There's No Subject That Could Possibly Serve This

I've been in ministry for more than six years now, and after six years, it's tempting to think that, perhaps, I've seen it all. It's tempting to think that I've seen the absolute best and worst the church has to offer. Let's say that that's half-true. Your job is to figure out which half. Sonseed here is like the Partridge Family without the rough edges:



This melodious cacophony features a too-many-singers-background-section and the kind of lyrics you would expect from - well I don't even know how to end that sentence.  Try on this section:

Once I tried to run

I tried to run and hide

But Jesus came and found me

And he touched me down inside

Please be aware that it gets worse.  Way worse:

He is like a mountie*

He always gets his man

And he'll zap** you any way he can

zap

* Really, a mountie?  I'm supposed to believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Light, the Lion and the Lamb, and that he is also - coincidentally - traditional, horse-mounted Canadian law enforcement?

** This is not sound theology.

Lastly, I'd like to state that I am 80% sure that that's Kip on lead guitar.

--

Updated: I added the "Bad Church Sign" label because I am certain that this church has a real doozy in the front lawn.  I guarantee it.

I Beg of You to Repeat That

I sat at home Saturday night, ordered Chinese, and watched the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee. Yes, your gut is right. This is a "Reason I Will Always Be Single."

For My Cousin Dan...

...and my parents and grandma and sister. The rest of you don't really care about the Cubs. But this is pretty awesome:

Forgiveness

I've been reading Faith Statements this week. Essentially, these are the efforts of sixth graders to explain, in their own words, their personal beliefs and theology. It's literally the highlight of my year in ministry.

I was struck by the words of many sixth graders, particularly as they talked about the topic of forgiveness. Then, I found this video:



Red Sox fans literally sent this guy death threats after his infamous gaffe. How good must Buckner have felt during the extended ovation? And the fans; finally releasing him from their bad graces?

Forgiveness is a good thing.

Hoosier Hysteria

I'm usually not this much of a homer, but here we go anyway.

A Day in the Life...

Our new series - "A Day in the Life" - begins in about 90 minutes. Tonight we're talking about how we can glorify God through our work, and for students, that means school. Here's another video shot by Fred Starks that takes a look at what I do all day. The video is set to the tune "Yakety Sax" and features a truly awful stock photo of myself.

What do you do all day?

It's always a weird moment when students find out that I work at a church full-time. They're always a little confused and almost always ask, "What do you do during the week?"

Answer: I write a blog.

Actually, I do quite a bit around the office. This week at youth group we're going to use my job as an object lesson - "How to Work." We want to explain how students can glorify God through even their most mundane responsibilities - homework, chores, etc...

So Mr. Fred Starks fired up a camcorder and this is just a part of what we came up with. (It runs pretty quiet so you might want to turn your speakers up.)

American Gladiators

When people ask me what I'm most excited about in 2008, the answer is simple: the return of American Gladiators beginning Sunday at 9:00 on NBC. It's just too bad Malibu won't be a part of this whole thing:

Best of 2007

When people ask me what the best a capella performance of a cheesy pop song was in 2007, I'll point to this:

Operation Christmas Child

Every year, our church supports Operation Christmas Child. I knew only vagaries about the program despite the fact that I've heard presentations about it for the past three years now. But now, I think I understand it a little better.





At Calvary, we'll be collecting shoeboxes from October 21 - November 11. It's pretty easy to do a nice thing for someone halfway around the world.