a case study in awesomeness

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Nov 14, 2007

spanish lesson

Nov 7, 2007

most likely to . . .

On facebook, one of the billions of applications you can add is called the "superlatives" application. It's one that I hadn't added until I got a notification that I had been "nominated" for something. So, I checked it out. It turns out that despite not having the application, I have been collecting nominations for quite some time now. And, oddly enough, the thing that I have been most nominated for is:

"Most Likely to get Tasered and end up on CNN."

Which, quite frankly, I don't know how to take that. Some of the other ones really amused me. Tommy nominated me for "most likely to turn to Wikipedia for all of lifes answers." He knows me too well. And I was also nominated for "Most likely to pretend to read books to sound smart." That, of course, is how I made it through graduate school.

Nov 6, 2007

civic duty

Today, in my homestate of Kentucky, We had an electon for govenor. I don't like either candidate, which has become a typical reaction for me over the past few elections, regardless of office. But, it seems to get worse and worse. Still, I feel like I should vote for someone. However, I'm fairly sure that I could not decide between these two candidates.

So, I did what many vow to do in this situation: I moved. Okay, so this wasn't the reason I moved. However, today, election day. rather than going to the polls, I went to the driver's license office and made it official: I am now an Iowa resident, and am registered to vote in Iowa. So, I managed to duck out of the Kentucky election. Of course, this is going to bite me in two months when the caucuses roll around and I have to choose between 7-8 unqualified candidates to be our next President (in Kentucky, we had a late primary, so by the time it got to us the nominees already have running mates picked).

But, for now, Ernie Fletcher, Mitch McConnell, Ben Chandler, and Jim Bunning are no longer my problems!!

Oct 31, 2007

happy halloween

Since Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, and since we have our weekly worship service on Wednesday night, I assumed that I would not get to pass out candy this year. Well, for whatever reason, Ames did Trick-or-Treat last night, so I could have done it after all, only I didn't realize until it was too late. Anyway, I think next year, instead of candy, I'll pass out these:

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0011/0011_01.asp

Oct 30, 2007

peanut butter jelly time

Through an unfortunate oversight, I have yet to post this on my blog. I am now correcting that error.

Oct 26, 2007

csi: the louvre

I remember back when "The DaVinci Code" movie came out, and there was all of the hype over the heresies within the book. I predicted, correctly, that it wouldn't be a big deal and that within six months it would be forgotten. The movie was terrible and flopped badly. Anyway, back then, I tried to read the book, but found it to be so bad that I couldn't get more that 50 pages in (I hadn't even gotten to the heretical stuff).

Well, for reasons that not even I can figure out, I've decided to give the book another chance. And, I like it better this time. I still find it to be a terrible, terrible book, but I'm finding it to be the "CSI:Miami" of literature. In other words, it's so bad it's brilliant.

Which brings me back to the movie. I think one of the problems is in the casting. Tom Hanks is a terrible choice for Langdon. I mean, he's a good actor. No, the more I read the book, the more I beleive that David Caruso should have been cast in the lead. Seriously, Robert Langdon and Horatio Cane are practiclally the same guy. I really should figure out how one becomes a casting director. I think I would be outstanding in that job.

heck yeah

Oct 10, 2007

full circle

I remember back in the mid-90's, when email was just starting to catch on, one of the first "FWD's" I ever recived was outlining how the character's on Gilligan's Island represent the 7 deadly sins. The "theory" varies, but generally, it goes like this:

The Professor: Pride
Ginger: Lust
Mary Anne: Envy
Mr. Howell: Greed
Mrs. Howell: Sloth
The Skipper: Anger (sometimes both Anger and Gluttony)
Gilligan: Gluttony (or if Skipper is doing double duty, then Gilligan is the Devil).

I was always amused and intrigued by this interpretation. Well, aparently somebody else had the same idea, and has actually made a bible study out of it. You can purchase it on barnesandnoble.com

Oct 9, 2007

overturning the tables

A couple of weeks ago, I was working on organizing our sound equipment and making some upgrades. Eventually, there are a lot of upgrades I want to make, but its one of those projects that will take some time and money. I ordered some direct boxes and cables on-line, and it was expensive, but under $200 dollars. However, I also wanted to pick up a few other things, just as cable ties, some storage boxes for our cables and connectors, and some extention cords.

But, since I had spent so much on the direct boxes and cables, I was reluctant to make some of these purchases. I was spending the ministries money, which is money that people donate. Could I really justify spending any more money. I ended up spending about $20.00, but decided to wait on the rest (which is really only about $20.00 more dollars).

I mention this in the wake of the scandal at Oral Roberts University, which I was tipped off to by slacktivist. There are actually a couple of scandals involved here, including a non-profit endorsing a political candidate, Richard Roberts, the president of the univeristy forcing teachers to do his children's homework, and excessive spending by Roberts and his wife. Some of the spending allegations include $29,411 for the daugthers spring break trip (using the university jet, and billed as an "evangelistic trip"), a couple of horses paid and cared for by the school but for the personal use of Roberts' children, and $39,000 dollars charged at one Chico's clothing store by Mrs. Roberts (there wer charges at other stores as well).

For a family working in ministry, this type of excessive spending is problematic enough. On top of that, their charging it to a ministry organization predominately funded by donatations is both problematic and unethical.

But, what bothers me most is how arrogant they are in doing so. Mrs. Roberts, in defending her clothing purchases says, "As long as I wear it once on TV, we can charge it off." I have little doubt that this loophole is in place (although there is evidence that many of the purchases do not actually fall into this hole). But, it's a loophole that allows her to use ministry funds to her own personal gain.

One reson is this is a problem is that she spent $39,000 in less that a year on clothes, and I guarantee that this is more that a significant number of the donors EARN in one year. Many of these donations probably come from churches in which very few memebers make this much in one year. They give it in the hopes that it will be used to make a difference in God's kingdom.

There are those who say that it's their own fault that they were suckered into the scam. That is NOT an acceptable respons. Roberts (as well as his father, Oral) consistently tell people that "God told me to (fill in the blank) and he wants you to donate to the cause." And if somebody doesn't know better, it is up to those of use who do know better to take up for them. Because this is the type of behavior that caused Jesus to turn tables over.

And this was they type of behavior that caused Jesus to tell people that they were in danger of Hell. He didn't tell the prostitutes or tax collectors that they were going to Hell. Rather, it was the religious elite when they exploited the people that they were given the task of sheparding that caused Jesus to get angry.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had a few discussions about gay marraige (since a judge made it legal in Iowa for a few days). I've discussed how the church should respond. And, it's a tough issue in some ways. Obviously, homosexuality is a sin. Gay marraige is wrong. However, one thing that I've held to throughout these discussion is that whenever Jesus approached people like this, he was compassionate. He held to the truth, but he was compassionate. Jesus could pull it off. Not being Jesus, we have trouble doing both as perfectly as he did. We aren't as wise, and we aren't as authoritative.

So, in a situation such as this, I advise people that if the are going to err, to err on the side of compassion. Because as I read the gospel, I find that the warnings against erring on that side are much less harsh than erring on the other side. I think if you are truely loving and compassionate (and aren't simply hiding behind that so that you don't have to get your hands dirty) I think you will be okay.

However, in situations such as what is going on with the Roberts, I advise the opposite. We must get angry over this. We cannot allow this to happen. These people are stealing from what was given to God (I Samuel 2:12-36), exploting the poor (all over the place), and promoting a false gospel (I John 2:18-27).

I think Jesus would weep over gay marraige, but would be furious over these name it and claim it preachers. I think to be "Christ-like," we should do the same.

Oct 3, 2007

I really like Auntie Anne's pretzels. Who knew that all of this time, they were helping Amish people get grief counseling.

I found this article on Brandon Smith's blog (which you should check out the link on the left. Its about the Amish community of Nickel Mines, PA, and the shooting that happened at their school last year (in which 5 school girls were killed). The Amish, of course, are pacifists, and do not beleive in retaliation. Also, there is a big emphasis on forgiveness, and this article talks a lot about that.

I think the lesson in this article is that forgiving is not the endpoint of healing, but here healing can begin. Holding grudges, while understandable and even natural, are not healthy. As Brandon points out, we often think that by witholding forgiveness, we are holding the other person in a "prison," when in reality we are the prisoner.

The article then points out that it is a misconception that because they are at the point of forgiving that "all is well." I think that is because too often, we feel that we have to be at the "all well" point before we can forgive. And this is where the Auntie Anne's comes in. Jonas Beiler and his wife lost an infant child 30 years ago. At the time, they had no outlet for their grief. Their marraige hit a rough spot, and years later they finally went for counseling, something that was a rarity for the Amish community at that time. This inspired Jonas to go into counseling. However, as he began to study for and get started in counseling, he was unable to cover all of his expenses. So, his wife started selling Amish food at a farmer's market. Her soft pretzels were a huge hit, so hit that a nationwide chain was formed. Her name, of course, is Anne.

So go to the mall and buy a pretzel. It's for a good cause.

Oct 2, 2007

agronomy lesson

This is one of my favorite episodes of "The Simpsons." One of the guys in one of the small groups is an agronomy major, and he has a job lined up for after he graduates in December. He will be makeing corn hybrids.

This came up during our meeting today, and the mention of hybrids caused me to remember this episode. I asked him if he had seen it, and he said that he hadn't. So, I described it to him. Anyhow, he mentioned that the "science" in the episode is not too implausible.

If you haven't seen it, basically Homer for some reason becomes a farmer. In his typical fashion, he just throws a bunch of seeds out into a field at random. Then, to speed up the growth, he spays it with some radio active material. The next day he comes out, and finds that he has created a tobacco/tomato hybrid.

So, the guy in my group tells me that a tobacco/tomato hybrid is theoritically possible. It is possible to splice the genes, but that the plant would not likely grow. Also, it turns out that radio active materials are used to "speed up" the process of the formation of new genes (they would likely emerge naturally over time).

So, at least in theory, tomacco is a possibility.

Sep 25, 2007

best thing ever

Sep 21, 2007

serious goofiness

This sermons series is still my favorite of all time. It is the FOCUS summer 2005 series:

6-Jul Only God knows what we will talk about this night 1 Cor 1,2
13-Jul "Why our church is the Only Church and everyone else is going to Hell." 1 Cor 3,4
20-Jul Excommunication and you. How to get expelled from the church and incur God's wrath. 1 Cor 5,6
27-Jul You can do whatever the heck* you want.
3-Aug Why I should never have married my wife night. 1 Cor 7
10-Aug Your lack of freedom is your friend's fault. 1 Cor 8
17-Aug On Mullets and Transubstantiation.
24-Aug My spiritual gift is better than yours! Welcome back CCU students!
31-Aug 16 ways to destroy the relationships in your life. 1 Cor 13
7-Sep Speaking in Tongues and other reasons churches divide. 1 Cor 14
14-Sep You are going to die, get over it. Insert cookout here. 1 Cor 15

I remember John Wentz, JP Leong, and myself spending an hour coming up with all of the titles. What I like about is is that the titles are meant to be goofy and yet provocative at the same time. I think we pulled it off, although a few of them border on inappropriate. What was really good about it, though, was how well the messages went. John was on the top of his game that summer. I remember we had to extend "Excommunication and you" into two weeks, since the discussions at the end of the first week went really deep and so many challenging and important questions were raised.

I really miss working with our Focus team from those days.

Sep 16, 2007

good times

Sep 15, 2007

hat trick

Eastern Kentucky 6, West. Kentucky 26
Iowa 13, Iowa State 15

And the big one:

Louisville 34, Kentucky 40

It's been a good day!