February 28, 06 by ed
Times of introspection and self-evaluation are crucial. It is all too easy to keep our feet moving, hands busy, and ears filled with noise. I find that I rarely ever stop and take a look at myself. And when I do stop and take a look at myself, I typically see things that I don’t like very much.
While I have not brought myself to a full stop, I have slowed my pace down enough to notice a few trends. One thing is that I have too many things to eat up my time. I have a few blogs, a Google page, flickr account, vimeo account, del.icio.us account, blogline account, and read and waste time at various other web sites. When you take all of these online pursuits and then combine them with the stack of books that I want to read, my new html hobby, our new rabbits, household projects, and general household upkeep, it can be a bit too much.
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February 27, 06 by ed
The town of Sunderland Vermont will vote next week on whether or not they will close the town’s Elementary School, again. See the Rutland Herald article. I don’t think the town will shut the school down, but if they do, I think the kids will lose more than any one else. Also, without the school, this small town of 800 would only have road department left . . . oh, and a school board without a school.
I have some strong opinions about this, but it’s not worth getting into all of that here.
February 27, 06 by ed
One of the latest ways I can fritter away my time is by making buttons. The Kalsay Button Maker is a really easy way for html novices like myself to make sporty buttons. If it’s not your thing, that’s fine. But if you want to have a uniform look to the buttons on your site, then this is just the thing.
The button here is to my new web site that contains my writing, non-profit tips, photography, and other general tips that may help anyone. Of particular interest to churches would be my tips on volunteers. As a volunteer since the age of 15, 3 years working as the administrative guy at a church, and then currently serving as a volunteer coordinator, I can tell you that churches have a very spotty track record in the area of volunteers. They need rethink how they use volunteers: recruiting, training, caring, and appreciating. I have some tips posted at my new site and will continue to do so.
If you find my new site useful, you can add my button to your web site (if you like that kind of thing):
The site is: http://www.edcyz.com
img src=”http://www.edcyz.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/CYZ.png”
width=”80″ height=”15″ border=”0″
Enjoy
February 27, 06 by ed
While I don’t know much about this movie, a friend of mine who ministers in the inner-city sent out the following message today:
“This [past] weekend my husband and I saw the movie “Second Chance” (the one with Michale W. Smith). I wasn’t expecting much, but was blown away. The accuracy of the depiction of inner city ministy was refreshing (it was really not holywoodized). I have never related to a movie as closly as I did this one. It addresses some major issues in the american church today that are often overlooked. It gives a powerful and biblical message for both sides of the issue they are addressing. Sadly, I have heard almost nothing about it (even in “Christian” media). Therefore I just wanted to strongly encourage anyone who can to see this move while it is still out.”
You can go to the Second Chance web site to find out more about the movie, as well as dowload all kinds of promotional stuff link the doo-dads I have here if you’re into things like that. Since I am challenged in the area of code, I need to paste this kind of stuff into my blogs in order to make myself feel more adequate.
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February 27, 06 by ed
Mondays allow some time to browse blogs beyond my daily diet. There’s nothing better than being able to follow every link that my heart desires and fill up my tabs with a host of interesting pages. Here are a few that drew my attention today:
Another Kind of Christian: Sherman presents a good characterization of two kinds of Christians (particularly within the conservative/post-conservative camp) and then asks what makes them different. My question that follows up on this is, “Why do they sometimes quarrel?” That may be a good topic for a future post.
Emerging Peter: A Community Gospel and Emergent Theology: Scot McKnight continues on his blogging tear. While dealing with emerging church issues and theology, I love how he never gets lost in them because he’s above all else a Biblical Theologian. He loves the Bible and is a great example of someone who deals with the theological challenges of today without losing his footing in Biblical study and reflection.
Ancient/Future Catholic Musings wants to know what you’re doing for Lent: How about this or that.
Canadian Olympic Cartoon Review: thanks Brother Maynard.
More Olympic Cartoons.
Technorati Tags: Lent, olympics, Peter, prayer
February 27, 06 by ed
Yesterday a couple of firsts happened for us. One is ice skating outside at the town rink. It’s just a rectangular slab of asphalt painted blue that is filled up with water, frozen, and then cleared of snow. I’ve always had to pay admission in order to ice skate. Now we can just cross-country ski or snow shoe across the rec park with our skates, lace them up, and we’re ready to go. It’s a great time, even if our skates are dull. The hockey stop is my next project.
<%image(20060227-EvaMunching2.jpg|300|225|eva)%> Another first for us is having rabbits around the house. You can see pictures of Bailey and Eva, our mini rex rabbits, by clicking on the flickr badge in the left column. Bailey sits on the couch with me and attempts to scamper onto my lap or onto the lap top. He sometimes manages to hit the enter key or the arrows. It’s kind of hysterical to watch him slide all over the lap top keyboard.
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February 26, 06 by ed
I know that abortion is one of those topics that can fuel tensions for both conservatives and liberals. It has polarized both sides of the debate, making sworn enemies out of complete strangers. With the appointment of Justice Alito to the Supreme Court, many conservatives are hoping to take a shot at banning abortion. If they should succeed, I believe that this could be one of the greatest tragedies to befall the pro-life movement, throwing us into a battle over the right for abortion, rather than addressing the reasons for abortion. I hope to spend a little bit of time here fleshing out why I think this is so.
I began musing over the polarities of the abortion debate a year ago. It’s simply irresponsible to villify conservatives as wanting to control women and take over their bodies or liberals as murderers with blood-stained hands. Please spare me from such incomplete thoughts here. Both sides of the debate want good things, but both have a dark side. We need to explore both dark sides and then find a place where we can find a win-win solution that saves as many lives as possible and takes care of women.
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February 25, 06 by ed
Last week we took a drive to Manchester, Vermont and hiked around the trail system at Equinox Pond. Though it’s a small and shallow pond, it’s a beautiful spot with the looming mass of Mt. Equinox towering above it. Just about the whole pond was frozen and the ice was quite thick in some places. We ventured out onto the ice close to shore. Here’s a little photographic sampling of our time there:
<%image(20060225-Feb 2006 020.jpg|300|225|equinoxpond)%>
<%image(20060225-Feb 2006 026.jpg|300|225|ice)%>
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February 24, 06 by ed
There was a crucifix on a deck of cards. While the two did not seem to go together, I thought nothing of it. I was too focused on a picture frame for my writing exercise. Everyone else was busying themselves with the same preparation, except for her. She pounced onto that deck of cards like a wild panther set loose in a meat locker.
I cannot tell you how the rant began. All I know is that I was about to start writing when it all began. It was out of place, out of line, and completely unstoppable. I was not in charge. I was just there to write. At this point though, all I could do was listen.
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February 23, 06 by ed
The sign up period for Google Page Creator lasted for roughly 9 hours today. Google did offer an explanation. If you want to get the latest Google toy, you’ll have to sign up on a waiting list using your Gmail account. If you don’t have Gmail by the way, you need it. Really.
You can get a sneak peek at Google’s latest here. After you sign up for the waiting list, you can read about Google Pages in the group section. That will tell you a bit more about what Google has up its sleeve. Here are some other Google Pages: link, link, link.
Of course there is no logical reason why anyone needs a Google page other than . . . to simply have it. It’s like low risk, low cost consuming. Maybe that’s why people love the internet. You can swap commodities and information without incurring a major cost. You can “get” something without having to pay much of anything. I’m not sure if this is good because we just end up wasting more time on junk we don’t need or dont’ have time for.
Yeah. Well whatever, I want my Google Page!
technorati tags: google+page+maker, pagemaker, google
February 23, 06 by ed
There are just too many items to cover today, so I’ll have to settle for a list instead of indepth interaction with each of them. Here are a few items that I found via my feeds at Bloglines:
Furor Over Cartoons Pits Muslim Against Muslim
On Podiums and in Parties, Russia Is Red-Hot
Debt to Society Is Least of Costs for Ex-Convicts
Canada is emerging as an Olympic powerhouse Who let a psychotic Jim Carey-look-alike compete for Canada??? The scary part is that he apparently won a gold medal!
Wal-Mart Opens Store Targeting Amish: The manure’s in aisle seven . . . (via)
‘Iraq’s Jordanian Jihadis’ author Nir Rosen replies to my post: The blog has a strange name. That said, I really enjoy this blog. It’s one of my personal favorites. Natasha is a Jordanian journalist who now lives in the US. She has a very insightful perspective on events in the Middle East and works hard on offering a balanced perspective. Her blog helps document the empowerment of voices and perspectives that would otherwise not be heard. The link I have here is a great dialogue between herself and a reporter for the NY Times. Isn’t it great that the writers of articles are able to have these kinds of discussions online?
NT. Wright’s Fresh Perspective 4: Scot McNight + NT Wright = Good Read
Atonement and Postmodernity
A Little Slice of Vermont
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February 23, 06 by ed
A reading from Isaiah 40:27-31 (The Message)
“27 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
“GOD has lost track of me.
He doesn’t care what happens to me”?
28 Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
GOD doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
29 He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
30 For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
31 But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.” (Whole Chapter)
It is only logical for those with limited strength to wait on and depend upon He who does not tire. How easy it is to advance in our own power, even though waiting on God would be the true path of strength. It is counter-intuitive, but that is where faith enters into the picture.
February 22, 06 by ed
Authority is hard to nail down in emerging churches, home congregations, and other new expressions of church. Many have had a hard time with authority in the past because it has been abused in some way over time. Sometimes the authority has been gentle, but it holds to the wrong views. Other times leaders hold to the right views, but they exercise their authority with a heavy hand. Either way it can be hard to know how we should approach leadership and authority. Do we only place ourselves under the authority of those we agree with? Do we approach all fellow believers as dialogue partners and not worry as much about leadership and authority?
There is a sense in which the body has a variety of parts who all work together for the common good. Is it logical to assume that some parts should have authority of some sort over the others? Yet, does leveling the playing field of authority help the body more? We all have a part to play, but we all submit to one another?
I don’t think there is one answer that we can settle on that will govern all Christian communities, but I think we need to grapple with it. Are we under someone’s direction? Do we pay heed to a fellow believer or a group of them? If they warned us of something, would we listen? How do we know that a leader is exercising authority in a God-honoring way.
I have more questions than answers at this point. Essentially, I wonder, “What does authority look like in the Emerging Church?”
technorati tagsauthority,emerging church
February 22, 06 by ed
NPR reported on a UK band called the Arctic Monkeys. While I only heard snippets of their songs, I was more interested in their rise to fame. The Arctic Monkeys built a following around their web site where they provided music to download and videos to watch for free.
The logic runs counter to much of conventional wisdom. Giving away as much as you can puts you ahead of those who sell. Of course at some point you need to pay the bills and should charge for your work, but the open source approach to music is a fascinating way to see who rises to the top.
arctic monkeys, gift economy
February 20, 06 by ed
Out of all the verses that John the Baptist, herald to the Messiah, could have chosen, he settled on Isaiah 40 as his focus for his task. It is curious to me that Christians often teach that the bad news must precede the good news. In other words, we have to preach sin before we can share the good news of the Gospel.
But in a post-Christian society that has abandoned the myth of progress and inherent goodness for the most part, I wonder if Isaiah 40 is a far more relevant starting point. We are restoring God’s children, his creation to him. We are reconnecting a link that has been severed. I believe that we must treat everyone as a child of God, even if they may never be, because we have faith that God can bring them into the kingdom. If you follow that trian of logic, then perhaps the Gospel for skeptical and jaded society is one of comfort. God has come, is coming today, and will come back for good, and so we should not cringe in fear of judgment. The message, “God is coming,” is a comfort, a sign of hope.
What do you think? Here’s the passage:
Isaiah 40 THE MESSAGE
Prepare for God’s Arrival
1 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,” says your God.
2 “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem, but also make it very clear
That she has served her sentence, that her sin is taken care of–forgiven!
She’s been punished enough and more than enough, and now it’s over and done with.”
3 Thunder in the desert! “Prepare for GOD’s arrival! Make the road straight and smooth,
a highway fit for our God.
4 Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks.
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