Check out Improv Everywhere: We Cause Scenes. They have a lot of awesome stuff over there! You should especially watch Human Dominoes and Food Court Musical. But really, it’s all good stuff!

If you want to subscribe to their YouTube channel, you can find it here. Funny stuff.

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Right now they have season 4 of The Office up as well as season 2 of 30 Rock.  Come on, that is comedy gold!  Gold, Jerry, gold!  Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, they occasionally have full episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles up (not at this moment though).  One of the shows I was sad to see canceled this year was Journeyman, they have all the first season.  Last night I watched the new Knight Rider remake: Not. Good.  Cool car.  Crappy show.  If they decide to make it into a series, they will have a lot of work to do!

Basically what I am saying is this, go check out some good tv online.  If you want some suggestions, check out my profile at Hulu!  It sounds like they will be adding to both their tv and movie selections.  Right now the movies aren’t much to speak of, but their television selection is fairly decent.

And if anyone has any suggestions about some good stuff to watch over there, let me know!

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I have to say that it is really hard to leave Tillicum. My two mentor teachers have been an amazing help in building up my abilities. Their encouragement, suggestions, and careful observations have really helped me grow as a teacher over this past year. While I know that switching schools in the last quarter when the kids start to get crazy will be difficult, I am confident that I have been well prepared for the task.

The kids have also made it very difficult to leave. They have been a great group of kids! They, really, are the hardest part about leaving. They have grown on me this year and I hope that I have made an impact in their lives and education.

Here are a few shots of the kids I am leaving behind!

The kids just before their spring break. I am sad that I didn’t get a picture of my 2nd period 7th graders. All the shots are of my 8th grade physics classes.

R.E.M. - Leaving New York

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The De-Versify project has produced The Books of the Bible. Using the TNIV they have created a single column chapter-less, verse-less, and note-less version of the Bible that will flow much better and read much more like the narrative that it is.

This all being said, I just read a blog post over there that has made me questions some of the practical uses of TBofB: Organic References. As the title suggests, they propose that providing scripture references can be done more organically rather than with a specific chapter and verse. While I may agree with certain aspects of that philosophy (I am a HUGE fan of context), I also have some reservations about it. What follows is a comment I left there at that post (you might want to read the post before my comments on it).

I will preface this by saying that I am in full support of the de-versifying project. The original scriptures didn’t need numbers, so we don’t either.

That being said, I think this post gets at the heart of one of my biggest issues. In the modern world of the printing press… or Blackberries and iPhones… we are encouraged by our churches, and I would say the Spirit, to not just blindly follow what the fine chap up front is telling us. We are called to challenge what it is we are being taught by checking things out ourselves. Will this become more difficult if our pastors start using The Books of the Bible?

When pastors quote or make reference to other passages they could, as you have suggested in this post provide the context and surrounding of that particular quotation so the actual verse and chapter is not strictly needed. That is fine and all, but I have two issues with that.

1) For the new Christian who is exploring their faith and who is (hopefully) trying to deepen their understanding of said faith the context might not be enough to let them know where to search out those passages for further research.

2) For the Christ follower who is familiar with the scriptures, it is still a time saver to have the actual chapter and verse. This may be somewhat of an indicator of laziness, but not necessarily. Aside from those with amazing memories, providing the setting for the verse won’t necessarily lead us right to where that passage comes from. In note taking during sermons it is not only a time saver to jot down the chapter and verse, but is actually more beneficial; in the time it takes for me to sloppily write down hints about where to find the verse, the pastor may have moved on to another talking point or may even just be reading that particular passage (which I am not fully paying attention to because I am writing).

This, obviously, isn’t a condemnation of The Books of the Bible, it is just an issue that, I feel, need to be more directly dealt with.

When I read “Isaiah 42” in The Books of The Bible, I can easily see that there is a lengthy oracle that precedes it.

In that one sentence you made reference to a chapter because it was much easier and more succinct than writing out the summary of the content of that chapter.

The other that arises is this: if I provide the context for a passage by saying “shortly after this happened, and before this story” you are opening up the possibility of confusion. What if there are two similar stories or what if someone writes down a detail wrong so assumes you are talking about a different story or location?

The Bible’s books have natural, intentional, literary breaks. Let’s start talking about them. And let’s start practicing referring to them in natural, contextual, literary ways.

I completely agree. The more context, both historical and literary, can be provided in a sermon or study the better. People need to know where the stories are coming from, why they are where they are, etc. But progress (if chapters and verses can be seen as such) is not always a bad thing.

Any thoughts on this issue?

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What in the world is Easter about? It makes no sense to celebrate the gruesome death of a minor country preacher, making a virtue, as Nietzsche warned, of failure.

This from the beginning of John Stackhouse’s most recent post “The Subversiveness of Easter.” I recommend you go read the rest.

He suffers and dies as a sacrificial lamb, his last words confusing some nearby (”Is he calling for Elijah?”) as he invokes not only the bleakness but also the confidence of Psalm 22. Then they ring down the centuries as declarations of victory (”It is finished!“) and trust (”Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”).

And then we find ourselves here: The empty tomb. The world changed forever. Living in the “now, but not yet.” We waited in anticipation of his victory over death, now we can wait in His grace along with that anticipation of his final return.

Today we remember that He is Risen!

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And as he hung on the cross, having lived a sinless life, having paid the penalty for your sins and mine, Jesus uttered his last words before dying. Τετέλεσται (tetelestai) “It is finished” (John 19.30). This one word summary of Jesus’ life and death is perhaps the single most important statement in all of Scripture. The word means “to complete,” “to bring to perfection.” Jesus had fully done the work God the Father sent him to do. Paul spends Romans 5 discussing this very fact, that our salvation is sure because Christ’s death totally defeated the effects of Adam’s sin, completely.

But the tense of the verb, the “perfect” tense, brings out even more of what Jesus was saying. The perfect describes an action that was fully completed and has consequences at the time of speaking. Jesus could have used the aorist, ετελέσθη (etelestha), and simply said, “The work is done.” But there is more, there is hope for you and for me. Because Jesus fully completed his task, the ongoing effects are that you are I are offered the free gift of salvation so that we can be with him forever. Praise the Lord. Τετέλεσται

I stole this from a previous post; the insight comes from William Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek (Second Edition from Zondervan Publishing, 2003). I found it quite fitting for today.

I hope you are pondering, again, the mystery of Good Friday. Τετέλεσται

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Aside from providing a much needed update, I wanted to remind all you out in the blogosphere that Easter is coming up. Today is Maundy Thursday, I invite you to ponder the Upper Room and what is preceded. The Last Meal taken there among a group of friends was to lead to betrayal, denial, and the Passion. What a sad and wonderful weekend we begin to celebrate tonight.

While I will be heading down to spend Easter with my family, for those of you still in Seattle I invite you to my church up on Queen Anne: All Saints: Church for all who Believe, Doubt, and Seek. There will be three services: 7:30am (yikes!), 9:00am, and 11:00am. I have no doubt that Bill will speak truth and wisdom into your life with his words guided by the Spirit and the Word.

The All Saints media team produced the advertisement at right for the Seattle Weekly. Thought provoking, eh? All Saints is an interesting mix of folk and I think this ad exemplifies the diverse background of attenders. Hopefully as people come to truly understand the Passion, the need for the Cross, and the abundant life that comes from accepting the grace offered to us will lead people to pick “c” - Lord willing.

Have a great weekend!

PS, for those interested in this sort of thing, I have created a Facebook group for All Saints, come and join!

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And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I am going to be unoriginal and point to some of my previous posts for your Christmas reading pleasure!:

God bless and have a wonderful celebration of our savior’s birth!

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The first A Rocha project began in Portugal in 1983. A field study centre and bird observatory was established near the Alvor estuary and it has now been visited by thousands of people from many parts of the world.

All over the world Christians are realising that important habitats and their wildlife urgently need protection and so, since 1994, new A Rocha projects have started in other parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and North America. The international cross-cultural strength of the Christian community has been making a unique contribution, not least as communities struggle to reconcile the need to protect biodiversity with their hopes for sustainable development.

A Rocha projects have a community emphasis, bringing together people from widely differing backgrounds to work towards common goals.

Two of my favorite people are back living in Canada: Andy is back at Regent preparing to join the Anglican ranks and Katie is working for A Rocha Canada.

Based in British Columbia’s lower mainland, A Rocha Canada is a national conservation organization working to show God’s love for all of creation. We work out our commitment to environmental action through community-based conservation projects, with a focus on science and research, practical conservation, and environmental education.

Andy has been very impressed by how A Rocha is trying to make a real impact in God’s creation. Not only that, but they are trying to find a realistic balance between living green and being aware of economic concerns. Katie is looking to raise support for this year and if any of you out there think A Rocha is a worthy cause (and it is), I invite you over to find out more about Katie’s role at A Rocha and ask her about supporting her. Christians need to be making an impact in the World that God has given us and this is a great, practical way that this can happen. Check it out! And here is a brief video introducing A Rocha:

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For a group of guys who wrote some crazy and bizarre songs, they sure know how to write some amazing theology that can make me cry. They are very similar to Five Iron Frenzy in this way I think, especially as compared to the song On Distant Shores, one of my personal favorites. Ponder these words as you enjoy your season of Advent. (Emphasis mine.)

I Celebrate The Day by Relient K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You’ve touched my life
Because here is where You’re finding me, in the exact same place as New Year’s eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We’re less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I’ll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

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All Saints just finished up a series on Love and Relationships. It was a great series that made some great points about marriage in particular and relationships in general. My take-away? I really wish I was in a relationship! Haha. Ok, I am being a bit flippant. It is true, I would like to be in a relationship (but I am also quite happy without it), but there was much more that was said that should be meditated on to grow closer to Christ and used to build strong relationships with others.

I commented on one of the sermons (”Two Nonnegotiables“) that dealt with seeking that “perfect” relationship. Bill went on to cover a wide variety of “love and marriage” issues (check out the audio downloads page at All Saints to hear them all) concluding with “Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire” (Sex!) and “Keeping it Hot! Staying in Love Forever.”

Sex is always an awkward topic to discuss in Christian circles. But to truly live holistically as a Christian, we must recognize that God created sex for our pleasure and enjoyment. To deny that is to ignore the benefits of something that God has given us. See a passage like Proverbs 5:18-19 and try to ignore God’s desire for us when it comes to sex. Heck, read the book Song of Solomon (often called the Song of Songs [which really means “the best song”]), you won’t be able to deny God’s intentions towards sex. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 notes:

The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

This is both a freeing and scary statement. A husband and wife shouldn’t deprive each other. I think that modern culture understand that. But the “no authority over his/her own body” thing people have problems with. But to be perfectly blunt, if they are not comfortable with that, they should not get married.

The Bible is also pretty explicit about the appropriate time for having sex: after entering into marriage. I won’t dwell on this too much because I think it is a point that has been argued about ad nauseam. I will say this: it is exceedingly difficult for Christians to defend any arguments they have for having sex before marriage. The world may not understand why we wait; they don’t seen to get that sex is a profound spiritual, emotional, and physical act that carries complications and implications in all those areas. Waiting just means we recognize that God has a better idea about how sex is to be used that we do. I am quite unashamed in saying that I am 28 and a virgin. That doesn’t mean it is easy to wait, especially in seeing how God has created sex for us, but it is crucial to be able to fully experience all that comes along with this gift.

The series was concluded today with a sermon on keeping the passion alive; how do we stay in love with the same person forever? Bill offered four ways to help keep your relationships strong (specifically romantic relationships, but relationships in general will also benefit from these suggestions). Step toward growth in Christ (Philippians 2:4-5). Step toward servanthood (Matthew 20:26-28). Step toward honor (Romans 12:10). Step toward enjoyment of each other (John 10:10). Simple principles, but epic in importance. The hard part is actually living these things out. They don’t have to be huge things, little daily things are just as important as the big, grand gestures. Daily practice of these suggestions will help foster love for each other and build a strong foundation.

Small topics, eh? I know all these things could be explored in much more detail, but I will leave it at that for now. Now I just need to get a date so as to apply some of the principles talked about in the series!

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This past week at had two 13.5+ hour days at school (we had parent conferences), another day with school AND classes, and then I took over my second class. Oh, and it is the end of the quarter and I have TONS to grade.

Fortunately, it is a four day weekend! Yesterday I actually got to do some curriculum work AND get paid for it! Huzzah! Hopefully I can get the rest of the stuff done by Tuesday.

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The world keeps spinning because of money it seems. I don’t have a problem with businesses, even big businesses; I think they are needed and necessary. I don’t even have a problem with them using the Earth’s resources (both space and energies). It makes sense that they will be influenced by the almighty dollar. Bottom line is crucial: they need to pay their employees, stock holders, decrease costs, etc. What is surprising is that this model of business will actually help the environment… if they let it.

Popular Mechanics recently came out with their 2007 Breakthrough Awards (all of which are extremely interesting). The reason for this post is one of the winners: Amory Lovins: The Prophet of Efficiency. Lovins and his “Think and do tank” Rocky Mountain Institute have been helping businesses move to soft energy technologies.

He is a pragmatic, pliers-in-hand visionary with a penchant for physics who spends his time engineering a future in which Americans stop burning fossil fuels, yet improve their standard of living. Getting there, he’s certain, is mainly a matter of tapping a nearly limitless resource—corporate pressure to cut costs and improve the bottom line.

The Daily Green has a good article on Lovins and the Breakthrough Award that you should also read: Why Global Warming and Peak Oil are Irrelevant: A Quick Look Inside the Very Full Brain of Amory Lovins (H/t to Sal).

Lovins and the team at the Rocky Mountain Institute have applied radical efficiency to help redesign more than $30 billion worth of facilities in 29 sectors.

If oil runs out next year, or in the next decade, that will matter less than the rise of competitive sources of energy in the marketplace. Petroleum will go the way of whale oil, which in 1850 was the world’s fifth largest industry, Lovins said. That powerful industry lasted precisely until coal-based oils provided a cheaper alternative to the common lighting fuel. You don’t hear much about whale oil anymore.

“Whalers were astounded,” Lovins said, “when they ran out of customers before they ran out of whales.”

Read the whole thing. And also check out Lovins’ PM Breakthrough Award article and video, PM’s guide to sustainability, and PM’s 3 Big Ideas for Efficient Big Business from Amory Lovins. Interesting stuff. I guess it just show you can be green in a variety of ways.

Oh, and also be sure to check out this brilliant idea: Shawn Frayne: The Nonturbine Wind Alternative: Windbelt, Cheap Generator Alternative, Set to Power Third World. This is genius. How has someone not come up with this yet? Simply amazing. And I like that his idea came from watching the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.

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Back on August 11th, Erin and I went to another awesome show at The Crocodile Cafe. The Pale Pacific put on two shows because they are going to put out a live CD! How awesome is that? The set list was great; the CD should sound amazing. Cam, Gabe, Greg, and Justin gave a performance quite worthy of being recorded and now Cam just has to find the time to mix all the tapes down. I just hope it comes out soon! We’ll see I guess. I will be sure to keep you updated when it becomes available.

Here’s the scoop, as per usual, I took some pics and some video clips. For your visual enjoyment, check out my Flickr set: The Pale Pacific @ The Crocodile Cafe. Some are posted below as well and will take you to those pictures, but you should check out the full set (and larger versions). AND for your visual and audio enjoyment, I have posted some clips up at YouTube. You should check them out, I am pretty sure you will enjoy them. (You can also check out my Pale Pacific YouTube playlist.

The Pale Pacific Rocks!

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Last Sunday at All Saints Church Bill gave the first sermon in a series about relationships titles “Finding the Love of Your Life” - provocative, eh? The foundation of the sermon was Proverbs 3.6: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Seems like a good foundation. I am actually not going to talk about the bulk of the sermon (but feel free to listen to it, it was quite good), but I wanted to take a brief look at one of his points. He noted that going into marriage there need to be two nonnegotiables (and one strong recommendation) in finding “the one” (which is a load of crap by the way, if you disagree about that, feel free to argue!).

Nonnegotiable #1: Spiritual Compatibility. Where are we in our walk with God? If we are in vastly different places, that could cause problems. The extreme of this is being in a relationship with a non-believer; this is a touch subject and is bound to piss people off, but it really is crucial. If you are going to be devout in your faith, how would being married to an unbeliever work? These are problems that would never go away. Being able to walk with God together is a foundational aspect of a healthy relationship.

Nonnegotiable #2: Life Purpose Compatibility. Where are our lives heading? Amos 3.3 says “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?” Or in the the paraphrase of The Message: “Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren’t going to the same place?”  How could two people walk together if they were not going in the same direction? This is not to say that the couple cannot or should not have separate interests, but it does mean that two people heading for marriage should actually sit down and discuss where they want to go in life and see if those visions are compatible. If it is pushed away to be dealt with inside the marriage, it will just cause problems. If you can’t agree now, you probably won’t then.

Strong Recommendation: Personal Compatibility. This isn’t a nonnegotiable, but it is still pretty important. How did you grow up? What is your family like? What is their background? These are important questions that really do need to be asked. Of course a person’s history does not completely determine who they are and how they act, but it can still play a big role. Understanding a person’s context will help to understand them. Are the ways that you relate compatible or are there always misunderstandings? Personal compatibility is a big issue that should most definitely be explored.

The reality is that our choices, and they are our choices (”decisions determine destiny”), should be made within appropriate boundaries. There are a number of ways that God guides/teaches/communicates with us in a number of way (which Bill expounds on in the sermon). It is up to us to use those resources to make the best choices we can; when we do that, God will bless our decisions. That doesn’t mean thing will always be easy, in fact things will always get difficult at times (obviously), but it means that there can always be forward progress (Gary Thomas’ book Sacred Marriage is a great read on this topic as well). There is freedom in the choices we make within the boundaries God has provided for us. And he truly has provided them; without boundaries things would be chaos and problems within the relationship would abound. Enjoy the freedom! Now if only I could get a date…

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For the past four weeks I have gone back to middle school. No, I haven’t forgotten remedial math. I have taken up my internship in the Bellevue School District as a student teacher for the 2007-08 school year. What does that mean? Well it means that I get up early and go to bed late. This is especially true now that I also have classes on top of school. Does that mean I have no spare time? No, not really, but I have just been pretty tired and haven’t been focusing my energy on blogging. So what have my last four weeks looked like, you ask? I have been working with two mentors who have been extremely helpful and encouraging of my role in the classroom. I have been mostly in the 8th grade physics classes there (and one 7th grade integrated science). I have been helping students in their labs and I have started taking over a number of the class warmups. In the next few weeks I will be picking up my first class that I will have for the entire year. It is pretty exciting and scary at the same time. It has been great building relationships with the students and easing into more substantial responsibilities. What I am not looking forward to is writing full lesson plans for every lesson… no teacher ever actually does that and it will just be tiring to write them all the time with everything else I have to do as well.

Really, it all comes down to getting into a routine. I need to get into a routine of sleeping better (the going to bed at 1 and waking up at 5:30 doesn’t really feel too good after a few days. I need to get in the routine of going classwork. I need to get in the routine of living in community again. It’s all good stuff. The stuff that takes me out of routine is also good stuff. I think it is a matter of finding balance. But I do so love the non-routine things!

Well, it is already past 11… how about that for routine?

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I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. Till that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?

Wise words I think. We are often very arrogant when we speak to God; what makes us so sure we are justified in our petitions? Why are we so quick to complain about things? We need to grow up and draw close to him before we should expect Him to listen to us. Because He is gracious, He does often listen to us even before then, but why should we expect it?

The next scene is just after Orual has made her petition to the gods, the Fox explains to her what will happen next:

“We must go to your true judges now. I am to bring you there.”

“My judges?”

“Why, yes, child. The gods have been accused by you. Now’s their turn.”

“I cannot hope for mercy.”

“Infinite hopes - and fears - may both be yours. Be sure that, whatever else you get, you will not get justice.”

“Are the gods not just?”

“Oh no, child. What would become of us if they were? But come and see.”

I love this passage! We should be thankful God doesn’t deal with us justly! This is so profound I think.

And finally, just before Orual’s death, Lewis hits us across the face with her final monologe:

I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before yoru face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words.

Beautiful. Read the book.

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