MEETING MR ROGERS
Sean Meade talks about the time he met Mr Rogers. Sweet. Link

NEW HARRIS POLL
"That very large majorities of the American public, and almost all (but not all) Christians believe in God, the survival of the soul after death, miracles, heaven, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the Virgin birth will come as no great surprise. What may be more surprising is that half of all adults believe in ghosts, almost a third believe in astrology, and more than a quarter believe in reincarnation -- that they were themselves reincarnated from other people. Majorities of about two- thirds of all adults believe in hell and the devil, but hardly anybody expects that they will go to hell themselves." Link to the complete story (Thanks CT)

I'm not surprised that hardly anyone expects to go to hell themselves. But I'm still trying to figure out how it is that "almost all (but not all) Christians believe in God..." It's like saying that most theists believe in God. Do we have a problem with definitions?

HACKER AND SCHOOL MAKE DEAL
The 17-year-old Turlock High School student who hacked into the school district's computer system to show his teacher how vulnerable it was -- and then got suspended and arrested -- is being reinstated back into school. The conditions? He's not suppose to touch a school owned computer, talk to the press, and he has to write a letter of apology to the school district. (See my earlier story) I still think they should give the kid extra credit for showing the school how irresponsibly vulnerable their system is -- and maybe a scholarship to CalTech. I suspect that at least Robert Lee's fellow students will give him a standing ovation at graduation in June. Link to Modesto Bee story.

TRUTH OR FICTION?

COWBOYS DUMP EMMITT SMITH
The last of the team from the glory days we lived in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex is now a free-agent (We moved back to California in 1995). Link

Those who know me know that I'm no big football fan. But it's different with Emmitt. He is a class act and an incredible athlete. I could watch him dancing down the field all Sunday afternoon long (If that's all there was to football -- I might become a real fan).

I can now see the wheels starting to turn in the heads of the Raider fans around here. Well, it would move the team up the food chain a few notches.

DOING CHURCH IN A MULTI-CULTURAL WORLD



The Renewal Project is sponsoring a conference May 15-17 in Oakland, California. Includes input from: Dolphus Weary, Juan Carlos Ortiz, Russell Yee, Adam Edgerly, and Todd Spitzer.

Other than our Covenant Midwinter Conference I pretty much don't do conferences anymore (too much time and money to go hear about the latest fads). But this looks like it will be worth my time and I think it will actually fit into my schedule. Amazing!

MR ROGERS



Fred Rogers died early this morning. I admired him because he was an incredibly genuine person who was also incredibly famous -- two qualities which don't go together very often. And I admired him because he saw the importance of reaching pre-schoolers.

The Presbyterian Church USA sent out a press release this morning (Mr Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister) that said: "Editor's note - The Rev. Fred Rogers - who taught generations of children the quintessentially Christian but profoundly universal message 'Love yourself, love others' on his long-running television program 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood' - died Feb. 27 at the age of 74 of stomach cancer..."

(I'm trying to figure out when "love yourself, love others" became the quintessential Christian message. I thought Jesus' message on this topic was that "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 [NLT] I certainly don't want to dispute the importance of what Mr. Rogers taught but to reduce the quintessential Christian message to "Love yourself, love others" is mistaken. It should be "Love God, love your neighbor [as you already love yourself]." Am I being too nit picky? No reflection on Fred but the Presbyterian News Service is missing the point.)

Greg Asimakoupoulos sent along one of his sorta' corny but sorta' serious sound-byte poems to the Abet list this morning:

There Goes the Neighborhood

Well, there goes the neighborhood.
By now you've heard the news.
Mister Rogers boarded the last trolley
last night and bid us all goodbye.
It's sad to say Fred is dead.
But instead of being swept with grief
let's celebtrate the fact that he was a beliver
and an ordained preacher at that.
Goodness, gracious how the Lord has used
that sweater-clad gentle man in the lives of kids we love.
Mr. Rogers was nothing short of Christlike
in his calm and caring ways.
He was a man of the cloth who offered
a security blanket to preschoolers
through puppets instead of a pulpit.
Thanks to King Friday and Prince Tuesday,
the message of Sunday was heard most everyday
by little lambs followed the lead of the shepherd
in canvas gym shoes.
Yes, Fred may be dead,
but it's such a good feeling to know he's alive
in the presence of the One he served.

Link to Fred Roger's quotes

HEARTLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH
Bethany Covenant Church in Ripon, California has changed its name to Heartland Community Church. Their website hasn't changed over yet, though. My friend Ralph Moller is the pastor there and he says they are hoping that the name change will help eliminate confusion with Bethany Home, a convalescent hospital down the street.

SAT-7
One of the coolest endeavors unfolding in North Africa and the Middle East is Sat-7 satellite television. Sat-7 provides culturally sensitive Christian programming. Link to online video

GOOGLE THIS
Apparently someone over at the world's greatest search engine is upset that people are googling. It seems to me that they'd be honored that they have become the standard. Link (Thanks Boing Boing)

AMERICANS ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE
Finally, the English have figured us out. Link to the Telegraph The Economist is also taking a stab at trying to define what makes us tick. Link to the Economist

MOODY RESTRUCTURING
Moody Bible Institute is shutting down its magazine, moving its missionary flight school, and closing down its retail stores -- all to keep the institute afloat. Even though I'm neither a Dispensationalist nor a Baptist I've always admired MBI and the fact that they make a Bible school education extremely accesible. Link to CT story / Link to Moody Press Release

NOT MUCH CHANGE
Barna: "The research confirmed what more traditional measures have been suggesting: little is changing in the religious realm, despite a lot of discourse regarding new models of church experience and the need for a deeper faith commitment." Link

SMALL MULTIPLYING CHURCHES
Four years ago I wrote an article on small multiplying churches. Link. Today I came across a review of a book by a guy who is implementing similar concepts in Australia. Link.

FAMILY PICTURE (SAN DIEGO)

CLONING UPDATE
Patrick Dixon comments on Clonaid's report that they have now cloned five humans. Of course, the big news last week was that Dolly the cloned sheep has died prematurely.

KEITH DRURY
This week he's stomping thru the TULIPs--no tip toeing. And he's finished posting the draft of his primer on pastoral ministry. Link

CHINESE CHURCH GROWS IN AMERICA
According to a NY Times article printed in the Seattle Times nearly a third of Chinese Americans now attend church. Link (Thanks Andrew Jones)

30 HOUR FAMINE
About 20 of our students and leaders from the combined Cornerstone Covenant/Turlock Covenant churches youth group did the World Vision 30 Hour Famine this weekend. Last night they served dinner at the Modesto Gospel Mission (which they do once a month anyway). Then they slept outside the mission -- not far from the train tracks (I hear trains went by three times during the night). They got up to serve a 6:30 a.m. breakfast. They went back to Cornerstone for a few hours then headed to the Food Bank in San Franciso where they sorted food for the afternoon. Did I mention that they didn't eat anything the whole time, having gone into famine mode at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon. Then at 7 p.m. this evening they had a spagetti dinner.

And they did it all with a great spirit of servanthood. I am more optimistic about this group of teens than any group I've worked with over the last 25 years. Once this generation grabs the mantle of leadership we'll be moving.

NIGERIAN DIPLOMAT MURDERED BY SCAM VICTIM
From Wired: "Michael Lekara Wayid, Nigeria's consul in the Czech Republic, was shot dead by an unidentified 72-year-old Czech at the Nigerian Embassy in Prague on Wednesday... According to police reports, the suspect was a victim of the 419 scam, a thriving industry that employs thousands of people around the world. The scammers successfully manage to extort money from thousands of victims by promising them compensation for assistance in moving funds from foreign countries to banks in the United States." Link

TURLOCK HACKER BUSTED
A 17-year-old student at my son's high school showed his computer teacher how vulnerable the school district's computer system was -- demonstrating access to grades and attendance information. So they suspended and arrested him for hacking!

If anyone is under investigation it should be the school district for placing valuable information on an unsecure site. Hopefully we, as a school district (I'm speaking as a tax-payer and parent), are not too embarrassed to admit that we're the ones with a problem. Assuming the kid didn't steal or damage anything we should consider giving him extra-credit. Link to story in the Modesto Bee

BUMMER
Advertising agencies have started using audible floating ads on websites. Link

Let me go on record saying that I refuse to purchase anything associated with an ad that I perceive to be intrusive or annoying. And for what it's worth, I generally find java and flash on most sites to be totally annoying -- clicking past whenever possible. I don't want sound coming at me. I don't want cute flashing images. I don't surf for "an experience" I surf for information and perspective.

"For their part, advertisers aren't fazed about user backlash. 'People are going to begin to expect it,' said Abstract Edge's Stone. 'Five years from now, surfing the Internet and going to a Web site without sound will be analogous to watching television with the sound turned off.'

Yeah, right. We'll all just be surfing with the speakers off and the 2008 version of pop-up blocker on. And, BTW, except for the Super Bowl (which is an unusual social experience), on the rare occasions that I watch television, I mute all of the ads.

NO, NOT OUR FRIENDLY INS!
"A Toronto woman coming home from India says she was pulled aside at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, accused of using a fake Canadian passport, denied consular assistance and threatened with jail." Apparently, the INS destroyed her Canadian passport and put her on a plane to Dubai. No wonder the rest of the world hates us! Link (Thanks Boing Boing)

EMERGENCY KIT
It took awhile but I finally found a reference to duct tape on the federal government's new emergency preparedness site. Link

ARE YOU A RECOVERING SECULARIST?
Secularism is not the future; it is yesterday's incorrect vision of the future.--David Brooks
Great article in the Atlantic by David Brooks, who offers a six-step program for recovery -- only half tongue-in-cheek. Link
1. First you have to accept the fact that you (the secularist) are not the norm.
2. Confront your fear.
3. Get angry (at the ignorance around you).
4. Resist the impulse to find a materialistic explanation for everything.
5. Acknowledge that he has been too easy on religion.
6. Understand that this country was never very secular anyway.

CARA CARA



I have a new favorite orange -- cara cara. This is a variety from Venezula with a redish/bright orange flesh inside. Lower in acid than other navels. Sometimes called "pink navel" or "red navel". So I made an addition to my mini citrus orchard today.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
Link -- look closely, don't be fooled. (thanks Jordon Cooper)

KEITH DRURY ON BEING A COLLEGE PROFESSOR
In case anyone is interested in moving into the academic world -- "Here's is how I spend my time as a college professor." Also, Keith's "Pssst… Boomers: They’re Laughing at you!" column is worth a look.

4 FACES OF THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY
The LA Times carries an article about the controversial artshow at Biola on the four faces of post-boomer Christianity. CT has an analysis on their weblog.

From CT: Biola University sociologist Dick Flory and University of Southern California religion professor Don Miller are the creators of "Recovery of Ritual," a new exhibit at Biola that, according to the Los Angeles Times, "explores challenges that churches face in attracting younger worshipers."

Four categories are depicted: Reactors, which use "nostalgic efforts that focus on the recovery of reason, seeking to roll back the clock on our postmodern culture;" Imitators, who "hijack portions of popular culture and inject a Christian message;" Reappropriators, who thirst for orthodoxy and are transfixed by the smells and bells of liturgical churches; and Innovators, who want to reinvent the church and focus on "intimate community."

The reactors are the only people that don't seem to cut it, according to the exhibit. And the paradox, of course, is that Biola is itself an institution built on reaction -- perhaps more so than most Christian colleges in the U.S.

FUEL CELLS
I've been wondering what would happen to all the big oil companies when (if) fuel cells actually become the driving power source in our world. An article in the Economist answers that question -- at least indirectly. If American technology wins the race the hydrogen in the fuel cells will be produced by fossil fuels. If the Europeans win the race we'll all be generating hydrogen from renewable resources (a more expensive approach). Link

QUOTE OF THE DAY
From the Economist: "Like most people, whatever their faith, Muslims do not generally acquire their political opinions from clerics. Mostly, they do not care much for politics, and do not identify personally with a vast Muslim ummah all that much more than most Christians identify with Christendom. But with religious sensibilities heightened, and with mild-mannered preachers regularly blasting American policy, the voice of Osama bin Laden, heard again this week as he called on Muslims to fight “allies of the devil”, sounds less far-fetched. Muslims hate his methods, but they agree with the message: Yankee go home." Link

"DUCK AND COVER" AND DUCT TAPE
My first step down the road of cynicism occurred when I figured out how ridiculous it was to think that we could save ourselves from nuclear eradication by hiding under a school desk. Now they're telling us that we can seal ourselves off from a chemical attack with duct tape. Duct tape holds the world together (and removes warts) -- but really there are limits to what it can do. Really.

GOOGLE BUYS BLOGGER
It was bound to happen. Fortunately blogger has become the property of an equally creative (but better capitalized) company. Link

HOME, YET ONCE AGAIN
Why is it that I feel like the first half of February has been one big blur?

POMO DEBATE
Rudy Carrasco has opened a small can of worms by asking whether pomo churches are actually making new Christians or just in the recyling business. Link

TOURISTS
We spent the day being tourists in San Diego. We're down here visiting Kirk. The weather is beautiful but the traffic is horrible. Of course, we went to Hodads for lunch.

MORPH: THE TEXTURE OF LEADERSHIP
Jordon Cooper has a great interview with Ron Martoia.

GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD AND PREACH THE GOSPEL
FOR IT IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY
The Amarillo Globe-News: "The Wall Street Journal reported recently that 46 percent of Africans are now Christians, up from only 9 percent in 1900. The fastest growing sects are radical evangelical faiths, such as prevailed in America in the 18th century. This is great news. Evangelical Christianity is a precursor to capitalism."

BUDS
Returning from Chicago I found that two buds on the apricot tree have opened. The people in the know around here say that all the trees are about 10 days ahead of normal.

NEW INFO ON AGE OF EARTH
Finally a definitive, once and for all answer about the age of the earth... Based on new data from a NASA satellite it has been determined that the universe is 13.7 billion years old (with a 1 percent margin of error). Also, the universe will forever expand and will not collapse in upon itself. I, for one, am relieved. Link.

RECKLESS DRIVING IS A SIN
Rusty, a spy from Mars, who looks like a car, visits Earth and discovers how poorly we drive. 1950s-style animation produced by the General Board of Temperance of The Methodist Church. Fun in a retro way. 10 minutes long. Link (Thanks Boing Boing)

NIGERIAN SCAMS
Anyone who has had a longstanding Internet presence gets the emails that begin REQUEST FOR URGENT CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL -- followed by some wacko scheme to get your bank account numbers and access. I've been saving the emails for sometime now in a special mailbox of Nigerian scams -- current total 78. If someone is ever doing research let me know and I'll gladly share my collection.

HOME AT LAST
I arrived home in Turlock late this afternoon after a fairly uneventful flight from Chicago. They showed The Truth About Charlie as the featured inflight movie. That was probably the best movie I've ever seen on a plane.

STILL IN CHICAGO...
at least until tomorrow morning... The meetings are all over... The cough lingers -- but not as bad...

PHIL YANCEY
spoke at our breakfast this morning. Read the summary here.

THE INVISIBLE MAN--NEAR FUTURE REALITY?
University of Toyko engineering professor Susumu Tachi says that he is in the early stages of developing a technology that will eventually enable camouflaged objects to be virtually transparent by wearing an optical device. Link

RESURRECTED BODIES
Timothy George has a fine nutshell article about why Christians make such a big fuss over the "resurrection of the body".

RE: COUGH DROPS
I'd be happy if I never saw another one in my life. However, at this point...

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YANKS & BRITS
From Salon interview with Jane Walmsley, American long time resident in Britian (via Boing Boing):

I felt like a war bride that moved in the wrong direction. The biggest difference between the Brits and Americans is that Americans think that death is optional. Americans are optimists. Americans believe in the ultimate perfectibility of life. They believe that everything gets better. They believe that if you try hard enough there's a steady crescendo of improvement and your fate is in your own hands. You can make things perfect for yourself. And it's certainly your job to try.

Take somebody like Oprah Winfrey -- she's the symbol of self-improvement...

She's all about self-esteem and perfectibility and viewing yourself as a work in progress. The whole psychology of that is that you must believe that A) improvement is possible and B) that it is actually possible to get it right. You are your own best project. And because we're Americans we somehow think that everyone else in the world thinks that way too, and of course, nothing can be further from the truth. They don't.

POMO -- QUOTE OF THE DAY
Kevin Miller in Leadership Journal: I'm fully prepared to admit that when we boomers were young, we faddishly embraced church-growth ratios and sociological analysis; we praised these modern tools as the salvation of the church. So it's poetic justice for us now to sit in the back of the room, the balding and befuddled, as the next generation praises the postmodern matrix as the salvation of the church.

But we're both wrong. We've already got a salvation for the church, and he will not share his glory with any current cultural form, no matter how valuable or necessary it may be. If the church uncritically embraced modern culture, the solution is not to uncritically embrace postmodern culture.

TUESDAY IN CHICAGO
One of my favorite rooms in the Hyatt Regency O'Hare is the pool room -- an indoor swimming pool enclosed in a large glass room. You can stand in the 85 degree tropical room and watch the snow fall all around you outside. I also like our room on the 7th floor with its clear view of the Chicago skyline.

The Board of the Ordered Ministry meetings today were great. Our task is to interview people who are applying for various ministerial credentials in the Evangelical Covenant Church. Today we interviewed a Korean pastor who intends to go to China to reach Muslims ( I won't mention his name for obvious reasons). Among the not-so-rich and famous, we interviewed and approved the ordination of Glenn Kaiser (These recomendations now go to the entire Ministerium for endorsment and then the annual meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church in June for approval.) There were several others. And the thing that struck me the most about it all was how much the presence of all of these ministers takes the whole Ministerium up a notch or two. I thought that all of these meetings would be tiring but being around all of these people recharges my batteries.

Doug Pagitt is also here and he's blogging about Midwinter, too.

CHICAGO
I'm living the life of luxary high on the 7th floor of the Hyatt O'Hare -- when I'm not in a meeting -- which has been most of the day. It's currently 37 degrees with snow expected tonight.

It's good to see so many friends at the Covenant Midwinter Conference. And travel yesterday wasn't too bad. The TSA security check was no big deal and those guys seem to have it down now. I think the government put all of the security agents thru friendliness training, too. They laughed and joked with passengers during the screen. That helps a lot to ease the tension and move things along. The plane was delayed two hours but eventually we landed in Chicago.

Tonight, my roommate Steve Bilynskyj and I took Olle Alkholm for his first Chicago pizza at Ginos. Olle is the pastor of Immanuelskyrkan in Stockholm and is president of the Ministerium of the Swedish Covenant Church (Svenska Missionsförbundet). That is, he is my Swedish counterpart. He was fun to get to know. He has cool business cards. One side is in Swedish and the other in English.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
Jonathan Wilson starts his column in the Partial Observer: "Five men and two women, representing the aspirations of three nations and most of the civilized world, have perished today while taking the risks that the future requires." Link

PHIL SEES HIS SHADOW



Punxsutawney Phil, the official groundhog weather prognosticator reportedly saw his shadow this morning, signaling six more weeks of winter in North America. Yeah, right! For most of the country winter hasn't come yet. Wisconsin has declared a state of emergency because the lack of snow is melting the tourist industry. In Turlock, California we've had but two mild frost nights (plus the normal December and January fog nonsense). Me thinks Phil doesn't know about El Nino.

I hope I'm not speaking too soon. I leave this afternoon for week in Chicago. There's a little snow and a lot of wind predicted (not by Phil). Fortunately (or unfortunately about the second or third day) I'll be sequestered in the Hyatt Regency O'Hare for pretty much the whole time. No cold in there -- we'll all be breathing manufactured air in that little city.

Groundhog Day is also my brother's birthday. He lives in Blanchard, Idaho and yes they are predicting a light dusting of winter for there tonight. That's just what Greg likes so I hope he enjoys his birthday present -- from Phil.

THE TRAGEDY
It's hard to say anything more than what has been said. I was touched by the president's words which included a very appropriate quotation from Isaiah 40:26.

One of the most intersting Internet angles is the National Weather Service's radar image reported to be that of the shuttle's break-up over Texas. (Thanks Donald Drake).

Of all the Internet news services I subscribe to it was the Tucson Citizen which got to me first as I was opening my email. From the time stamp on their email it looks like they had news to their subscribers within 7 minutes of the shuttle break-up. They must have had staff on duty on Saturday morning.