Don't Click

For those like Roy who don't want to tax their brain over the KJV issue I posted below, try out this site. It's a slow load, but it's worth the wait.

DONTCLICK.IT

Of course, the name itself invites the inevitable...

King James Only?

Inspired by a comment on Matt's blog, I thought I'd post the link to an article arguing against Dan Wallace's critique of King James Only people. Don't read it if you don't want to get all riled up. I briefly thought about creating a copy where I highlighted all the ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments, false analogies, and logical breaks in thinking with different colors for easy critiquing, but decided against it. Maybe Travis should take a shot at it? KJV only people are a total mystery to me. Now I know that there are better arguements out there for a Majority Text (deciding on the right translation of a given passage by selecting the variant which is attested the most times). Of course Majority Text is a slightly different issue than KJV but mostly the issues are the same. But I just don't get how reasonable, informed people can buy into this view.

Pick a Topic

Post your beefs here...

Every Church Should Have It

Dan had a great comment today. We were discussing his recertification for CPR over lunch and he said, "every church should have an AED."

An "AE what?" you ask? As I discovered, that is cool medical person talk for "Automated External Defibrillator." What? Not clear yet? Well that is even cooler talk for something that a kid can use to start your heart if it ever stops and is way better than CPR.

Here's some quick info from the city of Glendora, California.

"They are lightweight, portable and require minimal training to be used. The
devices weigh four to six pounds and cost about $4,000 each. Each day more than
1,000 Americans suffer a condition known as “sudden cardiac arrest." More than
95% of them die. The American Heart Association estimates that 20,000 or more of
these deaths could be prevented each year if early defibrillation were made
readily available."

Anyway, I agree with Dan. If a church doesn't have one, then they should get one for obvious reasons. We should value physical care and safety as much or more so than any other place.

There's no excuse not to have one. As Dan said, practically anyone can use it, and the cost I've discovered after a very quick survey is between $1,500-$3,000. What a deal! Any life is worth that.

Oops... Midway through our fun Apartment Life event for kids we realized that the name, "After School Snack," and sign might need changing.

Apologies

I've been slacking on the posting due to 1) hebrew exam (now done) and 2) tax time (not done) I'll be back with some great thoughts in a couple of days.

Well, I'll have thoughts at least. :-)

Why I Like Disagreement

Well, not necessarily like, but I do appreciate disagreement. The reason is that I believe that healthy conflict challenges thinking and forces it to stand for itself. Without conflict, wrong ideas and incorrect or incomplete thoughts exist simply because they haven't been properly challenged.

I am certain that my thinking is far from perfect and as much as possible I want to discover areas where I am wrong or where I haven't fully thought through something. So, for instance, I really appreciate Dan disagreeing with me a couple of posts back. Conversation and dialogue are vital to good thinking and relationships.

Anyway, thanks for interacting with me here, guys. I'm going to go have a nice burnt cup of Starbucks now.

Am I alone?

Am I the only one who really doesn't enjoy Starbucks Coffee at all? (I'm not talking about the "fancy" drinks here, just the plain coffee.) I just really don't like the stuff. It's just so strong and bitter tasting. It makes my face contort just thinking about it. I buy it whenever I go there - but only because it's the cheapest thing on the menu and I'm, well, cheap. I load it down with cream and whatever, but it's still not that great in my book.

I Survived

Well, I made it through the weekend in one piece!

- The time with my pastor, Gary Brandenburg, was great. This was such a great opportunity to learn from a guy who has seen a lot more than me. The other guy who went with him and I basically peppered him with questions for the entire trip there and back. While we were there, a doctor friend of his took all of us out to dinner.

- The guys retreat was good too. It was good spending time talking with the guys there.

- Sunday School class went really well. I stayed up pretty late finishing up the material I put together. (and daylight savings kicking in didn't help!) In the end, though, I think I communicated my main point fairly well.

All in all I made it through a fairly hectic weekend. If you prayed for it, then thanks. This week is busy too, but as long as I stay on top of things, then it shouldn't be too bad.

This Weekend

I really benefited from all the interaction on that last post. Keep posting if you have thoughts. Briefly, I've already kind of said it, but my opinion is I would go to both situations. However, as several of you pointed out quite well, this is a complex issue. What is the nature of a wedding? What does my attendance communicate? Symbolize? To my "friend" getting married? To other people?

I also think that either going or not going could be done wrongly. If I don't go and don't communicate my love to the other person then I am wrong in my actions. If I go and don't communicate the truth to the other person, then I am wrong in my actions. I also think you could not attend and still communicate your love for the person, though this might be more difficult.

In the end though, I think I would go as long as I knew the other person well enough that my absence would be a slight and as long as I was willing and able to lovingly communicate my disagreement with their decision while communicating my support for them as a person. I don't think that my presence necessarily "condones" or "affirms" what they are doing. Some might take it that way, but if I've communicated with the person correctly, they won't take it that way. Also, like some of you have said, if I err I want to err on the side of love.

Anyway, that's not about this weekend at all. I'm doing a presentation to Concord Missionary Baptist Church this afternoon with a team to help them improve their Mobilization Process. I'm very excited and hope that we genuinely help them move forward in this area.

Then I'm traveling to Tyler with my pastor. He asked me and another guy to tag along with him. I know what he's doing here. He had a couple of hours in a car and thought, "I can listen to ESPN radio for a while or I can build into the lives of a couple of clueless seminary students." :-) Anyway, I am really looking forward to the chat time.

Then tonight I'm going to a Men's retreat ("Fast Break") which lasts until noon on Saturday. I'm excited about this because a guy I spent some time discipling at our old apartment complex is coming with us.

Oh yeah, on Sunday, I'm teaching the first of a month-long series in my (young marrieds) sunday school class on "ministering together as a couple."

Holy Cow!! That's a bit much. I'm just realizing how much I have to do now! Well, if you can, please pray for all this. I think I've overcommitted a tad.