DECODING THE CHURCH
I'm inching my way thru Howard Snyder’s new book. A few quotes:

+> “...Behind these proposals is the faulty assumption that the church is like a machine and that churches are pretty much the same everywhere, with interchangeable parts. Plug in the right program and, and off it goes!

“Many of us have felt intuitively for years that this approach is wrong. Complexity theory helps us see why. The life of the church – any church – is made up of too many factors to give us any confidences that a method or program developed in one context will work in another. The church’s DNA is just too complex – and too unique in each local embodiment – for that to be true.

“The church is a complex system, a living organism. Stop and think of the complexity of a church composed of only fifty people. There is first of all, the complexity of the interaction of all these people (multiply fifty by fifty...!) Second, there is the relation of each person to God, with no two relationships being quite the same. Throw in the complexity of personality types, cultural backgrounds, family experiences, job involvements, physical health or illness, denominational traditions, aesthetic tastes, and the multitude of choices each person makes daily, and you begin to get some sense of the church’s real complexity! The church is a complex ecology of spiritual, physical, social, political, psychological, and economic dimensions.

“We should rejoice in this! We should celebrate the church’s complexity and allow the church to be the church, not to try to squeeze it into some ill-fitting framework. We should concentrate on the basics, which means carefully and closely following biblical instruction concerning the church and its life.

“The church is a body, not a machine or a corporation. The church is not an army of Christian soldiers. An army functions by forcibly restricting the complexity of human interaction and programming it into a strict chain of command. An army is an unnatural community – very effective for one purpose, but not for building a healthy community. The church is a body, and the body is a complex system with unique DNA.

“This can help us appreciate the church in all its complex beauty – even the strange mix of faithfulness and unfaithfulness that so often marks it. This view seems, in fact, to be the biblical perspective. We get into trouble when we try to program the church, just as we do when we try to program a teenager, or the love between two people, or the life of a family. Human relationships are too dynamic for that.” (pp. 37-38)

+> “The church has a mission to God as well as from God...

“The church’s fundamental mission to God is worship. This truth, however, can become a cliche that actually subverts mission. Worship, so-called, can become a diversion from mission, especially in postmodern North America, where ‘worship’ may mask considerable self-centeredness. Too often worship is more consumer-centered than God-centered.” (p. 50)

+> "Elephants and dinosaurs are impressive, but they thrive only in certain environments." (p. 64)

ARIZONA
We're hanging out in Arizona until tomorrow. It's been raining off and on. I love the smell of the desert after a rain. The big news down here is that Arizona State beat the University of Arizona 34-20. Of course, I would have cheered for ASU if I cared about football.

THANKSGIVING
Had a great Thanksgiving with family -- plus... Learned something new today -- to mix a little Chocolate Sugar-Free Torani in with my diet caffine-free cola. Tastes great with cherry Torani, too.

TRAVELING TODAY
Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go...

WWJD
I put several of the What Would Jesus Drive? flyers up in church classrooms last Sunday. And apparently a few people got upset. They didn't read the flyer very closely and assumed it had something to do with the CCM concert tour being sponsored by Chevrolet. Well at least they noticed the flyers. Visit the What Would Jesus Drive? site for more info on the moral issues surrounding transportation choices. Perhaps people will get as upset over our opulent consumption as they do over having a car company sponsor a tour by a bunch of Christian musicians. BTW, you can download the WWJDrive magazine, Creation Care (.pdf).

TERROR WARNING SYSTEM
Easing anxiety or feeding the frenzy? Well, we're doing it to keep people on the look-out for kidnapped children ("Amber Alert"). Maybe it would work as well to do the same thing for terrorist alerts. At least the people in charge are thinking outside the box.

From Reuters - "Because media broadcasts may spread news too slowly in emergencies, a group of U.S. security experts recommended on Monday that Americans carry government-issued beepers for alerts of pending nuclear attack, biological threat or tornado.

"Partnership for Public Warning, a 30-member panel including representatives of the FBI and American Red Cross, said a national system could send warnings to citizens via their pagers, mobile phones or computer screens."

CANADIAN ANGLICANS
On November 14th I mentioned the Anglican Mission in America. A similar movement is emerging in British Columbia. Check out their website.

BILLBOARDS WITH EARS
The Sacramento Bee is reporting that "starting next month, two freeway billboards will be able to tell which radio stations passing cars are tuned to and then change the image on the sign to fit listeners' profiles." Big Brother is listening...

CHILDREN'S DEVOTIONAL BOOK
Amy Plantinga Pauw, a brillant woman who sat in front of me in Greek class at Fuller Seminary, has teamed up with Susan R. Garrett to write a children's devotional book that is getting rave reviews. Making Time for God: Daily Devotions for Children and Families to Share "deals honestly with difficult topics such as race, diverse religious traditions, divorce, and jealousy. It introduces children to many of the best-known and best-loved stories of the Bible but doesn't shy away from harder to understand passages such as the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God. Each of the 366 entries includes a solid Scripture passage, a reflective meditation, and a prayer. It's appropriate for elementary age kids to read alone or for families to read together." (From the publisher's description on ChristianBook.com)

THE OOZE
My review of Younger Evangelicals is now on The Ooze. Also worth noting is Fay Jakymec's story on JPUSA (updated today) -- the uniquest congregation in the Evangelical Covenant Church.

FREE OFFICE SUITE
"OpenOffice.org is both an Open Source product and a project. The product is a multi-platform office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager, and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to other office suites’. Sophisticated and flexible, OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office."

This is the same platform which is used in the SunOffice system (which I have running on one of my machines which operates on Linux). It's not Microsoft office -- but it's free!


Actually, the best deal in word processing is the WordPerfect Family pack ($49 msr). You can get it for $23 from amazon.com. This is a full version of WordPerfect and it's better than anything you can get for free. WordPerfect is by far more powerful and easier to use than Word or the OpenOffice processor.

ADVENT RESOURCES
Anglicans Online has an extensive list of online Advent resources.

CHOCOLATE MINTS

Cheryl found the new Chocolate Mint Heshey Kisses -- deadly. Just the right mix of chocolate and mint.

GARDENING
The fruit is starting to fall off the prickley pears... I've had several of the satsuma oranges -- some are sweet, some are a bit tart... I had one of the navel oranges yesterday. It was wonderful but the one I picked today wasn't really ready... The lime tree that I planted six years ago and which hasn't had fruit is finally bearing -- but it's yellow! I think my lime tree is really a lemon tree. I'm not sure which is worse -- a lime tree which isn't or one which is a lemon. I suppose it's alright since I took out a lemon tree a few weeks ago and the other lemon tree doesn't have much on it. The grapefruits look like they'll be ready in a few weeks.

KEITH DRURY
Have you yet read Keith's column on the extended nature of ministerial preparation?

WORN OUT CHURCH LINGO
Are we going to wear out the terms "emerging" and "passion" as quickly as we killed the words "celebration" and "fellowship" in the 80's? Just asking...

DECODING THE CHURCH
I'm just getting started on Howard Snyder's latest book on the nature of the church. So far it looks like he's going to argue that the church is a complex ogranism (as opposed to thinking about the church primarily as an institution) and that the church's DNA is mission. Sounds a lot like an updated version of The Problem of Wineskins.

REMEMBER TO BACK-UP (YOUR BRAIN!)
Microsoft is working on a project to provide digital 'back-up brains' on computer-generated beings called 'avataars'. This presupposes that there is something worth backing up. Sometimes I wonder about my own brain...

WATCHDOG GROUP GOOFS
Last Friday I reported on Wall Watchers' list of ministry organizations that had failed to fully disclose their financial information. This week they are admitting they goofed -- at least by including Tony Campolo's EAPE/Kingdomworks on the list. See the Christianity Today story.

REVIEW: THE YOUNGER EVANGELICALS

The Younger Evangelicals
by Robert E. Webber
(Baker Books, 2002), 283 pages.

In 1974 Richard Quebedeaux wrote The Young Evangelicals: Revolution in Orthodoxy ­-- a book which attempted to get a handle on the neo-evangelical movement of 25 years ago. Robert Webber has now released a sequel which describes what is happening with the emerging generation --­ The Younger Evangelicals.

These are the evangelicals from the first generation to grow up in a world which overtly embraced the outlook and values of postmodernism. “They are evangelical in their faith and practice but very different than traditional or pragmatic evangelicals of the twentieth century... They want a faith that is biblically informed and historically tested as well. But, because they are products of a new culture, the younger evangelicals explain and present the faith differently. The clash between twentieth- and twenty-first-century evangelicals is not over truth but over the cultural garb in which truth is clothed.” (pp. 16-17)

Webber contends that American evangelicalism has gone through three eras in the past 50 years. The “traditional evangelicals” were the dominant force between 1950 and 1975 (the Billy Graham types). The last 25 years of the twenty-first-century was defined by the “pragmatic evangelicals” (the Bill Hybel types), and now the “younger evangelicals” (the Brian McLaren types).

According to Webber, among other things these evangelicals have recovered a biblical understanding of human nature, aren’t driven by American pragmatism, stand for the absolutes of the Christian faith in a new way, recognize that the road to the future runs through the past, are committed to the plight of the poor, are missional in their orientation, are willing to live by the rules, are technologically savvy, are highly visual in their orientation, value mystery, long for community, are committed to intergenerational ministry, prefer to start new churches than work through existing congregations, prefer smaller churches, and are ecumenical on a grassroots level.

They are much more likely to utilize liturgical elements than their predecessors. And they reject slick tightly orchestrated programs that are more show than “real”. The younger evangelicals are “longing for an encounter with God’s presence.” (p. 191)

The book contains a brief introduction to postmodern thought as a background for understanding this generation. Also, as a bonus, there is a fine little summary of Lesslie Newbigin’s missional theology ­ which many see as a backbone to the movement.

This is typical Webber --­ straddling the line between academic and popular. It reflects his own “convergence” orientation and in some ways is his attempt to steer the movement that direction. Younger Evangelicals is one of his better books and should be read in companion with Ancient-Future Faith. The new book is not at all critical in its orientation and you get the sense Webber is definitely excited about what is happening in the church.

Of course, trying to describe an emerging movement is like trying to draw a detailed picture of a bullet train as it passes. It will be interesting to review his assessment when The Even Younger Evangelicals is released in 2025. At that point I think we’ll note that he didn’t see how much this is a trans-atlantic movement and that the North Americans are strongly influenced by a similar generational movement in Europe --­ particularly the UK.

The Younger Evangelicals is definitely worth moving toward the top of your reading list.

A few quotes:

+­> “The younger evangelical is returning to basics, to broad strokes and an eclectic Christianity held together by traditions that have lasted for centuries. The emphasis is more on ‘what does it mean to be Christian?’ and less on the particulars that once defined what it meant to be a strict fundamentalist or traditionalist type of evangelical. This new shift toward basics affirmed by the whole church prepares the church for its twenty-first-century battle with postmodern relativism and for its comparison with world religions, especially the faith of Islam.” (p. 59)

+> “It is interesting that for the most part younger evangelicals are committed to start-up churches. Many existing churches, most perhaps, still function in the modern established pattern and are fearful to take the kind of risks it takes to become a post-Constantinian church. This may explain why so many of the younger evangelicals are church planters. They feel the investment of time it takes to change an existing institutional church is hardly worth it. Like the fundamentalists of the early part of the twentieth century, they have turned toward new soil, especially in the inner cities and among the poor. Here, among people who have no tradition to uphold and no denominational battles to fight, the younger evangelicals find open minds and hearts to the fresh winds of the gospel.

“In sum the younger evangelicals differ with the traditionalists and the pragmatists. They reject the traditionalist notion of the ‘purity of the church’ or the ‘Great Commission ecclesiology’ as too reductionistic. And they have turned away from the megachurch movement to find a visible smaller fellowship of believers drawn from all traditions that affirms the whole church and seeks to embody Christ’s presence in a particular neighborhood, often in the city.” (p. 122)

+> "A major problem of the market-driven church is that it is so immersed with the culture that it has become enmeshed with it. The younger evangelicals, on the other hand, are recovering the church as counterculture. The church, this view argues, should not seek to integrate itself with culture or to baptize culture. Instead, the church should see itself as a mission to culture. The church as the instrument of God is called to carry out God's mission in culture, calling people to come under the reign of God through Jesus Christ." (p. 132)

+> “The current change in worship taste and style is indeed a reflection of our shift into a postmodern world. The culture of post-2000 is very different than that of the sixties and seventies. It is a culture tired of noise, turned off by phoniness, sick of glitz, and wary of the superficial. It is a culture searching for an authentic encounter with God, longing for depth and substance, craving quiet and spiritual contemplation and moved by visual, tactile forms of communication.” (pp. 189-190)

HOME
Flew home from Chicago today... Glad to leave the gray behind (hopefully we'll have a few days reprieve from the fog here in Turlock). The Rockies were spectacular -- as were the deserts of southwest Colorado and northern Arizona. We flew over the Grand Canyon, too!!!

To keep myself entertained, when I wasn't looking out the window, I read Robert Webber's new book The Younger Evangelicals -- more about this once I get over the jet lag. But for now a quote -- "A major problem of the market-driven church is that it is so immersed with the culture that it has become enmeshed with it. The younger evangelicals, on the other hand, are recovering the church as counterculture. The church, this view argues, should not seek to integrate itself with culture or to baptize culture. Instead, the church should see itself as a mission to culture. The church as the instrument of God is called to carry out God's mission in culture, calling people to come under the reign of God through Jesus Christ." (p. 132)

RE: DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? WHY?
Donald Bloesch wrote:
"Not long ago a friend of mine reported that a church he had previously pastored in New Zealand removed the large, central pulpit (its only pulpit) and substituted a screen, which is used for praise songs and choruses and also to relay graphically illustrated biblical stories and sermonic messages."

One of the things about Eastern Orthodoxy which initially caught my attention was the level of mutli-media in the liturgy -- the use of light, images, color, cloth, texture, and incense. The attention to detail and beauty is engaging -- not at all novel -- really quite the opposite of my church experience but at the same not totally foreign to the media framework which is native to the way I process life.

And at the same time there is so much scripture -- so much Word. And when it is healthy, Eastern Orthodoxy is characterized by great preaching. One of the greatest expositors of the Bible was old Golden Mouth himself -- St. John Chrysostom! In the EO world the line between the spoken world and the visual world is diminished -- not unlike in the OT temple.

This is where Reformational thinking got off track -- especially on the Reformed/Presbyterian side of the street. They drew a sharp line between the audible and the visual -- the word and the image. Things got out of balance -- emphasizing word over visual.

This is also where "Postmodern" thinking gets off track. They draw the same kind of a sharp line between the audible and the visual -- the word and the image. Things are out of balance -- emphasizing visual over word. (All because the rest of the world seems to be doing that -- lame).

This is not an either/or situation. Both audible and visual can and must co-exist in order to be balanced and healthy (and not only in Eastern Orthodox churches!).

Now, there are a few qualifiers:

1. Context. If you serve in a congregation or with people who aren't very visually oriented, pastoral prudence suggests that you have to move slowly and gently -- or you will unnecessarily divide the church -- and in doing so you won't be showing the love of Jesus -- no matter how powerful of a statement you make.

2. The use of multi-media is often overdone to the point where the point seems to be the media. (This happens in Eastern Orthodoxy, too, where people are occasionally more enthralled with the icons than the God they point to). In pomo worship the desire to be cutting edge sometimes overshadows the Word.

In some ways the media should be "invisible" -- not that it isn't seen but that it doesn't draw the attention to itself. When the media becomes the focus we're buying into the same marketing mentality that some of the big production churches used in the 70's and 80's. "Come worship with us because we've got the latest and the flashiest video. We'll rock the socks off you." Worship then becomes focused on pleasing the consumer.

If you're going to use art -- just do it. Don't advertise that you're an artsy church. Don't make that a part of your statement of purpose -- or worse yet your "church slogan". If you use video -- don't stand up there and tell everyone how cool they are because they get to see movies in church -- don't try to be overly cute with it -- just use the video clip -- let it speak for itself. If it's as powerful as you think it is, you won't even have to explain it too much. It will speak for itself. If you have to explain it then it's probably not worth using. Jesus often left his parables unexplained.

Professor Bloesch also wrote:
"Extended Scripture reading as a preparation for
the sermon is also becoming less frequent..."

Bloesch is just enough of a Barthian to misread this (pun intended). Scripture reading is not preparation for the sermon. The sermon is response to the scripture reading. The reading of scripture is a high point in corporate worship. This is God's Word -- so we need to make a big deal out of hearing it. And because it is God's Word we move on to proclaim it, expounding on it, and drawing out the implications for the hearer.

Again, great preaching isn't the point. Hearing what God is saying to us is. If the message is communicated in an exclusively audio manner -- great! If there are occasional video clips or dramas or soloists to help make the point -- great! Just make the point! We're way too hung up on the method of delivery. And that's not good news.

AMAZON.COM TO SELL SEGWAY
AP is reporting that the Segway electric scooter is now being sold exclusively on amazon.com. "The Segway, a two-wheeled scooter that travels up to 15 mph and is steered gyroscopically by the rider's shifting weight, is available only from Amazon.com and costs $4,950. Orders are being taken now for delivery in March."

And now, if you want to benefit the building fund at Cornerstone Covenant Church you can order your Segway from from this link. $495 non-refundable deposit. Delivery in July 2003. Only two per customer. No dealers please! etc. etc.

DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE? WHY?
Donald Bloesch, The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission (IVP, 2002) p. 179:

Not long ago a friend of mine reported that a church he had previously pastored in New Zealand removed the large, central pulpit (its only pulpit) and substituted a screen, which is used for praise songs and choruses and also to relay graphically illustrated biblical stories and sermonic messages. What is surprising and disconcerting is that this church is related to the Church of Scotland, a branch of Christianity that has prided itself on biblical, expositional preaching. Yet what happened in this church is not unusual: throughout the Protestant world today there is an unmistakable movement from the audible to the visual, from word to image. Worship is fast becoming entertainment; the goal is no longer the glory of God and the service of his kingdom but the well-being and fulfillment of the human creature. Besides preaching, other casualties in this megashift include the payer of intercession and corporate confession of sin followed by the assurance of pardon. Extended Scripture reading as a preparation for the sermon is also becoming less frequent. Solos or musical renditions by some special ensemble are increasingly taking the place of congregational singing.

The evangelical legacy that goes back to the Protestant Reformation and the renewal movements of Puritanism and Pietism sought to hold Word and sacrament together in dialectical tension, but the emphasis was on the preached Word of God. Karl Barth rightly observed that preaching virtually becomes a third sacrament in Reformation theology. In the words of the Second Helvetic Confession, “The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.” The Word proceeds from the mouth of God and is delivered to the church and the world through the testimony of his ambassadors and heralds.

TRAVELING
It’s dark and drizzly in Chicago. I started the morning out in Turlock – where it was dark and soupy. Why do people drive 75 miles an hour on the highway when there is 25 feet of visibility? Total depravity.

Good news from the airports, though. It appears that the baggage screeners, newly deputized as agents of the federal government, have gone through some friendliness training. Maybe the feds hired Southwest Airlines to teach customer relations. Or maybe they're all just so happy to have government jobs that they can't help but be happy. It sure reduces the stress when these guys can smile and joke a bit. And they all seem to know what they’re doing. What a pleasant change.

Also the whole process has been streamlined. They only asked to see my picture ID twice (not the six times that had become the post 9-11 norm). And nobody asked me if anyone unknown to me got control of my baggage. I could never figure out if they were unknown to me how I would know that they had tampered with my baggage. :-)

THE ONEIDA EXPERIMENT
Frederica Mathewes-Green shares a chapter from her latest book, Gender: Men, Women, Sex, Feminism (Conciliar Press, 2002), in Touchstone Journal. She uses the experiences of a mid-19th-century utopian community which practiced "Bible Communism" as a launching pad to discuss the 20th-century free love movement and the subsequent rise of abortion. This is typical Frederica -- smooth, flowing, engaging, and always with a slightly different take on things that rises out of her Orthodox perspective.

BLOESCH ON BAPTISM
Sometimes I think this guy has somehow tapped into my brain (although he says what I think a whole lot better than I could ever say it – and I do occasionally disagree with him – but not here). For example:

My recommendation is that both sides in this dispute [Baptists vs. Infant baptizers] respect the integrity of the other side and also accept the baptism of the other side, so long as it is performed in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and in the context of the community of faith. Against those who defend pedobaptism [that is the baptism of infants], I contend that baptism is ineffectual apart from personal faith and that it is not complete until the dawning of faith. Against those who champion believers’ baptism, I am firmly convinced that there should be no rebaptism. I also believe that baptism should be seen as sacramental and should take place in a service of worship where the Word of God is read and proclaimed.

Regarding mode of baptism, I support pouring over both immersion and sprinkling, simply because the symbolism of baptism as the pouring out of the Spirit is more fully preserved. Yet I fully accept the legitimacy of the other modes of baptism. When baptism is applied to children, a strong rite of confirmation is necessitated in order to underline the importance of personal decision for salvation. Confirmation presupposes conversion and does not itself create conversion, as in a fully sacramentalist view.

Because pedobaptism today has virtually become a means of cheap grace, I personally favor the rite of believer’s baptism but always interpreted in a sacramental way, as a means of grace. When baptism is given to believers, it does not impart salvation but confirms and ratifies a salvation already set in motion by the experience of conversion. Congregationalist theologian Daniel Jenkins has voiced the complaint that infant baptism has become in too many circles a celebration of natural birth rather than of the new birth. This need not be if confirmation would again be elevated – not as a sacrament but as a sacramental ordinance in which the laity are ordained into active service in Christ’s kingdom. Baptism itself becomes a rite of ordination of the laity when it is applied to believers.

Donald Bloesch, The Church: Sacraments, Worship, Ministry, Mission (IVP, 2002) pp. 158-159.

I used to hold an even stronger believer’s baptism position until I lived near so many Baptists in Texas (Where the Baptist Church IS the de facto state church). There I saw how even “believers’ baptism” has become a form of cheap grace – a cultural expectation that one will go forward, “get saved”, and get baptized – sometime in the teen years. And once this is accomplished a person can move on to the next phase of life – confident that he or she has the God thing covered.

I USED TO BELIEVE...
This is a collection of about 5,600 "childhood beliefs" submitted by individuals and catalogued by topics such as animals, death, food, language, nature, and even death. For example, Will wrote, "My oldest son believed that if you went outside without your shirt on the police would arrest you. We figured out later that he had been watching 'Cops'".

ARE CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS RIPE FOR CHANGE?
The following is a quote from today's Dallas Morning News:

Dr. Funk and his Westar Institute have a different motivation. They are looking for new symbols because they believe the old symbols of Christianity have lost their power, not just for individuals but for the society as a whole.

"They don't work well because our world view has changed in the last 400 years, ever since Galileo looked through his telescope," said Dr. Funk.

He recognizes that conservative churches, which embrace traditional interpretations of the Bible, are growing while liberal ones are dwindling, but he is not convinced that such numbers undercut his argument. "The mythical matrix of the Christian creed has collapsed, but it will live on for many centuries after the supporting world view has gone," he said. The real test of a religion, according to Dr. Funk, is whether its believers integrate it into their daily lives. In his opinion, traditional Christians don't and can't because the outside world so contradicts their faith statements.

Ouch.

THE COFFIN IS REAL BUT THE WRITING IS FAKE
Rochelle I. Altman, an expert on scripts and an historian of writing systems, says that "The bone-box is original; the first inscription, which is in Aramaic, 'Jacob son of Joseph,' is authentic. The second half of the inscription, 'brother of Jesus,' is a poorly executed fake and a later addition." (israelinsider)

BOOKSTORE
This morning the long awaited Borders opened the doors of their Turlock bookstore. This is a momentous occasion for our small city (which up to this point had no general bookstore). The ripple effects are enormous:
1. I now know where to look for Dan Whitmarsh, our associate pastor, when he's not in the office (and sure enough I found him there this morning).
2. There is now somewhere in town where I can buy classical music. (This morning I bought a CD of Bach violin concerti.)
3. The university can now apply for accreditation.
4. There is now someplace other than Starbucks that the 10 resident Bohemians can hangout.
5. There are now four places in town where the people with facial hardware can find work.

CHURCH PLANTING HANDBOOK
My church planting hadbook for laypeople is as of tonight available as a .pdf file. Go to the download page for further information.

JAME'S COFFIN MADE BY ALIENS?
Pravada, that bulwark of Russian reliability, is reporting that the recently discovered ossuary of James, the brother of Jesus, was actually made of an unknown material and was alien in origin.

"Many ufologists, including Russian ones, say that the material of the coffin does not belong to our planet. Dmitry Astrakhantsev, the head of the Ufology and Anomaly Center, said: 'Observations and research show that aliens were involved in a lot of things that were happening during biblical times. For example, the birth of Jesus Christ. How can this be explained, the immaculate conception? There is even a hypothesis that says that Mary and Joseph were warned about the birth of their son Jesus. They were informed by aliens – they were thought of as angels, so to speak'.”

ST MICKEY FRESCO
The Daily Telegraph in London is reporting that "a medieval fresco featuring a rodent with an uncanny resemblance to Mickey Mouse has been uncovered in an Austrian church." The Fresco in Malta depicts the mouse kneeling in front of St. Christopher.

"The similarity to Mickey Mouse is so astounding that Disney could lose its world-wide copyright," said Siggi Neuschitzer, the manager of the local tourism office. He added, "This fresco proves that Mickey Mouse is a true Austrian and was not born in Hollywood."

I looked at the picture posted on ananova.com and I think they'll have a hard time making their trademark case. But I'm sure it will be good for the local economy either way.

Whatever.

FINANCIAL BLUNDERS
Some 45 Christian ministries failed to provide "transparent" information to ministrywatch.com -- including some big names. These are all organizations which did not respond to multiple requests for financial statements. In the United States nonprofit organizations that do not send copies of their informational tax return within 30 days of a written or e-mailed request can be fined by the Internal Revenue Service.

In a ChristianityToday.com article several of the organizations deny ever receiving requests from ministrywatch.com.

FOOTBALL BRAINPOWER
The local television news carried a story last night about several Sacramento State (California State Univeristy at Sacramento) football players who greased their jerseys with nonstick cooking spray on the sideline during their 31-24 loss at Montana last weekend. I wonder what the Hornets would have done if they hadn't been so lubricated.

FRENCH HUMOR
The Associated Press is carrying a story about the proliferation of fake historical plaques on buildings throughout Paris. For example, "...a plaque that appeared mysteriously on a facade in eastern Paris stating: "On April 17, 1967 — nothing happened here." Another one appeared "in the garment district paying homage to a former resident identified as, 'Karima Bentiffa — civil servant.'" At the end of a cobblestone street in the historic Jewish quarter, another plaque says: "This plaque was laid on Dec. 19, 1953."

CICI'S PIZZA
One of the things I miss about living in Texas is CiCi's all you can eat pizza buffet. (What, were you expecting me to say Lone Star, barbeque, country music, and two-stepping?) I guess you have to sacrifice something to live in paradise. But, if you're ever in the South looking for a fairly decent cheap meal...

FREE NLT BIBLE SOFTWARE
Pastorport.com, the New Living Translation's site for pastors, is still offering a free Bible CD-ROM. I ordered it a couple of months ago and I love it. As a matter of fact, I removed another Bible software program from my laptop because this freebie works better than the one I paid for.

It doesn't take much to figure out that I'm a big NLT fan. I use several translations, depending on the task. For study I use the English Standard Version (on the more literal end of the spectrum) and the NLT (on the dynamic equivalence end of the spectrum) -- along with some original language texts. By the way, the CD-ROM that comes with some of the ESV Bibles is the same program as that which is being given out for the NLT. In other words, if they are installed in the same folder (as mine are) both translations will work together -- column by column.

I also recently acquired a Roman Catholic edition of the NLT so I could have the Deuterocanonical books (a.k.a. Apocrypha) for reference. Translation was by a couple of Wheatonites -- go figure! (Perhaps this is why no RC bishop has given it his imprimatur). The Deuterocanonical books are not on the CD-ROM.

ANGLICANS
The Anglican Mission in America has recently completed a major remake of their website. Looks good.

The AMiA is the most recent splinter group to spin off the inert Episcopal Church USA. They have actually remained within the Worldwide Anglican communion by coming under the umbrella of bishops in Hong Kong and Singapore. These bishops, like most Anglicans/Episcopalians in the world are Evangelical (exceptions being in the US, Canada, UK, and a few places down-under.).

It will be interesting to see if the AMiA can focus their energy and resources so that they emerge as a mission-driven powerhouse rather than just another Anglican knock-off group whining about how liberal the ECUSA has become. From the looks of some of the local church websites there is hope (Although the AMiA website people haven't yet figured out that the national body needs to put their primary energy into strengthening the local churches. There is not even a local church link on the front page of their site!!! In time, I suppose. They have already come a long way.).

The life isn't completely gone from the old mother church. There are a few pockets of vitality and forward thinking in the ECUSA. One of the best places to catch up with the biblically progressive element is on Richard Kew's site.

WWJD
What Would Jesus Drive? "The WWJDrive Campaign is designed to initiate a discussion in the United States about how our transportation choices are moral choices. What transportation choices should Christians be making? Should Christians encourage automakers to build more efficient vehicles? Should Christians encourage government leaders to fund public transportation and increase fuel economy standards?"

WHY PEOPLE QUIT CHURCH
A few thoughts printed in an article which appeared Monday in the Washington Times:

"The most common reason people leave church, Mr. Rainer says, is that it's too similar to their everyday lives. They are searching for a spiritual community, radically different from their workaday environment, that demands a higher commitment.

"Or, says the Rev. Allison Moore, rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Fort Lee, N.J., churchgoers fail to connect with the message.

"'One person I knew just found they were continually spacing out,'" she said. "'They had gone to church with their young child for six months, but realized one Sunday they weren't paying attention and they stopped going.'

"Neither parent nor child particularly missed the weekly ritual once it ended, she added."

LECTIONARIES
From the beginning the church has used various schemes or plans for reading the Bible. These are called lectionaries. If you're curious (or even looking for a reading tool) there are links to various lectionaries at the Lectionaries Old and New site. One lectionary not listed is Tom Bandy's Uncommon Lectionary, which is designed to introduce the Bible to "unchurched" worshippers.

ALTOIDS
I'm not much for playing computer games -- but every now and then I find something that at least temporarily captures my imagination. This time I found it on the Altoids site. I had heard rumors that there were a couple new flavors -- ginger and a new mint (?). I didn't find any info about the new Altoids. But I did find the billards game. Click on the features button, then the arcade button...

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS
I've posted Mike McManus' recent column about Assyrian Christians on the Abet list.

FRESNO
Our son, Kirk, was home from UC San Diego for the weekend. Today I took him as far as Bakersfield so he could catch a ride south with his housemate.

Observation: The Sierras are beautiful with their new snow caps.

On the way home I stopped in Fresno to tour Mennonite Brethren Seminary where my colleague Dan Whitmarsh is a student. The seminary shares a campus with Fresno Pacific University. I hadn't been on campus for over 25 years so I was surprised at how things have developed. It's so garden-like and there are so many well placed fountains that it creates a peaceful feeling pretty much wherever you are on campus. Big trees. Lots of big trees. Beautiful. FPU is a little gem in the center of the Central Valley.

Fresno itself is a great place. Certainly it's been the brunt of many California jokes for years. And certainly it's not San Francisco. But in it's own way it is an unusual cultural crossroads in an unusual place. The ethnic diversity of Fresno is very apparent everywhere you go -- Hispanics, African Americans, Southeast Asians, Armenians, and even a few Euro-descenters (we are the ethnic minority in California!). They also have one of the largest (and most respected) universities in the California State University system.

JORDON COOPER
Added a link to jordoncooper.com to my connections page. Jordon is a 20-something Canadian pastor stuck on hockey and reading.

BEGINNING
"It was a dark and stormy night..." Isn't that the way you're suppose to start writing? Probably not -- unless you're writing a great novel -- which this isn't. I just figured that it was about time that I started to record some of the tidbits, quotes, and occasional original thoughts that come my way. So here it is.

BLOESCH
Some of the impetus for starting now is the fact that I'm in the middle of Donald Bloesch's new book THE CHURCH: SACRAMENTS, WORSHIP, MINISTRY, MISSION (IVP, 2002). I'm coming across so many good quotes -- such as: (quoting Karl Barth) "'...the church service is the most important, momentous and majestic thing which can possibly take place on earth, because its primary content is not the work of man but the work of the Holy Spirit and consequently the work of faith.' Worship is not efficacious in molding the Christian life, however, unless it is united with a passion to help people in need, which becomes a parable of our love for God." (p. 118)

The chapter on the "marks of the church" is alone worth the cost of the book.

LAPTOP TABLE
Acquisitions: a “personal table” from Costco – $20. Adjustable. Great for working on the laptop. Made by Lifetime -- legs fold in -- looks slightly like, an ironing board (what people used to iron their clothes on in the ole days) -- seems sturdy, too. Slick – very slick.