BJ Not BK

Saw this article today floating around and thought I would share it with you, my friendly, faithful, and good looking readers. The Evangelical Manifesto [ link ] Are labels useful? Do they help? Was this manifesto necessary?

If you know me, you know my intense passion for the Olympics. I love the lighting of the torch, the pageantry of opening day ceremonies, the gathering together of many nations under the banner of competition. I love the fact that for the most part The United States crushes everyone but I digress.... 08.08.2008 marks the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in China and for the first time in a very long time I will not watch. No coverage, no clips, no highlights period. Why? How can we participate and how can we play games in a country who has a long standing history of human rights abuse? Put aside the recent Tibet issue if you will, put aside the whole house church story and read the recent excerpt from an email a missionary couple sent me this morning....this is real, this is China, "We want you to help us lift up our new sister, Jane Doe. A few days ago she told us that she is pregnant with her third child. There is an enforced rule in China: One child only. Having more than one...

Breaking news just out of Rome this morning... Vatican Adds Seven New Deadly Sins Including Abortion, Contraception and Drug-Dealing [ link ] Just 14 deadly sins? And here I was foolishly thinking that scripture states all sin is deadly and that the penalty for all sin is death. Boy am I glad this has been cleared up!

"In the world but not of the world", sort of like Hamlet's contemplation, "to be or not to be" and one area that most Christians find hard to deal with, agree on, or understand let alone implement. Each of us are called, each of us are on mission to go, to make disciples, in our neighborhoods, cities, country, and around the world yet how are we to do this in a postmodern world where spirituality is at an all time high but a belief in TRUTH doesn't exist? This weekend Joe, Wesley, and :0)} were all talking about the church and how to reach out and the comment was made, "You know there was a time when the church influenced the culture and now the culture is influencing the church." I sat and thought on this for a while and have a couple of thoughts to add to this. 1. I don't think that is entirely true as I honestly believe that for centuries the church was the culture. Everything, in general, flowed from the church, music, art, science, philosophy...

When I was out in Washington the theme over and over and over again was preaching the Gospel within the context in which we live. Keep the scriptures true and unchanged but don't be afraid to engage the culture and use methods within the culture to reach those who haven't heard of Jesus. I had the privilege of being introduced to Reach Life ministries, www.reachlife.org , a group of young men who have decided to follow Jesus and to take Jesus into the Global hip hop community. Several of the guys from Reach Life gave their testimonies and shared with the group how they were setting up Bible studies in barbershops in cities and how their goal is to make culturally relevant material and resources to reach the hip hop community. Then the show began as several of the artists led worship. Here is one of the songs by Lecrae - Send Me....listen to the words I know for many this is not your style of music and some of you may even be offended because their is no pipe organ in the background...

I am stressed out, and who isn't these days right? My problem is poor stress management right? Maybe I need to do yoga, aromatherapy, acupuncture, exercise more, drink less caffeine, see a therapist, arrange my sofa so that my feung shui is at peace with my dogma. Nothing would stress me out more than trying to put my leg behind my ear, trying to sniff a lemon, while being poke with a needle. Maybe stress is a sin to be repented of and not managed? Philippians 4:6 (New International Version) " 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Maybe instead of dieting, exercising more, seeing a finacial planner, putting together a budget, taking out a loan, bill consolidation, time management, stress management, weight management, life coaching what we need is repentance of sin. Could it be that stress, finances, time management, weight issues, are partially sin related? What would happen if we...

Ok, so this is my second pic taken in a bathroom, I hope this is not a trend as I often get very uneasy when I see guys snapping photos in public restrooms. This photo comes to you courtesy of the friendly folks at Starbucks. Not sure if you noticed this but not only does the sign state that employees must wash their hands but there are 6, count them, 6 illustrations explaining how to do this. You mean to tell me that my Barista can make my Venti, 1/2 caff, Icee, Peppermint Moccha, skinny but he can't wash his hands without a picture? I suppose the hiring process at Starbucks is pretty easy...look at this picture, what does it mean to you?

That is what I am repeatedly told and I beginning to get irritated. Is life really so complicated? Is the core of every problem the simple fact that we either don't have enough money or enough education to overcome? Can we correct what is wrong with programs and initiatives or do we need a new sociology to help us find our way? No, no, no The root of every problem, every evil, every crisis is sin and the only antidote is Jesus. Politicians, psychologists, economists, Fred Thompson, reformers, illegal aliens, none of these will solve any of our problems....if we go this route we are only addressing symptoms. We don't seek to elect morale people so that they can enact moral legislation so that the country, the planet will come in line with morality. In fact we shouldn't even seek to make people morale as that only lends itself to a false gospel. What we should seek is to share Jesus with as many as possible so that He can begin a good work in them, so that He can change them...

I am continually amazed at cell phone talkers and their inability to recognize that 1. they are in a public place carrying on a private conversation 2. the technology has advanced somewhat in recent years so it is not necessary to yell into the phone and 3. no one and I mean no one cares to listen in on your conversation. I must fully disclose that I own a cell phone, I use my phone, and I often use my phone while driving, while shopping, while in public places but I try very hard to follow some simple rules. 1. I never, never talk about body functions, recent trips to the doctor, or foul odors in any way, shape, form, or fashion. I was in a shop the other day and right beside me a lady began going into great detail how taking a certain vitamin impacted her body in ways I wont dare share here. I was in shock as she clearly saw me there beside her and had no disdain for my personal space or my stomach. I left the area immediately and haven't been able to eat or sleep for several days...

The Animaniacs were by far one of my favorite cartoons of all time. In a world, where evil reigns and good is nowhere to be found a group of heroes will emerge to fight for what is right and to make good all that is wrong. Anyway...I am so glad I found this clip as it has both my favorite cartoons and it has some of my most favorite Christmas songs. Enjoy!

Why is it that I can't slow down no matter what? Is it the 4 rockstars I drank this morning or the six lattes from Starbucks? I can't seem to slow down, to take it easy, to rest without thinking of next week, next year which is why I will attempt to purposefully slow down this vacation. No grand plans apart from the usual dinners and get together with family and friends, no long road trips, no getting up extremely early unless I want to just lost of sleeping in, lounging around in my pj's and playing with my wife and kids. I see you in the corner work laptop and no I will not turn you on! Here is your Christmas Video. Enjoy!

12 days left until Christmas and I can't get that song out of my head. Have you ever wondered how much a maid milking would run you? Or what about just one lord a leaping? Wonder no more. PNC [ link ] has done the math for you. 23rd Annual PNC Christmas Price Index UP 3.1 % Rising Wages For Milkmaids, Higher Commodity Prices Lead Increases - Cost of “Twelve Days of Christmas” Song Items Reflect Consumer Pricing Trends - PITTSBURGH, Nov. 26, 2007 –The significantly higher price of gold and increased compensation for minimum wage workers will make Christmas more expensive this year, according to the PNC Christmas Price Index. The tongue-in-cheek economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management is based on the cost of gifts in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is $19,507 in 2007, a 3.1 percent increase over last year. The rise in gift prices mirrored the U.S. government’s Consumer Price Index...

It is truly hard to find a decent Christmas card these days. Usually they fall into one of two categories, 1. Vague wishings of happy, merry, wonderful, wintry holiday season cheer with great artwork 2. Really, really sappy mushy sentimental musings with horrible artwork Occasionally you can find a really nice Christmas card that conveys the message of Christ and has nice artwork but those usually cost about $12,00.00 each...."What? Those aren't Christmas cards? There what? Oh, Thomas Kinkade paintings...that explains everything." I think most people are put off by the fact the card manufacturers want our money but aren't willing to make great, Christ focused Christmas cards. In an effort to please everyone card manufacturers have literally taken Christ out of Christmas. Instead of Christmas you get Xmas or merry ho ho, or have a wonderful merry holly jolly season. What the? Our family rarely receives traditional Christmas cards anymore and we haven't given one out...

My wife shared this with me and I thought I would share it with you. Faith like a child....

Necessity is the mother of invention so they say, whoever "they" is? Why is it that we give so much credibility to "they"? Anyway, most major inventions like the microwave, the internet, and Tang all evolved out of a desperate need. The microwave out of man's need to cook his food really fast enabling lesser beings, weaker individuals to bypass Darwin's survival of the fittest mumbo jumbo and get to the food quicker thus enabling the lesser, weaker males to find trophy wives. The internet was invented out of man's need to receive 3.6 million spam messages a day, thus creating a false sense of self worth and boosting man's esteem and Tang was invented out of the necessity of man wanting to drink a really, really, nasty tasting orange powdery drink instead of orange juice. What else is there left to praise you ask? What about the second greatest invention of all time....the first being the George Foreman grillerator....the gift bag. I can't think of...