Where is your sting?

Thinking through death and resurrection this week in preparing for the last passage in 1 Cor. 15 has brought up quite a lot of thoughts and emotions as one who has typically not dealt with death well and has experienced quite a bit of it in the past 15 years. As a pastor I have done one funeral and would rather never do one again.

In light of this I thought of my friend Bill Reiter who passed away a little over a year ago now. This is still tough for me to handle.

O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

This certainly doesn't mean we don't mourn, but that we mourn like those who have hope.

Bill's mom sent those of us who were involved at Mosaic together this email and it's still hard to read without tearing up but this meant a lot to me.

"I was going through his bag that he always carried with him and his id card from Mosaic was still in there- he loved your church so much. You had a profound impact on his life and heart and I believe he is carrying the name of your church to the throne of God with him."

Still miss ya Bill.

Some More Music Recs

I'll admit it, I can't get enough of the singer/songwriter genre right now. I'm hooked. I usually listen to music to mellow me out and/or to hear thought provoking writing and this genre seems to pull both of those off. So, with no further apology, a few artists I have been listening to:


Aaron Espe - Songs From a Small Town

His Myspace here.







Brown Bird - The Bottom of the Sea

Myspace here.

A little more folk flavor here.





Anthony da Costa - Typical American Tragedy

Myspace

Out of Context? Not really.

Last night a few of got together to watch the Trailblazers get lit up. Two quotes stood out:

"Greg Oden looks like a freaking Pound Puppy." - Chris Leonardo

"Did you guys hear that they're not making Zima anymore?" - Devin Vaughn
(I wish I could say about this one that there was some context to it, but there wasn't. He just stated it out of nowhere like this is information we needed.)

Peter and Lois Griffin

David and Dawn's Wedding

This past weekend in Peoria, IL, I officiated the wedding of Dawn (my step-sister) and David Francis. It was an outdoor wedding and the weather turned out beautiful.

It is always a humbling experience to get to be a part of someone's wedding day. With the five weddings I've done up to this point, I think I've thought every single time, "what in the world am I doing up here?" Not because I feel unqualified or lack confidence in what I'm doing but because it's such a HUGE day in someone's life that I can't believe I get to play such a role!

I really enjoy doing weddings and have always done fairly well at them, but there is an immense pressure to not screw anything up (like saying the wrong names or something). It's a quick ceremony but that pressure just wears me out! I'm usually exhausted by mid-reception and feel like I've worked for 8 hours unloading UPS trucks.

I've got to say however, this was a great wedding to be a part of. Easy rehearsal, smooth wedding, no complaints! It was beautiful. Plus I got to see family I don't see all that much. I'm not sure I could have had a better time.

Here is my Dad and sisters Molly and Sarah.
(some people say there's a resemblance between my Father and I).










Kelli with Aidan.


















Kelli with Ava.
(Can you tell how ready she is to have one of her own?)






























This is Sarah with Ava and Aidan.













Dawn, Sarah, and Molly.

Tropicana Field Double Booked

Seriously, how could the Onion get any better?

Check it out.

Settlers Cupcakes

This was so awesome I had to post it.

ht: aubrey via erica.

A Critique of "A Christianity Worth Believing"

Recently I have written a critique on Doug Pagitt's theology of sin from his book A Christianity Worth Believing. I have met Doug a few times, have mutual acquaintances, sat in on a theological discussion about the book at Western, and think he's a fantastic guy for what it's worth. All that to say, I disagree with his theology of sin on a few levels which is apparent quickly.

You'll probably find this Doug (crazy Google Alert) so I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of my critiques or where I may have misunderstood you. I am not setting out to misrepresent what you have said so feel free to correct (if your schedule allows)! At the outset I will admit this critique is lacking because I did not spend time at the beginning with what I saw as strengths or what I enjoyed. It is certainly not because I don't see any. I appreciated much of what you said and the pastoral heart that is obviously behind your book. In any case, I'll probably see you in February at NPC with Bob and Chris.

A Critique of Doug Pagitt's Theology of Sin

If anyone wants a PDF of this, just email me and I'll send you a copy. It's much easier to read than Google Docs!

Driscoll - always focusing on what's important

Or not...

Bob already has some good thoughts on this ridiculousness here so I won't add much.

But he also brought up a great point at the end of his post. Isn't that a woman teaching Scripture? What happened to not having women teach a man Scripture EVER? So it's okay as long as it's your wife?

This video just adds to the various reasons why I wouldn't pay a dime for a Driscoll book.

While we're on this topic, have you women signed the True Woman Manifesto yet?

Another Seinfeld Moment

I will never for a second disguise my love for Seinfeld (both the show and the person). I've been a big fan for a while, a bigger fan when I lived in NYC where SO much of life reminded me of the show. I'll admit that I know every episode by heart and generally something reminds me of an episode on a daily basis. I even did a list of my favorite episodes here last year for "List December" which I will be doing again this year (the lists anyway, not favorite Seinfeld episodes).

One time Kelli and I saw Jerry for a split second. We were waiting in line at the best comedy club in NYC (Comedy Cellar) when Jerry walked by and went downstairs to try out some new material. He didn't stick around for the next show which was unfortunate! I'll always be wishing we went to that earlier show but who could have known?

In any case, on Tuesday I was telling Kelli about a young man in class who begins every sentence with "At the end of the day..." and she immediately asked, "you mean he's always concluding?"

SO funny. This is why I love my wife so much. It's like we're living in the show.

The Cubs

Most likely I'm going to have to respond to the Cubs ridiculous loss to the Dodgers so it might as well be now. First, let me say that the Dodgers played incredibly well. Their lineup is really solid and their pitching was surprisingly good also. The way they are playing they should have beat the Cubs! I hope they kill the Phillies as well. That would at least help me to sleep at night.

Second, the Cubs played like a AA team at best. Couldn't hit, couldn't pitch, couldn't field. When you walk 7 guys or have 4 errors, you're probably not going to win. They were awful. They had spells like that in the year a few times, but fortunately you have 4 or 5 games to get out of them and go back to normal. This was an unfortunate time for the Cubs to have a spell like this.

So what's next?

As Mark Derosa said on his blog not everyone on the team is going to be around next season. And for that I am thankful. My first two picks to go are:

1. Fukudome
2. Soriano

Here's why. First, Fukudome turned out to be a joke. Excuse the frankness, but the only reason he made the All-Star game is because he was a novelty item from the beginning. He hasn't hit well in the past two months and honestly it's not hard to look at his mechanics and see why! It looks like a little league swing. He never looked like an All-Star, that I think we can all agree on.

Alright, now to Soriano. Many of you wonder, why would you want to trade a guy who hits a home run now and again? That's easy. Because if he doesn't hit a home run he's going to strike out, guaranteed. He's almost an automatic out, but once in a while he's a solo home run. Not all that helpful. Do I need to mention his fielding skills or the routine fly balls that just bounce out of his glove? Do we need to mention that not at one time has he looked like he's cared about the team, his teammates, or baseball in general? I've never seen one ounce of passion out of that guy. He gets up, he strikes out and then he strolls back to the bench, has a cool drink and ponders what he'll have for dinner when he gets home. Worthless. Get rid of him.

I've also resolved as I've pointed out that it is needless to get excited about the regular season in any way and I refuse to do so until they win a playoff game. I don't care if they win 100 games next year, that will mean nothing to me. When they win a playoff game, then I will start getting excited again. So let me end this on a gentle note by simply saying: You suck Cubs....you suck.

Amazon Recommendations

Tonight Kelli and I were browsing on Amazon so I thought I would take a look at what was recommended for me which is based on past purchases, wish list additions, and what kind of books you look at. Well, needless to say, I was a little surprised to find this as the first book to pop up:


Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World.

Portland Library

Cheers to whoever it was at New Folks home group last Sunday that told Kelli and I about this.
(I believe it was Brandon and Sara(h).)

Kelli and I are totally in for some of these. Bring on Moby Dick!

This will also be a good way to make me read Great Expectations which I have started three times and can't seem to get through 50 pages. I've read a good number of classics but for some reason I just can't hang with Dickens!

Speaking of books that will never be classics. How about this?

Really Zondervan? Really?

Some Interesting New Music

Eureka Birds - Myspace













Wars of 1812 - Myspace












The Shaky Hands - Myspace














Small Sur - Myspace