Friendwheel

So I saw this link for a friend wheel on Marko's blog and did mine and I love it. Facebook is way better than myspace for fun and really cool networking - everyone around here still uses myspace, but facebook is better. At the very least, there's less porn, which always a bonus!

Here's my friend-wheel.It's a list of all my peeps on facebook and their connections to each other. It kinda groups my life into free-flowing groups with which I interact.

They're hee-ere!

It's not like we didn't tell you.

Happy Canada Day.

Sweet 23

Where is your favorite third place? It doesn't have to be a coffee shop, of course. It can be any place that is not home and not the workplace. Is your church a meaningful thrid place? If so, what does it do to fill that need? If your church fails as a sacred place for connecion, what is missing?

I like to have many options as third places so that I can third place in the environment that best fits me at any particular time. i really like out-of-the way places though - they seem to have more character, regulars and less traffic. I like going to places that aren't on the main road, that are two doors down from the busy Starbizzle.

I don't think our church is a meaningful third place. The only couches we have are in the prayer room, which isn't wildly connective or the ones in the worship center, but those all face the same way (yes, I'm talking about pews, silly). I don't think that churches need to be third places though. Why do we need to build a third place when we can rent it for the price of a coffee? I don't think any church needs to fill the need of a third place, instead they need to teach infiltration and missionality as a way of life. God lives at Starbucks just as much as He lives in the church (along that line, perhaps the first thing that needs to be taught is that people need to stop saying, "you can't do _________ in church!" like as if church is a magical place and not a elect people).

Sweet 22

How often do you seek community and connection on the internet? Are you involved in file sharing, social networking, group-edited Web sties and so forth? What does the virtual community on the Internet add to your life?

I am blogging righ tthis very second! I myspace and facebook pretty much everyday. I don't file share, but that's not because of any ethics, it's just because I don't so far - maybe when I get desperate enough for some Coldplay I will. I think the virtual community adds a couple distinct things to my life. First, it gives me on-demand connectedness with all sorts of people I have now throughout my life. I myspace with people who live all around me mostly, but I facebook with people from Canada and Georgia mostly. The other thing I get from user-driven social sites is the opportunity to hang out and discuss things that I am interested in. I can survey the conversations on many differentblogs and jump in where I feel like it. I can find people who want to tlak about the things that I want to talk about, in the language that I want to use, and discuss it!

Sweet 21

Who acts as an icon in yourlife, inviting you to look through him or her to God? As a result of this relationship, do you notice yourself becoming more dependent on God?

Ii think there are three kinds of people who act as icons in my life. First, the poor. At my best I am able to see Christ in their eyes. At my worst I cannot look into their eyes. I become dependent on God to love through me when my love runs dry. It's embarrassing to not be as loving as Jesus, but that's my truth so far. The second group are teens who love Jesus very much - to the point of risk. On the other hand, I see teens all the time who give up on themselves and choose reckless lives that are going nowhere because it is easier for them. They smile and laugh and then post myspace bulletins lamenting their lonliness - they haven't felt the presence of God much lately. But the teen who follows God to the point of it being genuinely hard - where they make concious decisions to give their lives away - in those teens, I think, Jesus lives very well. Thirdly has gotta be my kids. Fathering teaches me more aobut my relationship with God than anything else has in all my life. And God must really, really, really be patient to Father someone like me.

Sweet 20

Think about some of the churches you have recently worshipped in. Has the rich, provocative image of Christianity been replaced by sterile, neutered spaces that seem more like physicians' waiting rooms than temples?

This is the thing about modernly built churches - they are built cheaply and they have huge white walls. Institutional white - there are no restaurants that try to create atmosphere with huge institutional white walls. i understand that building stone cathedrals is hunormously expensive, but it seems that the whole world of designers were not invited to participate in the creation of modern-post-1940 churches.

Some churches are also putting the worship into multi-purpose rooms, since the worship center is only used for one morning a week. but, perhaps it is only used fo rone morning a week because it is such an uncomfortable place! There are other options than putting basketball nets on the walls to justify keeping a large space - but it requires creative thinking, which seems to be as costly as a stone cathedral.

Sweet 19

What are you doing to reveal the spiritual through the natural and the material of your life? Are you doing your own thing or the diving thing?

I love the way that Rob Bell eliminates the disconnect between spiritual and physical. They aren't separtate, they are expressions of the each other. So when I recycle, it is a physical expression of a spiritual belief I have. So, for the Christian who lives this way there is no possibility of doing your own thing - everything is a spiritual thing, and everything belongs to Him.

Sweet 18

Picture yourself in a future time when every person on earth has a personal mantra - three words or less that captures the essence of his or her mission. What would your mantra be?

break the numb.

Sweet 17

Think about the metaphors that guide your life. Are they Jesus metaphors, such as the overjoyed father who runs to welcome a lost child back home? Or are they manmade metaphors that point you in a direction other than Godward?

I can't imagine that any of my major metaphors point anywhere but Godward. At this point in my life I have completely given my life over to God and have no interest in taking it back. He's doing a much better job of running my life and I think that's a great place to be in.

Sweet 16

As a point of note, I skipped one of the questions in Sweet's The Gospel According to Starbucks because it involved an experiment with the TV and I don't think I can apply it to my life without a household mutiny.

Think about the images that make God immediate in your life, that bring God close. What are those images and why do they enliven your spirit? Now think about the biblical images that stir your passion for life. Do any of the same images appear on both lists?

This is a weird one for me, I guess. I mean images for me would be nature, worship and prayer actions. And those would be the same as the biblical images. Except the Old Testament ones. For those I would think of power and miracles, which I don't normally think of these days around here...

Great Prank

Apparently an entire lake has disappeared! Now that is a killer prank!

Sweet 15

"Our 'God is a consuming fire,' " reads Hebrews 12:29. but our experience of fire can either be the warmth of hearth and home, or a raging inferno of destruction and death. The "consuming fire" of God can either be our heaven or our hell. When did God last consume you in comfort and warmth? When did God last consume you in destruction?

I can attest to loads of times that God has brought a warming fire into my life - it is a part of the relationship that I have with Him. On the other hand, I don't think that God destroys people - I think God as a consuming fire destroys sin, but not the person. So I wouldn't say that God has destroyed me, because I wouldn't ever allow sin to define who I am. It most certainly tries, but I will fight back against it, praying that God would destroy it.

Sweet 14

Do you spend more time dreamin gor planning? Think about your life in light of carefully made plans. How much confidence do you place in your plans? Do you find security and comfort in carefully thought-out plans? And even when you have set forth elaborate plans in advance, how many times have you accomplished exactly what you planned?

Healthy James spends more time dreaming. Stressed out James spends more time planning. I like it when I am healthy. I don't put wholla lotta confidence in my plans - I just like make a decision and making progress - chances are you're right and you're moving in the right direction or else you aren't and then you just stop and turn around. I don't spend a loada time trying to nail stuff down and make sure that certain things happen or get accomplished. I'd rather prepare myself for a variety of possible outcomes and ride the roller coaster and see where it ends up...

Sweet 13

How many Christians do you know whose lives demonstrate holy boldness? What does that quality look like?

This is a tough question because many times the boldness looks like holiness but can come from carnal or romantic places. I think holy boldness looks like mercy, that's what I think. Bold forgiveness, bold love, bold self-sacrifice...that works for my response.

Sweet12

As a way of update, I am blogging through Leonard Sweet's The Gospel According to Starbucks by responding to all of the interspersed Brewed for Thought boxes. Hopefully you'll be inspired to read the book by the questions you read. Feel free to intereact with them, too.

Read this sentence again: the essence of a human being is in participation in the essence of the divine being. Think about what Thomas Aquinas's teaching means to you and for you. In what ways to you particpate in the life of God? In what ways does this participation define your existence as a person?

This is such an interesting quote to me because I believe that life exists in Jesus Christ alone. Those outside of his redemption are not really living - they look like it in a physical sense, but I have a hard time believing that the physical is really the foundation to what life really is. So, to 'be' is really to be a participant in the divine being; those who do not particpate, never really are.

However this has consequnces towards the future (infinity, eternity). It would seem to support the resurgence of the doctrine of limited time in hell, where being burned and and destroyed is equated with a ceasation of existence. I still have a hard time with that, because I am not satisfied with their dealing with scriptures that stand in opposition...which leaves me out there wondering what it really means to 'be'.

Alas...khobi is crying and I will cease to think through this post...

Leron

Since I am currently disappointed in the fate of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lebron James, I am posting a link to a blog that I love, because Leron Shults is really dang smart. Just check this post !!

I first, and only, heard Leron when he spoke at the National Pastor's Convention I went to a couple years ago. I am going to buy myself a couple of his books as a graduation present to myself when I graduate from PESM in two years. Till then....I have a blog!

Sweet 11

Feel free to try this at home: ask any fifteen-year-old whether sports video games or sports TV will be more popular in the future. When teenagers want reality, they don’t go to a game and watch, they play the real game. There is a fortune waiting to be made by someone who will invent an EPIC sport: a sport where the boundary between athlete and spectator are broken down, and the interaction of the crowd can actually shape the outcome of the game. Why couldn’t a leaping catch by Steve Bartman in the stands put out the batter? (Sadly the Romans got it right the wrong way – they had such a game. It involved Christians and lions.)

OK, so teenagers, feel free to comment on this one. I can tell you I’d rather play NBA LIVE than watch this year’s championship between the Spurs and the Lebron James. As for the question, I think that the catch can’t put out the batter because the purists of the game refuse to let it change. This would revolutionize baseball; and revolution for such a huge institution seems to be impossible. This is what we have learned from Major League Baseball and the steroid scandals. This is where the church must pay careful attention. To recreate church into something where the people on the stage and the people in the seats both have contribution into the outcome of the gathering is a much bigger challenge than tweaking and flipping worship tricks. It may be even beyond the imagination of those trained in modern institutional churches.

Sweet 10

What is your favorite combination when it comes to coffee-related beverages? Have you ever gone into a specialty coffee shop and ordered a simple cup of coffee? What happened? Can you make up your own slang for a coffee drink (for example: “heaven on the lips but nothing on the hips”)?

My favorite drink is the macchiato. Preferably the marble, but the caramel is also very good. The caramel also wins out in the ice-blended form of a macchiato. I have ordered simple coffee before, and they just gave me a cup and I went and got it out of the urn myself (baccharino’s). I can make up my own slang for a coffee drink.

It's hard out there for a monster...

Hero

Many young people choose to slack and suck through their teen years. One of my biggest joys, being in youth ministry, is to be able to see the MANY teens who are just the opposite - the are driven and contribute to a better world. This week Cassie, who is a rising senior is in Africa hugging babies who have AIDS because they were born with it. All the babies are in an orphanage because, for many, they parents have died with AIDS. If you are a praying person, it'd be awesome for you to pray for Cassie for continuing perserverance and strength. She is a very strong young person, but she also has a really compassionate heart (and a creatvie lingo - lol), so she'll need the Lord's help in contributing in positive change.

She's also using this trip as a bit of a tester for her life-calling; she's considering missions as a vocational calling.

You can read about her trip on a blog by her teacher, Mike Salley