Fun Email Storehouse

So I have created a new blog for a couple different reasons. This new blog will be a repository of forwarded emails that have funny joke, funny pictures, crazy stories, etc....Sort of an public archive of what some people may call junk mail, but others love and love to forward. I have attached some ads to try to generate some cash flow, though I'm sure it will be minuscule. Go check it out. Its in my links section as Fun Email Storehouse. I there is also an email address on that page that you can forward any "fun" emails to that you want me to consider for addition to the list, or if you know me and have my address you can feel free to send it there. I have already posted the 3 or 4 I have gotten in the last several days. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Strange Delaware - Chicken Fighting

This day in 2006 in the state of Delaware:

Two men were arrested for cruelty to animals near Laurel when thirty-five others gathered at their cockfight. In addition, thirteen fighting cocks were confiscated by authorities.

Some may find it interesting that Chicken Farming is in the top five industries in the state of Delaware. It is highly concentrated in Sussex county and home of many plants ryn by companies such as Perdue and Mountaire Farms. I mention this because it doesn't surprise me to find such a barbaric activity such as cockfighting here. What I find more interesting is that it is apparently illegal to own birds who fight and to hold an event where they fight, but it isn't illegal to gather to watch that fight. What's up with the 35 people who were there? I would imagine that if you held them accountable as well, it would really be hard for would be chicken event promoters (Don "Chicken ala" King) to get people to come and watch such a horrible event. Strange I say.

By the way, there is a funny story about the lady with the chicken above. I may blog about it in the future if people are interested.

The Westminster Larger Catechism Q1

Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man?

Answer: Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

Why did the Westminster Assembly of Divines choose this to be the first question in the larger catechism? Interesting thought, at least to me. I must admit I have not completed enough research or gained enough insight into the actual workings of the assembly to say I know the answer, but I will present some conjecture on my interpretation. Let me start with an examination of the words they used in their documents. I do this because specific words are used for specific reasons. I think that many times modern readers don't quite understand the language of the past and so they just assume certain things. The nuance of language needs to be taken seriously, especially in documents of religious import (though not as important as actual scripture.)

The first question in the Westminster Catechism asks what mans chief end is. The word "man" is not used to exclude women, but is used to identify the whole of humanity. Many today would use this term humanity or perhaps humankind in a politically correct pattern of speech. Regardless, the Divines are saying that we are all included. Those born male and female are part of this discussion.

The phrase “chief and highest end” isn't that widely used in modern day speech, so it could be hard for us to understand its meaning in today’s vernacular. I looked the word "end" up in the Webster’s online dictionary. The definitions that I believe apply are below:

• 2a: c (2) the ultimate state
• 4a: an outcome worked toward b: the object by virtue of or for the sake of which an event takes place

These definitions inform our understanding of the statement above. Man's highest "state" or our highest "outcome, or objective" is what the question seeks to determine. I can remember many examples in books and movies in which this very same concept is explored. It surprises me at how many times this theme is explored in the pages of science fiction. For example, the very first Star Trek movie is a tale that deals with a sentient machine that wants to understand who it is in regards to the universe. What was its chief end? What was its purpose for existence? Many if not most of the time, these authors and storytellers get the answer wrong and look to the internal person for the answer.

In the catechism's first question, the Divines feel that we need to get this out of the way first so that we are not examining the rest of the catechism from a selfish internal point of view. It is rightly establishing from the beginning that our understanding and experience of Christ centered theology is just that, centered on Him and not us. There is no room for self at the center, only the Trinity. Our chief end is to worship God first and then to enjoy him. His purpose is not for us to enjoy Him, and then give Him worship because of that enjoyment. He deserves the worship regardless of our enjoyment, but through his purposes the result of that worship is a benefit to us in enjoyment. The moment we take the Trinity from the center of our focus and place it elsewhere, we have moved ourselves into the place of honor. Then the chief end is to glorify self. Our selfishness moves us away from the truth and helps perpetuate the lie that leads to separation from and inability to satisfy our real chief end...."to Glorify God and fully to enjoy Him forever."

Lord, help me to realize that my chief end is not to glorify myself. My goal in life is the expansion of Your worship in my own life and the lives of others through to declaration of Your Gospel. Allow me to constantly enjoy you through discovery and rediscovery of the depth of your grace and mercy revealed through worshipping you in my daily life, not just the Sunday service. Be lifted up Lord as we bow down.

New Blog Series

Hello Friends,
I have decided that there are some things that I want to do this year and things that I have to do this year. Here is a quick recap:

1. War on Debt
2. Teach/Lead a program on leadership to our teens at church
3. Loss more weight
4. Continue to grow in my faith and maturity
5. Be more disciplined

And there are many others. To help me with #4 I have decided to work through a study of the Westminster Confession of Faith as well as the Catechism. I constantly want to know what I beleive and why I beleive it (to quote one of my favorite programs "The White Horse Inn"). So I figured I would blog my way through the questions. I'll try to do at least one a week, if not more frequently. If you don't know what the Catechism on the confession are, here is a link to some historic context.

The Blame Game

I had the opportunity to lead worship this past week at church. It is an absolute privilege to do this, but it is also extremely stressful. There are a bevy of details to keep in the air, and I haven't been doing it enough to accomplish this. I have always dropped at least one ball during the morning. This week the ball I dropped was in the responsive reading. I had chosen Psalm 51. We were reflecting on the Lords mercy. We also had a challenging list of songs to practice and I didn't realize until 5 minutes before the service that I neglected to rehearse it. This was a bad thing because we discovered that the slides were missing sever sections that the congregation was to read. The people on stage (who look at the back wall) we reading, but the congregation was silent. I knew immediately what was wrong. What do I do but trudge ahead. This made me a bit frustrated. The person who prepared the slides had made a obvious error and I immediately wanted to express that to them. Fortunately the presence of several hundred people made this an unwise decision.

So as I check my email later that night, the music minister reminded me that the slides were wrong and that as the leader for the morning it was ultimately my fault (since I didn't rehearse them). He was right, but it made me think about how we constantly want to find someone else who is to blame for sins and problems. Even though this person did make a mistake, I shaared in it. It was my mistake too. As sinners we try to minimize out role and maximize another's blame. This is no more clearly demonstrated than when God asks Adam what he has done and he immediately blames the woman God gave him. Adam was blaming Eve and God and totally removing himself from the equation. He may have said it like this, "God, it was Eve who gave me the apple, and remember I didn't ask for her to be here, You thought it was a good idea. If you hadn't created her, this never would have happened. I take no responsibility for this." And so we have all learned this from our father Adam and implemented this winning strategy in our lives. This is so subtle and a sin, and so profound a problem even in our Church's and our families, and our jobs and our relationships. Lord have Mercy on Us/Me.

You Just Never Know ....

So I was recently checking out some stuff on You Tube. I was randomly searching
for things I remembered from my youth and made a discovery that has now made me
really feel.....well ......disapointed. In 1983 I was 11 and I used to love to
watch a show called Kids Incorporated. I loved music and I really loved singing
along with the TV. We didn't have a Disney channel then or cartoon network (dad
didn't believe in cable), so this is the stuff I saw when it was on the local
syndication stations (chanel 17 to those in the Philly area who remember). Watch
these two videos and then I'll explain. WARNING: Cheese factor is
high



Yep, you may recognize one of those kids if you know your eightys music. Thats Martika of the song Toy Soldiers fame, but we all
knew she was on that show. Take special note of the lead singer in this song,
here is where I was surprised.



Cute little girl huh? I don't really know whats up with the broom and the clown, but the eighties was a strange time. So anyway, imagine my surprise when I learned that she grew up to be this!!! The world is strange.
 

 

2006 Year in Review

So I have been asked by some of you for some follow-ups to a few of my past posts, and I feel obliged to answer your request. I'll also throw in some info that wasn't bloged about in order to be thorough. First lets look at some of my posts.

Cell Phone Saga (Cingular HTC 3125)
I received my new phone a few days after my post. It actually arived the day after I completed my order. Talk about a quick mail time. It certainly wasn't snail mail. The phone itself is GREAT! I love it. Its sleek and compact. It isn't a brick like a blackberry, and I love flip phones. I have just now started to explore its full potential. I just installed Outlook on my computer and have succesfully synched the phone. I've transfered seveal pictures to the phone and they look awesome on the phones large screen. I also transferred some mp3's I had to the phone. I think I am going to remove them though because the music player controls are on the outside of the phone and I have accidentally turned Windows Media Player on while it was in my pocket. This is bad, especially in church or in a meeting. I have my iPod for music and it really isn't neccesary to be on the phone. The camera on the phone is good, but not spectacular. What is the best is that I have entered some much info in the calendar that I feel I am finally getting organized. When I flip the phone open, it displays the next event scheduled and so I always know "whats next." It also gives a reminder message within a preset timeframe. Pretty standard stuff for a smart phone, but it is what I have needed. Of course this phone is not as feature packed or business oriented as a blackberry or a treo, but to run your personal life it is just fine. Sleek, compact, functional and pretty cool looking. Everyone who sees it seems to think its one of the cooler phones they have seen. So far it seems like a good purchase.

LCD TV Update
I did not receive any gift cards to Best Buy for Christmas, and though my plan to accumulate redemtion points on my visa is underway, it will take a while. I have decided in 2007 to declare war on my debt, and so a purchase of this sort just isn't called for at this time. My current TV is more than sufficient. I don't have High Def cable and the room a LCD would save me isn't worth more debt at this time. I still want one, but I need to be smart about this acquisition. In time, but maybe not for quite some time.

Weight Loss
I hit a snag in my plans. It was the Christmas holiday. It was sooooo hard to behave during the holiday, especially when everyone you know gives you cookies and has parties full or treats. I just gave up, but I am back on the horse now. I have a followup appointment with my surgeon in March to see how things are going. I have a goal of lossing another 40lbs before then. I think I can do it, I just need to be disiplined. Pray for me here.

My Computer
I still want a Mac, but as with the LCD I don't need it. With the help of Danny boy I upgraded the RAM on this computer for about $80 and my performance improved dramatically. I also uninstalled MS Office and many other programs I rarely use. I cleaned up the registry and I think I am in good shape for a while. I still want a Mac though. Maybe some day, but for now I just need to stick with what I have. You know, with the war on debt and all.

Missions Trip to Spain
The trip is on. Our music minister sent a letter to the whole church asking for them to support us. There are 8 of us going and we need to raise $2000 each to make this happen and in a short time. The letters just went out, so anyone out there reading this who wants to support this trip or wants more info, just drop me a line. We really need your support

Church Life
My post about the christian marketing philosophy ala Rick Warren started a good sting of conversation. That was exciting, and I appreciate the contributions. I am going to try to write more about issues such as this in the year to come.

Things Not Posted About, But Happend in 2006

• I lots my favorite bath towel at Harvey Cedars Bible Conference on our youth group retreat in October. It was a really great oversized towel (I'm a big guy). Now I find myself using one of the smaller towels I own. Booo
• I've lost 70lbs over the course of the year. Great start, but gotta keep going.
• Made many new friends through the Presbytery singles ministry. That is always a great thing.
• I was appointed to the board of MARK INC Ministries. This is a great privelege, and a challenge as we take a media ministry and navigate the new waters of the Web 2.0 culture to send the message of Christ to the world. The future of media deleivery is changing all the time and we want to be at the front of the curve. I have a presentation to our board and operations committee this month about how to do this.
• I bought a condo. This was a huge step for me. I like it a lot, but everything has room for improvement. I now need to make up my mind on exactly the things to change and then make wise financial decisions about when to do those things.
  

I think thats it for now. I may blog later this week about my goals for 2007. I really want to put some more thought into some of them, because once posted they are something I need to be held accoutable to. I think this will be a great year.