• Why Americans are Going Local

    Yesterday Kristen and I listened to an author, Andrew Potter, describe the American movement towards all things local and eco-friendly as conspicuous consumption.

    It felt like an elitist slap in the face.

    His book is called, The Authenticity Hoax. (I’ve not read it) You can see the transcript to the Marketplace segment, “The new holier than thou” here.

    Basically, the author claimed that the real reason why Americans are going to farmers markets, growing their own food, shopping at locally owned business, and otherwise supporting their local economy is really to show off our wealth publicly. The entire tone of the interview seemed to mock and misrepresent a major shift in public opinion. (For a more reasonable interpretation of the same movement, check out this link in Business Week.)

    I couldn’t help but wonder if the author was just a tool or if he was a corporate tool who didn’t understand how inverse relationships work? As people’s distrust in “global” increases, their trust in “local” increases proportionally.

    Some examples of inverse relationships in the going local trend

    1. We are social creatures. With access to worldwide communication, its a natural human reaction to seek out local connections. People going local is an inverse relationship to a global society.
    2. Micro-economics makes sense. It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to understand that if I choose going to a local eatery vs. McDonald’s more of my money stays in my community. People eating locally is an inverse relationship to a global economy.
    3. The general public is coming to understand that our food chain is under-regulated and unsafe. As I’ve written about before, thanks to some great documentaries the general public is now aware that corporations are more concerned with profit than public health. People growing their own food is an inverse relationship to a global, unregulated food supply chain.
    4. The food decision wheel is turning more quickly. Each time there is a flaw in the food chain it just emphasized what the general public is thinking already. Bad eggs leads to “I need to buy my eggs from a farmer I can trust.” Now that people understand that most of our corn products are genetically-modified, people are starting to look for products containing no corn product. Every bad news story about food spins the wheel a little faster for people and centrifugal force is tough to fight for long. People trusting local farmers is an inverse relationship to a distrust of mega-farmers.
    5. Conspicuous corruption leads to local consumption. Look at the case of “special foreclosure courts” being set up in Florida to supersede constitutional rights in favor of corporations making a quick buck. This isn’t some conspiracy theorist… it’s the New York Times! Apparently the 7th amendment isn’t the law when courts are busy? No one in their right mind would trust that the government will rule in favor of a common citizen right now. So, people are investing their money in local businesses and things they know they can understand and trust. People investing in local banks is an inverse relationship to our distrust of a global banking society and the governmental corruption it has inspired.

    What are other examples of inverse relationships that are leading more and more of us to go local?

    Do you think that the shift to local really is conspicuous consumption? Is this just yuppies finding new ways to show off?

  • SDSU taking the field against Nicholls State

    Last night, Paul and I went to see San Diego State beat the tar out of Nicholls State. (It’s in Louisiana. I had to look it up, too)

    The final score was 47-0 but Paul and I left at the beginning of the 4th quarter when it was 30-0. If you listen to Brady Hoke, the head coach, they could have done a lot better. But I think it was their first shut-out in a very long time.

    Now, the video doesn’t show the level of excitement as the game got into full force. San Diego folks are late comers to all sports. In the end, nearly 26,000 people showed up… which is a big win for SDSU. (The next game will nearly sell out because of the annual “Sky Show” after the game.) The visitors side actually filled in a bit. I look forward to seeing them in late-September. If they have a few more wins and they put on a good performance at the next game, I think they will start to fill up the stadium more.

    As a person who grew up around the campus of Notre Dame, I really appreciated and “got” what coach Hoke was trying to do by adding a bunch of traditions. They had Marshall Faulk come out and spear the field at the beginning of the game. They somehow got every freshmen to come and fill the student section. And I love how they came into the stadium through the band and cheerleaders… nice and slow. They even introduced a secondary mascot, a panther. I kind of liked it but the alumni in my section were pretty ticked off.

    If you listen to Hoke’s postgame interview… this is all part of creating a winning tradition. And winning will draw more fans and make the whole thing more fun. The net result being that winning and more tradition will attract better quality recruits.

    Clearly, there are very talented underclassmen who got to play big chunks of the 3rd and 4th quarter.

  • You are Youth Ministry

    I really like this promotion for the Dallas diocese. It’s well done and draws me in.

    Not sure where this will be shown, but I really dig it.

    ht to D. Scott Miller

  • Notre Dame Football Trailer

    Oh man, I’ve got a fever. I might not sleep tonight.

  • College Football Season is Here

    All summer I’ve waited for college football. With the NBA and NHL completely irrelevant to me, both Phil and Tiger non-competitive on the PGA Tour, and MLB failing to find a storyline to draw me in, it’s been quite a sports draught since the end of the World Cup. In truth, I stop caring for the World Cup when the United States was eliminated.

    Back to football.

    This is a turning point year for the team college football teams I am most vested in.

    San Diego State University

    I’m not a native fan. But SDSU is a couple blocks from my house and for less than $200 I was able to get season tickets on the 50 yard line. (This year I moved back about 5 rows for a better view)

    With second-year coach Brady Hoke settling in the Aztecs were noticeably better last year. There is a tremendous amount of talent in high school football in Southern California and Hoke knows that if he can put a winning team on the field, establish some tradition, and get a couple players drafted high he can pull a lot more talent from the area. So I was excited to see that Hoke has added a couple of traditions for this year. Before they open against Nicholls State tomorrow players will make the “Warrior Walk” from the bus to the stadium. It’s not much, but it is a step towards creating a football feel around town.

    With a veteran QB in Ryan Lindley and star WR Vincent Brown… it will be clear that the Aztecs can move the ball. The question will be if they can hold teams under 20 points.

    My prediction: They will go 7-5, but will include one showcase victory against either BYU, Utah, or TCU.

    University of Notre Dame

    Photo by Ryan Greenberg via Flick (Creative Commons)

    Growing up near the campus has secured me as a life-long fan. And as a life-long fan it has been a tough decade. As much as I liked Charlie Weis and was sad to see him let go I think everyone knew he had given up and didn’t have any solutions to get the Irish back to prominence.

    In came Brian Kelly. A proven winner at every level of college football yet desiring the one thing that has alluded him– a BCS Championship. He seems to have figured out what both Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis missed, that winning and losing is only half the battle in South Bend. More than just winning and losing, the head football coach in the ambassador of the county’s largest employer. It’s a very big deal that the locals like coach Kelly.

    Two categories separated Notre Dame from a BCS bowl appearance last year. Their pass defense was horrid. And their red zone TD percentage was embarrassing. As I’ve kept tabs on the news stories it has become clear that these were points of emphasis for the new coach. Let’s hope they can get in the top 50 in both of these categories.

    Coach Kelly’s offensive scheme doesn’t really depend on talent at every position. He’s always lacked talent and found ways to win. It’s a fast-paced style that will confuse most of their early opponents. Even if Dayne Crist is mediocre as a starting quarterback, TE Kyle Rudolph and WR Michael Floyd are NFL quality and will score a lot of points. The key to the offense working is preventing the defense from loading up outside the box and slowing down the pass game by successfully running the ball and controlling the clock. It concerns me that the Irish are weak at RB.

    Another concern about Notre Dame this year is their lack of away games. While Notre Dame is an amazing place to play college football, it is actually a tough place for the Irish to win because of the national TV coverage. They only go on the road to play Michigan State, Boston College, and USC. In recent years they have gotten pounded at those stadiums. Their only hope for those games is at USC. With fewer professional athletes on the field USC’s offense was fine last night, but giving up 36 points to Hawaii shows they are a joke. The tradition lately has been that first-year coaches win 10 games. But I think Kelly is on more of a Lou Holtz trajectory than a Tyrone Willingham one. With a new QB and a completely new system, I see the Irish struggling early and often. (Unless the pace just outsmarts people)

    My prediciton: They go 8-4 and advance to a the Gator Bowl to play Cincinnati. I think they start off their first 5 games 2-3 but rally later with a schedule that includes Navy, Army, Tulsa, and Western Michigan. I do think they beat Michigan and USC– which makes him a winner in South Bend no matter what.

    USC sidenote: Anyone give Kiffin more than 2 years? That dude’s mouth would make Bob Knight blush. And how many more weeks until the NCAA reveals that Pete Carroll is under investigation? I have a feeling they have the death penalty coming.

  • 5 Excuses For a Lack of Church Growth

    Photo by Mr. Tom Lillis IV via Flickr (Creative Commons)

    Here are things that I hear people use as growth limiters when they talk about the vision and day-to-day action of reaching a community with the Gospel.

    1. Budgets – I would do x, y, or z if I had more. More often people talk about too much money in the church being allocated for one ministry while the thing they think will really reach people is under-funded.
    2. Buildings – Either a ministry has too much building so they need to have programs that justify the building or a ministry has not enough/no building and they use that as an excuse to not do something.
    3. Boards – The board is asking too many questions. Or the board doesn’t care. Or the board cares about the wrong things. Or the board doesn’t support your vision.
    4. Butts – We don’t have enough people. Or, more likely, we don’t have the right people. Or maybe too many of the wrong people. But I never hear someone complain of having too many people, in general.
    5. Boundaries – Some congregations are limited by physical boundaries while others are limited because they have no boundaries.

    All of these are just excuses.

    All of these imply that the spread of the Gospel in your community is somehow tied to the growth of your fiefdom.

    All of these are just as much asset as they are liability.

    All of these imply that church growth is about the organization and not the individuals leaning into their walk with Jesus.

    All of these imply that its our job to grow the church and lead people to Jesus and not the other way around.

    This I know to be true.

    When you love your neighbors, when you meet practical needs, when you speak the truth in love, and when you lay aside your aspirations for the aspirations God has for your community… nothing can stop the spread of the Gospel message. It is too powerful.

  • Less studying, more doing

    The faith that Francis is talking about. This is the faith that will cause other people to look at you in horror and say, “That man is crazy enough to change this neighborhood.”

    Don’t know about you. But that message was a like a dart to the gonads for me.

    Stop talking, stop praying, stop studying. Do what you know you have to do.

    Today.

    ht to Terry Weaver for the link

  • Never be afraid to compliment

    I’ve noticed that many folks in ministry are cranky right now. No one seems to get along or agrees with anyone. (I had to say “many” because if I didn’t someone would get cranky about my use of generalization!) It’s all the rage to be a raging disagree-er.

    Exhaustion from the launch of the Fall season probably is impacting this back-biting time. The fact that the economy is feeling scary probably isn’t helping, either. The guilt of unconfessed sins. The weight of working for money instead of passion. Too many carbs and not enough sleep. Forgetting to put the seat down. You know, big stuff that weighs us down.

    Our tribe feels tired and cranky.

    I just want to share what I’ve been saying to myself lately. (Guilty as charged, your honor.)

    The world is already full of smart asses. I’d rather be known as an encourager than a smart ass. Something tells me my kids would be more proud of me for saying nice things about people instead of always trying to prove that I’m right or clever or funny or whatever.

    That’s why I’ve been trying to lean into the wisdom of my wife. She’ll give me the look and say, “No one cares if you are right if you’re a jerk.” The woman is a prophetess, I tell you.

    Prophe-tess.

    I’ve been reminded that I need to be more conscious of encouraging the people in my life. Even the 45 seconds it takes me to send a text to a friend make a big difference. It’s not much, but it’s something.

    As the recipient of some timely encouragement lately, let me say what everyone already knows.

    I can live a week on a compliment.


  • The Naysayer

    It still giggle every time I hear this. Just the “Ticky” cracks me up.

  • Myth: God opens and closes doors

    I’ve heard this phrase to the point where I think people actually believe this is somehow a biblical concept.

    God has opened the door for me to ____.

    I was pursuing something I really felt called to, but God closed the door.

    That’s not in the Bible folks. It is a non-biblical, non-Christian philosophy called fatalism.

    I believe this little phrase, God opens and closes doors, has lead to people falsely blaming God for missed opportunities. We put this philosophy of open and closed doors above biblical concepts like perseverance, patience, and long-suffering.

    Instead, many have bought into a mentality that it’s meant to be, God will open doors. If it isn’t meant to be, God will close doors.

    Again, that’s fatalism. That isn’t how God works. Nor is it how God’s people are asked to look at the world.

    This is what God says about opening doors:

    Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

    • Did David tell his friends, “Yeah, I was anointed as the next king, I don’t know though. Clearly, Saul doesn’t like me so I think God is closing that door?“
    • I don’t think God cared too much about Jonah’s “closing the door” on going to Ninevah.
    • I don’t remember Jesus telling Paul the whole blinding thing was an open door to a life in ministry.
    • And a ship-wreck was clearly a “closed door” if I’ve ever seen one. But did that stop him?
    • Persecutions of the first apostles weren’t seen as God closing doors. The only door that ended their ministry typically involved lions.
    • Pharaoh refusing to release the Jews for the first 9 plagues wasn’t God closing a door.
    • Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had an open door to a fiery furnace. But that didn’t stop them, did it?
    • Seems like the doors were closed around old Jericho, weren’t they? Did that stop God’s people from taking action?

    On and on we see that Scripture is not fatalistic about vocation, doing good, doing right, or fulfilling our call!

    But God does work in us and through us when we persevere, when we are patient in affliction, when we long-suffer for doing right.

    God rewards the righteous. God smiles on those who seek justice. God hears and answers prayer. God wants us to seek wise-council. God’s calling is true. God can move literal and figurative mountains for the faithful.

    God calls us and asks us to depend on Him and Him alone.

    He could care less about our education. (Paul) He could care less about our abilities. (Moses) He could care less about our lack of faith. (Jonah) He could care less about our past failures. (David)

    When God asks us to do something open and closed doors are meaningless.

    If He is asking you to do something He will make a way.

    Rather than worrying about if the door is open or closed we are asked to open the door. We may have to kick it in. And we may need to buy a sledge-hammer to make a way where there is no way.

    But waiting for doors to open or doors to close is meaningly, dangerous, and destructive. The only door you should be closing is on fatalism. The only door you should be opening is to Jesus, “Here I am, use me how you want. I am yours. You are my Savior and Lord.”

    Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2