Okay, if you are a lost fan . . . and I am, then you HAVE to watch this video that got released today. It explains the numbers and tons of other stuff. They originally said that the "Lost Experience" would be completely different from the TV show if you didn't want to follow it. (The Lost experience has been an on-line mystery search for clues into the show). Well today was the first complete release of a secret video that you need to check out. I have it posted in my favorites here on my YouTube account. Go to the Favorites reel and click on the Hanso film. Awesome!!!
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=jj122196
9/22/2006
my heart struggle last night with 'the office'
My struggle today . . . everyday . . .
I love pop culture. I do. I love busy city streets with the bustling people and the shared experience of watching “Lost” or “The Office”. I think it taps into one of my spiritual gifts I can’t name; but the gift deals with my love for community and everything closely related. I work in a funny place with VERY funny people so for me the TV premier of “The Office” was a much anticipated event. Once again I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me who I was. It happened last night in a room full of Christian friends. It came to a head today as I was giving a Youth Pastor buddy some advice on how to get his students engaged on Wednesday nights.
In all my youth ministry experience and wisdom I told this guy: “You have to use the pain, reality and conflict in their everyday lives to show the relevance of the scriptures to change our being!” Then, since it had been on my heart since last night I used my own personal life example. Here is a portion of my email to him:
I challenge you to test it on yourself bro! Look at it this way. To engage students you must be able to honestly say your lesson content would engage you. Would you pay 10 bucks to come and be challenged with the content you are putting in front of your students on Wednesday nights? I ask myself this about our jr high program every week. Conflict is amazing. I would present conflict; because in real conflict we find real emotion which translates your students thinking into this: “hey, I have an opinion here, hey, I care about this topic, hey the word of God can speak into my life and direct my thoughts, actions and being.”
The bible is full of conflict. For instance: The office was on last night. I watched it. I laughed at some parts, more than anything I was hurt because I was reminded that I am not of this world, in fact I am a stranger in this land called to something different. As America laughed at the kissing scene I hurt because Satan tried to marginalize Christians and warp our thinking. We are in a war and we are eating whatever the enemy slips into our minds. That is conflict. Am I one of those “Christian bigots” that were talked about on “Studio 60” in the premiere Monday night . . . no I’m not, well . . yes I am but not like them, no I mean . . .
I think our students will respond when we present the gospel of Jesus in it’s true light . . . . which is very difficult to follow. I love the moments they create in the show “The Office”; but last night I was convicted to be set apart. I was reminded that Satan hates me and wants to blurr the Jesus message of Love I carry to condemnation! I am not saying I won’t watch another episode or your not a Christian if you do! I am just saying that for me last night I had an encounter in my heart that reminded me I am not at home. I am not really American and a member of this media market soaking up facts about this season’s “Lost” secrets. I am a follower of Jesus. I can’t expect anything but what he found.
These are just my random thoughts . . . I might blog this today
I just did!
I love pop culture. I do. I love busy city streets with the bustling people and the shared experience of watching “Lost” or “The Office”. I think it taps into one of my spiritual gifts I can’t name; but the gift deals with my love for community and everything closely related. I work in a funny place with VERY funny people so for me the TV premier of “The Office” was a much anticipated event. Once again I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me who I was. It happened last night in a room full of Christian friends. It came to a head today as I was giving a Youth Pastor buddy some advice on how to get his students engaged on Wednesday nights.
In all my youth ministry experience and wisdom I told this guy: “You have to use the pain, reality and conflict in their everyday lives to show the relevance of the scriptures to change our being!” Then, since it had been on my heart since last night I used my own personal life example. Here is a portion of my email to him:
I challenge you to test it on yourself bro! Look at it this way. To engage students you must be able to honestly say your lesson content would engage you. Would you pay 10 bucks to come and be challenged with the content you are putting in front of your students on Wednesday nights? I ask myself this about our jr high program every week. Conflict is amazing. I would present conflict; because in real conflict we find real emotion which translates your students thinking into this: “hey, I have an opinion here, hey, I care about this topic, hey the word of God can speak into my life and direct my thoughts, actions and being.”
The bible is full of conflict. For instance: The office was on last night. I watched it. I laughed at some parts, more than anything I was hurt because I was reminded that I am not of this world, in fact I am a stranger in this land called to something different. As America laughed at the kissing scene I hurt because Satan tried to marginalize Christians and warp our thinking. We are in a war and we are eating whatever the enemy slips into our minds. That is conflict. Am I one of those “Christian bigots” that were talked about on “Studio 60” in the premiere Monday night . . . no I’m not, well . . yes I am but not like them, no I mean . . .
I think our students will respond when we present the gospel of Jesus in it’s true light . . . . which is very difficult to follow. I love the moments they create in the show “The Office”; but last night I was convicted to be set apart. I was reminded that Satan hates me and wants to blurr the Jesus message of Love I carry to condemnation! I am not saying I won’t watch another episode or your not a Christian if you do! I am just saying that for me last night I had an encounter in my heart that reminded me I am not at home. I am not really American and a member of this media market soaking up facts about this season’s “Lost” secrets. I am a follower of Jesus. I can’t expect anything but what he found.
These are just my random thoughts . . . I might blog this today
I just did!
9/21/2006
yesterday . . two extremes
In 22 days we will be in Nashville TN for the first Believe event of the tour. Wednesday’s are always fun because of the two worlds I get to live in. I was visually reminded of this again last night as I downloaded the pictures from my digital camera for the day. I told Jen as I sat at the computer, “My life is really crazy sometimes. It is almost surreal to even me as I experience it first hand.”
You see, for this week and next our Believe Semi is unloaded and all the gear and program elements are set up downtown Joplin, MO at Memorial Hall. All of our interns are in town and preparing the details of the Believe experience. I snapped some pictures of some of the people as we set up the surprises we have in store. The screens are massive, the images are vivid and sticky so that they stay buried in the hearts of students. I can’t wait for all of the artists to join us this coming Monday for rehearsal week.
Then I drive out to Christ Church of Oronogo where I work with the jr high band on Wednesday nights. We are just getting this semester started and the students are awesome. We had a great share time before practice and the students are starting to take some ownership. I had someone take some pics of me and our band, “Artsniff and the Llamas”. Preston, our guitar player is working on a Web site for us. Our Jr High pastor, Matt, and some of us volunteers talked after the main session and shared all kinds of ideas and vision we want to implement over the next few weeks.
My continued participation on the local church level greatly impacts what happens on a larger scale at the Believe conference. Sometimes it just hits you harder when I sit back and look at these pictures sided by side. I really don’t think that Believe would be as ready as it is for this fall tour without me spending Wednesday’s with “Artsniff and the Amazing Llamas”. (We decided that you don’t always have to say “amazing” in the band name. Sometimes it is simply understood.)
Jr high students are neat. Play in wet cement. It makes a lasting impression.
You see, for this week and next our Believe Semi is unloaded and all the gear and program elements are set up downtown Joplin, MO at Memorial Hall. All of our interns are in town and preparing the details of the Believe experience. I snapped some pictures of some of the people as we set up the surprises we have in store. The screens are massive, the images are vivid and sticky so that they stay buried in the hearts of students. I can’t wait for all of the artists to join us this coming Monday for rehearsal week.
Then I drive out to Christ Church of Oronogo where I work with the jr high band on Wednesday nights. We are just getting this semester started and the students are awesome. We had a great share time before practice and the students are starting to take some ownership. I had someone take some pics of me and our band, “Artsniff and the Llamas”. Preston, our guitar player is working on a Web site for us. Our Jr High pastor, Matt, and some of us volunteers talked after the main session and shared all kinds of ideas and vision we want to implement over the next few weeks.
My continued participation on the local church level greatly impacts what happens on a larger scale at the Believe conference. Sometimes it just hits you harder when I sit back and look at these pictures sided by side. I really don’t think that Believe would be as ready as it is for this fall tour without me spending Wednesday’s with “Artsniff and the Amazing Llamas”. (We decided that you don’t always have to say “amazing” in the band name. Sometimes it is simply understood.)
Jr high students are neat. Play in wet cement. It makes a lasting impression.
9/16/2006
last night . . . .
Jesus shows himself to us and most usually when we don’t want him to! Chase and I were in Nashville on Thursday and Friday meeting with youth ministers. Around 10:00am I felt a fever coming on. The rest of Friday was rough. We had two flights and I slept as well as one can on the first flight. I had an airplane blanket over my head and was just miserable. I made it to our final connecting flights and pretty much just followed Chase through the airport with my head down looking at his suit case rolling before me.
Our seats were on the second to last row of the plain. I was in the middle, Chase was by the window and an elderly gentleman was SUPPOSED to be to my left. There was a drunk man behind us in the last row of the plane. As we were filing down the aisle I was picking up blankets and really preparing to sleep the last 35 minute flight away. My fever was high and I was just achy. It really was about all I could do to walk to my seat by that time last night. As the loud half Irish, half American Indian (we were receiving details all the way down the aisle) man roared, Chase turned to me to say, “how poetic”. We were taking our seats and Mark was ordering his Gin and tonic. He was also ordering one for every person around him. (This was his way of getting more Gin and Tonic for himself. I now know that the ½ hour flight limit is one alcoholic beverage. I now also know that when someone offers to buy you a drink on a plane it might not be for them. To say no could be hazardous. I said no.) Our plane was almost finished boarding and Mark had used the “F” word in 23 ways (none of them quiet). Chase I both agreed that two of these “F” word arrangements were new to us.
This is when the story gets good. I sat down and put the blankets over my head immediately trying to go to sleep. I heard the man behind me asking everyone if he could by them a drink. I could tell that the flight stewardess’s voice was worried to the point of calling her frantic. My honest first thought was, “seriously, I should ask her to get the air marshal back here.” His demeanor was bad enough that I quickly realized there was no air marshal on this flight. Out of the corner of my blanky I could see the elderly couple putting their bags up. I instantly knew that the pour lady was sitting right next to him behind me in the middle. Her husband was supposed to be next to me. As they stowed there bags IT got leaked. Mark was hitting people in the head with his hat . .. . hard, descriptively renaming them. He was going to drink with someone on that plane around him! Mark grabbed my blanket and ripped it off my head. “Drink with me! I’m an Okie and I’m not going to land sober!” It just came out of my mouth and cut through the air like a sharp knife making that sound you here in movies when someone unsheathes a sword. “I’m a preacher.” It wasn’t even the answer to the question. You could feel the entire back of the plane focus in without even trying to hide the fact that they were interested. The stewardess just stopped and looked at me and said, “Can he move up by you.”
I was thinking that he needed to go sit by the air marshal in handcuffs; but what came out of my mouth was, “sure”. I think Chase laughed audibly at this point. The folks in rows in our front started to position themselves to watch the 35 minute in flight reality TV show. Mark and I talked . . . . Loudly. I heard his pain. I confronted his pain with a simple message from Jesus. Mark was a miraculously recovered paraplegic. He had lost two children of his own, left his wife. Mark was an alcoholic getting older and more lonely. It’s not hard to make a drunk man share or cry. Mark cried. I cried because everything I told Mark I felt that he knew was true; but he didn’t want to accept it.
I prayed with Mark on our decent. As I finished Mark exclaimed, “I listened to every word of that prayer preacher and the whole thing was KICK A.” This is another time when Chase and some others around us laughed audibly. I got to meet Mark’s elderly parents in the lobby of the Tulsa airport. My heart is sad today for Mark. Mark says that he hates having feelings. They all hurt. He feels like a lonely looser. Mark has a whole in his heart only Jesus can fill. I really wanted to sleep on that flight. Jesus blessed me instead. He helped me see hurting people. Mark, you will never read this. But my prayer is that you let God find you, on his terms. He has always pursued you. It wasn’t science that healed you. It wasn’t coincidence that you sat by me last night. It was one more incident in your life where God was desperately seeking you. God was seeking me to. Thank you for waking me up Jesus. Show yourself to Mark.
Our seats were on the second to last row of the plain. I was in the middle, Chase was by the window and an elderly gentleman was SUPPOSED to be to my left. There was a drunk man behind us in the last row of the plane. As we were filing down the aisle I was picking up blankets and really preparing to sleep the last 35 minute flight away. My fever was high and I was just achy. It really was about all I could do to walk to my seat by that time last night. As the loud half Irish, half American Indian (we were receiving details all the way down the aisle) man roared, Chase turned to me to say, “how poetic”. We were taking our seats and Mark was ordering his Gin and tonic. He was also ordering one for every person around him. (This was his way of getting more Gin and Tonic for himself. I now know that the ½ hour flight limit is one alcoholic beverage. I now also know that when someone offers to buy you a drink on a plane it might not be for them. To say no could be hazardous. I said no.) Our plane was almost finished boarding and Mark had used the “F” word in 23 ways (none of them quiet). Chase I both agreed that two of these “F” word arrangements were new to us.
This is when the story gets good. I sat down and put the blankets over my head immediately trying to go to sleep. I heard the man behind me asking everyone if he could by them a drink. I could tell that the flight stewardess’s voice was worried to the point of calling her frantic. My honest first thought was, “seriously, I should ask her to get the air marshal back here.” His demeanor was bad enough that I quickly realized there was no air marshal on this flight. Out of the corner of my blanky I could see the elderly couple putting their bags up. I instantly knew that the pour lady was sitting right next to him behind me in the middle. Her husband was supposed to be next to me. As they stowed there bags IT got leaked. Mark was hitting people in the head with his hat . .. . hard, descriptively renaming them. He was going to drink with someone on that plane around him! Mark grabbed my blanket and ripped it off my head. “Drink with me! I’m an Okie and I’m not going to land sober!” It just came out of my mouth and cut through the air like a sharp knife making that sound you here in movies when someone unsheathes a sword. “I’m a preacher.” It wasn’t even the answer to the question. You could feel the entire back of the plane focus in without even trying to hide the fact that they were interested. The stewardess just stopped and looked at me and said, “Can he move up by you.”
I was thinking that he needed to go sit by the air marshal in handcuffs; but what came out of my mouth was, “sure”. I think Chase laughed audibly at this point. The folks in rows in our front started to position themselves to watch the 35 minute in flight reality TV show. Mark and I talked . . . . Loudly. I heard his pain. I confronted his pain with a simple message from Jesus. Mark was a miraculously recovered paraplegic. He had lost two children of his own, left his wife. Mark was an alcoholic getting older and more lonely. It’s not hard to make a drunk man share or cry. Mark cried. I cried because everything I told Mark I felt that he knew was true; but he didn’t want to accept it.
I prayed with Mark on our decent. As I finished Mark exclaimed, “I listened to every word of that prayer preacher and the whole thing was KICK A.” This is another time when Chase and some others around us laughed audibly. I got to meet Mark’s elderly parents in the lobby of the Tulsa airport. My heart is sad today for Mark. Mark says that he hates having feelings. They all hurt. He feels like a lonely looser. Mark has a whole in his heart only Jesus can fill. I really wanted to sleep on that flight. Jesus blessed me instead. He helped me see hurting people. Mark, you will never read this. But my prayer is that you let God find you, on his terms. He has always pursued you. It wasn’t science that healed you. It wasn’t coincidence that you sat by me last night. It was one more incident in your life where God was desperately seeking you. God was seeking me to. Thank you for waking me up Jesus. Show yourself to Mark.
9/11/2006
Jesus video . . . what do you think?
I am old school in many ways. I grew up going to conservative churches theologically; but the “feel” was so authentic. I don’t know what it is like to be “unchurched”. For me that would be to take away my literal family. Because of this my view of Jesus the person may have been just as warped as any unchurched person. Now I know that none of my Sunday school teachers purposefully misled me in my perception of Jesus. It just happens. We say things to kids about “baby” Jesus.
I really think that my theology over the past 10 years has been recovering to find a BIGGER Jesus. For instance: my theology of Jesus is now big enough to picture him farting around the camp fire with the apostles. This is heresy folks! He was all God all human. We need to realize that we have taken away pieces of our King and that is wrong. It steals from his whole work. Come on! 13 guys out walking and camping. You know somebody was lighting up the gas bombs! And they had to laugh about it. This idea makes me love Jesus more. I want to identify with all his humanity. Because that means he really knows me. And that gives me hope because he did it perfect!!! He lived with a group of guys and never said anything or joked about anything immoral. That is hard. Jesus did it. No coarse joking! He did it. My Jesus is big enough to conquered that. For me not to then have a picture of him laughing so hard that tears are coming out of his eyes would negate his victory over the flesh. He had to have lived life to the fullest. He had to have laughed harder, loved more and NOT sinned for me to want to follow him. I submit that Jesus farted and they all laughed and it made those who followed him due so even unto death. He was real. He was God. He was Holy. He was human.
I say all of this to reintroduce some videos that are actually rather old. A church used these videos to address our misconceptions about Jesus. I think it is totally appropriate and hilarious. My wife doesn’t like them. She thinks they are wrong. We disagree. We discussed this as a staff today and had differing opinions on whether or not they inappropriately satire the character of Christ. Perhaps I am too liberal in my opinion here. I may be wrong. I just think that we are so off base at time in how we view and present Jesus that we need something this off the wall to snap us back to our senses. We don’t have a clue sometimes who Jesus really was. I am constantly being reminded about that by Jesus himself. I love that about him. If you haven’t seen these then please do watch!!!! Here is a link to my favorite. Check the rest on my Youtube account.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jj122196
I really think that my theology over the past 10 years has been recovering to find a BIGGER Jesus. For instance: my theology of Jesus is now big enough to picture him farting around the camp fire with the apostles. This is heresy folks! He was all God all human. We need to realize that we have taken away pieces of our King and that is wrong. It steals from his whole work. Come on! 13 guys out walking and camping. You know somebody was lighting up the gas bombs! And they had to laugh about it. This idea makes me love Jesus more. I want to identify with all his humanity. Because that means he really knows me. And that gives me hope because he did it perfect!!! He lived with a group of guys and never said anything or joked about anything immoral. That is hard. Jesus did it. No coarse joking! He did it. My Jesus is big enough to conquered that. For me not to then have a picture of him laughing so hard that tears are coming out of his eyes would negate his victory over the flesh. He had to have lived life to the fullest. He had to have laughed harder, loved more and NOT sinned for me to want to follow him. I submit that Jesus farted and they all laughed and it made those who followed him due so even unto death. He was real. He was God. He was Holy. He was human.
I say all of this to reintroduce some videos that are actually rather old. A church used these videos to address our misconceptions about Jesus. I think it is totally appropriate and hilarious. My wife doesn’t like them. She thinks they are wrong. We disagree. We discussed this as a staff today and had differing opinions on whether or not they inappropriately satire the character of Christ. Perhaps I am too liberal in my opinion here. I may be wrong. I just think that we are so off base at time in how we view and present Jesus that we need something this off the wall to snap us back to our senses. We don’t have a clue sometimes who Jesus really was. I am constantly being reminded about that by Jesus himself. I love that about him. If you haven’t seen these then please do watch!!!! Here is a link to my favorite. Check the rest on my Youtube account.
http://www.youtube.com/user/jj122196
9/06/2006
A great tool!
I found this great link on Marko's blog today. Have fun with this. See the link below on how to make your own! They do other signs on this site too. It is great. I have some church signs that I won't post but you can email me for them :)
see: http://www.says-it.com
see: http://www.says-it.com
9/05/2006
Happy NFL Kickoff Week . . . I'm for real . . . Happy NFLKW :)
I am a junkie. Last year it started with my first Fantasy Football League. This year I am in four leagues. It isn’t what you think. Although I do love the sport there is so much more for my new fascination with this facet of the game. It has to do with the fellowship, the banter between friends and the camaraderie I get to share with so many buddies I normally wouldn’t talk to that often. I know I asked lots of you to join a few leagues and then some of you I just hunted down and forced (like you Jeffrey and you Daren) but you will all thank me for itverry soon. Well, perhaps you will curse me when you start caring about things like if the Cardinals win or not.
It is kind of like eating with a person. When you share a meal with someone and engage in real conversation that touches their life, something happens on a much deeper level. It is spiritual. Now I am not saying that FF is spiritual. (Although Denver Bronco Football can be) What I am saying is that, the interaction with me and some of the guys in my small group or some of my jr high worker buddies around the nation is special.
Did I just say special? . . . Perhaps I just hit close to the head of this subject! For guys this is about as sappy as we get. We don’t through baby showers. We don’t send Hallmark cards. We ask each other to be in a FF league. That is an olive branch. Man to man. In some cultures you might share a pint and sing a song. This is actually quite expressive for some of us. So from one man who has a controlled and comfortable hold on his masculinity I just want to say, “I love you guys, this is going to be the best year ever BFF!”
Ha! “Happy NFL Kick Off Week”
It is kind of like eating with a person. When you share a meal with someone and engage in real conversation that touches their life, something happens on a much deeper level. It is spiritual. Now I am not saying that FF is spiritual. (Although Denver Bronco Football can be) What I am saying is that, the interaction with me and some of the guys in my small group or some of my jr high worker buddies around the nation is special.
Did I just say special? . . . Perhaps I just hit close to the head of this subject! For guys this is about as sappy as we get. We don’t through baby showers. We don’t send Hallmark cards. We ask each other to be in a FF league. That is an olive branch. Man to man. In some cultures you might share a pint and sing a song. This is actually quite expressive for some of us. So from one man who has a controlled and comfortable hold on his masculinity I just want to say, “I love you guys, this is going to be the best year ever BFF!”
Ha! “Happy NFL Kick Off Week”
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