Big ups to Dunklin County

Yesterday I stepped on a nail, so just to be safe today I got a tetnus
shot. I must say I was impressed with the health dept as I was in and
out faster than any hardees I've ever been to. So everybody don't
forget about tetnus, the rusty silent killer.

Although somewhat immasculating berry rain is quite refreshing.

Contraband

The best part of workcamp is that you appreciate everything so much
more. Showers, amazing. But these pizza rolls we snuck were a
delight, making full use of the oven in our room.

Representin living word "staff meeting"

Kara and I at a brainstorming session

Gone this week

In southeast Missouri on a workcamp. Follow along at www.lwyouth.org

Sent from my iPhone

At Onerepublic

Uncle Mustoe

My best friends new son Israel. He is hairy and I love him.

New daddy

Finally

Men, scrub with dignity. I'm a sucker for marketing like this. I'll
spare everyone the "full review" if you know what I'm sayin!

work friends

My bro bros at a brainstorming session

Gloves are coming off

Alright, I've been rather milk-toast lately. Lots of gushy wedding stuff and piddly articles and talking about Batman a lot.

Then my friend/colleague Chris points out the latest issue of the United Methodist Reporter. On the cover, a caption below a picture reads: "United Methodists, as do most Americans, believe that many religions can lead to eternal life".

In that one statement, there's a lot to "unpack".

First of all, its my understanding that The General Conference speaks for United Methodists, not the reporter. You can site a survey if you'd like, but I would not have phrased the caption in such a way.

"Many religions can lead to eternal life". I take that to mean, that since religions lead to the same end, eternal life they're all essentially the same. I think most people who would agree with that statement just don't want to come off as being judgmental. But ironically, that is exactly what happens. Because in trying to avoid making assumptions about another person's faith, you actually are.

By saying that Buddhism and Christianity are really not different, you're making assumptions that I feel a Christian and a Buddhist should both disagree with. The trinity is not the same as the 8 fold path, and nirvana is not the same as heaven. Escaping from suffering is not the same as "thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven".

The only people who really agree with a statement like "many religions can lead to eternal life" don't know their own faith or know anyone of a different faith, because they're not the same.

Now, does that mean we just go around telling folks they're going to hell? No. There was a situation several months back where I stopped by the side of the road to give some guy a lift because his car had obviously broken down. Turns out he was a Muslim imam. Shame on all the Christians who passed this man by. Picked him up, payed for his tow, and brought him back to his mosque. A got a tour and we exchanged phone numbers. Couple months later, he calls me and we go on another errand together.

Did we have some interfaith dialogue? You betcha. Do he and I believe the same things? No! And both of us would agree that we disagree, but guess what, I'll still give him a ride.

So lets not buy into this politically-correct humanistic bare-minimum theism, which is really reserved only for spineless bourgeois intellectual types. Lets not put that junk on the front cover. If Methodism devolves into universalism, you can count me out.

Goin nuts

Here is an article that discusses peanut-free zones where the Seattle Mariners play. They actually did this at Busch two nights ago. It was really funny, they interviewed some folks and had a peanut with a no smoking slash through it up on the big screen.

Mobile test 2

What up!?

Man-Test

This Sunday at youth group was our 3rd annual Man-Lympics; a competition of rugged masculinity. Because of Title 9 we allowed females to participate as well, and also enjoyed shaming all the boys that they beat.
Here's how it worked:

-Dr. Pepper chugging
-Sawing (like, an actual board)
-Washer Tossing
-Football catching
-Sunflower seed spitting
-Written portion

Here's the written portion: How much man are you?

2008 Man-Lypics Written Portion

1.The latest installment of Batman opened up this last weekend, name the 5 actors who have played Batman: (1 point for each, 1 bonus point for correct order)

2.Recently, auto makers have redesigned classic cars for the 21st century, name one such vehicle:

3.Let’s say you’re shopping for a new pair of shorts. Do you:
a. Look at 7 different stores, trying on multiple shorts per store
b. Ask your Mom or Girlfriend or Sister to pick some out
c. Go without wearing any shorts at all
d. Go to your “usual store” hit up the sale rack and find your size

4.How much milk does the Kraft Mac N’ Cheese box call for?

5.You have an 18 gallon gas tank in your car. At half empty, you decide to fill up (because it makes you feel like you’re spending less money on gas). You’ve also kept track of the miles you’ve driven since last fill up; if you’ve traveled 167 miles, how many McDonalds double cheeseburgers could you buy with the same amount of money?

6.The PS3 was widely touted for what new technology?

7.Name 5 AC/DC songs (1 point per song, bonus points for listing Band Members):

8.What team originally drafted Albert Pujols?

9.One of your friends discovers something in the fridge that stinks, almost to the
point of causing vomiting. He offers you a sniff. Do you:
a. Scream “you’re crazy!” and run out of the room
b. Walk over to whatever is causing the stench and inhale deeply
c. Start crying
d. Pretend to sniff and fake a reaction, but you were really holding your breath

9. What color was Mace Windu’s light saber?

10. What does PSI stand for?

11. Who was the world series MVP in 2002?

12. If you ordered a whopper, what restaurant would you be at?

13. Name one reason Chuck Norris would kick your butt:

14. Which is the better burrito the size of your head: Chipotle or Q Doba?

15. Fill in the blank: ___________ is awesome.
a. Saying “dude” a lot
b. Nickel back
c. Buying shampoo
d. Accessorizing
e. Wearing Crocs

Choose the more manly:
16. Rambo: First Blood or T2
17. Alien VS Predator: Good movie, or Bad movie
18. 1080p or 1080i
19. Chrysler Seabring Convertible or 89 Toyota Corolla
20. Arts or Crafts
21. Fresca or Diet Coke
22. Mowing the Grass or Tending the garden
23. On thanksgiving: Falling asleep watching football or shopping
24. HDMI or Composite Video
25. Flower Bouquets or Big Screens

Manly, Yes or No:
26. Speaking in public restroom
27. Using a napkin for cheeto dust
28. Climbing trees
29. Having a “shopping date”
30. Using a fork to eat a chicken wing
31. Subwoofers
32. Concern for the environment
33. Veggie Pizza
34. Snapple
35. Spitting
36. Facial Hair

Movie Review>The Dark Knight

The movie was so worth all the hype, to which I've contributed.

At the theater we went to, there were 7 sold out midnight showings. 1 was on "the Mega Screen" which seats a ton of people. They added 2 more mega screen showings, one at 3:20am and another at 6:15am or something.

I think this one might break all the records. It was crazy: people dressing up, lines everywhere.

Um, this was not like most superhero movies where things are just awesome. There was some of that.

But it was scary.

And deep.

And Heath Ledger, and the dude from "Thank you for not smoking" were incredible, especially Ledger. Man, he was creepy and eeeevil.

It was so intense, I probably will see it again just to enjoy it rather than be all worried about what is going to happen next.

My only negative comment would be that Maggie Gylenhal's (sp?) face makes her look about 78 years old.

Can't say enough good things about The Dark Knight. I look forward to many more.

Local Humor

Belgian Brewer InBev's takeover of AB has already crept in.

Batman Fever Continues:

Here is an article from BoingBoing about the plausibility of someone training to become a superhero.

Yes!!!!!!!!!

Movie Review>Wall-E

This is a little late. Sarah and I saw Wall-E on our honeymoon. This movie was outstanding. There's no dialog for the first quarter of the movie, something some critics didn't like, but I think it is an indicator of how great the storytelling is. Thats the thing, Pixar tells great stories. Ya, the animation is cool but other studios can do that too.

There is so much commentary on things like taking care of the environment, technology, and convenience. Frankly, I felt a little guilty once or twice. One scene in particular showed two humans cruising along the spaceship in their space aged scooter things talking to each other on a video conference monitor right in front of their faces. Turns out they were right next to each other. Ouch!

Great movie, I would see it again. I even have a little stuffed Wall-E on my desk. I didn't cry, but I thought I would. Go see Wall-E!

An All-Star Mustoe Beard Salute

In months/years past, Jason Giambi was askew in steroid scandal. Now, he has risen from the ashes, with an amazing-'roid-fueled MUSTACHE.

So here's to you Giambi. Because of your most excellent Wade Boggs like stache, I will break my longstanding "no rooting for American League, especially Red Sox/Yanks" rule. Keep on rockin.

Check it out

I'm working on summarizing some theological positions, so see what ya think. In this document I try and summarize two competing stories of existence. SOUNDS EXCITING DOESN'T IT!?!?!?

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Post-Greensburg

Hello friends.

Last week was a great time. The group from our church was small but mighty and we joined over 100 other folks to help rebuild the City of Greensburg, which was 95% destroyed after an F-5 tornado in May of 2007.

Here's some websites to check out:

The Lope (photogrophers blog, REALLY powerful before and after shots)
BigWell.org (Local Greensburg attraction)
GreensburgGreentown.org (a site about the initiatives in Greensburg)

We helped to improve some homes that had failed inspection to get them to the next level. Ate some BBQ on the way over, did some good work, and caught some frogs. All in all, we were very blessed.

The most powerful part of the week was hearing the stories of the people there. The army core of engineers came in after the tornado and basically said they should bulldoze the town and forget about it. But the people didn't want to leave their home. Not only are they rebuilding, but Greensburg is the only city in the US to pass an ordinance that any new public buildings must be constructed using LEED certification. Pics:

Workcamp this week

Once again the blog posts may be sparse as I'm out on Workcamp to Kansas this week. With some luck I'll post some photos. Later!

Interesting Reading

Parade magazine has McCain and Obama answering the question "What is patriotism?"

Maybe I'm naive to assume this, but I'm impressed that it seems to be original material.

Click here for articles.

I'm a bit conflicted here. As a Christian, I feel I actually need to oppose many of the things "America" does, does that make me unpatriotic? Read the articles, let me know what you think.

I'm back baby!/Longest Post of All Time

Alright, pretty much the biggest two weeks of my life, so I hope you'll understand my absence from blogging. Please allow me to take you on the journey through photos and witty commentary:

PRE-WEDDING CARDINAL GAMES, June 18 and 19:
Crew #1, sweet seats. Although we did witness the Cardinals blowing a lead to the Royal pansies.


Crew #2, with noticeably higher altitude seats, still had a blast though, even though we witnessed the KC Royals sweeping the Cards, which is a bit like losing to a girl in a wrestling match.

BACHELOR PARTY, June 19:

This is me dominating the "spin & win". I won the jackpot a (I think) record breaking three times. We also discovered why I should never gamble however as I became much like an 84 year old women at "her lucky machine" and I screamed "I'M GETTIN HOT!" at least 4 times, and actually meant it like, twice.

Here is BB playing some weird Japanese game where you climb into this red bulbous apparatus, with pretty funny results. I expect this to be a standard profile picture for years to come.

Here's the whole crew, minus a couple of high school buddies that left early. Note the gigantic spider man, a daunting 6,800 tickets to snag, but relatively easy when every one pools their tickets. Believe it or not Spider-Man would go on to make an appearance at the wedding rehearsal.

WEDDING, June 21

Here's a shot from Sarah's aunt, which turned out pretty well. We've got some other ones from friends, but I'm gonna hold off on actual ceremony pictures until we get the good stuff from friend, photographer, and blogger Dustin of BrysonPhoto.com

HONEYMOON, June 22-28



This was our suite, which was outstanding. We stayed at Big Cedar Lodge, outside of Branson, MO. The whole thing was nature themed and so well done. Because, let's face it, theres a bit of irony in having a massive resort complex in rustic nature decor when you've tore up nature to put it there in the first place. But Big Cedar really does want the natural beauty of the ozarks to be preserved, and the different buildings are done so tastefully. Very nice.

Here were are on the lazy river.


We drove by this sign in Branson a couple times and were a little confused: "Is it a segway store? Is it merely a pro-segway billboard? Is it like a go-kart place...only with segways?" The answer to each of those questions was "YES!" I will say this, it is more fun to talk about the time you road segways than it actually is to ride them.

Here we are at Ozarkland, afraid, as we perused the confederate gear section. Yikes. Mecca is to Muslims as Branson is to white people. I used to love going into Ozarkland as a child, because they always had a fine selection of plastic swords. They still do, but I don't like going in there as much anymore.

Here is my Pastor and I. Before you get too freaked out, let me explain. Sarah and I were returning from seeing Wall-E. We parked and were heading up to the room when from the parking lot we hear someone fanatically screaming "IT'S ADAAAAAAAAAAAM". A little frightened that maybe the confederates were after us, I turned around to instead find our good friends Michael and Susan McIntyre. Turns out they had a wedding there the next day, and had scammed the office into telling them what room we were in so they could come try to embarrass us and have a good story. It was actually a really funny surprise, and we hang out for a bit. I think they were a little disappointed in not making us feel as awkward as they had planned! Michael and captured the event in this photo, taken on the bed for no particular reason.

THE RETURN, June 28

The only bad thing the whole trip happened on the way home. Here is a shot of my beloved malibu being towed. We were on I-44 and the car just stopped working. Luckily we were able to get to the side of the road. Un-luckily it was in the grand metropolis of Marshfield Missouri where most auto places either weren't open at all, closed at noon, or were booked until Monday. So, we were towed to an auto place that could look at the car on Monday, leaving us stranded in Marshfield. Luckily, Bob Casidy (pastor of this church) came up and got us and brought us back to civilization so we could rent a car. My bu is quickly becoming less and less beloved.

So, other than the car breaking down it's been the best time of my life. I'm glad to be back in the saddle. If you've made it this far, you have earned my respect and pity.