Archive - February, 2008

When Musicians and Politics Meet

February 29, 2008 in Culture, Technology with 0 Comments

Things like this new video from Will.I.Am happen when artists and politics meet. I always think it’s interesting when celebrities try to leverage their fame to get something done.

Why should we listen any more to Oprah than we listen to the guy down the street? What do celebrities know about politics? Since when are they experts? Their voice is as important as the other guys, but not more important. We tend to take what they say with more authority, and I’m not sure why.

By the way, interesting use of the Spanish language and Latin celebrities. Their vote will be important in this election.

On the other hand, the video is great. I love how they are using new media to distribute messages to people. I like the initiative shown and the creativity. This kind of stuff needs to be happening. It appeals to voters and to the next generation. I think it will also have an impact in the election.

Original Youtube post.
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Great Reads for February 29

February 29, 2008 in Miscellaneous with 2 Comments

I’m going to try to start letting you know what I have been reading during the week. Maybe every Friday, I’ll post some interesting links from the week that I think make great reading.

So here it goes. Here are 5 posts I found interesting this week.

The Web 2.0 Pastor – Facebook and Status Updates: How can Facebook status updates and Twitter really help me get to know someone?

Blue Passport: Missionary Training: What did Darrell Whitman find when he surveyed several missions organizations about their strategy for missionary training?

DIY Creations & Homemade Wrinkle Release Tips: If you travel a lot, these tips are great for keeping your clothes wrinkle-free.

Why Some Speakers are Paid $10,000 for just a 40 minute speech: A great tip for improving your public speaking skills.

Adam’s Rules for Blogging: If you blog or are thinking about starting to blog, take a look at these rules for blogging.

What do Seminaries and Middle Schools have in common?

February 29, 2008 in Church, features, Seminary with 0 Comments

Middle school is a period of most of our lives that we would love to forget. Our legs and arms grow too big for our bodies; our voices sound like we swallowed a frog, we begin to notice how bad we smell, and many other embarrassing things. Middle school is a self-esteem nightmare. The irony of middle school is we are happy when finally we “graduate” and become freshmen in high school.

Unfortunately, seminaries are not too much different than middle schools. They are full of academic competition, intellectual arguments, and ministry comparisons. A person with low self-esteem will probably not last more than a week in either a seminary or a middle school.

Even the faculty members at seminaries have problems with this. The degree that you have, and where you earned it, play into our competitive nature, causing us to intimidate others or be intimidated by others.

Shouldn’t the opposite be true? Shouldn’t seminaries be places to encourage and engage people in a loving manner without judging their intellectual ability or their ministry competency? Instead of chewing people up and spitting them out, shouldn’t we be “spurring one another on to love and good deeds?”

I’d love to see my seminary as a place where people feel welcomed and are seen as part of the same team, regardless of if they are studying theology, youth ministry, music, or Christian education. I’d love to see the professors that have been around forever and have their Ph.D look at the others as equals and respect them as experts in their field with something valuable to contribute to the school. I’d also love to see the new professors be less intimidated by the others, and it would be great if we weren’t all always trying to impress each other. We are, after all, part of the same body.

An Experience Problem

February 29, 2008 in Missions, Personal Growth with 0 Comments

Once you’ve been a Christian for a while, it is easy to begin to “lean on your own understanding.” In other words, it’s easy to stop looking to God for the answer because you can look back to past experience and what seems to be common sense.

I think that’s an easy thing for missionaries, veteran youth workers, or even seminary students to do. We often fall into the trap of thinking that we have been in a million church services and have so much life experience that we can forget to consult the One who has the answers.

I have been guilty of this on more than one occasion. We need to seek God in all of our decisions, not just the ones where we don’t have “the answer.” What are you leaning on today? Your own understanding? Or the advice of the great counselor?

Traffic and Potential

February 28, 2008 in Mexico City, Personal Growth with 0 Comments

This morning, I drove in the worst traffic I have ever driven in. I left my house at 7:50 am to go speak at Mexico City Christian Academy. I was scheduled to speak at 8:30, but I didn’t arrive until 9. It usually takes me only a half an hour to get there. But today, it was over an hour.

Most of the time, I was behind a Mustang GT, and I began to think about the waste of potential there was in that car. I would never own a Mustang GT in Mexico City because there is no reason to have that much power under the hood with very little opportunity to use it. I am always amazed that there is a Ferrari dealer here in this city.

My thoughts then wandered to Samson. He was a man of so much potential. He had lots of power. Judges says multiple times that the Spirit of God came on him. Imagine what he could have been. He was constantly stuck in traffic due to his own personal problems. I pray that my life can live up to its potential and that I can get out of the traffic jam that I sometimes get myself into.

NOTE: If you’re reading this in a feed reader, go to the original post to see the picture.

Thoughts about Samson

February 28, 2008 in Personal Growth with 1 Comment

I’m reading and re-reading Judges 13-16 and the stories that are told about Samson. These chapters tell a lot about the man that we all remember as being very strong. We remember the story of Samson and his girlfriend Delilah, and her name is synonymous with women who trick and deceive. But there’s more to the stories of Samson than just his strength, hair, and impurity.

Samson was born into a Godly family. He was born under extraordinary circumstances. He had the potential to be a great man of God that would be remembered forever as the greatest judge that ever lived. The fact that he would be born was announced by an angel. He was a miracle from the beginning, and the hand of God was on him. But he ended up having his eyes plucked out by his enemies and committing suicide as a dying act of service to his God.

How did his life change so dramatically?

Samson’s problem was the desire for revenge more than it was impurity. It seems that in every story about him, he was always looking to get even with people. He was selfish and had poor self-esteem. These things led to his impurity. We can see this from the first words he speaks in Judges, when he tells his parents what he wants and will not settle for anything less.

Despite his shortcomings, God still used Samson. Imagine what God could have done through his life if he were fully devoted and would have dealt with the problems he had in his life.

The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man. -D.L. Moody

links for 2008-02-28

February 28, 2008 in Links with 0 Comments

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