Sick day at pokagon potawatomi inn

Jane and I spent Sunday night and Monday morning at Pokagon State Park near Angola at the Potawatomi Inn. It was a last-minute sort of thing. I have like 30 sick days, and I decided I needed one for my mental/emotional health. It's their "off" time of year and they were running a special on rooms, so that helped too. We left around 5 pm and it snowed just about the entire way there. It probably took just over an hour to get there.

I think we both needed a change of scenery. We haven't had any vacation since last April when we went to Punta Cana, and we rarely, if ever, have the same day off anymore. So, it wasn't much, but it was something. And this is one of the advantages of having an empty nest, and no dog.

We had a really nice room - it was like brand new - and we had a big picture window that looked out into the timber. The whole place was nice, and there was hardly anyone there. We ate in the restaurant, sat in the jacuzzi awhile, walked around by the lake, checked out the toboggan run, and just relaxed for a night and morning.

I think this would be a great place for a couple days away, or for a week-long retreat for me sometime. I have more vacation than Jane and am always trying to think of someplace to go or something to do. I could do a reading/writing sorta thing here. I'm not into going off in the wild by myself, but I could handle having the privacy of my own room, and also a restaurant and stuff right there. There is a gift shop, pool, jacuzzi, sauna, exercise room, game room, restaurant, deli, boat rentals, walking and bike trails, horseback riding, sledding in winter, fishing, volleyball , etc., and they have classes and activities that go on at different times too.

Anyway, I am far from being fully healed, but it was nice.

New running shoes

I finally got a new pair of running shoes, and went ahead and ran in them today so I won't be able to take them back (even though I probably still could after 4.2 miles). I took the other pair back to Dick's - and lemme tell ya - I swear it is almost easier to return something at Dick's Sporting Good's than it is to BUY something there! I do not like those places where you go to check out and you have to play twenty questions just so you can give them your money for their junk.

Anyway, I got a pair of Asics Gel-Kanbarra's (wide) at Kohl's for $39.99. I thought I was going to have to go back to the running place and spend $100, but I checked Kohl's one more time. I must have missed all the wide width shoes before. They felt pretty good.

But (and you knew there would be a but)... while running in them they reminded me of my old Asics shoes (that are going to become my new mowing shoes); they are comfortable to wear around, but I don't know how good they will be for running. They are almost too soft; and the heel slips a bit. I don't know, they may be alright, but it seems my old Asics made my legs hurt. So we'll see. I may just wear these for my everyday shoes, and I may yet have to go to Three Rivers for some running shoes. I can still wear my old runnings shoes for awhile yet.

Life shouldn't have to be this hard. But at least my shoes are soft.

Bored radio haircut kjv old friend

Yesterday I was just plain bored out of my gourd sitting in the office. I had stuff I needed to do, but I couldn't stand it anymore so I decided to head to town and get some office supplies I'd been needing.

On the way there I turned on the local NPR station - which I've only recently started listening to, because a friend and member of our church (and sometimes commenter here) is now the President and GM - and I'll be by-gollied if she wasn't on the air! That's the first time I've heard her, and she sounded just like a radio personality. Very cool.

I also decided that maybe I should stop in and get a haircut. I went to one of those 'Great Clips' places, which I'm not real keen on, but figured I could do that every other haircut, and go to my regular lady every other one (they are a little cheaper). It was funny, because the lady I got didn't hardly say a thing; which was ok with me; as I just sat there with my eyes closed. Sometimes I don't like it when they yak and yak and yak. Which is what the person next to me was getting. Oh, and while I was waiting, this lady brought in her elderly dad to get a haircut. They sat down and she asked if he wanted to look at a magazine while they waited. He said, "Yeah, do they have any girlie magazines?" Hehe. She was like, "No, dad, but here's a Cosmopolitan," and rolled her eyes. It was kinda funny.

Anyway, I got my stuff, and went back to the office and opened the mail. I got a Sunday School lesson thing from our denominational office. Sort of a "here's an idea for you," I guess. The weird thing was, it was based on the King James Version of the Bible. I always forget that there are still people who use the KJV - much less that there are still people who are "King James Only." I also tend to forget there are churches that get uptight about what people wear, or having food & drink in the sanctuary, or music styles, and things like that. I forget how lucky I am sometimes.

I also stumbled onto an old friend through Facebook yesterday. He was a pastor in a neighboring town when I was just getting involved in Christianity. We connected through music, as we were both guitar players. He actually loaned me a $1200 guitar one weekend - no questions asked. He also gave me one of the highlights of my life: He put on concerts in the little town he lived in, and brought in some semi-big name Christian performers. When he brought Randy Stonehill to town, he let Jane and I take Randy to the airport after the show. Randy even let me carry his guitar through the airport. I remember when we went to his room at the hotel to pick him up, the first thing he asked us was, "Can you tell me what town I'm in?" Anyway, it was great to connect with Steve again. I actually just referred to him in a sermon a couple weeks ago. He used to volunteer as a coach with our high school football team, and I remembered seeing him on the sidelines with this old blue jean jacket that said, "He died for me, I'll live for Him" on the back. This was before I was a Christian, and I remember that making a definite impression on me; like, here is a guy who actually wears his faith for all to see. I thought that was pretty neat.

So, anyway, it was a good day. I know, that's hard to believe, isn't it? I topped it off by taking m'Lady to a movie. I'll save that for a post all its own.

Peace out; and in.

Love jesus and do what you want

Before we drifted off to sleep last night Jane reminded me of this great quote from Lance Ford. We heard him talk at a Healthy Reproducing Churches conference in January 2006 in Champaign, IL. I remember when he first said to "love Jesus and do what you want," I was a little unsure. But, after thinking about it... if we love Jesus, then we will be doing what HE wants. And how can we go wrong with that? So I think that's gonna be my new mantra: Love Jesus and do what you want.

I thought for sure that I had blogged about it on here, but after a search and no luck, I finally found where I had written about it on another blog. Here are a few other tidbits I wrote down:

• We need to ask ourselves if we are making disciples, or just trying to add Jesus to the "american dream."
• Don't "have a mission," BE God's mission for the sake of the world.
• Church should not be a subculture within a worldly culture, it's an outpost for the kingdom of God.
• Jesus didn't say to build a church. He said to make disciples.
• Effectiveness is not our gathering quota, it is our sending quota.

Just shoe me

I surely must be the most pathetic person alive. I can't even buy a pair of shoes.

I've needed new shoes for awhile. Actually, two pairs - new running shoes, and new casual shoes. I've been visiting shoe stores off and on for probably 2 months trying on pairs of each. It is a long, tedious process for me.

I'm really not all that concerned with what they look like. I guess I just have sensitive feet. They aren't wide or stubby or out of the ordinary at all, but I just can't stand having a tight shoe on. It's like having to tuck my shirt in. I also don't like a loose shoe. And I don't want anything too heavy. Argh. I guess this is because I have mostly worn nothing but tennis shoes my entire life. For many, many, many years it was nothing but Keds or Converse All-Stars (irregulars, of course). But now, as a runner, I'm concerned about foot balance and support and all that stuff.

These are the shoes I currently keep stocked in my closet: I have three pairs of tennis shoes - one pair of running shoes, a pair of everyday shoes (which are the most recently retired running shoes), and a pair of mowing shoes (the most recently retired everyday shoes). I have my work boots, which are mostly for winter. I have a pair of casual shoes, which I snagged from Isaac a few years ago, and they are getting kind of raggedy. I have 2 pairs of dress shoes that are exactly alike except one is brown and one is black. I've had them for maybe 15 years and they are still in perfect condition. They don't get worn much except Sunday mornings and the occasional need to dress up. And I have a pair of sandals. Gee, it seems like I have a lot of shoes when you write it all out like that.

The need for new running shoes is two-fold: my current pair are 8 months old, so that means they have run somewhere around 600 to 800 miles. They recommend new running shoes every 6 to 12 months. Also, both my running shoes and everyday shoes have a hole in the right toe. I need to keep my toenails trimmed better. But besides having a finicky foot, I also hate spending money. Thus the dilemma deepens.

Well, anyway, I actually BOUGHT a new pair of running shoes last night. I had been to Dick's Sporting Goods several times, and they had a nice sale on old-model shoes. They had some just like my current running shoes, but not in my size. So I grabbed a pair of Asics (which is what my everyday shoes are) right next to them. I had tried them on before, but for some reason I just went ahead and bought them last night. Then I got home and put them on and... they hurt my feet. They are too narrow and tight. Dangit! I forgot my old Asics were wides. I was depressed the rest of the night because I can't even buy a pair of shoes. Woe is me.

I will likely take them back on Friday. Then I will start over again. I was hoping to avoid paying $100 like I did with the last pair. These Asics were only $40. Somewhere out there is another pair of shoes. I hope.

And then it will be back to looking for some new casual shoes.

It never ends.

Monday, monday

Sometimes I think I am hopeless. It seems when I think I am at my best, that's when I turn out being my worst. It's those times when I think I'm making the most sense that I later realize I was actually making no sense at all. I try to be nice and I'm not. I try to fit in and I alienate myself further. Dang. I hope the opposite of that works sometimes too.

Anyway, yesterday was a weird day. I knew there were going to be a ton of people gone from our Sunday gathering. A lot were gone on spring break, and to weddings, and work obligations, and things. Which is fine. That's one of the nice things about not taking attendance anymore - I don't really know how many are there or not, and it just doesn't bother me. I wish I had quit doing it a long time ago.

We had a really small crowd for Sunday School. I think 4 teachers were gone, and we only needed 1 sub. There were only 2 kids, and fortunately they were both in the same class.

I was surprised how many were there for the worship service though. Since I knew a bunch of people were going to be gone, and I didn't know if I would have any musicians, singers, sound board or computer people... I decided to go "old-school." We just used the hymnal for everything. A couple of readings, a few hymns, sermon (well, I came up with that), prayer and offering. You know, the thing is, it is SO much easier preparing services like this. I slept in a half hour, and I still didn't know what to do with myself before everyone arrived. All I had to do was make coffee and pray. And what's even weirder is, this is how it used to be EVERY Sunday. Heck, and when I first came here, all I had to do was give announcements, pray and preach. There are times when I wish we could go back to doing this all the time. But I know it would get old after awhile.

It ended up being a really good morning. People read and sang incredibly well, and there was just a nice aura. I even had half the congregation singing the Jim Stafford song "I Don't Like Spiders and Snakes" with me. Then we went out for lunch with Carrie and Isaac, and it was a nice afternoon. And that's when I started to think I was smart and got stupid.

Why is it that it's whenever I feel good that I inevitably say or do something stupid? Blogland is so frustrating anymore. And I don't mean just my own blog, but other ones I participate in, and the number of people who don't participate anymore. Whatever. Just another Monday, I suppose. I am an idiot.

Tomorrow will be Tuesday.

New mic batteries

I put new batteries in the Sure lapel mic today - 3/22/09. They were last changed 1/11/09.

The boys are back

There were no jail breaks, but I was hummin' Thin Lizzy as Isaac rolled back home about 7:15 this morning from his trip to California. They went to San Diego, Sequoia National Park, the Grand Canyon, Denver, and Omaha (well, and various other places too) in just under a week (they left last Saturday night). No car problems, great weather, and good times. I haven't asked yet if they found what they were looking for.

Some notes for my own failing memory: 34 hours from Indy to San Diego. 6-hour driving shifts. One night in a hotel room all week, $35, and daylight coming through around the drywall. A $70 oil change in Graham's Blazer. Can't drive over the mountain in California or you will die. Built a fire at the Grand Canyon and sat on the edge. A Kerouac-frequented restaurant in Denver. Night in a cabin near Denver with cousin Seth. A few hours in Omaha with Caldwell. Lots of pictures on mom's camera. I probably don't need to know much more than that.

You can see his pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaachorwedel

Today Drew Carrie heads off to Michigan for the weekend. Tomorrow the boy goes back to school.

Denominational leadership: equip, encourage, inspire

I'm just tossing around some ideas. I've been thinking about church leadership and denominational leadership and how it all works together. I do happen to think denominations are good, and that there is a vital need for denominational leaders - which, in my case, consists of "general" and "regional" leaders (our general conference offices, which oversea worldwide operations, are in Findlay, Ohio; and I have a regional director who overseas Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana). When I refer to the "denomination" or "denominational offices" I am usually referring to both the general and regional offices/officers as one in the same. And this is not meant specifically as a critique of my denomination, but I'm just thinking in general here.

It seems to me that the reason for denominational leaders should be to equip, encourage, and inspire local church leaders (meaning pastors for the most part). This would be through: teaching, training, resourcing, recommending books and materials, etc. (equipping); listening, counseling, and just generally encouraging; and the inspiration could come about in many of the things already mentioned. These things could happen as a direct result of the denominational leaders efforts, or though recommendations of conferences and places to seek equipping, encouragement, and inspiration. Certainly we need financial people, and administrative and record-keeping type people, but... I really think there needs to be more of a concerted effort at equipping, encouraging, and inspiring our church leaders for the betterment of our churches. Pastoral burnout, depression, and loneliness are well documented as leading problems in ministry, and yet you don't hear much about what denominations do to help in these situations.

I believe there needs to be a distinction that the denominational leaders should be doing this for the local church leaders, and then the local church leaders can work at equipping, encouraging, and inspiring the congregations. Then the congregations can work at equipping, encouraging, and inspiring one another, and those not yet a part of the church.

In essence there does need to be a clear hierarchical chain, but it is perhaps upside down from what most people think of. The denominational leaders are there to serve the local church leaders, the local church leaders are there to serve the congregations, and the congregations are there to serve the world. I think this is the opposite of what many used to think, where we felt the need to demand our church people make commitments to our churches, who would make commitments to our denominations, so the denominations could thrive and grow. It should be the other way around so our churches can help our people thrive and grow and reach the world as we partner in God's mission of reconciling all things through Jesus Christ.

So... there are probably some holes here. But I think way too much time, effort and money goes into keeping "the machine" running for most denominations, and too little goes towards the point of it all in the end. At least in my opinion.

Reason for denominations

I hadn't checked out Will Willimon's blog in a while, but I recently caught these two posts: Lessons We Have Learned In Leading Transformation, and Lessons We Have Learned In Leading Transformation (continued). They are some of Paul Borden's insights on pastoral leadership and congregational change. I don't know that I agree with everything, but it was helpful, and one in particular that caught my eye was this:

6. There are only two valid reasons for denominations to exist. One is to help congregations transform and the second is to help them reproduce. Denominations play other key managerial and administrative roles. But if the mission is not prominent in terms of how resources are expended in our nation and in nations around the world, then denominations have no right to exist.

They like church but not jesus

Interesting piece here by Brant Hansen, "Can Jesus and Christian Radio Co-Exist?"

I have read Dan Kimball's book "They Like Jesus But Not the Church." And it was good. But I think Brant is on to something too. There are way too many "Christians" (or those who claim to be), who seem to like the church, but they want nothing to do with Jesus.

I think this may be a sermon in the making.

Blood pressure, etc.

Checked it again tonight at jpwm. First time - 129/78; second time - 123/76.

I will finally make the neighbors happy tomorrow. Getting the two flat tires on the truck fixed when I take Isaac's car in for an oil change. Hopefully it won't fall off the blocks tonight.

It's been nice to see people using the playground each day at the church.

I felt bad today for a young mother with a little girl (maybe 3 or 4). The mom was laying on one of the benches texting the whole time, and the little girl kept coming up and wanting her to play with her. She would just roll over and keep texting. Eventually the little girl would go lay on the other bench and pretend to do what mom was doing. I don't know who I felt more sorry for. People without kids sometimes don't understand the pressure young parents face. But kids grow up so stinking fast, and are so impressionable. I just sat there.

Fieldy. blue. down. fence.

Some random thoughts from a blue few days.

• Sunday afternoon I was waiting on Jane and Carrie in Barnes and Noble and read through a bit of Korn bassist, Fieldy's, new book "Got The Life." Apparently he is now the second member of Korn to become a born-again Christian, after Brian "Head" Welch did so a couple years ago. In the book Fieldy writes letters to the other members of the band. Interesting. I may have to buy it.
  
• I almost had a "moment" on Sunday morning while playing and singing. For some odd reason during the worship service there was a point where I actually remember thinking... "this is a moment in time." Things slowed down, and I really felt like I was doing what I was doing. So seldom does that happen. I don't remember if it was during "More Love, More Power" or "The Power of Your Love" that I actually felt like I was in a groove though. It's been a long time since that has happened. For oh-so-brief a moment life was grand.
• I can remember when I was younger wondering what it would be like to have played guitar for like 25 years or something. I've been playing for 30 years now. I still suck. I usually only play to pick out songs for Sunday, and then for Sunday worship. And several days a week I will pick it up to ease writers block. I almost always go through the same stuff. Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Hold Me Jesus" by Rich Mullins, and Dylan's "Baby Let Me Follow You Down." Sometimes I do Neil Young's "Helpless." And lately I've been doin' John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery." Or... sometimes I'll do an E A B bluesy thing. Maybe start with Neil's "Vampire Blues" (I've been trying to come up with different lyrics), and go from there. It's so frustrating to still suck so bad after 30 years.
• Sunday night Carrie texted me that Eric Clapton's Crossroads special was on PBS. I caught a bit. I loved seeing Robbie Robertson, Buddy Guy, and Steve Winwood. Three very underrated musicians, I've always felt. I've always loved Robbie. And it was so good to get to see Stevie last summer, opening for Tom Petty. I would like to see him again. It made me want to get a Stratocaster. Of course, I preached that morning about learning to not have wants. Crap.
• I've been thinking about dreams lately. Not night dreams, but life dreams. I think one of mine has always been to play the blues. And I don't want to do it for crowds. I just want to see the colors. To play and understand music to the point that there is no more thinking about it. Where it just flows. Like walking down the hallway in the dark and knowing where everything is without being able to see it. But it will never happen. I don't have the knowledge of music. And what good would dreams be if they ever came true.
• Last night I took down the chain link fence in our back yard. No more need for it. Bogie is gone. I still miss him. Just can't shake it. Physically it was easy to take down. The posts came right out. But a motorcycle went by, and there was no barking. It made me sad. Then I thought about when I put the fence up. Marvin helped me do it. One of the best friends I've ever had. He was much older than me, more like my dad, but I miss him a lot. So, like a fool, I shed some tears while taking down the fence.
• Sometimes that's what life feels like.... putting up fences only to have to tear them down again. Playing and playing and playing, and still sucking after all these years.
• Yeah, this is just another sad song. Play it for yourself. Which is my favorite song, by the way. By a long-since-broken-up little band named Windjam from Sheffield, Illinois.
  

Presidents prayer partners

I don't know if they are "officially" President Obama's prayer partners, but according to this article in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/us/politics/15pastor.htm?_r=1), there are five people he apparently looks to as spiritual advisers. What was interesting to me is that one of them (Jim Wallis) was recently the boss of a friend and current member of our church (and mother of son Isaac's roommate). So that's kinda cool.

For the record, President Obama has never asked for my advice on anything. I'm sure if he did it would go something like... "So, Dan, when vacuuming the entryway carpet, is it better to go with the grain, or against it?" "Well, Mr. President, this is how I do it..."

Isaac on the road

Son Isaac left on his road trip across America late last night or early this morning. He and two friends (Graham and Levi) are heading west. Probably going to take I-40, and at some point end up in San Diego. Then they'll try and meander back this way through Denver and Omaha to see some friends and relatives. At least that's what I've been told.

Isaac wrote an "on the road - before the road" post about it, and hopefully he is going to blog at various points along the way.

This has been a dream of he and Graham's for some time. They originally wanted to head to San Diego right after graduating high school. You can tell by the boy's writing that he is heavily influenced by Kerouac. I finally read 'On the Road' last year, and that didn't necessarily make me feel any better. But what do I know. When dreams call...

Isaac left here last night around 6 pm, and was picking up the other two in Indy. They were hoping to leave around 11 or midnight. I think the plan was to take turns driving, and just drive as far west as they could - hopefully arriving in SD on Monday, or so.

God speed.

Blood pressure

I checked my blood pressure last night at JPWM for the first time since I've started on the different dosage. When I first sat down it was 139/79. The second time it was 118/80.

I've been feelin' kinda funky since starting on this, but I don't know if it's the bp medicine or the Allegra. And my pupils have been dilating off and on. I imagine it's just my body adjusting to the new stuff.

Big ten tournament game

Believe it or not, but my first experience attending a Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament game went.... great! And the Illini even won!

I thought for sure it was going to be a disaster though. It started on Thursday night. I thought I would get some of those little binoculars to take - since our seats were kinda high up. This is a pic from our seats in section 210, row 8, 25 & 26. So I went to the Walmart by Jefferson Pointe. Of course the binoculars are behind a counter in the Sporting Goods department, and there was no one around. So I stood there for a loooong time and looked them over. Finally the guy who is going through a sex change to become a lady comes over (you know who I'm talking about if you've ever been to this Walmart). You know, I really don't care if this dude wants to look like a lady (or even Steven Tyler for that matter), but... he saunters up to the counter, says, "Do you need somethin'", and I say, "Yes, I was looking at the binoculars. Do you happen to know if those ten dollar ones are any good?" And he/she just STOOD THERE. Didn't say a word. Just stood and looked at the floor. So I decided I was just going to stand there and see how long he/she would stand there. It was probably at least a minute before he/she finally shrugged their shoulders. Never once changed expression or moved or said anything. So I finally said, "Hey, sorry to bother you," and walked away. I was pissed, but I was laughing at the hilarity of it all. So I bought some tall kitchen garbage bags, and decided we didn't really need any cheap binoculars.

THEN... I get up Friday morning, and the first thing I did was check out the Peoria Journal Star sports page (first thing every day), and there is an article about Chester Frazier hurting his hand and not being able to play. Granted, he isn't the Illini's top scorer or anything, but he is undoubtedly the heart and soul of their team. And come to find out, he had surgery on it Thursday. I was crushed. The only thing I could find out was that he hurt it in practice Wednesday. [Maybe there is a U of I employee who reads here who might have some inside information?]. So I went all day thinking we were not only going to see a loss, and without binoculars, but it was probably going to be a blowout.

But we went anyway. It was my first Big Ten game, my first Illini game, and the tournament is in the air.

We left about 1:45 in the afternoon. Stopped in Anderson and had a 99 cent latte with son Isaac, since everything on campus was closed for Spring break (which started today). We left Anderson at 4, and arrived with little fanfare at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis about 4:40 pm. I thought there would be more traffic, but it was pretty slick. There was actually NO traffic on McCarty and Delaware streets - right past Lilly. So we snatched a $3 parking spot next to the Lilly lot, and went to CF to see how soon gates opened. The Wisconsin/Ohio State game had just ended, and people were flowing out. We couldn't get in until 5:30. So we headed a couple blocks over to try to find The Ram (the Illini meet-up spot) on Illinois Street.

There were a lot of people selling and wanting to buy tickets. And just lots of people in general. It was fun. The streets were full, the sun was shining, and it was about 48 degrees F. I soon worked up a sweat in my big winter coat, with my Illini t-shirt under that, and my 'live life' long sleeve t under that. We found The Ram, and it was P-A-C-K-E-D. Jane went in and used the restroom, and I stood out in the sun and waited. A guy tried to trade me a White Castle coupon for a couple bucks. I wondered to myself if he used to eat pizza with Isaac. Finally Jane came out and we decided to grab a bite to eat at the Circle Center food court. We waited in line at Subway for about a half hour, and finally got a sandwich. I had turkey with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, and mayo. Then we headed back to Conseco.

We got there plenty early. First we walked in on a lower level and watched them warm up for a bit. Then we went up to our seats. We were just about even with the one basket. They weren't bad at all. And Conseco is much nicer than the Coliseum in Fort Wayne as far as seats, and the slant isn't near as bad up at the top. Here is a pic of the Illini warming up.

Our seats were right above an entry tunnel, and at first we thought it would be great because no one would be sitting in front of us. The only problem was all the stupid fans of other teams coming and going throughout the whole game, and I couldn't see when they walked past. It was better for the second half. We had a bunch of Michigan State people in our area. Hardly no one was there at the start of the game, but eventually it filled up pretty full, so we just stayed in our seats, instead of trying to move lower.

The game was great. It was 1 point at halftime. At one point in the second half we had a 20 point lead. But then in like a minute it was down to 7 again. We ended up winning 60-50. Very exciting. And I got to see Erin Andrews from ESPN after the game too! We didn't stick around for Purdue/Penn State though. Jane had to work in the morning, and I have a breakfast thing.

All in all, a really, really good day (other than feeling bad for Chester). Traffic was great both there and back. We only spent $3 to park, $17.50 for two nacho's and diet pepsi's, and we stopped at Steak and Shake on the way home for shooters and shakes. Well, and the $150 tickets. But it was well worth it. And downtown Indy is pretty cool to roam around. Someday it would be nice to get tickets for the whole weekend. I suppose that's what dreams are for.

Peace out; and in.

Feetwashing thought, and other maundy things

I've been thinking about our upcoming Maundy Thursday service at church. I think I'm going to change it this year. Usually we have a light meal - kind of like the Last Supper - and we take communion from the bread and juice served with the meal. Also, in our denomination, we observe Feetwashing as an ordinance. So we usually break up - men with men, and women with women - and wash one anothers feet. In John 13 Jesus says, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet" (v.14). We take that literally.

But as I was planning the service, and the Scripture readings and things... it occurred to me that... what if in our literal interpretation of this passage, we're actually missing the point of it? I mean, I believe the point Jesus is trying to make is about humility and service to one another. And even though we talk about that, I wonder if sometimes we don't subconsciously miss it, because in the back of our mind it registers instead as simply "I washed someone's feet on Maundy Thursday and therefore am humble and service-oriented"? Is it possible to give symbolic acts so much credence that we lose sight of what they are symbolizing? It's not meant to be a one-night thing, but a lifetime thing; all the time.

I don't know for sure what I will do yet. But I am thinking of just having a time of meditation on the subject, instead of actually doing it. Especially after seeing this quote by Martin Luther on D.D.'s blog:

If one does rightly meditate on the suffering of Christ for a day, an hour, or even a quarter of an hour, this we may confidently say is better than a whole year of fasting, days of psalm singing, yes, than even one hundred masses, because this reflection changes the whole man and makes him new, as he was in baptism.

So wouldn't the same thing apply to feetwashing? Better to meditate on the meaning, than to just wash somebody's feet.

Anyway, I am also forcing myself to not put so much into the Maundy Thursday service this year. For some reason I usually spend more time and energy on this service than any other service during the year (probably because it's one of my favorites). And yet it is inevitably one of the lowest attended. I think last year we only had 6 people show up. So we will not be doing the Stations of the Cross, or the meal, or any of the time-consuming scenery changes. We'll just read some Scripture, sing a couple songs, take communion, and that will be that.

Seasonal sanctuary decorating

Decorating our church sanctuary doesn't require a lot of effort, but I believe it's important nonetheless. And timing is everything. We try to follow the church year - at least as far as Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost. To some degree we may vary things at other times too (but not as much). Basically for our church it's just a matter of which banners to hang, which altar flowers, candles, and a few smaller, less noticeable nuances.

Inevitably someone will suggest that I have failed to properly recognize the seasons. For instance, there are some who believe we should have the Easter banners hung and the plastic lilies on display already. "Don't you know the stores have had their Easter stuff out for weeks?" Yep, and last time I checked we were the church, not the store. The problem is... it's not Easter yet! The same thing happens around Christmas time. You don't celebrate the birth until it has happened. And at Easter you don't celebrate the resurrection until after the death.

What I don't think a lot of people realize is, the church isn't interested in business or marketing... the purpose of our seasonal decorating is to TELL THE STORY. God's story.

During Lent I want to strip things back. The many big and colorful "Christ Is Born"-type Christmas banners are removed. In their place are just two smaller, simple banners. Poinsettias are replaced by a couple small ferns or a globe and crown of thorns. Otherwise it's pretty bare - resembling a desert journey... a time of reflection. Which culminates in the switch to complete barrenness from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday. THEN, on Easter Sunday we will bring out the big and bright hallelujahs. But not until then.

It's the same at Christmas. The Advent story is pregnant with anticipation, and the worship space should reflect that. We seem to have this desire to celebrate everything too soon. It's all in due time.

Music is kind of the same. Trying to find Advent and Lenten songs - ones that look forward to, rather than already celebrate, the birth and resurrection - is a little difficult. But telling the whole story is important.

Anticipation, preparation, reflection... without these we miss out on what it truly means to follow Christ. What it requires is that we slow down... we follow, instead of trying to run ahead... we listen... watch... and pray. It IS coming. In due time. In His time.

Peace out; and in.

Words on a page

My day is going good so far. Just finished my sermon for Sunday. It makes a huge difference in my 'constitution' if my sermon comes together soon or late. I felt like I spent two days staring at the wall, but today, once I sat down and started writing, it just puked itself out. I wish that would happen the first time I sat down. But I'll settle for having it done early Wednesday.

That is one thing I learned from Dave Fitch at a conference earlier this year. He said he has to tell his guys to limit how much time they spend in sermon preparation. Because for some people it will NEVER be good enough, and you could spend all your waking hours working on it, and it still wouldn't be satisfactory. And, I don't know what it's like in other churches, but in mine there are just a few other things to do besides the Sunday sermon.

So... since I had a minute to kill before lunch, I checked the stats on this sermon. I type them all out - every Sunday, for almost 10 years now. They are double-spaced, with a size 14 font (so I can see it), and almost every week they are 8 pages. Though I used to get up to 10 pages, but now I usually add more during preaching, so I try to always go right at 8 full pages. This weeks sermon, on Exodus 20:1-17, is: 8 pages (14 font; double-spaced); 2,208 words; 9,410 characters (no spaces); 11,606 characters (with spaces); 38 paragraphs; and 173 lines.

There, now you know the details of my sermon.

Big ten tourney

Well I got me 2 tickets to the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament for this Friday - session 3 (which means we can see the Illini play at 6:30 and the next game at 9 pm). I was ordering a cd at Wooden Nickel, and decided to just get the tickets through their ticketmaster thingy. Geez, it was $149.80 for the two, and that was in the nosebleed section. I guess that can be my contribution to stimulating the economy. I was at least able to get them on the end of a row. I would hope we can maybe move down to some empty seats in a lower section, though a Friday night game will be more crowded than earlier in the day. That was why I was kinda hoping the Illini would get a lower seed. But I'm happy they got the #2. I can't wait.

I've only been to Conseco Fieldhouse a couple times before. Jane and I went to a marriage thing; and I think I attended a Promise Keepers thing there. We've been to the RCA Dome/Lucas Oil field many times. This should be fun.

Jane took a half day of vacation so she can go with me. We'll probably go down early, maybe try to locate the Illini designated restaurant called "The Ram." I don't know where it's at, but it can't be too hard to find. I will also have to dig out my Illini t-shirt, and my orange Illini cap (not to be confused with my orange University of Findlay cap).

I am kinda excited. It's been awhile since I've been to a college basketball game. And I've never been to a Big Ten tournament game. We used to take in Bradley basketball games in Peoria now and then (when we lived in Illinois); and several years ago I went with a friend down to a Ball State game; and when I was in high school we went to several Western Illinois Univesity games (my sister was a cheerleader for them); and we used to go to Huntington University games when daughter Carrie was a cheerleader for them. I enjoyed them, but this is THE BIG TEN! And I have never seen the Illini play in person. Yippee.

I'm sure something is about to go terribly wrong.

America's homeless children

Do you know the average age of a homeless person in America today? Try nine years old. And each year an estimated 3.5 million people in the United States will be homeless, with the fastest growing segment being young mothers and children.

I was shocked to read statistics like this in the book No Place at the Table. It is a small book by Fort Wayne's Phyllis Agness aimed at raising awareness for America's homeless children, and it has some powerful photos by Greg Allen. You can download it for only $5, but I recommend the hard copy for $12.95. If you don't think you can afford it - give me your name and address and I'll buy it for you.

I believe the author is connected with the women & children's shelter that our church is providing meals for once a month. I talked today to one of the guys who helped serve them last night. He said he about lost it when, before they ate, one of the ladies prayed and closed by saying, "Thank you, God, that someone cares about us."

Just a little blurb from the introduction of the book:

A bed in which to sleep, food that's fit to eat, a place where they can feel safe... such simplistic dreams, yet they are the dreams of countless children. They are the children who wander from place to place, sleeping in cars and abandoned buildings. They are the children who are afraid to close their eyes for fear that they may wake to find a family member gone. They are the children who have nothing to call their own - no books, pictures, pets, or even friends. They are the children who wear the clothing others do not want. They are the children who cannot concentrate in school because they must concentrate on something much more important - survival. They are the children who have no place to call home, for they are homeless. Their life experiences have taught them that adults are not to be trusted, other children will never accept them, and acting out can hide the humiliation and embarrassment of their reality. They are emotional and social exiles, destined to repeat the plight of their parents - unless someone takes the time to see their hidden hurt and make a difference.

Nine years old...

The institutional church

I caught this quote from Eugene Peterson on Ben's blog. It was in a 2005 Christianity Today interview. I loved Ben's question: "Is Eugene Peterson a prophet or just grumpy?" Anyway, the interviewer made this statement: "Many Christians would look at this church and say it's dead, merely an institutional expression of the faith." This is what EP said...

What other church is there besides institutional? There's nobody who doesn't have problems with the church, because there's sin in the church. But there's no other place to be a Christian except in the church. There's sin in the local bank. There's sin in the grocery stores. I really don't understand this naive criticism of the institution. I really don't get it.

Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree. There's no life in the bark. It's dead wood. But it protects the life of the tree within. And the tree grows and grows and grows and grows. If you take the bark off, it's prone to disease, dehydration, death.

So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive. And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn't last long. It disappears, gets sick, and it's prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism.

In my writing, I hope to recover a sense of the reality of congregation - what it is. It's a gift of the Holy Spirit. Why are we always idealizing what the Holy Spirit doesn't idealize? There's no idealization of the church in the Bible - none. We've got two thousand years of history now. Why are we so dumb?

Hmm. I had never heard this before. Kinda makes sense.

The american evangelism gap (or gop)

I've had this saved as a draft for some time. I almost forgot about it. Michael F. Bird had an interesting post 'Evangelicals and the Reformed.' One quote in particular that caught my eye:

There are also some things about North American evangelicals that Christians outside of North American cannot comprehend: 1. Only North American evangelicals oppose measures to stem global warming, 2. Only North American evangelicals oppose universal health care, and 3. Only North American evangelicals support the Iraq War. Now, to Christians in the rest of the world this is somewhere between strange, funny, and frightening. Why is it that only North American evangelicals support these things? Are the rest of us stupid? It makes many of us suspicious that our North American evangelical friends have merged their theology with GOP economic policy, raised patriotism to an almost idolatrous level, and have a naive belief in the divinely given right of American hegemony. North Americans would do well to take the North-Americanism out of their evangelicalism and try to see Jesus through the eyes of Christians in other lands.

Definitely something to think about.

via DD

Solo wrestler

I am bachin' it this weekend. Lady Jane went to Findlay yesterday for a women's conference held at daughter Carrie's workplace. She will hopefully be back tomorrow. Though last year this is when they had to take her to the hospital on Sunday morning right before I was ready to start the worship service. We later found out it was her gall bladder. I still don't understand why people were giving me crap for freaking out about that. Whatever.

So... it's just me around the house. I don't even have the dog anymore. Though the worst part for me in this whole bachelor thing is the food situation. I just can't cook. I did manage to heat up some peas and carrots out of a can the other night. That's pretty bold for me. I don't think I'm ready for a chef hat yet. I bought a salad from Wendy's last night. Not sure what I'll do tonight.

This morning we had the Men's Lenten Breakfast at our church. Every year during Lent we combine with five other churches and the guys rotate to a different church each Saturday for breakfast. I stay out of the kitchen, and I provide the devotion. The guys always do a good job with pancakes and sausage. I think we had 12 from here, and 21 altogether (or so I was told).

Yesterday I went and saw The Wrestler. Last time I checked it wasn't playing anywhere in the Fort, but they must have brought it back to the Rave. I went to the 12:55 pm show, and it was me and two other guys. We made sure to spread out. It was pretty good. I'm still not sure on Mickey Rourke as a Christ figure, but... they tried. And... I forgot that Marisa Tomei played a stripper. There was a bit more nudity than I was prepared for, but at least not a lot of sex. And I thought Marisa preferred short, stocky, balding men... or was George Castanza misinformed? Anyway... it was good. I'm not sure it was the best movie of the year... but pretty good.

I had an interesting conversation today with a guy who told me why he quit going to church as a teenager. He said his parents used to make him go, and every Sunday when he sat down in Sunday School the same kid would hit him on the back of the head with his Bible, and everybody would laugh. Even the teacher. So he said he had finally had enough, and he told his dad about it. His dad told him to pop the kid. So... the next Sunday, he walked in, sat down, kid hit him on the back of the head with his Bible, and he got up and punched him square in the face. Then all hell broke loose. The Sunday School teacher screamed at him, the pastor came in and yelled at him, his parents were mad at him and told him how much of an embarrasment this was going to be to their family. Yet nothing was ever said to the kid who used to hit him on the back of the head. And nobody could understand why he would never go back to church after that. Anyway, he is much older now, and has finally started attending here - mostly because of his wife, he says. But you can tell he still carries it with him today.

Well, I just got all the clocks changed at the church, now I should probably go home and change the clocks there. Need to do the treadmill, eat something, then I don't know what. I have a bajillion books I need to read, but I have a hard time doing that for recreation.

You know... sometimes God works in some pretty wild ways. You just never know who might say something at just the right time, or how sometimes even one word can possibly alter the course of eternity for someone. Last week was a long week. This weekend was setting up to be long. I am thankful for small graces though. God is good.

Don't forget to change your clock

Note to self: Remember to change the clocks today. Daylight Saving Time will begin during the night tonight (at least for most of us in the USA). Since we're approaching Spring, that means we will "spring ahead" and set our clocks AHEAD one hour. It's supposed to take place at 2 am, but the easy thing to do is: If you go to bed at say, 11 pm, just set your clocks for midnight. Then when you get up in the morning all will be right with the world. Or do like me and go ahead and change them all in the middle of the afternoon today.

I'll tell you this... I don't like doing it this early in the year. I want to go back to when we used to change it - three weeks later. It stays dark too late in the morning. And, actually, I wish Indiana would have listened to the governor and switched to the Central Time Zone. I don't like being in the Eastern.

The blue parakeet - 3

Time constraints will limit my reflections from chapters 6-8 of Scot McKnight's book The Blue Parakeet, but they are good chapters nonetheless.

Chapter 6 deals with developing a "relational" approach to reading Scripture. I whole-heartedly agree with this, but it would likely put me at odds with some in my denomination. He says rather than asking the question "What can I learn from the Bible?"... a better question is, "What is my relationship to the Bible?" And even better yet is, "What is my relationship to the GOD of the Bible?"

He says on 86, "What I learned about the authority approach to the Bible [read it and submit because it is authoritative] was that it is not personal enough or relational enough. It does not express enough of why it is that God gave us the Bible." On p. 87 he goes on, "So what I'm saying is that the authority approach to the Bible is not enough. There is more to the Bible than its subject matter."

On 91 he says, "God gave us the Bible not so we can know it but so we can know and love God through it."

On p. 95 he ends with this... "...those who have a proper relationship to the Bible never need to speak of the Bible as their authority nor do they speak of their submission to the Bible. They are so in tune with God, so in love with him, that the word 'authority' is swallowed up in loving God. Even more, the word 'submission' is engulfed in the disposition of listening to God speak through the Bible and in the practice of doing what God calls us to do."

In chapter 7 he says (95), "We need to have not only a 'view' of the Bible but also a 'relationship' to the God of the Bible. Knowing water will hydrate the body and believing that drinking five bottles of water daily is healthy are not the same as drinking the water until one's body is properly hydrated."

Chapter 8 - on "missional listening" - is a good chapter too. It can basically be summed up by two statements he makes on p. 112:

If you are doing good works, you are reading the Bible aright.
If you are not doing good works, you are not reading the Bible aright.

He discussed this in more detail on pp.104-105. I might have questioned this at one time; but I think it is right on.

Peace out; and in.

Furnace doctor, piano tuner, and other random noise

I had to miss my weekly pastors small group today because the church furnace needed some work. Last Sunday someone told me it was making a lot of noise and might be a bearing. I couldn't find anywhere on the furnace about who sold it to us, or serviced it, so I called the 'Doc.' One of their retired employees used to be a part of our church (until he got mad at me and left), and I read where a friend of mine just got a new furnace from them. Anyway, the noise was just a bad fan wheel (not the motor). Some of the tines were loose and were making a racket. It also needed a new some-kind-of capacitor (which he didn't charge us for). It will be around $400 for the service call, parts, and diagnostics.

Yesterday was the annual piano tuning. I LOVE when the piano tuner comes. I've blogged about this before (I think it's early March every year). It is always so calming to sit in my office and listen to him hitting note-note-note... pause... then note-note-note again. Over and over for an hour or two. It always gives me that "tingly" feeling, and makes me feel good all over. Then he will just sit and play for awhile, and he's pretty good. But... this year... he came on the same day that the cleaning lady was here. She was running the vacuum cleaner for much of the time he was tuning, so it was kind of a distraction. I also seemed to have an inordinate number of phone calls yesterday too. Argh. I was really bummed about this.

I also spent part of yesterday trying to fill out a stupid government form. There are different forms for our tax exempt status, and the electric company needed one particular to utilities. Of course, in order to get that form, I first had to file another form and get approval for that. And I needed a copy of the electric bill, and needed to know how many kilowatt hours we used, and all sorts of other useless-seeming stuff. I had papers all over the place, and a zillion web pages open, and I finally had to call the IN government... but I think I got the first form done. So now I wait so I can file for the other one. Egads. And some people think all pastors do is preach on Sunday. I told the lady on the phone, "Look, I'm an idiot and I don't know anything about any of this, so what do I need to do here?" She laughed and was pretty nice.

After I left the office I cleaned up another huge area of the straw that was covering the yard. I just made a big pile in the grass and I'm just gonna burn the sucker some day when the wind isn't blowing. There's one more area by the recycling shed that needs raked up, and along the west side of the pavilion. I will be glad when that is done, because it messes with my allergies something awful and makes me feel like crap.

Last night Jane and I had our date night, because she is going to be gone this weekend, and she has class on Thursdays from right after work until 10 pm. We have been pretty good about taking a night out every week for probably 10-12 years now. Last night we went to the neon Bandito's, and my clothes still smell like Mexican food. It's making me hungry.

Missional mindset

Buildingchurchleaders.com has a nice article (http://buildingchurchleaders.com/articles/2009/missionalmindset.html) about Reggie McNeal called "Missional Mindset." It deals with his new book 'Missional Renaissance,' which, according to Reggie, "...is the biggest reshaping of the church since the Reformation."

In the article it says he, "...warned pastors and staff members that shifting to this mode means more than completing an annual community service project. Instead, he said it calls for an incarnational mindset where pastors and other church leaders live transparently, discipling others through close relationships and accountability."

There's a nice part about the missional church requiring a "new vision and scorecard to measure how it is doing." He pointed out how one church, instead of worrying about how many attended Sunday School or worship services, they want to ensure that all students in their county will be able to read English by third grade. He believes things like this not only help the community, but they "grease the skids for God" - meaning it creates opportunities for evangelistic conversations to happen.

McNeal says there are three shifts needed for a program-driven church to become missional:

1. Changing from internal ministry to an external focus.
2. Asking, "Are our people better off because of what we've done?
3. Moving from church-based leadership to apostolic leadership.

Regarding the last shift McNeals says, "Instead of a minister saying, 'I'm pastor of First Baptist,' he or she would proclaim, 'I'm pastor of the community and my support team is First Baptist.'

A nice, not-too-long article. I really like Reggie. He's an older cat who knows his stuff. I am looking forward to hearing from him at our denomination's regional conference this summer.

Estrangement in community

An interesting thought by Henri Nouwen as recorded on p. 125 of the book 'The Only Necessary Thing":

The Christian community is... a community which not only creates a sense of belonging but also a sense of estrangement. In the Christian community we say to each other, 'We are together, but we cannot fulfill each other... we help each other, but we also have to remind each other that our destiny is beyond our togetherness.'

Wow. Yeah. I always hear people complain about how lame Christian "community" is. You know, that you can find better community at a bar, or a social club. I think that's debatable anyway, but I think part of the problem comes when we try to make the 'community' the ultimate reality, and what we have here is not yet it. He goes on...

The support of the Christian community is a support in common expectation. That requires a constant criticism of anyone who makes the community into a safe shelter or a cozy clique, and a constant encouragement to look forward to what is to come.

The basis of the Christian community is not the family tie, or social or economic equality, or shared oppression or complaint, or mutual attraction... but the divine call. The Christian community is not the result of human efforts. God has made us into chosen people by calling us out of "Egypt" to the "New Land," out of the desert to fertile ground, out of slavery to freedom, out of our sin to salvation, out of captivity to liberation. All these words and images give expression to the fact that the initiative belongs to God and that God is the source of our new life together. By our common call to the New Jerusalem, we recognize each other on the road as brothers and sisters. Therefore, as the people of God, we are called ekklesia (from the Greek kaleo, call; and ek, out), the community called out of the old world into the new.

Hmm. For a long time I thought creating community was my job. No wonder it left me feeling so discouraged and useless. Maybe instead of being the goal, community is simply what happens as we try to help one another find our way in becoming like Christ.

Peace out; and in.

The blue parakeet - 2

In ch. 5 of Scot McKnight's The Blue Parakeet he spells out "How the Bible works." This is a really good chapter. Reminds me of McLaren's 'The Story We Find Ourselves In' somewhat.

He says on p. 66, "We say the Bible is Story because if we read it from beginning to end, we discover that it has three features: it has a PLOT (creation to consumation), it has CHARACTERS (God - Father, Son, and Spirit - and God's people and the world and creation around them), and it also has many AUTHORS who together tell the story."

The rest of the chapter lays out the plot and theme of the Bible. He purports that each author in the Bible writes their story within this plot, but they are given freedom to tell the story in their own way. So whether you're reading Exodus, Ezra, Malachi, Mark, Acts, Hebrews, or whatever, you must read each book as a variation on this plot. The plot is...

1. God creates Eikons - who are designed for oneness. It begins with The Adam, and the lonely Adam is split into two - the Ish (man) and the Ishah (woman). God made the Ishah from the man's rib, from his side, as a symbol of companionship and mutuality rather than subordination. The idea is that they would together become "one flesh" again, and marriage would symbolize the union of oneness in love. Marriage completes creation, so to speak, and restores The Adam.

2. But then we encounter Cracked Eikons - a distortion of oneness, and creation of otherness. This is what we refer to as sin. It is going against what God said. Not only is the oneness distorted by having to leave Eden, it is distorted between The Adam and God, and between themselves. He says on p. 72, "This otherness problem is what the gospel 'fixes,' and the story of the Bible is the story of God's people struggling with otherness and searching for oneness."

3. Covenant Community - the struggle for oneness - is what he suggests too many of us miss in the story. He says most of us think the plot consists of 'creation, fall, and redemption.' We miss a huge, huge, huge, portion of the Bible dealing with community. More specifically with our inability to achieve oneness/community on our own. So...

4. We have Christ, the Perfect Eikon, and oneness is restored. On p. 75 he says, "The Bible's story has a plot headed in the direction of a PERSON. And that same story is headed in the direction of a COMMUNITY "in" that person (Christ)... The story of the Bible takes the otherness of cracked Eikons and directs us toward Jesus Christ, in whom alone we find oneness." He says "God accomplishes four things in Christ, each of which contributes to the restoration of oneness. These four things do the job, end the otherness, and create the oneness that the story of the Bible has been yearning for." They are: INCARNATION - Jesus becomes one with us; one of us. DEATH - Jesus dies with us, instead of us, and for us. RESURRECTION - dead Eikons walk again. PENTECOST - the covenant community can be empowered to restoration with God, self, others, and the world (oneness). Which will culminate in...

5. Consummation - oneness forever. Restoration is a two-part work. Jesus' first coming is a partial redemption. The fullness will come when God once again "opens the gates to Eden" and we have a new heaven and earth, with complete oneness.

A good chapter. I will likely preach some of this.

Oatmeal with water, and other wildly exciting tidbits

Today I had oatmeal made with water (instead of milk) for the first time that I can remember. I buy the microwavable instant oatmeal - usually the low sodium maple sugar - and have always made it with skim milk. The instructions say you can use either milk or water.

I actually haven't even been eating oatmeal for breakfast lately. I've been on a kick with frozen waffles. And I still have a hankering for them. But I need to get my cholesterol checked again in a little under 3 months, so I thought I better go back to the oatmeal for breakfast and cereal for lunch thing. You know, nothing like getting a *true* test of my cholesterol. I'm like that. Plus I would like to lose about 10-15 pounds. That's probably not going to happen though, but still.

I remember a few years ago I lost about 20-25 pounds. I don't know if I got down to 145 or 150 or so. And I felt GREAT. And I was actually able to go off all my medicines - even blood pressure medicine. It was weird because, it's not like I'm really fat, and, in fact, I had people asking me all the time if I was sick or something. They thought I was too skinny. The reality was that I felt better than I could EVER remember feeling. Because the last time I was that light I was a smoker, and smoking makes you feel like crap even if you're not aware of it at the time.

I do feel a little better after 3 days on the Allegra. Still having some sinus drainage issues, but it appears to be getting there. I didn't sleep very good last night for some reason though. It is seldom that I have a bad night sleeping anymore. Well, other than Thursday nights. I always seem to be up late on Thursdays, and often wake up on the couch Friday mornings.

Last night we were bummed because - after hurrying home so as not to miss 24 - we found out that we had missed an episode somewhere along the line. Yeah, the show is getting stupid just like all other tv shows do, but it is still airing new shows, so it's something we've been trying to watch. That fbi lady is annoying though; and Larry too. Yeah, it's probably a dumb show. But still. My other favorite is 'Life'. It's going the same way too though. And I used to like 'Medium' for some strange reason, but I didn't even bother to watch it last night. Watched 'Two and a Half Men' instead. It's a terrible show, but it is extremely funny. Then we caught a bit of Gordon Lightfoot on PBS. Wow. We were hoping to get tickets to see him in Fort Wayne later this month, but after watching him last night... I think I'll pass.

Well, I suppose it's time to get up and go out into the freezing cold again. I just saw that it was 8f. At least the sun is shining.

The blue parakeet - 1

I am enjoying Scot McKnight's 'The Blue Parakeet.' I'm not too far into it yet, but I relate well to his style and humor, and his books have all been splendid reads for me.

The front flap of tbp says:

Parakeets make delightful pets. We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it.

McKnight's 'The Blue Parakeet' has emerged at the perfect time to cool the flames of a world on fire with contention and controversy. It calls Christians to a way to read the Bible that leads beyond old debates and denominational battles. It calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew for a new generation.

In 'The Blue Parakeet', McKnight... challenges [us] to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic theology but to see it as a Story that we're summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.

He calls his bold new approach to the Bible the "Third Way," a path that walks confidently - and joyfully - between theological extremes.

I like that. As with all of my blogging-about-books, this will not be a review, but just some things I find interesting or feel like jotting down to remember. I suggest you read the book yourself for the full impact. Here are some of my highlights so far...

p. 42... The Bible's story, in the simplest of categories, has a plot with a:

• Beginning (Genesis 1-11), and a (long, long)
• Middle (Genesis 12-Malachi 4; Matthew - Revelation), and an
• End (Matthew 25; Romans 8; Revelation 21-22).

On pp. 44-54 he lists 5 shortcut approaches to reading the Bible that leave us lacking ("as shortcuts in exercise prevent full health benefits, so also shortcuts in Bible reading affect our spiritual health").

• Shortcut 1 - Morsels of Law
• Shortcut 2 - Morsels of Blessings and Promises
• Shortcut 3 - Mirrors and Inkblots
• Shortcut 4 - Puzzling Together the Pieces to Map God's Mind
• Shortcut 5 - Maestros

On p. 45 he points out that it was Stephanus who divided the New Testament up into numbered verses... not until 1551. Hmm.

p. 52... "God did not give the Bible so we could master him or it; God gave the Bible so we could live it, so we could be mastered by it."

p. 62... "...creation and fall, exodus and exile, community and redemption..."

p. 65... "Here's the question the Story asks us, and it reveals what we mean by a wiki-story: Is Jesus' temptation the reliving of Adam and Eve's experience in Eden? (Jesus is then cast as the Second Adam, only this time perfectly obedient, and thereby the pioneer of a new Adamic line.) Or, which is more probable, is Jesus' temptation by Satan the reliving of Israel's wilderness testings? (Jesus is then recast as the second Moses leading his people to a new Promised Land.) In either case, Matthew casts the story of Jesus' temptations as an updated version, a wiki-story, of an older story - either the Eden story or the wilderness story. Many New Testament specialists will tell you that nearly every page is a wiki-story of an Old Testament wiki-story. In fact, the Old Testament scholar John Goldingay says the New Testament is nothing but footnotes on the Old Testament! He adds that "one cannot produce a theology out of footnotes." That is, if you don't have the Old Testament in your head, you can't grasp what the New Testament authors are saying.""

That's all the farther I am. Good stuff.

Carrie's ad

I saw this ad in the latest issue of Christianity Today, and found out daughter Carrie wrote it. Cool! Dr. John is her boss. And it is a very fine institution if you know of anyone interested in the job.

World methodist council social affirmation

Another interesting affirmation I saw in the 2009 Abingdon Preaching Annual (p. 455 of cd). It was adopted by the World Methodist Council, Nairobi, Kenya, 1986.


World Methodist Council Social Affirmation:

We believe in God, creator of the world and of all people;
and in Jesus Christ, incarnate among us,
who died and rose again;
and in the Holy Spirit,
present with us to guide, strengthen, and comfort.
We believe;
God, help our unbelief.
We rejoice in every sign of God’s kingdom:
in the upholding of human dignity and community;
in every expression of love, justice, and reconciliation;
in each act of self-giving on behalf of others;
in the abundance of God’s gifts
entrusted to us that all may have enough;
in all responsible use of the earth’s resources.
Glory be to God on high;
and on earth, peace.
We confess our sin, individual and collective,
by silence or action:
through the violation of human dignity
based on race, class, age, sex, nation, or faith;
through the exploitation of people
because of greed and indifference;
through the misuse of power
in personal, communal, national, and international life;
through the search for security
by those military and economic forces
that threaten human existence;
through the abuse of technology
which endangers the earth and all life upon it.
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
We commit ourselves individually and as a community
to the way of Christ:
to take up the cross;
to seek abundant life for all humanity;
to struggle for peace with justice and freedom;
to risk ourselves in faith, hope, and love,
praying that God’s kingdom may come.
Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

New exercise bike

We got a new exercise bike last night. It was one of the more lower-priced ones at Sears, and it's the only one we could find this side of a Schwinn Airdyne that had both a leg and arm workout. It seems so many exercise bikes nowadays are the sit-down kind that are more for rehabilitation than exercise. I will likely still use the treadmill, but they are not good for people with back problems. So Jane is looking forward to biking it; and it will be a nice change of pace for me also.
Now if we just had someplace to put it...