Recommended Archaeology Posts

Until I get the free time to type up a more full blog post of my own, let me recommend a couple of posts to you from the Parchment and Pen blog. If you are at all interested in history and archaeology, these posts should excite you. The series is called "The Top Ten Biblical Discoveries in Archaeology." They do a good job of warning Christians in believing in the "folk theology" and undocumented stories that end up circulating around church circles. Heck, many of these supposed "discoveries" are outright forgeries created with the intention to bolster faith in Biblical exposition. Shame that they end up having the exact opposite effect...

In this series, however, they will be looking at the serious, scholarly discoveries that have provided legitimization to the Biblical record. The Bible is actual history, not myth, and more and more discoveries have been made to provide indicators to that point. I have provided links to the introductory post, and the #10 in the top ten countdown.

My hope and prayer is that you would find a connection with God through the study of history. I have had some of my most profound "God moments" as I look through the historical record and see that the hand of God working throughout our story. I find it incredibly refreshing to connect with that larger historical stream of the people of God. Sometimes, we as 21st century thinkers can be exceptionally myopic.

Here are the links:

Introduction: http://bit.ly/aL7SVG

#10, Assyrian Lachish Reliefs: http://bit.ly/bLDx8j

Enjoy! Obviously they will be doing more of these in the coming weeks.

No iPhone, Day 6

I have discovered a potential light at the end of the technological tunnel. A little birdie told me that the local AT&T stores get the new iPhones in this week. I could potentially walk in and purchase one as early as Thursday. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to be one of..."those people" who camp out on the sidewalk the night before.

Do I really want to be that guy? Is this type of behavior appropriate over a phone? Am I addicted? Does this classify as some type of mental imbalance? I'm not sure. I guess I could approach it as a lark, or as a self-depricating joke at my own expense. It could give me some good time to sit and listen to music or sermons, or read my Bible or one of my currently in-progress books. Heck, maybe I could strike up conversation with the other iPhone addicts, assuming they know any other language besides Klingon or Qenya elvish.

Or I could just get used to it and learn to love my borrowed LG Chocolate....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry, I couldn't keep it together there.

Dawn Treader Preview

My expectations are really high for this movie. I'm pretty certain this is my favorite or 2nd favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia set.

No iPhone, Day 3

The word is "workaround." For nearly 4 years, I have had the iPhone in my pocket to help me accomplish an unbelievable amount of tasks. Now, with no iPhone, I'm having to remember how to accomplish things on my own, without the assistance of the most sophisticated consumer technology in the history of the planet. Here are the most important 4 things that I've come to rely on the iPhone for:

1. Phone calling. This normally simple task has proven to be nearly impossible for me the last 3 days. Assuming that I can figure out how to even MAKE a phone call on this borrowed LG Chocolate, I don't know anyone's number. The iPhone has done a great job of freeing up hard drive space in my brain by storing phone numbers for me, including people who have had the same phone number for 5+ years. Thank goodness I have the Address Book in the Mac, or I'd be toast.

2. Text messaging. I've tried the T9 word thing, I've tried just going standard, I've tried yelling into the phone to get it to dictate it for me. Nothing. In addition, I have the same problem as above regarding not knowing any numbers. If someone texts me, I have a short conversation with myself wondering how mad they'll be at me when they never get a response from me.

3. Music. I've totally got this one covered; the workaround is my old iPod classic. I actually have more music than I could ever fit on the iPhone, so having nearly my whole music library with me has actually been kinda fun. That said, the whole reason I wanted the iPhone in the first place was because I was tired of carrying around two different devices. I spent some time yesterday trying to glue the classic to the Chocolate, but I have yet to discover the right glue for the job.

4. Appointments. Again, I find myself turning back in earnest to my MacBook. The address book in the computer has always synced up automatically with the iPhone, but now I don't have the constant reminders or access to my events. (It should be noted that I used to miss a LOT more appointments before I got the iPhone. This is probably the most beneficial purpose it has served.) Now, when I start my day, I pull a page from the Mike Rawalt playbook: sticky notes. I just look through my appointments for the day, and use the appropriately colored sticky note to match my mood for that day.

There are many other things that I could and would be using my iPhone for if I had it, but these are the top 4. Facebook, email, wikipedia, and a myriad of other web tasks can easily be accomplished on my laptop; I just can't be as mobile with all of it.

The one thing that is definitely killing me is that I was leading almost ALL of my Words With Friends games, and by the time my new iPhone shows up, they will have been automatically deleted. I hope that I can get my swagger back...

No iPhone, Day 1

Last night, I sold my iPhone 3Gs, and pre-ordered the new iPhone 4. Alas, it will now be mid-July before my new one arrives. Let the chronicles begin...

Day 1: I'm not exactly sure where I am, who I am, or what day it is. The shaking and cold sweats wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for all the vomiting, too.

I keep hearing weird noises, then realizing it is the abominable Nokia in my hoodie pocket. I look at the screen, see some text, but have no idea how to respond. Not only is the technology failing me, but so is my grasp of language itself.

In desperation, I called the guy (not joking) who I sold the phone to and confessed that I had made a terrible mistake. I asked...no, begged for him to sell me back the 3Gs. He told me that his friend had bought if for him. I called the friend. No answer...

...I feel so cold, so very alone...

Why does Steve Jobs want to do this to me? If Steve Jobs is all-powerful and all-good, why can't he end the suffering in the world?

Book Review: "Change Your Church For Good"

"The church in America is dying." This is the declaration we have been hearing for decades now, from everyone from modern/emergent types like Brian McLaren, conservative/traditional folks like Wayne Grudem and R.C. Sproul, and even secular sociologists and university types. While Christianity is exploding throughout the rest of the world (Korea, Africa, and South America, in particular), the U.S. has moved into the "post-Christian" category. Heck, China has more self-identified "Christians" than the U.S. now! Church attendance is down, particularly among younger generations, and more and more Americans are turning to an egalitarian "spirituality," not Jesus.

This is a problem that Brad Powell, the author of "Change Your Church For Good," desires to tackle. This book is aimed at American churches who feel stuck in their ways, out of touch with culture, and dying on the vine. He identifies the problem(s) as being an internal issue for the church; the problem is not God, or the Gospel, or even the "world" and their sinfulness. Powell does a great job of talking about the problems in the modern American church without it coming across as hopeless, overly-critical, or just piling on. While I may disagree with him about some of the solutions to the problems, his heart comes across as genuine and hopeful.

In many ways, this book feels about 20 years too late. It feels like it belongs to the stream of 80's and 90's make-your-church-super-exciting-and-more-consumer-oriented-to-create-a-bigger-draw-for-the-people-in-your-city type of books. He makes repeated calls to do away with the "man-made traditions" of the past while embracing newer forms of technology, music, and services. While I appreciate and respect the evangelical mindset (a tradition to which I proudly belong), I don't believe that the solutions are primarily solved through the activities, structure, and flow of our Sunday service. While heart issues are most definitely discussed, it feels like there is"Change..." seems to put a high emphasis on physical/practicial (superficial?) solutions to the problem of the dying church.

To give you one example of how this comes across in the book, Powell talks at one point of wanting to make people feel welcome in the church building for Sunday services. He speaks of churches that have signs hanging on their walls: "no food or drink in the sanctuary," "no gum," or "no running in the auditorium." These signs, he postulates, make people feel more like they are "in a museum" and not a warm, inviting place. The solution? Install cup holders in the seating so people feel free to bring their drinks in the services. While I 100% agree with the author that we should never "care more about [our] carpeting than people" and that "God intended the church to be about people, not place," my belief is that cup holder solution is only a band-aid, at best, for a society that is entirely too self-focused and consumeristic. (At least I feel too self-focused and consumeristic...)

This book does have several strengths, mainly in the call to speak the language of the culture without compromising the essential truths of the Christian faith. He (mildly) calls out both seeker-sensitive-evangelical churches as well as liberal-progressive-don't-offend-anyone churches. I fully agree with the author's conclusion that Biblical truths and cultural relevance are not mutually exclusive. Call us crazy, but people like Powell and myself truly want to have our cake and eat it too: love, forgiveness and acceptance holding hands with truth and transformation.

If anyone has read the book "Unchristian" by Kinnaman & Lyons, they will no doubt detect resonances of their work in this book. Where "Unchristian" comes across as a work of statistics and sociology, this book comes across as much more accessible and pastoral. The writing style is easy to follow, and the chapters are organized well enough to communicate the author's main thoughts. Overall, I found this book to be insightful, but not revolutionary. While I appreciate Powell's call for the church to look in the mirror and come to grips with the need for change, I found the solutions offered to be far too thin. By way of analogy, it would be like me looking in the mirror, recognizing that there is a problem, and then deciding to change my wardrobe and hair, not to exercise and eat healthy. This book does not address issues at a deep enough level for it to receive a truly enthusiastic review from this humble blogger. :)

* I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for a fair review. I was not required to give a positive review of this book.

Lyrical Analysis of "Ice Ice Baby"

OK, so I heard the song "Ice Ice Baby" last night on the show Glee, and it got me thinking..."what the heck are these lyrics even about?!?" I've never really taken the time to think deeply about what Vanilla Ice is trying to tell us. Every time I've heard the song, a spasm of joyful-early-90's-hip-hop dancing, and completely ignored the lyrics. So, for today's super-important post, I will be decoding the symbolism, metaphor, irony, and depth of meaning that is present on this legendary song. Here goes:

All right stop, collaborate and listen

Apparently this song is best enjoyed when there is some sort of group effort put into understanding these lyrics. I must immediately stop doing what I was doing, and join forces with some other people in an effort to understand what is being communicated.

Ice is back with my brand new invention
Where was Ice before? No one had ever heard of him before this song!! Also, this brand new invention is apparently going to be revolutionary, like the light bulb, or the fax machine.

Something grabs a hold of me tightly

Something is grabbing and squeezing our beloved Vanilla Ice?! Maybe it was an early incarnation of the smoke monster from Lost.

Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly

Sheer poetry. All around the world, whalers are nodding their heads in stoic agreement.

Will it ever stop? Yo, I don't know. Turn off the lights and I'll glow

Will what ever stop? The rhymes? Whatever was squeezing him before? The harpoon? Also, Ice has just revealed to us that he may be radioactive.

To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal, light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle
I really think that Ice should reconsider before doing destructive things to the microphone. Otherwise, how else would we ever hear him? Also, he gets 14 extra bonus points for coming up with the "vandal-candle" rhyme scheme. Never even saw it coming...

Dance go rush to the speaker that booms

Here he's reaching out to that ever coveted "Geico caveman" demographic. Also toddlers.

I'm killing your brain like a poisonous mushroom

Oh. Dear. God.

Deadly when I play a dope melody

Because when I think of the song "Ice Ice Baby", I instantly think of the power of melody.

Anything less than the best is a felony

I'm really glad to see that he is willing to hold himself criminally liable should this song not deliver the goods. That demonstrates real maturity and character.

Love it or leave it, you better gain way

Gain way could be misinterpreted as "gain weight" thus encouraging the youth of America to not make healthy food choices. Good thing Ice inspires so much dancing to counter his potentially irresponsible food messages.

You better hit bull's eye the kid don't play

So the kid is playing with a firearm? Or maybe a bow and arrow? Someone should alert the kid's parents quickly!

If there was a problem yo I'll solve it

Good, cuz I was about to panic. Ice has got this under control, people.

Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it

I'm glad that this lyric draws my attention to the hook, because I frankly would have missed it. Those stupid 3 words go by so fast: "Ice, Ice Baby." Good thing he says it a few (thousand) times.

OK, I know that there's like 3 or 9 more verses, but this is all the lyrical genius that my brain can handle in one sitting. Maybe at some point in the future I'll analyze the other verses. For now, just remember that with all the poisonous mushrooms, vandalism of microphones, target practice, and felonies, this just may be one of the most dangerous verses ever written. Respect the Ice. Peace.