the journey

Breakfast

Day 165 - Fry up
Originally uploaded by DragonDrop

[Click on photo for larger versions.]

As a relatively new diabetic I suppose the one thing I miss most is a hearty breakfast. I've always loved a big breakfast (particularly on a Saturday morning or for an evening meal) complete with sausage links, crisp bacon, hash browns (with some catchup splashed on top), a large orange juice (with pulp), a small milk and maybe some cantelope.

But now--this side of diabetes--breakfast consists of sugar-free cereal, sliced banana, sweetner and Silk (because milk has too much sugar in it!). Or I'll have Egg Beaters (southwestern style), a couple pieces of toast with Smart Balance (butter substitute) and a large cup of coffee.

What I wouldn't give to enjoy a breakfast like the one shown here (well, minus the beans and mushrooms, I suppose)! But those days are long gone...

Technorati Tags: diabetes, breakfast

Thoughts about theological training

Thinking back on my own theological training, there's no question I was prepared to be a theologian, just not a pastor.

Things missing from the curriculum included:

• Working with teams/committees/boards
• Conflict-resolution (a biggie!)
• Creative/innovative problem-solving
• Dealing with spiritual vampires, well-intentioned dragons or whatever you call problem people.
• Networking/ecumenical cooperation
• Being an agent of change (change-agent)
• Learning from other faith-traditions (the "party line" was all that I got)
• Church finances
• Avoiding (and helping others avoid) burnout
• Preaching (nope, I didn't have a single course in preaching)
• Ethics (this seems like a duh, but I didn't have an ethics course either)
• Discipleship in-the-here-and-now: They talked a lot about life after death, but very little about life before death.  That reduced life to a "waiting game."

Over time, I've had to study these topics on my own.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I'm not slamming theological institutions, nor am I anti-intellectual.  I'm just concerned about the scope and content of theological training.  Because the complexities of today's world demands a well-rounded, well-informed pastor.

Here's the article that got me thinking about this topic.

HT: coop

Technorati Tags: seminary, theological training

Interesting assessment tools

Just ran across this.

If I'm not mistaken, the Lion, Otter, Beaver and Golden Retriever categories have been around for awhile in childrens' books like The Treasure Tree by John Trent and in a number of workplace Color/Personality tests and books.

Technorati Tags: personality, personality tests, The Treasure Tree

What to do with old VHS tapes

If you're stuck with a bunch of old VHS tapes, you might want to consider the following:

• Putting them in a garage sale will get you about .50 to $1.00 per tape (if you're lucky). Not much profit for the effort.
  
• Some will encourage you to toss them in the trash.
• Instead of making that your first or second choice, however, please consider calling your local Salvation Army, outreach mission or ministry to the homeless. Some of their clients-- particularly the elderly ones-- still have VHS machines (or DVD/VHS) and would enjoy watching your old VHS movies.

Technorati Tags: VHS, Salvation Army

Childhood fears

One of my friends had a recent blog post entitled Childhood Fears in which he talked about a movie that scared (or dare I say scarred) him as a child.  It got me thinking about movies that have frightened me too.

In a similar vein (pun intended), my dad and I once attended a double feature at the old Shenandoah Theater in St. Louis featuring one of the Hammer Dracula films (and another B-horror flick).  I'll never forget having my dad drag me home half-way through the blood and gore of the first movie--the feature film staring Christopher Lee. He was frustrated-- he didn't want to leave--but I didn't care.  I wanted to get the hell out of there.

I had seen enough.

Though I've seen much worse since then, it just dawned on me that I rarely (if ever) revisit this childhood fear.  I think I've only seen 1-2 of the Hammer Dracula films in their entirety.

Maybe it's time to rent one from Blockbuster, pop some popcorn, and watch it to see what all the fuss was about.

During the daytime of course, lol.

Technorati Tags: Dracula, Hammer Film Productions, childhood fears

It came in the mail...

we've got mail.
Originally uploaded by ::reflecting truth::

[Click on photo for larger versions.]

I recently volunteered to review a book for Zondervan Publishers.
It's Scot McKnight's upcoming book (November release), The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. If you're unfamiliar with Scot, he's a well-respected theology professor at North Park University in Chicago, Illinois, and has plenty to say at his personal blog, Jesus Creed.

Now I find myself anxiously awaiting the new arrival.

I'll be posting more, so stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: Scot McKnight, The Blue Parakeet, The Jesus Creed

It didn't feel like church today

Too many well-meaning Christians confuse worship with a "feeling." If you "feel good, feel blessed, felt God's presence," then it was "great worship" and participants walk away feeling blessed (hear *energized*). However if the feeling isn't there --"it didn't feel like church today"-- then they'll walk away feeling short-changed.  Either God wasn't there or the worship leaders were inept.  And we all know that God won't catch the flack.

Hmmmm.

What if worship isn't a feeling? What if it's not about a "spiritual buzz?"  How does that change things? I'll post more about this soon....

Technorati Tags: worship, Christian worship

No woman should teach or have authority over men

Those of you who are regular readers of this Blog know that I have posted a number of articles affirming the legitimacy and validity of women in ordained pastoral ministry.  Therefore, it should be no surprise that I was drawn to a female pastor's take on the infamous passage in I Timothy prohibiting women from teaching or having authority over men. 

Here's how she dealt with this controversial topic:

from allisonsattinger on Vimeo.

Tags: any day a beautiful change, women in ministry, women pastors

Contextless links: 08.13.08

I've posted cool links in the past and have decided to resume that practice by posting new/interesting links in the future.

• Grunge textures: Free graphics for church/worship use.
• Learning my lines: Interesting news/articles for parents, youth workers and youth pastors.
• Millennials & activism: An interesting article.
• Twilight, the movie: Trash or treasure?  We'll see.
• The latest on "The Shack" phenomenon.
• On Faith: The Washington Post's religion articles.
• Pictures taken just at the right time.
• Jan Richardson Gallery: I really like her work.
• The periodic table of awesoments: Hilarious.
• Next-wave: The skinny on Missional.
• China pulled Milli-Vanilli during Olympics opening ceremony: What an awful way to treat a young child!
• New York Times: Keeping it Rielle: Probably the best assessment of the John Edwards debacle.
• Another outdoor NHL game, this time at Wrigley.
• Make the switch, repower America:  I'm sorry, but the answer isn't simple.  It will also need to include drilling.
• Tokin the Ghost:  No, this isn't a spoof.  John Crowder is a real-live evangelist. Lord help us.  Ugh. 
  

I'll post more from time to time.

Technorati Tags: contextless links, links

Hooked on Sudoku

While attending a recent training event, one of the attendees sitting adjacent to me passed time (hear *endured boring presenters*) by working on a book of Mensa Sudoku puzzles.

Hmmm. Intrigued, I inquired about the game-- how to play it-- and got hooked myself. Every night I complete around 5-6 puzzles while watching TV. It's a great way to kill time.

If you've never tried Sudoku, click here to play at a free site. One of the benefits of playing online is the ability to check the accuracy of every choice you make.

Oh well, that's my pitch. Give it a shot & let me know what you think.

Technorati Tags: sudoku