Everything??!

I know that some people think I'm crazy already.
Some people think I'm crazy because I am a follower of Christ.
Some people think I'm crazy because I quit a perfectly good job to go back to school.
Some people think I'm crazy because I have a collection of frog stuff

So that being said, I have been doing a lot of reading of Jesus' teachings lately. Do you know how many times he said to sell everything and give it to the poor? I don't have the number right in front of me but it was a lot.

Take Luke 12:

Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?....Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And later in Chapter 18

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"
"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

there are lots of other places Jesus said the same types of things...go ahead look it up, I won't be offended.

So the question is.... was He serious?
I'm sure I could finally read the book that someone gave me by one of those Christianity = Blessing guys and blessing guy would explain that Jesus didn't mean EVERYTHING.

That would be crazy. There is likely some rational explanation to explain this strange code that Jesus is using when He says "Sell it all"

hmm... But what would the world look like if all Christians did this? Call me a crazy idealist.
Ok forget everyone else. Do I have the faith to sell everything and trust that God would take care of me?

I'm not there yet.... just in case you pass by my house and see the for sale sign.
But maybe I'm getting there.


edit - after I posted - I read this... striking evidence that I have it wrong

Promises, Promises

From Dan Cook - Globe & Mail

April 4, 1990 — Liberal MP Paul Martin: "I would abolish the GST.''

Sept. 14, 2008 — Paul Martin: Tories' promises worthless.

I love when they do that.

What would Bobby LaBonte do?

Lots of people stick things to the back of their cars. I think I could do a whole series of post on thought I have driving (or sitting still) in traffic...maybe I will.

Some people like to stick those little Fish stickers on the back of their car. You know the ones that are based on the Ichthys. I guess the reason is to identify themselves as Christians and must think such a prominent display on their back tailgate will announce to the world their personal beliefs. Unfortunately, I think most people are worse drivers than they know. We've all cut off someone when we suddenly realized be are about to miss our exit... even the most religious person makes mistakes. (I'm not a deep theologian, but I think speeding is even considered a sin) So then there goes on them Fish-y Religious people cutting people off and driving like a blind man

As a person that does identify him self as a follower of Christ, I would hate to sour fellow commuters to the idea of Christianity simply because at times I might like to pass on the right (but that is likely your fault) or simply be a little brain dead that morning.
So no fish for me.

At times I have thought a little about some reverse psychology - you know maybe throw the Darwin fish on to make the Atheists look bad... ah but then I would have to explain to little old Christian ladies that I don't really think Darwin had all the right ideas. I tend to avoid aggressive Christians with purses.

So that leads to what I have on the back of the van. My NASCAR friends tell me it is a Bobby LaBonte number 18 sticker*. It was there from the prvious owner. It is obviously a NASCAR sticker you know how they look... stuck right there in the left hand corner of the back window. I think this is the perfect solution. When I drive like a jerk, people see the sticker and think "Oh a NASCAR fan, no wonder he drives like an idiot" - Real NASCAR fans will not feel guilty by assosiation because they will say "Look that guy is trying to drive like Bobby" and I think it is ok.... unless maybe I was turning right, because I don't think NASCAR Drivers are allowed to go that direction.


*Because my friends that love NASCAR, to my knowledge, do not have web pages I will simply list their names so that when they figure out the web and Google their names they may find this post: Trevor Belec, Roger Lichti, Brant White - It should also be pointed out that apparently Bobby LaBonte has change his number, so I have his old number... which is good because I will only offend people that used to be Bobby LaBonte fans

Better words than mine.

I pass on these words of Mother Teresa posted by Brad Culver. Means a lot to me today.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Kind words may be short... but their echoes are endless.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Good works are links that form a chain of love.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.

Higher Education

Today is my first day back to school. Over that last few weeks I have had many conversations with people about my (and our, Brea and I) plans. I explain that I previously graduated with a diploma from EBC, but those two years were also the required classes for the first two years of a Bachelor of Religious Education Degree. If this year goes well, I will graduate with my BRE. Upon explaining all of this the question I next get is, "and what are you going to do with your degree?" (the exception being my friend Denny who exclaimed "you not going to be a Pastor are you!?)

It's amazing how tied education is to a goal of a job. Did I just miss this the last time I went through school? What if I'm just going back to school to push my brain? Granted, I am going to get a degree, which requires taking specific classes and involves some structure. I could have just hung out in Chapters for a year. I know that a degree could come in handy - but not any more than the experience I already have. I have yet to land a job using a resume, let alone be hired on my education.

I've been reading Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in it the main character experiments with his students - going a semester with out handing out grades. An attempt to have them learn for learning sake, to not just regurgitate what the professor wants to hear, but think their own thoughts and to make a statement .

That's what this year is for me. I chance to continue being stretched as a person
Actually I guess that's what I want life to be

And so it begins....

Friday was my last day working for Yake Engineered Systems.
For those of you who don't know me outside of this blog (or just didn't know me that well) Yake Engineered Systems is a company that for the most part works with churches on audio, video and other technical media related stuff. If you know me even a little, you know I love the knobs and wires, so working through some of the little and big technical issues was fun (most of the time)
The last little while - say the last year or so - I have started to reevaluate what life should be. Things like:
How have I let my identity be defined by my career?
What kind of real impact do I have on my world?
What are my goals?
Does living in a true Christian world view involve goals?
Does technology play too big a role in church/religion/worship?
Can you do ministry while selling products?
Have most churches gotten too big or too much like businesses?

There might be some other variations, but that is a good starting point. They are all thoughts that I would like to develop farther and love to read other thoughts on. So over the next little while, if you stay tuned will see stuff on those themes or links to similar thoughts.

So what is next? I'm actually going back to school. It's not that I feel I need more education to get somewhere, but I really feel like I am in a place where God is pushing me to grow. I guess I could do that on my own, but sometimes being pushed by academics is a good kick in the pants. So as of September I'm back to student life.

What else is next? Glad you asked, because I almost forgot. Brea and I are taking a position in October with Stratford House of Blessing as the house parents of Sara's Place Maternity Home. We attempt to stand in the mom and dad role for up to three women ( likely age 16 - 24) while they transition into the role of being a mom. Brea will be the one that works with the girls during the day in the various programs that are necessary. My role will be to be the father figure - encourage, enforce the rules and hopefully get to know the fathers, if they are still in the picture. It's a big step for us... Excited is the word I use most - but scary is exciting too.
I'm not sure how much I will ever blog about that, I would never want to compromise the privacy and security of the home - but I expect that it will be a stretching experience.

1 Good Read....200 Bad reads

So I saw that Donald Miller had a first post at his new blog

as with most things Donald Miller writes, I laughed. It's worth the read. Go read it before you read the rest of this post..... no really.

Ok.

So I scrolled to the bottom of the comments and wrote a witty reply.... after which after I read some of the other comments I realized something.... Everyone thinks that Donald Miller could be their close personal friend.... I think somewhere in my delusion I thought, "oh maybe he will read my comment and then know that I exist" Wow sometimes celebrity is so goofy.

I hope Donald Miller continues to write short posts on his blog - but gosh, if it were me I think I would just eliminate the comments section. (Some people are mean too...wow American politics!)

Oh and just in case Donald Miller actually reads my post, clicks on the link here.... wanna have coffee some time?

A review of Rob Bell's new book

If you are a fan of Rob Bell, he has a new book coming out in October - Jesus Wants to Save Christians, by Rob Bell and Don Golden

Ben Witherington has a review of it. I'm a big fan of Witherington's reviews - but be warned it is a long one... but worth the read for sure.

With the right marketing anyone can be smart.

I sometimes marvel at how companies can spin things to make their products seem better than everything else - when usually most of their competitors product works equally well. Yes, I'm aware that is the most basic priciple of marketing, but sometimes the end result is just goofy.

I the world of sound system there are a lot of great speaker, amp and processing companies - not matter what you read, there is no one company that will sound good no matter what. Each system requires a talented designer to choose the right componets.

So that being said here is a quote that I read.

"I've been in a couple of hundred rooms, and, to me, this is the best-sounding system in the best-sounding room I've ever been in. In so many other rooms, the first thing I would notice as a sound engineer is the system. But here, the first thing I hear when I walk in is the band jamming, the vocalist singing, or a pastor whispering into a mic. Ever musician is communicating directly to me and every word is crystal clear"

- Chris Gille, Audio Department Head
Willow Creek Community Church

First - I'll let you in on a trade secret...every Audio guy that walks into any room will analyze the system. My wife still cringes when I'm critiquing the audio system during a wedding or at any event we are visiting.... so Mr. Chris Gille is no different. What is different is the craziness that the system at Willow Creek is beyond analysis, that in that room, with that system - you just hear the sound.

That is like saying my car runs so smoothly that when I get in I just zoom down the road forgetting I am in a car - while everyone else in the world is aware they are in a car.

OR My forest is so great - I don't even notice it has trees.

Sure he doesn't notice the system ANY MORE. But this is an add using Willow Creek to sell line arrays to churches that would be better off using traditional speakers (my own oppinion).... but if the Mecca of Willow says do it, the clones will follow (ok, that is a different rant)

The reality is every company markets like this to some extent...this one jumped out at me.

I never have the words

So I've read a few people writing about how they haven't blogged much lately. I get that...

For me it not that I don't have a lot of great thoughts rolling around in my head.

Brad Culver spoke at The Gig on Sunday, so now I've been thinking about being call "Christian" vs things like "Follower of Jesus" He made some great comments on how NOT calling ourselves Christian so that people can't assume they know what that means. Been kicking around in my head today

Thanks to Kamp Krusty I found out Frank Viola has a new book out. I still have to comment on his last one

I've also been thinking lots about Technology and how much we really need it. Been selling off some of the tech toys that I have acquired over the last few years (don't ask what I have - the good stuff is gone)
Why do people think I'm strange for moving to a paper calendar... maybe I'll talk about that some time.

Throw in some Identity stuff that seems to continually be a working process right now and that should give me lots to write about....but not tonight.

Hey did I mention 4 days till I'm done my job?....