Church Is...

"Churches should be places where people come to hear the story of God and to tell their own."

I just read that line in a book called Chasing Francis.

Is that what church is? I like the simplicity and honesty of the statement - but is that all? It seems a little...self-centered. You know - it's about me hearing and me telling. What about me serving and me sacrificing and...?

So, that's not ALL churches should be.

Okay - then, yes. Churches are where we hear about God and where we tell what God has done in our lives.

So - yeah, that's it. I just was struck by that statement.

Saturday Night at the Crossing

So I stop in a little early for my shift at the Crossing (I stopped at the hospital to visit someone and I couldn't) and there's about a half dozen teenagers sitting around the kidney-bean shaped table talking about...well, everything.

And I hear (from a girl, no less) - "There was an episode of Star Trek about that..."

About what? Dunno - I was heading to the other room. When I came back they were talking about Pokemon...sigh...

But I'm a little comforted that Geeks still talk smack about Star Trek - and Pokemon - and all that goofy stuff.

And it's not just because I'm a Geek - but because kids are still being kids - being themselves - and hanging out.

This whole new virtual world scares the cr@p** out of me. Not because I'm so tragically unhip (I am, but I don't care) but because I worry about kids being more connected than ever before - and more isolated. I just had a conversation with my friend Jim (well, a couple weeks ago) about what I would call barely functional literacy in a lot of teenagers - reading the surface, but not comprehending the meaning - which what blog reading and IMing and Facebooking and all that stuff is really all about - no depth. You can't Twitter War and Peace - or even A Modest Proposal (heh, I'm willing to try it, though...might get me tweeting...nah...). And I was talking to Ray about how little kids read anymore. Book sales are down - but ebook sales are up some...hmmm, I wonder what that suggests...

But here we have (two more just walked in) a handful of kids actually interacting face-to-face with each other. And I'm glad. Yeah, I'm glad they're talking about Star Trek, too...

Well, Saturday night. I gotta get to work.

Lost and Found

So I spent about 10 or 12 hours working on a video that is 1 minute and 8 seconds long. I had to learn to use a brand new program (Adobe After Effects), I had to use gimpshop to edit some still images, audacity to edit audio from 5 different sources and, of course, edit it all together into something that will, hopefully, matter... I can't wait to use it Sunday - of course most people who see it won't think it took very long - but that's okay, it's almost exactly how I wanted it to be (the one minor issue is a thin blue line where I chroma-keyed an image - and didn't get the settings quite right).

I got so immersed in doing the video, I almost missed a lunch appointment I had today with a friend - I was, of course, almost 20 minutes late. Jim knows me. He brought a book. But I lost all track of time doing the video.

There are some things that I just so enjoy doing that I can get completely lost in them - video editing being one of them (model trains and music and role-playing games being others). I'm going to be installing a video capture card on my machine this weekend - so I can dump in all the home videos that I've been promising Lori I would get onto DVD "someday." I can't wait.

But I realized how rarely I get lost in the things of God like that. To my shame and embarrassment... I can remember a time when I voraciously read the Bible - but not so much any more. When I prayed passionately and for long periods of time. It's scattered throughout the day now.

I want to WANT to get lost in the things of God.

I guess that's my prayer - and the cause of my funk the last several weeks. How to pray for passion?

I'm (Almost) Back

Well, Lori gave me a hard time this morning because I haven't blogged in...well, forever. A couple things have happened that have kept me from the keyboard. The first is that I'm trying to pour all my creative energy into what we're doing at church - so I haven't wanted to be distracted by blogging and facebooking (like I've been any good at that, anyway) and the like.

But more importantly, I haven't felt like I have anything to say. I mean, sometimes it's okay to take an online quiz to find out what classic movie you are (if you look back, you'll discover that I was once Apocalypse Now and once Easy Rider, go figure), but I'd rather actually have something to say.

See, the thing is, at Otterbein church I have lots of opportunity to talk with real, live people the kind of stuff that I would normally have posted here. I had a great conversation about spiritual gifts and being filled with the holy spirit with Steve the other day and I started a conversation about how the universe runs on Karma (well - on the idea that what you put in determines what you get out - you know, every action has an equal and opposite reaction and how much work you get out of a machine depends on how much energy you put in and...stuff) and how God works BEYOND that - beyond the natural or...supernatural...

Anyway - I'll be blogging again - more regularly - but I don't know what it will look like. Lots going on - but I'm so much more a "do-er" than a "report-er" or "reflect-er." So, this is just a note to say...there will be more notes, I guess...

Sunday night - great worship this morning - God really moved in both services when Pastor Steve talked about his story of deliverance and invited people to be anointed for deliverance - and Bible study went well - we talked about the Holy Spirit. Hey, the Steelers won and the Saints won...all in all, it's been a good day - oh, and U2 is broadcasting their concert tonight on YouTube (it's in Pasedena CA - and I'm going to record it - at 11:30 tonight...).

The Future Is... (a Moral Dilemma)...

...Now?

Thanks to my friend Aaron for linking this video:

So that got me thinking - I've finally made the switch from desktop to laptop for most of what I do. I can't imagine going to a mobile device for most of my internet usage - so I'm a dinosaur, I know. Who knows.

Fun fact from the video is that 40 million people have been rickrolled - and if you don't know what that is, check out Wikipedia. Anyway, I sort of got rick rolled (not really, since it's not "Never Gonna Give You Up" - well, it isn't even Rick Astley, but...let me explain).

So here's the deal, and I say this with a hope that some of you who read this will actually comment with your opinion about my moral dilemma.

Here's what happened: I own early Boston on cassette. My tape deck is slowly going the way of the buffalo but I want to get digital copies of stuff I have on cassette. So I turned to torrents - you know, peer-to-peer networks - to download stuff that I own in analog format digitally. My moral dilemma is: is this ethical? I don't have any interest in buying the CDs (that's what I have my iPod for) and I CAN copy them from cassette to the computer and create the digital versions myself...but this saves time. But is it wrong? Is it even legal?

And here's what happened - I downloaded the first Boston album and there's a track on it called "Something About You". And I'm listening to the album and suddenly there's a cheesy 80s pop song playing - and I swore it was Rick Astley singing, but it was Level 42's "Something About You" - which is quite a shock when you're expecting another Tom Sholtz riff... So, I guess I Level42 Rolled...or whatever...

So, any thoughts?

Back from Innovate and a note...

So we went to Innovate 2009 last week at Granger Community Church in Granger Indiana.

Man - go to YouTube and look at GCCWIRED videos - 154 from the church. Probably something to offend everyone :)

High points:

I LOVE the children's areas of GCC - they have slides from the main floor to the kids' rooms (which are pretty awesome for adults to slide in too - heh) and they're decorated amazingly - Under the Sea, 321 Penguins, Jungle, Farm, etc. But it's not just aesthetics - we talked to them about curriculum and process and volunteers and...well, let's just say they really have Children's Ministry all together.

The worship was great, of course, but not just because the music was cutting edge (okay, cutting edge for church music) but because it wasn't just about the songs - we prayed, we read scripture, we even had a time of blessing God for the way He's working in a bunch of churches in attendance. I really love the flash that they have going (robotic lights and five - yes FIVE - screens up front - heck their STAGE is as big as our SANCTUARY) but strip that all away - which they did a couple times - and it's still honest and Spirit filled worship of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The speakers were very good. I particularly appreciated Tim Stevens saying that we don't have to be original all the time. In fact, he basically said that originality can become an idol for us - or a point of pride (lookie lookie at what *I* did). Recycle ideas that help to communicate the GOSPEL TRUTH well in your setting. Some won't work for you (I saw a series once that was called Entourage - and the visuals were of clubs and red carpet and velvet ropes and stuff - not exactly Warren County stuff, you know?) some things (many things) SHOULDN'T be done (I don't care how important you think a series on sex is - there are many, many, many bad ways to advertise it and "brand" it for worship - and, really, only a few ways that I would...). But there's a lot of good stuff being done that is, really, just window dressing. I know many churches have riffed on the VH1 show I Love the 80s - opening with an 80s song or something - but taking that idea - of our warm, fuzzy reminiscing of the decade - and pulling out some of the hollowness of the 80s and how that has shaped who we are now...and how God speaks into that in our lives with hope and the Holy Spirit.

Oh, yeah, Shannon O'Dell of Brand New Church was particularly inspiring - with his 31 minus 12 equals 2000 session. Good stuff.

Okay - this is getting long. If you're still with me,

The Low Points:

They have no significant youth ministry - at least not as I think of youth ministry. If any Grangerites read this (FAT chance), correct me if I'm wrong. I guess you have to know your target demographic...but it's just plain weird to me to not have a youth group...

The Film Festival was a little flat for me this year. The entries were all pretty professionally done - but they were a little...cold for me...

A Note:

I promise to post other stuff this week. But if you're bored with this, I've just started a new blog for our church (to begin covering the Big Idea stuff that we're doing - but it may become something else). Anyway, you can surf over to it here.

Save Money on Car Insurance?

So I'm watching TV and there's a commercial for car inusurance which says if I switch from Allstate to Progressive, I can save 418 dollars a year.

But the thing is, there's an Allstate commercial that says, and I quote,

If you think GEICO is the cheap insurance company, then you’re really going to be confused when you hear this: drivers who switched from GEICO to Allstate saved an average of $518 a year. Confused? Don’t be.”

So, I'm looking online at a Geico quote that suggests at least 15% savings and maybe 500 bucks.

Okay - I have Nationwide, so if I switch to Geico, I'll be down about 500 bucks a year, then I'll switch to Allstate to be down another 500 - then to Progressive down another 400...hmm, I should be getting car insurance for just about nothing now - wait, Nationwide suggests if I switch to them from a competitor, I could save 500 bucks.

So, after all this, I'm back with Nationwide and they're paying me 500 bucks a year to be insured by them...

Yes, that's ridiculous. But that's the kind of logic I see used all the time in online rhetoric. A then B then C so A is C....really?

Eh - just a little Monday afternoon rant...

You Are Special - a Quick Followup

Really, you need to read the previous post before you read this. I'm not kidding...

So - for no apparent reason the girls wanted me to read Max Lucado's You Are Special tonight for bed.

So I get it - I'm a Wemmick and I don't need stars or grey dots, I just need to know that Eli cares about me and wants to talk to me everyday.

So I asked Elie if she knew what that was all about...and we talked about it. And you know what - we really aren't normal after all.

We are Children of God...

Not Normal...but no conclusions

Shhhhh - I'm supposed to be finishing my sermon right now :)

The other day Rachel was getting something - man, I wish I could remember all the details - let me try to reconstruct it.

Oh, I think it was buttering toast - well, if it wasn't that's how I'm remembering it (I gotta do some posts on memory - if I remember, of course...um...). Anyway:

Rachel was buttering her toast the other day - understand that when Rachel makes toast it's just barely browned at all - and she puts the butter on like some people (me) put peanut butter on their sandwiches - yeah, it could possibly be measured in cups - bleah.

And I said to Rachel, "You know, normal people just put a little butter on their toast."

"Daddy," she said, looking so sweet and innocent, "Don't you know we are not normal people?"

Hmmm - all of eight years old and already getting smarmy (actually, she started a long time ago...sigh...takes after...me...)

So, we laughed and she ate that pile of cholesterol on a plate and I finished packing her lunch or nagging the girls to comb their hair or whatever getting-ready-for-the-bus-so-hurry-up stuff I do in the morning.

But I was thinking about what she said. Daddy, don't you know we are not normal people?"

Why not? What IS normal? No, seriously, what does it look like?

I'm pretty sure that Rachel doesn't think we're somehow BETTER than other people. And I know my kids don't really have any self-esteem issues. So what does that statement mean?

So, if you didn't click on the link (shame on you) it's

"Everyone's special."

"That's just another way of saying nobody is."

Yeah, yeah. But everyone IS unique - and I really wonder what normal looks like.

But Rachel's right about one thing - we don't expect our girls to "fit in." Not that we want them to be outcasts or whatever, but we've been pretty firm about "being yourself" and all that. They have (right now - I do hope it lasts) a pretty strong sense of being part of this family - a strong identity and pretty good self-awareness...

Sigh... I got interrupted in the middle of this and now I've been completely derailed...argh...

I guess I'm also thinking about how we, as Christians, are "not normal." That whole being in the world bu not of it.

Sigh...I'm going to give up on this post - another hour long interruption...