Ministry, News, Popular Culture, Stories

No Commentary Today, Just Read

A girl is to become Britain’s youngest mother after becoming pregnant at 11.

The girl smokes 20 cigarettes a day despite being eight months’ pregnant. She conceived aged 11 when she lost her virginity to a boy of 15 on a drunken night out with friends.

The 15-year-old has since been charged with rape by police, and is due to appear again at Edinburgh sheriff court on July 10.

Her 34-year-old mother, who gave birth to her youngest child eight months ago, said she was ‘proud’ of her daughter.

She will be 12 years and 8 months when she has the child next month. Jenny Teague, Britain’s youngest mother until now, was a month older when she gave birth in 1997.

The youngster, who lives near Edinburgh, says looking after her younger brothers has prepared her for motherhood.

But the girl admits she “panics and cries” when babies are unwell and does not feel able to bathe them.

The mother-to-be, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had unprotected sex with the teenage boy, who also cannot be identified, while drunk last August.

She told the Sun: “I didn’t think I’d get pregnant because it was my first time. But I’m really excited and looking forward to being a mum.

“I can’t wait to take the baby swimming and out for walks in the pram. I think I’ll be able to cope as I’ve had lots of practice looking after my brothers. I know how to feed a baby its bottle and I can change nappies. But I panic and cry if they’re sick and I don’t like giving them a bath because I’m a bit frightened. It’s good to know I’ll have my mum here to help me if I need her.”

Concerned she might be pregnant, the girl visited a GP three times but tests proved negative. She learned the truth after buying a home-testing kit from a supermarket.

After the device displayed two blue lines, indicating she was pregnant, she pleaded with a female relative to break the news to her mother. The girl, who has been suspended from her first year of secondary school for fighting, said: “I was paranoid about what my mum was going to say and just frightened about being pregnant too.

“I knew straight away that I couldn’t have an abortion because that’s something I don’t believe in. I was upset and so was my mum, especially as she’d just had my wee brother. We had a big argument and I ended up locking myself in my room and running away to a friend’s. It was really hard but it’s brought me and my mum closer, which is good. I knew my mum would stand by me no matter what, but I told her straight away I was going to keep the baby. The social worker suggested I got rid of it but I’d never do that.”

The girl, who has shoulder-length dark hair, began smoking at nine and started drinking tonic wine and vodka cocktails at ten. She claimed her cigarette habit was not harming the health of her unborn child.

She said: “I can give up smoking at any time, but I don’t find it affects my pregnancy.”

The girl, whose parents split up several years ago, said she would like a baby boy – and may call him Leo.

She is currently being educated at a local community centre but knows she must return to school.

She told the Sun: “My mum has said she will look after the baby so I can go to school. I don’t know what I want to do with my life when I leave. I used to want to be a nursery nurse, but now I’m not so sure.”

Her mum said: “I’m not ashamed of my daughter at all – in fact, I’m proud of her for keeping the baby. I know she’s worried what other people will say but she can walk out there with her head held high. At first I wasn’t too happy about becoming a gran. But now I’m used to the idea. I’m really looking forward to having another baby in the house.”

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News, Rants, Technology

As It Stands Today, Microsoft Wins

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I believe that a death blow was dealt yesterday in the battle between Microsoft and Sony for hearts, minds, and opposable thumbs of the world’s gaming community. Microsoft came out hard last holiday season weilding its brand new weapon, XBOX 360. Sony faltered and delayed the release of the much anticipated Playstation 3 until later this year. Sony had been the clear champion with the PS2 and was poised to again soundly trumb the XBOX with their upcoming console.

That is until yesterday when Sony came out and cut its own head off.

Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation 3 will be the most expensive game system on the market when it debuts Nov. 17 in North America.

The much anticipated video game console will sell for $499 for a system that has a 20-gigabyte hard drive or $599 for a system with three times the storage, the company said at a news conference Monday night. Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 starts at $299.

I will tell you what I am not. I am not a gaming expert. I will never have a show on G4 and I will never win any awards for my gaming abilities.

However, I am a male, age 18-34, who derives a good deal of pleasure from playing video games during some of my free time. I am your average video game player. I was born during the heyday of the arcade, played Pitfall with my dad on our Atari, grew up with my little grey friend the NES, played too much Goldeneye in college, got married and fell in love with my PS2.

The Playstation 3’s price point is astronomically high. Let’s say you buy the basic PS3 and one game. You are out $560. That’s without tax. I live in a city that has a 10% sales tax. That would bring the price for a basic system and one game to $616. I think I threw up in my mouth a little.

I predict that come this November, Microsoft will drop the price of the XBOX 360 for holiday shoppers and the battle will be over. Even something as small as a $50 dollar price cut would entice more mothers and fathers to choose the XBOX over the PS3.

Sony, you priced yourselves right out of the game.

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Faith in Action, Ministry, Theology

A Change of Perspective

Dill: I think I’ll be a clown when I get grown. Yes sir, a clown. There ain’t one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I’m gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.
Jem: You got it backwards, Dill. Clowns are sad; it’s folks that laugh at them.
Dill: Well I’m gonna be a new kinda clown. I’m gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at folks.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has had a profound influence on me since the first time that I read it. I remember wanting to be as good of a man as Atticus Finch was: A man who stood up for those who are forced to sit down. However, I often find myself more like Dill, throwing my hands up in the air and making a cynical comment about life.

As I have prepared to move I have been thinking about the pain and frustrations, joys and triumphs, great people and the not-so great, patterns of conflicts, organizational habits and overal ministry ethos that I have experienced in my first full time ministry. What am I going to take with me to Texas?

No doubt I will take the memories of the students who have shared their lives with me but what else will make that 10hr journey?

I Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

In the long marathon that is ministry the wisdom, resolve, discernment, and courage of someone like Atticus Finch will keep you in the race. Dill’s cynasism in a recipe for burnout.

Music, News, Technology

Beatles’ Apple Corps loses trademark suit against Apple Computer’s iTunes

I had no doubt.

LONDON (AP) — Apple Computer (AAPL) is entitled to use the apple logo on its iTunes Music Store, a judge ruled Monday, rejecting a suit filed by Apple Corps, the guardian of the Beatles’ commercial interests.
Apple Corps, which contended that the U.S. company had broken a 1991 agreement in which each side agreed not to enter into the other’s field of business, said it would appeal.

Judge Edward Mann ruled that Apple Computer used the fruit logo in association with the store, not the music, and thus did not breach the agreement.

“I conclude that the use of the apple logo … does not suggest a relevant connection with the creative work,” Mann said in his written judgment. “I think that the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service, which does not go further and unfairly or unreasonably suggest an additional association with the creative works themselves.”

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Firm on the Rock, Music

Public Service Announcement

This Just In…

I just found out that the David Crowder Band is releasing a companion album to A Collision. This offering is titled B Collision and it looks to be an acoustic version of A.

The album will collide with your ear drums on June 27th. Until then, you can get aquainted with the David Crowder Band through the following recordings. Enjoy.

David Crowder Band
Can You Hear Us?
Illuminate
A Collision

Passion
Hymns: Ancient and Modern
Everything Glorious

Off the Beaten Path
Sunsets and Sushi

Firm on the Rock, Ministry, Music

Buy This Music

I am pretty finicky about two things: food and music. On the food side, I tend to avoid jams, jellies, butter, tomatoes, fish, bacon, and cake. I like cheese pizza and vanilla ice cream because you can’t mess those up.

On the music spectrum though I’m all over the map. I only have one rule. If it’s out there and if it’s good, I’ll listen. However, there is one type of music that I tend to avoid like a plague- accapella pop.

You all remember the group Rockapella right? Every time their coffee commercial came on I couldn’t turn the channel fast enough.

It just wasn’t a genre that my ears tune in to. Accapella pop seemed cheap and goofy. I hadn’t listened to it since college and hadn’t planned on listening to it since. Like Nathanael I found myself asking, “Can anything good come from accapella pop?”

Along came Eric Gwin. Eric and I have been attending church together for the past three years. Eric and I hit it off pretty well because we both have a passion for great music. Although, I only listen to great music, Eric makes it.

The Calling is, flat-out, a great album. Where most accapella albums sound over dubbed (all parts are reproduced vocally), The Calling sounds natural. Where most accapella lyrics tend to give me cavities because of their sachrine sweetness, Eric’s lyrics pour forth from a heart tuned to worshipping Jesus Christ. You can hear the truthfulness of this man because the music compliments the lyrics. This is real music.

The quality of this album matches anything you’ve heard. I played some of Eric’s stuff to a group of teens. I placed my favorite track, “The Light”, in a playlist consisting of artists like TobyMac, Matisyahu, and Third Day. The students didn’t miss a beat. The accapella music held its own. Students bobbed their head, tapped their feet, and drummed on the table. The only thing that they noticed about the music was that they liked it.

You know what, I not only liked it, I loved it. I have found myself reaching for the CD time and time again. I know you will too.

So if you find yourself asking, “Can anything good come from accapella pop?” my answer to you is a resounding, “Come and see! Come and see!”

Faith in Action, Leadership, Ministry

Cut To The Heart

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Adam Ellis over at Adventures In Following Jesus had this to say about leadership today:

I am discovering that there is a fine line between being “a prophet” and self-appointed, useless living pseudo-martyr. I believe that being prophetic is a calling from God. I also believe that it is easy to lose your vision when circumstances aren’t exactly what you think they should be. When that happens, you can become consumed with frustration and self-pity. In this condition, and in the absence of vision, you lose the ability to influence. The tricky part is that a realization that “things aren’t as they should be” is necessary for one to be prophetic. Another component is an actual vision of how it could be…how it should be. However, these two things are simply not enough. As Andy Stanley points out, this simply makes you a dreamer, and dreamers can become increasingly despondent as they recognize the disparity between the “real world” and their dream. The prophets…the visionary leaders are the ones who are willing to pour their lives and resources into partnering with God into making that dream a reality. Without that momentum and focus, you become a despondent dreamer. Prophetic, Visionary leaders believe in the dream enough to put their lives behind it. People follow passion, not hopeless complaining. Lately I’ve caught myself trying to slip into the martyr role. God has used many people and Andy Stanley’s leadership books (I continue to be astounded at the wisdom in Stanley’s stuff. I know I may lose emergent cool points over that, but it remains true.), to show me that I was headed down that path and point me back to the path I need to be walking. Join the revolution.

I don’t know what prompted Adam to write this but I find great comfort and inspiration in his words. I am a huge Andy Stanely fan and I recently finished his latest book, It Came From Within. Truly fantastic. Thanks for your words Adam.

Faith in Action, Leadership, Ministry, Stories

God’s Time

The second part of my triste on Starbucks and the Church is coming. Until then enjoy this little story.

When I was in third grade my favorite thing to do was ride my bike all over my school. The private school that I attended was built on an old college campus so there were ample sidewalks and hills for me to peddle up and down, over and around. Since my father worked at the school my sister and I had to stay on campus nearly everyday until he finished coaching. On days where the elementary dismissed early we would beg our dad to take our bikes up to school so we could have some fun while we waited on him. After class we would walk across campus to the high school parking lot, climb into the back of his truck, and grab our bikes. Often the first place I would head toward was the ECLC.

The Early Childhood Learning Center was built on the top of a good hill. A long, straight sidewalk jutted out of the back of the building down the hill. The sidewalk conected to the major walkway of the campus but if you kept going straight ahead you could fly down another small hill, streak across a small little field where we would play during recess, and barrel down yet another hill. It. was. AWESOME!

On this particular day I was ready to break a record. For my birthday I had recieved a new bike. This new bike was grey and had a great big red TURBO button. As you peddled you could hit this button and shoot into turbo mode. I was bound and determined that I was going to catch some righteous air that day. Nothing was going to get in my way.

I took off down the sidewalk. About halfway down I hit that red button. Turbo mode baby! Nothing was going to stop me. Not even my friend Curt who was standing at the bottom of the hill in the middle of the sidewalk.

To this day, Curt believes that I maliciously hit him on purpose. When he tells this story he likens me to the Witch as she hunted down poor, little Dorothy. Duh-dut-da-dut-da-duh-da-dat, Duh-dut-da-dut-da-duh-da-dat, Duh-dut-da-dut-da-duh-da-dat.

I swear. I didn’t see him and I couldn’t stop.

Curt ended up riding the front wheel of my bike down the remainder of the sidewalk, down the hill, across the field and down the other hill. It was a ride he will never forget. It was an event I will never forget.

To often in this life, we have our own ideas and agendas and we couldn’t care less about whether or not anyone around us gets hurt. Our wants and desires out weigh our concern for others. We want something, we want it now, and we are going for it.

Whenever I am reminded of this story I am reminded about our attitudes. Paul tells the Ephesians that their attitudes should mirror the attitude of Jesus Christ.

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care– then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death–and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.

Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth–even those long ago dead and buried–will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

God cannot be honored when we are running each other to get what we want. Let’s slow down, look both ways, and begin to trust that God doesn’t need our help to get us where we need to be.

Firm on the Rock, Ministry, Religion, Theology

Latte, Bees, Life, and the Gospel

Akeelah and the Bee is the inspirational story, co-presented by Lionsgate Films, 2929 Entertainment and Starbucks Entertainment, of a precocious eleven-year-old girl with a gift for spelling. Despite objections from her mother, Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne) and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah’s aptitude wins her a spot in the national spelling bee, and her determination instills all those who help her with a sense of neighborhood pride as they witness the courage and inspiration of one amazing little girl.

Did you catch that? This new movie is co-produced by, of all companies, Starbucks. While this might come as a quirky fact to many of you, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.

As I sit here at my desk typing this, the radio in my office is tuned to the satilite station XM 75: Hear Music. The mood in my office is always rich and smooth, just like a certain hot beverage. The soothing voice of the on-air personality wispers, “The sound of Starbucks” as the latest David Grey tune gently begins and I feel like I’m right there at the coffee shop- sans the sounds of coffee grinders and foaming milk, of course. Then, when I hear a new artist or a great new song, I can just pick it up at the register the next time I’m ordering a tall White Chocolate Mocha.

The bottom line for Starbucks is that it is first and foremost selling coffee but they are more interested in selling a lifestyle of laid back, hipster cool. And guess what? It works. It works because it seems to be a natural occurance. Starbucks isn’t trying hard to force you into buying their coffee and then thrusting the lifestyle on you. It happens almost organically.

You walk in to buy a cup of joe. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The cashier asks for your name and scribbles it on to your cup. While you wait for your Carmel Machiatto you peruse the CDs, mugs, coasters, and brewing machines. You walk out with your drink, a tumbler with “Starry Night”, and that ultra-cool Sam Cooke compilation. You climb into your SUV and flip the channel to 75. Tracy Chapman sings to you as you travel to work where you can buy a cold frapachino from the vending machine near your cubicle. That night you head out to go see the latest flick with your favorite actor, Larry “Cowboy Curtis” Fishburn. On the way home you pop that Sam Cooke compilation in the dash and smile. What a day.

Starbucks not only sells Coffee but Music, Movies, and Mood. Starbucks is branded as a lifestyle more than a beverage. And that got me thinking…

Part 2: Salvation and Lifestyle Are Not Mutually Exclusive

The Goal Is Soul