At what cost?

Belichick. Sampson. Bonds. Our kids.

What do they all have in common? Cheaters. Unrepentent cheaters. Oh, sure, it's alleged. Nothing is ever proven anymore. Belichick and his Patriots taped other teams' practices and sidelines. Everyone thought he was a genius. "It seems like he was in their huddle!" Well, maybe, he was! Yet, the NFL allowed him to continue on with a mere loss of draft picks, which the Patriots always trade for mature players anyway.

Barry Bonds...right, twiggy becomes Heracules in a few short seasons. Despite being on confiscated lists and a client to steroid producers, he still was able to play. What a shame that a record will be held by a known steriod user.

Kelvin Sampson gets to play Purdue this week even though he's going to be fired soon. "It was only cell phone calls!" Right, about 577 prohibited ones that he was already on violations for breaking. His recruiting practices are shady, and he seemingly can't tell the truth according to the NCAA and IU. I loved his interview after the IU-MSU game. When asked if this win meant anything to him personally, he said, "No, it's not about me." Right. Is that why he was jumping up and down nearly crying and punching the air when IU took a commanding lead? Integrity 0, win at all costs 100. Yet, he is allowed to coach one more week at IU...a week that just so happens to include Wisconsin, MSU, and Purdue. The three schools locked in a struggle for the Big Ten with IU. Coincidence?

Cheating seems to be all the rage. Sure, we say it's bad, but apparently, deep down, we think it's OK. Look at the number of Patriot fans on Superbowl Sunday. Look at the Barry Bonds fans cheering for the record*. Did you hear the IU fans chanting "Sampson! Sampson! Sampson!" when IU pulled away from MSU? After the Wiscy loss, he was a goat...now he's a savior. What's the deal. Winning. Well, more precisely, the money and prestige from winning.

It's encouraging to see that some things turn out right, though. I've never rooted or cheered for the Giants like I did when they beat New England. Though the season isn't over, IU isn't leading the Big Ten, and Sampson appears to be gone (once IU plays Purdue, of course...due process).

If it were just sports, it'd be one thing, but it's not. Enron rings a bell, too. Cheating stock holders and employees. How many cheat the IRS? How many folks cheat their employer?

One of the saddest parts of being a temporary youth pastor for about two years was hearing the kids talk about cheating. Great kids spoke of cheating as if it were chewing gum. Bright kids. Honor roll kids. Assanine school policies and pressure for success are creating an academic environment where what you know isn't as important as filling in the right circle on a scantron sheet. 97% of kids that I have asked point blank about this issue have responded that they cheat REGULARLY at school! When I asked if they felt guilty about it, to a person, they responded, "No."

It's easy to go off on the kids. "They know better." Perhaps they don't.

As you're cheering on your favorite sports team, as you're filling out your taxes, as you're thinking about that gorgeous coworker, maybe it's time to wonder where our kids might have learned that cheating is OK. Maybe it was us.

Co-Creators

I thought I'd share a thought about having kids...



Isaiah loves trains, so here he is with his Engineer's hat on his Thomas the Tank Engine couch. He loves his sister, too, so he asked if we'd put her on it and take their picture. Of course, Sophia loves her big brother, and she was just screaming smiles. It's amazing how beautiful they are, and it blows Steph's and my mind that we created such amazing life. What a gift from God that we have the privilege of being co-creators, bringing life into the world. Nothing has taught me more about love than having children. They are by definition blessings.



Sunday, Isaiah made us both tear up. In the shower, he and Sophie were playing. Then he tells her, "Jesus died on the Cross for you, Sister." MMMMM....The stories, the sharing, the explaining, the songs, and the prayers together actually are shaping their lives. It's humbling, yet it made our hearts burst with holy pride:P I pray that he grows up to be a fearless man of God that proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ wherever he is.

Random Blogging

Here are some random things that I wanted to share.

Sending of the Saints
Saturday, January 26th, a friend, Jan, and I did a Sending the Saints presentation on Small Groups Ministry. It was a lot of fun, and Jan and both enjoyed the event. We appreciated the interaction of the "audience," and we are excited to be doing this again February 23rd. If you want to see the presentation, let me know by commenting. I'll get a .pdf file to you.



Yael Naim




My friend Jeff introduced me to this song and video, which I absolutely love. The naive innocence of the song springs hope in the heart. It's by Yael Naim.



Boiler Basketball!



How 'bout them Boilers!?! Purdue is now 7-1 in the Big Ten and tied for 2nd place midway through the conference season. IU has yet to play Wiscy, MSU, or OSU, while Purdue has played them all once. There is a lot of ball yet to be played, but Purdue is set up nicely to finish well in the Big Ten this year and receive an NCAA seed.



Mind you, Purdue starts 1 Sophomore and 4 Freshmen! Coach Painter is doing a superb job, and the players are responding well. Is Purdue basketball back? It sure looks that way! Boiler Up!

NCAA Football 07 and bowls

I've never written a sports blog post before, but here's my lame attempt....

Well, another year and another OSU loss in the NC. It really is beginning to look like the Big Ten has fallen behind the other conferences. Aside from Michigan thumping Florida, the Big Ten looked rather weak, slow, out-talented, and out-coached. On the bright side, Purdue won the MAC championship by defeating Central Michigan in the Motor City (toilet) Bowl.

What is even more worrisome is that some of the Big Ten programs, like Purdue, are looking from within the conference to replace coaches. If the conference as a whole is struggling, why are we recycling coaches? Wouldn't snagging a SEC or Mountain West (which went 5-1 in the bowls) assistant or coach be a better solution? I like it that Michigan tried hard to land Les Miles. I like it that Illinois went for the Zooker (even though I think he's a terrible coach). They are trying to dip deeply from the well that is the dominant SEC.

Rumor on the street is that Purdue will soon be naming Danny Hope the soon-to-be head coach. The speculation is that Purdue searched for a candidate willing to sit in the passenger seat for Tiller's last year (2008), ready to take over in 2009. Hope is the HC at Eastern Kentuck, and he was a former assistant at Purdue when Tiller first came. He had brilliant success coaching Purdue's o-lines 97-01 (those five years produced 7 NFL o-linemen!), and he has had pretty good success at EKU fielding teams that have beaten the likes of Appalachian St. while challenging for their conference's title.

From my perspective, I think Purdue set the bar too low as the three candidates most commonly spoken were all very under the radar. If Tiller isn't footing the bill at 7-5, shouldn't we be after a coach who has taken other teams to a better mark? Peterson at Boise St. would be a great catch. The coach at Tulsa is another example. Others have mentioned Sumlin or B. Kelly at Cincy. However, name doesn't make you famous, and Purdue is a unique school. Perhaps, Hope is the right man at the right time.

We'll see. Morgan Burke, Athletic Director at Purdue, has a long track record of picking good coaches. I really hope Danny Hope is able to take Purdue and the Big Ten by storm just like Burke's last head coach did in 97'.

Go Boilers!

Zombie!

I hate zombies. I have never seen Day of the Dead, 28 Days, Dawn of the Dead, or any other zombie movie because I’m pretty sure I would scream like a little girl. My most memorable nightmares are of me trying to flee from zombies...if they catch me, I turn into one too! Once I had the very same zombie nightmare for about 10 nights straight! So, yes, I am terrified of zombies.

However, I was flipping through the channels watching TV and I saw a humorous beginning to a movie. You see this guy’s feet lumbering, you hear moaning, and a sub-human grunt. Just as I’m ready to flip the channel (zombie!), the camera pans up, and it’s this English guy waking up and walking to the bathroom. Hilarious. Turns out the movie was Shaun of the Dead. An English spoof of the Zombie genre. It takes horrifying zombie situations matches them up with this guy’s struggle to win back his ex-girlfriend and viola…one of the best comedies I’ve seen.

After watching Shaun of the Dead and laughing hysterically (and cringing in fear), I began to wonder why I was so afraid of zombies. Why is this mythical creature so repulsive and blood-curdling to me? I had always chalked it up to dead people walking around being just generally freaky. Though true, I began to see something bigger. Mythical creatures always represent something. They are symbols for the great, real-life forces that are arrayed against us. Jungian Psychology suggests that these images represent something deep in our conciousness...

Suddenly, it dawned on me: I’m afraid of zombies because they are the living dead. They are “alive,” but they are dead. They move around. They consume people. They do their thing, but really they are dead. That is what I fear the most. Thinking that I am alive, doing my thing, but really I’m just another walking dead, consuming others in my path. Perhaps the fiends of my nightmares are a mirror for my own soul screaming out what I fear most.

Thoreau in Walden puts it this way:
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…”

First reading this quote was a pivotal moment in my life. At that moment, I saw so many people just existing. They slept, ate, consumed, went to a job to earn money, and they repeated that day after day. Marriages, children, and friendships were neglected. The true treasure of life itself seemed lost to so many. Here we are consuming while being consumed.

What could be more zombie? What could be more terrifying?

The Cranberries' hit song Zombie was a diatribe against all those who did nothing when Ireland was attacking and killing her own children with terrorism. Dolores' voice screamed out, "Zoawmbie...Zoawmbie...Zoawmbie, ie , ie, ie," accusing, condemning. Who could let the innocent die? Who does nothing in the face of such violence? Apparently, only those pretending to live.

Are you a zombie? Are you living for something or just pretending to live? Do you treasure life and live it to its fullest? When you see wrong does your life scream out against it? Are you truly alive?

I live because I choose to live. It’s a choice I make to flee the zombie existence, and I run and struggle and gasp to keep my life. To do anything other is worse than death.

I am terrified of becoming a zombie. I am terrified of living a meaningless existence. It haunts my dreams and my waking hours. For when I die, I want to have truly lived. I start this new year as I've started many: Determined to suck the marrow out of life.

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart.
- Ecclesiastes 7:2

P.S. I would advise against hitting zombies in the head with cricket paddles.

Christmas!

We decided to post our family's Christmas morning for Grandma's and Grandpa's to see. Others can enjoy as they may.

My favorite is right at the beginning when Isaiah goes, "There's a tractor!" Priceless.

Lost in Translation...

Reading my daily blogs, I came across an article by Andrew Connard. He sees a really cool site that does concise, post-Modern, teaching videos. The particular video he references was on blogging, and I highly recommend seeing the clip...it's quite witty.

Anyhow, he asked the question, "Why aren't we doing this?"

Being who I am, I asked, "Why not!?!" Then I emailed Bishop Coyner about the idea of doing short video clips about Baptism, Communion, What is Church, etc. These videos could be tools for all UMC's to use in Confirmation classes, Membership classes, even on websites.

My biggest question in all of this is as follows: Are we willing to do things in new and innovative ways to reach new people?

I looked at a section of the UMC.org website for seekers, and it was a page with a huge amount of text. No videos. No flash. No eye-candy.

Yes, we have good information, but I don't think we were or are translating our important message very well.

Take a look at the video, and please comment: What would you like your church to answer with a short, teaching video like this?

Praise You in the Storm

We went to the Casting Crowns concert in Ft. Wayne (in late November). They played the song "Praise You in the Storm," which I vividly remember hearing as we were driving away from one of the darker Dr. visits we had during Sophia's issues. I'll never forget hearing the lyrics "I lift my hands and praise the God who gives...and takes away." As I wrote here, that was a faith stretching moment. Could I really praise God in the storm...Man, at the time, I didn't know if I even wanted to, but we did. It's all we could do.

At the concert, a tsunami washed over me all over again. Sophia was alive, healthy, growing, and my little girl. The song brought back those months to my mind, and I cried tears of relief and thankfulness...Tears of grace and mercy received...not just for my little girl, but for me too.

Now the words that stand out so clearly are different..."As the thunder rolls, I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you."

It brought back home just how blessed we really are. I invite you to listen to Casting Crowns sing this song that has meant so much to me and my family.

Snowed In!

Stephanie, Isaiah, Sophia, and I spent the weekend snowed in! Sunday was a level 2 snow emergency where we live, so we were able to be together all day. It was fun. We played games, watched TV, slept, ate, and played together.

Such a simple thing, snow, shut everything down; yet, for me the weekend was what the Winter holidays are all about: We enjoyed each other. We spent time together.

Earlier in the summer, Steph and I went to a church worship arts conference entitled, "What's Right in Your World?" The presenters articulated that so often the Church talks about what is wrong with the world (and there are some things wrong with and in the world); however, there are definitely things good and right with the world, too!

The snow days reaffirmed something I already knew: My wife and my babies are what's right with my world. There is no better day than the day spent with those I love most...playing, praying, and being family.

What's right in your world?

Getting Back to Blogging

I'm back (again).

More to come soon.

Something Unique?

In the history of religion, one is quick to notice that many of the deities are feminine. In fact, the earliest practices of religion and icons of god are fertility cults that depect the god(s) as feminine.

Something that many Protestant Christians, Jews, and Muslims take for granted is our masculine language for God. Within our sacred texts God is often portrayed as husband and/or Father. While feminine attributes are used and traditionally feminine qualities uplifted, the language of God is most often masculine in our texts. In the mid-20th century, the masculine language of God was called to the carpet.

What is taken for granted is that throughout history this masculine dominance of the Abrahamic faiths has been challenged. Textual and extra-textual evidence clearly demonstrates that priests and common folk alike wanted to give the LORD a female consort. Yet, the text resists this.

Despite the numerous cultural pressures: the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, all have pantheons including feminine deities. Time and time again we see these outside pressures affecting beliefs. Yet, the text resisted these pressures. There are no female names for the LORD; furthermore, the LORD has no female consort.

Why? Why were the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, so resistant to the feminine divine? Each of these faiths presented rights to women...often above that of the surrounding cultures. Yet, they resisted.

Why? I'd love to hear your thoughts. What about this faith of the LORD (all worship the God named the LORD even if quite differently)? Why has it been so resistant to the feminine divine? Should our masculine language of God be viewed as an anachronism to be left behind? Or, is it possible that this masculine language of God is something unique to be treasured? What do you think?

New Life?

Last week cnn.com ran an article on an artificial intelligence (AI) designer and his attempts at a learning, household robot. He has had significant success, and he believes he is three years away from selling Zeno, a cartoonish looking robot that learns.

Zeno's programming is designed for him to learn, to read emotions, to talk, to walk, and be in all regards a robot pet.

For a long time, I have believed that sentient AI (computers that are self-aware) will be achieved in my life time. Some of us believe it could happen in the next 10-15 years. Imagine the movies Bicentennial Man or AI as real life. Each family could own its own robot housekeeper or gardener. Families could even be "adopting" robotic "children." Life will never be the same.

Sentient AI will be one of the greatest challenges to human ethics and our understanding of life. We will be forced to face unanswerable and difficult questions: Can we truly create life? What is life? Will non-biologicals have equal worth as biologicals? Will it be OK for us to have robot "servants?" Will it be acceptable to shut-down sentient AI? I'm sure everyone will debate hotly: Do AI's have souls?

I do believe all sentient life is of value, and it is important for the future of the human race that we begin to discuss this issue. Too many times we have devalued life because it was different from us. In the 1800's, Native Americans and Blacks were thought by some to not have souls; rather, they believed that they were "almost" humans...worthy for slave labor and property. Color of skin, gender, and ethnicity have been sources for prejudice, but we will soon see another (and I believe very violent) prejudice against non-biologicals. It will be a fun discussion (to understate it a tad).







What do you think? Do you think we'll ever create sentient AI? Will you consider it life? Will its worth be that of your own?

"Where are you?"

We all know what it's like to feel ashamed, alone, or even abandoned. We want so desperately to be known and to be loved, but it feels like all that's out there is empty...or gone. It'd be nice in those dark times to turn to God and receive a big hug (or handshake if you're a non-hugger). So often we walk through this life asking God, "Where are you?"

The book of Genesis addresses this issue, but it has a radically different take. When adam (which means human) and his wife take of the tree of good and evil, they realize shame. They flee and hide for the night. But before night can fully set, God comes looking for them, but God cannot see them. They have hidden themselves.

Next comes something so profound, it takes my breath away.

God says, "Where are you?"

Vayaqra Adonai Elohim el-ha'adam vayomer lo aneka?

"So the LORD God called out to the human, 'Where are you?'"

The question turns our world upside down. The God of all the universe crying out, "Where are you?" In his shame and guilt and fear, Adam hid. He hid from God and tried to avoid being found. It wasn't God who was absent...it was Adam...the Human.

The story of Adam and Eve is our story. We are Adam for we are 'Human.' C.S. Lewis' Narnia books rightly call us "Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve." This story is our story. When Adam hides, we see ourselves, hiding from God. Hiding from each other. We too hide. We hide behind our power, our toys, even our humor and anger; yet, we are still humans, naked, hiding, afraid to be found out for who we really are.

This is why God's question is so profound: God seeks us. For all of human history, God has been calling out, "Where are you?" Our Creator is the greatest lover of our lives: The same image is present in the Song of Songs as the lover dreams she can't find her beloved. She cries out for him, but he is hidden. God wants so desperately to find us. God loves us regardless of who we are or what we've done or where we've been. God wants to be with you to love you.

Where is God? Where are we!?! God is crying out for us, calling to us, ready to cover our shame and offer us a new start to life. God loves you, and He is desperately calling out, "Where are you?"

Words

"Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

It's a nice theoretical line. I remember saying it as a child. It was the perfect response to all those who put us down. I think we all so desperately want this to be true...words never hurting us. But, we know it's a lie.

The alternative 90's rock band, Bush, wrote a line "nothing hurts like...your mouth...your mouth...your mouth." Indeed, nothing hurts any worse than cutting words from those around us. Gossip, slander, lies, even hurtful truths can cut our souls to the quick. If words had no effect, why do we work so hard perfecting our comebacks and our put downs.

The number one thing that makes me angry, and I do mean angry, is when someone talks behind someone's back. Cowards without the guts to say things to one's face speak criticisms so easily when there are no repurcussions. What astounds me is the way our culture has embraced this attitude. Speaking truth to someone is "rude," while destroying someone behind their back is acceptable.

It is amazing to see someone abhor violence or violent TV and movies use words to beat others to death. Ironically, one of the loudest voices in theological pacificism is one of the most verbally violent people I have ever met.

Proverbs 16:27-28 says, "A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends."

I've found that nothing hurts others like the words we use. They separate friends. They lead to divorce. They lead youth to see themselves as ugly or fat or unsuccessful.

Words have power, and they can do more damage than any weapon ever will.

Beat me with sticks. Flog me. Do what you will, but please, don't cut me with words. They go deep, and they wound the soul.

I pray for all of us: that we are able to watch what we say, knowing that what we say about others can encourage them or harm them. Real friends, real Christians talk to each other. This is love. That is what it means to follow Jesus.

The North Star

I love space. My wife shakes her head everytime I look up at the sky and say, "I want to go up there so bad." From my childhood days of peering through a telescope with my dad to my young teen years taking pictures of the moon and Jupiter through my telescope and now to my constant monitoring of the space program, I am fascinated by the Heavens. I want to see them. I can't imagine the breathtaking experience of visiting another planet.

With my telescope, I've seen the rings of Saturn. I've stared at the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. I've seen our red little brother, Mars. I've tried desperately (but failed) to see the nebulas of Orion's belt. Seeing the moon with a telescope is stunning. Its features look like mountains and plains instead of light and dark spots. I've seen pictures of Uranus and Neptune from Voyager I and II. I've heard the whistling of alien winds on Titan, a moon of Saturn. I'll never forget seeing the first pictures of the Martian Rovers...I love the universe, and I sometimes wonder if NASA needs chaplains for its first trip to Mars!

However, there's been one thing in my limited understanding that I always thought was overrated. The North Star. It's small looking, not very bright, and it is pretty plain. You always here people excited to point out the North Star, but I inwardly always thought, "Bah, who cares." Until recently...

The Hubble Telescope recently discovered that Polaris, the North Star, is actually a Triplet Star. It is a massive yellow giant with two other stars orbiting it! This ho-hum star went from boring to amazingly interesting. There was more there than I thought.

The North Star is called such because it is almost fixed on the Earth's polar north. It doesn't move in the sky that much. It is constant. While the stars in Orion, Scorpio, Drago, even the Big Dipper have their seasonal positions, the North Star stays put. For this reason, humans have looked to the North Star as a compass. It was the sure direction finder at sea when there were no other landmarks.

I was wrong. The North Star is a big deal. Not only is it astronomically interesting, it has guided human history. For some of us God is like that. We're not real excited about it. It seems like something to do on Sundays for a few folks who we're not sure are any better than us. It seems boring and uninteresting. But, then we see it. We get it. We experience God, and our perspectives change...We make God the center focus of our lives, and we live by His light. I remember vividly the night Jesus became the center and my compass for life. Jesus is my North Star, and by his light I sail my ship.

What is your North Star? What do you look to to guide you on the seas of life? What gives you assurance that you are headed in the right direction? Len Sweet in his book Aqua Church encourages us to see Jesus as our North Star, a guiding light in the darkness. When all else is spinning out of control, Jesus remains steady, leading us home.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge
their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world(s).
- Psalm 19:1-4

Weary

Have you ever been weary? I don't mean tired, but weary. We all get tired quite often. We work hard or don't get enough sleep or sometimes we even play ourselves tired. Tiredness isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just running out of steam for the day. We rest, get some sleep, and we are recharged for the next day.

Weary is different. It is an exhaustion, an emptiness. It is a feeling that one has nothing left to give. Weariness, though, often is an expression of the soul. It is a tiredness of the heart.

I know a lot of people who feel weary right now. I think I'm there, too. Jobs, busyness, complaints, stress, lack of encouragement, unrelenting demands: These all make us weary.

Too often we dismiss weariness as tiredness. Weariness, however, is not solved by merely sleeping. One must find peace and strength to face the arduousness of life. Sometimes that means taking some time off. For others it might mean picking up a hobby to escape or unwind. Others need to spend time with their friends. In a time when we have so much and we have the means to spend out time as we wish, I find it ironic that we are so weary. Perhaps finding the rest from weariness is more than time "away."

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

My prayer for all of us who are weary is that we might find rest in Jesus. That we would know that we are not alone. That we would remember that Jesus taught us to stop all of the busyness and take time for each other. May we remember that Sabbath is for us, and a day of rest is holy time. God, may we find rest in you...heal our weary souls.

4-H

This week is our county's 4-H fair. It's always fun to go and see all of the animals...especially for my 2 yr. old son! I believe 4-H is a valuable resource for our communities. It's something everyone should support. Even if you aren't a "farmer," you eat, so you need to be somewhat interested in how our food is grown! Here are my reasons why 4-H is great program:

1. It teaches young men and women how to treat animals. One of the things my family always taught me is that you don't mistreat animals. They are God's creation, and they are your income/food.



2. 4-H encourages local agriculture. In a day when we buy dog food from China, fruit from South America, and juice from Pakistan, it is encouraging that small, local farmers are still producing quality food products that are safe to eat. No farmer is going to jeopardize the safety of the food their family eats.



3. 4-H is about community. The giving and taking of help and ideas foster the idea that all of us are in this together. 4-H is not just a one week event. It's a year round project. When animals are involved, it's often a life style. 4-H-er's often share resources, skills, and sometimes animals.



4. Having animals teaches responsibility to the young men and women feeding and taking care of the animals.



5. Raising an animal (very much like a pet) and leading it to be processed is one of the toughest parts of 4-H. I firmly believe, however, that this is an important aspect of life. The animal or plant must die for us to live. We are part of a vast cycle of life and death. Most of us live our lives oblivious to this, but there is a very spiritual connection between a farmer and the land/animal. This is why farmers tend to be more religious. They get to see the mysteries of life, birth and death, on a regular basis.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad parts to 4-H as well...such as the competition aspects. Painting hooves, using hairspray on tails, making sure the youth wears the right clothes, is all bogus and has nothing to do with 4-H; however, the real experience of raising an animal, taking care of it, and joining the world of agribusiness are important and vital maturation points for our communties' future agribusiness men and women.

Have you been to the fair yet? Hope to see you there!

I'm back!

Sorry, I was out so long. Between annual conference, mission trips, vacation, work, and general laziness, I got behind in my blogging. I'm back, and I'll be posting at least once a week.

Volume 6: What is the Emerging Church?

Emerging church struggles against the consumer orientation of worship. Do we come to hear the funniest, best sermon from one man or woman? Or do we come to experience God? What if we brought our best to church? What if we brought our faith TO church? What if we open our hearts to something bigger than consuming a product offered on Sunday mornings?

May God show us the way to faith together. I pray to God that I never become the center of church or Sunday mornings...for then my life's purpose has failed. I pray that everyone sees my weakness and my inadequacies. I pray they see I am just a broken man. My prayer is that we bring our faith in God together, and together, we celebrate the God who loves us all. May we truly experience God.

Volume 5: What is the Emerging Church?

Here is an excellent example of a church using an emerging worship paradigm. We've done some things like this at our church, too. Using the fine arts is a great way to communicate the message of God in an open way. Words are so confining, yet art is beyond words...it speaks to the very soul, and I believe God speaks through it. Enjoy!