Urgent Breaking News!!!

Ahh, the bliss of victory. 

One can't complain when the team they wanted to win (anyone against the Lakers) doesn't only win, but literally crushes the life out of them as a team. Last night the Celtics did just that. It was a thing of beauty seeing Kobe Bryant completely and utterly shut down on almost every front. The best part about it all though was that the player who was a major fuel to the fire of the game was none other than Rajon Rondo, Kentucky grad and native. Yeah, we rep pretty hard. :-)

Today i was reading 2 articles on foxnews that were utterly ridiculous. first, a family is suing Petsmart because they said that they sold them a bird with a highly infectious and lethal disease  that killed the father of the family and put the girl into a coma for weeks. apparently, Petsmart is also being blamed for the death of three people in Rhode Island. The three victims received organ transplants with organs that had been infected with some kind of rodent virus, apparently from a rodent from petsmart.  I think before you purchase an animal, it is important to make sure that it isn't infected with a life threatening disease. Also, you could take it to the vet! As for the case in Rhode Island, I really don't know what to say. I feel like they would check the organs for disease before they put it into someone else, but they may not. I'm not sure the strictness of the organ transplant process, but i would be more concerned with the medical department than in blaming petsmart. 

The second article was about a lawsuit against victoria's secret. Now before you judge me for reading this article, let me tell you the headline of the article was "woman sues victoria's secret over thong injury". With a title like that, who isn't intrigued!? well, she apparently was trying to get into the lacy underroo's when something metal that was attached to them flew off and hit her directly in the eye! Ok, first off, what the heck is metal that is attached to your underwear!? it isn't like you are going into battle and you need to protect yourself!?! Secondly, in order for something to fly up far enough and fast enough to hit her in the eyeball, she would have been stretching the thing like it was a rubber band or a slingshot. I'm thinking that she had no idea what she was doing and the underwear got mad, so it basically punched her in the face. Hah. If only thats what would've happened...

I think this is my complaint with Foxnews. The two stories above prove that it is completely about being a sensationalist news source. Why would i really care about defective underwear?! Foxnews is about being the biggest and the loudest about the most extreme news. Now that doesn't make other news sources better than Foxnews. Every single news source is biased in one way or another, so finding the news that you like is more about finding the news that you agree with the most. Personally, i think that looking at multiple international news sources gives the best view of what is actually happening to america, and sometimes even in america. 

Also, its unbelievable how self focused american news is. There have been times where i've read the headline of the BBC news as it talks about a huge massacre in Africa, where hundreds and hundreds of people are dead and dying, only to find not a single mention of it in american news. We'd much rather hear about Britney Spears and the custody battle for her children. Its just sad how narcissistic our culture and society is. 

Sigh... the world will never be perfect, but there still is a lot we could do.

ok i'm out.

Oh! You really should check out this website. Its pretty funny.

Safe Now! Safe Now! Safe Now!

In it or out of it?

Yesterday, Jake and I were talking a little bit about what it is like to be a minister. We at first were talking about what we are called to do as christians, but it eventually developed into, "could i have a greater effect on people if i wasn't in vocational ministry?" This is something that he said he has struggled with, and as i see how ministry works, i can see myself wondering the same thing.

Would i be more effective to the gospel if i was an artist that worked in the secular world? Would people listen to me more about everything i had to say if i was a columnist, not a christian columnist? By that i don't mean i'm not a christian, but if i just wrote about the things that were in the world as opposed to only christian ideals. 

take for example coldplay. They are one of the biggest bands on the face of the planet right now, having millions of fans and huge venues that they play at. Imagine if Chris Martin were a christian. What if through his music he promoted christian ideals? What if they way he lived his life showed that he followed God? He would be able to communicate what a true christian life looks like to MILLIONS of people! He would be able to have a positive effect on people's lives that won't ever step into a church. If he said that he was only going to write christian music for the rest of his career, he would lose a marvelous soapbox that he currently stands on. 

Now, taking it back to my life, what should i do? How many real non-christian friends do i have? How many people do i hang out with that don't know christ? How much interaction with the rest of the world do i have apart from christian society? Looking at it from this point of view, i'm failing pretty liberally at being a christian that is actively applying the Gospel. How much outreach do i do?

On the flip side of this though, there has to be minsters. If there was no church, then christians would be completely left to fend for themselves, which isn't what God intended for us. The church (and the people that run the church) are an important part of the christian faith here on earth. God has chosen the church as the vessel for His message of grace to be communicated to the rest of the world. 

Last night i was talking with my Mom about this topic and we came to the conclusion that the church should be like the doctors and coaches that stand on the sideline of a football or basketball game. The believers in the church (the football or basketball players) are out on the field (the rest of the world) playing against the other team (Non-believers). When one of the believers gets hurt or is tired or doesn't know what to do, they can come to the sideline and receive attention from the church. They get bandaged up, encouraged, disciplined, or taught something in order for them to get back on the field and keep playing. The goal of the player isn't to defeat the other team, but to get them to join the right team. The church can empower believers, but it can't do there job.

This doesn't mean that people that work in a church don't have to be active players as well. Everyone, either on the sideline or on the field, is on the same (winning!) team, therefore they are all working toward the same goal. Becoming a christian and going to church isn't the goal, but working to bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth is. We are working toward holistic redemption and restoration of the earth, not converting to a religion. That might be the means that it is carried out, but is definitely not the end. 

Last night at the mexico mission trip team meeting, i found out that one of the people on my team has the same name and birthday as an international fugitive. Hah! Crossing the border into mexico might be interesting! :-)

Also, last night i finished the book that was currently reading, The Sword of Shanarra. I'm now looking for something new to read, so if anyone has any suggestions, i will gladly accept them! 

until next time!

ps- i'm glad the Celtics lost on Sunday. It means they'll win at home. 

Tight.