Well, unfortunately, it might be true. The more you are goofing around on your computer, the lower your IQ is going. So, in theory, the more you are here, the dumber you are getting. Click on the title link for the news story.
I love IQ. I love it because I love to see the way that people talk about it. I love to ask people what there's is and I don't really care what the number is - I find it interesting when people are really excited about their number. High or low, whatever. I love when people ask me my number and there number is higher, but they are complete morons. I find it revealing to me as a warning not to place my self worth anywhere but on Jesus' inherent worth given to creation, in His Image.
I think the idol of finding self-worth in smarts, good grades, graduating high school is wildly prevalent in our culture. People look at me like I am crazy when I talk about my educational dreams for LJ - I hope he follow God's call. HS? Ok, whatever. College? OK whatever.
However, I don't endorse the, "I'm dropping out of high school so that I can go to Africa and be a missionary!" Unless it is surely God's call (which He has made crazier calls), then the 14 year old in Africa is just another crying mouth to feed. One without a decent education.
So if you are going to be stupid. At least be stupid here.
*This rant has been inspired by Irwin McManus' teaching at 722 in Atlanta from last week.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Canadian
If you are a frequent reader of the reorientation then you already know I am a Canadian living in America. Basically that means two things:
1. I can go to Cube and smoke all the cigars I want. However, I don't like Castro (I mean really, Che is just your Minister of Agriculture? - and then you leave him hanging in Bolivia? COme on!) and I don't smoke cigars. So that one is a bit of a wash.
2. I have the priviledge of riding out the storm of being the butt of jokes that Americans love to tell. Thing is, many of them are stinking funny. It's only annoying when people actually tell me I'm talking "wrong". Honestly, I'm not going to get a new accent - it's been 6 years I've lived in the USAmericas and I still talk "wrong". So, most people are not haters - they are genuinely funny.
All of this, because I got this list in an email from Kayla, and I thought it would be fun to post. I laughed out loud. Feel free to do so also, especially if you are in a public place - it always makes people wonder.
26 Signs Showing You Might Be Canadian
1. You're not offended by the term "HOMO MILK".
2. You understand the phrase "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine, on the chesterfield."
3. You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars.
4. You drink Pop, not Soda.
5. You know that a Mickey and 24's mean, "party at the camp,eh!!!"
6. You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars and no Americans.
7. You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway.
8. You drive on a highway, not a freeway.
9. You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers.
10. You know that Casey and Finnegan were not part of a Celtic musical group
11. You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada.
12. You brag to Americans that; Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion & Mike Myers are Canadians.
13. You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian!
14. You know what a touque is.
15. You design your Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
16. You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed".
17. Your local newspaper covers the national news on 2 pages, but requires 6 pages for hockey.
18. You know that the four seasons mean: almost winter, winter, still winter and road work.
19. You know that when it's 25 degrees outside, it's a warm day.
20. You understand the Labatt Blue commercials.
21. You know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan".
22. You perk up when you hear the theme song from 'Hockey Night in Canada'.
23. You are in grade 12, not the 12th grade.
24. "Eh?" is a very important part of your vocabulary, and is more polite than, "Huh?"
25. You actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all of your Canadian friends! Then you send them to your American friends just to confuse them!
26. You know that it is a Zedbra, not a zebra.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Reality
I hate the saying, "It's not a religion, it's a relationship."
I hate it because it's not an either/or; the two are not mutually exclusive.
Fifteen seconds ago I created my new saying:
It's not about religion or relationship. It's about reality.
Mission Shaped Church
Mad Props to TSK for the link to a free download of the book, Mission Shaped Church. You can click on the title and go get the download for yourself. It's from the Church of England, so it's in a decidedly U.K. context, but it has some very important principles and helps for futuring here in the USAmericas. Mainly because I see Europe, U.K., Canada as a little further ahead in the emerging postmodern shift.
The book is timely for me as we (SACC's leadership) are considering what it would look like to plant a new congregation (more than a new service, less than a church plant) that is missional and moves, thinks, connects, teaches in ways that are relevant to people who are living life in the new postmodern world.
So I finished the book this morning and wanted to put some killer quotes up:
"the existing parochial system alone is no longer able to fully deliver its underlying mission purpose. We need to recognize that a variety of intergrated missionary approaches is required." (xi)
"The core value of socitey has moved from 'progress' to 'choice'" (9)
"forms of Christian community that are homes of generous hospitality, places of challenging reconcilliation and centres of attentiveness to the living God." (13; quoted from Transmission Magazine article by Brother Samuel SSF
"Frequent causes of [church plant] failure included poor planning, leadership issues, inward-looking focus, cultural blindness, part-time leadership and lack of resources." (22)
"Ecclesiology is a subsection of the doctrine of mission." (24; quoted from George Carey in a 1989 presentation)
"Today's young people are of a different culture, not simply a different age." (79)
"It is not the Church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a Church in the world." (85; quoting Tim Dearborn in Beyond Duty)
The book is timely for me as we (SACC's leadership) are considering what it would look like to plant a new congregation (more than a new service, less than a church plant) that is missional and moves, thinks, connects, teaches in ways that are relevant to people who are living life in the new postmodern world.
So I finished the book this morning and wanted to put some killer quotes up:
"the existing parochial system alone is no longer able to fully deliver its underlying mission purpose. We need to recognize that a variety of intergrated missionary approaches is required." (xi)
"The core value of socitey has moved from 'progress' to 'choice'" (9)
"forms of Christian community that are homes of generous hospitality, places of challenging reconcilliation and centres of attentiveness to the living God." (13; quoted from Transmission Magazine article by Brother Samuel SSF
"Frequent causes of [church plant] failure included poor planning, leadership issues, inward-looking focus, cultural blindness, part-time leadership and lack of resources." (22)
"Ecclesiology is a subsection of the doctrine of mission." (24; quoted from George Carey in a 1989 presentation)
"Today's young people are of a different culture, not simply a different age." (79)
"It is not the Church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a Church in the world." (85; quoting Tim Dearborn in Beyond Duty)
Friday, September 23, 2005
Church Sluts
Honestly, this isn't completely my fault.
We're rolling in the Caddy south on I-5 after a day of emerging talk and Scott talks about a question he asked about wether people are married or just dating the church. It's a common metaphor about how people don't commit to a body. People, generally, commit to a style or a preacher or to convience. Rare are the people who commit to a body through thick and thin. Rare and wonderful.
So, then the conversation moves along the lines of the dating metaphor and I have an epiphany:
"So, the people who just go church to church in dating relationships, would those people be called 'church sluts'?'"
After we all recovered we kind of followed that line of thought and decided it probably wouldn't sell as a book but is a very true thing.
I think those who are in emerging contexts will need to address this because it is the sin of our modern western baby-boomer parents, and the effects will carry on for a couple of generations. How can church promiscuity be ministered to? I believe there must be a direct and authentic commitment to communtiy (not affinity; affinity deals with convience and friendships, community includes these but works through difference and inconvience because of authentic commitment) in a local context. There must be a commitment to a local body, which is commited to the individual believers.
I wonder if, in the future, we will look at church sluts (church-hopping, shopping for a church) as a terrible sickness that invaded the church.
We're rolling in the Caddy south on I-5 after a day of emerging talk and Scott talks about a question he asked about wether people are married or just dating the church. It's a common metaphor about how people don't commit to a body. People, generally, commit to a style or a preacher or to convience. Rare are the people who commit to a body through thick and thin. Rare and wonderful.
So, then the conversation moves along the lines of the dating metaphor and I have an epiphany:
"So, the people who just go church to church in dating relationships, would those people be called 'church sluts'?'"
After we all recovered we kind of followed that line of thought and decided it probably wouldn't sell as a book but is a very true thing.
I think those who are in emerging contexts will need to address this because it is the sin of our modern western baby-boomer parents, and the effects will carry on for a couple of generations. How can church promiscuity be ministered to? I believe there must be a direct and authentic commitment to communtiy (not affinity; affinity deals with convience and friendships, community includes these but works through difference and inconvience because of authentic commitment) in a local context. There must be a commitment to a local body, which is commited to the individual believers.
I wonder if, in the future, we will look at church sluts (church-hopping, shopping for a church) as a terrible sickness that invaded the church.
Further, will blame be put on the Christians themselves, or on their leaders for making them what they are through their market driven church models?
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Learning Party Review
On Saturday John, Scott and I participated in a learning party up in Seattle, hosted by the Church of the Apostles. It was a lot of theory and hard to get into the practical aspect.
The overall feature was how mainline denominations are emerging. That was interesting because there were several of us who are of a more evangelical persuasion there. There was also a Unitarian Universalist. I disagreed with most of what came out of his mouth.
For us here in Albany, it helped us to know and recognize that we will need framework (and to determine how framework is determined) and we will need to know our convictions, even if we hold them with humility, we do not endorse ignorance as a form of valuing questions.
Props to Bob Hyatt for his organization and participation. He came from a more evangelical perspective and was more like what we feel God calling us towards. So, it was a good day to help us define and a good day for networking within our staff and in our region.
The overall feature was how mainline denominations are emerging. That was interesting because there were several of us who are of a more evangelical persuasion there. There was also a Unitarian Universalist. I disagreed with most of what came out of his mouth.
For us here in Albany, it helped us to know and recognize that we will need framework (and to determine how framework is determined) and we will need to know our convictions, even if we hold them with humility, we do not endorse ignorance as a form of valuing questions.
Props to Bob Hyatt for his organization and participation. He came from a more evangelical perspective and was more like what we feel God calling us towards. So, it was a good day to help us define and a good day for networking within our staff and in our region.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Defeating Spam and other tastes
Just a few notes: I've added/deleted some links on the right due to new blogs I read and developing relationships and I've deleted some blogs that were dead.
Also, I've added word verification to blog comments. I'm just hating the spammers. Isn't there some terrorism law that we can use to get rid of them. Spammers are a part of the axis of evil.
I have a busy am today but later I'm going to try and post on:
* Learning Party at the church of the Apostles
* How God is leading our prayers considering a new ministry
* Consumer culture and Church Sluts
Also, I've added word verification to blog comments. I'm just hating the spammers. Isn't there some terrorism law that we can use to get rid of them. Spammers are a part of the axis of evil.
I have a busy am today but later I'm going to try and post on:
* Learning Party at the church of the Apostles
* How God is leading our prayers considering a new ministry
* Consumer culture and Church Sluts
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Learning Party
People laugh when I tell them I am going to an emerging learning party this weekend. I think it might sound too much like Tupperware or Avon. But that is what is happening on Saturday.
John, Scott and I are going to the Emerging Learning Party hosted by Church of the Apostles up in Seattle. Karen Ward is the leader there. I originally heard of it on Bob Hyatt's blog, and he is going to be a tour guide there. Bob was gracious enough a year ago to share with our church staff some important ideas and directions for us to consider engaging the emerging community here in Albany.
Shoud be and interesting day.
Having to explain this stuff (learning parties, tour guides, emerge) to the average person in my (baby boomer) church is just embarrassing.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Constantine
Watched Constantine super late las night - sweet movie - it was spiritual and dealt with a couple cool issues - like is suicide the unforgivable sin?
The effects and stuff are supposed to be scary, I guess. And it would be...if I wasn't so obsessed with a fascination that our culture has with spirituality.
The effects and stuff are supposed to be scary, I guess. And it would be...if I wasn't so obsessed with a fascination that our culture has with spirituality.
Friday, September 09, 2005
The Core
Tommorrow,
I'm taking my two brand new and improved interns (called Driven Ministry Associates) to their first youth ministry training seminar up in Portland.
The two are called Lacy and Aaron, but neither actively blog. It's sad, really.
We'll be attending YS's THE CORE seminar, which I have never attended. Interesting.
OK - Later-
James <><
I'm taking my two brand new and improved interns (called Driven Ministry Associates) to their first youth ministry training seminar up in Portland.
The two are called Lacy and Aaron, but neither actively blog. It's sad, really.
We'll be attending YS's THE CORE seminar, which I have never attended. Interesting.
OK - Later-
James <><
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
What a great Question
I really think questions are way better than answers. Questions show hearts. Questions reveal vulnerability.
Here's a question I got in an email from someone today:
Although there is no question mark at the end, I thought this was seeking somekind of a response.
But, in the fashion of the Rabbi, I will respond with other questions:
Does the Bible not teach that 100% of the demons believe in God? If so, why is there such a mess in hell?
Do you think God wants to be in the pledge of allegiance?
Why doesn't the 14% tell the 86% to 'sit down and SHUT UP'?
Who types this crap?
Here's a question I got in an email from someone today:
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, it is very hard to understand why there is such a mess about having the Ten Commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance. Why don't we just tell the other 14% to Sit Down and SHUT UP!!!
Although there is no question mark at the end, I thought this was seeking somekind of a response.
But, in the fashion of the Rabbi, I will respond with other questions:
Does the Bible not teach that 100% of the demons believe in God? If so, why is there such a mess in hell?
Do you think God wants to be in the pledge of allegiance?
Why doesn't the 14% tell the 86% to 'sit down and SHUT UP'?
Who types this crap?
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Spam Part Two
Just so that everyone knows. All spam here will be deleted. Each comment is forwarded to my email, so all spam will be caught.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Pretending on Sundays
Nick (Thinking PAdre) has put up an interesting quick thought (dated: Friday, August 26, 2005) on the plight of the "associate" pastor who fills in while the "SR" is gone.
I empathize because I think it's true. I wonder how many people are pretending to listen on a Sunday morning. I also wonder how many people are in denial about how many people are listening on Sunday morning.
Also - I think another major difference in teaching adults and teaching students is that students don't pretend if you are boring. They haven't been conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings. This is just another reason why I consider it a priviledge to be around teens so much. They are so core.
I wonder what those of us who are YP's can do to keep the students from being conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings?
I empathize because I think it's true. I wonder how many people are pretending to listen on a Sunday morning. I also wonder how many people are in denial about how many people are listening on Sunday morning.
Also - I think another major difference in teaching adults and teaching students is that students don't pretend if you are boring. They haven't been conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings. This is just another reason why I consider it a priviledge to be around teens so much. They are so core.
I wonder what those of us who are YP's can do to keep the students from being conditioned into pretending on Sunday mornings?
Friday, August 26, 2005
Pat Freaking Robertson
I've tried my hardest to ignore this guy, but it's just becoming harder and harder. Last night I watched a bit of Hardball with Chris Mattehews and he had on a token evangelical pastor, a token liberal author and Jim Wallis, who wrote God's Politics (which I have not/proly will not read/but heard was really great). Anyways, Wallis was calling for Robertson to retire and to stop being a goofball blemish.
For those of you who don't know, Robertson called for the assasination of the leader of Venezula. Dumb. Plain dumb.
I wish that he would stop speaking for so many people. Just because you are a millionare that gets other people to still donate money to you to run your stupid TV show doesn't mean you speak to me.
As of right now I declare to the world that I am not a conservative evangelical who has Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, or any Dobson for a spokesperson.
Call me progressive, call me liberal, just don't call me part of the conservative evangelical right wing moron political machine.
Dang this ticks me off. Put down the megaphone Robertson - nobody's taking you seriously anymore.
For those of you who don't know, Robertson called for the assasination of the leader of Venezula. Dumb. Plain dumb.
I wish that he would stop speaking for so many people. Just because you are a millionare that gets other people to still donate money to you to run your stupid TV show doesn't mean you speak to me.
As of right now I declare to the world that I am not a conservative evangelical who has Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, or any Dobson for a spokesperson.
Call me progressive, call me liberal, just don't call me part of the conservative evangelical right wing moron political machine.
Dang this ticks me off. Put down the megaphone Robertson - nobody's taking you seriously anymore.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
SPAM Master
It had to happen sooner or later - the reorientation has been spammed! A bunch of comments came through that are just ads for other junk. I don't even know what/where they are, but I'll delete what I can.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Gretzky!!
While I was away at camp, the earth shifted. The universe changed. Reality was altered.
Wayne Gretzky is assigning himself as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. This changes everything. He is taking on the role knowing that the general rule is that great players don't make great coaches but, aware of this, Gretzky intends to, once again, rewrite the rules of the NHL. Without argument Gretzky is the greatest to ever play his sport, many others have tried, but Wayne did it all - He would be the all-time point leader if he never, ever even scored a goal. Yet, he also scored more goals than anyone in history. And made more assists than anyone in history.
Indeed it is an exciting time to be a hockey fan.
Wayne Gretzky is assigning himself as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. This changes everything. He is taking on the role knowing that the general rule is that great players don't make great coaches but, aware of this, Gretzky intends to, once again, rewrite the rules of the NHL. Without argument Gretzky is the greatest to ever play his sport, many others have tried, but Wayne did it all - He would be the all-time point leader if he never, ever even scored a goal. Yet, he also scored more goals than anyone in history. And made more assists than anyone in history.
Indeed it is an exciting time to be a hockey fan.
This post is made with apologizes to dummies who think that Jordan was a better athlete than Gretzky...can Jordan even skate?
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Mayfield Madness
Still recovering a bit from high school camp. I think there were a bunch of girls stampeding through my cabin at about 5 am on Saturday! Whatever...
I finished Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis really fast and will go back through it before posting on it. Currently I am still working on Andy Stanley's "Next Generation Leader" which is really not hitting it with me. No turntables, if you know what I mean...
I am also straining my way through Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy Dean. IT IS ABSOLUTELY FAB!! If you are in youth ministry and believe there is more to this calling than lessons and games - this book is an absolute must.
A'ight - I'm out - trying to catch up!!
I finished Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis really fast and will go back through it before posting on it. Currently I am still working on Andy Stanley's "Next Generation Leader" which is really not hitting it with me. No turntables, if you know what I mean...
I am also straining my way through Practicing Passion by Kenda Creasy Dean. IT IS ABSOLUTELY FAB!! If you are in youth ministry and believe there is more to this calling than lessons and games - this book is an absolute must.
A'ight - I'm out - trying to catch up!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
It's Official!
As of last Thursday night I am an official licensed minister in the Evangelical Chruch of North America. That means I can marry people, bury people, give them communion in church without any red tape and baptize people with the "official" blessing of the denomination. I really could have done all of those things before, but now I carry an implicit stamp of support from the denomination.
Denominations are great. Sure, they provide buttloads of red tape and reports and seem to be full of busybodies...but they are also full of really godly, wise men who encourage me and promise to pray for me and support me and keep me level headed; I do the same for them. Doug Padgit once compared a denomination to a family, with all the baggage and all the great stuff that goes along with that.
So that's it.
Communion anyone?
Denominations are great. Sure, they provide buttloads of red tape and reports and seem to be full of busybodies...but they are also full of really godly, wise men who encourage me and promise to pray for me and support me and keep me level headed; I do the same for them. Doug Padgit once compared a denomination to a family, with all the baggage and all the great stuff that goes along with that.
So that's it.
Communion anyone?
Monday, July 25, 2005
The Present Future, Reggie McNeal
McNeal's book A Work of Heart was assigned to me as a part of my capstone internship program at TFC, so I went into it with a bit of a negative attitude (which I have towards most things I am forced to do, something I still work on to this day), but it surprised me...a lot. It remains one of my favorite books of leadership in the church.
So, on that knowledge and from Nick's whole blog on McNeal's new book, The Present Future, I picked up McNeal's latest and here are some great quotes and things I learned. There are some parts that really affected some of my thinking that I won't post here, because some of the thoughts are deeper and longer. But, if you are concerned with the future of the church (meaning: you are called to lead her) then this book comes with two reorienting thumbs up!
On the "refuge" mentality: which is touchy because the former yp here at SACC named the youth group refuge, and now has named his new church refuge. So when James agrees against the refuge mentality, it's touchy. Welcome to the reorientation!
p.8 "Many congregations and church leaders, faced with the collapse of the church culture, have responded by adopting a refuge mentality"
p.9 "Evangelism in this world (refuge world) is about churching the unchurched, not connecting people to Jesus...Refuge churches evidence enormus self-preoccupation. They decieve themselves into believing they are a potent force."
p. 17 "He (Jesus) preached that God was for people, not against them. He defined the litmus test for genuine spirituality in terms of one's relationships."
p.27 "The North American church culture is not spiritual enough to reach our culture."
p.36 "The power of the gospel is lost on church memebers who can sign off on doctrinal positions but have no story of personal transformation."
on John 8,
p. 39 "In the ensuing dialogue with the crowd of would-be executionsers Jesus proved that he is for the woman, not against her. He becomes her champion...Then after everyone is gone he tells her, in effect, 'Why don't you quit living like this? It's going to kill you.' No shrinking back. No 'I'm OK; you're OK' stuff."
p.50 "I am proposing that missiology come into prominence, both as a theological pursuit and as a guiding operational paradigm."
p.71 "People don't want to be assimilated."
p.73 "I think the solution is an abandonment of the church culture idolatry and a radical reintroduction of spiritual formation."
p.81 "The devil knows more Bible than most church members in North America and can sign off on our doctrinal statements, but this knowledge has not transformed him."
One big idea I will share and hopefully you will go out and buy this book because of this: McNeal shares and semi-develops and idea for Spiritual Development Coaches within the church. Much like the "life coach" idea that is so popular (and effective) today. Insteads of a "mentoring program", what if the church had a small army of people who were qualified to be a spiritual development coach for younger beleivers? It'll get you thinking!!
So, on that knowledge and from Nick's whole blog on McNeal's new book, The Present Future, I picked up McNeal's latest and here are some great quotes and things I learned. There are some parts that really affected some of my thinking that I won't post here, because some of the thoughts are deeper and longer. But, if you are concerned with the future of the church (meaning: you are called to lead her) then this book comes with two reorienting thumbs up!
On the "refuge" mentality: which is touchy because the former yp here at SACC named the youth group refuge, and now has named his new church refuge. So when James agrees against the refuge mentality, it's touchy. Welcome to the reorientation!
p.8 "Many congregations and church leaders, faced with the collapse of the church culture, have responded by adopting a refuge mentality"
p.9 "Evangelism in this world (refuge world) is about churching the unchurched, not connecting people to Jesus...Refuge churches evidence enormus self-preoccupation. They decieve themselves into believing they are a potent force."
p. 17 "He (Jesus) preached that God was for people, not against them. He defined the litmus test for genuine spirituality in terms of one's relationships."
p.27 "The North American church culture is not spiritual enough to reach our culture."
p.36 "The power of the gospel is lost on church memebers who can sign off on doctrinal positions but have no story of personal transformation."
on John 8,
p. 39 "In the ensuing dialogue with the crowd of would-be executionsers Jesus proved that he is for the woman, not against her. He becomes her champion...Then after everyone is gone he tells her, in effect, 'Why don't you quit living like this? It's going to kill you.' No shrinking back. No 'I'm OK; you're OK' stuff."
p.50 "I am proposing that missiology come into prominence, both as a theological pursuit and as a guiding operational paradigm."
p.71 "People don't want to be assimilated."
p.73 "I think the solution is an abandonment of the church culture idolatry and a radical reintroduction of spiritual formation."
p.81 "The devil knows more Bible than most church members in North America and can sign off on our doctrinal statements, but this knowledge has not transformed him."
One big idea I will share and hopefully you will go out and buy this book because of this: McNeal shares and semi-develops and idea for Spiritual Development Coaches within the church. Much like the "life coach" idea that is so popular (and effective) today. Insteads of a "mentoring program", what if the church had a small army of people who were qualified to be a spiritual development coach for younger beleivers? It'll get you thinking!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
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