Category: hmm… thoughts

  • K Mart saved Christmas

    kmart logoWithout sounding overly dramatic, K Mart saved our Christmas day. After the service last night I took a gander at our food situation. Let’s just say the cupboards were bare and the day had been so insane that we hadn’t had the chance to get groceries.

    A quick search on Google maps determined that every grocery store in our area closed at 7:00 PM. Unphased by that reality and in search of anything that could be assembled into a Christmas dinner I started driving around.

    If you’ve never had to shop on Christmas eve, plan on doing it in 2008. It’s a trip. A lot of gas stations are closed. Any type of grocery store is closed. Most pharmacies are closed. Specialty stores are closed. Pretty much everything closes on Christmas eve at 7:00 PM. (I know, I checked!) Wal*Mart. Miejer. Kroger. Vince & Joes. Sheenah’s. Everything.

    So this left me with two choices. Liquor stores or KMart. Every liquor store in Michigan was open late last night… but I figured that my hopes of getting mashed potatoes, ham, and other items for a Christmas dinner were slightly better at KMart. (Serving the kids Slim Jim’s and Molson Ice for Christmas seemed a little like child abuse. I wasn’t quite that desperate… yet.) So I pulled into the KMart parking lot at 23 & Van Dyke at 8:45 PM.

    The place was packed!

    And it was filled with tons of people just like me. Did you know that KMart has a grocery section? They don’t have much of one… but they have one. It was getting tribal in the grocery aisle as we were all looking for the same thing, meat! As I contemplated spam and ham cold cuts for Christmas dinner… the aisle filled with people looking for “one thing” they forgot to purchase. A conversation quickly erupted of the places we saw that were open that might have sour cream, yams, or freshScrooge fruit. I settled on pot roast and mashed potatoes then walked around looking for other things. After double checking the store for a spare ham in a can and walking around to snag some last minute stocking stuffers, I headed the check out where a scantly clad checkout girl scanned everything and I headed home. (She must have thought it was Halloween. Brrr.)

    I just want to add. Had a grocery store stayed open until 10 last night they would have done quite well. While I had fun trying to put together “something” for a Christmas feast… it would have been so much better at a grocery store.

    I kept thinking about Charles Dickens’s Scrooge. Where did he get that goose and all those presents on Christmas morning? It must have all come from KMart– open until 10 on Christmas eve.

  • Looking for a Wii for Christmas?

    Jason, the Fun Monkey himself, has the ultimate Christmas present for sale on Craigslist. It’s got a brand new Wii, Guitar Hero III and about 20 games.

    Here’s the link.

  • Light Force Christmas Party

    Yep, it’s finally here. One of the highlights of our calendar.

  • Stress of coming home for the holiday’s

    College AngstWe don’t have a lot of students away from home for college. But for those who go away, I recognize this as a tough time for young adults. (and parents)

    The students perspective: You live on your own.  You eat your meals with friends when you want. You take care of your stuff on your own. You clean your room when you and your roommate decide to. Essentially, you make your own rules on things like coming home and going here or there. You are coming home for a vacation of doing nothing… a reward for a hard semester. For most college students they feel like they’ve learned to manage this pretty well. Even if they aren’t good at it they are used to the freedom. It’s all about independence.

    The parents perspective: You may be a young adult but you are still my child. You aren’t renting the room, you are a member of a family.  You’ll abide by our rules. You’ll tell us when and where you are going. (Just like high school.) You’ll keep your room clean. You’ll eat with the family. You are expected to be productive when you are home. It’s all about being a part of the family.

    This is a recipe for stress.  The college students want to express new found freedom and parents want things to be like they were before.

    So, how do you manage this stress? What are some suggestions I could give to students home for the holiday? What is some advice you’d give to parents stressed out by their children being home? 

  • 7 days til Christmas

    Christmas PresentWith less than a week until the big day, there’s much still to do. We have the staff Christmas party tonight, the Light Force party tomorrow night, a small group party Friday night, a killer service on Sunday, and MainStreet on Monday. (We’re actually still trying to squeeze a family party in there somewhere with Kristen’s folks.) In other words, Christmas is just kicking into high gear for me.

    This year I’ve actually been into Christmas. “Into” for me means that I don’t complain about it. We’ve had our tree up for a while, we’ve gotten most of the shopping done, and Kristen has done a great job of keeping the Christmas drama away from me. (Selfishness about presents… our kids get 3 small presents from us and they think its normal and fair!)

    santaOf course, since I’m labeled the Christmas hater… I can’t be seen enjoying it too much.  Paul is a hard core Santa-hater. There was a Santa at Buffalo Wild Wings on Sunday (I thought maybe he was too drunk to drive home Saturday night, odd place for a Santa) I asked Paul if he’d be willing to have his picture taken with St. Nick. Paul told me, “I would punch him in the face and put him in the garbage!” Ah, a disciple.

    Merry Christmas! 

  • Saturday Tunes

    saturday tunesIt’s a quiet day around the house. Most of the Christmas shopping is done. Right now the kids are quietly playing… which means they are likely opening presents.

    So while they are quietly enjoying Saturday here are the the next tunes flying out of iTunes. As always, no cheating and ratings included.

    1.  Renaissance by Mat Kearney *****
    2. There’s Only One by Caedmon’s Call ****
    3. Sultanas de Merkaillo by Sanctus Real ****
    4. Let it Snow… by Jimmy Savage Band **** (ha! an elf!)
    5. Where We Belong by Sanctus Real ****
    6. Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven by David Crowder Band ****
    7. Be by Kmax/DC Talk **** (old school baby)
    8. Good Riddance by Green Day *****
    9. Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp ****
    10. Waters Gone By by Shawn Lewis ****

  • Elf HQ

    Elf HeadquartersJimmy and I are off to shoot 2 more elf videos for services this weekend. If we have time there will even be some bonus commercials available online only.

    The whole point of these is two fold…

    1. Enjoy them! Seeing church staff dressed like elves should be fun.
    2. Share them! The reason we’re doing all of this is to promote our service on December 23rd. So if you want to see more stuff like this, take action and get people to that service. We’re looking to pack the church out.

    Go to the elf HQ

  • The RIAA is killing itself

    RIAAI don’t think I’ve ever met a person who actually thinks that artists shouldn’t get paid for their work. But the RIAA has clearly lost touch. The idea that consumers can’t share, edit, or even make archival copies of the stuff that they buy is seriously out of touch.

    The RIAA has told a court that ripping your CDs to MP3 format is “unauthorized” and illegal, in a brief filed with the Arizona US District Court where Atlantic Records is suing Jeffrey and Pamela Howell. The last time this issue came up, in the Grokster Supreme Court case, the RIAA’s lawyer said that ripping CDs was not illegal and was implicitly authorized by the record labels. Story

    The internet has changed the ownership game. Consumers have taken the right to edit, share, customize what they buy and they aren’t going to give it back. It won’t be long before the Supreme Court will have to revisit copyright laws for the internet age because we just don’t have a clue how these old laws work in today’s society. Is the RIAA going to sue every person in the country with a computer and an internet connection?

    When the Supreme Court finally comes to its senses and puts this lobby out to pasture, the RIAA will quickly bankrupt itself. Particularly when the major labels start to bolt for a new, better way.

    I predict a new organization will become recognized  by the recording industry that gets the desires of consumers (Who ultimately fund things like the RIAA) and make sure artists are paid fairly for their work.

    At the same time, we need to be responsible consumers and actually buy music instead of stealing it. Artists deserve to be paid, make sure you aren’t part of the problem.

  • Praise God for Jeanne Assam

    Jeanne AssamNo matter what you think of having an armed security detail at a church, Jeanne Assam was at the right place at the right time. Praise God for her actions.

    I hope others see it in this news report… but God’s hand was all over protecting New Life on Sunday. It’s a miracle that the shooter didn’t do more damage.

    Read the news account

    Here are some statements that impressed me from her statement.

    “did not think for a minute to run away”
    “It seemed like it was me, the gunman and God,”
    “Boyd said Assam was the one who suggested the church beef up its security Sunday following the Arvada shooting, which it did. The pastor credited the security plan and the extra security for preventing further bloodshed.”
    Assam said she was ending three days of fasting on Sunday when fate put her in the path of the gunman.

    “I was praying to God that he direct me” in what to do in life, Assam said. “God made me strong.”

    Amazing stuff there. Sometimes God calls us to do things for Him that make no logical sense. I praise God this woman took action to hear God’s direction and was bold enough to act on it. I hope she is an example for Christians everywhere in that regard.

  • The Economy of Fear

    Economy of FearBack in October I wrote about The Economy of Hate speech on the internet. Here’s a review of the math in the blog world when writing hate content:

    Normal content + traffic = $1

    Hate content + traffic = $5

    Remarkable content + traffic = $10 

    Today I want to talk about something that runs rampant inside Christian publishing of all kinds. Instead of writing remarkable content they capitalize on fear. Listen to any Christian radio station or walk through any Christian bookstore and you’ll see that about 50% of the content is fear-based. Instead of focusing on truth or on the Bible, you’ll hear and see plenty of content that sensationalizes something minor for a profit.

    Add this to the math:

    Fear content + traffic = $5 

    For every cultural phenomenon, there is an equal and fear-based Christian equivalent. Harry Potter is “bad” (according to some) so let’s make some money by publishing books telling people how bad Harry Potter is! Christian pundit James Dobson has made a lot of money with his catch phrases “an attack on truth” and “an attack on the  American family” or “liberal activist judges.” Just listen to more Focus on the Family and you’ll know how to protect your family from atheism, homosexuals, and judges.

    Nevermind the fact that these are the stupidest statements in the world. If something is true you can’t attack it because it is truth. And my family is not under attack if my next door neighbors are gay. (When was the last time you heard of a gay family leading a raid on heterosexuals neighbors?) But you sure can make money on telling people to be afraid of stuff like that. Why? Because fear is a short-term motivator. If you scare people they will buy. (Or give to your cause. Or visit your website.)

    The Golden CompassOf course, the latest edition of the fear-based Christian media spewed out their sales pitch against the release of The Golden Compass. This is a fiction-based children’s movie with a decidedly atheist bent. In listening to and reading the Christian media in the past few weeks one would have thought that The Golden Compass was certainly related to the Antichrist! Even right leaning FoxNews got into the act by capitalizing on the movie with a plethora of fear-based coverage. Did they do this to protect unsuspecting Christians from those mean atheists out there? No. I think they were motivated by money. There is an awful lot of money to be made by scaring people. Advertisers love traffic to a website and television ratings. And fear sells in America more than sex. (When was the last time your local news led off with a story about sex? It always leads off with something to scare you.)

    Each time I see the Christian media freak out about a movie, song, candidate, or other cultural influence I feel called to help people see through it. Follow the money trail! Think critically and ask, “Why is this person scaring me?” “What’s in it for them?” Ratings? Web traffic? Book sales? Donations? If James Dobson raises another $5 million for Focus on the Family, what’s in it for him? What does he lose if he can’t raise that money? What’s in it for a Christian website that increases traffic with fear-based content by 20%? Why is it that FoxNews has a group of people on their panel who are “experts” on a topic? Who published their books? What’s in it for Fox? What’s in it for the panel members?

    Remember… The Last Temptation of Christ was going to destroy Christianity forever. So was Footloose, The DaVinci Code, and Harry Potter. Likewise,  movies like Passion of the Christ, Lord of the Rings, and Chronicles of Narnia will lift Christianity up and millions of people will come to Christ, right?

    Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m just a cynic. Or maybe I’m just stupid and these things really do affect the effectiveness of Christianity in today’s culture. But my assumption is that Jesus is God no matter what.My assumption is that my family is in the hands of God. My assumption is that the word of God is unshakable in its inspired form. And my assumption is that God isn’t pleased with the money changers who use fear to motivate financial transactions in Christians.

    I long for a Christian media who paints an accurate picture of the world. I long for James Dobson to care about real issues that don’t monetize like poverty in his town, poverty in the world, AIDS in Africa, and children sold into slavery.  I long for the Christian media to look around and use their influence to lift up the name of Christ and motivate Christians to live a life worthy of all that Christ has given to them.

    And I long for a Christian media that generates sales based on remarkable content instead of cheap fear.