Dropbox

I love Dropbox. So much so that had someone not been unreasonable, one of my children would be named Boxia.

I use it for a number of purposes: cloud storage, virtual jump drive, host linked files and more. It is a great ministry tool, which is why I plug it incessantly. Having access to files is such a blessing. I can even stream music on my Android device directly from the Dropbox app.

Because I am an awesome guy, I want you to share this. And not just because I get more free storage as well. I really want you to drink from the well of happiness that Dropbox is.

Oh... whatever. Here's the link: http://db.tt/9CtRtDy.

Read more »

The DIYer within

I am fairly confident guy. I feel that if I put my mind to something, I can do it, and do it pretty well. I think that given the right information, I can beat anyone in a fair game -- and can make a dent in an unfair one.

I don't think I am overly cocky. I am just... well... confident.

You need that growing up with male siblings, or to man the pipes in a football game, or to deal with coaching teenage ladies. Heck, being a married father. Confidence is the key. There are things that I am pretty awesome at (like making fun of people or making a mean, mean pot of boxed Jambalaya), but I don't want to brag. I like being confident.

To be honest, sometimes it's more about projecting confidence. It's about making people believe that even though you don't know what to do, you have the presence to figure out how to get it done in the long run. It's not about giving an answer, regardless of accuracy; it's about making sure everyone understands that when you do answer, you are giving the right one.

My bubbling projections generally squawk out the door in one area. It isn't just any area either; it calls into question whether or not Clint was right to revoke my Man Card for admitting that I like The Sound of Music.

I am not particularly handy. Home improvement is my personal Kilimanjaro.

I mean, I can do most simple things with the right tools and the right instructions. I still don't mean to brag, but I am a fantastic Googler, too. I know how to plunge a toilet, use drain cleaner and I am especially proficient at switching light bulbs. It's the other stuff that gets me. If it is electrical or mechanical in nature, competence is out the door, and I am reduced to an inconsolable puddle of tears. Manly tears.

My son is no help. While watching me re-arrange the pristine tools in my tool box, he innocently (yeah, okay) asked if my tools were so new. Yeah. Well, he's banned from playing Wii for the foreseeable future. Such cheekiness is not allowed here. Who's new now?

Anyhoo, the saga that was created by the fluorescent bulbs in he kitchen is an excellent illustration of my home improvement frailties. Both lights went out. Easy. I pulled the bulbs out, and went and got the exact replacement.

They didn't work. It ridiculous what these jokers will sell nowadays. They had CLEARLY sold me non-functioning equipment. I went back and got another 2-pack. And another.

Same issue. Uh oh. We were approaching crying territory. I consulted Google, and took the fixture apart. With the use of Google Search and Google Goggles, I guessed that it was some mysterious, alien object called a ballast. I promptly ordered one.

I asked around. It seemed the majority of people I talked to (well, one of seven) knew someone who had been maimed changing a ballast. Considering the fact that I already had a healthy, uh, fear of electricity, the odds looked horrible to me. I decided to cut power to the house.

Try to keep up with me here. The circuit box was outside. The key to the lock was missing. I had to go buy bolt cutters. A giant spider was guarding the box. I did not want to become Spider man or a spider meal, so I went to buy Spider killer. Then it rained. Then I lost my altimeter. In all, it was about nine months, give or take an hour, since the bulbs went out.

And I was still scared of electricity.

I know what you are thinking: Angel Gabriel had visited Mary, and the barn animals had observed the Holy Birth in the time this joker was taking to switch a light bulb. Wow. To my wife's credit, she had become used to cooking in semi-darkness. I adore that lady, sturdy eyes and all. But wait... there's more.

My journey of shame ended (or re-started, depending on your perspective) last week, when my father-in-law and brother-in-law switched out the ballast within five minutes. To make myself feel better, I pointed out to the kids that Uncle Ty did have a degree in Electrical Engineering, so the cheering was a bit overdone.

I did learn a few things. First, electric companies need better customer service. It is NOT unreasonable for me to have wanted them to cut off power to our entire subdivision. Also, children like light. It's sad that they considered a light as an early Christmas present.

But most importantly, unreasonable fear is mostly borne out of a lack of knowledge. And Google does not always trump real-world experience.

As for us, we are enjoying our light bulbs. Directly too, as I broke the cover doing re-installation. I have a year to get those fixed, so mind your business. Ha.

Read more »

2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Praying for blessings on all of you and yours in 2012. May God touch you this year.

Hey... smile. We made it through 2011. Forget the Mayans... this is our year!

Read more »

Christmas is over.

Christmas is gone again. Finally.

We can put away the trees, specialized yard gnomes, wrapping paper and Angry Bird Christmas lighting. No more wrapping paper, reindeer car ornaments or the questionable sweaters (and no... cats do NOT skate), and, maybe most importantly, we can put away the Christmas spirit.

I have begun to dislike the term. It's like we save all our righteous indignation for the season. We expend so much energy fighting to "put Christ in Christmas" that we forget to act like Christ before and beyond Christmas.

What a concept.

Not to discount the good that has been done over the season. It is all needed. But there will still be hungry, homeless people. There will still be people trafficked, children abused, and poor people without. We can't afford to wait till next Christmas to stand in the gap.

A friend of mine, Brian, posted a telling poster on his Facebook Wall a few weeks ago. Paraphrased, it said:

Instead of being so concerned about putting the "Christ" in Christmas, how about we work to be the Christ in Christmas?

A little bit more love... just a teeny bit, and no one will ever be able to stop us. I honestly believe if Christ was physically here, one of the last things that would bother Him is how much of Him is injected into a season that has little to do with the sacrifice of His life anyway. If I might be so forward, I do humbly believe He would be in pain with regards to the human condition.

I believe we need to feel the same type of sorrow.

So, I propose we make the "Christ in Christmas" phrase the most redundant one in existence by reflecting God all the time. Let's work to become the Christ people see all the time.

Image courtesy of James Fischer via Flickr CC

Read more »

Church now allows interracial couples

I mentioned the interesting case of the Kentucky congregation that voted to disallow interracial couples a while back (to be fair, said couples were allowed to attend funerals. Okay).

In an update, the pastor of the church publicly noted that the church had overturned that vote. I should also note that the pastor who spearheaded the original rule is not the current Pastor.

There is a lot I could say, but since I am a nice guy, I'll hold my tongue. At least till Black History month.

Read more »

Church Tech on a Shoe String | ChurchMag

Church Tech on a Shoe String | ChurchMag

Read more »

The humility of leadership

Courtesy of Ian Britton via reelworship.com

There is a time, in every believer's life, that he or she finds out just how important they are in Kingdom-building.

You can be such a powerful tool for the kingdom. This precept should be a motivating factor in the life of every Christian. But even more importantly, one must realize that as important as we are, God will get things done... without -- or in spite of -- you. In other words, you might as well get on board, because God's will will be done.

Understanding and appreciating this intrinsic dichotomy is a serious, humbling lesson all Christians must learn, and I admit I am still getting a handle on it myself. It is a thought that frees me from burdening myself with self-doubt and the occasional spirit of reluctance.

As potential champions of social justice, we all have opportunities to impact our local worlds in positive ways. There is a need. God wants us to project love. He blesses our humble endeavors in that regard.

What are you waiting for?

What am I waiting for?


Let's dream big, and worry about meeting people where they are, and showing God's love, with no strings attached. Forget about Christmas Spirit (don't gasp!)... let's make it perpetual.

Let' make it happen.

Read more »

Twitter, the mayor and the high school usurper

In yet another example of folks stumbling over social networking, I found this story fairly amusing. A teenager created a Twitter account to poke fun of the mayor of his town. Well, said mayor did not like it, and initiated legal actions to compel the young man to kill the twitter profile.

Not only did the teen refuse to remove the account, he is now running against the mayor (seems there is a recall process underway). Ha!

While the issue of alcohol dependence is sad, this public official did own up to failings, and does seem to be working to stay clean. Still, there are several points to glean here:

• Get your own twitter handle, and do it quickly. Think of it as scooping an .xxx domain.
• Sometimes, the best way to deal with teens is dialogue, not cease and desist letters.
• If you are in a small town, create rules that prevent people who attack you from running for office.
• The best way to get people to not talk about your drunken exploits is to have only sober exploits.

I have no idea what type of chance the kid has in any recall election, but if he wins, I will use his likeness as my phone background for a week. 

Go Twitter!

Read more »

Would you hire Jesus as your pastor?

via Google images

Would you?

Would our present-day sensibilities preclude us from looking at Jesus as a success?

What would you consider to be a successful minister/ministry? Congregation? Size of edifice? Length of time on local radio or TV? Propagation of intellectual material? Use of high-end technology?

How would Jesus measure up in a world that is instinctively influenced by materialism? I think the answer might be a bit scary.

Now, flip it.

How do I measure up to Jesus (the true measure of success)? Do I battle for those that need to be fought for? Do I show compassion? Am I willing to sacrifice my comfort to present the gospel to people?

Do I reflect God in everything I do?

Hmmm... food for thought...

Read more »

Interracial couples NOT welcome!

Yep, it's 2012...

Chalk this up as one of those headlines that make me do a double-take. I was dozing off at the time, too. Apparently, a Kentucky church has gone out of it's way to ban interracial marriage. It made the decision after one of its congregants made the monumentally dangerous decision of bringing her Zimbabwean fiance to church, where she played the piano while he sang. And no, the church is not caught up in a time warp or being punked by M. Night Shyamalan (I checked).

He sang "I Surrender All."

Apparently, he couldn't or wouldn't surrender his skin color, because he is not allowed back, or at least not while engaged to a white lady.

You see... the church decided to, uh, proactively make sure it didn't have to deal with this travesty again. It formally banned all interracial couples from coming to the church. Oh wait... except for funerals (I didn't make this up; plus, I thoroughly believe that there is no better place to relax overtly racist mores than at grave sites).

I would have given good, good money and my favoriite Christmas ornaments to see the looks on the faces of the congregants during the song.

Now, apart from giving me major pause, this unbelievable story let to a blog post that presented me with a few unenvisaged issues:

• How would I categorize it with a blog label? I initially wanted to use "Funnies" since it is so shockingly unbelievable, but also considered creating a new one: ...Songs that won't get you invited back to church...
• Confusion. How on earth would this church deal with the cast of Jersey Shore? Over-tanning would definitely be an issue. I guess re-runs of Mixed Blessings never play during church get-togethers. Guess who didn't come to that dinner. What happened to simply making people feel uncomfortable? I'm all for democracy, but, c'mon. For real?
• A weird sense of understanding... maybe this church is simply misunderstood. Maybe they were striking back for the disenfranchised expatriates Robert Mugabe ticked off with his land reform. 

In any case, this stuff still happens in the Land of the Free, so I guess there is still work to be done.

Thanks to Cass for giving me a graphic sign that clearly denotes my speechlessness.

Read more »

Happy Thanksgiving

... to all y'all.

If you're like me, there is so much to be thankful to God for, and I'm not just talking about the turkey, home-made macaroni and cheese and, well, pie.

I am thankful you are alive and reading this.

Got to go. My wife isn't letting me do food testing, but I need to keep at it. Stay blessed!

Read more »

Wildcat Twitter

If you need further proof that Twitter is not just for people named Stefani Germonatta, Check out the University of Arizona Athletic Director Greg Byrne, who just announced the hiring of their new head football coach Rich Rodriguez via Twitter.

Great stuff. Remember when Twitter was a virtual race track for CNN and Ashton? Now, major programs make major announcements via social networks.

Of course, the cynics out there will argue that the come-and-go brevity of Twitter is perfect for the revolving doors of college football, but I refuse to talk to such naysayers. So there.

From a practical point of view, it is a pretty tidy means of disseminating news. It's basically grassroots broadcast communication. It gets the word out quickly, effectively and almost guarantees further propagation. Of course, you will deal with unsolicited feedback, but nothing comes that easy. But even that can be a potential advantage. You get to see the reaction to your decisions from everyday people. Press conferences don't do that for you.

Corporation and entities are becoming more savvy, and are understanding how powerful (and free) social networking is. And even teens seem to finally be jumping on the bandwagon.

What if... what if MJ (b-baller) had tweeted his comeback (for you youngsters, I mean the first one)? What if we had twitter when the Berlin wall came down? What is Breet Favre announced his retirement... oh, scratch that.

Twitter can be quite useful. Let's end on that.

Read more »

Adieu to Fall ball...

So... the Fall Season is officially over. 

And, yes, I already miss it.

It was a tough season, for a number of reasons. We dropped way more games than I would like to in the First Division with my older ladies; my younger ladies did well to gel and pull out an admirable season after an extremely rough start.

Yesterday, one of my favorite kids came and gave me a hug after our parents meetings.

"Coach, you are my favorite coach ever!"

"I am?" I preened. That made my day, even though we both know I am her first and only coach.

Whatever... I am the favorite right now.


My voice will get some rest, and I'll get to spend more time with family. My stress level will go down (even though, as a youth pastor, it seems my youth tend to make up for any deficit over the winter), and my afternoons will not involve pumping balls or washing pinnies.

And I miss it. I miss my players. Yes, I'm pouting.

Every season is a learning experience. I learned one of my kids survived a bout with meningitis. She's only our top scorer and sweetest kid in the world. And I thought I was strong. Ha. One of my other players has dealt with enough emotional pain that I think even the Statue of Liberty would sag under its weight. One broke her wrist during the season. Through all the cookies, cupcakes and candy, I realize that I am so blessed to be an occasional, ever-so-temporary guardian to a phenomenal bunch of almost 30 young ladies.

Every year, we give thanks for a multitude of things. I just want to show gratitude to God for an opportunity to teach -- and learn from -- an incredible bunch of kids. As I have said before, there is no more overwhelming feeling than to be surrounded by a bunch of 12 or 14 yr -old ladies, who are looking up (or, as happens more nowadays with the older group, DOWN) at you with trust and expectation.

I pray God gives me the strength to continually be the right type of guide for them. Love my Mundial and Mundial Select players.

*sigh* Come on, Spring...

Read more »

Connections vs separations.

I love cheap tech toys. In truth, I love expensive tech toys too, but I have to hold off on getting that decked-out Maybach. For now, at least.

One of my favorites is my Bluetooth Audio Bridge. It's a BlackBerry-branded device that allows me to turn most computer speakers to wireless output for my EVO. In other words, I can connect the bridge to a pair of speakers, and stream music to it from a short distance. It works well during youth devotions and stuff. Secondarily, you can use it in cars with tape decks.

There is, well, one drawback. It needs a source of electricity, as it is not rechargeable. So, even though I am not tethered to my EVO, I have to add a power cable to the equation.

It's interesting... on the hand, I am able to create a remotely controlled music interface, but on the other, I also created a little bit more clutter, and, arguably, an even greater need for resources.

It occurred to me that some of the "solutions" we pursue in life can be somewhat ambiguous, particularly when we fail to seek God in our decisions. I think this is not only important for church workers, but for believers as a whole.

Even more importantly, I think it is crucial that we don't create more barriers between God and our congregations. This isn't something that we can do with just technology. That new church initiative to go to a dual sermons on Sunday can do the same hing if not implemented correctly. As already noted, seeking God is the first step, because what is "logical" to us is not always God's plan. 


The church that remembers that will do well.

Read more »

Class and courage.

From rivals.yahoo.com

Courage is a term bandied around quite frequently when it comes to sports. Not to downplay the work ethic of multi-million dollar athletes, but if I made 5 or 6 (or, to be honest, even 3 at this point) figures a game, I'd hobble on the pitch with three broken limbs.

Seriously, I read about the type of courage that really matters... the courage to win by being  a brother to one's opponent. Two high school rowers, James Konokpa and Nick Mead gave up chances to win medals at a meet to help opponents.

These two boys actually quit racing to help out opponents that had capsized into frigid water. We live in a world where winning at all costs is celebrated. Even churches buy into this philosophy. We want to win so much that we forget that christianity is a collectives race.

In any case, I love seeing true competition germinating from within brotherly love.

Read more »

JoePa's last lesson (to the church).

Courtesy of frangrit via Flickr CC.

The Penn State child abuse scandal has everyone reeling. Frankly, it has been painful to even try to watch sports TV shows this past week.

A telling dichotomy emerged. Even as alumni and school officials publicly expressed shame and disgust, the students themselves seemed unanimous in their defense of Coach Paterno.

Like it or not, it seemed clear that contrary to what we might always have thought, college may not be the best place to teach our young adults about the realities of life.

In any case, there are some things that church staffers can get from this grave issue. The good news? Some are really, really obvious.

When it comes to working with children and young people, some non-negotiable accountability rules must be put in place.

Duh. 

The eyewitness account of one of the alleged offenses is excruciatingly horrid. The first question administrators should ask is: where were the controls? How did a coach/camp supervisor end up in a shower with a child?

Are there rules in place? Do the staffers understand them? Most importantly, are the rules actually enforced? A lot of times, the issue isn't with having rules present; the problem is actually adhering to them.

Secrecy generally leads to problems

Some things are meant to never see the light of day... ask Microsoft about the Kin. Staff issues with children? Deal with it, follow the law and put the broom and rug away.

Cooperation with law enforcement is key too.

Time alone does not heal these type of wounds, particularly when the alleged perpetrator is not held accountable. Which brings me to...

Be decisive in response to allegations.

I believe that if you create a transparent environment with protective rules, checks and balances, you won't have any allegations, but if you do, then act swiftly. 

Some folks may not agree with me, but I believe if any unsavory behavior is alleged, the prudent thing to do may be to ask the staffer to step down for a while. Why not? The church 's governing entity can decide upon the status of such a leave, but I do think it is prudent to remove, say, a child worker while any issues are being investigated.

Communicate.

This goes with everything else. Enough said.

I never thought that I'd see Coach Paterno not be at the helm at Penn State. It's a shame that it had to go down the way it did, but it should serve as a warning to the rest of us mere mortals. You can do a lot of good, but all it takes to tarnish a legacy is one major misstep.

Read more »

Troy Polamalu is a poser

via pacificpostnews.com

This is so cool that I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner.

Madame Tussauds is a world famous wax museum. Some folks say you know you've arrived when you have your likeness in wax placed there for any amount of time. Now, I truly wonder how some people make it there, but this does give me yet another opportunity to make an irrationally jealous dig at the Biebster, so let's move on.

I have thought that the seeing so many famous people eternally frozen must be disconcerting. Having one come to life, though, would be even creepier.

Now, if you know Troy Polamalu, you know that he is a scary guy. That are not too many people that walk around with his flowing locks in NFL and live to tell about it, but he is THAT good. It's as if the Steelers were named after him. So seeing one of the most feared defensive players in football scaring people is so worth it:

We have been talking about the concept of posing with my youth. Using Lifechurch.tv resources, we have been exploring why it is so hard to be ourselves in a world that does encourage what I call conformed uniqueness. We sometimes fall so in love with a projected image that we forget who we are, or worse, Who we are supposed to project.

We talked about the phenomenon on the social networks, and it sure ain't confined to teens.

Loving ourselves is a crucial component of realizing what God has in store, and appreciating what we bring to any table is part of that.

Read more »

No iPhone

I am almost certain that I won' be getting the iPhone. And my reason is fairly benign.

Join the discussion at ChurchMag...

Read more »

No tats, Cam.

Cam Newton is a polarizing figure.

I, for one, am fine with him. Why?

1) He sure knows how to smile.

2) He's QB for the Panthers, meaning there is an ever slight chance that I might get free tickets from him someday.

3) I think he is a victim of a college system that is extremely unethical.

You can judge me all you want. I am also a Tim Tebow fan, so bring on the rocks.

Anyhoo, an interesting blurb from the pre-season Cam-wire is that he was asked by his new boss to avoid ink. That's right... Panthers owner Jerry Richardson recently asked his top draft pick to avoid getting tattoos.

I am with you. I know exactly what you're thinking. What on earth was Cam doing when his counterparts at Ohio State were trading jerseys for tattoos? Oh yeah... actually winning a National Championship (zing!). But more importantly, how did Cam make it this far without getting tatted up?

Tattoos have become quite ubiquitous. One can actually walk in public and not be arrested while sporting them. In fact, with as many high school and college athletes that have them, I thought it was a requirement to have them to retain eligibility (don't judge me. Can you make sense of any of the "rules" that currently exist?). My youth recently estimated that 65% of their high schoolmates had tats, some clearly and sadly home-made.

In any case, Mr Richardson's request did seem weird on the surface. But is it overstepping his bounds?

The broader question is: can an employer make this request of an employee? What do you think?

Read more »

Love OR marriage, went together...

I was watching Steve Harvey ham it up on Family Feud the other day, and an interesting question caught my eye.

To summarize, Family Feud is a game show that it based around two competing families that try to match answers to the answers of 100 respondents to specific questions. Gems like " name a part of your body in your pants" and "name a word that rhymes with 'creeper'" are regularly used.

Answers are giving percentage points based on the number of people who give that answer in the previously recorded poll. High scores are generally in the 30s, so if a contestant answers a question that matches the top response, they would generally net about 30+ points.

On a recent show, one of the final questions was "name something people think will last forever." The wife and I thought the contestant answered with the best answer when she said "marriage."

Great answer, no?

She scored 18.

The top answer was "love." Interesting food for thought, if we are to assume the Family Feud 100-person polls are a true reflection of society. Love and marriage are not necessarily synonymous anymore. LMaybe love does not beget marriage.

Maybe I am reaching a bit. What do you think?

Read more »