Backlash over 'Almighty' phone number.

As seen on Bene Diction Blogs On.

- Peace

Speaking of Eugene Peterson, I found this old interview from Leadership Journal, Spring 1997

The Business of Making Saints: People want us to meet their needs. But if we give in, we abandon our true work.

Some great quotes from this interview

LJ: So let me clarify. You're asking a pastor to give up a sense of control, productivity, and effectiveness in order to embrace slow, hard-to-measure work that people don't necessarily want.

EP: That's true.

LJ:That's a tough sell.

EP:And not many are buying.

and

It's odd: We live in this so-called postmodernist time, and yet so much of the public image of the church is this rational, management-efficient model. If the postmodernists are right, that model is passe; it doesn't work any more. In that sense, I find myself quite comfortably postmodern. I think pastors need to cultivate "unbusyness." I use that word a lot.


Sometimes I'm with pastors who don't wander around. They don't waste time. Their time is too valuable. They run to the tomb, and it's empty, so they run back. They never see resurrection. Meanwhile, Mary's wasting time; she's wandering around.

...

To be unbusy, you have to disengage yourself from egos—both yours and others—and start dealing with souls. Souls cannot be hurried.

- Peace

I'm reading The Books of Moses as adapted by Eugene H. Peterson. I'm in Leviticus and let me say it's odd, but dull. All the sprinkle blood here, and burn this fat and wave this meat just doesn't connect with me. But Peterson's intro to Liviticus spoke to me.

One of the stubbornly enduring habit of the human race is to insist on domesticating God. We are determined to tame him. We figure out ways to harness God to our projects. We try to reduce God to a size the conveniently fits our plans and ambitions and tastes.

But our Scriptures are even more stubborn in telling us that we can't do it. God cannot be fit into our plans, we must fit into his. We can't use God – God is not a tool or appliance or credit card.

Holy is the Word that sets God apart and above our attempts to enlist him in our wish-fulfillment fantasies or our utopian schemes for making our mark in the world. Holy means God is alive on God's terms, alive in a way that exceeds our experience and imagination. Holy refers to life burning with an intense purity that transforms everything it touches into itself.

Because the core of all living is God, and God is a holy God, we require much teaching and long training for living in response to God as he is and not as we want him to be.

This sets me up as I read Liviticus to notice that God takes reconciliation very seriously. You don't skimp on reconciliation with a holy God, hence the constant reminders to only use animals with out blemish. Part of me glad that we don't have to deal with the blody mess that was at the core of the old system of reconciliation. But when I realize the same holy God talks about worshiping in Spirit and in truth, I think finding the perfect animal sacrifice in the flock might have been easier. When have I ever had an unblemished spirit to offer God?

- Peace

"I think Neo is a program" - Interesting.

- Peace

The Road To Inuvik - one man's journey 11,100 km journey from St. John's to Inuvik. A great personal look at Canada.

- Peace

Five Iron Frenzy, Rocking The Back Nine
by John J. Thompson

A great interview with one of my favorite bands. Get's to the heart of their impending break up. I will miss them.

My FIF story: Somewhere in my twenties there came a point where all my friends complained that all the new music sucked. I laughed at them, told them they were getting old, I forget what I was listing to at the time but I was still finding cool new music. But then it happened. I went a long time with out finding a band that spoke to me, and new music from my favorite bands was getting rare, as the broke up, died, or other wise moved on. [U2 didn't really do much for me between Rattle and Hum and All That You Can't Leave Behind] And all the new bands sucked, there just wasn't anything. I must have been getting old.

Then I picked up a sampler album from Five Minute Walk Records cause of a single from Mortal, and discovered Five Iron Frenzy. FIF was smart, funny, sublime and played this cool rock ska mix. And best thing was they were younger than me. I wasn't old, most of the new music was just bad, but FIF was oh so good!

I'm looking forward to seeing them at their final C-Stone perfomace, and listening to The Day We Killed when we go to the Carzy Horse Memorial. Got to admit that FIF calling it quits is making feel old. Sigh.

- Peace

The Lesson, Author Robert Morgan tells how he came to write his first story.

Had a blast at the New Artist Showcase last night.

Ran into Terry Hughes whom I haven't seen in over a decade. He used to call in and request King's X when I was a DJ at CJSR hmmm King's X! Terrry got CKER to start their first serious rock show RockStand. He's now full time at CKER doing the morning show. I also met RockStand's current host. Rock on boys!

In some ways the evening reminded my of American Idol, lot's of strong performaces from very talented people, but nothing fresh and creative. The stand out exception to this was the first act An Realt! A Calgary band, their business card list's them as Celtic/Roots music – but they had very unique combination of instrument's and voices they created a full powerful sound. Defiantly want to catch them at one of the local pubs. The sound clips on their web site doesn't reflect the sound they had last night, but are still worth a listen.

My heart went out the tech team last night. Patching in twenty four performers in one evening is a nightmare and it there were a few glitches last night. Ah the joys of being a tech.

- Peace

headed out to the New Artist Showcase that are part of the Vibe Awards.

- Peace

So it's not just me, blogspot has been flaky as of late. From
status.blogger.com

BlogSpot has been especially sluggish recently and we are working hard to improve the situation. We sincerely apologize that the problem has taken longer to resolve than expected and for the frustration of having poor performance from the servers.

posted by Jason Goldman | 6:41 PM

- Peace

Going mad is the slowest and dullest business in the world. - G. K. Chesterton's Blog, Thursday, May 22, 2003 post.

Serving isn't so much for others as it is for us - Caleb, Friday, May 23, 2003 post.

Even worse than unemployment: The job interview - yes this is worth watching the uber ad at salon to read.

-Peace

HOW TO SAVE IRAQ :: by Tony Campolo

You may have noticed getting through to blogspot sites like IdeaJoy, has been error prone as late. It's also playing havoc with Who Links Who.

I'll need to add some options to retry connecting to a site if it fails, but first I'm trying to resolve issues NekoHTML is having with the latest version of Java and Xerces. Oh the joys of interdependence. I've sent a note to Andy, he's did a great job on the last bug NekoHTML bug I found so we'll see

Best case, blogspot will get better Andy gets back to me with a fix the the NexoHTML issue.

Worst case, WLW stays useless until I add a bunch of error handling and write yet another html parser.

-Peace

Barbara Tarbox - Dying of cancer, she used her last days to warn kids of the dangers of smoking. Barb died yesterday. Barb was most widely known for her anti-smoking commercials.
Read: the CBC Obituary

HokiePundit - On a Mission From God

Jordon has a post about how Wal-Mart has grown and kept it's culture, you know lean and mean. Thing is it's more mean than people know.

What happens at Wal-Mart is, if you want to work there a long time, you have to work off the clock' It's part of the culture there. -- Shane Youtz

Back in December of 2002

A federal jury in Portland, Oregon, found Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, guilty yesterday [December 18] of forcing its employees to work unpaid overtime in the first of 40 such lawsuits to go to trial. -- STEVEN GREENHOUSE, NEW YORK TIMES

So why should we care? Read:Corporate ethics hits a new low. Walmart found to be stealing from its employees by R.H. Meyer

- Peace

Java theory and practice: Urban performance legends

couple of quick links:

The fevered love of June and Johnny by Steve Beard

WIT? reviews the Matrix Reloaded, and links to other reviews

- Peace

Just posted a page about our plans to drive to the 2003 Cornerstone Festival. I used IndyJunior to create the maps, thanks to Jordon for pointing it out. I used Astrodienst Atlas to look up location information, it's quick and easy to use. It's amazing the effort people will put into charting their fate by the stars.

Did you know that Calgary AB to Bushnell IL is amost the same as going from London England to Athens Greece?

-Peace
Dave

New pastors
I got an email telling us about our new pastors:

• Captains Jason & Teena Guy.
  
• in their late 20's
  
• she plays piano, he plays guitar
  
• he was a youth pastor prior to being an officer
  
• they are well trained as church planters
  
• they are coming from Orangeville, ON where they shut down the church and reopened it to a better one
  
• they come highly recommended
  
• I don't think they have any children.
  

What struck me is the fact that they shut down an existing church, to start a new one. That's a good sign, it means they won't be afraid to lead in new directions. After three set's of pastors in three years we're looking for some solid leadership.

- Peace

I just have to say it. I love church.

Caught a 10:30 pm showing of The Matrix Reloaded, and I have to say it didn't really work for me.

As every review so far has said there are some great spacial effects, and incredibly choreographed fight scenes. For me though, they lack suspense. Watching Neo, Trinity and Morpheus, I never once felt that they were in danger. In the original Matrix, they spend as much time running from the Agents as fighting them. This sets the Agents up as beings to be feared. The change from defense to offense comes off as daring and dangerous creating brilliant tension as Neo goes head to head with Agent Smith. In Reloaded, we meet bad guy, bad guy gets his but kicked. It's cool as far as it goes, but not up to the engaging level set by the original Matrix.

Also missing in reloaded are the amazing number of detail references to other sci-fi and literature that kept the detail orientated of us glued to each and every scene. It just didn't seem to be there. That or I missed all the references.

The Matrix, was an idea's movie, and Reloaded tries to keep up, but does so by talking too much. For movies the maxim is: don't tell me, show me. Reloaded spends too much time talking about ideas and not enough time working it into the action. In the Matrix the idea was the Neo had to free his mind, to have faith, and that was worked through from his first choice to follow the white rabbit to his resurrection final show down with The Agents. Reloaded's ideas don't connect with the flow of the story as well.

So what are the ideas in the Matrix Reloaded? Well there's a lot of talk about choice and how it's an illusion, or how we can only understand the choices we make. Theres a recurring theme of the connection between good and evil – turns out Neo and Agent Smith have some deep bond. There are a ton of religious stereotypes, new convert, pleading masses, faith that passes all understanding and skeptic. Religion play a much more overt role in this movie, but has less impact, less connection to the overall story.

I'll peg the central theme as that of faith, and what does it mean when things don't go the way we expect. Reloaded is defiantly the cynic's Matrix movie. By the end it looks like Neo's being the One is a hoax, and Morpheus's faith seems misplaced. But this is a cliff hanger, we won't really have a chance to understand what Reloaded is saying until Matrix Revolutions comes out in November. Will they go with an existential – god is dead, we make our own faith route? Or will they redeem the idea that Neo is the One? November is just six months away....

I'll give The Marix Realoded a 3 out of 5 on the IdeaJoy meter, it's a good action flick but pales next to the original.

- Peace

Thinking of Hell by Captain Geoff Ryan.

The Salvation Army has a serious case of jargon, we even have a page on Army Terminology. This is just the tip of the iceburg. The is an entire set of Army acronymns that are used on a regular basis including DC, YDC, DHQ, THQ ... The Army does many wonderful things, speaking in plain english isn't one of them.

- Peace

As heard on That Saturday Show: The Quiet Party.

You go to a bar. Music is too loud. Cell phones going off all around you. Some guy is standing next to you screaming. You know what we are talking about, right? How about a refreshing change of pace? Come to the Quiet Party. No loud music, no yelling, no cell phones and one designated area where there is no talking AT ALL!!

The Quiet Party is a totally unique experience. Inside the silent room we provide paper & pencils. Pass notes around - be mischievous, have a little fun, meet some new people!

One very hip use of text. Course there's nothing saying you can't doodle at a quiet party :)

-Peace

Jesus in Context, thoughts from reading Luke 9 and 10

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good bye to my family."
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:57 - 62)

Theses verses always raise questions, Jesus seems to be being very harsh, why shouldn't a guy attend the funeral for his father? It's often explained in terms that the man's Father isn't dead yet, but wanted to join after being freed from needing the approval of his father. Similar explanations are applied to the other two as well, putting the comments in the context of the people Jesus is talking to. And I don't want to dispute these explanations, but last night I saw the comments in a new context, the context of where Jesus was in his ministry at the time.

Go back a bit and Jesus breaks some big news to his followers:

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men." But they did not understand what this meant. (Luke 9 44-45)

and bit latter

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. (Luke 9: 51-53)

Jesus not having a place to lay his head, is more than a vow of poverty, it speaks to the rejection he experienced in Summaria when he made his plan to go to Jerusalem clear, despite local politics.

Jesus is on his final tour of the area, he wouldn't be back, so if people wanted to follow him, this was their last chance. And what an opportunity, later Jesus says:

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." (Luke 10:23-24)

This was a once in creation opportunity to walk with Jesus on his final tour announcing the arrival of the Kingdom of God , to be part of healing the sick and casting out daemons. Some people missed it because they were worried about what friends and family would say.

For me this put the harsh words of Jesus in a context where I could understand where he was coming from.

-Peace

First iLoo Blogger Feels Performance Pressure.

Saw Holes with my daughter, I loved how the movie integrates two powerful ideas

Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away. - Leviticus 26:39

I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18

The first is that our fate is bound to the fate of previous generations. The second is that we have a powerful impact on the world, the people around us. Holes tells a multi family, multi generational story of how our lives are interwoven. It's a movie that shows a chain of suffering from hate, greed, refusal to forgive and failing to keep commitments.

But it's not a bleak story, the web of suffering can be broken by forgiveness, loyalty and a willingness to see the blessing in hardship.

As a movie it's a well told, well acted, and a lot of fun. Go see it.

-Peace
Dave

PS The novel Holes has been a run away hit in schools, with many teachers reading it to their class. Most adults haven't heard about it. I first heard of it through What In Tarnation? So when the ads came on TV and my daughter said she wanted to see it, I was able to say “sure I've heard it's good”, and came off looking hip, Thanks Christopher.

What's wrong with white people?

-Peace

Why I ran Linux for 5 Minutes.

I was trying to set up my home network. I tweaked a setting on Win2000 pro to require users to log in, rebooted and was locked out. I was sure I remembered the passwords, but no.... I was locked out solid.

I am most thankful for the Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. It boots Linux, over writes forgotten NT passwords, and boom I was back in. Ligit uses of tools like this are threatened by the DMCA, scary.

Finally got my home network up and running. Getting XP pro and Win2000 pro to share printers and files is much harder than it ought to be. There's a ton of noise out there leading the wrong way. Lynksys' FAQ Enabling File & Printer Sharing came to the rescue.

- Peace

On the Bench

As a consultant you live to billable, that is making money for the company you work for, when you don't have a client to work for, you're on the bench. I finished up my last gig on Wed, so I've got some extra time. Here is my to do list for today:

• Update CV
  
• take lunch to my forgetful daughter
  
• finish setting up my new pc / home network
  
• install Visual Studio
  
• work through examples from Microsoft Visual C# .NET Step by Step, I didn't pick the book it's part of course I'm taking trough work. It's getting my feet wet with C#.
  

-Peace

I've been asked to give a couple of semminars on blogging at c-stone. First thing they need is a brief bio.

Dave's obsessions include: technology, biking, music, pop culture, his wife and daughter and how faith interacts with them all. Observing and interacting with on line culture for over a decade, Dave has presented his views of the net at the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, the Norther Alberta Institute of Technology and The Canadian Information Processing Society.

Dave works as a software developer in Calgary Alberta. He keeps a modest blog at ideajoy.blogspot.com.

I hope that's not too pretentious.

-Peace

Word is Kevin Rains won't be giving the session Blog On at Cornerstone this year. Guess who they've asked to fill in??? And no it's not Bene Diction, that would be too obvious.

- Peace