PowerPoint and My Love/Hate Relationship with It

As many of you know, my church uses PowerPoint for almost everything. And while I love PowerPoint (you can do some great things with it and effectively communicate with it), I also hate it when it isn't used properly. And so to help some PowerPoint people out there here's a great example of what NOT to do with PowerPoint. DO NOT DO THIS! I cry when I see this done. By the way, I have to give thanks to Ed Ross for inadvertently directing me to this video. I found it on the Geeks&God forum.

The Bid

Well, we put a bid on the house today. Now we play the waiting game, then possibly the negotiating game and the like. It's exciting. Although, according to my wife I am a wreck. It is pretty stressful. But exciting to have your own place, your own room. It makes me think of Ascension Day. Christ returns to Heaven and says that there He is preparing a place for us...a room. That same feeling of a place to live and dwell carries over to know that we have a place in heaven established for us where we will live and dwell with our Savior is simple awesome. (No this is not a picture of our house)

The Great House Hunt

Well, my wife and I have started our house hunt about a week ago. It has been a growing experience. Our realtor has been great! Yet, I must say that the first couple days of searching we were very saddened by the houses that were in our price range. Many that we saw were foreclosed. I was shocked at the way the previous owners treated these houses. Certainly, they were foreclosed for a reason. But we saw some disgusting pits; smoke reeking, pet urine smelling, furniture dissolving, and junk filled houses. I was simply saddened at how the previous owners took care a place in which they lived. Of course, these houses got us down. Can we afford to live in these areas? Can we afford to purchase a house in this community?
But then yesterday changed all that. We did change the community in which we were looking at and we found some great houses. Beautiful houses that we could see ourselves living in. It's exciting but it's also nerve-racking. I'm a cautious person, so this is extremely stressful as we think about placing a bid and we pray that the timing all plays out.

Why I love comics and superheroes

Image: the secret life of a superhero #2 by _KoAn_ at Flickr


I was reading this article from CNN and loved it. They finally get it about why kids and especially teenagers love superheroes. The author almost seems surprised that this year's superhero hits have major flaws. It's not the typical Superman weakness but the everyday weaknesses of the superheroes that draw us to them. Stan Lee mentions that it makes the hero rounded out.
I would say that it's not that the hero is rounded out but the fact that it makes the hero real. I love Superman, and can relate to that character on a very small level but he's Superman! I like it that Superman can be very much a Christ-like hero. But it's the other heroes who really draw me in, with their flaws. Spider-Man, who always has relationship issues and financial issues. I love it when in the comics he just gets done fighting a villain and then worries that he still has a rent payment to make (by the way this is what makes Spider-Man 2 the best out of the trilogy). Batman, with his identity crisis ("Who are you?" "I'm Batman!"). Iron Man, with alcoholism, and struggling with vocation. Wolverine, with his 'old life' vs 'new life' issues. These characters we all love (at least me and a lot of nerds!).
Yet I would argue that many of our Biblical Heroes are very similar to them. Samson, Ehud, Barak (Yes, I'm studying Judges right now), Moses, Aaron, Thomas, Peter, and Paul. They each have their flaws, yet God uses them. They are the prototypes (loosely used) of the Superheroes of today. Maybe we should get out that Bible and begin seeing these characters in a new light!

Wanna be a fish? Check out the fshbwl!

The Creed part 4

“He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary”

For many people this part of the creed is hard to swallow. Let alone wrap our minds around it. Yet it goes to the core of our Christian faith. This is the Christmas part of the creed. It also describes how we can truly say that Jesus Christ is 100% True God and 100% True Man.

Sadly many non-Christians who grew up in the church scoff at this idea. Often they claim that Joseph was keep busy while the Father had ‘relations’ with Mary. But the very identity of Mary as a virgin stresses that this is simply not true and an aberrant thought. Also, as the creed states it is not by the power of the Father that Jesus is conceived but by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus we see the miraculous conception.

Indeed, Jesus takes on the flesh of humanity. God comes to us as a man. He is born without sin because it is by the power of the Holy Spirit and the fact that he is true God. At the same time, Jesus is one of us; human. It still gives awe and wonder thinking about God becoming man. That awe and wonder is still carried out during that Christmas time with songs and worship. We still marvel at the God-man; Jesus Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary.

The Creed: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord”

The Apostles Creed then moves into the Second Article. The Second Article deals with Jesus Christ. Indeed the opening phrase, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord”, gives us everything we need to know. But the rest of the following phrases explain what is meant by Jesus Christ being Lord.

Before we go into that, we must first discuss Jesus Christ being the Father’s only Son. Mentioned in the earlier newsletter article, the Creed discusses and hammers out the Triune God. First we see the role that the Father plays and now we see Jesus Christ. Each is completely God. They are each, though, a person or personhood. So, the Father is 100% God and the Son is 100% God. Yet the Father is not the Son. I know it gets confusing. But that is why we have the Nicene Creed and, more so, the Athanasian Creed which clearly describes the Trinity. But stating that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Father’s only Son is very important. This distinguishes us from many of the other religions that parade themselves as Christian (Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses). We are stating that Jesus is the Son of the Father, the ONLY Son. We become sons and daughters of God ONLY through adoption (baptism). This brings up all the issues of authority and power. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus has authority and power and gives reference that only a son can be given the authority and power via a father. Christ has the authority and power of God not because he was special or discovered something new but simply because He is God.

And because Christ is God, we call Him Lord. Luther writes, “What is it to ‘become a Lord’? It means that Christ has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death, and from all evil. Before this I had no Lord and King but was captive under the power of the devil.” Calling Jesus Christ “Lord” is not like saying He’s the president or C.E.O of our lives. He is the Ruler of our lives because He has redeemed us, bought us back to God. He has purchased us as His own, with His own precious blood. We now call Him Lord because Jesus is our Lord and Savior. “He has taken us as his own, under his protection, in order that he may rule us by his righteousness, wisdom, power, life, and blessedness.” – Martin Luther

I'm back!

Sorry everyone. I know this site has been 'dead' for awhile. I've been busy with Easter and then I got sick for about 2 weeks. But now I'm back and bringing this blog back to LIFE! I'm also changing some of the links so check them out. Thanks.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth

The Apostles Creed is typically divided up into three articles; each dealing with one person of the Trinity. Luther decided against the twelve part division that the medieval church taught and I largely agree that the three article division is best but I am going with the twelve part division only to make these writings less tedious. So we begin with the first part: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth". There is much we confess that is packed into this first simple phrase of the Apostles Creed.

The creed begins to describe who this person of the Trinity is, namely, Father. God the Father is quite fatherly. Scripture is quite clear on who is the Father. Deuteronomy 1:31 “There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Psalm 2:7 (in foretelling of Jesus’ baptism) “I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” We see throughout the Old Testament, the Father caring and providing for His people, even all people under creation.

That is another important confession we make: God is creator, maker of heaven and earth. Oftentimes we fly past this first statement of the Creed without ever truly thinking about it. But we are confessing that God is the Creator; that He has made everything; the earth, the plants, the cosmos, the animals, even you and me. We are a creature of God and we confess that He has given us everything. Our Catechism states “God has given and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, all the faculties of my mind, my reason, my food and drink, clothing, means of support, wife and child, house and home” (Large Catechism). Yet, many times we question whether God has truly given these things. After all, I purchased my clothing (or atleast my wife) not God. But within this statement we see that God has provided everything for us through the doctrine of vocation. Where God works through others in the roles and callings that they have. They are all gifts from God who has worked through the fashion designers, workers, retailers and the like to provide for me clothes.

God gives us everything we need in this life. As Christian we are to see God as the Giver of these wonderful things. We are to love, praise, and thank God for all that He has done for us. “He gives us all these things so that we may sense and see in them his fatherly heart and his boundless love toward us” (Large Catechism).

Is Halo Christian?

With the advertising push for Halo 3, the United States is beginning to see gaming everywhere. Now I am a gamer and most people know it. I love old school Nintento. I dream of returning to my first gaming system, the Atari. There's nothing like shooting down airplanes and choppers in the game CHOPPER. Though the Atari was my only game system until college when I purchased a Playstation, I have had experiences with all game systems from Dreamcast (don't ask if you've never heard of this system...it's a sad story) to the PC. As I have grown up with computer games and video games, and am a Pastor many times people ask me if these two are compatible. I will attempt to answer this question with a certain example.
This morning I was handed an article from The Gazette titled "THOU SHALT NOT KILL-EXCEPT IN A VIDEO GAME AT CHURCH!" The article basically addresses the issue of churches reaching out to youth with violent video games. Ethicists seem to be on one side and youth pastors/leaders seem to be on the other side with Focus on the Family in the middle not knowing what to do. The youth leaders argue that Halo 3 is a tool that can be used to draw youth into their groups where they can then (during the break of course) give a lesson to connect kids to Christ. Other pastors use the opportunity to talk about God and the devil. A youth minister is quoted in a letter to parents stating "We want to make it hard for teenagers to go to hell." Others are prompting teens to use Halo as a theme to talk to their friends about good and evil. In a response to their critics Kedrick Kenerly, founder of Christian Gamers Online states "I'm not walking up to someone with a pistol and shooting them. I'm shooting pixels on a screen." (which is a horrible response...I guess many men aren't cheating on their wife by viewing pornography, they are just viewing tiny pixels)
On the other side of the issue are religious ethicists and pastors who claim that "Halo" has a corroding influence and gives access to adult-themed material. They would also state that "Halo" associates thrill and arousal with killing. Daniel Heimbach, a professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary states "To justify whatever killing is involved by saying that it's just pixels involved is an illusion."
First let me address the 'pro' side for Halo. I do think that it is a complete mistake to use this as a tool just to get youth into the door of Church. Yes, we want to use everything at our disposal but where is the focus of the activity. It is solely on the activity of playing Halo. The youth won't care what you have to say they will just believe that they have to listen to this little commercial (the Christian message) to play Halo. And we all know how easy it can be to filter out 'commercials'. The message of Christ is to take center focus not a side adjunct to play Halo. And this goes with other 'activities'.
Second, the 'anti' side of the issue has some valid points. Yet, kids these days are able to distinguish fantasy from reality. My fear is that this may spill out into all aspects of media, books, movies and the like. Do kids still play Cowboys and Indians? I think so (even if it is not a politically correct activity) Now churches though need to respect the rating that Halo has been given. It is not appropriate that they allow any aged 'youth' to play a game that is rated M for Mature which focuses on only 17 or older crowd. Sure, younger kids will play it at home and parents will allow that but the church needs to take a stand on this issue. Would you allow youth to watch a rated R movie? I doubt it. This gets to the problem that many people just don't understand the evolution of video games (which may be a blog for another time).
Simply, "Halo", I would argue can be appropriate as a fellowship activity (just as Softball league and the like). But there needs to be some parameters such as respecting the rating of the game. This means that Halo may be great for young adult men's ministry as a fellowship activity. If this just becomes a tool to get people to listen to the message I believe you have already lost them. Certainly some will come hear the message but let's be honest we want to use what is effective. Video games are not effective means of evangelism. It is a fellowship tool. Many forget the aspects of multi-player that most use when playing Halo. This creates a bond and venue in which people share their experiences with each other and creates an aspect of fellowship.
Another aspect that is lost in the game argument is that Master Chief (the main character you play) is a soldier. This brings up the question: Can a soldier kill? The answer is yes. Luther writes how being a soldier is a valid vocation. Now the response may be "But these kids aren't soldiers!" True. But as one looks at the single player of the game through out the trilogy, you will find a wonderful plot that shows how soldiers should act and behave. It takes you through the vocation of a soldier to save and protect. This is especially clear in the 'movies' that were made to promote Halo 3. Watch them, they are rather interesting. Speaking of Halo 3 and the single player plot, I have come up with an interesting conclusion (I have not played the game). But as I watch the movies and follow the story line of both Halo and Halo 2, I have seen where Halo 3 might be pursued. I believe that Halo 3 really sets Master Chief to be a Christ-like figure. Where he will sacrifice himself for humanity and not just for humanity but probably for those in the Covenant (enemies) as well.
That is my take on this whole Halo 3 phenom. And by the way...I probably will be getting a 360 and Halo 3 this Christmas! I am a gamer after all.