so i bought a house a couple months ago. most things have been wonderful. but, of course, i have to keep with the spirit of this blog and whine about the things that have not been so great. the main thing is that i have yet to receive a single service at the house (cable, internet, etc) that did not start with an incorrect bill. i was, of course, always overcharged. today i tried to pay the internet bill, which the lady i spoke with last week assured me would be corrected online, and it was still wrong. i called and they told me that the bill had been fixed in their records, but they wouldn't correct it online or send me another one. so i payed the amount they said, but i know this will come back to bite me because i've done this dance before. next month it will be wrong again and/or i'll be charged for the amount of the incorrect bill i didn't pay. i know it's not a big deal maybe, and there are surely things that could be going wrong that would be tons worse. but it is annoying, and dare i say preposterous that NO ONE can seem to get this stuff right the first time around.
30 December 2009
25 November 2009
i'm an adult - please treat me like a child
i try really hard to support local establishments - especially restaurants. i didn't used to care all that much, but now it's more of a big deal to me. but a couple of major restaurants in town are not helping me help them. in both places i have been barred from ordering off of the kids' menu. sometimes i'm hungry, and sometimes i also have money. in those cases i'm more than willing to pay for a full entree. but sometimes i just want a burger or i don't wanna spend so much money. and in the case of the restaurant last night, the burger was ONLY on the kids' menu (along with chicken strips - which i also love). what gives? isn't this somehow unconstitutional? i promise i'm an adult, and if i want to order off of the kids' menu you should let me. i have the money - i will decide what food i want. how can you deny me food based on my age? that's totally discrimination. i see a sit-in on the horizon. watch out dixie castle and catfish cabin!
18 November 2009
pastor dave's parenting advice
maybe this is too broad a generalization to support, but i'm gonna go ahead and say that if you are walking around wal-mart with a screaming infant at eight past midnight you probably don't need to save room on your mantle for that "parent of the year" award. i mean really people, what's going on? i know i'm not a parent, but then again, perhaps you aren't either. common sense - not so common after all.
18 September 2009
for the love of lambuth
my college has been through a rough spell lately, and i haven't said much openly about it. well, that ends now. yesterday i got a forwarded message that contained a letter written from the interim president to the editor of The Jackson Sun, the local newspaper. even the most objective reader must confess that the paper's coverage of lambuth has been biased toward the negative slant of things. "failings" have made front page headlines while successes have barely gotten any coverage.
all the while, the paper's coverage of union university has been pristine. granted, union has been doing very well lately, and i'm thrilled for them. i applaud all that that university has done to establish itself as a nationally recognized faith-based school. but there's nothing in me that feels like i can't be happy for union and also want the best for lambuth. i want lane, jackson state, and west tennessee business college to excel also. a rising tide lifts all ships, eh?
but the paper seems to operate under the assumption that it can only support one college in the city and must pan (or ignore) the others. it was essentially like this in high school as well. the private schools got great coverage. the public school i attended, which won the state academic decathlon year after year, only made the news when a fight broke out. and so it goes.
well, i guess the interim president has had enough of the lousy treatment. he wrote an excellent letter to the editor. he questioned their motives for continually rejoicing in lambuth's struggles. i would do the same. do those that work at the newspaper not understand that the very survival of their livelihood depends on a literate community - at least to a point? let's say lambuth goes under. how does this in any way benefit the paper? fewer people in the community will be pursuing college degrees, and in all likelihood the overall education level of the community will decrease rather than increase - thus jeopardizing the paper's existence. newspapers are already going bankrupt left and right in this digital media age, why does the paper insist on pressing its luck?
i have a favorite word that few people at the paper may know - schadenfreude. it essentially means "harmful joy" - rejoicing in someone else's misfortune. it's a sick thing to do, and we've all probably done it a time or two. while few people at the paper may know it, it seems they are practicing it routinely in the case of lambuth. i would ask those at the newspaper to question their motives and, perhaps above all, their journalistic integrity. journatlists are to be as objective as possible - reporting, not commentating.
i have no idea if they'll print the letter the interim president wrote. probably not. nor do i know if they'll print the positive stories of recent alums such as me, but here goes nothing. i received an excellent education at lambuth. due in large part to the training i got at lambuth, i was offered a full scholarship to the divinity school at duke university. i'm not at all the exception; a fraternity brother of mine who graduated the year before me was also granted a full scholarship. two of my close friends are now studying at princeton theological seminary and yale's nursing school. all this is to say, the school is not a bad school - it just has faced some tremendous financial difficulties. it needs some help, especially with money, but in the words of my favorite band coldplay (kinda) "just because it's losing, doesn't mean it's lost." i hope more people in my community will discover this, perhaps even the paper, which for the moment at least does seem to have lost the plot.
all the while, the paper's coverage of union university has been pristine. granted, union has been doing very well lately, and i'm thrilled for them. i applaud all that that university has done to establish itself as a nationally recognized faith-based school. but there's nothing in me that feels like i can't be happy for union and also want the best for lambuth. i want lane, jackson state, and west tennessee business college to excel also. a rising tide lifts all ships, eh?
but the paper seems to operate under the assumption that it can only support one college in the city and must pan (or ignore) the others. it was essentially like this in high school as well. the private schools got great coverage. the public school i attended, which won the state academic decathlon year after year, only made the news when a fight broke out. and so it goes.
well, i guess the interim president has had enough of the lousy treatment. he wrote an excellent letter to the editor. he questioned their motives for continually rejoicing in lambuth's struggles. i would do the same. do those that work at the newspaper not understand that the very survival of their livelihood depends on a literate community - at least to a point? let's say lambuth goes under. how does this in any way benefit the paper? fewer people in the community will be pursuing college degrees, and in all likelihood the overall education level of the community will decrease rather than increase - thus jeopardizing the paper's existence. newspapers are already going bankrupt left and right in this digital media age, why does the paper insist on pressing its luck?
i have a favorite word that few people at the paper may know - schadenfreude. it essentially means "harmful joy" - rejoicing in someone else's misfortune. it's a sick thing to do, and we've all probably done it a time or two. while few people at the paper may know it, it seems they are practicing it routinely in the case of lambuth. i would ask those at the newspaper to question their motives and, perhaps above all, their journalistic integrity. journatlists are to be as objective as possible - reporting, not commentating.
i have no idea if they'll print the letter the interim president wrote. probably not. nor do i know if they'll print the positive stories of recent alums such as me, but here goes nothing. i received an excellent education at lambuth. due in large part to the training i got at lambuth, i was offered a full scholarship to the divinity school at duke university. i'm not at all the exception; a fraternity brother of mine who graduated the year before me was also granted a full scholarship. two of my close friends are now studying at princeton theological seminary and yale's nursing school. all this is to say, the school is not a bad school - it just has faced some tremendous financial difficulties. it needs some help, especially with money, but in the words of my favorite band coldplay (kinda) "just because it's losing, doesn't mean it's lost." i hope more people in my community will discover this, perhaps even the paper, which for the moment at least does seem to have lost the plot.
05 May 2009
young clergy stuff
while this is a slight break from the normal (if you can call it that) fare on this blog, i found out about some developments with fellow young clergy in the UMC that i wanted to share and support here.
in some way, i guess this isn't such a huge break because over the past couple of years i've found myself saying "that's preposterous" about many things involving young clergy. we seem to be told simultaneously "you're the future of the Church, and we need you so badly" and "we don't care what you have to say right now. wait your turn - pay your dues, and then you can talk...but only if you sound just like us." i think more and more people are attentive to this kind of schizophrenic behavior, but even though we recognize the problem, few seem to know where to begin working on a solution.
i firmly believe that when you arrive at such a place (i know something's wrong, but i don't know what to do), you should start praying regularly (hopefully you are already). i was thrilled to hear yesterday that a group of young clergy are committing themselves to forty days of prayer about young clergy issues. i believe this will be done primarily through different blogs with a different young clergyperson offering a prayer each day.
anyway, i hope you will join those in prayer and spread the word by all means possible. be sure and visit www.umcyoungclergy.com for more information about this and other developments.
in some way, i guess this isn't such a huge break because over the past couple of years i've found myself saying "that's preposterous" about many things involving young clergy. we seem to be told simultaneously "you're the future of the Church, and we need you so badly" and "we don't care what you have to say right now. wait your turn - pay your dues, and then you can talk...but only if you sound just like us." i think more and more people are attentive to this kind of schizophrenic behavior, but even though we recognize the problem, few seem to know where to begin working on a solution.
i firmly believe that when you arrive at such a place (i know something's wrong, but i don't know what to do), you should start praying regularly (hopefully you are already). i was thrilled to hear yesterday that a group of young clergy are committing themselves to forty days of prayer about young clergy issues. i believe this will be done primarily through different blogs with a different young clergyperson offering a prayer each day.
anyway, i hope you will join those in prayer and spread the word by all means possible. be sure and visit www.umcyoungclergy.com for more information about this and other developments.
01 May 2009
miscellany
a new word needs to be found to capture the total lack of writing i've done on this thing in 2009. slacker doesn't even begin to cover it. i'm not really sure why - plenty of preposterous things keep happening left and right. there's certainly no lack of material. and i've been meaning to write stuff for a while. i have been actually writing more in a journal (the ink and paint kind), so i guess that's something. also blogging more on the other blog. still, i can and must do better. so, for the fall back - movie reviews!
"knowing" (or as i want to call it, "the knowing")
i'm still in utter disbelief about the fact that one of my cousins (who i have always looked up to and thought the world of - and really still do) thinks nicolas cage is one of the greatest actors of all time. i mean, don't get me wrong, i've liked some of his movies. some i've even loved. but he's been a on streak lately...well i just think he doesn't know how to say "no" to something. i don't know. however, i must say i liked this movie. pretty much everyone i saw it with hated it, but i enjoyed it on a certain level that's hard to describe. it kept my attention and kept me entertained, and there was good action and a few decent twists. without giving too much away, i liked what they did with the whole "ezekiel and the wheel" thing (Old Testament nerd that i am). of course, i then had "ezekiel saw the wheel - way up in the middle of the air" stuck in my head for the rest of the night (choir nerd). so yeah, as far as my rating goes, i'd say "rent it."
"seven pounds"
so hard to say much about this one without giving huge stuff away - which of course had already been done to me before i saw it. i wish they actually had those mind eraser things like in "men in black" - at least as it relates to people ruining movies for me. anyway, i thought it was amazing. it was admittedly a very "will smith" movie. i don't even know how to convey what i mean by that, but you'll either get what i'm saying or you won't. i thought it was beautifully done - especially the scenes and the score. it's how a great modern movie should look and sound. there were a couple of twists i really liked - although i wish they'd stuck with them in the credits (you'll see). even though some stuff was ruined for me, i liked that what i found out came in little doses along the way. for some reason i never liked rosario dawson until this movie, so there's that. i like that it had "little things" like the relationship between will smith's character and the motel manager. good to see barry pepper back in something - i feel like he was in everything, and then all of a sudden, gone. anyway, i'm going on and on cause i can't really say anything more. it's really great - i think. so since it can't get my top rating of "see it in the theater" (unless it's just now getting to china or something - although i think it'd be the other way around) make the next strongest financial commitment and get it on dvd.
"knowing" (or as i want to call it, "the knowing")
i'm still in utter disbelief about the fact that one of my cousins (who i have always looked up to and thought the world of - and really still do) thinks nicolas cage is one of the greatest actors of all time. i mean, don't get me wrong, i've liked some of his movies. some i've even loved. but he's been a on streak lately...well i just think he doesn't know how to say "no" to something. i don't know. however, i must say i liked this movie. pretty much everyone i saw it with hated it, but i enjoyed it on a certain level that's hard to describe. it kept my attention and kept me entertained, and there was good action and a few decent twists. without giving too much away, i liked what they did with the whole "ezekiel and the wheel" thing (Old Testament nerd that i am). of course, i then had "ezekiel saw the wheel - way up in the middle of the air" stuck in my head for the rest of the night (choir nerd). so yeah, as far as my rating goes, i'd say "rent it."
"seven pounds"
so hard to say much about this one without giving huge stuff away - which of course had already been done to me before i saw it. i wish they actually had those mind eraser things like in "men in black" - at least as it relates to people ruining movies for me. anyway, i thought it was amazing. it was admittedly a very "will smith" movie. i don't even know how to convey what i mean by that, but you'll either get what i'm saying or you won't. i thought it was beautifully done - especially the scenes and the score. it's how a great modern movie should look and sound. there were a couple of twists i really liked - although i wish they'd stuck with them in the credits (you'll see). even though some stuff was ruined for me, i liked that what i found out came in little doses along the way. for some reason i never liked rosario dawson until this movie, so there's that. i like that it had "little things" like the relationship between will smith's character and the motel manager. good to see barry pepper back in something - i feel like he was in everything, and then all of a sudden, gone. anyway, i'm going on and on cause i can't really say anything more. it's really great - i think. so since it can't get my top rating of "see it in the theater" (unless it's just now getting to china or something - although i think it'd be the other way around) make the next strongest financial commitment and get it on dvd.
10 April 2009
the silence of God
It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God
It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God
And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...
There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone
And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God
- Andrew Peterson
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God
It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God
And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...
There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone
And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God
- Andrew Peterson
28 March 2009
on parsonages
i have been woefully absent on this blog lately. much has been happening all around, and i've wanted to write about it. but i simply haven't been able to focus on one thing. power was restored to my house (after two weeks without it), most order has been restored to the area where i live. the cleanup continues but will for quite a while. the way people have come together and helped each other has been inspiring and impressive to see. i'm hoping the reaching out in compassion will become more of a rule and less of an exception.
one of the truly interesting things about being a pastor is living in a parsonage. of course all pastors don't live in parsonages, and within united methodism parsonages seem to be going extinct in favor of housing allowances. good arguments can be made either way. i know some people who really dread the idea of living "in someone else's home.' but, i also have friends outside the ministry who are constantly knocked down that i just get a house for free. and i have been extremely fortunate in the two homes i've been given.
neither has been extravagant. no jacuzzi tub or swimming pool. at the same time, both have been more than i need in a house in terms of space. both have had great yards and either a patio or deck. i've been able to have a music room and an office in each while also having a spare bedroom (like i said, lots of room for just a guy and his dog). the houses have seemed to balance each other out. while the one i'm in now has a garage (which i've always wanted and love!) the house in alabama had great trees in the yard while i now only have one (thanks to the ice storm). the tie might go to the current parsonage simply because there is a front porch - another thing i've always wanted. the other night, i sat out on it while it was raining. there's just something about being outside but being slightly covered that i've always liked.
so yeah, who knows what i'll live in next? but so far, i have been very lucky with what i've been given.
one of the truly interesting things about being a pastor is living in a parsonage. of course all pastors don't live in parsonages, and within united methodism parsonages seem to be going extinct in favor of housing allowances. good arguments can be made either way. i know some people who really dread the idea of living "in someone else's home.' but, i also have friends outside the ministry who are constantly knocked down that i just get a house for free. and i have been extremely fortunate in the two homes i've been given.
neither has been extravagant. no jacuzzi tub or swimming pool. at the same time, both have been more than i need in a house in terms of space. both have had great yards and either a patio or deck. i've been able to have a music room and an office in each while also having a spare bedroom (like i said, lots of room for just a guy and his dog). the houses have seemed to balance each other out. while the one i'm in now has a garage (which i've always wanted and love!) the house in alabama had great trees in the yard while i now only have one (thanks to the ice storm). the tie might go to the current parsonage simply because there is a front porch - another thing i've always wanted. the other night, i sat out on it while it was raining. there's just something about being outside but being slightly covered that i've always liked.
so yeah, who knows what i'll live in next? but so far, i have been very lucky with what i've been given.
03 February 2009
tom petty's wrong
sometimes you do have to live like a refugee. case in point, me right now. i'm a displaced person as my state of residence (kentucky) was hit by what its governor referred to as the worst natural disaster the state has faced - at least in recent history. who knew ice could destroy so much stuff (other than dennis quaid)?
i lost power tuesday at noon, and with the power went my water (since i'm on a well that uses an electric pump) and my heat (since i'm on gas that uses an electric thermostat). so i went around and checked on as many church members as i could. then i packed up the pup and headed south. i've been bouncing around like a vagabond ever since, but some nice people have put up with me. i go back tomorrow to see what things are like. i'm hoping the pipes haven't burst and flooded the house - that's already happened once in my life, and it wasn't fun.
but now i truly know what the israelites in exile faced, so i will have a much deeper understanding of their plight. and those displaced by katrina or the tsunami, i feel like now we have something in common. wow - now i'm starting to sound like blagojevich.
i lost power tuesday at noon, and with the power went my water (since i'm on a well that uses an electric pump) and my heat (since i'm on gas that uses an electric thermostat). so i went around and checked on as many church members as i could. then i packed up the pup and headed south. i've been bouncing around like a vagabond ever since, but some nice people have put up with me. i go back tomorrow to see what things are like. i'm hoping the pipes haven't burst and flooded the house - that's already happened once in my life, and it wasn't fun.
but now i truly know what the israelites in exile faced, so i will have a much deeper understanding of their plight. and those displaced by katrina or the tsunami, i feel like now we have something in common. wow - now i'm starting to sound like blagojevich.
04 January 2009
why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
last week i was in the ticket line at the movies, and two women were behind me talking about different options. one of the women mentioned that she wanted to see "doubt." the other asked what "doubt" was about. the first woman then preceded to describe some movie that had little to nothing to do with "doubt." she had no idea who was in it or what the plot was, but that didn't stop her speculating. i was actually laughing to myself a little thinking "she's gonna be really disappointed if she sees this movie cause it's not at all what she thinks it is."
i know i'm guilty of this sometimes too, but what's wrong with just saying "i don't know"? why do we have to pretend to be experts at everything? given the vast scope of knowledge in existence, it's not at all inconceivable that there are many things i/we simply don't know. so where's the harm in owning up to that and being honest?
i guess i find this ultimately frustrating in issues dealing with faith and God. again, i would say the majority of things dealing with God we simply don't know. it is guesswork, but then again, that's what faith is. there is no point or need for faith when we can prove something or have certainty about it. but efforts to "prove the existence of God" are inherently flawed because in seeking to bolster faith they actually negate its relevance.
so i've really tried to be honest with people in my churches when they ask me faith questions about life after death or the character of God. i direct them to places in scripture, and i tell them about different theories or beliefs throughout the life of the Church - but i also remind them that we don't know, and quite importantly, i don't know. to some, even perhaps many, this is troubling. after all, i'm supposed to be an expert and have answers about this stuff. but i'm hoping my honesty to admit the vast number of things i don't know or understand will keep me and others asking, seeking, knocking, exploring, and learning. even if all we learn is how much we don't know.
i know i'm guilty of this sometimes too, but what's wrong with just saying "i don't know"? why do we have to pretend to be experts at everything? given the vast scope of knowledge in existence, it's not at all inconceivable that there are many things i/we simply don't know. so where's the harm in owning up to that and being honest?
i guess i find this ultimately frustrating in issues dealing with faith and God. again, i would say the majority of things dealing with God we simply don't know. it is guesswork, but then again, that's what faith is. there is no point or need for faith when we can prove something or have certainty about it. but efforts to "prove the existence of God" are inherently flawed because in seeking to bolster faith they actually negate its relevance.
so i've really tried to be honest with people in my churches when they ask me faith questions about life after death or the character of God. i direct them to places in scripture, and i tell them about different theories or beliefs throughout the life of the Church - but i also remind them that we don't know, and quite importantly, i don't know. to some, even perhaps many, this is troubling. after all, i'm supposed to be an expert and have answers about this stuff. but i'm hoping my honesty to admit the vast number of things i don't know or understand will keep me and others asking, seeking, knocking, exploring, and learning. even if all we learn is how much we don't know.
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