Books, Music and More!
Media Player
RSS
Wild Goose Chase
Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of The book examines six “cages” that keep us from following the Holy Spirit: v The cage of responsibility << MORE >>
You might not otherwise know
It will be a while before I turn my doctoral work into a book. And it may be even longer before it will be published 
There are a lot of people who touched my life during the time I was researching and writing. My family made sacrifices, my friends, knowingly or unknowingly, contributed ideas. My coworkers encouraged me. And the seminary only gave me two pages two capture all of that. Here's what I wrote on those two pages (because you might not otherwise know):
DEDICATION
To Catherine.
I could not have embarked on this adventure without you.
And to my family – Matthew, Jon and Amy.
This time I’m done. Really.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There is a Latin phrase that is appropriate at this point – Inclusio unius est exclusio alterius – “To name the few is necessarily to neglect the many.” This project has put me in debt to a great number of people and it is impossible to thank all of them for the way they have added to this.
To my team mates on Booz Allen’s Strategy and Performance Metrics team. Stew and Doug, thanks for affirming the value of this research and it’s applicability.
Second, the churches that were part of this research project consistently surprised me. Pender United Methodist Church and Bay Area Community Church worked with me to finish the research. The church planters of Bay Area’s SENT Network were always full of insightful questions that sharpened this work. Together you all were an answer to my prayer that God would use this to further the Kingdom.
Finally, to my family – Gary, you leveled the playing field when it all seemed uphill. Dad, Mom, Amy, Matthew, Jon – who went through all the ups and downs that come with a long project – thank you is hardly enough. For Catherine, who is all the things God intended when He said “helper suitable for him,” you are the one who encouraged this adventure and proof that he “who finds a wife…finds favor from the Lord.” You are God’s favor on my life.
Ahead of the curve
Napkins, shot glasses and church planting
Truth, Justice and Chocolate Bunny Rabbits
A new favorite charity. I've also got a new favorite charity. Bugles Across America provides real live buglers to play taps at veteran's funerals. A worthy charity. They have over 6,000 volunteer buglers across the United States. The organization provides buglers for some 1,000 funerals a month. Oh, and did I mention Tom Day (the founder of this non-profit) is a former Marine?
I agree with Joe Biden. Please don't grab your chest and stagger across the room. If you know my conservative bent you'll know this is a stretch but I agree with Joe Biden. The Vice President's wife Jill made an appearance at the Race for the Cure. Joe just happened to show up and support his wife, a long time advocate in the fight against breast cancer. So, I found something where Joe Biden and I agree!
It is called "alignment". I have a "dream job" in many ways. My 'tentmaking' job (which allows me to do Kingdom work) is providing strategy and in that capacity I often talk about "alignment", which simply put is bringing all of your activities in line with the mission of the organization. Few of the organizations I work with do it well and even fewer churches and religious non-profits do it at all. So I was surprised to read that Liberty University has reacted to the Democratic group on their campus. Everyone has a right to an opinion. No one has a right to be wrong in their facts. Read the facts here, courtesy of the Washington (com)Post. You can form your own opinion. I'm going to go write a check for a donation to Liberty.
Lightning in a bottle. OK. Get ready to clutch your chest again. I agree with the National Organization for Women. Their recent decision to put David Letterman's recent actions - including his non-apology - in their Media Wall of Shame. Letterman's recent misogynist manifestations deserve NOW's censure. I'm glad NOW finally stepped up to the plate. Letterman's "joke" was offensive. Period.
Now (after truth and justice) for the chocolate bunny rabbits. The fun thing about the merging of news and entertainment is that all news is reported with the same gravitas. War, famine, pestilence, disease, genocide - and chocolate bunny rabbits all are reported with carefully crafted and word smithed reportage. I loved this line from the Wall Street Journal's article "Europe's High Court Takes On a Bunny Suit Made of Chocolate": "Mr. Lange is the Elmer Fudd of chocolate rabbit look-alikes." Now THAT'S hard hitting journalism.
Hoping for relief. I was hoping for relief from the overcrowding on my book shelves when I saw the title of this Washington (com)Post article, "Book Smarts: Ways to Stash Your Stacks." No such luck, of course. The article was all about using books and shelving in decorating. As we already have a large number of books I was hoping to downsize.
I've had some success using textbooks.com. I took a stack two weeks ago from my dissertation bookshelf, typed in the ISBN numbers at the textbooks.com web site, then printed out a mailing label. I took the books they were currently buying - about 20 in all - to UPS, where the label allowed textbooks.com to take care of the shipping. A little over a week later I had the check. Not a huge check but at least I had some remuneration. The problem is that they weren't buying that many books : -(Bookman'sWhen we lived in Dallas there was a terrific used book store (actually a small chain) called Half Price Books. They would always buy your books (at a better rate than textbooks.com I might add) and it was a great place to while away a Saturday afternoon. (Yes, I'm a certified aficionado of used and antiquarian book stores.) Tucson had a similar place in Bookman's. They also had Zia's Record Exchange for music, but I'll save that for another blog. My point here is that the Washington, DC/northern Virginia has nothing that can compare. It will be another step closer to being a terrific place to live (Hey, they finally brought baseball back, even if it is a National League baseball with a losing record) id we can get a decent used/antiquarian book store here.
If you've had success in selling your used books, either online or locally (preferably here in northern Virginia) I'd love to know.
Study Guide for "Breakthrough Investing": Matthew 25:14-30
“Breakthrough Investing”
STUDY GUIDE FOR MATTHEW 25:14-30
“Whatever our unique gifts are and whatever skill we have in using them, they are not God's key concern with us. Maturing in our walk as Christians is not helped or hindered by our ‘special’ talents (or lack thereof), save one--obedience. This is one gift everyone has a crack at.”
Michael K. Blanchard in “A Common Thread”
=============================================================================
Day 1: Read Matthew 25:14-30. What are the master’s expectations with regard to the servant’s accountability for the vast sums they’ve been given?
NOTE: A talent was a weight of money varying from 58 to 80 pounds,
therefore a silver talent varied from $1000 to $2000 in value. A gold
talent could be worth more than $30,000. The purchasing power of this
money should be viewed in a context of a person who would work all
day for 15¢. John Walvoord in Bibliotheca Sacra.
Day 2: Who owns the talents in this story? Why is that significant?
Day 3: What similarities are there, if any, between the servants in the story?
Day 4: How are the five talent and the two talent servants alike? In what ways are they different? What was the response of the master to each of these servants? Why did the one talent servant react the way he did to the master’s return? What was the master’s response to the one talent servant? How is this different from the first two?
Day 5: Two servants would have provided a contrast between faithful and unfaithful servants in this story. Why does Jesus use three servants to make his point?
APPLICATION QUESTIONS – TAKING IT HOME
Some people have trouble seeing the opportunities God has given them. Recognizing the opportunities is the first step towards taking advantage of them. If this fits you, then try this exercise. List five functions you must attend in the average month. Rename them, finding an analogy that compels you to see it as a God given opportunity. For example: Old Name: Staff meeting. New name: Tuesday Think Tank. Or try this. Old Name: Schedule interruption. New Name: Divine appointment.
Maybe you are using your “talents” already. If you have an accountability partner, share two or three of the opportunities you are using.
What are people’s favorite excuses for avoiding opportunities to use their “talents”? Are they valid excuses? Why or why not?
=============================================================================
“If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents.” D.L. Moody
Once I was a poet
A Psalm While in New England
O Lord Your creation gives me a glimpse of Your creativity.
How many shades of green do You know?
What of those greens are mixed with black?
And how do You make those leaves shine?
If this is how You treat Your friends
Who would want to be one?
Is it hard for You to make dark things shine?
Life runs through the dark leaves
On gray days they shine
As the narrow rivers of rain
Wash dust away.
Your washing is gentle and I scream
my protest that
I too want to shine.
Bible Study groups
Breakthrough Investing
...<< MORE >>