Sector Leaders. At this point we felt \u0026ldquo;no one came to \\[our\\] support, but everyone deserted \\[us\\]. May it not be held against them. (2 Timothy 4:16) Yet Elena stayed by me. In all of it, though our faith became quite weak, God refined and strengthened Elena and me through those difficult and lonely days so that \u0026ldquo;the message might be fully proclaimed and all the \\[world\\] might hear it.\u0026rdquo; (2 Timothy 4:17)\nThe Spirit took us in July 2003 to Portland, Oregon. Battered, we were warmly received by a devastated group of less than 100 disciples, none of who had ever been in our ministry. With not enough money to support us, we \u0026ldquo;tapped\u0026rdquo; our retirement fund to stay in the ministry for God. With Elena’s encouragement, I preached again. This time with a strong focus to protect and strengthen the weak. After all, God had made us weak, so we could relate and build His church in grace and love to comfort them. (2 Corinthians 1:3-11) In two short years, God has blessed our efforts with an attendance of 450 on Sundays built through many baptisms, restorations, move-ins and a very high retention rate for those who are baptized!\nOn Thursday, September 1, 2005 as we headed out for a two-day getaway to celebrate Elena’s 50th birthday, I received a startling phone call saying I would not be teaching at the Leadership Conference in Seattle because of perceived \u0026ldquo;divisiveness.\u0026rdquo; As always, Elena consoled me and was 100% supportive of me. As we traveled along the Oregon coast through such beautiful towns as Florence, Newport, Lincoln City, Tillamook and Seaside we once again dreamed of discipling couples to plant churches that would evangelize the world in the 21st century. During the sleepless night of her birthday, we went outside at 4:30 am. God’s stars were multitudinous! The presence of God was almost overwhelming. We then went back inside, prayed and fell asleep. I awoke next to my beautiful bride in the brightness of the sun on a new day.\nKip McKean\n","date":"14 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-09-14-celebrating-50/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Celebrating 50!","type":"pages"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m listening to the news and two stories came back to back. The first was an interview with Sen. Lieberman about Brown\u0026rsquo;s rise to head of FEMA. The second was an interview with Kofi Annan about reform efforts of the United Nations. I\u0026rsquo;m not concerned with the political ramifications of these stories; they just struck me with some thoughts I\u0026rsquo;ll detail later.\n45 Minutes of Infamy\nSen. Lieberman is the ranking Democrat on the committee that held the confirmation hearing on Brown\u0026rsquo;s appointment. At the hearing, four senators were present, one spoke and the vote passed. The hearing lasted 45 minutes.\nWhen asked, the senator reaffirmed that FEMA did not respond in a timely manner. He then pointed out a few things:\nThe confirmation was for Brown to be Deputy Chief of FEMA. There was no hearing for him to be Chief of FEMA, something that should have happened, but did not because of restructuring FEMA to be a part of the Homeland Security office between his appointment as deputy and his rise to chief. Lieberman answered with candor, especially in regards to only four senators present at the 45 minute confirmation. Basically, because it was a deputy position, the Congress tends to go along with whomever is nominated. He also spoke plainly about the concerns about future responses and the problems with legislation that created the Homeland Security department. As Congress is charged with oversight of the Federal Government, it did not happen and it needs to be corrected.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ve Had More Time than God\nThe United Nations is trying to reform and many are concerned that the documents released today about those reforms accomplish very little. Secretary Annan spoke of the positives in the document, especially that the UN is charged with protecting civilians from genocide (or ethnic cleansings or whatever term for mass murder chosen). Basically, the UN will get involved no matter where it occurs.\nAccording to the report, Secretary Annan refuses to see the current document as a failure despite the \u0026ldquo;watering-down\u0026rdquo; of the original draft proposal. He went on to say that all reform efforts start somewhere and that at least there are good things in the document that can serve as a foundation for more reforms.\nHe related an anecdote about his first six weeks as leader of the UN. The Russian Ambassador demands action on certain reform commenting, \u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;ve had more time than God.\u0026rdquo; Secretary Annan replied, \u0026ldquo;Yes, but God works alone.\u0026rdquo;\nSo Are You a Liberal?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s true I listen to NPR. Yes, I am liberal when it comes to issues of personal freedoms and some financial policies. However, I\u0026rsquo;m not concerned with the politics as much as the character of the two men. Both are reacting to a crisis and both are being challenged with inactivity when leadership is required. I am struck by three things these men demonstrated:\nCandor\nSenator Lieberman did not have to include an embarrassing story of not taking a confirmation seriously. He could have said everything else without mentioning that, but he did. I think he did it (besides political reasons) because he had to admit that he made a mistake. Because of that little detail, I was able to hear the rest of what he said. He took responsibility for what he did before moving on to discuss institutional issues.\nOn a similar note, the President took responsibility for his part in the failures of the Federal Government. Outside of political reasons, I can believe that his admission is sincere. It should have happened one visit to New Orleans ago, but it happened. Such an admission is hard to do and I\u0026rsquo;m sure he had political aides telling him not to do it. I\u0026rsquo;m glad he did the right thing.\nPatience\nSecretary Annan appears to be a big-picture type of a person. Looking at a situation pragmatically, he sees that reform rarely happens all at once in an institution like the United Nations. He is patient with smaller changes over time.\nIt is important to note, however, that Secretary Annan is straightforward and outspoken about needed changes in the UN. He has been quite public in what he believes to be the central issues and the solutions to those issues. Patience is not equivalent to silence.\nHandling Critics\nSenator Lieberman handled criticism with candor. Secretary Annan handled an unfair criticism by turning it back on the critic. I respect that way he held his ground without berating the Russian delegate. He didn\u0026rsquo;t respond him by asking him, \u0026ldquo;Well what have you done in six weeks?\u0026rdquo; He didn\u0026rsquo;t go into a long and involved response about proper UN protocol. He just handled it. If I was the Russian delegate, I would walk away thinking that since this man can deal with me, he may be able to get something done here.\nMore than Civics\nI don\u0026rsquo;t have time at the moment to go into the implications of this juxtaposition. I hope to write more later tonight. Just wanted to share something that stirred some thoughts within me.\n","date":"14 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-14-interesting-juxtaposition/","section":"Posts","summary":"I’m listening to the news and two stories came back to back. The first was an interview with Sen. Lieberman about Brown’s rise to head of FEMA. The second was an interview with Kofi Annan about reform efforts of the United Nations. I’m not concerned with the political ramifications of these stories; they just struck me with some thoughts I’ll detail later.\n","title":"Interesting Juxtaposition","type":"posts"},{"content":"As promised, I took a break for awhile and it was worth it. After this, it may be awhile before the ICoC subculture becomes an issue of any kind.\nMy biggest outrage has always been that nothing was done about Kip. Instead of keeping him out of ministry, Seattle supported his position in Portland when San Francisco appointed him. Anyway, that is all distant history.\nToday, Kip is on everyone\u0026rsquo;s ignore list. No links on disciplestoday.com or icocinfo.org or my site or icocnews.com or anywhere else. Everyone said their peace and he is out. Since then, his writings do not reflect any repentance at all. You reap what you sow.\nOutside of Kip, I have also been quite upset at the LACK of financial openness. I am guessing that the day of openness will never come. All that will remain is specualtions and innuedos of the billions unwisely spent. That is a shame and an embarassment, however, it appears that there is no great impetus to face up to our past in this way.\nLastly, it appears that the old guard simply cannot get a majority of churches to sign on to some kind of central leadership. This is a good thing. Let\u0026rsquo;s have some missions societies, pool our resources, and help some people. There are some specifics that need to happen, but I am hoping those are obvious to all.\nWhy write all this? It\u0026rsquo;s simple. I feel like my hope for a better future has been validated. Good things are happening, the old power brokers are not able to force their agendas. These people are not going to be able to hurt my friends and loved ones here in Omaha; they are going to leave us alone. For that reason, I will comment very little about the ICoC subculture from this point forward. My church is moving away from the old ways thanks to the Holy Spirit, prayer, and help inside and outside the ICoC subculture. I feel safe enough to see it through and I continue to pray for the best. I feel confident that enemies perceived and/or real are currently at bay enough to focus internally for awhile.\nWe need biblical training. We need to continue to build family. We need to find ways to work locally and globally. So that\u0026rsquo;s where my energy will go.\nThose that purport to be leaders on a worldwide scale can do what they please. They may be doing great things, but whatever many of them are doing or not doing seems to only hurt my heart. I have more important things to do than deal with them. I choose to guard my heart.\nI thought a split was coming, but it may not happen yet. There is too much cooperation to think it is coming soon, if at all. We\u0026rsquo;ll see. I am quite happy about this and look forward to seeing \u0026lsquo;global\u0026rsquo; issues change.\nUntil next time, expect more Dira and ramblings about my life and baby.\n","date":"12 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-12-eye-of-the-storm/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eye of the Storm","type":"posts"},{"content":"Eristotle\u0026rsquo;s later philosophy spoke of the prime mover as the first cause of the universe. He called this prime mover, the Brejnum. The Brejnum was known long before Eristotle, but only as the unknowable, inscrutable creator of all things. Although worship of the Old Gods is common, worship of Brejnum is uncommon. It is mentioned in the invocation of the Senate each year and in the election of the consul. It is traditional for the consuls (and before them, the em porers) to call on Brejnum to be the first cause of justice for the people and the preservation of the republic.\nEven before Eristotle, Hesberian religion was based on unseen spirits. These unseen spirits made all events great and small occur. One spirit made rain, another brought heat, still another brought floods, while another helped make wine. For this reason, religion was, and still remains, seen as a contract with the forces of nature. Most of these spirits were seen to have their own agenda and as such were not seen as moral. The last vestiges of this ancient belief comes in the worship of household gods called bimedarium. Each home has a bimedarius to guard the pantry. In all Hesberian homes, there is a small statue to honor their particular bimedarius.\nMost preists reason that the Brejnum sends out spirits into the universe to accomplish a specific task. As the first cause, it created an individual lere, or spirit, to administer a specific function, in addition to guarding the pantry. As that lare continues that function and gains worshippers, a lare gains more power. At a certain point, a lare is considered a god, usually when a lare has a festival dedicated to them. Once a god, he or she can use their power to do anything such as taking a ken form or creating a residence in the Heavens with other gods. If a god has a temple dedicated to them, they are considered worthy to have a place near Sibaker, the King of the Gods.\nThe Major Gods are:\nSibaker - King of the Gods Janis - Queen of the Gods Ejballion - Goddess of the Sun Kajsiter - God of the Moon Guren - God of War Vorima - Goddess of Destruction Ejdonas - God of Love Brenus - God of Death Ligranus - Goddess of the Harvest\nThe Old Gods are still reverred inHesberian society, especially in nonmagical lands. However, with the advent of magic, some see less of a need to appease the gods. A few even aspire to overpower them.\n","date":"10 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-10-the-old-gods/","section":"Posts","summary":"Eristotle’s later philosophy spoke of the prime mover as the first cause of the universe. He called this prime mover, the Brejnum. The Brejnum was known long before Eristotle, but only as the unknowable, inscrutable creator of all things. Although worship of the Old Gods is common, worship of Brejnum is uncommon. It is mentioned in the invocation of the Senate each year and in the election of the consul. It is traditional for the consuls (and before them, the em porers) to call on Brejnum to be the first cause of justice for the people and the preservation of the republic.\n","title":"The Old Gods","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I have said earlier, my church is studying the book, \u0026ldquo;Emotionally Healthy Church\u0026rdquo; together. Last night was the teaching on the first principle of emotional health, Looking Beneath the surface. The gist of the message is that, like an iceberg, the bulk of who we are and what is going on in our lives is below the surface. As such, it is important to understand what is not seen instead of continually manage what is seen. Good stuff and refreshing to the soul.\nMore importantly, we talked about Katrina relief efforts. We took a collection for three members\u0026rsquo; families that are in New Orleans and Mississippi. The financial board voted to give the remaining money in the budget geared towards benevolence to these family. So before it was done, the president asked the congregation to please make needs known as soon as possible so that no one that needs help is missed. One member\u0026rsquo;s family is trying to her family here. I was about to take another road trip when a good friend reminded me of my priorities: my wife is 8.5 months pregnant. I am hoping to arrange for someone else to go. My thanks to good friends that help me gain perspective.\nOutside of our own members, our minister talked with the minister of the local Vineyard Christian Fellowship about a multi-church effort in our city to adopt families relocating here. More details are coming, but folks are opening their homes in preparation of this concerted event. It is encouraging to see.\nAll in all, it reminded me of why I stay a member of a church with such a troubled past.\n","date":"8 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-08-encouraging-night/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Encouraging Night","type":"posts"},{"content":"Added last fifteen comments to the website. Nothing fancy.\n","date":"8 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-08-site-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Site update","type":"posts"},{"content":"To talk about current learning in regards to Magic, it is important to give a brief history of the thinkers and philosophers that make up a large part of Hesberian thought. Eristotle laid the groundwork for the physics of magic. Onhedius did much to frame the ideas behind curative magic. Despite the facr that both lived hundreds of years before the existence of magic, modern thinkers found that many of their concepts still hold true. Not everything about magic is understood. Despite the presentation of modern Hesberian thought presented here, there are exceptions to the rules that no one has been able to adequately explain. Since magic is a relatively new science, it is not as thought out as mathematics or physics.\nEristotle Eristotle has contributed more to Hesberian learning than any other teacher or philosopher. In his life, he wrote about physics, bilology (especially in regards to other sentient species), mathematics, and more. He wrote 165 books alone on biology, his most famous \u0026ldquo;On Ken\u0026rdquo; is used in schools everywhere, even Ganarii schools. (Ken is a generic term to refer to sentient species. It is similar to \u0026ldquo;men\u0026rdquo; when used to refer to all of humankind.) In regards to magic, his writings on physics have helped sages of the present time to understand the foundations of the new science of magic.\nA bit of history may be helpful before continuing on. At the age of 18, he joined the school of Edermius in Stekora. Edermius declared Eristotle to be the \u0026ldquo;reader and thinker\u0026rdquo; of the school. After attending the school for 15 years, he was able to expand the range of subjects taught. It is believed that Onhemdus, considered that father of medicine, formed many of his ideas as a result of attending the school. When the school closed, Eristotle, now almost forty, went to attend a Ganarii school located within the Ikan Empire (they had not been conquered by the Hesberians, yet). While there, he expanded and retooled his ideas about physics. The main shift was away from five elements (four of which form all compunds in the universe) to his system of memes. This shift in his theory of the funadmental particles of the universe also affected his work in mathematics. Near the end of his life, he left Ikania to form his own school in Murogum. After ten years, he died in his sleep at 60. It is a common story that he became sick in Ikania, but that his life was extended for over twenty years because of the medical treatment of his friend Onhemdus.\nEristotlean Physics\nEristotle\u0026rsquo;s first theory of the fundamental praticles of the universe stated that the universe was made up of five elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth, and Ether. The ether was \u0026ldquo;the immutable element\u0026rdquo; that held the planets in place. He also stated that the stars were composed of ether. (He did not equate the Sun with being a star, he considered it a pure elemental fire.) Under his first theory, all things were compunds of the four other elements. Each element was characterized by a combination of qualities (hot, dry, cold,wet). For example, water was wet and cold, fire was hot and dry.\nHowever, upon entering the Ganarii school, he was surprised to see that a six \u0026ldquo;element\u0026rdquo; theory was being taught. The Ganarii theory held that there were five elements, Fire, Wood, Earth, Metal, Water used in the composition of all materials, and the sixth \u0026ldquo;element\u0026rdquo; (the anti-element) was the void.\nThe void was considered the emptyness between planets and stars as well as the center of the earth. It was also believed that in the the center of the heart of all ken, there is a small void that houses the soul. The void exists to keep the soul connected to the body. When a person dies, the heart can no longer maintain the void and the soul was free to move to the afterlife.\nMeme Theory After years of trying to work out a fusion of his theory with the Ganarii, he changed paradigms completely and wrote what is called today, the Meme theory.\nEristotle reasoned that wood and water were not truly elements due to the variations of wood and metal that exist. Early in his thinking, he noted that various alloys and woods could possibly be combinations of elements. For example, metal and fire (steel) or metal and air (copper) or wood and earth (oak). However, he struggled in reconciling the existence of elemental wood with his core philosophy that ideal forms exist in a realm not of the material world. If there is an idealized form of wood, and wood can be used to make a chair, how does the idealized form of the chair interact with the wood so that we know that the new construction is, in fact, a chair? In order for the ideal forms of wood and chair to interact, they couldn\u0026rsquo;t be in a different realm, they would have to be in the same Cosmos. So then he reasoned that if items made of wood (trees for instance) have forms, and these items are components of the Cosmos, then forms are things too. However, this would mean that each form must have a metaform, that metaform would have yet another metaform and so on. His solution to this problem is another different topic.\nThe basic meme theory is as follows:\nThe first order meme is ether, the immutable element. The second order meme contains the primary elements: air, earth, fire, and water. The third order meme contains wood and metal. Fourth order memes are any compund created by a combination of second order and/or third order memes.\nIn essence, Eristotle separated the \u0026lsquo;concept\u0026rsquo; of an object, calling it a meme, from the object itself. Calling the meme the \u0026lsquo;Void Form\u0026quot; of an object, he reasoned that the \u0026lsquo;ideal form\u0026rsquo; of an object did not have to physically exist. This allowed for the creation of new objects that had never existed previously. The memes interact to create a meme for a new object, even if the physical representation of this new meme does not or cannot exist. (Later commentators do not use the term \u0026ldquo;void form\u0026rdquo; as it still implies that an object has a type of ideal form, even if it is void.) As far as memes that cannot exist, third order memes are considered two examples of this. Eristotle reasoned that there is no such thing as an ideal element of wood. It is a mental concept (meme) used to explain one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe.\nOnhedius\nOnhedius is called by many, \u0026ldquo;the father of medicine\u0026rdquo;. Although he contributed much to the field of medicine, his greatest attributes were resourcefulness and pragmatism.\nOnhedius was the son of the last Tecian king. At 17, five years before Eristotle enrolled, he joined the school of Edermius in Stekora\nOnhedian Physiology\nFire - Heart Wood - Liver, Digestive Earth - Kidneys, Waste System Metal - Mind, Nervous system Ether - Soul, Speech, Psychology Air - Lungs, Respiratory Water - Blood, Circulatory The Magic Septagram\n","date":"7 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-07-magic-in-dira/","section":"Posts","summary":"To talk about current learning in regards to Magic, it is important to give a brief history of the thinkers and philosophers that make up a large part of Hesberian thought. Eristotle laid the groundwork for the physics of magic. Onhedius did much to frame the ideas behind curative magic. Despite the facr that both lived hundreds of years before the existence of magic, modern thinkers found that many of their concepts still hold true. Not everything about magic is understood. Despite the presentation of modern Hesberian thought presented here, there are exceptions to the rules that no one has been able to adequately explain. Since magic is a relatively new science, it is not as thought out as mathematics or physics.\n","title":"Magic in Dira","type":"posts"},{"content":"I catch myself sometimes thinking about my spiritual life in terms of a pendulum. I think things like \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ve spent too long in the Old Testament this month.\u0026rdquo; So, to balance it out, I\u0026rsquo;ll start reading the New Testament. Emotionally, it feels like I\u0026rsquo;m putting some balance in my life. In other words, the pendulum is swinging from too much Old Testament back towards the New.\nIn my head, though, I have a big problem. Thinking in terms of pendulums is a logical fallacy. Specifically, it is the fallacy of the golden mean. In essence, the correct answer always lies in the middle of two extremes. What makes it especially difficult for me is that a middle answer or compromise is sometimes a good course of action.\nWhat to do? I have to remember a few examples. The link provides a couple of obvious ones, but I\u0026rsquo;m thinking about ones that are a bit harder to discern. Some of my friends want to go to the Olive Garden after church. Others want to go to HuHot. The right answer is to\n","date":"7 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-07-swings/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Swings","type":"posts"},{"content":"Good to get away for the weekend. Last weekend, it was KC and a conference. This week, it was Minnesota and a baby shower. All in all, it was a good time for us to figure out some details of the birth and get some much needed stuff.\nI do have to say a couple of things about events that occurred while I was unplugged from the internet:\nNo surprise.\nI am sad about what is happening, but not surprised at all.\nWonder what I think? I agree with St. Louis about the \u0026lsquo;unity agreement\u0026rsquo;. I cannot say it better than they did. What about Portland? Read Seattle and Phoenix\u0026rsquo;s response. What about the new article on upsidedown21? It\u0026rsquo;s not an apology.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s important to me is that about 40 churches have asked to help New Orleans. Houston cancelled their conference to help. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe it when I saw it. That\u0026rsquo;s true heart to be commended. You can\u0026rsquo;t just call off one of those things the day before, you know? It was pretty big. I read about these things and it encourages me.\nI believe in the inherent goodness of most members of former ICoC congregations. Not because of their theology, but because most of them just enjoy helping others. I think that is being demonstrated and will continue to shine.\nNow if they will just cancel MOAC 2005 in order to help\u0026hellip;\nActually, that needs to finish. Events of the past week need to play out.\nBy the way, you\u0026rsquo;ll see less about the ICoC subculture from me in the next few days. I write here to work out my thoughts and wrestle with God. Now, there seems to be an audience. It was fun, but the purpose of this site is being lost. The best way to deal with that, I figure, is to do more entries on the World of Dira and other odd things. Nobody comments on those. (Then again, no one comments on the New Orleans posts or any of the positive things I want to share.) I\u0026rsquo;ll have one more entry about the LA proposal and that will be it for awhile. If I need to wrestle out anything else, I\u0026rsquo;ll comment on salguod\u0026rsquo;s site and make more entries private. I may change my mind, so who knows.\nThe good news is that things are different. I can write an email to Al and Bruce in LA and my questions get answered. Used to be that asking was akin to rebellion. Others agree with me about so many things and write about them publically that I don\u0026rsquo;t need to echo their words.\\\nI plan to get back to teaching this winter, take care of my family, write, and do something about Clerry computers. When I do the classes, I hope to have an online version. When I finish the World of Dira, I plan on opening a lulu.com store. When the prototype computers are finished, I hope to make a little side money.\nBye for now. Maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll see you around.\n","date":"6 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-06-labor-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Labor Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"With all the talk on the LA Unity letter, there was only one thing I could add.\nMy primary problem, outside of what others in Atlanta and St. Louis have said comes from the first version released two days earlier. Here is the revision history of the proposal.\nNote the nominees for 4 of the 7 steering committe members. That\u0026rsquo;s my issue.\n","date":"6 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-06-the-only-thing-to-add/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Only Thing to Add","type":"posts"},{"content":"CALL TO BROTHERHOOD UNITY AND REVIVAL August 25, 2005 August 27,2005\nFROM:\nElders and Regional Evangelists\nLos Angeles International Church of Christ\nTo: All fellow churches around the world\nDear Brothers and Sisters, We are sure many of you have been in much prayer and thought about the Kingdom of God and our future direction. While we believe that we have seen God work in some powerful ways over the last several years, we would all agree that Satan has also wreaked havoc during that same period of time, by sowing many seeds of doubt, mistrust, faithlessness, bitterness, slander, luke-warmness and dullness. This has caused too many to turn to false doctrine and the world and additionally prevented many more from coming to Christ.\nAfter much prayer, we humbly put before you the following call to unity and revival. We know that there have been numerous churches making efforts toward revival, and perhaps succeeding, but there is an even greater power that comes from an entire brotherhood uniting, fasting, and praying together as one body for unity and revival. There are many of us who believe that in order for our churches to go forward and multiply, the time has come for us to reaffirm what we believe, set aside a day to fast, pray, repent and forgive, recommit to having the same expectations for everyone in our church, and organize ourselves in such a way that we have a brotherhood that has supporting ligaments (Ephesians 4:16), not just within one congregation, but between the leaderships of congregations.\nIt may be beneficial to note that coming out of the Long Beach meeting in November, 2002, there was support from the vast majority for maintaining a Kingdom leadership structure within the world sectors. However, following the chaos generated by the Because of the chaos, suspicions, and sweeping accusations fostered by the Kriete letter in March early 2003, those plans were thwarted. most brothers who were serving in those Kingdom leadership positions resigned, with the exception of a few portions of several world sectors that still provide oversight outside of the United States.\nNumerous people have expressed that there is a significant need to establish a for leadership, of some nature, on a Kingdom level to assist in meeting needs that cannot be met on a local level. While we certainly believe the local leadership needs to be able to make decisions concerning their congregations, we have also seen how fractured, discouraged, and weak any church becomes when the leadership is isolated and fails to solicit counsel and discipling from mature evangelists and elders outside their own congregations. (We, here in LA, have benefited greatly from the wisdom and counsel of numerous outside evangelists and elders that we have invited in.) We also realize that many smaller and younger congregations may need greater assistance than others that have more mature leaderships.\nAlthough we do not know exactly how this structure of \u0026ldquo;supporting ligaments\u0026rdquo; will be organized, we are certain that the Spirit will lead us to one that is spiritual, faithful, respectful, and accountable. There are many details to work out, but we are making the following proposal:\n1. A steering committee composed of 7 members be commissioned to analyze and make recommendations for by-laws regarding a future leadership structure, i.e. length of term, size, scope of responsibility, etc. We recommend the number on this steering committee be 7, but the actual number will be decided by the representatives of the churches who have joined by September 5th in Seattle.\n2. The actual members serving on this steering committee will be nominated and elected in Seattle by representatives of those churches who have joined by September 5, 2005. 2. 3. Each church that chooses to participate will have a representative that will be qualified to vote on the ratification or modification of the by-laws.\nThe steering committee will be for one year or until a different structure is implemented. 4. For the first year, we recommend that Scott Green (Seattle), John Louis (Singapore), Douglas Arthur (Baltimore) and Bruce Williams (Los Angeles) serve on the steering committee. In addition, 3 additional members will be elected in Seattle by representatives of those churches who have joined by September 5, 2005.\n5. The steering committee will notify the congregations of a future meeting where recommendations will be discussed and voted on. We have assembled a basic list of core convictions and principles upon which most, if not all, of us have lived our Christian lives since the beginning of our walk with God. We have attached a document that states a declaration of these convictions and principles.\nWe have made every effort to be comprehensive, without being verbose. Although we realize there are many other convictions that could have been inserted or stated somewhat differently, we have attempted to be concise, whenever possible. The steering committee may choose to make further recommendations that can be voted on by the representatives.\nWhile we have made every effort to base this call and declaration of beliefs and practices on the commands and principles of God\u0026rsquo;s Word, we are in no way claiming that this proposal is, by itself, infallibly inspired by the Holy Spirit. We in no way want to imply that this is a better proposal than anyone else could make. We are sure that there are many other spiritual brothers and churches that could have made proposals that would have been equally as good or better.\nAlthough in composing this and in the spirit of humility promoted in this document, we have solicited the advice and input of numerous godly and respected brothers from around the Kingdom, we want everyone should to know that this letter is authored and initiated by the Leadership Group of the Los Angeles International Church of Christ. We do, however, deeply appreciate the ideas, thoughts and prayers of many through this process.\nAs your brothers, we are inviting you and your congregation to join us in this call to unity and revival. We are calling our congregation to a day of fasting and prayer for unity and revival on Friday, October 7th, 2005 and invite your congregation to join with us. We are building a list of churches that likewise affirm these Biblical beliefs and principles and choose to join us in this effort. We encourage you to speak with your leadership groups and prayerfully consider this proposal. We realize that there may be some churches that join us that may use slightly different wording or phrases in the way they express some of their beliefs or practices (such as small groups, family groups, etc.), but have the same basic core beliefs and practices. We also realize that there will be some who may not be ready to join us in this action.\nSome of you may desire to know more information than we are able to provide at this time. However, we wanted to communicate with everyone before the Seattle Conference so that you could have time to have discussions with your local leaderships and perhaps elect to join us by September 5th. We plead for your prayers and hearts as the Spirit begins this historic process of rebuilding a greater unity and revival among our worldwide fellowship of disciples.\nIf you desire for your congregation to join us in this endeavor, please reply to: unity@icoc.org.\nIf you have further questions, feel free to correspond with Al Baird at al_baird@icoc.org or Bruce Williams at brucewilliams@icoc.org\nSTATEMENT OF UNIFIED BELIEFS, PRACTICES, AND BROTHERHOOD\n\u0026ldquo;May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.\u0026rdquo; (John 17:23 NIV)\nAs brothers who have been brought together by the cross of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have a passion to love, honor, and obey God. As His disciples bonded by the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and saved by grace in the waters of baptism, our collective vision is to carry the good news of Jesus Christ to every corner of the world. From that vision, our belief that the Bible is God\u0026rsquo;s inspired Word, and our intense desire to please the Lord through seeing Christ\u0026rsquo;s church grow in spirit and number, we commit ourselves to the following beliefs, practices, and brotherhood:\nUnified Beliefs\n1. Every member in every church is expected to be a true disciple through belief in Jesus as God’s Son (John 20:31), a decision to deny self and surrender all to Christ’s Lordship (Luke 9:23ff; 14:33), complete repentance of sin (Acts 2:38), confession of Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9), and baptism for the forgiveness of sin and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and to be raised to a new life. (Romans 6:1-4)\n2. Every member in every church is to share in Christ\u0026rsquo;s mission to seek and save the lost. (Matthew 28:18-20)\n3. Every member in every church is expected to be totally committed to the body life of the church which includes attendance at all the services, consistent sacrificial giving, and joyful and growing \u0026ldquo;one another\u0026rdquo; discipling relationships. (Romans 12:10, Hebrews 3:12,13; 10:24-25)\nUnified Practices\n1. For the purpose of outreach, as well as mature discipling, every member will be in a small group. (Acts 20:20, Colossians 4:15)\n2. Every member in every church is to financially support both local and world missions. (Matthew 28:18-20)\n3. We are committed to remembering the poor. (Galatians 2:10)\n4. We are committed to women having a ministry role in training other women. (Titus 2:3-4)\n5. We are committed to providing resources to supply leadership for our young people, to insure ministries such as the teen and campus thrive and multiply. (Acts 19:9, 10)\n6. We are committed to free and respectful communication within the brotherhood. (1 Peter 2:17)\n7. We are committed to obedience to the command of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, and in that spirit expect that disciples should therefore only date and marry disciples.\n8. While we recognize the need for local decision-making, we are committed to our congregation soliciting and receiving outside godly input and influence. (1 Peter 5:5)\nUnified Brotherhood\n1. Missionary Unity: We are committed to practically coordinate resources for the evangelization of the world and provide necessary representation and cooperation. (2 Corinthians 8 )\n2. Kingdom Leadership: We are committed to a collective leadership that will maintain unity, foster revival, and advance the gospel. (John 17:20-23) While we understand the need for each congregation\u0026rsquo;s leadership to make the decisions regarding their local work, we also recognize the need for leadership on a Kingdom level to meet needs such as, cooperation and fulfillment of missions support, regional coordination of training and discipling, provide accountability to these beliefs and practices, when necessary, and provide assistance to meeting staffing needs, when asked, etc.\n3. Conflict Resolution: We have all born painful witness to the past three years\u0026rsquo; turmoil fueled by an unbridled spirit of suspicion, accusation, judgment, generalization, and public slander. We firmly commit, with this in mind, to Biblical conflict resolution and loving confrontation. We resolve to address concerns and disagreements as privately as possible, as Jesus\u0026rsquo; teaching directs (Matthew 18:15ff) Though we affirm the charge for all disciples to privately and gently confront sin (Galatians 6:1, 2 Timothy 2:24) and the rare need for leaderships to publicly mark false teachers, we commit, in the spirit of family, to making every effort to guard one another\u0026rsquo;s churches\u0026rsquo; and individual reputations in what we publicly say and write. Under the submission and Lordship of Jesus Christ, the leaderships of the following churches commit to these unified beliefs, practices, and brotherhood \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; that the world may believe\u0026rdquo; (John 17:21 NIV) \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; and that by believing\u0026hellip; have life in his name.\u0026rdquo; (John 20:31 NIV)\nLos Angeles International Church of Christ\n","date":"6 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-09-06-unity-letter-revision-history/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Unity Letter Revision History","type":"pages"},{"content":"Take care of our own\nI contacted the Board of Directors for The New Orleans Church and received this reply:\nThank you for your offer of help for the New Orleans Church. My name is Aaron Ford, and I am the current president of the New Orleans Church board. Our relief efforts are being coordinated by our former preacher, John Kennedy, who now lives in Northern Virginia. Our church administrator, JoAnn Perdue, is in Baton Rouge, and is now setting up a temporary church office. You can contact John at (xxx)xxx-xxxx. His email address is kennedy22@cox.net. Donations are greatly appreciated, and you can contact our administrator by email at nochurch@bellsouth.net. Her direct line is (yyy)yyy-yyyy, but I\u0026rsquo;m not sure whether it is working yet. Love in Christ, Aaron Ford\nAt the present time, I would suggest contacting John Kennedy by email because he is probably working the phones pretty hard trying to communicate with others.\nIn Dallas, members are opening their hearts to help. I know that the Greater Houston Church is in the middle of a huge conference, but I am hopeful they will lend a hand as well. One board member of New Orleans is in Houston at a hotel. I asked the church office to contact him and see if they could help. Here in Omaha, one family has taken in relatives that lived in New Orleans, but there could be more. I have not heard from other board members or other churches, yet, but I realize that may take some time. I also understand that there are many more people trying to help and that is encouraging.\nJUST IN:\nMy name is Debbie Linzenmeyer. I grew up and was baptized in the New Orleans Church of Christ.\nMy mother is in Dallas trying to organize housing and food and money for the MANY families in the New Orleans Church that are not only now homeless but also have no money to support themselves. They are now refugees and are depending upon hearts of disciples like my mother to take them in for the next several months. They cannot return to the city and they cannot return to their jobs. For many of them, it will be several months before they even see insurance money\u0026hellip;for others who dont have insurance\u0026hellip;the support of other disciples may be all that they have. Many of the christians from New Orleans are depending upon disciples they have relationships with in Texas. These are not only my brothers and sisters, but people who I grew up with and love\u0026hellip;FAMILY.\nTHE NEED IS GREAT for FOOD, MONEY, HOUSING, and CLOTHES. We are currently g! etting the Dallas Leadership involved, as well as HOPE in Dallas, to send relief to the many people that escaped the hurricane but are now homeless and without income for several months. Many of the christians in Dallas will be opening up their homes.\nIf you desire to help your brothers and sisters, please contact me at deborah.linz@gmail.com\nThe main NEEDS from disciples like you is prayers, financial support, and clothing. If you have NICE, clean clothing you would like to donate\u0026hellip;please ship it to the following address:\nAttn: New Orleans Relief Donations 1933 Robin Meadow Dr Carrollton, Tx 75007\nIf you want to make a financial donation, we are currently working with HOPE to get information as to who you can cut a check out to. We will be collecting at least for the next month so PLEASE EMAIL ME if you are interested, the brothers and sisters are desperate for your lov! e and support.\nPlease also pray that we can locate all of the disciples to make sure they are safe and cared for. Responding on this post is great, but I appreciate emails.\nThank you so much!\nDebbie Linzenmeyer\nHelping Our Closest Kin The Churches of Christ relief effort in Nashville, TN says that they have plenty of supplies, but need manpower. If you live anywhere near Nashville,they need volunteers in their warehouse M-F 8 to 4. They loaded two tractor trailers of supplies yesterday (Thursday) and headed down.\nRapha International and Impact Houston and the LSU-Shreveport Foundation are providing relief locally. I would take a wild guess that until some order is restored in New Orleans, they will probably need money more than anything else.\nI am also certain that any Church of Christ in Baton Rouge would be able to help locally. It has also been suggested to friends that the Carrollton Ave Church of Christ may be able to help, if they can be rebuilt, themselves.\nHelping Others The best organized relief efforts are probably through Catholic Charities and the Red Cross. They are larger organizations that have the most resources at this point.\nAny one of us can help now and in the future. I hope to help in some way when the city is being rebuilt, but I do not what I will be able to do. Please continue to pray, pray especially for the restoration of order so that the rebuilding can start.\nAs I find out more, I\u0026rsquo;ll be sure to let you know.\n","date":"2 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-02-helping-new-orleans/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Helping New Orleans","type":"posts"},{"content":"I read about a document calling for unity out of LA a couple days ago. I wrote back with a list of questions, and it seems there are a few answers posted. There is only one reason for this, everyone\u0026rsquo;s reacting to Thomas.\nBut real unity doesn\u0026rsquo;t come from a creed or code. Churches of Christ have existed for quite a while without them. I\u0026rsquo;m not anti-creed so much. I think it\u0026rsquo;s good to say \u0026ldquo;This is what I believe\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s not good to say \u0026ldquo;this is how we do things.\u0026rdquo; Like my friend Doug, I ask \u0026lsquo;why?\u0026rsquo;.\nThere is a good chance for us to come together. New Orleans needs help. Right now, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that folks in Houston are willing to help, though they may not know that so many from New Orleans are there. If ever there was a call to unity, I think helping out the folks in New Orleans, both inside and outside our fellowship of churches is it.\nHave a meeting or two, sign some documents. All that is well and good. Meantime, let\u0026rsquo;s do something. I realize that the best many of us can do right now is wait and that is difficult. However, with the rebuilding of a city and thousands of lives, I believe we will all have a chance to help.\n","date":"1 September 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-09-01-unity-and-its-pursuit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Unity and Its Pursuit","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been through hurricanes before, so I knew that things would be difficult for New Orleans, but didn\u0026rsquo;t think much of it.\nThat is, until today. The heartwrenching reports coming out from there are almost impossible to bear.\nI have a friend there and I do not know how he is doing. Please pray for everyone there.\nUPDATE: I have written and received emails from two board members of the New Orleans Church of Christ. They do not know where everyone is, but are grateful for the offers of help. Personally, I found out that my friend is okay, news I passed along to the board members.\nAn account is being set up in Baton Rouge. I interpret that to mean that they can give and receive help through that account. As I find out more, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know. Continue to pray.\n","date":"31 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-31-prayers-for-new-orleans/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Prayers for New Orleans","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you haven\u0026rsquo;t already seen it, the band Ok Go has a great song. So, is it the song? A little. The fun thing is the video.\n","date":"31 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-31-wanna-see-something-fun/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Wanna See Something Fun?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Now what indeed. The elders of the Boston Church of Christ have spoken. Two elders in LA have also spoken. I\u0026rsquo;m certain from conversations I\u0026rsquo;ve had that more will follow.\nYou would think that this would make me happy, because it is what I asked for.\nI am sad that speaking out was necessary. I wish it had never happened.\n***\nI spent the weekend doing what was important to me. I spent hours with my wife talking about our family. With our first coming soon, sometimes we talk to each other without talking with each other. In other words, we talk about showers, baby stuff, evil appliances that won\u0026rsquo;t work, the cat, and other things. We don\u0026rsquo;t always talk about what we can do to help each other remain close to God.\nI talked to one of the leaders I hoped would respond to Thomas. It was a good conversation for me.\nI prayed quite a bit and thought about taking care of those things most important to me. Those thing include my own walk with God, my wife, my baby, my friends, and my family. When I go to Heaven, it\u0026rsquo;s God and the immortal souls of his children that will last forever, not the \u0026ldquo;Kingdom of God\u0026rdquo;, not my failures, not my blog.\nSo what am I going to do now? I\u0026rsquo;m going to pray. Why on earth do I think that I have it all figured out? I have opinions, but all of us have them. We also all have a heart and a brain. Despite evidence to the contrary, having heart, brains, and/or opinions does not make a person right. Only God is good, only He is just.\nAs to my opinions, here they are for what they are worth. If they help, I\u0026rsquo;m glad. If they don\u0026rsquo;t, I\u0026rsquo;m sorry. I\u0026rsquo;m offering them because I\u0026rsquo;ve been asked, not because I feel like I should be a \u0026ldquo;Kingdom Level\u0026rdquo; leader and I\u0026rsquo;m providing my political platform.\n1. I believe that things will get worse.\nThe plan proposed by LA draws a line that doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be drawn. If a church doesn\u0026rsquo;t sign their proposal, what happens to them? This may cause yet more fights. This is in addition to reactions to \u0026ldquo;The Portland Story\u0026rdquo; and the Boston elders. At best, reactions to any or all of these three documents will only reveal what others already believe. I doubt it that anyone will really be persuaded.\n2. If the ICoC is from God, it will not disappear. If it is from men, it will not last.\n3. The timing is not accidental. No, this isn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;God is in control\u0026rdquo;. It is, however, acknowledging that God has something in mind, even if it may be what I do not want to happen.\nAgain, I\u0026rsquo;m going to pray. I don\u0026rsquo;t know what else to do.\n","date":"29 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-29-now-what/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Now What?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Dear Al and Bruce,\nI am happy to know that you are concerned for our churches worldwide and humbly offer to help. Churches, in the past, have formed around a set of core beliefs and practices and gone on to do things great and small for God.\nI have a few questions and look forward to your reply:\n1. Why is it necessary to have paid women staff in order for older women to train younger women? Our congregation is small and we cannot afford to support WMLs. At the moment, we are supporting an evangelist and a youth minister. We don\u0026rsquo;t have the money to support their wives, but we have so many children and teens, that we had to raise money for the youth minister. Binding this practice on us would be an undue hardship. Are we simply in sin because deaconesses (unpaid) are looking to train the younger women?\n2. We have committed ourselves to six purposes, but only two of them are mentioned in this letter. Specifically, we are committed to helping the poor and to sharing the Gospel in our community. You may read our mission statementt with one of the following links:\nWeb Archive Apr 2005 Backup Copy\nI wonder what you think of it, in light of a seeming disparity between what the call to unity advocates.\n3. We have no college students. We hope that the youth minister will be able to grow into a role to get a campus ministry started. Is the document a pledge to provide funds to allow us to hire a campus minister in order to start campus ministries in our area?\n4. We have established regional training and discipling with local institutions in addition to churches in Kansas and Missouri. Would we be able to keep our working relationships?\n5. Do you believe that this unity will limit our benvelonce to HOPE Worldwide? Do we have the option to continue our work with Direct Relief International, the Francis Sienna house, and other organizations? At this time, we have chosen to not contribute to HOPE or take part in its programs.\n6. To help other churches, we will be able to volunteer our help and training, or will the men and women we select as a steering committee have authority to require us to send certain men and women to another city.\n7. If we are unified in beliefs, but not practices, does that disqualify us from being considered brothers? For example, if we choose not to participate at this time, yet an issue arises between our church and another that is a member, we will be considered less than brothers? Will there be a way to resolve the conflict?\n8. Is there a financial commitment involved in participating?\nThank you for your time with my questions.\n","date":"29 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-08-29-unity-questions/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Unity Questions","type":"pages"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been a while and there is still very little reaction to Thomas\u0026rsquo; calling of the remnant. Maybe cooler heads are mulling over a more reasoned response.\nI would like to hope this is true.\nUPDATE: It seems that maybe cooler heads may prevail after all. I found out about a discussion that promises to address the issues raised by this article. As such, let me encourage you to just skip the rest. More coming soon.\nMeanwhile, I\u0026rsquo;m waiting. I\u0026rsquo;m waiting for people that set themselves up as leaders for \u0026ldquo;our fellowship\u0026rdquo; of churches to act like leaders.\nYou know, we all have our interpretation of HKL and subsequent fallout. Many, including me, have opined about various ramifications and hopes for the future. We\u0026rsquo;ve proscribed all kinds of treatments and solutions ranging from the drastic to the mundane. We even argued a bit with each other and got upset at perceived overreactions and underreactions on both sides. In short, it\u0026rsquo;s been like one of my family reunions - we get angry at each other, but we all come together at the end of the night.\nHowever, there are some of that are seen as leaders across several churches. If you\u0026rsquo;re not sure you are in this category, ask yourself if you have been asked/paid to speak at a church that is not your own or remotely closeby. If you have, I\u0026rsquo;m talking to you. Just to be clear, let\u0026rsquo;s say that I am a member of the Twin Cities Church of Christ in Minnesota. If I am asked to speak in Texas or Arizona or Florida - places that are clearly NOT close to my home church - I am seen by others as a leader equivalent to the old World Sector Leader or Kingdom Teacher or Kingdom Elder titles. If this applies to you, again, I am speaking about you.\nSay something. Everyone wanted to know your thoughts about how to deal with HKL, why do you think they don\u0026rsquo;t want to know your thoughts now? Are you waiting to tell them in person? Is that it? Here, Thomas rewrites history, distorts the truth and it goes unchallenged. Now, he is calling out a remnant - are you so greedy that you won\u0026rsquo;t say something until you\u0026rsquo;re asked to speak at your next seminar? Yes, I said greedy. Some of you go to 10 -12 conferences a year all over the world. If you don\u0026rsquo;t want to be seen as a worldwide leader, then STAY HOME AND STOP ACTING LIKE ONE. However, since you are, then do what leaders do: act.\nA threat is coming to our fellowship of churches and the resulting silence is killing me. It\u0026rsquo;s also hurting many others that are afraid of Thomas, but like Voldemort, will not even says his name. People are afraid and they need to be comforted. If you really want the followership to act respectful and trust you, then DO SOMETHING. Say that it will be okay. Say that this church will not follow Thomas. Say that this church WILL follow Thomas. Say that Thomas has some good ideas. Say that Thomas is the paragon of eisegesis. Just say something, anything. Saying that certain principles are good/bad/indifferent will not cut it, people are not afraid of so-called discipling, they are afraid of Thomas McKean. Without saying Thomas McKean in your remarks, their fears will not be addressed.\nBe like the Apostle John would said to Gaius that if he came into town, he would address what Diotrephes is doing. Why do we know about Diotrephes? Because the Apostle John called him by name, not by teaching. You think he showed up and said in a nice,even tone that \u0026ldquo;certain people\u0026rdquo; aren\u0026rsquo;t welcoming the brothers and \u0026ldquo;certain people\u0026rdquo; are gossiping maliciously and that those \u0026ldquo;certain people\u0026rdquo; need to stop?\nBe like Paul who confronted Peter to his face, in front of everyone. He saw what was happening and he dealt with it.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not railing on you because I enjoy it or because I am trying to heap coals on your head.\nI am begging you. Please say something.\nEven I, who says all kinds of things in criticism, still hopes in the trustworthiness of certain men and women. I will fight my own battles and I don\u0026rsquo;t need you to fight them for me. I\u0026rsquo;m not asking for that. I\u0026rsquo;m asking for you to just lead. Help us with our fears. Give us some hope.\nIf all of this sounds like too much for you - STOP TALKING ALL OVER THE WORLD AND STAY HOME. If you decide to hesitate, then don\u0026rsquo;t look for support from me. If you decide to do something, I will follow you.\n","date":"25 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-25-say-something-say-anything/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Say Something, Say Anything","type":"posts"},{"content":"In regards to his comments about killing Chavez, Mr. Robertson says:\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t say \u0026lsquo;assassination.\u0026rsquo; I said our special forces should \u0026rsquo;take him out.\u0026rsquo; And \u0026rsquo;take him out\u0026rsquo; can be a number of things, including kidnapping; there are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him. I was misinterpreted by the AP \\[Associated Press\\], but that happens all the time.\nFor reference sake, here are his comments:\nIf he \\[Chavez\\] thinks we\u0026rsquo;re trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don\u0026rsquo;t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator. It\u0026rsquo;s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.\u0026quot;\nThis is an apology?\n","date":"24 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-24-the-definition-of-is/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Definition of Is","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.\u0026rdquo;\nPart One - TRIUMPHANT INITIATION\nThe Portland International Church of Christ was planted in 1991. There were already twenty disciples “waiting” in Portland. Another twenty-five were sent combined from the San Francisco and Seattle Churches to complete “the team.” Rob and Pam Skinner of San Francisco heroically led the church planting for the first seven months! “Many were baptized into Christ,” according to Angie Hernandez, one of the mission team members. Then the Skinners were sent to Seattle to help with a leadership crisis in that congregation. In the ensuing years, the Portland Church was led by a series of young ministry couples, whom the Lord used in powerful ways.\nHowever, in 1996 the Portland Church began to “flatline” in its growth. At its zenith, there were approximately 275 disciples with 375 on Sundays. Almost undetectable over the next several years, a “relationship chasm” began to grow between the older brothers and the young evangelists. The young evangelists’ mistakes and sins of harshness and arrogance began to produce a bitterness, anger and rebellion in the “mature” brothers. Also, among the Portland members, there was increasing resentment against the leadership in San Francisco because they gave direction, without consulting the local Portland leaders. (I made similar mistakes in Los Angeles.)\nIn 2001, one of my children fell away. This, along with my leadership sins of arrogance, and not protecting the weak caused uncertainty in my leadership among some of the World Sector Leaders. To try and keep unity I decided to step down from my role as Leader of the World Sector Leaders. Yet, unknown to the World Sector Leaders there was a similar silent rebellion and anger against each of them for their sins of leadership. Sadly, many of those that rebelled against the World Sector Leaders likewise faced the same lack of confidence and rebellion from those preachers they led. Indeed bitterness breeds bitterness. Ironically in 2002, the central leadership of the International Churches of Christ was officially dissolved at the “Los Angeles Unity Meeting.” The World Sector Leaders were forced to resign as a reactionary, “new vision” of independent congregations (autonomy), consensus leadership with no lead evangelists, the elimination of structured outreach and relationships (Bible Talks and Discipleship partners), and a message of “cheap grace” with no expectations was proclaimed. The motivating dream of “evangelizing the world in a generation” was called “a good idea” yet impossible. Also proclaimed was the dissolving of the “exclusiveness” of our fellowship, the International Churches of Christ – “ICOC.” (Most congregations of the ICOC “dropped” the “international” from their name.) Though I commend the reopening of the door to the mainline Churches of Christ, the destruction of the distinctive concept of having “disciples only” in a congregation produced tremendous confusion. Yes, there are some disciples in the mainline Churches of Christ as I have always taught. (See Revolution through Restoration I – written in 1992.) But we were building a movement of churches composed of only disciples, so by multiplying disciples and multiplying churches we could evangelize the world. As this “new vision” was offered, each church went in a different direction, because there were no overseeing evangelists, like Paul, to teach a common message “everywhere in every church.” (). It is into this highly charged atmosphere that the Kriete letter “Honest to God” is released in February 2003. Henry Kriete, sitting in judgment of all the sins of the past twenty-four years of the Boston Movement (ICOC) advocated “a time for anger and the overthrowing of temples: I believe the time is now.” He urged open forums, which further poisoned the members toward the leaders. With no central leadership to answer further charges such as the misuse of money, few asked, “What happened to the church where Henry served?” Did not his letter call the London Church to be the “epicenter of a ‘new movement’ of God?” Three months after the letter the London lead evangelist was forced to resign and 90% of the staff was laid off! Presently only a couple hundred disciples are left from a congregation of 2000 disciples. The Scriptures are true that say bitterness can cause many to miss the grace of God. () Today Henry Kreite ministers to a tiny mainline Church of Christ.\nThe collective unfaithfulness to God of ALL of us leaders and ALL of the people caused God to send our churches to spiritual Babylon. (See Revolution Through Restoration III) Portland was hit extremely hard. The “Kriete letter” comes out in February. In March after being viciously criticized by many in the congregation, the Portland lead evangelist cancels all discipleship partners, Bible Talks, and all “structure”. In April, he resigns and later in the summer stops attending a discipling church.\nAlso in April, the Portland Church by law was to elect a Board to oversee legalities in the congregation. Many of the people saw the Board as their “elected” new leadership and not the two remaining evangelists. In May the church implodes and explodes over “the aforementioned brotherhood issues.” Scores leave to mainline churches, denominational churches and many, their faith shipwrecked, stop attending church of any kind. Less than 100 remain members. The undermining of the leadership was so extensive, even the collecting of a weekly contribution was discontinued.\nIn June, after the explosion of the congregation, Elena and I received a phone call from Russ Ewell, representing the San Francisco Church to try to help the Portland Church. Russ also said it might be a place to begin a new ministry as our monetary support in Los Angeles was ending and there was no offer for us to serve in the Los Angeles leadership. In mid-June, we came for our first visit and our hearts went out to the faithful remnant who still wanted to have a church of only “sold-out” disciples. After reading my letter “Revolution Through Restoration III,” the House Church Leaders unanimously asked Elena and I to serve as Women’s Ministry Leader and Lead Evangelist of the Portland Church.\nPart Two - TRIUMPHANT RESTORATION\nOur official “first day on the job” was July 11, 2003. At the Friday night devotional of only about 60-70 disciples, I vowed before God that I would “Preach the Word” without compromise. Also, Elena and I expressed our gratitude to the Portland Church for extending forgiveness to us for our past leadership sins and mercy to allow us to lead again! During the next month I focused my preaching on loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and obeying His Word.\nI believe God sent Elena and me to be into a “satellite church” where all the sins and mistakes of the movement were exaggerated so we could learn and understand how to rebuild the movement. With confidence from God, I set about to get with every member of the Portland Church both those who stayed and those who left and asked three questions: 1. What was awesome about the Portland Church? (Many could not remember anything positive, even their salvation.) 2. What needs to change in the Portland Church? 3. What Biblical books or themes should be preached? From these discussions, I quickly saw that there was so much bitterness, anger and misunderstanding. Perhaps the uniqueness of Portland’s restoration was the call from the pulpit for not only leaders to repent of arrogance, harshness, binding opinions, and hurting the weak, but there was an equally strong call from the Word for the “followership” to repent of bitterness, anger, factions and lack of forgiveness. Wednesday, August 13, 2003 was our Evening of Atonement. I preached that forgiveness was as much a part of salvation as baptism! Disciple after disciple, both leader and follower alike, publicly confessed their sins in tears! More wanted to share, but we ended the session after two and a half hours! The Spirit’s love and joy filled the room! With the congregation refreshed from repentance, I spent the next three weeks preaching about God’s plan of discipleship and small groups being Jesus’ method.\nThe leadership of the Portland Church was defined to be the House Church Leaders with me leading them! By September the leadership called every person that desired to be a member of the Portland Church to attend all the services, attend an evangelistic small group (Bible Talk) and to have a discipleship partner. Discipleship partners could be either teacher/student relationships (parent/child) or adult/adult relationships. To avoid some of the bitterness of the past, the leadership called for each member to choose their Bible Talk and their discipleship partners.\nIn September, the Portland congregation was in awe of God as He once more blessed us with miracles of baptisms. In the fall, we averaged a baptism a week and yet every week someone would walk away from the congregation not wanting to be a “sold-out” disciple. Also through the fall, First Principles was taught to everyone as some were confused about who is saved, who is a true Christian.\nBy January 2004, the foundation of the Portland Church was rebuilt – exactly 120 sold-out disciples! From my questions to the disciples in the summer of 2003, I realized that their faith had waned long before the destruction of 2003. Faith was lost through broken dreams and promises. Foremost were the promise of elders and deacons, the promise of a Eugene, Oregon church planting (the home of the University of Oregon), the promise of a Latin (Spanish-speaking) Ministry, a Chemical Recovery ministry and a strong Teen Ministry.\nIn January 2004, we appointed 11 deacon couples and selected two elder-in-training couples – the Untalans and Bertalots (now our best friends!) In mid-January the Holy Spirit sent out from Portland it’s first church planting ever to Eugene, Oregon led by the Ciaramellas! Since January 2004 to the present, Eugene has doubled in number! In March the Latin Ministry was initiated when the Victor Gonzalez family and their ten kids moved to Portland. Beginning with just nine disciples, God has increased them to over 50 disciples! In April the Chemical Recovery Ministry was begun with the arrival of the Prestons. (In November, 18 disciples composed the first graduating class!) June 2004 was our first Jubilee and many came to learn what God was doing in a church that had been so quickly restored from such Satanic devastation. At the Jubilee, the two words that many who visited used to describe the Portland Church were “heart” and “family.”\nNow it is August 2005 and we are celebrating our second World Missions Jubilee! In the 20 months since January 2004, the Holy Spirit has multiplied the 120 disciples of Portland to almost 300! Our weekly attendance averages about 425! In particular the Teen Ministry had only one baptized teen in January 2004, Coleen Untalan. Today the Teen Ministry numbers 33 disciples, comprised equally of “kingdom kids” and “gentile converts.” All of this and only one teen fall away in 20 months! The weak are truly being made strong by God and loving discipling!\nPart Three - TRIUMPHANT FUTURE PROCLAIMATION\nThe vision of the Portland Church Leadership is the evangelization of all nations in the 21st Century. Thus the 2005 World Missions Jubilee theme: UPSIDEDOWN21! We believe in the sovereignty of God, which means everything that happens to an individual, a congregation or our family of churches either God makes happen or He allows it. The painful events before and after the “Great Tribuation” of the Kriete letter was allowed by God to discipline us leaders and the disciples to once again stand in awe of God. Our hearts drifted from God and our appreciation of our great salvation waned. () Now in deep appreciation of God’s grace, the Portland leadership is taking the initiative to help rebuild any congregation that asks our help thereby aiding in rebuilding a global movement of “sold-out” disciples that will reach this lost world.\nAs the “aroma of Christ” some will regard our efforts as “the smell of death” and others the “fragrance of life.” () Let it be stated clearly, we are not trying to build a “new movement.” Yet since many “teachers” have chosen to preach “a different Jesus, a different gospel with a different spirit” (), we realize like Paul our vision, efforts and plans will short term cause division. Most view division always as sin, yet Paul says, “No doubt there have to be divisions (differences) among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” ()\nOur first efforts for “future proclamation” are new church plantings. () Eugene, Oregon has multiplied disciples steadily since January 2004, and Corvallis, Oregon will be planted today at the Jubilee! Secondly, if a leadership turns to us and asks for help, we are willing to disciple them to rebuild the foundation. Raul and Lynda Moreno, gratefully supported by the Florida churches, followed the Portland website for months listening to the sermons and reading the editorials. In January 2005 after the Morenos visited the Portland family, they asked Elena and I to disciple them. Now the Santiago Chile Church is once again multiplying disciples. Excitingly, the Holy Spirit is sending Santiago’s first church planting to Vina Del Mar, Chile in September! Encouraging news from South America, Raul and Josué Ortega report that Ecuador, like Chile, has discipling within their churches from “top to bottom.” (Josué Ortega of Mexico City, financially supported by the Los Angeles Church, has continued to build dynamic, unified, discipling churches in Mexico and Central America, as he serves as the overseeing evangelist for these countries.) Likewise the small church in Curacao in the Caribbean has steadily increased disciples since its leader, Michael Hart, visited Portland. Montreal was unique in that a non-full time couple, the Kernans, returned from the 2004 Jubilee so full of faith, they started baptizing through their Bible Talk! They captured the imagination of the lead couple, Danny and Gillianne Brisebois, who came to Portland to “hear and see” for themselves. () The Brisebois’ asked us to disciple them during their visit to Portland. Since our visit to Montreal to complete the restoring of the foundation of sold-out disciples, several have been baptized in this French-speaking congregation as well as in their newly created English Ministry!\nDuring these efforts God restored my closest Paul -Timothy relationships. Steve Johnson in Savannah and Doug Arthur in Baltimore have been so encouraging now as adult/adult discipling relationships. Elena and I also appreciate our ongoing relationships with the Bairds and Gempels. Especially encouraging has been Chris and Theresa Broom in Syracuse, New York. Discipling them is amazing as their efforts in planting churches is calling us higher!\nAt the 2004 Jubilee I preached that some churches need to be restored/replanted. Many evangelists in the audience were extremely upset. Yet, this is precisely what God has done in Salt Lake City. A remnant of 25 disciples remained from the “Great Tribulation” and Portland sent Jay and Angie Hernandez with a small mission team to revive Salt Lake City. In the two-and-a-half years before the mission team’s July 2005 arrival there were no baptisms! Already in a little more than a month three have been baptized! Let me suggest, this is a great model for many church leaderships to imitate.\nHowever, as of this Jubilee the Portland leadership believes it is time for a progressive “calling-out of the remnant of disciples” from dying, former ICOC Churches. For years, I have preached “one church-one city;” in other words, each city should have only one church of disciples, because if they are faithful to God, He will multiply them to evangelize not only their city but the whole region. () I still believe in this same principle. Sadly, it has become the practice of some former ICOC churches to break-up into geographic groups or groups of various convictions about commitment to Christ, discipling and church government. If a group asks for help to restore the foundation of sold-out disciples, we will help in any way we can. Biblically, disciples can never rebel against authority, yet as seen with David who “chose” to transfer his allegiance from the ungodly Saul to the uncircumcised Achish () one is “free to choose” whom to submit to!\nIn the fall the Portland leadership will begin to seek out church leaderships in congregations that are struggling to ask if we can help them build a foundation of sold-out disciples. If they are not inclined to receive help, then we will offer help to any group that would prefer to be in a new congregation composed of only sold-out disciples. To the casual observer, this may look like “two churches in one city.” Yet, in time it will be obvious who has God’s approval.\nOur two last projects to aid in our proclamation to all nations is the Portland School of World Missions and UPSIDEDOWN21 – the global internet ministry of the Portland Church. We still believe, that to become an evangelist one needs to be discipled by an evangelist. () The Portland School of World Missions is not a seminary, yet some further Biblical studies are necessary to build awesome churches. Presently we have over twenty-five disciples desiring to be in the full-time ministry!\nOf historic importance, UPSIDEDOWN21 will begin today in six languages – English, French, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Estonian. Each “page” will have access to that week’s Portland Bulletin editorial, as well as the video of my most recent Sunday Sermon in Portland. I will be assembling a team of evangelists worldwide to video their sermons for USD21, as I only speak English. The USD21 website will be similar to “Radio Free Europe” in the 1960s. The communist leaders built an “Iron Curtain” to block the message of freedom from America and the rest of the West in their press. Yet over the radio, broadcasts of messages of hope and freedom served to guide those oppressed by communism. Eventually many listeners found freedom as seen in the early 1990s when the “Iron Curtain” crumbled. Today, with church leaderships isolated by the walls of autonomy, the good news of the revolution of restoration occurring in the radical discipling churches needs to be “beamed-in” to hurting disciples. Our goal is to someday broadcast in all the languages of the world, thus helping to unite the true discipling churches.\nAs teaches, God has truly led us in triumph through the years. In 2000, after 21 years since the beginning of Boston, I quoted Winston Churchill concerning where the Boston Movement (ICOC) churches were at: “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But perhaps it is the end of the beginning.” In 2001 the “Great Tribulation” began to occur. August 2005 is not a new beginning but an exciting Episode 2! I believe with all my heart, God will someday use some of the “valiant but wiser,” past leaders of His movement to meld with young Spirit-filled leaders to forge a new brotherhood leadership to spearhead the evangelization of the world in the 21st century. And this time, to God be all the glory!\nKip McKean August 21, 2005\n","date":"24 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-08-24-the-portland-story/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"The Portland Story","type":"pages"},{"content":"I have just received the latest copy of the Portland Church Bulletin. The only article contains details of an upsetting nature. You can read the article on here.\nIn case the article disappears after MOAC 2005, it has been transcribed here:\nSadly, I feel compelled to report that Thomas McKean, evangelist of the Portland International Church of Christ, has called out a remnant of \u0026lsquo;sold-out\u0026rsquo; disciples in the former ICoC congregations. He acknowledges that this will cause short-term division, but appeals to 1 Corinthians 11:19 to say that these divisions are necessary. He has accused some churches of preaching \u0026ldquo;a different gospel\u0026rdquo; and believes that his churches will demonstrate God\u0026rsquo;s approval.\nConsidering the discussions on unity that were to take place at MOAC 2005, it looks like there is little to no chance for reconciliation. In light of that, I want to say something to certain leaders that I very rarely say:\nI told you so.\nI told everyone that would listen that this was too little, too late. I said in 2003 that something needs to be done. Remember me in Chicago? The first question asked to Gordon at the conference? I said, \u0026ldquo;What are we going to do about Kip?\u0026rdquo; It is on tape.\nSo now, I am part of a church that will be going through a very ugly and probably very public split. It probably will not be in my backyard for a year or two, but it is coming. And it makes me very sad.\nI may not be around tomorrow, I need to go pray.\n","date":"23 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-23-a-calling-of-the-remnant/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Calling of the Remnant","type":"posts"},{"content":"if they oppose the United States. So sayeth my old friend, Pat Robertson. It amazes me that once every year or so, he has to say something that sounds like it is from the Weekly World News.\nIf you ever wondered where my experience with top-down leadership from a delusional leader comes from outside the ICoC subculture, it was growing up in the shadow of Pat Robertson. At one point, I had hoped to attend CBN university (now Regent) to go to seminary. I enjoyed the 700 Club and all the other stuff. He created a family channel that showed the Waltons and other good programs and I enjoyed that.\nThen he ran for President.\nHis campaign and the fallout from anyone saying that he should not have run, showed me what an insecure leader can be like. It also showed me the consequences of disagreeing with the head honcho of a relgious organization.\nIn any case, the entire article is here.\n","date":"23 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-23-thou-shalt-kill-foreign-leaders/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thou Shalt Kill Foreign Leaders","type":"posts"},{"content":"Well maybe the title is not so accurate, I\u0026rsquo;m not waiting for something to alleviate boredom like Vladimir and his partner.\nI am, however, awaiting news from a little known conference.\nIn the meantime, thanks to Kelcy for a reference to the new article by Douglas Jacoby.\nAt first, I was thinking along the lines of \u0026ldquo;Well - Duh,\u0026rdquo; but then another thought struck me. You know, high pressure situations also create groupthink and many of the former ICoC congregations are in high-pressure situations. Some are learning how to be autonomous after years of decisions being made higher-up. In those churches, there can be members that are unhappy with either \u0026ldquo;slow progress\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;getting away from what made us great\u0026rdquo;. Evangelists are getting copies of the Portland Bulletin mailed to them talking about the great \u0026rsquo;turnaround\u0026rsquo; in Portland. On top of all that, these leaders may be suffering a real identity crisis. After years of being defined by how \u0026lsquo;fired up\u0026rsquo; they were and how many were getting baptized, all of a sudden, the only person demanding anything is themselves. I have witnessed such a painful experience and it is quite difficult.\nIn light of one or all of these pressures, how easy is it to let someone at a bigger church do some or all of your thinking for you? Seriously, there is pressure and it doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel like there is time to think through issues, why not just rely on someone else that has already done a lot of work? My church did it with our study series. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen other churches do it with everything from missions, to preaching, to church leadership. As an example closer to home, you ever rewrite an encyclopedia article as a report for school?\nOutside of the ICoC subculture, groupthink has also created some issues. For example, in Matt 19:24 Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. There are commentaries that mention a \u0026ldquo;Needle Gate\u0026rdquo; that is very low and narrow. It required the camel and rider to crouch in order to enter Jerusalem. I heard this a few times growing up and in the church. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard it preached as a way to present what Jesus really said similar to Luke 14:26. (You know, he\u0026rsquo;s not really saying hate, what he really means is \u0026hellip;)\nBack to the point, there was no Needle Gate. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist. The earliest mention of it is an eleventh century theologian. This continued throughout the Middle Ages. Late, Victorian tourists to Jerusalem were even \u0026lsquo;shown\u0026rsquo; the Needle Gate. Amazing what writers of commentaries resort to in order to get published. It is also amazing what we will quote in order to make the Bible say something that it does not. That, however, is a topic for another post.\n","date":"23 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-23-waiting-for-godot/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Waiting for Godot","type":"posts"},{"content":"Note the topic of this post before you reply.\nDear pinakidion,\nYou know, Cindy Sheehan didn\u0026rsquo;t need to do what she did. All she did was embarass herself and create doubt in the minds of soldiers serving overseas. Now, she has stirred up dissension in the American people. A very few in a vocal minority that are bitter about the war are creating trouble. At first there was sympathy, but now this is out of control. If allowed to continue, many well-meaning Americans will lose faith in their government. The protestors should be ashamed of themselves for destroying the faith of good, honest people who simply want to support the troops.\nIf she had a problem with George Bush, she should take it up with him. In fact, they have spoken twice already: why is she still bitter? She should just move on and let go of the past. All of this anger, bitterness, and slander will not erase the past. Bush has made apologies for the high casualty price of the war, shouldn\u0026rsquo;t Sheehan work with the President to find ways to keep soldiers more safe? After all, if Bush didn\u0026rsquo;t have to deal with all this criticism, more could have been done to protect the soldiers that are fighting now.\nEven if she needs time to heal, she could have dealt with her pain without slandering the president. The president has a difficult job and we should do all we can to support and build him up. If she still feels that he has wronged her, she should just forgive him. After all, all of us make mistakes - no one is better than anyone else. A religious leader once said that if you\u0026rsquo;re so perfect, why don\u0026rsquo;t use throw the first stone? I think he was right. Throwing stones at the President does nothing to help our soldiers, help the war, or continue the purposes of the United States of America.\nIn short, she is not dealing with her pain and is only prolonging the pain for the rest of those that feel hurt by the war. She should just go home and talk it out with someone. In doing this, others can also deal with their pain privately and correctly.\nYours truly, A Sold-Out Disciple\n","date":"19 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-19-troublemakers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Troublemakers","type":"posts"},{"content":"This fall, my church is going through the Emotionally Healthy Church together. All the material is organized for small groups, sermons, congregational midweeks, and so forth.\nBefore continuing, I feel the need to explain something. The subtitle of the book is \u0026ldquo;A new paradigm for discipleship\u0026rdquo;. There are other words for discipleship, and I am going to use one of them. I will use the more theological word \u0026ldquo;santification\u0026rdquo;. The reason is not to quibble over words or insist that everyone should call it santification. I am doing this because the word discipleship in the ICoC subculture has so many assumed contexts and meanings, that a different word may serve the purpose of this article better. Again, this isn\u0026rsquo;t a slam against people using various terms to describe the same thing. Specifically, I am talking about the process by which Christians mature in their faith.\nI am excited about studying a new paradigm for santification. Part of me is curious because it appears to be a novel approach. Keep in mind that I came from a church that said that maturty can only be accomplished in one way, high baptism rates. After 12 years of that, everything appears novel. A deeper part of me is interested at looking at a good model for santification instead of avoiding the bad model I\u0026rsquo;ve lived with for so long. Even I get tired of critique. More importantly, since I believe that a mature Christian does more than avoid sin, I look forward to becoming more mature in a deeper way than \u0026ldquo;not being like I was four years ago\u0026rdquo;.\nMostly, I just want to heal from some of the things that I have experienced at the hands of a few that claimed to be acting in the interests of God Almighty. I want to grow more mature in my faith, but I know that dealing with my past is a large obstacle. Knowing that I need to let go of the past is the beginning of the journey to use my experiences for the glory of God. However, whom among my friends in the ICoC subculture know how to do more than that? I suspect a precious few. I think my wife is one, she had dealt with her church ostracism at a critical time in her life. With professional, outside help, she was able to be healthy again. I think the chief editor of ICoC News is another that has found a way to be healthy.\nI began my journey by writing down my thoughts here. I still write them here. I also continued with giving my life to others in serving and love. I found acceptance in my wife, church, and friends. I have a good relationship with the lead minister of my chruch and all members of leadership. My small group is full of people I enjoy, even if I don\u0026rsquo;t see them as much as I would like.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure this all sounds idyllic. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to overstate the things that have happened in my life. At the same time, there has been an overwhelming amount of blessing and encouragement for me.\nHowever, all of this doesn\u0026rsquo;t help me to really deal with my past. It helps some, and I am not minimizing it. It\u0026rsquo;s just that things in my past and things our divisive brother in Portland are doing still hurt. In essence, I am doing what I have always been taught to do. The old paradigm for overcoming pain was to think happy thoughts and surround yourself with happiness. It was assumed that if you continually concentrated on happy thoughts and spent time in happy places, your emotions would change. Once your emotions changed, you\u0026rsquo;d stop hurting. I heard this preached in the pulpit and read it in a book or two. This way doesn\u0026rsquo;t help me, so I look for other ideas.\nThe six principles in the book are:\nLook Beneath the Surface Break the Power of the Past Live in Brokenness and Vulnerability Receive the Gift of Limits Embrace Grieving and Loss Make Incarnation Your Model for Living Well Principle 3 is something I have read about in a book or two. Some of the other principles, however, are pretty much new to me, especially embracing grief and loss.\nI am looking forward to seeing what happens in the near future.\n","date":"18 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-18-emotionally-healthy-church/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Emotionally Healthy Church","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Hesberian Gazetter will be renamed to the Encyclopedia Hesberica. I decided to do this after realizing that I stopped including geography and started writing encyclopedic entries. As best I can, I hope to use the style used by wikipedia.\nThe original world map has been redrawn. I found a program that will generate a variety of maps with any projection, at any size, any magnification, and all kinds of other features. It took a while to get a realistic looking world and the result was quite different from the original. As such, certain entries won\u0026rsquo;t make geographic sense, especially the discovery of the Ogdan Islands.\nOh well, more work for me.\n","date":"18 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-18-rename-and-reshape/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Rename and Reshape","type":"posts"},{"content":"Started on March 24, 2005 @ 16:04\nThe time has finally come when I can talk about my past and not be bitter about it. It is a time that I have prayed to come for several years. Thanks to the support of wonderful friends and my wife, the time has come to put all these things to rest and to leave them behind. I am determined that these things should not happen to anyone else, for any reason. I am also aware that some positive events may be minimized or overlooked. I am not trying to do this, but I am aware of my own biases.\nI was raised in the United Methodist church. My father has taught Adult Bible study classes since I was a small child. He still teaches a small, but dedicated group. When I was twelve, I was asked if I wanted to be baptized and I said, \u0026lsquo;yes\u0026rsquo;. My father and I were baptized that day. At the time, my father had been going through some spiritual searching of his own.\n","date":"17 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-17-my-christian-history/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Christian History","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am not making this up. I cannot even comment on it, I have no idea where to start.\nRead about it here.\n","date":"16 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-16-internation-church-of-starbucks/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"International Church of Starbucks","type":"posts"},{"content":"So you renew your checkcard and try really hard to tell your creditors about the new card number.\nI forgot one.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t pay for the service (3 year trial), but I pay for four domains once a year. Last bill before this one came July 2004. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t even married then, now I am married with child in utero.\nOops on me. We\u0026rsquo;re back until next August.\n","date":"16 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-16-its-back/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's Back!","type":"posts"},{"content":"If you get a chance, there is an article on Thinklings that deserves a mention. My favorite part is the defense of monogamy. A critic would say that monogamy is like listening to the same record over and over. The response to the critic was that it is like listening to the same instrument, not the same record.\nJust thought you may enjoy it.\n","date":"15 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-15-an-instrument-of-peace/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"An Instrument of Peace","type":"posts"},{"content":"Rob Schuler writes about the Parable of the Minas. I suppose that more and more articles like this are bound to be written. Considering there are only small differences between my article stub and his complete treatment, I will probably not finish the W.O.R.K. article.\n","date":"15 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-15-parable-of-the-minas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Parable of the Minas","type":"posts"},{"content":"Tonight I am sitting on the front porch of my house enjoying the cooler air. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing what a good wireless network can do for you.\nToday, my wife and I unpacked most of the kitchen and tried to get all the parts we need to get the dryer working. The guy at Home Depot said that he didn\u0026rsquo;t have what I needed for the stove, so it\u0026rsquo;s back to square one, I guess. Having an old house can have some unforseen disadvantages.\nIn light of all this activity, it is good to sit here in the quiet and just enjoy the time.\nLess than 24 hours ago, one of my best friends and I sat on the end of the porch praying about various things: my baby, his kids, our company, seeing the good things God gives us, being focused, etc. We were up way too late, but it felt good to simply pray with a great friend.\nI hear some of my friends talk about \u0026ldquo;getting back\u0026rdquo; to various things in their Christian lives. Some want to get back to evangelism, others to Bible Study and prayer. Some want to get back to the security they felt a couple years ago. I think about some of the things I want to \u0026ldquo;get back to\u0026rdquo; only to realize that there is no getting back.\nThe context is quite different, but I think about Jesus telling someone that wanted to follow him that once he started that he couldn\u0026rsquo;t look back. Ever tried to walk backwards without the help of mirrors? It is possible, I can do it fairly well, but not in the new house, yet. The key is that you have know where everything along your path is located. It\u0026rsquo;s fairly straightforward to guesstimate where various things are based on what you can actually see. You will get to where you\u0026rsquo;re going walking backwards.\nI get this image in my head that if I am trying to get back to anything, it\u0026rsquo;s like I\u0026rsquo;m walking backwards. I know that I\u0026rsquo;ll get to where I am going, because I\u0026rsquo;ve made the trip so many times. I know where all the potential obstacles are and I\u0026rsquo;ve become pretty good at estimate how much room I have, determining if I am walking backwards in a straight line, and I even notice new things after I\u0026rsquo;ve passed them by. I think if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t for a simple question, I\u0026rsquo;d even enjoy the trip quite happy that I can do it.\nThe question is, \u0026ldquo;Why am I walking backwards?\u0026rdquo;\nI remember a time when reading and praying were automatic, but I also remember that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t getting anything out of what I was reading at all. Is that what I want to get back to? Getting into a familiar groove is very comfortable, but what I really want is to read and pray and be with God while I\u0026rsquo;m doing it. What good is a habit if you do not remember why you wanted to develop the habit in the first place?\nI realize that I don\u0026rsquo;t need to get back to anything. Looking for that past moment of glory is only an act of self-deception. Things weren\u0026rsquo;t any better back then, they were just different. In light of that, I simply need to keep going with what I already know.\nWhat I want is to pray and read and be at peace in my heart. Looking back at the past 24 hours, I\u0026rsquo;ve done all three. I would like to make this a habit. Freeing myself from some self-imposed judgement of past performance, I think I can get there.\n","date":"14 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-14-the-little-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Getting Back","type":"posts"},{"content":"6-25-26 Update:\nSince the source site will not be archive on the Web Achive, I just updated the link to the original English translation of the Mishnah. Here is a more recent resource: Avot 5:21\nI found an English translation of the Mishnah with conservative commentary. I wanted to see the sources of the Rabbi and Talamidim article. So here is the complete mishnah from the piece quoted in the article:\nAvoth 5 Mishnah 21\n??? ????? ??????, ???? ?????? ??????? ??????????, ???? ?????? ???????????, ???? ?????? ???????? ??????????, ???? ?????? ???????? ???????????, ???? ???????? ???????? ????????, ???? ????????? ????????, ???? ????????? ???????, ???? ??????????? ?????????, ???? ?????????? ???????, ???? ????????? ??????????, ???? ????????? ??????????, ???? ????????? ???????????, ???? ?????????? ????????, ???? ????? ????????? ??? ??????? ??????? ??? ????????:\nHe used to say: At five years of age the study of Scripture; At ten the study of Mishnah; At thirteen subject to the commandments; At fifteen the study of Talmud; At eighteen the bridal canopy; At twenty for pursuit \\[of livelihood\\]; At thirty the peak of strength; At forty wisdom; At fifty able to give counsel; At sixty old age; At seventy fullness of years; At eighty the age of “strength\u0026quot;; At ninety a bent body; At one hundred, as good as dead and gone completely out of the world. The commentators make a note that these ages were probably meant as a guide for parents in teaching their children. In modern times, some the categories no longer apply. For example, it was typical for a man to become a rabbi at 40. These days, rabbis usually start at a much younger age. Also, 90 in our time is not necessarily the same quality of life of 90 in the times just after the temple was destroyed.\nI haven\u0026rsquo;t found much online written by Shmuel Safrai, but I keep finding places where he is quoted. One such article appears quite interesting on the surface. It contends that Jesus was a Pharisee of the School of Hillel and that the Pharisees he blasts were Pharisees of the School of Shammai. Shammai, it seems, was a stern and strict interpretor of the Torah, the opposite of Hillel. However, it seems that Hillel, not Shammai appears to be quite strict in regards to dietary laws. In any case, reading the two of them going back and forth about eggs laid on festivals days (can they be eaten? Eduyoth 4:1), sewing tassles on bedsheets (Eduyoth 4:10), and when divorce is really divorce (Eduyoth 4:7) can help to understand Jesus\u0026rsquo; words about straining at gnats and swallowing camels (Matt 23:24).\nPersonally, it appears to me that Jesus used a form of teaching that was familiar to the Jews in Galilee and Jerusalem. However, he did not follow the structure of it completely by asking \u0026ldquo;unschooled men\u0026rdquo; to be his students. He also made clear that although he was a teacher, no one after him was to be called teacher or rabbi (Matt 23:10). As such, when he called the apostles to teach the nations in the Great Commission, it seems to me that they were to teach that Jesus is the teacher and make students of Jesus. To the method, however, it appears that there is some flexibility. Paul used the Hall of Tyrannus for teaching Jews and Gentiles, but appears to have had a small group that followed him personally (Acts 19:9-10), as well as teaching in synagouges (Acts 17:2 and many other places). As such, I believe the methods of teaching and training described in the Bible are descriptive, not proscriptive. Paul was diverse in technique, I see no reason why we cannot be diverse as well.\n","date":"12 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-12-talmidim-continued/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Talmidim continued","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve written quite a few drafts of articles since I began the blog. I\u0026rsquo;m going to list them here for two reasons. One is so that I don\u0026rsquo;t forget to finish them .The other is that if someone has any interest, I\u0026rsquo;ll be happy to send them the draft.\nKeep in mind that draft on the blog means incomplete to me. It\u0026rsquo;s not like it needs a good edit, it just hasn\u0026rsquo;t been fully developed.\nAbout Last Night - an older post about why I post about the ICoC Subculture\nMother May I? - a post about discovering that I still look for permission from others to live my life\nConduit spell - a World of Dira post about how wizards access areas of greater magic when they are not physically in those places\nAnother long gap - old post explaining that work was busy and that I was reading a review of my cousin\u0026rsquo;s paper on the USS Stark\nHOPE Shell Game - a fairly recent post that details how HOPE Worldwide handles money for programs\n26 questions - Questions those in the ICoC Subculture should ask themselves (not written by me)\nPost # 181 - Blank post\nNext Door to Greatness - a post about the ICoC Subculture\u0026rsquo;s desire to use famous people and places to look more important\nMy Christian History - an autobiography of my spiritual life\nRisus paschalis - An article about the paschal laugh, or the Sunday after Easter\nWho Paying for This? - An ICoC subculture article about the higher eschelons travel habits\nExegetical Example - An article about various exegetical tecehnique\u0026rsquo;s used on John 3:5\nResearch Verses that God Remembers Me - A personal study that prevents me from becoming a deist\nA Tree and Its Fruit - A look at Matt 7:13-23\nMay the Force Be with You Part Two - an aborted article that continued the commentary of The Dark Side by Thomas McKean\nFirst Father\u0026rsquo;s Day - My thoughts on my first Father\u0026rsquo;s Day (Baby in utero)\nPost # 266 - Blank Post\nW.O.R.K. - Commentary and exegesis about the parable of the minas, Luke 19:11-27\nAnywho, more writing soon. Today I hope to write a World of Dira post. Maybe over the weekend, I can finish one of these others.\n","date":"11 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-11-a-collection-of-drafts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A collection of Drafts","type":"posts"},{"content":"Update: The original link is gone and something about it caused the Web Archive to block preserving its pages. So on 6-25-26, I went looking for better articles that talk about “call no man rabbi” and what it means.\nHere is what I currently believe is a good article about talmidim: Call No Man Rabbi\n-\u0026ndash;\nA good article about the role of teacher and disciple. It helps illuminate some things in the text. It also explains Mathew 23:8-9, let no man call you rabbi.\nInteresting indeed.\n","date":"11 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-11-talmadim/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Talmidim","type":"posts"},{"content":"What would you think of a sermon on the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-26) with these four points?\nWondrous Gift Ongoing Challenge Reckoning Will Come Killed or Commended They spell out work. Considering the parable, that doesn\u0026rsquo;t sound too far off. After all, the nobleman had said, \u0026ldquo;put this money to work.\u0026rdquo; The two that obeyed were commended, the one that did not. It seems to be saying that those that work hard will be rewarded. In many ways, this percursory reading is pretty accurate.\nFor a good analysis of the text, read Bob Deffinbaugh has written a detailed study. I do not agree with his conclusion about what minahs represent, but that is not as central to the message that Jesus is getting across. Bob has a Masters of Theology, but what he does to examine the text is not so much \u0026lsquo;intellectual\u0026rsquo; as just reading what it says and expounding on clue in the text.\nConsidering the part of the parable that receives the most attention, I tend to believe the point of this parable is found with the king speaking to the wicked servant. The two that are rewarded are mentioned briefly. The other seven servants are not mentioned at all. (Ever wonder what they did with their minahs?) The nobleman/king doesn\u0026rsquo;t refer to himself very much and there is only enough background to set the scene.\nAs far as the background, a nobleman going to a far country is not so strange to those that heard this parable firsthand. Herod the Great went to Rome to become the recognized ruler over Palestine. Agrippa, his grandson, did the same. The nobleman was not going away to become king of a distant land, but the land he was already living in. His journey was a recongnition that any authority in the land he lived was not his own. In the same way, Herod went to Rome to meet with the emperor in order to be recognized as \u0026lsquo;king\u0026rsquo; and to be given authority over that region.\nOne important note in the background comes with the odd mention of the nobleman\u0026rsquo;s lack of popularity. In fact, the people send someone to testify against the nobleman in the hope that he will not become king. Again, this would be familiar to the people around Jesus, they had just sneered at Zaccheus, a tax collector. Zaccheus, in essence, was an agent of Rome and seen as a traitor to the Jewish nation. Working for the Roman government was akin to saying that Rome, not God, was his king.\nLastly, the parable was told because the people expected the Kingdom of God to come all at once. Much has been written about the expectations of some Jewish people for a David-like Messiah to come and overthrow the Romans, so I won\u0026rsquo;t detail it here. But this detail is important because it speaks to the reason for the parable: the Kingdom of God will not come all at once.\n","date":"10 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-10-work-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"W.O.R.K.","type":"posts"},{"content":"I say this because over the past few days, any comment posted has been deleted. My comments were automatically deleted, so I\u0026rsquo;m sure that everyone else\u0026rsquo;s was, too. So, I apologize. I have fixed the problem that created the issue.\nHOWEVER, ALL COMMENTS ARE STILL SUBJECT TO APPROVAL.\n","date":"8 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-08-commentary-wanted/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Commentary Wanted","type":"posts"},{"content":"but it sure was not the Fourth of July\u0026hellip;\nMy wife and I wanted to get away from the boxes, the trash, the window unit A/C, and all the responisbilities for a while. She asked me to take her out of town a short distance. I figured that we just needed some us time as well that wasn\u0026rsquo;t about the baby, the house, unpacking, various first-year dramas, finances, and the like. Being almost 8 months, I knew we couldn\u0026rsquo;t go too far, so I came up with the perfect place\u0026hellip;\nI have always loved Chick-Fil-A(R) snadwiches. What does this have to do with the road trip? Plenty. You see, my fair city does not have a public Chick-Fil-A(R). I\u0026rsquo;m afraid a rather large company has put one in their cafeteria, but only employees and their guests can eat there. Consulting the wesbite, I found the closest store to my fair city. Regular readers will note that I wrote about this quest - the last road trip I made as a single man.\nIn any case, I looked up things to do there. I understood that this city had parks on the Missouri River, something I wish we had here. So, I decided that we\u0026rsquo;d do a museum, eat lunch, then stroll about the river and just talk. Except for lunch being dinner, that\u0026rsquo;s just what we did. It was good to have our own time to just talk and enjoy each other. It reminded both of us of why we fell in love in the first place.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll be posting about other things soon, just wanted to relay a time of joy and peace.\n","date":"8 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-08-saturday-in-the-park/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Saturday in the Park","type":"posts"},{"content":"Every once in a while, I take a break from religious topics, or issues within the ICoC to work on other things I enjoy. One of them, is my fantasy setting, the World of Dira. I have a wiki set up as sort of an encyclopedia. I call it the Hesberian Gazetteer. It\u0026rsquo;s sort of the second edit of whatever World of Dira posts I make here. Because of the format, some information is added or omitted.\nIn some ways, it feels like the Dicitionary of the Khazars when I reread what I\u0026rsquo;ve written, but I promise that wasn\u0026rsquo;t my intent when I started it. If you haven\u0026rsquo;t read Dictionary of the Khazars, it is a very good read, no matter how you read it. To understand what I mean, pick up a copy.\nOddly enough, the book was originally written in Serbo-Croatian. This is the same language that forms the basis of the Ogdan language. I know, I know, the Ogdan don\u0026rsquo;t have a spoken language, only hand signals to the Ganarii. Trust me, it will become clear in time. You think I just pulled \u0026rsquo;nechka\u0026rsquo; out of the top of my head?\nIn any case, that gets updated when the blog doesn\u0026rsquo;t. I mean posts. I write a comment or two everyday.\nSo, if you wish, feel free to peruse the dictionary. True to wiki form, anything with a question mark hasn\u0026rsquo;t been written yet.\n","date":"5 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-05-hesberian-gazetteer/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hesberian Gazetteer","type":"posts"},{"content":"Ahmad is a very friendly man with a good memory. Three months ago, I went into his resturant for the first time. It turns out that both our wives are expecting around the same time. He also assured my wife that \u0026ldquo;the spices are good for the baby\u0026rdquo;. I don\u0026rsquo;t know exactly when, but around 15 or so years ago, Ahmad came to America from Iran. How he ended up in Omaha, I don\u0026rsquo;t know, but he loves his little cafe in the Old Market. From his little stove, he fixes the finest food of any kind. He even makes special orders for gluten-free, diabetic, or food allergies.\nAnd he loves people of all kinds \u0026ndash; one of those people is my wife.\nI was on the neverending quest for a parking space and gone for twenty minutes. Despite the full resturant, he spent some time with her asking about the baby. When I finally arrived, you would have thought I was the President or Rafsanjani or some other important dignitary.\nAfter we talked awhile, he greeted his upstaris neighbors (there are apartments above his cafe) and they all knew each others\u0026rsquo; names. Our waiter came out shortly after - he explained how to eat the Tehran Chicken I had ordered. With Saffron, Lime, and 12 spices, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure there was a wrong way, but I followed his advice.\nIn any case, my wife and I had a chance to take an emotional timeout. We didn\u0026rsquo;t talk about the baby or the house or the neighborhood we live in or the church or our recent breakdowns. We sat outside eating Persian food drinking ice water from sweating blue goblets. We talked about books and poetry and why we fell in love with each other.\nI am a driven person. For this reason, I recognize things like the Purpose Driven Church(R) as more marketing than spiritual. This is also the primary reason that I can get \u0026lsquo;hung up\u0026rsquo; on a specific topic and post about it for days after it has ceased being relevant. I usually choose to see the positives in my drive and use words like: tenacious, determined, steadfast, and the like. However, there are some thing for which no amount of drive will be of benefit. One of those things is a relationship with God. You cannot earn your way to God\u0026rsquo;s approval before or after your conversion. Another of those things is the relationship with a spouse.\nI have been so driven to meet all her needs, that I have been missing the primary need: enjoying her. I think of 1 Corinthians 13 as a parallel. I could write the greatest epics describing my devotion, but without love, the words would fall to the floor like lead. I could put her in a mansion with servants, but without love, it would only be a monument to her loneliness. I could provide specialists, nutriontists, and all kinds of health professionals available at a moment\u0026rsquo;s whim, but without love, her heart would starve and wither away. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that I do not love my wife, but if she doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel loved, I might as well have lived in another state.\nSo yesterday, she felt loved and so did I. God granted me peace through his daughter and my wife.\nPraise be to God.\n","date":"3 August 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-08-03-at-ahmads/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"At Ahmad's","type":"posts"},{"content":"This post was made after hearing messages from MOAC 2004. In essence, I considered five main issues:\nThere are lots of words and few actions. There is searching to understand things that have been obvious for quite some time.* There is a perceived effort to be at peace first, unified second, then try to solve problems last. A perceived reluctance to outside perspective. The perceived search for global answers instead of local answers. It\u0026rsquo;s a year later and the issues appear the same. I am still amazed at the \u0026lsquo;shock and wonder\u0026rsquo; that some leaders have about things that occurred in my life for 10+ years. There is all kinds of conjecture at our current issues including a comparison to the minor league baseball system, insights from Family Dynamics, a look at the discipling system, and reconstruction of our past structure. It still looks like all five are going on, except for the mention of outside influence in the discipling papaer.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t be so insightful that no one else has thought of it. Maybe I am oversimplifying this whole mess. It seems to be more apparent than ever that leaders were more insulated from the issues of most members, especially leaders higher up the chain. Hearing what some have said, it looks like they are still writing papers only to each other. The phrase \u0026lsquo;out of touch\u0026rsquo; is like comparing paprika to habenero.\nAgain, I hope that the forum at MOAC 2005 will yield something. Unfortunately, it is at least one year too late. On the positive side, however, it is actually addressing things that are important.\nI just want things to be different, but I am growing more fearful that they will not. Specifically, I mean the teaching of discipling as philosphical instead of biblical, cooperation with other churches that are NOT ICC, job descriptions of lead evangelists that include visitation with members, full financial disclosure of church finances (past and present), biblical instruction from the text instead of conforming the text to enforce an ideal, and staff limits on the conferences they may attend. When I look for change in these areas, there is little to none. In New Jersey, they bring in a CoC minister for some Sundays. (YAY!) Family Dynamics is replacing the old system of \u0026lsquo;submit or else\u0026rsquo;. There are even places where the Family Dynamics family series is replacing the \u0026ldquo;Go to your room until you\u0026rsquo;re happy\u0026rdquo; system. I dunno, just seems like places the bigwigs don\u0026rsquo;t have a lot of influence, there is a disposition to try new things, but places they go are propotionately conservative to their influence.\nMaybe Thomas will be able to \u0026ldquo;work on\u0026rdquo; more churches (Scent of a Woman sermon, 07/24/05) and all of this is moot.\n","date":"26 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-26-a-look-back-at-moac-2004/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Look Back at MOAC 2004","type":"posts"},{"content":"In Feburary, I found the following exposition of John 3:5. The person posting this exposition claimed that this is a method taught at The Master\u0026rsquo;s Seminary and that he wanted feedback on what people thought. I intend to use this as an exercise of the use of logic as a tool for understanding. Although the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God, I believe the sentiment expressed by Mr. Spock that logic is not the end of wisdom. More on that later.\nJohn 3:5 “born of water”?\nThere are four common views:\nVIEW 1. “Born of water” refers to water baptism. Pro – (1) Verse 22 mentions baptism. (2) The testimony of ancient church fathers. Con – (1) No baptism is mentioned anywhere in the context of Jesus’ discourse with Nicodemus. (2) This view creates tension with a literal interpretation of vss. 14-18. (3) Does not harmonize with Ephesians 2:8-9. (4) No support elsewhere in the Bible that “born of water” = baptism. (5) In reply to Pro 2 above, some ancient church fathers were also branded heretics and the whole book of Jude warns about such false teachers in the first century. An ancient testimony, therefore, is not commended in and of itself.\nVIEW 2. “Born of water” refers to physical birth shortly after the amniotic fluid is discharged from the mother. Pro – (1) Verse 6 emphasizes physical birth. Con – (1) John 1:13 refers to physical birth as “born of blood.” (2) “Born of water” as a reference to physical birth is a contemporary idea and not used in biblical customs. (3) Little exegetical support to commend this idea.\nVIEW 3. “Born of water” refers to the word of God. Pro – (1) Cross references in the Bible irrefutably refer to the word of God as “water.” John 15:3 lends support to this imagery as do Ephesians 5:26 and 1 Peter 1:23. Con – (1) John 15:3 does not explicitly mention water or Spirit. It is not a strong parallel. (2) Ephesians 5:26 and 1 Peter 1:23 are vastly different contexts, different authors, and neither provide a good parallel by mentioning the Spirit. Though water may be used as metaphors for the word of God in these passages, it does not necessarily establish the same imagery in John 3:5. A “babe” in 1 Corinthians 3:1 refers to a Christian, but it does not refer to Christians in Hebrews 5:13. These cross references, therefore, are inconclusive.\nVIEW 4. “Born of water” refers to the Holy Spirit. Pro – (1) Cross references do support this metaphor of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Titus 3:5. (2) The figurative use of “water” is well-attested in John’s gospel (4:7-14; 7:37-39) and is explicitly identified as the Holy Spirit in 7:39. (3) The proximity of John 4:7-14 and 7:37-39 provide a closer context than passages that mention “water” being the “word of God” in Ephesians 5:26 and 1 Peter 1:23. (4) The imagery of water for the Spirit is well-attested in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 36:25-26) and would have been familiar to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who studied the Scriptures and Old Testament Law. (5) The conjunction “kai” can be used in an explanatory sense (translated “even”) as in Matthew 21:5. In this case, “Unless one is born of water, even the Spirit, he cannot enter….” (6) Verse 8 does not mention water, but the Spirit alone. Such is not out of line if “born of water” is synonymous with “born of Spirit,” for the two are one and the same. Con - (1) There is the issue of redundancy this view creates.\nCONCLUSION – View 1 has very little or no exegetical support to commend itself. The hermeneutical principle of “the analogy of faith” (Scripture interprets Scripture) places the final nail in the coffin and the force of its Con arguments far outweighs its Pro’s. View 2 has about as much support as View 1, but it too is nearly a conspicuous eisegesis. View 3 is attractive, but it lacks a good parallel close to the context of John 3:5. View 4 is clearly the superior view, especially because of John 7:39. It is commended by contextual, exegetical, grammatical, and historical support—none of which may be said for any single one of the first three views. In answer to Con 1 against view 4, redundancy is only discouraged in modern culture; biblical examples abound of cognates and hendiadys.\nWhat are the first thing that you notice about this method of finding meaning in John 3:5? Obviously, it addresses four historical views of this passage with an eye to determine the meaning of the phrase \u0026ldquo;born of water\u0026rdquo;.\n","date":"25 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-25-exegetical-example/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Exegetical Example","type":"posts"},{"content":"I revised my letter to Disciples Today due to errors I made with statistics. The full revised letter can be read here.\nHello editors of DToday! I hope the day is treating you well.\nI am afraid that I made two errors in my original letter. The first was ICC membership. Were I comparing apples to apples, I would have given the numbers for US membership. Instead, I provided worldiwde membership. The second error was a mistaken source of data. I had thought that it came from the Census, but instead was a survey performed by the City Univeristy of New York. I arrived at the link from the census.gov site and mistakenly attributed the source incorrectly. In discourse, it is necessary to be accurate, and I apologize for misleading statistics.\nThe entire paragraph under \u0026ldquo;2. We need to learn how to water and grow mature churches.\u0026rdquo; should read:\nAgain, other churches outside our fellowship have found ways to mature their churches. I humbly suggest that as we listen to God in faith, we hear what he has already taught others in maturing their congregations. There is an organization of the Independent Christian Churches that work with more progressive Churches of Christ to plant churches throughout the US. They are thorough and strategic as a visit to their website will demonstrate. This organization is called Stadia - www.stadia.cc. They provide coaching and other assistance to promote healthy church growth and maturity.Other success stories of Churches of Christ are also available at the Harding Center for Church Growth. I believe that together with others, we can succesfully plant new churches without repeating the mistakes of our past.\n","date":"22 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-22-correction-to-letter/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Correction to Letter","type":"posts"},{"content":"I read the following article at the church report listing the 50 most influential churches as determined by a survey.\nI expected number one and two. However, going through the list, I was surprised at some others.\nFalwell\u0026rsquo;s church, the Thomas Road Baptist Church is number 28. I honestly didn\u0026rsquo;t know he was still preaching. He seems to be all over MSNBC and Fox News. Considering his comments made on the 700 Club shortly after 9/11 and other aspects of his message, I certainly hope that his influence drops!\nAn Independent Christian Church landed at number 50, the Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky.\nMore later. I am particularly interested in Southeast, especially as a church with the same doctrine as mine.\n","date":"22 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-22-fifty-most-influential-churches/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Fifty Most Influential Churches","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found an item of note on the conference schedule of MOAC 2005:\nThursday, September 8 Class Session #2: 4:00 pm\nForum: Paradigms of Brotherhood \u0026amp; Church Cooperation How do we simplify the criteria of effective unity? In what areas do we need cooperation? What, if any, is the role of one church mentoring another? How do we handle doctrinal and opinion differences? How can we effectively work together to continue evangelizing the world? Steve Staten \u0026amp; Thierry Fender will moderate a forum of several presenters, followed by question \u0026amp; answer, on the shape of our future unity.\nI truly wish I could be there. I would want to ask two questions:\nWhat are we going to do about those that promote division, specifically Thomas? Are we only looking to cooperate with churches of the former and present ICC? There\u0026rsquo;s a part of me that looks at the \u0026ldquo;how to deal with doctrinal differences\u0026rdquo; question and sigh. It appears that, if we follow the path we\u0026rsquo;ve started so far, the answer will be to quote Ephesians 4:29, challenge indrectly, play nice, and hope for change. When did Ephesians 4:29 become \u0026ldquo;thou shalt not raise your voice or publicly disagree with your brother\u0026rdquo;? Paul, the same person that wrote Ephesians 4:29, also publicly confronted Peter. But I digress\u0026hellip;\nThen, there\u0026rsquo;s a part of me that thinks, \u0026ldquo;this could be great\u0026rdquo;. There is a question and answer on this, not just a bunch of papers. It is a moderated discussion. It can demonstrate to Thomas and his ilk that there are many of us that have zero interest in \u0026lsquo;overseeing evangelists\u0026rsquo; or being replanted or \u0026lsquo;one-over-another\u0026rsquo; discipling. We can sit down and work through issues before and after the forum. For this alone, I wish I could be there.\nAt least I hope this will be fruitful. I pray to keep this hope because the speakers are all the same cast of characters as before. (When is Sean Wooten actually in Russia.) The other bit of discouragemnet comes from other speeches on the program:\nFriday, September 9 Class Session #3: 2:00 pm Revival: Son of Man, Can These Bones Live?—Kip McKean Principles of faith-building revival culled from the two-year turnaround experience of the Portland International Church of Christ\nand\nVictory: Re-Defining the Abundantly Fruitful Church—Mike Fontenot How do we know when a church is succeeding or struggling? As leaders, what should we pray for and expect in evangelizing and in baptizing? Drawing from the outstanding example of the Hampton Roads church of Christ, an elder \u0026amp; evangelist tackles the crucial topic of “success” in the church.\nLord, please help us despite ourselves.\nUpdate: Joe Beam, the creator of Family Dynamics is coming to MOAC 2005! I actually want to go - unfortunately, he is speaking at the same time as the forum. I wish he could be at the Friday 2pm slot :) In any case, this is shaping up to be a good conference. A forum, Dr. Reese, Joe Beam of Family Dynamics\u0026hellip; How about that?\n","date":"22 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-22-hope-from-moac-2005/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hope from MOAC 2005","type":"posts"},{"content":"Dear Dtoday Staff,\nGod\u0026rsquo;s Discipline: Hebrews 12:4-13\nGod has disciplined our fellowship of churches and there is yet a great opportunity laid before us to repent. As stated in the introduction, discipline has its root in love and not retribution. As God holds our leaders and teachers to a higher standard (James 3:1), the leaders were disciplined first, but all of us were discipline in one way or another. I honestly believe that the discipline we are enduring is God pleading for us, his children, to honor Him first above all. Much work still lies before us.\nHowever, in looking for parallels to our situation, there is some encouragement. God has also disciplined the Worldwide Church of God with a similar shaking of core convictions. Reading their history, it has been encouraging to find that there is a way out of the turmoil and still address various issues.\nIn light of God disciplining us to draw closer to Him and Him only, the following quote from their history gives me encouragement:\nSomething unexpected also happened: Many members, after struggling to understand the doctrinal change, began to experience a new sense of peace and joy through a renewed faith in Jesus Christ. Their identity was in him, not in the particular laws they kept. The Sabbath doctrine was changed in order to be more biblical; the result was that members became more spiritual. Members focused more on their relationship with Jesus Christ; they also had an increased interest in worship. Organizationally, this doctrinal change had catastrophic results. But spiritually, it was the best thing that ever happened to the WCG.\nAs God has disciplined the WCG, He has also brought about a time of refreshing for many. (Acts 3:19) How wonderful to know that God is merciful to us when we sin! As one person has said recently, let us not pout or rebel against a merciful God, instead we should repent.\nSatan\u0026rsquo;s Attack: James 1:13-15\nWhen God moves, hearts are revealed. I believe it is fair to say that as events unfolded in 2003 until now, the hearts of many were revealed. Many chose to give in to their sinful desires in various ways.\nAgain, I find comfort in others that have faced similar circumstances. In a commentary of their church\u0026rsquo;s history, the following passage best describes how people are feeling while being truthful and showing grace to all.\nIn our recent history, we have both good things and bad things, and we have found it difficult to deal with this mixture. When we mention the good, some members get angry. When we mention the bad, others get angry. It seems that these events are so recent that the emotional level is very high.\nSome members suffered because of the church\u0026rsquo;s doctrinal errors. These people often have an emotional desire to emphasize the bad so that it not be done again. Other members found the church to be a spiritually energizing fellowship despite our doctrinal errors. These people often do not like it when the problems are mentioned. We receive letters from both kinds of people regularly. It is helpful for each group to know that the other exists: not everyone had the same kind of experiences in the same church, even in the same congregation.\nMany members had a few negative experiences and hundreds of positive experiences with the church. In most people, of course, it takes dozens of good experiences to outweigh each hurtful experience. As doctrines and practices are changed, people react with mixed emotions. They may rejoice at one change and be irritated by another. They may be happy one day and discouraged the next. Many members have mixed feelings about their own personal history as well as the history of the church.\nBecause of the wide range of emotions concerning Mr. Armstrong and our history, and the intensity of those emotions, we have found it difficult to discuss our history. For many matters, we have chosen to ignore our history, since the truth of a matter does not rest on what we have done in the past, or who taught it. We have attempted to analyze issues based on Scripture and our present circumstances. Yet, in order to effectively explain a doctrinal change, we sometimes have to deal with some of the reasons why we used to believe something different. In all this, we strive to show errors in the teachings, not the persons who promoted the teachings.\nIn looking for where Satan attacked it is important to know that many of us had wildly different experiences. There are some in our churches that see an emphasis on the bad elements of our past as negative and critical. There are also some in our churches that see an emphasis on the positive as naïve and dishonest. It would do our churches a lot of good if we could see that both perspectives can come from a good heart. For the former, it is a heart to prevent others from being hurt again. For the latter, it is an expression of the glory of God. Both perspectives are needed.\nWisdom To Discern The Difference: Isa 1:18\nBy the mercy of God, there is at least one way to work through are issues moving forward. We need to sit down and talk. I\u0026rsquo;m suggesting that there is more than sermons and feel-good conferences. If we are going to mature and act like adults, we need to reason together as adults. The heart motivations will become quite clear once a discussion begins. Even Jesus said that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. (Luke 6:45) We should be able to talk about matters of doctrine. We should be able to bind the hearts of the brokenhearted within our own fellowship of churches. We should be able to discuss ways to help each other and yes, even ways to seek and save the lost. This is the principle of Matt 18 in action, that we can come together, speak as equals, and work through our difference.\nDiscussing the Premise\n1. God has blessed our movement with the knowledge and ability of how to plant and grow churches in hundreds of countries and cultures around the world.\nOur first step would be the humility to see that we have much to learn about planting and growing churches all over the world. The Bethany World House of Prayer has planted more churches faster than we ever did. We would do well to learn some things from them.\nIn 2003, the Bethany World House of Prayer planted 800 churches around the world through the Global 12 Project (an international church-planting venture) and over 1,200 churches in 35 nations since 2001.\n2. We need to learn how to water and grow mature churches.\nAgain, other churches outside our fellowship have found ways to mature their churches. I humbly suggest that as we listen to God in faith, we hear what he has already taught others in maturing their congregations. There is an organization of the Independent Christian Churches that work with more progressive Churches of Christ to plant churches throughout the US. They are thorough and strategic as a visit to their website will demonstrate. This organization is called Stadia . They provide coaching and other assistance to promote healthy church growth and maturity.Other success stories of Churches of Christ are also available at the Harding Center for Church Growth. I believe that together with others, we can succesfully plant new churches without repeating the mistakes of our past.\nWe have churches that are asking for spiritual help, it seems right to help them to heal instead of focusing on aggressively building more churches. If we do not know how to mature a church very well, we should figure out what we are doing before we duplicate the same issues all over again. Planting new churches will not help us to learn how to mature our existing churches.\nIn conclusion, this is indeed a moment of truth for our fellowship of churches. We have the capacity to change and grow and draw close to God like never before. To do this, we need to learn to accept each other in love and trust that there is a good heart behind the actions that hurt us. We also need to learn from others with humility and respect.\n","date":"22 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-07-22-dtodayletter/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Letter to Disciple Today - Final","type":"pages"},{"content":"I read about Rick Warren visiting Rwanda with quite a bit of interest. Here is someone that has been blessed with financial success and he is actively doing something good in the world. For the sake of Rwanda, I hope he is able to make a difference.\nDid I cringe? Oh yeah.\nThe plan is remarkably similar to his book. There are five areas of concern that he calls \u0026lsquo;Global Giants\u0026rsquo;. This is similar to the five purposes of the church, the five puroses of your life, and the five things that can impact the community. (There are eight keys to R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y., but that\u0026rsquo;s another story.) To address these giants, he calls for a master P.E.A.C.E. plan:\nPlant churches Equip servant leaders Assist the poor Care for the sick Educate the next generation Verses are still mangled to fit what he wants the Bible to say. Just like Purpose Driven Life, it is a textbook example of eisegesis. The plan is still doctrine agnostic, just like Purpose Driven. The plan is a combination of marketing, optimism, and an act of sheer will.\nDespite all that, at least he is doing something. I do not like the marketing feel, the lack of exposition, and I especially do not like the survey designed to gauge the health of your small groups. I thought my old church was bad. However, he is still trying to do something.\nIt reminds me that there is more to my faith than this blog and x minutes a day in study and prayer. I certainly hope that Rick Warren can do something positive.\n","date":"20 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-20-purpose-driven-world-peace/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Purpose Driven World Peace","type":"posts"},{"content":"An article appeared on DisciplesToday called the New Frontier asking for feedback. I am going to post what I wrote back, but before I do, I felt like some explanation is in order.\nYou\u0026rsquo;d probably expect that I would dive in guns blazing going after these folks like I do others. However, I did not do any such thing and I want to explain why.\nThere is a difference between a threat and an invitation. A threat is our divisive brother in Portland demanding discipling. It is his way or the highway. He has already sought to reconstruct other churches and create division between evangelists and elders in Atlanta. His writings are intended to show that God is on his side, but not on yours, so get in line.\nAn invitation is something like what Roger wrote. It explains the problem as he sees it and asks for feedback in the way ahead. This is constructive and positive. We can be civil and talk about what we need to do. I think we need to do a lot, but there\u0026rsquo;s no sense in blasting an invitation, even if I disagree with Roger in certain matters. This is the kind of invitation I have been longing to see because I still have hope that the former ICoC can be something good. As it is, there is not much good in the ICoC subculture at all, but I believe that can change.\nSo here is my letter:\nDear Dtoday Staff,\nGod\u0026rsquo;s Discipline: Hebrews 12:4-13 God has disciplined our fellowship of churches and there is yet a great opportunity laid before us to repent. As stated in the introduction, discipline has its root in love and not retribution. As God holds our leaders and teachers to a higher standard (James 3:1), the leaders were disciplined first, but all of us were discipline in one way or another. I honestly believe that the discipline we are enduring is God pleading for us, his children, to honor Him first above all. Much work still lies before us.\nHowever, in looking for parallels to our situation, there is some encouragement. God has also disciplined the Worldwide Church of God with a similar shaking of core convictions. Reading their history at the following link has been encouraging to find that there is a way out of the turmoil and still address various issues.\nIn light of God disciplining us to draw closer to Him and Him only, the following quote from their history gives me encouragement:\nSomething unexpected also happened: Many members, after struggling to understand the doctrinal change, began to experience a new sense of peace and joy through a renewed faith in Jesus Christ. Their identity was in him, not in the particular laws they kept. The Sabbath doctrine was changed in order to be more biblical; the result was that members became more spiritual. Members focused more on their relationship with Jesus Christ; they also had an increased interest in worship. Organizationally, this doctrinal change had catastrophic results. But spiritually, it was the best thing that ever happened to the WCG.\nAs God has disciplined the WCG, He has also brought about a time of refreshing for many. (Acts 3:19) How wonderful to know that God is merciful to us when we sin! As one person has said recently, let us not pout or rebel against a merciful God, instead we should repent.\nSatan’s Attack: James 1:13-15\nWhen God moves, hearts are revealed. I believe it is fair to say that as events unfolded in 2003 until now, the hearts of many were revealed. Many chose to give in to their sinful desires in various ways.\nAgain, I find comfort in others that have faced similar circumstances. In a commentary of their church’s history, the following passage best describes how people are feeling while being truthful and showing grace to all.\nIn our recent history, we have both good things and bad things, and we have found it difficult to deal with this mixture. When we mention the good, some members get angry. When we mention the bad, others get angry. It seems that these events are so recent that the emotional level is very high. Some members suffered because of the church\u0026rsquo;s doctrinal errors. These people often have an emotional desire to emphasize the bad so that it not be done again. Other members found the church to be a spiritually energizing fellowship despite our doctrinal errors. These people often do not like it when the problems are mentioned. We receive letters from both kinds of people regularly. It is helpful for each group to know that the other exists: not everyone had the same kind of experiences in the same church, even in the same congregation.\nMany members had a few negative experiences and hundreds of positive experiences with the church. In most people, of course, it takes dozens of good experiences to outweigh each hurtful experience. As doctrines and practices are changed, people react with mixed emotions. They may rejoice at one change and be irritated by another. They may be happy one day and discouraged the next. Many members have mixed feelings about their own personal history as well as the history of the church.\nBecause of the wide range of emotions concerning Mr. A r mstrong and our history, and the intensity of those emotions, we have found it difficult to discuss our history. For many matters, we have chosen to ignore our history, since the truth of a matter does not rest on what we have done in the past, or who taught it. We have attempted to analyze issues based on Scripture and our present circumstances. Yet, in order to effectively explain a doctrinal change, we sometimes have to deal with some of the reasons why we used to believe something different. In all this, we strive to show errors in the teachings, not the persons who promoted the teachings.\nIn looking for where Satan attacked it is important to know that many of us had wildly different experiences. There are some in our churches that see an emphasis on the bad elements of our past as negative and critical. There are also some in our churches that see an emphasis on the positive as naïve and dishonest. It would do our churches a lot of good if we could see that both perspectives can come from a good heart. For the former, it is a heart to prevent others from being hurt again. For the latter, it is an expression of the glory of God. Both perspectives are needed.\nWisdom To Discern The Difference: Isa 1:18\nBy the mercy of God, there is at least one way to work through are issues moving forward. We need to sit down and talk. I’m suggesting that there is more than sermons and feel-good conferences. If we are going to mature and act like adults, we need to reason together as adults. The heart motivations will become quite clear once a discussion begins. Even Jesus said that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. (Luke 6:45) We should be able to talk about matters of doctrine. We should be able to bind the hearts of the brokenhearted within our own fellowship of churches. We should be able to discuss ways to help each other and yes, even ways to seek and save the lost. This is the principle of Matt 18 in action, that we can come together, speak as equals, and work through our difference.\nDiscussing the Premise\n1. God has blessed our movement with the knowledge and ability of how to plant and grow churches in hundreds of countries and cultures around the world.\nOur first step would be the humility to see that we have much to learn about planting and growing churches all over the world. The Bethany House of Prayer has planted more churches faster than we ever did. We would do well to learn some things from them.\nIn 2003 Bethany \\[house of prayer\\] planted 800 churches around the world through the Global 12 Project (an international church-planting venture) and over 1,200 churches in 35 nations since 2001.\n2. We need to learn how to water and grow mature churches.\nAgain, other churches outside our fellowship have found ways to mature their churches. I humbly suggest that as we listen to God in faith, we hear what he has already taught others in maturing their congregations. According to census data, the Churches of Christ grew from 1,769,000 to 2,593,000 from 1990 to 2001 in the United States. (Turns out this is statistical data, not official US Census data. Sorry for the confusion.) At the same times, our churches in the US went from growth to decline, some churches even folded altogether. Overall, we went from about 25,000 to 134,260 (www.icocinfo.org), but some of our older churches were already into double-digit decline. (NOTE: I was wrong in my figures, these are worldwide and the Church of Christ stats were for the US. The US Stats for the ICoC are 35,000 (est.) in 1990 to 56,677 in 2001.)\nWe have churches that are asking for spiritual help, it seems right to help them to heal instead of focusing on aggressively building more churches. If we do not know how to mature a church very well, we should figure out what we are doing before we duplicate the same issues all over again. Planting new churches will not help us to learn how to mature our existing churches.\nIn conclusion, this is indeed a moment of truth for our fellowship of churches. We have the capacity to change and grow and draw close to God like never before. To do this, we need to learn to accept each other in love and trust that there is a good heart behind the actions that hurt us. We also need to learn from others with humility and respect.\n","date":"19 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-19-letter-to-disciplestoday/","section":"Posts","summary":"An article appeared on DisciplesToday called the New Frontier asking for feedback. I am going to post what I wrote back, but before I do, I felt like some explanation is in order.\nYou’d probably expect that I would dive in guns blazing going after these folks like I do others. However, I did not do any such thing and I want to explain why.\nThere is a difference between a threat and an invitation. A threat is our divisive brother in Portland demanding discipling. It is his way or the highway. He has already sought to reconstruct other churches and create division between evangelists and elders in Atlanta. His writings are intended to show that God is on his side, but not on yours, so get in line.\nAn invitation is something like what Roger wrote. It explains the problem as he sees it and asks for feedback in the way ahead. This is constructive and positive. We can be civil and talk about what we need to do. I think we need to do a lot, but there’s no sense in blasting an invitation, even if I disagree with Roger in certain matters. This is the kind of invitation I have been longing to see because I still have hope that the former ICoC can be something good. As it is, there is not much good in the ICoC subculture at all, but I believe that can change.\n","title":"Letter to DisciplesToday","type":"posts"},{"content":"I heard a good sermon on John 15:1-11 yesterday. Sometimes I forget that the purpose of the passage is in verse 11, that my joy may be complete.\nTake a listen here\n","date":"18 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-18-john-151-11/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"John 15:1-11","type":"posts"},{"content":"How cool is that? New fragments of Leviticus found dating from the first century AD.\nFull story can be found here.\n","date":"18 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-18-new-scroll-fragments-found/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New Scroll Fragments Found","type":"posts"},{"content":"After the administration of Cajus Tigius, the senate named a new consul in late 5883. The economy was sluggish and Cajus\u0026rsquo; military reforms caused some grumbling, but considering the cataclysm almost forty-six years before, Hesberia was considered stable.\nThis stability gave them adavantage when the military pushed to reclaim eastern lands. Many of the former provinces fell into chaos. Some areas formed city-states while other areas were without both law and order. This chaos prevented some eastern warlords from taking advantage of magical aspects of warfare. Against a more trained and organized army, these warlords fell quickly. Military reforms begun by Awrelius and continued by Cajus transformed the Hesberian military from a plodding infantry heavy force, to a quick, mobile force capable of attacking airborne and ground troops.\nDespite these reforms, certain foes proved too powerful for the retooled Hesberian army. The forces of the former province of Murogum include four trejkun (tray-kuhn) mounted calvary troops. These four calvarymen are airborne, extremely fast, manuervable, and able to attack with fire in addition to arrows and swords. In open field battles, the four fly high above archery range over their foes and swoop down at terrible speeds attacking the rear guard. The rest of the Murogum infrantry engages the front lines. The first battle fought against the Murogum lasted 25 minutes with two centuries of Hesberians lost.\nMurogumian ambition may be on the rise, but they have yet to devise a way to expand past the Awrelian Demarcation. The trejkun will not fly near the area and the infantry are not as skilled in archery as the Hesberians. Both sides are aware that with the airborne calvary, the Muruogum army is little more than an ancient style, heavy infantry force. Another limit to the Murogum expansion is a lack of manpower. They will never lose the former borders of their small province, but they cannot occupy much land beyond it. With the instability of the cataclysm, Kiyolenor (a non-Hesberian merchant) was able to seize power and influence many to back his rule.\nShortly after the cataclysm, Kiyolenor had one young trejkun trained and quickly went in search of more. The fear of the trejkun bought him enough time to establish his rule of order and keep away military threats. After five years, he began to impose his own reforms, especially in stablizing the currency. He introduced a new set of measures that included a simple magical device that could determine the authenticity of a coin. In essence, it was a magic detector. If a coin had been magically produced, the device would glow bright blue. If the coin was minted, it would not illuminate at all. He had also briefly abolished the Ganarii, but wisely changed course when he realized that the Ganarii had contacts deep in the Hesberian Empire.\nThe military of Kiyolenor is made up of former Hesberian troops and various mercenaries that his master-of-arms hires. As a merchant and not a military man, Kiyolenor is not aware of how to maintain a force and he leaves that in the hands of others. His involvement extends to capturing young trejkun and training the riders. Otherwise, he is seeking to expand through business or might, whichever is less costly.\nThe Hesberian Senate determined that any campaigns near Murogum would be pure folly. Certain generals seemed to ignore the advice and press anyway. Cajus himself pushed eastward dying during his second campaign. Thus, when Cajus died, the Senate believed that a general should not be the next consul. Ignoring the wishes of Cajus, a silver-tongued senator named Simiga was named consul in late 5883.\nWithout a general as consul, the military destablized from sinking morale and disorder. Simiga had no skill in leading his generals, despite his eloquence. His policy of using more military for internal building projects infuriated the head of the military assembly. He would not stand for the continuation of what started as a policy under Cajus. Confronting Simiga in the consul\u0026rsquo;s palace, he decried the weakening of the great Hesberian Empire and insisted that certain eastern lands could and should be reestablished. Only his eloquence saved his life, but realizing his weakened hold on the consulship, he asked the senate to declare a state of emergency and name the head of the military assembly, Kmejus Ehimoparbus as temporary dictator. The senate would not give emergency powers to a military general, but they did name him as consul less than one year after naming Simiga.\nUnable to determine the fate of Simiga, the former consul and gifter senator asked to simply retire to the countryside in the western empire. There he stayed for fourty years until his death, never again visiting the capital city.\nUpon his coronation, the new consul took the name of Kmejus Awrelius and ruled uneventfully for another five years. When he passed in 5888, he named Trasus Kelpa as his succesor, but Trasus implored the senate to name another. Trasus nominated a foreign born centurion, Elek-Ikan. The senate looked to western generals seen to be more stable than the aggresive, expansionist eastern generals and sought to elect Awlus Fodilus and named him consul in 5889. Trasus looked to serve as head of the military under the new consulship, but Awlus dismissed him shortly after coronation.\nUpon being names consul, as was the tradition established, Awlus took a different name, Awlus Cagius Timurus. Being accustomed to administration more than military advancement, Cagius did more work to streamline the Hesberian bureaucracy than anything else. His rule was relatively uneventful for fifteen years. In 5903, two generals, dissatisfied with the state of the empire and the military, fought for control of the empire. Elek-Ikan from the west, and Titus Seponus from the east\u0026hellip;\n","date":"16 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-16-history-of-the-republic-iii-a-near-fall/","section":"Posts","summary":"After the administration of Cajus Tigius, the senate named a new consul in late 5883. The economy was sluggish and Cajus’ military reforms caused some grumbling, but considering the cataclysm almost forty-six years before, Hesberia was considered stable.\nThis stability gave them adavantage when the military pushed to reclaim eastern lands. Many of the former provinces fell into chaos. Some areas formed city-states while other areas were without both law and order. This chaos prevented some eastern warlords from taking advantage of magical aspects of warfare. Against a more trained and organized army, these warlords fell quickly. Military reforms begun by Awrelius and continued by Cajus transformed the Hesberian military from a plodding infantry heavy force, to a quick, mobile force capable of attacking airborne and ground troops.\n","title":"History of the Republic III - A Near Fall","type":"posts"},{"content":"I told my wife about my fear of materialism and she has been good in reminding me of the good God has given to me. I am grateful that both of us felt a need to simplify. Some of it was financially driven, some of it was a common desire to raise our child in a place where they wouldn\u0026rsquo;t give in to the same things I had.\nWe got the house. We are renting, but rent is almost half of what rent is here. We moved away from the suburbs and INTO the city. You know, the area that city leaders want to improve before it gets \u0026rsquo;too bad'.\nAnyway, we have great neighbors and I look forward to getting to know them better.\nOur house is an old house. It\u0026rsquo;s in good shape, but not shiny. It\u0026rsquo;s a place where I am not ashamed to bring people and share what I have. It is a place that as I serve in the church, I won\u0026rsquo;t feel guilty about paying more in rent that some of my friends make in two weeks. Besides, we have a child coming and it is good for him or her to be raised in a place similar to where my wife and I were raised.\nIt is something that has made me really happy. I look forward to building our new home.\n","date":"16 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-16-new-house/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New House","type":"posts"},{"content":"MOAC 2005 is getting in full gear. This year promises to be pretty eventful as you have staunch old school and the passive reformers together in one place. This can only mean one thing: the passive reformers will get shouted down and ignored. The old school folks will go to the old school classes, the passive reformers will go to their passive reformer classes. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we now call unity. In other words, for the sake of avoiding conflict, we\u0026rsquo;ll all get together in the same room and \u0026ldquo;get along\u0026rdquo;. It isn\u0026rsquo;t exactly contending for the gospel as one man, but it does show progress, right?\nThis is nothing more than changing the rules as we go along. First, unity was defined as having the same practice and doctrine. Then it was having the same doctrine. Then it was having the same organizational structure, then it was having the same worldwide leaders. Now, it is simply defined by name, proximity, and historical association. No one wants to be the one to draw the line in the sand, except Thomas, and so in order coexist without much conflict, we let him do it.\nWe tell our children to stand up to bullying. We ask our school systems to deal with bullies so out children can go to school. Better school systems deal with bullies by getting the bully to see the error of their ways, ask for help, and devise strategies for managing, and taking responsibility for, their own behaviour. Failing this, the bully is isolated so that he or she can receive more professional and personal help. In Christian parlance, this is acknowledge sin, repent, ask for help, and change their ways. Failing this, they get professional and personal help.\nLest you think this is ignoring the needs of the bullied, there is more to the story than just helping the bully change their ways. Rupert Kaye, CEO of the Association of Chirstian Teachers has this to say:\nRupert says, \u0026ldquo;Helping the perpetrator seems the perfectly Christian thing to do, but we should never overlook the needs of the victim. In fact, standing resolutely with the oppressed is nothing short of a biblical imperative – it is precisely what God expects us all to do.\u0026rdquo;\n“The parable of the Good Samaritan is not about helping the bandits who robbed the hapless journeyman – it is about the help which the victim received from an enemy. Interestingly, Jesus does not allow himself to become preoccupied with blaming the bullies, but nor does he take time to explain or excuse their actions.\u0026quot;\n“Instead, Jesus uses this parable to show his disapproval of those who walk on by on the other side of the road. I think that God expects all school staff, parents and governors to do everything within their power to bind up the wounds of the victims, and provide for their safety and wellbeing.\u0026quot;\nWe allow Thomas to say that a church three hours away from Savannah doesn\u0026rsquo;t have God\u0026rsquo;s approval. We allow him to say that he is going to replant five former icoc churches (and then allow him to do it). We allow him to say the it is unbiblical to eliminate \u0026ldquo;overseeing evangelists\u0026rdquo; and We allow him to claim exemption from having an \u0026lsquo;overseeing evangelist\u0026quot; over him. We allow him to talk about how churches from all over has \u0026rsquo;lost the dream of discipling\u0026rsquo; and sit by while he boasts of all the people moving to Portland. We allow him to talk to our staff members and divide leadership groups. We allow him to be the only one that helps people in need. We have no problem sending money to Europe and Asia, but no help to anyone in America either spiritually or financially. (There is one exception and Chicago should be commended for it.) We allow him to say that being in a small group is a biblical mandate and that there is no such thing as a Christian without a small group. We allow him to say that former icoc churches are lukewarm when some are not. We allow him to speak at our conferences and naively think that everything will be okay. We allow him to mock us, ridicule us, and tell us that we are not real Christians unless we follow his dream, his plan and his leadership. We allow him to continue preaching his message of death and destruction unopposed for the sake of a warped sense of unity.\nSo forgive me if I take a pass on the MOAC 2005 this year. It sounds like MOAC 2003 (which I attended). Nothing will change, we will \u0026lsquo;agree to disagree\u0026rsquo; and continue to allow him to cut a swath of destruction in our churches. We write these books on what it means to be men and what it means to be elders and then we just lay down and die.\nWorse yet, we talk about unimportant things like money:\nHow important are material possessions to you? How important is comfort and ease of life-style? Do you have the same attitude toward these things as God does? How willing would you be to sacrifice your present life-style if doing so would further the spread of the kingdom? How sensitive are you to appeals for increased contributions in the church? Do you need help with your heart in these matters? Will you ask for it? (Gordon Ferguson, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, Discipleship Publications International, 1996, p 140.)\nor we talk about doing the right thing:\nOf course, if someone constituted such a threat to the flock that to say nothing would be to allow the sheep to be slaughtered, I would not hesitate to speak up. I have often done so in the past and I do not see this pattern changing anytime soon. No, I am not afraid of taking a stand.\nonly to hide behind fear of lawsuits\nBesides, there are libel laws. To defame another person is to take a legal risk, and quite possibly to expose the trustees of the church to litigation. While 1 Corinthians 6 instructs us not to sue our fellow believers, the directive does not necessarily protect us from a lawsuit if we have gossiped, slandered, or borne false witness. We are the ones forbidden to sue our fellow Christians. (In the meantime, let’s pray that he or she will not ignore Paul’s directive and sue us!)\nI have had it with being nice. I have had it with waiting for those that purport to be leaders to do the right thing. The very things we did at first, which most of us said two years ago were ungodly, are coming back with a vengenance. So while we as leaders are charged with protecting the flock, we just open the gate and let the wolf in.\nPeh.\n","date":"15 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-15-moac-2005/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"MOAC 2005","type":"posts"},{"content":"The term pituforrobotines was invented by an eBay(TM) user in Spain.\nIt comes from Pitufo and robotines Pitufos are the small blue TV personages called Smurfs(R) in English robotines mean little robots\nSo pituforrobotines refers to those small blue robots (or smurfy robots) which are living inside eBay(TM) computers \u0026amp; servers and are controlling everything what is happening inside eBay(TM) then sending non sense automated messages to the users, canceling accounts, etc.\nLater today, I\u0026rsquo;ll have to add this to the phrasemint.\n","date":"15 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-15-pituforrobotines/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Pituforrobotines","type":"posts"},{"content":"Henry Kriete has resurfaced again, here are his comments as posted: (personal messages to two others ommitted)\n\u0026hellip;For the last time, ahem, I left the ICOC in my heart-the institution, human organization, denomination, sect, cult or whatever you may call it-about 1.5 years ago. I have demonstrated this and stated this publicly and privately many times over. However, I still very much believe there are true and wonderful Christians among them. I believe Kip is delusional and arrogant. Doctrine aside, I believe he is a false teacher based on his ethical failures, deceitfulness and divisive spirit. I say to anyone and everyone involved with him or in the same camp as him-run for your lives!\nBrian is miles and miles from Kip. He has nothing to do with Kip. But, he has more relationships with ICOC churches than me by a long shot. I am very uncomfortable with the ICOC leadership-current, former or whatever- for many reasons-but in particular the ongoing coward ness in publicly denouncing Kip. Like many of you, I am very alarmed. Just this week I said to an ICOC teacher, ‘What the ICOC needs right now is a Churchill, not a Chamberlain’ That’s pretty straight forward don’t you think?\nScott Green is just a couple miles away from me. We have never spoken. I never attended the recent Spokane conference-no interest at all. However, about 40 did go from Vancouver and seemed to have a great time. Good for them.\nBrian has been my friend-although our relationship was anything but that when we first moved here. If Brian starts to go back to the old ways, many will leave Vancouver, I am convinced. But until now, that has not happened. I have never been asked about my contribution or my attendance and don’t have a discipleship partner (in principle I see nothing wrong with a mentoring relationship based on love and grace-with even higher accountability for those who are called to lead) I have been to NY twice a month for about 8 months now (which is 8-9 days a month). Altogether I have been going for 18 months. I do way more there in terms of ministry and teaching than in Vancouver-by far. I would say without question, between the two fellowships, my closest friends are now in NY. They know I still attend in Vancouver and that Vancouver is a reformed ‘ICOC’ congregation. Nothing is enforced in Vancouver-still. That\u0026rsquo;s two years now. What might happen later on is later on. But for now…\nI don’t endorse all of Brian’s theology or his positions on things or his ongoing association with those in the ICOC-I endorse our friendship in Christ, that’s all. Brian is an excellent expositor of the Word and my family\u0026rsquo;s spiritual needs have met. Hopefully, we too have been a source of encouragement and grace.\nI recently took a position as the full time minister for the Maple Ridge church of Christ. They are a small but wonderful group of Christians. Being in the full time ministry has still been a prayer of mine and I truly believe that, at least for now, that\u0026rsquo;s what God wants from me. They initiated with me about 2-3 months ago and after building our friendship, mutual trust and respect, formally asked me to be their minister last week. I am grateful and humbled and hope that I can serve them in a way that pleases Christ. My son will worship in both places for now because they are just starting to build a teen ministry.\nLike I have said before, like it or not- I will worship where I want to and teach where I am invited to teach-as long as I may teach about Christ. I am very excited for this new beginning. I will still maintain many of my friendships with Vancouver. I am not leaving the Vancouver ICOC-I left the ICOC a while ago. In this regard I want to be like Jesus-he ate with the Pharisee and the prostitute. He faithfully attended the synagogue every Sabbath knowing that almost every synagogue leader was a Pharisee or legalistic. And he still sang his heart out I\u0026rsquo;m sure. He had a tax collector and a zealot among his closest friend\u0026rsquo;s. He was a demon, a glutton, a Samaritan and the Messiah all at once! I want to be like Paul-who loved the Galatians but hated their legalism, cherished the Corinthians but chastised their worldliness, left the Pharisees but still fellowshipped with Christians who remained in the Pharisee sect even after their baptism (Acts 11) Or like Peter, who still hung out with James-the brother of Christ-who was very zealous for the law and was still, I should imagine, treating Gentiles like second class citizens (Gal.2) There is only one Lord, one body, one Spirit, one God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ-why can’t most of you accept this? Not protestant, not catholic, not ICOC, mainline, hard-line or straight-line. Just the church-beautiful and glorious in Christ.\nCecil Hook\u0026rsquo;s life and spirit has profoundly influenced me. A two hour conversation with him in Portland changed my life. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to judge anyone before the time-except by what I believe is the truth. I can’t even live up to my own convictions. Mercy triumphs over judgment! I am finished with the ICOC forever as an organization and human institution. And with every human institution and movement. But I am not finished with my brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.\nAnyway, I hope this helps. The Maple Ridge Christians accepted me warmly and sincerely knowing I was a ‘Boston Movement’ leader for 22 years. I only hope I can be as gracious to others.\nLove, Henry\n","date":"12 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-12-whatever-happened-to-henry-kriete/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Where is the World is Henry Kriete?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I led the thoughts for Communion today at church. I pray that this can be of some help somehow to you.\nJuly 10, 2005 - Communion\n","date":"10 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-10-in-remembrance-of-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Remembrance of Me","type":"posts"},{"content":"Joel Osteen charges $10 to get a ticket to his sermons in other cities. This is a location specific thing, trust me. When Billy Graham and Joyce Meyer go somewhere, they go to stadiums or college campuses to avoid having to charge. (I don\u0026rsquo;t know how Joyce got the BI-LO Center in Greenville, SC to allow her to speak without charging for tickets.) I don\u0026rsquo;t think that this is a good thing, but he has the right to charge a lot more.\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to a conference in August that is $65 each for my wife and I. We are meeting in a hotel conference center and 500+ are expected to attend.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve done these events before and I understand that it costs about $20 - $25 per person to pull off an event. $700 for the room, $1600 for the speaker, $150 for materials\u0026hellip; I hated charging but that was the price for everything. The year before we lost money only to break even selling tapes for $3.\nThe event I\u0026rsquo;m going to is probably $1000 to $1500 for the space, so I guess the rest of the almost $30,000 is going to \u0026hellip;\n","date":"9 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-09-one-other-thing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"One Other Thing","type":"posts"},{"content":"You may or may not know about what has happened with Joel Osteen recently. Just to catch up, here\u0026rsquo;s the official CNN transcript of the whole interview. After this interview, Joel published this apology on his website.\nWhat strikes me is that this apology letter shares some similarites with other apologies I have heard before.\nFrom Joel:\nGod has given me a platform to present the Gospel to a very diverse audience. In my desire not to alienate the people that Jesus came to save, I did not clearly communicate the convictions that I hold so precious.\nStatements of fact communicated by Bob Gempel in Dallas on Oct 3, 2003:\nDonations from ICoC congregations go 100% to support overhead so that corporate donors can give 100% of the money directly to projects. An apology was offered for the miscommunication about Hope contributions. Congregations can now opt to give unrestricted donations for overhead, or program specific donations. Unrestricted donations are desperately needed or HOPE will run out of money in three months. A minister is paid to preach the gospel. He gets a national audience on CNN only to drop the ball at the most crucial moment. What is he being paid for? (In case you\u0026rsquo;re wondering, I do know what I would say in his shoes, I have been in tougher circumstances and still spoken the truth as I understand it.) This apology sounds hollow in that these dearly held convictions melt away when questioned. At least Brian McLaren sidestepped the whole question by giving an English Major answer.\nA man in charge of a charity can be held liable for things said by that charity. To allow churches to take contributions with the public declaration that the money is going to a specific project, only to have it diverted to overhead is irresponsible and thoughtless. Why would he wait until churches stopped sending money to clear up this \u0026lsquo;miscommunication\u0026rsquo;? Simple really, ICoC administrative policy charge a HOPE tax to each church that they were required to pay. When the ICoC corportaion went away, some churches like mine stopped sending it because it appears to be unethical (even if it is perfectly legal). Without the enforcement agency and a \u0026lsquo;buffer\u0026rsquo;, churches called directly and wanted answers.\nHowever, there are also some differences between this apology and other apologies I have heard.\nAgain from Joel:\nI will use this as a learning experience and believe that God will ultimately use it for my good and His glory.\nI believe him when he says this. I may not like his theology (or lack thereof) or his message, but I do believe that he will learn his lesson from this. On the other hand, what I witnessed in Dallas was a red-faced CEO angrily denouncing churches that stopped giving unrestricted monies. We had five Adivsory Group members in the audience and two financial board members from our church. It didn\u0026rsquo;t take long to make our final decision (up to that point, we had paid last year\u0026rsquo;s tax). Based on this and subsequent actions I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that Bob has learned his lesson. Enough churches paid their fees to keep them afloat and they now appear to be doing quite well.\nI wish him and HOPE well.\nIt just strikes me that there is a way to apologize and make up for big mistakes. I remember hearing all the apologies around the ICoC and wanting to believe them. However, I have discovered that most are based, like Bob\u0026rsquo;s, on getting caught and not on contrition. This makes me very sad, indeed.\n","date":"9 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-09-this-may-be-unfair/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This May Be Unfair","type":"posts"},{"content":"Spam Karma loves to eat comments and I\u0026rsquo;ve had a big problem in getting it to work correctly. I\u0026rsquo;ve whitelisted my friend ip addresses and it says \u0026ldquo;sent to moderation\u0026rdquo;. In any case, I\u0026rsquo;ve tried again, so please comment to this post and tell me your results.\nFinally I just got rid of spam karma. He works hard, but I can\u0026rsquo;t get ANY comments through, even my own while I am logged in. Using a different program.\n","date":"8 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-08-comments/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Comments","type":"posts"},{"content":"It seems that Thomas has decided that he can slander the Atlanta Church of Christ. He has judged their move to separate into four congregations as ungodly.\nThe clip in question is here.\nTranscript: Just three hours away\n\\[from Savannah, Ga\\], there\u0026rsquo;s another church, a huge church, that at this moment is breaking up into different regions. You know, when things scatter, you know that\u0026rsquo;s not of God. When things gather, you know the Lord is working. And what you have right here is a great deal of confusion that\u0026rsquo;s worked it\u0026rsquo;s way through the whole batch of dough.\nWhy is he telling his congregation this? By what authority does he judge this breaking up as being ungodly? If you ask any of the elders why they are doing this, you will find that it is being done for the members of each region.\nMore to the point, why is criticizing Portland and it\u0026rsquo;s \u0026lsquo;World Missions Evangelist\u0026rsquo; slander when he can critize Atlanta with impunity?\n","date":"7 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-07-divisive-brother-in-portland/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Divisive Brother in Portland","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have finally pared down the categories to eight.\nAre Belong to Us: News about pinakidion.* Church and/or Spirituality: Articles that deal with the Bible, faith, or various church happenings. Computers: Anything computers, mostly Linux. General: Miscellaneous ICoC Subculture: Any article that deals with the distinctiveness of being a part of the ICoC. My Life: Articles about me or my state of mind. Role Playing Games: Articles that deal with various RPGs. World of Dira: This is my alternate Roman empire campaign world. Also, there is now a link to a collaborative writing blog called The Storyteller\u0026rsquo;s Guild\nNow I can go back to my normally scheduled life already in progress.\n","date":"7 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-07-great-simplification-deux/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Great Simplification Deux","type":"posts"},{"content":"Rufus Quintus Livius was elected Consul by the senate in 5870. Against the senate\u0026rsquo;s wishes, he took the name of Cajus (pronounced Kai-us) Tigius believing that continuity was important to the empire. Although not proven, Cajus claimed to have been adopted by Awrelius on his deathbed.\nDiscovery of the Ogdos Islands When he was elected, Cajus inherited a stable empire in terms of military conflict, however, the economy was on the verge of collapse due to decades of numerous auxiliary works projects and the increasing amount of welfare given to citizens. The discovery of the Ogdos islands to the southwest in 5867 brought in badly needed resources and new trading partners. The expedition, funded by a senator named Gilsas, was surprised to see Ganarii present running a few stores. With their help, communication was established with the speechless Ogdans. (They appeared to use a sophisticated set of hand signals to \u0026rsquo;talk\u0026rsquo; to the Ganarii, but not to each other.) The Ogdans demonstrated an unusual talent to \u0026lsquo;blow\u0026rsquo; opaque pottery in a similar fashion to glassmakers blowing glass. The ceramic material used is unknown in other lands of the world. Vessels made of this ceramic are almost indistinguishable from other materials used to make pottery. The only distinguishing characteristics are the round shape and amorphus shapes of color.\nNechka, Milga, and the Ogdan Mug One peculiar vessel commonly called an Ogdan Mug is almost pear shaped with a small chamber near the top where the top of a handle would normally be located. This mug is used for a specific spiced drink called a nechka. Mead is poured into the larger chamber of the mug and a strong, almost pungent mliga (runny cheese) is placed in the smaller chamber. The mug is tilted to allow a little mead to dissolve the mliga. Once dissolved, the rest of the mead is consumed in such a way that the tip of the nose barely touches the dissolved mliga. Apparently, the Ogdan enjoy the simultaneous experience of sour smell and sweet taste. (The milga is not consumed.)\nOgdan Ironworks and Appearance The Ogdans proved to be good steelworkers. Their steel is among the purest known, due to their ability to heat furnances to higher temperatures. No one is certain of the process and they are not willing to teach any outsiders, not even the Ganarii. Their swords have a curvature that makes them resemble a khopesh. Their shields are usually round and small. They do not appear to make any kind of armor except a light chain mail. More is not known.\nThe Ogdans themselves appear to be similar to humans, but are generally shorter and more heavily built. Their have a very small chin and their foreheads are sloped back. They appear to have slightly longer heads compared to other humans and they are much stronger, having particularly strong arms and hands. Like humans, they come with various levels of body hair, but are distinct in that no Ogdan has red hair of any kind, blonde hair is rare.\nCajus Tigius\u0026rsquo; Career Cajus and others resented Awrelius\u0026rsquo; decision to trade with the Ogdans instead of conquer them. In particular, Cajus was envious of their superior steel. He dreamed of expanding the empire to her former glory, however the economic crisis at home kept him busy with matters of state.\nThose in the border provinces where magic could be used began to create their own gold and silver coins. Indistinguishable from real coins, some merchant discovered that their coins reverted to lead once they crossed the Awrelian Demarcation. With the effect of introducing more coins into the economy and a lack of confidence in gold and silver coin, inflation grew out of control. To curb this, Cajus began to make coins of silver and gold with pieces of nihilite. Although difficult and costly to produce, they could not be magically duplicated, thus restoring some confidence in currency. With the unintentional effect of requiring less gold and silver to make coin, Cajus was able to produce enough coin to bring inflation under control.\nWith a trustworthy coin, inflation could be controlled, but the recession would not end until there was either enough gold and silver to make coins for everyone, or the dole would have to be reduced. Cajus did both. Unable to get much more gold from old mines, he looked to the east where border provinces stayed afloat thanks to Hesberian trade. He discovered that in some eastern provinces, local rulers had not figured out a way to make trustworthy, magic-proof coins. Taking advantage of their inflation and governmental chaos, Cajus struck boldly to retake eastern lands in 5881. He was easily able to take Gursova and Bithynia. Being cautious, as was his predecessor, he focused on maintaining the two gold-rich provinces. Bringing troops from the southeastern border, Cajus held these territories and they are still part of the Hesberian Empire.\nCajus perished during his second campaign east in 5883. Unwilling to fight without their general and consul, the Hesberian armies did not press, but instead withdrew to established boundaries. Cajus was 47. He represented the second of the two main consuls that stablized the empire after the cataclysm. Awrelius spent tumulous years stablizing society and the new social order. Cajus stablized the economy and the military.\n","date":"7 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-07-history-of-the-repiblic-ii/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"History of the Republic II","type":"posts"},{"content":"The is the Hesberian phrase for a special plant cultivated in the former northern provinces of Erepia, Emklia and Siptidrania. This plant is able to store energy for an extended period of time. These plants, which resemble yams that are light yellow in color are used extensibly by Nekorii (wizards) and warriors alike for their propeties\u0026hellip;\n","date":"7 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-07-sulemus-budimis/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sulemus Budimus","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just because something is preached from the pulpit, do not necessarily accept it. Though preachers are to speak as ones speaking the very words of God (1 Peter 4:11), this does not at all mean they actually are speaking the words of God! That’s because inspiration is in the scriptures, not the speaker. - Douglas Jacoby, Matthew 11:12 Forceful Men - 08/03/2003\nI was recently able to hear a sermon where the minister rebuked the congregation for being lazy. Apparently, not enough people are registered for some big conference he\u0026rsquo;s having, or at least that is what I understand. It made me think of Doug\u0026rsquo;s paper on Matt 11:12, especially in regards to anger. Many times, the bad translation of this verse in the NIV allowed speakers to believe they were \u0026lsquo;cranking\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;more radical\u0026rsquo; if they were able to be \u0026lsquo;forceful\u0026rsquo; in their preaching. Most times, however, this was only because a minister was inconvienced or stats were looking bad.\nI mention this because I am struck by a sermon that comes so close to being profound when talking about freedom in Christ, yet concludes by insisting that the grace of God is only evident in those that work as hard as they can.\nMore later, but I just cannot believe it. Some comments made in the sermon include\n\u0026ldquo;You had to be cranking to enter the Holy of Holies.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;You had better be cranking and not tanking, if you know what I mean.\u0026rdquo;\nIt never ceases to amaze me.\n","date":"6 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-06-the-message-from-the-pulpit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Message from the Pulpit","type":"posts"},{"content":"It has been awhile, but I have been away preparing for a trip to my hometown, the Outer Banks of NC. It was fun to see family, but I did not get to see Rock or others in my family as I had wished. I regret that.\nHowever, it was enjoyable, and I plan to write about it in detail later tomorrow. Suffice it to say that I will never see the MPLS airport the same way again.\nAlso, there really is going to be biblical teaching content coming. I keep needing to record some things, but don\u0026rsquo;t have the energy at night to do it.\n","date":"6 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-06-this-past-week/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"This Past Week","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"1 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-01-266/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"","type":"posts"},{"content":"Finally upgraded to version 1.5.1.3\nAll the spam and trackbacks were killing me and legitimate comments were being lost.\nIf you have posted in the last few days and it hasn\u0026rsquo;t appeared, please come back and try again.\nUPDATE: The spam killer requires for your first comment since the upgrade, then all subsequent comments should go through fine. The key word is in italics.\n","date":"1 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-01-upgrade/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upgrade!","type":"posts"},{"content":"You may have come here because I asked you to visit. You may have stumbled here because you did a google search on the word pinakidion and discovered that this is the first entry. Some of you may have even come over from the ICC Discussion forum or other places. However you got here, welcome.\nI really pray about the things I post here. Sometimes, I think of this place as a personal psalter. Some posts are happy, some are angry, some are sad, all of them are honest. After reading a few, that may seem odd that I pray about things like my fantasy world, but I do. I really enjoy writing and I pray to develop those fantasy world ideas for their own sake. As far as theological issues go, I strive to be fair pointing out good and not so good things in everything around me, including myself. I do not apologize for what I think, but I am always willing to discuss it and admit where I am wrong.\nI would like to think that one day, many people will come here and read my thoughts on various topics. At that point, I remember that I am not writing to be loved, respected, or even hated. This place is not my life, just a record of things that move around between my ears.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s an explanation of the topics:\nAre Belong to Us - These posts refer to the website itself. The reference is too obscure to explain briefly. Church and/or Sprituality - These posts refer to spiritual insights, issues, and thoughts. Church items either refer to church as a universal, not a specific denomination, or to the church I currently attend. Computers - This is the repository for my Linux or clerry.com posts. Expositions - This category covers books of the Bible I study. Some are not complete. General -Miscellaneous stuff that doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit anywhere else. ICoC Subculture - These posts are specifically about the International Churches of Christ. My Life - These posts are about the joys, sorrows, and other happenings in my life. Role Playing Games - These posts are about RPG mechanics, rules, or background information. This category can cover anything from a review of a new free RPG to background information suitable for various genres of RPGs. Semithought - Here lies the unfinished ideas of posts that I either decided not to post, did not feel like finishing, or works in progress. If I finish a semithought, it will be recatergorized. World of Dira - This is my fantasy world that I write about from time to time. It\u0026rsquo;s sort of an alternate universe based on the Roman Empire. These posts are the ones that look the most out of place, so note the category when reading. Update January 1, 2006: Just so you know, you will get error messages when you post. The comment will appear, however, I did not upgrade last time correctly, so it is an error that cannot be fixed. The WordPress guys insist it is an issue with a space somehwere in the code and there is no space problem. Maybe the upgrade to 2.0 will fix it.\nTheme Notes The Meteora Theme (two guys and a rainbow) has an issue with overwriting on the comments that I cannot fix. However, with spacing issues aside, I like it.\nThe /Pink theme (pronounced SlashPink and looks like SlashDot) doesn\u0026rsquo;t have this issue, but Slashdot is losing cool points thanks to Digg.\nThe Rubric theme is my favorite because of the red pen.\nThe Exquisite theme is the best yet, my gratitude to the creator is a permanent part of this theme when it is in use. This will usually be the theme you see.\n","date":"1 July 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-07-01-welcome-to-my-world-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Welcome to My World","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been enjoying some reading into Roman history. For those that may not know, I am creating a world called Dir for the purpose of building a fantasy world. The main idea is that an empire controlled most of the known world until the abrupt introduction of magic. Most stories will take place roughly 100 years after the cataclysm.\nLimits of Magic The use of magic, though, can only happen under certain conditions. This prevented the entire world from plunging into chaos, though the cataclysm created quite a bit of upheaval. The conditions are:\nMagic occurs only in the presence of a substance called adamite. Nihilite cancels the ability to use magic. Certain lands contain so much nihilite that magic is impossible to use.\nEffects of Adamite The presence of adamite does create genetic variation at a much faster rate than evolution. There are reports of all manner of strange creatures, especially away from major human populations. Some changes are more exotic than others. For example, there are two legged pack animals appearing in less settled areas. Keep in mind that certain \u0026lsquo;fantastic\u0026rsquo; creatures existed before, namely dragons, basilisks, unicorns, etc. However, these creatures may be different from conventional fantasy.\nFor example, adult dragons are smaller requiring about 500kg of food per week (roughly equivalent to a horse). They breathe fire because of weak digestive system that cannot process raw meat well. They eat similarly in frequency and manner of snakes (dislocating the jaw and swallowing whole, eating once a week or two weeks, etc.) Basilisks have a bite that petrifies (not a gaze). The petrifaction is not a literal turning of flesh to stone, but a neurological toxin that causes paralysis marked by rigidity of the major muscle groups.\nWith the advent of magic and the presence of adamite, more \u0026rsquo;traditional\u0026rsquo; fantasy creatures are beginning to appear. These creatures develop or may develop abilities that are unnecessary for survival and threaten to current food chain.\nSentient Species One other item of note is the existence of other sentient species before and after the cataclysm. The dominant empire conquered not only other humans, but other sentient species as well. The dominant empire recorded the complete extermination of at least one species, and may have led to the elimination of a few others. As a result, there are more humans in the world than any other species, but given the current disposition of the empire toward internal affairs instead of conquest, that is becoming less the case.\nHesberian Empire The dominant empire is called the Hesberian Empire. They exhibit many traits of the Roman Empire in engineering, architecture, military tactics, and culture. They are now a republic (much like the Greeks) due to the cataclysm. The republic has focused more on internal affairs, especially on rebuilding infrastructure, re-establishing trade, and culture. Much of the rebuilding is due to a significant loss of land area for the empire, slave revolts, and short-term economic collapse.\nAwrelias Severus Tigius - Father of the Republic Two years into the cataclysm, (5839 ED) the senate took a risky move by deposing Junias Metellus. Junias had served as a general in the military for 25 years and done much for the empire as emperor for the past five years. He was noted for capturing the Ikan lands, as well as destroying a great Sook threat in the south. During his brief reign, he built roads throughout the border territories and began to allow Ganarii traders in the common markets. However, due to overwhelming military losses from attempts to retain the eastern reaches of the empire, the soldiers did not object to his removal. The republic was restored and Awrelias Severus was made consul. Awrelias had also served in the military mostly by fighting the Siptidrans (humans) in the northern frontiers. In areas where he encountered magically augmented forces, he developed a system of strategic retreats and razing the land as they left. This allowed them to retain some territories in lands where magic is possible while creating a barrier between to protect his outmatched forces. History also records a gambit whereby he tricked the Siptidrans into believing that he had mastered certain magical abilities combined with an inventive use of archers and cavalry. No doubt that Awrelias displayed some kind of military ingenuity, diplomacy, and cleverness to retain territory against a vastly superior foe.\nAs Awrelias took the consulship, the Senate wisely passed many of his reforms quickly without much debate. This allowed the fledging republic to quickly respond to various threats and begin to establish order.\nThe new consul first created the Awrelian Demarcation. Using various concrete columns bearing the inscription \u0026ldquo;gafe nekorum\u0026rdquo; (beware of magic) the \u0026lsquo;boundaries\u0026rsquo; of magic were quickly marked and discovered. Continuing his tactics from the northern frontiers, he also instructed military commanders to make strategic retreats to the demarcation line along the eastern front. Having successfully defended the northern boundaries years earlier, the military could focus on the eastern boundary. Special units on horseback sent messages quickly up and down the eastern line allowing troop movement to areas of greatest need. Five years after the cataclysm, the bulk of the fighting ended except for periodic skirmishes in the southeast. This allowed Awrelias to move to promote stability and realign Hesberia in the face of a new reality.\nHe had increased the grain dole when he first took office, but after five years reserves were rapidly depleting and the current level could not be maintained. Rich farmland in the east was no longer available and the western lands could barely meet the demand. However, the northern lands he had been able to retain continued to increase their harvest. The grain was not considered to be as good as grain in the southern lands, but the increasing volume met the need. He instructed the governor of Tecia in the north to investigate the increase and in short order, a new system of fertilization with the use of adamite was developed. This advance averted a widespread famine, though areas of the west experienced local famines of their own.\nSpending reserves of the empire, he created several large building projects throughout the empire. He encouraged slaves to become a part of these projects promising citizenship and soldier\u0026rsquo;s pay in return for five years of service. This helped to quell the small slave revolts and artificially created demand for important goods and services. More roads were built under this program than at any other time in the empire. Temples to the Old Gods were created in many cities - this sated the superstitious belief that the Old Gods were punishing the empire for ignoring them. Awrelias\u0026rsquo; minister of Religion and minister of public morality also actively suppressed \u0026ldquo;Eastern\u0026rdquo; ideas seen in many religions dedicated to the so-called New Gods.\nIn 5851, the Bredurium guard, the personal protectors of the consul, attempted to assassinate Awrelias. The empire had lost much of its former glory. A plague the year before along the eastern border discouraged some of the generals in the military. In addition, many soldiers were involved in construction projects - this was seen as shameful to the soldiers and to their commanders, especially Lysias Cosas. Lysias had led unauthorized raids into the east with modest success. He began to build support amongst the other generals under the belief it was time to reclaim the lands that were lost. The senate had begun to slow down reforms and were seen by citizens as needlessly quarreling and corrupt.\nThe story goes that Awrelias, himself, fought off the attack and killed his would-be assassin with his own blade. Cutting off the assassin’s head, he carried it to the Senate where he made an impassioned speech \u0026ldquo;for the glory and people of Hesberia\u0026rdquo;. He declared that he was not too weak to defend himself and neither was the empire. He then spoke against the slowness of the senate and demanded that the senate stop vying for position and start caring for the people. He declared that a politician was the most destructive of assassins.\nLysias, not knowing that the assassination was foiled marched into the capital leading a procession of plunder, strange beasts, and prisoners. Upon hearing the trumpets, Awrelias marched to greet him. As the senators held their breath, Awrelias publicly congratulated Lysias on his military success and love of the empire. Awrelias claimed victory on his behalf and held the first public games in several years. To thank Lysias, Awrelias promoted him to his cabinet in a position that took him far away from the capital and the eastern front. Lysias passed away in his sleep two years later while returning to the capital. (It is said he was struck by lightning).\nFor the rest of his reign, Awrelias spoke of restoring the glory of Hesberia. He expanded his various construction projects and even discovered new lands across the seas to the southwest in 5867. The discovery of these large islands brought in much needed resources and materials and goods. In 5870, Awrelias died of a fever. His successor, Rufus Quintus Livius appointed by the Senate, was another military general that had served as a young soldier under Awrelias. In 5875, Awrelias was deified and a temple to him was built. Rufus took the name of Cajus (Kai-us) Tigius on his appointment.\n","date":"30 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-30-roman-history/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"History of the Republic","type":"posts"},{"content":"or How to Acheive Ugly Part Two.\nInstead of offering commentary, let me say only that I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I believe it is important that a bad thing shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be allowed to continue simply because it is easier. On the other hand, I am sure that there are historical issues within my own church that may negate present reforms.\nI am encouraged that publishing documents must meet the following criteria listed here. (Link has been fixed.) It prevents the spread of needless innuendo and speculation.\nBecause of the recent lawsuit in Nashville, some former members hope that this will result in a class action lawsuit or several smaller suits. Being skeptical of the legal profession as a whole, I am hoping that regardless of verdict, the case will promote needed financial openness with historical records.\nCaveat Emptor\n","date":"30 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-30-icoc-investigation-site/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"ICoC Investigation Site","type":"posts"},{"content":"The abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair. Reason and reverence are natural allies, though untoward circumstances may sometimes interpose and divorce them. - J.B. Lightfoot - Saint Paul\u0026rsquo;s Epistle to the Galatians\nI was reading on thinklings and I found the quote of the day to speak to feelings I\u0026rsquo;ve had for awhile. The quote sent me to the entire commentary where I read the entire introduction.\nThere are times when I believe my desire for contemplation works against me. In other words, I think too hard. I see people like Joel Osteen and Brian McLaren and I believe that I am really thinking too much and with too much effort.\nJoel leads the largest church in the U.S. and he seems more concerned with being positive than with any real deep thought. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, his sermons are uplifting and it is enjoyable to hear them. I\u0026rsquo;m not down on that. What bothers me is the lack of any emotional and mental depth. Then I think that his audience is full of reasonable people and maybe I am looking for something that it is not fair or right to expect.\nThere are times I wish I was just happy with things at face value. Sometimes I believe that I am the genesis of my own misery.\nBrian McLaren, on the other hand, definitely fills my need for mental depth. His articles are well-thought out and enjoyable to read. Working through his works, I remember my days in college, especially studying literary theory. I enjoy reading intelligently written articles and books. However, the aspect I enjoy most is also the aspect I enjoy least when it comes to Christian expression. I remember literary theory as using as many words as possible to say nothing at all. Scores of poetical and literary commentaries managed to produce page after page of sometimes delightful, sometimes tedious meanderings. I discovered two keys to a succesful commentary: suggest meanings without making conclusions and define a distinct and unique vocabulary. The former generated more than enough text for the size and thickness of the commentary desired. The latter allows critics to be dismissed as \u0026lsquo;simply not understanding\u0026rsquo;. Both are examples of mental sloppiness that I absolutely abhor, despite the fact that reading these commentaries feels like a neverending stream of cotton candy to my brain.\nThen I think, at least McLaren is enjoying his Christianity (read Summer Update). At this point in my life, I am not enjoying it. It\u0026rsquo;s true, I would love to make no stands and evade any pinning down of my beliefs. I would love to engage in conditional conversations and have the adoration of thousands for sounding profound. Doing that would feel very good to me. I\u0026rsquo;d like to do that for several years.\nTo the point, I started reading in Galatians and read the entire book. I am struck by Paul\u0026rsquo;s reasoning through the Scriptures and take some comfort. There is at least one way for faith and reason to work together as partners. I know that there is such a thing as overthinking (hypercerebric dysfunction) and I know that I am guilty of it. However, it is encouraging to know that the solution is not to check the brain at the feet of the altar. Faith and reason are not enemies.\nAnywho, enough of my ramblings this morning. There\u0026rsquo;s more personal enjoyment of Galatians, but I\u0026rsquo;m off to read it again before posting.\n","date":"25 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-25-abnegation-of-reason/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Abnegation of Reason","type":"posts"},{"content":"The world\u0026rsquo;s longest plaindrome is here.\nI figured a bit of weirdness is in order. I\u0026rsquo;ve been WAY too serious today.\n","date":"23 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-23-i-palindrome-i/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Palindrome, I","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am not a fan of the ICoC subculture at all. However, when I read on Google News that there will be a lawsuit filed against one of the churches, I stop and wonder.\nCertainly there is the admonition of Paul that believers shouldn\u0026rsquo;t take other believers to court. Based on my limited history with both parties, I believe that each would consider the other a non-believer. (To be fair, though, the burden of this admonition is on the plantiff, not the defendant.) Because of this verse, though, I have mixed feelings about this specific lawsuit and others, in general, that may follow.\nOn the one hand, it was best for me to admit to myself that I allowed others to control me. I was afraid of those in leadership so I let them control me because it was easier. A bitter pill to swallow to be sure, but it is true for me. I thought of taking vengenance of some kind, but I believe that vengenance is the domain of God, not me. Deciding to let go has helped me to find a safe emotional place and ultimately to find my wife and my heart. It\u0026rsquo;s true I spent the time and money to talk to most of the people I felt harmed me, even upper level leaders. I didn\u0026rsquo;t always have healing talks, but I did have atwo good talks, and that helped a great deal emotionally. This also helps me because no one can accuse me of not trying Matt 18 - my conscience is clear.\nOn the other hand, I am not Jack Pelham, one of the plantiffs. In my conversations with him, I get the sense that he did not have any good talks. In fact, he experienced the opposite. I do not like him, but I can sympathize with no one being of any help. I can understand the machinery in place that shut down any ability to grieve, express grievances, be heard, and be loved. Jack is a human being trying to do the best he can to deal with a tremendously difficult situation. I think of Prov 12:25 and wonder if a kind word could have averted this mess.\nThen I wonder if God allowed this to happen for some reason. This line of reasoning goes as follows:\nThe HKL(tm) was written by one that had competence and experience to write truthfully about the issues he raised. Almost anyone that was a part of the ICoC Subculture that read it, quickly recognized the issues he raised. In short, it rang true and most everyone realized it. However, now there is a lawsuit that could encompass former world sector leaders and Hope Wordwide(R). Maybe this will be a stiffer warning and penalty to those that did not address the financial corruption of the former ICoC. It\u0026rsquo;s not uncommon for God to work this way - he used the Babylonians and Asyrians to discipline his people throughout history. Why wouldn\u0026rsquo;t he do this now?\nThe problem with the line of thinking is that it assumes a lot. It assumes that the Nashville Church specifically is guilty. It assumes that HOPE Worldwide(R) and former WSL\u0026rsquo;s will get involved. It assumes that other former ICoC congregations will take note and make changes if the court finds for the plantiff.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s tempting to assume that the defendant is guilty. Other ICoC Subculture related websites may call this \u0026lsquo;persecution\u0026rsquo; and go on to disparage the plantiff\u0026rsquo;s character. The temptation is to provide equal time to balance out a different reaction. The other issue with assuming that the defendant is guilty is that it would be a judgement on my part without knowing pertinent facts. Association does not prove guilt, nor does it imply guilt in a logical sense. As such, I want to be careful in making a hasty judgement.\nIn any case, I can see this as a good thing. No, really. I mean that, and not because I believe that the folks in Williamson County deserve it. What I mean is, if the court finds for the defendant, they are exonerated. If they are found guilty, then other former ICoC congregations will need to institute some kind of reform. Both of these are positive outcomes.\nOutside of that, I\u0026rsquo;m trying to avoid looking at events as signs from God. Too much of that and you get situations like Hal Lindsey and others: everything is a sign of the end times. I want to avoid looking at situations as a measure of God\u0026rsquo;s approval or direct involvement. Truth is, God\u0026rsquo;s ways are higher than my ways, so I can never be certain. What I can do is to allow God to do what he has already decided to do.\n","date":"22 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-22-how-to-achieve-ugly/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Achieve Ugly","type":"posts"},{"content":"I look forward to going home over the Fourth of July weekend. I hope to see some friends, I\u0026rsquo;ve emailed you and I hope to work out details.\nWell, I haven\u0026rsquo;t written in a while, but I will say a little about what is coming soon.\nForsenic Account of the Crucifixion. A personal thing for me. First Father\u0026rsquo;s Day. Audio helps for the Omaha Church of Christ study series. Various entries for the WikiChristian site. May the Force Be With You Parts Two and Three are on hold and will probably not be written. The Scriptual Issues with McKeanism will replace any commentary on a specific sermon. And, in case you\u0026rsquo;re wondering, I did listen to the Father\u0026rsquo;s Day sermon and read Bertalot\u0026rsquo;s commentary on \u0026lsquo;spiritual fathers\u0026rsquo;.\nTell me exactly what an \u0026rsquo;elder-in-training\u0026rsquo; is? I thought their life, circumstances, and faith were the training for that position.\nSee you soon - my love to all.\n","date":"21 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-21-things-get-busy/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Things Get Busy","type":"posts"},{"content":"As you would expect, an important occasion such as this brought out a tremendous amount of emotion. All of it was good, though its expression was laughter, joy, love and even all-out weeping.\nMy wife went all out to take care of me on what she insisted was \u0026ldquo;my Day\u0026rdquo;. She asked me what I wanted to do, and I had said that I want to be home, I want a beer, I want a Dagwood(R) sandwich, I want to watch the race, I want to talk to my father, and I want to talk to our baby.\nSure enough, we got home after church at about 12:15. She had me sit on our balcony in the reclining Eddie Bauer(R) chair and enjoy a wonderful, slightly cool Guiness(R) Stout.\n","date":"20 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-20-first-fathers-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"First Father's Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"A great post about fatherhood that was greatly encouraging to me this morning. Thinking about the birth of my child, I am praying to be a warrior, lover, and monk as he describes.\nEnjoy the article.\n","date":"16 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-16-are-we-men/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Are We Men?","type":"posts"},{"content":"The saga continues\u0026hellip;\nFrom several reports of those who weekly visit Portland, there are pulpits proclaiming a more enlightened, \u0026ldquo;open-minded\u0026rdquo; path to salvation. These pulpits are silent on the narrow path\u0026rsquo;s challenge, \u0026ldquo;If you love \\[Jesus\\], you will obey \\[His\\] commands.\u0026rdquo; (John 14:15) Openly proclaimed as optional are daily prayer, daily evangelism, daily discipling, daily fellowship and daily Bible study. Confusing comments such as, \u0026ldquo;Seek discipling if you need it\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;do what you feel is right in your heart\u0026rdquo; are common. Some \u0026ldquo;prophets\u0026rdquo; shy away from or even mock that we are in a battle, a war in which our very souls are at stake. We are in a religious fog - warfare should be preached as part of the normal Christian life. (Ephesians 6:10-19) Yes, we are family, but a good shepherd is not naive about wolves. \u0026ldquo;Fuzzy-wuzzy,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;re okay, I\u0026rsquo;m okay\u0026rdquo; relationships are lauded as \u0026ldquo;mature.\u0026rdquo; Contrast the previous appealing but Satanic definitions of relationships to: be\u0026quot;baptized\u0026hellip;and teach them to obey all \\[Jesus\\] commands.\u0026quot; (Matthew 28:20); \u0026ldquo;warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak\u0026rdquo; (1 Thessalonians 5:14); \u0026ldquo;for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.\u0026rdquo; (Acts 20:31) Jesus\u0026rsquo; mission was \u0026ldquo;to seek and save the lost.\u0026rdquo; Do not be naive. Satan\u0026rsquo;s is exactly the opposite! His mission is to \u0026ldquo;seek and lose the saved!\u0026rdquo; As the Emperor went after Anakin\u0026rsquo;s heart, so Satan is actively pursing every disciple\u0026rsquo;s heart to turn each of us to the dark side. (1 Peter 5:8-9)\nWhat is this open-minded path to salvation? I look at Chicago\u0026rsquo;s study series and it is still clear that a person must believe in Jesus, repent of their sins and be baptized. I look at LA\u0026rsquo;s \u0026lsquo;First Principles\u0026rsquo; and it is centered around Ephesians 2 (one faith, one Lord, one baptism, etc.). I look at other study series and they are not much different from the original. Phoenix\u0026rsquo;s series still deals with belief, repentance, and baptism, but with a different motivation that works. San Deigo\u0026rsquo;s series presents the gospel as Acts 2 and John 1 while dealing with the person of Jesus, as well as other important things. Our own study series is modeled after Phoenix\u0026rsquo;s with elements of our own study and the other series combined. Where is the open-mindedness? Baptism is still preached, as well as repentance of sins and faith.\nSome clues are provided by the next statement, \u0026ldquo;Openly proclaimed as optional are daily prayer, daily evangelism, daily discipling, daily fellowship and daily Bible study.\u0026rdquo; Maybe he really has gotten reports that some places say that prayer doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be daily. Just because I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen it, I can\u0026rsquo;t dismiss his claim. However, I can point out the \u0026ldquo;daily discipling\u0026rdquo; is being equated with a command of God. On the surface, this seems okay, especially in light of Matt 28:20. However, what he terms as discipling is not the same as the biblical command to teach others to obey.\nWhat is discipling? Here\u0026rsquo;s a quote from A Great Light has Dawned:\nSecondly, I call everybody to a decision tonight to rededicate yourself to discipling. I\u0026rsquo;ve asked several people, how is discipling coming, they say well I think we have discipling. Well, I say, who is discipling you? Well, I don\u0026rsquo;t know. Now let\u0026rsquo;s see, if we would have asked Peter, Hey Peter do you know who is discipling you? Maybe Timothy, Timothy, do you have any idea who is discipling you these days? I mean, you know, he discipled you when you were 18 and everything when you first started out, and we had that little thing we had to get right with you. But is he still discipling you at 35? What? He\u0026rsquo;s writing you from prison? That sounds like a lot of control. You\u0026rsquo;re telling me the dude is in prison and he\u0026rsquo;s telling you what to do? And he\u0026rsquo;s 35! Get out of here! Don\u0026rsquo;t you think you to just simply have just a friendship? I mean, you\u0026rsquo;re mature. What do you need people in your life for?\nDiscipling to him means that there is one person that is providing spiritual guidance to you. It\u0026rsquo;s not about growing, but answering the question, \u0026ldquo;Who disciples you?\u0026rdquo;. Peter and Timothy didn\u0026rsquo;t use this terminology. Supposing they did, what do you think Peter\u0026rsquo;s answer would be? Paul? The council in Jerusalem? James? Honestly, if asked who provides insight and wisdom about your life, I believe he would answer \u0026rsquo;everyone\u0026rsquo;.\n","date":"16 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-16-may-the-force-be-with-you-part-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"May the Force Be with You Part Two","type":"posts"},{"content":"Forgive the irreverance, but everytime I heard that phrase, I always thought \u0026ldquo;and also with you\u0026rdquo;. It was something I learned in an Episcopal Church that has always stuck out in my mind. It was just so automatic. The priest would say to the church, \u0026ldquo;the Lord be with you\u0026rdquo; and instantly a crowd of 400 would reply in one voice, \u0026ldquo;and also with you\u0026rdquo;.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a rhythm thing, I can\u0026rsquo;t resist.\nOn to serious matters, though, it seems that our brother in Portland has been to the movies lately. It seems that his rhetoric is racheting up and is only bound to increase as he works through a study of the book of Revelations. I\u0026rsquo;ll give you a hint into those sermons - Thomas and his doctrine will be on the side of God. All others will be on the side of Satan. All symbolism that points to the Christian church will point to his specifically controlled, er, influenced congregations. The message intended to remind early Christians that God is sovereign and encourage them in their fight against Satan (and not the Romans) will be twisted into grow faster at all costs.\nSkipping past the spoilers of Episode III, let\u0026rsquo;s start at this point:\nA mere story, perhaps, yet there are many parallels to the ways of Satan, especially in the past few years in our fellowship of churches. Revelation 12 describes a galactic \u0026ldquo;war in heaven.\u0026rdquo; The powerful archangel Satan and his dark angels are hurled to the earth, where \u0026ldquo;Satan leads the whole world astray.\u0026rdquo; Confusion reigns and Satan speaks his \u0026ldquo;native language\u0026rdquo; of lies. (John 8:43-45) The loss of their \u0026ldquo;first love\u0026rdquo; for God, fear of persecution, toleration of sin and lukewarmness and most likely few baptisms are but some of the signs of Satan\u0026rsquo;s lies confusing our brothers in the first century and today. (Revelation 2-3) Paralleling the plight of the Jedi through the evil Emperor\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;order 66,\u0026rdquo; for the past three years many preachers of the truth were \u0026ldquo;cut down\u0026rdquo; by the very \u0026ldquo;saints\u0026rdquo; they led. Admittedly, many of us preachers at times fell short of God\u0026rsquo;s code of honor. Our loyalties to God and one another waned, similar to the Jedi leaders.\nSatan\u0026rsquo;s native language is lies. He demonstrated this in a few places, especially during the temptaion of Jesus. (Matt 4:1-11) As far as the confusion spread by Satan in the churches mentioned in Revelation 2 - 3, let\u0026rsquo;s take a look:\nLoss of first love - Ephesus (Rev 2:1-7) Fear of persecution - Maybe Smyrna? (Rev 2:8-11) Toleration of Sin - Thyatira (Rev 2:18-28) Lukewarmness - Laodicea (Rev 3:14-22) Few Baptisms - ??? Ephesus was doing a lot of things right. They worked hard, they had suffered, they were perservering, they were dilligent in doctrine and tested the words of every speaker that came to town. However, despite the good works, what is missing is the motivation of love. It\u0026rsquo;s not that they aren\u0026rsquo;t feeling a certain emotion, it\u0026rsquo;s the impetus that drives the good works that is in question. There is a difference between doing the right thing from a sense of duty and doing the right thing for the sake of one you love. I serve my boss because it is my duty, I serve my wife because I love her. Satan\u0026rsquo;s lie here is \u0026ldquo;Do what is right so that God will love you.\u0026rdquo;\nSmyrna was not rebuked for anything, therefore it doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem like Satan\u0026rsquo;s lies are taking hold here. They are told to take courage for the upcoming ten day persecution. This scene is very similar to Jesus\u0026rsquo; words to Peter that Satan had asked to sift Peter and the other disciples like wheat (Luke 22:31). This is important later: this passage shows nothing about Satan creating confusion in this church by making them fear persecution. Even if it did (which it doesn\u0026rsquo;t), the persecution they will endure is prison.\nThyatira appears to have a Christian teacher (a woman, no less) that is teaching things she shouldn\u0026rsquo;t. She is characterized as \u0026lsquo;Jezebel\u0026rsquo; because she is leading other believers into exual immorality. In addition, she also seems to be teaching some \u0026lsquo;deep secrets\u0026rsquo; that really aren\u0026rsquo;t true at all. There were many teachers in the early church that promoted secret wisdom and the unveiling of \u0026lsquo;previously hidden\u0026rsquo; teachings. This is similar to the serpent in the garden. He led Eve to sin by implying that there was more to know than what God was tellling her. It shows up today in adding to the gospel and/or adding to the Bible.\nLaodicea had become very wealthy. Because they were not in want for comfort or food or shelter or other important physical needs, it seems they began to act as if they didn\u0026rsquo;t need God. How easy is it to take comfort and security from your possessions instead of God. Satan\u0026rsquo;s lie in this case is pretty clear, \u0026ldquo;You\u0026rsquo;ve got everything covered, you don\u0026rsquo;t need anything.\u0026rdquo;\nAs for the opinion that they \u0026lsquo;most likelt had few baptisms\u0026rsquo;, this is sheer specualtion. Jesus does not rebuke any of the seven churches for a lack of growth, nor does he commend any of them for their growth. For this reason, this point and any subsequent conclusion made from this point is an idea inserted into the text that is simply not there. Which church was commended for growing? Which one was rebuked for shrinking? This is also important later.\nAs far as a parallel to order 66, I have no doubt that innocent middlemen were punished for the sins of those higher up, especially the man at the top. On pages 19 and 20, Thomas details his viewpoint of what lead to the attacks on leaders from the people they were leading. Suffice it to say that the missing element was a \u0026ldquo;point man\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;quarterback\u0026rdquo; to lead. However, the implosion of the past three years has more to do with Galatians 6:7-10 than betrayal. To quote from RTRIII:\nIn retrospect, it is easily understood that they simply reaped from their own people what they, in many cases unconsciously, had sown: the attitude of mistrust of those who led and discipled them. (Matthew 7:1-5)\nIt\u0026rsquo;s important to deal with the \u0026lsquo;facts\u0026rsquo; presented. Anyone can see analogies from Revenge of the Sith in the ICoC subculture. I think a few are accurate becuase Lucas always told a human story in all his movies. However, when Scripture is quoted, it is very important that things are not put into the text that simply are not there. The implication is made that the churches in Revelation were suffering because they lost their first love (evangelizing the world in one generation), were afraid of persecution, were tolerating sin, were being lukewarm and were probably not baptizing many people. For that reason, it is important to point out what the Scriptures were actually addressing to these churches:\nThe Ephesian church was doing many great things, but they did not have love. The Symrnan church was poor, but persevering - Jesus urges them to have faith in the face of an upcoming ten day persecution. They were not rebuked for being afraid of persecution. The Thyatiran church was tolerating sin because of a Gnostic teacher, not because of a lack of commitment. The Laodicean church had become lukewarm because of their trust in wealth instead of God. There is no encouragement or rebuke about the rate of conversions anywhere in chapters 2 and 3.\nTherefore, the implication that a focus on world evangelism is a measure of how a church is doing can only come from one place: the author\u0026rsquo;s mind, not the Bible. This passage deals with seven churches, most of which received rebukes. If anything, the Ephesian church was \u0026lsquo;cranking\u0026rsquo; but still rebuked for a lack of heart.\nMore tommorrow\u0026hellip;\n","date":"15 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-15-may-the-force-be-with-you-part-one/","section":"Posts","summary":"Forgive the irreverance, but everytime I heard that phrase, I always thought “and also with you”. It was something I learned in an Episcopal Church that has always stuck out in my mind. It was just so automatic. The priest would say to the church, “the Lord be with you” and instantly a crowd of 400 would reply in one voice, “and also with you”.\nIt’s a rhythm thing, I can’t resist.\nOn to serious matters, though, it seems that our brother in Portland has been to the movies lately. It seems that his rhetoric is racheting up and is only bound to increase as he works through a study of the book of Revelations. I’ll give you a hint into those sermons - Thomas and his doctrine will be on the side of God. All others will be on the side of Satan. All symbolism that points to the Christian church will point to his specifically controlled, er, influenced congregations. The message intended to remind early Christians that God is sovereign and encourage them in their fight against Satan (and not the Romans) will be twisted into grow faster at all costs.\n","title":"May the Force Be with You part One","type":"posts"},{"content":"An interesting article here on ministers and ethics raised these major issues:\nThe tax break for ministers (also for military officers) is a privilege, not a right. Ministers should be grateful for this deduction and also understand the government that provided it, has the right to interpret and even remove it. The housing allowance originated when most churches owned parsonages. Ministers then would have difficulty, especially with their meager salaries, paying additional taxes on this church owned property. This tax law allows ministers to exclude what for most is about 25% of their taxable income; thus most ministers pay income taxes on the remaining 75%. The law was not intended to allow or encourage ministers to claim most of their income as non-taxable. (A certain well-known minister claimed 80% in 1995—100% earlier). Most significantly for Christian ministers, how can our lifestyle in affluent America reflect the example of Jesus. If I live in a luxurious home that only the upper 5% in America can afford, and I work to avoid paying taxes on my six figure salary, what does that say about my values? What does this also say to the majority of ministers who make less than adequate salaries and do pay their fair share of taxes? “You cannot serve God and wealth,” warned Jesus (Mt. 6:24). Paul added, “Pay to all what is due them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due” (13:7). Paul’s words included both sales tax and the hated tribute tax. Even to a pagan government the Christian citizen had a responsibility. Although tempting, this isn\u0026rsquo;t a reaction to certain events in Arizona. Any connection made is your own idea, not mine. This is just some observations of various ministers throughout the US. Some I have seen directly, others I have not.\nMy old church in NC, the ministers lived in an exclusive neighborhood in big homes. One of the ministers was on track to no longer take a salary from the church, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t begrudge him. Some of the others, though, I wondered how they paid for it. At the time, I didn\u0026rsquo;t know that the minister and his wife both took salaries.\nA nationally famous Texas minister drives an expensive car, lives a rich lifestyle, and wears gold chains. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t believe that it is wrong to be successful.\nThe aforementioned California minister that made 100K in 1995 and tried to claim almost 80K as housing allowance.\nMy present minister lives in a home assessed at 114K. My wife and I together make more than he does, much more. We have no children and he has two.\nAs far as me, I make 48K a year. (I work for a school, so it\u0026rsquo;s public record.) I have done some noble things like refuse help from the church to attend two ITS events. I also do not charge the church for their webspace. But I also own a 2001 Cadillac Catera. When I first arrived, most people said, \u0026ldquo;nice car\u0026rdquo;. I felt guilty sometimes having it around, but my more recent aggravation with it is not my appearance of wealth, but difficulty with expense and parts. I live in a fancy apartment on the rich side of town.\nMy first job after college paid $5.85/hr, but I left making almost $9 two years later. I began my career as a schoolteacher making $17,600 in 1997. I graduated up to $20,000 as a Jr. Tech writer a year later. Before I left that company to move to Nebraska 4.5 years later, I was making $45K as a DBA. I started here making 40K as Help Desk Specialist, now I\u0026rsquo;m an analyst making 48k.\nMy happiest days came when I got a huge raise to 30K. I had a good little Pontiac Grand Am that worked okay and I lived in a small house with two roomates. I could finally pay my bills and have left over money for savings and fun. Now, six years later, I make much more and I feel like I don\u0026rsquo;t make enough. When did I complicate my life so much?\nI did it when I decided that $1100 for rent wasn\u0026rsquo;t bad. I did it when I decided that a $27,000 car was better than a $14,000 car. I did it when I decided that I could eat in resturants more often than cook at home. In short, I gave in to the temptation of materialism. I bought the lie that more is better and more expensive is better.\nI would gladly give it all up to have a job I love and have my wife stay at home with our baby, but it\u0026rsquo;s hard. I went looking for apartments that would save us money and I discovered that I had become a snob along the way. I think that I cannot start my own business without a year\u0026rsquo;s salary in the bank (at present salary). I have to have a washer and dryer in the apartment. I have to have 1000 square feet. For what? Magazines I never read? Crates of books? I used to be able to fit all my earthly belongings into a Ford Escort, now I have trouble with a 10 foot U-Haul. When did I decide that I need all this stuff?\nI have recently wanted to be a teaching minister, or at least a school teacher again. However, I think that I cannot because the salary would be a double digit cut. I regret that making a set amount of money has become more important. I mean, if my church offered to hire me tomorrow, would I refuse it because it would be a 30 - 40% paycut? My current minister has taken more than that and he hasn\u0026rsquo;t quit.\nIn any case, I say all this because I understand how it can happen.\nI understand how buying a 300K home is justified because I would be heading that way if my wife wasn\u0026rsquo;t pregnant. I understand how 100K is no longer enough, even 200K. I recently figured that if I got a second place winning ticket in the Powerball, that I could spend the entire 100K on car payments, student loans (not mine), repair on my stuff and other misc things and still be little better off than I am now. I actually figured that I\u0026rsquo;d have to win the Powerball to be well-off, and not the 10 million minum prize, either. It had to be 40 million dollars minimum to be worth winning. What kind of warped thinking is that? When did the minimum price of financial independence become FORTY MILLION DOLLARS?\nSo believe me when I say that a minister with a million dollar home, or an upper class home with a chandelier, or two homes worth over a quarter-million each should be ashamed of themselves. I\u0026rsquo;m ashamed of where my thoughts have been leading. Why on earth would a minister that makes more than 95% of the people in their congregation feel the need to buy a bigger house? How can you minister to a church where some members are poor while you drive a Porsche?\nI\u0026rsquo;ve seen many minister in the higher eschelons of the ICC live in luxury. Who pays for all their flights to monthly conferences on both coasts? I know of one minister that billed back airfare on trips taken for free on frequent flyer miles. I know of other ministers, ICC ministers, than spoke at conferences in vacation resorts, received an honorarium, and still billed the expenses, though they stayed for several days on vacation. There are elders and lead evangelists that get paid six figures, even under new salary structures, and yet this doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to be enough. Peh! Jesus was homeless at times. Even when financed by rich women, he still did not live in luxury and comfort. I do not believe it is proper that those that set themselves up as leaders should be above the teacher. I don\u0026rsquo;t beleve in a vow of poverty, but I don\u0026rsquo;t believe in multiple homes, either. I don\u0026rsquo;t believe it proper for me, either.\nThoreau cried out, \u0026lsquo;simplify, simplify\u0026rsquo; and I believe it is time that I did. More on this later. Feel free to ask me about it.\n","date":"14 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-14-staff-and-ethics/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ethics of Money","type":"posts"},{"content":"File under \u0026ldquo;Well, DUH\u0026rdquo;\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s your theological worldview?\ncreated with QuizFarm.com\nYou scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God\u0026rsquo;s grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan\n96%Emergent/Postmodern\n71%Reformed Evangelical\n71%Neo orthodox\n64%Fundamentalist\n61%Classical Liberal\n43%Charismatic/Pentecostal\n32%Roman Catholic\n29%Modern Liberal\n7% ","date":"14 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-14-who-am-i/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Theological Worldview","type":"posts"},{"content":"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep\u0026rsquo;s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. - Matt 7:15\nIn reading the passage Matt 7:13-23, three ideas are expressed in the text:\nFew find the narrow gate that leads to life. False prophets are known by their fruit. Not everyone that says \u0026lsquo;Lord, Lord\u0026rsquo; will make it to the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus begins with a warning that many find the path to destruction. The narrow path to life is difficult and few find it. After saying this, he then talks about false prophets. Presumably, the false prophets find their way to the path of destruction, just like many others. Since these false prophets look like one of us on the outside, how can we tell a false prophet from another sheep?\nJesus said to look at their fruit. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t define it here, instead choosing to make striking analogies.\n","date":"13 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-13-a-tree-and-its-fruit/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Tree and Its Fruit","type":"posts"},{"content":"You know, I have had two great weekends in a row. Oddly enough, I have been out of town for both of them. I hope this isn\u0026rsquo;t a trend. :)\nCamping this weeking with many folks from my church was so much fun. I had asked for a cabin because I wanted to make sure that my wife was more comfortable. Normally, she and I would be in a tent, but the pregnancy is causing some back pain by itself.\nYou have to realize that she is used to real camping on the boundary waters of Minnesota. By real camping, I mean, carrying the tent and supplies, hiking several miles, cooking on fire or Sterno(R), and all kinds of real \u0026lsquo;roughing it\u0026rsquo; activities. By comparison, we took a hotel vacation.\nOne of the couples brought a ton of stuff - gas grill, lots of chicken and potatoes, lots of other food, a motor scooter, etc. This family tirelessly serves our church through their overwhelming generosity. On the first morning, when I couldn\u0026rsquo;t cook on charcoal very well, they graciously offered their grill. Other couples brought a meat and a side dish. Some brought dessert items, others salads of all kinds, etc. We had any kind of grilling meat except buffalo and other exotic meats. I suppose those will emerge if we ever have another BeastFeast(tm). In any case, we brought hamburgers, hot dogs (all beef), brats, and pasta salad. There was food available for everyone.\nThe first night provided a good campfire - apparently I missed the hour long process to get wet wood to burn. I\u0026rsquo;m told that the firemakers in our camp resorted to using bug repellent soaked twigs to get the fire going. The circle of chairs provided an atmosphere of easy conversation. It was good to talk to folks outside of the formal church context. With the pregnancy, I haven\u0026rsquo;t seen folks like I used to, or been over to their homes fixing computers. I mean that, but I feel I have gained so much more than I lost.\nSaturday was a day of activity - my wife and I went canoeing on the Loup River. Friday night provided an intense thunderstorm and rain so the river was high and fast. I have never steered on a canoe before, but I figured it\u0026rsquo;s not that different from a sailboat or any other manner of boats I have run in my time.\nI was wrong.\nHowever, my wife and I had a great time bonding and drawing closer together through a two hour canoe trip. We stopped at one point to eat lunch. Not having an anchor and wanting to use both hands to make sandwiches, I held on to a branch on one of the banks with my big toe. I know, we could\u0026rsquo;ve grounded the canoe and got out, but where\u0026rsquo;s the fun in that? I have a picture of this, so I can verify that I am not exaggerating or making this one up.\nSaturday evening was leisurely and fun. Lots of goofiness around the campfire. If I ever hear the song \u0026ldquo;Throw Another Log on the Fire\u0026rdquo; again, I may have to resort to violence. Although I have not seen Napoleon Dynamite, I have heard the entire movie quoted. I am apprantly not the only Monty Python fan as we quoted the Grail and Life of Brian and made up our own Pythonesque things.\nMy wife and I also had a very positive and life-changing talk that night. I feel like I am being a good husband when I can encourage her in a powerful way. It is also encouraging to reflect on what it means to belong to our family and the family of believers. It fills a deep need when you know that you belong somewhere in the universe - and discussing that will only strengthen the bonds between my wife and me.\nSaturday night\u0026rsquo;s lesson on God as Fire was inspiring, especially with most of us huddled aroudn the campfire. Sunday\u0026rsquo;s lesson was also wonderful - it was an exposition of Philippians 3 dealing with righteousness that comes from faith vs righteousness that comes through self-effort. It was a message that I truly needed to hear.\nChurch was fun. The camp had a chapel on the premises. On Saturday, a wedding took place. The chapel used to be a Methodist church. In fact, we sang out of Methodist hymnals (including a new song) the entire service. The building wasn\u0026rsquo;t much in the urban sort of way. It was more barn than church. Their were no walls, you could see the two by four\u0026rsquo;s of the walls laid bare on the inside. Behind the altar was a big square window with a view of the sky and trees behind the church. At sunrise, the sun would make its way up the window shining light through the cross and onto the pews below. It reminded me of going to church growing up. I even rang the bell to start the service, something I did often at the Stumpy Point United Methodist Church. When asked to share a Scripture, I read Psalm 139. It is my favorite psalm as it reminds me of God\u0026rsquo;s goodness to me and the formation of my yet unborn child. I choked up reading it. John 17 was read twice, it just shows me that the Spirit works well when planning is not overdone.\nAll in all, my wife and I had plenty of time for romance, fun, fellowship, and relief. It felt good to get out of town again. I didn\u0026rsquo;t use a computer for two and a half days, something that I know is good for me. In any case, I returned with increased love for my wife and family and friends. Considering this wasn\u0026rsquo;t a retreat, it sure felt like one.\n","date":"13 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-13-camping/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Camping","type":"posts"},{"content":"It has been awhile, so I wanted to give some brief excerpts on a couple things until I\u0026rsquo;m able to sleep better at night. When it gets hot and the A/C conks out, the C-Pap machine is impossible to wear.\n1. The baby is doing well and so is mama bear. We have names picked out and we\u0026rsquo;re looking for midwives in order to deliver more naturally.\n2. A certain minister in Portland is up to no good. He is \u0026lsquo;reconstucting\u0026rsquo; Salt Lake (his word), helping Montreal and Santiago, Chile, and trying to influence Mexico and Latin America. In any case, I realize that what I believe in regard to him can come across as cruel or reactionary. So let me state my concerns with Thomas \u0026lsquo;Kip\u0026rsquo; McKean plainly:\nKip McKean is teaching a doctrine that unbiblically adds to the saving faith necessary to become a Christian. The unessential items he adds are: 1. becoming a disciple prior to baptism, 2. the necessity of a discipling partner, 3. the requirement to be in a small group. Discipling as demonstrated by the 28+ year career and teachings of Kip are not in line with what Jesus commanded.\nIn addition, he has taught on several occasions that autonomy is wrong citing the need for overseeing evangelists for other churches. It has become plain that he does not believe his congregation needs oversight, but that he is more than qualified to oversee most other congregations. Despite several attempts to work with Kip, he has not responded to any form of cooperation with evangelists in other chruches. It appears that if he is not the overseer, then he wants no part in working with other churches.\nLastly, in listening to the past five months of his sermons and reading his numerous articles, it has become clear that Kip is selfish and will only think about himself above others. The church is about his dream, not the dreams of others and certainly not about the dreams of Jesus in this present generation.\nFor these three reasons, I believe that Kip should be avoided. He does not teach sound doctrine. He only believes in his own teachings and methods. As evidenced by his family life and church history, he destroys many that are a part of his life. He will not compromise and has demonstrated an inability to listen to others. Therefore, I urge everyone to publically denounce his teaching and leadership. It is my ardent prayer that God will have mercy on all our souls and that I will see him in Heaven. May God grant him mercy for all the divisiveness, pain, suffering, and destruction he has wrought in the world. However, he is a false teacher teaching a false gospel.\nIf you want a version of the above statement with Scriptures, I\u0026rsquo;ll be happy to post it.\n3. I look forward to camping this weekend with my entire congregation. It will be fun.\n","date":"9 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-09-recently/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recently","type":"posts"},{"content":"Leaders within the Energent Church have written a response that you may read here. In a way, it reminds me of the early church striving to define orthodoxy. The Christians are dealing with various persecutions and spreading the message and all of a sudden, this Marcion character shows up and says that the God of the OT isn\u0026rsquo;t the real God. He can prove it with a few of Paul\u0026rsquo;s letters he collected, bound together with the Gospel of Luke. Most of the other Christians didn\u0026rsquo;t have more than one or two letters, if they had any at all.\nIn the same way they had to define what was orthodox by criticism and heresy, it seems the ec is now doing the same.\nI was quite happy to see a thoughtful, well-written response. I was also encouraged by several nods to the traditional Christian faith. As someone that was duped by a church that believed it had all the answers, it was refreshing to read humility in responding to critics.\nI ask that if you will, engage me in conversation. I have a few questions and I would like to know what you think. Yes, I call the ec the Church of the English Majors. I do so because my previous attempts at conversation left me feeling like I was discussing litearary theory, not Jesus Christ. I have an English Literature degree, so I am affected by this reference. I also believe that I meet many of the aspects of the English major stereotype. I have no problem making fun of myself and taking myself less seriously.\nI should be fair and tell you that I am feeling things from the emergent response that may not have been intended. I come from a church that does not take kindly to criticism. Members were encouraged to stay away from critics and even the internet as a whole because it would damage your faith. Someone that was a critic was labelled as bitter or slanderous and quickly dismissed. I have been hurt very badly because I joined a church that wanted to make a difference in the world. I joined because I wanted to help people and not argue over doctrine. Instead, I got abused, manipulated, and minimized because I did not conform to the characteristics of an ideal member. So far in my attempts, I have received similar treatment. I feel like if I do not use ec specific words and phrases and if I do not go along with 90% of what is proposed, that I am labelled as unworthy of dialogue. I honestly want to feel differently and will be fair in my dialogue. Please engage me.\nHere are my questions:\nFourth, we respect the desire and responsibility of our critics to warn those under their care about ideas that they consider wrong or dangerous, and to keep clear boundaries to declare who is \u0026ldquo;in\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;out\u0026rdquo; of their circles. These boundary-keepers have an important role which we understand and respect. If one of your trusted spiritual leaders has criticized our work, we encourage you, in respect for their leadership, not to buy or read our work, but rather to ignore it and consider it unworthy of further consideration. We would only ask, if you accept our critics’ evaluation of our work, that in fairness you abstain from adding your critique to theirs unless you have actually read our books, heard us speak, and engaged with us in dialogue for yourself. Second-hand critique can easily become a kind of gossip that drifts from the truth and causes needless division.\nIf I believe that certain ideas of the ec are wrong, am I a \u0026lsquo;boundary-keeper\u0026rsquo; interested in who is \u0026lsquo;in\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;out\u0026rsquo; of a circle? I do not believe it is possible to draw a solid boundary to who is in or out. When asked, Jesus replied that the questioner should worry about their own soul.\nFifth, because most of us write as local church practitioners rather than professional scholars, and because the professional scholars who criticize our work may find it hard to be convinced by people outside their guild, we feel it wisest at this juncture to ask those in the academy to respond to their peers about our work. We hope to generate fruitful conversations at several levels, including both the academic and ecclesial realms. If few in the academy come to our defense in the coming years, then we will have more reason to believe we are mistaken in our thinking and that our critics are correct in their unchallenged analyses.\nIf I believe in the need for professional scholars, does that give me membership into the guild?\nWe regret that some of our critics have made hasty generalizations and drawn erroneous conclusions based on limited and selective data. We would welcome future critics to converse with us directly and to visit our churches as part of their research. Of course, they would find weaknesses among us, as they would among any group of Christians, including their own. But we believe that they would also find much to celebrate and find many of their suspicions relieved when they see our high regard for the Scriptures, for truth, for worship, for evangelism, for spiritual formation, and for our fellow Christians – including our critics themselves.\nI am not trying to be obtuse, but how many folks do I need to engage in conversation? Two? Seven? Twenty-three? I did not know you existed until two months ago. I cannot afford the books, but I have read blogs by Brian McLaren, information of emergentvillage.com, trying to engage in conversation, etc. When have I read enough to ask a question?\nWith millions suffering from hunger, disease, and injustice around the world, we hope that all of us – including our critics – can renew our commitment to \u0026ldquo;remember the poor\u0026rdquo; (Galatians 2:10) rather than invest excessive energy in \u0026ldquo;controversies about words.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;They will know you are my disciples,\u0026rdquo; Jesus said, not by our excessive disputation, but by our love. Words and ideas are essential, for they often set the course for thought and action, and constructive dialogue is needed and worthwhile, but we cannot let less productive internal debates preoccupy us at the expense of caring for those in need.\nIf I seek to understand by presenting my viewpoint, am I neglecting the poor? If I go and give all my possessions to the poor, can I then present my case and ask questions?\nDo I really have to agree with the ec on many points before we can enter a conversation? Can\u0026rsquo;t I become convinced over time or do I have to believe in advance?\nThank you for your time.\n","date":"3 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-03-emergent-response/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Emergent Response","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been interested lately in the various medical accounts as part of a study series for my church. Searching around, I have found various accounts that agree in many areas, but disagree in others.\nFor example, many accounts believe that when Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane he prayed so intensely that blood became mixed with his sweat. This medical condition known as hematridosis has appeared in medical literature. Many notable cases include a British woman during the bombing of England during WWII and Civil War soliders during amputation. However, there are some, including Douglas Jacoby, that believe the phrase \u0026ldquo;like drops of blood\u0026rdquo; is more a metaphor than a literal mixing of fluids.\nThe punishment during Jesus\u0026rsquo; trials has also been characterized differently. More than one account believes that the Roman lictors had training in Jewish law. In other words, that they delivered forty minus one lashes. The Romans had no such law that I\u0026rsquo;ve seen, but it does appear in Jewsih law, Deut 25:3. Some accounts make mention of the repeated blows to the head, but no one seems to agree on the size of the staff used. To further complicate matters, despite many Christians urging the use of The Passion as a coversion tool, there is controversy that the movie over dramatized the beatings and exaggerated Jesus\u0026rsquo; endurance.\nLastly, the effects of crucifixion are in doubt. Most accounts believe that the victim suffocated due to an inability to exhale. Dr. Frederick Zugibe and others disagree. With a book detailing methods that seem to be from CSI, he detailed the various physical tests and the specially crafted crosses used for measurements. He contends that victims on the cross could breathe just fine. He also believes that Jesus was crucified through the hands, not the wrists.\nIn any case, I want to take a look at it for myself. I hope to produce two versions, an investigative one and a narrative one. In the meantime, here are some accounts:\nDr. C. Truman Davis Joe Zias On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ by William D. Edwards, MD; Wesley J. Gabel, M Div; Floyd E. Hosmer, MS, AMI Appearing in the JAMA Vol. 255 No. 11 March 21, 1986 An animated look David Terasaka, M.D. Keith Maxwell M.D. Dr. Frederick Zugibe\nand of course, CSI Jerusalem\n","date":"1 June 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-06-01-medical-accounts-of-the-crucifixion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Medical Accounts of the Crucifixion","type":"posts"},{"content":"Before\nReconstructions Pruning Missions Evangelist World Sectors Boston School of World Missions After\nRestorations Remnant Overseeing Evangelist World Mission Societies Portland School of World Missions Ever wonder why I don\u0026rsquo;t believe there\u0026rsquo;s been any change in Portland? This is a good illustration of it. I wish I could take credit for it, but it was written by someone else.\n","date":"30 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-30-before-and-after/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Before and After","type":"posts"},{"content":"From the Emergent Convention, the last day was spent creating a statement of faith, if you will. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that the emergent folks will take issue with what I called it - so rather than get into a meaningless argument over words, here is what was posted:\n1. Commitment to God in the Way of Jesus:\nWe are committed to doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God, as the Scriptures teach. In the words of Jesus, we seek to live by the Great Commandment: loving God and loving our neighbors – including those who might be considered “the least of these” or enemies. We understand the gospel to be centered in Jesus and his message of the kingdom of God, a message of reconciliation with God and among humanity.\nWe are committed to a “generous orthodoxy” in faith and practice – affirming the historic Christian faith and the Biblical injunction to love one another even when we disagree. We embrace historic spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation, contemplation, study, solitude, silence, service, and fellowship, believing that healthy theology cannot be separated from healthy spirituality.\n2. Commitment to the Church in all its Forms:\nWe are committed to honor and serve the church in all its forms – Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal. We practice “deep ecclesiology” – rather than favoring some forms of the church and critiquing or rejecting others, we see that every form of the church has both weaknesses and strengths, both liabilities and potential. We believe the rampant injustice and sin in our world requires the sincere, collaborative, and whole-hearted response of all Christians in all denominations, from the most historic and hierarchical, through the mid-range of local and congregational churches, to the most spontaneous and informal expressions. We affirm both the value of strengthening, renewing, and transitioning existing churches and organizations, and the need for planting, resourcing, and coaching new ones of many kinds. We seek to be irenic and inclusive of all our Christian sisters and brothers, rather than elitist and critical, seeing “us” we were used to see “us versus them.” We own the many failures of the church as our failures, which humbles us and calls us to repentance, and we also celebrate the many heroes and virtues of the church, which inspires us and gives us hope.\n3. Commitment to God’s World:\nWe practice our faith missionally – that is, we do not isolate ourselves from this world, but rather, we follow Christ into the world. We seek to fulfill the mission of God in our generations, and then to pass the baton faithfully to the next generations as well. We believe the church exists for the benefit and blessing of the world at large; we seek therefore not to be blessed to the exclusion of everyone else, but rather for the benefit of everyone else. We see the earth and all it contains as God’s beloved creation, and so we join God in seeking its good, its healing, and its blessing.\n4. Commitment to One Another\nIn order to strengthen our shared faith and resolve, and in order to encourage and learn from one another in our diversity through respectful, sacred conversation, we value time and interaction with other friends who share this rule and its practices. We identify ourselves as members of this growing, global, generative, and non-exclusive friendship. We welcome others into this friendship as well. We bring whatever resources we can to enrich this shared faith and resolve.\nComing from a church that specializes in making up its own rules and saying nothing with a flood of words, the above makes me suspicious. I am suspicious because it really doesn\u0026rsquo;t say anything. This makes it hard for me, personally, to hear. I am also aware that it affects objective thought about what was put forth. Oddly enough, though, I probably believe in much of it even if I do not sound like it. Maybe it is the English Major in me that feels that the wonder of a thing is lost when it is explained. For example, when poetry is covered in Freshman English in college, the wonder and enjoyment of the poem is usually trampled by its metaphor, meter, and meaning. After a complete dissection, it\u0026rsquo;s no wonder that few enjoy the poem anymore. However, I read in the Bible that continual meditation and study of the Scriptures will yield good things. It won\u0026rsquo;t save you, but it will empower you to overcome sin and not be swayed by all kinds of strange teachings.\nI want to think over this some more and give it a fair shake.\n","date":"30 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-30-the-emergent-order/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Emergent Order","type":"posts"},{"content":"Assignment for next devo.\nHebrews 13:5\n","date":"24 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-24-research-verses-that-god-remembers-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Research Verses that God Remembers Me","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just a few things of note:\nI\u0026rsquo;m simplifying the categories so that the list isn\u0026rsquo;t so long. The bad thing is that the only way to do this is post by post. Seems that the only mass change I can make is to \u0026ldquo;general\u0026rdquo;. When this is done, the category list will be much shorter, and will, of course, incluse \u0026ldquo;Are Belong to Us\u0026rdquo;.\nThe other thing is that I changed one of the wikis on the site to be a repository of all the phrases I make up. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to force everyone to use my vocabulary, but I want to provide a translation device between the weird form of English I use and what\u0026rsquo;s normal to the rest of the world. You can find the Phrase Mint(tm) here, though all the entries are not completed yet.\nOtherwise, I\u0026rsquo;m off to my wife\u0026rsquo;s graduation from training this afternoon.\n","date":"20 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-20-site-reorg/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Site Reorg","type":"posts"},{"content":"I work in a school system and that is quite enjoyable at times. I wanted to make note of one of these times today.\nOur Title 1 Office puts out a newsletter every month and their latest edition has the encouraging story of a fifth grade student that has overcome great challenges in her life. She was born premature with one functioning kidney and possible brain development issues. Her mother passed away when she was 3. Her father raised her as best he could (despite sever rhuematoid arthritis), but he also passed away two years later. Moving in with her grandmother, she began a new journey.\nThe article points out that she missed oportunities like Head Start, pre-school, and the like. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t that they weren\u0026rsquo;t available, it was that her family circumstances didn\u0026rsquo;t allow it to happen. In any case, she and her grandmother worked hard to overcome these obstacles.\nWhat struck me was that she was unassuming, yet hopes to be a lawyer. She is aware of what she\u0026rsquo;s been through without claiming to be a victim of anything. It reminds me of Jesus\u0026rsquo; words to become like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It also serves as a challenge to Americans like me that can so easily become \u0026lsquo;victims\u0026rsquo; of one circumstance or another instead of overcomers. Jesus also spoke in Revelation about those that overcome - granted the context is different, but it makes me think of it all the same. The crown goes to the overcomer, I guess the lawyers\u0026rsquo; fees go to the victim.\nI\u0026rsquo;m glad that the school system chooses to recognize those that overcome so much. It welcome news on a Thursday when my thoughts tend to focus on \u0026ldquo;things below\u0026rdquo; instead of focusing on things above.\n","date":"19 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-19-good-news-from-my-workplace/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Good News from My Workplace","type":"posts"},{"content":"By the way, if you get the chance, go read a couple articles from the latest edition of Credenda Agenda.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t Believe So\nThis is about how evangelicals and fundamentalists are different.\nForgiveness\nThis one is a really good article about what happens when you forgive someone that needs forgiveness despite the fact that they don\u0026rsquo;t ask for it. The main idea I came away with was that it not only takes humility to forgive someone, but that it takes humility to receive that forgiveness.\nEmerging Theology\nIf this is what the emergent movement is trying to be, then this is what I can get behind. Of course, when folks start talking about a narrative and poetry, it makes it sound like the Church of the English Majors(TM).\n","date":"19 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-19-good-reads/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Good Reads","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I said earlier, there is an image of the ultrasound from last week that now sits in a frame on my desk. I have it handy to remember what\u0026rsquo;s truly important. One of my personal weaknesses is that I can focus on what is most urgent instead of what\u0026rsquo;s most important.\nI think of my child and I want the world to be a better place for him/her. I also want him/her to enjoy all the good things on planet Earth and enjoy the benefits provided by my income, where we live, and the families that love him/her. There is so much good and so much potential for good that it makes me smile. There is so much evil that it makes me upset. In either case, I want to do something about the good and the bad.\nTD Jakes was right when he said that most Christians are shaking their fist when they step up to the microphone. In other words, the only time you hear from Christians, they are against something or fighting against something. Looking back at most of my columns, I can safely say that I\u0026rsquo;m the same way.\n","date":"19 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-19-the-picture-on-my-desk-draft/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Picture On My Desk -draft","type":"posts"},{"content":"For awhile, I\u0026rsquo;ve been moving about the Christianity Blogosphere. Sometimes I comment, sometimes I read and think about what the author has said, sometimes I read and delete the site address from my history. I enjoy reading the different blogs because I believe strongly in outside perspective. I am part of a fellowship of churches whose top leaders seem to be terrified of outside perspectives, mainly due to doctrinal concerns. I don\u0026rsquo;t say this as a bystander, I\u0026rsquo;ve spoken to many of them. I also look at the example of their lives, sometimes they encouraged me to do for years.\nIn any case, I have learned one thing from reading all these blogs: Solomon was right in that there is no end to the making of books.\nSeriously, I have learned other things as well. The list is in no particular order.\nSome bloggers want to debate for the sake of debating Some bloggers will not discuss anything with those that strongly disagree with them. Some bloggers ask for discussion, but don\u0026rsquo;t want it. Some bloggers ask for discussion, but don\u0026rsquo;t receive it. Some bloggers are very proud of their denomination while others are ashamed of it. Some bloggers are good exegetes while others are not. Finally, some bloggers are fascinated only with new ideas while others will not budge from their preconceived notions at all. It\u0026rsquo;s an amazing variety, and I believe that it is important that this variety continues to exist. Where would we be without others that see things from a different perspective? Better yet, where would we be if some of our friends weren\u0026rsquo;t reluctant to try new ideas? It\u0026rsquo;s true that we need those that we jump at any new idea as much as we need those that will not abandon old ones.\nWhat good are those that refuse to change? Much. Primarily, they are each still an individual creation of God. Even if they get on our nerves, He still delights in them. Outside of that, they can be the influence to prevent us from jumping on the latest religious bandwagon. They can help us to take time to think through various issues, methods, and the like. In a society that ridicules people with strong opinions as narrow-minded, it is refreshing to find those that believe in SOMETHING passionately, even if it is wrong. They are sometimes right and that is something that each person has to wrestle with on their own.\nNot to be mean, but they can also serve as examples of \u0026lsquo;what not to do\u0026rsquo;. I read the writings of some ministers that refuse to change their doctrine and methods and just cringe. I don\u0026rsquo;t cringe because they are unyielding, but because reading their defense of their beliefs and methods is so painful. The urge to shake them and shout \u0026ldquo;WAKE UP\u0026rdquo; is very powerful sometimes. However, without them, we have no persistent example to avoid. Imagine Christianity if the lessons of previous generations had to be learned anew in every generation. To a degree, this may seem to be true anyway, but I submit that if this were true, American Evangelicalism wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have gone through the various movements this past century. Instead, the stages would cycle much more quickly.\nWe had the Jesus People of the 60s and 70s, then various movements involved in shepherding, then various movements concerned with church growth, now the new thing is the emergent church. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that the next big thing after this will be some kind of return to institutionalized churches. I would think that if we learned nothing from previous generations, we would stop reacting to them, but would recycle the same ideas over and over.\nPersonally, I tend to have a hard time with folks on either extreme. Fortunately, the number of people on either one is pretty small. Stubborn people can change and flighty folks can dig in their heels - I\u0026rsquo;ve seen both happen. Although we need the few on the fringes, they shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be immune from correction or even a rebuke. Make no mistake, I believe we need these folks, but needing them doesn\u0026rsquo;t make them right. I talk about one such person frequently here because despite more than a few talking and pleading with him to change, he refuses. He seems to have a real inability to see another perspective or be anything less than the man on top of the pyramid. Pretty soon, I will be writing about someone else that flits around like a butterfly without settling on anything. The teachings and ministry of this person is just as destructive.\nSpeaking of Thomas, we learn today that his way is still biblical and all others are not. We also learn that Nationalism is now considered a sin. Apprarently, it is similar to autonomy (which he also calls a sin). Lastly, two years is roughly the limit for healing from past hurts. Anything beyond this is apparently tolerating sin.\nLovely.\nAs far as flighty goes, this post describes some of the things I\u0026rsquo;ve encountered with the emergent church crowd. It\u0026rsquo;s funny, in my own fellowship of churches, I\u0026rsquo;m seen as a way out there radical. To the emergent folks I\u0026rsquo;ve encountered so far, I\u0026rsquo;m seen as way out there conservative. Go figure. I enjoy a good challenge to my thinking even if some of those that provide the challenge have little ability to receive one in return.\nI would love to go to the Emergent Convention. Reading through the topics, I would love to be in on almost all of them just to hear some new ideas, especially those about leadership. Oh well. I certainly hope that those who go will post about it.\nSpeaking of a good challenge, my old friend and I are discussing one of the branches of TULIP, Perseverence of the saints. I know that he wrestled with it for qutie a long time and does not believe in it lightly. I enjoy discussing it with him, especially as we do not regard each other as \u0026lsquo;unsaved\u0026rsquo; because of our different perspectives. Definitely some good things to think about. Keep it up, who knows where the conversation will go.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s it for today.\n","date":"18 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-18-religious-ozone/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Religious Ozone","type":"posts"},{"content":"Set Theory I\nThere\u0026rsquo;s something unsatisfactory about my first post regarding set theory. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure what it is, but part of it is a lack of precision.\nFirst, let\u0026rsquo;s pretend that there\u0026rsquo;s no difference between what is true and what is perceived. Further, let\u0026rsquo;s define the terms more precisely. There is a set, S, whose members make up the church. Which church? Well, that can cause problems just trying to sort that out. The church universal means different things, the church local presupposes certain things, and so on. Therefore, let say that we are looking at those who are saved. You may even call this group \u0026rsquo;the elect'.\nOk, we are trying to determine the members of set S where members are defined as those that are saved.\nGoing back to the territorial model, those that are saved are within a certain area surrounding God. It may be a circle, a square, or an irregular polygon. In other words, any point within a certain distance of God is saved. A point may be \u0026rsquo;to the right\u0026rsquo; of God, another \u0026rsquo;to the left\u0026rsquo;, etc, but both must be within a certain distance to God depending on where they are located in relation to God. Maintaining the definition that the saved are within a certain specified area around God, let\u0026rsquo;s just say that the boundary of this area is a circle. This simplifies the definition further: those within a certain radius of God are saved.\nThis model presents some problems, as previously stated in the first article. The outer boundary, in extreme cases, is confused with the boundary of the local church membership. At the most extreme, oen may believe that the boundary is smaller than that, meaning that not everyone in their local church is saved, much less those outside of it. However, some may be less \u0026rsquo;narrow-minded\u0026rsquo; and consider the boundary to be the edges of their particular denomination. Others may be more broad than that, still others may simply see the boundary as Christian, and yet others may declare there is no boundary at all.\nThe one thing in common is a focus on exactly where the boundary may be and the exact distance of the radius from God that allows a person to be saved. It\u0026rsquo;s natural, children push at boundaries set by parents in part because they want to know where the boundary actually exists. Once they know where the boundary is, it provides a sense of security. Yet, looking at those who are saved or not saved in this can cause a person to be concerned about their position and the position of others. The apostles argued about this on more than one occasion. James and John Zebedee asked to be on the left and right of Jesus. Jesus made it clear that jockeying for position to be closest to him is not the right line of thinking. Besides, God determines those things, not us.\nThis brings us to the relational model. In this model, the members of set S are determined by their direction toward a central point, God. Because of each members\u0026rsquo; connection to God, the set that defines those who are saved looks like a series a lines emmanating from the center, instead of a defined area of space. (From a poetical standpoint, one might even say that it is the sparkle of God.) The advantage of this model is that thinking of \u0026rsquo;those that are saved\u0026rsquo; is less of a specific area, but a common focus on God. Thinking this way, the set has a more dynamic membership that changes frequently. It also makes it difficult, if not impossible, for a person to know who is a member of set S without a relationship to other members.\nNaturally, this may lead members to believe that set S has far fewer members than it really contains. Unlike the territory model, a relationship must exist between members to determine movement toward a common goal. Unfortunately, it is much easier to determine if someone is moving in a parallel direction. When looking for those moving in the same direction, most are not travelling toward the center at all. The other drawback to this model is that God draws people to Him before they are saved. In other words, it is possible to be drawn to God, even if you are not saved. Paul discusses this in Athens (Acts 17:27) and Peter says this at Pentecost (Acts 2:39).\nOne separate issue I want to think about is what happens when a member changes direction. Because the model defines members of set S as those moving toward a common goal, the instant a member changes direction, they cease being a member of set S. In other words, the moment a person stops heading toward God, they are no longer saved. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that this was not intended, but it is a logical deduction from the definition. One could say that a person\u0026rsquo;s \u0026lsquo;overall direction\u0026rsquo; meaning that more of their direction is toward the center than not. This explanation is only partially satisfying, it seems to gloss over any change in direction at all.\nSo what then? Is it possible to define set S to include those that are saved AND moving towards God? I believe so. Let\u0026rsquo;s go back to the idea of the area that defines those that are saved. It is easy to say that the barrier is doctrine. Those with right doctrine are in the area, those without it are outside. However, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t accurately account for movement within the area. Doctrine is not usually so flexible as to allow much movement. One could have doctrines that are fuzzy, but again, that is only partially satisfying.\nI propose this: the defined area is the area of God\u0026rsquo;s grace. One could even say that grace is the radius of God. The Bible does say that His grace, though vast, is not infinite. It also says that those that are not saved are not under grace. The main reason for using grace as the area is that it allows for movement. Romans 14 mentions several disputable matters and Paul basically encourages members to not undermine another\u0026rsquo;s faith, but it\u0026rsquo;s okay to believe two different things (in regards to disputable matters). Also, there are times in every Christian\u0026rsquo;s life when we do NOT fix our eyes on God. Rather than say that we are no longer saved at that point, it is more accurate to say that we are under grace at that point. However, if we mantain the same direction, we will eventually move outside God\u0026rsquo;s grace because there is no sacrifice for sin left when we deliberately and continually sin against God.\nThe only problem with this model is that it does not allow for Reformed theology at all. By its assumptions, it excludes even mild forms of Calvinism. As such, I\u0026rsquo;ll go back to work to think through that, but it may be a while before I explore that.\n","date":"17 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-17-set-theory-ii/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Set Theory II","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was reading an article on church as set theory and I enjoyed it. I know it appeals to my visual side and my mathematical side, but I also like the idea that those that make up the members of the church are not always set, or necessarily known by any one person. I believe that many under the \u0026rsquo;territorial\u0026rsquo; model see the gates of Heaven and the doors to their fellowship of local churches as the same thing.\nI thought about it for awhile and decided that I wanted to expand on it a bit. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying this is any better or worse, it is just what went through my mind as I thought about set theory.\nActual vs Perceived\nMany times what is actually true is quite different than what is perceived to be true. Let\u0026rsquo;s say that a player for the Cincinati Bengals appears to catch a pass, but the official on the field rules that he did not. The player believes he caught the pass, the QB believes he caught it, the coach of the Bengals believes he caught it and challenges the ruling on the field. The referee believes that he did not make the catch. Who is right? Are both right? Without more information, the actual truth may never be known. However, with several cameras looking from multiple angles, the referee can get a good enough idea to maintain or change his ruling. The player and the ref may not agree, but the referee has authority, thus his decision will stand.\nWith God, he is the only one that can see several angles simultaneously. He has all authority, so his decision will stand, even if we do not agree. However, we cannot see all angles at once, but we can bring our different perspectives to get a good enough idea of the truth. Thanks to grace, there is no need to know the absolute truth, however, we can get closer to it with the help of others.\nClosed Set Model The closed set model assumes that the church is based on position to God. As John had said on his blog, this produces a sense of territory. At a certain terriorial border, the church does not exist: those outside the territory are \u0026lsquo;outside\u0026rsquo; of a relationship with God and therefore lost. Another thought occurrs to me that a person can compare themselves to others by thinking of them as closer to God or further from God, but that is a tangent I may indulge in later.\nHowever, the model presented made no consideration for the fact that although this kind of thinking measures relative closeness to God, no one knows the exact distance from God. Each person\u0026rsquo;s perception of territory creates arbitrary borders which may or may not be the actual borders that God may see, assuming that He would use this model. Visually it would look like this - the red area represents the actual border, the blue represents the perceived border from the blue dot\u0026rsquo;s perspective.\nRed - God, Blue - Specific Individual\nAgain, membership in church comess from crossing a barrier. However, man, in his perception, can be wrong and place his or her arbitrary barrier inside or outside God\u0026rsquo;s actual barrier. This confusion is worsened by the temptation to see those close to you as relatively close to God, just like you. For many of us, finding someone just like us reaches as far as the doors of our local church.\nThere is some merit to this idea, though, especially if one sees sin as the barrier. The reasoning resembles something like this:\nWe are separated from God because of sin. (Isa 59:1-2). God provided his Son as a way to cover the separation, so that we can draw close to Him. (John 3:16). Crossing the barrier is done by the saving work of Christ. (John 5:24).\nHowever, this model has its weakness in not addressing how positions would \u0026lsquo;change\u0026rsquo;. In addition, it presumes that anything on the good side of the barrier is permissible, but anything outside the barrier is not. Given that no one knows the location of the actual barrier, this can lead to endless quarrels over matters that are not important to God anyway. This model does nothing to describe the actual dynamic of the relationship to God, or relationships with each other as it is only concerned with being in a certain postion within a specific territory.\nRelational Model Instead of a territory, let\u0026rsquo;s define church as those that are drawn by God to be close to Him. (John 6:44) Technically, this is still a closed set, the members are made up of those being drawn to a center, however, it does address the dynamic of God working in the world better than the territory model. It is true that those that appear close to God, may in fact be moving away from God, and at a high rate of speed!\nrelational model - blue arrows toward God (Red Cross)\nAs John had said, there is still those that are \u0026lsquo;in\u0026rsquo; and those that are \u0026lsquo;out\u0026rsquo;, but this distinction cannot be made by drawing a line.\nrelational set - red lines from center to all those with arrows pointed towrd the center\nNote there are no lines between any two points in this model. That is because movement towards the center shows a common destination, but does not imply a relationship. One point may be in Zaire, the other in Oklahoma City: both are moving toward God, but may not know each other at all.\nAgain, though, perception can muddy the waters a bit. What we perceive as moving toward God, may not be moving toward God at all. So when we try to define this relational set, we may or may not be right in our judgements at all.\nPerceived Realtional Set - Green Cross is perceived center, green lines connecting those perceived to be moving toward green cross\nWorse yet, man can still make the same error in judgement that is similar to the territorial model. A man can perceive that those moving in the same direction are part of those in the kingdom of God.\nSame Direction Set - All dots with same direction connected to single blue dot\nNot that these connections focus on one dot, there\u0026rsquo;s no way someone can know the direction someone else is going without knowing the other person. However, there is no implication that everyone knows everyone, much less that they know the others are moving in the same direction.\nToo Much Math I wanted to talk more about how the direction one travels is different from the actual to the perceived, but I will simply state it here as an assumption to deal with later.\nSo what does all this mean? For one, I think it means that our tendency to determine the members of the set, Kingdom of God, are bound to get some of the members wrong and miss many others. Although possibly out of context, it is similar to the sentiment Peter had when he asked Jesus, \u0026ldquo;What about him?\u0026rdquo; (John 20:28). I also believe it says that we cannot know for certain the \u0026rsquo;territory\u0026rsquo; of God or the direction that another person is going in relation to God. So much energy is spent in determining \u0026ldquo;whom among the saints are really saved\u0026rdquo; that little is spent on helping those that don\u0026rsquo;t have a relationship to God at all. Lastly, the issue that neither model adequately addresses is the working of the Holy Spirit.\nThis isn\u0026rsquo;t to say that it is impossible to know at all about the spirtual state of someone. Paul had the Holy Spirit to tell him directly. We have the word of God and others to help us. Like I said earlier, looking at something from several angles may not give us the absolute right answer, but it can give us a good enough answer. With both these tools, I believe that it is possible to know the will of God for our lives, individually and corporately.\nAn Electron Cloud and the Uncertainty Principle The Uncertainty Principle demonstrates, among other things, that there is a limit to the percision we can determine things. Because the two models deal with position and direction, I think of electrons and how the uncertainty principle applies to both.\nBasically, it is possible to know the position OR the direction (actually the momentum), but not both at the same time. Why? Because determing the position affects its momentum and vice versa. Applied to the thought exercise here, trying to determine a person\u0026rsquo;s position can change the direction of their Christianity. Trying to determine their direction may change their position on important areas of doctrine.\nOddly enough, the electrons within an atom work perfectly well with this uncertainty as they are guided by the nuclear forces exerted by the nucleus. Each electron moves about fulfilling its function. Eph 4:16\nOther thoughts As I do in other exercises, I tend to look at how models can be both/and instead of either/or. In this case, I tend to think of the territory as doctrine and the direction as how we live our life. I think each one of us makes relationships with many inside and outside our doctrinal territory and going in many different directions. I have Muslim friends and I have Jewish relatives. My family has LDS and Jehovah\u0026rsquo;s Witnesses among them. My brother is a Church of Christ member and my father is a Methodist, my stepfather is Catholic. Interactions with each one affects what I believe (territory) and how I live for God (direction).\nAlthough it doesn\u0026rsquo;t fit in my analogy, I believe that the relationships with other Christians forms a sort of bond that keeps me in place as far as territory and moving toward the center as far as direction. Besides all of that, the prevailing force of the Holy Spirit pulls all of us toward the center, even if we fight it and never become Christians at all. This has all kinds of implications that I may explore later.\nChurch as verb? Church is a noun. The greek word is a noun. However, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean building or denominational group. It means \u0026ldquo;those called out\u0026rdquo;. It refers to people. Being a part of the ones that are called out naturally creates relationships that do not conform to a man-made structure.\nIn fact, I contend that it is possible to have too much structure. Forced structure makes abhorrations in nature and in our lives - specifically, it blocks relationships and forces others that may not be healthy. Coming from a background with enforced best friendships on a six month rotating basis, I have experienced this first hand.\nToo much structure is bad. However, using as little structure as is needed can promote healthy relationships and growth. Tomato plants usually are planted with poles. Grapevines increase their yield when grown into structures like trellises or fences. Trees and shrubs pruned on a regular basis are more healthy and grow better than unintended ones. (John 15) The key is, as little structure as is needed. Not every church needs a minister (the Ethiopian Eunuch has none) or elders (some churches lasted a while before elders, otherwise Timothy would not have returned to them to appoint elders). Some may need just a financial center (Jesus\u0026rsquo;s little group had a treasurer). Others may need nothing more than familial relationships. The possibilities in Scripture are not as limited as others may believe.\nAnyway, I enjoyed this idea immensely. Feel free to comment as you wish, I look forward to any discussion generated.\n","date":"16 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-16-set-theory/","section":"Posts","summary":"I was reading an article on church as set theory and I enjoyed it. I know it appeals to my visual side and my mathematical side, but I also like the idea that those that make up the members of the church are not always set, or necessarily known by any one person. I believe that many under the ’territorial’ model see the gates of Heaven and the doors to their fellowship of local churches as the same thing.\nI thought about it for awhile and decided that I wanted to expand on it a bit. I’m not saying this is any better or worse, it is just what went through my mind as I thought about set theory.\n","title":"Set Theory","type":"posts"},{"content":"Premise Try this on for size: most of the best Christian authors are dead.\nRamblings If I try to think of authors today that will be quoted by folks in 20 years, I can only think of a bare few. In fact, I can only think of one at the moment- Philipp Yancey. There should also be room for Fee and Stuart, though I believe that they will probably never write a third book together.\nWhat about Max Lucado? Rick Warren? Tim LaHaye? Yes, I know that LaHaye wrote books before Left Behind. Yes, I have still never read a Max Lucado book (no reason, just haven\u0026rsquo;t).\nI read from authors like Brian McLaren and others about the emerging church and enjoy their insight into modern culture. However, anyone that has to coin new words and phrases to describe God, Jesus, his Church, and other theological concepts in English just isn\u0026rsquo;t trying. At this point, English has more words that are not used than some languages possess in their vocabulary. We have words that differentiate between an animal and the food the animal becomes (i.e. lamb \u0026amp; mutton, deer \u0026amp; venison). We have words for the fear of a specific number. We have floccinaucinihilipilification. We have almost one hundred words for shades of blue. We have a dictionary that comes in 20 volumes and is four feet long when stacked horizontally. What is the necessity in expounding on concepts described in a series of letters written in an adopted second language by creating words and phrases unavailable in a 500,000 word vocabulary after hundreds of years of study? There isn\u0026rsquo;t. It is simply lazy thinking.\nWhy do I favor dead writers? They aren\u0026rsquo;t in it for money anymore, they know how to think, they know how to use words, and they know how to read a book. Give me Tozer. Give me Spurgeon. (Do you know he could sell out theathers at speaking engagements?) Even give me Matthew Henry. How about Cotton Mather and John Wesley?\nCoda In any case, the link at the beginning is food for thought. For the record, I am not against emergent church theology. I am against the need to coin new words and phrases to decribe things. For example, calling a local church a tribe. No local church I have been to has ever operated in the same context or even with the same connations as a tribe. County School Board is a more accurate phrase to my experience. However, I am not against the concept that our current culture (Postmodern is a category of art) has different needs in understanding the Gospel than the generation that preceeded it. The Gospel as understood by the original teachers and students was spoken to a world very different from our own. Without a good way to translate across the divide (called hermenutics), the message can be warped or misunderstood.\n","date":"15 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-15-need-a-dose-of-reality/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Need A Dose of Reality?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I saw the baby today. Up until this point, the baby felt like an abstract concept. True, I felt great about being a dad and I wanted to do all I could to help my wife. She is starting to show a little and last night I even talked to the baby.\nStill, I can\u0026rsquo;t describe the difference between the reality of our child before today and the reality now.\nOur prayers have been answered thus far: ten fingers, ten toes. I saw each one. What a marvelous thing to see God knitting a life in my wife\u0026rsquo;s womb. It\u0026rsquo;s funny, I didn\u0026rsquo;t really hear the nurse go through the checklist of potential problems. I heard her happiness in sharing with us and I heard my wife\u0026rsquo;s joy and relief that the baby is okay.\nSometime later, what I am feeling is becoming more clear.\nI am incredibly happy that I will be a father. It\u0026rsquo;s a word that always meant someone else to me, and now this word can be used to describe me as well. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I get to stand up on father\u0026rsquo;s day, or even that I can share stories with my own father. It\u0026rsquo;s the beginning of something new that at one point I thought would be denied to me for the rest of my life. Two years ago, I had given up on any hope of being a father and had given my heart into what I considered my ministry.\nHaving it become a reality now is another sign to me that God does hear my prayers. I wept in bitterness that I was living a life that was not my own. Now, God has given me a life that I know is His and mine. I understand that my life is on loan from him and that he could call me anywhere - he did it once before when I packed up my car and drove 2200 miles to a town where I knew no one at all. (My first night, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t even find a hotel room or a gas station to buy a town map.) In any case, I feel like God told me that I could make some choices and that he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t abandon me if I made a bad one. In the meantime, he hasn\u0026rsquo;t been like the God of the Deists that just watches from afar, He\u0026rsquo;s helped me along the way. Point is, I feel like God and I are walking together in my life instead of how I saw him before as the micromanager of my life.\nMy wife and I ask God to know His will. I hope that the choices we have made will honor Him. In the meantime, I am enjoying this special time to simply be in awe at the creation of life. A life entrusted to the care of me and my best friend. This is probably the happiest day of my life to this point and I wanted to share it.\nGod bless all of you today and everyday.\n","date":"14 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-14-ultrasound/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ultrasound","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been reading the writings of Wade Hodges lately. I enjoy his insights into various issues around the church of christ. Definitely worth a read to stimulate the brain cells.\n","date":"13 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-13-another-blog-to-read/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another Blog to Read","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Eferians tend to live in small communities located east of the Awrelian Demarcation in forests. The Hesberians have named them Eferians because they are presumed to be similar to hawks in their behavior and social structure. The Eferian refer to themselves as \u0026ldquo;KeetKeet\u0026rdquo;.\nEferians tend to live in thatched homes, but no bare ground floors. The thatch is actually partially woven. Every home has a tree nearby that belongs to the family.\nEferian travellers carry a special apparatus that they can add thatch to in order to sleep in a tree, they will not sleep on the bare ground. If no straw is available, an Eferians will sleep standing up, something they can do easily.\nOnce every generation, an Eferus is born with tiny feathers that cover the body. They are shed within the first year, but the Eferians consider the child born with feathers to be a child favored of their gods. Such a child is given the name -Dejgej- (remember that the Hesberians use \u0026lsquo;j\u0026rsquo; to denote a semivowel instead of \u0026lsquo;y\u0026rsquo;) that they carry their entire lives.\nPhysically, Eferians are very thin and average a little over six feet tall. They have a large skull with a sloping forehead, but it is narrower than an Ogdan skull.\n","date":"11 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-11-eferim-draft/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eferians - Draft","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is just food for thought, but Jerry Bernard thinks through the order of Paul\u0026rsquo;s letters in a different way. I like the fact that he explains why he initally thought one way and then why he changed before demonstrating his reasoning.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t agree with some of his conclusions on other topics (Things that ended in the first century), I don\u0026rsquo;t even agree with him on the timeline of Paul\u0026rsquo;s letters. However, it isn\u0026rsquo;t an unreasonable approach and so it deserves some consideration.\n","date":"10 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-10-alternate-timeline-of-pauls-letters/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Alternate Timeline of Paul's Letters","type":"posts"},{"content":"Salguod has posted some thoughts on People as Projects.\nThe only thing that I can add is that this appears to be the result of an imbalanced emphsasis on growth over maturity. It is not unique to the ICC, but in fact appears in certain cell church stuctures. If the goals are to the grow the group, split it to plant another group, and keep growing, it is inevitable that those that are not 100% \u0026lsquo;with the program\u0026rsquo; are going to be treated as someone that needs to be fixed. The heart may be to help the person, but it is only heart enough to get them \u0026lsquo;on track\u0026rsquo; and nothing more. (In this case, I\u0026rsquo;m talking about consistently demonstrated lack of enthusiasm and participation, not an off-week.)\nThis is treating a person as a project in much the same way we look at a leaky faucet or a picture crookedly hung on a wall.\nThe answer is also not to love them more. This is only a different approach to fixing the problem. The difference is that it is wrapped in a soft teddy-bear covering, but it is still just an approach to fix some perceived problem with a person that is not \u0026lsquo;on track\u0026rsquo;.\nWhat is the answer? Not to harken images of a C- movie, but sometimes you need to ask the right question. If there is someone in your small group that isn\u0026rsquo;t as excited about growth as everyone else, the issue may not be the indvidual. Think about it, if you have to \u0026rsquo;love up on them\u0026rsquo; to figure out what\u0026rsquo;s wrong, then the group hasn\u0026rsquo;t been functioning the entire time. That makes the question more about what the group is supposed to do instead of what needs to happen to fix one member of the group.\nWant a real mindbender? Sometimes there is no problem at all. Each person is trying their best to meet needs and reach out to the community, the group is meeting together and active in each other\u0026rsquo;s lives, but the results are not particularly stellar. It\u0026rsquo;s not a problem to be fixed. Instead of thinking about what-if scenarios, sometimes the answer is that there is no question. In other words, there isn\u0026rsquo;t a problem at all. In the parable of the sower, it is God that makes things grow. Ask any farmer - there are some days when you cannot do anything but wait.\nJust some thoughts, read his article, it is better.\n","date":"10 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-10-great-post-on-another-blog/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Great Post on Another Blog","type":"posts"},{"content":"Initally, there was an first-come, first-serve bruhaha in Baltimore and two weeks later, there is a \u0026lsquo;symposium\u0026rsquo; in LA. One person attending both these events was in Gerogia in early April and will go back in June. Another person involved in both events will be in Seattle next month. A third person involved in both events will fly to Kansas next month. This doesn\u0026rsquo;t even address the trips by various folks from the beginning of the year until March.\nIs this really worth it? True, unity shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have a price tag. I\u0026rsquo;d hate to be someone to say \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo; for purely financial reasons when there is a greater good possible. My question is, how many trips should someone take in a year? Isn\u0026rsquo;t there another way? These days it\u0026rsquo;s cheaper to rent a videoconference room for $100/hr at Kinko\u0026rsquo;s than to fly someone back and forth somewhere and put them up in a hotel. Email is relatively free. Even calling long distance with a good cellphone is very inexpensive.\nSure, I\u0026rsquo;d love to do everything in person. When I travelled as a consultant, I didn\u0026rsquo;t enjoy the customers that called me constantly, but didn\u0026rsquo;t want me to visit. It was very inconvienient. However, they were my customers, so I couldn\u0026rsquo;t force an in-person visit on them if they didn\u0026rsquo;t want to have me. Besides, it was much cheaper to call, so they had no real reason to fly me in. After a while, they even gave me VPN access to their network. I didn\u0026rsquo;t need to visit them at all.\n","date":"10 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-10-who-paying-for-this/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who Paying for This?","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife and I are expecting a baby in October.\nTold you it was a big announcement. Waited until I called family to post it here. I wanted to call everyone, but there\u0026rsquo;s so many, I wanted you to know now rather than later.\nThat means no trip to Greece for me this year, and that is a touch sad. We enjoyed Rome last year a great deal. It was fun. I was going to have a paper this year and everything. I don\u0026rsquo;t call it the Great Paperchase(TM) for nothing. Guess we\u0026rsquo;ll save that for another year.\n","date":"9 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-09-big-announcement/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Big Announcement","type":"posts"},{"content":"The following article was written in 1988. It makes points in a more straightforward way than I did. Below is a quoted section:\nBefore returning to the Father He commanded His followers: \u0026ldquo;Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved\u0026rdquo; (Mark 16:15,16). In the wording of Matthew 28:19,20 they were told: \u0026ldquo;Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.\u0026rdquo;\nIt has been argued that since \u0026lsquo;make disciples\u0026rsquo; (second person plural aorist imperative active) is the main verb of the sentence and \u0026lsquo;going,\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;baptizing\u0026rsquo; and \u0026rsquo;teaching\u0026rsquo; are participles, discipling includes both baptizing and teaching to observe all things.\nWhom are we to disciple? All the nations. Nations (accusative) is the direct object of the verb \u0026lsquo;disciple.\u0026rsquo; If \u0026lsquo;disciple\u0026rsquo; as a verb means what advocates of authoritarian discipleship claim, is it possible to disciple a nation? Of course not. In most versions this verb is correctly translated \u0026rsquo;to make disciples of.\u0026rsquo; Then it makes sense. \u0026lsquo;Make disciples of all the nations.\u0026rsquo; That is possible.\nWhom are we to baptize and teach to observe all things? Is it possible to baptize a nation? Greek pronouns usually agree in gender with their antecedent. \u0026lsquo;Nations\u0026rsquo; is neuter; \u0026rsquo;them\u0026rsquo; in verses 19 and 20 is masculine. It is to be understood \u0026ndash; as is stated in Mark \u0026ndash; that only those who believe are to be baptized. \u0026ldquo;He who believes and is baptized will be saved\u0026rdquo; (Mark 16:16). And whom are you going to teach to observe all things? One who doesn\u0026rsquo;t believe? One who refuses to be baptized? Or one who has believed, has been baptized, and has been made a disciple? You are not going to make much progress teaching someone to observe all things until AFTER he has become a disciple!\nDisciples ARE to be taught to observe all that their Master has commanded. They ARE to grow to maturity in Christ. But this is not called \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; in the New Testament. And the above passages certainly say nothing about becoming the disciple of someone OTHER THAN CHRIST.\nThe way to make disciples is to preach the gospel. \u0026ldquo;When they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples\u0026rdquo; (Acts 14:21,22). A subordinate relationship with some other disciple is not required in \u0026lsquo;making disciples\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; (the verb form is used in this passage).\nWish I had found this a month ago, it would have been simpler to provide a link. I found this today and I was struck that both of us used the example of early Methodism. How seredipitous is that?\n","date":"9 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-09-disciple-as-verb-iii/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Disciple as Verb III","type":"posts"},{"content":"A UFE is an undocumented feature enhancement. Thanks to slashdot, I found that instead of fixing issues that can cause the dreaded blue screen of death, they have simply created a red screen of death.\nCan\u0026rsquo;t wait for the upgrade. I\u0026rsquo;m guessing it will be the Chartreuse (R127, G255, B0) Screen of Death.\n","date":"9 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-09-new-ufe-in-windows-longhorn/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New UFE in Windows Longhorn","type":"posts"},{"content":"The History Channel has contacted my father and will eventually contact me. It seems that a researcher believed that my family is descendant from the Lost Colony. With the help of Robert S Machuga and the Carawan family, I have traced my ancestry back to a Thomas Paine born sometime before 1734. In the same area (Currituck County, NC) there is only one Payne mentioned not in my research - his name is Samuel Payn. The earliest record of him is 1661. He left no will, but is recorded as serving in town meetings and affairs.\nMy cousin Rock, who posts here occasionally, has done more family history research than all of us. I certainly hope that they get in contact with him, he is the one with the hard data and background.\nI won\u0026rsquo;t be on TV, but my father will.\nI expect to hear from them soon. I\u0026rsquo;ll keep you posted.\n","date":"7 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-07-well-what-do-you-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Well What Do You Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"To someone I know in Portland:\nI have read on your website that you are feeling tired.\nI wanted to give you some advice that I received many years ago from someone you trained.\nThe Bible is clear that the Lord will not give you more than you can handle and he will give you a way to endure it. (1 Co 10:12-13) Frankly, I think you are just making excuses. I mean, you\u0026rsquo;ve done a lot, and that\u0026rsquo;s true, but we\u0026rsquo;re talking about people\u0026rsquo;s souls here. I can\u0026rsquo;t believe you\u0026rsquo;d work for God and them complain that he\u0026rsquo;s asking you to do too much. Maybe you need to pray for more faith.\nOf course, you can just change what you believe - the city is full of churches with lukewarm or cold disciples that want to hear a more convienient gospel than the Bible. They\u0026rsquo;d probably think you\u0026rsquo;re the most fired up guy in the group and that is pathetic.\nTake about five minutes to pray and then get going. Many people are dying on campus while you sit here and complain about being tired. I love you, but that\u0026rsquo;s the truth. I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t tell you if it wasn\u0026rsquo;t true.\nCall me if you need anything.\n","date":"4 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-04-exhaustion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Exhaustion","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve had trouble sleeping for years. I have sleep apnea, but I also have times when the brain just won\u0026rsquo;t shut down and let me rest. So, in order to occupy my time and get a little more sleepy, here\u0026rsquo;s a few things that I\u0026rsquo;d normally let slide, but feel compelled to mention because the wheels are turning\u0026hellip;\nEducation Ministry I look forward to meeting a minister with a SBC congregation around here. I know, the Southern Bapitst Convention here. Who\u0026rsquo;d have thunk it? Anywho, trying to get together this week.\nAnother Demagogue I used to support this guy until a friend of our family was fired by him. Our family friend made the mistake of telling Mr. Robertson that he shouldn\u0026rsquo;t run for President.\nApparently, our biggest threat is liberal judges. It is more important \u0026ldquo;than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings\u0026rdquo;. It is more important than World War II, Iraq, and everything else.\nIt just goes to show that there\u0026rsquo;s more than one religious leader that lives in his own ozone.\nDavid and His Marketing Agent\nA great story can be read here that deals with modern attitudes toward conflict. I added a link to this magazine, by the way. I have really enjoyed their thought provoking articles, even if I do not buy into all of their reformed theology. I added a link on the right sidebar.\nSecret Meetings First there\u0026rsquo;s a first-come, first-serve meeting in Baltimore, now there\u0026rsquo;s some symposium in LA about the definition of \u0026ldquo;believing children\u0026rdquo;. Who pays for some of these people to fly around the country?\nStay home and meet some people within your own congregation. Work with the local congregation and maybe even meet some folks in other churches in your town. The world will do fine without your personal presence: there\u0026rsquo;s very few people in the entire world that you cannot just simply call. GET OVER YOURSELF. Unless you make a living as a travelling minister (not a world missions evangelist), do the JOB YOU WERE HIRED TO DO, minister to a local congregation.\nI had to follow this piece of advice myself last year. No more trips to conferences just to get an ulcer, no trip to Greece this year, no flying to churches to have words with the ministers that say things like \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t want anything to do with Triangle (church)\u0026rdquo; (MF) or \u0026ldquo;It was a vocal minority that got out of control\u0026rdquo; (SL) or \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t have time for bloggers\u0026rdquo;(SS).\nCold Feet Is Not News Glad to know that all the news networks and NPR believe that a woman getting cold feet is national news. I suppose that steriods in sports, British elections (Blair is getting hammered), more car bombs in Iraq, and other things are just not important enough to show on TV every five minutes.\nHello? Sudan? The SUDAN? You know, civil war there, death squads, endless slaughter. Hello? North Korea? You know, the country we ignore when it comes to nukes. Hello? Microsoft and the EU? Windows XP Version N - not sold in this country. Hello? The religious right is trying to take over politics and mix it with right-wing whacked out religion. Despite how fascinating Rush can be, Rush is not Right. Hello? Energy policy? Drilling in Alaska not the issue but the lack of refineries?\nThank goodness for news.google.com\nBig Announcement Coming Sunday Some of you know, but I\u0026rsquo;ll tell everyone Sunday. It\u0026rsquo;s a big deal for me and it\u0026rsquo;s a personal thing, not a church thing.\nWife Only Training for One More Week \u0026rsquo;nuff said.\nBooks on Evangelism Want to read Out of the Saltshaker \u0026amp; into the World: Evangelism As a Way of Life by Rebecca Manley Pippert. It comes highly recommended and it\u0026rsquo;s not a works-oriented version of Master Plan of Evangelism.\nYou know that Robert Coleman actually did an interview to say that his work is being twisted by some churches?\nLife is Good Despite not sleeping, life is really good these days. I have an amazing, hard working wife, great friends, and a hope of Heaven one day. Truly wonderful things.\n","date":"3 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-03-a-few-thoughts-while-not-sleeping/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A few thoughts while not sleeping","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife just let me know that she passed her final major test. This means that she keeps her job and she will have medical insurance starting June 1.\nCommence to celebrate in the most outlandish fashion possible.\nOn a complete tangent, I saw a tagline today that said:\nHeck is where you go if you don\u0026rsquo;t believe in Gosh.\n","date":"3 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-03-she-passed/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"SHE PASSED!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Last year about this time, everyone was excited about a distro called Cobind Linux. The folks behind it were developing two promising tools on top of the Fedora Core 2 packages. The first tool, YumGui, was a tool similar to synaptic that Debian users have known for years. The second tools was a graphical tool that you could license to create your own custom distro to meet specific needs within an enterprise.\nWill Cobind go to the Fedora Legacy project?\nI still believe that it is a great use of XFCE and Nautilus that no one else has used. Gnome seems to be falling out of favor with developers. Personally, I still think KDE is setting itself up for future problems with the all-in-one tool Konqueror. Windows did that and they are still rooting out security issues. In any case, I recently found a XFCE mod that makes it behave like Mac OS X (lost the link). I think a comibination of XFCE with this Mod would be a great desktop platform for lower end machines.\nI just hope that Ubuntu doesn\u0026rsquo;t end up this way. I also hope that PC-BSD will pick up as well. I am personally quite interested in PC-BSD, and if I had any money, I\u0026rsquo;d send it along.\nBesides, my friends in the know are aware that I\u0026rsquo;ve always dreamed of an OpenBSD or MirBSD desktop.\n","date":"3 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-03-whatever-happened-to-cobind/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Whatever Happened to Cobind?","type":"posts"},{"content":"They are working.\nI know that I get upset about things going on outisde my church because I believe that these things can affect us. However, there I times when I let God provides me the encouragement to look locally and not globally.\nMy wife and I were having a difficult weekend. My plans for our date on Saturday did not go well, but overall, there was a tremendous communication breakdown. Go figure, we\u0026rsquo;re both writers and we have trouble communicating. :)\nBy Sunday morning, we will still trying to work things out. Because we had missed last week, I was eager to be in service, so I made a bad decision to table the discussion until after service. The good that came out of it, though, was that a deacon couple was there to help us out on the spot when things got more difficult. This couple heads up the Children\u0026rsquo;s Ministry and they are usually running around with lots of things to do on Sunday during Communion. Instead of trying to pass us off or talk about their lack of time, they stopped everything and helped us work it through.\nMy wife was quite upset. The first thing that happened when the deaconess saw my wife was that they hugged. She immediately offered to help us. That help got us through the weekend and set the tone for a great time Sunday night.\nLater in the afternoon yesterday, we visited some friends and talked about our new small group. They were excited to have us in the group. We were able to encourage and help each other and it was wonderful.\nThe sermon was an exposition of John 6 focused on who Jesus\u0026rsquo;s claims about himself. Unfortunately, the computer crashed, so it is lost. However, after over a decade of hearing weird sermons about evangelism, this one about the Gospel was heartwarming. The message is not prosperity, save the world in one generation, look at my church, look at me, etc. The message was Jesus, himself. More on the sermon later.\nI know that everyday will not be a perfect day. I know that I should not get my happiness from circumstances, but rely on God for real joy. I just wanted to share that sometimes God gives me encouragement and reason for the hope that I have in my local church.\n","date":"2 May 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-05-02-thank-you-for-the-prayers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thank you for the Prayers","type":"posts"},{"content":"Turns out that my vigilance against spam emliminated the ability to post any comment at all.\nSorry, not intentional. They should work now.\nHACKED! 5-01-05 My thanks to fd for hacking access to the server this website is hosted on. I hope the folks at 1and1.com have made steps to correct this: I suspect that it was someone using Google to send a php vulnerability.\n","date":"30 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-30-comments-now-working/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Comments Now Working - HACKED!","type":"posts"},{"content":"You may have come here because I asked you to visit. You may have stumbled here because you did a google search on the word pinakidion and discovered that this is the first entry. Some of you may have even come over from the ICC Discussion forum or other places. However you got here, welcome.\nI really pray about the things I post here. Sometimes, I think of this place as a personal psalter. Some posts are happy, some are angry, some are sad, all of them are honest. After reading a few, that may seem odd that I pray about things like my fantasy world, but I do. I really enjoy writing and I pray to develop those fantasy world ideas for their own sake. As far as theological issues go, I strive to be fair pointing out good and not so good things in everything around me, including myself. Don\u0026rsquo;t be surprised if I am unrelenting, random, and/or bizarre. Consider that your only warning. I do not apologize for what I think, but I am always willing to discuss it and admit where I am wrong.\nI would like to think that one day, many people will come here and read my thoughts on various topics. At that point, I remember that I am not writing to be loved, respected, or even hated. This place is not my life, just a record of things that move around between my ears.\nTo the folks at \u0026ldquo;online poker\u0026rdquo;, you can stop spamming me. I have a package that automatically deletes the 200+ spam comments you send a day. Your posts do not appear, do not waste my db space, and besides, if they do appear, they have the nofollow tag.\n","date":"30 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-30-welcome-to-my-world/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Welcome to My World","type":"posts"},{"content":"I would love a look at our history that is written like this and the follow-up to how to present their church\u0026rsquo;s history here. However, I do not believe that we can make similar claims. The primary reason is probably due to the fact that we haven\u0026rsquo;t taken ten years to go through \u0026lsquo;changes\u0026rsquo;. In many places two years is seen as too long, so the rhetoric is akin to \u0026ldquo;Okay, we wrestled for two years: now that it is finished, let\u0026rsquo;s get back to evanglizing.\u0026rdquo;\nIn any case, I present it as a means to present bad news, be honest about doctrinal errors and look to God for the future.\nRead the question about \u0026ldquo;Why don\u0026rsquo;t you stress the positive elements of Dr. Armstrong\u0026rsquo;s work?\u0026rdquo; I believe it is a fair and honest response to the dynamic that is really going on. I believe the following quote will one day describe our current struggle to understand our history:\nIn our recent history, we have both good things and bad things, and we have found it difficult to deal with this mixture. When we mention the good, some members get angry. When we mention the bad, others get angry. It seems that these events are so recent that the emotional level is very high.\nSome members suffered because of the church\u0026rsquo;s doctrinal errors. These people often have an emotional desire to emphasize the bad so that it not be done again. Other members found the church to be a spiritually energizing fellowship despite our doctrinal errors. These people often do not like it when the problems are mentioned. We receive letters from both kinds of people regularly. It is helpful for each group to know that the other exists: not everyone had the same kind of experiences in the same church, even in the same congregation.\nI have to admit that I have trouble dealing with friends that keep trying to stress the positive and \u0026lsquo;move on\u0026rsquo;. I have always bristled at the mention of positive thinking and roundly denounced how American businesses and churches defined it. I\u0026rsquo;m biased. I want to acknowledge that there are people, different from me, that have had largely positive experiences in the ICC and strive to hold on to that good. I really want to see how that is NOT avoided the issues. I also do not want to force others to be like me in this way.\nHowever, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it is unfair to ask for the same consideration. The fact that I would like our troublesome past to be more public is because I do not want our past to come back. I am not crying out for help. I am not licking my wounds. I am following my conscience. I do not want to be made to be conformed to always looking to the positive. I fear that people like me are marginalized as bitter complainers, when we are desperately trying to be Christians.\nI confess, I truly do not understand the need to stress the positive. I perceive it as phony and unreal. However, I know that others do not understand me. I can be perceived as bitter and unable to enjoy life.\nIn short, it seems that a lack of value judgement is needed on this issue. More understanding needs to be experienced. People like me don\u0026rsquo;t want to see the past repeated. People not like me want others to experience the good in Christianity. Both of us are needed.\n","date":"29 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-29-history-of-the-icoc-template/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"History of the ICoC Template?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know, it\u0026rsquo;s April 28th and it is snowing here. I realize that the weather is different here than in my home state of NC, but this is a big adjustment for me.\nOne I enjoy making because I do not like hot weather.\n","date":"28 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-28-its-snowing/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's Snowing","type":"posts"},{"content":"Hey everyone,\nI am feeling down and it has persisted for longer than the usual day or two. I know that a lot of it is my wife being out of town this week. Some of it is not respecting my own personal needs to be with other people. I have also become more disheartened that folks I looked up to as leaders and agents of change are not leading or changing. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s good for me, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t help me right now. I am also having trouble battling my personal demons, especially in areas of self-control (temper) and controling appetites.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a lot more, but suffice it to say that I am feeling really low. Thanks in advance.\nYou know, days like this I don\u0026rsquo;t have time or energy to post quotes from Al Baird or Gordon or even Thomas. I did write a parable in answer to this parable, but why bother? It\u0026rsquo;s part of what is getting me down, but not the only thing. Days like this, I wish I was anywhere else but here. However, I am glad that I am here with my wife who loves me in all my moods.\nAnyway, pray for me, I really need it.\n","date":"28 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-28-need-prayers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Need Prayers","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife and I stayed home Sunday to deal with some family issues. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t that we had a bump or an argument, it was physical and mental health related. Iit was special to sing songs and worship together privately instead of the usual devotional.\nOur church is trying to develop a \u0026lsquo;study series\u0026rsquo; to help people become Christians. Central to any series is \u0026ldquo;What is the Gospel?\u0026rdquo; The prevailing thought at the moment is that the Gospel is the person of Jesus Christ, both man and God. In my mind, I am thinking of a story that would best describe the Gospel. Considering the chance to explore this with my wife, I believe I found this story in John 8.\nMost Christians remember the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus does a few amazing things in this little tale. Because John is written in order to teach others about Jesus (John 20:31), I look at this story from the perspective, \u0026ldquo;What does this tell me about Jesus?\u0026rdquo; The answer inspired me, and I hope it can encourage you.\nJesus is teaching and his enemies produce a woman caught in sin. They had hoped to trap him in this situation by getting him to go against theLaw of Moses. (John 8:6)\nWhen I look at Jesus\u0026rsquo; reaction, I think about the things he could\u0026rsquo;ve done:\nHe could have told them they were hypocrites. (Luke 6:42) He could have said that they were not obeying the Law because the Law states that both the man and the woman must be stoned (Lev 20:10). He could have answered with a question. (Luke 13:15-16) He could\u0026rsquo;ve sent the mob away so that he could continue teaching.\nHowever, he answered by stooping down and writing on the ground with his finger. In essence, it seems like he blew them off. Here is this crowd full of indignation at this woman all ready to go with the stoning and the leaders of the mob confident that they could finally pull one over on Jesus. After all, if this whipped up crowd got an answer they didn\u0026rsquo;t want to hear, they\u0026rsquo;d stone Jesus, too.\nBut Jesus changes the focus of the crowd off her and on to him. They kept questioning him while he wrote (John 8:7ff). When he finally answered, they changed focus again, but this time to themselves. He made them think. When they thought about their own life, they walked away.\nOn a bit of a tangent, I find it interesting is that there were several capital offenses including having a bull that continuinally gores people (Exodus 21:29), being a disobedient son (Deut 21:18-21), or even cursing your parents (Exodus 21:17). This is in addition to the typical things you\u0026rsquo;d expect would be punished by stoning (murder, adultery, child sacrifice). I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that the crowd thought about these things, though I suppose there could have been one or two out there.\nIn any case, once the crowd was dispatched, he then put his focus on the woman herself. He assures her that he is not condemning her, he forgives her, and then tells her to stop sinning. Truly a compassionate moment that shows the heart of Jesus.\nWhat does this have to do with a story exemplying the Gospel? Plenty, I believe.\nWe have accusers (Satan, our conscience, others) that really have us dead to rights. We have sinned and we know it, and our accusers know it. Yet, here is Jesus taking them on. In fact, the woman does nothing (and she cannot do anything). Jesus defends her and sends away the accusers. In the same way, Jesus defends us from our own accusers and sends them away. She was still guilty of the crime, but he defended her.\nThen, when she could be punished by the one man that had a right to throw the first stone, he forgave her. Jesus could condemn us and his judgements would be right. Instead, he offers forgiveness. He could have forgiven her and left it at that, but he gives her a chance for a new life. It\u0026rsquo;s the same for us.\nYou know, it was clearer in my head on Sunday, but I felt the need to write it down before I forgot the whole thing. It helped my wife and I respond to God on a heart level, so it was a valuable study for what we needed.\n","date":"26 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-26-sunday-devotional/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sunday Devotional","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s amazing to me to think of the creation. I understand the Genesis account as more of a literary account than 100% literal, but I would still like to have been there for the literal part of it. It\u0026rsquo;s one thing to say that God \u0026ldquo;brooded over the vapors\u0026rdquo; or that He separated the waters, it\u0026rsquo;s another to actually witness the very first dawn or see the water evaporate en masse to form the atmosphere. I absolutely do not believe in the LDS doctrine that you can evolve to be a god of your own world, but I do hope that God allows me to go back in space-time to witness when he did it.\nThe next closest thing is to create a world of my own. I believe that God put in us an urge to create something (art, music, computers, houses, sandcastles, etc.) so I figured why not create a different world? So far, it has helped me to understand in a small way some of the things God had to do to make everything work.\nto be continued \u0026hellip;\n","date":"23 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-23-learning-about-god-through-creation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Learning About God through Creation","type":"posts"},{"content":"Note: This has now been finished. This is the link to Part One\nDiscipling According to \u0026hellip; What does discipling mean? It is not unique to the ICoC at all. The Navigators use this terminology and Mark Dever uses the term as a part of his Nine Marks of a Healthy Church ministry. It even appears in many baptist churches and in the Shepherding Movement amongst charasmatic churches. With so many variations, it presents a problem as the word discipling means different things to each group.\nDiscipling in the Nine Marks tradition is focused on maturity and growth of a Christian. The methodology involves finding someone to \u0026lsquo;disciple\u0026rsquo; and someone to \u0026lsquo;disciple\u0026rsquo; you, then meeting with them regularly to discuss their goals for spiritual growth and address sin. There are cautions against overdependence and correcting in love. Oddly enough, the inital relationship can be between two people in different churches, but they may later decide to worship together, etc. The most common vehicle recommended is reading a book together and discussing a chapter at time.\nDiscipling in the Navigators tradition was originally designed to help an individual college student grow through weekly meetings. At these meetings, personal Bible Study was discussed as well as evangelism. Talks tended to be topical studies intended to teach the student and eventually lead them to maturity. After certain topics were covered, the weekly meetings become a chance to discuss person Bible Study about all kinds of topics and books.\nDiscipling in the ICC tradition was intended to fulfill the \u0026lsquo;one another\u0026rsquo; passages found throughout the new testament. At Crossroads, members were chose a \u0026lsquo;buddy\u0026rsquo; called a prayer partner to pray with on a weekly basis. As the ICC evolved, these folks were called \u0026lsquo;discipling partners\u0026rsquo;, but were to be assigned by the evangelists and elders of the local church. The older Christian was instructed to give direction to the younger and they were expected to have daily contact. As churches grew, discipling partners were reassigned periodically, usually every six months. The methodology employed varied from member to member, but in general, members were expected to confess all their sin to their discipleship partner, pray together, discuss evangelism and personal growth. In time, discipleship partners were given a measure of authority that varied from church to church.\nAll three groups use the term \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; but it means vastly different things in the three groups. This is the inherent danger in coining a word without defining it. If I say that I believe in discipling, do I mean the old ICC way? the Navigators way? The Mark Dever way? What exactly do I believe? This series of articles began with the question, \u0026ldquo;Is discipling biblical?\u0026rdquo; but turned into something more involved than I thought it would be. Fortunately, the Scriptures show some commonalities to the three approaches.\nGoals in Common All three styles show a desire to help the individual Christian to mature. There\u0026rsquo;s good reason for this as maturity was expected in the early church. Heb 5:11-14 addresses a concern in the receipients of the letter that there should be more (in number) mature Christians, but the fundamental truths need to be explained again to them. 1Cor 3:1-2 addresses the Corinthian church saying that he started out with simple things, but they are still not ready for mature topics. Later, Peter admonishes the recipients of his letter by urging them to crave spiritual food, i.e. maturity (1Peter 2:2-3). Maturity is normal and should be desired. Regardless of the methodology involved, it is necessary to help new Christians mature.\nTwo of the three styles are based on the idea that dealing with sin is necessary for growth. The methods are different in the Nine Marks way and the ICC way, but the underlying goal is the same. Romans 6 talks this in some detail. Since we have been raised to a new life, we should no longer offer our bodies to sin. In short, \u0026ldquo;sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace\u0026rdquo;, Rom 6:14. There are a few instances of dealing with sin in the New Testament. One, is Paul rebuking Peter because he was being influenced by the Judaizers in Gal 2:11-15. Two more are Matt 18:15-19 and James 5:13-16. In both cases, it proscribes the sinner and the one sinned against working things out. In Matthew, you find the person that sinned against you. In James, you confess your sin to the one you sinned against. Sins committed by an elder require a public rebuke so that others may take warning (2 Tim 5:20), but in general a leader should treat people as his own family (2 Tim 5:1-3).\nDealing with sin can be a thorny issue, but outside of publicly rebuking elders for their sin, no methodology is given, at least not in detail. (One interesting question would be how did the Ethiopian Eunech deal with his sin, he was the only Christian in Ethiopia for a time.) Again, there are general principles, but no real established way of applying those principles. The search for the \u0026lsquo;perfect\u0026rsquo; methodology is outside the scope, but suffice it to say that throughout history, churches have required confession to a minister on a regular basis, small groups called \u0026lsquo;collegia pietatis\u0026rsquo; were formed to help each other, individuals have inflicted pain to themselves, and others have given over all authority to \u0026lsquo;spritual directors\u0026rsquo;. Recently, many churches use small groups, discipleship partners, accountability partners and designated leaders that serve as a covering for their lives. Most of these practices began with good intentions and are inherently okay.\nTo summarize, it appears that the common goals of discipling are to help an individual Christian mature in their faith, grow to be more like Christ, and deal with their sin. In other churches, the word discipleship has been coined to explain these concepts as well. Whatever word we use is not as important as knowing what we mean when we use it. I truly believe that the words we use shape what we believe. I want to use a different word because the ICC historically meant more than this when using the word \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo;. Even today, what is called discipling in one place is very different from what is called discipling in another place. This is not a quibbling over words, but an effort to understand what God expects without the historical assumptions of my church past (ICC and before).\nUnique Goals of the ICC The ICC is unique in their prayer partner or discipling partner or whatever-name-is-currently-in-vouge partner, was expected to be the primary vehicle to express the \u0026lsquo;one another\u0026rsquo; passages. Outside of the one-on-one relationship, members were assigned to a small group in order to live out these passages as well. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t discouraged to live out the \u0026lsquo;one another\u0026rsquo; passages in the lives of members outside the small group, but at times it became laregely impractical due to various church events and other time constraints. (However, I do not believe that this was an intended effect.)\nThis makes ICC congregations distinctive as their search for the meaning of discipleship begins with the question, \u0026ldquo;How do we fulfill the one-another passages?\u0026rdquo; It is odd that the first question isn\u0026rsquo;t, \u0026ldquo;How do we become more like Jesus?\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;How do we teach young Christians the basic truths?\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;How can we cultivate maturity?\u0026rdquo; This is not intended as a criticism, it is an honest question. If the goals of discipling are to help an individual Christian mature in their faith, grow to be more like Christ, and deal with their sin, why would we arbitrarily start with the \u0026lsquo;one-another\u0026rsquo; passages? Personally, I believe that this is because it is easier to measure results. With these passages, it is easier to say, \u0026ldquo;Have I done \u0026ldquo;x\u0026rdquo; today?\u0026rdquo; rather than ask, \u0026ldquo;How can I add to my faith or show brotherly kindness?\u0026rdquo; (2 Peter 1:5-8) It was my experience that the number of \u0026ldquo;hospitalities\u0026rdquo; was added to the list of accountable items and I believe that had we continued, the list would have grown.\nUnique Goals of the Parachurch Groups Campus groups like the Navigators, and even Campus Crusade, are unique in that their methods are geared toward college students. An unstated goal was to keep the group together. These groups are parachurch groups meaning that not all participants go to the same church, though they all belong to this campus group. As such, a main concerns with discipling are \u0026ldquo;How can we bring everyone together?\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;How can every member get good, healthy discipling?\u0026rdquo; Again, this seems odd as I understand unity as a result and not a method. In any case, the result has been that there have been times where the method has become more important than what was being taught. Campus Crusade used individual discipleship partners for some time since their inception, but one of the leaders in 1987 wrote that this should be discontinued for various reasons. The result has been a search for a good method that meets the two main conerns and various methods have been tried with varying success.\nHistorically, parachurch groups also have issues with the various churches that their members attend on Sunday. There is a tension between trying to be a part of this group AND be a part of a local church. The parachurch group doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to be a church, but the member is treated very differently in both places. Problems arise when members wonder about the spiritual health of others in their local group. This happened with John Wesley and his college groups. Members of the collegias pietatis began to question the spiritual health of the various churches and were eventually forced out. Naturally, this led to them meeting together in their own church, and even sparked a great crusade. This is all part of the history of the Methodist church and is treated in detail in their manual of doctrine.\nSpecifically, Campus Crusade about 20 to 30 years ago specifically did not want to be church to college students. They encouraged members to find a local church and be an active part of it. However, as tensions have grown, it is not unusual for Campus Crusade to have Sunday worship services on campus. Campus Crusade has also grown in the ministries it sponsors such as Focus on the Family. After all, if Campus Crusade is church for you, where do you go when you graduate? As CC\u0026rsquo;ers get older, more ministeries are bound to be created. In light of Methodist history, it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t surprise me if they became their own church, if they haven\u0026rsquo;t done so already.\nI mention this because I believe that discipleship is a matter for the local church. It\u0026rsquo;s fine to coordinate efforts on college campuses to meet spiritual needs. This prevents all kinds of church fights when the real enemy is Satan. Think about it, if I am being taught to be more like Jesus as a part of a separate group like CC or the Promise Keepers, why do I go to my local church? The real work of being a Christian is being done outside the local church. It is difficult to spread attention and energy between a local church and a group doing the work of a church.\nA good example of how parachurch groups can work can be seen by Stadia or Let\u0026rsquo;s Talk or even the Purpose Driven(tm) ministries. All three exist outside the local church, but each one work with the local church to help them fulfill their purposes better. Stadia brings together people that wish to plant a church and trains them in the practicals. They are also an objective voice that can help you decide if you have what it takes to plant a church somewhere. Let\u0026rsquo;s Talk ministries coordinate world evangelism within your local church and help you get started. Rick Warren\u0026rsquo;s enterprise makes the local church think about what they want to do and how they will do it. In all three cases, they exist outside the local church as an effective means to help meet the needs of the local church without taking over.\nUnique Goals of Nine Marks and Similar Programs Nine Marks and Purpose Driven(tm) both began as local church solutions offered to any other local church for help. As such, they are unique in that they address discipleship as a part of being in a healthy church. This leads to the main question of \u0026ldquo;How does our church handle discipleship?\u0026rdquo; This holistic approach requires more time and effort being put into addressessing specific needs and can produce very healthy ways to help members of the local church grow. In both programs specifically, Discipleship is considered a lifetime goal for each member. However, the context for discipleship is the local church (moreso in Purpose Driven(tm) than Nine Marks). This presents an issue in situations where the local church leadership may be tempted to adopt a one-size-fits-all appraoch. This can be seen in churches where the method is so well-defined, that there is little room for individual needs. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen places where discipleship is attending a series of classes as a prerequisite to being in a small group and vice versa. Some people need one-on-one attention. Others do not do well in a classroom setting at all. Practically, I think very few churches really make themselves so rigid that the procedure is more important than the person. However, it is something to keep in mind in order to help someone mature in Christ. Since we all start in different places, there needs to be flexibility to address each person at the point of their need, not an arbirtary starting line.\nMy Experiences Lately Shortly after HKL(tm), I began to fall in love with a woman in Minnesota. As was my custom, I asked other Christians for advice. What I found, however, was that no one wanted to say anything that would hurt my feelings. Finally, one person was brave enough to tell me what they thought and I greatly appreciated it.\nIt was frustrating that when I asked, \u0026ldquo;What do YOU think?\u0026rdquo; that the answer was, \u0026ldquo;whatever you want.\u0026rdquo; It hurt that I asked for another person\u0026rsquo;s thoughts, but they were unwilling to share them. One person was my minister. I asked him a specific question three times. On the third time, I discovered a way to get him to share his perspective.\nI confessed that I was tempted to choke him.\nThat got his attention long enough for me to explain that I was frustrated and angry at him. I wanted to know his perspective because I am aware that the right course of action is not determined by my strength of conviction. I trusted him enough to hear whatever he would say, and it felt like a violation of that trust, that he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be honest with me. However, I acknowledged that I was hurt deeply by my past, so I thanked him for his love and concern for my heart that I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t become embittered. We then spoke honestly and affirmed our relationship again. Then he finally told me what he thought.\nOddly enough, I found myself doing the same thing with others. I regret that I may not have understood their frustration at my non-committal \u0026lsquo;advice\u0026rsquo;. I truly regret that, and I hope that I have corrected that with every individual I frustrated. If not, write me.\nSo What Do You Call Discipling, Discipleship, Mentoring or Whatever? I call it maturity because of Hebrews, being able to discern the will of God, dealing with sin is maturity. I also tend to call it discipleship because that term is more common, though it can be vague at times. I do not call it discipling because my church has its roots in a church where this term did not match the biblical concept. I avoid calling it mentoring, because it implies a one-on-one methodology. I certainly do not call it shepherding, because I believe that is a role of leaders and elders, not every member. At this point, though, what it is called is not as important as understanding what it means. I strongly believe that terminology determines theology, so I believe that the use of the word \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; should stop. No, I do not believe in Poltical Correctness. PC is concerned with finding the least offensive term, this is about defining what maturity or discipleship means. Thinking about what to call it is only my way of wrestling with what discipleship or maturity is all about. You may find a different way more helpful to you.\nThe Conclusion of the Matter Disciple is a noun and I want to be one. Maturity is a noun and I want to pursue it. There are many things that I can DO (evangelize, correct, train, pray, believe, love, hope, exercise my faith) but I have learned that Christianity is not a matter of what I do, but a matter of who I am.\nAs a local church, my church needs to think about how to help members mature in Christ. We need to think about doctrine, but also think about what is going to help the church as a whole and each member individually. As my long post demonstrates, it is possible to overthink this. The heart of the matter is to take care of people, to help them. The practical method used is not as important.\nTo this end, the method I am proposing is incorporate Bible studies into our \u0026ldquo;Study Series\u0026rdquo; that address the needs of maturing Christians. In other words, becoming a Christian is seen as a starting point, not the destination. There are guided studies on Assurance of Salvation, Ways to Study the Bible, How to Find Your Gifts, Meeting Needs in the Community, etc. This is not a perfect solution; the main danger is that this could be formed into a handbook and the handbook becomes the Word of God instead of the Bible. However, for what is needed at this time, it would be good to go in this direction. It reinforces the point that we should take care of one another as well as teach people to obey everything Jesus commanded.\n","date":"19 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-19-disciple-as-verb-part-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"Note: This has now been finished. This is the link to Part One\nDiscipling According to … What does discipling mean? It is not unique to the ICoC at all. The Navigators use this terminology and Mark Dever uses the term as a part of his Nine Marks of a Healthy Church ministry. It even appears in many baptist churches and in the Shepherding Movement amongst charasmatic churches. With so many variations, it presents a problem as the word discipling means different things to each group.\n","title":"Disciple as Verb II","type":"posts"},{"content":"I touched on it briefly some time ago in this post, but I felt the need to expand on it after some study of my own.\nThe premise of this post is that when we put meaning into a word or a verse, the ramifications can be severe. It is important to separate doctrine from methodology. Subtle changes to key words can bind things on Christians that were never intended (Matt 23:4). This is not to say that a specific methodology is wrong. I am saying that no one should impose a given methodology and expect obedience to it.\nThe problem of English\nEnglish, unlike Greek, doesn\u0026rsquo;t change the endings of words much to refine the meaning of a word. For example, the word effort is a noun. If we want to use this word as a verb, in English, we have to add the word \u0026lsquo;make\u0026rsquo;. If we want to be emphatic, we have to add the word \u0026lsquo;all\u0026rsquo; or \u0026rsquo;every\u0026rsquo;. We can see this in Eph 4:3, \u0026ldquo;Make every effort\u0026rdquo;. In Greek, however, it is all one word. Greek can add endings and make small changes to the word to express more meaning. To be more literal in Eph 4:3, \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; effort to guard the oneness of the Spirit\u0026rdquo;. However, using the word as a verb here doesn\u0026rsquo;t make much sense in English, thus the added words.\nIt is linguistically impossible to always make a one word for one word translation from one language to another. As shown above, difficulties can arrive in how the meaning of a word or phrase is different in one language from another. Just because it is one word in Greek, doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean you can force it to be one word in English. Disciple is a verb in Greek, it is not a verb in English. (The first usage of this word as a verb occurs once in the writings of Edmund Spenser in 1524.)\nIf it is valid to use as a verb, then we need to be consistent. We need to effort to maintain unity in our churches. In Mark 14:12, instead of make preparations, it should read, \u0026ldquo;Where do you want us to go and preparation you for Passover?\u0026rdquo; and Jesus\u0026rsquo; answer in verse 15 should be, \u0026ldquo;prepare us there\u0026rdquo;. Jesus\u0026rsquo; prayer in the garden in John 17:17 should be, \u0026ldquo;holy them by the truth.\u0026rdquo; Acts 26:2 gets really mangled as \u0026ldquo;I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I defense myself (defense me?) against all the accusations of the Jews.\u0026rdquo; The list goes on and on. I believe that God will make me holy by his Spirit, but I hope that I don\u0026rsquo;t ask him to \u0026lsquo;holy me\u0026rsquo; or ask anyone else if God is \u0026lsquo;holying them\u0026rsquo;. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to ask my friends if they are \u0026rsquo;efforting to be unified\u0026rsquo;. Did Paul \u0026lsquo;much his ministry? (Rom 11:13) I think he muched his ministry as much as I much my point.\nForms of matheÌ„teuoÌ„ This verb form is used four times in various ways in the NT. These Scriptures are Matt 13:52, Matt 27:57, Matt 28:19, Acts 14:21. Let\u0026rsquo;s look at Matt 28:19-20 and Acts 14:21 first. These two verses are looked at first, because the word translated as \u0026ldquo;make disciples\u0026rdquo; is used in the active voice.\nTherefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.\nAfter they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch.\nMake disciples of whom? In the Great Commision, it is the nations. In Acts 14:21, it is the city of Derbe. Nowhere are people that are already Christians being \u0026lsquo;discipled\u0026rsquo;. Making disciples is preaching the message to those that are lost. The same word is used in both cases, but there is no sign of \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; in Derbe outside of conversion. They proclaimed the message, some responded, they returned to Lystra. It cannot mean anything else in Acts 14:21.\nWhat of the Great Comission? He does say to make disciples and teach them to obey, isn\u0026rsquo;t that the same as discipling them? No, it is not. The word for disciple being used as a verb pertains to conversion. After they are converted, then they are to be taught. The word for teach in Matt 28:20 is not matheÌ„teuoÌ„ - it is not \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo;. It is simply to teach or instruct. If we are going to call biblical things with accurate words, then we cannot say that we are \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; a fellow Christian. We are teaching him or her. Technically, we can only say that we are \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; someone when we are helping them become a Christian.\nBefore talking about mentoring, let\u0026rsquo;s briefly mention the other two verses.\nThen He said to them, \u0026ldquo;For this reason, every scribe having been made a disciple in the kingdom of the heavens is like a person, a householder, who brings out from his treasury new and old things.\nNow evening having come, a rich man from Arimathea came, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple to Jesus.\nBasically, Joesph of Arimathea became a disciple (disciple used as a verb). In Matt 13:52, Jesus is talking about those that have become disciples. In conjuction with what is presented about the other two verses, it is simply pointing out those that have converted, nothing more. Saying that Joesph was \u0026lsquo;discipled to\u0026rsquo; Jesus is making the mistake earlier mentioned in the Problem with English section. It simply doesn\u0026rsquo;t work that way in English.\nIsn\u0026rsquo;t this just semantics? Normally, I think it would be. After all, Jesus and the early church felt free to use different methodologies to obey the commands of Jesus. Having a person in your life to train and instruct you about God is fine. New Christians must learn the \u0026rsquo;elementary teachings\u0026rsquo; alluded to in Hebrews somehow. Jesus and Paul asked others to imitate their lives in addition to provide straight teaching. It\u0026rsquo;s no wonder that Paul admonishes Timothy to \u0026ldquo;watch his life and doctrine closely.\u0026rdquo; As Gordon Ferguson once said,\nAs we look at these one-another commands, we would never argue that one-on-one discipling relationships are the only way to observe these instructions.\nHowever, we have historically not allowed one-on-one partners to be an option. Even recently, it has been spoken from various speakers that purport to be leaders, that one-on-one discipling is essential and/or required. There has even been a call recently to return to \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; because we have been known as a discipling movement. It\u0026rsquo;s not a matter of semantics when, based on an incomplete understanding of the Great Commission, we have invented this thing called \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; and made it mandatory.\nEven in these enlightened days where it is optional, we have to look at what this coined word \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; really meant. Without looking to its practice and methods, it is a meaningles generic word. Some may say, \u0026ldquo;of course we need discipling\u0026rdquo;. But what does that mean? Does it mean we need to fulfill the \u0026lsquo;one another\u0026rsquo; commands? Does it mean that we have to submit to God\u0026rsquo;s authority through another person in our lives? Does it mean I must obey my partner or at least minimize disagreements? Ask someone outside of the CoC about discipling and they will scratch their heads. Why? This word is meaningless to them because it is not a biblical word, even if it may represent a biblical concept. This word by itself means nothing - we must define it before we can know if we truly need it or not. After all, what one person thinks is discipling may be unbiblical, but what another person calls discipling may be bibilcal.\nDiscipling Strictly speaking, to disciple the nations is to convert them to Christianity. However, it is used more frequently to mean other things. Sometimes it means \u0026rsquo;to mature\u0026rsquo;. Other times it means \u0026rsquo;to keep accountable\u0026rsquo;.\nThis will pick up in a new post called What is Discipling? - Part 2 Disciple as a Verb\n","date":"18 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-18-disciple-as-a-verb/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Disciple as a Verb","type":"posts"},{"content":"Wade Hodges continues his series on the Emergent Church of Christ.\n","date":"18 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-18-nifty-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Nifty Post","type":"posts"},{"content":"One is a post by a CoC minster featured by icocinfo.org. Here\u0026rsquo;s a vision of what I had hoped the ICoC could be and still can be.\nAnother is that my long-lost,best friend from high school has found me. I regret that I have been the one that lost touch with him. He can be found at his blog here. For some reason, his comment did not appear on my site.\nLastly, I took the Nerd Test because of a link on Scott\u0026rsquo;s site. I thought that I\u0026rsquo;d be in the thirties or forties for a score. I was quite shocked that I scored 95%. Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s the Linux, maybe it\u0026rsquo;s that I built my own computer (and trying to build more). Maybe it\u0026rsquo;s things I left in my computer room.\nNot only am I a lout, I am a bona fide nerd.\n","date":"14 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-14-three-things/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Three Things","type":"posts"},{"content":"As for those who continue to oppose us, they are lost\u0026ndash; not because their baptism became invalid, but the Scriptures are clear that those who oppose and grumble against God\u0026rsquo;s leaders and divide God\u0026rsquo;s church are, in fact, opposing God (Exodus 16:8; Numbers 16). Thus, the rebellious become lost because they do not have a true faith.\na) 2005 - Critics by Thomas McKean b) 2002 - Revolution through Restoration III - From Babylon to Zion by Thomas McKean c) 1994 - Revolution through restoration II - The 20th Century Church by Thomas McKean d) 1988 - Denver reconstruction by Thomas McKean\nFor those of you that correctly guessed c), here are the other quotes that make this question a real toughy.\nFrom the Denver Reconstruction in 1988:\n…I believe with all my heart a few years ago the Lord put that plan upon my heart. And you cannot have qualms about me. I am not perfect; I am a sinner. Hey, you can talk to Preston, you can talk to Marty. I am not perfect. But you cannot have any bad attitude toward me personally or toward the Boston church. I say that in the Lord….\nFrom Revolution through Restoration 3:\nAccording to the Scriptures, to grumble and be bitter toward leadership is to grumble against God. (Exodus 16:8) Numbers 16 and 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 show that immorality and grumbling were considered two of the greatest abominations to God.\nAnd finally, Critics in 2005:\nCritics are everywhere - outside God\u0026rsquo;s kingdom and, most hurtful, inside the Lord\u0026rsquo;s church! Recently, the persecution at Portland State University caused the falling away of a dear brother which produced doubt among some who stayed faithful to Christ. The persecution vehicle of Satan was the voluminous writings on the internet of fall aways, ex-members and non-Christians.\nFor the record, in Luke 4 when Jesus was almost killed, it was for pointing out the hyprocisy of the Jews. Jesus pointed out that God worked in the lives of Gentiles, even though the Jews were the chosen people of God. In fact, during times of great calamity, God chose to only help one Gentile and not any of his chosen people of Israel.\n","date":"14 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-14-when-was-this-spoken/","section":"Posts","summary":"As for those who continue to oppose us, they are lost– not because their baptism became invalid, but the Scriptures are clear that those who oppose and grumble against God’s leaders and divide God’s church are, in fact, opposing God (Exodus 16:8; Numbers 16). Thus, the rebellious become lost because they do not have a true faith.\na) 2005 - Critics by Thomas McKean b) 2002 - Revolution through Restoration III - From Babylon to Zion by Thomas McKean c) 1994 - Revolution through restoration II - The 20th Century Church by Thomas McKean d) 1988 - Denver reconstruction by Thomas McKean\n","title":"When Was This Spoken?","type":"posts"},{"content":"The NFL Season The NFL posted their 2005 schedule today. In case anyone is wondering, I am rooting for Joe Gibb\u0026rsquo;s team in Washington. No, I don\u0026rsquo;t like the owner, but I can\u0026rsquo;t blame him. He had to be begged to buy the team.\nOf course, it\u0026rsquo;s only 2.5 months until the American Bowl in Tokyo. You know where I\u0026rsquo;ll be Aug 6\u0026hellip; asleep. I love football, but the time lag is too much for the kid. Michael Vick is great. Peyton Manning is great. Giving them a free trip to Tokyo to play 15 minutes is great. I\u0026rsquo;ll be sure to think of the market share in Asia as I roll over in bed at 3am.\nFor me, the season begins on Aug 13th in Charlotte. Will we have a decent quarterback? Will the defense show up? How badly will we miss Champ Bailey (salary cap casualty last year) AND Smoot (traded this year)? Has Gibbs gotten the gist of free agency?\nPersonally, I question the signing of Santana Moss, especially as he didn\u0026rsquo;t report to voluntary practices. I know, they\u0026rsquo;re voluntary. In this case, I consider it as voluntary as a root canal, and so does Gibbs.\nNewspaper coverage I\u0026rsquo;ve talked about the local paper here before. With Creighton University playing for the Sweet 16, the front page of the Sports section has photos of Callahan with the tagline, \u0026ldquo;Huskers look to retool Defense\u0026rdquo;. Creighton was on page 4.\nI do not, however, miss the News \u0026amp; Observer. It has been appropriately dubbed the Blues and Disturber by critics for several years. I do not understand the editorial policy of hammering the local university, I have always assumed that this policy is what passes for news in the UNC-Chapel Hill journalism school.\nGive me real sports news like my old local paper does. Sure they have problems, but they cover local high schools, the local AAA Baseball team, the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins, the new Washington Nationals, and college sports in several states, even smaller colleges like Coastal Carolina. (Who incidentally hired Buzz Peterson as coach. Think UNC-CH basketball when they didn\u0026rsquo;t have a winning season.)\nOh well. I do what I can to keep up with the indoor footbal team, the AA Baseball team, the USHL and college hockey teams, in addition to the other university in Nebraska with a football team. Thank goodness for RSS feeds.\nThis relates to football because there is ZERO Washington news out here and I\u0026rsquo;m too cheap to buy a Season Ticket from the cable company. Until then, I have to rely on the official site, and that is about 25% marketing by volume. (Caution: Contents may settle during shipping.)\nLink Crazy On a tangent, not sure why today is a link heavy day. Just seemed the thing to do.\n","date":"13 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-13-you-ready-for-some-football/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"You Ready for Some Football?","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is my wife\u0026rsquo;s birthday today. Unfortunately, she is home sick today. The weather changed from beautiful spring to dismal autumn in a three hour span.\nIn any case, this is a quick note to profess to the blogosphere my undying love for my wife.\nShe is patient with me in my \u0026ldquo;But-I-Am-Always-Right\u0026rdquo; moments. She is loving to me when I do not like myself. She is my friend to listen when I need to share. She is my partner in crime to work on the teaching ministry.\nBut aside from what she does for me, she is:\nSpontaneous, Creative, Thoughtful, Serving, Gracious, Kind, and very Big-Hearted. She is tender and easily affected by the feelings of others. She is incredibly intuitive and empathetic.\nShe loves me, and I give thanks to God for that everyday. She loves me for who I am, not who I am supposed to be.\nI love her, too. She is the greatest.\n","date":"12 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-12-today-is-a-special-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Today Is a Special Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know, you\u0026rsquo;d think I was proud of the baptisms in my church or something the way I carry on about them.\nShe has been working through enormous circumstances in her life and has overcome so much. It was great to see her father and cousin honor her publicly, without even mentioning the studies or her baptism. She has been fighting her demons for quite a long time, suffice it to say that this wasn\u0026rsquo;t a case of someone trying to prove themselves before baptism.\nIn any case, we celebrated today and had a great time. Most folks went to Wendy\u0026rsquo;s(tm) afterward - I wish I could have been there.\n","date":"11 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-11-another-baptism-this-sunday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another Baptism this Sunday","type":"posts"},{"content":"so I hope to eventually get some sleep in the next two weeks. I\u0026rsquo;ll write more as things develop.\nOtherwise, life is good.\n","date":"11 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-11-i-picked-up-my-machine-today/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I picked up my machine today","type":"posts"},{"content":"What is said recently (emphasis added):\nWe believe God\u0026rsquo;s church universal is composed of all the disciples in the world. We believe local congregations should be composed of only disciples. That does not mean that International Church of Christ members are the only disciples. But we do believe we are the only fellowship with congregations of only disciples. Presently we are reaching out to several leaders who share this conviction in order to help reunite \u0026ldquo;discipling churches\u0026rdquo; through relationships between leaders.\nWas said 14 years ago (emphasis added):\nI have never believed or taught that anyone has to be baptized into the Boston Church of Christ to be saved. The Scriptures clearly teach you must be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and then, the Lord adds you to his church (Acts 2:36-47; Romans 6:3,4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2:41,42). However, I do not know of any other church, group or movement that teaches and practices what we teach as Jesus taught in Acts 2:41,42: one must make the decision to be a disciple, then be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. When one is born again at baptism (Titus 3:5), one must have Jesus\u0026rsquo; heart and attitude to do anything, go anywhere and give up everything for God. After baptism each disciple is taught to obey all the commands of Jesus as one grows and goes making disciples. If this is what God teaches in the Bible, then we are God\u0026rsquo;s movement.\n","date":"11 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-11-other-fellowships/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Other Fellowships","type":"posts"},{"content":"The paschal laugh, or the celebration of the Sunday after Easter.\n","date":"11 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-11-risus-paschalis/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Risus paschalis","type":"posts"},{"content":" Mission Statement of the Omaha Church of Christ # “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.\u0026quot; - Apostle Paul\n“The glory of God is man fully alive.” - Irenaeus\nIf the glory of God is man fully alive, then for our church to glorify God, which is our reason for existence, then we must be fully alive!\nOur mission is to develop spiritually healthy and alive disciples who are fully devoted to Jesus by balancing the following “Great Commandment” and “Great Commission” purposes for his body, the church.\nEnthusiastic Worship: In view of God’s grace, every child of God loving him with all their heart as they daily offer themselves as living sacrifices pleasing to Him. (Rom. 12:1, Mt. 22:36-40, Eph. 5:1)\nSafe and Loving Family: Every brother and sister feeling safe and giving their hearts in love, thus showing the world that we are disciples of Jesus. Our church family will only be as strong as the individual families, which we will strive to protect, prioritize, and train to be godly. (1 Sam. 22:23, 1 Tim. 3:15, Jhn 13:34-35, 1 Cor. 13:1-8, 1 Tim. 5:8, Prov. 22:6, Heb. 13:4)\nTransformed Lives: Every disciple continually humbling themselves, growing, learning, and being strengthened by God, the Holy Spirit and one another as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ. (2 Cor. 3:18, 2 Pet. 1:5-9, Mt. 18:2-4, 1 Pet. 5:5-6, Mt. 28:20, 1 Tim. 3:16, 1 Cor. 9:24-27, 1 Thess. 5:11, 2 Cor. 13:10, Heb. 10:24-25)\nGift Driven Ministry: A culture of empowerment is created where every member is equipped to answer God’s call to use their gifts to make a visible difference in our church and community, local and global. (Eph. 4:11-16, 1 Cor. 12:12-31, Rom. 12:3-8, 1 Pet. 4:10)\nOverflow Evangelism: Every star shining God’s light in this dark world in order to free the captives and bring them not only into eternal life, but also into the full life which Jesus brings. This evangelism overflows out of our gratitude for what Jesus has done for us. (Mt. 5:14, 28:19, Rom. 6:4-7, Jhn 10:10, Ps. 23:5, Lk. 6:45, 8:38-39, Acts 4:17-20)\nLoving the Needy: Every Christian striving to care like Christ by devoting themselves to meeting the needs of those who cannot help themselves: the poor, sick, elderly, orphaned, imprisoned, etc; thus practicing true religion. (Mt. 9:35-36, 26:31-46, Prov. 14:31, 19:17, 31:20, James 1:27, Gal. 2:10)\nAs an alive and healthy body grows and multiplies, we therefore believe that as we develop spiritually alive and healthy disciples of Jesus, God will grow and multiply the Omaha Church of Christ to His glory.\n","date":"9 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2005-04-09-mission-statement/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Ever Increasing Glory!","type":"pages"},{"content":"A friend of mine baptized his girlfriend this past Sunday and the entire church celebrated.\nI remember a conversation that happened sometime ago with my friend about a girl that wasn\u0026rsquo;t a member of our church. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t the only person he talked to, but I did tell him that I trust him and that others may not like his decision. I also told him that she is not going to understand certain lingo in our church. She will not be familiar with our history, and that can be good and bad. Either way, she wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to immediately do the things that a member of our church would do, because she hasn\u0026rsquo;t been a part of it. Don\u0026rsquo;t be surprised when she doesn\u0026rsquo;t do what you expect. He told me that he laid out the boundaries of the relationship: they would go to our church, the relationship would be pure (and he defined it quite clearly), he was active in the teen ministry and he had hopes for campus ministry one day. When he said that she was fine with that and that she wanted to be active in church, the cynical part of me said, \u0026ldquo;yeah right.\u0026rdquo; You have to understand, my friend is in his early 20s, he\u0026rsquo;s an outgoing guy, very mature for his age, but he still has fun, very athletic, etc. In short, he\u0026rsquo;s what parents would consider \u0026rsquo;the perfect guy'.\nHe\u0026rsquo;s also had struggles in his life of all kinds. However, his mother was restored last year, his brother baptized a couple months ago - he is truly grateful for the wonderful things in his life. Again, the cynical side of me thought that this would be inviting trouble onto himself.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I had no problems with him dating a non-member at all. I didn\u0026rsquo;t doubt his heart one bit. I was more afraid of everyone else\u0026rsquo;s reaction to him.\nIn the end, though, I told him what I feared for him, I prayed a lot, and decided that if this was a mistake, that God would see him through it to teach him something he needed to know. Sure it felt funny, I had a lot of fears for my friend. However, I knew it wasn\u0026rsquo;t a sin and I had said my peace for him to think about.\nLast night at our 40 Days of Purpose celebration, our minister read a portion of a letter she wrote to him two weeks previous. In it, she expressed her joy for what she was learning, the daily devotionals, and the love and acceptance she has felt from day one. She shared that she has never felt like a part of a family in church before and that she is truly grateful.\nI was in MN, but I saw the pictures last night. The church truly celebrated at her baptism. As I always do to those recently baptized, I got to congratulate her last night and say, \u0026ldquo;welcome home.\u0026rdquo;\nI get upset sometimes and I make things bigger than they really are. I still hurt over many things that happened to me and to others. No matter what, though, I am grateful that this family that so willingly opened their hearts to me, has opened their hearts to her as well. I am familiar with \u0026rsquo;lovebombing\u0026rsquo; and I have been a part of it in the past. I believe this to be different because even two years later, folks still take time to express their love to me. I have gone from nobody to leader to teacher to regular member and this love has not changed. It gives me hope that she will experience the same thing.\nIt reminds me of the scripture that we will be known as disciples by the love we have for one another. It is an encouraging thought.\n","date":"7 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-07-a-baptism-on-sunday/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Baptism on Sunday","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have sleep apnea. I will be getting my machine in the next day or two. Then I will go to a sleep study and be diagnosed.\nYes, I typed that correctly.\nThere is such a backlog for people to be tested in a sleep study that doctors are actually treating patients first. The current backlog is six to eight weeks.\nI have friends with a CPAP machine. One named his \u0026ldquo;Flo\u0026rdquo;. The other named his \u0026ldquo;Wendy\u0026rdquo;. Were I to continue in this tradition, I would name mine \u0026ldquo;Gail\u0026rdquo;, but I will leave mine unnamed for reasons of marital harmony.\nI am also getting a Cat Scan and chest X-Rays. My doctor is concerned that I have other complications that may need to be treated (i.e. deviated septum, undersized sinus cavities).\nSo, I am looking forward to getting some sleep for the first time in years. My wife is looking forward to some peace and quiet at night.\n","date":"6 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-06-its-official/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's Official","type":"posts"},{"content":"This morning, I\u0026rsquo;m home taking care of my wife while she is not feeling well. Working for the school system, I get family sick days as well as personal sick days. It gave me a chance to sit at look outside on an overcast day threatening storms later tonight.\nOut on the porch sits our dried up Christmas tree in all its fire-hazard glory.\nYou\u0026rsquo;d be amazed how difficult it is to get a 7.5 foot fir tree up three flights of narrow stairs. You\u0026rsquo;d be even more surprised how much more difficult it is to get it down. Along about the second week of January, we started talking about getting the tree down and this discussion lasted until March. The last pickup day was Feb, and it was frustrating that both of us spent the winter feling physically sick and tying up in martial discussions. As such, our discussion ended by moving it to our balcony.\nSometimes I see that tree at it makes me think of the issues my wife and I have faced in our young marriage. I get tempted to think that if we have trouble with this simple thing, how much more trouble will we have with bigger things, like children?\nToday was different, though. As I looked out on the balcony watching the clouds, a small sparrow happened to light on a branch of the tree. After looking around a bit, he went deep into the tree only to emerge a moment later calling to his mate. She arrived a minute later and they both nestled down in the tree to wait for the rain to pass.\nIt reminds me of Luke 12 where Jesus said that God looks after the sparrows. I think about all the hassle that tree has caused me, but all of that grief has provided a moment where two sparrows can get shelter from a spring storm.\nIt encourages me that God can use a monument to my shortcomings as a help for others, even two small sparrows.\n","date":"5 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-05-eye-on-the-sparrow/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eye on the Sparrow","type":"posts"},{"content":"There are actually bookees taking bets on the next pope. However, they placed no bets on Sunday in order to pay their respects.\nPersonally, I didn\u0026rsquo;t see eye to eye with John Paul II on a few things (especially the elevation of Mary and birth control), but he should be given credit as someone that helped start the Solidarity movement in Poland and as someone that helped to overthrow communism. For that reason, no commentaries on Catholic dogma, just a note of his passing.\n","date":"4 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-04-i-cant-believe-it/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I Can't Believe It","type":"posts"},{"content":"Homestarrunner Parody of AYB\nHappy Apil 1st!!\nWhere to go if you don\u0026rsquo;t get the gag or if you want a more detailed explanation.\n","date":"1 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-01-all-your-base/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"All Your Base","type":"posts"},{"content":"Douglas Jacoby answered a question recently about Acts 9:25. You may find it as encouraging as I did.\nThanks to salguod for the email.\n","date":"1 April 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-04-01-an-encouraging-article/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"An Encouraging Article","type":"posts"},{"content":"Those of you that are reading from MN, if you\u0026rsquo;re finding out from this post, I\u0026rsquo;m sorry I haven\u0026rsquo;t had a chance to call you yet.\nI won\u0026rsquo;t be around for a few days as I am going to visit family and friends in Minnesota. I look forward to getting out of town and enjoying the time. There\u0026rsquo;s been a lot going on and I need a vacation. I also plan on taking next Saturday to be alone without a computer. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure where I\u0026rsquo;ll go, but I imagine I\u0026rsquo;ll end up driving for a long time. I enjoy that quite a bit.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been comparing quotes lately, and I have to say the entire thing makes me sad. So, here is my one and only time of saying this:\nI Told You So.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not saying this to everyone, but if you feel a bit offended by that expression - I am talking to you.\nI asked in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, \u0026ldquo;What are we going to do about this guy?\u0026rdquo;. So far, there has been one couple leading a church that chose to speak out - they have now left the ICC. There has been one group of elders that went to Portland to talk to him. One person has personally visited churches all over in order to counter \u0026lsquo;old thinking\u0026rsquo;, and I applaud that. The world-wide \u0026ldquo;teachers\u0026rdquo; have written papers as is their perchant to do. I have written a bunch of things as I am want to do. Other than that, though, nothing has been done. The problem with want the so-called teachers and I have done is that we can look back on a huge volume of literature and convince ourselves that we actually did something, when in fact, we have not. We have basically spoken to an audience that is already predisposed to listen to us.\nMeanwhile, there is no sadness or outrage at the folks who are going to Portland to \u0026ldquo;see why they\u0026rsquo;re so different\u0026rdquo;. Didn\u0026rsquo;t this happen back in 1979? Haven\u0026rsquo;t we seen the effects of this? Even icocinfo.org has pointed out from its membership analysis that issues with retention rates are much larger than the events of the past two years. I would say that the issues started after the effects of years of the works mentality treadmill in the early 80s. There is evidence that the retention rates were low as early as 1987.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I am pro-health and pro-grace. I am not anti-growth. The difference to me is similar to the differences between the Purpose Driven Church and the Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. I find that both stances are equally useful, especially having just been through 40 Days of Purpose.\nHowever, the line has been drawn and it is called a doctrinal difference. Have we become so compliant that we do not take it seriously?\nMaybe some feel like Stephen Crane when he said:\nI keep wanting to throw stones at the temple. But there is no temple and there are no stones.\nI can understand that feeling. However, I believe that there are things that can be done, the issue seems to be finding those willing to do them. Applying our current methodology to the Civil Rights Movement, we would still have \u0026ldquo;White Only\u0026rdquo; fountains, but we could look at decades of written material indirectly denouncing the practices of segregation, but pointing out positive change in that the military is desegregated. Meanwhile, the South would still have poll taxes, Jim Crow laws, racial purity laws, and the like. The voices clamoring for peace would inherently be tolerating these unjust and unrighteous actions, all in the name of attempting change \u0026ldquo;behind the scenes\u0026rdquo;. Change by doing what? Writing a letter to the President? It took brave men, with personal faults, to make peaceful demonstrations. It took the application of pressure on the powers that were. Why does anyone think that real change can be accomplished in less direct, unconfrontational manner? Again, the one side believes this is a matter of salvation and doctrine. If this were simply a difference of opinion, then all my previous rhetoric would be pointless exaggeration - freedom in Christ allows us to agree to disagree. This is more serious, though, it is false doctrine.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more I want to say, but why bother? Some will write and say that I am taking things to an extreme. Others will write and say that this isn\u0026rsquo;t strong enough. A third group will be uncomfortable that there is no room to be in the middle and comment appropriately. Personally, I am tired of it. We missed our chance for real change. We sat around and did nothing. Solomon said, \u0026ldquo;Do not say, \u0026ldquo;Why were the old days better than these?\u0026rdquo; For it is not wise to ask such questions. \u0026quot; (Eccl 7:10). But this is what appears to be happening in some places, and they are flying to Portland to be a part of these old days. Don\u0026rsquo;t think so? Look for the phrases \u0026ldquo;back on track\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;back to the mission\u0026rdquo;: it betrays a mentality that considers the \u0026lsquo;old days\u0026rsquo; better than our present circumstances.\nAs someone that faces the challenges of leading a group of people, I can certainly identify with a yearning for a time when things were better, I have done it myself. It was easier when we all believed the same thing. It was easier when we were all on the same mission to reach the world. It was easier when I could suggest a passage to someone and they didn\u0026rsquo;t ask for chapter, verse, and immediate context. It was easier when we had answers to so many issues, and it was definitely easier when we were studying the Bible with two or three people at a time.\nBut it didn\u0026rsquo;t make it right just because it was easier. All it did was make things easier.\nSo, as I said, I\u0026rsquo;m off to Minnesota. I need the rest and the encouragement.\n","date":"31 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-31-going-to-minnesota/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Going to Minnesota","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s a longer one today.\nFrom a sermon in 1987:\n\\[quoting from Christian Chronicle article\\]We do feel a responsibility to let the brotherhood know, however, that we consider this to be a dangerous movement within the body of Christ, because it robs people of their freedom in Christ, turns Christian leadership into an authoritarian power structure, and divides the body of Christ almost everywhere it appears. In the words of the apostle, Paul,\u0026rsquo;let us be watchful.'\u0026quot;\nGang, don\u0026rsquo;t kid yourself about what that article means. That is a line. Definitive and sharp. And you know the answer to the question \u0026ldquo;why the line?\u0026rdquo;. Let me tell you something. It is basically doctrinal.\nand this:\nI want to lay some things on out here that I believe that a mature audience can handle in good stead. For a long time in the churches of Christ \u0026ndash; and those that were raised in it appreciate that background and that heritage and you need to \u0026ndash; have been taught dare we say, the 5 Point Plan of Salvation. Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. And though I believe in that, because I believe in the Word of God, I believe an essential element has not been emphasized in the area of repentance. In fact, it was the primary area that Jesus emphasized about this baptism. In Matthew 28:19, when Jesus appeared to the 11 on the Mount before He ascended, he said, \u0026ldquo;go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing THEM\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; There \u0026ldquo;they\u0026rdquo; are! \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip;baptizing THEM in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching THEM to obey my Father\u0026rsquo;s commands.\u0026rdquo; I really believe, sisters, we need to get it on straight. Who is a candidate for baptism? It is the individual who IS a disciple. You say, \u0026ldquo;well, brother, that\u0026rsquo;s not been taught through the years so often in the churches of Christ.\u0026rdquo; What\u0026rsquo;s the book say? You say, \u0026ldquo;well, brother, we didn\u0026rsquo;t use that terminology back in the early days of Crossroads.\u0026rdquo; What\u0026rsquo;s the book say? I think we need to certainly appreciate our heritage without question and our roots in the Lord\u0026rsquo;s church, the churches of Christ. But I think we also need to appreciate our roots in the Crossroads church. But, you\u0026rsquo;ve got to understand that we\u0026rsquo;re in a process of restoration. The Holy Spirit is working and it\u0026rsquo;s not that new truths are being revealed, but the old truths are becoming clear. There\u0026rsquo;s a difference. Jesus said, \u0026ldquo;go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing THEM.\u0026rdquo; A lot of people in the \u0026ldquo;church of Christ\u0026rdquo;, they say, \u0026ldquo;well, we can\u0026rsquo;t get along with you folks because your methodology is different.\u0026rdquo; That\u0026rsquo;s the words. Listen, I am seeing that it\u0026rsquo;s a lot more than methodology that\u0026rsquo;s different. There has become an innate doctrinal difference. But they don\u0026rsquo;t recognize it because it looks like a methodology. Our working with people in baptism and counting the costs they think is a methodology. I think not. It\u0026rsquo;s a scriptural imperative. If it is a scriptural imperative, then it is not a humanistic methodology, it is a command that we must obey.\nFrom an article this morning:\nHere I addressed concerning reports we have been given by many who have recently visited Portland that in our worldwide fellowship a \u0026ldquo;different Jesus,\u0026rdquo; a \u0026ldquo;different gospel\u0026rdquo; with a \u0026ldquo;different spirit\u0026rdquo; is being preached by some individuals masquerading as \u0026ldquo;servants of God.\u0026rdquo; They preach \u0026ldquo;Jesus did not command each generation to go to all nations,\u0026rdquo; yet Jesus commanded the eleven faithful to go to all nations. (Matthew 28:19-20) They teach discipling is not in the Bible or is optional, yet Jesus teaches that each disciple must \u0026ldquo;make disciples\u0026rdquo; by teaching obedience to His commands. Some teach there should be no overseeing evangelists to tie churches together as a brotherhood. They believe each church is autonomous, and not the responsibility of anyone outside their local congregation. In contrast in the New Testament, Paul sent Timothy to Corinth without an interview or discussion with the Corinthian leaders (1 Corinthians 4:15-17); Paul sent Titus to all the churches of Crete to \u0026ldquo;straighten out\u0026rdquo; issues; and Paul received financial support from other congregations to plant and minister to weaker churches, such as Corinth. (2 Corinthians 11:8) For there to be a brotherhood, there must be \u0026ldquo;fathers of faith\u0026rdquo; that unify us through relationships.\nAnd this was preached on Sunday:\nAnd what Paul\u0026rsquo;s saying right here is perplexing to the worldly minded, to one whose faith has not yet grasped the desperateness of the hour in our brotherhood.\nI believe, there have to be differences amongst us to show which churches have God\u0026rsquo;s approval. We read earlier in Chapter 3 a church that has God\u0026rsquo;s approval, God is going to make it grow. There\u0026rsquo;s going to be baptisms. If a church doesn\u0026rsquo;t have any baptisms, you know they do not have the approval of God, because it is God that makes it grow. If a church does not teach the plan of salvation, that you have to have faith and repent, become a disciple and be baptized for the remission of sin, if they\u0026rsquo;re fuzzy on it, there\u0026rsquo;s going to be a division there and rightfully so, to show which ones of us have God\u0026rsquo;s approval.\nThere are churches that try to sound noble, oh we\u0026rsquo;re not saying that discipling shouldn\u0026rsquo;t happen, but it\u0026rsquo;s optional in our church. My bible tells me, it\u0026rsquo;s not optional, it\u0026rsquo;s the command of God. It\u0026rsquo;s the way to win a city to Christ, it\u0026rsquo;s the way to win the world to Christ. It\u0026rsquo;s the same thing as if we say, hey you know, tell you what, as far as being pure with your girlfriend, it\u0026rsquo;s optional. NO IT\u0026rsquo;S NOT OPTIONAL. The word of God says we must be absolutely pure. The word of God says we MUST make disciples. And so, yes, there will be division between us and other churches\n","date":"30 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-30-a-doctrinal-division/","section":"Posts","summary":"It’s a longer one today.\n","title":"A Doctrinal Division","type":"posts"},{"content":"Here is a recent excerpt from an Easter Sermon:\nThere are churches that try to sound noble, oh we\u0026rsquo;re not saying that discipling shouldn\u0026rsquo;t happen, but it\u0026rsquo;s optional in our church. My bible tells me, it\u0026rsquo;s not optional, it\u0026rsquo;s the command of God. It\u0026rsquo;s the way to win a city to Christ, it\u0026rsquo;s the way to win the world to Christ. It\u0026rsquo;s the same thing as if we say, hey you know, tell you what, as far as being pure with your girlfriend, it\u0026rsquo;s optional. NO IT\u0026rsquo;S NOT OPTIONAL. The word of God says we must be absolutely pure. The word of God says we MUST make disciples. And so, yes, there will be division between us and other churches. But in the end, what I believe is going to happen, is that the churches that really want to see the world evangelized, the churches that really want to make disciples, who make disciples, make disciples we\u0026rsquo;re going to link on up. Amen guys? And then I think, some like Paul said in Romans 11, out of jealousy, will join us, cause they don\u0026rsquo;t want to be left out, amen, not the highest motivation, but it works. But some people are going to be in churches that totally have drifted away because they are autonomous. And if you\u0026rsquo;re in that kind of a church, where your leaders do not embrace the fundamental truths of God\u0026rsquo;s word, and call the church to obey it, and to practice it, then you\u0026rsquo;ve gotta leave your church, and find a church where it\u0026rsquo;s happening, because it\u0026rsquo;s your soul that\u0026rsquo;s on the line. You cannot go up to heaven or judgment and say, well God, the reason I\u0026rsquo;m not on fire is because I was in a lukewarm church. God says, you could have moved. But you didn\u0026rsquo;t. You didn\u0026rsquo;t want to pay the price. My understanding of a true disciple is somebody that\u0026rsquo;s willing to do anything, go anywhere, and give up everything for Jesus Christ. That has not changed in all these years. Are you with me here church?\u0026quot;\nSo bottom line guys, it\u0026rsquo;s a desperate hour and there are going to be divisions between our churches. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shocked, Don\u0026rsquo;t be confused. But understand what\u0026rsquo;s going on is what Paul talked about, because the ones that have God\u0026rsquo;s approval will eventually join together, be together and we will by faith evangelize the world. Amen?\nHere is a quote from the speaker in 1994:\nPerhaps also unappreciated by the casual observer was the challenge to meet the needs and keep faithful the unprecedented number of new Christians - over 2,000 in the first six years in Boston! In the \u0026rsquo;60s and \u0026lsquo;70 s in the denominational world, there had been much discussion and writing on the \u0026ldquo;body life\u0026rdquo; of the church and \u0026ldquo;shepherding\u0026rdquo; one another. Thus, in the Crossroads movement, one another Christianity was expressed in a buddy system called \u0026ldquo;prayer partners,\u0026rdquo; where each person chose their own \u0026ldquo;buddy.\u0026rdquo;\nWith so many new Christians in the Boston church, I felt this approach was not directive enough. Building upon this concept, I came up with \u0026ldquo;discipleship partners.\u0026rdquo; In these relationships, the evangelists, elders and women\u0026rsquo;s counselors, after discussion and prayer, arranged for an older, stronger Christian to give direction to each of the younger, weaker ones. They were to meet weekly, but have daily contact (Hebrews 10:24,25). (Obviously, the younger discipleship partner also gives input and advice to the stronger disciple, as in any healthy relationship.)\nIs discipling through discipleship partners a command of God, or was it invented in the 1980s?\n","date":"29 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-29-man-made-or-truth-of-god/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Man Made or Truth of God?","type":"posts"},{"content":"A very good friend of mine pointed out to me that I seem to have a need to find a worthy adversary. He could very well be right. My mother has always told me that I was forever in search of a cause, and maybe I found one or two in my time.\nI think about these things and wonder about some of the recent journal entries.\nI would like to think that there is a difference. I\u0026rsquo;d like to think that no one really seems to give an answer to this guy and that someone should. I strive to live our Titus 1:7-9. Not as an elder, but as one entrusted to oversee teaching efforts in the church where I am a member. I do not want to be overbearing or quick-tempered (a struggle). I want to be hospitable, holy and disciplined (also a struggle). I strive for sound doctrine and I am not afraid to refute bad doctrine. This is also a struggle.\nWhy? Because it seems that no one wants to be the bad guy and get into the business of refuting bad doctrine. Fine. I\u0026rsquo;ll be the bad guy, but I have a clear conscience. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be the bad guy, though. Seriously, I want to live my life for God and take care of my family and the church I attend. Surely there are better uses for my time than to deal with false doctrine hundreds of miles away.\nHowever, no one seems to speak plainly in these matters and that is quite frustrating. Why not me? I will gladly stop if someone will show me that they are speaking out in plain, direct language.\nHow many papers were written about the need to change and avoid going back to what we were? Now, people from all over think that he has some magic plan to get folks back to the mission. Compare documents, and I don\u0026rsquo;t mean being nitpicky, I mean look at the message being preached and compare it to the Bible. Look at the message presented in 1987, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2005. The message has not changed ONE BIT. It is the same as it has always been. If this message wasn\u0026rsquo;t right in 1979, it doesn\u0026rsquo;t become right twenty-six years later.\nMatt 28:18-20 is still being twisted to say something it doesn\u0026rsquo;t. 1 Corinthians 4:17 is being used to defend an unhealthy heirarchal structure. One-over-one relationships are preached and considered biblical mandate instead of a controversial method. Those that disagree are chided with 2 timothy 4:1-4. UpCyberDown is coming back as UpsideDown21. Plans to \u0026lsquo;replant\u0026rsquo; ICoC congregations were made and stated as a goal. History is being revised or omitted, and I don\u0026rsquo;t mean the number of baptisms. No one has spoken about Indianapolis or Milan. Is it my business? Yes it is. Former members of Indy are here in my church and the former leader of the team to Milan lives 40 miles from here. It does have a personal effect here.\nSeriously, am I crazy? Am I supposed to just pretend that this minister is not doing everything the same all over again? Am I supposed to pretend that his doctrines are opinion matters?\nIn Chicago 2003, I asked aloud about what are we going to do with this man.\nShrugs.\nApologies were made for letting things get this way, so I asked how I could prevent it from happening again.\nShrugs.\nI declared then as I declare now:\nI will not apologize for doing nothing 10 years from now when all of this comes back again. I will not be the one that shrugs when your children ask me what to do with this man\u0026rsquo;s followers. Not on my watch.\nShame on the cowards, now. This includes me, I went along with all of this as well. Yes, shame on the timid and cautious that offered praise when rebuke was needed. Shame on not teaching against false doctrines, so that those dying for spiritual noursihment return to their vomit like dogs. I don\u0026rsquo;t blame them - it\u0026rsquo;s all they know. I blame the so-called leaders and teachers that went along with all of this in the first place. Shame on all of you for taking some kind of middle course. Jesus was not Buddha, but we like to think that Jesus preached a middle course the way we conduct our affairs.\nNo, this is not me being bitter and refusing to move on. This is a cry for sanity in a place where people are calling for peace. I want real change. I want devotion to God\u0026rsquo;s Word. Is it really worth preserving some kind of \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t Ask, Don\u0026rsquo;t Tell\u0026rdquo; style unity instead of defending the truth? Instead, we pretend that it is okay that folks go to this man\u0026rsquo;s church for training. Wasn\u0026rsquo;t there enough of his training already?\nI do not want to be famous, or quoted or invited to think-tanks or seminars. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that everything should be the way I see it. I am not always right, nor am I some kind of prophet appointed by God to save the ICC. My life has meaning outside the ICC.\nI am a man, only, and a sinful one at that. I read my Bible and ask questions. I do my best to obey the Scriptures. I pray a lot and I pray for real unity and peace. Honestly, I think I state only what is obvious, but I\u0026rsquo;ve been wrong before.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s when I think back to what my friend has told me. That\u0026rsquo;s when I reflect on my mother\u0026rsquo;s words. Am I in this only to be a part of a great cause? Will I always charge at windmills?\nI would like to think that this is not the case, but that is a question with which I will always wrestle.\n","date":"23 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-23-recent-focus/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Recent Focus - \u003carch 22","type":"posts"},{"content":"There is one distinct disadvantage to moving to this state: No Real College Basketball Fans. That is, no fans until the tournament. Oh, I miss the days of seeing the ACC Tournament in every store and talking to folks about Julius Hodge and what a punk Chris Paul is and all the associated conversation\u0026hellip;\nNo, even though a team in town had a slim chance of being in the Sweet 16, I instead found the front page article of the Sports page declaring that the Huskers are retooling their defense.\nGlad to know four months in advance.\nIt shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a surprise to anyone, the Huskers need to retool their offense, defense, special teams, and Athletic Director. I should find the guys that ran FireRonZook.com and have them for our less than loved AD.\nBut I digress\u0026hellip;\nNC State is in the Sweet 16. Well, Gadzooks and Yea Verily!\n","date":"22 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-22-ah-march-madness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ah, March Madness","type":"posts"},{"content":"He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave. Sir William Drummond\n","date":"22 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-22-quote-of-the-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote of the Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"1. Change of story The same person that said this in 1999:\n\u0026ldquo;When you preach who is really saved: that you gotta have faith, you gotta repent, you gotta become a true disciple of Jesus, and then you gotta be water immersed for the forgiveness of sins received through the Holy Spirit, that excludes all other denominations, . . . everybody else that\u0026rsquo;s out there.\u0026rdquo;\nand said this in Restoration through Revolution I :\nI have never believed or taught that anyone has to be baptized into the Boston Church of Christ to be saved. The Scriptures clearly teach you must be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and then, the Lord adds you to his church (Acts 2:36-47; Romans 6:3,4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2:41,42). However, I do not know of any other church, group or movement that teaches and practices what we teach as Jesus taught in Acts 2:41,42: one must make the decision to be a disciple, then be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. When one is born again at baptism (Titus 3:5), one must have Jesus\u0026rsquo; heart and attitude to do anything, go anywhere and give up everything for God. After baptism each disciple is taught to obey all the commands of Jesus as one grows and goes making disciples. If this is what God teaches in the Bible, then we are God\u0026rsquo;s movement.\nsaid this today:\nSome have criticized the ICOC saying we believe that the \u0026ldquo;ICOC\u0026rdquo; are the only ones saved, that one must be baptized by the ICOC to be a Christian. This is emphatically wrong! (Though I have come to understand that some ministers taught this.) We do believe that to become a true Christian, one must hear the message, repent of sins (become a disciple) and then be baptized for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:36-41) This is a narrow path!\n2. Change of Numbers\nToday, the following numbers were used to discuss the success of Boston from 1979 - 1989:\nIn the next twelve months, the 30 uncommitted members left one by one but were replaced by 103 fired up committed baptized disciples, mostly off such campuses as Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Boston College and the University of Massachusetts!\u0026hellip; In the ensuing years with this foundation of only disciples, unheard of multiplication occurred! In 1981, 170 were baptized; in 1982, 250 were baptized; 1983 - 322 baptisms; 1984 - 402 baptisms; 1985 - 594 baptisms; 1986 - 703 baptisms; 1987 - 818 baptisms; 1988 - 1227 baptisms; etc\u0026hellip;\nIn Restoration through Revolution I on the same website:\nGod\u0026rsquo;s power was unleashed and he gave us 103 baptisms the first year\u0026hellip; In our second year, we witnessed 200 baptisms; 256 our third; 368 in the fourth; 457 in the fifth; 679 in the sixth; 735 in the seventh; 947 in the eighth; 1424 in the ninth; and in our tenth year, l621 were baptized into Christ and our Sunday attendance was approaching 5000 as we were meeting in the Boston Garden.\nAll of this in an article entitled \u0026ldquo;Spiritual Amnesia\u0026rdquo;. Sadly ironic.\n","date":"22 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-22-a-concern/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Two Concerns","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today was a lot of fun. A lot of this comes from the insight of my wife, to whom I want to give tons of credit. I\u0026rsquo;ve been looking forward to this for two weeks. My intial reaction wasn\u0026rsquo;t so positive, but after some time of prayer and reflection, I saw this as the potentially good idea that it turned out to be.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about how to present the \u0026ldquo;Teaching Ministry\u0026rdquo; in a way that will engage people. My biggest concern was that folks would think that they didn\u0026rsquo;t want to stand up and teach the Bible to a large group. There\u0026rsquo;s a difference between something called a \u0026ldquo;Teaching Ministry\u0026rdquo; and an \u0026ldquo;Adult Education Ministry\u0026rdquo;. The issue I had was trying to make it accessible to as many as possible. Why? Because this ministry needs others that can edit and organize. It needs folks to manage the church website and the church library. It needs perspectives from members of the church that can serve many people. In short, it needs more than just the teachers.\nI talked to my wife about it while she was dealing with an infection. We were home and she wanted to support me in this ministry to demosntrate her love and to keep her mind off the pain. As you might guess, not only had we found a way to open the ministry up to others, there was a theme, ideas to decorate the booth, and food ideas to entice visits. The only thing I could think to myself was, \u0026ldquo;why didn\u0026rsquo;t I talk to her sooner?\u0026rdquo;\nThe theme was \u0026ldquo;Matters of the Heart\u0026rdquo; - something that we explained as beyond matters of the mind. We hoped that by emphasizing what members could share and could do to help that they would not think about their perceived lack of intelligence. In other words, instead of thinking that they are not smart enough to be in the teaching ministry, they think of ways that they can encourage the church. As it turns out, we already have a fair number of men that are qualified to teach and they have asked to do so. This was a hope that others would be engaged.\nOur table had a red tablecloth with sticky hearts all over the table. We offered cookies and heart-shaped chocolates that I made with a mould last night. We also had some reference books and teaching books, along with the book, \u0026ldquo;Now, Discover Your Strengths\u0026rdquo; as a centerpiece. We had sign up forms for specific things such as help with the website and help with the Study Series. We also had a form that asked for talent and ability in one column and preferred method of delivery in another. When encouraged many that came by that if they did not feel comfortable in presenting to a large group, they could write down their thoughts.\nMy wife would actively engage anyone that came within ten feet of our table. She wouldn\u0026rsquo;t force them to do anything, but she would encourage folks to think about what they could share. By the end, we were asking people about their story and it seemed to be successful.\nWe have two folks that want to edit and manage the church website. We have two folks that want to spend a weekend to get the church library started. We have several folks that want to write about various topics ranging from cooking to special needs children to teens to child-rearing. One person tentatively hoped to help edit our Study Series. Overall, it was encouraging that many that signed up to help are women. Anything that calls itself a teaching ministry that is made up entirely of men is a contradiction in terms.\nSeveral folks asked to be included on information about the Study Series, including folks that are currently engaged in studing the Bible with someone currently. That kind of support is crucial because it prevents all kinds of overintellectualizing.\nAt the end of the day, I am quite tired. However, I am happy to have folks engaged in helping others. I look forward to what they have to offer. I am quite proud of my wife that endured my sin of wanting to control everything and still gave so much to me and the ministry fair. I feel very loved and very special. All around, a good thing.\nAs events unfold, I\u0026rsquo;ll post more here, including the rough drafts of the study series. It\u0026rsquo;s really more of a handbook, but I hope it will be useful.\n","date":"20 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-20-the-ministry-fair/","section":"Posts","summary":"Today was a lot of fun. A lot of this comes from the insight of my wife, to whom I want to give tons of credit. I’ve been looking forward to this for two weeks. My intial reaction wasn’t so positive, but after some time of prayer and reflection, I saw this as the potentially good idea that it turned out to be.\nI’ve been thinking about how to present the “Teaching Ministry” in a way that will engage people. My biggest concern was that folks would think that they didn’t want to stand up and teach the Bible to a large group. There’s a difference between something called a “Teaching Ministry” and an “Adult Education Ministry”. The issue I had was trying to make it accessible to as many as possible. Why? Because this ministry needs others that can edit and organize. It needs folks to manage the church website and the church library. It needs perspectives from members of the church that can serve many people. In short, it needs more than just the teachers.\n","title":"The Ministry Fair","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s the time of year when everyone tries to find a bit of Irish blood in their genealogy. I have a complexion that demonstrates my Irish heritage, even if my lineage does not.\nIn thinking about what my wife and I would do tonight to \u0026lsquo;celebreate\u0026rsquo; St. Patrick\u0026rsquo;s Day, I got to thinking about who this person is. Why did St. Patrick\u0026rsquo;s Day become a big deal? Although I don\u0026rsquo;t have time or space to answer why it is so important, I do have time to indulge a little investigation into the historical St. Patrick.\nWritings of Patrick Two writings ascribed to St. Patrick survive to today. As best as I can tell, there is no information about other things he may have written or could have written. Within these two documents are the only direct sources of information - and they are from the man himself. These two documents are \u0026ldquo;The Confession of St. Patrick\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;Letter to Coroticus(Ceredig)\nPatricius was born to a Roman family in England. His father was a deacon and he was raised as a Christian. At the age of 16, he was kidnapped by an Irish warlord. After six years of tending livestock and many prayers, he heard a voice telling him of his escape, his arrival home, and his mission to take him away from his homeland. Leaving the next day, he made his way to a seaport and managed to get onboard the ship.\nTravelling for twenty-eight days, they were beginning to run out of food and his shipmates jeered him for his faith. He told them that they would eat to their fill that very night, and they ate to their fill for two days. According the Patrick, the members of the crew may have died had they not come across a herd of pigs.\nHe served on the ship for two months until he could escape and make his way back home. Once home, he says that he was well received by his kinsmen and honored as a son. From there he went into the preisthood with the full intention of going back to Ireland as a missionary. It is not known when he arrived back in Ireland or how, but the initial reaction to his missionary ambtion was not favorable. Their reaction is given here:\nAnd then I was attacked by a goodly number of my elders, who \\[brought up\\] my sins against my arduous episcopate. That day in particular I was mightily upset, and might have fallen here and for ever; but the Lord generously spared me, a convert, and an alien, for his name\u0026rsquo;s sake, and he came powerfully to my assistance in that state of being trampled down. I pray God that it shall not be held against them as a sin that I fell truly into disgrace and scandal.\nThey brought up against me after thirty years an occurrence I had confessed before becoming a deacon. On account of the anxiety in my sorrowful mind, I laid before my close friend what I had perpetrated on a day\u0026ndash; nay, rather in one hour\u0026ndash; in my boyhood because I was not yet proof against sin. God knows\u0026ndash; I do not\u0026ndash; whether I was fifteen years old at the time, and I did not then believe in the living God, nor had I believed, since my infancy; but I remained in death and unbelief until I was severely rebuked, and in truth I was humbled every day by hunger and nakedness.\nIt is interesting to note that he was about 45 when this happened - but I am unsure if this happened before leaving or after he was gone. Patrick insists he didn\u0026rsquo;t leave on his own, the elders later changed their mind and sent him to Ireland, although it seems his trip was controversial at the time. One thing to note is that he was sent with the mission to take care of the Christians already in Ireland and to spread the gospel to the rest of the Irish.\nOutside of that, the two writings we have from him seem to speak more about the kind of person he was more than what he did. Personally, I had hoped to find out about the story of him driving out the snakes from Ireland or about the use of the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Apparently, those are stories about him that even Catholic scholars say are uncertain. However, the man I did see in his own words was a striking figure, despite his shortcomings.\nI, Patrick, a sinner, unlearned, resident in Ireland\u0026hellip;\nIn his confession and in his letter to Ceredig, Patrick refers to himself as an unlearned man. He learned and spoke Latin up to his capture, then learned and spoke the Vulgar Latin of some of the soldiers, along with the the Irish language. It seems he never felt confident about either language, though he understand the Irish culture and language enough to incorporate elemtes of them into his message. Scholars have commented that his Latin is, at times, almost unintelligible. It could be that the English translations I read hide some of these issues. Other scholars seem to believe that he was fluent in Gaelic. In either case, he notes that while others were perfecting their \u0026lsquo;idiom\u0026rsquo; through constant study, that his speech was translated into a \u0026lsquo;foreign tongue\u0026rsquo;.\nHowever, in his confession, he makes over two hundred biblical references. These references are used in defense of his ministry, his faith, and his life. If he was \u0026lsquo;unlearned\u0026rsquo; as he claims, why would he quote the Bible more accurately and appropriately than many other comtemporaries? It is true that he had to become a part of the preisthood before his journey, but there may be something more that plays into it. I suspect that he was largely a self-taught man. Being in Ireland as the sole bishop may have been isolating, leaving him, oddly enough, to study the Scriptures (one of the few Latin texts around) constantly.\nIn addition to this, he seems to have a keen mind, despite his insecurities about his education. To celebrate Easter, he incorporated the local rituals (such as the use of bonfires) in its celebration. He has even been attributed with the creation of the \u0026lsquo;Celtic Cross\u0026rsquo;, a cross with the sun in the middle. Being there for so many years, I believe that he learned the language and culture pretty well. I can also believe that he was smart enough to use traditional Irish symbols to explain Christianity, rather than attempt to eliminate all traditional Irish symbols. Some believe that he may have understood Druidic rituals through the instruction of his original captor, but that seems a bit of a reach. The point is that he appears to be a man with a sharp mind despite his imcomplete formal education.\nA Strong Man I suspect that Patrick was not a weak man. He set out for Ireland despite criticism. He was focused on what he believed was his mission. He dealt with those that murdered and sold Irish Christians. It seems reasonable to believe that this strength of purpose, duty, and conviction helped him to overcome some pretty tough odds.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s a passage of his confession where he talks about the need for spreading the gospel:\nSo for that reason one should, in fact, fish well and diligently, just as the Lord foretells and teaches, saying, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,’ and again through the prophets: ‘Behold, I am sending forth many fishers and hunters, says the Lord,’ et cetera. So it behoved us to spread our nets, that a vast multitude and throng might be caught for God, and so there might be clergy everywhere who baptized and exhorted a needy and desirous people. Just as the Lord says in the Gospel, admonishing and instructing: ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always to the end of time.’ And again he says: ‘Go forth into the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned.’ And again: ‘This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world as a witness to all nations; and then the end of the world shall come.’ And likewise the Lord foretells through the prophet: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days (sayeth the Lord) that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit and they shall prophesy.’ And in Hosea he says: ‘Those who are not my people I will call my people, and those not beloved I will call my beloved, and in the very place where it was said to them, You are not my people, they will be called ’Sons of the living God’.\nHere is another passage where he mentions his determination to go to Ireland:\nFor that reason, I give thanks to him who strengthened me in all things, so that I should not be hindered in my setting out and also in my work which I was taught by Christ my Lord; but more, from that state of affairs I felt, within me, no little courage, and vindicated my faith before God and man.\nHence, therefore, I say boldly that my conscience is clear now and hereafter. God is my witness that I have not lied in these words to you.\nFrom his letter to Coroticus, he has much to say:\nI am hated. What shall I do, Lord? I am most despised. Look, Thy sheep around me are tom to pieces and driven away, and that by those robbers, by the orders of the hostile-minded Coroticus. Far from the love of God is a man who hands over Christians to the Picts and Scots. Ravening wolves have devoured the flock of the Lord, which in Ireland was indeed growing splendidly with the greatest care; and the sons and daughters of kings were monks and virgins of Christ - I cannot count their number. Wherefore, be not pleased with the wrong done to the just; even to hell it shall not please.\nKeep in mind that when he wrote this to Coroticus (Ceredig), that his men were regularly kidnapping Irish Christians. It would not have been hard to find Patrick if Coroticus wanted to take matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, nothing is known for certain whatever became of this situation. However, Patrick makes it quite clear that Coroticus is committing all kinds of atrocities and that no Christian should even eat with this man. However, despite all the evil Coroticus had done, Patrick still prays at the end that they will repent and come to God.\nFinal Thoughts The fact that St. Patrick is revered in Ireland and abroad gives testimony to the life he lead. He made a difference. The true facts of his life are not always clear, but through his own words, we are able to catch a glimpse of his character. He was kidnapped, but had a dream to preach to his captors. He found his way home and waited for the opportunity to return (it could have been years or decades). He lived out what he believed God wanted from his life. I didn\u0026rsquo;t look at the dark side of his character very much - I think those things are equally plain in reading his words. However, I did want to take a little time today to think about the man behind the hoopla.\n","date":"17 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-17-in-search-of-the-historical-st-patrick/","section":"Posts","summary":"It’s the time of year when everyone tries to find a bit of Irish blood in their genealogy. I have a complexion that demonstrates my Irish heritage, even if my lineage does not.\nIn thinking about what my wife and I would do tonight to ‘celebreate’ St. Patrick’s Day, I got to thinking about who this person is. Why did St. Patrick’s Day become a big deal? Although I don’t have time or space to answer why it is so important, I do have time to indulge a little investigation into the historical St. Patrick.\n","title":"In Search of the Historical St. Patrick","type":"posts"},{"content":"Quoted from someone else, I do not remember whom.\nWell, you\u0026rsquo;re right enough about most of that. Kip McKean has a way of making whatever he does seem like the cosmic center of the universe. All tools of media and current events are at his disposal. I still think it\u0026rsquo;s funny how the Internet used to be the \u0026ldquo;bad guy\u0026rdquo; but now he\u0026rsquo;s using it for his own ends.\nThere is this article on icocnews about Chicago\u0026rsquo;s largest service in 3 years or whatever it is. In the article, Roger Lamb makes a point of saying the hotel where the service was being held also was a polling place for the Iraqi elections. What the heck does the Iraqi election have to do with the Chicago ICC\u0026rsquo;s largest service? Nothing. But It\u0026rsquo;s the McKean way\u0026ndash; which Lamb is well- schooled in\u0026ndash; take anything that is dramatic or sensational or well-known and attach yourself to it. It makes people think you\u0026rsquo;re special.\n","date":"17 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-17-next-door-to-greatness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Next Door to Greatness","type":"posts"},{"content":"I read an article on Thinklings about this illustration about the heart.\nThis is a great article well worth the read.\n","date":"17 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-17-the-vaccuum-lady-principle/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Vaccuum Lady Principle","type":"posts"},{"content":"I recently heard a sermon from another church about the condition coined as Spiritual Amnesia. Reading Deut 8, the minister said that there were three ways to get Spiritual Amnesia:\nThrough time you age or mature. (Spiritual Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s) Get Hit on the head really hard.(Spiritual Concussion) This was explained as being hurt within the kingodm of God Deut 11:1 - Our Children, or even young Christians, were never taught Spiritual History What followed next was a bit of truth, a bit of wishful thinking, a bit of eisegesis, and more than a bit of revisionist history. To be more accurate, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t so much revisionist history as selective history. I realize that in giving any message that certain choices have to be made to prove a point. However, certain information was categorically left out or minimized that shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been.\nFrom the text read, it\u0026rsquo;s important to note that the first two \u0026lsquo;causes\u0026rsquo; are not mentioned at all. There is nothing in this text that says that the Israelites forgot God because they became older. They is little, if any evidence that the Israelites matured in a good or bad sense at all. The fact that they have been in the desert for 40 years has nothing to do with it. They are currently being addressed by God, so being in the desert hasn\u0026rsquo;t caused them to forget God. The text does go on to describe how they could forget God, but more on that later on. First, I want to go off on two tangents and come back to the sermon as delivered and the text at hand.\nMaturity a Problem? - A Brief Tangent Aside from the non-sequitir, there is a point to be made that a person can believe he or she is mature without being mature. This is different than saying that as one gets older that they will naturally forget. The kind of forgetting that God is speaking of in Deut 8 has different roots than age-related issues. One way to believe you are mature is to measure how much you know against how much others know. Paul asserts in 1 Cor 8:1-4 that knowledge \u0026lsquo;puffs up\u0026rsquo;, but love is what builds. In this situation he is talking about the issue of eating food sacrificed to idols. Considering the rest of the chapter, it seems appropriate that the principle here applies to many situations. After all, if I can \u0026rsquo;legally\u0026rsquo; eat meat sacrificed to idols, but refrain from it in order to preserve the faith of my brother, love truly is more important than knowledge.\nAlong those lines, I have seen many great minds that know the Bible quite well, but do not understand love enough to show the most simple kindness. I have seen Christians and non-Christians read hundreds of books and put their faith in either the number of books read, or in the knowledge gained from reading them. The point is that spiritual maturity is not only a matter of knowledge. (The best passage I have seen to describe spiritual maturity is Col 2:1-23.)\nSpiritual Concussions - A Longer Tangent In the text, God talks about how He has disciplined his people. There is no mention of the Israelites hurting each other, especially in regards to so-called discipling. Again, the text talks about causes of spiritual amnesia, but this is not one of them.\nHowever, there is some merit to this point. When a Christian hurts another Christian, it can feel like a concussion, especially if the wound is deep. If you read through a list of symptoms for a concussion, most of them accurately describe the emotional feeling of being hurt by someone you trust. I actually like the term spiritual concussion for these reasons.\nWhat do you do when another Christian hurts you? It depends really. Elders, Deacons, and other leaders have more severe punishments handed to them, but also stricter requirements to prove an accusation. In general, though, Matthew 18:15-17 is a good place to start for everyone, regardless of their position. Many times, the hurt is unintentionally caused and it can be cleared up very quickly.\nNow those of you familiar with the ICC know that the situation of members being abused in various congregations was/is different. In some places, including most of the churches I was a part of, following Matt 18 with a leader was not safe if you wanted to maintain membership. If it ever needed to go beyond step one (talking to the person directly), you were basically writing yourself a ticket out. However, if the issue was between two members, the tie went to whomever was highest on the leadership chain. In the case of two members without a title, the situation was relegated to Bible Talk Leaders (with advice from Family Group or Sector leaders). Regardless of your present situation, I still think it is best to try Matt 18:15-17. If it goes to step two, insist that you have someone there you BOTH trust, not just the next leader up the chain. Both parties have to feel like the deck is not being stacked against them. It is my experience that in many places, the problem with getting issues resolved is more a function of no one (including leaders) wanting to hurt anyone\u0026rsquo;s feelings, that is why I generally encourage folks to try it, despite the past abuses. I attend a congregation where creating a \u0026lsquo;safe place\u0026rsquo; is so important, that it is one of our stated objectives as a church.\nI had two situations where someone came to me and said that so-and-so deacon is doing XYZ bad thing. I listened as they shared their hurt and frustration. One person stopped and said that he/she needed to stop talking about it. In both cases, I asked them if they had spoken to the deacon, and both answered in the negative. Before simply telling them to follow Matt 18:15, I acknowledged that they were hurt and assured them that they are not evil for feeling hurt. When I did encourage them to talk to the deacon directly, I pointed out that this person would honestly listen and desires feedback for many things. I offered to be a \u0026lsquo;reliable witness\u0026rsquo; if the one-to-one talk did not go well. As far as I know, one person is reconciled with this deacon and the other is not. I do not know what the other is doing, but my offer still stands as long as they have spoken with this deacon, first.\nIn conclusion, it is better to be wronged for doing the right thing, that to be proven right by doing the wrong thing. This is better summed up with the adage, \u0026ldquo;The ends do not justify the means.\u0026rdquo; In 1 Cor, Paul asked whether it was better to just be wronged than to settle disputes in court. I agree with the sentiment. It is never justified to sin against a person just because they sinned against you. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t keep me from praying for justice, but God has already stated that it is his business to justify his people and avenge those who have been harmed. It is our responsibility to find a way to forgive.\nI say this as someone that has been hurt in many ways intentionally and unintentionally. I have followed Matt 18:15 to all parties I believe have hurt me. Some were easy, I got an apology and a sincere commitment to change. Some were not easy, they denied doing anything wrong. One person even blamed others while listing off the things he or she did right. This still hurts. However, I am confident that I did the right thing. I have no regrets on how much I spent flying around the country (and to Europe).\nBack to the Text Forgive the indulgence of the two tangents, I thought it was necessary that the first two points have some validity, even if they are not related to Deut 8. I try to be as fair as I can and give credit where credit is due. However, as a part of pointing out how to do good exegesis, I believe it is important to also point out how to avoid sloppy exegesis. I intend on doing this with all my teaching articles, because I have personally made a commitment to God and myself that I want to base what my actions on good exegesis. Feel free to submit corrections to me and I will revise accordingly.\nIn Deut 8, we see that God is speaking to his people through Moses. He urges the Israelites to obey God and his commandments. He encourages them to remember the great things God did for them in the wilderness. He also reminds them of the discipline of God designed for humility. He also reminds them of the promise of God in regards to the good land they were about to conquer. He warns them against forgetting God when they have enjoyed the benefits of the land for some time. Specificaly, he warns that it will be easy to think that they made everything by their own strength and not through the power of God. He also warns them that if they forget God, they will not survive long in this new land.\nBefore this, in Deut 7, God, speaking through Moses, is telling the people that they will possess this land and encouraged them to destory all idols and to not be intimidated by the people in the land they will conquer. After this in Deut 9, the Israelites are furthered assured that the Canaanites will be driven out and are warned to give credit to God, instead of their inherent righteousness. This is a rough summary created with the help of John Gill\u0026rsquo;s Exposition of the Bible, but enough that it should suffice.\nNotes about the Sermon Warnings to remember and warning to not forget make Spiritual Amnesia a fitting title for a sermon about this passage. Similar warnings and encouragements to remember the deliverance of God are made in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:11-13 and others). It is true that as Christians, we are tempted to forget God.\nLooking at the text, what are some reasons for this? Deu 8:11 says that one way we can forget God is by not obeying Him. Another way we can forget God (Deu 8:12-17) is to take pride in our accomplishments and our comfort. Lastly, we can forget God when we go after other gods (Deu 8:19). Faced with warnings to remember God, He provides a ways to remember Him. Deu 8:6 says that the Israelites should continue to obey God and his commandments. The Israelites are also encouraged to remember that they were saved from slavery in Egypt (Deu 8:14) and that he provided for them in the wildernes (Deu 8:1-4, Deu 8:15-16). Lastly, he also reminds them that God disciplines his people as a father disciplines his children (Deu 8:5).\nWithout going into more detail, let\u0026rsquo;s look at the three points originally asserted in the sermon:\nThrough time you age or mature. (Spiritual Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s) Get Hit on the head really hard.(Spiritual Concussion) This was explained as being hurt within the kingodm of God Our Children, or even young Christians, were never taught Spiritual History Looking at the content of the passage, it becomes clear that points one and two are nowhere to be found. Even though the points may be valid, they are irrelevant to the text presented. Unless a Scripture is introduced to tie this somehow to Deu 8, these points should be rejected. In listening for this, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t satisfied that these were related somehow. In fact, what I heard was the speaker\u0026rsquo;s opinion about the pitfalls of false maturity and the dangers of overreacting to being hurt by other Christians. Again, these points may be valid and the perspective given was informative and presented with conviction (though I do not share his opinion on these matters). However, they don\u0026rsquo;t relate and no tie to the text was given, so those two points are filed away as \u0026rsquo;neat to know\u0026rsquo; but rejected as useful for this text.\nPoint three, however, does relate and the speaker did a good job of tying this in. We can forget God by forgetting what He has done for us personally and for your congregation. The speaker talked about his former life before he became a Christian and how his life changed. It reminded me of my story and how God delivered me. It also reminds me that we all have a story of how God saved us from a life of sin and death and brought us to a new life. When I first became a Christian, I wrote down what my \u0026lsquo;old\u0026rsquo; life was about and how my life had changed. I refer to it often when I forget what God has done for me.\nFrom there, the speaker went on to talk about the great things God is doing through the speaker\u0026rsquo;s congregation. Apparently, wherever he is going, folks are asking about how his congregation does various things. He continued the encouragements to specific individuals and the the congregation as whole.\nIn and of itself, this is not a bad thing. It is necessary for a minister to encourage their congregation. My minister encourages ours. Taking this sermon by itself, there is no real cause for alarm outside of a \u0026lsquo;gut\u0026rsquo; feeling that something is not quite right. But though I suspect it, it is not fair to state it as a danger without more evidence to do so. Basically, I think that the speaker is implying that his congregation\u0026rsquo;s method is the best or only correct method. I base this from the habit of doing this in conjunction with warnings against churches that have \u0026lsquo;compromised\u0026rsquo; the message or \u0026lsquo;compromised\u0026rsquo; discipleship and many other things. But this is getting away from the sermon and will be mentioned in another post.\nI also thought it was good to remind folks of the good that the former ICC accomplished. I remember praying for a church to be planted in Ulan Baator because there had been little missionary activity there in hundreds of years. I remember when our mission team stayed in Moscow during the coup. Two missionaries my father funded left Kiev and never went back. In addition to that, the ICC policy of getting nationals to lead a church as soon as possible helped add to the long-term stability of these churches. I remember what it was like to visit members from overseas and having an instant connection with them through similar experiences and beliefs. All in all, it felt like a wonderful and exciting time.\nHowever, in presenting our history, it is important to mention the high and low points. There are lessons learned at every turn. For example, it is important to mention the Churches of Christ in the 50\u0026rsquo;s and start our unique history with Crossroads. Despite whatever you think of Chuck Lucas, I don\u0026rsquo;t doubt that his original intention was to evangelize college campuses and to expect members to be actively engaged. However, it is important to note that Crossroads separated itself from the \u0026lsquo;Boston Movement\u0026rsquo;. There were good and bad things about that separation and it shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be kept a secret. Later on, mainline Churches of Christ stops listing our churches in 1987. We should mention that. Why? Because it needs to be addressed in order to explain and discuss why the talks in Abliene in two successive years are important. Along the way, we should also talk about how we had so many people leave that we were starting to show net losses in church membership all over the world. Why? It says something about who we were at a given time in history and speaks to our needs now. It is not fair to present the positive things of our history without talking about the issues. Neither is it fair to talk about obvious issues without discussing the good that was done. The Henry Kriete Letter was an event that had good and bad effects. Only discussing the bad does everyone a disservice. Why did it have the impact it did? Why is the health of some churches in question? Why are some churches doing better after it came out?\nThe Conclusion of the Matter So what is to come of the lengthy commentary on a sermon? Well, I intend to take my time with God more seriously. It is really easy for me to take pride in my accomplishments in myself and my church and rest on them. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to become some arrogant know-it-all that convieniently never spends much time with God. There are already enough scribes and Pharisees to last a dozen lifetimes and I do not want to be another one. I have allowed the idol of a busy life to interfere with my relationship with God.\nAs far as my thoughts on the sermon as delivered, there are biblical problems with it. The delivery was entertaining and engaging, but outside of the exhortation to remember the good that God has done, it was not really close to the text given.\nI realize that most people do not analyze a sermon to this detail, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s wrong to do so every once in a while. Nothing or no one is too sacred to examine when there is a difficulty. As long as you are honest and fair to yourself, the speaker, and the message, a lot of good can come from it. When I have struggled with messages in my church, I analyzed them the same way and was encouraged and challenged to find that I really did need to listen to what was said. I was wrong and the Bible clearly supported the speaker\u0026rsquo;s message.\nWhy go through all this? I\u0026rsquo;m beginning to hope again. Seriously, I am really beginning to hope again. When I think back to what was accomplished through fear, control, and naviete, I can only imagine what can be accomplished with love, respect, and wisdom. I dream about a worldwide fellowship with folks inside and outside the old ICC. I dream about sponsoring missionaries with no regrets and being encouraged by what individual members can do to share the gospel message. I look forward to a day when it is just as important to baptize someone as it is to help a young Christian mature. I also look for a time when Christians will start using the gifts and talents God has given each person. I hope for a day when the churches I used to attend stand for something besides an object lesson in hubris.\nI hope for a lot, I know. But I know it\u0026rsquo;s not going to happen by waiting and it\u0026rsquo;s not going to happen by cosmetic change. It will take repentance, prayer, fasting, and a mustard seed of faith wrapped in love. And it starts with me.\nPostScript I read that icocinfo.org has linked to this article. In emails I received and thoughts I\u0026rsquo;ve had since writing this, I felt the need to address a glaring omission on my part.\nIn considering the good the ICC did, I ignored the consideration of doctrine. In essence, what good is it to reach the entire world with the wrong message? The Latter-Day Saints have reached more countries than the ICC ever did, and most of their missionaries are only active for two years. (I have LDS in my family.)\nIn expressing what I hoped, I tried to imply, but didn\u0026rsquo;t state directly, that I hoped doctrine would change. I consider the doctrines that supported the fear, the contol, and the naviete of members in need of dismantling and there were many. I also consider the doctrines of salvation, the trinity, and Arminial tendencies to be largely okay. I contend that many of our bad practices and doctrines came from bad exegesis. For example, problems with Matt 28:18-20 (only disciples can be baptized) and Matt 11:12 (Forcefully advancing) could be easily seen with the use of another good English translation. In any case, I hope to continue writing about good and bad exegesis in order to deal with areas of doctrine.\n","date":"15 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-15-spiritual-amnesia/","section":"Posts","summary":"I recently heard a sermon from another church about the condition coined as Spiritual Amnesia. Reading Deut 8, the minister said that there were three ways to get Spiritual Amnesia:\nThrough time you age or mature. (Spiritual Alzheimer’s) Get Hit on the head really hard.(Spiritual Concussion) This was explained as being hurt within the kingodm of God Deut 11:1 - Our Children, or even young Christians, were never taught Spiritual History ","title":"Spiritual Amnesia","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"14 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-14-181/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, I did it. I said the word purpose four times today during the introduction. That\u0026rsquo;s what happens when you get frazzeled just before speaking I guess.\nNote to self: The word purpose is now expunged from your vocabulary. Use any of the following words when it comes to mind - advantage, avail, benefit, duty, effect, function, gain, goal, good, mark, mission, object, objective, outcome, profit, result, return, target, utility.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, this whole 40 Days thing has been good and I am excited about the Ministry Fair next week. It\u0026rsquo;s marketing, but I can\u0026rsquo;t be too cynical of a fun idea to get folks involved. It certainly isn\u0026rsquo;t high-pressure and it definitely isn\u0026rsquo;t the \u0026ldquo;do this or else\u0026rdquo; mentality I became accustomed to in my old church.\nToday was a great day. The only bad thing that happened was Junior\u0026rsquo;s contiued car problems. At least this time, he caused his own problem by wrecking. Stay tuned Little E fans, he only has to finish tenth before the points reset.\nOtherwise, today was a great message on spiritual maturity, good talks with folks, a plan for the dinner with my small group, all kinds of good things. I made kabobs for the first time with great success. I also found out that someone donated a computer to my church for use by the recording crew. Nifty.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more news about the computer biz, but can\u0026rsquo;t talk about it now. Just pray. It\u0026rsquo;s been a dream of mine for a while to have a computer business.\n","date":"14 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-14-a-new-word-i-never-want-to-say-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A New Word I Never Want to Say Again","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sounds ominous, right? Not really. I decided to post my original notes from the \u0026ldquo;Reading the Bible for All It\u0026rsquo;s Worth\u0026rdquo; class I taught in 2003 in the form of an online class. On a technical note, I am probably the only person in the US to use something OTHER than moodle, but I hope to get it up and running, soon.\nThe class will be a self-study course and your textbook is \u0026ldquo;Reading the Bible for All It\u0026rsquo;s Worth\u0026rdquo; by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. Don\u0026rsquo;t worry about which version you get. Mine is an older version and I avoid page references where I can. Besides, there is other source material besides the main book including The Bible Book by Book by G. Coleman Luck, selections from the Talmud, Nelson\u0026rsquo;s New Illustrated Bible Manners And Customs How The People Of The Bible Really Lived, an Introduction to the Old Testament class given by Gordon Fee, some material from bible.org and a few other odds and ends.\nI hope to get this class done soon before my church\u0026rsquo;s ministry fair, but even if it\u0026rsquo;s later, I\u0026rsquo;ll be okay. I got good reviews from this course when it was taught, so I hope it will be useful to you.\nOn a side note, I took the wiki down. I never quite got the hang of it, it seemed like the method needed for creating a page lead to endless recursive editing. Bleh.\n","date":"8 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-08-class-will-begin-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Class will begin soon","type":"posts"},{"content":"Nekorian translates to \u0026ldquo;the magical ones\u0026rdquo; Namtemorian translates to \u0026ldquo;the mundane ones\u0026rdquo;\nNot taken seriously by even the most superstitous of scholars, the magical ones are the subject of stories to scare children in civilized lands. Most tales involve the Nekorians terrorizing villages by causing people\u0026rsquo;s own furniture to attack them. As such, many in the Hesberian Empire, if they think of them at all, describe them inaccurately as ghosts.\nThey are not ghosts at all. They are incorperal and sentient beings of energy. Like all sentient beings, they are able to manipulate magic, however, their spells seem to differ wildly from many known by wizards throughout the world. Many of their spells help them to survive by giving them the ability to transfer matter into energy, apparently as a way of \u0026lsquo;feeding\u0026rsquo;.\nHowever, despite their power, they are symbiotic with the Namtemorians. It appears that as incorperal entities, they have no ability to mine certain elements they need to survive. These materials can be harmful to many living creatures if encountered in sufficient quantities. Although the Namtemorians cannot mine these materials, they are able to build simple machines and clockwork. They were not able to create mining machines for the Nekorians, but they were able to create simple parts that the Nekorians could assemble and \u0026lsquo;possess\u0026rsquo; so that they could mine the materials.\nIt seems that when the Nekorians first appeared, the Namtemorians were the first to make intelligent contact with them. Being simple and good-hearted creatures, they wanted to do everything they could to help. In return for their efforts, the Nekorians fiercely defend them and use their magic to encourage crop growth and the health of local herds. Unfortunately for the Namtemorians, they have become so dependant on this magic, they are unable to farm and herd without it.\nThe simple parts the Namtemorians create has become their primary industry. Through the years, the Nekorians have used their magic to assist in the construction as well, so that even this industry has become reliant on magic to function. The difference is that all part creators have to learn the \u0026lsquo;old ways\u0026rsquo; first in order to create these parts in the first place. In theory, they could create them without the Nekorians, but no one else have a use for them except as curiousities.\nThese parts are quite simple - a box, a drill, a two-spaded shovel with opposable motion, a wheel, a pole, and a rotational joint. With these parts, the Nekorians assemble themselves physically as a mechanical drill on wheels with two shovel \u0026lsquo;hands\u0026rsquo; and a few boxes towed behind to store the material. With magic and skill, these parts have become highly stylized. Each individual Nekorian adorns themselves with styles and colors to make them unique.\nRecently, the Nekorians have sought to look similar to the Namtemorians in order to interact with the rest of the world. Efforts to create these parts have not been entirely successful. The hands look okay, the heads look fine, though the mouth doesn\u0026rsquo;t move, as well as the torso. The issue seems to be in creating arms, legs, and feet.\nThis explains recent sighting of wheeled creatures with large pinchers, no arms, no legs, and stone faces.\nFor their part, the Namtemorians are content with their current arrangement and have no real desire to explore the world as their counterparts. Being small, squat humanoids, they are content to live aparts from the \u0026lsquo;giants\u0026rsquo; in surrounding areas. Humans and Ganarii are on guarded, but peaceful relations with the Namtemorians. The Ganarii seem to have better relations than anyone.\nThere are a cult of Ilosians that worship the Nekorians themselves. They use the simple parts as emblems on their clothes and have even fashioned a type of mace that looks like the drill. Outside of these Ilosians, a few humans, and the Ganarii, they have had no contact with other species.\n","date":"7 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-07-the-nekorem-namtemorem/","section":"Posts","summary":"Nekorian translates to “the magical ones” Namtemorian translates to “the mundane ones”\nNot taken seriously by even the most superstitous of scholars, the magical ones are the subject of stories to scare children in civilized lands. Most tales involve the Nekorians terrorizing villages by causing people’s own furniture to attack them. As such, many in the Hesberian Empire, if they think of them at all, describe them inaccurately as ghosts.\n","title":"The Nekorians \u0026 Namtemorians","type":"posts"},{"content":"I gave some thought to it earlier this week.\nOne of the things I actually like about the 40 Days campaign is the ministry fair. All the ministries talk about what they do, or would like to do, and encourage folks to get involved.\nAs coordinator of the teaching ministry, I am putting together some information for the booth in two weeks. Fortunately, there are plenty of things to do to get ready. It has kept me busy.\nSo I started with a simple question: what is teaching? There are more things I\u0026rsquo;ll share later, but for now, the definition is pretty straightforward.\nTeaching is giving knowledge, providing a skill, mentoring, and modeling. I truly believe that all of us have something we know, something we\u0026rsquo;re good at, someone we care about, and some set of principles that guide us.\nWhat do you think?\n","date":"6 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-06-what-is-teaching/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What is Teaching?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Updated the Blacklist2 file as of 10am on March 4, 2005 (this morning).\n","date":"4 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-04-blacklist-updated-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Blacklist updated again","type":"posts"},{"content":"Turns out that free and legal MP3s are becoming popular. So are podcasts, but that\u0026rsquo;s another story.\nI found a site that I like, but beware, it\u0026rsquo;s techno music.\nYou just don\u0026rsquo;t find a good blues site with MP3s, but there is a song that comes close from a group named Keiretsu called Farenheit 451\nhttp://www.knobtweakers.net/\n","date":"4 March 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-03-04-who-needs-the-riaa/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who needs the RIAA?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I watched a special on TV about the work of Dr. Vivien Thomas. I realize that parts of the story may have been dramatized for effect, but watching it has moved my heart and my mind in a direction that I want to explore.\nIt is no secret that I have no trust of all things ICC related and even less trust for those that purport themselves as teachers and advisors to the former congregations. I feel like some have taken advantage of a system that promoted co-dependency to elevate their own positions and attend to the comforts of themselves and their families. I believe that the time for any major change has come and gone with results that are quite underwhelming. I have looked up to a group of people that were long ignored or sidelined only to see them urge caution when action was demanded. I see and hear of injustice, nepotism, crony-ism, and financial mismanagement at the highest levels, and yet there is no one, not even me, that will take it on for more than a brief time. In short, I have hoped and dreamed for a day that I do not see coming soon.\nIn the movie, Dr. Thomas resigned when others were given credit for his accomplishments. He was right about the state of the US and the effects of segregation. He was right to expect a simple \u0026ldquo;thank you\u0026rdquo;. He was truly denied what he deserved on every side. So, for the sake of dignity, he resigned.\nThe next scene was at his father\u0026rsquo;s house. The family was talking about the rights and equality and all kinds of things. Upon reflection later, Dr. Thomas noted that something had changed about his brother and that he missed his brother. To the parents, it was a waste that he fought for the right to get equal pay as a teacher, only to resign from teaching a short time later. At the time, Dr. Thomas defended his brother remarking that good was done, but that his brother had to do what he loved to do.\nHis wife joined him in his quiet reflection and noted that she missed her husband, too. She encouraged him to do what he loved, but he responded that he couldn\u0026rsquo;t just go back in Johns Hopkins. It was then that he realized, that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t about Johns Hopkins, injustice, the state of racial relations, or the segregation that still existed at the time: it was about loving what he did.\nAll of this has struck my heart and mind with a similar thought. I love to teach. I have done it since I was a child. My mother called me \u0026lsquo;homework hotline\u0026rsquo; and encouraged me to spend time outside instead of spending it on the phone. I became a trainer at Kinko\u0026rsquo;s. I became a schoolteacher and spent almost two years trying to get a teaching license. I worked as a computer instructor for five years and recently worked on a Help Desk. I enjoyed all the teaching aspects of my jobs through the years. Recently, I have wanted to take a part-time job to bring in some extra money. The only job I considered was teaching non-credit courses at the local comunity college. My heart tells me that I should be teaching something, because it is what I enjoy. Unfortunately, I stopped teaching some time ago.\nI went to a meeting today with all the people that dared to form a ministry over a year ago. We had folks that formed prayer groups, encouragement groups, fitness groups, shepherding groups and all kinds of other ministries. They had all fizzled for one reason or another, but a chance to get others involved is coming shortly. The minister and others were energized at the thought that they could do what they love and inspire others to do the same.\nThat is, everyone except me.\nToday, I was tired. I had a talk with a friend today that included the subject of looking for a church to attend. I had all kinds of thoughts about a business partnership with a good friend. I also had thoughts about the irration of the 40 Days campaign and the embarassment that so many things trigger painful memories of the ICC. (I have been all over the US and even to Rome to talk to the folks I had issues with, doesn\u0026rsquo;t confronting the pain help it to heal?) I have worked really hard all weekend to do so much, but the website, the recording equipment, and other things I do for church seem to keep breaking. All of it together added up to feeling heartbroken and burned out. I just wanted to sleep.\nI think about the scene where Dr. Thomas goes back to John Hopkins and Dr. Blaylock informs him that nothing has changed. Dr. Thomas replied that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t about it wasn\u0026rsquo;t about him or the lack of change, it was simply that he enjoyed the work. Ecclesiastes 3:22 is still true, there truly is nothing better than to enjoy your work.\nAt the heart of the matter is this: I enjoy teaching and I have not been teaching for several months. At the Omaha Church of Christ, I have a chance to teach and I am serving as the head of the teaching ministry. It certainly isn\u0026rsquo;t because I am an organized man. It is because at the tale end of a meeting right before we were going home, I decided to say, \u0026ldquo;Why don\u0026rsquo;t we have a class on the book, Reading the Bible for All It\u0026rsquo;s Worth?\u0026rdquo; From that moment to this, I have been respected and honored for doing nothing more than following my heart.\nI am accustomed to demanding what it right and fighting for one cause or another. I am not accustomed to receiving honor and praise. Being in that situation now gives me a sense of humility and self-respect. I do not feel worthy of what I have been given. However, I do not feel ashamed because I am not the perfect example of what a teacher should be. Again, all I know is that I sorely miss having a small group of folks, a Bible, and a few stories to tell.\nSo I think about my past and a feeling that nothing will really change. I still believe that men with important positions are going unpunished. I still believe that our former leader needs medical attention. I still believe that peace is sought at the price of justice. Maybe I am guilty of this as well.\nWhat I know is that I have a chance to teach and that I enjoy the work. If I am offered a chance to teach elsewhere, I will. For now, though, I simply want to teach again and that is exactly what I plan to do.\n","date":"28 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-28-me-and-dr-thomas/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Me and Dr. Thomas","type":"posts"},{"content":"Again, using Jay Allen\u0026rsquo;s list and adding my own entries, it was updated Feb 21, at 3:28pm Central Time.\nAnd I\u0026rsquo;ve disabled trackbacks.\nAs I said before, I hate spam.\n","date":"21 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-21-blacklist2-updated/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Blacklist2 updated","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been trying to take advantage of my day off as a time to take care of the church website. Well, it appears that the folks at domainavenue.com are having more spam attacks.\nLovely.\nIn any case, I use a software called Xoops, but I\u0026rsquo;ve never gotten it to look like I want it. However, I found today another church website that uses Xoops and I decided to use what they have.\nI may not be around for awhile - I know some of my friends have been wondering what I think of 40 Days of Purpose. Short form: I still don\u0026rsquo;t like it because of the \u0026lsquo;marketing\u0026rsquo; feel, the completely awful exegesis, and what I took to be an emotional threat about evangelism (from Rick Warren, not anyone I know!) But I decided that I can\u0026rsquo;t really knock it until Day 41. Besides it is a resource from outside the ICC and it spends a lot of time focusing on things the ICC never focused on. We\u0026rsquo;ll see - tune in for day 41.\n","date":"21 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-21-church-website-and-day-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Church Website and Day 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"As an addition to what I posted about create a resource for handling different learning styles in a Christian context, I have a place to submit material.\nhttp://www.pinakidion.us/CWiki\nIt\u0026rsquo;s pretty intuitive to use, but I am still getting used to it myself.\nLet me know what you think\n","date":"18 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-18-christian-resource-wiki/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Christian Resource Wiki","type":"posts"},{"content":"I wrote a quick thought down the other day and then added to it after some questions from slaguod. I decided that instead of continuing to add on to one post that I would put the complete idea here and then have comments go back and forth.\nWhat I envision is a handbook that provides a wealth of resources to someone that wants to teach the Bible to someone else. There would be topical studies, word studies, book studies and thematic studies. There would be all kinds of How To\u0026rsquo;s. (How to meditate, How to pray, How to read the Bible, etc.) Maybe even a passable dictionary (what is Reformed Theology?).\nHowever, the first section I wanted to work on was a set of bible studies that teach someone How to Become a Christian. For the purposes of this How to, I want to use a lesson plan that helps a person think about all the different types of learners and how to make the material more accesible. For example, have pictures for those that learn visually. Have little role-playing scripts for those that understand by example.\nSound big? It is and it may never get finished. Sound like you can\u0026rsquo;t help? That\u0026rsquo;s not true. You don\u0026rsquo;t have to be someone with degrees in teaching to come up with this stuff. All you have to do is think of what helps you. That\u0026rsquo;s it. There are other people that can take an illustration and translate it into picutres, plays, theoretical proofs, etc.\nFor example, if you want to teach someone about God\u0026rsquo;s Love, you may use the parable of the persistent widow. Some people get it quickly because they learn best through stories. Some need a picture, so you may use a picture that makes you think of God\u0026rsquo;s love (or made someone else think of God\u0026rsquo;s love). Maybe you\u0026rsquo;ll use the same story, but reason through what is happening. I want to compile the different methods together in order to equip a person to use something meaningful to them and to the person they are teaching.\nFirst thing first, though. First thing is to get a set a Scriptures that speak for themselves about a topic. Once those are settled, then the other examples can be added in.\nFirst question: How do you explain the love of God to someone else? Feel free to use Scriptures and whatever illustration that you like.\n","date":"17 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-17-a-serious-teaching-tool/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Serious Teaching Tool","type":"posts"},{"content":"Some time ago, I posted 40 Theses with issues addressed by Henry Kriete in his letter, Honest to God. I asked if anything had changed, I mean really changed. A part of me would cringe when the answer would come back, \u0026ldquo;I don\u0026rsquo;t see scripture there, just opinions. Have you not read Romans 14:1?\u0026rdquo; It\u0026rsquo;s not a bad request at all to ask to see scriptures to back them up. It takes more time to explain it and work through it and that is what can be aggravating. However, the Bereans were praised for their noble character (Acts 17:11) in searching the scriptures - being accurate with the Bible is important!\nIt reminds me of an article I read thatasked, \u0026ldquo;Can we hold each other accountable with any degree of expediency if all our communication requires chapter, verse and cross-reference?\u0026rdquo; My response is, \u0026ldquo;where in the Bible does it say that God strives for expediency?\u0026rdquo; I read that we are to be patient with one another (Eph 4:2, 1 Thess 5:14). There are reasons that we should be \u0026lsquo;slow to speak\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;quick to listen\u0026rsquo; (James 1:19). One of them is that we should speak with reverence as if we were speaking the words of God (1 Peter 4:11).\nSo, largely based on a list used in Los Angelos, here are twenty-six questions:\nDo we live as if the ICoC is the One True Church (improper study and usage between the ICOC as an organization and the universal church) (Luke 17:20-19) (Mark 9:38-41)\nAre we going to acknowledge doctrines where we twisted the Scriptures in order to be unique or \u0026lsquo;more radical\u0026rsquo; than other churches? (2nd Peter 3:14-18)\nWill we honestly address the situations that happened in Indianapolis and Milan? (Romans 16:17-18) (3rd John 1:9-10)\nWill we continue to ask members to be unified as the answer to asking questions about church issues? (Acts 17:10-11)\nWill leaders still demand respect and trust instead of earn it? (Proverbs 10:9)\nWill the pulpit still be used to demonize those that ask questions? (3rd John 9-10)\nWill we address the deeper issues of heirarchal command or will we revert back to it? (John 13:12-17) (Luke 20: 5-47)\nDo we still believe that all members must be \u0026lsquo;discipled\u0026rsquo; by someone after they become Christians? (Acts 8: 26-40)\nWill our leadership continue to live in the best neighborhoods and earn disproportionate salaries compared to the members? (1st Corinthians 5:11) (Luke 12:15)\nWill we ignore the one to minister to the ninety-nine? (Luke 15: 1-7)\nWill we continue to worship each other instead of God? (Hosea 4:5-14)\nM. Self anointing (Jeremiah 23: 16-32)\nWill we acknowledge and unteach our doctrinal errors? (Ezekiel 34: 1-24)\nWill we continue to minimize the sins of the leadership? Will we continue to minimize the sins of other members? (3rd John 9-10)\nP. God’s Modern Day Movement=God’s Modern Day Pharisees (Philippians 3:1-11)\nWill we baptize people according to when it will \u0026rsquo;encourage the church\u0026rsquo; instead of when a person wants to be saved? (Acts 11: 15-17)\nWill we continue to withhold restoring someone to membership because they do not appear to be \u0026lsquo;broken\u0026rsquo;? (1st Corinthians 3:6-7) (2nd Corinthians 2:5-11)\nWill we expect maturity among church members? (Hosea 4:5-14)\nWill we continue to condemn other denominations without knowledge? (James 4:11-12)\nWill we continue to value some spiritual gifts (like leadership, or singing ability) above others (like serving, helping, or encouraging)? (Ephesians 4:30) (1st Thessalonians 5:19)\nWill we ever promote sound exegesis as a model for all members? (Proverbs 1:23)\nWill there continue to be different standards of repentance depending on position in leadership? (Luke 12:41-48)\nWill elders ever be publicly rebuked? (1st Timothy 5: 17-20)\nZ. Fear of men instead of fearing The Lord (John 9: 20-23)\n","date":"15 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-15-issues-w-scripture/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"26 questions","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about the Study Series again and I wanted to find a way to use this lesson plan to create the studies. It looks scary to me sometimes, but I think it would be good to have a comprehensive study tool to take advantage of a person\u0026rsquo;s learning style.\nThe drawback is that an individual would think that they could never lead a study with someone else. It might be too much information. Then again, I just want to make it available, not mandate that it all has to be used.\nNow this would require a huge group effort to pull off, but I have no problem creating space to post the results here. Anyone up for it?\n**Added after comment**\nThe idea behind the outline is to address the needs of different types of learners. It comes from my background as a systems trainer and school teacher. There are different things that \u0026lsquo;click\u0026rsquo; with people when processing information.\nFor example, some people understand reasoning through others understand pictures. I envision something like:\nIf your friend seems to enjoy pictures and art, use the following visual image to explain the love of God. Try to reason through the scriptures, if your friend doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem to understand you, don\u0026rsquo;t get frustrated, try acting out the following scene:\u0026hellip;\nI want to create a REAL teaching tool that has learning theory and good teaching practice behind it.\nJust my .02\n","date":"15 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-15-a-study-series-revisited/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Study Series, Revisited","type":"posts"},{"content":"I do not like it in the light, I do not like it late at night I do not like it slight or trite, I do not want it on my site.\n(Apologies to Dr. Seuss)\nIf you have the MT-Blacklist plugin, I have a copy of my blacklist at\nwww.pinakidion.us/comment_spam/blacklist2.txt\nI use the WordPress version of this plugin available from Farook I have 123 more entries than the main list, but I may have some redundancies.\n","date":"15 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-15-i-do-not-like-bad-links-and-spam/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I do not like Bad Links and Spam","type":"posts"},{"content":"From the column Greek Thoughts on studylight.org: www.studylight.org/col/gt/\nNOUS - mind, thought, understanding, spiritual perception - PART 1 In this series, we have studied three words describing the thinking processes of the Christian mind. The frequent use of these words and the important teachings embodied within them give insight into an aspect of life in which the Lord works when one is born of the Spirit of God. We understand that once a person has received Christ, his spirit is filled with the Spirit of Christ and is sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). This new Christian begins to grow through the inward working of God\u0026rsquo;s indwelling Spirit. By now, we also understand that this growth process takes place in the arena of the mind. To further our understanding of the Christian maturation process, we are going to start a series of studies on the word nouÙv (Strong\u0026rsquo;s #3563) which refers specifically to the ability and capacity of perception. In Romans 12:1-2Paul presents the way a Christian is to function after being saved and the process that a believer goes through to reach the stage of maturity wherein he is able to perceive the way of the Lord.\nRomans 12:1-2: Literal Translation\nTherefore I encourage you, brothers, through the mercies of God, that you should present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasoning-process service.\nAnd do not be continually fashioned with this age, but be continually transformed through the renewing of your mind (nouÙv), so that you might prove what is the will of God which is good and well pleasing, and complete.\n\\[Technical Notes: Verse 1: the literal translation of parasthÙsai, the infinitive of purpose, is naÈ parasth/shte, \"that you should present.\" The antecedent of the implied hìtiv eiänai (which is) is qusi/an, sacrifice. LogikhÈn is variously translated \"reasonable\" or \"spiritual.\" Its literal meaning is \"the reasoning process.\" Verse 2: Two present (continuous) imperatives (commands) express two simultaneous processes in which a believer is to be involved. The first command, mh/ susxhmati/zesqe, expresses what the believer is not to be participating with. The compound word \"susxhmati/zesqe\" is made up of the preposition su/n, meaning \"with\" (not \"by\"), and sxhmati/zw, meaning \"to be fashioned\" or \"shaped.\" The second command is from the verb metamorfo/w which is made up of the preposition meta/, used in compound words denoting transition, and morfo/w, \"to change form,\" or \"to transform.\" The instrumental dative thöÙ aÃŒnakainw/sei, expressing the means by which the transformation is to take place, is translated by diaÈ thÙv aÃŒnakaini/sewv, \"through the renewing...\" The purpose clause of the preposition with the articular infinitive eiÃŒv toÈ dokima/zein, is translated naÈ dokima/zhte, \"that you might prove.\" The second article to/ in the long form of the attributive position is translated by pou ei/nai, \"which is\".\\]Paul begins Romans 12:1 by encouraging believers to respond to the Lord\u0026rsquo;s mercy and provision by voluntarily presenting their lives as living sacrifices to the Lord. At the end of verse 1, Paul explains what he means by a living sacrifice: the believer is to reason issues out and make decisions in obedience to the Lord and His will. In verse 2, Paul explains how we are to arrive at the place where we have the ability to know what the Lord\u0026rsquo;s will is.\nAt the beginning of verse 2, Paul uses two present passive imperative verbs to express that a believer is to be obeying two commands continuously and simultaneously. The first command expresses what the follower of Christ is not to do. He is not to be continuously fashioned and shaped (susxhmati/zw Strong\u0026rsquo;s #4964) with the age in which he lives. This compound verb describes a forming and shaping of one\u0026rsquo;s person – his attitude, speech, and the way he dresses - from the outward influences of the age in which he lives. The second command, metamorfo/w (Strong\u0026rsquo;s #3339), denotes an inward transformation. Both of these commands are in the passive voice indicating that the believer is the recipient of the action. Therefore, Paul is teaching that the believer is to continually resist being shaped and formed with this age, while he is simultaneously and continually in the process of being transformed by the indwelling Spirit of God.\nPaul also indicates in verse 2 the agent or instrument through which the believer is transformed –the renewing of the mind. The word for mind is nouÙv (Strong\u0026rsquo;s #3563), the focus of our study. A believer is to have the perceptive ability of his mind renewed, in order to be able to prove what God\u0026rsquo;s will is. The word for \u0026ldquo;prove\u0026rdquo; is dokima/zw (Strong\u0026rsquo;s #1381) which means to prove something is genuine by putting it to the test.\nIn summary, Paul is teaching in Romans 12:1-2 that after a person has received Christ, he is to submit to God\u0026rsquo;s process of transforming his mind (his ability to spiritually perceive) so that he can test various thoughts and prove what the will of the Lord is. As a living sacrifice, the believer serves the Lord from out of his reasoning process, which is being matured to enable him, both to perceive and to obey the Lord. This is the highest form of worship (see John 4:24).\nOur next study will be taken from Ephesians 4:23 where Paul again teaches about the renewing of the mind.\nWritten by by Bill Klein for the week of Feb 14 - Feb 19.\nCopyright Statement: \u0026lsquo;Greek Thoughts\u0026rsquo; Copyright 2005 © Bill Klein. \u0026rsquo;\u0026rsquo; articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each article, along with a link to www.studylight.org/col/gt/ 2) \u0026lsquo;Greek Thoughts\u0026rsquo; content may not be arranged or \u0026ldquo;mirrored\u0026rdquo; as a competitive online service.\n","date":"15 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-15-word-study-about-the-mind/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Word Study about the Mind","type":"posts"},{"content":"Ted Kooser is our country\u0026rsquo;s 13th poet laureate. In typical midwestern demeanor, he has regarded this honor as the reason he no longer publishes poetry. He lamented last night that even the worst of his poetry would be published.\nHe is the first native of the Great Plains to be appointed and I believe that to be a good thing. The East Coast can sometimes become consumed with being too sophisticated (my poetry demonstrates this very well). I am not qualified enough to generalize the other coast\u0026rsquo;s poetry, though I imagine it to be pretenious by comparison.\nTed said last night that his poem generally take a simple object and uses only one metaphor. You can read some samples here. Like all good poets, he can evoke emotions ranging from bemusement to sadness. Unlike others I have read, he does this without describing his feelings at all. I especially liked two poems last night. One was called Urine Sample, a humourous look at going to the doctor and another about telling his mother\u0026rsquo;s cousin, Vera, about his mother\u0026rsquo;s passing. I wish I could remember the title of the latter. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to say too much about the former because describing it would basically ruin it. The latter, however, is long enough that I can mention a cetral image that doesn\u0026rsquo;t spoil enjoying it.\nBasically, Vera is seeing people that she knows are not there. She is 91 and in poor health, but otherwise mentally sound. These people are going through the house cataloging her things. I thought it was an odd image, but apparently it is a common ocurence. Ted\u0026rsquo;s friend, a psychologist in NY said that Vera was not psychotic because she knew that they weren\u0026rsquo;t real. The psychologist said that it frequently happens among the elderly that are close to death - the phantoms seem to somehow prepare them for it. In any case, it was something to think about.\nTed believes that poetry has been ruined by schools that used dense poems where the teacher had the only right intepretation. To get people interested in poetry, he encourages sharing more accessible poems. I get the sense that he believes it should be a part of life, but not the center of life. It\u0026rsquo;s a sentiment that I share, though I am not in a position to promote poetry beyond my circle of friends and they already love poetry.\nAnywho, just wanted to ramble a bit about that. I neglect my writing sometimes - not in the sense of essays, but in poetry and stories. It feels good to think about poetry again.\n","date":"9 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-09-hearing-the-poet-laureate/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hearing the Poet Laureate","type":"posts"},{"content":"This weekend began with a memorial service for someone I cared about greatly. I had not known him for very long, but he was a person that helped me and even my marriage on occasion. He loved the study of the Bible and could put his thoughts into words very well. I wish that he had blogged his bible studies, I would love to have them in soft copy form.\nHe worked as a chaplain at a truck stop here in town. He was part of the Transport for Christ organization that made it happen. He used to knock on trucker\u0026rsquo;s doors on Sunday morning just to let them know that a service was going on if they wanted to join in. Some truckers did not appreciate being awakened, some really did. I think about the impact he had on others and it amazes me.\nAs a part of his memorial service, I heard about his conversion from the person that baptized him. I met Harold and spoke to him briefly. He is sending me the study series he used. I also heard about his wife\u0026rsquo;s conversion and the prayers for his children. His oldest is a little younger than me - I had met him once before. He played a violin solo for his father to his memory.\nThe last part of the service was the communion service he gave on September 26. At that point, he knew that things were looking grim. I spoke to him afterwards and he confided in me some hopes for his family. Having met them again, I believe that most of them have been realized. It\u0026rsquo;s not because of me at all - it\u0026rsquo;s because of the families that welcomed he and his wife with open arms and visited him. Sadly, I never made it to his home.\nJoel pulled me aside and told me that I had helped him feel a part of the church in a big way. I cried when I heard it, mostly because I do not believe it entirely. I cried a lot on Saturday, but it was a very good thing. I believe that he is awaiting the resurrection, like me, but that in the meantime, he is in a good place. As Harold and other family members have shared, we imagine that he is asking a lot of questions and really excited to know the answers.\nIf you read blogs from where you are, TJ, look up my friend Malcolm Ryan. He\u0026rsquo;s around there somewhere either playing a sax or playing spades.\n","date":"7 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-07-catharsis/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Catharsis","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Douglas/Sarpy County Colon Cancer Task Force has found a way to bring an interactive exhibit to raise awareness of colorectal cancer: The Colossial Colon. You have to scroll down to Feburary 10 after following this link.\nFrom the description:\nThe \u0026ldquo;Colossial Colon\u0026rdquo;, a 40 foot long crawl through replica, will make its first appearance in Omaha at the Westroads Mall\nThe radio report mentions sections demonstrating healthy tissue and cancerous tissue.\nThere was something else going on in local news today, but I can\u0026rsquo;t seem to remember what it is. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that it will come to me eventually.\n","date":"4 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-04-in-local-news/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"In Local News","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;To not want to be a leader is to not want to help other people: that\u0026rsquo;s selfish. That\u0026rsquo;s pretty selfish.\u0026rdquo; - Quote\nTitus 1:5 Later came a section about how things could be worked out if there were \u0026lsquo;overseeing evangelists\u0026rsquo; to straighten things out. The solution was to have someone with \u0026lsquo;some authority\u0026rsquo; to help out.\nStory about family vacation to Hanoi\u0026hellip;\nA story was told about some church that used to be large, but now is small. The caller pleaded for help saying that no one would help them - but he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t give the name.\nA story was told about how Ron Drabot in Charlotte feels powerless. personal note: I hope that Ron talked to the elders about this, otherwise, he is breaking his own standard of openness.\nVisions of replanting churches were mentioned and stated directly.\nA call was made to be more radical than the \u0026ldquo;Buddhists and the Muslims\u0026rdquo;.\nAnother call was made to rededicate yourself to be a mighty man or woman of God. (Good point)\n","date":"4 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-04-notes-from-a-sermon-in-another-city/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Notes on a Sermon from Another City","type":"posts"},{"content":"A good idea.\nBasically, Poetry is response to Science. How cool is that.\nhttp://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=4573\n","date":"1 February 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-02-01-elevation-of-poetry/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Elevation of Poetry","type":"posts"},{"content":"Someone I respect a great deal lost his battle with cancer on Saturday night. I know that his family is having a hard time of it, especially his father. I pray that they were able to work it out.\nI am grieving and I am quite low. I internalize all my emotions physically, even after talking and sharing and crying with so many people. Like everything else, I just need to think about it and I\u0026rsquo;ll be okay. Until I\u0026rsquo;m okay, I just going to try to do my job at work today.\n","date":"31 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-31-a-time-to-grieve/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Time to Grieve","type":"posts"},{"content":"Dr. Wolfram has done a great job presenting the probabilities of getting a certain sum from rolling a given set of S-sided dice. Those that know me know that sometimes I use math to fall asleep at night. More often that not, though, it ends up keeping me awake for a few days until I solve a certain problem.\nThe problem I had with Dr. Wolfram\u0026rsquo;s presentation was a notation I\u0026rsquo;d never seen and was not contained in any of my books at home. It\u0026rsquo;s a visual thing with no way to notate it on the blog. Suffice it to say that I finally got it figured out and translated it into a spreadsheet.\nUnfortunately, the only copy is not on this computer, so it will be a while before I post it. Interesting, though, to think about the probabilities of rolling three six-sided dice versus the probabilities of rolling one twenty-sided die. In the former, you have thinks that range in probability from 1 in 216 (rolling a 3 or an 18) to 1 in 8 (rolling a 10 or an 11). In the latter, all numbers are 1 in 20. In the former, graphing the results creates a curve, in the latter, it\u0026rsquo;s a straight line.\nI love these things because it gets me to thinking about how we as humans define random. It appears that many so-called _random_things in life resemble curves rather than striaght lines. These curves have certain outcomes that are far more likely than others.\nRemember that in a random situation the least likely outcome is the most special. It\u0026rsquo;s also the one I want to go for. I\u0026rsquo;ll either be really succesful (roll an 18) or really fail (roll a 3). But I certainly won\u0026rsquo;t come up with the common 10s and 11s. :)\n","date":"29 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-29-probabilities-and-dice-sums/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Probabilities and Dice Sums","type":"posts"},{"content":"A quick note before I start - please do not call Gordon Ferguson and tell him I\u0026rsquo;m criticizing his papers again. I read the phrase in his latest work, but I\u0026rsquo;ve also heard it in commentary about various political and social issues. As far as his paper on the teamwork of leadership, I agree with him. To those of us that did not grow up Church of Christ, it may seem quite obvious, but what he writes needed to be shared. As far as the phrase vocal minority, I did a little research, thought about it for awhile, and this the result.\nTwo Sides of the Same Coin It was Nixon who first spoke of the silent majority on November 3, 1969. In discussing a nation that was deeply divided about Vietnam, he remarked:\nThe more support I can have from the American people, the sooner that pledge can be redeemed; for the more divided we are at home, the less likely the enemy is to negotiate at Paris.\nLet us be united for peace. Let us also be united against defeat. Because let us understand: North Vietnam cannot defeat or humiliate the United States. Only Americans can do that.\nThere is no doubt that Nixon was interested in getting the US out of Vietnam as soon as possible, he had campaigned on it. However, the message to war protesters was pretty clear - Be Quiet, Get in Line, Get Behind the Program. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that he thought that after four years of dissent, a little quiet at home would go a long way to end the war. However, it is also implies that dissent is unpatriotic and even un-American. A true American would get behind the war and help the president finish something that his predecessors were somehow unable to finish. Again, I believe the implied message was, \u0026ldquo;There is no place for dissent right now\u0026rdquo;.\nThe opposite side of the coin has been invoked in recent days - political commentators are doing the same thing, but less passively. Instead of appealing to the silent majority, they belittle the \u0026lsquo;vocal minority\u0026rsquo;. This so-called minority is characterized as unpatriotic and even un-American. Not because they are against the war, but because somehow they are construed to be \u0026ldquo;against the troops\u0026rdquo;. Criticism of the war is blamed on \u0026rsquo;lowering the morale\u0026rsquo; of US soldiers who are only doing their job. The message is as equally clear now as it was over 35 years ago - there is no place for dissent.\nVery few have called on the silent majority with the exception of Dr. Jerry Falwell. He presumed that they were moral and silent. In the group\u0026rsquo;s second incarnation, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that this will be demonstrated over and over. After nosing around, it seems that many more people since 1969 have invoked the other of these groups to serve their ends. I found only one non-pejorative use of \u0026lsquo;vocal minority\u0026rsquo; - the name of an acapella group at Villinova. In the remainder of the times in which is was used, it was an attack on the voices of dissent.\nCharacteristics of the Vocal Minority Reading various attacks on vocal minorities, they fall into the same general description:\nThey are generally not well informed or lack a certain perspective. They have not given much thought to their actions. They are reactionary. They are very few in number. They are loud. They are obnoxious. They are unprincipled. They have usually been stirred up by one person. This vocal minority sounds like a pretty bad crowd. But as far as trying to get any kind of demographic information on them, I had no luck. It seems that sometimes the vocal minority is made up of liberal Catholics, other times, they are made up of conservative Muslims. Most of the time they are Democrats, but sometimes, they are Republicans. And sometimes, they are made up of those pesky physiologists that just cannot believe that sodium and potassium are actively transported across cell membranes.\nThose meddlesome physiologists - always trouble.\nAfter looking into it some more, I realized that the vocal minority really has only one characteristic - they are inconvenient. For some reason, a small group of people exists to speak out for a cause and they resist most efforts to go away. I am sure that there are times when this is nothing but hubris or good old fashioned hard-headedness, but I am not willing to believe that this is always true. Some of these vocal minorities have changed the world in good ways.\n","date":"28 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-28-the-vocal-minority/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Vocal Minority - DRAFT3","type":"posts"},{"content":"Mark Arsenault of Gold Rush Games has taken a second job to help pay the bills according to his most recent note.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure that a few fans were sad to hear that SPACR was turning into back-burner material.\nI thought about volunteering to finish it for him as I am about to finish a magic system for the Action! System(TM), but thought against it. It would require a lot of legal stuff, especially because he can\u0026rsquo;t pay anyone to do it.\nsigh.\nIn any case, the Action! System(TM) is what I consider to be a very good system. It is the only other OGL gaming product out there. I hope that it can become successful. It is the gaming engine that will drive the playable version of my fantasy world, assuming that I ever finish creating it and writing the novels to go along with it.\nNow where is that 1000 page manuscript\u0026hellip;\n","date":"27 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-27-slow-going/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Slow Going","type":"posts"},{"content":"Thoreau cried out, \u0026ldquo;Simplify! Simplify!\u0026rdquo;\nTaking this sentiment to heart, I hope to clean up the categories so that they are more broad. I want to do this because the list on the right hand side just appears odd to me. I wanted subcategories to be really detailed, but posting requires me to scroll quite a bit just for the category, so it needs to go. I\u0026rsquo;d like something along the lines of Doug\u0026rsquo;s site and have categories like:\nLife and Merriment Love and Marriage Church and More Church God and King Peas and Carrots\n\u0026hellip;but I digress.\nUntil such a utopian state can be acheived, I\u0026rsquo;ll have to settle for just cleaning up the links. I still link to the Cluetrain Manifesto and I returned the link to John Engler\u0026rsquo;s site, the Barnabas Ministry.\nOtherwise, maybe some commentary later - Gordon Ferguson released an essay today that is pretty interesting. On the whole, I like it, though I must confess that I have no sympathy for \u0026rsquo;leaders\u0026rsquo; being put in a tough spot. Welcome to what being a minister has traditionally been for every other minister: the best and worst job you could possibly have. I speak as a leader here - scrunity from any source is welcome. I may not agree with it, but I won\u0026rsquo;t complain about the amount of scrunity I get.\nI digress again - it is a pretty good article.\nLast thing I want to mention is my perchant to write drafts. Those that read fairly often probably notice that I will edit the same story over and over. I intend to edit \u0026ldquo;Business Driven Church\u0026rdquo; one more time and edit \u0026ldquo;Stepping Stones\u0026rdquo; for clarification. If I intended a draft, it will say \u0026ldquo;DRAFT\u0026rdquo; at the end. Otherwise, I may just revise. Me and Poe have that obsessive editing thing in common.\nI used to post each draft, but I don\u0026rsquo;t want to do that anymore, it is much easier the other way and has yielded better articles.\nOne more, then I\u0026rsquo;m done for today.\n","date":"27 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-27-the-great-simplification-project/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Great Simplification Project","type":"posts"},{"content":"Throughout my life, I have been able to rely on three Scriptures that get me thinking in the right direction, regardless of the problems or issues I may be facing:\n1 Corinthians 10:13 - I will not be given more than I can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13 - There is always a way out. Colossians 3:1-2 - Set my mind and heart on things above. Romans 5:10 - When I was God\u0026rsquo;s enemy, he reached out to me.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve called them stepping stones and likened them to a stone path that leads me out of trouble. No trouble or circumstance has yet to rock this steady path. For this, I am quite grateful.\nDuring the retreat, I started thinking - I have a path out, but can a similar path be found that leads up?\nI want to explore the deeper waters of Christianity, but which Scriptures will always push me back out when I become more worldly? Hmmm. Something worth investigating\u0026hellip;\n","date":"24 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-24-stepping-stones/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stepping Stones","type":"posts"},{"content":"I went to my church\u0026rsquo;s Men\u0026rsquo;s Retreat this weekend. The Aldersgate Retreat center is run by the United Methodist Church in Villisca, Iowa. The advantage of it is that they provide food and shelter for up to 64 people and it is only a little over an hour away. That allows us to spend Saturday night and still attend church of Sunday.\nAlthough the theme was a good one, it was pointed out that if you had come to the retreat with your own agenda, feel free to do so. My agenda was pretty straightforward: Be Still and Know that He is God. All I wanted to do is find a place that was far away from anyone to pray, meditate and sing. Little did I know what the weather had in store for all of us.\nI was glad to hear a brief lesson on meditation Saturday morning. Joel requested that everyone to try and sit still for 20 minutes and just listen. It amazes me how hard this is to do. Thanks to the declared two hours of silence in our cabin, this was easier for most folks. It certainly helped me when I got back from my outside adventure.\nNow I had gone out Friday night to pray. The wind was blowing pretty hard, but the wind chill was still a little above zero. The main focus of my prayer was to stop seeing myself as the underdog in my day to day life. It was intense and the noise of the wind kept others from hearing my shouting.\nAll in all, very good time spent.\nHowever, come Saturday, the tempature dropped to the single digits. This would have been fine except for the increased winds from last night. We now had windchills in the thirty and forty below zero region. Most people with some sense of sanity look at this and ponder their options:\nOption 1: Stay inside, enjoy all manner of coffees and hot teas. Option 2: Venture out as far as my car and sit in my car. Option 3: Venture outside and freeze the remaining braincell into silence.\nI think it\u0026rsquo;s safe to say that Option 1 is the sane and normal choice of most people.\nThere were a few folks that chose Option 2 due to the number of folks that chose Option 1. The cabins was a bit crowded with 32 guys trying to find \u0026lsquo;personal space\u0026rsquo; in the cabin. I know this because I was one of maybe three or four that chose Option 3; I saw the Option 2 guys running to their cars.\nReady to tackle the frozen wasteland around our cabin, I hiked off about a tenth of a mile until I found the creek that runs on the southern edge of the campground. The advantage of the creek is its deep banks. Once I got there, I could get out of the wind. Although climbing down was a bit scary, I got down with no trouble.\nOnce there, I unpacked the tote bag I was carrying and proceeded to mummify myself in bath towels. I have to admit that the Hitchhiker\u0026rsquo;s Guide is correct, don\u0026rsquo;t leave home without a towel. I then sat in the tote bag containing note pads. The tote bag was waterproof and the notepads were between my behind and the ten below zero soil. You really think someone is going to write notes with an a regular inkpen in forty below zero wind chills? If so, you have more spirituality or fewer brain cells than I do. After reading Thomas\u0026rsquo;s latest, I am more apt to believe the latter.\nOnce I realized that I actually brought enough clothes and layers to stay warm and that I was shielded from all the wind by a river bank, I relaxed and just listened:\nA bald eagle cried as he soared over the trees. I heard some deer run in the woods behind me. It turned out to be three deer, a buck, a doe, and a younger one. I didn\u0026rsquo;t see the rack of the buck, but he was larger than any deer I had seen back east.\nI heard the wind howl at me in vain. I even heard another person in search of solitude. I later found out that he was many hundreds of yards away.\nIn between these wonderful things was a silence. I sat still to listen to God. Like Elijah, I have discovered that He seems to prefer talking in whispers. I was hoping to hear, \u0026ldquo;Why do you kick so hard against the goads?\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;The fight is not over and I will harden your forehead like flint.\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;I love you.\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;Good job, take a rest.\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;You are on the right track.\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;You are on the wrong track.\u0026rdquo; or a host of other things my heart wanted to hear.\nInstead, I heard, \u0026ldquo;Come closer.\u0026rdquo;\nI do not know if the wind died, but I did not hear it after that. I shuffled my feet a bit as my ankles got cold. I started to sing songs I knew because I hoped that it would bring me closer. I started to pray to let go of so many things. I stared at the frozen creek and thought about the water under the surface.\nNothing.\nI took a deep breath and sang a different song. One that I had sung only once before and had not sung since. I sang it before on the trip back from Des Moines. Leaders from my church met with leaders of a church there and although we had a good time, it was obvious that this other church was dissolving. One of the founding members wept aloud as he realized that it was slipping away. I promised to write, he never wrote back.\nAnd so I sang for God to grant me peace because I am troubled. I sang for God to show me grace because I have sinned. I sang for God to give me joy because I am so sad. I sang for God to show me hope because so much has been lost. I sang for God to show me love because I am in pain.\nAnd I openly wept - just me and my God. In the midst of the storm, He held me close.\nBecause of the connection with Des Moines, I knew that it had nothing to do with my present circumstances. It really didn\u0026rsquo;t have much to do with my church. It was the destruction of so many lives of people I knew. It was the bitterness of injustice. It was suvivor\u0026rsquo;s guilt - why had I landed in a safe place when there was (and continues to be) no visible safe place for my friends? Why are so many that were responsible immune to hardship or discipline? Why are evil men prospering by doing the same things all over again? When will it finally come to an end and justice prevail?\nAnd just like that, a big knot in my back untangled and the lines of my forehead relaxed. The wind returned and my ankles felt cold again, but the numbness had spread to my toes. It was time to go, but I was not upset. I had finally been able to put into words what I have been feeling for so many years.\nAs I walked back to the cabin, I pondered the sayings in Proverbs 16 and took heart:\nThe LORD works out everything for his own ends-\neven the wicked for a day of disaster.\n","date":"24 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-24-this-weekend-past-draft/","section":"Posts","summary":"I went to my church’s Men’s Retreat this weekend. The Aldersgate Retreat center is run by the United Methodist Church in Villisca, Iowa. The advantage of it is that they provide food and shelter for up to 64 people and it is only a little over an hour away. That allows us to spend Saturday night and still attend church of Sunday.\nAlthough the theme was a good one, it was pointed out that if you had come to the retreat with your own agenda, feel free to do so. My agenda was pretty straightforward: Be Still and Know that He is God. All I wanted to do is find a place that was far away from anyone to pray, meditate and sing. Little did I know what the weather had in store for all of us.\nI was glad to hear a brief lesson on meditation Saturday morning. Joel requested that everyone to try and sit still for 20 minutes and just listen. It amazes me how hard this is to do. Thanks to the declared two hours of silence in our cabin, this was easier for most folks. It certainly helped me when I got back from my outside adventure.\nNow I had gone out Friday night to pray. The wind was blowing pretty hard, but the wind chill was still a little above zero. The main focus of my prayer was to stop seeing myself as the underdog in my day to day life. It was intense and the noise of the wind kept others from hearing my shouting.\nAll in all, very good time spent.\nHowever, come Saturday, the tempature dropped to the single digits. This would have been fine except for the increased winds from last night. We now had windchills in the thirty and forty below zero region. Most people with some sense of sanity look at this and ponder their options:\nOption 1: Stay inside, enjoy all manner of coffees and hot teas. Option 2: Venture out as far as my car and sit in my car. Option 3: Venture outside and freeze the remaining braincell into silence.\nI think it’s safe to say that Option 1 is the sane and normal choice of most people.\nThere were a few folks that chose Option 2 due to the number of folks that chose Option 1. The cabins was a bit crowded with 32 guys trying to find ‘personal space’ in the cabin. I know this because I was one of maybe three or four that chose Option 3; I saw the Option 2 guys running to their cars.\n","title":"This Weekend Past","type":"posts"},{"content":"I finally fixed the comments issue. I simply had to delete my entire blacklist of ip address and email addresses and re-import them.\nAh, the wonder of databases.\nJust wanted folks to know that commenting is now quite error free.\n","date":"24 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-24-yay/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"YAY!!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Introduction I\u0026rsquo;ve been thinking about Portland, lately. A lot of critics are waiting for the Postmodern Day Movement of God(R) to implode, but it\u0026rsquo;s doing the exact opposite. Granted, the way that numbers are being kept may be suspect, the fact is that the Portland International Church of Christ is growing fairly quickly, as far as can be told by outside observers. For the sake of argument, I\u0026rsquo;m going to say that Thomas\u0026rsquo;s reporting of his church\u0026rsquo;s growth is accurate. Keep in mind that I\u0026rsquo;m talking about the numbers, not the causes.\nWhy is this happening? What draws so many people to this church?\nLooking at some new members\u0026rsquo; comments, they seem to mention some common elements: energy, growth, commitment, vision, and family. These aren\u0026rsquo;t bad things, in fact, most churches I\u0026rsquo;ve been to would love to have energy and growth. Are these valid reasons for being a part of any church, not just Portland? I\u0026rsquo;ll concede that these are desirable traits in any church, but I do not believe that any of these are valid for placing membership in a church. These things make the gospel attractive and naturally inviting, but these are not reasons. I can go to other places to find these things. Had I been alive at the time, I could\u0026rsquo;ve gone to Woodstock. Stated in terms of churches, though, I can find all these things in the Toronto Blessing, the Latter-Day Saints, Saddleback, the UBF and various other churches.\nI went looking around to other places for reasons to join a church and I found a raft of possible answers including: accountability, fellowship, a place to use your gifts, and a place to share with like-minded believers. Again, there are other places for this: these are all reasons that the Marines give for enlisting. As far as churches go, then I can still be a part of LDS, Saddleback, the UBF, the Promise Keepers, etc.\nLet me take a step back to prevent a big assumption. Jesus said, \u0026ldquo;Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.\u0026rdquo; The pure in heart will see God in a variety of places. There is not just one place to find God, his people, or proper training in doctrine. My point is that any reason for going to church should be to point to faith in God and obedience to His word, not to some great feeling or modern sensibility.\nThe Great Feeling Ask a member of the Latter-Day-Saints why they became a Christian. (Suspend your judgment of their salvation for a moment.) Nearly all of them will tell you about meditating and feeling a \u0026lsquo;burning\u0026rsquo; in the heart. Whenever any trial besets them in the \u0026lsquo;mission field\u0026rsquo;, they think back to this burning in their heart and take comfort. Whenever they are confronted with Scriptures that contradict Doctrines and Covenants, then this feeling will come back. They are thinking something like this:\nHow can God contradict this feeling he gave me? D\u0026amp;C must be correct because it is as a part of this church where I had the \u0026lsquo;burning\u0026rsquo; feeling. He told me to be here in my heart, so whatever difficulty there is can be worked out somehow.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t want to pick on them, but only illustrate a point. LDS members aren\u0026rsquo;t the only ones like this. When a feeling is the basis of church membership, the church can do no wrong. A church can vote out the book of James, but some members don\u0026rsquo;t see the danger in that because they have felt \u0026ldquo;God\u0026rsquo;s presence\u0026rdquo; their entire lives in this church.\nHow can God contradict this feeling he gave me? Voting out Scripture must be ok because \u0026ldquo;God is with me in this church\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s this church where I had the first found God\u0026rsquo;s presence and felt him close to me. He told me to be here in my heart, so whatever difficulty there is can be worked out somehow.\nI feel for folks that rely solely on a feeling, there is little ability to search God\u0026rsquo;s will because He has been removed from the picture. Seriously, if a feeling is the sole basis of membership, what can God or anyone say or do?\nNow I am not saying feelings are evil or that feeling God\u0026rsquo;s presence is wrong. I feel God\u0026rsquo;s presence and enjoy it. It is a great comfort to me. The key is that the feeling of his presence or the \u0026lsquo;burning\u0026rsquo; of the heart has to be tied to God, not a group of people. People come and go, movements rise and fall, it is God who is the Rock of Ages. He is the permanent one, steadfast and true.\nConsider Psalm 18. David expresses many feelings that we all share. He wants to feel secure and safe. He wants to know that God is with him and on his side. When he cries out to God, God demonstrates all these things and more. The point is that God is the center of our feelings and emotions, not a person or a group of people.\nModern Sensibilities I was in a Christian bookstore the other day and I was struck with all the titles that relate to modern business terms. Jesus as CEO by Laurie Beth Jones, The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren, Moving People to God\u0026rsquo;s Agenda by Henry T. Blackaby, and 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley. Over a century ago, these books would have been unthinkable. Who would see Jesus as the Big Boss? Jesus was never seen as an industrialist. Instead, in the wake of the Great Awakening, interdenominational missionary societies formed. Their gospel was mixed with the sensibilities of the northeastern United States as manifested by social activism. This \u0026lsquo;Social Gospel\u0026rsquo; spawned all kinds of tracts and pamphlets, many of which had more to do with social concerns than the message of Jesus. In our Business Gospel, we do the same thing. Many of our books are more about marketing, programs, positive cash flows and managing people rather than the cross of Christ.\nI look at these books and I seriously consider getting some kind of Spiritual Bowflex(TM). I would love to be able to purchase something that guarantees positive results for hard work and rigorous training. Wouldn\u0026rsquo;t it be neat to have a device that makes you more spiritual in six weeks? Maybe I could have a blurb on the back cover of a new \u0026ldquo;hot\u0026rdquo; church book with a little testimonial.\nHi, my name is John Payne. Six weeks ago, I was a mediocre husband and lazy-minded Christian. However, after reading these books and applying the principles of the Market Driven Church (TM) and the Corporate Driven Life (TM), I have become a great husband and lay-church leader. I\u0026rsquo;m even thinking about going to a seminary. Thanks (author of books)! You\u0026rsquo;ve changed my life!\nThe Business Plan Thomas talks about people asking him so often how they do things in Portland. Based on what new members say, I believe that the keys are quite obvious: energy, growth, commitment, vision, and family. Think about that for a minute in the context of a group or corporate vision. Then look at this link. These company goals accommodate all these traits, growth, vision, etc. Not so sure? Indulge me for a moment:\nOur Vision: “To see men and women all over the world lift their hands in holy prayer to God.” Our Mission : “To be the church that evangelizes the world in this present generation.” Strategic Objectives: To bring our vision to life, our corporate strategy guides how we work with our fellowship of churches, how we serve our members, how we grow our church, and how we achieve our financial goals.\nUnveiled in January 2005, our strategy comprises seven key objectives:\nOne Face to the World The Totally Awesome Church of Christ is a church of many diverse people that are unified by one mission. Indeed, this quality is a key strength, as we can offer the world a vision of God\u0026rsquo;s love by our unity.\nWe also want to offer weareawesome.com to the world as a resource to gain spiritual insight, encouragement, and hear news of God\u0026rsquo;s work all over the world.\nNo matter where, or how, someone contacts us, we are the same church. To advance our objective of One Face to the World, we have:\n* Had a Night of Atonement to deal with our bitter roots of divisiveness. Since that fateful evening, we have been unified in heart and soul, contending for the gospel as one man; * All members of the Totally Awesome Church of Christ have been through the First Principles classes. All members are equipped to teach the gospel with the same doctrine in perfect unity; * We have reached out to other churches that share our dream. Through Great Preacher, we have established bonds with the great Fired Up Church for God; * Created the World Missions Jubilee to equip the saints all over the world.\nTargeted Acquisitions for Success From the outset, by asking inspired men and women of God to move to our city, the Totally Awesome Church of Christ has sought to provide the best resources to equip our members to evangelize the world in this generation.\nClear Market and Product Strategy To expand our message, we have sought to first plant churches throughout this state as a model for other churches elsewhere.\nEarlier in the year, by God\u0026rsquo;s grace, we planted The Church of Sold Out Disciples. They have already almost doubled in membership!\nMembers for Life We are creating lasting relationships with each other in our churches in many ways. To fulfill the \u0026rsquo;each one\u0026rsquo; Scriptures of the Bible, members of the Totally Awesome Church of Christ choose a partner to help them in their walk with God. This \u0026ldquo;iron sharpens iron\u0026rdquo; relationship keeps individual members \u0026lsquo;hot\u0026rsquo; for the gospel and focused on achieving more and more righteousness for the glory of God.\nIn striving for our objective of Members for Life we have:\n* Developed a plan to keep people busy for five out of seven days in a week; * Created multiple opportunities for members to train to be Bible Talk Leaders or Assistant Bible Talk Leaders through open meetings; * Established a high level of accountability for all members in the areas of evangelism, contribution, personal Bible Study and prayer.\nAcquire New Members Some of our new members have come to the Totally Awesome Church of Christ by placing membership. Many others have joined our church family after hearing the gospel for the first time in their lives. From these points of entry, new and existing members continually offer us opportunities to expand the gospel into all nations. In addition:\n* In 2004 the church almost doubled in size; * The Cranking Ministry started in the single digits, but now has over 30 members; * The Church of Sold Out Disciples doubled in size in 11 months.\nConsistently Achieve Financial Results The Totally Awesome Church of Christ believes in investment—in the message. By maintaining our growth, we can invest our contribution into worthy causes all over the world such as the Radical School of Worldwide Missions, weareawesome.com and planting another church, God\u0026rsquo;s Sold Out Church of Disciples.\n* Our Contribution has more than doubled weekly; * In March, we will take up a Missions Contribution to fund our Cranking Ministry, Radical School of Worldwide Missions, weareawesome.com, planting God\u0026rsquo;s Sold Out Church of Disciples, and worldwide missions. * Our goal is to almost double weekly contribution this year.\nWe believe we are on the right path to success. With our strategic objectives, we have set a course that is yielding the results we want. The Totally Awesome Church of Christ is growing to God\u0026rsquo;s glory.\nOur strategy is solid:\n* We are unified; * We are committed to evangelizing the world in this generation; * We take care of each other through discipling and constant Bible Study; * We present ourselves as a model for church building and mission work; * We seek the best and brightest to help our church; * We network with like-minded churches all over the world to spread the Gospel message.\nIn sum, with our strategy we have positioned the Totally Awesome Church of Christ to achieve our mission in becoming the leading church in the race to reach the world for God in this generation. To God be the Glory!\nConclusions The only difference these days between Thomas and some other churches is that at least Thomas is honest and upfront. Inside or outside the ICC, there are quite a few leaders of churches that would never present this kind of corporate strategy to their members yet would love to have such a through and organized plan. Under the guise of organization and discipline, such a plan appears to be a well-oiled effort to achieve the work of God. The issue is the implied sense that failure to achieve these objectives is failure to obey God. It appears to fly in the face of the proverb:\nIn his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.\nand\nThe LORD works out everything for his own ends- even the wicked for a day of disaster.\nHad the Apostle Paul used a management by objective plan, he would have failed miserably. In Acts, he states that he wanted to visit several different provinces in Asia, but that the Lord blocked him. Do you think he rebuked God for not following the great plan he had in mind? Do you think he grumbled against God that only being allowed into Macedonia would make him have to work harder next year to visit all the other provinces in order to \u0026lsquo;catch up\u0026rsquo;? Imagine a conversation with God along these lines:\nLord? I am troubled.\nWhy are you troubled my son?\nWell Lord, our Q3 is looking pretty rough. We finally got through the big meeting in Jerusalem which took all of us out of the field and got to business again. We were poised to take Asia Minor by storm, but we were blocked from going into most of the provinces there. We had the real heavy-hitters sitting on the border, but now we\u0026rsquo;ll be lucky if our second-string can make it there. There\u0026rsquo;s still the problem of Barnabas trying to get me to rehire Mark. In addition, he\u0026rsquo;s backtracking through established territory, so I couldn\u0026rsquo;t get him up here by Q4 even if we weren\u0026rsquo;t having our own communication issues. I\u0026rsquo;m glad that Timothy was available. I didn\u0026rsquo;t expect our smaller operations to give us such a gem, so that helps some, though there are some personality problems that need to be worked through.\nGranted, the Lyddia Project was successful - it\u0026rsquo;s one of the few gains from this quarter. But our liability insurance is going through the roof with another prison stint. I don\u0026rsquo;t think we\u0026rsquo;ll have coverage next fiscal year - maybe you could help us out with that. Fortunately in Thessalonica we could post bail so we didn\u0026rsquo;t have to report it.\nAfter the Bereans bogged us down in R\u0026amp;D, you think we can catch a break going through the old Greek areas? Athens is always a hard sell and Corinth is total madness. I\u0026rsquo;m just looking forward to making it to Ephesus.\nThis may sound silly, but looking at the gospel as a commodity this could very well be a retelling of Acts 16 and Acts 17. In my mind, the whole push for marketing and strategic goals looks like a new version of works-driven theology. The day I begin a works-oriented Christianity again, will be the day that I die spiritually. I don\u0026rsquo;t think I can recover again from a Christianity with religious overtones that in reality is nothing more than a marketing plan. The day my day-planner gets me to Heaven will be the day I walk away from God.\nThere are no Business Principles of Christianity or Seven Secret Habits of Successful Christians. Jesus is not the Boss, he is my brother, my Lord and my Savior. The Gospel is not a divine marketing ploy that is sold to the highest bidder or watered down to the lowest common denominator. Deacons are not middle management and the Evangelist is not the CEO. The Elders may be the Board of Directors, but Heaven help them if they run the church like a commercial enterprise. The church is not a business and I will not be an employee. God has called us to serve, not draw a paycheck. We are to make ourselves lower, not promote ourselves in campaigns and titles.\nI do not go to church to work a second job.\nSo Why Do I Go? It\u0026rsquo;s simple really. The Bible calls me to have faith. A personal faith in God and Jesus, His Son. The Bible calls me to exercise that faith with the \u0026lsquo;other saints\u0026rsquo;. As I understand Scripture, I have a personal faith and a social faith. I need to exercise my faith alone because I will be judged by God alone. I need to exercise my faith with other Christians, because I need brothers and sisters and to be a part of the family. Without faith, I\u0026rsquo;m not a Christian. Without family, I miss the Spirit of God.\nYou know, my church is buying into the Business Gospel a little bit and it concerns me. If it compromises my faith or limits my ability to practice my social faith, then I will go somewhere else. Granted, everyone these days seems to be consumed with The Market Driven Church (TM) in one form or another and that is a shame. I know that I\u0026rsquo;ll be reluctant to go to a megachurch because they seem to epitomize the Market Driven concept.\nThose that know me may think that I won\u0026rsquo;t leave because I have devoted so much time and energy to the ICC when so many others have left. More specifically, I have given quite a bit to the Omaha Church of Christ and some may wonder how I can leave it all behind. They have a valid point. All that I can truthfully say is that I\u0026rsquo;ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to leave right now; the thought hasn\u0026rsquo;t even occurred to me. I just do not want to be a part of a church for reasons other than my faith.\nI am certain that I want to be in the Omaha Church of Christ. On Sundays, I hear solid, expository preaching that helps my faith. I am a part of a family that doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a specific ministry to cook meals for families with newborn children. Yet somehow a note gets passed around and the family doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to cook dinner for three weeks because of the folks that volunteer. It builds my faith that I see the collective faith of the church expressing itself in love without the benefit of a committee. Being here gives me a chance to be encouraged, be taught, be given to, be admonished, etc. The elements of my faith that can only take place outside of myself happen here. In other words, I am part of a family.\nEpilogue Someone once asked Douglas Jacoby that if he could get an immediate answer, what question would he ask God. Doug replied, \u0026ldquo;Am I on the right track?\u0026rdquo; I agree with him in this regard. That is the one question I ask God every night.\nOne thing I feel like I should say is that I am not against organization or organized religion. God is a God of order. He makes plans and he executes them. He is also not in the relentless pursuit of efficiency. He lives outside of time, why would he be concerned with getting the most done within a limited amount of time? I believe that he loves and creates order, but I do not believe that he is the ultimate CEO or the One Minute Manager or the Purpose Driven Creator.\nEccl 3:11 says:\nHe has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.\nI believe that we continually strive toward the eternal in our lives. We want to be remembered. We want to have purpose. We want to belong. To that end, that are great achievements in all areas of human endeavor. But at the end of our lives, we can look back on our achievements and truly say:\nYet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.\nSolomon goes on to prove that toil, pleasure, wisdom and folly are all meaningless. Certainly wisdom is better than folly, but none of these things sates the yearning for the eternal. For example, I can belong to a great group of people. I can have a noble purpose. I can be welcomed with parades and have statues built in my honor. However, none of these things sate the desire for the eternal. At the end of my life, none of these things will be remembered. I could save 10,000 or even a million. After a while, no memory of me will remain. Even Solomon asked if anyone can inform a man about what will happen after he dies.\nInstead, I want to be remembered by the one who IS eternal. In Acts, Paul says:\nFrom one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.\nI believe that God is the only one to sate this need for the eternal.\n","date":"19 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-19-why-i-go-to-church/","section":"Posts","summary":"Introduction I’ve been thinking about Portland, lately. A lot of critics are waiting for the Postmodern Day Movement of God(R) to implode, but it’s doing the exact opposite. Granted, the way that numbers are being kept may be suspect, the fact is that the Portland International Church of Christ is growing fairly quickly, as far as can be told by outside observers. For the sake of argument, I’m going to say that Thomas’s reporting of his church’s growth is accurate. Keep in mind that I’m talking about the numbers, not the causes.\nWhy is this happening? What draws so many people to this church?\nLooking at some new members’ comments, they seem to mention some common elements: energy, growth, commitment, vision, and family. These aren’t bad things, in fact, most churches I’ve been to would love to have energy and growth. Are these valid reasons for being a part of any church, not just Portland? I’ll concede that these are desirable traits in any church, but I do not believe that any of these are valid for placing membership in a church. These things make the gospel attractive and naturally inviting, but these are not reasons. I can go to other places to find these things. Had I been alive at the time, I could’ve gone to Woodstock. Stated in terms of churches, though, I can find all these things in the Toronto Blessing, the Latter-Day Saints, Saddleback, the UBF and various other churches.\nI went looking around to other places for reasons to join a church and I found a raft of possible answers including: accountability, fellowship, a place to use your gifts, and a place to share with like-minded believers. Again, there are other places for this: these are all reasons that the Marines give for enlisting. As far as churches go, then I can still be a part of LDS, Saddleback, the UBF, the Promise Keepers, etc.\nLet me take a step back to prevent a big assumption. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.” The pure in heart will see God in a variety of places. There is not just one place to find God, his people, or proper training in doctrine. My point is that any reason for going to church should be to point to faith in God and obedience to His word, not to some great feeling or modern sensibility.\n","title":"The Business Driven Church","type":"posts"},{"content":"The sons of knowledge\nThe Gnosceti are considered a myth by many intellectuals and orators in elite Hesberian circles. Stories of their deeds and powers are considered nothing more than ghost stories used to scare small children.\nSome, however, fear their power to use some form of magic in lands where magic does not work. They are rumored to perform magic that gives them control over animals, people, and even governments. Others fear the power of control they are rumored to have over the kings of the non-magical lands. There are even a few that believe that all kings and governments are pawns of the Gnosceti used to fight their esoteric battles.\nThrough the centuries, various human orators and authors have stepped forward claiming to be Gnosceti. Most of these have been charlatans that present the Gnosceti as a mystery cult that promises power to its adherents. The Biggest Screts Hide in the Most Obvious Places\nThe Gnosceti, have no problem with any of these rumors. They use the fear and misinformation to their advantage. They are a rigidly ordered society, the machinations of those higher in the order are not always made known to the acolytes below.\nThose that know realize that what is collectively called the Gnosceti is made up of several groups that agree on only one thing - a great teacher came and established the order. The rest are secret wars of succession and various prophecies for and against a messiah.\nGnosceti have set themselves up in fairly important places amongst the human kingdoms in non-magical lands. If they were all part of one group, their control would be assured, as it is, the same government may have two or more factions of the Gnosceti in its ranks at any given time. Many conflicts that arise come from interpretation of the Master\u0026rsquo;s sayings and quibbles of succession. More than one war has been extended when discussions of doctrine began during peace talks.\nDespite their lack of cohesion, the Gnosceti do have access to a power that only they understand. Thought magic doesn\u0026rsquo;t work in half the world, they are able to wield magic like powers anywhere in the world. Sometimes these powers are quite limited, but the leaders of various factions of Gnosceti have power to rival the most famous of spellcasters. These range from disembodied whispers to illusions of all five senses. A few even have the power to give their illusions substance and affect the real world.\nThe three main factions differ mostly on rules of succession. They can largely coexist, though relations are frosty at best. Each faction give the other two credit for their devotion to the Prophet. Most issues occur with the minor offshoots - the radical factions that declare war on the rest of the world.\n","date":"14 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-14-gnosceti/","section":"Posts","summary":"The sons of knowledge\nThe Gnosceti are considered a myth by many intellectuals and orators in elite Hesberian circles. Stories of their deeds and powers are considered nothing more than ghost stories used to scare small children.\n","title":"Gnosceti","type":"posts"},{"content":"We finally were able to share our goals for 2005 two nights ago. It was a good time, though I could tell that it went too long for most folks\u0026rsquo; taste. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of enthusiasm about it, but I think that there soon will be. It just takes a little spark. Overall, I am hopeful for that little spark.\nWhen Discipleship was brought up, there were some thing that I wanted to think about, but that really bothered Laryssa. She went up and spoke with the Deacon presenting that topic and things worked out quite well.\nOther than that, I look forward to having a class in my home for those that want to learn about the Bible. I think that I\u0026rsquo;ll do a NT class, but I\u0026rsquo;m not sure. It won\u0026rsquo;t start until after the 40 days of purpose blows over, but I\u0026rsquo;ll have fun developing the material.\nI know I\u0026rsquo;ve said it a million times, but as far as 40 Days goes, I grew up the son of a salesman. I know Marketing 101 when I see it. For all of that, though, the good news is that Saddleback doesn\u0026rsquo;t really profit from their marketing machine. We got to use a bunch of materials for free. Other than that, I plan to help out on presenting the materials to folks here. I figure that\u0026rsquo;s where I can do the most good and work through my issues with 40 Days and the whole bit.\nWe hope to have a building and \u0026lsquo;plant\u0026rsquo; Lincoln this year. We already have people there, it\u0026rsquo;s just a recognition that they shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to commute an hour each way just to go to church. Almost all midweeks will be in Lincoln until then (40 out of 48). There will be a couple services in Lincoln as well. I\u0026rsquo;m part of the Lincoln group right now, so I guess I\u0026rsquo;ll be doing the coommute the other way this year.\nMore than anything, I\u0026rsquo;m looking forward to teaching a class this year. It will be fun. More later.\n","date":"14 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-14-things-to-share/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Things to share","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found something interesting today, and I thought I\u0026rsquo;d pass it along.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s this place called Scroogle. It \u0026lsquo;scrapes\u0026rsquo; the text ads out of the Google results and displays them in barebones fashion. Granted, it can only show you 100 entires max, but it was quite interesting to say the least. I added it to my Firefox toolbar at work.\nLaryssa and I are still praying about her job prospects. Different interview is tomorrow. Please pray.\nI\u0026rsquo;m working on a role-playing supplement that defines the rules for magic in the Action! System rules. It\u0026rsquo;s just about done, so I\u0026rsquo;ll post it on the fantasy subdomain when I finish.\nOtherwise, tonight, after being delayed for a week, we are finally going to unveil the Goals and Dreams of 2005 for the Omaha Church of Christ. Not being in the final meetings, I don\u0026rsquo;t know what we\u0026rsquo;ll get. Some of it will be the 40 Days of Purpose in Feb-Mar. Some of it will be our new deacons addressing the church for the first time. Otherwise, it should be fun.\nBye for now.\n","date":"12 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-12-odd-and-ends/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Odd and Ends","type":"posts"},{"content":"Been in a funk lately and I don\u0026rsquo;t know what it is. I\u0026rsquo;d like to say that it was a Parliament style funk with a bit of R\u0026amp;B feel (or vice versa - hardcore R\u0026amp;B with a touch of funk and guitar like James Brown\u0026rsquo;s Cold Sweat), but it isn\u0026rsquo;t.\nNope. Just blah.\nIn a sense, I feel the need for a project, but I don\u0026rsquo;t have the time to devote to it that I\u0026rsquo;d like. Well, that\u0026rsquo;s not entirely true, I have five hours every Saturday and two more hours on Tuesday. I stopped publishing out family devotionals, but I should soon. Anyway, I think it\u0026rsquo;s that I lack any real inspiration from my projects. I really want a good project to work on. The things I need to do include: Finish formatting fantasy.pinakidion.org Build Laryssa a writing station Arrange my office Hang some pictures and other things.\nSome things I want to do are: Finish the magic supplement for Action! System rules Teach a NT Survey class Spend time writing about my fantasy world, including the Hesberian language and other things. Write more good poems to Laryssa. Work on the Study Guide Series in more detail.\nHowever, none of those things really inspire me, except for the poems to Laryssa. She had to take me to work today because the battery in my car died. She sang songs to me and for me, we played a mad lib, we talked about the beginning of our devotional, and lots of other things. I was the consumate grouch and she was nothing short of light and radiance. Needless to say, my grouchiness never stood a chance.\nI dunno, though. Maybe last year was too much teaching stuff. Galatians, James, OT Survey, Apocrypha, 1 John. Laryssa and I will have a class at our apartment on Thursdays, maybe that will help scratch the itch a little bit.\nAnywho, just felt the need to share why there has been so little posting lately. I hope that this mood will change a bit after this weekend.\n","date":"7 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-07-life-or-something-like-it/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Life, or Something Like It","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have a plugin that automatically deletes spam comments.\nOn the down side, when you add your own sites, you have to make sure certain characters are in quotes and I did not do that.\nSo, you\u0026rsquo;ll see a ton of errors, but your comment will be posted. I\u0026rsquo;ll fix it as soon as I can, I have to rebuild the database of blacklisted sites and ip addresses.\n","date":"6 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-06-just-so-you-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Just so you know","type":"posts"},{"content":"Mayor Fahey has asked all businesses in the area to stagger the release of their employees to alleviate traffic. People should start leaving at 1pm.\nThen, the superintendent said that we all have to leave before 3pm. Of course, then the head of my department sent out a memo saying that we should leave at 3pm.\nAnywho, I\u0026rsquo;m going home early, YAY! I couldn\u0026rsquo;t sleep at all last night and I am quite grouchy.\nSLEEP!\nThat and no midweek tonight - WOOHOO! SLEEP!\n","date":"5 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-05-home-early-today/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Home Early Today","type":"posts"},{"content":"I went to the State Fair in NC in 2001 and saw a vendor offering fried candy bars. I saw this and thought, \u0026ldquo;how did someone come up with this?\u0026rdquo;\nThen again, as soon as word got out about a turducken, someone decided that it would be great fried. Welcome to the South, have some sweet tea and pass the cornbread.\nBack to the candy bars, though, it appears that Scotland has fallen in love with deep-fried Milky Way(R) bars. Check out the whole story here\nWell if that ain\u0026rsquo;t slicker \u0026rsquo;n goosegrease and finer \u0026rsquo;n froghair, I don\u0026rsquo;t know what is.\n","date":"4 January 2005","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2005-01-04-not-just-for-southerners/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Not Just for Southerners","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was listening to the radio this morning when NPR covered a story about a National Guardsman\u0026rsquo;s recovery from injury.\nWhat struck me more than anything was that his wife credits the injury with saving their marriage. Apparently, this man inspected his children before they went out to play and had explicit instructions on how to fold items from their laundry. Now, he is more laid back. Amazing what perspective can do for a person.\nWho knows what good has been done for this man\u0026rsquo;s family, especially the children, because of the accident.\n","date":"27 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-27-food-for-thought/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Food for Thought","type":"posts"},{"content":"Yesterday had to be my best Christmas ever. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t very elaborate, but it was quite special.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t have to run all over and be anywhere at all. I just had to be home with my wife - and that was exactly what I needed.\nFor my friends out there that worry about my ingestion of soy, I had actual turkey bacon yesterday and today for breakfast. While I still consider soy \u0026lsquo;fake food\u0026rsquo;, I am beginning to eat it less and less grudingly. (Thank goodness for occasional wing nights with Shane!)\nOur stockings were hung by the chimney with care. Our erstwhile kitty was asleep in a chair. Bribed with some \u0026rsquo;nip, he gave his approval, for the slow but steady package removal.\nAnywho, just some random Christmas thoughts in no particular order. I hope to continue my study of Jeremiah and the fleshing out of the Hesberian culture over the coming days. As always, I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know.\nMerry Christmas everyone - I pray it was a great one for you and yours.\n","date":"26 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-26-merry-christmas-everyone/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Merry Christmas Everyone","type":"posts"},{"content":"Some time ago, a friend of mine explained his spiritual life in terms of the seasons of the year. I have found it true in my life and I hope it may help in yours:\nAfter summer, when the leaves fall and all prepares for a winter sleep, it is a natural time of reflection. The winter brings a time of rest - a time to pause and catch your breath. The springtime is a new birth and allows you to start fresh. It is a time of new ideas and planting. The summer is the time for harvest, a chance to reap the benefits of the work of spring. With the summer harvest taken in full, the Autumn allows for reflection, as previously stated.\nIn many of the years of my life, I have strived to live according to this natural pattern. Living out here in the Midwest where the seasons are more pronounced, it has become more true. In the wintertime here, people stay home. It makes sense, who in their right mind is out in below zero tempatures? The whole city takes a rest. In the spring, everyone goes to the many parks and enjoys being in the sun and being active. All the outdoor sports leagues start up and golf courses fill up with tee times. Outdoor theater begins later in the season, but look to garner donations throughout the summer. There are farms in the middle of the city, and you can see the equipment working all summer. It\u0026rsquo;s truly fascinating to see the cycle of the seasons in my new home.\nTechnically, though it is offically winter, I am still reflecting on this past year. I look for areas of joy and sorrow. I look for areas of strength and weakness, but overall I look to see the places along the way where God has been there with me. I\u0026rsquo;ve made quite a few mistakes and I\u0026rsquo;ve had quite a few victories. Beyond all of that, though, I want to be someone and I look for what God has in store for me.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll make a comprehensive list later, but when I think of the good things this past year\u0026hellip;\nI proposed to and married my best friend. I was nominated to be a deacon of my church. I have been given respect by my peers. I have been helpful in restoring Christianity, removing Churchianity, and abolishing McKeanism in the church I attend. I have discovered what it means to be believed in. I have found more peace in my heart, mind, and soul than in years past. I have become less afraid to speak my mind (and I don\u0026rsquo;t mean this blog). I have lost over 20 pounds in the last three months and I eat a much more heart healthy diet with less fat and more vegetables. When I think of the bad things this year, I think about\u0026hellip;\nThe lack of any real change I see in other ICC congregations. My friends that I have lost touch with through my distractions and obsessions. The mistreatment of my sister-in-law. The times I\u0026rsquo;ve overreacted to Advisory Group topics of discussion. The War in Iraq My lack of consistency in all areas of my spiritual life. Of course, there\u0026rsquo;s more on both lists. I continue to reflect and plan. I hope for a great 2005, not in a pep rally sort of way, but in a new future. I want to be a better, more godly man. I want to be a great husband. I want to help my church evolve into something healthy and life giving. I pray for long-term success and real paradigm shifts in thinking. I pray for more connections to the community around us. I pray my wife will truly use her God-given gifts to the full. I pray I can finish my fantasy world and write a novel in that setting.\nAll in all, I reflect so that I can look to the new year with hope.\n","date":"26 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-26-to-everything-there-is-a-season/","section":"Posts","summary":"Some time ago, a friend of mine explained his spiritual life in terms of the seasons of the year. I have found it true in my life and I hope it may help in yours:\nAfter summer, when the leaves fall and all prepares for a winter sleep, it is a natural time of reflection. The winter brings a time of rest - a time to pause and catch your breath. The springtime is a new birth and allows you to start fresh. It is a time of new ideas and planting. The summer is the time for harvest, a chance to reap the benefits of the work of spring. With the summer harvest taken in full, the Autumn allows for reflection, as previously stated.\n","title":"To Everything, There is a Season","type":"posts"},{"content":"Quote from a man named Allen.\nThe area where some improprieties may have happened is in the actual collection and distribution of funds. When the ICC evangelizer preached for donations to the poor \u0026hellip; did he mean the benevolence account at the church - or did he mean HOPE? Did he promote projects of HOPE to stimulate donations that he *knew* would be retained by the church? We will not know until the books of the churches are open for more detailed study.\nI have found the Shell Game with HOPE. Let me go over it one more time. HOPE Regional entities such as HOPE - Florida, Hope - Arizona - etc. 30 something of them \u0026hellip; would collect locally - citing projects in the region plus HOPE ww projects all over the World. They were \u0026lsquo;usually\u0026rsquo; very careful to not promote -\u0026gt; to the public \u0026lt; - how much would stay local and how much would go elsewhere. On the other hand - various people at the churches would promote to membership that high percentages of the donations would stay local. Members often quoted figures such as 87% of HOPE is for local projects \u0026ndash; or only 12% is administrative costs \u0026hellip; I have no choice but to recognize this as equal to the preachin\u0026rsquo; in the churches - ie., - what members were being *told*. Very infrequently were such figures \u0026lsquo;written down\u0026rsquo;.\nWhat the HOPE Regionals had done was to establish local projects and give them a name - like HOPE for Kids After School Mentoring Program. Many of these projects were staffed with volunteers from the church. People would donate - thinking that their money would go to such and similar real programs - and that their donations were needed to cover expenses of the program. The \u0026lsquo;accounting\u0026rsquo; on the local level would support such programs by name and the expenses would be listed. There would be a column for telephone, printing, rental, etc. \u0026ndash; there would be NO Salary Column \u0026hellip; but there was also a column named = Management Fee Paid to HWW Corp. THIS column most often overshadowed all others in total amount.\nThe Management Fee Paid to HWW Corp. was as much as 90+% of the \u0026lsquo;program fee\u0026rsquo; in some areas \u0026hellip; see http://TOLC.org/finances.htm \\[1999 Audit section 3\\] for actual audits showing YOUR Region and the Management Fees. Now \u0026ndash; what was this Management Fee used for? It was used to pay the Local HOPE Administrators, Executives and Paid Staff at the HOPE Regionals - and in support of the HOPE Corporate Executives and their Paid Staff. The HOPE New England 990 confirms this to be a fact.\nIn closing \u0026ndash; most of the HOPE expenses \u0026ndash; whether on a Regional or Corporate level \u0026ndash; were consumed as Salary and Benefits. Very little went to other costs associated with the Programs. This is evident when doing a careful study of available IRS 990s. However \u0026hellip; and this is troubling \u0026hellip; HOPE sends about 60% of the money off-shore to projects in foreign lands \u0026hellip; and the US IRS *DOES NOT* track how this money is actually spent. The amounts sent off-shore are merely an Expense Item on the US forms. HOPE has NEVER provided a detailed Audit of ANY FOREIGN PROGRAM to the contributors in the US.\nAn increasing number of people are beginning to see that HOPE may be the vehicle to move money out of the US \u0026hellip; for who knows what \u0026hellip; only a detailed Audit would show. Remember \u0026ndash; 60% of HOPE Money goes to off-shore projects \u0026hellip;\n","date":"22 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-22-hope-shell-game/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"HOPE Shell Game","type":"posts"},{"content":"I had been utterly mystified, for a while now, as to why most ICOC churches have retained essentially the same doctrines and practices. Many of you, like me, were very hopeful, after the HKL, that our churches would do some real soul-searching, repenting, and changing. When that proved to be a false hope, many of us chose to leave and find spiritual food elsewhere. But our original desire was to stay and see a church transformed. We asked, Why won\u0026rsquo;t you address the false teachings of the past and help construct a true church? We received no answers and only superficial changes.\nWell, I have a theory. (Actually I proposed in another thread that many staff members would not make changes because about half the members would either call for their firing or leave, which would further endanger their already problematic careers\u0026hellip;but this theory goes deeper.) Here goes:\nFrom the inception of the proto-ICOC, AKA Crossroads, we were taught that we were different from all other churches, we were better. Why? Because our church was committed, while all others were dead. Back then we called it \u0026ldquo;Lordship,\u0026rdquo; later it became \u0026ldquo;discipleship.\u0026rdquo; We had it. Everyone else did not. This was our \u0026ldquo;gospel.\u0026rdquo; This is what we proclaimed, this is what we were to spread into all the world.\nEvery original \u0026ldquo;campus minister\u0026rdquo; sent out from Crossroads had this ideal firmly implanted in his mind. What should a true church look like? It should be totally committed. Later, Kip would firm up this idea in the Discipleship study, using Matt. 28 to teach that only disciples could be baptized and that the church should be composed of \u0026ldquo;only disciples.\u0026rdquo; (Now, in Portland, it\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;sold-out disciples.\u0026rdquo;) So, with this standard of what success would look like in our ministries, we went forth to create these totally committed churches. Not only did we, as ministers, have this goal in mind, we also indoctrinated every new member to the same view of what a true church must be.\nThis idea is what we were built on. Anything less than a totally committed church, with the accompanying activity (everyone recruiting, coming to everything, having discipling times, giving at least 10%, reading and praying every morning), was tantamount to personal failure in the ministry. Our members also believed this.\nSo, what happens with the HKL? The leadership of the ICOC recognizes that members won\u0026rsquo;t put up with overtly abusive behavior. But neither they nor most members want to give up the sacred cow of the totally committed church. To do so would be to lose the very reason they joined in the first place; they would be losing the only thing that made them, in their minds, better than every other church, the only thing that set them apart. To become less than that would be to become \u0026ldquo;just another denomination,\u0026rdquo; to use the phrase of many members and leaders. So, the trick is to change the abuses without losing the \u0026ldquo;total commitment.\u0026rdquo; The problem is, you cannot give up the fundamental flaws in ICOC theology without giving up the \u0026ldquo;totally committed church.\u0026rdquo; As many ICOC leaders have found, to their dismay, if you stop beating people over the head with guilt and fear, they will not be a totally committed church! Yes, many will do what pleases God, but many won\u0026rsquo;t, and even more, while really pleasing God, won\u0026rsquo;t live up to ICOC-created rules and programs.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the truth as I see it: The \u0026ldquo;totally committed church\u0026rdquo; ideal that is at the root of ICOC theology is a MYTH. Even Jesus did not have a totally committed church. The NT churches were not totally committed. There were then and will always be an invisible church, composed of those who possess faith, in the midst of the visible church, which also contains those who only profess faith. That is what most churches are like, and that is as it should be, until the return of Christ when all will be sorted out. The ICOC wants to have something that cannot legitimately exist in this age. It can only be created (although even this is an illusion) by false teaching and a works-based theology.\nQED. This is why there have been no real changes in most ICOC churches.\nWhat do you think?\nBarry\n","date":"22 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-22-the-real-reason-for-no-changes-by-barry-mahfood/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The real reason for no changes by Barry Mahfood","type":"posts"},{"content":" Each city of the former or current Hesberian Emprie had these markers to show the border of the city. In places where the Hesberians have no control, it often marks the \u0026lsquo;old city\u0026rsquo; borders.\n","date":"21 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-21-hesberian-city-markers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Hesberian City Markers","type":"posts"},{"content":"Recently, I went off on the ICC Discussion Forum (no link provided) on a thread about reformed ICC churches. In case you don\u0026rsquo;t know, I\u0026rsquo;m very proud of my church and how far we\u0026rsquo;ve come and how bright the future appears. We\u0026rsquo;re not better than anyone and we certainly haven\u0026rsquo;t arrived - it\u0026rsquo;s just that I feel safe going to church and have no problems inviting my friends and family to it. I thought I\u0026rsquo;d never feel that way again.\nHere is the text of my post. The situation was that I was talking to someone that has a son in the ICC. In his view, there are concrete steps that a church can do to demonstrate change. The one I reference is the publishing of the bylaws. I don\u0026rsquo;t see anything wrong with that, though it does not appear to be common that a church releases its bylaws. In an internet search, I found only 3 sets of bylaws available online. However, I still don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s too much to ask.\nWhat I do not like is the peanut gallery chiming in about how this demonstrates that nothing has changed. The peanut gallery are those that simply hate anything ICC and only want the annihilation of the ICC. Like Jesus said of these people,\n\u0026ldquo;To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.’\u0026rdquo;\n13403.57 in reply to 13403.54\nAllen,\nI think you know me by now. Remember, you sent me the 2001 Administrative Guide and sure enough, it never arrived here. Until two years ago, we were still using the 1997 Administrative policies.Now, we don\u0026rsquo;t use any of them.\nOn a side note, someone that moved here recently from San Fran asked if we contributed to the ICC Corporation (apparently SF does) and the reply was that we do not. No one contacted us to collect it. (I know we didn\u0026rsquo;t contribute because I was part of the group that made the decision not to.) I thought it was odd that SF is contributing to a corporation that is supposed to no longer exist.\nI asked for the new bylaws, when I get them, you\u0026rsquo;ll have them. Otherwise, if you do not like the speed with which I am working, I suggest you get them from the IRS. On even the State of Nebraska. They are on file as well as a record of our recent transactions, I am just a cheapskate and do not want to pay a fee. (Last time I looked the state charged a fee, but that may have been different documents altogether)\n(rant on - not to Allen) Of course, I suspect that the chorus will start up that I am ignorant or avoiding the issue or have my head in the sand.\nBring it on, I can put on ignore just as well as anybody else, why not add to the list.\nGood grief, I thought the old ICC crowd was catty and nitpicky and oh-so-high-and-mighty. I guess it comes from the training. Guess what guys, you\u0026rsquo;re still acting like the ICC even if you\u0026rsquo;ve been out for years. Glad to know that I can find a place to share what I know as someone in leadership in my church, you know?\nRewrote the study series - doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter, I\u0026rsquo;m an idiot. I\u0026rsquo;m too inbred to know any different.\nBuilt bridges to local churches (Vineyard and Church of Christ, soon to be Christian Church). - Oh well, I\u0026rsquo;m still old school that thinks only the ICC is going to Heaven.\nFought to end support for HOPE because of their shady dealings - Oh my goodness, that can\u0026rsquo;t last. Surely Bob and Pat will boohoo their way into the minister\u0026rsquo;s pocketbook so that he can donate all our money to them.\nYou know, I find a bit of happiness after a decade of abuse in the ICC and all I get is \u0026ldquo;you\u0026rsquo;ll never hear about the bylaws again\u0026rdquo;. Thanks. Appreciate it. Enjoy the friendships, I really do. Long memories around these parts. I guess it\u0026rsquo;s what have you done for me lately - not surprising, most ICC leaders are that way.\nGUESS WHAT - I AM NOW MARRIED AND SHE IS MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. NOT THE CHURCH, NOT YOU, NOT MY BLOG, NOT DELPHIFORUMS, NADA.\nGuess that will show me - folks around here will turn on you in a second. I thought the fake ICC friends I had were like that - I guess all of mankind is like that. Oh well.\n(/rant)\nI\u0026rsquo;ll email Allen, he can post them if he\u0026rsquo;d like. Otherwise, good riddance to all of you.\nUnfortunately, a good friend considered this an attack on him. He asked me to clarify and I hope that my response cleared it up. He left the ICC in Minnesota, but I don\u0026rsquo;t consider him one of the peanut gallery. I consider him and his wife friends of Laryssa and I and I hope my frustrated rant did not damage that.\nAnyway, the big deal about this is in regards to the ICC Discussion Forum. I made some friends, I thought, and was able to keep in touch with folks I knew across the country. However, it has lately turned into a place without much serious discussion. There are very few reform minded people there - instead a groupthink culture obsessed with a church that they believe will never change. How sad is that?\nNow Allen works because of friends and family inside the ICC. He has seen it tear his family apart, so I can respect what he is trying to do, even when I disagree with him. Some others are part of \u0026lsquo;recovery\u0026rsquo; groups, so I understand their involvement as well. However, the vast majority had no vested interest outside of socialization with others in the Ex-ICC subculture. Nothing wrong with that except that this subculture seems to dictate a few things that is abrasive and offensive to those of us trying to promote change:\n1. The ICC will never change 2. There is a conspiracy run by Thomas or some other big leader to bring back the old days. 3. No one within the ICC can understand what change is. 4. All evangelists are paid way too much. 5. Current members are either blind or stupid for maintaining membership.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t think so? Post a message that you believe your church has changed and these are the responses you get, especially statement 5. Frankly, I resent the implication that I am somehow mentally defective for staying here and fighting for real change.\nEnjoy your haterade - drink a whole case.\n","date":"21 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-21-the-peanut-gallery/","section":"Posts","summary":"Recently, I went off on the ICC Discussion Forum (no link provided) on a thread about reformed ICC churches. In case you don’t know, I’m very proud of my church and how far we’ve come and how bright the future appears. We’re not better than anyone and we certainly haven’t arrived - it’s just that I feel safe going to church and have no problems inviting my friends and family to it. I thought I’d never feel that way again.\n","title":"The Peanut Gallery","type":"posts"},{"content":"But I\u0026rsquo;m still around. There\u0026rsquo;s been some furious attempt to finalize the Study Series only to discover that now may not be the right time for it.\nI may still publish it, but there\u0026rsquo;s little reason to now. I never thought that I\u0026rsquo;d be ahead of the curve on letting go of some things in the past. Oh well.\nIn the meantime, I hope to do more with my fantasy world and on a class about the Synoptic Gospels this winter.\nAs far as the fantasy world goes, there\u0026rsquo;s more work to do on the Hesberians. Having conquered most of the world before the rise of magic, their influence is felt worldwide. Because of the old empire, there is a common language in most of the world among humans. The Duregar speak some, the Sook speak it well, but Elves have little knowledge of it and no desire to learn it. Again, the Hesberians (now living in lands where magic does not function) do not trust Elves. The Elves, in return, do not regard them very highly either.\nOne mark of the Hesberians still present are the logographs used to write their language until they conquered the Iskans (human tribe) and learned a more syllabic alphabet. This development spurred a literary boom in Hesberian culture. To this day, the ancient script is revered and making a comeback, though some of the knowledge of certain symbols is lost to time.\nOutside of that, I\u0026rsquo;ll keep you up to date. If you want a copy of the study series, I\u0026rsquo;ll email it to you.\n","date":"15 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-15-been-a-few-days/","section":"Posts","summary":"But I’m still around. There’s been some furious attempt to finalize the Study Series only to discover that now may not be the right time for it.\nI may still publish it, but there’s little reason to now. I never thought that I’d be ahead of the curve on letting go of some things in the past. Oh well.\nIn the meantime, I hope to do more with my fantasy world and on a class about the Synoptic Gospels this winter.\n","title":"Been a few days","type":"posts"},{"content":"Those that are a part of the ICC subculture know what the phrase \u0026lsquo;study series\u0026rsquo; means. I use the term because it has some meaning, but I hope to discuss it in neutral terms. In other words, I hope to discuss its utility, purpose, and necessity. It seems particularly useful now because so many people want it. Its purpose seems self-evident, it is designed to equip the Christians to help someone else become a Christian. Its necessity is debatable. Maybe a new series is a stepping stone to a hope of a mature Christian confident and competent to use the Scriptures without the fear of teaching a \u0026lsquo;different\u0026rsquo; gospel from other Christians.\nIn any case, a draft proposal to my church\u0026rsquo;s governing board will be presented tomorrow night. As such, it will be on my blog tomorrow sometime during the day. It may change, but the outline so far is this:\nI. Questions about a Study Series This section includes questions about the First Principles Study Series and other study series developed in other places. It also includes questions about the focus of the proposed studies as well as the philosophy behind them. As a practical matter, there are also answers to questions regarding setting up a study, how to study, and other practical considerations. II. The Basic Study Series\nThe Gospel Message Th Life of Jesus The Death and Resurrection of Jesus The Response to Jesus III. Additional Studies This section provides additional studies to answer questions or meet specific needs. These studies are also beneficial after someone becomes a Christian. Some examples are:\nWhat the Bible Says for Itself Extrabiblical Sources of the Bible The Work of the Holy Spirit Repentance What do Latter-Day Saints Say? What is Islam? IV. Follow-up Studies This section is for new believers to get a good \u0026lsquo;grounding\u0026rsquo; in the Bible and its teachings over a ten week period. Some material in this section is more practical especially as it pertains to Christian Lifestyle. Other material provides assurance, knowledge, comfort, and challenge. This other material covers topics like Grace vs Works-oriented thinking, Confidence in your salvation, evangelism, dealing with sin, etc. This section will also deal with the six purposes of the Omaha Church of Christ. V. Useful information This section covers material that didn\u0026rsquo;t fit anywhere else and/or advanced material for Christian training. This section is likely to grow and like all sections, is constantly under construction.\nThe Good and Bad of the First Principles Study Series A Look at Theology: # Angels # God and Man # Jesus Christ # Dispensational / Covenantal Theology # Ecclesiology (The Church) # Eschatology (Things to Come) # Hamartiology (Sin) # Pneumatology (The Holy Spirit) # Satanology # Soteriology (Salvation) # Trinity How to Study the Bible Book by Book A look at World Religions Denominationalism The material comes from a bunch of sources. I don\u0026rsquo;t have time to provide links and full accreditation, but I will in the published document.\nwww.bible.org Shining Like Stars by Douglas Jacoby Study Series written by various folks including Kip McKean, Gordon Ferguson, Douglas Jacoby, John Lusk, John Oakes, and different elders in various churches. Operation Timothy by the Christian Men\u0026rsquo;s Business Coalition Lost Art of Disciple Making by Leroy Eims Basic Studies by NavPress Basic Chrisitanity by John R.W. Stott Various books by Philipp Yancey Consultation with CoC ministers outside the ICC The Alpha Program (http://www.alphausa.org) Many other books.\n","date":"8 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-08-a-study-series/","section":"Posts","summary":"Those that are a part of the ICC subculture know what the phrase ‘study series’ means. I use the term because it has some meaning, but I hope to discuss it in neutral terms. In other words, I hope to discuss its utility, purpose, and necessity. It seems particularly useful now because so many people want it. Its purpose seems self-evident, it is designed to equip the Christians to help someone else become a Christian. Its necessity is debatable. Maybe a new series is a stepping stone to a hope of a mature Christian confident and competent to use the Scriptures without the fear of teaching a ‘different’ gospel from other Christians.\nIn any case, a draft proposal to my church’s governing board will be presented tomorrow night. As such, it will be on my blog tomorrow sometime during the day. It may change, but the outline so far is this:\n","title":"A Study Series","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been around men telling their \u0026lsquo;war stories\u0026rsquo; a few times. The older I get, the more I tend to join in on these stories. While most of the conversation can center around the kind of talk that rightly belongs in the The Rancid Crabtree Fly-Fishing \u0026amp; Filosofical Society, sooner or later one of the men will roll up a sleeve and point at a small discoloration.\n\u0026ldquo;I got this one while peddling my dirt bike down the dirt path by Burnside\u0026rsquo;s path. I was eight.\u0026rdquo;\nNow that the time old tradition has been properly invoked, the rest of the men begin to remove articles of clothing as is appropriate to display their old wounds and marks.\n\u0026ldquo;I got these playing football around Dodge Creek when I was 12.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;I got this when my appendix had to come out when three years ago.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Someone threw a flaming bed off Metcalf dorm and one of the pieces of hot metal hit me here.\u0026rdquo;\nAt this point, someone is bound to ask about how the flaming bed came to be atop Metcalf dorm in the first place. From the mark on a friend\u0026rsquo;s hip, the story of celebrating a win over a hated rival became an adventure with a surprise ending. How did the revelers steal the bed used for the fire from a locked room. How was that room still locked when campus police searched it? More importantly, how did the bearer of the scar come into so much knowledge of certain clandestine meetings?\nThereby hangs a tale, as the bard has said.\nI think about the stories behind my physical scars and it reminds me of various adventures great and small throughout my life. When I though about what my wife had said to me, I began to look at my other scars as well.\nThis scar here is called discipling. There\u0026rsquo;s a good story of walking down the railroad tracks until the sun came up just talking with a friend. But I never called that discipling, I called that friendship, and I still do. The adventures behind the scar, though, takes me back to a pressure to conform. Being shunned by others because I didn\u0026rsquo;t \u0026lsquo;Fit the Suit and having the position of \u0026ldquo;Bible Talk Elder\u0026rdquo; created for me because I didn\u0026rsquo;t look the part of a Bible Talk Leader. There\u0026rsquo;s sub-stories of being told that I was \u0026lsquo;obviously sinful\u0026rsquo; and was prohibited from being in the Christmas Show in order to present the gospel in an attractive way. My best friend was told she couldn\u0026rsquo;t be the stage manager for the same reason. As I move through time, more stories emerge such as being told to change my name. I was told that playing softball was a meeting of the body even if I was sick. I was told that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t steady date a certain person and that I should have never steady dated a certain other person. I was told to move several times. I was told that if I did not have a quiet time everyday, pray every day, tithe, and evangelize every day that I could not be a member of the church. I was told that I was a burden to the church, to leadership, and to Jesus himself. All of these things are the story behind the wound, but not the cause. The causes were that I believed all of it in the name of God and that I allowed myself to feel like a victim of \u0026rsquo;the system\u0026rsquo;.\nWhen I think about the scar on my knee from riding a bike or the discoloration of my ankle from repeated injuries, I remember the pain at the time of the injury. I was on cruthches or using a cane for the better part of a year because of my ankle. I soaked my knee until I was waterlogged. Through it all, I felt so stupid for being injured at all, especially when I wasn\u0026rsquo;t being careful or the injury could have been easily avoided.\nThen one day, my knee felt so good and my progress at the gym was going so well, that I didn\u0026rsquo;t wear the big brace to play a game of football, I used the small cloth one, instead. I put all my weight on the bad knee to shift and it worked. Not only did it work, it didn\u0026rsquo;t hurt.\nIt was then that it went from an injury or wound to a scar.\nI do not understand why all the things in my past happened. I do not understand why I do not just simply \u0026lsquo;get over it\u0026rsquo; like so many others have. I do know, hoever, that it hasn\u0026rsquo;t healed. It is still a wound. My hope is that one day, I\u0026rsquo;ll be able to point to the injury and say, \u0026ldquo;Well, there\u0026rsquo;s a bit of a story behind this one\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"6 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-06-its-not-a-scar-its-a-story-ii/","section":"Posts","summary":"I’ve been around men telling their ‘war stories’ a few times. The older I get, the more I tend to join in on these stories. While most of the conversation can center around the kind of talk that rightly belongs in the The Rancid Crabtree Fly-Fishing \u0026 Filosofical Society, sooner or later one of the men will roll up a sleeve and point at a small discoloration.\n“I got this one while peddling my dirt bike down the dirt path by Burnside’s path. I was eight.”\n","title":"It's Not a Scar, It's a Story II","type":"posts"},{"content":"My wife has this bit of zen on top of a bookshelf in our living room. She pointed it out to me last night as part of showing off the apartment to me. (She and a friend have been putting our stuff away for two days now and it looks great.)\nMore later, it was just a good thought for the morning.\n","date":"3 December 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-12-03-its-not-a-scar-its-a-story/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It's Not a Scar, It's a Story","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know some friends of mine check up on me every once in a while. Just to let you know, I am doing well - I\u0026rsquo;m still learning quite a bit about what it means to be married, but I am enjoying it quite a bit. Yesterday, we went out and started spending the money on the gift cards. It was a wonderful day that ending with a wonderful dinner and cranberry margaritas. Cranberry margaritas are a family tradition with Laryssa\u0026rsquo;s family and since we weren\u0026rsquo;t there, we decided to pay homage to the family in this way.\nOther than that, I sit down every Saturday morning from 8 - 12 and work on teaching related things. For example, in my church there is a call for a study series and a bunch of other things. I also work on my family\u0026rsquo;s devotional. However, some days, like today, the well is a little dry. To that end, I ask you to submit questions to me. I don\u0026rsquo;t claim to know the answers or to be some wonderful spiritual guru, but maybe we can explore something together and talk about it. Some things won\u0026rsquo;t be answered after one Saturday, but who knows?\nI look forward to what you come up with.\nBy the way, with the new schedule of working on teaching stuff and writing on Saturday monrings, that means the 1pm update on Saturday could be extensive.\n","date":"27 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-27-call-for-questions/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Call for Questions","type":"posts"},{"content":"Every Monday, my family has a devotional. Since we do not have children, we are currently focused on building our marriage. Someone recommended a great book to us, so our next ten devotionals are going to come from it.\nI tend towards acronyms to structure things, so forgive me if that offends you.\nOtherness This devotional will allow us to explore our differences so that we may build up our marriage.\nHomework: This section provides a focus for the week leading up to the actual devotional time. You\u0026rsquo;d be surprised how giving homework allows for the topic to come up during the week. In some ways, my wife and I use this to \u0026lsquo;season our speech with salt\u0026rsquo;.\nFind one example of God using marriage as a metaphor to describe his relationship with his people. Read Genesis 2 Read chapter 1 - Otherness in The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason. Explore: This is a great time to hear and learn how your spouse sees God. Remember that this is a time of exploration, not a time to arrive at the answer. It is also okay at this point to diverge away from the objective, if necessary. For my wife and I, she needs to explore ideas and work them out verbally. I, on the other hand, want to find the solution or the answer. This section is specifically for her while the final section is for me, though we both benefit from every section.\nShare the metaphor of marriage with each other from your homework. Read Proverbs 27:17 together. What does otherness mean to you? How does this relate to us? _Mason defines otherness as: \u0026hellip;that strange encounter of separate identities as one person rubs against another to produce an edge, to produce the flashing keeness of love.\n_\nListen: At this point, it\u0026rsquo;s good to read a passage of the Bible to give some grounding to our exploration. 1 Corinthians 3:1 - 17\nv. 1 - 4: Our differences can separate us. v. 5 - 9: Our differences can build something great. v. 10 - 17: Therefore, we should build carefully. Practice: This is the section to get down to the nitty-gritty. Be specific and be honest. This is the time to be really concrete, especially when you discuss what happened during the previous week and what can happen in the coming week.\nHow have our differences torn each other down or somehow limited each of us this week? How can we avoid this in the future? Considering Proverbs 27:17, what is the biggest area of our marriage that needs sharpening? Where have are differences build each other up or somehow enabled each of us this week? How can we continue to build on this in the future? Pray. Go have fun - too much thinking can be hard on the mind.\nMy wife and I have a ceremony we do every night. We celebrate the victories and celebrate the defeats of the day. Sometimes we do this in the form of a toast, sometimes with kisses. It makes it easier to discuss strengths and weaknesses, because both are celebrated.\n","date":"27 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-27-devotional-on-otherness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Devotional on Otherness","type":"posts"},{"content":"A Mavinian deck of cards has five ranks and twelve files. A regular deck of cards has four ranks (or suits) and thirteen files. Whereas a regular deck has two colors, the Mavinian Deck has three; red, black and green. The ranks are as follows:\nRounders, or Naughts. This rank is green. Crosses or Marks. This rank is red. Trivens or Triangles. This rank is black. Boxes or Squares. This rank is red. Stars or Grams. This rank is black.\nThe files for all ranks go from Master to Slave with numbers in between ranging from one to ten. In typical order, the files range as follows: M,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,S. In games where cards can be wild, it is typical for \u0026lsquo;fives\u0026rsquo; to be wild. The Master and Slave cards can sometimes contain pictures, but usually contain letters instead.\nMavinian Poker Similar to Draw Poker, each player puts an ante into the pot before being dealt five cards. After receiving the inital five cards, each person again bets, this time using raises and calls per regular poker. Being asking for a draw, each player must pass a card to a player next to them. On the first hand, you must pass a card to the right. One the second, to the left. Every third hand is a \u0026lsquo;keeper\u0026rsquo; and no cards are passed. Before asking for draw cards, any person may fold. Once the cards are passed, each person, starting from the left of the dealer and going clockwise may ask for 0,1, or 2 draw cards. After each player takes their turn, another round of betting begins.\nScoring is slightly different, only because Rounders are considered the highest suit. More on that later.\n","date":"26 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-26-mavinian-deck-of-cards/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mavinian Deck of Cards","type":"posts"},{"content":"I know, a lot of posts about the fantasy world, lately. Sometimes it works like that - I have a bunch of ideas all at once. The rough drafts are here, but I\u0026rsquo;ll update the fantasy site with the final cut.\nAll around the Eastern Continent and especially in the islands where the Middle Continent and the Eastern Continent meet, a loose affiliation of seafaring souls appear to have their home base. Some regard them as pirates, other consider them types of Robin Hood. The most neutral term used to refer to them is \u0026ldquo;Mavinian Traders\u0026rdquo;. The name comes from the peculiar deck of cards that all traders carry with them.\nThe traders are all seafaring folk, but not neccesarily of the same species, race, or ethnic descent. However, what ties this brotherhood together are a common love of the sea, a pledge to do no harm to each other, and a collective need to protect the trading routes. No one is quite sure who began the group: they have existed ever since the Eastern Continent was explored by the Hesberians. Their legend continues to grow, especially with each retelling of tales my wandering bards.\nBeing from different lands and species, the traders have developed a sophisticated form of communication with a deck of cards. Each card represents a fundamental idea allowing quick communication, and several cards together allow for more complex ideas to be expressed. Mavinian traders are quite adept with their hands often performing simple feats of presdigitation to amuse each other (or to escape a delicate situation). Most traders live by their wits and sleight of hand, though would-be conquerors have discovered that they can quickly muster quite a naval force when necessary.\nAlthough different, they share many traits in common. Most traders are quite successful, cunning, intelligent, and quick witted. Almost any member of a Mavinian ship\u0026rsquo;s crew can navigate a ship alone and take over if needed. The captain of one ship may serve on another, especially if the adventure is grand, the profit is high, or both. All traders can perform sleight of hand tricks and use them to their advantage whenever they can. All traders also carry at least one pack of a Mavinian Deck, most created one card at a time.\nThere have been accounts of traders using their cards in magic lands: given their manual dexterity and intelligence, it is likely to be true though evidence is scant.\n","date":"26 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-26-mavinian-traders/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mavinian Traders","type":"posts"},{"content":"THIS IS IN REGARDS TO THE WORLD of DIRA\nFrom the book The Human Way written by Bermal (also called Semzenos)\nVarious human tribes have their own creation myths. This one seems to be the most popular among the humans living in midcontinent, even in areas where there are no magics. When nonhuman species study humans in an academic approach, this is the story considered to be foundational in understanding the human way of thinking. This is likely because of the great Hesberian Empire that controlled most of the known continents before the discovery of the first magic. Traces of the Hesberian Empire are seen in most human lands through the existence of ancient temples dedicated to Luma, though few of these are in use.\nThe story is also striking for how humans attribute certain emotions and motives to the gods. Amongst all the species in the world, only the human stories (and this one in particular) imply any knowledge of gods\u0026rsquo; motives and thoughts. Perhaps it is why humans seem to work so hard to become divine, or at least to conquer it. Other legends from human lands tell of outsmarting and evening defeating deities, but those are stories outside the scope of this one.\nVarious humans cultures end the story at different stages, This narrative will end the creation story at the point where higher plant life on Earth is created. I chose this because this is the point where the most divergence occurs in human religion. Some versions go through the creation of a few sentient species, some only cover the creation of humans, still others have the gods compete over the creation of humans with the \u0026lsquo;failures\u0026rsquo; pawned off as inferior versions of the perfect human. These differences seem to be determined on a paticular human tribe\u0026rsquo;s view of the world, especially their view of other species.\nThe Beginning At the beginning of all things, there was only darkness. Into this darkness, appeared a force that sought to shape the darkness. We call this force Luma. Luma dotted the vast darkness with pieces of itself to add light to the darkness. We call these pieces of Luma\u0026rsquo;s essence stars. In order to bring light into the whole of the universe, Luma set the stars to move and sent them on their journey across the sky.\nStars and Planets As the stars journeyed, they brought warmth to the vast seas of dust adrift in the darkness. Some of the dust was consumed in Luma\u0026rsquo;s fire. Some of the dust has yet to see the essence of Luma through the stars. Yet in some places where stars came close, they formed the dust into solid rock. These rocks stood in the sapce between fire and ice, consmption and emptiness so that plants could grow. Through the working of Luma\u0026rsquo;s light, these rocks became covered in green fields of light and life.\nThe Heavens After Luma spread itself across the sky, it journeyed outside the darkness in order to contain it. Reaching around the darkness, Luma contained it in a circle. Thus we know that beyond the sky are lands of light and life. We call these the Outer Heavens.\nAs Luma moved throughout the Outer Heavens, shapes taking the appearance of stars began to form. However, not being surrounded by dust or darkness, these shapes evolved into other forms. These forms also sought to create and give shape even as they shaped themselves. Bathed in the light of creation, the ones known as Gods created themselves from the essence of Luma and set themselves in areas of the Outer Heavens.\nLife of the Gods In those days, the Gods spent their time creating the Outer Heavens and sharing with other. Competitions arose as each tried to outdo the other in creating beauty in the Outer Heavens. Not all the gods participated in the games, though, and jealousy arose between some of the gods. During one competition, Peles, decided that he would have his own competition, but not in the Outer Heavens like the others. He wanted to create in the Lower Heavens. Peles chose the Lower Heavens because he believed it would limit the powers of some.\nCreation on Earth Looking around the life-covered rocks in the Lower Heavens, Peles chose one and began creating there. Looking at the grasses covering the Earth, he began to shape taller grasses and shrubs and all manner of trees\u0026hellip;\nInterestingly enough, not even modern Hesberians acknowledge a god named Peles. Either his worship is lost to antiquity or he is omitted as the only God in the contest that did not create sentient life. There are, though, remnants of his name found in various healing herbs and plants with variations of the name Peles. Pelian Roses, Peles buds, Pel Seeds, Pelshian Tea (made from a plant of a different name), Pel Shrubs, etc.\n--end of quotation from The Human Way\nBermal (also called Semzenos) is not human, but Ganarus. He is considered their foremost authority in human belief and culture. Many, even humans, come to study at his school in Sima.\n","date":"24 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-24-human-creation-myth/","section":"Posts","summary":"THIS IS IN REGARDS TO THE WORLD of DIRA\nFrom the book The Human Way written by Bermal (also called Semzenos)\nVarious human tribes have their own creation myths. This one seems to be the most popular among the humans living in midcontinent, even in areas where there are no magics. When nonhuman species study humans in an academic approach, this is the story considered to be foundational in understanding the human way of thinking. This is likely because of the great Hesberian Empire that controlled most of the known continents before the discovery of the first magic. Traces of the Hesberian Empire are seen in most human lands through the existence of ancient temples dedicated to Luma, though few of these are in use.\n","title":"Human Creation Myth","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been meaning to do more writing in regards to my fantasy world. Now that the apartment is in order and I have a dedicated writing time on Saturday mornings, I look forward to writing more thoughtful articles (for one) and developing my own fiction writing.\nThe first thing I want to do is put all my poetry and short stories on the site. It won\u0026rsquo;t take long thanks to a little utility I found that changes rtf and doc files to html. They\u0026rsquo;ll be in a separate sub-domain of pinakidion.org.\nIn the meantime, there\u0026rsquo;s the fantasy world. The way I think, especially in regards to this world, is to build the world\u0026rsquo;s own fundamental mechanic and then work up from there. Up to this point, the rules behind the D20 open gaming content have been pretty helpful to fleshing out some things. Having played D\u0026amp;D(r) in one form or another since I was 10, I understand the D20 rules and it helps me to guage things like relative size, strength, impact of magic, etc. I think secretly, I hoped to make a game out of my fantasy world. However, there are enough things different in my world that I felt like I\u0026rsquo;d have to rewrite some of the basic rules in order to continue using them. Rewriting seemed to be easy, but I felt like I was in an endless loop.\nHowever, I then discovered the Action! System (r) core rules. They are pretty straightforward and they detail only the core mechanic of actions, combat, etc. This freed me up to write in my material instead. It may seem odd, but the Action! System(r) doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a magic system. That\u0026rsquo;s good because magic on my world is wonky anyway. I feel like I can contribute to a good system and have my own way.\nSo, I wanted to give back to them in some small way. If you go to fantasy.pinakidion.org, you\u0026rsquo;ll find where I have begun creating a hypertext version of the rules. The idea is similar to the Hypertext D20(tm). The main difference on my end is that I have to provide the rtf files to download as part of the Action! System(r) license. Other than that, I won\u0026rsquo;t have a monster or spell filter. If I get that far, I\u0026rsquo;ll have done something.\nThis may seem like too much trouble, but I want the laws of my fantasy universe to be internally consistent. They can be strange and bizarre, but they do have to be coherent. Using a gaming engine to work through it forces me to do my job as a writer/creator. Who wants to read about a world where things are so random, no one can make order or sense out of it?\nBesides all of that, it gives me an appreciation of the work God did at creation. I\u0026rsquo;m obviously going to cheat at some point and I\u0026rsquo;m definitely going to avoid a lot of the math and chemistry involved in His work. However, it does allow me a chance to see that God chose order. He isn\u0026rsquo;t bound by it, of course, but He chose to create a world that makes sense - it isn\u0026rsquo;t beyond humans to understand the order he created. For example, Newton\u0026rsquo;s laws. The fascinating thing, though, is that despite the order He created, there is a lot to explore. Not only that, there are also things in the universe that are bizarre and complex. The same God that provided the orderly rotation of planets and universal effects of gravity also created the world of quantum physics. The rules are completely different in the sub-atomic realm.\nAnywho, gotta run. Just wanted to let you know.\n","date":"24 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-24-new-section-on-website/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New section on website","type":"posts"},{"content":"Hello Kitty!\n","date":"24 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-24-stop-the-madness/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Stop the Madness","type":"posts"},{"content":"I pick on the women that run the communal coffee station near my office area. It seems that before my time, folks took advantage of the one or two people that actually paid for coffee and creamer, so a new system was instituted that works really well, even if the system feels like a protection racket.\nAs an outsider, I definitely felt the pressure.\nMy first day on the job, a nice older lady comes to my desk and asks, \u0026ldquo;Do you drink coffee?\u0026rdquo;. I replied that I enjoy coffee quite a bit. I then expounded upon my tales of grinding the beans just right, adding the right amount of water, having half a dozen flavored creamers at home, and so forth. I expected a conversation about coffee or some comment about my blatant attempt at melodrama. Instead, I got a deadpan question:\n\u0026ldquo;So, do you drink coffee?\u0026rdquo;\nI replied that I do, in fact, drink coffee. What happened next can only be described upon reflection as Rod Serling\u0026rsquo;s Night Gallery, Goodfellas, and SpongeBob.\n\u0026ldquo;We have coffee here for only two dollars a month. It\u0026rsquo;s the best deal in town.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;That sounds great, let me get settled and I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know,\u0026rdquo; I say. \u0026ldquo;Do you have your two dollars?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ll have it in a minute, but let me think about it and I\u0026rsquo;ll get back to you.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s the best deal, you know. It sure beats paying 25 cents a cup.\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;I can get it free upstairs, you know, but I\u0026rsquo;ll be happy to join later, let me - \u0026quot; \u0026ldquo;Do you have your two dollars?\u0026rdquo;\nBefore I can answer, another lady has come into my office and engages the first lady. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t take long for the conversation to come back to me, however.\n\u0026ldquo;John drinks coffee - he\u0026rsquo;s gonna be part of the club,\u0026rdquo; says the first lady. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s great,\u0026rdquo; the second lady responds, \u0026ldquo;has he paid, yet?\u0026rdquo;\nThen she looks at me and asks, \u0026ldquo;Have you paid your two dollars?\u0026rdquo;\nA bit taken aback by all of this and really wanting to get back to work, I reply, \u0026ldquo;I will as soon as I have it.\u0026rdquo; I had decided that saying anything about pondering this investment would be like throwing paper pills at them. Telling them that I didn\u0026rsquo;t have the money right away, though, gave me some space to breathe for a while.\nAfter lunch, however, I got the familiar question again, this time through a third lady that I had never met.\n\u0026ldquo;Do you have your two dollars?\u0026rdquo;\nEvery morning for the next few days, I was greeted with the same question. Worn down and tired, I realized that the Coffee Mafia had me and that I would need to pay up. After all, I reasoned, it was for my own good. Besides, it\u0026rsquo;s only two dollars.\nExactly a month later, I realized that the payments were two dollars a month, not a year. I became a month late and discovered how unpleasant it can be to upset the Don. I came to work one morning with a pre-printed form. It said \u0026ldquo;Coffee Reminder at the top\u0026rdquo; and my name was written into the Name blank just underneath. At the top left was a picutre of a cluster of smiley faces. On the form itself was a spot to write in the month and dollar amount owed for each month along with a total on the bottom of the form. My form kindly pointed out that I had paid December\u0026rsquo;s fee, but not November\u0026rsquo;s fee. I owed a total of two dollars.\nThe next day, my good friend arrives and asks the famous question, \u0026ldquo;Do you have your two dollars?\u0026rdquo;\nI am paid up for the next three years. I decided it was better this way as it helps me lower my blood pressure. Not only that, I discovered that there is a jumbo canister of creamer in the coffee area, now, as well as a box of Equal packets. As for the rest of my money, I consider it an investment in my own peace of mind.\n","date":"23 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-23-la-cosanostra-de-caff/","section":"Posts","summary":"I pick on the women that run the communal coffee station near my office area. It seems that before my time, folks took advantage of the one or two people that actually paid for coffee and creamer, so a new system was instituted that works really well, even if the system feels like a protection racket.\nAs an outsider, I definitely felt the pressure.\n","title":"La CosaNostra de Caffé","type":"posts"},{"content":"One of the things that I enjoy about living here is the great people. A couple housed my then girlfriend from April until October. They were in our wedding (the wife was the matron of honor). They took our stuff and drove it from Minneapolis to Omaha and loaded it into our apartment on the top floor of a complex. This weekend, they also hosted a reception for us.\nWe had about 30 - 40 people attend, including folks from my office. It was a lot of fun to wear the shirt again, to see Laryssa in the wedding dress again, and to watch football with my friends. I feel truly blessed to be surrounded and honored by so many.\nMy thanks to everyone.\nLast night, we decided to join some folks at a friend\u0026rsquo;s house for a game of nerts. I had never played, but I think I did okay. It\u0026rsquo;s the kind of game that you have to process a lot of things at once, so it provides a wonderful distraction.\nLast week, there were a lot of things rattling around in my mind. Having a chance to have some fun felt great. It was also fun to see Kurt Busch win the the Nextel(r) Cup. Say what you will about the chase, but the last race of the season mattered, down to the last green-white checkered finish. It is also of great comfort to me that under the old point system Jeff Gordon would have won the Nextel(r) Cup quite handily. Why? Because I don\u0026rsquo;t root for Jeff Gordon. I root for \u0026lsquo;Little E\u0026rsquo; and for whomever can put Gordon into the wall.\nAnywho, back to work for the short work week.\n","date":"22 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-22-reception-the-rest-of-the-weekend/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Reception \u0026 the Rest of the Weekend","type":"posts"},{"content":"Like most sports fans, I root for a person or team plus the opponent of a detested rival. For future reference these are:\nSport Favorite Team Whomever is playing against… NFL Washington Redskins Dallas Cowboys Nascar Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gordon MLB Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees 3-A Baseball Durham Bulls Charlotte Knights NBA Spurs/Bobcats New Orleans Hornets NHL Minnesota Wild Player’s Union College Baseball NC State Clemson Tigers College Football NC State/NC Central Florida State/NC A\u0026amp;T College Hoops NC State Duke I definitely will not be rooting for the Detroit Pistons anytime soon.\n","date":"22 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-22-sports-nation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Sports Nation","type":"posts"},{"content":"Three years ago there was a Unity meeting in Los Angelos to discuss the future of \u0026ldquo;our churches\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe that it was three years ago - it seems like an eternity of time and space from that day to this.\nRecently, I reread Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter and thought about our Post-HKL-Renaissance(tm). Have we really come so far? Have we changed at all? Henry himself is no longer part of the ICC (if my information is correct), but still visits them from time to time. He even has speaking engagements in various places. The question I have is have we missed our best chance to change?\nHenry mentioned four fundamental issues in the ICC and then enumerated 40 specific areas of concern.\n250,000+ people have left the ICC A thriving subculture of those concerned with the ICC. The ICC Discussion forum has been in the top ten of all Delphi Forums for years. There are several related forums that also thrive. Many are based on geographical areas. Leaders are not trusted, even reported \u0026lsquo;pillars\u0026rsquo; The Cult of Personality lives A lack of courage and confidence - the sheep have been sacrificed in order to defend the shepherds. Too many have dined at the King\u0026rsquo;s table. Loyalty, expedience, years of service and favor-swapping are more important than what is moral or pleasing to God. Great meetings and councils do not address the real issues. The large gap between clergy and laity. The ICC as a religious culture that controls by fear and intimidation, and also a culture of cowards and conflict avoiders- right to the top. Thomas\u0026rsquo;s letter did not address or repudiate the real ills of ICC Culture. Without address and repudiating these issues, no change can occur. We deny teaching the \u0026lsquo;One True Church\u0026rsquo; or more correctly the \u0026lsquo;One True Denomination\u0026rsquo;, but actively live it our in our lives and expect it from church members. The ICC has crystallized into a denomination. The ICC movement is not the \u0026lsquo;Kingdom of God\u0026rsquo; KNN is preceived as a propaganda tool. It reinforces comformity, not unity. Coercive giving is widespread. We have burdened our membership with special contribution goals and financial budgets that could be dramatically reduced if we did not waste so much, or stopped spending so lavishly on things we really don’t need, and had much more accountability and input from non-paid staff. Third World ministers do not get anywhere near the benefits and perks of their First World counterparts. Conformity is not Unity Discipleship partners, as praciticed, failed miserably. I do not deny the phenomenal amount of good that has come about from godly ‘discipling’ relationships- but as a formalized, authority laden institution it is doomed to fail and must therefore be dismantled. The Pax Americana must end. We have protected the shepherds and their sins more than the sheep. We fear men more than we fear God. Whatever we crystallize, formalize or institutionalize, that cannot be unequivocally defended by the Bible, will always be open to criticism and debate from men of good conscience- whether that be expedient titles and offices of authority, or our methods or theologies or cultural norms or whatever. This must never be stopped, but encouraged. We must fight for our God given right, our mandate, to always be restoring-especially the restoration of our freedoms in Christ. By and large our preaching is man oriented, works oriented, mission oriented, duty oriented and law oriented. So many thousands of men have been effectively emasculated by legalism and compliance to authoritarian leadership. Elders are overseen by evangelists despite the \u0026rsquo;tougher\u0026rsquo; criteria required to be an elder. So many men have been lost from leadership because of conscience and not sin. Missing on Feb 2, 2003 copy. We need teachers who are prophetic as well as academic. Official ICC events and institutions must end. The practice of wholesale pruning must end. ICC teachers have been largely discredited. Some have spoken up and been ignored, others have said nothing and are cowards. Power and pride corrupts to the core: We enjoyed our titles and have enjoyed some rather grand ones like ‘Kingdom Mission Evangelist’, ‘Kingdom Teacher’, ‘World Sector Leader’, ‘World Sector Elder’, and ‘Geographic Sector Leader’. Many in the full time ministry are now so damaged, so emotionally immature, so guilty, so insecure, so yielding and compliant, and even seared in their consciences, I am afraid it will take years for them to fully recover. So many women in the ministry are conflicted and other roles for women of paid staff have not been adequately explored. Countless hundreds of good hearted family group leaders and Bible talk leaders have stepped out of their roles because of discouragement and weariness. The meetings were more about accountability, making the targets, and forced follow-ups rather than prayer and worship. Local autonomy must be explored and embraced. Different churches will always be at different stages of maturity, and will have different needs. However, there is no proof of one church \u0026lsquo;over\u0026rsquo; another one. Once a young congregation is on its feet, is filled with the Spirit and has ‘commended’ leaders- it must be set free, allowed to walk, run and even fall on its own The lack of centralized control is clearly biblical, increasing our dependence on God, not man. Where are we now and is it too late to address the rest of these items?\n","date":"19 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-19-40-theses/","section":"Posts","summary":"Three years ago there was a Unity meeting in Los Angelos to discuss the future of “our churches”. It’s hard to believe that it was three years ago - it seems like an eternity of time and space from that day to this.\nRecently, I reread Henry’s letter and thought about our Post-HKL-Renaissance(tm). Have we really come so far? Have we changed at all? Henry himself is no longer part of the ICC (if my information is correct), but still visits them from time to time. He even has speaking engagements in various places. The question I have is have we missed our best chance to change?\nHenry mentioned four fundamental issues in the ICC and then enumerated 40 specific areas of concern.\n","title":"40 Theses","type":"posts"},{"content":"This story appeared on MSNBC.\nhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6501943/\n","date":"18 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-18-follow-up-to-prayers-for-iraq/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Follow up to Prayers for Iraq","type":"posts"},{"content":"Here’s how you can participate:\nWrite a post explaining the gospel as you would or could to a person in your context. Briefly describe your context and the audience to which you believe this explaination or description of the gospel would make sense and be meaningful. Use \\[Grid::Blog::Gospel\\]as the title of your post (everything from \\[ to \\], exactly as you see it). Check out what other people are saying by googling it. This looks interesting, so here\u0026rsquo;s my two cents. Keep in mind that I tend to prefer dialogue to monologue, but I digress.\nA person in my context - a rugged individualist that believes that anything that is not concrete is completely relative. In other words, do not tie me to a group of people, do not micromanage my life, do not meddle in my business unless I invite you in, and most importantly, do not question my honesty in asking questions.\nThat is my context where I encountered Jesus for the first time on a personal level. In a sense, I hope that this would help people like myself. The great thing about the gospel is that it transcends context. The gospel meets a person where they are emotionally, culturally, spiritually, and mentally. It is good news for all time and space.\nWhy do you ask about God? Don\u0026rsquo;t you believe that God is a relative thing? I see, it bothers you that I can refer to God in concrete terms. Does it bother you that I believe it is possible to know God and not just know of God?\nMaybe the real question is \u0026ldquo;How can I know for sure?\u0026rdquo;. That\u0026rsquo;s a fair question. The reason I can know for certain is that Jesus made a promise. He said, \u0026ldquo;try me.\u0026rdquo; Seriously, if you want to know whether or not Jesus is for real, put his teachings into practice. That way, you\u0026rsquo;ll know for yourself and it has nothing to do with me, or my friends, or my church or whatever. I did and that is what has made it real for me.\nHmm? No, I don\u0026rsquo;t think it is true for all religions. I have tried several and found that the same promise doesn\u0026rsquo;t hold true. I studied to be a Latter-Day Saint, I studied to be a Jehovah\u0026rsquo;s Witness, I studied Buddhism briefly and I\u0026rsquo;ve read the Koran. You know, you should read the Koran some time - it makes some interesting claims about the Bible and Christianity as a whole. I agree with Islam that Christians are \u0026ldquo;people of the book\u0026rdquo;. Again, though, if you need to explore it, then explore it - don\u0026rsquo;t just take my word for it. I believe that God can speak to you if you are really trying to find him. He will guide you in the way to go.\nYes, it is important that you are trying to find Him. But if you\u0026rsquo;re at a point where God is still a concept, that\u0026rsquo;s okay, too. We all have to start somewhere, just be honest about where you are now. Otherwise, you are putting yourself at the mercy of a smooth speaker. The very first thing to do when asking about God is ask yourself, \u0026ldquo;what do I think about God?\u0026rdquo;. Do you believe there is an unknown force that mankind calls God? Do you believe that there is no God? Is God a He, She, It, or Concept? Start with really basic statements and work your way up. I know you have some thoughts on God, otherwise you wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have asked me mine. However, in fairness, I\u0026rsquo;ll tell you mine, first.\nI believe that God created the universe and everything in it. I believe that God is knowable, but being infinite, He is not subject to anyone\u0026rsquo;s mental framework or worldview. I believe that God wants to be known by men and women everywhere and that he communicated to mankind in the best way we could understand. I believe that God is the definition of love and as such, has our best interests at heart and is not trying to play a big trick on all of mankind. I believe that he demonstrated that love through the sacrifice of his son, a man named Jesus. I believe that in God brought Jesus back to life so that all mankind could know God personally and intimately\u0026hellip;\nWhy is there evil in the world if God is a loving God? Now we\u0026rsquo;re getting to the heart of the matter. I\u0026rsquo;ll give you a short answer later, but it\u0026rsquo;s really something that you need to come to grips with yourself. When it comes to knowing who God is or what God is, we need to determine if how I defined God is true or not. How can I know if it\u0026rsquo;s true or not? Again, like I said earlier, Jesus said to put his words to practice to see if they are true. Like any other relationship, knowing God is a risk: it is not an intellectual exercise. If you want that, I\u0026rsquo;d suggest the Buddha or Zoroaster.\nWhy am I confident? I believe that God wants to be known by men and women everywhere and that he communicated to mankind in the best way we could understand. I believe that the best way we could understand is through a book. If He spoke to someone directly, we can dismiss them as crazy. If He speaks to you, how will you convince someone that He did? They\u0026rsquo;ll think you\u0026rsquo;re crazy, too. I think He showed up in person and left a record. Would it have been easier if He showed up today? Maybe, but then we\u0026rsquo;d hear about him through the networks, BBC, Al-Jazeera, and all other sources. What\u0026rsquo;s the difference between getting a news report about someone today that preaches a bunch of things and reading about them in a book? Nothing but video images, really. Would seeing a picture of Jesus really make that much difference to you?\nSo how do I know that this book is true? Again, I tried it. It\u0026rsquo;s true that it claims to be a written testament of God, but that can be dismissed as promotional hype without some first-hand experience, right? For me, I found Jesus\u0026rsquo; words to be true and then worked backward to taking the entire Bible to be true, but stopped short of taking any other books as testimonies of God.\nWhy do I keep changing the subject to the Bible when you asked about God? It\u0026rsquo;s simple, really. I believe that I know God through the Bible. I also believe that because God makes himself known through the Bible, that you can embark on your own exploration of Him. I\u0026rsquo;m really trying to remove myself and my opinions from your exploration of God. I\u0026rsquo;d love to help because I\u0026rsquo;ve been through some things and I think I\u0026rsquo;ve learned a few things, but it\u0026rsquo;s important to me that you find God and not my religion. Again, God is larger than my mental framework and personal world view.\nGive me the benefit of the doubt for now and go explore on your own. If you read John 1, it\u0026rsquo;s basically an expanded version of what I said that I believed. John was written by a man that claimed to be an eyewitness to Jesus. He also said that he wrote this book so that others could know who Jesus is.\nWhere does Jesus say \u0026ldquo;try me\u0026rdquo;? It\u0026rsquo;s in John 7:16-17.\nJesus answered, \u0026ldquo;My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God\u0026rsquo;s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.\nYou\u0026rsquo;re welcome. I hope it helps. It\u0026rsquo;s where I started and it helped me. Seriously, though, I think that if you are looking for Him (meaning God), you\u0026rsquo;ll find Him in whatever path you choose. Call me if you need anything.\n","date":"16 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-16-gridbloggospel/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"[Grid::Blog::Gospel]","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am not a big fan of the International Churches of Christ. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that\u0026rsquo;s a disputable fact. However, while in Rome, I became aware of a tiny church of seventeen \u0026lsquo;disciples\u0026rsquo; in Iraq. My understanding is that these are not American servicemen, but Iraqi citizens.\nI can only imagine the upheaveal in their lives since the war began, so I am asking for prayers for those 17. My understanding is that the Christians from Jordan and other countries returned home, but that the 17 left stayed at home. It just so happens their home is in Baghdad.\nI was given a contact name to send encouragement to them and I am waiting to hear back. It is my hope that there is a way to send them encouragement to have faith in God and trust in Him during their ordeal.\nIt has also occurrred to me that there are American soldiers that are ICC members (82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, National Guard). I prayed since the war began that somehow two brothers did not shoot each other.\nI am not anti-military and I pray for our troops. In the current politcal culture of the US where patriotism is increasingly becoming synonmous with religion, all I ask is What Would Jesus Do? I believe that he would pray for our enemies, the insurgents in Fallujah and Mosul, as well as Usama Bin Laden, himself. I believe he would pray for the Christians in Baghdad. I believe he would pray for the American and coalition servicemen as well.\nLike I said, I am not a fan of the ICC. However, I am certain that these 17 souls do not have the luxury to discuss issues of polity and discipling - they are more busy staying alive in a war zone. I do pray that there is a way to stregthen these suffering Christians.\n","date":"16 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-16-prayers-for-iraq/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Prayers for Iraq","type":"posts"},{"content":"Although Clinton had to replace 7 of 15 cabinet members during his second term, it strikes me as interesting those among the Bush administration that are leaving.\nCabinet Secretary of State Colin Powell Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman Education Secretary Rod Paige Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham Attorney General John Ashcroft Secretary of Commerce Don Evans\nCIA Director, George Tenet Deputy director of Operations, Stephen R. Kappes Deputy Director John E. McLaughlin CIA officer Mike Scheuer (of Imperial Hubris fame)\nMore senior CIA agents are bound to leave as Gross has rejected the advice of four former directors.\nAll of this leads me to wonder why so many are leaving. I realize the CIA is a separate issue in some ways. I believe they are related because the management style is similar.\nAnywho, just my random thought of the day.\n","date":"15 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-15-interesting/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Interesting","type":"posts"},{"content":"While coming in to work this morning, I heard the story of the Kabul Golf Club. My first impressions were related to the wasted money Americans are spending to revitalize Afghanistan. However, as I listened on, I discovered the story of one man\u0026rsquo;s dream.\nIt turns out that Mohammed Afzal remembers the days when diplomats and other dignitaries used to go to the club for social events and fun. Now, 25 years later, he moved back to Afghanistan from Pakistan where he gave up his job to rebuild the golf course. He dreams of Harmad Karzai and even Tiger Woods making a visit to the course.\nTo give you an idea of the magnitude of Afzal\u0026rsquo;s dream, the course currently has no grass. It was destroyed by the Soviets when they invaded in the seventies. When the Soviets retreated, the course was open depending on the local warlord in power, but the Taliban, once in control, saw no use for a golf course, so they left it abandoned.\nFor $50, you can play the course with the pro while he provides instruction. The old pro shop is a bombed out building, but he has a rusting locker that holds the rental equipment. First, he hopes to raise money for grass, then he may think about the buildings and such. In any case, I imagine that he is quite happy to live his dream after spending a quarter of a century waiting.\n","date":"15 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-15-true-vision/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"True Vision","type":"posts"},{"content":"So, what exactly did the link mean when I posted this term earlier?\nOpen source programmers have a perchant to create a program that duplicates to work of a similar program that already exists. These programmers continue to work on their program despite the fact that they may be \u0026lsquo;reinventing the wheel\u0026rsquo;. A few of these programmers acknowledge this fact in their title by calling their program, Yet Another Program. For example, YAPIG stands for Yet Another Php Image Gallery. Many other folks use Coppermine or similar programs, but for whatever reason, the programmer of YAPIG wanted to create his own.\nlxy (Hebrew reads from right to left) is a Hebrew word meaning to wait or to hope for. For example in Psalm 130:5,\nI wait for the LORD , my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.\nAs such, when you put the two together, you have my intended meaning. Expressed plainly, YAChaL(tm) means to hope for something that has already happened before. Specifically in the sentence of the post this is refined to mean \u0026ldquo;to hope for a leader that is just like the charasmatic leaders of old.\u0026rdquo;\nYes, it\u0026rsquo;s a bit of a stretch, but I couldn\u0026rsquo;t resist it.\n","date":"15 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-15-yachaltm/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"YAChaL(tm)","type":"posts"},{"content":"So, my friends want to know about the conference in Rome. I have to say that I enjoyed it. In large part I enjoyed it because my wife was with me. She and I were minor celebrities at the conference as the couple on their honeymoon. There\u0026rsquo;s a part of me that wants to be taken seriously for the teaching work I do in Omaha, but considering my lack of participation with other \u0026rsquo;teachers\u0026rsquo; at the conference, it didn\u0026rsquo;t bother me too much.\nExcept for one message, the keynote sermons were quite good and thoughtful. Personally, I\u0026rsquo;ve hungered for a thoughtful sermon and had resorted to memories of past sermons as a young teenager. At that time, I knew a man from CBN UNiversity (now Regent University) was the professor of Bibilcal Exposition and Teaching there. I heard him do an exposition on the book of Ephesians and other New Testament books. I knew then that I wanted to speak like him, and in some ways, I do.\nThe one message I did not like talked about vision. He made a great point about complicating the gospel (good news + my awesome church) instead of presenting a simple gospel (Jesus and Him crucified), but then he digressed. He seemed to replace reaching the world in one generation with buidling teaching schools all over the world. I suppose when the next reformation of the ICC occurs, he will be calling for vision in regards to that as well. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to pick on the speaker, but a pep rally speech sandwiches between two scriptures doesn\u0026rsquo;t excite me. I decided to not be disruptive and simply stare at the ceiling until the next scripture emerged. In fairness to having vision, I do pray that members of the ICC will dream about what the new churches will be like. I truly believe that if individual members do not begin to dream of what their church can be, that they will allow yet another charismatic leader (YAChaL(tm)) to shape the church in their image. Unfortunately, I believe that many with vision, simply went to find it elsewhere because few would listen. I may end up searching for that vision elsewhere as well.\nOtherwise, I enjoyed talking to folks from Europe. I made it a point to avoid Americans, and except one night at dinner, I did. I consider the couple leading the Zurich Church of Christ as friends and I enjoyed discussing the effects of George W. Bush with them. All four of us agree that re-electing Dubya was a bad thing - I joked that I would get a Canadian passport if I travelled to Europe again.\nI also enjoyed talking to a man that was a minister for 14 years on two continents. We had a great discussion about inbreeding and the need for outside help with the ICC. He serves on a leadership team in the UK, but is no longer a minister. Talking with him was encouraging in that it was good to talk with somehow that shared some of my viewpoint. I have his email address and I look forward to talking with him further. I also spoke with Malcom Cox, the only paid minister in London. We prayed together near the end of the conference. I encountered a man that was trying very hard to be a great husband, father, and minister. He shared some personal feelings and struggles about his life in the Post-HKL Renaissance(tm). I was glad to encourage him that he was not alone in his struggles - there\u0026rsquo;s a couple here that share some of his experiences.\nI only made one verbal comment during the keynotes. The speaker was saying that God demolished the clergy-laity distinction with HKL and I responded, \u0026ldquo;But it\u0026rsquo;s coming back.\u0026rdquo; I believe it is, especially after reading the so-called discipling methods used in Orange County. I think there are quite a few people that think the Orange County method is a good solution because it is a compromise between \u0026ldquo;no discipling\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;one over another discipling\u0026rdquo;. Not to return to a familiar rant, but the fallacy of the Golden Mean is infuriating to see.\nI enjoyed the visit to Pompeii as it is a city that is not too different from Corinth. I saw the market and a cloth merchant\u0026rsquo;s house. Someone in my group mentioned Lyddia and the connection fit quite well. A church met in Lyddia\u0026rsquo;s home for some time and using the home in Pompeii as a model, I can understand why they chose it as a meeting place. The home in Pompeii had 50 bedrooms, 2 courtyards, fountains, baths, and lots of open space. There was easily room for hundreds of people to meet, although I\u0026rsquo;m sure that many primitive churches never used all the space available to them at a rich merchant\u0026rsquo;s home. Outside of space, it also showed me that rich Christians in the early church were not ordered to impoverish themselves, but were expected to be generous with others.\nOverall, though, the biggest thing I picked up from the conference was the danger in confusing religion for patriotism. It\u0026rsquo;s a trend that occurred in Rome and is currently happening in the US. I truly believe that some voted for Dubya because he was \u0026lsquo;more Christian\u0026rsquo; than Kerry. I believe that the political debate has been used to discuss the Christian merits of a candidate instead of the issues. Anyone running for office seems to be a good strong Christian with a Christian family, and I resent that. I especially bristles during the third debate when it seemed that both of them were discussing their views on God instead of discussing something of importance. There\u0026rsquo;s more to this idea, but I\u0026rsquo;ll have to write it later.\nI still believe that things will have to get worse before they get better. I still sense a big resistance to outside help and a trend to become a nicer version of what we once were. However, I did enjoy meeting folks for whom the dramas of polity are not really issues. What I mean are the 17 members of the ICC in Baghdad. I\u0026rsquo;m certain that the politcal reality before and after the war prevented some things from happening, but now, they are more concerned about staying alive than the proper mode of \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo;. I pray for them to be safe and to survive the war.\n","date":"12 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-12-the-great-paperchasetm/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Great Paperchase(tm)","type":"posts"},{"content":"While talking to some folks in Rome, a friend pointed out something about the United States worthy of mention. Keep in mind, that I believe my beloved country is trying to mix religion and patriotism: a recipe for destruction.\nMy friend said that while everyone is talking and preaching about praying for the troops, no one is teaching love your enemies.Luke 6: 27 - 36 talks about love for your enemies, certainly this would extend to possibly praying for them as well.\nThink about it: this great so-called Christian nation of ours misses the message. Even Jesus said that it was easy to love those that love you back, but where are the preachers calling for loving our enemies? Instead there is a barrage of \u0026ldquo;Pray for the Troops\u0026rdquo;.\nI had to think about this one, myself, and felt ashamed for not seeing this simple truth.\n","date":"11 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-11-forgotten-passage/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Forgotten Passage","type":"posts"},{"content":"Greetings family and friends from Roma! John and I have had a fantastic time in this ancient and yet thriving city.\nWe have just finished early Christmas shopping, but our travels have included a great work out in the hike to Mt. Vesuvius, comparing ancient Pompeii with current Rome and even the US.\nTalking and connecting not only to each other in a special way as we daily fall more in love but also with other workshop participants who were also here to learn more about Rome and the bible.\nThe food is incredible and to be sorely missed as we return . . .and Laryssa is excited though to start her life with her wonderful husband. She feels especially inspired by John and her time in Rome to be serious about her love of writing . . . be on the look out to be guinea pigs of her forthcoming adventures and scribbles . . .\nlove to you all and Thanks for making our Wedding Day and our relationship so wonderful . . .See you soon Omaha,\nLove, Laryssa\n","date":"9 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-09-roma/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Roma!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Bonjurno! Here I am in Rome at the Great Paperchase(tm) and I am having a lot of fun. Actually, Laryssa and I got here a few days early and we have enjoyed the old city quite a bit. On our first night here, we found a great little resturant that has tremendous food for little euro.\nI am enjoying being married to my best friend, I know it is a standard Kingdom phrase, but in my case it is true.\nOther than that, I went to visit the Roman Forum complete with the newer Senate building (3rd century CE) and other fun things. It was neat to stand in Pompeii\u0026rsquo;s market. Like someone had mentioned nearby, Pompeii and Corinth are quite similar.\nMore to come, but wanted to check in when I could. Do I like being here? Well, I enjoy Rome and I enjoy my wife. I even enjoy talking to folks from other churches. I\u0026rsquo;ve apolgized four times for Bush being re\u0026rsquo;elected. Europeans really do not like Bush.\nSeeing some folks, though, just brings back a lot of hurts. I\u0026rsquo;ve had to shake my head a few times: it seems we are destined to be a nicer version of what we were, instead of really making change. Oh well, maybe my wife is right and I am too impatient.\n","date":"6 November 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-11-06-the-food-here-is-great/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The food here is great","type":"posts"},{"content":"Below is a link to map that will allow you to get a general overview of where the dinner will be as well as provide the exact address.\nI’m also including a picture that shows the dinner location in relation to the wedding location. Click on the picture to get a full-size image. The red star is the rehersal dinner location. The blue star is the wedding location.\nMap for Directions\n","date":"28 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-28-directions-to-the-rehersal-dinner/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Directions to the Rehersal Dinner","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m off to get married. I\u0026rsquo;ll probably have no inclination to write anything for quite a while.\nThanks to Laryssa for being my best friend and confidant. Thanks to my friends from all over. Thanks for our gifts - The Ocean Blue placesettings are nice, but we don\u0026rsquo;t need more of them. You could get the coffee pot. It\u0026rsquo;s fully automatic and programable, just add roasted coffee beans. Thanks to my friend and minister that continues to help me deal with my past, my present and my future. Thanks to Jeff who has given me great counsel. Thanks to my good friend and business partner for being patient with me while we figure out how to build our business. Thanks to Laryssa\u0026rsquo;s Dad for doing SO much to make the wedding happen. Thanks to my parents who have helped a lazy person like me actually move my stuff and provide emotional support when the details really stressed me out. Glory be to God that he has blessed me with so many that care and with one that is closer than a brother. Will I write about the Bible Study Tour? Maybe. I hope to have pictures for everyone on our website - johnandlaryssa.com, if nothing else. We got a new digital camera, so it will be fun to try it out.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sure in the coming weeks, I\u0026rsquo;ll write a lot less about church and more about my writing and teaching, at least I hope so. It\u0026rsquo;s therapeutic to bear my soul to the world wide web, but there\u0026rsquo;s nothing really new to write about that. Besides, as far as my writing goes, there\u0026rsquo;s a backlog of ideas for my fantasy world. Think of a battery that stores magic, you\u0026rsquo;ll never believe what powers it. I\u0026rsquo;ll give you a hint, they\u0026rsquo;re also good for fishing.\nAnywho, visit salguod.net for really insightful articles in the meantime. He\u0026rsquo;s a neat guy with a lot of insight. He writes more to explore God as opposed to my site that serves as a scratchpad.\nMuch love to my friends in Raleigh. I hope to see you in the Spring.\n","date":"28 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-28-goodbye-for-now/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Goodbye for now","type":"posts"},{"content":"To Honor My Father Even though I live half a nation away, I will forever remember my home is by the sea: I am the son of a son of a fisherman. My ancestors were fishermen, pirates, explorers and soldiers – sometimes they were all four at the same time. Like me, they travelled the world and sought its wonder only to return again to a familiar shore. Thank you Dad for giving me a sense of my heritage.\nTo Honor My Mother Who knows the boundaries of love? Where is the rule that can measure its length and width and breadth? If such a device came to be, your love would be the gold standard and mine a lesser copy to calibrate it by. Some have said I care for others, but only because of your example of love for me. Thank you Mom for giving me a heart.\nTo Honor My Brother and Best Man Troubles often befall a man, it is the way of this life. Sometimes they cannot be avoided, sometimes a man brings them on himself. Through all the many troubles I’ve had of both kinds, you have defended me and kept me from harm. I hope to fight for others at least half as much as you have fought for me. Thank you Chris for protecting me from many things, especially myself.\nTo Honor My True Friend Adventure comes in many forms and we have had a few. We have travelled to exotic locations, we’ve gone into business together, and we’ve shared a few tears along the way, but we’ve always been able to give our friends a smile. I get easily distracted by the latest shiny thing, but our friendship will endure long after they are gone. I pray to be a steadfast friend that never runs away from hardship. Thank you Shane for being my true friend, especially when I didn’t deserve it.\nTo Honor My Wise Friend The way a man lives will determine his destiny and eternal fate, the life of his family shapes the destiny and fates of many others. It is good and right to be generous, fair, hospitable and gracious, but without love, these virtures fall to the ground like overripe apples. I would not continue to pursue these and other virtues without the council of your wisdom. I hope to imitate your life, your heart, and your family. Thank you Jeff for being a light to guide my steps.\nTo Honor the Pure of Heart The world is full of color and beauty waiting to be discovered. In every day, there are untold wonders that surround us in a dizzying array of sense and perception. God created everything that can be known on Earth and he declared it good. In every event where we’ve shared time, I am amazed at the ease and joy you eagerly share with others. I pray to enjoy every moment as precious, but with the ease of one that trusts God is good in all situations. Thank you Bryon for your boundless joy, it is a tremendous encouragement to me.\nTo Honor a Fellow Worker Every man has a talent, but not every man has a heart. Diagnostic tools abound to plumb the depths of skill and craft, but there is no tool for the heart. Many men that never find their heart, much less give it away once unearthed. For all your hard work for those on your watch, let me remind you: Heart will always trump talent every time, no question. Give me ten men with heart and I will show you true talent. I pray to be as devoted to what is right as you despite all accusations of failure. Love never fails. Thank you Jason for working so hard with me to teach the Word of God.\n","date":"28 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-28-thank-you-part-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thank you part two","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been a wild and wonderful week. I get married in 5 days. I am truly looking forward to it. I got a great gift Saturday night that has helped me to look forward to these upcoming days. More on that later, for now, I just need to verbalize some things that rattled around my brain before that time.\nIn many ways, I just want the ceremony to be over. Getting prepared for the ceremony and making arrangements for the ceremony prevented us from doing a lot of things together. It turned our relationship into a deadline and took away the ease we had. We had ease of communication, ease of schedule - if we wanted to do something, we did, if we wanted to go dancing, we did. Now, it\u0026rsquo;s an endless parade of meetings and coordinators and details and stress. I cannot wait for it to be over.\nGranted, it will be a beautiful ceremony. She did a great job of creating a ceremony that is beautiful, touching, and unique. I will enjoy taking part in it as something that is uniquely ours, not hers. I have had fun planning parts of it and some of the details give me a good block of time to think of her while she is away.\nI am glad that folks in MN are stepping in and taking things off her plate. Our caterer is simply wonderful. I\u0026rsquo;ve eaten her cooking before and it is exquisitie. Her ability to put things together is wonderful as well. She is the coolest.\nHer Dad has done an incredible amount of work for this weekend: I\u0026rsquo;ve told him this repeatedly. He paid for the wedding, he is hosting the rehearsal dinner, he is just taking care of all of it. Tis really wonderful.\nMy Mom is great, too. She\u0026rsquo;s in town with me this week to do some moving and packing. Most of all, she is emotional support so that I don\u0026rsquo;t go crazy. I\u0026rsquo;m glad she\u0026rsquo;s here, even if it was a full day earlier than I expected.\nOther than that, I have to say that my groom-honoring (or whatever it\u0026rsquo;s called these days) was a lot of fun. We watched NC State play football (although I was upset about the final score), we ate Chili intended for Neaderthals and we demolished a three foot sub, we had a good time. I have to say, though, that my gift from Victor was the best of all:\nI thought it strange that I had to go outside to receive this gift, but I played along. When he said I had to close my eyes, I should\u0026rsquo;ve known that something was afoot, especially when he added that I had to count to three. At the count of two, I felt my life flash before me, but since I had my eyes closed, I didn\u0026rsquo;t see anything. When I opened my eyes, I tried to figure out the strange shape before me only to realize it\u0026rsquo;s contents a moment later.\nI was hit in the face with a lemon meringue pie.\nI still laugh when I think about it, because it fits in with a way of life I have tried to embrace my whole life, namely, that I don\u0026rsquo;t take myself too seriously. Since getting hit with that pie, I have completely relaxed and I can enjoy these days leading up to marraige.\nThanks Victor, it was the best present I ever got.\n","date":"25 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-25-a-great-gift/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Great Gift","type":"posts"},{"content":"I truly believe that God is doing something wonderful in my life and moving me into the next major change in my walk with him.\nGetting married is a large part of it, but not the only part of it.\nLooking back at my last AG meeting, though, I don\u0026rsquo;t feel a sense of loss. The church voted on deacons that would take the place of some members of the AG. I was voted as one of those deacons, but I turned the nomination down. It was not at all because of my upcoming marriage, despite what others have said. It was because I am not objective with the needs of my congregation. I am still hurt my many things in my past and despite all kinds of study, counseling, and prayer, I am still very angry and very upset. I cannot talk about certain topics that are important without a major emotional reaction. Keeping that reaction under control is so draining that it takes away from my relationship with Laryssa and with God, himself.\nI had promised myself some time ago that church would never get in the way of my relationships ever again and I was going back on that promise. The right course of action was clear, even though I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to admit it.\nMore importantly, when Laryssa and I started reading His Needs, Her Needs, it talked about doing things together and the dangers of leading markedly separate lives. The AG was something she could not share with me directly, because I was elected to the AG while I was single. It took me over a week to emotionally prepare for each meeting and a couple of days afterwards to overcome the intensity of it and the embarassment for feeling like I overreacted to how I thought the meeting would preside. Being new here, she wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been nominated for AG in quite a while, if at all. I shared everything with her and she provided wonderful insight, but it was a once or twice a month three hour block of time where we had to be apart. In addition, it was something that dominated my thinking and energy for the better part of each month.\nTherefore, in choosing between church and marriage, it was easy to choose my marriage. She would willingly be there for me because she loves me. She had even hoped to be at meetings with me. However, it\u0026rsquo;s just not worth it. Again, my relationships are more important than the church I attend. Besides, now I have the time and energy to devote to things I love and I can share with her: her writing, my teaching, and Clerry Computers.\nAs far as the meeting itself, well, this is one time I felt like I didn\u0026rsquo;t overreact, but I have to let go of the lonliness of being a minority of one. We are going to form small groups again, and due to the failure of voluntary methods to form them, the method is going to be somewhat arbitrary, but not 100% arbitrary. I know that small groups are not a bad thing and that it will help meet needs, but it just feels like we are going backwards and not forwards.\nMy only real objection is that all we know within the ICoC, no matter how progressive, is having small groups with leaders that report to group leaders that report to evangelists that report to the lead evangelist. Without very clear direction to the substance and polity of these groups, we will revert back to this. With all the good intentions in the world, we\u0026rsquo;ll go back to it because it is all we know how to do. Other churches have small groups, but if we don\u0026rsquo;t ask them how they do it, we\u0026rsquo;ll go back to what we used to have because it is all we know.\nUnfortunately, I don\u0026rsquo;t know how to do it differently either, and it\u0026rsquo;s been almost two years since we have had arbitrary small groups. It feels like something needs to be done to help members of our chruch, and I would rather do something than do nothing. It\u0026rsquo;s all a part of taking risks and this is a TREMENDOUS risk.\nI will not be a part of these small groups any time soon, but I support the decision of the AG to bring them back. I resent the forced nature of it and have grown accustomed to what I do now to help others and receive help from others. I remember much too strongly the misery of my previous small group experiences and I do not want to go back to it. I may simply attend church elsewhere - my memories of small group dynamics and polity are that strong and painful.\nI have forgiven the men and women that were a part of it. When I remember these things, I do not conjure up any animosity towards an individual. I do not say, \u0026ldquo;I wish that So-and-So hadn\u0026rsquo;t done that!\u0026rdquo; My memories, pain, and grief of these experiences are more abstract than that. It is an unhealed wound and a malignant sadness. It is not the kind of soreness resulting from a healing muscle or ligament, it is a pain that comes from a direct injury to bone.\nFor that reason, I trust that it is healing, but it really doesn\u0026rsquo;t feel like it sometimes. I want to stop hurting and I want to go back to my life. Instead, I hurt and this is despite the fact that everything that can be done to treat it is being done. Ultimately, though, it just takes time and I\u0026rsquo;m afraid that I am too impatient. More specifically, I believe that it just shouldn\u0026rsquo;t take me this long to get over it. I wish that I could chart the progression of healing and at least see a positive direction. I wish I could honestly say that I am better than I was a year ago, two years ago, but I cannot express the differences.\nUntil that time, I keep going. God is with me, even when I am wrong. After all, he saved me when I fought against him directly, how much more will he do as I struggle to be close to Him? As I have written earlier, I am confident that He will point out my errors to me in many diverse ways. Like Abraham, I am not certain of my destination, but I know that somewhere along the journey, I will be changed.\n","date":"25 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-25-my-last-advisory-group-meeting/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Last Advisory Group Meeting","type":"posts"},{"content":"I usually avoid politics. However, I saw a sign that was just too good to ignore:\nRe-Defeat Bush\nI used to serve on the editorial board of Technican at NC State. Later I wrote for \u0026ldquo;Hugo Speaks\u0026rdquo; a humor and satire magazine that my buddy Mike created. My article was called \u0026ldquo;How to Win a Five Dollar Bet with a Coffe Maker\u0026rdquo;. It worked, too, and still does.\nOn a bit of a side note, I went googling for my long lost friend. I found where he participated in a conference in 96 creating a server-side scripting language from scratch. After that, I\u0026rsquo;m not sure, but it seems that he may have worked for Red Hat and Utenzi after that, and possibly could have been the guy behind the CueCat bruhaha some time ago.\nMike, if you follower the link redirecter - you were right, I never should let this church dominate my life like it did. I know you told me that 14 years ago, but you were a good friend and I should have listened to you. At the very least, we should\u0026rsquo;ve still hung out together and written crazy articles for Technician. I treated you like dirt and I\u0026rsquo;m sorry.\nAnywho, I hope to avoid politics for another few years. Just had to send along the picture.\n","date":"15 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-15-neat-sign-in-new-hampshire/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Neat sign in New Hampshire","type":"posts"},{"content":"I would provide a link to this site, but it is down, so I include the entire text. This was written by a member of a discipling/shepherding church in defense of discipling.\nAuthority\nThe critics feel that the shepherding/discipleship paradigm in (church name deleted -.Ed) is fostering an abusive environment. They feel that church leaders ought to be accountable to others for their conduct. But wait. Certainly there ought to be discipline in the church. Certainly people in authority should not bend to the opinion of men, but be accountable to God and submitted to him. This needs some further explanation. Let me explain how this works by using the parent-child relationship as a model.\nIn Christ, a church is a family (Mat 12:49-50). And within this family, we have spiritual fathers and mothers, like pastors, elders and various leaders (1Co 4:15; 1Jn 2:13). Paul even described his disciples as sons (Phm 10; 1Ti 1:2, 18; 2Ti 1:2, 2:1; Php 2:22; Tit 1:4). He says words like, \u0026ldquo;To Timothy my true son in the faith\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; Now, a parent\u0026rsquo;s job is not just to nurture children, but to also discipline them (Pro 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15,17). As a child grows up, he needs less nurturing and more discipline. The same is true for spiritual children, those who have not yet reached spiritual maturity. The discipline they need does not seem pleasant (Heb 12:9-11). Allow me to illustrate my point using the mother eagle:\nA mother eagle builds her nest by first using material that is not soft, like thorns and branches. Then on top of it, she puts the softer material such as wool and feathers. When her eaglets reach flying age, she removes the soft top lining of the nest, exposing the sharp, jagged material underneath. This helps her young eaglets to leave the comfort of the nest and move on to independence.\nIn a similar way, a parent\u0026rsquo;s love must switch from being soft and nurturing to being tough and disciplining. This \u0026ldquo;switching\u0026rdquo; also happens in (church name deleted -.Ed) . Initially, a new (church name deleted -.Ed) member is praised and encouraged and may be put on a pedestal and put at the center of attention. Later, a spiritual parent (the shepherd) will gradually give correction, rebuke, and training to help the person repent of sin. Critics think that this switching proves that the nurturing love was insincere and that it was \u0026ldquo;love bombing\u0026rdquo;. This is not so. It is with Christ\u0026rsquo;s love and with sincerity that a new member is loved. Critics also allege that the discipline in (church name deleted -.Ed) is spiritual abuse and abuse of authority. This is not so. Godly love disciplines. And to withhold this discipline is not love (Pro 13:24). Out of this love, a spiritual parent gives rebuke and discipline and does so even at the risk of being misunderstood.\nTo whom is a leader accountable? Well, first, what accountability system do we see in the Bible circumscribing the authority of parents? There is none! Of course, parents are forbidden from exasperating or embittering their children (Col 3:21; Eph 6:4). Nevertheless, by the fifth commandment, parents are to be honored by their children unconditionally. Biblicly, parents answer to no man for their parenting performance. Rather, their eye is to be on pleasing the Lord Jesus and they are to be submitted to his lordship. The same is true for spiritual parents. Heb 13:17 says, \u0026ldquo;Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.\u0026rdquo; This states that leaders are accountable to the Lord. It states that they are to be obeyed. No conditions or limitations apply.\nHowever, there is one limitation to the authority of physical and spiritual parents. That limitation is alluded to in Mat 10:37, \u0026ldquo;Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.\u0026rdquo; This makes it clear that, when there is a clear conflict between the commands of parents and the commands of the Lord, children must choose to obey the Lord (Acs 4:19). This flows also from the fact that the fifth commandment regarding human parents has four greater commandments preceding it regarding the Lord God.\nBut, on the other hand, this exception is not to be misused as a means to rebel against the authority of physical or spiritual parents. In Jesus\u0026rsquo; day, people were using the corban rule to get around the fifth commandment. \u0026ldquo;Corban\u0026rdquo; means a gift or sacrificial offering. The corban rule allowed anything to be dedicated to God by pronouncing it \u0026ldquo;corban\u0026rdquo;. In Mk 7:10-13, Jesus spoke against the Pharisees for teaching people to exempt themselves from obeying the 5th commandment through the Corban rule:\n\u0026ldquo;For Moses said, `Honor your father and your mother,\u0026rsquo; and, `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.\u0026rsquo; But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: `Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban\u0026rsquo; (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.\u0026rdquo; Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.\u0026quot;\nHere, Jesus says that, under the fifth commandment, parents are to be obeyed. To disobey them in the name of obeying God is to nullify the word of God. Thus, it is rebellion against God.\nPractical Implications How does all this apply to you, dear reader, in your relationship with your spiritual parents in the Lord? Paul writes in Col 3:20, \u0026ldquo;Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.\u0026rdquo; Here, \u0026ldquo;in everything\u0026rdquo; means in everything. The aim is pleasing the Lord, not men.\nIf your spiritual leader seems to make a mistake and tells you to do something that is not fitting, must you still obey? Perhaps the better question to ask yourself first, is why you cannot trust your leader. Surely parents understand more than children. They usually know what is best. But perhaps you feel that this is not a trust issue. If so, then you must first seriously evaluate your relationship with the Lord. When your relationship with the Lord is distant, he may seem like an oppressive dictator who wants to rob you of freedom. What pleases him displeases you. Then, everyone who speaks from God\u0026rsquo;s point of view seems the same way, making you feel sensitive and burdened. If your parents make you feel this way, it is maybe a warning sign about your spiritual status. Please repent your sins. Seek the Lord\u0026rsquo;s counsel by having regular daily devotional time. But, above all, do not stuff your feelings down. The critics are full of anger and bitterness, claiming they were repeatedly abused by \u0026ldquo;authoritarian leaders\u0026rdquo; in (church name deleted -.Ed) . There is no excuse for this as Christians. These emotions are spiritually deadly. We must deal with such feelings in the Lord. We must put them to death!\nEach person in the church is a part of a family with a duty to \u0026ldquo;love one another\u0026rdquo; (Jn 13:34, 15:12,17). Along with this, comes the responsibility to bear the sins of your fathers and mothers in the Lord. Yes, (church name deleted -.Ed) leaders are not always right. They can make critical mistakes, especially when it comes to delicate matters like helping people to repent. (But I deny the allegations made my (church name deleted -.Ed) critics.) Your duty is to honor your spiritual parents by trying as much as possible to trust their integrity and to put the best construction on even the wrongs they have done \u0026ndash; yes, to even cover over their mistakes and sins (1Pe 4:8; Jn 13:14). As Gideon Klijian has pointed out, Canaan dishonored his father by broadcasting his father\u0026rsquo;s shameful naked condition to his brothers (Gen 9:22). This is what critics of (church name deleted -.Ed) have done on their websites. They say all kinds of negative, sick things about (church name deleted -.Ed) leadership in the hopes of poisoning your mind. You, in Jesus, have the power not to do what they do, but rather overcome hurt feelings and forgive and love and honor your leaders, remembering the good things they have done for you. Shouldn\u0026rsquo;t children be thankful for their parents? Yes, children certainly owe a great debt of love and thanks (Ro 13:8) to their parents for all they have done. They owe even loyalty.\n","date":"13 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-13-a-sideways-look-at-authority/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Sideways Look at Authority","type":"posts"},{"content":"Reform in the ICC has been underway for quite some time, however, all such efforts have been called \u0026lsquo;divisive\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;slanderous\u0026rsquo;. Very few of these efforts have been publicly acknowledged - and even those few have been acknowledged only after public pressure.\nThe first efforts were lead by Jerry Jones when he left in 1986. First, some background. Dr. Jones had been in Crossroads since the 70s and moved to Boston in 1985. Having a Doctorate of Theology, his position within the Boston Church of Christ was to give the Boston Movement some credibility. He and Gordon Ferguson became the primary teachers in Boston, along with Kip McKean delivering the necessary bombast from time to time. It was also during this time that the leaders in Boston contacted Flavil R. Yeakley to perform a study on why the Boston Movement was so growing so quickly. The center of the discipling movement had shifted from Florida to Boston and the leadership in Boston felt it necessary to provide justification for the shift and to solidify the methods and practices of \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; churches. Up until this point, each church was pretty autonomous and did what they wished, although by 1987, Kip was demanding that evangelists come to Boston to be trained. (The evangelist would come to Boston, Boston would send a \u0026rsquo;trained\u0026rsquo; minister to the evangelist\u0026rsquo;s congregation to preach until the evangelist returned after his training.)\nIn short, both efforts (the enlisting of Jerry Jones and the objective study by Flavil R. Yeakley) backfired. Both men pointed out flaws in the structure of the church and the nature of so-called discipling. Because Dr. Jones publicly taught against the Boston churches, he was marked as divisive and characterized as a greedy person making money from confusing disciples. Dr. Yeakley\u0026rsquo;s study has never been publicly mentioned. To this day, any outside perspective or criticism is typically shunned and/or minimized.\nIn 1991, Rick Bauer, an editor for the official ICC magazine \u0026ldquo;Upside Down\u0026rdquo; tried to set up a meeting with leaders in Boston and with Kip in LA to discuss doctrinal issues as well as the pyramid structure and unhealthy discipling practices. Rick was pursuing a theology degree in Denver (a Crossroads church, not a Boston church) when he went to Boston to be \u0026ldquo;trained\u0026rdquo;. Boston sent a minister to Denver to reconstruct the church there while Rick was being trained. This meeting never took place, Rick only published accounts of what transpired after he was marked by the Boston church. Since then, like Dr. Jones, he has been minimized and ridculed as trying to make money from speaking against the ICC.\nAlso in 1991, Ayman Akshar, a former administrator for the London Church of Christ exposes the financial problems of the church in London. After a government investigation, the church is fined and ordered to pay back taxes to the government. Administrative policy changes for overseas churches and offcially changed everywhere in 1994 when new policy is published.\nIn 1994, a \u0026ldquo;Kingdom Teachers Conference\u0026rdquo; was called by Douglas Jacoby and others. The purpose of the original meeting was to coordinate the ongoing training in churches around the world. Some in that meeting were looking to go deeper than the First Principles\u0026rsquo; study series and the result of these efforts produced \u0026ldquo;Deep Convictions\u0026rdquo; a 30 day study of various topics such as Discipleship and Evangelism, but also included a seven day study of Grace. The offical results of the first teachers\u0026rsquo; meeting in 94 were broadcast to churches wouldwide under the heading of \u0026ldquo;Wine, Women, and Song\u0026rdquo;.\nIt is not a sin to drink alcohol, but it was a sin to be drunk. Music in worship service is not a sin. It is okay for women to baptize women and for women to disciple women.\nAs these annual meetings continued, however, various teachers began discussing the effects of ICC doctrine and practice. Concerns were raised about the unique interpretation of Mat 28:18 - 20 that only \u0026lsquo;baptized disciples\u0026rsquo; were saved as well as the evangelist-centered leadership style mandated by Administrative policy. The first teacher\u0026rsquo;s conference was the only one that provided public statements. Based on comments made at the 2003 Teacher\u0026rsquo;s Seminar (the first conference open to any attendees), changes were discussed as early as 1996 that needed to be implemented in all ICC congregations. For whatever reasons, it was decided that these changes should be introduced gradually and with minimal confrontation.\nAlthough it is not confirmed, it appears that Sam Laing was given a license to try out some of these new reforms about this time. In his congregation, for example, KNN was rarely shown and talk of the LA church was minimal. One over another discipling was discouraged, but one-WITH-another was encouraged. Messages from the pulpit began to address other areas of the Bible outside of evangelism. These ideas also spread to Atlanta spearheaded by Steve Sapp, evnagelist and Geographical Sector Leader (techincally, Sam\u0026rsquo;s boss). More research should go into the Souteastern Churches early reforms in the 90s, this I know only from personal experience.\nAlso in 1994, Ed Powers, and evangelist in the Indianapolis Church of Christ found that he had issues with the discipleship structure and leadership from LA. He also had concerns in regards to contribution money and the elitism of the ICC as the only ones saved. What happened next is not entirely certain. What is known is that several folks from LA came to Indianapolis, including Kip McKean. The result of this was the creation of the Circle City Church of Christ (led by Ed Powers) and the \u0026rsquo;re-planting\u0026rsquo; of the Indianapolis Church of Christ. When Kip wrote later about the events in Indy, he said:\n\u0026ldquo;A very sad chapter in our history was written in March of this year. Ed Powers, the lead evangelist of the Indianapolis Church of Christ, like Korah, being filled with bitterness and selfish ambition, deceived the entire congregation and caused many to lose their faith and turn away from God. Several World Sector Leaders, namely Doug Arthur, Al Baird, Marty Fuqua, Bob Gempel and I flew to Indianapolis to confront this division in the body of Christ. The victory is that 220 of 700 remained faithful to God, his church and his movement. As for those who continue to oppose us, they are lost\u0026ndash; not because their baptism became invalid, but the Scriptures are clear that those who oppose and grumble against God\u0026rsquo;s leaders and divide God\u0026rsquo;s church are, in fact, opposing God (Exodus 16:8; Numbers 16). Thus, the rebellious become lost because they do not have a true faith.\u0026rdquo;\nIn 1995, Al Baird spoke publicly about the \u0026lsquo;discipling crisis\u0026rsquo; during a conference in Africa. He estimated that former members outnumbered current members 2 to 1. Unfortunately, he goess on to say that people that leave are worse off than those staying. In light of recent events, it is difficult for me to determine if he meant difficult because of the abuse of the system or difficult because they were now going to Hell. The quote follows:\n“I’ve got two points this morning. The first point is: the kingdom has a shepherding crisis. I picked those words very carefully. I thought about saying, ‘the kingdom has a shepherding problem.’ Brothers and sisters, we are far beyond the problem stage, we are in the crisis stage. How many of you look at the kingdom stats every month? Some of you are liars. We can’t wait to see where we stack up on the kingdom stats. You look at 1994: there were 30,000 baptisms in the kingdom of God – I praise God for 30,000 baptisms, it’s the most in modern-day times in the kingdom of God. But also look below that: in addition to 30,000 baptisms there were almost 20,000 fallaways. You heard it right: 30,000 baptisms, 20,000 fallaways. …How would you like to stand up before your church on Sunday morning, and say, brothers and sisters, I want you to look to your left and to your right, because on the day of judgement, you’re not going to make it. Two out of three of you are not going to make it. We’ve got a shepherding crisis, are you with me church?”\nIn 1997, Joseph Owade and Lucas Mboya wage a very public war against the Nariobi Christian Church. They specifically protest against tithing, bashing other churches, and the elitism of the ICC. Their protests are never mentioned publicly.\nThat same year, Gordon Ferguson, one of the four \u0026ldquo;Kingdom Teachers\u0026rdquo; publishes a book called Discipling. In it he gently challenges the notion of one-over-another discipling. He specifically challenges the notion that a discipler must be obeyed saying that there is a difference between advice and Scripture. There was no reaction to this book that I\u0026rsquo;m aware of. Drawing from various sources, it appears that if the intent was to change the nature of shepherding or discipling in the ICC, it did not accomplish its goal. His book, Prepared to Answer published in 1998, contained material criticizing denominations and the mainline church of christ. This book is out of print and Gordon has publicly apologized for its content.\nIn 1999, John Engler in Denver begins a \u0026ldquo;Barnabas Ministry\u0026rdquo; as an apologetic to the ICC while acknowledging its errors. Surviving criticism, he wrote about many of the problems within the ICC and proposed solutions. On his website, there are many thoughtful articles about the study series (First Prinicples), the pyramid structure, Matthew 28:18-20 (baptized disciples are the only ones saved) and Matt 6:33 (Seek first the church\u0026rsquo;s needs). In 2001, he published a book called \u0026ldquo;The Grass Isn\u0026rsquo;t Always Greener\u0026rdquo; that talks about the suffering of leaving the ICC. Since then, John himself has left the ICC and continues to help those inside and outside the ICC.\nIn 2001, Kip McKean goes on a \u0026lsquo;sabbatical\u0026rsquo;. Althought it is never publicly stated, his oldest daughter left the ICC while attending her freshman year of college. He had dismissed the World Sector leaders over Central America a couple years earlier when one of their children left the ICC.\nIn January 2002, Gordon Ferguson and Wyndham Shaw publish a book entitled \u0026ldquo;The Golden Rule of Leadership\u0026rdquo;. This book directly confronts the pyramid structure and calls for group leadership. Reaction to the book is swift. Some ignore it as a solution to a problem that doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist. Others embrace it as a new and potentially better way to lead. In San Francisco, the book is banned until the Net World Sector conference is held later that year.\nIn November 2002, a Unity Meeting was held to discuss the future of the ICC. By Administrative Policy, a successor to Kip had to be named, or the World Sector Leaders could run the ICC as a group. Instead, the men openly discuss the problems within the ICC, including the pyramid structure. Some of the evangelists at that meeting return to their congregations and make serious attempts at reform. Some churches hold open meetings to discuss the problems, issues, and hurts of members. Some churches do nothing at all. The official report of this meeting says only that the men attending pledged to remain unified in brotherhood.\nIt is against this backdrop that the Henry Kreite letter appears in Feb 2003. Intended as a letter to the leadership worldwide and in LA, it is posted on the internet and spreads overnight all over the world. Reaction to the letter was swift and dramatic:\nMost of the World Sector leaders resign as well as many of the Geographic Sector leaders. Most of the World Sector corporations dissolve. (Exceptions include the Net World Sector Corporation centered in San Francisco, the ICOC parent corporation in LA, and the ICC Missions Corporation, also in LA). Evangelists resign in droves and regular members leave en masse from larger churches. Many members strike back through contribution - those staff members that didn\u0026rsquo;t resign are fired for lack of money to pay for them. Some churches struggle to pay generous severances to former staff. Smaller churches struggle to stay afloat or fold. Most dramatic is that many members and leaders now discover that they have to fend for themselves and are ill-equipped to handle the legal, financial, and ethical aspects of church polity.\nMany apologies ensue as well as letters of response. Some are sincere, some are posturing. Letters of response range from criticism of Henry Kreite\u0026rsquo;s character, to mild praise, to tremendous praise.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to the recent changes than what I have written here. I included the background because I think it gives insight into why Henry\u0026rsquo;s Letter had such a dramatic effect. We all knew what was going on, but we never asked each other about it.\nSources used:\nhttp://www.reveal.org/abouticc/bostonera.html http://www.reveal.org/abouticc/iccera.html http://www.rickross.com/reference/icc/ICC103.html http://www.reveal.org/library/stories/people/rbauer.html Comments made at the 9th Annual Teacher\u0026rsquo;s Conference in Chicago Personal experience in Triangle Church led by Sam Laing from 1993 - 2003 Personal observations as member from 1991 - 2004 ","date":"12 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-12-a-history-of-change/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A History of Change","type":"posts"},{"content":"True, it\u0026rsquo;s been a slow newsweek on the church front. As my brother tells me, maybe this is a sign that I just need to get away from all of it. I believe that he is right. Come mid-November, I\u0026rsquo;ll probably leave all of this working through my church past, present, and future behind.\nThe whole wedding is going well and I believe it will be wonderful. I look forward to it as it will be a beautiful ceremony. I look forward to seeing my family and I look forward to a new life.\nThis week, though, the pressure of all the details, my relentless thought cycle and the drudgery of aspects of my job really got to me. I broke down last night after I thought Laryssa believed that I had blown off getting help moving tomorrow. Of course, she didn\u0026rsquo;t believe that at all; she was sharing that she was stressed because we didn\u0026rsquo;t have people lined up for certain. Needless to say, I got really defensive and it uncovered a few things - especially the stresses.\nBilly Joel has said in song \u0026lsquo;I have to smile when she reveals me\u0026rsquo; and I feel the same way. She is truly wonderful. I truly love my best friend and confidant. I hope and pray to be able to relax so that I can help her.\nAnywho, maybe I\u0026rsquo;ll work out the relentless thought cycle this weekend. Who knows? For those that don\u0026rsquo;t know me, the relentless thought cycle is a period of intense creativity bottled by a lack of writing ideas down. Because I have such a poor memory, my mind reviews things over and over so that I can remember them long enough to write them down. Work and wedding planning hasn\u0026rsquo;t afforded me the time to write things down, thus the review of ideas is constantly running 24/7. This makes the cycle worse because I don\u0026rsquo;t rest which makes it harder to write things down.\nThis doesn\u0026rsquo;t mean I\u0026rsquo;ll post a lot to get it out. Some of the ideas of less blog-like. For example, a small group of us have been working on a study series for our church and I\u0026rsquo;ve been working on a post-baptism basics type of thing. Those things will be one of the countless Open Office documents on my work and home hard drives.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll let you know as it works out. Tonight, my roommate and I will be going out to eat, so I\u0026rsquo;ll get away from the computers for awhile. I\u0026rsquo;ll write more soon.\n","date":"8 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-08-for-those-wondering-out-there/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"For those wondering out there","type":"posts"},{"content":"We are happy to have friends and family celebrate the beginning of the next great adventure in our lives. We are celebrating our marriage in a cozy setting, so we can’t publish the address. In your invite, you will find the correct address and directions to the wedding.\nIt will start at 2pm sharp and the dress is semi-formal. What does semi-formal mean? Well, it means wear what you feel beautiful in. It means don’t wear a tuxedo unless that’s what you feel beautiful in. Come, relax, and share in our celebration.\nFor those that could not join us from Omaha, Jeff and Karla Lessman have graciously offered to have a reception for us in November. As details are confirmed, we’ll let you know!\n","date":"8 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-08-our-wedding-day/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Our Wedding Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"At long last, Laryssa and I have registered for gifts from three different stores. We tried to find stores that allow you to purchase online or that are located nationwide. Giftcards are perfectly fine - we love to shop! Also know that when we requested a set (for example pots and pans) you can purchase an individual piece instead of purchasing the entire set.Here are the stores where we are registered:\nBed, Bath, and Beyond\nPier 1 Imports\nWilliams-Sonoma\nYou may also buy us giftcards to Cost Plus’s World Market. They do not allow the creation of registries because their stock changes constantly. You may purchase giftcards here\n","date":"7 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-07-we-are-registered/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"We Are Registered!","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s funny what we choose to remember about a specific event. I think as humans, we want to remember those things that affirm our own beliefs. Being human, I am not immune from this phenomenon. Realizing bias is important to me because it is the most fair way I know to make any sort of comment. I know that I am biased and have pre-conceived notions of how people interact and strong opinions about various issues of the day. On the positive side, it means that I care. On the negative side, I can have selective hearing that over time become convenient memories. I\u0026rsquo;m certain that without any great effort on my part, I will hear what I want to hear and filter out the rest.\nHaving said all that, various reactions to MOAC 2004(tm) have demonstrated different things. In part, I believe that each commentator had their own expectations and hopes. Another part, as I said earlier, was an idea of how things should be. So more than anything, I truly believe that the reaction the conference is a small window into the hopes and hearts of the posters.\nMy own commentary focused on Dr. Reese and Steve Staten\u0026rsquo;s messages, even though I listened to all of day one\u0026rsquo;s messages. I wanted to hear something different, a new perspective. I wanted to hear about fellowship with other churches. I wanted to hear that the \u0026lsquo;book is not closed\u0026rsquo; on what our fellowship of churches need to change. I chose not to hear a comment on bloggers made by one speaker. I chose not to hear references to so-called \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; and to our fellowship\u0026rsquo;s distinctiveness. I had all kinds of reactions to things said, especially to everyone\u0026rsquo;s determination to claim that we are still unified.\nMore later..\n","date":"5 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-05-convenient-memories/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Convenient Memories","type":"posts"},{"content":"The more I look for analogies, the more I\u0026rsquo;m drawn into the implosion of the UBF. It\u0026rsquo;s not because I like to watch failures, but because of the similarities.\nThe UBF expereinced a split when concerns about the top guy were answered with being kicked out of the church. The kicked out leaders formed their own fellowship. At some point (I\u0026rsquo;m still trying to get the history straight), after Samuel Lee passed away, a reform movement began known as Campus Ministries International.\nIn reading about CMI, I picked up their copy of a \u0026lsquo;Discipler\u0026rsquo;s Guide\u0026rsquo; and started reading it. Remembering that they are a reform movement in reaction to Samuel Lee, I was struck that even for a reform movement, the methods and level of control in a member\u0026rsquo;s life was even more than my ICC history. It was less control than the UBF (AFAIK), but still more control than I would think healthy. The thing is, that none of it appears intentional. The guide doesn\u0026rsquo;t say \u0026rsquo;tell them what to do, pick out their future spouses, manage all their time.\u0026rsquo; It does, however, give encouragement to total participation to the church\u0026rsquo;s events.\nOutside of that, hearing the testimonies of those that attend their conferences sounds like a who\u0026rsquo;s who of the ICC responses from the conferences of old. The only thing missing is the overuse of the word awesome(r) or the use of the word flat for emaphasis. I kid you not.\nThe point of this post? Without outside perspective, reform is relative. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that all the leaders in the CMI tell themselves that they aren\u0026rsquo;t like Samuel Lee. They\u0026rsquo;d be right. Major leaders post on messageboards, there\u0026rsquo;s discussion about life in the church, etc. In the end, though, it appears as just a kinder, gentler UBF with a different name.\nI initally thought that my church\u0026rsquo;s idea of changing our name was a bit silly. I figured that real change was more important than a superficial one. I now see that a name change is not superficial. In fact, it was mentioned by a couple reports of MOAC 2004. There\u0026rsquo;s a certain power in a name (another Wild at Heart reference). I hope we do, especially in light of the changes made . I hope it won\u0026rsquo;t be a CMI style change and I don\u0026rsquo;t think it will. There is definitely a trend here to look to our Restorationist roots.\n","date":"5 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-05-whos-afraid-of-the-ubf/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Who's Afraid of the UBF?","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I was wandering around the internet, I happened upon an anonymous post by someone asking about a particular church. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to say which one, because of what I did with the rest of this post. What follows is one response to the question, \u0026ldquo;What do you know about this church?\u0026rdquo;. I have removed references to the church\u0026rsquo;s name and subsituted \u0026rsquo;this church\u0026rsquo;. I also removed references to specific individuals and changed grammar appropriately. In my ongoing quest for answers and analogies, I thought this letter from a former member of this specific church said a lot. ******\nDear Wondering,\nThis church is essentially a bunch of under-informed people who are being commanded around by a very corrupt leadership. These corrupt leaders love money, they love power, they love to be praised. They have very high ideas about themselves, and very low and gutterly ideas about all others.\nWithin the group at this church, you may come across a number of sincere and decent people. These people have no influence on the agenda or direction of the church overall. These sincere and decent people are constantly manipulated by the very corrupt leadership untill almost all of them leave. These sincere and decent people give all they have to this church, and do all they can to recruit others. They do this in ignorance.\nIf you are a sincere and decent person, then you are bound to suffer alot at this church. If you are very corrupt and proud, you can become a leader at this church.\nPlease find a healthy place to learn and practice your Christain faith. I recommend a Bible college has adult continuing education. Their teaching is usually very sound, and the cost is very low. There are also many good internet sites, one is at www.bereanbiblesociety.org.\nThis church is a cult because the group is set up to give glory honor and praise to a group of very sinful people. At this church, (name withheld) is held up as being the closest thing to God himself. In real life, he is an extremely corrupt man. There are many definitions of what is a personality cult. Some define a personality cult as nothing more than a mini dictatorship. Thus, this church can be classified as a personality cult. The main leader even revered such personality cult leaders as Ho Chi Minh, , Lenin, Stalin, Napoleon. I also remember when he spoke up in favor of Sadam way back in the day. I heard he also spoke up in support of the Taliban. I think he was well aware that this church was his personality cult.\nAlso, I believe that this church is a personality cult in the sense that being of one race is held up as being next to godliness. In reality, being in one race is no better or worse than being of any other race or ethnicity. Some personality cults are harmless. This church, in my opinion, is very dangerous and destructive. You would be best served by not having anything to do with this church. *******\nInteresting, no? I can tell you that it is not about the ICoC, but it could\u0026rsquo;ve been. You know what core teachings the ICoC and this church share in common? Discipling. They shared other things in common, too, and to be fair have some striking differences. Food for thought.\n","date":"4 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-04-an-open-letter-from-a-seeker/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"An Open Letter from a Seeker","type":"posts"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t believe that grace-oriented theology is the opposite of works-based theology. There is a tendency in fall into a trap in critical thinking to set up two extremes and find the answer between them. In this case, the two extremes are placed as \u0026rsquo;too much works-thinking\u0026rsquo; on one side and \u0026rsquo;too much grace-thinking\u0026rsquo;. This kind of thinking only produces muddiness and uncertainty. It\u0026rsquo;s not that everything is certain and that muddiness is a bad thing. A lack of clarity has often produced faith in my life because it forces me to remember that I am not always going to find the answer and that God is being a father to me by letting me find my own way through. However, my point is that I want to look for a different perspective that might produce at least a little more clarity. Setting up these two end posts and looking for the answer between is bound to produce all kinds of arguments over words and hairs and other minutia that exasperates many.\nAside from that, works-based theology is not something that needs to be balanced out. It is not partially right or half right, it is not right at all. I truly believe, like John Eldridge has said, that men are meant to be free. Works-based theology in any form produces duty, not freedom. Men will tend to fulfill their obligations and be dutiful, but such duty to anything (work, church, even God) kills the heart inch by inch over time. The response to works-based theology is God-thinking theology. Who knows this God-thinking theology? I don\u0026rsquo;t think any one person does, but I look forward to finding out. It\u0026rsquo;s a great journey. Having said that, though, there is one fundamental thing that I have learned so far: I have nothing to prove to anyone.\nGod chose me when I was His enemy. I think about the events of Acts 9. Look at the conversion of Saul and the reaction of Ananias. Ananias was honest with the Lord and questioning what was happening, but ultimately, he did what the Lord asked him to do. Saul didn\u0026rsquo;t have to prove anything to Ananias before or after his conversion. When he went back to Jerusalem, he wasn\u0026rsquo;t allowed to join the disciples there. Quite understandably, they were afraid of him. The last time they had dealt with Saul, he had arrested their friends (and possibly family). In this situation, it would have been easy for Saul to try to prove that he was a changed man. The key is this: Saul needed an advocate. No amount of watching, reporting, or measuring would have changed many of the disciples\u0026rsquo; minds in Jerusalem. Not only that, it would have produced pro-Saul and anti-Saul factions. Mistrust cannot be overcome with proofs, only love.\nInstead, Saul is brought before the apostles by Barnabas who speaks on his behalf. After Barnabas tells of what Saul has done, Saul is accepted. Not only was he accepted, as it says in verse 28, he moved about freely in Jerusalem. In addition to being accepted, he was trusted. Was it because of what he had done in Damascus? Not really. He was trusted because the apostles trusted Barnabas. The Bible says that wisdom is proved right by her actions, and the result of the apostles\u0026rsquo; trust is that Saul proclaims the gospel in a powerful way. The apostles could have been cautious and put him on \u0026lsquo;move-in status\u0026rsquo;. They could have asked Barnabas to stay with Saul and keep an eye on him. They could have even asked for Barnabas to report to them so that they could be aware of the situation. None of this occurs - not because Saul was so great and powerful, but because Barnabas took a risk to be an advocate.\nIn the same way, Jesus is an advocate for each of us. Just like he was an advocate for Saul to Ananias, he is an advocate for us before the throne of God. Satan accuses us day and night (Rev 12:10), but Jesus is there on our side. I imagine that, like Ananias, Satan brings up legimate concerns about each of us. I certainly have some very legimate issues that he could bring up, especially in areas of self-control. However, Jesus is also there as an advocate on my behalf. He doesn\u0026rsquo;t argue that the good I do outweighs the bad, although I\u0026rsquo;m sure he does present to good that I do. Ultimately, it comes down to him saying, \u0026ldquo;I chose him, and I will show him his errors.\u0026rdquo; God then chooses to accept me, not because of what I\u0026rsquo;ve done, but because he trusts his Son, the author and perfecter of our faith. I believe that Jesus will continue to advocate me and He will continue to show me the error of my ways.\nIf Jesus is my advocate to God, then what do I have to prove to anyone? I don\u0026rsquo;t have to prove that I am right and I don\u0026rsquo;t have to be angry when I am wrong. Whether Jesus chooses to show me my error through my critics or my friends is up to His discretion. I don\u0026rsquo;t have to be right, but I want to be His. Unless I am humble, how will I know when Jesus is trying to tell me something. Certainly, I can trust His word as an anchor, and I\u0026rsquo;m glad that I don\u0026rsquo;t have to wonder so much about that. I have to work to understand it correctly, but there\u0026rsquo;s no discernment needed about how the message is delivered. It came from God. With others, however, it\u0026rsquo;s tempting to judge the messenger and not the message. I do not have to trust someone for them to tell me the truth. My trust or lack thereof is irrelevant, what is important is the message. Is someone telling me what is right? Because I have nothing to prove to them or myself, who cares what they think of me? Who cares if they score a point against me on some imaginary scoreboard? It\u0026rsquo;s not about winning. My enemy is not flesh and blood, so my fight is not against the person I see, but the powers of the evil one, the false teaching, the deceptive theology, and hollow promises offered in exchange for the freedom in Christ that all Christians share.\n","date":"2 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-02-1-god-thinking-theology/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"1. God-thinking Theology","type":"posts"},{"content":"There is a person I know that has had a rather public discussion with an elder in Atlanta. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to comment on the nature of that discussion, but in the midst of it, he stated five things he wanted to see as evidence of change. I have restated them here. I think these are things that I also hope to see.\nNon-works \u0026amp; non-discipling theology taught in the pulpit and in smaller group settings. Financial records should be transparent. A systematic reveiw of the false teachings and bad theology of the past including, but not limited to, a public stance against One True Denomination teaching and against appointing an individual discipler to be \u0026lsquo;saved\u0026rsquo;. Work with other denominations in joint projects - no more it has to be ICC or it\u0026rsquo;s not good mentality. Good follow-up through financial and legal channels to change by-laws to reflect the new theology. ","date":"2 October 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-10-02-something-i-want-to-remember/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Something I want to remember","type":"posts"},{"content":"An interesting article on the history of shepherding or \u0026lsquo;discipling\u0026rsquo; can be found here.\nMy question is how then can the needs of individuals get met. I\u0026rsquo;m still searching for good ideas in that realm.\n","date":"30 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-30-history-of-shepherding/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"History of  Shepherding","type":"posts"},{"content":"You know, I\u0026rsquo;ve had a chance to listen to several messages from Chicago. The ones I\u0026rsquo;ve heard have been really good and I have enjoyed them. I especially enjoyed Dr. Reese\u0026rsquo;s exposition and lesson and I wrote him personally, to tell him so. I have craved hearing that kind of message in content and presentation. I also enjoyed Steve Staten\u0026rsquo;s presentation and I appreciated the five things he believes and all his work in meeting with people to work things out. You know, there\u0026rsquo;s saying words to weigh in your opinion and then there\u0026rsquo;s flying to talk to Henry and to Thomas and to others. That kind of thing is something that can build trust in me personally, so hearing those messages are a tremendous help to me as I continue to heal. I also enjoyed Gordon\u0026rsquo;s message as well. I have to give him credit for the leadership book he wrote with Wyndham Shaw. To be banned in San Francisco and privately derided is a tremendous risk to do the right thing instead of \u0026rsquo;tow the party line\u0026rsquo;. I don\u0026rsquo;t think that Gordon would say anything about the details of various reactions to the book, but I will. He took a lot of flack for that book from so-called leaders and World Sector Leaders and THE leader. Another thing about Gordon\u0026rsquo;s message that I could understand and hold onto was the conditioning effect of culture. Things are done without question because that\u0026rsquo;s always what\u0026rsquo;s been done. Seeing a topic or issue in light of a philosophy instead of an assumed \u0026lsquo;right\u0026rsquo; way of doing things is important in future discussion.\nAll in all, a nifty conference. I\u0026rsquo;m still glad I didn\u0026rsquo;t go, my upcoming marriage is simply more important. A part of me wishes that I could\u0026rsquo;ve gone because the big issue for me is trust. Trust is built by many things, one of them being time spent with others. I spend little time with some of the folks making grand pronouncements and I probably should. We\u0026rsquo;ll see what happens at the next Great Paperchase(tm) in Rome. I look forward to going and I can\u0026rsquo;t back out of it as I have already paid for the plane tickets and conference fees.\nIn listening to these messages, I believe that I have come to understand some of what my big issues with changes in our fellowship and the future of the so-called ICoC.\n1. There are lots of words and few actions. 2. There is searching to understand things that have been obvious for quite some time.* 3. There is a perceived effort to be at peace first, unified second, then try to solve problems last. 4. A perceived reluctance to outside perspective. 5. The perceived search for global answers instead of local answers.\nI think the first one is self-explanatory. We (me included) all love to talk and write and talk some more. At some point, though, talk should cease and actions should be taken. It\u0026rsquo;s seems that the talk is an effort to do the best right thing, but instead we are doing the worst NO thing. I believe that I personally can feel safe in my present church because there is an inherent understanding that is stated: \u0026lsquo;We will try many things and see if they are the best thing.\u0026rsquo;\nMy congregation is small, it\u0026rsquo;s easy to do this. Larger congregations, though, are by necessity more conservative. Who knows, maybe the answer for larger churches is to become several smaller churches.\nI put an asterisk on the next point because this could just be me. In the messages I heard so far (there are more than those I listed earlier), I sense this search for an answer to \u0026ldquo;Why did all of this happen?\u0026rdquo; Henry said some things that were very true and the members of several churches knew it. Someone in leadership finally validated things we have seen and felt for years, so the problem was not us. In other words, the suspicions that something was really wrong about how we did things was not just motivated from an impure heart or impure motives. In essence, our consciences were heard for the first time.\nOthers have already done extensive research into our theological and structual shortcomings and strengths. Considering this body of work, it just sounds strange that various leaders would be surprised at what they are finding. It\u0026rsquo;s like the wheel is being re-invented over and over and my inital reaction is similar to \u0026ldquo;well - DUH\u0026rdquo;. For example, the militaristic structure and the lack of diversity in leadership styles seems quite apparent to me and those I know well. It makes me wonder just how insulated leaders were from what was really going on in our fellowship. To hear shock and amazement at things I\u0026rsquo;ve been living with for a decade feels like a waste of time. I know that it\u0026rsquo;s not a waste of time, though, because all of us have to come to grips in our own time. My time may be several years - sometimes I despair that it will be permanent.\nThe real issue I have are the priorities that I perceive in others. I firmly believe that if we try to make changes, peace and unity will follow. It is hard to see that everyone is trying to fight all the battles that could possibly come up before a change is implemented in a vain attempt to make changes go smoothly. Most of the reactions I read affirm unity, praise peace and minimize differences by using the word \u0026lsquo;challenging\u0026rsquo;. This could just be me, again, I\u0026rsquo;m working out my thoughts and feelings, not proscribing a course of action to save our fellowship. My goals are not to be unified above all else. We can have perfect unity and still have bad doctrine and worse structure. We had the closest thing to \u0026lsquo;perfect unity\u0026rsquo; before and the results of that are well-documented. I do not want to be at peace by being nice and accepting those different than me - not before some real change is implemented. I live my day to day life accepting people where they are at and assuming nothing from them. Ask my fiancee, my friends, my minister, and my co-workers. I truly believe that I have to earn someone\u0026rsquo;s trust and respect, I do not demand it. All of this, \u0026lsquo;be at peace with each other\u0026rsquo; stuff just sounds like be nice. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be nice when things are still broken and people are still hurting and shattered. I can\u0026rsquo;t be nice when future disciples live through the things I went through even AFTER all this talk of change. It just seems like a misplacing of priority.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s truly simple to me. If we learned how to do church and manage people the way we did, we can change old habits and practices into new ones. It took time and effort and a different culture to change our pre-church methods to the methods we used for so long. It took a change of influence from pre-church friends and family to new friends and family. Why is it so hard to believe that we change from military style of leadership to servant style of leadership by getting new friends and family?\nI\u0026rsquo;m guilty of trying to be global despite all my protests. I think that I am going to change focus. I\u0026rsquo;m not going to look to why did this happen in our churches. Instead, why did this happen in the Omaha Church of Christ. There\u0026rsquo;s too many variables and specific situations for a global solution. Besides, what works in one place, will not work in others. I think our theology needs to change globally, but all conjectures on polity should be kept local. How much better would a conference be if we stopped talking about the global event (HKL) and started talking about what we do in our individual congregations. Sparks will fly and all of that, but I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t consider it a bad thing.\nI guess what I\u0026rsquo;m trying to say is that we still have former \u0026lsquo;Kingdom\u0026rsquo; teachers and elders acting like it. They should act like local teachers and elders. Besides, it will allow the local congrgation to take care of themselves, like they should have all along. It\u0026rsquo;s not easy (I can attest to that!) but it\u0026rsquo;s all part of growing up. I have to give credit to Sam Laing, though. He hasn\u0026rsquo;t been doing much writing and speechifying about our global problems. When I spoke to him, it was about Triangle. Nowadays, he takes care of Athens and the AIM school. I\u0026rsquo;m sure he has opinions about it, I look forward to listening to his message on grace. However, he hasn\u0026rsquo;t set himself up publically as the next great hope, just as a minister taking care of his congregation, though he just so-happens to have a global influence.\nAnywho, that\u0026rsquo;s what I working through in my mind. There\u0026rsquo;s still more. For example, discipling is a philosophy not a biblical truth, but I may never get around to writing about that. Too much to do at work and I\u0026rsquo;ve already taken too much time on this.\n","date":"29 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-29-thoughts-and-feelings/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thoughts and feelings","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;By God\u0026rsquo;s power and with his blessings, I don\u0026rsquo;t care how much criticism may come from some in my fellowship or in yours: we - will - do - what - is - right - here.\u0026rdquo; - Jack Reese\n","date":"28 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-28-quote-of-the-day-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quote of the Day","type":"posts"},{"content":"Specifically dealing with false teachers:\nlink\n","date":"27 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-27-a-thoughtful-article/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A thoughtful article","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was asked to lead our thoughts in communion on Sept 19th. It was one of those things where the minister and I were on the same page. We recently changed format, so I asked how it was going to work under the new format. I also asked about content, because I just wanted to be sure. He and I both agreed that communion can focus way too much on the fact that Jesus died and a focus on our own sins. Communion in the first century was a feast!\nAt the same time, my rommate and I are trying to get things working for making digital recordings and pressing CDs. So, is my communion from Sept 19th. The scripture reference at the end was Hebrews 10.\n\\[audio mp3=\"http://pinakidion.org/wp-content/uploads/2004/09/communion9.19.mp3\"\\]\\[/audio\\]","date":"26 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-26-communion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Communion","type":"posts"},{"content":"I am a little sad to be missing MOAC 2004. However, it\u0026rsquo;s the best thing to do for me. I have to choose what I\u0026rsquo;m going to give my energy to, and spending my time butting heads with some and laughing with others is too much of a rollercoaster for the kid. Really, I\u0026rsquo;d like it, but I\u0026rsquo;d come home so stressed I couldn\u0026rsquo;t see straight.\n32 days until the wedding and I am still excited. I love the pre-marriage counseling we are getting and I think it shows a tremendous change in thinking from old ICC pre-marriage counseling. IN the old days, it was about making your wedding an evangelistic event. The entire church was invited and you got free help with everything. It\u0026rsquo;s interesting that the topics of the old way were basically the same, but the execution is so much different. Talking about expectations of marriage now is Laryssa and I communicating with each other. Under the old system, it was a chance to be told what was important and why. Talking about budget then was to make sure you were giving 10% and staying out of debt. Now, it\u0026rsquo;s just a way to keep out of debt. There are more sessions, but I think the point is made.\nHaving a safe place to discuss things frankly and openly is a truly wonderful experience for me. Being able to discover what\u0026rsquo;s right for us with guidance (not dictation) is really helpful to us. I was nervous about it and thought about NOT having the \u0026lsquo;pre-marriage counseling\u0026rsquo;, but I\u0026rsquo;m glad I did. It\u0026rsquo;s not because it\u0026rsquo;s a throwback to the old ways, and it\u0026rsquo;s not because I enjoy finding the good in the way we used to do things. I do not believe that there was anything good about our old system because our old system\u0026rsquo;s fundamental principle was flawed. What I have found and been reaffirmed in, is that there are good and wise people. Good and wise people know when to push, when to pull, and when to do nothing. I get tempted to believe that because I come from a bad system that no one can be good that has survived that system.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong. good people + bad system + bad theology = evil. Bad systems and bad theology corrupt character and thinking. The system and theology still need to change. I\u0026rsquo;m just glad to find people that have overcome a bad system and bad theology.\n","date":"23 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-23-another-week/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another week","type":"posts"},{"content":"ILC OPENS Mike Taliaferro receives a long, standing ovation from attendees at the opening session this morning of the 2004 International Leadership Conference. His message stresses the courage to preach both grace and truth, a call to forgive and heal, and to \u0026ldquo;dream again\u0026rdquo;. He calls on church leaders to support DT, HOPE, and AIM, to train \u0026ldquo;a whole new generation of men and women\u0026rdquo; in the ministry, to resume planting new churches, and to financially support existing mission churches.\nfrom icocinfo.org\nDislike: HOPE I asked HOPE some simple direct questions and never got an answer at all. Not a peep. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t mean and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t angry. Before the publishing of the 2003 form 990, I asked for the following information:\nHow many non-board employees that are not officers will make over 50,000? What are the top five salaries of folks not officers and not on the board? Who are the board members and what are their salaries? It was information that was going to be public. I think at least we could have gotten a \u0026ldquo;we don\u0026rsquo;t know\u0026rdquo;. As I discovered later, they really may not have had any way to answer these questions until they started their tax returns. But there was NO answer despite my minister\u0026rsquo;s repeated questions. Oh well.\nBesides that the financial information of the World Sectors and HOPE Worldwide have NEVER been addressed in any forum. We focused all our energy on how we treated each other and minister salaries, but never went much higher up. I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to believe it, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t either for a long time. We have shaken up staff, world, national, regional and local governance, but nothing about the money. I can forgive Bob for getting angry at the last Leadership seminar in Dallas, but I won\u0026rsquo;t forget the demand for money, the doom-saying \u0026ldquo;we\u0026rsquo;re going to shut down in a month if giving doesn\u0026rsquo;t pick up\u0026rdquo;, nor the indignation that anyone would question HOPE. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.\nEven if HOPE has reformed its money handling issues (and I believe that changes are being made), there are more avenues than HOPE to give to worldwide missions. A friend of mine here led a church in Asia and experienced first hand the kinds of financial abuses that occurred. Next weekend there is a conference right here in Nebraska that presents these options. If we do not explore these other options, we will never learn new and possibly better ways to acheive our goals. They cover many of the same topics, but even more in-depth ones that we never covered in missions conferences.\nAmbivalent: DisciplesToday As far as DT goes, I can support it, even if I don\u0026rsquo;t like it. It\u0026rsquo;s a personal preference thing for me because of how it reads. I never liked KNN videos, so I have no interest in DT videos. Like I said, though, it\u0026rsquo;s just me and nothing bad on Roger or any of the other folks that work for DT. My father, who is not a part of the ICC and never was, loves the videos and uses them in his Methodist church for his Adult Bible Study group.\nLike: AIM Like is not the same as overwhelmingly endorse. However, it\u0026rsquo;s a step in the right direction. It\u0026rsquo;s similar to an effort in Mexico by a brother named Arturo. Being an education person and working in a school district, I\u0026rsquo;m probably biased about any kind of school activity. However, the value of a good education cannot be underrated. I trust one of the main teachers there to be different because he has proven all over the world that his is willing to \u0026rsquo;think ouside the box'.\nIt is a different avenue than through the chain of command of the World Sector corporations, and for that reason, it should be commended on principle. I haven\u0026rsquo;t taken any classes from there, so I don\u0026rsquo;t feel totally right in discussing their content.\nMy minister is attending college at a evangelical university here in town and the benefits to the congregation here have been great. We\u0026rsquo;re currently going through a study of 2 Timothy that is truly unlike any series I have heard on the subject. It is inspiring, challenging, and affirming. I hope to have it on the website soon - the sound crew has mastered digital recording.\nIn any case, a good school can be a part of making some real change. AIM does have some of the same old faces, and that is a problem they will have to overcome. I figure it this way: they will not misteach Matt 6:33, Matt 28:18-20, Acts 11:26, or even Romans 16 (we are churches of christ).\nLast thing Pretty glad I didn\u0026rsquo;t go, at least reading about it allows me to get away from the cheering mob. In any case, you know, I\u0026rsquo;m not anti-evangelism. I\u0026rsquo;m anti-ICC-proselytizing. There are still lost people in the world and in the United States. God is speaking to them just like he speaks to me.\nPlanting churches is all well and good, but do we really know how to do that yet? We ignored all our problems before by focusing on the plantings. I pray we do not repeat the same mistake again. My church would like to plant another city, mainly because we have people driving an hour each way to get here. Besides that, it would be good to involve local churches in that effort. However, it may be a couple years before we can do that. Some of it is money, some of it is just that we need to get ourselves in order, first.\nInteresting so far, I hope to hear more from the conference.\n","date":"23 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-23-red-light-yellow-light-green-light/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Red light, Yellow Light, Green Light","type":"posts"},{"content":"But I\u0026rsquo;m still up to some good, you know. I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing a lot of writing, just not here.\nMy cousin has written a piece about the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark during the Iran-Iraq war I wrote him a pretty good review, I think. I pointed out a couple things, but after the military jargon, I found it a compelling read. It really provides some insight into some of our politics in the region, especially considering that many officials at the time are in office under somewhat different titles. Gotta love the Bush recycling program.\n","date":"16 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-16-another-long-gap-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another long gap","type":"posts"},{"content":"But I\u0026rsquo;m still up to some good, you know. I\u0026rsquo;ve been doing a lot of writing, just not here.\nMy cousin has written a piece about the Iraqi attack on the USS Stark during the Iran-Iraq war I wrote him a pretty good review, I think. I pointed out a couple things, but after the military jargon, I found it a compelling read. It really provides some insight into some of our politics in the region, especially considering that many officials at the time are in office under somewhat different titles. Gotta love the Bush recycling program.\nAssignment for pre-marital counseling 2500+ words on what I expect from our marriage, that\u0026rsquo;s enough to keep anyone busy. Granted, I wanted to write more, but for some reason, I really couldn\u0026rsquo;t. I think I\u0026rsquo;m being really naive.\nGoing to MOAC 2004 Thanks to a friend that\u0026rsquo;s in town on work-related business, I have a place to stay. I had thought about not going because of the expense, but assuming that it\u0026rsquo;s okay with my fiancee, I should be on my way. I apologize to my friends that asked me to make a MOAC shirt.\nNo Deacon Payne I was nominated by a fairly strong margin, but I felt I wasn\u0026rsquo;t qualified. I wrestled over this for some time, but after discussions with the Adivsory Group and my minister, is was decided that now is not the right time - and I wholeheartedly agree.\nRoad Trip to Sioux City, IA What\u0026rsquo;s in Sioux City, Iowa? The closest Chick-Fil-A(r) to Omaha, Nebraska, that\u0026rsquo;s what. I realize that a road trip to go to Chick-Fil-A(r) sounds silly, but it\u0026rsquo;s bonding time, dude! My good friend and I haven\u0026rsquo;t had a road trip in a long time. We\u0026rsquo;re due.\nThe latest from Thomas Two things:context and method. 1. Confessing sins is necessary - to the one you sinned against and God, not just to a given person, certainly not one that has been assigned to be your best friend. James 5:16 does not say confess your sins to someone, anyone, pick a person, any person. In context, it talks about confessing to the one who you sinned against. 2. You can deal with sin by telling the Bible Talk leaders that they need to discuss this with their group. I realize that it steals thunder away from the lead evangelist and could take longer, but it leads to real repentance and not a manipulative control tactic. It\u0026rsquo;s not being soft on sin to delegate and it certainly isn\u0026rsquo;t soft to give people a healthy environment to share in. Besides, it might teach the Bible Talk leaders to think for themsleves a bit.\nDisciple as a verb Disciple is not a verb, it\u0026rsquo;s a noun. The word is matheÌ„teuoÌ„ - it\u0026rsquo;s a verb meaning \u0026ldquo;to make a student\u0026rdquo;. Linguistically, English uses phrases and word order to inflect meaning, not word endings like Greek. In English, it has to be two words, in Greek, you can say it in one. Teach is an active verb but the Greek word is passive. A fine distinction, I know, but teach is not an exact match, but close enough to convey the meaning. Anyway, the NIV didn\u0026rsquo;t translate spoudazoÌ„ (literally \u0026lsquo;make haste\u0026rsquo;) as \u0026ldquo;effort\u0026rdquo; in Eph 4:3. We don\u0026rsquo;t say \u0026quot; Effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.\u0026quot; The noun is spoudeÌ„ as used in Luke 1:39. If Eph 4:3 was meant to have the noun form, God, Luke, and Paul certainly know Greek well enough to use the right word. Don\u0026rsquo;t believe that it\u0026rsquo;s a linguistic issue? Check the Spanish - every translation I can find online (Reina-Valera 1960, Nueva Versión Internacional, Reina-Valera 1995, Dios Habla Hoy, Reina-Valera Antigua, Biblia en Lenguaje Sencillo, La Biblia de las Américas, Castillian) translates it into two words. hagan (o haced) discupulos.\n","date":"16 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-16-another-long-gap/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Another long gap","type":"posts"},{"content":"First of all, I have to say that I do not like the term Dwarf or Elf. Instead, the generic term for the dwarves would be Duwergan and the generic term for Elves will be Ilosian. There will be various other names for different ethnicities within these two species.\nTwo rather strange ideas came to mind - one about each species.\nThe Duwegan are basically an underground species. They dig tunnels, they are great miners and great blacksmiths. In a real sense, they are truly people of the earth. I got to thinking that a culture prone to be underground would have evolved a diet quite different than humans or any other above-ground species. Sure, they would have vegetables and protien sources. They\u0026rsquo;d have fat and oil sources as well. However, they would not necessarily have had grains or dairy. Considering that two major food groups were unavailble to them, I thought the Duwegan that first contacted humans (or any other sentient species) would be fascinated by simple things like bread and cheese.\nFor some reason, that seemed like a great disadvantage, so I thought about them having some sort of weird grain that grew underground. In exploring that idea, however, I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a satisfactory grain plant. Then it occured to me that potatoes and cassava would be natural starches that they could grow. That would mean that they\u0026rsquo;d have their own version of bread and all sorts of things (potato bread), but it left out dairy. Dairy is almost entirely derived from animal milk and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure what could be done. So what I decided to do was make the Duwegan skilled cheesemakers, but that the cheese they make is quite rare and difficult to make. Think about how much milk a burrowing animal produces (as opposed to a cow or goat) and you can see where I\u0026rsquo;m going with this.\nIn order to prevent any species from suffering from a marked stereotype, this is an uncommon talent, but one that would provide some diversity to the Duwegan. I figured that \u0026lsquo;a duergar cheese\u0026rsquo; would be a common phrase to mean something that was very good and very rare.\nAs far as the Ilosians are concerned, the idea about them was a bit different. Basically, in a world where part of every continent has areas where magic does not work and all Ilosians have a life-force type connection with the power of magic, I could not imagine them simply confining themselves to magic-enabled lands. Some uncontent Ilosian had to look at their lot in life and try to figure out a way for him or her to survive in a non-magic land.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s when it occured to me. Since magic is enabled by a crystalline type substance (adamite) , an Ilosian may be able to ingest this substance to maintain their \u0026lsquo;connection\u0026rsquo; with the force of magic. But I wasn\u0026rsquo;t satisfied that they would have to carry a ton of magic with him/her in order to visit a non-magic area for a day or two. Then it occurred to me that if their internal physiology was different, maybe they wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have to.\nAssuming that Ilosians were somehow evolved from birds, they would have a type of gizzard that would help break down food (instead of powerful acids like the human body produces). Thinking this way, an Ilosian could swallow a small pebble into their gizzard that would last quite awhile and also help them break down their food. This seemed to make the most sense.\nAnywho, those are my ideas.\n","date":"12 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-12-elves-and-duergardwarves/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Ilosian(Elves) and Duwergan(Dwarves)","type":"posts"},{"content":"A few things have happened this weekend that provide me some perspective. I got a mild ear infection early Friday that progressively got worse. Part of it getting worse was a small cut in my ear that created some bleeding, most of it was just trapped fuilds of one kind or another.\nIn short, no fun for the kid this weekend.\nI have, however, gotten a chance to be alone and to get some much needed quiet.\nI realized that I quit writing about my fantasy world and was seriously tempted to get sucked into something that is not worth fighting for. I also found that I have true friends and a wonderful fiancee. It\u0026rsquo;s good to know that you are loved: it has been God\u0026rsquo;s message all along. Granted, the modern American concept of love is quite different than the ancient Hebrew concept of love, but the point is still valid. God loves me.\n","date":"12 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-12-quick-note-sept-12/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quick Note - Sept 12","type":"posts"},{"content":"I reacted to an article written by Gordon Ferguson to work some things out in my mind. Little did I know that I was going to stir up something. In some way, I guess more people read here than I thought. I got a 3.5 page rebuttal from one person emailed to me, I got more than a few \u0026ldquo;thank yous\u0026rdquo; from others, I had a conversation from a dear friend that was with me through all of my deprogrammings, and I even got a note from Gordon, himself.\nI honestly had no idea.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s the rub: I want to be proven wrong. I truly want someone to demonstrate to me that I am totally wrong and reactionary. It would honestly feel a lot better than what I feel at this moment. However, little has truly changed in our fellowship of churches, so how can I move on? What am I moving on from? In a broader sense, what are people supposed to be moving on from? Although it\u0026rsquo;s not intended, when I hear all these leaders say \u0026ldquo;it\u0026rsquo;s time to move on\u0026rdquo; and see little change, what I hear is \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m tired of hearing criticism, let\u0026rsquo;s be happy again.\u0026rdquo; Again, I\u0026rsquo;m sure it\u0026rsquo;s not the intended message of any of these leaders and many have said so.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to it than both sides are missing, I\u0026rsquo;m sure.\n","date":"10 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-10-what-has-changed/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Hornet's Nest","type":"posts"},{"content":"Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. 1 Timothy 4:16 NASB\nChange is a word much discussed in our fellowship of churches, but not always well-defined. It seems that all parties want it, but do not agree on its nature. I talk about change and the lack of it quite often. Coming soon is a good first chance for everyone to discuss what this means for them; I hope and pray for success.\nWhen I think about our church life, it makes me think of our idiosyncratic culture. I think that other church groups have duplicated some aspects of our culture, but we had a unique combination of thoughts and attitudes the require some thought. Here are the aspects of our culture that I believe shaped the overall ICoC culture:\nA culture of hierarchal control A culture of uniformity and conformity A culture of favortism and nepotism A culture of youth A culture of evangelism A culture of superlatives A culture of icons and tokens A culture of emotional experience A culture of money A culture of Americanism Not all of these are negative, although they may at first glance. I don\u0026rsquo;t think having a culture of youth is entirely a bad thing and having a culture of evangelism can be a good thing. Even having a culture of emotional experience can be a positive thing at times. I think there is room to maintain the so-called positive aspects of our culture while addressing the fundamentals issues that need attention.\nA culture of hierarchal control\n","date":"10 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-10-our-culture-and-faith-draft-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Our Culture and Faith - draft 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"Lots of things going on, basically, I haven\u0026rsquo;t had much time to myself to process things over the past week. As always, I\u0026rsquo;ll write them out here so that I can get back to life.\nLast night, I turned down an appointment to be a deacon. This deacon was entrusted with teaching, but also with training in righteousness. In other words, it was more than just academic study, there was an element of heart as well. I didn\u0026rsquo;t turn it down because I doubted my abilities. I also didn\u0026rsquo;t turn it down because of a lack of support of the church - I was one of the two obvious choices nominated by the congregation for this role. The reasons are more complex than that.\nLargely, I just enjoy teaching the Bible and networking with other teachers. I do not enjoy being an administrator in any sense of the word. In many ways, I just want to be a \u0026lsquo;member\u0026rsquo; of the church without being a \u0026rsquo;leader\u0026rsquo; of the church. Being a leader requires more time than I have, especially as I want to focus on a more important priority, my fiancee. Like I said, it\u0026rsquo;s not that leadership is so much hard as time consuming. It\u0026rsquo;s that it\u0026rsquo;s not my full-time job.\nMore importantly, I feel it\u0026rsquo;s more important that a deacon is someone that is a bit more grounded than me. It\u0026rsquo;s not a lack of confidence, but a realization that I am not healed from my past. I am reactionary and the people of my church need and deserve someone that is not reactionary to every small article written by someone miles away. I\u0026rsquo;ll behave at MOAC 2004 and have a good time. I will probably write a lot about my experiences. However, the goal of this and any deaconate is the serve the people and demonstrate what it means to follow God, not what it means to stop being ICoC. Sometimes, those two things are the same, sometimes they are not: at the present moment, I cannot tell when they are not the same.\nI am broken-hearted about it in a way. My tendency is to be angry at the things in my past life and blame them for taking one more thing away from me. The truth is that I am not entitled to be anything. I became a Christian expecting nothing but joyful at the promise of Heaven. That is all I truly need and I have been happy to be a Christian, especially over the past two years since arriving in Omaha. Being a family-oriented church, it has truly helped me to feel like family and to feel like I am not as weird as I perceive myself to be. The other truth is that I choose to give the things in my past power over me. Being a Christian is about overcoming and the book of Revelation covers that theme abundantly. It is more important to overcome than it is receive justice. Besides, as far as people are concerned, I have spoken to most of them. I wish that resolution in all cases was as easy as my resolution with Arthur Grayson. It hasn\u0026rsquo;t been, in part because Arthur is the only one that offered a sincere apology. In any case, my forgiveness should not be conditional because God\u0026rsquo;s forgiveness for me is unconditional. I truly believe that God will see justice done in my lifetime, but that is his business, not mine.\nI am not cheated - I have a wonderful life in a not-so-busy city with a woman that loves me totally and completely from the heart. I truly have everything I need and more. In a way, I am glad to be able to focus on that for a while. Besides that, I have always been a proponent of National Get Over Yourself Day(tm) - God will preserve those that he has called, I am not the savior of the ICoC, the Omaha Church of Christ, or anyone else. I may serve as a deacon in the future, but now is not the right time for me.\nOf course, all of this is subject to change.\nMore later, as always, there are good things going on that I didn\u0026rsquo;t have time to write about yesterday.\n","date":"8 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-08-thought-process/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thought Process","type":"posts"},{"content":"A great Labor Day weekend of wedding planning. More on that in other posts.\nI happened upon this link that sounds a bit familiar\nhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/library/mog/mgod8.htm\nBy the way, words in red are hyperlinks. It\u0026rsquo;s not always obvious by looking at them, though, so I posted the full link.\nOddly enough, Joesph Difato is back working on what was the \u0026lsquo;media arm\u0026rsquo; of the Mother of God movement, called the word among us. Interesting food for thought. More later.\n","date":"7 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-07-parallels/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Parallels","type":"posts"},{"content":"As quoted from the Chicago Church of Christ\u0026rsquo;s website\nThe staff of the Chicago church recently had an exciting opportunity to be spiritually enriched with a class titled Spiritual Formations in Ephesians. The class was presented by Dr. Richard Oster of the Harding Graduate School.\nThe recording of this class is available by following these links. (Presented in Windows Media Format.)\n* Part 1 (Ephesians 1-3) * Part 2 (Ephesians 4-6)\nIt\u0026rsquo;s a good lesson so far. I am listening to it as background while I\u0026rsquo;m attacking the demons of PeopleSoft Pension. I hope to take notes later this week.\nIn a broader sense, this is another example of outside help that is essential for any real change. Yes, Harding University is a conservative Church of Christ college and some of the biases of the conservative CoC comes out. However, three things stand out about the entire situation; the lesson was provided for free, it was presented to the leaders, it was from someone that was flown from outside.\nAs a person that espouses free software (free as in speech and free as in beer), anytime that wonderful material like this is available, I believe it should be made available to all. A small church like mine can\u0026rsquo;t get the calibre of folks from Harding or Abilene. I do hope to get someone from within town that will do similar things, but to have this for the enrichment of all is a good thing. Secrecy is abhorent and aberrant to the human mind; besides, everything is plain to God anyway, so why hide from a mere person or group of people? As a side note, I wish the Q\u0026amp;A had been recorded - that would have been most interesting.\nIt was presented to the leaders, and that brings out a temptation to assess motives. I wish that this lesson was done later this September at the Leadership Conference. I\u0026rsquo;ll hold off on thoughts of Reaganomic Spirituality(tm)(that changes in leadership trickle-down to the membership) and other things. Why? The entire event is a good thing: since the lesson is widely available, the intended audience is not so much a factor. Besides, by doing it this way, it allowed for a Q\u0026amp;A session that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been possible in a larger setting.\nLastly, I wonder if he was offered an honorarium. I wonder if he accepted it. I wish I could be there to hear his reaction. It\u0026rsquo;s a minor point in this context, but I had to admit the thought crossed my mind.\nIn any case, glory be to God that someone is looking to something outside the former ICoC. How cool is that?\n","date":"7 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-07-spiritual-maturity/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Spiritual Maturity","type":"posts"},{"content":"Keeping in mind the central thesis of \u0026lsquo;The Discipling Dilemma\u0026rsquo; by Flavil Yeakly that the Boston Movement created an environment where everyone became more like and ESFJ, here is a link to the personality profile of the ESFJ.\nPersonally, I am an XNFP, I score the same Extroverted as Introverted.\nHere is the ENFP\nand here is the INFP\n","date":"7 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-07-the-myers-briggs-dilemma/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Myers-Briggs Dilemma","type":"posts"},{"content":"Luke 11:24-26 (NET)\nWhen an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but finding none. Then it says, \u0026lsquo;I will return to the home I left.\u0026rsquo; When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.\nBecause this blog is a place to work out my thoughts, friends and family can get concerned that I am in misery all the time. No one has said anything about it to me, but in thinking about the above verse this morning and Colossians 3:1-2, it seemed important to work over in my mind some other areas of my past. Deprogram is an evocative word, but there are others, so I wanted to write about them as well.\nbrother My brother is a strong individual physically and emotionally. From an early age, he has always sought to protect me from a lot of things (family strife, bullies, weird teachers, etc). He was (and still is) aware that I bring some conflicts on myself. He would tell me when I did, but he still defended me, even when I was clearly wrong. It\u0026rsquo;s not that he\u0026rsquo;d defend my actions, but he would always keep others away. He played line in high school footbal, so I have always seen him as a blocker for me.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a reason that he is the best man at my wedding. It\u0026rsquo;s not that we talk all the time or that we are overly emotional. I don\u0026rsquo;t get to see him much when I am home and sometimes we have to deal with family conflict instead of just talking. But we are there for each other, it\u0026rsquo;s just the way it is. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t have to be discussed, reviewed, retaught, or reminded: we are brothers. It is simply a fact that our love for each other doesn\u0026rsquo;t ebb away over time, even though I am 1700+ miles away. It is a great comfort to know that our relationship will never change.\nProverbs talks about a friend that is closer than a brother and I believe I have finally found that friend. Along the way, though, I have found a precious few that are as close as my brother and I. My long-lost roommie in NC is one (Kurt) and Brian Broom in Okinawa is another. Of course, my current rommate, Shane, should also be included. He and my brother hit it off so well when they met that the family asks about \u0026lsquo;Junior\u0026rsquo; when they call. When I think of these three, I remember some good memories of being a brother and feeling like a brother.\nOne time I was troubled about some crazy thoughts in my mind, so I went over to Brian\u0026rsquo;s dorm to talk about them with him. At this point I should add that it was about 3am when I decided this. I called him from the phone downstairs and said that I would like to talk as I am feeling overwhelmed. He had said \u0026ldquo;Ok\u0026rdquo; meaning \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;d love too, when do you want to talk later today?\u0026rdquo;. After he said \u0026ldquo;Ok\u0026rdquo;, I replied that I was downstairs waiting. We left Sullivan dorm and went down to the railroad tracks to talk. I believe that it would be more accurate to say that this was a three hour monologue. Brian listened the whole time. When I was done, he hugged me and thanked me for trusting him with my heart. I remember seeing the sunrise over the tracks thinking that I really could start over and that my Christian life was not a complete waste.\nNow, he never complained about the hour of the call or even commented in joking that I put him through the ringer that morning. He has said, though, that he didn\u0026rsquo;t understand quite a bit of what I was saying. He told me that after my \u0026lsquo;beautiful moment\u0026rsquo; watching the sunrise. That doesn\u0026rsquo;t matter to me. What matters is that he was there for me when I needed him and I have never forgotten that. It had helped me have faith for over a decade since that morning.\nHe was also there for me when I was put on Move-In Status. For those that don\u0026rsquo;t know (or believe that it never happened), move-in status was a probationary period for members that moved from another congregation. The person on this status was not a member of the church, but could enjoy the privileges of membership. I had been away from the church for quite a while (see deprogramming part 2) and this was seen as a safety precaution for the rest of the church. Basically, I had to demonstrate that I was a disciple (notice the lack of htpd). It was a scary time for me, but the staff member I was working with and Brian truly believed in me.\nI remember Mike (Gambeski) talking to both of us about how we could help each other and explored if Brian would be a good discipler for me. I really thought that Mike was going to say I had to have someone else; our reasoning of why we were good for each other didn\u0026rsquo;t sound like a good enough reasons to me. I was quite relieved when Mike\u0026rsquo;s only response was \u0026ldquo;this could be interesting, but you two are obviously close and that\u0026rsquo;s all that matters.\u0026rdquo;\nBrian believed in me the whole time and told me so quite often. I went through six months of trying to prove to Mike and myself that I really was a Christian. Brian reminded me that I had nothing to prove to him - and that was greatly comforting. I was very anxious, but Brian always stood up for me. It was also during this time that Brian\u0026rsquo;s only rebuke to me was delivered.\nWhat do you mean you\u0026rsquo;ve never heard of Goodberry\u0026rsquo;s?\nWhen I first got to Omaha, I immediately looked for a place that served custard. There is nothing like a Chocolate Matled Concrete from Goodberry\u0026rsquo;s, but Culver\u0026rsquo;s can close pretty close. I pass by Culver\u0026rsquo;s pretty often and I think about Brian when I pass by.\nNow as far as Kurt goes, there\u0026rsquo;s too many memories to work through here. Besides, you should ask him - he\u0026rsquo;s better at telling the stories. Let\u0026rsquo;s just say that I tend to add a small amount of the dramatic element when I tell them. You know, though, the Quest for the Shoney\u0026rsquo;s(r) is a good story and I think I can get it mostly right.\nYou have to understand that Kurt and I have been on and off roommates for many, many years. He was a college rommate of mine at the \u0026ldquo;Brothers II\u0026rdquo; place off O\u0026rsquo;Kelly street. Being the twin snorers, we were banished to our own room. Of course, the duct work piped in our cacophonic symphony directly into the other bedroom, so Bill would sleep right outside our door in the hallway. He said it was the quietest place in the house.\nI used to have these two foot long pillows that I called my PR Ddevices(tm). PR stood for pillow rebuke. I had this perchant to hit people with the pillows, especially because they were long enough to go around corners. One day when Kurt was not in the best of moods, I took it upon myself to cheer him up with a good pillow strike to the face. He was sitting in the chair of power(+2) about to play with the three remotes when I launched my assault.\nIn looking back on the incident, I have to say that I was quite fond of poor judgement in those days. Kurt had no trouble pointing out the folly of my actions and suggesting alternate methods to entertain myself. That\u0026rsquo;s one of the things I\u0026rsquo;ve always loved about Kurt, he had a way of bringing me back to reality in a very firm, honest, and direct way. Dude, I love you, but I still laugh until I cry when I think about how mad you were after I hit you.\nMaybe the Shoney\u0026rsquo;s(r) story can wait for now. I\u0026rsquo;ll be sure to mention it later, it was a bonding moment for all time. It\u0026rsquo;s true my memories with Kurt are different, it\u0026rsquo;s not like he wasn\u0026rsquo;t there for me at all over the years, he truly has been. It\u0026rsquo;s just that I remember Kurt as my brother quite differently. I think it\u0026rsquo;s because we shared a common weirdness. I still have the Hero Machine on my Windows parition because it\u0026rsquo;s just that cool. However, after the Red Fist of Vengenence(tm), I decided that my superhero creation days were pretty much done.\n","date":"2 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-02-a-clean-heart/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Clean Heart","type":"posts"},{"content":"1 Thess 5:21 - 22\nTest everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.\nGordon raises some good points about how we speak to one another. There\u0026rsquo;s a conference in Chicago that will be a fragile time for some as there is a bit of concern from everyone about what it will be like. It would not do any good for some bombast to stir up trouble for the sake of generating excitement, or some thoughtless, overzealous person ruin a good chance for brotherhood. I may not take the conference as seriously as some, but I do not want to hurt others while I am there.\nThe Bible is also quite clear about the power of words and the prudence of wisdom. To that end, I have to say that I have been reckless at times in situation outside of this blog. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be reckless. As always, I want to be real. As the book of Proverbs is about making wise choices, I truly want to choose wisdom in my words and actions. I pray to do so.\nHowever, I do not believe that critical thinking is always inherently negative. By definition, a person has to give up their own preconceived notions when they encounter another person\u0026rsquo;s ideas. Being stubborn is anti-thinking and it benefits no one. Proverbs talks quite a bit about those that choose to be stubborn and unhearing. The outcome of critical thinking can be positive. However, when it\u0026rsquo;s not, no one is served by ignoring the criticism under the umbrella of \u0026lsquo;being positive\u0026rsquo;. The same God that calls to us and says, \u0026ldquo;Come let us reason together,\u0026rdquo; can not also turn around and shut down thought when a person tries to reason through. Claiming the high ground by only focusing on positive things is a true thought stopper, and one that is antithetical to any principal of relationships. In Ephesians, parents are warned not to exasperate their children. How much more exasperating is it when honest thought is met with quick dismissal? This doesn\u0026rsquo;t even cover God\u0026rsquo;s conversations with Elijah and Habbukkuk, David\u0026rsquo;s Psalms, or Ecclesiates. In all those cases, there was an honest questioning, but none of them with dismissed out of hand.\nCritical thinking, however, is not reactionary thinking. I know that I have been quite guilty of that and I take responsibilty for what I\u0026rsquo;ve said. Reactive thinking also stops any reasonable thought process. Again, critical thinking is abandoning preconceived notions in order to find the truth. The truth may be good or it may be bad, but I contend that it will always set you free.\nGordon\u0026rsquo;s article says:\nAfter churches appeared to be past the upheaval of 2003, and the members in general were feeling that real changes had occurred in the church and were going to continue occurring, members still were leaving their congregations. In talking to some of them about their decision, the answers they gave simply did not add up. The idea of leaving a group of people who had been close friends for years over issues that were in process of being dealt with simply did not make sense. What was happening? I think they had been subjected to a practical form of deprogramming without realizing it \u0026ndash; at their own hands and at the hands of their friends. They had engaged in just too much negative talk about the church for too long, and now their foundations of faith (especially toward the church) were irreparably damaged. They couldn\u0026rsquo;t get past the past, as it had been etched in such negative ways in their minds and hearts.\nThis is why I included my three intentional deprogramming instances. I have talked to people all over the US and when I ask them why they leave when things are about to change, their reasons add up perfectly fine to me. This is what needs to be discussed. It seems obvious to Gordon, but the exact opposite conclusion is equally obvious to me. Here are the reasons people have told me why they left:\nNothing had changed or changes are cosmetic. I have been marginalized. I have no real friends to talk to. Too many painful memories. I want Sunday worship to be about God and not issues. I\u0026rsquo;ve tried, but I just can\u0026rsquo;t trust the leaders here. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. A person can only \u0026lsquo;be patient\u0026rsquo; for so long before it becomes necessary to cut their losses. The truth is that the amount of real change from congregation to congrgation is very different. I would consider South Florida\u0026rsquo;s commitment to get outside help a real effort to change. However, I would consider other efforts like those described by one that left Denver as less than satisfactory. It is true that I was not there, but I trust the word of someone I\u0026rsquo;ve met in person and that spent many years defending the church.\nIs it fair to \u0026lsquo;rate\u0026rsquo; how other churches are doing? I think so. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 talks about a spiritual man making spiritual judgements. This is not to armchair quarterback a congregarion at all. Lord knows that we have enough management from afar; forcing change from afar is the same thing. My church wants to change and we look to see what others are doing as a way to improve ourselves. Left to our own devices, I believe many good ideas would be missed. It looking at some church\u0026rsquo;s efforts and in talking with members there, I\u0026rsquo;ve seen good and not-so-good ideas. We have certainly had our share of no-so-good ideas as well. This kind of discernment is not a condemnation for people honestly searching the will of God - even if I do not agree with them. I can still love my brother, but not do what he does.\nWhen the rules disappeared, what many experienced is that their \u0026lsquo;best friends\u0026rsquo; were only friends on paper. Once no one was forcing them to be someone\u0026rsquo;s friend, folks found themselves alone. It is an invalid assumption that everyone leaving (even most people leaving) have any real friends at all. Sure there are tons of acquantinces, but I mean real friends that you can talk to about anything and you know they\u0026rsquo;ll hear you. I was fortunate, I moved into a town that welcomed me with open arms. I have people I can talk to and they believe in me, despite the fact that they do not always understand. They don\u0026rsquo;t have to understand me- I am just glad that I have a real sense of family. Love truly does cover over a multitude of sins.\nMany of the other reasons people have shared with me may be considered more emotional in nature. I do not believe that these are any less valid. Some people feel abused. We can argue over the numbers or percentages, but it is a universal effect in our fellowship of churches. These emotional needs should be addressed openly and honestly. Sometimes professional help may be necessary, I know that it is a possible option for me. These people should receive, at the very least, a public apology for the abuse they have endured.\nAt my own church, we had a woman that was essentially thrown away by church leadership because of her past. She held on for years to be heard: all she wanted to do was repent of her sin and become a member of the church again. At first it was discipline, but it became neglect as new evangelists came and went and never ever talked to her. When we had the small group open forums, she told her story and all of us embraced her. The evangelist tearfully apologized for her neglect. Her baptism two months later was a bright point during an otherwise troubling time. She now heads up a ministry whose only purpose is the encouragement of others. She has been there for people moving in and folks going through hard times. She has been there for me and my fiancee and she continues to do so. I am certain that people like her, in more and less extreme circumstances, exist just like her. There are good-hearted people that have been hurt, but cannot feel loved by God because of the sins of our churches.\nI agree that a constant diet of criticism will make a person jaded. I got that way after a few months of it. I\u0026rsquo;ve seen valued friends go from honest critic to jaded cynic because of a constant influx of so-called negative material. I\u0026rsquo;m not talking about that, that kind of criticism has no basis in critical thinking because it assumes that the speaker (or author) is right and the listener (or reader) is wrong. I agree that if all you listen to is the faults of a group of people, you will stop liking those people. It\u0026rsquo;s basic psychology. However, the so-called remedy is too broad. Trying to focus only on positive thoughts kills critical thinking, and that is much needed in all our fellowship of churches, especially in those that appear to have changed little since 2003.\nIt is true that a man will be judged for all his careless words. How will Jesus be judged by his? He called the Pharisees a brood of vipers, sons of Hell, whitewashed tombs and blind guides. He got angry at them (Mark 3:1-3) and even overturned the moneychangers tables. He had no tolerance for their dogmatic and opressive religous system that nullified the commands of God. As such, I do not get upset at someone, even a person defending the old system, that says strong things. I say strong things. It\u0026rsquo;s not because I don\u0026rsquo;t love leaders or somehow have a vendetta against our fellowship of churches. I don\u0026rsquo;t. I say strong things because I am honest. In working out our common faith, the messnger and the tone of the message is never the point. As it says in 1 Thess 5, test everything, hold on to what is good. If the Bereans are noble for reaserching Paul, I would hope modern Bereans are not set aside just to maintain the staus quo.\nAgain, I look forward to the Chicago conference. It is formatted for discussions and I eagerly await the chance for us to work out these issues together.\n","date":"1 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-01-intentional-deprogramming-conclusion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intentional Deprogramming - Conclusion","type":"posts"},{"content":"The word deprogram was first coined in 1973. The term brainwashing comes from the Mandarin phrase xinaoxi nao and was used to explain the Chinese Communists\u0026rsquo; efforts in what we might refer to today as \u0026rsquo;thought reform\u0026rsquo; during the Communist Revolution in 1949. These words are emotionally laden terms that contain implications of coercion, scarring, and loss of innocence. In reading about various definitions of deprogramming, I thought about my own actions as an unintentional deprogrammer recently. I was going to post about it, but then I thought about times in my life that I have been deprogrammed. At first, I thought it was only once, but in looking at the defintion, I have been deprogrammed, or more correctly stated reprogrammed three times in my life. Before talking about my initial reaction, here is the first of the three reprogrammings that I remember.\nIntroducing God\nLuke 14:23 - 24\nThen the master told his servant, \u0026lsquo;Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.\u0026rsquo;\nIn my sophmore year in college, I was on the verge of flunking out. Actually, I knew I was going to flunk out because I had not been to class in over a year. I lied to my father about attending classes and about how things were going. I even went through the process of buying books and paying tuition, just so I could stay in the dorms. I was a brooding mess - I rarely left my room.\nHowever, at the beginning of the spring semester, the effects of dragging myself out of bed to a Bible discussion group were beginning to take hold. I decided in late January of that year to finally attend Sunday church after two guys downstairs begged me to go for over a year. I found a group of people that were happy and that pretty much accepted me as I was. It was fun to be around people that actually loved life. I spent my nights wandering the park next to my dormitory. I probably scared a few homeless people sleeping there because of my skulking and/or screaming. Being around these happy people grated me to some extent, but it was because I wanted to avoid completely losing my mind. I was well aware that I was in a dark place.\nI always thank God that my friends (and they are friends still) stood by me during this time. They encouraged me to pray and try anything to go to class and try to make up for a lack of attendance. I wished I had listened to them at that time. What I did listen to, however, was the personal times of Bible study we had off and on for almost 18 months. We had no disagreement about the definition of a Christian. After that study, I gladly confessed that I was not a Christian. They used the word disciple and insisted on my using it - in time, I did. Not only was I not a Christian, but I definitely was not a disciple(htpd). I was relieved to be honest about my so-called Christianity and strove to be genuine in everything. I knew that I was a liar and a fake: I just wanted to be something different. I wanted to be real like my friends.\nWe talked about the role of the Bible in our lives, and I eagerly began reading it again. I had studied it as a child, but never attained any insight until now. I was genuinely excited to read and to pray. I attended every service and loved to be around a group of people that lived Acts 2:42-44. It was a wonderful time.\nConversation moved on to darker areas of my life and I was reluctant to open up. I loved my friends, but I was convinced that my personal darkness was too much for them to handle. I truly loved them, but I thought of them as simple-minded. (At that time, I considered everyone simple-minded but me.) To my surprise, when I opened up a little bit about it, they were quite understanding. One of my friends understood some of my darkness very well and we would talk for hours. I still think fondly of this man, though he is no longer a part of my fellowship of churches. It was wonderful to open up about things that I had never shared with anyone before. It was a great relief to get all the pain off of my heart. To help me, I was encouraged to write it all down. In order to deal with the sin in my life, I was also encouraged to define a list of sins in the dictionary. I looked forward to continued discussion on this, but was chastised three times for not writing it down. The first time, I explained that I wanted to talk about it but not write it down. I was strongly encouraged to write these things down anyway. The second time, I was corrected (but not rebuked) by someone that was obviously exasperated with me. My two friends begged me to simply write everything down so that we could \u0026lsquo;move on\u0026rsquo;. (I knew that there was a study series and that I was part of the way through it. I had bragged to another person that I was \u0026lsquo;ahead\u0026rsquo; of them in the studies. When she got baptized before me, I was openly angry and jealous.) I finally decided to do what they asked, if only to continue discussing my sin and darkness. When I arrived next time, I was shocked to hear the frankness of the others about their sin, but I was also encouraged to share without hesitation. However, when I did not confess that I was somehow addicted to masturbation, I was accused of being a liar, which I had openly confessed. I was grilled over and over about all manner of sexual deviancies, some of which I had never heard of. No one could believe that I simply did not think about sex all the time and I began to be scared that I was abnormal because of it. I again confessed of some heavy petting I did in high school trying to fit in. I had to give names and times and how many women had I done that to. When they realized that there wasn\u0026rsquo;t any other sexual sin to confess, I was then informed that I had possibly destroyed this woman\u0026rsquo;s chance of finding God because I was selfish. After more warnings and rebukes to be sexually pure, I was given an assessment of what my true sinful nature:\nI was a liar and a cheat. I was an arrogant man that took pride in his own intelligence. I was prone to fits of rage when I didn\u0026rsquo;t get my way and used my rage as a weapon to intimidate others.\nI wept bitterly at my own shortcomings, but was glad to finally discuss all the things on my heart. I asked if my anger was a sin and I remember something was said about fits of rage, but I don\u0026rsquo;t remember. They didn\u0026rsquo;t take my written treatise about my sin. I was encouraged to keep it to myself as a reminder of the spiritual struggle ahead. Tired and upset, I went back to my room and went to bed.\nOver the next couple days I grappled with my own sin. I saw sin in everything I did and tried as hard as I could to \u0026lsquo;go about meekly\u0026rsquo; like King Ahab. I said little, I moped about the park. I cried quite a bit. When we finally got together again, I was asked about my sin and I babbled on about something for the better part of an hour. I was so glad to see people that understood what I was feeling. We then read the Bible and talked about walking in the light and Heaven. What a relief! To talk about the good that God has planned for me and how God really loves me despite the ugliness of my sin. I had decided that 1 Peter 2 was the best chapter in the Bible. I was excited to be happy again and not hopeless like I had been the previous days. Church became more fun and I talked about \u0026lsquo;coming out of the darkness\u0026rsquo; and becoming a disciple. I believed that I could do it and was grateful that God and His people believed in me.\nOne day when the other were preaching by the brickyard, I asked if I could join. While the others spoke gently and honorably, I was offended by the crowd\u0026rsquo;s indifference. When my turn came, I let them have it! I called them \u0026lsquo;stone-hearted jokers\u0026rsquo; that obviously didn\u0026rsquo;t understand the gravity of the situation. I was encouraged to stop speaking, but eventually had to be restrained. I truly did get carried away and I am embarassed that I ever did that. My friends were kind, though, and never made me feel guilty about losing control like that.\nWhen I studied the Bible again, we talked about church and what it should be. I had seen the church and had no problem with identifying it as following the biblical pattern. There was love, relationship, and devotion to the Bible. It was fantastic and I wanted to be a part of it quite badly. A week later, we studied the \u0026lsquo;kingdom\u0026rsquo; and although a bit odd, I enjoyed something that was finally more of an intellectual challenge. My background had no mention of the four kingdoms, nor about how history fit into the Old Testament. It was truly fascinating. I asked when I could be baptized and I was told the time was near; we just had to finish a couple more studies.\nWhen we met again after my asking, the discussion was a difficult one - however, I was talking to the Lead Evangelist and my friends of two years, so I felt a strong desire to give them the benefit of the doubt. We talked about who is saved and who isn\u0026rsquo;t saved. I had no problem in admitting my own lack of salvation. I was emphatic that I wanted to be saved as soon as possible. \u0026lsquo;Look there\u0026rsquo;s water,\u0026rsquo; I said, \u0026lsquo;what is your problem that you are waiting so long?\u0026rsquo; However, the conversation went away from me and on to others. We reviewed all the studies we had gone through over the past months: the Word of God, Light and Darkness, the Church, and Discipleship. They explained that if only baptized disciple were going to saved (i.e. go to Heaven), then anyone else must logical be \u0026rsquo;not saved\u0026rsquo; (i.e. go to Hell). This made sense to me, but was upset when we started naming names. We named whole congregations and churches at first, but then narrowed down to my grandparents and parents, my brother and my other relatives. We even talked about Mother Theresa at some point.\nI have to admit that I was not comfortable in thinking about my parents as going to Hell. I especially was disturbed by the thought of everyone around me going to Hell. I knew that I had to save my family somehow and I might be able to help a few others as well. But I thought about that a lot. The man that introduced me to God, in fact, had never known him, I thought. I remembered my previous \u0026lsquo;baptism\u0026rsquo; and got angry that no one told me the truth, especially the truth as my friends had presented it to me. Later, when I tried to save my family, I said a lot of things that I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t have. No one told me to say these things, I did it out of my own zeal and ignorance. My friends did comfort me, though, that they weren\u0026rsquo;t dead, so God would change their hearts eventually.\nI had cold feet the day I was baptized, but my friend was encouraging and he said that he believed in me. I was afraid that like everything else in my life, I was going to give it six months and quit. I thought about the consequences of quitting and equated it to eternity in Hell and desolate loneliness on Earth. I quickly decided that Heaven was a much better option.\nI have been a Christian ever since. Sometimes, I have even been a disciple(htpd). I am not upset that I became a Christian and I thank God everyday for the love of my friends and his mercy that I have come to know him. I do not regret my decision to join this church, and I believe that I will be a part of it for a long time. I want others to be a part of my church here in my city. I mention this instance of reprogramming only because I believe that good came from it. However, it qualifies as it contians deprogramming content that focuses on some truth, some truth taken out of context (which makes it untrue) and some outright fabrications. Just because I am glad about the end result doesn\u0026rsquo;t change that fact.\n","date":"1 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-01-intentional-deprogramming-part-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intentional Deprogramming Part 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"The second of my deprogrammings is more traditional. I had been a disciple(htpd) for about nine months and was looking forward to Christmas vacation. I had already flunked out of school and I was constantly broke. I never had money and I barely worked as a busboy in a resturant in town. I didn\u0026rsquo;t live with other disciples, I had to move off-campus after I flunked out and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t find a spot. (I refused to move into an apartment with seven men living in a two bedroom apartment.) When I went home for Christmas, I ended up staying home for almost a year and facing my parents everyday.\nYou\u0026rsquo;re Not Going Back to that Church\nLuke 14:25 - 33\nLarge crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: \u0026ldquo;If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters\u0026ndash;yes, even his own life\u0026ndash;he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, \u0026lsquo;This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.\u0026rsquo; Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. \u0026quot;\nDay one was pretty eventful. My parents had let me sleep in, I had spent an hour praying and reading my Bible and went downstairs in late morning to talk. We ate breakfast and then starting talking about the pink elephant after we cleared the plates. My father sat across from me and stared at me the entire time. I stared back in hatred. I hated being caged in the house and the neighborhood like a criminal. He had asked what I believe about my church. He asked why I didn\u0026rsquo;t call home anymore and why I refused to come home on the weekends. I had told him that I needed to be at church. (I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to say that I had to be at church or else, because I didn\u0026rsquo;t think my friends were like that. I felt it every once in a while, but no one said that to me.) He expressed his hurt and frustration that I had basically shut him out of my life. He was also upset that about the time I started talking about God, I flunked out of college. He blamed the church for causing me to get off-track in my studies. I denied it - the minister had actually rebuked me for flunking out and not listening to his advice when I studied the Bible. My father, however, wasn\u0026rsquo;t buying it. The truth to him was simple: the church divided the family, it took my focus off school, and it made me a co-dependent weakling.\nI had a defense ready against all these charges. I told him that we didn\u0026rsquo;t agree about what the Bible says about salvation. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t the church that was dividing us, but the Holy Spirit. I then read him Matthew 10:35-37. I insisted that the minister had pleaded with me to get back into school, but that I didn\u0026rsquo;t listen. I was afraid of switching majors and didn\u0026rsquo;t want to disappoint the family. I knew that my reasons for flunking out didn\u0026rsquo;t make sense, but I apologized for the lies and deceit about school. I pointed out that the church had helped me come to grips with my sin and stop lying and deceiving. I read him a verse somewhere that I don\u0026rsquo;t remember. I think it was totally out of context. To the last charge, I showed him all kinds of verses about how disciples(htpd) belong to one another (Romans 12:5) and love each other.\nMy father quickly set aside these arguments: he wasn\u0026rsquo;t going to tolerate my hiding behind religion to excuse flunking out of college. He was going to fix me and get my priorites striaight if it killed him. I was a failure, a coward, and a lazy, disgraceful son. He loved me, but I had broken his trust. I felt terrible and realized much later that I should have been asking for his forgiveness instead of defending myself as if I did nothing wrong. I had wronged him and the whole family. He would tell me years later that I really wronged myself the worst of all, but I didn\u0026rsquo;t understand that at the time. I was dismissed from the table, so I went back upstairs and didn\u0026rsquo;t leave my room for dinner. I stayed upstairs and wept for myself.\nThat was the end of the first day at home.\nIn the ensuing days, some mornings started with a challenge to what I believed about salvation. Some started with an eerie silence. No one really knew what exactly to say. After Dad and I traded verses back and forth, he finally declared that I couldn\u0026rsquo;t use the Bible anymore to defend my doctrine of salvation. He assured me that he didn\u0026rsquo;t teach what I believed and that he would never lead me astray. He taught what he knew in his heart to be true and retold his salvation experience many times. I dismissed it as emotional and illogical - the Bible was clear about baptism and I figured he was simply avoiding the issue.\nMom, who was silent about doctrine, was only concerned about the race of my girlfriend at the time. She had wanted me to go to a therapist in Elizabeth City so that I could be fixed. She didn\u0026rsquo;t understand why I wanted to bring so much pain on myself by having an interracial relationship. She told me over and over about the suffering our kids would endure and that their mixed heritage was unfair to them. The world was cruel and she didn\u0026rsquo;t want the world to be cruel to me. I responded in anger and told her the real issue was that she didn\u0026rsquo;t want a black grandchild. For the only time in my life, my mother was so devastated by me, she didn\u0026rsquo;t speak to me. It hasn\u0026rsquo;t never happened since.\nThe salvation issue built up for a few days until at some point my father asked me \u0026ldquo;Do you think I\u0026rsquo;m going to Heaven?\u0026rdquo; I told him that i couldn\u0026rsquo;t judge, but that the Bible was clear. He accused me of avoiding the issue. After a very heated exchange, he physically backed me into a wall and demanded \u0026ldquo;YES OR NO: DO YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM SAVED?!\u0026rdquo; When he cut me off for any answer that didn\u0026rsquo;t sound like Yes or No, I finally took a deep breath and put my hands on his shoulders.\nI said in a low voice, \u0026ldquo;I love you Dad very much, but you are going to bust the Gates of Hell wide open.\u0026rdquo;\nFor several weeks after that, Dad expressed his incredulity that his own son thought he was going to Hell. My mother told me that I shouldn\u0026rsquo;t talk that way. I was moved into the bottom floor of the house with a bed and a separate area to cook and eat. I had a small fridge and other things. I think my parents needed to be away for me for a while, and I welcomed the break.\nMy friends in Raleigh wrote me letters and called me when they could. They cheered me on to \u0026lsquo;fight the good fight\u0026rsquo;. Some of them sent me Bible Studies, others cards. My girlfriend sent me a card everyday. I was totally miserable. The Bible Studies began to have a common theme that basically implied that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t dealing with the situation correctly because I didn\u0026rsquo;t get up and leave. For a while, I even plotted a dramatic get away where my friends would drive into town and I would sneak out and go back to Raleigh. Deep inside, I knew that was wrong. I still don\u0026rsquo;t know where that came from - I\u0026rsquo;d like to think that deep down I love my parents and hoped for reconciliation.\nI eventually started going to the small community college in town. My grades were bad at first, but they steadily improved and I felt like I could get back into college. NC State had said that I could get back in under the condition that I seek mental help and demonstrated an academic ability. With college going well and money from two part time jobs being socked away, the only thing left was the mental health. I prayed quite a bit: I was certain that he, like everyone else, was going to tell me that my church was wrong. Things were on track, but Dad and I still had the occasional dispute. When the appointment was set, I took courage that it would only last a brief time.\nHe was a nice man, but I was confused at why he never told me anything. He asked me all kinds of questions and he seemed to love the strange answers. One thing that I do remember vividly was the question, \u0026ldquo;What do you want to do with your life?\u0026rdquo; When I threw up a block, he rephrased it to mention that it didn\u0026rsquo;t have to be reasonable or affordable or pracitcal. I said that I wanted to get in a Winnebago and drive around the country by myself. He then shocked me by asking, \u0026ldquo;Why don\u0026rsquo;t you do it?\u0026rdquo; I told him that I had to finish college. He pressed deeper. Finally, I admitted that I was part of a church that wouldn\u0026rsquo;t let me do it, because the Kingdom of God was somehow defined as a 60 mile radius around the building, and that my family would never speak to me because I had to be a success in life. He then asked me why I let other people dictate my life and I argued with him that I was my own man and that no one told me what to do except God, himself.\nDuring this time, my friends told me I had to break up with my girlfriend. They said that I was hurting her being so far away and that because I never wrote or called, I must not really love her. When I protested, it was said that if I really did love her, then I should set her free. I was crushed, but I did it. They were there in town with her, so I figured that they knew how she was better than I did. So one night, I called her and broke up with her.\nLonely, I turned to food for comfort and I gained over 50 pounds. I had given up on God and my father thought that I was making real progress. I figured that my life was going to be a miserable failure from this point onward despite my father\u0026rsquo;s encouragement. A new leader that just moved into Raleigh called me to see how I was. When I confessed my bitterness and sorrow, I braced myself for the mother of all rebukes. Instead, he said that I needed strength and that I should read 1 Samuel. I did. This was the first ray of sunshine in a long itme.\nAfter nine months at home, I had a chance to plead my case with NC State and gain readmittance. God worked a miracle and I got back in. (Somehow I got an A in a Spanish class that I never attended. The registrar let it go when I mentioned it to him.) I called Dad to tell him that I was back at NC State. He was overjoyed and asked when I was coming home next weekend. I told him that I had church. He cried that night, and I regret that the only think that I was thinking was that I had outlasted him and that I was never going to be crushed like that again.\nI think it only fair to say that my father and I have long since reconciled. We enjoy a healthy trust, now and I think the world of him. He is doing a lot of work for my upcoming wedding and he is very excited for me. We call and talk when we can. He has since helped me out of a lot of jams and I was able to be there for him during some tough times in his life. I was happy to ask him to be a groomsman in my wedding.\nBack to the point, though, like other times, deprogramming content focuses on some truth, some truth taken out of context (which makes it untrue) and some outright fabrications. Sometimes I think that I was trying to reprogram him and I regret that.\n","date":"1 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-01-intentional-deprogramming-part-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intentional Deprogramming Part 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"The last deprogramming really was an attempt at reprogramming me. This time, though, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t alone. There was an huge atmosphere of fear and dread and all my friends were scared to death. I tried to tell myself that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t, but after talking to some that had been through it, I did every kind of stalling you can imagine.\nAre You Really My Disciple?\nLuke 14:34 - 35\nSalt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.\nThe new evangelist was in town and he wanted to make some changes. Every member of the church was going to have a \u0026ldquo;repentance talk\u0026rdquo;. The expressed goal was to give an opportunity to deal with the rampant sin in the church with those most qualified to help. These talks were expressed in positive tones, but after each staff member had been through their talk, \u0026ldquo;repentance talks\u0026rdquo; were never mentioned in the pulpit. One staff member repented of being too prideful to admit he had hemmorhoids, others expressed their sin of not being evangelistic, while others went on to confess things grim and graphic. As more and more people had these talks, the size of the church shrank dramatically. I had friends that were asked to \u0026ldquo;sit out\u0026rdquo; so that they could draw closer to God. More and more people left the church and I was now afraid that I was going to be asked to leave as well.\nThen the day finally came. Two chruch interns came to the house and we talked for several hours. I found out that the talk had only four points:\nWould I commit to reading the Bible everyday? Would I commit to reading the praying everyday? Would I commit to sharing my faith everyday? Would I commit to giving at least a tithe?(10% gross) When I heard that, I thought I would be okay. I wanted to get help on the first two items and I had always given a tithe. I shared with people, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t very good at it. I figured that we\u0026rsquo;d talk about that more. I was still quite nervous and I tried to pawn myself off as not needing much serious help, just needed to tweak some things in my character.\nThat was the wrong answer.\nIf I didn\u0026rsquo;t seem very serious, or some point needed to be made strongly, the question came back to \u0026ldquo;How can you treat the blood of Jesus so cheaply?\u0026rdquo;. We talked about a couple of hours about how I really didn\u0026rsquo;t love God because I only had three quiet times in two weeks. Sure I had prayed everyday, but my prayers were blocked because of my sin. I was arrogant and prideful to think that I was doing well with so few quiet times, they told me. Over and over, we went through the crucifixtion and how Jesus died for my sin. On top of that, I obviously didn\u0026rsquo;t love the lost enough to invite them to church. I didn\u0026rsquo;t love the mission and I wasn\u0026rsquo;t fulfilling my purpose. They asked me why I bothered calling myself a disciple - I obviously wasn\u0026rsquo;t one according to the Scriptures.\nI was upset and I cried. One of the guys then accused me of being manipulative and said my tears were fake and he could tell. I asked them what they wanted me to do and they said that I should repent. I promised I would repent and begged them to finish. However, that was also the wrong answer and the breaking session started all over. They shared about their hideous sin and how they were cut and broken about their sin. After a while, they resorted to the \u0026lsquo;good cop, bad cop\u0026rsquo; routine. One brother shared about how this talk had been hard for him and he shared his poetry. The other brother went through Galatians 5 and went through the sin study all over again. I had obviously sinned because I wasn\u0026rsquo;t fruitful, so they kept digging for more sin. They assured me that this was for my own good.\nAfter another couple of hours, I gave up. I remember it very clearly. I took a deep breath and said that I was sorry to God for hurting him so much and that I just wanted to do what was right. I felt so devastated and humiliated. I knew that they were going to ask me to leave the church.\nTo my surprise, they didn\u0026rsquo;t. They gave me a hug and thanked me for listening. They said that they would pray for me. As I thought things were winding down, one of them said that he wanted to cover a few small things before he left. They were trivial, but then he said that I had a childish nickname and that I should be called by my real first name. I explained to them that my nickname was not childish, but a characterization of my struggle for life as a premature baby. I sensed however that the serious talk would begin again, so I conceded. The only thing I asked was that if I had to change my name, that I would rather be called by my middle name. They looked at each other and shrugged and said that it was okay. Besides, my middle name is Biblical and it was a good spiritual goal to try to be like the Apostle whose name I share.\nI have been called John ever since. It is not my name, but it is how I am known and I have not been able to change it back for several years.\nUnlike the first two, this is the deprogramming that affects me still. I reconciled with all others many years ago, even before it became fashionable in the post Henry Kreite renaissance. This, like the others had deprogramming content focusing on some truth, had some truth taken out of context (which makes it untrue) and had some outright fabrications. This one, though, still causes me to get upset all over again. I don\u0026rsquo;t dwell on it and I don\u0026rsquo;t like to think of it, but I am still honestly affected by this one. The first deprogramming robbed me of my faith, but I don\u0026rsquo;t regret it. I have received so much more in return, especially in faith. The second one robbed me of my family, but through the years, we have been able to heal and draw close together. I bear no hatred or anger towards my family at all. It is truly all in the past. The third one, though, robbed me of my dignity. The guys that led this talk have long since left. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that they regret it. I\u0026rsquo;ve spoken to the evangelist that ordered these talks, and he assures me that my talk was not what he had in mind. He apologized. We talked for some time about it. I don\u0026rsquo;t begrudge him for this at all.\nI pray everyday to get past it and I try to not let the pain from this cause me to sin against others. I do not apologize, though, for not moving on, yet, even though I have spoken to all involved. I am faithful that this will not control my life, but I need more time - this is really hard to let go of. In any case, that\u0026rsquo;s the last one. Some concluding thoughts and then I\u0026rsquo;m done with the subject.\n","date":"1 September 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-09-01-intentional-deprogramming-part-3/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intentional Deprogramming Part 3","type":"posts"},{"content":"I came across an article here that mentions a novel concept. It was pretty interesting and a thoughtful read.\n","date":"31 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-31-deprogrammers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Deprogrammers?","type":"posts"},{"content":"Brevity is the soul of wit.\nLevity is the conscience of wit.\n","date":"31 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-31-thought-for-august-31st/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thought for August 31st","type":"posts"},{"content":"This past Saturday, the \u0026rsquo;teaching committee\u0026rsquo; of my church got together to plan future direction. Having recently changed teaching days from Sunday to Wednesday, we needed to think about cirriculum and other things. Having decided that we are going to go through the Wild at Heart book and workbook this fall, the topic changed dramatically. Suddenly, someone said,\n\u0026ldquo;People want a Study Series.\u0026rdquo;\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a lot I could say about the so-called study series and the dangers of creating another one. The biggest issue being that a study series reinforces a checklist-mentality. I\u0026rsquo;m sure the spreadsheets will come back with the names of the studies measuring a person\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;progress\u0026rdquo; through the studies. This would be awful. I know that structure is good and healthy and I\u0026rsquo;m not against having list of people that are studying the Bible. I am against the one-size-fits-all approach.\nAside from that, the key goal is to get back to the message of the gospel. The good news is simply that Jesus was a man like us, sacrificed his life on the cross for our sins, and rose again. I think we\u0026rsquo;ve traditionally done very well in discussing Jesus\u0026rsquo;s humanity and sacrifice. However, we\u0026rsquo;ve never done so well at the resurrection. During communion, a host of good-hearted people are trying to get in touch with Jesus\u0026rsquo; pain and their sin instead of the good news of the resurrection. Communion is a \u0026lsquo;common\u0026rsquo; time, not a group of isolated individuals in a room crucifying themselves in order to be \u0026lsquo;broken\u0026rsquo; about their sin. You think the first believers gladly defied the government and said \u0026ldquo;Jesus is Lord\u0026rdquo; for this? Where in the Bible does it say that being a Christian requires a desire for masochism? The Bible is clear about taking communion in a worthy manner and I am suggesting that we have rarely taught a worthy manner.\nThe following are some ideas I have: unlike other posts, I will clean this one up considerably over time.\nJesus was human As many of you know, the word gospel means \u0026lsquo;good news\u0026rsquo;. That begs the question, \u0026ldquo;What is this good news?\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s more than Jesus died for our sins. Without his humanity brought into the message, his ministry was nothing more than a field trip from Heaven. Without the humanity of Jesus, it is almost impossible to believe that he suffered. Even if that hurdle is overcome, it makes the message of God becoming like us incorrect. How can a spirit, especially the divine spirit, make a claim that He understands us and our lot in life when he really wasn\u0026rsquo;t experiencing life like we do?\n","date":"30 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-30-so-you-want-to-know-who-this-jesus-is/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"So you want to know who this Jesus is?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have decided that I want to elope.\nI know that these are familiar feelings and I feel a bit guilty because my family tries so hard to \u0026lsquo;be good\u0026rsquo;.\nHowever, I just wish that there was a little respect for my timetable. This it has to be done this second mentality is going to kill me if it doesn\u0026rsquo;t end. As my roommate put it, I was the angriest he had ever seen me in two years of being my friend.\nOn a lighter note, it\u0026rsquo;s oddly comforting that there is, in fact, something that can upset me more than church bruhaha. I decided that Laryssa was more important than church drama, and I\u0026rsquo;m glad to know that our wedding is more important.\nOther than that, things are going very well - Laryssa\u0026rsquo;s dad has been wonderful in helping my dad find a place to stay and find a place for the reheresal dinner. Mom has offered to pay for the flowers. The location is set, the groomsman and bridesmaids are set, the men\u0026rsquo;s clothes are set; everything is going along pretty well.\nNext weekend (Labor Day) we are going to the Minnesota Ren Fair, and that will be most fun. We need to get a couple of things for the wedding, but also get away and have a good time. I really look forward to it.\nGotta go for now, work calls.\n","date":"25 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-25-wedding-planning/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Wedding Planning","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m teaching an Old Testament Survey class through the end of August and I decided to include a topic that I considered a bit risky. As you can guess from the title, it was a look at the OT Apocrypha. Just for clarity, I mean the books and material commonly found in Catholic Bibles, not the Pseudographia.\nWhy read the Apocrypha? The Apocrypha is useful reading for understanding our spiritual past. It is the largest source of material covering the Maccabean revolt (160BC?). It was considered at least useful for instruction by Hellenistic Jews and some early Christians. It gives us examples of Jewish and early Christian thinking by allowing comparisons between inspired and human writings. Looking at the reasons this material is not included in Protestant Bibles, gives us insight into our own Christian heritage as well.\nThe Apocrypha is also useful for understanding our present. Some Catholic doctrines are formed entirely on the basis of the Apocrypha, for example the existence of Purgatory, the intercession of saints, and prayers for the dead. Even in the Orthodox church, this material is considered scripture and used for teaching and instruction in doctrine.\n","date":"23 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-23-old-testament-apocrypha-draft-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Old Testament Apocrypha - Draft 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"Wanted to write about the sook today, but that will have to wait until Sunday or Monday. Large wedding plans this Saturday.\nAlso, I hope to get a new website up for my upcoming wedding.\n","date":"20 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-20-almost-a-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Almost a Post","type":"posts"},{"content":" ","date":"20 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-20-had-to-do-it/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Had to do it","type":"posts"},{"content":"This website is 64% Good according to the principles of Gematria developed by Dr. Ivan Penin.\n","date":"20 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-20-just-as-an-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Just as an update","type":"posts"},{"content":"Contrary to popular belief, leadership is not evil. Without someone saying, \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ll make sure this gets done,\u0026rdquo; nothing gets done. All of us look to someone to coordinate or plan or even motivate. As long as you don\u0026rsquo;t abdicate your own responsibility to lead your own life, this is pretty healthy.\nI went looking for good materials on leadership and found this site. It certainly parallels a psychological survey, but the undelying principles ring true to me as of my first look of them.\nIt short, leadership is based on four principles:\n1. Love God and others above yourself 2. Be a servant and a shepherd. 3. Relate to those you lead as friends. 4. Use wise methods and procedures.\nThe first two deal with the leader\u0026rsquo;s heart and their own attitudes towards leadership and those they lead. The last two deal with the actions and deeds of a leader. There\u0026rsquo;s plenty of scripture to go along with these and I plan on looking into it.\nWhat I see in the \u0026lsquo;call for strong leadership\u0026rsquo; in various conferences, is a call to Love God, but also an encouragement to lead in a strong and powerful way(tm). When asked what a strong a powerful way means, the answers are not entirely clear. As best I can discern (in my limited ability), this means that leaders should regain a sense of confidence (in ICC vernacular, this is called boldness(tm)). Leaders should, as I understand it, preach powerfully and speak plainly about sin and commitment and responsibility. I don\u0026rsquo;t entirely disagree with that, but it says nothing about leadership. Saying that a preacher should be forthright in style, dynamic in presentation, and biblical in content changes the focus away from leadership and onto preaching style. Preaching is preaching not leading; all Christians are called to preach. Saying that a leader should be confident and decisive is just as off-topic. We should all be confident in our lives: Jesus sacrificed everything on the cross so that we could confidently approach the throne of God. If you and I can approach the Lord of Heaven with confidence, what is left to be afraid of on the Earth? Being decisive in action is getting closer to the matter, but leadership is something different entirely.\nThe real heart of leadership is to love. Through this love, a leader should serve and shepherd. As a leader myself, I strive to grow in my love and I fight with all my might against what I perceive as enemies to the church locally and abroad. I need to learn to love. I still need to repent in my willingness to serve in individuals\u0026rsquo; lives. It\u0026rsquo;s true I work hard and coordinate the teachers, but I mean something different. I\u0026rsquo;m talking about going to someone\u0026rsquo;s house that is not on the advisroy group, taking care of their pets, or taking care of the house, or help clean out a basement, or something like that. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to be above a certain task or too busy to simply help someone.\nI hope that this program will turn out to be a \u0026lsquo;wise method\u0026rsquo;. So far, it looks great, but I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know as I look into it. In any case, I hope that a look at the heart of leadership will bring about godly behavior as a leader.\n","date":"19 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-19-wheres-the-beef/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Where's the Beef?","type":"posts"},{"content":"M.O.A.C. 2004 in Chicago is coming up in a month, and believe it or not, I am excited to go. You may not think so, but I consider it a good opportunity to talk to people all over the world and discuss real change. The format of the conference is Lesson, then breakout groups. I like it at the Teacher\u0026rsquo;s Conference last year and I like it in this setting. Friday night and Saturday night are wide open for time to talk. I am excited about it.\nSo why the name change? It\u0026rsquo;s simple, really. It\u0026rsquo;s funny and it fits.\nThe temptation with this and any other conference is the temptation of self-importance. I am grateful for all the hard work that Chicago has put into this conference. I put together a much smaller program myself for Doug Jacoby almost a year ago, so I understand in a small way the effort required. I\u0026rsquo;m not picking on them, they are actually doing the work and probably serve with all their heart in putting this conference together. To that, I say \u0026rsquo;thank you\u0026rsquo;. But for those that claim to be leaders, especially the teachers and lesson speakers, this can be another opportunity to inflate a sense of world-wide importance.\nGet over yourself.\nHonestly, I don\u0026rsquo;t want to hear any of the speeches because I do not trust any of the speakers to preach. I would trust Doug Jacoby and Mitch Mitchell. I have met and spoken with these men and I believe their motivation behind what they preach and how they preach it. There are a few others, including the minister at my church and Rich Little, but my point is that I have seen and heard the other speakers and found their past messages to be hollow at best. In some cases, I even believe their messages and preaching to even be insincere.\nWhat I look forward to is meeting a guy from another small church to talk about small church issues (dating,campus and singles ministry, etc.). I look forward to talking to people that actually teach Bible classes and topics and ask them about effectiveness in times, material, and many other things. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to talk to be big names, I\u0026rsquo;ve already talked to them. Their issues and areas of concern are worlds away from what I consider important. I want to find other people like me that love their church, work hard, and aren\u0026rsquo;t afraid to speak their mind. I hope to find people in their early to late thirties. I hope to find SINGLE people that aren\u0026rsquo;t in college. I hope to find people from a big church that are enjoying \u0026rsquo;the changes\u0026rsquo;. I especially look forward to talking with those that aren\u0026rsquo;t Americans - their perspective is usually quite different.\nTo sum up, I look forward to having a good time at a wonderful conference, even if I do think of the Aflac(R) duck everytime I think about it.\n","date":"18 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-18-a-note-about-moe-ak-2004/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A Note about M.O.A.C. 2004","type":"posts"},{"content":"I haven\u0026rsquo;t written a lot about ICC stuff since I broke with the forums. I think it\u0026rsquo;s indicative of the reason I needed to leave them. However, I haven\u0026rsquo;t ignored church events completely. The two things on my mind at the moment are an article written by Gary Sciascia and Thomas\u0026rsquo;s latest sermon (not article). I\u0026rsquo;ll write about Gary\u0026rsquo;s article in different article.\nThomas\u0026rsquo;s latest sermon is entitled, \u0026ldquo;Jesus, Friend of Sinners\u0026rdquo;. I have to admit that the first 20 minutes was a genuinely good sermon. The story of Zaccheus, the woman cuaght in adultery, and the leper of many years being healed with a touch. Familiar themes and such, but a surprisingly coherent and effective message on compassion. I started thinking that my prayers for him and about him were beginning to bear fruit. I didn\u0026rsquo;t like the hype style and extended s on the end, but that\u0026rsquo;s a minor consideration.\nSo I\u0026rsquo;m about to click off the sermon and then the twist occurs. There\u0026rsquo;s a mention of \u0026lsquo;sold-out disciples(htdm)\u0026rsquo; that appears from nowhere. Then, when talking about Jesus\u0026rsquo; admonition to the woman caught in adultery, the real topic of this sermon emerges. After all the talk about the compassion of Jesus, the audiences hears that members of the Portland Church are not confessing their sins to their discipling partners. A familiar pattern returned where he confessed his sins that have plagued him since college. He \u0026ldquo;got open\u0026rdquo; with some folks about his sins and then he was \u0026ldquo;super-fired-up\u0026rdquo; again. That lead to a call for everyone to make sure that their discipling times happen and that when they happen, they should confess their sins.\nThis is where I tuned out and turned it off.\nI still think, that in the bigger scheme of things, he works hard every Sunday to defend himself and his ministry from someone or something. Until recently, I just figured that he is aware of his waning influence and his own unpopularity. Nowadays, I wonder if the critics he addresses indirectly are people he is talking to fairly regularly. I know that the Chicago Leadership came to Portland at some point and discussed the Mother Of All Conferences(tm) (also known as the 2004 International Leadership Conference) and that he has addressed \u0026ldquo;our fellowship of churches\u0026rdquo; almost every week that he preaches. I get the feeling that he will not be there. If he is, I\u0026rsquo;m sure that he will have something to say in his October 2 sermon.\nI\u0026rsquo;m glad I don\u0026rsquo;t tune in every week anymore. A friend of mine asked me if I keep up with him anymore, and she said that it might be good to check in every once in a while. She was glad that I wasn\u0026rsquo;t checking in every week, but she also mentioned that she wants to know, but doesn\u0026rsquo;t have the time do it herself. I appreciate that, but I really want to focus more on building relationships in other places.\nI enjoy my freedom and the ability to get help from so many people without another appointment.\n","date":"18 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-18-it-case-you-thought-i-forgot/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"It Case You Thought I Forgot...","type":"posts"},{"content":"Gary Sciascia wrote an interesting article posted on the Groton-New London International Church of Christ website that I thought was worth mentioning. You can read it here.\nAt first read, I thought that this was yet another defense of maintaining the status quo. I know a thing or two about overreacting, but in my experience, few have actually done so. There is this uniform urging of \u0026lsquo;caution\u0026rsquo; from all the so-called teachers for fear of overreacting. That is understandable, and under normal circumstances, probably the best approach. However, outside of Henry\u0026rsquo;s original letter and a few subsequent letters, there really has been little action at all. Who is doing all this overreacting that so many are frightened of?\n**DIGRESSION ALERT: PLEASE PROCEED TO THE END OF THE MARKED SECTION FOR COHERENCY - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED** Instead, I see a few people speaking out in various places and either being silenced or marginalized. The most popular reaction seems to be \u0026ldquo;Let\u0026rsquo;s not go overboard! We don\u0026rsquo;t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater!\u0026rdquo; Seems that some people think that babies can be washed in a teaspoon of water.\nOutside of that, my friends in other cities don\u0026rsquo;t see much change, if at all. If anything, we\u0026rsquo;ve just decided to be really nice to each other, not disagree too strongly, and basically take an \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m OK, You\u0026rsquo;re OK approach\u0026rdquo;. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that this is true everywhere. I don\u0026rsquo;t want to overgeneralize. But when I ask myself honestly, \u0026ldquo;What has changed?\u0026rdquo; I see a lot of change in how churches deal with each other, but I see little change in an individual member\u0026rsquo;s life. Many places still have church appointed Bible Talks, still have so-called discipling partners, still have top-down leadership. On paper, there may be no one-over-another relationships, but without a serious effort to reverse so many years of practice, it\u0026rsquo;s not going to change that much. What has changed for the average member? From what I see, little more than nicer sermons and staff members actually saying \u0026lsquo;hey\u0026rsquo; to others that aren\u0026rsquo;t in leadership. Again, this isn\u0026rsquo;t everywhere, but it seems to be the common situation. ***END DIGRESSION. WE BRING YOU BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED COLUMN, ALREADY IN PROGRESS ***\nBut after a good digression, I came upon the last paragraph:\nThe debate should not be over “should we be old school or new school?”, but simply, “what is most biblical?” Shortcuts to building our ministries must be abandoned for the most biblical ways to build, regardless of how long it may take. Oftentimes, the most biblical ways of doing things may take longer or do not produce the kinds of quick results we have become accustomed to.\nAnd I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that trying to introduce artificial boundaries will only cause division. It\u0026rsquo;s not about old school vs. new school, it\u0026rsquo;s about biblical practice and doctrine. Of course, this means different things to different people, but it is a principle that I do not consider \u0026lsquo;bathwater\u0026rsquo;. If we can discuss the Bible and practical solutions, we will go a long way to change. It is not important to me if someone considers me new school or old school, what matters is faith expressing itself in love.\nThe effects of real change will take time. If you read the digression, you may think that I am impatient for results, but that is not entirely true. What I rant about is the fact that there are few that make public statements about change, fewer still that publicly make those changes, and only two chruches (to my knowledge) that have sought outside help. Read icocinfo.org or disciples.today.com and there is little sign of anything really changing. I don\u0026rsquo;t blame the respective websites, they just report on events and articles that they can access or are submitted to them. It just saddens me that for all this talk of \u0026lsquo;change\u0026rsquo;, that there is little record or mention of it.\nIf anyone out there knows, please fill me in on the secret.\nIn any case, Gary wrote a good article and I wanted to make mention of it.\n","date":"18 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-18-the-great-debate/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Great Debate","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m having one of those weeks where everything is difficult. Too many things are broken with the Pension system at work and I can\u0026rsquo;t fix them. I\u0026rsquo;m just frustrated. Too many details with the wedding, Alsa won\u0026rsquo;t configure on the laptop (What do you mean run \u0026lsquo;amixer\u0026rsquo; at the prompt? I\u0026rsquo;ve emerged everything ALSA and it says \u0026ldquo;amixer not found\u0026rdquo;), too many ideas running around in my head in regards to church and roleplaying stuff. It feels like so many things at once.\nJump on a horse, Mongo, this merry-go-round is just starting up.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not that I don\u0026rsquo;t enjoy having a lot going on, but it seems to be backing up and I don\u0026rsquo;t have the time to release it all. I really want my laptop to work, I really want to figure out the groomsman attire, I really want to finish the Prophets of Old article and start on the Foundations of the Faith series. Last night was supposed to be a time to work on one of the two articles, but nothing got done in those areas. The good news is that I got firefox installed on the laptop and Shane and I worked a bit on a neighbor\u0026rsquo;s computer. I feel like the night was a total loss even though it wasn\u0026rsquo;t. Laryssa was there for me and kept me from exploding.\nBut I know that something else is wrong because I can\u0026rsquo;t relax. I\u0026rsquo;m having one of those Romans 7 days where my thoughts and actions are completely the opposite of what I want to do. My mind has gone to all kinds of dark places that I wish weren\u0026rsquo;t there in my heart. It\u0026rsquo;s not anything uncommon that I battle against, but that is not comforting. When I get weary, everything is a difficult struggle and adding these thoughts doesn\u0026rsquo;t help at all. I want to scream (and I did earlier).\nRomans 8 is the answer to this, but right now it is not helping. I\u0026rsquo;m not able to hear when there is so much I feel that I need to say. I think I just need to unwind. To this end, I\u0026rsquo;ll start a few ideas just to get them out of my mind.\nThis is the part where I notice that I\u0026rsquo;ve had too much coffee. The good news is that it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been possible to have this much coffee without the fantastic shopping of my rommate. It was good to grind some coffee beans, fill the kitchen with the smell of just-ground coffee, add way too much Coffemate(r) Amaretto\u0026hellip;\nAnywho, some ideas in random order are forthcoming, that\u0026rsquo;s enough for now to enable me to stare at COBOL for awhile.\n","date":"18 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-18-too-much-going-on/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Too much going on","type":"posts"},{"content":"High level meta-magic feat that allows the caster to create a temporal hole to a place where magic is more powerful. In other words, there is more magic crystal in that area. This allows subsequent spells to have the same effect as if cast in the area of more powerful magic.\nOnce high level casters have found a strong ley line (rich vein of crystal that allows for the most powerful magics), they will, as needed, create a conduit to that area. There are no known succesful attempts of creating a permanent conduit.\n","date":"16 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-16-conduit-spell/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Conduit spell","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sometime ago, I wrote a small piece for the Backara campaign setting. The idea behind Backara was that it was a low magic world without dragons. As magic was a more rare commodity, cunning and skill were more prized. As such, the Gainar were a people of excellent merchant abilities in addition to being great mathmeticians. Where the great mathematic abilities would lead was uncertain. Unfortunately, the creator and co-creator of the system passed away in the real world while fighting in their respective militaries. One was British special forces, the other from Australia. As such, these ideas were never developed in more detail.\nMy perspective world has a few rules to it, so I\u0026rsquo;m going to explain those briefly and then explore the idea:\n1. Magic is a force of nature with its source in a crystalline material. Wherever this material exists, magic is possible. The more of this material that exists in a given area, the more powerful the magic. If you want to create a device using magic as a power source, you must include a piece of this crystalline material.\n2. There is a dull metallic substance that is immune to the effects of magic. Wherever this materials exists in abundance, magic is impossible. If you want protection from magic, you need this material. Magic is impossible, even if you bring a magic item with you. The metallic substance nullifies magic, period.\n2b. I know that the rules lawyers will want to dissect this, so let me give a few paradigms to explain the idea. If a geographic area is a no-magic zone, it cannot become a magic zone, no matter how much of the crystalline material you bring in. If you have a small piece of the metallic substance and take it with you to a geographic area that is a magic zone, magic will still work as normal, but the person possessing the metallic material will be protected from magic.\n3. Societies that exist in non-magical lands are quite different from those in magic lands. They have been unsuccessful in conquering each other.\nAssuming these three things, enter the Gainar. They appear human enough in their appearance, but they are a peculiar bunch.\nLittle is known about the Gainar socially, but it is evident to many that they are one of the few groups of people that thrive in both magical and non-magical lands. Unlike many other races and ethnic groups, they do not choose to live in one area or the other. Wherever they live, they are possessed of a keen mathematical ability that they use to make a living. In magical lands, they are great wizards able to control the force of magic with unparalled precision. Their mathematical prowess enables these wizards to understand magic in more detail than any other race or ethnic group of wizard, including the elves. In non-magical lands, they are given to mechanical or merchant trades. As merchants, they are able to deal with all kinds of rare materials and maintain profitability. In general, they are perceived as serious and stern. Their almost fanatical work ethic is one of the main reasons they are successful in any undertaking.\nThe gainar have learned the arabic muneral system in order to communicate with others (and buy and sell goods), but use their own mathematical notations and system for computation. The Derigee is a device similar to an abacus that they use. Portable ones often have a rectangular shape with 24 taut strings spread across from top to bottom. Marks are made into the sides of the derigee and clips are used (isntead of beads) to mark a position on the string. Their number system doesn\u0026rsquo;t appear to be base10, so looking at the derigee, it is not obivous what number(s) are being delineated. Larger versions exist, but are rarely seen by non-Gainar. They have more strings, presumably to deal with larger numbers, but that is only speculation.\nWith the ability to make advanced calculations, non-magical Gainar are even known to build devices that use steam or electricity as a power source. Seafaring Gainar have even developed rudimentary hyrdraulic machinery used in lifting heavy objects in non-magical lands and for strange watercraft that don\u0026rsquo;t use sails as propulsion. This ability also serves the magical Gainar well as they can consistent explain and demonstrate the \u0026rsquo;laws\u0026rsquo; of magic. As noted earlier, Gainar spellcasters exercise full control and accuracy with their spells and magic-powered items.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s a lot more to write, but I need to go to bed. See you tomorrow.\n","date":"16 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-16-the-gainar/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Gainar","type":"posts"},{"content":"I decided to use the format presented in the netbook of races. It\u0026rsquo;s not that I may present this to them, but it seemed a logical format to use. The first post on the Gainarii (or Gainar) can be found here.\nGainarii Little is known about the Gainarii socially, but it is evident to many that they are one of the few groups of people that thrive in both magical and non-magical lands. Unlike many other races and ethnic groups, they do not choose to live in one area or the other. Wherever they live, they are possessed of a keen mathematical ability that they use to make a living. In magical lands, they are great wizards able to control the force of magic with unparalled precision. Their mathematical prowess enables these wizards to understand magic in more detail than any other race or ethnic group of wizard, including the elves. In non-magical lands, they are given to mechanical or merchant trades. As merchants, they are able to deal with all kinds of rare materials and maintain profitability.\nPersonality: In general, they are perceived as serious and stern. Their almost fanatical work ethic is one of the main reasons they are successful in any undertaking.\n_Physical description:_Gainarii appear very similar to humans in most regards. Their noses are more flat than most humans with two v-shaped ridges just above the nostrils. Their ears are also slightly higher on their head, but are round and small like human ears. At the midpoint of their spine, there is two \u0026lsquo;double ribs\u0026rsquo; on their back, one on each side, each protruding about two inches. They appear to be similar to the collarbone, but smaller. They also curve more toward the rib cage ending in two small knobs. All known Gainarii are pale and clean-shaven. Their eyes range from brown to grey but a special few are born with either two yellow eyes or one green and one brown eye. Within their culture, these special few are considered to be of exotic ancestry. They dress in whatever clothes are fashionable to the area they live. They are known to live in any area where there is human civilization, and a few other areas where other races and ethnic groups have developed an urban area.\n_Relations:_The Gainarii are not unfriendly, but are also not overly cordial. In many respects, they go to great lengths to maintain and separate their culture from other cultures. Intermarriage is strictly taboo, even with humans. They have no racial or ethnic dislike of anyone, in fact, they seem to be able to do business with anyone including the sook. Gainarii seem to slightly prefer the company of humans of all other races and secretly mistrust elves of all kinds.\nAlignment: Gainarii prize order and sequence, especially when it comes to abstract thought. As a result, almost all Gainarii are Lawful. Those rare few that are not Lawful are usually those that have lived separately from other Gainarii, or those of extremely high intelligence. There are no Chaotic Gainarii. Their devotion to mathematics has also made most Neutral in terms of Good and Evil. It is especially convienent to be Neutral when you sell goods and services to all people without prejudice. However, those that are not in the merchant business can have good or evil tendencies.\nGainarii lands and society: At home and anywhere other than in business endeavours, only their native language is spoken. All Gainarii are educated in their own system that emphasizes mathematics and language arts. Their society is little known, but appears to outsiders as conformist in nature. There is also a complex caste system, but because of mobility between the castes, only the Gainarii know how it works. The Gainarii do not have a homeland, pro se. There are no predominantly Gainarii cities. They do have a very strong sense of identity that is reinforced through their private education system. Gainarii schools are not secret and will even admit humans from time to time. The humans take only mathematics and language arts in human languages: they are not allowed to take Gainarii language, history, or religion classes.\nReligion: The Gainarii religion is based on an event called “The Awakening”. According to their creation story, the world was already populated with various sentient beings when a benevelont being came and gave the gift of knowledge to their people. Shortly after his arrival, those that chose to continue their learning left their homes and settled in a new area. Apparently, a malevolent being came and stirred dissension amongst their people causing a great civil war. The benevolent being was quickly victorious, but the divisions were too deep to overcome so quickly. After many years, a peace was achieved, but only at the accidental deaths of the two kings that ruled each faction. According to the story, they met to discuss the terms of peace in a neutral place, but the ignorant peoples in that land were frightened by the the kings. In fear, they struck them down, though the wise kings tried in vain to reason with them. Having fought for so many years, they were few in number, thus were forced to live in cities that they did not build. Some religious leaders of the Gainarii speak of a \u0026lsquo;return to the homeland\u0026rsquo;, but even the Gainarii do not know where such a mtyhical place could be.\nLanguage: The Gainarii language is tonal and inflected. This makes the language complex, but extremely compact. Through the study of their own great poets, they search for greater economy within their language. Amonst other people, some of the Gainarii merchants have developed the habit of repeating themselves to each other in order for their language to sound more closely to other languages. It is thought that the economy of their language creates mistrust among the customers. However, when they speak other languages, they have no discernable accent. Those merchants that repeat themselves, however, tend to be verbose in other languages.\nNames: More to come Male names: Female names:\n","date":"16 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-16-the-gainarii-part-two/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Gainarii - part two","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have just discovered that in the world of Homestar Runner(tm), that I am Bubs(tm).\nWhich Homestar Runner character are you?\nthis quiz was made by jurjyfrort\n","date":"15 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-15-guess-i-wont-eat-the-chort/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Guess I Won't Eat the Chort","type":"posts"},{"content":"After my little huff-n-puff about Gentoo and networkless installations, I just went to Best Buy and got a nic card. 19.95, not bad, really.\nNow, of course, everything works wonderfully. The last time I checked in on my old laptop, it had spent eight hours on emerge icewm. The two biggest differences in time involved are:\n1. I didn\u0026rsquo;t install X.org before emerging Icewm. 2. I set the optimization flag to -O3 instead of -O2. Longer compile times, smaller space on hard drive.\nAfter an emerge rox and some configuring, I just might have a working prototype of what I want the Contigo software to look like. Going to have to test a lot of things, but it should be good enough for now. Besides, it\u0026rsquo;s easier to demo the laptop than the whole system!\n","date":"13 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-13-adventures-in-gentoo-pt2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Adventures in Gentoo pt.2","type":"posts"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;ve been reading through the prophets lately and I have been impressed by the extremes they demonstrate to help the people understand the will of God. Ezekiel, especially, really went through some bizarre circumstances. However, my favortite prophet to read is Hosea. Whenever I am down and feeling \u0026ldquo;out of it\u0026rdquo;, I can always rely on Hosea to get my mind reset.\n","date":"13 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-13-the-prophets-of-old-draft/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Prophets of Old -Draft","type":"posts"},{"content":"Okay, I should have known this, but there really isn\u0026rsquo;t a choice for a networkless install of gentoo. The instructions will get you up to compiling the kernel and a bash script, but that\u0026rsquo;s it. I can\u0026rsquo;t get anything alsa to emerge, except for the things included in the kernel. icewm and rox won\u0026rsquo;t emerge, but Gnome will from the package CD (but not from the portage tree and source I copied on the machine).\nARGH!\nThere is no networkless install on gentoo. So, let me see if I can get the pcmia card to work\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;ll let you know more on Friday when Shane and I try to get our protoype to work.\nMaybe I\u0026rsquo;m down to LFS\u0026hellip;\n","date":"12 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-12-gentoo-issue/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gentoo Issue","type":"posts"},{"content":"I found out yesterday that my finacee had been \u0026lsquo;downsized\u0026rsquo; from her company. She and four others were given severance until the end of next month, but asked to not report for work today. Now I feel a lot of things in reaction to this news, but they\u0026rsquo;re coming all at once. Bear with me as I sort it out.\nHonestly, my first reaction was this is a way for us to get more money for the wedding. I mean, she is getting a check for another six weeks. Add that to another check from a new job, and WAHOO!! We get to start our new life together not broke.\nAfter that, things became a little muddy. I am a little upset at the company. These guys used to handle money for a living before taking over this company, but it seems that they spent money based on money hoped for, instead of money \u0026lsquo;in hand\u0026rsquo;. Capital expenditures, for example personnel, have to come from money actually coming in. Layoffs come from consecutive, moderate to heavy loss quarters, not from not getting money that you \u0026lsquo;hoped\u0026rsquo; to get from non-existant sales. My company needs two additional part-time employees, one to install the computers and another to help with their construction. However, we have no income. Therefore, I am not going to hire them, I\u0026rsquo;d only have to let them go two months later and then I\u0026rsquo;d no money to buy parts.\nNote : references to severance are according to the dictionary definition, not the ICC definition. For those that may not know, ministers that resign in the ICC get severance pay if they QUIT. This isn\u0026rsquo;t the resign so that we don\u0026rsquo;t have to fire you kind of resign (although those happen). This is (until recently) one month\u0026rsquo;s pay for every year worked usually paid in one lump sum for resigning.\nAs far as Laryssa\u0026rsquo;s layoff is concerned, I also feel like it is a good opportunity for her to make all kinds of plans and details for our wedding without feeling guilty about doing them at work. A lot has happened pretty quickly and a break may do her some good.\nI am also quite happy about the offer of wedding help from someone who is not only really good at planning, but also is almost demanding that she be given a task. This person offered without knowing Laryssa was laid off. This person has also said, \u0026ldquo;this isn\u0026rsquo;t the kind of offer made to sound nice, I really want something to do.\u0026rdquo; So, she\u0026rsquo;s doing our invitations, right now.\nI just know that it weighs heavy on her mind, so I pray that the God of all comfort can comfort her today. I also hope that she enjoys a good sleep, I know she\u0026rsquo;s tired.\nOther than that, I am not having a good day at all. I\u0026rsquo;m upset at having another major issue to deal with in the middle of two other major issues. It\u0026rsquo;s an unwelcome change and it will take me a bit to work through it. I believe that God will work something great through this time; I just want to see it a bit more clearly. For that reason, I pray for faith.\n","date":"12 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-12-mixed-blessings/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mixed blessings","type":"posts"},{"content":"So I have my Dell Lattitude booting up to a prompt and everything is working and massively fast. Bootup in less than 5 seconds. Amazing. I understand why people love it.\nAlong the way, I found an hdpram tweak that does wonders.\nI also got Xorg configured, which means that soon I can boot to a pretty graphical interface. I\u0026rsquo;ll be sure to post a picture of the desktop when it\u0026rsquo;s done. 1024x768 with 16bit color on an old laptop. Not bad for a first try, I guess.\nMeanwhile, I\u0026rsquo;m discovering the wonders of the usepkg flag on the emerge command. Trying to emerge icewm without causes a lot of errors while it tries to find mirrors.\nUnfortunately, the gentoo system is built entirely without network because I don\u0026rsquo;t have a nic for it. That\u0026rsquo;s okay, I plan on getting it to work with a usb drive so that I can take documents off of it. I plan on using it as a writing tool and a notepad. Oh yeah, it\u0026rsquo;s going to play the occasional CD as well.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all the news that\u0026rsquo;s fit to print for now.\n","date":"11 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-11-a-system-emerges/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A system emerges","type":"posts"},{"content":"I said I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t go back to Delphi forums or to the ICC websites. I have to admit a certain curiousity about what they are churning about now. I did mess up and go to Thomas\u0026rsquo;s site. I guess he is having guest editorals for awhile. It\u0026rsquo;s not that someone else is writing something (however derivative it may be), it\u0026rsquo;s the fact that guest editorials are clearly marked as such that bothers me. Why would a so-called elder-in-training be a guest on his own church\u0026rsquo;s website?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s simple, really. It\u0026rsquo;s all about Thomas. There\u0026rsquo;s no denying it. He can preach that it\u0026rsquo;s not about money, but then the unemployed single mom of five kids called by God to move to Portland is told to stay in LA. God needs disciples in LA, right?\nAnyway, I am tempted to go back to these things and continue to fuel my anger. Today was not so good a day on that front.\n","date":"10 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-10-godfather-3-and-me/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Godfather 3 and me","type":"posts"},{"content":"Although a system may cease to exist in the legal sense or as a structure of power, its values (or anti-values), its philosophy, its teachings remain in us. They rule our thinking, our conduct, our attitude to others. The situation is a demonic paradox: we have toppled the system but we still carry its genes.\nRyszard Kapuscinski, Polish journalist, 1991\nIt\u0026rsquo;s true that I removed all the links to anything ICC related. This was so that I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t easily find the links anymore. It\u0026rsquo;s also because none of these sites are helpful to me anymore. I finally realized that all I needed to do was to walk away.\nToo simple, really, but there was something for a long time that \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ve fought too hard to give up now\u0026rdquo;. In the end, I decided that if the ICC wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth 13 years of my life before, it will never be worth another 13 years. It won\u0026rsquo;t be worth another 5 years. It won\u0026rsquo;t be worth another day. Despite all temptations to the contrary, I cut my losses.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t leave the church I attend. I\u0026rsquo;m still going. I teach classes on Sunday and serve on the leadership team called the Advisory Board. I haven\u0026rsquo;t \u0026ldquo;left in my heart\u0026rdquo; or any such nonsense. I love the people here and they love me. Family is a word cheapened by years of false zeal and shallow love, but it is what I feel. I am in a safe place where I am loved and respected. God is truly good to me, he has blessed me many times over.\nFor years I was angry at the things I thought were taken from me, then I was angry because I realized that I willingly gave them away. Over a decade of not being with my family and living apart from them created an intense desire to simply go home to stay. I grieved at not seeing my nieces grow up and not being a part of their lives. I despied who I had become, a boy so lacking in confidence that too many took advantage of my good nature. I felt trapped by a series of false dilemmas into believing that my life was a permanent struggle for things that were simply not possible.\nNow, two years after escaping all of the controls, the false teachers, the callous and the manipulators, I was still giving my life over to those that did not deserve it. I was still willingly handing over control of my life to those that only did me harm.\nNot any more.\nI am still angry and I still pray to forgive and let go. I am not there yet. I still plan on writing out my thoughts and feelings as I try to make sense of my past, present, and future. I do not plan to hide behind my company or Linux to dodge the issues. I will not apologize for being blunt, only for not being accurate or not being fair. The form of Norman Vincent Peale Christianity that has become acceptable over many decades in America and used as a shield to deflect criticism recently in the ICC is not godly, is not honest, and is not holy. It is being transformed into the likeness of the world, especially the spoiled American world where everything is easy. At the end of time, I will have to give account for all the words I say and write, so I pray constantly.\nTo those that read here, thanks for the support.\n","date":"9 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-09-links-what-links/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Demonic Paradox","type":"posts"},{"content":"Here\u0026rsquo;s a program that we all need called Lockout.\nToo bad it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have a Windows(tm) version.\n","date":"9 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-09-get-to-work/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Get to work","type":"posts"},{"content":"No more Oracle at Delphi for me. This is the letter I wrote to various places.\nNothing overly dramatic, but I\u0026rsquo;m bowing out of the whole Delphiforums thing.\nI have a lot to live for and being here and on ICCDF is now hurting me more than helping. If you wish to keep in touch, feel free to email me through my profile or visit my site at pinakidion.org (or pinakidion.us or pinakidion.com, you get the idea) You might even see me at my church\u0026rsquo;s website. If you deal with Gentoo or anything else Linux, let me know. I\u0026rsquo;m building a gentoo stage 3 (no network card) on my old Dell Latitude CPi. I think I can get 16bit sound to work\u0026hellip;\nI have enjoyed meeting all of you, especially as I continue to come to grips with my past in the ICC. Because I am still coming to grips with it, I\u0026rsquo;ll still post about it on my site, but probably a lot less.\nNot to be rude or anything, but don\u0026rsquo;t reply to me on this thread. I\u0026rsquo;m not even coming back to lurk. Thanks again for all the help you have given me.\n","date":"9 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-09-the-mad-priestess-sleeps/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The mad priestess sleeps","type":"posts"},{"content":"Just to give you an idea, we\u0026rsquo;re going to have the wedding here.\nJust wanted to let some folks know what the place looks like.\n","date":"9 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-09-the-place-to-be/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The place to be","type":"posts"},{"content":"Truly excited today, yes I am.\nShane and I get to buy and configure our prototype equipment today. The goal of this project is to have a simple Linux distribution that does six simple things well. In addition, it will be specialized to the resort rental community in that it will restore itself every Sunday night between rentals.\nSince the code will be GPL, LGPL, or some other license, there\u0026rsquo;s no harm in identifying the ideas behind it:\nThe Five Simple Things: Like Cobind, Contigo strives to make the best available choice to serve a specific function. This decision is made only because of the intended audience of the product, not because some anti-choice bias. The system is going to be used by folks that want a few simple functions and a high speed connection. The goal is simplicity.\nThe five simple things are:- Email\nInternet Instant Message Office Functions Play Music User Interface: Right now it seems that IceWM will be the window manager with Rox-Filer as the File Manager. Seems an odd combination to be sure, but the configuration of ice is just too simple to pass up.\nI really like the idea of being able to use Alt+Tab and other shortcut keys and the goal is to preserve that. Its also intended to have the ability to search for files, but without the hugeness are resource requirements of nautilus (which I still love).\nAnother thing on the design scope is a detailed set of help documentation. It is hoped that considering my background in software training, that this documentation can be high quality, useful, and a model for other open source end-user documentation. This documentation will be step by step in three modes: graphics-based, text-only, and flash demonstrations. As time permits, there will even be a \u0026lsquo;sandbox\u0026rsquo; for training so that end users can practice their skills without harm to the system.\nUsers will also have a simple graphical program to install new software, if they wish. However, to increase speed and control the envornment for future users, Contigo will install it\u0026rsquo;s own local yum repository, updated on Sundays during the restore process mentioned earlier. If individual users want to access others repositories, then they can set that up, but only for the week that the user is staying at the rental property.\nUnder the Hood: Eventually, the system will all be compiled from source. First, its going to start as a customized Fedora(R) system, then a stage 1 gentoo(tm) install, and then finally a compile from source. The gentoo(tm) and source compiles will take advantage of the consistent hardware in all the computers. For now, the hardware may vary.\nThere\u0026rsquo;s more to come, but that\u0026rsquo;s the shape of things for now. Visit our company at Clerry Computers to get more details. Nothing yet, but who knows what the future holds.\n","date":"6 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-06-contigo-linux/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Contigo Linux","type":"posts"},{"content":"There is talk about going through the 40 days of purpose(r) at my church. Having read the book sometime ago, all kinds of red flags appeared. In a rare step, I wrote people I knew and asked their opinion before posting here. Truly amazing.\nTurns out that my objections are pretty much a reflection of my own need to heal from my past. It has also made me consider professional counseling to work through these issues. It\u0026rsquo;s true that I do not obsess all day about church issues. However, there\u0026rsquo;s too many triggers that send me into untold levels of stress. Simply, there\u0026rsquo;s a lot of hurt and mistrust that I am not in touch with. Sometimes, I wish I could draw like SinCamper so that I could deal with this through humor. My thing is writing, but depsite my attempts at humor, I end up at the writer\u0026rsquo;s last recourse; the theater of the absurd.\nFor the sake of completeness, here are my original objections to Purpose Driven Life:\nI am asking everyone for their experiences with 40 Days of Purpose. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I was able to quote the book through someone else\u0026rsquo;s online review of the series. I first read them some time ago, but I put them down very quickly because it reminded me of so much of my former church\u0026rsquo;s practices. There is support for doing a \u0026ldquo;40 Days of Purpose\u0026rdquo;, but I am troubled by the series. I\u0026rsquo;ll list my specific objections later, but is this program a good tool to use? I think it can be, I just want to make sure that I am not being unfair. After all, I could very well be wrong/unfair and I\u0026rsquo;m willing to admit that, but I need help in seeing it (assuming that I am unfair).\nI like the good things he says about evangelism by relationship although any method of evangelism can be used by God. I also like, in the broader sense, a program designed to help Christians discover their talents. There is a lot of focus on the affirming aspects of God and his love for people, which is much needed. There is an undeniable sense that everyone is useful, and I enjoy that sense of optimism. I truly enjoyed reading parts of this book and I think that there are good things we can use from this book.\nIn general, I am concerned about a overall sense of work-oriented theology that a person is not a Christian unless they are performing in some ministry. I am also concerned about the saturation of marketing techniques throughout the book. My father was a very successful salesman and I have trouble thinking of my church as a commodity or a service. I don\u0026rsquo;t like the sensation of \u0026lsquo;selling\u0026rsquo; my church or Christianity. Lastly, I do not believe in the American ideal that \u0026ldquo;bigger is better\u0026rdquo;. Rick seems to equate spiritual success to the size of the church. As someone that lived that unhealthy paradigm for so many years, (from 300 to 1300 in eight years) I know that this is simply not true.\nMy specific objections are listed with quotes from the book:\n1. \u0026ldquo;For instance, the apostle Paul almost single-handedly spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. His secret was a focused life. He said, ‘I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead\u0026hellip;\u0026quot;(p. 32) \u0026ldquo;Gideon’s weakness was low self-esteem and deep insecurities\u0026rdquo; (p. 275). \u0026ldquo;Jesus will not return until everyone God wants to hear the Good News has heard it. Jesus said, \u0026lsquo;The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come \u0026hellip;’ \u0026quot; (p. 286).\nPaul\u0026rsquo;s single-handed ministry is simply not true as evidenced by Romans 16 (and other places) although there are time when he felt abandoned. Gideon\u0026rsquo;s cultural sense of humility is not a sign of psychological disorder. As some of you have written, the evangelization of the world is not a prerequisite for the end times (or this already occurred). It\u0026rsquo;s not so much the points he\u0026rsquo;s trying to make but examples of the less than careful way he handles scripture.\n2. \u0026ldquo;When you\u0026rsquo;re busy serving, you don\u0026rsquo;t have time to be critical. Any time spent criticizing others is time that could be spent ministering \u0026hellip; It is not our job to evaluate the Master’s other servants\u0026rdquo; (p. 268).\nIn other places, he talks about the Matthew 18 model of resolving conflict, but considering our church\u0026rsquo;s past of deifying leaders, this section of \u0026ldquo;quit complaining and do something\u0026rdquo; is just not healthy. I am afraid that this can and will be interpreted and \u0026ldquo;shut up and obey\u0026rdquo;. Personally, I cannot reconcile this passage with his assertion on page 149 that \u0026ldquo;Real community happens when people know it is safe enough to share their doubts and fears without being judged\u0026rdquo;.\n3. \u0026ldquo;You may have been unaware that God holds you responsible for the unbelievers who live around you. The Bible says, \u0026lsquo;You must warn them so they may live. If you don\u0026rsquo;t speak out to warn the wicked to stop their evil ways, they will die in their sin. But I will hold you responsible for their death’ \u0026quot; (p. 283)\nFor so much effort he makes to get people away from guilt (pgs 27 -28), this is unfair. This is a weapon that was used in the past to enforce compliance and it still reads the same.\n","date":"6 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-06-me-overract/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Me? Overract?","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Halifax-Darthmouth Church of Christ (an ICOC affiliate) is looking for a minister in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The following criteria were posted as prerequisites for the candidate:\nMale. 2) Married. (wife can find work in Halifax) 3) Previous experience as ICOC staff. (5 years, or more) 4) Pro-HK letter. 5) Independently minded. 6) Known to be a very loving, giving individual. 7) Preferbly has some connection to the Maritime Provinces (born here, has family here, etc.) 8) Not a supporter of Kip McKean, or his writings. 9) Understands, or willing to learn, the needs of a small, community oriented church. 10) Understands, or willing to learn, the needs of a mostly \u0026ldquo;married with children\u0026rdquo; type church. ","date":"4 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-04-halifax-dartmoth-looking-for-a-minister/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Halifax-Dartmouth looking for a minister","type":"posts"},{"content":"In the six reasons I gave for this webblog, the last was fairly cryptic:\nLastly, I write here because I have decided that I am not someone with worldwide influence, so I\u0026rsquo;m not going to try. I have better things to do at home.\nWhen I went to the International Teacher\u0026rsquo;s Conference last year in Chicago, I enjoyed being around people that thought differently and had some good ideas. I didn\u0026rsquo;t expect the academic environment I saw, but I was excited to be a part of it. I found that I had been out of an academic setting for so long, that I was a bit upset at myself. I was also excited because I met and spoke to people with whom I never had access. I talked to folks like Gordon Ferguson and Steve Staten. I was able to see Sam Laing and make peace with my past. I met evangelists and elders from all over and was particularly excited to meet leaders from Europe. Talking to them, I understood just how different the UK situation was from was what described by leaders in the US and by the ICC Discussion Forum. In short, it was a wonderful time, mostly because that is when I asked Laryssa to be my girlfriend.\nEncouraged by the company of learned men and women, I briefly considered being one of them. I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel so alone anymore and we really could discuss anything. However, as the days approach for the next ITS, my enthusiasm has waned considerably. We had a yahoo group and we communicated about all kinds of things. Then, the messages stopped coming. I thought that it might be a function of utility for some of the members of the list. After all, with the tons of email people get, maybe another email listserv is just too much. But when I go to websites of all the conferences that have gone on lately, I undestand more clearly. These guys see each other once a month, twice a month, or even four times a year. Why email when you\u0026rsquo;re going to see them again?\nThat\u0026rsquo;s when I realized that I would never be one of them. They get to fly all over the US and the world on their church\u0026rsquo;s dime. I spend my own money and won\u0026rsquo;t take money from the church, even when offered. Douglas Jacoby is the only exception as he makes his living by traveling, so I do not begrudge him that. Still, there is a culture and lifestyle to which I\u0026rsquo;ll never be accustomed. I want to fellowship and see friends all over the world. However, I never got used to being carted around everywhere to go to conferences, mainly because I worked a real job since leaving college. (I joke with my pastor about not having a real job, but he really does work hard. I don\u0026rsquo;t joke with him about it anymore, though, because it doesn\u0026rsquo;t have its intended effect.)\nSomeone I respect a great deal has written something lately that rings true with me, especially in regards to being \u0026lsquo;one of them\u0026rsquo;:\nSomething you people in the ICC ought to be concerned about: With the \u0026ldquo;demise\u0026rdquo; (liquidation) of the world sectors and the command structure, each congregation has its own influences. In the past they were known\u0026ndash; you followed the chain up to Kip McKean. Now, the chain of influence is SECRET. You never know who your leaders are talking to, who is influencing them, what deals or agreements they are considering, what other agendas are in view, etc.\nThe cowards who comprised the ICC structure (McKean and the WSL\u0026rsquo;s and their cohorts) should have confessed and cleaned up the mess instead of just running away. That\u0026rsquo;s what hired hands do (John 10); they have been exposed. And the present leaders who continue this cover-up have a strange sense of what\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;the baby\u0026rdquo; and what\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;the bathwater.\u0026rdquo;\nI\u0026rsquo;m not one of them and never will be. I am from a completely different culture and do not understand the hows and whys of what they do. Because of my background, I tend to be mistrustful when I see a lot of money spent, even if it is for a good reason. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that the Scott Greens and Frank Kims of the group are not the rule, but I can\u0026rsquo;t tell from here. It makes me really sad to think about it. There seems to be no room to include an outsider - these guys have been doing these teaching conferences for nine years. These guys have been in the ministry with each other. These guys have been creating schools and been in constant correspondence for years. In those nine years, the most explosive thing they have come up with is \u0026ldquo;The Golden Rule of Leadership\u0026rdquo;. Outside of that, it appears to be a group of Sadducees that congratulate themselves on being different and look down on everyone else.\nI had delusions of sharing ideas and maybe even being a good influence on others. I enjoyed my talks with Arturo Elizarrarás, in Querétaro, Mexico. He has come up with all kinds of new ideas and is reaching out to Churches of Christ that are not ICC in order to build bridges and many other things. His paper on planting a church with a bible school is wonderful. This kind of correspondence dewindled, however. The last useful email in the group was one from a brother in Kentucky about teaching methods. (He has worked in adult education for years.) The silence of the email group has caused my hopes to fade that there will be future dialogues. Maybe this time, I am being too cynical. It just seems that there are none that want to explore new ideas. All that matters is some sort of damage control. Even worse, all this focus on teaching is just as unbalanced as our previous focus on evangelism. If I can understand all mysteries and faithfully teach the Bible accurately, yet still have no love, then it is all meaningless. Right now, it appears meaningless. An evangelist friend of mine asked me about going to school for a counseling degree or going for a bible degree. I told him thesame thing about balance. This teaching phase is going to pass soon. Why? Because it will be exposed as being just as shallow as the zeal for evangelism.\nI still hope for something new, even though I do not see it.\nThis is why I have no dreams of writing well-polished biblical teaching articles with a eye to worldwide influence. When people come up to me after service and say \u0026ldquo;I can trust you, I want to open up to you\u0026rdquo; and that it happens more than once, then I figure that I have a better place to expend my energy. I teach the Bible as best I can, but if folks here know that I love them and truly seek to do them no harm, then that is the best I can hope for. Some of the other folks in the \u0026rsquo;teaching group\u0026rsquo; worldwide that I know cannot say the same, it seems. They aren\u0026rsquo;t home long enough to find out.\n","date":"4 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-04-no-global-domination-here/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"No Global Domination Here","type":"posts"},{"content":"In times of extraordinary crisis ordinary measures will not suffice. The world lives in such a time of crisis. Christians alone are in a position to rescue the perishing. We dare not settle down to try to live as if things were normal.\n-- A.W. Tozer\n","date":"4 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-04-thought-for-august-4th/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Thought For August 4th","type":"posts"},{"content":"I got engaged and then the posts evaporated. I assure you it is not for lack of things to write about or a lack of feeling.\nI love Laryssa with all my heart. I look forward to this new chapter of my life as an opportunity, not a prison sentence. Some of my acquaintances have told me that this giddy period will wear off with time. These were the same friends that said the tingly first-date feeling would go away, but it hasn\u0026rsquo;t.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not upset at my friends, I understand exactly what they were trying to tell me. Dating and marriage doesn\u0026rsquo;t always feel wonderful and lovely. Dating and marriage is work and arguments and making up and a lot of other things that don\u0026rsquo;t always feel \u0026lsquo;ooey-gooey\u0026rsquo;. In that regard, they are right.\nHowever, in reading the Family Dynamics cirriculum about marriage together as well as other books like Love Busters, we have decided to do whatever it takes to maintain the feeling of being in love. That is truly hard work, but very rewarding. The hard work for me is not always trying to solve and not always trying to expound my vast knowledge of all things.(this is sarcasm) It\u0026rsquo;s listening when I hear the illogical circles of thought and being patient while she works through it aloud. I truly have grown to love to hear her share, because I have grown to understand it as an act of trust and respect. Because of that understanding, I feel more loved, not less, when she shares about her day. Besides, if I cannot handle what she is saying, I can say that I want to know, but now is not a good time. She understands that as an expression of my desire to give her quality time, not just quantity time. Getting to this point took some work, but it is worth it. I genuinely miss her during the day. I miss her more now than I did when we first started dating.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t consider it a weakness to express my need for her. She listens and cares, but she truly loves me for who I am and willingly shares in my dreams for church, business, and our relationship. More than anything I have needed in my healing is for someone to believe in me. 1 Peter 4:8 is true. Love does covers a multitude of sins. I\u0026rsquo;ve learned, though, that love does not just cover my own sins, but even the sins of those who have hurt me. Without Laryssa, I never could have moved beyond the anger, sorrow, pain of my past and avoided the bitterness and vindictiveness that surely awaited me. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, there were many joys and good moments in my past, including many as a member of the ICC. I just couldn\u0026rsquo;t hold on to them while holding on to the other thoughts.\nEveryone used to say that their spouse was \u0026lsquo;really their best friend\u0026rsquo;. I knew that this was a required sentence in order to get permission to continue dating and get married. However, it really is true for Laryssa and I. She is my best friend and I am completely and hopelessly in love with her.\n","date":"3 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-03-been-a-while/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Been a while","type":"posts"},{"content":"She had made me an album about our relationship some time ago. It had pictures of her as a child, our first date, our date in Chiacgo, a bunch of things like that. At the time, it had very little about me because she didn\u0026rsquo;t have access to pictures of me. So, I filled in the gaps. The last page was a page with a big heart and a velvet bag. A string was tied to the ring inside the bag. When she asked about the string, I asked her to pull it.\nShe said \u0026ldquo;yes\u0026rdquo;. She doesn\u0026rsquo;t remember exactly what I said after she saw the ring. I did too, actually.\n","date":"1 August 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-08-01-im-engaged/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"I'm engaged!","type":"posts"},{"content":"I started looking at xfe today. In my quest to build a simple linux distro, this looks like an attractive file manager so far.\nMore later this weekend.\n","date":"29 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-29-great-linux-project-file-manager/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Great Linux Project - File Manager","type":"posts"},{"content":"Reading a review of Turbolinux 10F Desktop, I picked up on the comment that \u0026ldquo;much of it is already out of date\u0026rdquo;.\nOut of Date? Let\u0026rsquo;s take a look\nKernel 2.6.0-7 : Oct 8, 2003 Xfree86 4.3.0 : Feb 26, 2003 (Used by many due to license changes in 4.4) glibc 2.3.2 : March 20, 2003 (latest stable release) gcc 3.3.1 : August 8, 2003 KDE 3.1.5 : Jan 14, 2004 Gnome 2.4 : (can you say \u0026rsquo;non-spatial mode\u0026rsquo;? I knew you could.) OpenOffice.org 1.1 : October 1, 2003 CyberLink PowerDVD for Linux : November 30, 2003? (5.0 for Windows release date) Real Player 8 : (Helix Player is pretty new) Apple iPod support : ( gtkpod - four releases since October 2003)\nIt seems that anything 9 or 10 months old is outdated. Granted, OpenOffice 1.1.2 has fixed some annoyances in 1.1.0 and the Helix Player seems to work better than the old Real 8 player. That\u0026rsquo;s not the point, though. The point is that if a given piece of software works well and suits its purpose, there is no need for the newest version. In fact, Andrew Morton has said that\n\u0026hellip; he did not believe that Linux would ever necessarily change to a 3.0 kernel. As the project moves forward, the need for major changes decreases, and thus the need to change the major version number from 2 to 3 drops.\nHere at work, over half our computers are still on Windows 95. Yes, Windows 95. In fact, there\u0026rsquo;s still a lot of computers worldwide still running Windows 95. We still have it because it doesn\u0026rsquo;t cost anything upfront and it still works. (Personally, if I ever get Gnome to work the way I want it, I never plan on upgrading it to 2.8, unless there\u0026rsquo;s a major change. Even then, I\u0026rsquo;ll wait a few months for the bugs to get worked out.) Its true that we don\u0026rsquo;t have much money, but Win 95 really does still work. In fact, some of the software that teachers use will not work on anything else. The companies that made this software either no longer make it, or have never bothered to update it.\nIn short, I resent this American attitude that everything is disposable. Old versions of software? toss \u0026rsquo;em, the new version will have bugfixes and other blah, blah, blah. The question is whether or not it serves its function, not how new is it? I figure that if a sysadmin strives to automate as much of his/her job as possible, then an end-users\u0026rsquo; goal to simplify their computing life is equivalent. End-users don\u0026rsquo;t care about new features because using a computer is not their number one joy in life. They use a computer to perform a task. If the software doesn\u0026rsquo;t accomplish the task, then get rid of it. If it does accomplish the task, then leave it alone and let it work.\nAll that said, I still believe in the need for innovation. When Gimp 2.0 came along, I was one of the first in line. I loved 1.1, but had a hard time with it. Once 2.0 rolled out, I use it all the time. (Install the Background Window plug-in and you\u0026rsquo;re all set.) However, I really don\u0026rsquo;t see anything amazingly revolutionary between KDE 3.1.5 and 3.2.3. I still use OpenOffice 1.0 on my Win95 machine at work. It works. It\u0026rsquo;s great. It allows me to do my job and write my long-winded essays about God, country, and the linux kernel universal.\nWhat about Turbolinux 10F? The reviewer was right on with the sloppiness of the menu layout. He was also right about installation being more bothersome than it was worth. Even Fedora Core 3 - test doesn\u0026rsquo;t have as many issues. TurboLinux 10F just isn\u0026rsquo;t thought out at all and that\u0026rsquo;s a shame. The DVD software alone is worth the price.\n","date":"27 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-27-is-newer-always-better/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Is Newer Always Better?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I promise that no smurfs(R) were slandered or otherwise harmed in the cogitation and writing of this article.\nAn interesting article that talks about media fragmentation made me think about a few things; before moving on, reread the article and substitute the word ICC for the word linux.\nMy thoughts in no particular order:\nEvery former ICC seems to be a part of one conference or another over the past few months. Although news sources are no longer controlled, we may or may not choose to go outside official news sources. This pertains to the Ex-ICC folks as well. Those that consider themselves progressive may also engage in this willful ignorance. Mutual Appreciation Societies We love to hear the news that a bunch of churches got together and wonder of wonders, there was no open fighting or shouting of people off the stage. I\u0026rsquo;m not being totally cynical here, I like to hear that folks are meeting together. The past three that I\u0026rsquo;ve looked at had reasonable costs and two of them provided their messages for free over the internet. It didn\u0026rsquo;t cost me any money to keep in touch with what different folks are doing in the former ICC congregations. As someone that is very interested in what others are doing, this was a welcome change from previous years. I\u0026rsquo;m looking for ideas and being able to access what others are saying goes a long way to help smaller congregations like mine that can\u0026rsquo;t go to all these places. Some messages were quite enjoyable and I have kept them.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not that Doug said it, but I do not hear as many \u0026lsquo;great things\u0026rsquo; from these conferences as reported by others. I hear the messages and pick up a few common points:\nWe survived 2003! (t-shirts available at the book table) We\u0026rsquo;re still here. God still loves you. Let\u0026rsquo;s be nice to each other. Some intense exposition of a book of the Bible. I feel restored again. An exception to this was the message Steve Staten delivered about so-called-discipling. I say exception, because I am more interested in what we can change going forward. These types of messages are rare these days. I guess that\u0026rsquo;s why I look forward to the conference in Chicago. (I am hoping that the missions discussions will lead folks to attend a conference right here in Nebraska.) I look forward to the groups where we can compare notes and really create change instead of theorize.\nHowever, it would seem that the present is filled with a lot of reassurance that \u0026lsquo;we\u0026rsquo; are doing well and really short on actual change. It continues to amaze me that with all the radical(tm) change demanded in the past, that gradual change has become the \u0026lsquo;biblical\u0026rsquo; norm. Actually, I suspect that leaders in other chruches are waiting for permission to make some changes and they are waiting for the Chicago conference to get it. I can relate to this feeling, I\u0026rsquo;ve done it in my own life. However, that doesn\u0026rsquo;t make it any more acceptable. I wept bitterly when I realized that the only reason I hadn\u0026rsquo;t proposed to Laryssa was that I was waiting for someone to give me permission. I get upset now that little seems to change despite all kinds of letters, sermons, speeches, conferences and the like. In addition, it\u0026rsquo;s really frustrating that it wasn\u0026rsquo;t vogue to talk about it until a big church had a conference about it. Thank goodness Chicago did something, but good grief, doesn\u0026rsquo;t anyone in this joint have a mind of their own? Isn\u0026rsquo;t there someone unafraid to stick out or are we all doomed to repeat the groupthink mentality we are trying to escape from? It reminds me of a Japanese proverb that says, \u0026ldquo;The nail that sticks out is the one that is hammered.\u0026rdquo; I prefer to think of this saying:\nGood will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD . His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.\n-- Psalm 112:5-8\nAll the News That\u0026rsquo;s Fit to Print\nI remember when KNN Reloaded first appeared, the following statement was made\nOur focus going forward will be to provide a faithful perspective of kingdom events — both good and bad. We also see a great need for more teaching from more sources than has been previously available.\nThe good news is that new folks like Joseph Dubowski have a teaching article. It\u0026rsquo;s also good that needs in Haiti and other places are also being shared. However, there still isn\u0026rsquo;t really any bad news. I\u0026rsquo;m not a sadist that delights in bad news or being sorrowful, but there are things going on with serious reprocussions that no one is talking about. Mo Adame publicly implied that he was fired for speaking in Portland (and Thomas repeated it on his website). A former member is pursuing legal action against the Nashville church for fraud. At least one small church is about to close its doors, but there are probably more. This isn\u0026rsquo;t an attempt to live a soap opera lifestyle, but these are examples of larger issues that still need to be addressed:\nThere is still an \u0026ldquo;US vs. THEM\u0026rdquo; mentality within our churches. There is still large-scale mistrust in regards to financial issues. Small churches have big problems, too.\nInstead we talk about \u0026lsquo;getting back to missions\u0026rsquo; as if that\u0026rsquo;s the only issue worth talking about. Many of us still talk and behave as if our sole purpose is to seek and save the lost. That\u0026rsquo;s why my church talks about our six purposes instead of the one. There is more to Christianity than evangelism. (Over all issues is the bond of love. Love is what is most important, not our so-called purpose.) When will we talk about what\u0026rsquo;s really going on?\nOn the other side of the coin, we have the ICCDF folks. When asked the question, are there any healthy ICC congregations, the answers were typical. I\u0026rsquo;m certain that there\u0026rsquo;s at least one, but who in their right mind is going to say so? I\u0026rsquo;m tempted to do an experiment by saying that mine is healthy. I expect it to go something like this:\nMe: My church isn\u0026rsquo;t perfect, but I think we\u0026rsquo;re becoming more healthy, especially in teaching the Bible and focusing on a set of balanced purposes instead of one. Members can share anything and are continually encouraged to do so.\nEX1: Did they give you a full financial report and disclose all staff salaries? I bet they didn\u0026rsquo;t. Heh, some healthy place. No thanks.\nEX2: They said that in my former church, but it turned out to be nothing. I bet it\u0026rsquo;s nothing where you are, too. All ICC people are the same. Nothing ever changes. Ho hum.\nEX3: You have a link to Kip\u0026rsquo;s church on your website. I bet you and your church are still affiliated with him. You signed that agreement, so you are still LEGALLY bound to him. Who are you trying to fool?\nEX4: I know you well enough to know you are being sincere. However, I don\u0026rsquo;t think you know the whole story. Have you really talked to the leaders? Have you asked about the money, the lies, the control? How many in your church are waiting for Kip to call out a remnant? How many of them are leaders? I don\u0026rsquo;t think you know the whole story, so as much as I want to believe you, I\u0026rsquo;m afraid that you are misinformed.\nEX5: \\[Quote of Micah 7, the entire chapter, preceding comment\\] All the powers that are continue to consolidate and gather power. No ICC church can be healthy because God is trying them at the very root. You should get out while you still can. (much more exposition of Micah 7 follows).\nEX6: That sounds like a good start, but that\u0026rsquo;s not even scratching the surface.\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not that I can blame anyone for being skeptical, but the issue is still the same. There is only one acceptable viewpoint. In the ICC crowd, the only accepted view is \u0026ldquo;We are hurt, but healing. Negativity will destroy us, so focus on the positive and get on-board.\u0026rdquo; With the ICCDF crowd, the only accepted view is \u0026ldquo;The ICC is inherently evil. It will never change. It is of Satan and should be utterly destroyed.\u0026rdquo; There is no room for reasoned discourse on either side. There is no large variance of opinion. There is nothing below the surface of the shallow-reasones, knee-jerk pat answers and opinions. I don\u0026rsquo;t care if I am wrong, but I do care that so few really think on their own. Even the ICCDF has its own groupthink now.\nThe Sadducees The Sadducees provided a sharp contrast ot the Pharisees. Whereas the Pharisees believed in only obeying the books of Moses and were conservative about many things, the Sadducees were quite liberal. So liberal, in fact, that they didn\u0026rsquo;t believe in the resurrection.\n","date":"27 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-27-word-substitution-exercise-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Word substitution exercise #2","type":"posts"},{"content":"Apparently, HOPE Worldwide has been able to send thousands of metric tons of Non-Fat Dry Milk to Nigeria and the Philippines. Now, I\u0026rsquo;ve sent frieght to Nigeria before. It was about one metric ton of books. I even got a letter from Mike Talliferro of thanks.\nAccording to their bill, they sent it for about $179 per metric ton, so the particular bill in the link cost $77,686. Assuming the same rate for the total orders for 2003, they would have spent $304,300 over the course of 2003. I don\u0026rsquo;t know the rate for the Phillipines, at $179 a ton, it would be $358,000. Not a bad deal, really. The governemt buys a bunch of milk to keep the cost low, and then you can buy it for free to donate overseas. Not just HOPE, but a lot of folks did it, including the Catholic Church in 2002 (Baltimore Diocese). The World Food Program, Project Concern International, and Food for the Poor also shipped milk in 2003. (Side note, you should look at Food for the Poor\u0026rsquo;s 990 Forms. They handle 10 times as much money and materials, they only have 30 guys making over 50,000, but their top 5 get paid about 20% more. Amazing.)\nWhy do I mention this at all? Sometimes, food does go to folks from HOPE. Do I still have issues? Yup. But I also want to be fair. If they do something good, I want to demonstrate it. Now this doesn\u0026rsquo;t show up on the 2003 itemized list of things they did for Nigeria that I could find, but hey, milk got sent overseas.\nNow, there\u0026rsquo;s other links that raise eyebrows, but that\u0026rsquo;s more from the source than HOPE Worldwide employees. I would think it a bit unfair to carry the headline \u0026ldquo;HOPE declares Taliban good people.\u0026rdquo;\nAnywho, all for now.\n","date":"25 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-25-a-word-about-hope/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"A word about HOPE","type":"posts"},{"content":"DRAFT ONE - NOT FINISHED This may be the last time I write anything on Thomas. Most of it has to do with the fact that I am not as interested in his doings anymore. I have too many other things to do. The amount of energy that I could spend writing other things might actually get me closer to finishing a novel, or at least a set of stories. I hope to be married this year. There\u0026rsquo;s the whole teaching ministry at my church that I want to work on as well. Broadening a bit, there\u0026rsquo;s always Jazz on the Green, Shakespeare, and a host of other things going on. In short, there\u0026rsquo;s more to life than \u0026lsquo;a man and his website\u0026rsquo;(tm) and I want to enjoy my life outside of my present and/or former church affiliation. Another main reason to avoid the topic is that it is becoming too painful to watch. It\u0026rsquo;s an unraveling and it is not pretty. No matter how much I may not like the things a person does, I don\u0026rsquo;t delight in the disintegration of a person\u0026rsquo;s mind or soul. I used to be scared of this man an his influence. Now, I am trying to get off the sick rollercoaster of his destruction. So, this may be the last one for me on this topic.\nFolks have been talking to Thomas for a while. I know because his writings are almost always in defense. Many of them quote the writings of Douglas Jacoby or Gordon Ferguson. Recently, he has been responding to messages that we aren\u0026rsquo;t seeing. Otherwise, he wouldn\u0026rsquo;t say:\nIt has become necessary to write one more essay in the series, The Mandate of God for World Evangelism.\nor\nIt is very concerning when leaders are in error because they do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.\nI expected the latter message to come eventually, but the former was a bit surprising. The need to write chapter 9 of this saga had to be prompted by something, and I believe it is contact with other so-called leaders of the ICC. He mentioned meeting with folks from Chicago in a sermon on July 4. I also know that Sam Laing has spoken to him as well. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that Al Baird and Roger Lamb have spoken to him as well, but outside of that would be a guess. I feel like he is responding to things said to him by these and other folks. He has already stated that he feels betrayed by the former WSLs, and I imagine he is now feeling betrayed by those he considered friends once upon a time.\nI can tell you from personal experience that being left alone by those you considered friends is like having a frayed sweater. It erodes slowly at first, but then falls apart in large pieces. Something that is not pretty is going on, because he is now grasping for things. Consider this statement:\nThis indirectly was Jesus\u0026rsquo; explicit command to the faithful eleven, \u0026ldquo;Go to all the nations and baptize them!\u0026rdquo; Inferred, the apostles were to accomplish this task through the multiplication of disciples in their lifetime.\nIndirectly explicitly commanded by an inference.\n","date":"23 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-23-watching-a-trainwreck-in-slow-motion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Watching a Trainwreck in Slow-Motion","type":"posts"},{"content":"I saw that the ABSCAM article is missing a large part of it. I wrote it on the spot, so there is no backup copy to work from. I\u0026rsquo;ll work on correcting it.\nFor now, here\u0026rsquo;s the link to ABSCAM letters. Notice how there are supporters of the defendants, supporters of the investigating agents, calls for deeper investigation, and calls for agents to work on \u0026ldquo;something more important\u0026rdquo;. There are even a few people that were torn between the truth of the investigation and the damage it caused to people\u0026rsquo;s faith in government.\nIn my quest for good analogies to describe what has happened in my life, these series of letters provided another opportunity to make comparisons. Some defend the major leaders, some cheer on Henry and others, and there are calls for more investigations (just look at the IRS threads and Jack Pelham\u0026rsquo;s efforts). Some people want to \u0026lsquo;move on\u0026rsquo; and others still don\u0026rsquo;t know exactly what to think, they just want to trust in leaders again at some point.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll post the rest soon.\n","date":"21 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-21-quick-oops-note/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quick OOPS! note","type":"posts"},{"content":"My friend and I have taken the first step into going into business. Yes, we want to make computers, but a very niche computer useful at rental condos. If you spend $4000 on a week vacation, someone is going to want to surf the net at some point.\nWe\u0026rsquo;ve scoped out a lot of things, but like I said, this is only the first step.\nWe have purchased www.clerry.com. My Dad is working on marketing materials and the prototype should be due in September. I\u0026rsquo;ll keep you posted.\nIn short, this computer is going to perform five basic functions well. Everything else will come later.\n","date":"19 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-19-clerry-computers/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Clerry Computers","type":"posts"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been 553 days. At this point you can usually tell whether or not something is going to happen. Take the Segeway, for example; the first one was delivered on March 3, 2003, a scant 29 days afters Henry\u0026rsquo;s letter.\nA more parallel event, though, also occured on Feb 2, but it happened 23 years earlier. On Feb 2, 1980, the FBI released details of ABSCAM, an effort to uncover corruption in Congress. More than a few congressman were expelled or resigned. One was even videotaped stuffing 25,000 dollars in his pockets. (This congressman is the only one to overturn his conviction).\nShortly after the release of the ABSCAM documents, the FBI received quite a few letters expressing every imaginable reaction.\nHere\u0026rsquo;s one:\nDear Director (William Webster):\nJust a note to let you know that the FBI\u0026rsquo;s Abscam efforts are appreciated by the general public. These tactics should be used again with Members of Congress, the Executive Branch, and the Courts. Moreover, they should be extended to other levels of government and to private sector activities where appropriate.\nI have no sympathy whatsoever for those Congressmen who have been implicated, although it is unfortunate that the information was released as soon as it was. I am very disappointed in the actions of the House Judicary Committee in its criticism of the FBI\u0026rsquo;s efforts in this area.\nKeep up the good work.\nMy favorite is this one:\nDear Sir:\nMy friends, associates, and relatives seem to be quite concerned over the recent revelations of the ABSCAM scandal involving various members of Congress being compromised through bribery. Since I have been out of town for the past several months while this scandal was being hatched, would you kindly bring me up to date as to which members of Congress are involved and details thereof. (sic)\nOf course, there were supporters of the eventually convicted men: (This is reproduced verbatim. The grammar difficulities belong to the author. I have enough of my own to contend with to take credit for someone elses.)\nGentlemen\nFollowing story seems logical and possibly true however, the names were not changed in order to protect the innocent. It\u0026rsquo;s not hard to visualize how Abscam started, one day a top FBI executive, dedicated to his job, came to work one morning and saw a few crime investigators (CI\u0026rsquo;s) loafing around on tax dollars and he asked, \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t you have anything to do?\u0026rdquo; and the CI\u0026rsquo;s replied \u0026ldquo;No\u0026rdquo;, and as quick as the crack of a whip the top executive said \u0026ldquo;Well then find something.\u0026rdquo;, so the CI\u0026rsquo;s saw there was plenty of money in the budget and decided they would try to entrap and rot a few shiny-apple-congressmen take bad money (and of course, who is to say they didn\u0026rsquo;t get a little for themselves).\nTo make a long story short:\nThe Abscam deal leaked out and one of the shining-apple-congressmen (Richard Kelly) had a really crazy excuse for why he went along with Abscam. He said, \u0026ldquo;I was doing my own investigation\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\nHe (a congressman of our great nation) wanted to find out who was behind such a criminal offense to our great country.\nWell, if you do not know Richard Kelly you would probably think he was crazed and out of his mind, but if you know Richard Kelly you would know he is about the only congressman that still believes in \u0026ldquo;the impossible dream\u0026rdquo;, that he takes care of his people (Floridians), that he means what he says, and says what he means (it\u0026rsquo;s a wonder Chrysler didn\u0026rsquo;t have him bumped off).\nCertainly doesn\u0026rsquo;t seem fair that Abscam didn\u0026rsquo;t last a little longer so congressman Kelly could complete his investigation and indict the FBI for bribing congressmen.\nI can hear the FBI\u0026rsquo;s reply to the indictment now\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;We were doing our own investigation\u0026hellip;.\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"19 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-19-the-abscam-letters/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Abscam Letters","type":"posts"},{"content":"Loking back, it strikes me as funny that a church that stressed so much about relationships produced such weird ones between members of the opposite sex. We had to go out on dates every week, so you could hardly just walk up to a woman and say \u0026lsquo;hey\u0026rsquo; without her expecting to be asked on a date. Of course, she wasn\u0026rsquo;t allowed to say \u0026rsquo;no\u0026rsquo;, if you were asking her on a date, so sometimes you could never talk to some female members at all. In my old church, going dutch to anything was not illegal, but frowned upon. This brought up endless lectures about how to go on a date with little or no money. I think I swung on every swing-set in Raleigh, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, and even Bahama over the course of six summers. Aside from the rules, though, there was this need for permission. Until recently, I thought I was free from needing permission from anyone to live my life.\n","date":"18 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-18-mother-may-i/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mother May I?","type":"posts"},{"content":"It had been so good coming back to Jerusalem 3 weeks ago, after being away for 3 weeks. I missed home so much. There is something about this country, that though it has some violence, and though it is economically struggling, and the driving in it can be too crazy ;). I can\u0026rsquo;t find myself to want to live in other place. There is something about this place that God had chosen to be the Promised Land. Something pulls me to it and makes me love it through all its craziness.\nMy trip to NY and LA was so great. I am so grateful to the disciples and churches I met over there. I have received so much of encouragement and love; I was overwhelmed by the Love. I was so honored to preach in NY and LA to different regions. I preached about the spiritual war we all have in our lives. Ephesians 6:10\u0026mdash;\u0026ndash; We all live in spiritual war. I found that it is easier to see the spiritual war for my life in Jerusalem and Bethlehem than in the USA. The reason is that Satan uses the blessings of God to tempt us. I said that I see people that fight comfort and easy living to become Christians as my hero\u0026rsquo;s in faith, it is in some ways harder than living poor and being persecuted openly by others. You know it is Satan when others persecute you. But it is harder to see how Satan uses comfort and materialism to persecute the Christians. I struggled with things such as play station and cable TV. I don\u0026rsquo;t have these things back home. I saw my heart pursuing comfort instead of reading my Bible. It is not easy to fight that.\nAfter that I went to Turkey for the Middle East Leaders Conference. I always long patiently to meet the disciples from the Middle East. With some of them I can\u0026rsquo;t even be in touch, and I look forward to know their news and fellowship with them. We had a great time of encouraging and helping one another. There were great teaching classes on marriage relationships, on counseling, on raising kids, and on purity; and yes being there as a single was a bit weird for me;), I had to remind myself of Jesus and Paul being singles. It was so good to learn and bring back these lessons to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.\nAs for the Churches here,\nThe Bethlehem Church is doing great as different people keep studying the Bible there, and as the members are maturing in their relationship with God. Last Wednesday we had a celebration as Farah (his name means JOY) made his decision to become a disciple. Farah is 20 years old studying Laboratory Medicine. He came for the first time about 5 months ago. He said he was just waiting for someone to direct him to God and to help him understand Christianity. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR THE MISSION HERE.\n2 weeks ago Bernard from Jerusalem asked Chaika from Tel Aviv to marry him. It is so awesome to see how people that are originally from completely different countries, can meet and get married here, even though the church is only relatively small.\nAs for Jerusalem, we are passing through some hard times right now. The Church had lost many people that moved out in the last 2 years. The start of Bethlehem was encouraging but left a hole that is hard to fill as many disciples lost their best friends through these transitions. This month we had one more person moving out to England although Greg is seriously considering coming back in September. This makes the Church really feel down. In the same time though we still try to keep our focus right and our faith in the unseen instead of building it on what is seen. Right now there are only 8 disciples in Jerusalem and 12 disciples in Bethlehem.\nI would like to issue an open invitation to the disciples around the world to consider visiting the Church here. It will be so encouraging for us. And for those that have more time, we hope to have next summer from the 20th of June to the 15th of August a mission group that would be willing to come and help the Church here in evangelism, hope work, and maturing. More information will come in future news-letters. Or email us at info@jerusalemchurchofchrist.org If you are a Jewish disciple we definitely invite you to move to here as the government right now does a lot of programs to encourage Jews to move to Israel. This includes the possibility of free access to the Hebrew University for 3 years. The Hebrew University is one of the best schools in the Middle East and well respected in the world.\nBut first and foremost we ask for your support through prayers.\nIf you want to receive updates about Jerusalem Church, email us at info@jerusalemchurchofchrist.org\nJerusalem Church of Christ Israel Jerusalem Po Box 989 Central Post Office 23 Jaffa St, zip code 91000 972547472355\n","date":"17 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-17-jerusalem-church-of-christ-update/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Jerusalem Church of Christ update","type":"posts"},{"content":"DRAFT 2 - Much less tired and yes, I\u0026rsquo;ve had coffee -\nWhen I think about a paradigm to discuss what my old church structure, I look for a lot of different things. The UBF is quite parallel, but not necessarily accessible. After all, not everyone has had any experience with abusive church cultures. Some have made the comparison with abusive parents, but that is not quite correct. Children fear abusive parents, they do not fight with their brothers and sisters to fawn over them. Some have made a comparison to medieval court behavior where the nobilty fawn over each other and their king. This is a closer comparison because those in power usually had money and privilege. There\u0026rsquo;s more to that, but it doesn\u0026rsquo;t quite cover the unspoken law of conformity. In the old church system, all members were expected to conform to some unstated standard, usually the personality and energy of the evangelist. Then Thursday night, it occured to me that the most accessible analogy is the culture of being a smurf.\nConsider the smurf village: everyone looks the same and wears the same things except Papa Smurf, Smurfette, and Baby. Everyone else is given a standard issue a white smurfy hat, a white smurfy pair of pants, and sometimes an extra-smurfy white shirt of some kind. (Painter Smurf got an exception to wear a red vest. Since Papa Smurf also wears red, conspiracy theories abound as to the possible connection.) In short, there is little diversity. However, not everyone is entirely the same. They are usually classified according to their talent and named for their talent. There\u0026rsquo;s Handy that builds things, Hefty that is strong, Farmer that grows food, etc. Some are named for their passion despite the fact that their passion is not the same as their talent. Consider Harmony Smurf who loves instruments despite the fact that he can\u0026rsquo;t play any of them. Others are named for their faults and are expected to do nothing but become worse. Clumsy Smurf is well-loved, but everyone demands his help in physical tasks when he obviously has a problem. Lazy Smurf sleeps constantly and Grouchy Smurf, in general, doesn\u0026rsquo;t want to be as smurfy as everyone else. Taking all of smurf village as a whole one thing is clear, everyone has a clearly defined role and they do not deviate from it.\nThe undisputed leader is Papa Smurf. He is obeyed almost without question. He is presumed to not make any mistakes and he is generally serious. However, he\u0026rsquo;s not a bad guy, he loves babies and children, he always talks about his care and concern for \u0026lsquo;his little smurflings\u0026rsquo;. He does a lot of work to take care of their needs. He has even been known to chuckle from time to time. However, he has a frequent need to go speak to other powerful wizards all over the world, or to go on some personal quest. To that end, in all his wisdom, he always leaves Brainy Smurf in charge when he\u0026rsquo;s gone. Everyone hates Brainy Smurf, because he is going to spend the entire time talking about how great he is and saying \u0026ldquo;Papa Smurf ALWAYS says\u0026hellip;.\u0026rdquo; and generally meddling in everyone\u0026rsquo;s lives.\nBrainy loves to tell people how important he is and looks for every opportunity to demonstrate that. His only true friend is Clumsy who he is constantly trying to reform. For some reason, Papa Smurf always puts Brainy in charge. When things invariably go wrong, he chides the rest of the smurfs when it is really Brainy\u0026rsquo;s fault. Brainy escapes with a mild admonition to be more smurfy and then Papa Smurf expounds on his vision of true smurfiness. In the end, nothing ever changes and Smurf Village goes back to normal. It\u0026rsquo;s always the heirarachy of Papa Smurf - Brainy Smurf - Smurfette - everyone else.\nConsider the critic, Grouchy Smurf. When everyone is happily playing \u0026lsquo;smurfball\u0026rsquo;, he hates smurfball. When everyone is working on the smurfberry festival, he hates festivals. More importantly, when Brainy Smurf opines, he hates Briany Smurf\u0026rsquo;s Wise Sayings(TM). He doesn\u0026rsquo;t hate Papa Smurf, but he\u0026rsquo;s not really fond of anyone or anything except Baby. For that reason, I tend to think of Grouchy as the only sane member of this strange group, but he goes along with everything because he doesn\u0026rsquo;t know where else to go. I mean, he hates smurf hats, but sitll wears one. In some ways, I would consider myself a Grouchy Smurf.\nAside from their culture, they had their own lingo. \u0026lsquo;Smurf\u0026rsquo; as a word could fulfil almost every part of speech (except a conjunction). In any given conversation, this all purpose word could be substituted for any other word. The meaning would be derived by context only. \u0026lsquo;Smurfy\u0026rsquo; was a subjective standard for model behavior. Every smurf wanted to be smurfy. (Oceania has always been at war with East Asia.) It was the goal of every smurf to be as smurfy as possible, even if no one really knew what that meant. In practice, it meant to be happy, sing the theme song, love Papa Smurf, and be like everyone else.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong, I loved the show as a child and I still like it. The whole purpose of this is to provide a metaphor for life in the church. Enough has been said about the Smurf Village, let\u0026rsquo;s move on to some practical examples. The following three incidents occurred throughout my life in the church. First, it will be presented in English, and then in Smurfese. Anyone that has been a part of the church should recognize the smurfese fairly quickly. Forgive me if relaying these incidents creates triggers for you:\nIn English: Leader says that coffeehouses are not good places to hang out because of their atmosphere. I disagree. “Bro,” someone would say to me, “that wasn’t very humble.” “Really?” I said mock-aghast, “All I said was that I didn’t agree with him about coffee-shops being a sinful place to hangout.” “The Bible says that we should make a leader\u0026rsquo;s job a joy. I don\u0026rsquo;t see how arguing with him accomplishes that. Just don\u0026rsquo;t go to coffeehouses.“\nIn Smurfese “Hey Smurf, that wasn’t very smurfy.” “All I said was that coffee-shops are a very smurfy place to smurf.” “But Papa Smurf always says to make your leaders job a joy. I love Papa Smurf. The leader says that coffe-shops aren’t smurfy, so I won\u0026rsquo;t go.“\nI hate Wimpy Smurf.\nIn English: Leader comments about complaints about too many meetings. “Okay guys,” weekly meeting speaker would say, “I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of attitude around here. You know, we freed-up your Sunday afternoons - the Sabbath is a day of rest, Amen? - but there is a lot of complaining about time going on. Frankly, your attitude is stinking up the joint and it needs to stop. Paul talked about how he OFTEN went without sleep and here we complain about seeing each other too much. Don’t you know that it is an AWESOME thing to spend time with each other?”\nIn Smurfese “Okay smurfs, Papa Smurf says there’s a lot of unsmurfiness around here. You know, He gave you the afternoon off from the Smurfberry picking- but there is a lot of unsmurfiness going on. Like Papa Smurf ALWAYS says, ‘to err is human, to smurf, divine’. Isn’t it great to be smurfs and to be smurfy with each other?”\nI hate Fired Up Smurf.\nIn English: Leader rebukes group for lack of baptisms or visitors. Declares Unilateral Fasting Day. “We should be so ASHAMED about our STINKIN’ SIN!!!! Like Achan, it is running through the camp. We have become LAZY! We are sitting around the HOUSE instead of outside meeting people! Primetime is from 7 to 9 pm AND NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO BE HOME AT THAT TIME UNLESS I SAY SO!!!! WE DID THIS TO GOD and OURSELVES. Let’s repent! Let’s GET OUT THERE!!! Let’s BE TRUE DISCIPLES(HTDM!)!!!! In order to get us started on the right foot, we are going to fast starting RIGHT NOW!”\nIn Smurfese \u0026ldquo;You should be ashamed about how UNSMURFY you smurfs are right now. The Smurfberry Festival is in two days and NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. Well my little smurflings, we\u0026rsquo;re going to have to WORK THROUGH the NIGHT. Now, now, I don\u0026rsquo;t want to hear any complaining. You did this to yourselves and you\u0026rsquo;re going to have to work your way out of it. No special smurfberry surprise until we are done.\u0026rdquo;\nI hate Radical Smurf.\nBeing smurfy had something to do with the five tenets of discipleship: good attitude, humility, heart, obedience, and hating sin. If someone wanted to preach a good sermon, the only requirement was a message on one of these five topics. These sermons were always awesome(htdm) or convicting(htdm). Though the principles were always mutable and changing, but these sermons were perceived as getting back to the basics. Specifically, we were always trying to be good disciples(htdm). Since everyday discipleship was vague, when someone preached about these five basic tenets, we heard it as a fundamental building block. Depending on the whim of the speaker that day, everyday discipleship could mean things like not watching the news at all, or watching two hours of it. Sometimes discipleship involved wearing trendy outfits (being sharp) and other times it was being thrifty. No wonder that members had trouble reconciling sometimes contradictary commands. Sometimes humility was being a doormat, sometimes is defining as confronting sin in others. The definition of sin, outside Gal 5, was always different from person to person. To some, it was a sin to go to any R rated movie, others struggled with PG-13 movies, still others saw any movie they watned. To some, beer was a sin, but wine wasn\u0026rsquo;t. To others, all alcohol was a sin. Even more telling, some smoked cigars once a month(cigar club) or on special occasions while telling others that smoking was a sin. If nothing else, the ‘group’ always had an attitude of one kind or another. The attitude was usually linked to not totally obeying your leaders.\nAbove all, there was this unstated expectation that you were always happy, or least you should be. I’ve heard it said that it was a sin to be sad. I’ve lived the experience of only being allowed to express so-called positive emotions and it is not healthy. Ever wonder why we had a backlash in large churches? We weren’t allowed to feel anything, even if we were allowed to do everything. Now that it is okay to feel hurt and angry, the old paradigm of \u0026lsquo;be happy or else\u0026rsquo; doesn\u0026rsquo;t make the pain go away. Sometimes it seems as if some just sing the Smurf Theme aloud hoping to force the bad feelings out. I\u0026rsquo;m sure that the leader of a large church would love to see hundreds of happy, smiling faces again.\nIn any case, consider what would happen if a smurf was able to live outside his defined role. There was an episode where Clumsy was \u0026lsquo;cured\u0026rsquo;. It destroyed the social fabric of Smurf Village, so he went back to being clumsy to \u0026lsquo;save\u0026rsquo; the village. It\u0026rsquo;s amazing how uncomfortable change can be, even if it is for the better. In the midst of so much change, it\u0026rsquo;s no wonder that there is a desire to go back to the old peace we once shared. I miss being in a group of thousands singing happy songs to God. I want peace and I pray for it to happen in my lifetime. However, I have no interest in becoming broken again for the sake of the social fabric of old church. It\u0026rsquo;s too easy to simply be quiet and sing happy songs like nothing happened.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s what being a part of this church had been like for me for so many years. If it\u0026rsquo;s not a useful analogy, then throw it out. For the record, though, I have to say:\nI hate Papa Smurf.\n","date":"17 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-17-life-in-smurf-village/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Life in Smurf Village","type":"posts"},{"content":"You know, if you haven\u0026rsquo;t seen the movie, then DO NOT READ FURTHER.\nIn the last scene, MJ says something that Laryssa has said to me before, \u0026ldquo;Isn\u0026rsquo;t it time that somebody saves you?\u0026rdquo;\nYes it is.\nI only wish that she would go see this movie with me.\nGood night true believers. Excelsior!\n","date":"17 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-17-spiderman2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Spiderman2","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sun-Tzu has said:\nThe general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves; on the other, a victory that is complete.\nIt is no secret that a Christian faces battles in everyday life. Like my friend has commented, there are times when I have chosen to not fight at all, call in sick for two days and never leave my room; being a passionate person has its ups and downs. I know that my enemy is not flesh and blood, so please don\u0026rsquo;t mistake this as a \u0026ldquo;me vs. Thomas\u0026rdquo; line of thought. The enemy is within. James 1:13-16 explains the procession from temptation to desire to sin. For me, the temptation is to abandon myself to my emotions and withdraw from everything.\nIn short, what is a more secret recess than an obscure greek word domain name? On the other, how easy is it to fight when I can access this website from almost anywhere in the world? It\u0026rsquo;s true that I write on this site to talk about church issues and other things. I hope that I can keep an accurate record and maybe even encourage some along the way. I also hope to have a little fun, especially because I like the fantasy genre, and more specifically, role-playing games. However, I also write on this site to protect myself and to claim victory.\nIs it vanity? I don\u0026rsquo;t know. How vain is it to have myname.com and post a lot of things that you write? Seriously, though, I do enjoy writing and I\u0026rsquo;m glad to have a place to do it. I\n","date":"16 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-16-about-last-night/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"About Last Night","type":"posts"},{"content":"I don\u0026rsquo;t have dreams of building a killer Linux box\u0026hellip;\nOk, I do, but who can afford to build the Operton AMD 64 with 2GB of memory and an nVidia whatever max card they put out this week and Slack 10 and an actual working version of Wine\u0026hellip;\nI figured in the meantime, I could make a little side cash by building simple systems to perform simple functions. A basic PC that allows you to check email, surf the net, play CDs and DVDs, play a few games, and use Office type functions. I also wanted to add a restore button that makes fixing it very simple.\nInteresting to say the least. I figure with a good install of Slack without any choices for office, or players, that it would be a pretty straightforward system to use. In other words:\nXine to play CDs and DVDs OpenOfiice 1.1.2 Galeon (I\u0026rsquo;m mad at Firefox right now and Mozilla is way more than needed) Calypso for email Frozen Bubble and all kinds of games\u0026hellip;\nA tower can be built for about $200. a really small box can be built for about $425. Neither one of these includes a monitor, though.\nAnywho, random thoughts today going through my head. I\u0026rsquo;m not disconnected from yesterday\u0026rsquo;s post at all, I wrote a private journal on some other things, but I\u0026rsquo;ll have something to say about all that later tonight.\n","date":"15 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-15-so-i-started-looking-at-components/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"So I started looking at components","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026lsquo;Tis midnight and I cannot sleep. I\u0026rsquo;ve been an insomniac since I was a teenager. Sometimes its worse than others. Tonight, though, I should be okay in a little bit.\nJust a follow up the this morning\u0026rsquo;s post, I can feel like that, but still act differently. It scares some I know that I can separate my emotions completely from what I\u0026rsquo;m doing - I think that\u0026rsquo;s what made me a good disciple(htdm) for so long. Believe me, Laryssa is helping me to stop doing that. For my own mental and spiritual health, I want to stop doing that. All it really does is buy me some time to function while I\u0026rsquo;m extremely stressed. You see, the cost of separating my feelings like that is that it manifests itself physically. Sometimes with severe acne, sometimes back pain, sinus headaches, always with no sleep. One time I even managed to jet my jaw stuck from grinding my teeth at night.\nIn short, I don\u0026rsquo;t feel anything lightly. My emotions have to come out. If I surpress it, it will manifest physically until I do. It\u0026rsquo;s actually one of the main reasons I started writing in the first place - my own emotional and mental health. Anyway, you\u0026rsquo;ll hear some sadness from time to time, thus I have a categories just for hurts. By writing it, I can deal with it much better and it doesn\u0026rsquo;t create physical side-effects.\nTonight\u0026rsquo;s message reminded me of why I stick around. I feel family at my church and I am willing to fight for it. We have a tremendous opportunity to undo so much, and it is already happening. Having deacons is scary, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think that the old leadership paradigm is anywhere in sight.\n","date":"15 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-15-the-peanut-rattles-in-the-jar/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The Peanut Rattles in the Jar","type":"posts"},{"content":"The day started this morning with a beautiful thunderstorm. Everytime there is a storm, I remember Mike Barnes. He used to say that thunderstorms made him think of \u0026ldquo;God walking around atop the clouds.\u0026rdquo; It reminded him of the tremendous power of God. To me, it\u0026rsquo;s not just because of the loud thunder, but also the restraint. Most storms produce a rainbow as a promise that the Lord of Heaven will not destroy the earth again by water. I imagine some day, that is not an easy promise to keep.\nMy thoughts are darker this morning: it\u0026rsquo;s a Romans 7 kind of day. I want to do what is right, but find myself doing everything else. I mention this first, because I\u0026rsquo;m sure that it impacts the rest of my thought process.\nYou ever have a day where you wake up and hope that the past season was all a dream and everything is going to be okay for this episode? For those that pay attention to the Magical PayneCo Phrase-O-Matic device (lovingly called Jabberwocky), this is called the Bobby Ewing Effect(tm).\nIt\u0026rsquo;s not the meeting I was a part of last night. That meeting actually encouraged me more than anything. It reassured me that I\u0026rsquo;m not crazy and that I\u0026rsquo;m not some raging libertine that is destroying orthodox christianity. Really, my minister and I are reading the same things about Thomas and have some of the same questions. I look forward to talking to him soon.\nSeriously, though, today I wish that I would have woken up and I was never a part of the ICC and lived on the beach in my childhood home. I want to wake up on the beach and watch the waves for an hour. I want to have the relationships with my family that I may never have. I want to think about God and not think about church. For that matter, I don\u0026rsquo;t want to think about churches.\nI\u0026rsquo;m tired. I get worn out with all these emotional gymnastics, but I decide everyday that I will feel something. I figure that if I stop feeling, I stop being human and I stop being a believer. Still, why won\u0026rsquo;t certain people just GO AWAY? But even if they do, there\u0026rsquo;s so much rebuilding that needs to be done that it could take 100 people 100 lifetimes to finish. On days like today, it feels like there aren\u0026rsquo;t 100 that what to try - maybe 10? maybe 5? maybe none? I won\u0026rsquo;t vent about specific things today mainly because more things than usual are getting to me. (For example, I still think Tony Stewart needs to be fined or something.)\nAnywho, I began my time with God today crying that I don\u0026rsquo;t want to fight anymore. I feel so hopeless. I read from Thomas, or DisciplesToday or even Doug Jacoby and I just sigh. It\u0026rsquo;s like \u0026ldquo;why do I bother? I will never be happy to be associated with any of these people. There is just too much pain.\u0026rdquo;\nNow Doug has been nothing but kind to me and helpful to my minister, so I know it\u0026rsquo;s not him. Roger and I have also exchanged kind words as well. I guess it\u0026rsquo;s a certain frame of reference that the three of us share that I react to. We share this bittersweet history and even in my own thoughts I just want to hear something different.\nI used to love going to conferences, but now I dread the basic questions. The basic questions used to be:\n\u0026ldquo;What church are you from?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;How long have you been a disciple(htdm)?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Are you in campus or singles?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;Wasn\u0026rsquo;t the last message awesome?\u0026rdquo;\nNow the questions are:\n\u0026ldquo;What church are you from?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;How is your church doing?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;How many left?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;How many staff resigned or were fired?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;How did you guys react to HKL?\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;What do you think about _ _ _ in Portland and what he\u0026rsquo;s doing?\u0026rdquo;\nOf course, I want to ask the same questions, so I can\u0026rsquo;t complain.\nI guess that I am sad today and just want to escape. I\u0026rsquo;ll be glad to see my friends tonight, especially my best friend, Laryssa. I\u0026rsquo;ll be glad to be home tonight and still. I won\u0026rsquo;t pray or read or think, these things just upset me. No, I will pretend the internet doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist and just be still. That will be nice.\n","date":"14 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-14-morning-thoughts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Morning Thoughts","type":"posts"},{"content":"The following is a message by Samuel Lee given at a UBF staff meeting in Chicago as a “New Year’s Address.” It includes a sweeping statement of condemnation of reformers as “rebels” wanting to destroy the glorious ministry of UBF, which is portrayed as the summit of God’s salvation ministry to the world. Most parenthetical remarks are added by the webmaster of ubf-info.de with a couple from me. You can visit UBF\u0026rsquo;s site at the webpage of their world headquarters Samuel Lee passed away in 2002.\nDr. Samuel Lee, UBF Director\nFebruary 2, 2001 New Year’s Address YOU ARE A CHOSEN PEOPLE\nKey Verse: 2:9\n1 Peter 2:1-10\n“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”\nMay the love of God be with you. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. May the Holy Spirit, who works in our souls, work powerfully and be with you. At this national staff meeting I want to share with you what God is doing in America and around the world.\nI. God’s plan for world salvation\nAfter the Fall, God did not abandon his rebellious people. Out of his love, God wanted to make his people a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This conception is clearly mentioned for the first time after the Exodus from captivity in Egypt. Exodus 19:3-7 says, “Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’ So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak.”\nAfter the Exodus, God said to his people, “You are a chosen people out of all nations. You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Even though they had been a slave people for 430 years under the Egyptian Empire, God had faith in them that they were a chosen people and a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In other words, these people would be the servants of God’s word for the world. This idea is more clearly revealed in 1 Peter 2:9. It says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” It was the time the early Christians were overjoyed by believing in the blood of Jesus. They thought they would be happy in this world forever. But suddenly, persecution from the Roman Empire came to them on the grounds that they did not worship Jupiter god. Another persecution came from their own people, that they did not keep Jewish tradition but taught Jesus’ death and resurrection. The Jewish persecution was indeed intensive. It was because if the Jews believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus, they had to become Christians, abandoning all their traditions and racial superiority. The Jews thought that only Jewish people were God’s chosen people. All other people were thought to be living animals or the Gentiles. So when the long-awaited Messiah came, their own people rejected him (Jn 1:11). If the Jews had believed in Jesus’ death and glorious resurrection, they would not have to shed the blood of Arabian people because of the territory of the Jerusalem Temple. But they did not believe Jesus’ death and resurrection. So they had to fight against Arabians for many centuries and shed much blood. In the future the same phenomena is going to be permanent.\nThe first Christians who accepted Jesus Christ for a short time were very happy in the grace of Jesus. But because of the persecution they had to scatter as strangers in that world throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia simply because they were Christians.\nIt was God’s purpose to scatter his people allover the world even though they had to suffer much. It was because God wanted them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. In short, God wanted his people to be the Bible teachers of all peoples of all nations.\nSt. Peter did not say, “I am sorry for you that you lose your families and scatter all over the world.” But he said in 1 Peter 2:9, “\u0026hellip;you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Under the leadership of St. Peter, the early Christians scattered allover the world of the time and preached the gospel. Some people accepted and many were persecuted and killed. After awhile, St. Peter and St. Paul came to Rome. At first, St. Paul was in a “house arrest” situation. So he invited immigrant Jews to Rome and made one-to-one Bible study appointments. A few people came. But most of them didn’t come. In the past and present, one-to-one Bible study is always difficult. But when Jewish immigrants didn’t come, Paul kept one-to-one Bible study with prison guards. Most of them accepted Jesus as their Savior.\nIn reality, God’s plan of world salvation started with Abraham. God looked around to find good Bible student candidates. But there were none. Finally God chose one man called Abram who was 75 years old, and whose wife was barren. God took care of him for 25 years through one-to-one Bible study. Finally Abram, a noble father, became Abraham, father of many nations. The same was true of Abraham’s wife Sarah.\nWhen we study the Bible, the most distinctive character is God’s plan to raise his people as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Through Isaiah the prophet, he described a fantastic vision. Isaiah 2:3 says, “‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the lord from Jerusalem.” God’s fantastic vision had been realized after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The early Christians in the midst of severe persecutions scattered all around the world and preached the gospel. Some went to Rome and lived in the underground graveyard called the catacombs. They finally conquered the Roman Empire. It is indeed fantastic that the early Christians conquered the mightiest Roman Empire with the gospel of Jesus Christ.\nII. The gospel of Jesus spread from Jerusalem to Rome\nWhen we study world history, the gospel mainly spread to the Roman Empire. There was God’s precise plan. Paul wanted to evangelize Asian countries, where so many Satan worshipers were stomping and people were bound by the power of evil spirits. But God led Paul through the Macedonian’s calling Paul to go to European countries first (Ac 16:9). So St. Paul was sent from the Antioch church to Philippi. Later, by the help of a powerful woman, he was able to go to evangelize European countries and finally reached Rome. It was because God wanted to conquer the mightiest country, and through Roman roads he wanted to evangelize the whole world of the times.\nTherefore we can say the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ came from Jerusalem first to Rome, next to England, and next to America. There were many people who bled for owning the land. But there were also many dedicated Christians who went to many countries as missionaries. According to the encyclopedia, the number of American missionaries to the world was one million all together. I know one missionary to Korea. He was invited to dinner by a Korean Christian family. He was treated with a boiled hen. The hen was boiled from its crest to the toenail. The missionary wanted to please the family. He ate some of the boiled hen. Then he went home and died of cultural shock.\nThe first generation of American missionaries to Korea was very exemplary. They taught how to pray in the early morning from 5:00 a.m. every morning at the church. On Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. they stayed at the church and studied the Bible. From 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon they had a worship service. After lunch they visited sick and needy people and came back. Again they had a revival meeting with Bible study and came back home. That was a great joy to Koreans who were under the Japanese occupation. We in UBF are pretty much influenced and imitate their way of worshiping God.\nIII. The Korean Church\nThe Korean Church was started in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea. Pyongyang was known to the world as the Jerusalem of Asian countries. There were 600 church steeples. There were many who were martyred after not worshiping the Japanese Emperor. When the Korean Church was persecuted, it grew and grew. Three days before World War II was over, Japanese soldiers wanted to kill all the Christians in Korea. It was August 1945. But God had great mercy on Korean Christians and saved their lives from massacre. Now it is a different story. There was one Presbyterian Church. But it was divided by the influence of American missionaries. Once they were divided, the Presbyterian Church was divided. Now there are 63 denominations of the Presbyterian Church. (The UBF\u0026rsquo;s history comes from the Presbyterian Church.)\nIn 1961 in Kwangju, Korean UBF was established. I was an unordained pastor. Mother Barry was a country evangelist. We got together and began student work. At that time there was a work of the Holy Spirit. Students’ endeavor to pray could hardly be extinguished. Whenever they studied the end of the Synoptic Gospels, they heard the world mission command from the Risen Christ. I, as the leader, really wondered how to obey the world mission command in the Korean situation, where passport control was thorough so that no contact could be made with North Koreans. Kwangju UBF students prayed for six years day and night to obey the world mission command of Jesus. But no sign in the sky appeared. Before coming up to Seoul, I pioneered Chun Ju and Tae Jeon and served many students from many provinces. In 1967 Mother Barry and I went up to Seoul to make UBF nationwide. It was done in three years.\nIn establishing UBF and expanding UBF the potent weapon was intensive one-to-one Bible study, strict discipleship training and planting the world mission vision. This came from the spirit of gospel faith. Where there is a spirit, nothing is matchless. We could overcome ourselves. We could dedicate ourselves. We could endure any kinds of sufferings without any pain. In this way, God blessed Korean UBF.\nWhen UBF grew strong, well-disciplined leaders grew strong. They sent me as a missionary to Chicago, where there were several aide nurses and doctors. (Nobody sent Lee or could have sent him. He was the one who decided who was sent. He chose Chicago himself to make it the new headquarters.) Chicago UBF began to work hard. (Lee liked to emphasize how the UBF missionaries in America were only sluggardly sitting around and as his first measure he had to whip them into shape.) Then many American students began to come to our Bible study group or worship service.\nIV. American ministry\nAt the beginning, American ministry was genuine. Those thirsty Americans came to study the Bible. Around thirty Americans came at first. Next, around fifty Americans came to Chicago UBF. And the students grew in the word of God and began to see the word of God as God’s word. Then their parents thought that their children do not obey them, but they obey UBF people. Then American parents’ pride was offended. They called professional deprogrammers and kidnapped their children one by one. But the power of the gospel could not be stopped. More American students came to study the Bible the more deprogrammers targeted UBF as their prey. But there formed American parents’ fellowship under deprogrammers. The focus of their attack was Dr. Samuel Lee (referring to himself in the third person, his dubious doctor title inclusive, was not unusual for Lee). Kidnapped students were all deprogrammed until they became enemies of UBF. It continued for nineteen years and three months. I don’t know how UBF survived. I don’t know how I was not weakened, but rather became stronger.\nV. Korean UBF\nSince I left Korean UBF in June 1977, Dr. John Jun took over my position. In the past, always one-to-one was sternly emphasized and discipleship training kept on. But since he took over my position, he directed UBF according to his character. He has never given anybody Biblical divine discipline except for his wife. As a result, in Korean UBF Biblical divine discipline was gone. As for the Bible study, he always made a topic Bible study whenever he had a staff meeting or staff conference. (Topical Bible studies are actually taboo in UBF. The Bible may be only studied passage based, in order to prevent any attempt of systematic teaching.) As a result, his authority and his spiritual leadership has been weakened. On the other hand, he does not like to write. So he never wrote me a report. (Reports about membership numbers and collected offering moneys have normally to be sent to the headquarters every week.) As a result, the mutual communication or relationship was distanced. The same is true among Korean staff members. Dr. Jun is very gentle humanly. But he is very fixed spiritually. So in the conversations between he and Korean staff members, they didn’t communicate. Nevertheless, I laid the firm foundation in Korea. It spread and pioneered allover the universities. But these days they are in tension because of the split.\nFirst, what was the cause of the split? Caleb Chung in Tae Gu has always been my brother with a different mother. He was always on my opponent’s side in his mind. In order to melt his heart, I bore with him for the last 30 years. But it didn’t work. He became the leader of rebellion.\nSecond, how they persuaded so many coworkers in their group. Matthew Byun of Chun Ju has always been one who crept in. He is a friend of Caleb Chung. Matthew Byun planted easy-going mentality to so many junior shepherds. He said to them that we don’t have to do one-to-one Bible study and that we don’t need discipleship training; we must all separate and make a church system and have a general assembly meeting every two years (sounds like Unity Conference to me). Those who are lazy-minded were all persuaded very quickly.\nAs you know, people call America a “melting pot.” Why do they call America a melting pot? Why were they not afraid of Communism of any kind? For example, Chinese students came to Chicago. They rode their bicycles as their identity and diligence. But after one month they were driving very expensive cars. Those who came from China work hard to remain in America because America offers them an easygoing lifestyle.\nThird, they call themselves the “reform group.” If they are a reform group, they should be better than before. But in order to overthrow UBF as a whole, they have tried with all their means and ends. Still it didn’t work at all. It is obvious that UBF has 40 years of roots. They cannot dig it out in a short time. So they began to set a fire in every area. And they bragged that they were very smart and efficient people. But I don’t think they are smart and efficient people. (Compare with \u0026lsquo;super-apostles\u0026hellip;\u0026rsquo; in recent articles.) As we know well, building a house is very difficult. But setting fire to burn it down is so easy. They set the fire and burned down many things. They brag about their boldness. It is very foolish. Setting a fire or attacking others and slandering cannot be the acts of a reform group. Their activity thus far reminds me of Romans 2:8-9. It says, “But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will trouble and distress for every human being who does evil; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”\nWe can see the exemplary reformation in St. Paul’s life. St. Paul was born as a Jew. He was short and aggressive. Someday he wanted to be a leading figure in his community . One day he was on the way to Damascus to persecute the early Christians. The Risen Christ called him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied (Ac 9:4-5). At the moment he saw the Risen Christ, he was blinded and fell down from the horse to the muddy ground. The Risen Christ forgave all his sins by referring to his new attitude. The Risen Christ also wanted to use his wisdom and power for God’s world mission purpose. So he said to Ananias in 9:15-16, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” From that time on Saul changed his name from Saul, “the greatest one,” to Paul, “the smallest one.” (More exactly: Saul means “asked of God,” whereas Paul means “the little one.”) There are many parents who name their sons Paul. But they must know that Paul means “a small one.”\nWe can see a true outlook of reform in St. Augustine. St. Augustine was basically a wanderer even though he was a professor of oratory at the Roman Senatorial Academy. His quest for meaning of life seemed to be in vain. But he heard Ambrose’ message based on Romans 13:13,14. It says, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” After the worship service, he was going to his house. One of his prostitute friends was coming from the opposite direction. He turned around and ran away. True reform starts from one’s heart, as we see in St. Augustine.\nThe rebel group’s motto was good. But there was no way to justify themselves. So they kept what they were doing from students and graduates. Finally students and graduates came to know what they were doing. Students and graduates became very rebellious, as they are rebellious, to their leaders. In the rebels’ chapters many are running away every week (“to run away” is a UBF term for “leaving UBF” compare to the phrase \u0026ldquo;fall away\u0026rdquo;). Among the members in the rebel’s groups, there are divisions. We learn that rebellion begets rebellion. True reformation produces good fruit. Therefore, we cannot recognize them as a reform group, but as those who destroyed the spiritual order and planted rebellious minds in all the rebels’ chapters. Now they ask my help. (Lee probably refers to the reformers’ attempted talk with him about the problems of UBF in January 2001.) But I have to prepare the 2001 UBF Bible Conference, International. I have no time to help them.\nFourth, future UBF world mission. Generally, missionaries in the front line are very upset because the rebel group refuses one-to-one Bible study and discipleship training. It is because to the frontline missionaries, if they stop one-to-one Bible study and discipleship training, they have nothing to do.\nSince I left Korea, I visited Korea every year and visited each chapter. Each time I went to Korea, so many missionaries were sent. When I talked about Russian pioneering while the Soviet Union was still behind the Iron Curtain, students responded and smuggled themselves into Russia through Hungary UBF. And Russian UBF was started as soon as Gorbachev opened the gate to Russia. In 1985, at the Korean World Mission Report, we prayed to pioneer the Soviet Union within ten years, by 1995. God opened the door to Russia five years earlier. So we could have the first conference in 1990 in St. Petersburg.\nConclusion: I only thank God. I only praise God. Korea is a small hermit country in the corner of Asia. It has been ruled by China. And for 35 years it was under Japanese occupation. When we look back on 1,500 years of Korean history, it was nothing but the succession of political intrigue and bloodshed. But God raised UBF. For the last 40 years, we experienced “Koinonia,” spiritual order (UBF term for the UBF internal hierarchy), true brotherhood in Jesus Christ and absolute obedience to the world mission. God has been indeed showering his blessing upon South Korea, especially upon UBF people. So I only praise God in my soul. Even the rebels are very cute because of God’s grace upon UBF for the last 40 years.\nAmerica is the only world power nation. America is obliged to take over the world mission command allover again. And we must pray that another one million missionaries might be sent out from America. God hears our prayer. When we prayed for American girls to attend the Sunday worship service, many girls attended the Chicago UBF Sunday worship service. Many boys were very shy to look at them. (reminds me of a certain shower reference) Likewise, when we pray for the USA to be responsible for world mission, God will surely hear our prayer and pour his grace upon us. May God make us a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. May God use Americans as the most devoted Christians in obedience to the world mission command.\n","date":"13 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-13-the-ubf-deja-vu-all-over-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"The UBF - Deja vu all over again","type":"posts"},{"content":"So I went to a They Might Be Giants concert and just got back. More on them in a bit, first, a note about the opening acts.\nCommon Rotation is a great band. Their shows are fun. They really have a way of getting the crowd to have a good time, even though they know that few in the auidence knows their songs. Have a listen to their song Indie Rockin\u0026rsquo;.\nOkay, so then Cornball comes on stage and does his \u0026lsquo;act\u0026rsquo;. Let me help you out here by saying that he is not fun. If you like obessions with sex screeched to an accordian, I still wouldn\u0026rsquo;t recommend it. Just say NO. The only time he was good to listen to was when he did covers of Freebird and We Are the Champions.\nSo then TMBG comes on stage and I have to say that they are much more rockin\u0026rsquo; live than I would have thought. I love their songs, they are fun and quirky. They rocked for three hours. I\u0026rsquo;ll write more later, but I have to work tomorrow.\n","date":"12 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-12-tmbg-concert/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"TMBG Concert","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is the outline used in my OT Survey Class. Let me know what you think:\nOverview of the Class\nWeek 1 Overview of the Old Testament\nWeek 2 The Law\nWeek 3 The Historical Books\nWeek 4 The Prophetical Books\nWeek 5 Poetical Books\nWeek 6 The Apocrypha\nWeek 7 Old Testament Topics\nFormat The class this time will be more lecture-oriented than discussion based. However, the end of class each day will have about ten minutes for questions. In addition to this, the last class will cover any topics that the class wishes to cover. I may not be presenting a given topic; it may be one of you, if you feel so inclined! A syllabus is included and I will work hard to stay close to it\nGoals This class can only hope to provide a sketch of the Old Testament and not go in-depth into any particular book, unless we choose to do so in Week 7. The goals are to present information and provide tools to help in understanding the Old Testament. I am not trying to be the expert as much as I am trying to be a part-time tour guide.\nSources Much of the material from this course comes from Douglas Stuart, one of the co-authors of How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. He has taught a class similar to this in a short form (like this one) and a longer form with 20 hours of lectures. I have access to both courses. Other material comes from various commentaries and an excellent book, The Old Testament Story by Don C. Benjamin.\nWeek 1 Overview of the Old Testament- I. Key Points and themes of the Old Testament\nA.What is the Old Testament? 1\\. Collection of writings over several hundred years. 2\\. The history of the acts of God among men 3\\. Short story of the Old Testament, by Dr. Douglas Stuart B.Reading the Old Testament 1.The Old Testament is mostly narration. 2.God is the main character 3.Even God’s chosen people are not always models for us to follow C. Essential Reading for the New Testament Believer 1\\. 76% of the Bible 2\\. The use of the OT in the NT 3\\. Background for the coming of Christ D. The Plan of God 1\\. Creation a. Original Creation b. Ongoing Creation c. New Creation - Isaiah, 2 Cor 5:17 2\\. The Fall a. Humans became mortal. b. Humans acquired more knowledge than they could responsibly handle. 3\\. Redemption a. God's provision for fallen humans b. The sacrificial system - the sacrifice of Christ 4\\. Consummation II. Genesis 1 - Exodus 19\nA. Overview of Human History\nB. The Story of God\u0026rsquo;s People\n1. Abraham\n2. Isaac\n3. Jacob\n4. Joseph\n5. Twelve Tribes\n6. 70 Descendants\nC. Settlement and Growth in Egypt\nD. Oppression in Egypt\nE. God\u0026rsquo;s Deliverance through Moses and the Plagues\nF. The Exodus Week 2 Old Testament Law- I. Covenant\nA. Definition – Formal legal contract between two parties.\nB. Types\n1. Parity\n2. Suzerainty\nC. How It Works\n1. God makes certain promises.\n2. His people make certain promises.\nD. Elements\n1. Preamble – Identifies the parties.\n2. Prologue – How they came to be related.\n3. Stipulations – Individual laws, rules, etc.\n4. Sanctions – Blessings and curses.\n5. Witnesses\n6. Documentation clause – Copies are important.\nII. Hierarchy of Old Testament Law\nA. Two Great Commandments\n1. Deuteronomy 6:5 – Love God.\n2. Leviticus 19:18 – Love the other person.\nB. Ten Commandments\n1. Love God (1-4).\n2. Love the other person (5-10).\nC. 601 Additional Laws\nIII. Old Testament Law is Paradigmatic\nA. Exodus 21:26-27 – Treatment of servants/slaves.\nB. Exodus 23:19 – Fertility rituals.\nC. Numbers 18:12 – Tithing\nIV. Two Kinds of Law\nA. Apodictic – All-purpose\nB. Casuistic – Applies to particular circumstances.\nV. How Can You Have a Second Law? Week 3 The Historical Books- I. Joshua\nA. Two Parts\n1. Description of the conquest of the Promised Land.\n2. Description of the division of the land.\nB. Holy War\n1. Must be ordered by God.\n2. Only for the taking and holding of the Promised Land.\n3. Must have volunteer soldiers.\n4. Only at the announcement of a prophet.\n5. Violators become like the enemy (Achan).\nII. Judges\nA. Not a good time for the nation of Israel.\nB. Raising up leaders to drive away enemies.\nC. Twelve Judges\nD. Charismatic Leadership\nE. Deuteronomic Cycle\n1. Freedom, Prosperity\n2. Idolatry, Rebellion\n3. Punishment, Captivity, Oppression\n4. Repentance, Crying out to God\n5. Deliverance provided\nF. Anarchy - No stable government.\nIII. Ruth\nA. Coverts to the faith of Israel.\nB. Accepted into Israel.\nC. Ancestress of King David.\nD. One is a true Israelite by faith, not by birth.\nIV. 1 Samuel\nA. Introduction of the Kingship to Israel\nB. Decline of Saul\nC. Rise of David\nV. 2 Samuel\nA. The Davidic Covenant (Chap. 7)\nB. The City of Jerusalem\nVI. 1\u0026amp;2 Kings\nA. Solomon\nB. The Temple\nC. Degeneration of the nation of Israel\nD. Elijah and Elisha\nE. Exile\nVII. 1\u0026amp;2 Chronicles\nA. Describes the same events as Samuel and Kings.\nB. Particular Focus\n1. South - Judah\n2. Davidic Kingship\n3. Temple\n4. Jerusalem\nC. Encourage the rebuilding of the people, temple, city, and nation.\nVIII. Ezra and Nehemiah\nA. Return and Rebuilding\nB. Challenge of Religious Intermarriage\nC. Attractions of Idolatry\n1. Sense of the presence of the gods.\n2. Everyone else was doing it.\n3. A hold over the gods, expect something in return.\n4. Temple prostitution was encouraged.\nIX. Esther\nA. Not all her actions are exemplary.\nB. Esther is an accommodationist.\nC. About the Jews who did not return from exile.\nD. Paganized Jews not honoring the drive for orthodoxy. Week 4 The Prophetical Books- I. Major Prophets\nA. Isaiah\n1. History\na. Events during the life of Isaiah.\nb. Events after the exile.\n2. Calling people to good behavior.\n3. Servant Songs\nB. Jeremiah\n1. The will of God is the opposite of what is politically popular at that time.\n2. Punishment and exile was coming.\n3. Considered as treasonous.\nC. Lamentations\n1. Poetic dirge over the destruction of Jerusalem.\n2. Acrostic poem.\nD. Ezekiel\n1. Glory of God\na. Leaving the temple.\nb. Returning to the temple.\n2. News\na. Bad news\nb. Good news\nE. Daniel\n1. Apocalyptic literature\n2. Prophet of the resurrection\n3. Stories about faithfulness in the midst of trial\nII. Minor Prophets\nA. Hosea\n1. God\u0026rsquo;s love and God\u0026rsquo;s punishment\n2. Plea for God\u0026rsquo;s people to return to him.\n3. Return of the remnant\nB. Joel\n1. Power of God\u0026rsquo;s Spirit\n2. Calling God\u0026rsquo;s people to reliance, trust, and repentance.\n3. Focus on eternal deliverance.\nC. Amos\n1. Concern for social justice.\n2. Right relationship leads to right actions.\nD. Obadiah\nE. Jonah\n1. Called to preach to the Assyrians.\n2. Tried to run from God.\n3. God delivered him from death.\n4. God is always an evangelist.\nF. Micah\n1. Three cycles of woe and weal.\n2. Balance between warning and invitation.\nG. Nahum\nH. Habakkuk\n1. \u0026ldquo;Complaints\u0026rdquo; - Why is this happening?\n2. Live by Faith\n3. Basis of the Reformation\nI. Zephaniah\n1. Emphasis on Purity\n2. God will change things.\nJ. Haggai \u0026amp; Zechariah\n1. End of the exile\n2. Concern for the rebuilding of the temple.\n3. Putting God first\nK. Malachi\n1. Disputations with the people.\n2. Calls them to account for not trusting God.\n3. Which way are you going to go?\nWeek 5 The Poetical Books- I. Wisdom\nA. Not about intelligence or education. B. Ability to make the right choices in life. II. Five Poetical Books\nA. Job\n1. God\u0026rsquo;s plan to glorify himself.\n2. Can Satan cause Job to curse God?\n3. Satan is given extraordinary power.\n4. Dialogues with friends: His suffering was not earned.\n5. In this life, you don\u0026rsquo;t get a fair response to your behavior.\n6. God speaks: Do you realize that I know what I am doing?\n7. Faithfulness in suffering honors God.\n8. Remember that God knows what he is doing, trust in him.\nB. Psalms\n1. Wisdom\n2. Lament\n3. Thanksgiving\n4. Hymns\n5. Torah\nC. Proverbs\n1. Specifically wisdom literature.\n2. Two examples\n3. Some specific, some general, all memorable.\nD. Ecclesiastes\n1. Looks at the big picture of life.\n2. Is there meaning to life?\n3. What meaning does life have without God?\n4. Answer at the end: Fear God and keep his commandments.\nE. Song of Songs\n1. Beautiful poems about love between husband and wife.\n2. Speaks about the importance of romance.\n3. Describes the joys of being one flesh.\n4. Simple plot with an important message.\nWeek 6 The Apocrypha- I. Introduction to Apocrypha\nA. Appears in Greek translation (LXX) only. B. Written during the time between “Malachi and Matthew” (more accurate timeline provided day of class) C. Dispute over usefulness throughout history. 1.Officially canonized at Council of Trent (1546 AD) 2.Denounced by Jerome, Origen, Athanasius, and Syrian Church 3.Supported as canon by Augustine and local councils (393 \u0026amp; 397 AD). D. Problems with the Apocrypha 1\\. Justification of witchcraft (Tobit) 2\\. Unusual doctrines like almsgiving for the forgiveness of sins (Sirach) 3\\. Not quoted by Apostles and many early church writers. 4\\. Used as source for sermons in some places. II. The books of the Apocrypha\nA. The Wisdom of Solomon\nB. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)\nC. Tobit\nD. Judith\nE. 1 \u0026amp; 2 Maccabees\n1. Judas Maccabeus\n2. Hanakkuah\nF. Baruch\nG. Letter of Jeremiah\nH. Additions to Esther\nI. Additions to Daniel\n1. Prayer of Azariah (Song of Three Young Men)\n2. Susanna\n3. Bel and the Dragon\nWeek 7 Old Testament Topics ???\n","date":"11 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-11-introduction-to-the-old-testament/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Introduction to the Old Testament","type":"posts"},{"content":"This webblog is here for a few basic reasons, but I felt like that those who read it from time to time would like to know.\n1. I write here to express what I am feeling in the moment. It is an outlet for all the good, bad, and/or ugly things I feel. 2. I write this webblog so that I am able to let go of my past. 3. Sometimes, I really do have a good idea and this is the most accessible scratchpad. 4. I love to write and I love words. 5. I write here in order to explore possibilites in my church, my life, my hobbies, and my fictional writing. 6. Lastly, I write here because I have decided that I am not someone with worldwide influence, so I’m not going to try. I have better things to do at home.\nThere will be somedays where the tone is ‘negative’ for a while. This should not be interpreted to mean that I am somehow depressed. I really don’t walk around in my normal life and get depressed about church issues. I used to be overwhelmed by them, but now that I have an outlet, I have another life that I enjoy outside the web. The reason is that when a thought pops into my head, I write it down. You are welcome to comment and email me and share your thoughts. I always welcome dialogue.\nA lot of times, the idea is not finished. So rather than try and impress the masses with my brillance, I get the idea down. I am not afraid of sharing my drafts. It may not be fun to read, I know, but notice that one of the purposes of this webblog does not include your convience. I write drafts because it gets it off my mind so that I can resume my normal life. I have a wonderful girlfriend, a difficult, but enjoyable ministry, and a business I hope to create with my best ‘guy’ friend. I simply do not have the inclination to edit every single article to world-class standards. My hope is that the idea is enough to spark some thought.\n","date":"11 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-11-old-weblog-reasons/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Old weblog reasons","type":"posts"},{"content":"I received a comment about a reference to the next generation in Lines in the Sand, so I decided to expand upon it here. Keep in mind that I am working from memories, so any corrupt, weird, ICC style thinking is my own remembrances. I want to be honest with my own history despite how embarassed I am about some of my ways of thinking at that time. I believe that I will spend a lifetime undoing a lot of weird thought patterns, and not just those I received at the ICC. In any case, I present these thoughts to you, the members of the Crossroads Movement and the early days of Boston with a sincere heart.\nMy Generation I remember when I became a believer that I wanted nothing more than to help people. I looked at a world map and found Ulaan Baator in Mongolia. I figured that I was part of the right group when we would plant a church there, because there had been no significant missionary activity there since the third century. I also remember thinking that it may not happen with me, but those that came after me. You can imagine my surprise when the ICC planted a church there three years later in 1994. (It may have been earlier or later, I\u0026rsquo;ll check my records.) The Evangelization Procolomation hadn\u0026rsquo;t been made yet, but by then I had already figured out that the ICC was a one-generation-all-or-nothing effort. It seems that no concern was given to the future at all until I saw an important element appear on the church history timeline:\nOlivia McKean baptized - First second-generation disciple born, raised, and baptized in the Movement.\nIt happened in 1991, the same year that the church in Moscow was planted, but I was never really one to pay attention to upcyberdown. Being a southerner, I pretty much lived by the axiom, \u0026ldquo;We don\u0026rsquo;t care HOW you do it up North.\u0026rdquo; Despite my heritage, though, reading this gave me pause. However, I quicjly dismissed it as not a big deal. Again, if Boston or LA wants to make a production of it, then let them go. I was busy with my own dreams.\nI remember being with my campus friends and thinking about the guy we were studying with as the next generation. One time, Constable and I were studying with guys on a different campus where we had no members. He and I talked endlessly about one particular person we hoped would be the guy to build a campus ministry there. I dreamed of being an elder, but I also dreamed of the person I was studying with to do great things. I just wanted to be a background figure. I had made many mistakes in college (including flunking out twice) and I was much older than the others around me. I assumed my time had come and gone for campus, so I looked ahead to the future. I assumed that I was the second generation at NC State (Mark Rushing, Carvel Baus and Joe Bridger being the first) and that I was looking at the third. My generation had grown to so many people, I felt like it was time to move on to something else.\nThrough all of this, however, I noticed that this term \u0026lsquo;second-generation disciple\u0026rsquo; was appearing in KNN and LA Story. Even the evangelists in my church had used the term to refer to their children being baptized. More than that, Olivia was speaking to huge crowds at teen events. Sam Laing\u0026rsquo;s daughter eventually wrote a book about being a teen, Mitch\u0026rsquo;s son went on the lead NC State\u0026rsquo;s campus ministry while Sam\u0026rsquo;s two sons were given teen and campus leadership roles of their own. Even now, Eric McKean has been hired as an intern in Portland and other leaders\u0026rsquo; children have leadership roles as if it was the divine right of \u0026ldquo;Movement-Born\u0026rdquo; children. All of this is done in the name of raising up \u0026lsquo;second generation disciples\u0026rsquo;. I believe you will find that even after our counter-revolution, children of the lead evangelist become leaders, whether they want to or not. This thinking even appears on DisciplesToday.Com in the section about \u0026ldquo;next generation disciples\u0026rdquo;.\nDivine Birthright of Kings I tried to think of why a leader would want their children to be thrust into leadership. My own parents let me travel a very different and difficult road that has no similarities to theirs. My father encouraged me to play sports, my mother encouraged me to play the piano. Although I thought my father was disappointed in me because I didn\u0026rsquo;t enjoy playing sports (and consequently didn\u0026rsquo;t play well), it turns out he was proud of me because I was strong enough to go my own way. Maybe my experiences are unique, I don\u0026rsquo;t know. But I do know that being in leadership is not a glamorous job, especially under the old heirarchy system where you had to think for so many people.\nThen it occurred to me that the greatest honor in the old ICC was to be named an evangelist. The second greatest honor was to be asked to be on a mission tem. Public speaking was the Excalibur of a \u0026lsquo;would-be disciple\u0026rsquo;: it signified the divine right to lead. What father wouldn\u0026rsquo;t want the so-called kingdom\u0026rsquo;s greatest honor bestowed on their children? (If I was a father, I wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have thought of my younger friends as the next generation, I also would have looked to my children.) Thus the seeds of succession were planted in all our minds. A great evangelist was bound to have children that were great evangelists and evangelists\u0026rsquo; wives. The heroes of the faith were destined to spawn more heores of the faith, and so on and so on until the return of our King, Jesus of Nazareth.\nIt seems obvious now that all of that thinking is wrong. No one is born into a position within a church. Even the world knows that leaders are not born but made. The New Testament speaks over and over about the refining of our character. It is refined by own faith, or our failures, but usually both. The greatest leaders I have known (church and otherwise) rarely passed it on to their offspring. It is amazing that with all the encouragement we gave each other to persevere and have faith and endure trials of all kinds as discipline, that we went along with putting people in leadership that had been sheltered, spoiled, and lacked experience. They had youth, energy and ego. Most importantly, many of them had the blood of an evangelist or elder within them.\nLost Generation(s) It\u0026rsquo;s easy to get self-centered when writing about this, especially because I believe that my friends and I were really the so-called second-generation disciples. I know that Boston started in \u0026lsquo;79, so I figured that being in a campus ministry from 1979 to 1989 was one generation, 1990 to 2000 was another generation and that those in campus now are a third generation. The children of leaders belong mostly to the third generation, so that leads me to believe that the middle generation has dropped below the radar.\nGranted, my generation has produced its share of leaders, so it hasn\u0026rsquo;t been enitrely ignored. I consider the minister at my church a member of this lost generation, as well as the ministers of the churches in Virginia. There are even members of my generation that strive to be teachers and shepherds even now. However, I believe that there is a tremendous untapped resource of ideas and talents and heart all over the US that continues to be ignored. How do I know? These are usually the first to leave when signs of change are slow in coming (if they come at all). When Thomas came to Portland, only the younger ones remained. When large churches like Chiacgo and New York moved glacially, it was the members with 10 -15 years of membership that left first. I believe that my generation has been marginalized our entire Christian lives. It doesn\u0026rsquo;t surprise me that many have said \u0026rsquo;enough\u0026rsquo; and just moved on with their lives.\nWe were promised that we could do anything if we had enough faith, but those promises of greatness didn\u0026rsquo;t come for many of us. So if you look in your own congregation for these souls, you may find them a bit defeated or jaded if you find them at all. We preached against being cynical, but produced cynicism in our own church. My generation figured out a long time ago that it didn\u0026rsquo;t matter how much faith or talent or heart we had: just like the business world, it was who you knew. In some places, it was as simple as asking \u0026ldquo;Who\u0026rsquo;s your Daddy?\u0026rdquo;\nNow, there is a chance to help my generation heal from the sins of the previous one. Just ask them what they think and listen to them. We may be cynical and jaded, but we\u0026rsquo;re not mean, just hurt. You will hear stories of pain and grief, but also stories of simple faith and triumph. God has worked in their lives for at least a decade, so you should know that they have much to offer. Listen to their stories, God has created them with the tapestry of their lives. Let some of these folks teach others, if they are qualified. Let them take care of others unfettered, but stop taking them for granted. Find reasons to share about their faith and love and service. Don\u0026rsquo;t share like the old way of bombastic, hyped, over-produced awards, instead respond with sincerity and love. All the cynic needs is one sincere heart and enough time to trust again. It\u0026rsquo;s about time that we bound up the wounds of this lost generation and used the gifts the Holy Spirit has given to them.\nBut what of the third generation? They need to heal from the sins of my generation. In some instances, we hated them. In other instances, we were jealous of them for the attention they received. More importantly, though, they get to live in a time where new ways are tolerated and even encouraged. They don\u0026rsquo;t have the rules my generation had and they can be free to love God in ways that would have put my generation in the doghouse. Our cyncism is only going to be a stumbling block to them, so we can\u0026rsquo;t ignore them as a consequence of caring for others. I have a friend that is 20 and a part of this third generation. I hope that his dreams can be fulfilled without my cynicism getting in the way.\nEpilogue I dreamed of being an elder when being an elder meant being unpaid and having no authority within the church. Like many who join any church, I just want to help people. Now that I am older, I don\u0026rsquo;t dream of eldership much - it means the opposite of my inital thoughts to be an elder now. I already serve on a leadership group that determines the direction of the church and I would not enjoy doing that full-time. What I do enjoy, is teaching. I don\u0026rsquo;t mean the studies, I mean teaching any subject matter. Computers, Literature, History, etc, but I also enjoy teaching books of the Bible. I get to live out that dream because someone asked me what I want to do and empowered me to do it.\nI hope that others in the lost generation get the same opportunity that I have gotten.\nYours truly, Lost in the Middle\n","date":"10 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-10-to-the-previous-generation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"To the previous generation of disciples:","type":"posts"},{"content":"On November 9, 2003 at the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago, I asked Laryssa to be my girlfriend.\nSince then, she has been my trusted friend, confidante, shoulder to cry on, partner in crime, and the vessel of my devotion and love. She has helped me to heal from many things in my past, not just events that have taken place in our shared church history. It may be cliche, but it is true that I do not know how I survived the years before I knew her. I never want to be far from her.\nWe have been through much during our friendship, but praise be to God that He has seen us through every difficulty and shared in every joy. The Lord has shown me tremendous grace and love through the heart of my friend. For this, I am always greatful.\nI look forward to what the future holds with full faith and assurance that I\u0026rsquo;ll always have a friend in Jesus and I\u0026rsquo;ll always have the heart of one that is closer than a brother.\nI love you, m\u0026rsquo;lady fair. Happy anniversary.\n","date":"9 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-09-eight-month-anniversary/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Eight month anniversary","type":"posts"},{"content":"My brother in Portland has written much over the past three months. In his latest article, he concludes with a quote from JFK that condemns those perceived as \u0026rsquo;neutral\u0026rsquo;. In essence, you are with him or you are against him. Jesus had a different idea in Luke 9:50. Paul was also unconcerned about motive as long as the gospel was preached (Phi 1:17-18). In short, the good is celebrated. In the first case, a man was driving out demons, in the latter, men and women heard the gospel. In the churches that previously made up our fellowship, there is much that is good that should be celebrated. It is true that there is much more that is still evil and corrupt: these things should not be ignored, nor will I encourage anyone to pretend that we should just be happy and silent and thankful that we are still \u0026ldquo;in the church\u0026rdquo;. What I am saying is that we can choose to build bridges or destroy them. I believe that the progression of writings from Thomas in recent months serves only to promote himself at the cost of any that have the slightest objection.\nDestruction is quick and relatively effortless. For these reasons, it is favored by the lazy and weak-minded (Proverbs 14:9). Building is slow and often painful work. The ark took almost 100 years to build. The walls of Jerusalem took Nehemiah and other workers at least thirteen. With so much pain and upheval, goodwill is a rare commodity, but is necessary for healing. As such, I do not pray for unity as much as I pray for those that promote and foster goodwill. All of us should do something to promote goodwill between churches, leaders, and each other, but it only works if all of us try. (Prov 13:12).\nPeople are still becoming Christians and that should be celebrated like that angels in Heaven do. However, it seems that if a person does not learn faith+repentance+confession+submission to church authority+evangelize the world in one generation before baptism, then they are not really saved at all. I had thought that disciple=christian=saved was difficult enough to teach and live, now it seems, as an online acquaintance has written, that the equation is now \u0026lsquo;fired up\u0026rsquo; disciple=saved. In the greek that would be, mathaytes = kristianos = sodayzo has been replaced with hypothermodynamathayes = sodayzo. For that reason, when I use the word disciple in future articles, I will differentiate the sense of the word. Disciple meaning \u0026lsquo;follower or student\u0026rsquo; will be simply disciple. Disciple meaning \u0026lsquo;one who is saved\u0026rsquo; will be believer. \u0026lsquo;Fired up\u0026rsquo; disciple will be disciple(htdm).\nJFK said many memorable things, but these three seem appropiate to the present time and circumstance.\n\u0026ldquo;I know there is a God - I see the storm coming and I see his hand in it - if he has a place then I am ready - we see the hand. \u0026ldquo; - John F Kennedy\nThe storm is already on the horizon and making its way east and south. It is still possible to work out differences, but the window of opportunity grows short. As the bitterness of a disposed ruler spreads, I will be ready. The Bible is clear about false doctrine and those that spread it. If it continues to threaten those under my watch as a leader in a church, then I will fight hard and I will not shrink back. (Titus 1:9) Until that time, I still hope for some kind of resolution that doesn\u0026rsquo;t involve choosing sides, yet.\n\u0026ldquo;To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust. \u0026ldquo; - John F. Kennedy\nI was not a part of the campus ministries in the 70s and 80s. Contrary to the wishes of those that seem to be pillars, the next generation of members come from those that joined in the 90s. The next generation was not the children of Crossroads or the children of so-called heroes of the faith. The next generation has already produced its share of leaders now as well an untapped pool of wisdom from those who have served for 10+ years.\nIt is not wrong to see where we can improve. It is not wrong to see what is lacking. It is never wrong to repent of evil and pray for forgiveness from God and others. It is wrong to marginalize the past or somehow minimize it. It is wrong to refuse ownership for the present circumstance and it is the height of arrogance to believe that one night of atonement can undo the damage of 20+ years.\nI am responsible for the wellbeing of the church I attend. This is not because of some imperative of leadership or personal conviction, it is because I care. If I no longer cared, I would attend church somewhere else. I have stayed because I see hope for brighter days, but I would never demand that someone stay. Some have to leave to heal and many more will do so as events progress. I pray that I am not a stumbling block to their faith because of my church membership.\nIn any case, I look at the legacy of destruction and pain and see areas that must change, and change quickly. I also look at the legacy of good done for some and seek to embrace that as well. I will speak my mind and offer criticism or praise at every turn. I do not apologize for believing that this is healthy. One day, I will have to give account to God for my words and deeds: I hope that he smiles at me.\n\u0026ldquo;Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one\u0026rsquo;s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others. \u0026ldquo; - John F. Kennedy\nThere is a perceived weakness in tolerance. Somehow, allowing for a difference of opinion is seen as \u0026lsquo;watering down\u0026rsquo; a truth. This is only true given one\u0026rsquo;s perspective. To the two parties that admit their own biases and prejudices, tolerance is seen as a chance to learn and grow. To an outsider that lives in a black and white world, it is derided as weak, indecisive, and anemic. The two parties fellowship in love and discipleship (meaning an atmosphere of learning). The outsider elevates himself while missing a great opportunity.\nThis isn\u0026rsquo;t to say that everything is debatable. There is one faith, one Lord, one baptism, etc. etc. Tolerance is not always compromise. My friends tolerate my views on Revelation and the end times (I\u0026rsquo;m an amillienialist), but do not condemn me because I do not believe in the rapture. When we talk, I hope we both learn something, I know I learn from them when they talk about their take on certain passages. However, I have not seen any reason to give up my beliefs. I suppose we will see what God has in mind when it happens, but until then, there are more important matters like the needs of the community, the church, and the world as a whole. Jesus said that the sick need a doctor (Matt 9:12), not the healthy. I do not spend my time debating others about the merits of discipling all day. (Discipling is a coined word for an unbiblical concept. Training, teaching, rebuking, learning, loving as Jesus loved us, praying for each other - these are biblical terms for biblical concepts. ) After a certain point, it is no longer beneficial, especially when it becomes a question of semantics. Instead, I choose to try to help, but that\u0026rsquo;s just me.\nIn short brother Thomas, if you want to draw lines and choose sides, then I will not follow you. I will not teach others to follow you. I do not believe that you are biblical in your assertions or right to call out a so-called remnant. I do belive that you want to save the world, and that by itself is not evil. However, when I read my Bible and look at the example of Jesus, I do not see him trying to save the few at the expense of thousands. How many more need to be destroyed by your lust for power before you see the damage that it has caused. If you were to change, the others that followed in your steps would change as well.\nCall me and we can talk.\n","date":"8 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-08-lines-in-the-sand/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Lines in the Sand","type":"posts"},{"content":"Sometimes the news will be good, sometimes the news will be bad.\nHowever, our news will always be honest.\n","date":"8 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-08-voice-of-america-principle/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Voice of America principle","type":"posts"},{"content":"You know, I got to go home for the fourth of July weekend and it was great. I think more than anything, I needed an extended stretch of time that involved ZERO planning.\nLife in Nebraska is great because of how laid back most people are. When I moved here from Raleigh, it took some time to adjust. I had no idea how pushed I was all the time. I had thought it was mostly the fault of my church, but really, it\u0026rsquo;s endemic to the East Coast. Everything has to done yesterday. Living someone else has afforded me the opportunity to see that more clearly, especially when I live in a place where it\u0026rsquo;s perfectly acceptable to have something done by next week.\nIn any case, I got to go shrimping with my father and brother. I got to sleep. I got to spend some quality time with God. I was also able to flesh out some details of an idea to build computers for rental condos.\nMore than anything, I sat out on the boat in the middle of Kitty Hawk Bay very still. There were silent fireworks all around flaring in the distance, but out on the sea, even with three foot swells, it was peaceful and quiet. That\u0026rsquo;s healing to me.\nI discovered that my father is less conservative than I had originally thought. We went to see Farenheit 9/11 and he was glad he went. Granted, the presentation and innuendo didn\u0026rsquo;t go over well with either of us, but he saw a lot of parallels with Vietnam. (My dad is a Vietnam veterean.) Although he doesn\u0026rsquo;t agree with some of the premises Moore presents, he does agree that this war was not about security or terrorism. Considering a lack of viable alternative to these two, we both assume that it was done for money, power, or both.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve rambled enough this morning. More to come, of course. Lots of things have happened:\n1. I have missed Laryssa quite a bit. 2. The so-called Senator Edwards is Kerry\u0026rsquo;s choice for Veep. 3. Thomas McKean of the Portland International Church of Christ has spoken again. (July 4) 4. I am writing materials for an OT Survey class. 5. Like every other flake in the world, I want to generate a Linux distro. I hope to acheive six simple goals a la CoBind, but with different choices.\n","date":"7 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-07-home-on-the-beach/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Home on the Beach","type":"posts"},{"content":"This is actually a nifty feature. I can just pull it up wherever I am and post.\nI was thinking of an old friend named Mark Rushing. He left to go to Maryland in 1991 or 1992 at the behest of Russ Ewell. (He was leading the campus ministry at NC State at the time.)\nI had heard that he was the evangelist in the Northern Virginia Church of Christ (Richmond). I had hoped to see him in Dallas at the leader\u0026rsquo;s conference, but he did not attend. Others that knew him did, so I got to hear more news about he and his wife.\nWith ucd.net closing down, his church\u0026rsquo;s website is gone. However, I did see that he is speaking tomorrow at the Strong in the Grace conference. It is encouraging to me to know somehow, even though I do not know where he stands on certain so-called issues of the day. I\u0026rsquo;m just glad to know that in some small way, he is okay.\nI wish I could see him again and let him know that I\u0026rsquo;m okay (in some small ways) as well. I wish I could tell him that I\u0026rsquo;m teaching the Bible to the adults of my church and totally enjoying it.\n","date":"2 July 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-07-02-first-sidebar-post/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"First Sidebar post","type":"posts"},{"content":"I threatened to do this back in January and I finally did it. The neat thing is that I can have a ton of subdomains and I\u0026rsquo;ve already created one for classes. For right now, though, I\u0026rsquo;m just putting up some of my writings and thoughts and backdating them to the actual writing dates. More later.\n","date":"24 June 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-06-24-new-domain/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"New Domain!","type":"posts"},{"content":"INTRODUCTION When Jesus came to earth, He came not only to live a life, but to give life\u0026hellip;\n“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” - John 10:10b NASB\nI. BACKGROUND INFORMATION\nA. THE AUTHOR - There is evidence that points to the apostle John as the author. As always, this comes in two forms. First is internal evidence, or evidence derived from the writing style and word choices of 1 John when compared to other writings of the same author. Second is external evidence, or evidence derived by the testimony of others.\n1. Internal Evidence: There are many similarities between the epistle and the Gospel of John. These similarities are in style, but also in word choice and theme.\nParallels between 1 John and the Gospel of John\n1 John 1:1\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 1:1,4,14\n1 John 2:5\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 14:23\n1 John 2:6\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 15:4\n1 John 2:8; 3:11\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 13:34\n1 John 2:8,10\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 2:5,9; 11:10\n1 John 2:13, 14\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 17:3\n1 John 3:1\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 1:12\n1 John 3:2\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 17:24\n1 John 3:8\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 8:44\n1 John 3:13\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 15:20\n1 John 4:9\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;John 3:16\n1 John 4:12\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 1:18\n1 John 5:13\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 20:31\n1 John 5:14\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 14:14\n1 John 5:20\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.John 17:2\n2. External Evidence: Many early church fathers wrote about the authenticity of 1 John and/or quoted 1 John in their writings.\na.Polycarp, a close associate and disciple of John, makes references to the epistle in a letter to the Philippians (2nd Century).\nb.Irenaeus, a student of Polycarp, quoted from it, while stating that it was John the apostle’s epistle.\nc.Origen said, \u0026ldquo;John, beside the gospel and Revelation, has left us an epistle of a few lines. Grant also a second, and a third; for all do not allow these to be genuine.\u0026rdquo;\nd.It is found in the old Syriac version, probably made in the first century, though the second and third epistles are not there.\ne.The genuineness of the first epistle was never extensively called in question, and it was never reckoned among the doubtful or disputed epistles.\n3. About the Author:\na.The early life of John is written in the gospel accounts. Some highlights include being called a \u0026lsquo;Son of Thunder\u0026rsquo;, asking to be on the left or right hand of Jesus when he returned, and asking to call down fire from Heaven. Also remember that John was present at the cross and took care of Mary per Jesus\u0026rsquo; request.\nb.There are two stories about the Apostle John in his later life that could provide some insight into the apostle John. The first story is about an old, but vigorous man that goes to all lengths to return a lost sheep to the fold. The second story is about an old, but presumed senile man that holds the key to life.\nB. THE RECIPIENTS\n1.No one is specifically mentioned\n2.John may have been in Ephesus at the time, and that this was a general epistle to Christians throughout Asia Minor.\n3.It may have been written to the church in Ephesus, where he spent many years.\n4.John may have been addressing a particular group of Christians possessing certain spiritual gifts. (1 John 2:20,27)\nC. DATE\n1.Estimations range from 60 A.D. to 100 A.D.\n2.Most modern scholarship places it around 95 A.D., but there are also good reasons for believing it was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.\n3. Clues we have that point towards the date of this letter are few and inconclusive:\na.The author says that he and the recipients are in the \u0026rsquo;last days\u0026rsquo; (1 John 2:18).\nb.It is evident that the letter was written AFTER the Gospel of John.\nc.It appears to have been written by someone of great age, thus the use of phrases such as \u0026rsquo;little children\u0026rsquo;.\nD. THEMES\n1.Jesus came in the flesh. (1 John 1:1-4, 2:20-25, 4:1-6, 5:1-12)\n2.Sin and Forgiveness expressed through the concept of the children of God. (1 John 1:5-2:2, 2:28-3:10, 5:13-21)\n3.Believers should love one another. (1 John 2:7-11, 3:11-24, 4:7-21)\n","date":"6 June 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-06-06-exposition-of-1-john-week-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Exposition of 1 John - Week 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"Introduction Before I start, I should thank Gordon for being one of the first to start writing about who we are instead of who we\u0026rsquo;re not. I do not intend to speak for any group of people, although I believe that I will be expressing some sentiments that are not uncommon throughout our fellowship of churches. I do not presume to be correct in everything I say and I welcome any and all criticism, regardless of tone. Instead, I want to write down the principles I strive to live by. These principles lead to a different way of thinking than some and it is at these points of difference that discussion should begin. Through discussion at our greatest points of disagreement, I believe that we can find the will of God for our lives.\nDr. Tom Olbricht, of Pepperdine University, gave this summation of the conversations held at the ACU conference:\n\u0026ldquo;My question has been that of Jeremiah, ‘Can the leopard change its spots?’\u0026rdquo; Olbricht wrote after the forum. \u0026lsquo;I have not been too convinced. But I did talk enough with some of the younger leaders … and I have come to believe that they have really committed themselves to servant leadership.\u0026quot;\nJeremiah 13:23 continues on by saying, “Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” We have been accustomed to doing evil to many, especially to each other. Despite the best of intentions, through ignorance or deliberate practice, we have developed a religion of destruction. Through the years, we have perfected a vocabulary of control, guilt, and performance. Praise be to God that we have started to remove our own Ashereth poles and high places.\nIt is not my intent to discuss our former practices as much as I strive to find biblical words to express biblical concepts. We have a coded language replete with secret meanings and implied consequences. Without a reformation of these words and concepts, any change will be lost to misunderstanding. This is not to say that we should be politically correct. Political correctness is the process of finding the least offensive way to communicate. Oftentimes, it has the appearance of profundity, yet is tremendously hollow. Again, I am not suggesting that we simply use different words and phrases for the sake of being less controversial. Christianity is inherently controversial without all of man\u0026rsquo;s efforts to add or subtract from it. However, it is specifically those things that we add and subtract that must be addressed. Anything less runs the risk of simply creating a nicer, less offensive atmosphere to continue the same kind of evil that we have done for 25 or more years.\nI do not believe that it is useful to discuss practices individually without an overall context of principles. At times, it leads only to dramas and arguments over seemingly small or trivial items. Instead, I present a set of principles that drives my own personal belief system and helps me make decisions day-to-day.\nThe Principles The principles that outline what I believe are straightforward:\n1.Personal Responsibility: I believe that each person is responsible for their own relationship with God. 2.The Hearts of Men: I believe in the basic goodness of all men. 3.The Call of Ministry: I believe God calls everyone to a specific and unique ministry. 4.Serving Others: I believe Jesus demonstrated the life of a servant for all his followers. 5.The Answer is Love: I believe that love is always the right answer in any given situation.\nPersonal Responsibility We sing a song with children that includes this verse: “If I don\u0026rsquo;t get to Heaven, it will be nobody\u0026rsquo;s, nobody\u0026rsquo;s, nobody\u0026rsquo;s, nobody\u0026rsquo;s, nobody\u0026rsquo;s fault but mine.” In practice, though, getting to Heaven was a matter of obeying the right people. We trained each other to seek counsel for increasingly trivial matters and in some cases would actually compete to be \u0026lsquo;humble\u0026rsquo; in this area. As a result, many of us became so dependent on others, that we could not do simple things without the presence and comfort of others around us. It is true that, as Christians, we belong to each other. The many \u0026lsquo;one another\u0026rsquo; passages demonstrate that Christians are greatly involved in each others lives. We do truly need each other and should grow in giving our hearts to each other. I don\u0026rsquo;t refute or minimize that in any way. Paul writes in Romans that we belong to each otheri and that we are able to instruct each otherii. Freedom in Christ is not a matter of isolation from other Christians. If anything, we should invite each other in our lives (as opposed to force ourselves on each other and demand that our wishes are obeyed). I also do not want to fall into the intellectual trap of posing independence as one extreme and co-dependence as the other thereby proposing that the right solution is somewhere in the middle.iii There are times where it is best to be alone, there are times when it is best to rely on others quite heavily. To somehow suggest a compromise leads into thinking about the wrong questions when faced with a specific situation. Instead of thinking about what is best in that specific situation, compromise thinking is concerned with appropriate levels of independence. The question in any given situation should not be “Am I too independent?” but “Is this the best course of action?”. Asking the wrong questions can connect two events that have no relationship to each other. For example, I have thought sometimes that because I was \u0026lsquo;independent\u0026rsquo; in a situation on a Monday that I need to \u0026lsquo;submit to advice\u0026rsquo; on a Wednesday to a different situation, thereby balancing my independence with my ability to accept direction. These thinking habits subtly shift the responsibility of our Christian walk from the individual to the circumstances of life and the advice of others. Such habits are unacceptable. What does personal responsibility mean? In short, that an individual is responsible for his/her actions. As it says in Galatians, we will reap what we sowiv. We have own our relationship with God, we suffer the consequences for our actions, and when the end comes, we will each face judgement alone. In Romans, Paul comments on the judgement of God saying “God will reward each one according to his works:” and in 1 Corinthians, “The one who plants and the one who waters are united, but each will receive his reward according to his work.” and finally in 2 Corinthians “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.” If we are to stand alone at judgement, we must be able to stand alone with God on earth. The good news is that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we are able to “approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.”v In Luke, it is written that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray. Jesus understood the need he had for God and often went to be alone with God.vi Because of his sacrifice, we can be certain that we can do the same and that He is ready and eager to be with us. All mankind has fallen short. In my life, I know that I have intentionally and unintentionally sinned against others. I have sinned against myself and developed bad habits. All of these actions over the course of my life have consequences and I believe that I should take responsibility for my actions, regardless of intent. I have a choice, I can claim innocence by arguing intent, or I can acknowledge my actions and seek to make amends. As an example, consider the following story: A man and his wife are at a party and he offers to get her a cup of punch. While filling her cup, he feels something unusual on his elbow and turns to see what it is. To his surprise, he sees his wife holding her nose. Moments later, her nose begins to bleed; it bleeds slowly at first, but quickly becomes worse. The man tells his wife that he is sorry because he didn\u0026rsquo;t intend to hurt her. He goes on to ask her to stop bleeding because it was obviously an accident. He continues on to describe in detail that his intent was to do something good for her, and that he wasn\u0026rsquo;t aware that he had hurt her. He reassures her that it was an accident and asks her to stop bleeding again. It may seem so simple, but this same kind of thing happens all the time. Intent is used as an excuse to escape the consequences of our actions. The wife doesn\u0026rsquo;t need reassurance that it was an accident. The apology is nice, but what she really needs is a bandage, or maybe even medical attention. The more the man tries to prove he\u0026rsquo;s innocent, the more she is hurting. As such, I hope to always address the damage I have caused to others rather than try to prove my own innocence. I hope that I do not hide behind my intentions. On the positive side of this, all the good that a person does also comes back as well. Sow to please the Spirit and you will reap from the Spirit. Jesus said that even a person that gives a cup of water will not miss their reward.vii To take responsibility for the good a person does, that person must also accept the rewards that come from it. This isn\u0026rsquo;t to say that a person should do good things in order to receive honor and praise. Jesus was quite clear that we as Christians should do our good deeds in private. However, living a spiritual life allows a Christian to avoid the pitfalls of life that can spiral into bigger and bigger trouble. To be responsible for the good consequences of a spiritual life, a person should share the good things he/she has with everyone. This is important as it prevents the bad habit of living only to avoid sin. Being a Christian is not easy, but it is not all misery and suffering. God delights in giving good things to his children and we should enjoy these good things.\n","date":"10 May 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-05-10-what-i-believe-parts-1-and-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"What I Believe - Parts 1 and 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"Odd thing I found. Apparently, as of 7/8, this site is 62% Good\nThis site is certified 62% GOOD by the Gematriculator\nThis site is certified 38% EVIL by the Gematriculator\n","date":"19 March 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-03-19-gematriculator/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Gematriculator","type":"posts"},{"content":"It strikes me sometimes that in Fantasy, especially those based on Role Playing Games, that the extent of racial (or species?) diversity comes down to human, elf (in endless variations), dwarf, hobbit, lizard men and anthropomorphic creatures. Nothing against a race of horse people (Gulliver found such a species) but an entire world where every race is a sentient animal of some kind gets a bit old. All you need to know everything about an anthropomorphic race is what the primary characteristics are. Cat people are vain, clean freaks, solitary - dog people are loyal, honest, and maybe a bit slow. More obscure animals, in a sense, are harder to deal with, say for example badger people. It also seems that there are still stories to tell with the traditional races as well. It’s almost engrained to have the elves, ancient and beautiful, involved in a magical story set in the woods of a forboding forest, or to have dwarves in an underground adventure, or lizard men in a vast marsh. All of that is well and good, but I really want something different. I know that others have gone down this road. As far as RPG’s go, I know that the Fan Community Councils’ Netbook of Races has few entries of which only one or two seem to fulfill what I’m looking for. I found another link that gave me more choices. While I think the unari are a bit bizarre, the concept is worth investigating. Having said all that, what is to be done? It seems that Science-Fiction doesn’t have this issue as much. Any half-way decent Sci-Fi flick has zillions of races with all kinds of bizarre physiologies and relationships with other species. But I digress. I created an entry awhile back about the Secoa. I didn’t describe them physically, but that may not be as important as providing their history, sociology, and other details. It feels like writing about different ethnic groups, so I want to start incorporating their physiology at the beginning of the thought process. For example, what if a species has seven fingers on each hand. What if a species has two opposable digits or ball and socket joints in odd places. What if their digits have two knuckles instead three, what if they had four. Maybe they have paws-like hands with a sort of second hand coming from the middle of the paw for delicate manipulation? What if they have claws (like a cat) in addition to fingers? I also thought about how the nature of magic would affect species and culture? What if magic is fueled by a material mined from the earth like gold? What if there is an equally strong material that nullifies magic? What if they have a magic organ that causes them to die if they enter a non-magical area? What if magic is affected by an organ in the body? That could make powerful magicians into health nuts (to take care of the organ) or progresively more grotesque freaks (to make the organ grow). That could also cause magical items to require animal slaughter (or sentient species) as a part of their creation. In the case of sentient species, that would seem to be darwinism on steroids! How about if magic could only exist through a material that had to remain a liquid? That could make rain (or sky) gods as well as sea gods the most powerful. It could also prevent any kind of major seafaring culture from thriving. It could also make potions the most powerful forms of magic. It could even lead to bizarre things like magicians carying vials or containers to case magic “through” in order to cast spells. (For example, the cast a spell that moves an object, the caster has to hold the vial in his/her hands. The energy he uses to cast the spell goes through the vial, and come out as a force that can move objects.) As far as an organ of the body being the source of magic, it could also affect a species’ overall pyschology and sociology. After all, if someone has a defect, they would be alive but ‘less’ magical than others. Would they be ostracized? What about those who damage said organ? It may or may not cause death and it leads to the same issues as a birth defect. On another note, how does it affect evolution? The possibilities of endless. Of course, there are less subtle ways to go about this kind of brainstorming. Add a limb (where would the third arm go?). Add a brain (like the ettin). Make the mouth into mandibles. Move stuff around. For example, why would you have an arm on the top of your head? The joint that is at the base of the arm would probably have to rotate 360 degrees like a shoulder. The elbow joine would have to be able to bend both ways. It could be the main way this species would eat (if the arm is long enough). This would mean that furniture would be created by this culture to place food at around shoulder level or higher so that this arm could easily reach food. It would also preclude the use of a knife and fork (eating one-handed). This could also change (dramtically) the way you greet others, musical instruments could use all three arms. (I imagine something like a double bass where the top arm fingers chords and the regular hands pluck it or even pluck and use the bow at the same time!) Of course, this isn’t entirely necessary, but the idea is to be different. Get creative. I hope to post some ideas along these lines. Of course, the third arm thing will have to be developed just because. I think it will be like a scorpion arm but from the base of the back of the neck…. Anywho, to anyone reading this, let me know what ideas you come up with.\n","date":"18 March 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2004-03-18-some-thoughts-on-sentient-beings-in-fantasy-genre/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Some thoughts on Sentient Beings in Fantasy Genre","type":"posts"},{"content":" Bobby Ewing Effect # This is the ardent desire to jump out of the shower and pretend that everything that happened in the previous year was only a dream. This worked to bring Bobby Ewing back from the dead, but has not been as effective in the real world.\nChurch of the English Majors # This phrase refers to the emerging church movement. This specifically speaks to the tendency to refer to doctrine as a narrative or poem by emerging church supporters.\nDisciple(htdm) # In the ICoC subculture, it is common for different congregations to add to what is required to become saved. In Portland, for example, a potential Christian must have faith, repent of their sins, confess their sins, pledge submission to church authority, believe in God\u0026rsquo;s call to evangelize the world in one generation before they can be baptized.\nPreviously, this was taught as disciple = christian = saved now it appears that the equation is ‘fired up’ disciple=saved or \u0026lsquo;sold out\u0026rsquo; disciple=saved. In the greek that would be, mathaytes = kristianos = sodayzo. Within some congregations, this has been replaced with hyperthermodynamathayes = sodayzo. For that reason, when I use the word disciple in future articles, I will differentiate the sense of the word. Disciple meaning ‘follower or student’ will be simply disciple. Disciple meaning ‘one who is saved’ will be believer. ‘Fired up’ or \u0026lsquo;sold out\u0026rsquo; disciple as defined by disciple(htdm).\nIn short, htdm stands for my coined Greek word - hyperthermodynamathayes roughly over fired powered follower\nHKL # An acronym used by the ICoC Subculture to refer to the Henry Kreite Letter entitled +Honest to God+. This letter was originally intended for the higher leaders of the ICoC to be sent out in January of 2003. However, Matt Wolpert, sent this letter to some friends who subsequently sent it all over the world. Henry Kriete made a few revisions, then sent it out for mass distribution on Feb 2, 2003.\nIn this letter, many issues were raised about doctrine, the ICoC subculture as a whole, the negative retention rate, and the lifestyles of the highest leaders. The success of the letter to evoke change is measured differently throughout the spectrum of the ICoC subculture. Indeed, there are some that believe the letter should have never be released in the first place.\nMother of All Conferences # With apologies to Saddam Hussein and Muhammed Saeed al-Sahhaf a.k.a. Baghdad Bob\nThis is the term referring to the various International Leadership Conferences held by the current congregations that make up the former ICoC. Below is the mascot for last year\u0026rsquo;s MOAC 2004.\nNational Get Over Yourself Day # This is a much needed holiday within the ICoC Subculture. Although it may have positive benefits outside of the ICoC subculture, the focus and intent may be slightly different.\nAs far as the ICoC, this holiday would help members of the subculture deal with the fact that their voice alone will not create change. God is the only being that can create by fiat. May, including me, would do well to remember that.trying…\nPost-HKL Renaissance # This is the period in time that ICoC congregations enjoyed a time of the most dynamic change. This period lasted from roughly Feb 2, 2003 (General distribution of the Henry Kriete Letter) until Feburary or March of 2004. By March 2004, most of the staff changes and moves had already taken place.\nPostmodern Day Movement of God # Kip McKean always claimed that the ICoC was the Modern Day Movement of God, implying and directly stating (yes, he did) that to be saved, one had to be a part of the ICoC. Now that he has begun again and looks to begin a new movement, he can\u0026rsquo;t use \u0026ldquo;Modern Day Movement of God\u0026rdquo; as the ICoC still exists as a corporation and an ideology. What do you call the movement that comes after the Modern Day Movement of God? The Post-Modern Day Movement of God, of course.\nThis is not to be confused with the \\[\\[Church of English Majors|Church of the English Majors\\]] that attempts conversations with the postmodern world.\nReaganomic Spirituality # The is not unique to the ICoC Subculture.\nThis is the belief that if the leaders of a church have their needs met, the benefits will trickle down to the membership of the church.\nSmurf Village # With apologies to Peyo.\nThe best way to describe it is to read the post about it .\nIn short, Smurf Village is a metaphor for life in the old ICoC. In some congregations, life is still like Smurf Village.\n====== Welcome to the Phrase Mint ======\nOxford\u0026rsquo;s Unabridged Dictionary has over 500,000 entries describing the English language. Yet, with these are other entries, there seems to be a need in modern America to coin new words. I contend that creating new words is unnecessary and lazy. However, I believe creating new phrases is helpful in that a phrase creates new metaphors. New words only isolate meaning among those that understand the code, but a good metaphor invites understanding. I\u0026rsquo;m not saying that I am successful in my endeavor, but I have such a bad habit of coining phrases, that I wanted a place to explain them.\n===== ICoC Subculture =====\n\\[\\[boldness\\]]\n\\[\\[disciples(htdm)\\]]\n\\[\\[The Great Paperchase\\]]\n\\[\\[HKL\\]]\n\\[\\[Mother of All Conferences\\]]\n\\[\\[The Mutual Appreciation Society\\]]\n\\[\\[National Get Over Yourself Day\\]]\n\\[\\[Postmodern Day Movement of God|Post-Modern Day Movement of God\\]]\n\\[\\[Post-HKL Renaissance\\]]\n\\[\\[radical\\]]\n\\[\\[Reganomic Spirituality\\]]\n\\[\\[Smurf Village\\]]\n\\[\\[Steel Wool\\]]\n\\[\\[strong and powerful way\\]]\n\\[\\[YAChaL - Yet Another CHarismatic Leader\\]]\n===== Religion, In General =====\n\\[\\[Business Driven Church\\]]\n\\[\\[Church of English Majors|Church of the English Majors\\]]\n===== Other Weirdness =====\n\\[\\[Bobby Ewing Effect\\]]\n\\[\\[Chair of Power|Chair of Power +2\\]]\n\\[\\[PR Devices\\]]\n\\[\\[Red Fist of Vengenence\\]]As opposed to Steel And Velvet Women as a metaphor to describe the women\u0026rsquo;s ministry in the icoc subculture, filegirl95 proposes that the expression would be better expressed as \u0026ldquo;Steel Wool: How to become abrasive enough to be a Women\u0026rsquo;s Ministry Leader\u0026rdquo;\n==== Mutual Appreciation Society ====\nUnder the old ICoC structure, this referred to the conference before the conference made up of only the leaders.\nUnder the current ICoC subculture, this refers to the various leadership conferences, or conjugal visits made by leadership of one ICoC congregation to another in order to receive \u0026lsquo;outside\u0026rsquo; help.\nIt is curious to note that outside help in the ICoC subculture means ICoC leaders in another city to some (usually current leaders) or leaders outside the ICoC subculture to others (usually former members).\n===== I created this page already =====\nbut thanks for paying attention to the instructions.\ntest image\n","date":"7 February 2004","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/pages/2004-02-07-phrasemint/","section":"Pages","summary":"","title":"Phrasemint","type":"pages"},{"content":" Sestercentennial # I grilled on the back deck for the first time in years. We had a slow morning, we talked and watched movie.\nWe also talked through a difficult event we witnessed at a church a few weeks ago. I was triggered by the violence and I am still getting messages asking me how I am doing. My family processed what we did and didn\u0026rsquo;t do. We talked about how we will react to something similar in the future.\nWe had to process, but this isn\u0026rsquo;t about me. A young man spoke up and disrupted service. Good on him, he were sharing something that he had tried to resolve a couple weeks earlier. He was physically removed from the stage. Despite what you see online, there was more than one person saying \u0026ldquo;let him speak.\u0026rdquo; The young man, himself, says, \u0026ldquo;Many people left and came outside to meet me.\u0026rdquo;\nNext week, that church will be working through advice from a professional of what to do moving forward. I hope that they take it.\nAs for my family and me, we\n","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/2026-07-04-sestercentennial/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"","type":"posts"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]