That's Preposterous

A Loveable Lou-ser

2010-08-22T22:13:00.004-05:00

Just when you think you've seen it all as a Cubs fan, turns out not. I didn't think the Cubs would be in contention this season. But I had no idea things would go off the rails like this. Guess I should have had a better imagination.

I wasn't all that shocked to hear about Lou retiring at the end of the season. That seemed to be coming one way or another. But then the weird stuff started happening. We trade Derrek Lee to the Braves and then start playing the Braves. One day Lee plays for the Cubs; the next for the Braves - at Wrigley - against the Cubs. It's just too much to adjust to all at once.

And now today, Lou announces his retirement will start after the game - today. There's no arguing with his reason. His mother is apparently in failing health, and he has been on leave several times. Certainly he needs to be with her and put family first. I just hope he is really being allowed to do what he needs and isn't being forced out. At this point, he could coach the team from Tampa over Skype and it probably wouldn't make much of a difference. But if he's being elbowed out, that's pretty scummy, even for Chicago politics.

typical

2010-03-22T21:43:00.002-05:00

so i got the swine flu the other day. well, i'm getting ahead of myself. i was told it couldn't be 100% confirmed absent a test from the CDC (which i didn't want to pay for), but it was a type a (like my personality) strand, so chances are better than not. we caught it early, so i got some good meds (100 bucks worth to be exact - about half of which was, from my medical opinion, totally useless), and i'm all better now.

now comes the question: will i start getting the flu shot? here's the thing, as far as i know i've never had the flu before. i get lots of sinus things which may also be related to allergies. who knows anything really? but, the one time i actually did get the flu shot, i got sick as a dog. it was awful. so yeah, maybe i'll just take my chances. i'm a strong believer in prevention but when that prevention makes you sick and you might not get sick anyway, not so much.

but yeah, me a total hypochondriac getting the swine flu. classic.

sorry coco

2010-01-22T17:45:00.002-06:00

so i'll be watching conan's final "the tonight show" tonight in sort of a perplexed daze at all that has transpired. i guess nothing in the hollywood world should ever surprise me/us anymore, but after what took place years ago when leno took over (robbed) the show from carson (GRHS), i simply thought the circus had left town. oh no.

i don't want to be completely one-sided. i used to have no use for jay at all. but over the years he has gotten funnier to me. i think he's usually pretty self-deprecating, and he was great in "comedian." but i've always been more of a letterman guy, just more zany, loopy, and ridiculous all around. that being said, i like conan more than them all. i make no bones about it, it's because of his work on "the simpsons." he's hilarious and brilliant and to hear people he worked with on "the simpsons" talk about him...well it's kinda like hearing nuns talk about Jesus. and it rings true. i don't know if anyone in hollywoodland has any sincerity or much integrity, but conan seems to me to come closest. so far no ridiculous affairs or insanity about his life, i guess until now.

i feel pretty sad that i haven't really watched "the tonight show" until tonight. not sure i would have made much of a diference. but i'm sad that he worked so hard and is so talented and is being shown the door simply because it's easier to do what is easy than it is to do what is right.

house musings

2009-12-30T15:44:00.001-06:00

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.

i'm an adult - please treat me like a child

2009-11-25T13:41:00.002-06:00

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!

pastor dave's parenting advice

2009-11-18T00:28:00.002-06:00

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.

for the love of lambuth

2009-09-18T20:53:00.002-05:00

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.

young clergy stuff

2009-05-05T23:57:00.003-05:00

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.

miscellany

2009-05-01T23:57:00.002-05:00

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.

the silence of God

2009-04-10T15:14:00.001-05:00

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

on parsonages

2009-03-28T11:04:00.002-05:00

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.

tom petty's wrong

2009-02-03T00:47:00.002-06:00

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.

why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?

2009-01-04T22:30:00.004-06:00

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.

counting down and counting crows

2008-12-31T16:57:00.002-06:00

so "counting crows" is one of my favorite bands, and yet i constantly forget this and how much i truly love lots of their stuff. of course, this time of year i always remember "a long december." it has one of the greatest opening lines to any song, and certainly a fitting one when turning over a new (secular/pagan) year (since we Christians started our year like a month ago). so it's my standard line and has been for some time, and it's as much a prayer as i usually have in me for a new year - in kind of an irish way:

"a long december, and there's reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."

but then the other day i was driving and "holiday in spain" came on. it hit me, for the first time, that my favorite line (verse) from that song would be perhaps even more appropriate. so here goes - for a new year - a new, old line.

"well happy new year's baby. we could probably fix it if we clean it up all day. or we could simply pack our bags and catch a plane to barcelona cause this city's a drag. i may...take a holiday in spain, leave my wings behind me - flush my worries down the drain and fly away to somewhere new. take a holiday in spain, leave my wings behind me - drive this little girl insane and fly away to someone new."

i could be wrong

2008-12-23T01:23:00.003-06:00

something has been bothering me for a while, but obviously not enough to keep me from forgetting to write about it (or anything for that matter). but there's a saying that's getting more play lately about an elephant in the room. i think it's meant to convey a serious issue that people are completely ignoring rather than addressing. if so, it's one of the worst metaphorical images ever. i mean, would anyone be able to ignore an elephant in the room with them? would they even go into a room with an elephant or have an elephant come into their room without bolting out the window?

regardless, the problem i'm having is with the twisting of this simple phrase. i've heard several times someone speak of "the white elephant in the room." i don't think the elephant's race matters, but i do believe this confuses the simple elephant in the room with a white elephant gift - which if memory serves is just a crappy gift (used maybe for dirty santa or yankee swap or exchange the white elephant gift).

then the other day, i heard on a network news show (not surprising) something about "a 400 lb elephant in the room." this is dumb on many levels. first, i'm pretty sure it's a 400 lb gorilla. second, i mean really, maybe an elephant's leg weighs 400 lbs. maybe it might weigh that in the first week of its life. but elephants weigh several tons. a person could weigh 400 lbs, which should be a pretty good clue an elephant likely doesn't.

i know it's not a big deal or anything, but it just bothers me that information has never been easier to attain and yet everyone - especially the "experts" - seem to be getting dumber by the minute. i guess ease begets laziness and a complete lack of concern regarding accuracy. after all, as ringo said, "it don't come easy." or was it george?

get candy!

2008-10-28T20:59:00.002-05:00

a few weeks ago i noticed a candy bowl in my friend lora jean's office. it was full of yummy starbursts - one of my favorite candies. this brought about a crucial question for me: what is the best kind of community candy to put in a bowl? i think it might be starbursts. first, they draw immediate attention because of their bold colors. second, they are individually wrapped. this helps prevent the spread of germs by allowing people to root through the bowl (if red ones - the best - are not easily accessible) and not poison another person's candy. finally, they are amazing.

so here's a new poll - just in time for all hallows eve. please choose the best community candy. remember, this is the best candy to put in a hypothetical bowl in your alleged office and have random freeloaders steal from. it'd be great if you'd leave a comment explaining the motives for your answer or your choice if you select "other."

whatcha listening to?

2008-09-19T23:11:00.002-05:00

i think i used to have things pretty put together when it comes to music. i'd be all over stuff when it was about to come out or even before it came out. i used to go to tons of concerts. the last year or so though, not so much. i guess i was reminded of this not so long ago when someone asked me what i'd been listening to lately - like i still had it together, and i was sampling new genres and stuff. i'm not sure if i was honest or not, but lately i've just been going with stuff i've heard in movies or on tv (commercials even). so here's the last five songs i downloaded from itunes and some explaining. let me know your last five and if you have it more together than i do.

5. high flying bird - elton john. so weird, i went on this big elton john kick in high school. bought like all his albums. but i'd never heard this song at all until i heard it in the background of a show a few minutes ago. good stuff.

4. come to me (peace) - mary j. blige. there was this "live from abbey road" special on one of the directv stations that had mary j, james blunt, and dashboard confessional. the live version of this song was unreal. i've heard her on lots of things, but i've never appreciated how great her voice is.

3. the mountains win again - blues traveler. yeah, i definitely had this album when it first came out and listened to it all the time. this was my favorite song on it. no idea where the album is now - got lost in a move maybe. but the song was on a coors commercial or something, and i remembered how great it was. it's really great to scream out the high notes while riding your scooter. prove me wrong.

2. robots - flight of the conchords. i have it on dvd, but the "with traces of lead" part made it necessary to download to the ipod. genius.

1. simple man - graham nash. i'm guessing this guy was a member of crosby, stills, nash, and young. never heard the song before, and it's in the opening of the movie "reign over me" which was really pretty great. don cheadle can't really miss in my eyes. gorgeous song.

to those outside, everything comes in parables (or songs)

2008-09-06T22:13:00.002-05:00

"just a little something for the pain. hospital food getting you down? honey now i'm not one to complain, but this hangin' around is wearing me out. so patch me up boys take me home. are you not hearing a word i say? she sounds so different on the phone. i just sink like a stone - back to the day. tell me something. tell me something i don't already know. tell me something. tell me something i don't know." -david gray

No Way Airlines

2008-08-10T23:30:00.002-05:00

i guess i've been pretty lucky when it comes to flying. i've rarely had a flight delayed, and i think i've only ever had one flight canceled outright. so the complaining that ensues is really much closer to spoiled brat whining, but i'm going to share it nonetheless.

so i'm flying back from seann and elizabeth's wedding (in houston), and i have to fly to memphis and then to nashville. "but david," you might ask "didn't you leave nineveh in jackson? and isn't memphis only an hour from jackson whereas nashville is two hours from jackson? why would you just fly directly from houston to memphis and drive to jackson to get nineveh?" such a reasonable question with an answer that is anything but reasonable: it's roughly twice as expensive to fly directly from memphis to houston than to fly from nashville to memphis to houston, and that's with gas as a variable!

so the flight from houston to memphis was delayed - no biggie. they projected that we would take off in plenty of time to make my connection. well, how glad i was when we actually were set to take off earlier than anticipated. piece of cake. but then, there was weather. it started drizzling in houston. i know - big panic. texas isn't used to rain. but seriously - i didn't see lightning once or anything serious. yet according to our pilot, the entire airport closed down. this was a little fishy considering the fed ex planes taking off left and right on the runways beside us as well as the american airlines planes three of which took off while we sat grounded.

finally we got the "okay" from God or whoever makes the rain, and we took off. it was gonna be close. well, we landed with about twenty minutes for me to get to my nashville bound plane. i wasn't really that concerned because the memphis airport isn't that colossal, and i knew it fairly well. but here comes the best part: they had made us check anything larger than a hamster at the planeside check-in thingy. well, normally that wouldn't be so big a deal because they typically just throw those bags up on the gate platform (bridge? i don't know air terms) and you grab em as you deplane (i know that one!). well, not this time. i guess because we had been delayed, and things weren't so hot they thought they'd be extra courteous to us and put all our bags on that little elevator thingy and pull it right up to the gate. only problem is, that really screwed most of the people who had mere minutes to make the next flight because it took them SO LONG to get the bags on that thing and get it around there. i was literally standing there with people who were saying "and i just missed my flight" when they clearly would have had time to make it had the people with the bags been equipped with basic reasoning and logic.

so i got my bags with literally one minute to make my plane. i sprinted from terminal a to terminal b (in chacos mind you) and saw my gate. no one was there. i yelled at the next gate down something that sounded like "tha mah play" (i'm not a sprinter). someone came over and quickly called the plane and told them to wait - he was truly helpful, and i wish i had tipped him. he ended up opening the door of the plane for me (unassailably cool i think).

so yeah, i ended up making the flight - and i kinda felt like batman...a batman with burning lungs.

so here's the part where you get to play along. i won't give the name of the airline i flew and won't fly again - but the initials are NWA. so you try and come up with a slogan wittier than mine (shouldn't be hard).

hands off my ice cream

2008-07-21T23:40:00.003-05:00

disclaimer: this will likely be the most seinfeldesque post i've ever written. proceed cautiously.

so what's the deal with hand dipped ice cream? i can't remember the first time i saw a sign telling me an ice cream was hand dipped, but i remember being confused. i mean, what's the point? i suppose it does distinguish a certain kind of ice cream from another, say soft serve or homemade. but i think there's also this arrogance like people are going to extra trouble to hand dip this stuff. like i should be impressed that you had to scoop the ice cream. and really, is that any more work than twisting the cone under the spout of the soft serve? if anything, i think making a good twisty cone is harder.

well the other day i seriously heard the most moronic extension of this marketing: hand spun milkshakes. really? you mean you actually went to the trouble to hold a cup in your hand as a machine mixed the stuff around. robots didn't do this? oh, well then i'll have one. i was on the fence, but now that i know what enormous trouble you went to, sign me up.

i'm living suede.

to scoot or not to scoot

2008-07-11T23:49:00.002-05:00

so because i'm a tree hugging hippie commie, i bought a scooter a couple weeks ago - to try and cut all ties with exxon mobil and their ilk. i really, REALLY like it. it's a blue honda metropolitan (i know, could i be any more metro?!). it gets, no lying, 100+ mpg. and it's really zippy to ride around on. i'm thinking of calling it "peppy" (i hope someone, maybe casey, gets the curb reference). but, of course, anytime i try to advance the cause of reason and sensibility let alone care for the environment or good stewardship, the "man" has to put his boot on my neck in a way that defies all logic.

i bought the scooter in tennessee, cause i just like trafficking vehicles across state lines. but i tried to do the right thing and take it in to the courthouse to pay tax on it and get it registered and all that legal stuff. let me preface what follows by saying the people who work there seem to hate life and their jobs a lot. people that work in fast food have more joy. anyway, i ask them what i need to do and show them my forms. this one lady (who just loathes me) gets on the phone with someone for a while. she returns and tells me it's illegal for me to ride it on the road; it can only be used for offroad purposes. um, it's a scooter. it's having enough trouble navigating a course that isn't circling the arch de triomphe. but it's certainly not IN ANY WAY for offroading. but the reason she gave me is the kicker: the minimum engine size they'll register is 50cc ~ "peppy" is, wait for it, 49cc. UNACCEPTABLE.

so i guess this place will be my selma or something. i'm not taking it back. i'm going to flagrantly break the law on a regular basis. i answer to a God that loves creation and hates violence, and i'm going to ride this vehicle that barely pollutes and doesn't cause wars. i know that doesn't make sense to most people around the planet, but i'm about changing their minds. in the meantime i'll probably be setting up a legal defense fund for the inevitable court battles ahead. i know i can count on you for a cake with a saw in it when it comes to that. viva la revolution!

worse than fiction

2008-07-01T15:24:00.003-05:00

just when i think i've heard the most ridiculous thing possible, i remember there's always room for improvement. i've now heard twice about the environmental protection agency sending the bush administration a document about controlling greenhouse gases. this document was the result of the epa obeying a ruling from the supreme court. as this the new york times article reports, the bush administration chose to ignore the document by refusing to open the e-mail which held the document. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/washington/25epa.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214920490-3WOjSZifpRF+CKY/LyYC8w

i guess normally i would be outraged at a branch of government behaving like a petulant child with his fingers in his ears yelling in order to ignore what he doesn't want to hear. but really it's just par for the course, so i've pretty much accepted it. the truly outraging part is that it continues to work, as it did with the epa which sent a revised document watering down its proposals. hey, you can't fault a winning strategy.

maybe at some point there will be enough rational, passionate people to hold government officials accountable and fire them for incompetency and bumbling disregard for all ethics. but apparently that's not gonna happen today. today we're just like the white house - willfully ignoring the obvious disaster ahead.

like francis

2008-06-11T01:03:00.002-05:00

i was all set to take a trip to assisi in a few months, but events conspired to throw that off the rails. if i ever get to go i hope to hear more stories about st. francis who has always intrigued me. legend has it francis was born into a wealthy family but one day encountered a beggar (who i think had previously terrified francis) and saw in him the image of Christ. from that day on francis renounced his family's wealth, perhaps even stripping off his clothes in front of his cloth merchant father. francis then went on to live the life of a beggar and to serve the poor.

the other day i was ending up some travels in my hometown, and i went to eat at a sub shop. inside was a girl's softball team. one of the team moms was in front of me in line, and i experienced maybe the opposite of what francis did. her behavior in that short time might have robbed from me any future ability to really see anything Christ-like in a certain section of the population. she seemed to be the embodiment of those who serve manna. there was no kindness in her shown to the girls on the softball team or the staff working at the restaurant. she was actually very rude to everyone. her children's names were attempts at outdoing others in trendiness. i simply found it almost impossible to consider loving her because it seemed she cared nothing about love, compassion, sacrifice. she only cared about herself and victory.

i've lived a fairly privileged life, like francis' up to a point. and i'm not close to being able to sell everything i have and give the money to the poor (which i think Jesus actually wants us to do, not just be able to do). but i think i'm ready to call the old tale i've heard in the Church for so long about how the rich are as needy as the poor nothing more than a lie that i refuse to perpetuate. all the symptoms of being rich that are always trotted out (loneliness, depression, stress, etc.) can be alleviated very simply: stop being rich. stop believing that God wants you to be rich in anything other than love and communion with others. realize why Jesus had no possessions and no home.

francis gave his life for the poor, and i often wish i could follow in the same way. but i now belong to an order of clergy where i agree to go where i'm sent. in this way, success often means ending up at very wealthy churches and likely tending to the "problems" associated with wealth. i will seek to love people no matter where i'm sent, but i'm already praying that i'll be more often in ministry with the poor who are not so blinded by possessions and property that they can no longer see Christ.

a penny saved

2008-06-03T10:40:00.003-05:00

lots has been happening lately, and a good bit of it has been totally absurd. but it's been happening at such a break-neck pace (i hate that phrase) i've been forgetting most of it before recording it here. here's one thing that happened. it totally isn't worth writing about - but most things i write about aren't.

i'm in jackson (my hometown) for a few days, and i went out to eat with my buddy ben (whose wedding i'm co-presiding at this weekend). we went to rafferty's - one of my favorite jackson places. it has the greatest chicken tenders. actually, it's the sauce that i love so much. the chicken tenders are pretty average. but this sauce is unbelievable. i recently found out (i can't tell you how) that the sauce is just bbq sauce and honey mustard mixed together. now, it took me years of searching and doing unspeakable deeds to find this out. it was like a search for the holy grail. i was telling ben how much i loved the sauce and how it took me so long to figure it out, and just instantly he said "oh, what is it bbq sauce and honey mustard mixed together?" that's just the kinda friendship we have.

anyway, so we order the exact same food. the only difference is he gets a sweet tea, and i get a coke (which was sub-par. i'm a big snob when it comes to coke. props to chappy's in auburn. consistently the best coke i've had in a long time. i'll miss it). our check comes (just one so there's no telling the orders apart) and one of us is being charged a penny more. well, we were just about to burn the place to the ground when she brought us back the receipts to sign, and they were the same price: a penny less (or rather, the one didn't have the extra penny). i guess she knew we weren't to be trifled with.

best post ever!

a new blog

2008-05-17T01:33:00.003-05:00

i've decided to launch an additional blog. i know, i barely write on this blog anymore so launching another one probably seems double crazy. it might be, but i feel like i need to do so. for the past couple of years i have become increasingly committed to practices of environmental stewardship (greening, care for the environment, tree hugging, whatever). my motives are primarily theological. i believe God created everything that exists and gave us the cognitive capacity to care for it all. we've done not such a great job recently, and i think it's certainly time for churches and church leaders to lead the way. if we are so adamant about God creating the universe then we must be willing to treat the resources of the planet accordingly. so i'm launching this new blog to deal specifically with these issues. i know i could post them on here, but there is already other content on here, and i want to devote the other blog solely to the environmental purpose. i'm going to try to write on the other blog at least once a week. i'm also going to try to write more on here, and as my life faces some changes soon, i doubt i'll have any lack of material. i'll simply have to make time to share it. but, i hope you'll check out www.goinggreenforgod.blogspot.com as much as you can and share your thoughts about caring for creation.

working for a living

2008-04-25T00:06:00.004-05:00

i don't really have much to say, but it's the week of earth day and it's nice to see the tv networks all green and focused on that and everything. but of course i know that'll be over soon. maybe earth day will be the new Christmas when corporations learn more and more how to capitalize on it. i just know that there are two places very close to me - one literally right next to the piece of land i live on - where they are cutting down lots of trees. i've heard chainsaws and bulldozers all through "earth week." i actually like the smell of pine in the air, but then i remember why it lingers so heavy.

i try and put myself in the place of the people cutting down all the trees and realize they are just doing a job. but then i also think, people making missiles and guns and bullets - just doing a job. bartenders that allow people to drink way too much and then drive and kill someone - just earning a living. drug dealers - everyone has to pay the rent. i think the latter categories are much more severe than people who cut down trees for a living - i'm not that far gone just yet, and as long as i use paper or anything else made from wood, i have to allow for people to provide it. i just want there to be some consciousness in all professions of what is taking place - how much good is being done versus the harm, and some attempt at tilting the scales toward the good would be nice. probably some professions have to go. but martin luther thought Christians could serve God as executioners, so i could be wrong.

so yeah, some recognition of as big a picture as possible and the attempt to do the best we can. that might just start with people who cut down trees taking this week off.

do my eyes seem empty?

2008-04-14T22:39:00.003-05:00

about a month ago this cat wandered into my yard. i'd seen her a few times before, but always on the edge of the woods. this time she ventured pretty close and eventually came right up to me. it was night, so i was a little hesitant - couldn't tell if she was foaming at the mouth or anything. but she seemed really friendly, constantly meowing and rubbing up against my legs.

we never had cats growing up, only dogs; we always had dogs. i'm admittedly way more of a dog person, but i guess i just feel like there's not as much of a chance for me to screw things up with one since i've been around them my whole life. of course, i really love all animals a great deal. i guess it's one of the things i'm softest about. i can't stand to see animals mistreated. people i can pretty much take or leave, but animals...well i kinda feel like we're supposed to take care of them, certainly the ones that can't fend for themselves. recently, i've come a long way with cats. i think i just started appreciating them for what they are. i used to write them off as snobby or entitled, and that may be true, but i've also realize they just aren't as domesticated as dogs even after centuries of having them as pets. they are just tame enough to live with humans, but wild enough to do it always on their terms. i respect that. they are certainly beautiful animals, and big cats (lions, tigers, and cougars) have always amazed me. not too long ago my dad and stepmom started caring for some strays that now run their yard. it's been a pretty impressive transformation. all this is to say, the thought came into my head that i might keep this cat.

she kept coming around and eventually came up on my porch to the door. she would have come into the house, but i realized i had to test things with my dog first - she's kinda my first priority. so i tried to introduce them, and it did not go well. nineveh (my dog) is the most docile creature i've ever seen. it's clear she's been abused. she's always very cowed around other animals, even rabbits. so she was easing up to the cat very slowly. then suddenly, the cat hissed and struck at her. i reacted really suddenly and badly. i threw the cat down and yelled at it - i was really worried it had scratched nineveh's eyes. no blood. still, i was really mad. i decided this wasn't gonna work and that my loyalty was to nineveh. the cat would have to find a home elsewhere. so i ran her off.

i felt pretty bad in the following days. i mean, she was just being a cat i guess. we all know cats and dogs historically don't get along. but, she didn't come back around, so what could i do? i went out of town for a few days last sunday and got back wednesday afternoon. the cat was back, and i found her under the side of my shed. she seemed really weak and not at all well. when i ran her off, i noticed that her stomach was a little larger than the rest of her. i didn't know if she was pregnant or not (again, no experience with cats), but now she certainly was not pregnant any longer. she was skin and bones. i tried bringing her some food and water, but she wouldn't eat. so i got really worried and decided i'd try taking her somewhere the next day. i kept checking on her, and at one point she crawled under the shed to the middle of it and curled up on an old tarp that was under there. i didn't think this was good at all. so, i called katie to help me get her out. katie kept a flashlight shining on her so i could see, and i tried moving her with different things - she was really impossible to reach though. a couple times she got up, and i thought maybe she'd come out, but she just laid back down. finally i decided i'd have to go to the top of the shed and come in from that angle - which was really dicey because there's a lot of mulch and weeds and stuff there. i cleared out as much stuff as i could and put a board down. then i reached under the shed and started pulling the tarp. the cat stayed on it which helped. finally i pulled her out. she was so weak and dirty. we fed her some tuna, and she ate decently and drank some water. i decided to make a little bed for her in this kiddie pool where i wash nineveh. i also would put it in my backyard which is fenced so she wouldn't get out (i don't know anything about cats).

the next morning i went out and checked on her. she seemed a little better, but i noticed she was bleeding from her back end. i called my vet to see about possible treatment. things didn't sound good. i had decided i really couldn't keep her, but i'd pay for her treatment (as long as it wasn't insane) so she could be adopted by someone else. i was told it could cost $800-$1,200 to get her healthy, if that was even possible. of course this was just an estimate - they hadn't even checked her out. i called the humane society, but they said given her condition they'd likely put her to sleep. finally, i checked with the auburn vet school (how lucky to live near a vet school). at first they too were a little hesitant since it wasn't my cat, but eventually a very kind woman said i could bring her in anonymously and they'd do what they could for her. that was good enough for me. so i went outside to get her, and she was nowhere to be found.

i looked all over the yard where i had seen her just moments before. finally, i looked under the shed, and there she was, curled up again. at that point i wondered if i should just leave her. it's always amazed me how animals know when it's their time. they truly are more perceptive than we give them credit for. but i decided i'd have to get her out one way or another - better to do it while she was still alive and maybe had a chance. so i dug her out with my hand again and put her in the car. she was very peaceful on the way to the vet school. i should say at this point that once i got a look at her, she really was a pretty cat. her head and tail were kinda gray striped - pretty standard. but her body was almost blonde with a very faint tortoise print. i'd never seen a cat like her.

i brought her in and the lady i spoke with took us to an observation room. she agreed the cat didn't look good. a vet/student soon came in to ask me some questions and took her to do a quick exam. she wanted me to stay, which i was a little surprised about, but i did. she came back with another vet and they started talking with me about options. they would do what they could, but also needed to know if i could help pay for anything and how much. i told them i could help some, but i certainly don't have much money and just wanted to get her healthy so someone could adopt her. we all agreed on doing blood work and going from there. so i left, and they promised to call me.

a few hours later i got a call that things were not good. she didn't have leukemia (which would have been a deal breaker treatment wise), but she did have a very bad virus and a fever of 105. they think she might have miscarried and weren't sure if the virus could have caused that or the other way around. basically even with some serious (and expensive) surgery and loads (of expensive) antibiotics, it was still 50/50 whether she'd even live. they said the best thing to do would be to put her to sleep. then they asked my permission. i didn't sign up for that part. she wasn't my cat - just a stray that wandered up, but here i was being asked if it was okay to kill her. i said yes. they told me it was the best thing to do and then expressed their gratitude for bringing her in and doing "so much more than most people." i thanked her for doing all she could and hung up the phone. then i pretty much lost it.

i was sobbing for the next half hour or so. i just couldn't get over not having taken the cat in sooner or being willing to officially adopt her so i would have spent the money. i felt so guilty for running her off and truly believed i killed her. i felt awful the rest of that day and for the next few days. i'm admittedly someone who wants to save the world singlehandedly, and i know that's pretty dangerous sometimes, but i also think it's what makes the few good things about me so good. say what you will about me, you can't say i'm not passionate.

in the days that have followed i've been reassured by several more people that i did all i could for the cat and way more than many people would have done. i guess i still can't get over not being able to save her though, even though i fully understand it can't always work out that way. i truly can't say enough good things about the auburn vet school and the work they did. i sensed in them a deep compassion not just for animals, but for people who do their best to try and help animals, however insufficient that effort ultimately is. i plan to make a donation to further their work when i can. and i guess that's my next thing to be passionate about. i've always loved animals and wanted to help them, but i haven't done as much about putting my money and time towards that effort, and i have a strong motivation now. of course, i've also realized that the main reason i didn't keep the cat was because my first priority is to my dog that i adopted from a rescue service. she was abused and could have suffered the same fate as the cat, but she was rescued from a shelter and now rescues me on a daily basis. so i guess that's the biggest lesson i have for others. if you possibly can, adopt/rescue/save an animal. it requires a great deal of time, money, patience, and love and one should NEVER get an animal on a whim. but i think there are plenty of people who could give animals a very good home, and i hope they will seek out not just the most photogenic or trendy breed, but also those who have no more chances and need special attention. by saving their lives you will likely discover that in countless ways, they return the favor by saving you.

my sacrifice for creation

2008-04-05T00:29:00.003-05:00

for the past couple of years i have tried to practice good environmental stewardship. i'll admit that a key in my new focus was seeing the film An Inconvenient Truth. i will not argue the science of the film or global climate change or anything to do with Al Gore. none of these ultimately brought about my change. what did it was remembering the intricate beauty of creation and my belief that the God i worship somehow brought about all that exists. it occurred to me that i can't love God and trash what God created and called good. so i set out to care for creation in as many ways as i could. i rode my bike more, i started using my own bags at kroger and my own water bottles everywhere (even when i was yelled at by an employee at taco bell - where i refuse to eat again), i have even invented my own water efficient way of washing dishes, which i'll disclose later. but one thing i couldn't turn green was my lead foot...until now.

one of my church members told me about a guy in "Reader's Digest" who won an mpg contest by getting 150 mpg. i was pretty floored, especially when i read that the car he used wasn't a hybrid. his secret: coasting. basically driving as slow as possible and trying never to use the gas, or the brake for that matter. so i've started trying it - it's really too soon to tell if i can do this. i'm so used to getting frustrated with people who even drive the speed limit. now i find myself well under it. i suppose this will be the true test of my dedication to creation. of course, i could just scrap the car and bike everywhere.

here are a few other tips the article offered: 1. keep your car empty of everything you can. excess weight only drags you down. 2. keep the tires inflated well and the car regularly maintained. 3. don't use the air conditioner or roll the windows down (really tough, the guy in the article wears an ice vest!).

and now, as promised, my amazing dish washing method. of course, if you can afford some fancy dishwasher that conserves energy and water, go for it. but i can't, so i do this. for starters, you have to clean your plate as much as possible when you eat. you should do this anyway - starving kids in africa. then, start off with just a little water and dish soap in the sink, just enough to wash a few things (plates). let them soak for a few minutes and then sponge them or whatever. THEN rinse them off with the water filling up the sink even more. in other words, don't rinse them in the other side with the water leaving and being wasted. i know you might be like "eww, but the water will be all gross." no, it won't. the dish should be totally free of crud when you rinse. any crud will be in that water anyway - and if you've eaten everything on your plate, it shouldn't be a problem. so continue rinsing so that the water level rises, and continue adding larger dishes and letting them soak for a few minutes. by the end, you'll have a full sink of water, but you'll have conserved a lot. tell your friends.

studio 60 on the sunset strip

2008-03-26T22:11:00.002-05:00

a couple weeks ago i finally broke down and ordered the complete series of the show mentioned above. i had watched it when it was on a few years ago, and i was deeply saddened that it didn't get picked up. although i guess i shouldn't be that surprised. it offered a little more social commentary than most people care for i suppose.

i'm a pretty big aaron sorkin fan. i own the complete series of Sports Night and the first five seasons of The West Wing (i couldn't bear watching after the first few episodes of the fifth season). anyone who has seen the shows would have a hard time arguing that the substance of them is that distinct. and one could go so far as to say they are the same show in three different packages. so i find it a bit suspicious that Sports Night and Studio 60 made it two and one seasons, respectively, while The West Wing went seven and won quite a few emmys. i'm no conspiracy guy, but could it have something to do with the american flag being in The West Wing's opening credits? who's to say?

anyway, of the three The West Wing is probably my favorite, but then it had much more of a chance to earn that accolade. of the three, the first season of Studio 60 is by far the best. the first season of The West Wing is almost painful to recall - especially moira kelly. once she left it had the superior cast of the three, but only barely. all three casts were phenomenal compared to anything else on tv. matthew perry was great on West Wing and Studio 60. i hope he gets another shot at a role like that. only time will tell i suppose.

"suzanne, tarps over everything!"

a bit of a crowbar separation, please

2008-03-17T21:07:00.002-05:00

i thought maybe under bush people would begin to realize that a president's (or candidate's) religious beliefs really mean nothing regarding the way they will govern. bush is a self-avowed Christian (as are all candidates who hope to have a prayer of getting elected) and yet he has waged an unprovoked, unmitigated, endless war built entirely on lies. at the same time he has thwarted any effort to care for the environment and ignored any scientific evidence (or really any opinion) that has not supported his beliefs. i defy anyone to defend the claim (with a straight face) that he has done anything in his presidency that would even please Jesus Christ.

but i'm fine with this because politicians are not pastors and they shouldn't be. they should, of course, stop pretending to be devout Christians and admit they're playing to the crowd. but at the same time, the voters should actually explore history rather than listen to hack revisionist historians (often in the form of "pastors") and realize that the founders of the united states wanted a government devoid of religious favoritism and influence.

to those who want to belong to the Church - God is the ultimate authority. therefore, there is no allegiance to the state. to those who want to pledge allegiance to the state, let them serve the state, but don't expect them to worship God. no one can serve two gods.

which brings me to jeremiah wright. he is a pastor. his job is not to make flattering comments about the united states. his job is to serve God. people may certainly disagree with his sermons, but not in any political way because he is not a politician. and if people disagree with his sermons, they should speak with him, not members of his church. they don't write his sermons.

perhaps obama should answer questions about his relationship to wright - but not the kind the media are offering. maybe obama should be asked why a political campaign has a chaplain or spiritual advisors. even more basic, he should be asked how he plans to command a military that may be called upon to kill while he serves a God that forbids killing. but of course these questions draw attention to the problems of mixing Church and state, and everybody knows those two are separate. right?

stop the fame for the infamous

2008-02-18T22:03:00.002-06:00

before michael moore had the "audacity" to question and challenge bush's motives for waging war on iraq, thus incurring severe wrath from...well not above, but somewhere (moore, not bush), he was fairly widely celebrated for Bowling for Columbine. in it, he examines the violent culture of america - especially america's youth - and the myriad factors that might contribute to disasters like those experienced at columbine high, virginia tech, and now northern illinois university.

particularly piercing in his work is the difference between our media and that in other countries. most, if not all, mainstream media religiously follows the maxim "if it bleeds, it leads." but i'm starting to wonder if the immense attention and fame (or perhaps infamy) heaped on the perpetrators of these acts isn't becoming a massive incentive. we can blame the increase on the severity and regularity of these acts on many factors, but certainly it seems that the more coverage these acts have received, the more they have occurred.

most of the people who commit these acts are suicidal. but rather than simply kill themselves, they want to make as big a bang as possible. so they kill many others. and then, we give them just what they wanted to begin with: massive attention. in essence, we grant their final wish - and we honor them with attention far above their poor, innocent victims.

criminals, especially of this caliber, should not be made celebrities. we should completely deny them this awful fame. don't mention their names or anything about them. don't show any photos of them posing with weapons of death. withhold from them all glory, and declare once and for all that those who commit these atrocities will receive no attention. i find it deplorable that during sporting events cameras will cut away from people running on baseball fields or across tennis courts because "we don't want to encourage that kind of behavior" - but apparently we shouldn't question whether or not we are encouraging mass murder. just once it would be encouraging to see ANY news outlet that wanted to try and be part of the solution rather than contributing to the problem.

think i'm exaggerating about this? i'll bet you know the names of the murderers at niu, va tech, and columbine - or could at least describe them. now try describing or naming any of their victims.

nothin

2008-02-13T11:14:00.002-06:00

well it's been a few weeks since i posted. so you might be wondering what have i been doing? well, nothin. i don't really have a good reason for not writing - just nothing much has come to me lately. i don't really have that much to write about now, but i feel like i need to - and emily told me to. so i guess here are a couple things that have been consuming my time.

planet earth - i finally got a library card to the auburn public library (on a side note - boo to the university library. you may be big and have a cool name that is almost "dragon" but i'm not paying for a library card. you're a public university, and my taxes keep you alive. you should be saying "thank you" not "gimme more of your money." also, you started as a methodist school and i'm methodist clergy - so where's the love?) and i checked out the first two dvds of this series. it truly is unbelievable. i deeply love nature and find so much of it fascinating. this is the greatest presentation of nature documentary i've ever seen. it's entrancing. it really has brought out a deeper appreciation for animals. i mean, i've always loved animals and been amazed by them. but until lately i don't think i've respected them as much as i should. what they have to go through just to survive is incredible. when i want food, i go to kroger or any number of other food vendors, and i get exactly what i want. when animals want food, they have to take it somehow, and in many cases they have to endure ridiculous hardships to come by it. seeing some of the hunt scenes in planet earth truly humbles me. and it saddens me so much more that we are making the existence of so many animals that much harder - it not impossible all together. if we cause the extinction of polar bears, i'm pretty much done with the human race.

unChristian - at the aub pub lib (as i call it) i also got a little book i'd seen a few times before called unChristian. the full title is unChristian: What a new generation really thinks about Christianity...and why it matters. the book features the extensive work of the barna group which has research perceptions of Christians and the Church, and in this case most of the data concerns 16-29 year olds who are considered "outsiders" to the Christian faith (atheists, agnostics, or adherents to another religion or no religion). well, the findings are staggering but not surprsing, enlightening as well as troubling. i'm not finished with the book yet, but i've been a bit surprised by how much it has resonated with me. i find myself sharing many of the frustrations that the "outsiders" express. overall, i certainly agree with the feeling expressed by many that "outsiders" are seen by many within the church as targets. they only really matter insofar as they could be another check on our church logs, and that's generally how we treat them. we may try once or twice to convert them or something, but a meaningful, long-lasting relationship where they are deeply honored and equal partners in the discussion - no, we aren't really that interested in that. the book doesn't pull any punches, and i like it's honesty and willingness to turn the microscope in on itself. the people who did this research and produced the book are deeply committed Christians willing to say "we are a large part of the problem." furthermore, they offer real suggestions for helping with the problem. i can only hope they will find ears willing to listen in our churches. if not, they may be describing the beginning of the end of Christianity as we know it...which come to think of it, may not be a bad thing at all.

thoughts on heath ledger and other things

2008-01-24T16:53:00.000-06:00

heath ledger's death caught me by total shock, and i don't really know why. that's to say it's not really like i knew him or anything about him. i know i felt sadness for several reasons, but i think i felt an eeriness because i was so captivated by the scenes of his portrayal of the joker in the forthcoming batman movie - so much so that i wrote about it in the post before last. then to hear suggestions that the role might have contributed to his death - even if it just caused him to lose sleep and seek sleeping pills - i felt guilt at celebrating a performance that might have led to such a tragedy.

in the media coverage of all this, it is encouraging to see even the slightest restraint in pronouncing his death. i suppose the restraint is mostly an unavoidable consequence of having to wait for toxicology reports. after that comes out, all bets are off. but at least there are efforts have the facts - as much as we can have - before pronouncing judgment. i suppose i'm particularly attuned to this because i just finished reading a book about the duke lacrosse case. since i was there for the whole thing, i promised myself it'd be several years before i read any of the books about it. but i heard this one (Until Proven Innocent) being read on NPR and decided to go ahead.

of course the main feature of the book exposes the rush to judge the lacrosse team regardless of the facts and the general refusal to admit this fault once the charges had been totally disproven. during the events i tried to remain as objective as possible. i certainly didn't clamor for their heads (or other body parts) as the extremists did - possibly because i'm a white male, and i don't feel either trait makes me inherently evil or criminal. but i guess having the respect for due process that i have also cautions me about rushing to judgment. i can't say i didn't feel that deep down something probably happened at that party - but i look back and realize that's generally all that was presented to me by the media, even at ground zero (with the usual exception of The Chronicle - duke's student newspaper, which i read often, but not daily). for a long time it wasn't really a question of whether or not a sexual assault occurred; it was what happened and who did it? but the principle characters responsible for shaping the story did not stop at the first scene and honestly account for the facts.

regardless of what the facts end up concluding (or suggesting - as total conclusion may never be possible) about ledger's death, it is a tragedy. i think that's really all we can say and perhaps all we should.

new poll!

2007-12-30T20:31:00.000-06:00

well i thought about doing a poll that had nothing to do with new year's, since as a Christian i celebrated the new year with the first Sunday of advent (who's with me?!). but when i picked up my newest edition of Newsweek and remembered some of these, i had to share them with you. if you haven't seen any of them, check em out before you vote. i'm not gonna vote yet so i won't guide the results or anything, but there's really only one correct answer.

movie reviews

2007-12-28T20:46:00.000-06:00

i've often thought that if i failed at everything else (which isn't out of the question yet) i could still make a living reviewing movies. i'm opinionated beyond belief, and i've seen most movies in existence - some many, many times. i've actually thought so much about this i've developed my own rating system. if someone rips this off i hope this blog holds up in court.

see it in the theater - the best level. the system is mostly based on how much money you have to spend, and since seeing a movie in the theater is like $20, this is about as good as it gets. the movie either has to be exceptional or it has to be a movie that really must be seen in the theater to be fully appreciated. this can be hard given the impressive home theaters so many people have.

rent it - the movie is definitely worth seeing, but don't spend all your money on it. it can be fully appreciated at home and if seen with the right setup might be just as good.

watch it on tv - i generally don't like watching movies on tv. they cut stuff out, and of course you have to deal with commercials. but for movies i don't care that much about - i don't really care. maybe it's unfair to judge a movie based on a lackluster presentation, but chances are i've seen it in all its glory and i'm saving you the disappointment and expense.

don't bother - sadly most movies will get this rating. blame my persona if you will, but given the number of movies that come out in a year it's just in the numbers that most of them will be junk. and it's pretty clear that we ran out of good ideas years ago and we're just regurgitating stuff onto the screen.

so with the system in mind, here are a few movies i've seen recently. "i am legend" - my family sees a movie for Christmas every year. last year my family listened to my older brother and ditched "the pursuit of happyness" to see "the good shepherd." it's a decision that will never be forgiven as long as we all live. "pursuit of happyness" - rent it/"good shepherd" - don't bother. so this year we gave him a shot at redemption and forced "i am legend" on him. well, it was worlds better than "good shepherd" if only because it wasted about one third less of my life. i'm thinking it would have been better overall if i'd been able to go in totally clean - i hate knowing anything about a movie i see. in this case i had heard too much. so if you want to see it like i would want to - stop reading now. i liked the setup of a cure for cancer that had horrible consequences, but the convenience of smith's character being immune was a bit much. his acting was for the most part quite good. he especially handled the madness of being all alone really well. the dog - i just wish they'd left all of that undone. the effects were pretty great, but i could have done without the movie being an extended Ford ad. the zombies were worlds more annoying than scary or anything else. all in all, "rent it" but watch it at your friend's house with the big plasma screen and bose surround sound.

"national treasure: book of secrets" - i took my youth group to see it when "fred claus" was eliminated. i still haven't seen the first movie, but i recently learned of a deep love one of my friends (cat) for the "national treasure" genre. i was at first horrified, but i guess i've come to understand her position. i mean, you know it's not gonna win any oscars, but it succeeds at its mission. it's entertaining and generally wholesome. you get to see some pretty cool places and learn some useful trivia. if you have at least a tenth grader's knowledge of american history this movie will make you feel pretty smart. like i knew about the plot to kill lincoln and the people involved and what the Resolute Desk was and a few other things i've forgotten. my main gripes involve disney's obsession with vindicating even the villian (which if the things i've heard about disney being a nazi sympathizer are true i guess shouldn't surprise me) and the fact that several beautiful people are in the movie and the only ones that kiss are jon voigt and the aged woman playing his ex-wife. i truly don't need or want to see that. so yeah, if you've got a family or a youth group or want to hang out with someone else's family - see it in the theater. if not, watch it on tv.

i was pretty excited about seeing "charlie wilson's war." i like tom hanks and philip seymour hoffman - julia roberts i can tolerate. i generally love anything aaron sorkin touches. well, it was good and moments of it were pretty great, but again, i think i went in knowing too much. i didn't even know a lot about the real charlie wilson - but i know plenty about the cold war. put those things together and there weren't really any surprises. everyone did a fine job - but special mention goes to hoffman and julia roberts' dogs. rent it - but mainly because the funniest parts wouldn't make it on tv.

by way of a preview - i'm declaring "the dark knight" to be amazing based solely on the trailer. i can't believe i'm writing this, but by the few seconds i've seen heath ledger looks incredible as the joker. come soon june.

i have a comment for everything

2007-12-16T21:56:00.000-06:00

so this person i know named casey commented on my last post about how i should discuss the winner of the recent Christmas movie poll. i don't really know how to take this. i'm second only to God in making casey who she is today. when i first met her i thought, "this girl...this is not my kinda girl." but now she's totally amazing, and i rightfully take most of the credit. the thing is, i've shaped her so much, i can't even tell who she really is anymore. so when she mentioned me commenting on the poll, i don't know if she was being sarcastic or that she expected me to do that - like the time she elbowed me at an ash wednesday service when i saw a pregnant woman nearing the front of the line because she could tell what i was thinking before it happened. anyway, it doesn't really matter. i was always planning on commenting, and so here it is.

i gotta say i'm not all that surprised Christmas Vacation won. it's rich on so many levels. i think maybe the greatest thing about it is it seems that every time i watch it i catch something new - or there are things other people point out to me. only like a year or so ago my friend jana pointed out to me that in one part randy quaid (eddie) is wearing a green dickie (sp?) under a white sweater. i had never seen that, and i lost it when it happened. then there are those little things that i never stop laughing at - like when his hands are all sappy and his wife's hair sticks to one hand and the lamp the other. or when eddie (i think) touches the windmill and all the blades fall off. it has really timeless lines: "can't see the line can you russ?" "that's pretty low mister. if i had a rubber hose i would beat..." "well why is the carpet all wet todd?! i don't know margot!!!" there's such animosity between practically every character in the movie. to me that rings true during the holidays. pretty much all the national lampoon movies before and after sucked - but for one great moment, they got it all right.

so i guess that's it. i'll be thinking about a new poll. and you, keep doing what you do.

bloglift

2007-12-04T11:14:00.001-06:00

i've added a couple things to the blog today. the first is a link to other blogs i find insightful or witty or appropriate. i'm hoping it will grow as i find new ones or think of ones i've forgotten. the second is a poll. i really like polls, and i saw there was the new option to have one, so i went for it. polls are fun. i like voting for stuff - especially when the stuff you vote for doesn't have the ability to lie the country you live in into an endless war and rape the environment for oil. wow, sorry. that was heavy. i'm just talking about polls. i flatter myself to think enough people actually check my blog that the voting will be significant. but perhaps now that i have a poll untold masses will flock here. after all, everyone wants democracy. in conclusion, i like polls (and good blogs), and i hope you do too.

p.s. in this poll you can vote for your favorite two!

what luck

2007-12-01T16:25:00.000-06:00

drat, i was really hoping to get one more post in while it was still november. maybe i'll be less lazy next year. this post is just to recount a horrible phenomenon that has plagued me lately.

i don't know anyone who writes checks anymore, except maybe to pay a bill or two that you can't access online. so it's safe to say that in my universe checks are all but extinct. well, in the past week i've been stuck in line behind four separate people writing checks. they do this with all the speed of cold syrup. one lady had to produce her driver's license twice. it's really just awful for everyone involved. so if you are one of these people, get a debit card for everyone's sake. i'm sure your bank offers free cards with your account. they aren't hard to use - not nearly as much trouble as writing a check. you won't even have to ask anyone for the date. that can be your gift to humanity this year.

a tale of two cities

2007-11-26T22:39:00.000-06:00

i used to kinda stick up for my hometown. when everyone else in high school was hellbent on getting out as fast as they could, i maturely observed that most places were no better or worse than most other places as people everywhere are pretty much the same. so i stayed and went to college in my hometown. it helped that they threw money at me. by the time i finished college i was very thankful for my education in a specialized degree, but i too was ready to get the hey outta dodge. i felt as though everything around me was getting smaller. the city seemed content to backslide rather than progress. the path of least resistance seemed the programme de jour. now when i return i all but suffocate.

i went to nyc to see my brother over thanksgiving. i expected the pace to be daunting, especially since i was on holiday. instead the rhythm of the city was infectious. i soon realized the tremendous asset great cities possess that my hometown severely lacks: options. i'm not at all talking about a great plethora of chain restaurants from which to choose - my hometown has that in abundance. a place needs options of cultures, of opinions, of beauty to enjoy. i guess you can live anywhere, but i think there are only certain places that live in you. new york is one of those places. i also felt it when i lived in chicago. i wonder if it's possible without a huge city.

the last straw with my hometown came when i was leaving after my thanksgiving visit. i was on my way out of town when i noticed one of the staples of the city (and my childhood) was gone. growing up village inn had been the greatest restaurant. the place was a classic in so many ways. it had bad lighting, but it only made the table candles that much better. the brick walls were home to countless names and memories. when deciding where the family should eat, the mention of village inn always met with total agreement. but a few years ago, things changed. it was remodeled in a way that robbed it of its charm. decent lighting came in, and with it horrific paint over the bricks and dorky logos for the local schools. the sign out front went from being original to being anything but, and slowly but surely, that's what happened to the place - just another option among harmless competitors. the pizza was more or less the same, but the place wasn't. and now, it's totally gone - not torn down, that might be somewhat palatable. but of course my hometown wouldn't do anything so gracious. instead it's been wood paneled and turned into the old hickory steakhouse. just what the city ordered.

thanks Luke

2007-11-12T20:55:00.000-06:00

i'm pretty glad the Diatessaron didn't catch on. it was an early attempt to smooth out the differences in the four canonical Gospels into one seamless "super Gospel" (my phrase). as much as not having to address the disagreements between the Gospels (and yes my literalist friends, there are disagreements) might make my job and life easier, i really am thankful we have the four different accounts. it's tough to think about what we would lose - especially based on certain criteria. for instance, if we went with the so-called multiple attestation criteria, those stories that appear most frequently between the four should stay. if we did this, what would the Christmas story look like? it doesn't appear at all in Mark or John, and the version in Matthew is quite brief - sparing the tricky details about why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem in the first place. only in Luke's Gospel do we read the details about Mary and Joseph laying the baby Jesus in a food trough "because there was no place for them in the inn." Luke is proclaiming Jesus to be the son of God and the savior of the whole world, so such beginnings would be pretty convenient to leave out - unless Luke was also trying to tell us something else.

i think he was as Luke reiterates throughout his Gospel God's love for the poor, outcast, and abandoned. i think he included these details to show us from beginning to end a world that made no room for the very people who bless us beyond measure. i couldn't help but remember this story the last few days. there's a gentleman who comes regularly to the community soup kitchen. last week, the trailer he was living in was burned down. now he has no place to live. it was only by trying to help him find some temporary housing that i learned my community has no homeless shelter which is inexcusable on so many levels, especially considering the new multi-million dollar addition to the local jail. (i wonder why the jail needs so much space?)

thankfully members in one of my churches agreed to let him stay in our fellowship hall until we can find him permanent housing. i've been asked several times why the larger churches in town don't do such a thing regularly as there is no shelter. officially, i don't know that they don't because i only spoke with three, and i didn't ask if they could put him up in their fellowship halls. but this is something it makes sense for churches to do. this man spent a few nights sleeping under a bridge when almost every church on the street he slept under could have taken him in.

maybe if Luke hadn't included that little phrase about having no room for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus it wouldn't be such a big deal to keep people out of our churches or houses. but i think God had a purpose for the very words Luke used. we can't say we don't know any better. that phrase should remind all who read it not to turn anyone away, because there's no way to know who you're making sleep in a barn or under a bridge. at the very least, it's a child of God. but it could very well be God's only begotten Son.

not hyperbole

2007-11-05T21:26:00.000-06:00

wow, i've done a really great job of writing regularly on here. it's encouraging that i post fewer writings each month. so i guess this one will knock out my november quota. but at least i'm coming back strong, because i have a story that may be the most preposterous thing i've ever dealt with.

a few weeks ago i went to get my driver's license transferred from tennessee to alabama. i think i've voiced my disgust for having to do things like this when we supposedly live in a country of "united states." oh was my temper not prepared for what was to follow!

so my number gets called, and thankfully i don't have to retake some test of knowledge i've totally forgotten and never been called upon to use while driving. i just show this nice lady my old license, take a vision test, and start filling out the paperwork for the new one. i have to show her my birth certificate, and that's when she says to me, "so you realize you don't have a middle name." "what?!" she continues, "yeah on your birth certificate, it doesn't have your full middle name, just your middle initial. so in the eyes of the state, your middle name is 'b'." i insist, "but the 'b' stands for my middle name which is brent." she counters, "well we can't put that on anything, and officially that's not your name. now, you can of course get your name legally changed to be 'brent' but for now it isn't." fuming, i respond, "so i would have to get my name changed to be what my name already is?!" "yes."

well i'm pretty much beside myself at this point. what's especially interesting is that my social security card has my full middle name. i wonder where they got it from. so i called my mom to yell at her about giving me a middle letter instead of a name, and she insists that she put my full name on the paperwork. she later found the paperwork, and sure enough, she did her part.

so now the prevailing theory points the blame at a lazy typist somewhere in the tennessee government who couldn't be bothered to type four more letters that would have made all the difference in the world to me. thanks to this person, my new nemesis, my middle name will legally just be "b."

let's start a list

2007-10-11T18:32:00.000-05:00

a few weeks ago i watched the documentary maxed out. the film examines this nation's attitude toward credit and debt as well as specific aspects of this industry. it was marvelously made and, at times, quite unsettling. especially troubling was the information presented on the tactics of credit card companies and debt collectors (who thrive hand in hand) who prey on vulnerable people, some of which have basically no chance of ever escaping debt (short of death). but the most tragic story in the film was shared by two mothers. each had children who went to college and were offered credit cards during campus orientation events. the students got cards and began charging. they quickly amassed considerable debts. the interest set in, and they saw no way to pay off their debt. they viewed death as the only way out, and they took it. they each committed suicide.

now certainly you might think these stories extreme, and perhaps they are. but they are not uncommon, and they expose severe problems with this nation's attitude toward credit cards. we live in a society in which one practically must have a credit card. without one, there's no way to establish credit. without credit, there's no way to buy a home, and to buy a car or any other significant purchase (even basic utilities) costs more. they are a necessity now. of course, just because one must have a card it doesn't follow that this person will get into trouble with debt. but, it's considerably easier than you might think. you could be a very responsible person who always pays your balance on time. but accidents happen. what if you're in a car wreck with someone who has no insurance, and you miss work for several weeks. if you hadn't been able to save lots of money before the wreck and you have no wealthy family to fall back on, what might happen?

credit cards are a necessary evil it seems. but i think we can do a lot to curb some of the damage they do. at the very least, they should be far less accessible - especially to people who clearly have not established any kind of ability to make payments on them. they should never be offered on college campuses, and leaders at universities should fight to keep them away and educate students about the real risks involved in having credit cards.

i've all but given up hope on the government passing laws that are beneficial to us, but here's one i've thought up: how about a registry for people who don't want to receive credit card offers? i receive probably ten a week. i never ask for them. i don't want them, and i immediately rip them up and throw them away. such a system serves no good purpose. if people want a credit card, they can very easily apply for one. but sending applications or statements of pre-approval only wastes tons of paper and exposes people to identity thieves (another dire problem you'd think we'd want to end). this practice doesn't help us at all; it only helps the companies. but why care about them when they don't care a thing about you? oh wait, i forgot, they do care about your money.

not funny

2007-10-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

i've been told for most of my life that i have a good sense of humor. usually it comes across sarcastically as perhaps this blog demonstrates. i make fun of a lot of things and point out the absurd. but i have always been a fan of comedy. i love hearing jokes and ridiculous stories that make me laugh. i've listened to all kinds of comics and been exposed to humor of every stripe.

i read a blurb in my newsweek tonight about kathy griffin winning an emmy. during her acceptance speech she dismissed the customary thanking of a higher power and declared "suck it, Jesus." i can only see this as a transparent stunt from an attention starved person to get some publicity. well, unfortunately it worked.

she's been denounced by several Christian groups including one from good ole pigeon forge, tn. at the same time, "atheist groups" have rallied to her support, or perhaps the support of free speech. i don't think the speech itself is really that big of a deal. i mean, if it offends you then i guess it is a big deal - but i don't care about what she said very much, and i doubt God cares either.

consider the state of the world right now. millions are dying needlessly from disease, war, and poverty. most churches seem to care more about internal matters (helping themselves) than the many crises in the world (helping others). so imagine God seeing what a mess we've all made of creation. then someone walks up to God and says, "oh, by the way, in this acceptance speech for an award that means nothing a woman said 'suck it, Jesus.'" i feel like God would be really angry that 10 seconds of His life was wasted getting that report. God truly doesn't need us to defend Him. i think it would help so much more if we actually worried about the image of God we portrayed with our lives and the choices we make.

i honestly feel pity for kathy griffin. she's had a sad comedic career and what appears to be a sad life. she craves attention so much she'll say anything. it reminds me of girls i knew in high school and college that would do anything just so some guy (usually a creepy one) would notice them. perhaps the worst thing of all is that she's just not funny. i know some things are relative, and saying this or that isn't funny is such an opinion - but this is a judgment from a great deal of experience about what is or isn't funny. she's not. in none of her work have i ever so much as chuckled. the episode of seinfeld she appeared in was an hilarious episode with a great premise, but it was great in spite of her performance. so i guess to paraphrase jerry from another episode, she doesn't offend me as a Christian, just as someone with a sense of humor.

jail time

2007-09-20T17:42:00.000-05:00

so one of my churches has a few people who visit the local jail every week. i started going my first week here, and i've only missed one or two tuesdays. i think it's vital work for a church to be doing, but i'm often confronted by so many different emotions. it saddens me that there just doesn't seem to be much energy at all in keeping people out of jail or keeping them from returning. the issue of race always slaps me in the face also. it's always a challenge to go and then a challenge to leave and expect things to be any better next week.

but last week, something quite amazing happened. there are other ladies from a larger church who rotate coming each week. there's usually some form of devotion time as well. one of the ladies last week opened her heart and confessed her own family's struggles. she mentioned a grandson in prison and another one in drug rehab. tears came to her eyes as she shared about the pain it caused her family and about the pain it caused her to see so many people hurt themselves and others through abusing drugs and committing crimes. it truly was powerful and, i believe, the work of God. because if you just saw this woman and these inmates in person or on paper you would think they shared nothing and could never even speak to one another in anything other than a superficial way. but they are deeply connected through a shared pain - though admittedly from different vantage points. i'm thankful she did that; she shared her deepest emotions and feelings rather than shaking a finger. rather than saying "be more like me," she said, "i'm more like you than you might realize."

this week a guy i met in jail mailed me a letter. he wants some help with stuff, wants me to contact some people for him. i had kinda decided to institute a policy (i'm really good with policies) that i wouldn't get involved like this. i decided i'd tell him i can't help with any "favors" while people are in jail, because i already serve three churches and if word got out that i helped him i'd have to help all 399 of his fellow inmates. but i also would tell him that i'm happy to help in any way i can once he gets out. he's free to visit one of my churches or write me and set up a meeting. i've written the reply letter, but haven't printed or mailed it yet. it smacks of something i don't want to be. part of me feels that i should do everything i can to help people in and out of jail, and he probably needs my help now more than ever. i've never liked the "i'm too busy" excuse. so i'm unsure what to do or say. what do you think? have you faced issues like this? how much is enough and where is the line between helping and enabling or developing a savior complex?

why "God bless america" is problematic

2007-09-03T17:36:00.001-05:00

so i apparently have to get a new driver's license and license plate since i live in alabama. i think this is pretty stupid. i mean what is the point of having "united states" if they aren't united concerning things like licenses? it's a total hassle to change when you move, and it serves no useful purpose other than supplying jobs for people who might not ordinarily have jobs. yet, i will render to caesar what is caesar's.

but i was at city hall the other day trying to turn in the paper work (i waited for half an hour to be told i didn't have the right stuff), and i saw the new alabama license plate with the "God bless america" slogan and the american flag backdrop. i'll leave off issues of church and state in this post, but i would like to speak to the problems with this slogan which are myriad. for the most part, i'm going to assume that i'm writing to a Christian audience because it seems Christians are usually advocating for this sort of stuff to be more in the mainstream.

first, who are we to be telling God what to do? we are the creature, not the creator. we have messed it all up. look at our lives and the amount of stuff on a daily basis we screw up. do we really think we have any business giving orders to God. maybe we should read the last few chapters of Job a few more times. now i have heard people talk about how "God bless america" is a prayer - but it sure sounds like an order, a command to me - and i don't think we're in any position to make it.

second, it doesn't seem to me that nations are things God should bless or even really care about. God loves and blesses created things like plants and animals (humans belonging to the latter category). but nations are entities we (humans) made up just like time zones and couches. why should God bless the things we make up - so that one time zone will have the perfect balance of light and quality tv programming? it just doesn't make sense. of course, it does make sense for God to bless the things God created (which it seems has already happened in their being created and receiving life). so i think what people are really saying is "God bless americans," and again, that's a problem because why americans and not everyone (see bumper sticker that says "God bless everyone, no exceptions")?

finally, let's assume i'm wrong about everything i've written. let's assume that God loves americans more than other people - that God doesn't really care for belarussians or botswanans all that much. and let's assume that we have all the things we have not because we murdered the native americans who were living here before us and stole their land and kept wealth to ourselves rather than distributing it justly, but because God blessed us with the things we have. here's the rub: haven't we been blessed enough? if we really believe that all the stuff we have came from God, shouldn't we have an ounce of compassion and say "thank you" instead of "gimme some more!"? shouldn't we recognize the people truly impoverished and starving - most of them children - and ask God to bless them and be willing to bless them in ways we can?

there is nothing Christian about a life of abundance and prosperity. Christians are called to a life of simplicity and possibly suffering. we are called to gratitude whatever our lot in life. but we are certainly called to the realization that we have been richly blessed because we have life and a shot at eternal life that we do not deserve at all. that should be enough. stop asking for more.

foodstuffs update

2007-09-01T01:38:00.000-05:00

in a previous post i complained about my favorite foodstuffs being located in geographically disadvantageous places. i particularly mentioned cheerwine and my favorite flavor of powerade being unavailable to me here in alabama. in the past week an amazing thing has happened. i have discovered both my powerade AND cheerwine are in the new auburn kroger. maybe God truly loves me. maybe everything will work out for my food enjoyment. maybe soon there will be a dunkin' donuts nearby. whooo hoooo

peru update

2007-08-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

i've received some very good news from peru. the pastor we worked with, whose church was in chincha alta, and his family are safe. so far we have not heard from him that any of his church members have lost lives though many have lost everything else. i still haven't received word about my godson david and his family - they lived right on the coast. the campamento we worked on received some damage; we don't know the extent yet. still it sounds hopeful that so many people seem to have escaped death.

tragedies always seem to bring people together, but i have been amazed at some of my friends and some total strangers who have come together through a mass e-mail and started coordinating aid to our brothers and sisters in peru. everyone has been sharing information and plans to help. we each wait eagerly to hear the next word of news someone has received from a contact. i am hoping some of us will be able to coordinate a trip down to peru to help in any way we can. i'm certain quite a bit of money will be sent, and that is a blessing. but to me there's something about being present with people during times of disaster. we show those hurting that they are not alone and that they matter greatly to us. we show that what unites us is greater than what divides us. my good friend andrew noted the coordinated effort through e-mail and called it the work of the Holy Spirit. i think he's absolutely right. i've never believed God causes disasters, but i do believe God causes the outpouring of love that follows.

continue to pray for the people of peru, and please give as you are able.

in times like these

2007-08-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

i know we're not supposed to worry about anything, but we're supposed to pray about everything. but for the past few days i've worried and i've prayed. while i was in college i did mission work in Peru. i went there twice - only for two weeks at a time, but it truly changed my life. it taught me more about what it means to live in a Christian community where your primary identity is baptism rather than skin color, language, or birthplace than i had ever learned before or since. being in Peru taught me about a staggering faithfulness - one not linked to possessions in any way. the people i came to know and love there didn't think the way i thought - that if things were going well God loved me, but if things were going bad, God must be mad at me for something. they knew without a doubt God loved them and everything from God is good. and now i struggle as i think some of them, maybe all of them could be dead.

we did most of our work in tambo de mora which is right on the coast. judging by what i've seen, i'm guessing tambo de mora was as close to the epicenter as possible. we went to chincha alta almost everyday. it was the closest big city. we went and ate there. we used the internet in computer cafes. we watched soccer with hundreds of people in the plaza de armas. i haven't seen the plaza on cnn yet - i'm wondering what still exists.

we went to ica and pisco as well. chincha, ica, and pisco all have buildings that could be destroyed. tambo de mora didn't have much that could be destroyed. i'm praying that because the homes there were so modest, maybe there was little damage and death. i've come to terms with the reality that the campamento we help build is probably no more. it's unreal to think that something which took one hundred years to build can be destroyed in seconds.

i pray most for the people. for pastor pedro and his church. for all the people we worked with and worshipped with. i pray especially for my godson david tantachuco burgos and his family - for his mother soledad and his sisters lisbeth and lizette. i don't lift them up in prayer nearly enough. often i think i've failed as a padrino. i pray for the chance to know they are safe and see them again.

God have mercy. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy.

the only way i can get a photo on here

2007-08-10T14:23:00.001-05:00

here's a picture of me and my dog nineveh. she just got a new fence today, so we're gonna go out and play as soon as it's not 100 degrees.

where's my slurpee?

2007-08-10T13:40:00.000-05:00

i haven't lived in that many places, but i've lived in enough places to get mad that different places have different things. well, i guess it works both ways. like a place doesn't have good bbq, but it has a soft drink i like that other places don't have. i guess i just wish this country weren't so huge and then maybe we could have everything everywhere. but for now, here's a few words about favorite foodstuffs that seem to exist only in certain places.

i guess maybe the one that has come to be the biggest issue for me is bbq. i grew up an hour from memphis, and i truly feel that the tomato based sweet sauced pulled pork is the only way to go. so living in north carolina for a few years was tough because the bbq there was like the stuff you get when you clean out a pencil sharpener. it was dry and chopped and gross.

on the other hand, north carolina had cheerwine which is an amazing soft drink that seems to exist only there and in parts of east tennessee. it's hard for me to go long without that sweet nectar.

then there's stuff at the grocery store. this really should be everywhere, but it's not and that's so weird. frankenberry is my favorite cereal, but i couldn't get it in north carolina. they have it here in alabama. but they don't have my favorite kind of powerade. i don't know the name - i think it's "arctic" something. it's kinda white/clearish. pretty much the only certain place for that has been my hometown of jackson, tn.

jackson also has a dunkin donuts which is by far superior to krispy kreme. but they don't have 7-elevens there, so i can't get slurpees. chicago has both in abundance, and so often i really think i want to live there. but for now, chick-fil-a doesn't exist in the windy city, and i just don't think i could live there long without my favorite fast food.

perhaps someday the free trade of food will be limitless, but for now i'll keep traveling in search of my foodstuffs nirvana.

too comfortable to care?

2007-08-10T00:31:00.000-05:00

The bridge collapse in Minnesota was certainly a tragedy on many levels. In such times of disaster the conversation quickly shifts to the source of the event and the focus of blame for the event. I don’t have cable, and I haven’t checked the web today to see if any further evidence has come forward to help us learn what “caused” the collapse. But I heard quite soon after the event that the bridge did not really have let’s say a clean bill of health in its structural integrity. Actually, I heard this on the radio while driving, and the voice informed me that thousands of other bridges were as structurally deficient or more than the one that collapsed. The voice then told me, “You might be driving on one of these bridges right now!” As luck would have it, I wasn’t driving on a bridge at all – thank God.

It’s always dicey to speculate whether or not this or any disaster could have been avoided. But, if the bridge truly was not up to code, and if there are many other bridges that could suffer the same fate at any moment, shouldn’t the government be spending money on these repairs rather than funding an endless war in Iraq? Did the debacle of the levees in New Orleans teach us nothing? I guess the outrage over the scores of people who died unnecessarily when Katrina came through wasn’t enough to teach anyone who holds the purse strings a lesson. Perhaps the outrage wasn’t expressed by the right “kind” of people – the “kind” of people our elected officials listen to and are concerned about. Maybe this disaster in Minnesota will bring about enough outrage to do something different. Maybe the message will reach our leaders that funding death and destruction is not something we are willing to do anymore. The price is simply too high.

But what are we doing about it? I’m continually saddened at the lack of political action in our Church. I don’t want to return to the days of Constantine or even the days during the nineteenth century when the Methodist Church was all but a state church. I’m not asking for Church and State to collapse into the same thing. I’m simply begging the pastors and members of our Church to live our beliefs in a way that can no longer be ignored. Do we not want an end to this war – to all wars? If so, why aren’t we ending it? If we put all we have into such an effort, I believe it would take no time at all.

We’re comfortable. We want others to think for us and run things so we can play golf and go nice places to eat. I’m just as bad as anyone else – except I don’t play golf. But seriously, things have gone way down the toilet and I’m sick of whistling a happy tune. When we prayed the Prayer of Confession before celebrating Holy Communion yesterday, I became ill at the truthfulness of it all. I have drowned out the cry of the needy with my iPod for far too long. If we believe what we say we believe, we must start living these beliefs in ways that shake up the world. We can do that, or we can wonder how things would be different if we weren’t too comfortable to care.

making things harder

2007-08-10T00:25:00.000-05:00

during my last year in seminary i started visiting the local jail because jesus told us to do things like that from time to time. i won't romanticize it; it was difficult on many levels. many times i felt like i had nothing in common and nothing to say to the men i visited. what did i know of the kind of life they experienced? what could i from my place of privilege say to them?

so instead of trying to talk i just listened most of the time and apologized a lot of the time. i apologized for a corrupt system and a flawed society that no doubt contributed to their imprisonment at some level; after all, no one is born wanting to be incarcerated. the advocate in me wanted to know everything about them and go to court with them to make sure they at least got a fair trial (something the constitution guarantees but governments often find ways of obfuscating). but currently i'm starting to wonder if anything could possibly be called fair and just from the perspective of someone in jail.

when they point out to me that lewis "scooter" libby was found guilty and never served a day in jail because his sentence was commuted by the president, how can i, how can anyone think things are fair?

i suppose it reinforces the point that our faith is not in human structures like the court system or the oval office, and that ultimately God will judge justly even as humans are incapable of it. but such continued hypocrisy and blatant disregard for what is just and right from a president who claims to be a Christian (and a United Methodist at that) makes everything - but especially being in ministry with those in prison - harder.

catching up

2007-08-10T00:15:00.000-05:00

well i started a blog a couple weeks ago through 7 villages, and it's been alright but is sometimes a little less than i'd hoped for concerning options. so i'm going to start by posting my first two posts from that site. this will become my main site, but i'll still post most things there. i love creating more work for myself. i guess for those first two posts to make sense it might be helpful to explain that i'm a united methodist pastor. so it's not like i assume everyone reading my posts is a united methodist - but for the most part that's the case on 7 villages. hope this clears most things up.