Challenge Accepted

Do you MySpace? Well, if you do, then you know at least two things. The first being that it is a time suck. You can be on there for 6 hours and not realize it. I’m surprised there haven’t been more news reports about teenagers who have forgotten to take their insulin because they were busy changing their Top 8. It is that bad.

As a MySpacer, you should also know that recently Tom’s servers licked the virtual lollipop of power and the site got kicked to the curb for a few days leaving teens everywhere without a way to communicate. This really didn’t surprise me though. Some profiles crash my browser because of all the junk on their site. I like MySpace because I can communicate with my teens quickly and easily but I have the distinct feeling that it is dumbing down the internet. It didn’t need the help Tom.

Speaking of dumb, did you hear about the new newest power couple to recieve a “Special Edition iPod.” Hold on to your seats folks.

Brangelina.

Yep that’s right. The pictures of this black and white music device have been spotty at best but we do know that advertisments for this bad idea will air during this year’s World Series in Kansas City. Apple approached Boutros Boutros-Ghali to appear in the ads but the former head of the UN declined the offer saying he doesn’t enjoy “froliking with technology.” Instead, Apple has decided to clip together scenes from Brad and Angelina’s movies in a fasion similar to Forrest Gump.

“The commercial will take place in Texas and is going to be a real blast. The story revolves around a smokey dive somewhere in the Texas desert. Angelina will walk in to a bar singing the wildly inappropriate Honky Tonk Badonkadonk and will interupt a fight between Brad and Ed (Norton, Pitts’ costar in the movie “Fight Club”). We hope to change the way people do advertising,” said Pitts’ spokesperson. Jolie’s rep could not be reached for details on the project.

While speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Searcy, AR fellow humanitarian Bono took a hard line when questioned about the new iPod. When one young man asked if he was afraid that the new Brangelina iPod would out sell the wildly popular U2 iPod the singer’s Irish temper showed through.

“You take this message back to your precious Brangelina: Bring it On!!!” he retorted. “There is no love loss, no camaraderie when it comes to this kind of thing. They can put their mugshot on every issue of US Weekly and Star Magazine but multi-colored digital music players are my realm.” With that, Bono refused to answer anymore questions.

Barring any unforseen complications, look for these new music players in stores around this holiday season.

Incredible.

link

Seasons of Ministry

I get back from Missouri on Sunday. That leaves us with only 2 weeks before the end of summer. The time has zoomed by so quickly that I can’t believe that my first summer in almost over. As I look back over the last few months I have been amazed at how privileged I am. My friends like to razz me by saying that I don’t work everyday (Just Sunday and Wednesday) and that don’t work very hard. It is incredibly hard to explain to your friend why you missed their call when you were out on the river with your teens in the middle of a workday.

Such is the life of a youth minister during the summer.

Speaking of, while interning at some of the greatest churches in America (I’m bias) I got a great education on leading and planning a youth ministry during the summer but in August I left and went back to school.

I know how to get ready for May. It’s September-December that I’m focused on (sweating) right now.

Summer = a beast
Fall = ?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Youth Ministry programs need to include a Fall/Spring internship as well as a Summer one.

Summer internships include:
Travel, late nights, pool parties, pizza, ministry of prescence, relationship building, road trips

Fall internships could be filled with:
Stuffing envelopes, curriculum development, laminating, working with an administrative assistant, Church Sign 101, emptying the trash, filling in on Sunday morning, cleaning the auditoium/classroom, apologizing to the old people for something the teens did or didn’t do, and what to do with your time now that the kids are gone

Summer internships = life changing and fun

Fall internships = a different kind of grown up fun

I’m In Missouri Until Sunday

The temp has cooled a little this week so I’m sorry that I am leaving town and won’t get to enjoy it for much longer.

I leave this morning with 7 teenagers for our mission trip to Brookline Station, MO. I will be out of pocket until then but I wanted to wish everyone a great week. Please, we covet your prayers during our trip. This will be the first mission trip that many of these kids will have been on. I am excited to see what God has in store for us.

I have a few posts lined up and in the que for the week. I also updated the On My Desk section with the books that I am currently digging into and I updated the On My iPod section so you can check out what I’ll be listening to on the trip. American V is tragically beautiful where as Corinne Bailey Rae is just plain beautiful. Great stuff!

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week. Peace and love.

Let It Rain

LUBBOCK, Texas, July 24 (UPI) — Public officials in Lubbock, Texas, are organizing a day to pray for rain.

“Nobody is going to tell God what to do and what not to do, but we are in a serious drought in West Texas and since he is the man who controls the rain clouds, we’re asking him for his mercy and his help,” Mayor David Miller told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast for rain this Sunday.

So far this year, Lubbock has received about half of its normal 10 inches. In the weeks since June 1, the growing season for cotton, rainfall has been a scant .75 inches, far less than the normal 4.43 inches.

Officials have tried prayers before and say they were answered. In January 2004, after a year of drought, the city and county set aside a Sunday to pray for rain and got the second-wettest year since records have been kept.

After being gone for so long, I had forgotten just how hot it is in Texas. I’m in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and I haven’t seen rain since we arrived (I heard that it rained on the 4th of July but I didn’t see it). Thankfully, my city isn’t under a water restriction but my parent’s is. I cannot imagine what it is like in west Texas.

I am going to join the city of Lubbock in prayer for their city. I hope you will too.

via

In the iTunes Store Today (Update)

I noticed that Metallica has been added.

I hadn’t heard anything about these long-term digital music hold outs joining the masses so I can only assume that this quiet, unassuming addition has to do with the band still paying for that terrible lawsuit-against-their-fans a few years back.

I just have a question. I have enjoyed Metallica over the years. I even enjoyed the doc “Some Kind of Monster.” which made me revisit their last album St. Anger. And they are even slated to appear on the season preimeire of the Simpsons this fall. But I beg the question…

Is (Can) Metallica still be relevant?

Update
iLounge just posted about the Metallica add. Here is what they had to say:

Long-time digital music holdouts Metallica are now selling their entire back catalog on the iTunes Music Store. Apple is currently offering 10 albums, from the band’s debut “Kill ‘Em All” to 2004’s “Some Kind of Monster” EP. Previously unreleased live tracks have also been added to each of the first four albums as iTunes bonuses.

“Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music,” the band says on their official website. “So, in continuing with the tradition of offering our albums for sale online (which we’ve been doing for a few years through various sites), as well as making our live concerts available for download in their entirety (through the livemetallica.com site), we are now offering fans the opportunity to obtain our songs individually.”

Let me interpret Metallica’s press release for you: Nobody is buying our stuff at these other sites because nobody uses these other sites. Please buy our stuff. We’re sorry that Lars is an idiot. Please fans, come back to us. Please!!!! We’re still relevant. Aren’t we?

Reading Group

I am so stoked about being a part of a group reading The New Testament and the People of God by NT Wright. The group was started by Justin over at Radical Congruency and right now there are 16 people in our group.

When I look back over my short life I see that I have been shaped by a number of conversations big and small and I am hoping that this conversation will be added to that list.

We will be discussing the book over at Urban Monastery and I am planning to discuss it here as well. Please be praying for us that this time will be beneficial. I’m am so excited.

As Iron Sharpens Iron.

Music to Sweat By #2

Here is the second playlist that is driving my quest to become a real live runner.

Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
Crazy in Love by Beyonce
I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Electrical Storm by U2
C’mon C’mon The Von Bondies
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer
Fighter by Christina Aguilera
Working Man by RUSH
Walk On (UK Single) by U2
You Are My Joy by David Crowder*Band
Breathless by The Corrs
Save Me by Remy Zero
Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson
Like a Stone by Audioslave
Baba O’Reily by The Who
Let It Rain by Eric Clapton
Time of Your Song by Matisyahu
Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis

Workout Mix 2

Music To Sweat By #1

On Scott’s request I am posting my workout playlist for all of you would be runners. The mix starts off pretty hard and heavy but the payoff is in the cool down. The songs were chosen for tempo and/or motivational lyrics. It’s a little too hip-hop heavy for everyday listening (Note: not kid friendly) but it has gotten the job done thus far.

Jesus Walks by Kanye West
Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera
Touch the Sky by Kanye West
Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams
Dirt off Your Shoulders by Jay-Z
Lose Yorself Emeniem
What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani
Where the Streets Have No Name by U2
King Without a Crown by Matisyahu
Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Yellow by Coldplay
Beautiful Day by U2
I Don’t Want To Be by Gavin DeGraw
Good is Good by Sheryl Crow
With or Without You by U2
Broken by Jack Johnson

iTunes users can see my Workout Mix here.

This is the first mix I threw together. I’ll post #2 in the coming days. Enjoy.

This Is My Shot…

Feet fail me not… Today marked my first day of official training.

I still haven’t decided if I’ll run the half marathon (13.1 miles) or the 10K (6 or so miles) but to be honest, right now that doesn’t matter. I just need to get started.

Any Guy Nicknamed the Penguin Is Alright By Me
Over the weekend I immersed myself in all things running. When I initially got this wild hair to begin running I hopped online to find someone I could relate to who could help me take the first step to get off the couch and run. I found John “The Penguin” Bingham.

John writes a column for Runner’s World entitled No Need For Speed. Ahhh… just what I was looking for. When John decided to begin running he was in his 40s, 80 pounds overweight, drank more than he should, and smoked. Bingo!!! I’m in my 20s, not quite 80 pounds overweight, I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke. Suddenly my laziness and my XBox360 seemed like puny obstacles. “The Penguin” philosophy of running is to just get out there and do it. Run, walk, or waddle: It doesn’t matter as long as you keep moving forward. Boom! I’m all over it.

I headed to the local bookstore for some motivational/training materials and settled on Bingham’s No Need for Speed: A Beginner’s Guide to the Joy of Running. After reading the tips on starting right I realized that I needed a good pair of running shoes. I was off to the shoe store.

Digital Trainer
In one of my recent posts I revealed that I was mesmerized by the new partnership between Nike and Apple. Their new product, Nike+iPod, is aimed directly at the athletic world. A tiny sensor is placed in the left shoe and wirelessly communicates with a small receiver attached to your iPod nano. The sensor tracks your time, mileage, and calories and a coaching voice alerts you to the different waypoints in your workout. Pure genius and I bought in hook, line, and sinker. For a complete guide to the Nike+iPod system check out this review at iLounge.com.

Since I was purchasing new shoes anyway I decided on a pair of Nike+ Shox Turbo. They were not anymore expensive than the other shoes I tried and they felt great. I then purchased a Nike+iPod kit for $30 at my local Apple store along with an armband for my nano.

With my running schedule in hand and my digital coach in my ear I took off for my inaugural “wog” (walk/jog) Sunday afternoon. When I walked a half mile, the sensor said that I had indeed traveled a half mile. The female voice was pleasant and encouraging as she relayed to me how fast I was traveling and how much time had elapsed in my workout. Since it is July in Texas it was slightly warmer than the surface of the sun so I decided to call it quits after a mile and a half. I returned home to synch my workout to nikeplus.com homepage.

Everything worked together seamlessly and really motivated me to set a few goals and gear up for my biggest challenge yet.

Getting Off The Couch
As the Texas sun was setting this evening I took my place at the starting line of the track. There were a billion reasons for me not to workout today with 999,999,999 of them being degrees heat but I got out there anyway. I set my workout for a 30 minute wog and set off down the track. I chose a great playlist and I stashed a bottle of Gatorade where I could easily grab it as I went by. After five minutes my coach, I’ve named her Brianne, alerted me that I had passed the five minute mark and that I had 25 minutes to go. At 15 minutes, Brianne told me that I had reached the halfway point. When I had five minutes left on my workout I was alerted every minute until I had reached my completed time of 30 minutes. It had started to cool down so I continued for another 10 minutes and finished my workout with a slight jog across the finish line. When I ended my workout Brianne had a surprise for me. Lance Armstong himself congratulated me for completing my longest workout yet.

So, I got up off the couch, worked up a good sweat, felt good about what I had accomplished and was even congratulated by a real athelete. Yep, I was feeling pretty good indeed.

The Road Ahead
Well I’ve completed about 4.5 miles in my quest to become a runner. Day 1 is in the bag. Tomorrow, it’s day 2.

The Goal Is Soul