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Wednesday, October 29, 2008

My Mom...

The technology integration specialist.

Friday, October 24, 2008

A "Song For Sarah"...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Do I need to swear more?

I'm kinda surprised.

I figured people would have a lot to say about my "Oh Hell!" post. Thus far, there's only been silence.

Did my blogbbatical kill all interest? Am I not controversial enough anymore? Does this dress make me look fat?

I miss how we used to talk.

You remember?

How we'd stay up late and argue on my blog posts? We'd comment away all night...

Why can't things be like they used to be?

(post on "prevenient grace, the problem with tracts, and God all by himself" is coming soon...)

Monday, October 20, 2008

He's old, but he's fiesty...

Fox News asks Ron Paul a question.

Ron Paul drops a great Sinclair Lewis quote.

Suddenly, its time for a commercial break.

Classic.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Oh, Hell!

I don't like talking about the idea of "hell." I don't wanna believe in it. I just don't. I don't wanna confront the idea of people spending forever separated from the presence of God (which is what hell is). That's too heavy and too awful.

Then too, the Bible isn't extremely clear when it comes to how all that works. I know, I know--some people are going to say that the Bible is very clear on the matter. They'll say things about if you "accept Jesus into your heart" then you're bound for "heaven." They'll say if you choose to "reject Jesus" then you'll spend eternity in a place that involves "burning" and "weeping" and such. I don't think its that cut and dry. I think way of Jesus is much bigger than that.

Don't get me wrong. There's definitely a line of accountability with God. That's a fact that is very clear Biblically. As a human, I just don't think its my place to define what that line is and what puts people on one side or the other. I'll leave that to God.

But anyway, some friends and I are studying Romans together and Paul talks a lot about God's wrath and such in the first few chapters. Its funny--well, not humorous, but I ironic I suppose. When Paul talks about God's wrath, its typically letting people have the independence from God they're asking for. It wasn't what I expected to find. So we decided to find out how many times Paul talks about "hell."

He never does.

Paul mentions "hell" zero times in any of his letters. Luke, in writing the book of Acts, never quotes Paul as mentioning the word hell there, either.

That blew me away. Here's a couple of good links to read about further discussion on the subject.
Running With The Lion
Jerry Bernard

Thoughts?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

I beg your pardon! There was lots of love!

On Saturday, Brittany and I went down to spend some time with her parents in Nashville. I had to get a speaker I had special ordered at Sam Ash for the new speaker cabinet I just built. (I'll post pictures on that soon.)

Anyway, Mr Steiner thought we should go somewhere different for dinner. So we headed south to the famous Loveless Cafe. I've heard stories about this place and even seen a special on TLC about their biscuits--but nothing could prepare me for the delightfulness that I would find there.



I have no idea what heaven will be like. But I do know one thing: there will certainly be an endless supply of the Loveless Cafe biscuits in heaven. They were a-maz-ing.

If you ever get the chance, GO! We even saw Alfonso Ribeiro there. Can a home-cooking restaurant get any better? I submit that it cannot!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dr Seuss should have written a book of the Bible...

I worry about the state of the church a lot--when I say church, I mean to say the church at large, the global brotherhood/sisterhood of people who would call themselves followers of Jesus.

I think we can all agree that humanity, over the past two thousand years, has greatly messed up the church. To look at its current state greatly disturbs me--especially when evaluating the church here in America. (It can be so political and country club-like and I could go on and on...) I know that there are people everywhere working to restore the original vision of Jesus' life and message. But I still feel like there's a tremendous amount of tension among Christians--there exists a lot of grief and strife and heartache that has no place in the church.

I don't think these thoughts are anything new. We've been going through Romans on Wednesday nights at Ekklesia--and its amazing to read about the 1st century Jews and Gentiles within the church at Rome. In his letter, Paul is constantly discussing the stress between the two groups. They would have both identified themselves as followers of the Way, but one group always thought they were better than the other. He was always reminding them that God cares for everyone and doesn't show favoritism.

With that framework in mind, I present to you the infamous Dr Seuss:





Combine my previous thoughts and those videos and gee whiz... blows me away. (The psychedelic 70's moments and the Carpenters-esque music just add to the fun.)

What say ye?

Promises and all that jazz...

Not to be a tease, but I have four posts on the way. They include:

1-camping, otters and disc golf
2-Dr Seuss, the emerging church and love
3-grace, bad "evangelism" tracts and Methodism
4-Paul and "hell"

Soon!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Break's over...

Well, I think I've decided its been long enough.

Here's the issue: I like to stir the pot. Which is fine normally. I get away with pushing buttons and fanning the flames a lot. I don't mind the negative reactions that come my way--I like the fight. When it affected those I love and care about, however, it made me pause and think.

I don't know how to approach this. I like asking questions. I like talking about the things no one else wants to talk about. I like being able to put it all out there. I like being completely honest and not having to hold myself back. I want to continue these things.

I do not, however, want to cause grief or hurt feelings.

So I'll be walking a fine line. At times, I'm sure I'll cross that line. It happens. I will not be anything but true to myself, though. This is who I am.

There's a possibility of posting a ton of videos from the past few weeks--mainly political and social commentary. But here's a quick run down of my thoughts and events from the past month or so:

-I like to blog--I missed it
-I got to see Shane Claiborne speak at Lipscomb
-Sarah Palin, in the words of Andrew Sullivan, is a "farce"
-Brittany and I have set our sights on moving to Spain
-we got a new puppy--a lhasa apso named Penelope Jane (pics to come because...)
-we finally got a camera
-I like it when people who are supposed to be on the Late Show w/ David Letterman don't show up and he harasses them all night
-Bobby came into town for a couple of days--high five
-Kaleidoscope threw it down at the Capital Art last Monday night
-my concerns about the government keep growing (can we say multi-billion dollar buyout of groups that let greed overtake their good sense?)
-disc golf and scooter rides offer moments of sanity when I need them most
-Barack Obama is not the answer to our problems--he may be the best choice of the available options, but that's about it
-I can't handle much of the Grateful Dead
-my wife is an amazing human being that makes each day spent with her better
-we decided to sell the VW Jetta--its all scooter all winter, baby!
-I setup an appointment in October to let Mr Wes Carter do his thing
-leaves have started changing, fall is coming, my allergies are getting worse
-I need to play music as often as possible--I might otherwise explode
-I like to blog--I missed it