Shameless Plug

I am open to anyone who would love to let me ride their motorcyle. Nice day like today makes me long for the road, but my wonderful bride will not allow me to own one. Anyone got two and would like to have a riding buddy for a day?

This finally does it!!

For those of you who were unsure about the FACT that Macs are absolutely the superior maching, check this out:

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1622338_1363003,00.html

Yup, that's right. Al Gore uses a MAC. So, all you PC users, take that!

Trike

Food for thought...

Comments?

Attention all church planters (or wanna be CPs!)...

I would like to invite any of you who would like to explore church planting to an event held here in Minneapolis July 23-27th. It is being put on by some of my new friends at GCA (Global Church Advancement) and is headed up by Steve Childress of Reformed seminary. I have been very impressed with their biblical, theological and missional church planting strategies and invite you to check them out here. You may even notice that I will be leading two seminars on Leadership Development - check out the picture. I am actually impressed that they put that one online! Pretty cool.

If you have questions about going for the week, please email me, and we'll make it happen!

Trike

Psalm 49 and what is important...

Like others at Hope, I am reading the Bible in a year through the Discipleship Journal reading program. I am behind, but what is new! I enjoy God's word, and yet, the busyness and pace of life stops me from getting all that I desire in his word. I always have the attitude that I will read more and longer if I do this Bible-in-a-year program, than if I don't. Tim in God's word is what the goal is, not to 'get through something.' It is transformative, and I am loving what I am reading.

A few days ago, I was meditating on Psalm 49:

1 Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-- 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-- 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-- 9 that he should live on for ever and not see decay. 10 For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their tombs will remain their houses for ever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. 12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. 15 But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself. Selah 16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendour of his house increases; 17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendour will not descend with him. 18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed--and men praise you when you prosper-- 19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life. 20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. (Psalms 49:1-20, NIV).

The part that really stuck out to me was verses 5-12 ---> though I may live a life worthy of naming lands after me (or buildings like Amundson Hall at the U of M where my chemistry dept was housed at the U of M), the reality is that all of us are dust. We will all die. What is a life well lived? What is a legacy for the future that actually makes a difference? Only what is given to God, fully, without holding back. Every one of us fears insignificance...yet, the reality is we get that significance only when we find ourselves getting value in God and his glory alone. When I spread God's fame, when I allow him to be all, when I no longer look to get buildings named after me but seek to pursue sharing the glory of Christ with others, then (and only then) will I be satisfied and then (and only then) will I have a significant life. Lord Jesus, please make me into a man who loves you with a radical, courageous love and not look to make a name for myself. Amen.

Is this Hope Community or what? (part last one)

Is this Hope Community or what? (part tree)

Is this Hope Community or what? (part deaux)

Is this Hope Community or what? (part one)

I wish I was an artist!

This is really cool!

Dang, pretty good for a kid who went to public school!

Give it a try at Classic IQ test and see if you can only get 2 wrong!

“THE JOY OF KNOWING HOW SINFUL YOU REALLY ARE!”

One of the things I love to do is find people who say the exact same theological things that I say and cherish, but say it so much better. Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) is one of my heroes of the faith. He was an English preacher, and was powerfully used of God to draw thousands and thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ. He was a brilliant man, not formally trained, and was a bit “rough around the edges” on a variety of fronts. I like him!

One of my favorite things to say at Hope is, “The most graceful thing I can tell you is how sinful you really are - that way you will so know your NEED for a Savior!” Listen to how my friend, Charles Spurgeon also said this:

If I be self-righteous, I need no Christ to save me in my own opinion. How, then, can I come with such a confession as this, “Nothing in my hands I bring,” when I have got my hands full. How can I say, “Wash me,” when I believe myself white? How can I say “Heal me,” when I think that I never was sick? How can I cry, “Give me freedom, give me liberty,” when I believe I never was a slave, and “never in bondage to any man?” It is only the man who knows his slavery by reason of the bondage of sin, and the man who knows himself to be sick even unto death by reason of the sense of guilt: it is only the man who feels he cannot save himself, who can with faith rely upon the Saviour. Nor can the self-righteous man renounce himself, and lay hold of Christ; because in the renunciation of himself he would at once become the very character whom Christ says he will receive. He would then put himself in the place of the sinner, when he cast away his own righteousness. Why, sirs, coming to Christ implies the taking off the polluted robe of our own righteousness, and putting on Christ’s. How can I do that, if I wittingly wrap my own garment about me? and if in order to come to Christ I must forsake my own refuge and all my own hope, how can I do it, if I believe my hope to be good, and my refuge to be secure; and if I suppose that already I am clothed sufficiently to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb? Nay, beloved, it is the sinner, and the sinner only, who can come to Christ; the self-righteous man cannot do it; it is quite out of his way—he would not do it if he could. His very self-righteousness fetters his foot, so that he cannot come; palsies his arm, so that he cannot take hold of Christ; and blinds his eye, so that be cannot see the Saviour."

Hey, it's the 25th Anniversary of being Minnesota State Curling Junior Champions!

I was just reminiscing here tonight, and realized that I am coming up on a major milestone. No lie, 25 years ago this next January I, along with 3 other good high school friends, won the coveted State Junior Curling Championship of Minnesota! Here's proof (look at 1982). What, never heard of the 2nd fastest game on ice ever? I'll pray for you.

What a great thought...

I'm taking a class in The History of Christian Preaching, so if you are a reader of this blog, you will find I will be dropping a few of my new friends quotes here and there. I came across this one, and I think it is profound, especially as we worry about all the things we are trying to do for God in our lifetime. If you trust in the absolute sovereignty of God, then Thomas Fuller's 17th Century quote gives you complete comfort:

"God’s children are immortal while their Father has anything for them to do on earth.”

Dude, for a heart like this!

“I need more grief, I plainly need more of it. I am far from that which I ought to have. I can sin much! I cannot repent much. My dryness! My dryness! Woe unto me! Would that I had such grief, or even more! But of myself I cannot obtain it. I am parched, I am parched like a potsherd [pottery fragment]. Woe is me! Thou, O Lord, O Lord, a fountain of tears. Give me a molten heart.”

~Lancelot Andrewes, from his devotional, Private Devotions.

Simply put, let's VOTE out cats

Why do we have cats? I have no idea what it is about them, but they simply HATE me! Every cat I have ever known has hated me with a passion. They hiss at me. Try to bite me. Purposefully look at me in a most disrespectful "I hate you, scumball" glance. Won't come and play, but just mock me with those "YOU go and get the ball, stupid" look when I throw it for them.

One of my very first memories in life is having my arms completly scratched up by a mad cat who didn't like me playing with it. To this day, I still have no idea what is wrong with the game "Pull the Cat's Tail Really, Really Hard." Why can't we all pass a UN resolution to just simply rid the entire planet of the things... I mean, if we live in such a civil society that we can vote out Pluto as a planet, create a coffeemaker that grinds AND brews our coffee, couldn't we figure out a way to have a catless society?

The best post EVER on the internet is from my friend Rebekah. Someone has to go to the powers that be and make this happen. We need an international relief effort to rid ourselves of this cancer.

I have the same problem in our neighborhood that Rebekah has. Cats everywhere. Breeding to make more cats. Thinking they own the place, especially all of my potted plants as their personal Port-a-Potty. Fighting with one another in the streets at 200dbs this past summer on a bi-weekly basis...(I'm serious, it's LOUD at 2am! I thought someone was being mugged in front of my house).

For all of those who love cats, let me just say this: your cat is fine - it's the rest of the entire world that I would like to root them out of. Yours are neat, playful and fun. The rest are pure evil.

I sure wish someone would have told me this when I had youngens!

My response to Andy

Andy (and all),

I now know why I am considering becoming Amish...

Whatever happened to just the old "family camping trip?" Or going fishing? Or talking with a group of friends? Or going hunting? Why is our vast prosperity leading us into more and more need for elaborate escapes from the realities of life?

I say this as I personally struggle with engaging in and understanding our current American culture so I might win some. I struggle with this. I own a larger home than my parents ever did, enjoy perks of living in the 21C (like the personal computer I am typing on now - and it's fast too, God forbid I would have to wait 1 extra second per web page...) and am remodeling my basement for a place for family and friend hangouts. I take a swing at our consumerism culture and find my self hitting myself square in the nose... I hate and love our American choices.

I think this is why I have fallen in love with fly fishing as of late. Its me, a river, a trout, and deciding who is smarter (I won't tell you who normally wins...) However, even as I went to a midwest fly fishing expo this spring, you can spend literally thousands of dollars on gear, trips, training, etc. Sigh... I thought this was to escape all of this, and yet there it is again.

I think part of it is that we are so stressed out living the incredibly fast paced life we live (mostly due to our consumerism and technology) that we will pay ANYTHING just for some rest (or what we percieve to be rest.) For instance, I bought a really nice chair to put in my bedroom a year ago SO THAT I would have a niche in the corner to read my Bible and pray. Not that this is wrong - I think it was a good decision - but it highlights the whole issue. I have in my wallet a card that goes behind my credit card that says: GOD HAS MADE ME A STEWARD OF HIS RESOURCES. Good reminder every time I pull that puppy out.

There is a fine, but very definate line, between ENJOYING things and experiences (1 Timothy 6:17) and WORSHIPPING things (Matthew 6:19-24). God help us all!

Help us, o guru of consumerism, Professor of Philosopy and stuff! What say you? As we rub the belly of this budda, what can you give to us to empower us? Heal our land and our habits!

I loved the description of the class. I'm sure it was life changing for those students, and a great reminder for you. However, American culture will quickly suck all the life out of their learning without the "eternal vigilance which is the price of freedom..."

Hope all is well with you out there in "fly over country." It is beautiful these days in MN. Will you be around at all this summer?

Take care, my friend,

Trike

An email from my friend Andy

Steve, Stan, and other friends at Hope,

When I was at Bethel, I started developing a course to go look at consumerism in Las vegas and Los Angeles, and once I got to Creighton I kept working on that plan and now I've completed my first version of that class, so I thought I'd tell you a little about the 18 day class. (I sent parts of this to other friends too)

The class was on how business and development affect culture and society, focusing on Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with a camping trip to Grand Canyon and later to Joshua tree national park. Issues we focused on were how business transforms and affects our values, and our vision of what the good life is; how development makes the quality of life better or worse for people in terms of new places to live and play, and the resulting sprawl, traffic issues, and ways to deal with that (public transport, smart growth, etc). We also thought about water issues, since we spent a lot of time in the southwest. Environmental issues were considered also.

We visited with city leaders in Las Vegas, LA, Boulder City Nevada and Ventura California. We visted companies in the LV and LA areas, talked with CFOs, managers, workers, a showgirl, an artist, a film critic, a hollywood historian, a biologist working on preserving wetlands fromdevelopment, a farmer near LA, firefighters, and a lot of other people.

Our focus was to consider consumerism, hyperreality creation and the commodification of values.

Consumerism: how people are encouraged to find their identity through consuming things: Vegas entertainment, Vegas commodities (Gucci Bags at Ceasars or Wynn Casino, purchasing bigger houses, ferrarris, hummers, LA hollywood consumerism, the materialism at Santa monica, Newport beach, etc...) Shopping centers are temples to this religion... Happiness comes through the act of consumption-- at restaurants, movies, bars, stores, taxis, etc etc...

Hyperreality: virtual realities which we create which are 'better' than reality: TV and Movies which present idealized realities which don't actually exist, edited versions of reality through the news, etc., cleaned up versions of reality like the 'grand canyon experience' on the disneyland railroad, or The Venetian casino, where the canals are filtered and chlorinated and the ceilings always have blue sunny skies with beautiful fluffy white clouds..much nicer than the original Venice, which is fairly dirty and has gross canal water.... and there are simulacrum as well-- realities which purport to be representations of another reality, but which actually have no real original-- like Cartoonland at Disneyland, where they have recreated a city which is based on fantasy (cartoon) or Excaliber casino, which is a replica of King Aurthurs Court-- something which previously only existed in legend and lore. Or consider the life of Celine Dion: Living in a Mansion on the artificial lake in the desert called "Las Vegas Lake" (as unnatural as a Sahara Sea or Death Valley Swim park) she is helicoptered daily to her workplace: a Roman Colloseum at Ceasars Palace, where she has a replica of part of her house so that when her son comes with her to work he won't feel like he isn't at home. Celine's life is a world of hyperreality, where experience is fantasy and the true reality is covered over in fiction.

COMMODIFICATION of values: the ways in which business finds ways to associate commodities with your values, so that to maintain those values, you must purchase commodities. For example: purchasing a $69 pass to Disneyland for each of your kids plus yourself becomes an essential part of the american family experience (plus the hotel stay, and really good parents will also provide the park-hopper pass so that the california park can also be experienced, etc etc) and when you are that close to Hollywood, a good parent would pay $50 more for a universal studios pass un in Burbank. To be entertained you NEED to lose money on the floor in Vegas, preferably at one of the nicer places, where you can have a "real vegas experience" in the standard 700 sq foot rooms. THis is entertainment, and now that Vegas has been dubbed the American City, this is an essential AMerican experience-- it is, in fact, an essential experience for anyone who wants to understand America, which is why it is filled with foreigners trying to understand America better. (It is, of course, the American which the 911 terrorists were fighting against-- an america of cheap easy sex without penalty, lavish opulence, no spiritual concern in the midst of total materialistic pleasure) In LA, it is essential to buy breast implants to be beautiful, the latest styles feel fit to be seen on the street, cars and gasoline to go to work, buy food, get home, see friends-- any movement at all requires purchasing a vehicle and gasoline, at the very least--- And then simply providing a house for your family where your two kids get their own room will likely cost well over 500,000...

So, thats a bit of what the class was about. It went well, and I look forward to doing it again next year. I think I will have them read: The Walmart Effect, The Tipping Point, Fast Food Nation and parts of THe World Is Flat, among other things.

I think that as Christians we often don't realize the ways in which our consumer culture affects our values. This class helped me think more seriously about that.

Hope your summer is going well so far. I'd love to hear from you, and hope to visit sometime this summer.

Andy

Happy Birthday to me!

Last night, Cor and I had a great opportunity to hang out with about 25 people from Macalaster College who love Jesus Christ. We were invited to come and share at the MCF (Mac Christian Fellowship) and it was great to see such a great turnout at a school that has prided itself in the past when it departed from it's Christian and Presbyterian roots in the 70's. Way to go, God!

Cor started the evening by asking for everyone's name, their major, and to share when it was that they started to take God seriously. Great questions, and it opened up some students to sharing some cool things about their lives and spiritual journeys with Jesus.

I didn't even realize it until my friend Leonard emailed me about 5 minutes ago this morning to remind me that it was today, at 6:30am in a shower stall on the fourth floor of Frontier Hall way back in 1983 that Jesus Christ became relevent to me. So, today marks my 23rd "spiritual birthday". You think I would know something by now... God is just too good and patient to be my friend.

I am very aware that not everyone has a "date" or time that they can say that is when they decided to follow Jesus. When did I fal in love with Carole? When did I decide to go to the U of M? When did we decide to have children. Most decisions are a long pattern at first questioining and then a series of processes, and when the exact decision is made is most likely over a long period of time of working through the issues. Most people that I have known have come to know and love Jesus Christ in this way.

However, I don't do things the way most people do... I pretty much had my questioning, processing and decision time all wrapped up into that 45 minute shower that morning. I know this: I went into that shower with serious angst regarding my uncertainty about where I stood with Jesus, and I left knowiwng that I had settled the issue.

Too bad I have become a Baptist in my theology of baptism...otherwise that shower might have counted!

On another note, it is my wife's birthday (physical) today! Kinda cool that on the day when I was born again into the kingdom, she was celebrating her birthday into the world. I love you, babe, and am so blessed to be your "main sqeeze" [anyone under 30, do a google search on what that means]. By the way, we are WAY past the time when we are counting the number of candles on the cake!! Happy Birthday, baby!

Trike