Grab-Bag: Monster Trucks, Coaching & Silly Humanism, & Confirming My Man-Crush

A great weekend and some grab-bag thoughts to get us started this week.

*The State Fair is second in our house only to Christmas in terms of excitement-wattage for the kids. And to be honest, Kelly and I dig it, too. In part because it's so fun to watch them get so amped up for it.

Of course, given that it's the State Fair, there's lots of country involved. For us suburban-types, it can be a mixture of entertaining and sometimes disorienting.

Perhaps the most randomly entertaining portion of the day was a p.a. announcement for the monster truck pull. It concluded with one of the more memorable wrap-ups in the history of monster truck advertisements: "We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge."

*An A+ sermon this weekend from Dave Ward, pastor for community life at Chapel Hill Bible Church. If you're at all in a season of trying to make a decision or discern God's will, this sermon is a must-listen. Check it out here.

*If anyone's watching (and I'm not sure that anyone is) the Tar Heels have won some football games and have looked pretty good doing it. I'm just sayin...

*Alternating between spiritual-formation-type book management/leadership type books. Right now I'm reading Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore.

If you're a manager at any level, this book will help you think about how best to come alongside folks you're leading and help them to grow in their capabilities.

Of course, it makes all the mistakes of many secular-humanist business books. It assumes all people are good and have somehow been tainted by their upbringing and culture. Who are all these basically good people who are tainting the rest of us basically good people?

*Some good Scripture over the weekend to augment my post from Friday last week on the discipline of silence as key to growing into who we truly are from Psalm 62:

⁵For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
⁶He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us.

*Been struck by how many conversations about family brokenness (current marriages, family baggage, kids rebellion) been having recently. Grateful for my own parents' perseverance through plenty of ups and downs...and more aware than ever how much power I have to bless or curse my kids.

*Further confirmation of my man-crush on Malcolm Gladwell: The Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted. A great discussion of the limitations of social networking to bring real change to the world.

Grab-Bag: Desperate for Kleenex, Nietzche and Jesus Agree, and Impossible Revenge

A quick grab-bag round-up:

*I first read "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in junior high. I cried when I finished it (don't mock me, I was a sensitive little guy). I didn't want it to end--not ever.

I feel similarly about the gospel of John--and this time through, I was wrapping up my summer study of the questions that Jesus asks.

Jesus' first recorded words in John are a question: "What do you want?" And his last recorded words in John also have a question at the core: "What is that to you? You follow me!" he says to Peter when Peter asks if John's fate will be as difficult as his has just been foretold to be.

My study through the questions Jesus asks has been a unique and fresh experience of getting to know Jesus. Try it out if you're looking for a fresh way to study the Scriptures. Start with John...and have some Kleenex ready when it's all over (or maybe that's just me).

*I also just finished "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership" by Ruth Haley Barton. Barton walks through the life of Moses and draws out principles of work and rest, community and solitude, vision and waiting, interceding for grumpy followers and learning to discern God's voice for direction in ministry.

This book was an excellent refresher for the soul of this would-be leader. I'd highly recommend it to all my peeps in ministry out there, most of whom (in both church-world and campus-ministry-land) are coming off the rush of the start of the school year--and are probably in need of a soul-tune-up.

*A prayer that has been re-orienting me recently: "Lord, let no appetite rule over me except an appetite for you ." Just been realizing how easy it is to let my stomach be my god, and have quite flimsy and passing desires over-run the things that actually matter most.

*One of the things that I really appreciate about Tim Keller, pastor in Redeemer whose podcasts I listen to somewhat regularly, is that he goes to great lengths to agree with people who are opposed to Jesus.

Nietzsche, Freud, and Marx are all welcome sparring partners and much of what they said about religion being self-righteous, self-justifying, and being used to oppress people is absolutely true. Christians can't dismiss them because Jesus himself said the same thing.

But the problem we're left with if we're following these guys is they don't offer any helpful alternatives. All three of them offered lame alternatives that have been tried and found deeply wanting.

And so if all four agree on the same problem but three of them have no better solutions, then perhaps those of us who find ourselves in deep resonance with the critique but in dire need of a better solution should consider Jesus.

Brilliant...and not just rhetorically cool but absolutely stinkin' true.

*Great issue of Christianity Today this month--covering everything from the global issues that Christianity is facing to uncovering Ayn Rand's deeply problematic economic philosophy...and how many Christians have bought into it. Check it out, subscribe, or just steal it from a friend. Ours is available if you're in the neighborhood.

*This from George MacDonald (and yes, I do have some degree of facial-hair envy--check out that sweet beard!): "While a satisfied justice is an unavoidable eternal event, a satisfied revenge is an eternal impossibility."

Last Grab-Bag Thoughts on Having the House Broken Into

Some final thoughts (for now) from the past couple of days post the break-in at our house over the weekend.

*Plenty of folks have thoughtfully asked about how the kids are doing. That was actually one of our worst fears as well--particularly as our six and four year old are both pretty finely-tuned emotionally.

But the Lord's been good to help us help them navigate this. We've talked some about forgiving the guys who did it. We've laughed about them trying to use our dysfunctional microwave and how it would burn their popcorn. Zoe prayed two nights ago about forgiving them.

We've been helped by the possibly fictitious but functional idea that the guys who did this clearly knew that we weren't home and wouldn't have broken in if we had been home. Home, then remains safe for us while we're in it.

It still comes up randomly, and when it does we talk through it. They're a little spooked but seem to be processing it well.

*Lest I come across here in these posts as completely angst or anger or sadness-free, I've definitely had my moments. In particular, my wife's computer had tons of pictures on it that we didn't have anywhere else. Lots of great pics of our kids, totally lost for good.

And we're terrible at taking video of our kids, but what little video we did have was stored on the video camera that also walked out with the thieves.

These realizations have dawned on us at random intervals and have definitely been cause for less than happy thoughts. But it's also pushed us to more prayer and releasing the things that we need to release.

*I joked yesterday that my wife says this is my fault for preaching a sermon on "Overcoming Opposition" on Sunday. If you're interested in listening to the aforementioned sermon, you can do so at the Chapel Hill Bible Church sermon podcast page. For those of you not-so-techno-savvy, your computer most likely has an MP-3 player already installed. All you gotta' do is click to play.

Given the tremendous mental acuity of Piebald Life readers most of you would recognize the influences that have shaped my speaking.

So let me here and now recognize those influences, in no particular order: Monty Python's "Search for the Holy Grail," Steve Shelby, Andy Stanley, Tim Keller, Miroslav Volf, the good folks at All Saints Anglican Church, and of course all the students who have had to suffer under many of talks over the years and have been gracious enough to give me constructive feedback.

Oh, and apologies to the good people at Harris Teeter.

*Given the obvious reminder of the fragility of our homes here on earth, the question that Jesus asks in John 14 that I read over the weekend as I continue my study through the gospels of the Jesus' questions is particularly poignant:

In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

Amen, come Lord Jesus! A big house! Lots of rooms prepared for our arrival! And my guess is that none of the microwaves burn the popcorn.

Grab Bag: "Precious" Is, Starfish: AA, Wiki, & the Church in China, and Podcast Gluttony

A quick round-up and review of some books, movies and podcasts that I've been imbibing over the past several days...

*My wife and I rented "Precious" last weekend. It was about as intense, disturbing and redemptive as a movie can get. If you can stomach some pretty awful child abuse, it's a pretty fantastic movie: A-

*I'm always interested in reading business management, leadership, and trends-types books--they keep me from getting overly-immersed in the Christian ghetto. The Starfish and the Spider is an interesting look at how leader-less organizations are rather un-stoppable. Cut off a starfish "leg" and another grows in its' place. Cut off the head of a spider, and the spider's dead.

When big record companies go after file-sharing fiends like Napster, all it did was further decentralize file-sharing: Kazaa which morphed into Kazaa Lite which was radically de-centralized by Emule. The big labels acted like file sharing was a spider. But by shutting down one version of it, all they did was further de-centralize it, making it harder and harder to stop.

Other examples of de-centralized phenomena are Alcoholics Anonymous, Craigslist and Wikipedia. As I read it, though, all I could think of was the explosive growth of the underground church movement in China. I wonder if a century from now, one of the most studied "Starfish" organizations in all of history might be the underground Chinese church.

An interesting read if you're into this sort of thing, it's most compelling when it's story-telling rather than trying to draw out the "principles of a starfish organization:" B+

*This past weekend we rented "The Time Traveler's Wife." An average mix of decent plot, decent acting, and a decent (but not great) date-night movie: B-

*Last week I finished listening to the book "Jesus Asked" read by the author, Conrad Gempf, in short 10-13 minute podcasts--half of a chapter in each podcast. The podcast was suggested by my good friend Steve after I shared here about my summer study of in the gospels of questions that Jesus asked.

Gempf (whom I had never heard of before) tackles a potentially dry study of the gospels by an academic and turns it into a thoughtful but delightfully light look at the questions Jesus asked and the questions behind the questions that Jesus asked.

His quirky asides and playful approach to the Scriptures augment his deeply thoughtful engagement with Jesus and the various ways that Jesus questions "work" to engage, expose, and invite his listeners in.

I'd highly recommend downloading these podcasts if you're looking for something to shake-up your own study of the Scriptures. You can listen to it on the way to work and it'll give you food for thought all day long (oh, and bonus: it's free): A

*Upon finishing Gempf's podcasts, I went scouring Itunes and Itunes U for more good (free) stuff. And wow, there is definitely good stuff out there to be had.

In particular I'd recommend downloading Tim Keller's "greatest hits" sermons. Also lots of addresses by N.T. Wright and Dallas Willard (two of my most formidable mentors), some incredible speakers in the Catalyst podcast library, and I've downloaded the Freakonomics podcasts (done by the same guys who wrote the book) but can't vouch for their quality as I haven't listened to them yet.

Friday Grab-Bag: Yo Steve, "Just Ask" Review, "First 90" For Your Transitions, & World Cup Angst

*I've had a lot of new visitors over the past couple weeks--folks from the infamous blog "Stuff Christians Like." I'd like to thank my friend Steve Tamayo for the shout-out and alert all my new and old readers that I've added Steve's very thoughtful blog to my blog-roll over on the right.

Thanks to Steve and thanks to the folks who have been checking out Piebald Life!

*In keeping with my theme of late, I recently finished the book "Just Ask Leadership." It's got some good insights on how to lead in a business management context from a framework of question-asking rather than pronouncement making.

The free on-line test that came with it was worth the price of the book for me. I answered the questions out of the more extreme "gotta' make things happen" side of me and found the assessment of what could happen if I let that run rampant was sobering and right-on.

I'd give it 3 stars out of 5 for the book, an extra 1/2 star if you throw in the on-line assessment as part of the package.

*Several folks have commented off-line that talking about transition has been helpful for them as they go through work transitions themselves. One book that I'd highly recommend for anyone stepping into a new leadership or management position is Michael Watkins book "The First 90 Days."

His most compelling insight in the book is that most new leaders or managers fail because they do not match their strategy or approach to the situation that they are entering into. His categories of start-up, turn-around, re-alignment or sustaining success--and how to approach each differently--is worth the price of the book in and of itself.

It's worth the read even if you're not in your "first 90 days" of a job and you're looking for some fresh perspective on the place you've been in for a while.

*Big match-up this Sunday in the World Cup, and I'm completely torn. My grandparents came over from Holland after World War 2. I lived in Spain for 3 years in junior high. So which one should I go with: strudels or tapas? If I had any culinary skills, the mixture of the two cultures would be quite tasty, indeed.

I think I'll end up pulling for Holland: a bit of an underdog and the mother-country and all that. But I wouldn't be disappointed to see Spain pull out the win.

Post-Rockbridge Re-Entry Grab-Bag: Popping Immodiums Like Tic-Tacs and Other Highlights

Still digging out from sleep-deprivation after two weeks away at InterVarsity's year-end conference at Rockbridge, a Young Life camp we commandeer annually for a couple weeks in May. Here's a grab-bag collection of thoughts:

*Young Life does camping superbly well. If you ever get a chance to volunteer or go to a Young Life camp, do it. The staff are incredibly gracious and the facilities are first-rate. They call it "camping" but really it's a resort. Think forty-person hot-tubs, four sand-volleyball courts, and meals with desserts to die for.

*For the eighth year I co-directed the small group leader training. Over the course of the two weeks, we trained 180 small group leaders. Over the course of eight years, I've helped to train somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500 small group leaders blessing approximately 8,000-10,000 students.

*Over the course of our small group leader training, we went through the entire book of 1 Peter. Hence, my prolific posting from 1 Peter the weeks previous. I've got some more thoughts after going through it twice over the course of two weeks. Great stuff on suffering, perseverance, hope, and submission to others as we follow Christ.

*IV staff are there for two weeks but each school only comes for one. UNC brought some serious noise this year with about 115 students--a record for a year with a summer-school conflict.

*But the highlight for me during the last week with my students before leaving them for my new job (which basically began today) was the annual night where each school does "chapter time."

We met as a chapter to celebrate what God did over the course of the previous year, what he'd been up to during the week at Rockbridge, and what the student leaders were planning for as they looked to what might be ahead.

During chapter time (to our great surprise) the student leaders carved out space for a couple of students to share about how the Lord had used both me and one of my fellow staff, Jennifer Hagin (who's also leaving), to impact them. Then they gave us the mic and allowed us to give a final word to them. Then they prayed over us and blessed us to move on to the work God had called us to.

It was a sweet send-off. And a generous note to end a great year on campus.

The only thing that sullied the week was the fact that I was popping Immodium like Tic-Tacs for most of the week as I caught some sort of g.i. bug that just would not go away.

And so on Friday I drove home, exhausted and spent as I usually am at the end of my two weeks at camp. But this year, like my graduated seniors, the drive home from Rockbridge was a signal event: fourteen years with campus as my primary daily sphere was over. A new chapter is beginning.

I slept for 21 of the first 48 hours I was home. I'm still in recovery. Eventually I'll wake up to my new reality of a new job and begin to figure out what exactly that means...for now, I'm just glad that I'm done waking up to go to the bathroom.

Grab Bag: Death to the Postal Service, Achin' Bullfrog, Bracket Picks, and Familiarly Duplicitous Crowds

Plenty of random things going on in my head, here they are in no particular order...enjoy!

*Okay, so today I had to mail something. I found a postage stamp that smacked of Christmas (the gingerbread man was a dead give-away) but I had no idea if the 44-cent stamp was anywhere near what it actually costs to mail something these days.

I put two stamps on, and inwardly cursed the U.S. postal system. These guys have to have their days numbered if a college-educated adult cannot remember what it costs to send a letter.

*Tonight was week two of practice for my six-year-old and my four-year-old's soccer teams, the Green Ghosts (formerly "the Green Fire") and the Bullfrogs, respectively. I coach the under-four Bullfrogs, which should be re-named "the cats" since running a practice feels a whole lot like herding them.

But I'm the one with real problems. You know that I'm either getting old or way out of shape or some terrible combination of both when I'm sore the morning after a four-year-old soccer practice. Pitiful.

*Tonight, in an odd corner of the universe known to some as the National Invitational (basketball) Tournament, two light-blue-shod teams collide with Rams as mascot.

UNC plays Rhode Island for the chance to advance to the NIT final. I think Carolina has finally figured out that they actually want to win, so I'll pick them tonight to advance to the championship game. But redemption only truly happens if they win the NIT and Dook loses to West Virginia.

*Speaking of the real tournament, I thought Kentucky was going to sail along. But it's anyone's tournament to win now--which, alas, includes a very not-great Dook team.

I'll pick WVU to win it all, and encourage the Morgantown police to buckle down for a moonshine-laden frenzy in the aftermath...WVU students are somewhat famous for being rather ill-mannered in the wake of important victories.

*Sunday we were visiting the Chapel Hill Bible Church and Nat Stine, the music director, encouraged us to consider the important role of the crowds during Holy Week. Palm Sunday, they worship. Good Friday, they shout for Jesus' death.

In one instance, the people rightfully worship the king of Glory. In another, they shout for the Innocent One to be condemned--they betray everything. I find myself uncomfortably familiar with both those voices.

Post-First-NIT-Win-Euphoria Grab-Bag: Tribe Pride, Tar Heel Codependence, and Cheering for the Pack

So I realize that not everyone cares about UNC basketball.

But after last night's heady win against the William and Mary Tribe (and given that I had the pleasure of getting to know many kind and warm Tribe alum in my nine years living in Richmond) I feel that there is much to talk about.

So without further ado, here's my first (and hopefully last ever) NIT Grab-Bag:

-Along with many other UNC fans, I'm conflicted about being in the NIT at all. Several weeks ago, I was all for it. This team needed playing time, more practice, more reps, more games.

But as the season wore on, a sudden realization hit me: this team doesn't need more practice. No amount of practice is going to make this a good team. This team needs to be dismantled and re-booted next school year. They stink.

I was hoping we wouldn't even get invited. But we did, and at least one win in the tournament proves that we belong in the tournament. Not sure if that's a good thing, but there it is.

And I gotta' say, winning last night's game made me a believer that this is, after all, probably a good thing for our young and fragile little team.

-I'm grateful for my William and Mary friends who taught me some important bits of W&M information.

For example, the most common cheer at a William and Mary sporting event is (or at least was at one point) a call-and-response between the fans. One set of fans shouts: "TRIBE PRIDE!" And the rest of the fans respond: "GET SOME!"

Now I find this to be a singularly strange phenomenon. Going to college at UNC, we had many cheers directed to the athletes on the field of battle (as in the simple, "Go, tarheels, go!"). And we had some cheers directed at mocking the other team (as in the perennial Clemson favorite taunt: "ORANGE. IS. UGLY!").

But never in all my days of fandom have I ever experienced a cheer that is fundamentally directed at the other fans, exhorting them to engage in more rabid fan-like behavior.

-Having dispatched the Tribe and their sweetly self-encouraging fans, I'm particularly enthralled at the prospect of being in the same bracket at NC State. Just one win each away from a third-times-a-charm rematch of our favorite team in the ACC. I will be thoroughly pulling for an NC State victory against UAB.

-Finally, I have to confess that I am less dialed into the Big Dance given the lack of Tar Heel presence. I suppose this is the litmus test of true fan-dom. I will watch professional football no matter who's playing--I just love the game.

And I love college basketball. But I actually have a deep affinity (okay, unhealthy/co-dependent relationship) with one team in particular. And they're playing in the "Not In the Tournament" tournament.

I've still got my brackets picked out. And I'll be tuning in if nothing else than in the hopes that Dook gets exposed for the weak team that it is.

But in the mean time, I've gotta' brush up on Mississippi State--we play them in our next NIT game and I want to be fully prepared in case we actually show up and play like a real basketball team.

Post-SuperBowl Grab-Bag: Exploiting Women, Selling Out, and Lots of Links

Yet another year of our annual, uniquely American event that is the SuperBowl. A couple of grab-bag thoughts for tonight:

-This from Andy Crouch on FB/Twitter this morning: "Was there any Super Bowl ad _other_ than Focus's that featured a realistic, admirable woman in a central role?"

Which led to someone linking to this article and then someone else to this article. Plenty to think about.

-My brother (who's back in the blogosphere after a several month absence...huzzah!) also started to tackle this issue today in his post...linking to the Christianity Today cover-article that I just started reading this morning.

The question: have Christians sold out to a sports-worshiping, crazed, broken nation? I'm not sure that I really want to answer it, to be flat out honest with you.

-The game itself--a good one. Growing up in the 80's and 90's, the rap on the SuperBowl was that it was never actually a game, it was always a super-blowout. But this is certainly no longer true. Blow-outs over the past decade have been the rarity, for the most part they have been very close games, if not always the best-played games due to the super-pressures players feel.

I have to confess that I was somewhat cheering for the Colts. I just like Peyton Manning and how the Colts play the game. But I was glad for the Saints to bring home their first title...but does Bourbon Street really need any reason get the party started early?

Back to regular programming tomorrow.

Grab Bag: Movie & Book & Lead Retreat Reviews

As penance for last week's long-ish posts, I'm going to do a bunch of quick-hit movie and book reviews for your reading pleasure...mazel tov!

Movies:

Avatar: an average and recycled story-line told brilliantly and exquisitely well. Worth the ticket price to see it in the theater.

Taken: rented it last weekend, 20 minutes of plot followed by 110 minutes of killing just about everyone in sight. I was riveted, Kelly repulsed. Choose for yourselves which one you think you'd be more like.

Pulp Fiction: finally watched this cult classic last Monday when I was sick in San Francisco at my brother's house. Maybe it was because I was sick, but I didn't get it. Long, painful scenes that didn't seem to have much point. Sorry, bro, I know you love Quentin, but the dude's weird.

Books:

"In the Beginning, God" by Marva Dawn. Dawn is a theologian/pastor/prophet (in the "truth-telling" sense, not the "future-telling" sense) and as such, is insightful, careful, and often grating.

I've read almost everything she's written because she's deeply rooted in viewing the world and ministry through the starting-point of God's character and 'being' in the trinity. This book would be a good and easy introduction for someone who's interested in getting to know her as she unpacks the creation story and its' implications for our relationship with God, with one another, and with the earth.

"Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace" by Miroslav Volf.

It is said that all the great preachers have only one sermon--that is, one core idea or principle that they run everything through. Perhaps the same thing is true for professors from Yale.

Volf made a huge mark a couple years ago in the evangelical thinking world with his book "Exclusion and Embrace" where he did some heavy-lifting work about the issue of forgiveness. His combination of brilliance (he's a prof at Yale, yo), commitment to Christ, and his authority having come from a war-ravaged country all combine for a powerful punch.

In this book, he attempts in the first half to apply the principles of forgiveness to giving. The results are moderately interesting: just read the first chapter and you'll get the basic idea.

But then skip to the interlude as he talks about his older brother's accidental death and his parents' working out of forgiveness. And then read the last half of the book in it's entirety, soaking in Volf's one great sermon/idea/concept, delivered with grace and excellence.

"The Household of God" by Lesslie Newbiggin. Long-time readers will recognize Newbiggin's name, I've read and loved just about every single thing he's written.

Here, however, we get a young-ish Newbiggin, written before he's found his one great sermon. Interesting, but not revolutionary as his later works are...particularly "The Gospel In A Pluralist Society," which I think every one who does full-time Christian ministry should read...twice.

InterVarsity Student Leadership Retreat: 70 or so tremendous students gathered together over-night on Saturday/Sunday to prepare and pray for the spring.

In my five years here, this is the healthiest, most dynamic, most vibrant group of student-leaders I've ever had. It is a joy to partner and work with them as we consider what it means for us to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ in our own lives, in our chapter, and to have it bless the campus.

The dude who planned the thing (me) probably packed it with too much stuff to do, but it was a great 22 hours, full particularly of student's sharing from their own lives what it has meant for them to live out our vision of being a Christ-Centered Community: Authentic, Invitational, Missional.

It's going to be a great, great semester.

Sound Byte Grab-Bag: Showing Up, Battling Dismemberment, and Drawing Dinosaurs

Sound bytes from conversations from this past week with friends, family, students and co-workers:

*Success in the world of spiritual disciplines is not what happens after we show up, it's simply showing up as open-handed and available as we can be. All we can do is make ourselves available, it is God's work to speak words of grace.

We can attempt to manufacture warm-fuzzy feelings and we can remind ourselves of grace we have received in the past. But only God can speak fresh words of grace into our lives. It is not up to us to do this. Our work is to simply show up--that is success. The rest is up to Him.

*Knowing God's will is not a mine-field--one false step and we are dismembered. God has given us our gifts. He has prepared work in advance for us to put them to use. If we are seeking God, submitting all of ourselves to him, he will not let us go wrong. He will either redeem the decision or ordain it.

And sometimes I believe there is no "one right answer." Sometimes I think God just says to us with great joy in his child: "Choose. And I will bless you either way."

*The work of discipleship is really the battle for the imagination. The things that capture our imaginations are the things that we will build our lives around: fame, fortune, cars, boats, fishing, Fortune 500, Olympic gold, sex, retreat, weddings, love, or God.

As ministers of the gospel, we must have eyes to see not only what God is doing currently in someone's life. We must have holy imagination to speak a word of what it would look like if they were actually to allow him to do it.

*"That's a good drawing of a dinosaur daddy."

"Thanks, Zoe. You know, daddy's not really good at drawing but I like drawing with you."

"Why aren't you good, daddy?"

"Well, everyone's got things that we're good at and that we're not as good at. That's okay, that's how God made us."

"Oh...well, I'm good at everything."

"So far, Zoe, so far..."

Parental Grab-Bag: Saving the Toilet Paper, Dutch Pancakes, and Bulllfrog Brilliance

It's been many months since I've grab-bagged it. Today, some grab-bag thoughts for the parents out there.

The rest of you who might be pro-creating some day can feel free to read along and take some notes.

*Many of us in parent-land dread fall. Not because it pains us to see leaves dying on trees or because we have a deep-seated fear of carved pumpkins. We dread fall because colder weather and shorter days means kids indoors for longer.

So for those of you who are feeling the beginnings of colder weather driving your kids inside, and therefore driving you insane by destroying furniture, siblings, family heirlooms, and/or toilet paper rolls, allow me to encourage you to make the exquisitely wise and wonderful purchase my wife made a couple weeks ago: the indoor exercise trampoline.

She got it on Craig's list for cheap. I've made it a game of seeing how many consecutive jumps the kids can do--Davis did 700 the other day. Holy core-strengthening exercises, Batman. And of course the goal is to get them as physically exhausted as possible in order to save the furniture/toilet paper rolls/family heirlooms/siblings.

It's certainly not the panacea for all rowdy indoor behavior, but I shudder to think about what life might be over the past couple of weeks without it.

*Fun Saturday morning treat: Oma's Dutch Pancakes (a.k.a. crepes): 1 cup of flour per person, one egg per person, add milk until almost watery.

Ladle a small amount onto an egregiously-overly-buttered skillet and spin around until a thin layer of batter is spread out across the face of the pan. Cook, flip, finish cooking, and eat immediately.

Spread on your favorite topping (we grew up with sugar and lemon juice but you could also do a favorite jam or jelly or even syup) and roll them up and eat them up--yummy! The kids always love daddy, but they especially love me the moment I reveal to them the plan to make Dutch Pancakes that morning!

*I'm making my coaching debut this fall with Zoe's under-four team, the Green Bullfrogs.

We aren't much to look at on the soccer field (last weekend the kids were literally holding hands and walking in circle singing "Ring Around the Rosie" as the other team whizzed by them and scored for the umpteenth time that quarter).

But what coaching wisdom I have to offer I am glad to pass along to others out there who might also be in the position of coaching children who are less-than-interested in the game their parents signed them up to play.

Without further ado, here is the mighty Bullfrog cheer:

Coach Alex: "Does a bullfrog say 'moo-moo?'

Bullfrogs (each with one hand in; the other is likely holding the weed they picked during practice): "NO!"

Coach Alex: "Does a bullfrog say 'woof-woof?'"

Bullfrogs (with increasing indignation): "NO!"

Coach Alex: "Does a bullfrog say 'meeowwww?'"

Bullfrogs (at a fever-pitch of gleeful agitation): "NO!!!"

Coach Alex: "What does a bullfrog say?"

Bullfrogs (with deep, visceral joy): "RIBBIT-RIBBIT!"

Coach Alex: "Go bullfrogs on three: one, two, three.."

Bullfrogs: "GO BULLFROGS!"

That one's for free folks. You can thank me later.

Post-Beach Grab-Bag: Ho-Ho's, Our Flat Earth, and A Parents' Right of Passage

Last week me and the family were at our annual visit to the glorious beaches of Ocean Isle with Kelly's step-dad's family. A few thoughts from the beach:

1. Why is it that going to the beach instantly makes me want to eat like I'm 15 all over again? "Anything you want from the store?" my wife innocently asked me on the way down as we were making our shopping list.

"Ho-Ho's" I responded without even thinking. What?!? I haven't had or even thought about a Ho-Ho in twenty years. And that's not even what I really meant. I was picturing Swiss Cake Rolls.

My wife gave me a strange look, but made the purchase. They were freakin' good. Doritos tasted especially good last week, too, and it was a particularly good week last week for hot dogs and popcorn.

What is it about the combination of salt water, sunscreen-residued hands, excessive sun exposure, and sand in uncomfortable places that makes you love junk food all the more at the beach?

2. I read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman during the course of the week. I think I'll blog more about it later on this week, but suffice to say it was really good and really thought-provoking.

For all my students who spend their days in classes that do nothing but hate on globalization all day every day, Friedman's work might make for some interesting counter-balance.

3. So I felt like we went through a parents' right of passage last week. We sent our children unsupervised with their grandparents to the local "Waves" to purchase a new hat for Davis. They came back with our first hermit crab. We are now a real family.

After much deliberation, we christened him "Hammie." I'm not so sure about him, though, he hasn't moved much the past day or so and my track record with small aquatic-like animals is not good.

Why is it that all hermit crab stories that you hear seem to fall into one of two extremes: either the thing dies hours after the purchase or it survives the entire rest of the family. I have a bad feeling that our story might end up in the former category.

Wednesday Grab-Bag: Sandra Bullock, Michael Jackson, and NT Wright

*Kelly and I celebrated our 11th anniversary this past weekend. Nice dinner out and went to see "The Proposal." We both give it thumbs up--funny and it doesn't take itself too seriously. Sandra Bullock is hilarious in her role.

*I don't think I'm the only one singing Michael Jackson songs in their head all week long. Saw a piece on him on 20/20 on Friday night. One fairly recent interview he talked with Diane Sawyer about how much he missed the fans.

"You're in concert, 50,000 people singing this song that you wrote in a cramped hotel room on the road. Awesome."

The dude was about as freakishly gifted as they come. I wonder if some of his personal issues didn't stem from a life built around the applause of the crowd.

*I'm continuing my summer-time drinking-buddy love affair with N.T. Wright. Reading "Surprised by Hope," it's fantastic.

The past couple of summers my study has been more skill-set development (leadership, management, etc.). Doing a summer of more theological study causes problems.

In the past week I've had to turn off four podcasts of preachers or daily devotionals for theological reasons. Here-to-fore I had been able to play through their theological shakiness, but spending my free time thinking about this stuff makes it harder to do that with ease.

This gives me a little more sympathy for all you seminary-types who, after a semester or two in the ivory tower, think that you know just about everything there is to know about just about everything.

It's hard when your days are spent in theological reflection and study to let things slide when stuff gets said that's just not true...or is sort of true but not the full story.

And it's even harder when you're the self-appointed arbiter and decider of all such things. But you know, we've all got our crosses to bear.

Staycation Grab Bag: Movie Reviews, Victories, and Lost Teeth

Staycation was great. If/when you get to be mid-30's with 2.5 kids, I'd highly recommend it: lots of sleep, a couple of bike rides, and plenty of bummin' around. Here's some movie reviews and other stuff from the long weekend:

Body of Lies: Leonardo DiCaprio manages to do a decent acting job and the story is excellent, if a bit gruesome at times: **** 1/2 (out of possible 5)

Slumdog Millionaire: yes, we were the last people in the world to see this movie, but it was spectacular and lived up to all the hype: *****

Changeling: If it wasn't a true story you'd turn it off half-way through thinking that this could never happen and that the writer has over-stepped in his request of you the viewer to engage in willing suspension of un-belief. Instead, it's a tremendously disturbing movie (all the more so because it's true) that Angelina Jolie pretty much pulls it off all by herself: ****1/2

Fireproof: We got this movie because my wife was moderately interested and because a friend who's opinion I used to trust said it was good. It's painfully acted and stiffly written. I'm already a lost cause, spare yourself: *1/2

In other news, great win for the Tar Heels Sunday, looking forward to a fun ACC tournament later this week.

And finally, the kids had a great time at Nanny's and Grampy's house. The big news: Davis lost his first tooth.

I'm not exactly sure, but I think that if your oldest son loses his first tooth while you're three and a half hours away playing hooky from church while sitting beside the lake getting your first sunburn of the year, that pretty much disqualifies you from any consideration for daddy of the year.

I'll have to shoot for 2010.

Monday Morning Grab-Bag

*This past weekend my wife Kelly directed the women's retreat for our church. One thing that we were both excited about was introducing our church community to one of our favorite people on the planet, Kim Green.

Kim was my trainer when I first came on staff with IV in Richmond and is currently works at West End Presbyterian church. She is also one of the finest teacher/speakers I have ever been privileged to sit under. She is wise, funny, down-to-earth, clear, insightful, strong yet gentle in her call to follow Jesus.

And from the buzz coming off the retreat this past weekend, it sounds like the women on the retreat were just as impressed with her. I have often half-jokingly said that my goal in life is to be Kim Green's opening act when she becomes a nationally-known speaker.

If you're in a church setting looking for someone to do a weekend retreat (women's retreats are her speciality) she's a rock star. But she only does a handful of retreats a year. You can find her contact info at the West End Pres church web site.

*What do Georgetown, Kansas and Maryland all have in common? They're all teams that UNC basketball has lost to over the past three years where a timely time-out might have helped to stop the bleeding.

Roy, you've forgotten more about basketball than I'll ever know. But the philosophy of playing through these stretches where the guys are clearly losing their heads has cost us in the past and might be our undoing again this year. For the love of everything good and holy, please call time-out when the other team is on a say, 10-0, or 14-2 or 26-4 run.

*These past six weeks or so have been some of the most rich personal reflection time I've ever had: the good, the bad, and the butt ugly.

I've been greatly helped in all of this through the use of the Ennegram. It's kind of like a Myers-Briggs personality indicator but it's not as nuanced. It's trying to get at your core motivational energy: what drives you to do what you do?

If you're over 30 (it's what many folks recommend and I agree, I don't think I would have gotten to the important stuff before 30) and you're in a place of trying to figure out a little more deeply who you really are and why you do the things that you do--even and especially stuff that you so deeply regret later--I'd highly recommend Richard Rohr's book: The Ennegram: A Christian Perspective.

*I received a strong encouragement on Friday's post to suck it up and buy Walk Like an Egyptian. But I just sampled it and I don't know, I think I can anticipate that post-Bangle's buyer's remorse feeling pretty strongly. And besides, then the Itunes store would have me completely pegged as the 35-year-old white guy...and then what would I do?

Election Grab-Bag

*I'm a 34-year-old, white male with 3.0 kids, evangelical, college-educated voter. McCain should have had me. But he didn't. He had neither the vision nor the leadership to sway me. I voted for Obama. It's not just evangelical whites that cost McCain this election, but it certainly was a part of it.

*I voted for Obama, but I have to say that I paused as I filled in the bubble on the North Carolina scantron sheet. I wondered for just a moment if I was signing off on the death warrant for millions of un-born children. The abortion issue does matter to me. But abortion isn't going to go away no matter who's president. In the end, I felt like I couldn't vote for McCain simply because of the abortion issue.

*Pity poor G.W.B. Has anyone ever been so loudly booed on a national, public stage as he was last night by millions of voters? I seriously struggle with handling criticism (perhaps more on that tomorrow) and I just get it from the occasional student or co-worker. Mr. President has the lowest approval rating in the history of the approval ratings, and last night was a loud exclamation point on those numbers. Sure, he ran off every good and intelligent voice in his administration and got us into a couple of quagmire-esque wars and the economy is in shambles and....okay, so no more pitying poor GWB.

*This morning on the Today show, they showed a montage that mixed Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech with images of Obama last night. I have to admit, I was getting pretty choked up. Last night was a good night for our country. We're not done with race issues. But it's worth celebrating a big, big win.

*One last political word: Obama isn't Jesus. In the worship of the state, Obama has become something of a Messianic figure for those whose hope is in the American dream and the American way of life. The great hope is that he will redeem us, restore us, make us a great people again. I have hope that he will lead us, and lead us well.

But ultimately my worship isn't of the American dream--or even of the great bringing together of all peoples for some sort of global utopia. That won't happen until all things are brought together under the name of Jesus.

In the mean time, I'll take a little more justice, a little less brokenness in the areas of business, economics, and politics, and some wise decision-making in terms of international relations. That's plenty for Mr. President-Elect Obama to handle for right now.

Grab Bag

*I've added some things over the right, if you'll take a look. First, there's a picture of me for those of you who read this thing and have never met me. Hello! Secondly, I finally got around to updating my Blog Roll (my wife's got a fun mommy blog she posts on occasionally) and I've made it easier to over there to get my posts delivered fresh & easy to you!

I've also added the "Blog Follower" gadget. I have no idea what that means, but Esther Linnartz, one of my students, signed up to be one, so I figured I'd put her up there. Jump on the bandwagon! Everyone's doin' it!

*Try as I might, I just can't get into playoff baseball. I really want to want to watch it. I just can't get excited about it. Maybe when the World Series rolls around I'll watch some of that.

*I didn't watch much of the debates last night. But from what I saw, McCain looked like a nearly-beaten man. I think Obama is the best leader between the two and the right choice for now. I just shudder to think about the Supreme Court justices that we'll be saddled with after his term(s) end, given how incredibly far-left his stance on abortion is.

*This weekend I'm getting to give a presentation to a group of really important people in my little fish pond. I've got half an hour to talk about "Christian Students Today." Not just Christian students in the South. All of them. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Tree-Clearing Grab Bag

Several things have continued to resonate in my brain as I think about Saturday's work day on the farm clearing these aggressive, destructive trees:

*I think about Keith's deep disdain for these trees. He hated them because he grew up on that farm, he knew the land, and he knew the beauty that was once there and should be there still. Keith was jealous for the land to display its' proper beauty.

Thinking on this has sparked fresh perspective on God's jealousy. Scriptures say that God is jealous for the people whom he created. Jealousy is not a very admirable quality in most of us humans. But to think about Keith's jealousy for his land sheds some sweet light on the gloriously loving jealousy God has for us.

*The difference between Keith's perspective on the land as the land-owner and my perspective on the land as someone who was just there to work for the day and was worried about my own well-being (like heat-stroke, among other ailments) also has continued to linger in my imagination.

Jesus tells a parable in John 10 where he differentiates between the Good Shepherd and the hired hand. The Good Shepherd knows the sheep, loves the sheep, calls the sheep by name and they follow him. Ultimately, Jesus says, the Good Shepherd lays his life down for the sheep. The hired hand, however, is just that--a hired hand. They don't have the same love for the sheep. And so when trouble comes they flee.

Same sheep/same land, different people, different perspectives. One perspective is deeply invested in the sheep/land, the other perspective views the sheep/land purely functionally and ultimately has self-interest at heart.

It makes me wonder how I would approach my work as a campus minister differently if I had the same heart as the Good Shepherd for the sheep, or that Keith has for his farm. How would I think about the 17,000 students at UNC differently? How would I think about the 350 in our chapter differently? How would it change the world if believers everywhere shared the Good Shepherd's heart for their neighborhoods, places of work, the schools where they sent their kids?

Grab-Bag Re-entry

Back in the saddle today, here's some thoughts to cover the past three weeks:

*For two of the past three weeks, I was at Rockbridge, IV's year-end, week-long summer conference for students. Students get to choose from a number of different tracks to engage with different topics from learning how to lead small group Bible studies to sharing their faith to studying Scripture more deeply on their own.

Once again but especially this year, I was darn proud to be a part of an organization that offers students quality, thoughtful, thorough, nuanced, creative instruction while allowing good space for students to wrestle with key issues like politics, sexuality, pluralism, and leadership.

I also really loved the group of UNC students we took with us--115 strong, we had lots of fun being together without being too obnoxious.

*I watched two movies of note over the past couple of weeks that I'd recommend: I Am Legend and No Country for Old Men. I was drawn to the former by my love for apocalyptic/survival stories. I enjoyed the latter for how it messed with my head.

*Summer time is here, which makes me happy. I've got lots of good books waiting to be read and plenty of other work to do get ready for the fall. I'm currently reading Lesslie Newbiggin's The Light Has Come, which is his commentary/exposition on the gospel of John. If you're currently or ever reading John on your own, this would totally be worth the investment.

*If you're someone who tracks the blog for family posts, you might have noticed that it's been a while since I've posted any pictures of the kids. This is because of a growing nagging sense that posting pictures of my kids on the internet for anyone to see opens them up to creepy people. I'm hoping to post several pictures of my family from the last several weeks on my Facebook page. That way only folks who I've more or less approved can see them. If you're interested in the family pics (and you're not a creepy stalker), friend me up on Facebook and look for those to come soon.