2009

Hello readers and casual stoppers by.  First and foremost, welcome to 2009.  I hope it is a great year for you.

Following the example of Jessica Turner, I am choosing a word for the year.  My word this year is pursue (and variations thereof).  I want to pursue things this year more than in the past, and I want to pursue them in the right ways.

Pursuit never got harder.

Filed under: Culture, Uncategorized, 2009, Blogs, Culture, Excuses, Life, Links, Mission, My Life, Pursue

Winter Greetings

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues,
but it is so difficult in today’s world to know exactly what to say without
offending someone. So I met with my solicitor yesterday, and on there advice
I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an
environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive,
gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced with
the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices
of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular
traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted Gregorian
calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice
of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our
country great and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical
ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is
subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no
alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to
actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void
where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the
wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual
application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance
of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole
discretion of the wisher.

No trees were harmed in the sending of this message

(H/T: Brian Heasley)

Filed under: Culture, Culture, Excuses, Funny, My Life, People, Political Correctness, Politics, Story Telling

Gay Pride

There has been much media attention afforded to this years Belfast Gay Pride parade in relation to an advertisement planned by the Sandown Free Presbyterian Church, which the ASA (Advertsing Standards Authority) thought to insight hatred.  The Free Presbyterian church has claimed that they were merely expressing a Biblical point of view on Homosexuality, backed up by Leviticus 22.  Issue, however has been taken by the fact that they were using extra-biblical idiom to refer to, and boycott the Pride Parade.  Yesteryears parade was filled with such controversy as one of the members of the parade carried a banner claiming ‘Jesus is a fag.’  While this banner is offensive to many, it seems to me, more ironic that a group that primarily call themselves Christians would respond in a way which seeks to destroy the other person.  The leader to a Belfast Gay Pride, and many committee members have stated that this banner was not endorsed by Gay Pride, and when it was brought to their attention on the day, it was immediately removed.  If you are interested William Crawley has posted a number of articles and podcasts at his blog Will and Testament.  If you are brave enough, feel free to weigh in on this….

Gay Pride Unoffical Banner

Filed under: Culture, Belfast, Bible, Christianity, Culture, Gay Pride, Life, Mission, Theology

What if Starbucks marketed like the church?

This has been making the rounds around the blogosphere recently.  On the off chance that you have not yet seen it, please watch this hilarious video.

Filed under: Culture, Uncategorized, Christianity, Coffee, Funny, Leadership, Mission

Can this be right?…

Jonathan Brink (Missio Dei) points this out.  (His thoughts are much more coherent and well formulated than my own.

Available from Samaritan’s Purse.

$100 – One Emergency Shelter

$750 – One Well

$7,500 – One House

$20,000 – One School

$25,000 – One Medical Hospital

$75,000 – One Church Building

Now please don’t hear what I’m not saying, I’m sure this is a great charity, and it does a lot of great things, but is this necessary, is it even right?  Are we perpetuating our western view of church, are we trying to impose an unnecessary mega church agenda?

Filed under: Culture, Charity, Christianity, Church, Culture, Mission

Sign Wars

Those adorable signs outside church…usually with some form of cheesy “Jesus PR” on them….what happens when signs go wrong.  Please look at these pictures, I nearly cried laughing so hard.

(H/T: Jonathan Brink, of the much talked about Missio Dei)

Filed under: Culture, Christianity, Culture, Funny, Links, Religion

A Movement of People

In my opinion this is an absolutley key article from Jonathan Brink, not only on understanding the emerging church better, but also key to understand the conflict between actions and ideologies.

One of my favourite lines from the article,

When I look at the words of Jesus, I see a movement of people. And the ideology, the core essence of what that movement believes, must not just be pondered but practiced.

Filed under: Culture, Christianity, Culture, Jesus, Links, Quotes, Theology