Sunday, February 25, 2007

04559

here are a variety of thoughts and reflections on current happenings with apparently little connection...

- i finished "Sex God" by rob bell...reading this book was an interesting experience for me. the content of the book is very deep...he's basically getting to the core of almost everything about us as human beings which is pretty serious. yet, it is an easy book to read (as rob's style is very conversational and fast moving, and also the way the book itself is constructed lends itself to a fast read)...i struggled with this...i found myself flying through the pages but at the same time thinking: "i need to stop and ponder this thought more." i think it is the kind of book that needs be read a few times over a long period of time to let it all sink in.

- in some ways the tension i felt about reading the book illustrates my favorite insight that rob provides. a few months ago i saw this interview with bono from U2. he talked about all the stuff he always talks about (africa, aids, debt relief, care for the poor, the church needs to be involved in it, etc). that was nothing new if you've heard bono before or know anything about his life over the last decade. however, there was one point where he started talking about great art...and he said the key element to all great art is being able to hold two truths in tension...his point was that bad art (and a lot of "christian" art today) tries to evade tension all together. here's something rob bell says about tension (in relation to his topic of sexuality and spirituality): "we were created to live in tension...[not stress but the ability to live between two truths that on the surface might seem contradictory]...and when you lose the tension, you lose something central to what it means to be human...one of the marks of someone who has experienced significant growth in their soul is the ability to live in the midst of tension." [i'll let you read the book yourself to discover the context for this quote]

- this week i was asked to join the board of directors at the manna house.

- my favorite song right now (and i feel guilty for liking the song and this band because i feel like i'm about 10 years too old to enjoy it) is "thriller" by fall out boy...i can't stop listening to it.

- i got be in the classroom for the first time this last week (bio at durango high school...a pretty easy day actually). one of the students i had is the sister of a girl who goes to our church...that was kind of fun...another student recognized me from the sunday we led worship at another church in town. small town life...got to love it.

- tonight we will be attempting to record our first ctk-durango podcast!

- last, but not least, when you achieve a certain level of success playing yahoo! fantasy baseball you gain eligibility for public "expert" leagues...i have achieved this level of success and will be participating in one these leagues...i'll be providing updates throughout the year, but for now i am already very excited about playing with some serious dudes (and dudettes for that matter) and not with...well, i won't mention any names =)

peace!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

04459

i have many blog worthy topics currently in the que, but for now this is what you need to know...

...i have a fully functional car again and that is good news...it also didn't cost me all that i thought it was going to originally which is even better news.

and now, more importantly: waiting for rescue has two new songs up on the myspace page...a cover of a switchfoot tune, and then an original number as well. listen and enjoy (and also check out our new picture =)
www.myspace.com/waitingforrescue

book reports and other deep thoughts to come later this week.

Monday, February 12, 2007

04359

- on july 27th, 2006 i drove away from Alisal High School, a summer of teaching geometry, and four years of subbing in the salinas union high school district, with my fist in the air and a grin on my face. "never going to have to do that again," was the thought rolling through my mind at the time. and then i moved to durango and started to get settled in a new life and new jobs, and a funny thing started to happen. i actually found myself missing the classroom. "this can't be right," i thought...probably just part of the transition process. or not. after a while i came to terms with this truth: i kind of enjoyed being a sub. wierd.

today, mr. boutry made his triumphant return (at escalante middle school, nonetheless...ironic, yes). on february 12th, 2007 i got to be a librarian for a day (also somewhat ironic, for all the making fun of other librarians that i know). it was a pretty boring day actually. but, it was cool to be on campus and many familiar feelings rushed into me as i walked in to the main office this morning. i'm only going to be able to work a couple of days a month, but i am excited to see what happens. plus, i already have a good farting story!

- i've been reading books that have nothing to do with church for almost two months now. there are a couple of reasons for this...one is that there is only so much you can fit in your brain and process at one time. i needed to slow down to let some things sink in. another was probably a fear that i'd get all excited about something, blog about it, and create a controversy. but, mostly i just needed a break.

now, though, i've started two (just barely the first pages) and already i'm glad that i did. i need this to get refocused and excited again about what we are doing (being thick in the middle of ecclesiastes has not helped this =)

for those who care about these things the books are:
1) The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church by Alan Hirsch (coauthor of The Shaping of Things to Come)
2) Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality by Rob Bell

i'm sure you'll hear more about these in future blogs after i actually get into them!

peace

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

04259

if there's one thing i've learned from this blogging experience it's this: if you want people to respond, talk about the poor or reveal information concerning your love life...so if you're thinking of starting a blog, take that into consideration!

here's what's going on...

- the early feedback from our new small group format is pretty positive. in particular, i am loving my group. i had some concerns about studying ecclesiastes but this group has definitely risen to the challenge so far.

- interesting things continue to develop with our church...from people stepping up into new/increased roles to developments in terms of a more "permanent" location...it's all very exciting and i am enjoying the moment and also excited about what will happen next.

- congrats to tony dungy...he demonstrates that you don't have to be a certain "type" of person to be a leader and that success is defined in bigger terms than winning and losing.

- finally, i knew this day was coming, but it's sad to see mike matheny go...he is a great man in every sense of the word and the Giants are going to miss him.
http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070201&content_id=1792094&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf