Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Ted Dekker: GREEN
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wycliffe "at" URBANA'09
Monday, July 27, 2009
Chicago
Friday, July 24, 2009
The World Calls it Football
Cootie enjoys socc...er...football. She likes the thrill of it. The competition. The companionship. The grass stains and sweat and especially the snacks after the game.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Kindle Kindling
Monday, July 20, 2009
Cootie Trades "Camp" for "Spa"
Meet me in St. Louis
It also made me think about how Faith Church is having an interesting impact on URBANA'09 this year (again) - probably one that is much deeper than I'm aware of, but still. There is Janet's leadership of the Poverty tracks. Then there is a little thing like Jim Tebbe's leadership of ALL OF URBANA. There are others who have been sent from Faith who are on staff with IV (including Don Fields, Larry and Debbie Lee, Mark and Dawn Slaughter). I'm suspecting that there are other Faith missionaries who will be representing their respective missions agencies at the event. Like me.
On the URBANA09 website they have FAQs. For the first question (What is Urbana?" they offerr this answer:
Urbana is the missions conference for North American student hosted by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada. Urbana 09 will be our 22nd conference. The first "Urbana" was held in Toronto in 1946. From 1948 to 2003, the conference was held at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Since 2006, Urbana has been held at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri. Generations of college students have come to Urbana to hear about cutting edge issues missions and respond to the call to participate in God's global mission. During the five days of Urbana participants will experience multicultural worship and drama, dynamic speakers, in-depth Bible study and prayer. They will also be encouraged to explore short-term and vocational opportunities as they interact with representatives from more than 300 mission agencies and educational institutions. Attendance at Urbana is usually around 20,000.If I keep on this topic I may find myself singing It's A Small World next.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Cathedrals and Laboratories
Cathedrals and Laboratories from Northland Media Design on Vimeo.
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Earlier this week I shared a quote that had been shared at the beginning of Northland's worship last weekend. That quote came in this media piece. As one who has long believed and celebrated the fact that all truth is God's truth and that God can be seen in all He has created, I found this topic to be exhilarating and affirming in many ways.
I grow weary of the part of the conversation that keeps trying to limit God to religious discussions as if we can somehow put a fence about Him and expect that He will behave Himself like a well-trained pet. And while I fully admit that the conversations that push out the sides of the box walls in which we carry around our definitions of God (for I think our finite minds make boxes even when we are trying hard not to do so) can be painful and difficult, they are one of the best ways we can spend ourselves.
In addressing the dance between science and faith, Joel reminded us that science answers the WHAT and HOW questions while faith answers the WHY and WHO questions. And to think that God is only interested in the WHY is to strip God of Himself.
Joel Hunter is one of the people in my life who is helping me to push out the sides of the boxes that I don't really want to have but am stuck with because of my own limitations. Ted Dekker is another -- he uses fiction. John Rutter does it with choral music. Who else?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Yes, I've seen the new Harry Potter movie...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Painting the House
I've done some research into what it would cost to hire this work done knowing that I do not have the experise or the capacity to do this work on my own. I was talking with my friend Russ about this about a month ago and he let me know of a guy in Wycliffe who lives/works here in Orlando who has had a painting business. By this time I was prepared to hire the work done and pay what that would cost -- but the idea of paying someone I know made that seem a lot less painful. I contacted Mike.
Here's the short version: Mike is out of the business, but is going to be my consultant to tell me all the things I need to do to prep the house (a process I'll start in Septmenber) and then will bring all of his equipment on a day in (likely) October and we'll work for 12 hours and get it done. And by "we" I mean myself and Mike and a pile of friends who don't even know yet that they will be bribed into helping.
This is a HUGE load off my mind (just having a plan) and the fact that it will be less costly than the original one is a bonus blessing.
Any of you who might be considering a trip to Disney World in September and who would like to add a day-long "mission trip" to do some pressure washing or other prep work, I could arrange that. And those of you who are in the area...start thinking now about what kind of bribe will best entice you to join us on paint day.
Now, where did that form for the HOA go so I can get committee permission to paint my own house?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Gearing Up for the Leadership Summit
In a few weeks I'm planning to be at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit once again. I'm starting to gear up for that training event. One way I prepare is be reviewing what I've learned there in the past. Here is a clip from a personal favorite session by Efrem Smith. Good stuff here...really good stuff.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Videos on Facebook
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sam
I know that teachers (and parents and youth pastors) are not supposed to have favorites (and you know that statement has to be followed by a...wait for it...) but, Sam was one of mine. I'm not sure he knew that at the time. Had I stuck around Heritage for three more years and seen him through to graduation, he would have eventually found out.
Like most teachers and parents and youth pastors who are honest enough to own the fact that there are some "kids" they connect with more easily or enjoy more consistently, I worked hard to not let those facts bias my evaluation of academic preformance or judgement of classroom behaviour. But, how that worked and whether that worked is a topic for another day and another blog.
Sam (and his wife Alyssa, who I'd also had in class along with her sibling) is another person I've "found" on Facebook. Imagine my delight to see that they'd ended up together!
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
Sunday, July 12, 2009
...and then I taught high school for 11 years.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Joel Hodgson on SNL (1983)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Is "marriage" a big deal?
Speaking sociologically, the answer is a resounding YES. In this week's issue of Time magazine, Caitlin Flanagan shares some rather under-reported realities in her essay titled Is There Hope for the American Marriage? Too long used to mass media glorifying the rights of (especially) women to have it all (at least all of it she wants) without any obligation to or need for a man, we often miss the bigger picture.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
I like you a latte
Earlier this Spring when I was at The Cove for a set of meetings, a friend and I ended up in the little town of Black Mountain after discovering that the Blue Ridge Highway was closed only 17 miles from Asheville. We got there a bit before the stores opened -- you know, the stores filled with mountain-made arts and crafts which I needed very much to see and hold and imagine in my house but which I had no intention of actually purchasing. We could (a) sit in the rental car and wait patiently or (b) try out the The Dripolator Coffeehouse. We wisely chose (b). The above photo is of my latte that morning.
The latte itself was lovely to look at, the cup felt good in my hands, the aroma was divine, and the taste was "latte." But it was all of that plus the atmosphere of this place with its mismatched but comfortable seating, large artwork locally painted on the walls, rough wooden flooring, door opening and closing in a sort of rhythm as people come and go that made the coffee beverage "good." A huge part of the atmosphere for me was not only the chance to get to know Nicole a bit better, but the group of people assembled there who we never spoke with but who played real roles in the experience.
From the time I left staff at Faith Missionary Church in Indy until today, I've had a few friends who keep me in Starbuck's gift cards. I love that. I love it because of their thoughtfulness and generosity. I love it because now that the cards work at airport outlets, it means I can often enhance my travel with one of my favorite beverages (I do like some of these coffee beverages just because they are yummy). I also love it because it empowers me to extend their generosity to others. It has been fun be able to say "hey, I think my friend ________ wants to buy us some 'bucks." If you are listening as you read you might be hearing that this all is still more about the relationship than the beverage.
Starbucks and all of the others like them are about relationship. It is the non-alcohol-serving version of the Cheers' Bar. When I say, with many others, that the local church should be more like a Starbucks, I'm not really talking about the coffee. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that many churches are serving better coffee than the stuff from the bottom shelf at the warehouse store -- but if it's not really about the relationship, we will have missed another boat of opportunity.
Conflict and Diversity
is getting rid of diversity,
and it is of the utmost importance
that these should not be considered the same.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
LOL cats... Still amusing.
Anyhow, over the weekend as I was sorting through digital files (if you follow me on FB or Twitter you may have heard updates about that from time to time over the past few days), I ran into an email that my cousin sent to me quite a while back. It was a forwarded funny deal -- you know those -- and I admit that I likely looked at it quickly to confirm that is didn't contain any "real" message before moving on and then didn't get back to it. It was a collection of the LOLCATS images.
On Sunday afternoon when I viewed through the images, I found myself laughing. Out loud. Not "lol" fake -- but really laughing out loud. So, I'll share them here in case you are in need of a chuckle or snicker and in case this does it for you.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Thy Mercy, My God
"Thy Mercy, My God" from Northland Media Design on Vimeo.
From June 28th, 2009.
Jenny and the Northland worship team shared this song a couple of weeks ago. I liked it then and still like it now that I can view it over and over again (though I'm not quite that much of a stalker).
Lencioni on Diversity
Wow. This caught my attention and has me asking a whole lot of questions in relation to Wycliffe USA's journey toward building a multi-ethnic workforce and becoming a biblically inclusive community. What do we have to learn about conflict? (I am quite sure that the answer is "a whole lot.")
"The power of diversity, and the reason why it remains so misunderstood and under-exploited in most organizations: it requires conflict.
The practical advantage of diversity boils down to this: a group of people with different perspectives usually makes better decisions and finds more creative solutions than those who have largely similar views, backgrounds and skill sets. This is true for all teams, whether they're running a corporation, a church, a school or a movie studio. However, when a team cannot productively engage in conflict, not only does that diversity remain untapped, it becomes a competitive disadvantage.
That's because when team members with divergent points of view cannot openly and passionately advocate their positions, the team will not be able to properly understand and incorporate those ideas into a final decision. Instead, they will frustratingly agree to compromise, walking away dissatisfied with the outcome and resentful of their team members who they still don't understand.
This is the norm in virtually every organization where I've worked or consulted. And that's because when we talk about diversity, the emphasis is usually on acceptance and tolerance and "getting along." All of which, of course, are good things. The problem surfaces when those qualities prevent people from challenging one another's points of view out of fear of being labeled close-minded or intolerant.
And so the key to making diversity work is to teach people first how to appreciate one another's differences, and then how to challenge them in the context of pursuing the best possible outcome. When a company can do that, it will transform diversity from a slogan to a real competitive advantage."
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Excuse me...You have a frog on your head.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
New Art by Michael Harrar
Michael and his wife have served in the Bible translation movement for many years and in a variety of roles. Through it all, Michael has used his skills as an artist/illustrator to bring glory to God and honor to many peoples whom God loves.
Friday, July 03, 2009
FAME: I'm going to live forever...
Thursday, July 02, 2009
07+02=09
Web Site Story
Amy (aka @kenyainside) Twittered this yesterday and I missed it because I've not been using my TweetDeck consistently since before vacation. (In case you are wondering, I Twitter as @rdhubbard.) Thankfully her dad (aka @abudigan) did see it and, after watching it himself, wandered into my office to tip me off. Old school communication, but effective.
You may remember me blogging about my realization that I was trying to figure out which of the too-many social media tools I was going to give priority and which might be cut out. Yeah, I'm still trying to figure that out. You may also have noticed that I am back to blogging with a bit more consistency. Maybe you didn't notice. Hmmm. You do have my blog in your RSS feed, don't you? And there are notices on my Facebook profile...
(I'm pausing here to imagine how this does not make any sense to some people.)
But, really, this this is back story -- and that is a bit ironic since the inspiration of this video is social media. If you are a social media user (or even an observer) and especially if you have any appreciation at all for the "great American musical" then I think you'll get a kick out of this bit. Enjoy.