I thought it was just a flaw of mine that I easily get ecstatic about things. The light of the sky on the water; trains with 5 engines, people, marching bands… When I was young, my staid mother indicated that when I was excited like that I was out of control; I grew up tacitly supplying the premise that being out of control is a bad thing.

Take crossing the Ohio River, for instance. They may find me, someday,  like one of those flying witch decorations at Halloween, plastered on the girders of the bridge I cross to and from work: I’m always cranking my neck to gawk at how the water looks under the sky. One evening at dusk I was crossing just east of my favorite railroad bridge—a massive iron structure gracefully lifting its iron lace in twin peaks skyward. The vibrant pink and blue of the cloud-tempered west, behind that black bridge, found an equally radiant pastel twin mirrored on very still water underneath. But emerging from under the bridge and almost below me was an immense barge of coal, maneuvered by a “push” (a better term than “tug,” I feel, since they’re not tugging, after all). The barge’s humorlessly squared prow was steadily thrusting its matte-blackness into the glowing watery mirror. And the wake emerging from the sides of the prow spread wings of trembling black stripes in the pink and blue stillness! Such a sight!

“Observing” is hardly apt as a description of what I am doing at such a moment; “eating” is more like it. Or “taking a bath.” I am immersed in color, and dancing in it as one would stamp in puddles or shower in a tropical waterfall. Read more

I tried to read Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller. But I'm eccentric about avoiding anything with a hip or alternative vibe for fear of appearing to think that I'm either. For instance, I don’t wear sunglasses or listen to obscure bands, and I proudly consume unsophisticated mainstream cultural products, like Tom Petty albums and John Grisham books. I thought that Miller was too hip for me, but I read To Own a Dragon anyway. It's a fantastic book that started me think ing more about biblical masculinity.

Then, this past weekend I read an article in the Houston Chronicle about Lance Berkman, of the Houston Astros, doing a local Bible study in which he helps high school male athletes understand their mission as men. When I saw my favorite baseball player on the cover of the sports page discussing the exact Christian life issue I'd been wrestling with, I could only assume that I was receiving an important word.

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The Washington Post has another article in their ongoing coverage of the departure of The Falls Church, Truro Episcopal and other Virginia churches from the Episcopal Church USA. 

Staff Reporters Alan Cooperman and Michelle Boorstein wrote the article which appeared on Monday, January 29, 2007.  Read more

There is a modestly positive  update regarding RUF pastor Dustin Salter at  Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Travellers Rest, SC) . 

Major changes take place in the next couple of days-- Leigh Ann and the kids are moving back to Ft. Worth, TX on January 30, Dustin will be flown to Ft. Worth on January 31. 

There is lots to pray for and God has graced Dustin and his family with some blessings.  Please keep asking the Lord to heal, to provide and to comfort. 

Chapter 18 and 19 of the gospel of Luke are filled with important people.  You read of a Pharisee, a tax collector, Jesus’ disciples, a rich ruler, and a short man named Zacchaeus.  Why does Luke line up all of these important people, in his narrative?  What is he up to?  Maybe nothing; maybe he is “down” to something. 

I began to think about passages like this after attending a pool party this past summer.  My family and I just moved to Austin, and our new church welcomed us with an afternoon social in very American fashion: swimming, hot dogs, Kool-Aid, cake, kids, and John Cougar Mellencamp (okay, I made the Mellencamp part up, but you get the picture). Before the party, my loving wife, Elissa, purchased a swimsuit for me.  It was blue with a design on each side in a wide stripe.  According to Elissa, when the suit became wet, a floral pattern would appear in a darker hue of blue. 

We went to the party, along with 150 folks from the church.  It was going well—filled with the laughter of young kids and the smell of the processed, nitrate-filled, meat-like substance on the grill.  After about an hour, I looked down and noticed the water-induced pattern, which you might recall was purported to be “floral”. Strangely, it resembled feet in a diving-like position.  I cringed, thinking that Elissa bought me a suit with some cheesy pattern of a diver or swimmer on it.  As I, standing knee-deep in the kiddie pool, surrounded by kids and parents (church members mind you), examined the swimmer/diver, I observed that he possessed proportions that resembled a she.

That’s right, my swimmer/diver was not only not male, she wasn’t a swimmer/diver, rather a woman’s silhouette.  Not just any woman, but a voluptuous one in provocative positions, including the famous one on the mudflaps of many eighteen-wheelers.  At the party to welcome me, the new Assistant Pastor, and my family, I wore a swimsuit covered in 9x4-inch silhouettes of naked women!  What would you do in this scenario? I didn’t know either.  It was like being in the Southwest Airline’s commercial that presents a really awkward situation then asks, “Wanna get away?”Read more

The New York Times reports on a medical study published in the  journal Science that shows that injuries to the insula (part of the brain near the ear) destroy the cravings of addiction.  Read more

Alex didn’t realize how lost he was.  What had started out as a weekend beach retreat for my little friend, his family and church group turned into moments of panic when he went missing.  Alex had intended on staying close to his older brother, as promised, for any excursions away from the hotel.  However, with the budding curiosity that only a five-year-old boy can embody, he had been lured by the mesmerizing sand and waves.  He began inching his way towards his tropical destination for a few moments of thrilling exploration.  But inches turned into feet and feet turned into yards.  Soon, Alex was absorbed amidst the towering expanse of condominiums and oceanfront dwellings.

When the realization of Alex’s unknown whereabouts became apparent to his family and friends back at the hotel, all activities ceased.  Instantaneously, the agenda shifted to an all-out search and rescue effort with the hope that Alex would be found unharmed.  The 200 individuals who had come to the sea for study and respite now fixed themselves on combing the landscape for some sign of the adorable blond-haired, blue-eyed boy. Read more

Break Up Theology from Ochuk.

Marketing, advertising and branding have been getting a lot of play in Christian circles. The dialogue tends to run along a few familiar tracks, ranging from “what percentage of budget should a church spend on advertising” to “Jesus don’t need no steenking marketing.” Rather than head down one of those roads, I’ll simply say that modern communications techniques are an updated, if sometimes overthought, approach to obeying Jesus.

Look at Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  It doesn’t qualify as a thorough marketing plan or communications strategy, but it certainly captures the essence of what any of us are trying to do. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are to be witnesses (a word that shares a root with the word “martyr”). To me that means that, unlike a witness in the courtroom who need only tell the truth, we’re called to sell out completely (martyrdom, anyone?) when it comes to telling the truth about what Jesus has done for/to/despite us.

Add to that Jesus’ instruction to witness beyond our local area and you have a pretty compelling case for devoting resources to modern tools that extend and multiply our effectiveness.,  So, I’ll go on record as a guy who supports well-done (in every respect including the heart behind it) church advertising, marketing, etc. as it extends our reach.

However, the greatest, most expensive advertising campaign in history will mean nothing if it doesn’t match the reality of our own lives. Our coworkers or neighbors will simply shrug and walk away when our polished pitch doesn’t match whom they know us to be. In Philippians 2, Paul presents a solution.Read more

Catherine Claire suggests that Christians take a page from Al Hsu and set aside $100 for creative ways to advance the Kingdom.

Some other ideas:
1. Get some friends, pool your $100 contributions, buy cleaning supplies and paint and tools.  Go to homes of seniors who need assistance and clean, paint and fix whatever their home needs. 

2. Buy some art supplies (paint, canvass, sculpting clay, etc) and meet weekly with underprivileged children to create.Read more