PARDON ME

You must excuse my absence from the blogging world. I was quite busy the past few days getting things ready for my Leadership Seminar at Bethel College and getting things done for work in between.

Just for the record, I have ONLY two classes (six credits) left til I get my Masters in Ministry!

JUST THE BEGINNING

I'm not a fan of American Idol. It's an alright show but I certainly don't revolve my life around it like millions of people around the country.

However this week I was clued to what the show was doing. They were giving back. American Idol teamed with a variety of charity efforts to help give back to the world. It was amazing what they did.

Over the two day event they raised over $60 million dollars to fight AIDS and Malaria in Africa, help the Boys and Girls Club of America among other endeavors. It was flat our amazing to watch on Wednesday night. Watching Josh Groban sing with the African Children's choir was absolutely beautiful. Seriously, you have to watch it!

As exciting as it was to see such a major entity get involved in the fight against major world problems, I just think this is the beginning. Really it is. I am so excited to be apart of the One Campaign and I really believe that my generation can be the one to end extreme poverty. Starting with One is a great place to start to end these stupid problems. If not with them, well, just do something! Please!

It is just the beginning. Get on board ...

GOD IN SCHOOL

On a soapbox ...

I'm not sure how it happened but a few months back I started receiving e-mails from the American Family Association. Normally I just delete the e-mails because they have no worth to me.

About a week ago I got one with the title "The Day They Kicked God out of the Schools" and I was intrigued and then I was disturb quickly there after. It went to this three minute video - here - I was just in shock.

God was never (I repeat - NEVER) kicked out of schools, people just stop praying to Him while in school. Just an FYI - you can still pray and worship God in school. Really you can. Will you receive some sort of persecution or punishment? Probably you will but that doesn't stop people in other parts of the world. You may get a fine, a suspension or whatever but God was never kicked out of schools. It is just that many people have decided to ignore Him because of their own comfort.

... off the soapbox

NEW COMMUNITY (GRACE)

A few quotes and thoughts I jotted down from Dr. Bob's message on Grace at New Community from April 19.

* We stand in awe before God because of grace.

* It is dangerous to be a graceless person.

* We live in the tension between:
the Image of God (the cross) < ---> Nature (sin)

* You will become a slave to the person you can't forgive.

BILLY GRAHAM

The South Bend Tribune recently printed a quick interview about Billy Graham. The guy is just flat amazing. At the age of 88, he is still able to advance God's Kingdom. Sure he doesn't have the same energy he once had but what a phenomenal individual - here.

"Sometimes, of course, God isn't teaching us something new, but simply reminding us of things we've known all our lives, and making them more real to us. For example, more than ever I've realized just how short life is, and how important it is to live for eternity and not just the present."

MOTHER TERESA

I've been reading this little book about Mother Teresa that I recently picked up and Barnes & Noble. For a while I've wanted to write on my blog about some of the stories that she shares in the book. In some ways this one is good for some of things I've been feeling the last few days ...

From Mother Teresa -

"I once picked up a woman from a garbage dump and she was burning with fever; she was in her last days and her only lament was: ‘My son did this to me.’ I begged her: You must forgive your son. In a moment of madness, when he was not himself, he did a thing he regrets. Be a mother to him, forgive him. It took me a long time to make her say: ‘I forgive my son.’ Just before she died in my arms, she was able to say that with a real forgiveness. She was not concerned that she was dying. The breaking of the heart was that her son did not want her. This is something you and I can understand."

VIRGINIA TECH

It's all just so surreal. Really I was numb.

On late Monday morning when I first found out about the shootings at Virginia Tech my mind quickly raced to all the people that I know who work there. Whether it was Dave Smith, B.J., Torye Hurst or Reggie Brown in the VT athletic department or Dave Kingston, the pastor of the church I went to when I was at Radford, who was a professor at the university. Thankfully all were unharmed.

While I did not go to VT, I spent countless times there with friends tossing baseball around the drill field or covering a Hokies sporting event for the local newspaper. It is beautiful campus in one of the most peaceful areas of the state (and country for that matter). In so many ways it is a sheer travesty what has happened.

The people of the New River Valley are some of the kindness and most gracious people I have ever come in contact with. Now there amazing community has been tarnished forever by this act violence. I've walked by that dorm and academic building were the shootings occurred on numerous occasions and when I go back to visit, it just won't be the same. Why? Just Why?

If nothing else, what Monday's events in SW Virginia taught us is - "you can not control how you die or when you die but you can control how you live." (Erwin McManus)

QUOTE THIS ...

"Do you hear the cry of the oppressed? If you don't could it be that you are apart of a system that is oppressing someone else?"

-Rob Bell

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Recently I came across the website Protest4 about the trafficking of humans. It is down right distributing what is happening in the "dark corners" of the world.

I remember reading in Rob Bell's recent book that there are over 27 million slaves in the world today. More than any other time in history!

The other day I found this article from the BBC about a gangland boss who is running this underground networks in the Philippians. Everything that is going on in this situation is wrong, just wrong. If you are interested in reading the story - here.

THEY SAID IT

I was watching Field of Dreams the other night and near the end of the movie is one of best speeches / quotes / lines from any movie. So it got me thinking, what are other memorable speeches from movies that I have seen?

Lucky for me, the American Film Institute put together a list a while back of the top movie quotes of all-time - here.

James Earl Jones' speech is still my favorite ...

"People Will Come, Ray. People Will Most Definitately Come"

PLAYOFF TIME!

Tonight begins one of the best reasons that I am a sports fan. Playoff hockey! There are few things in sports that are better than the NHL post-season.

I am particular excited this year because my team, the New York Islanders, crept into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season! Who cares that they are playing the best team during the regular season because anything is possible this time of year.

Shoot, the Islanders haven't played for a Stanley Cup since the the early 1980's but one day they will return and all that loyalty will "pay off" in some way! So who will be hoisting the Stanley Cup come mid-June? I am going to say that Anaheim will beat Ottawa.

MILESTONES & ODDITIES

Apple sold it 100th million iPod the other day - here (Yes, 100 Million iPods!)

The $3,000 cab fair - here.

A little tension caused by Don Imus - here.

Chocolate Jesus, anyone? - here.

Otters holding hands (Well, who'd a thought that physical touch was an otters Love Language) - here.

WINTER BALL

I don't think this is what Major League Baseball had in mind years ago when they started Winter Baseball Leagues ...

LINKIN PARK

Linkin Park's first two albums have intrigued me and after watching their new video for their song "What I've Done," I would love to know what is the basis for some of their inspiration for writing songs.

Take a look at their new song and video - here. In case you are looking for the lyrics, you can find them - here.

They are by no means a "Christian Band" but they have some, well, intriguing lyrics. I particular like the opening line of the new song:

In this
Farewell, there's no blood, there's no
Alibi, 'cause I've drawn
Regret from the truth of a
Thousand lies, so let mercy
Come and wash away

QUOTE THIS ...

Came across this quote from Relevant Magazine. Thought it was fairly insightful ...

"Everybody has the responsibility to make a difference."

HAPPENING IN TURKEY

So I got an e-mail from my friend Joyce the other day. Me and her got to know each other while I was out in L.A. last year and she is a really cool individual who is devoting her life to serving people in Turkey.

If you were curious to know what is going on in Turkey, feel free to drop by her blog - http://servingturks.blogspot.com/

ON THE iPOD

(Click on photo for bigger picture)

So I’m getting ready to leave work and I was closing down my iTunes for the day and I was curious to know what my top songs are. Seeing that I have owned my iPod for almost four months now I thought I’d share what I’m listening to the most.

A few things by the numbers on my most listened to list –

1058 - Total number of songs on my iTunes

28 – The number of times I’ve listened to “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” by U2

12 – All 12 songs off of The Fray’s “How to Save a Life”

10 – Numbers of U2 Songs

7 – Songs by Josh Groban

1 – Number of appearances by James Blunt & Bruce Springsteen

JESUS CAMP

(I'm not sure what I'm about to type but here I go ...)

I have you ever watched something and after you were done watching it you were just numb? Yet, you couldn't figure out why you were numb. After watching Jesus Camp, that's pretty much how I felt.

When I first saw the trailer for this documentary a few months back I was sort of ill but very intrigued to what this film was all about. It was so bizarre that I can't even totally figure out what was going on as I watched it. It was the weird mix of spreading the gospel but doing it with some sort of "brain washing" method.

There is one question I keep asking myself after watching this film - "is this what Jesus had in mind when He called people to make disciples?" I feel like the answer is a very strong 'no' but how far off are these camp directors in making disciples? The age focus of gathering pre-teen children might be the right age group but the radical nature of their method is terrifying. The moment the camp director had them pray in tongue is when I got a little leery (actually very leery!).

At the end of film when Ted Haggard showed up I can't even describe the peculiar nature of what I felt. I'm so glad that I wasn't raised a pentecostal.

I do remember thinking at the end of the film - "I wonder what these children will be doing in 8-10 years." That would be a very interesting documentary.

INDIA BOUND!

For the first time in my entire life I will be exploring a different country (Canada, does not count!)

From July 30-August 7 I will be in India with a team of 11 from Granger Community Church. We'll be working a pastors to help "open doors" to villages and areas of that country. I am really exciting for this opportunity to get my "hands dirty" in a part of the world that has a lot of need and a whole lot of potenial. It's going to be an amazing experience.

The biggest task in front of me is to raise somewhere around $2700+ before the middle of June. However, I'm not nervous about that particular task. Certainly I am a little nervous about visiting a new culture but it's really going to be an amazing time on so many levels.

If you want to follow along with some of the training and other information that is going on leading up to the trip, please follow along at - http://augustindia2007.blogspot.com/

Advancing the Kingdom ...