Random

• Check out the mobile wedding chapel ~ link

• Marsha Harrison forwarded pictures of a mobile camper that looks a lot like a garbage truck. You could probably take it anywhere -- if you could afford the fuel. ~ link

• A very fine interview with Phyllis Tickle on the Covenant website -- she discusses how the changing face of Christianity will impact denominations. ~ link

• Wolfgang Simson's almost classic Houses that Change the World has been updated and re-released as The House Church Book.

• "Few Americans attend house churches, survey reveals" ~ link

• The US government is starting to receive dividends on some of the bail-out investments. It's not yet a lot but it's real revenue. ~ link

• Hurricane Jimena is now category 4 and is threatening the Baja coast of Mexico. Sometimes a storm hitting in Baja will spin a little extra moisture up our direction. It has been a really dry monsoon season in Arizona. ~ link

• Totally unrelated to the hurricane we're right now in the midst of a pretty strong wind and dust storm -- a little moisture -- some electrical activity. One of our yucca plants has blown over.

• Does Arizona have an image problem? How could it be? Just because people carry and flaunt semi-automatic weapons when they have an anti-Obama demonstration and an area "pastor" leads his congregation to pray that the president will be struck down with brain cancer? I can't imagine that such activities would negatively affect how the world views Arizona. ~ link | link

• Today is our last day on the payroll as Covenant Project Missionaries. It was a great three years. I'm still going to be teaching classes for PIU -- adjunct online -- hopefully as early as this coming spring semester.

• "Ninty-Nine out of a hundred dying churches will begin the service with announcements..." ~ Bill Easum (See also "the top six tactical mistakes churches make"

• Skype is doubling the cost of international phone calls. Computer-to-computer is still free. ~ link

Random

• This is why I think that postmodernism is really modernity on steroids. See Scot McKnight's assessment of postmodernity -- Self in a Castle

• I saw a man today with massive tattoo removal scars -- not very attractive. Tattoos are so permanent -- even when they're removed.

• Hawaii's response to problems related to the compacts of free association could affect Guam. ~ link

• I got the first gallon of paint up on the wall. Painting is definitely more to my liking than hanging ceiling fans and light fixtures.

• Karyn Sorenson is saying that PIU is now up to 115 students for the fall semester -- definitely a Guam campus record. I wonder if that includes the class at the prison. ~ link

• Yum. Coconut M&M's.

Top 10 reasons the church planting movement in North America is in trouble:

10. The population in the US is growing rapidly. The church is growing -- but slowly. We're in danger of "too little, too late."

9. On a whole we're unfamiliar with how churches are planted and are growing in Asia, Latin America, and Africa during an era when much of the population growth in North America is related to immigration from Asia, Latin American, and Africa.

8. We've created a costly Cadillac model for church planting. Cadillacs are great cars -- wonderful ride but they aren't the most fuel efficient and they don't turn on a dime. Success is too closely tied to the growth or health of the economy.

7. Mere mortals (and certainly laypeople) dare not consider the church planting call. Church plants can only be carried out by highly trained and gifted special opts leaders -- or so is the perception.

6. There are too many church planting consultants ("coaches") and professional seminar presenters with a vested interest in keeping the process complex.

5. Much of the energy in our new churches is inwardly focused -- survival is still the primary objective -- even in new churches. When we mobilize people it is to volunteer in the ministry of the local church. (How many new churches are sending out missionaries? How many new churches think of themselves as a missionary force?)

4. Most of the new churches I've studied are failing to engage the mind and clearly lack a holistic approach to spiritual formation. "We have great small groups."

3. The churches we're starting all tend to look, sound, and feel too much alike. The graphics and the sermon message outlines all seem to come from the same three or four cookbooks.

2. We think of church planting as a movement rather than as an integrated ordinary daily part of church life and mission.

1. There are still church planters who think that top-10 lists are cute. :-)

Handyman update

I successfully installed two ceiling fans today. However, I was unsuccessful with another (it was defective and had to be returned to the store) and a light fixture (some kind of electrical issue with the switch that may require an electrician). So, I have two more ceiling fans and two more light fixtures (in addition to the one I attempted this morning) left to install. I dislike working overhead.

We heard from the shipping company and they plan to deliver the kitchen sink next Wednesday. Then we can actually start to use the kitchen.

I've discovered that our yard is a cricket refuge -- which means that it's probably also a scorpion refuge. I'll have to do somehing about that -- one more thing for the list.

Random

• Check out this tiny bicycle-towed trailer. Fun. ~ link (via)

• We had corn on the cob for lunch. I love summer!

• Thank you, Australia, for sending us naval oranges to enjoy in our summer.

• "South Korea, the second largest missionary-sending country in the world, is thinking about barring certain Christian missionaries from traveling to the Middle East in light of recent expulsions." ~ link

• It's taken some time but I'm learning. I didn't try to stuff that 80lb box of Ikea shelves into the Corolla. If I'd have been successful my back would have been on the DL for three weeks. I'll figure out something else.

• Regardless of what one thinks of "Obamacare" or classic liberal politics, it is totally absurd to equate Obama with the anti-Christ (and it totally disses the Bible). I'm more concerned over the right-wing reactions than I am over the goofy half-baked proposals coming out of DC.

• I'm surprised that Phoenix doesn't have an all-news radio station (there are nearly 5 million people living in this radio market.). The stations which used to carry news have all been swallowed by talk-radio.

• Ya mon Phoenix could also use a reggae station.

• Bruce Metcalf, who has been the pastor of Hilmar Covenant Church for nearly 30 years is retiring in March. ~ link

• The public schools on Guam are closed because of an $8 million to $10 million (they're not sure how much) short-fall. But they'll open again on Monday. ~ link | link

• Google Docs now has a translation feature. ~ link

• It sounds like they've got 110 students on the Guam campus of Pacific Islands University this fall. That's got to be a campus record.

Random

• To mark the 15 year anniversary of Mark Noll's landmark book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Gordon College and Eastern Nazarene College are co-sponsoring a symposium to explore the progress made in the area of intellectual excellence. ISTM that we've made some progress but that there is also a growing level of beer-drinking, pipe-smoking pseudo-intellectualism associated with evangelicalism (big hat -- no horse). ~ Schedule (.pdf) | Press Release

• Dave Noreen has a couple of great websites aimed at the underserved senior adult population (at least underserved when it comes to matters online). Senior Evangelism Partnership aims to provide resources for those working with seniors. Senior Lifestyle is a webzine for seniors.

• Great news! It's possible to eliminate malaria by 2050, according to Dr Joel Breman, senior scientific adviser at the US National Institutes of Health. ~ link

• Not so great news! The US budget deficit will be almost $1.6 trillion this year. And it is expected to eventually hit $9 trillion by 2019. ~ link

• I'm playing with the beta of the online NLT Study Bible update -- very sweet. Users are able to create and share their own study notes.

• James Chen has a really good intro to life on quirky Guam. I still love that place and the people there! In my ideal world I'd split my time between here and there. ~ link

• 5 ways to use salt and save money around the house ~ link

Random

• Samoa is planning to switch sides of the road so they can be like the Kiwis and Aussies. There is nothing wrong with wanting to drive like them -- except that the roads were designed for right drive -- and it's going to be more hassle than it's worth to switch. Samoa already has enough problems and probably doesn't need to create more. I suspect that the politicians are just trying to introduce a distraction.

• Crime is down in Phoenix -- in spite of the bad economy. Conventional wisdom has been that crime goes up as the economy goes down. But this is not at all a textbook economic downturn. ~ link

• Was your Bible cover made by a slave? How about that cross on your wall? Hmmm. Troubling possibility. ~ link (via)

• Arizona State University estimates fall enrollment at 69,000 -- "making it the largest university in the country." (I thought it was huge and unwieldy when I was a student with 40,000 others back in the late 70's. Bigger ain't necessarily better.) I'm sure that somebody will contest that designation.

• I've heard that Indira Gandhi National Open University in India has about 2 million students. I can't think of any US university coming close to that.

• My find of the week was a cute, very healthy, 12-inch saguaro (the most regal of cacti) on clearance at Lowes -- $20! This size saguaro typically sells for 2-3 times that amount (they're slow growers). I'd bought a 3-incher elsewhere for $8. Our 12-incher now lives in the front yard. In a few years this is what it will look like -- more or less.

• Malaysia, which already has more political chaos than one nation deserves, is up in a tizzy again, this time because of the scheduled caning of a Muslim woman who drank some beer. Muslims are subject to different laws than the non-Muslims.

• In US neighborhoods people are not just upset at the growth of house churches (with the added traffic and related parking issues) but in Chandler, Arizona they're cracking down on a Buddhist group which has been meeting in a house. Religious equality.

Random

• Today is the first national Honey Bee Awareness Day. If I had known this earlier in the day I could have done something significant to celebrate -- like eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch.

• All the ink cartridges in my printer dried up during the transition. Apparently they don't sell these printers in the US (I bought it at Kmart on Guam) but Walmart still had the replacement cartridges.

• The highly profitable Kmart on Guam is bright, friendly, orderly -- a Japanese tourist destination. Sometimes it even has a community buzz as friends meet and greet in the aisles. I went into a local Phoenix Kmart this afternoon. Half the lights were out, the aisles were narrow and overstocked, it had an odor, and not much order. How is it that in this highly competitive environment they continue to function this way? My hope is that when Kmart goes under that somehow the Guam store can continue to function. It's a bit of a lifeline out there. Is anyone at Kmart corporate listening?

• Speaking of a buzz, tonight I'm listening to the Sunday morning praise and worship show on 96.5 FM Family Radio in Brisbane, Australia. They have a good pop/CCM music mix at other times, too.

• Another surprise Walmart discovery -- Albuquerque Tortillas. We haven't seen them anywhere else, yet. If you're not making your own tortillas these are pretty decent.

• Have you tried a little key lime juice on your cantaloupe?

• When the Soviet block disintegrated and the island ran out of oil Cubans became organic gardeners out of necessity -- and now they're thriving in it. A lot of the farming is done on city lots.

• Someone needs to send an emergency shipment of onions to Guam. ~ link

• Hope for the aging -- dose of reality for the young -- "(Lesslie) Newbigin wrote his 3 most significant works (Open, Foolishness, Gospel) after mandatory retirement from position of bishop at 65 in 1974." ~ Andy Rowell

• I think I made seven trips to Home Depot in the last two days (half of them trying to fix a toilet). There are still quite a few "foreclosure projects" left -- lights to hang, door to hang, shower curtain rod to hang, closet rods to hang -- other misc stuff the previous owners took with them. Fortunately, we're less than half a mile from the depot.

• Dramatic growth of uke sales in Scotland. Yes, the British Isles count as islands. (Although if you think about it, most uke players don't live on islands and don't play island music. The instrument originated with Portuguese workers.) ~ link

• Via Don Johnson --



Why? Some kind of existential jabber.

Random

• Steven Evans sent me a link to the HONA Network -- lots of church planting resources from the Anglicans.

• Here is transcript of a radio announcement being broadcast in Chuuk explaining the changes at PIBC.

• I got an email from Melissa Heck on the Guam campus and it is looking like PIU/PIBC will have a full house for the fall semester.

• Retired US Army general James Dubik is working with the Roman Catholic Church to help them create online "'communities of practice'” that could cut through the bureaucracy and help priests and others in the church do their jobs better." ~ link

• Southwest Airlines is adding wi-fi. ~ link

• We called the City of Phoenix for a special cardboard pick-up. (We're unpacking and have been generating a major pile.) They came within three hours of the call. That's pretty impressive.

• Wind. Heavy rain. Light show in the night sky. Monsoon desert style.

• I ran into some Assyrian guys in Costco this evening. I never hesitate to ask someone if they're Assyrian if I hear what sounds like the Assyrian language (or as was the case tonight, one of the guys had a t-shirt with the Assyrian crest on it). They're always so excited that someone recognizes them for who they are -- and who understands at least bit of their great story. The Assyrians were good neighbors when we lived in Turlock.

• Whatever it was that Bill Clinton said when he was in the neighborhood a few weeks ago it must have been significant. The Koreas are suddenly talking again.

Random

• Want to learn Mandarin? Free online Chinese lessons courtesy of Heriot-Watt University.

• IVP, the company which publishes more titles on my reading list than any other single publisher, is having a 40% off sale @ ivpress.com this week. Use coupon code SOC-2 to get the discount.

• A Blue Parakeet is not published by IVP but it's a great book and there is now a free study guide.

• "An ancient runway for flying reptiles called pterosaurs has been found in France, say researchers writing in a Royal Society journal." ~ link

• I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight -- first time since beginning of June. Good night!

Our first day in wild Laveen

6:30 a.m., first morning in the new house -- a million cops cordon off the street, the SWAT team rolls their tank up to a house about 10 down, and the heavily armed men in black announce over the PA sytem that they're serving a warrant on such-and-such-an-address and that everyone should stay inside and away from their windows.

Toto, I don't think we're on Guam anymore.

Actually, I think we're in the perfect spot for salt and light ministry. It's definitely a cross-cultural missionary situation.

The cops opened up the street in plenty of time for the morning commuters. We procured a U-Haul truck to get our stuff out of my brother's garage in Tempe. Then about 4:30 p.m. the "Pack Rat" pod arrived with more stuff from storage. I think we have about an hour's worth of unloading left -- which we'll do in the cool of the morning.

We went out to eat this evening (just after the police helicopter finished circling the neighborhood -- sirens all seemed to be down on Baseline this time) and discovered our new favorite Chinese restaurant. Li's Bowl is at the corner of Southern and 35th Avenues. Interestingly, it is the only non-franchise restaurant we've come across in Laveen. The economics of this place make it very difficult for independent mom and pop businesses to exist. Li's Bowl is not only an exception but they've got a great Chinese fusion menu -- and not at all expensive.

It's an adventure.

Random

• We're pretty much packed and ready to move out of Jeff & Mary Johnson's Fountain Hills condo where we've been for a month. It's certainly been a gift in helping us make the transition back into Stateside ministry. The AC company will be installing the new unit in our house tomorrow so we can sleep there tomorrow night.

• So far we've encountered several people in Laveen struggling with English. I really felt for the poor African kid trying to take our lunch order today. We try to keep things slow and clear but he just didn't have enough vocabulary for the job. Maybe one of the first MasterPiece Church ministries should be conversational English classes for immigrants. That's certainly an area in which we have experience.

• "Spanish is the primary language spoken at home by more than 34 million people in the US." Here are a few things to bring you up to speed on how the language functions.

• The country is shocked at the gun-toting Obama protesters in Arizona. Ah, what did you expect? This is the wild west -- at least in some people's heads. And Arizona has increasingly attracted a lot of strident gun-packers -- more so than when I lived here 30+ years ago -- maybe more so than the territorial days. It's now common enough to see some bubba with a 45 tucked in his belt as he's out for an evening stroll with his honey.

• Blessed are the peacemakers -- including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett who intervened in a domestic dispute to protect a woman and child -- and got his teeth knocked out. I seriously doubt that a gun in the mix would have helped the situation.

• "We will care for any newborn baby you bring to this church." ~ Vic Pentz, pastor of Peachtree Presbyterian Church

• If they cancel Saturday mail delivery I won't miss it as much as I would have 15 years ago. Email has become the primary source of mail for me. I still like getting snail mail -- the ritual of opening the box to see what surprises might be in there. But with email that happens dozens of times a day -- not just six days a week. BTW, I'm going to work on catching up with the email once we get the internet up and running at our new place.

• NB -- Ajith Fernando on inductive Bible study ~ link

• D-backs security thwarts Dodger beach ball frenzy. ~ link

• New video of our good friend Lisa Dy dancing at our Guam church. We miss you guys! ~ link

• Readers Digest files for bankruptcy. The thing is that RD more or less belongs to a different world than the one which exists today. ~ link

Random

• We saw Air Force One land this afternoon as we were leaving Sky Harbor. Obama and family had taken a day trip up to the Grand Canyon this morning. The landing shut down all the other air traffic for a few minutes. Kirk's flight out was delayed for half an hour.

• Our otherwise barren backyard (literally) now has two cactus paddles (cuttings from a plant I like) that I stuck in the ground this afternoon. It felt good to get my hands back into the dirt dust -- even if it was 106° out there.

• The plan is to change locks tomorrow. Receive appliances and new AC on Tuesday. Sleep there Tuesday night. We are expecting the pod from storage on Wednesday and I'll take a rental truck over to pick up stuff from my brother's garage. Sometime soon we need to get up to Turlock to get things from storage there.

• Umair Haque rants about the superior wisdom and ethical perspective of Generation M. He's worth reading but his assumptions about the previous generations are incorrect. Just because things have turned out a certain way doesn't mean that is how things were planned -- or intended. And in 30-40 years generation M is going to be scratching their collective head wondering how such noble ambitions got so screwed up. The problems are more systemic to human nature than to any given generation or culture. Of course, arrogantly blaming previous generations is a part of that problem, too. In the 60's and 70's we were as full of it as he is. ~ link

Random

• Another great 20th century theologian has died. Geoffrey Bromiley was an historical theologian and the English translator of many major theological works -- including Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics. Praise God for his life and service. ~ link

• Church wins the lottery! The story doesn't say if the church purchased the ticket or if someone donated it to them. ~ link

• Two (neo-reformed) megachurches are launching seminaries. Mars Hill Church in Seattle is starting the Resurgence Training Center ("Re:Train") and Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis is now offering master's degrees as Bethlehem College and Seminary. ~ link

• I tried Yahoo's "social mojo" rater and I'm a "concierge." ~ link

• We got the key to the house!!! And just in time that we could give Kirk and Betsy a tour this evening. They're visiting us this weekend and we're all attending my niece Christy's wedding tomorrow.

Random

• From the blood of martyrs... ~ link

• FedEx finally found our bank on Guam. The wire transfer is complete. The final step before we get the keys? Title company registers the deed -- hopefully tomorrow morning.

• JetBlue's new "all-you-can-fly" pass. $599/month. ~ link (via)

Less Clutter. Less Noise.

I've been wanting to say a word about Kem Meyer's new book Less Clutter. Less Noise.: Beyond Bulletins, Brochures and Bake Sales.

In the spirit of her thesis I'll be brief:

• Written from a megachurch context but HIGHLY applicable to even the smallest church.

• Very practical guide to fine tuning your church's approach to communication.

• Written in easy-to-read format -- each chapter will take you two minutes.

• As you're reading this book you'll probably realize that you're doing way too much of some things and not quite enough of others. Overall you may find that your workload lessens.

• If you are in church leadership you should read this book.

MasterPiece Church

The other day Don Johnson asked me to say something more about the church we're starting. So I want to thank him for the set-up.

After returning from Guam we looked at several communities in the Phoenix area where we might settle in and work on starting a new congregation. We decided that Laveen would be a good spot because --

a. There were people praying for someone to come start a Covenant church there.

b. There are a few families very interested in starting a new church.

c. It's an area even more under-churched than the rest of Arizona. I'm guessing that there are 25,000-30,000 people living in the community (all the demographics are outdated because the area has grown so fast). And there are only perhaps 10 congregations in the village. (Laveen is a "village' in the city of Phoenix.) All but one or two meet in school buildings.

d. There is a good mix of people in the area and we feel called to work at the crossroads where several cultural and ethinic groups meet. I mentioned the other day that Laveen still has some active agricultural roots. It's suburban in appeance. But the mix of people is more urban. It has a nice soft buzz to it.

e. We can afford to buy a house there. Because there is no conference funding for another church plant at this point we're going to try to start out bi-vocationally. Being in a place were we can buy a house outright eliminates a house payment and allows us to focus more time and energy on the church.

f. We have lots of family and friends in the metro-Phoenix area -- and are already finding that we can draw on these connections.

We expect to spend the next 12 months tiling the soil -- getting to know the community, connecting with people, telling the story, and developing a launch team. The goal at this point is to "go public" (so to speak) in the fall of 2010.

There is an initial shell of a website at MasterPieceChurch.org with a little more information.

Baseball!

The original plan is that we'd spend Wednesday moving stuff into our new house. Because of the wire transfer hitch the move has been delayed a few days. So we get to go with my brother and family to watch the D-backs take on the Mets @ Chase Field tomorow afternoon. It should be a good game -- since both teams are so evenly-matched in their divisions. :-)

This will be our first trip to Chase, our first D-backs game, AND our first ride on the new light rail system. The whole thing sounds a million times better than trying to move stuff into an un-air conditioned house in the middle of the day.

Random

• Mary the McDonald's drive-thru lady even has a FB fan group -- started by customers -- fun story. ~ link

• Some at Coral Ridge are not yet ready to accept Tullian Tchividjian as the pastor. Guys, it's not like he came to you looking for the job. Give him some room to start leading in his way. You don't really want a Kennedy clone. He was one of a kind for his era. ~ link

• We're tracking a FedEx package on the way to Guam. But according to the FedEx website it has been sitting in Memphis for 16 hours. For those of you who deal with this more regularly, is the info on the website accurate? If so, why is the package stationary for so long?

• Looks like rain. Feels like rain. But until it actually starts to smell like rain I won't get my hopes up.

• A gardener's most important tool in Arizona? Fine-tip tweezers.

• Even though Phoenix is one of the top US cities to start a new business, according to Entrepreneur magazine, it ranks next-to-last in health, education, and job growth, according to the Phoenix Business Journal. Some things in life just don't make easy sense.

• Of all the US states Rhode Island has the biggest drug problem. It must be all those illegal aliens sneaking in across the border from Connecticut. ~ link

Random

• This evening we watched an artsy kind of DVD that we found at the library -- Bug. Engaging but so very weird.

• One of the great things about our new house in Laveen is that we will actually be in easy walking distance to more goods and services than any place we've ever lived. Laveen is an interesting mix of rural (still a few dairies), suburban (typical sprawl but with parks and open space), and urban (the mix of people is closer to what you'd traditionally find a more urban context).

• "Does ethanol in Iowa cause deforestation in Brazil?" Is the rush to green creating unintended consequences? In a global economy the ripple effects of each nation's actions can be rather significant.

• "Back to church Sunday"? Doesn't putting this "holiday" in September unintentionally communicate that it's expected that you're going to take the summer off from church? And it seems a little heavy on the marketing side of things. People are turned off if they feel that we're marketing to them. I do. And I just have a bad feeling about this.

Small churches more dysfunctional?

George Barna, who is actually an advocate of house churches these days, released a study this morning which showed that the people in larger churches tend to be theologically more orthodox and spiritually vital than the people in smaller churches.

I'd suggest that the study is somewhat skewed because when churches flounder they decline in numbers. This doesn't mean that all small churches are unorthodox or unhealthy -- just that the small church category, almost by definition, gets stuck with an infusion of more dysfunctional people.

As the more functional people bail on troubled congregations they shrink. On the other hand healthy churches attract people and grow. So there are more unhealthy small churches than large ones -- at least using Barna's 17 indicators. But I'd suggest that are actually some advantages to developing smaller healthy churches which intentionally multiply themselves before growing huge. Can you think of what those advantages might be?

Random

• Check out wikimapia. As our #2 son, Kent says, "They one upped google earth." Actually they've taken images provided by Google and created a wiki overlay. The search function seems weak and it doesn't work with Google Chrome. But there are lots of interesting tags available.

• ¡Nuevo! Sam's Club para Latinos -- the Más Club ~ link

• People killed in the Philippines, Japan, and Taiwan -- a million Chinese evacuated -- Typhoon Morakot ~ link

• The US Border Patrol has found another body in the southern Arizona desert -- the seventh in a week. People are desperate to get into the US. ~ link

• We've hit a slight snag in the wire-transfer. The bank wants an "original signature" document authorizing the wire-transfer. (I feel like I'm stuck in the pre-global economy of the 80's.) FedEx will get the documents moving toward our Guam bank tomorrow. It will just delay the closing of the deal a few days -- I hope.

• Health insurance is more affordable than some are leading us to believe. ~ link

New Hope Covenant Church

I try to avoid reviewing the churches we visit because reviews generally end up putting the focus on the wrong place. But there are times when pleasant little surprises pop that need to be mentioned.

We dropped in on one such church this morning. Actually, my expectations were somewhat low because I'd heard that they'd gone through a rough spot. And indeed New Hope Covenant Church in Peoria isn't very large -- maybe 50 people this morning (although August Sundays in Arizona are usually pretty low attendance days). But it was a delight to worship with these people.

It was a great mix of children, young adults, and senior adults. Some of the older folks were long-time Covenant people but many of the others seemed to be new from the immediate community.

The music, led by Matt Beem, was really well done -- as well as you might find in a megachurch which has the resouces to do a lot. It was unpretentious and unshowy. The flow of the service was thought-out and engaging.

And then the sermon by Jason Powell, who serves as the half-time pastor (working at a community college and attending Fuller Seminary the other half) was an engaging exposition from John 1:19-34. Again, really really well done -- and like the music, unpretentious and down-to-earth. Jason is also a musician and supported the congregational singing from the keyboard.

The church's building is somewhat small, and off the beaten path. On the surface this is the kind of church that many people would drive by and never see -- and I'm not just talking about the building. But it's evident that God is at work there. And I'm hoping that perhaps the search engines will pick up this post when people type in Peoria and church. If they can get past the front doors I think they'll be pleasantly surprised, too.

Random

• Doggy dating service? I suspect it's mostly a way for canine owners to connect. And that may not be so bad. ~ link

• World Vision says that there are still 26,000 displaced people after the brief Georgian-Russian conflict that erupted 12 months ago. ~ link

• Unhappy with the tax regulations in Washington State, Microsoft is moving its "Windows Azure cloud computing infrastructure from its data center in Quincy, Washington to another Microsoft facility in San Antonio, Texas." ~ link

• See Michael Spencer on why evangelicals need to reclaim sacramental thinking -- to "resacramentalize evangelicalism." -- link

Random

• Twitter is back online and we can all now relax. If you are under the age of 25 you perhaps did not notice that it was gone. ~ link

• We discovered this evening that the Wendy's in Fountain Hills has free wi-fi -- nice strong connection, too.

• All the papers have been signed -- and as soon as the money is transfered from our bank on Guam we'll get the keys to the house in Laveen -- probably Tuesday.

• Today is Assyrian Martyrs Day ~ link

• It's hard to keep up with all the unplanned expansion. Introducing the Evangelical Covenant Church of Uruguay ~ link

• Update on the state of solar power ~ link

• One Laveen neighborhood is wishing for a little less solar this summer. They can't get any cold water out of the tap. Blame the recession and foreclosure crisis. ~ link

• Beautiful day in Phoenix -- 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. Today's high was 103° -- 6% humidity.

Pastoral Residency in Church Planting

Daisy Ho, fellow Fuller alum, who we met on Guam, is trying to buy a house in the Laveen area, too, so she can join us at MasterPiece Church, doing a Pastoral Residency in Church Planting. Daisy, who is originally from Hong Kong and the Methodist Church there, has been a pastor in Methodist churches in California and on Guam.

She's wanting to learn church planting so she is attempting to relocate here to walk with us through the cultivation and start-up process. I could perhaps take on one more pastoral resident for the first two years if anyone is interested. No, it is not required that you buy a house in Phoenix -- but residents are self-supporting.

Random

• The seller wants to close tomorrow -- Friday afternoon. If the money transfer and recordation is smooth we could have keys Tuesday. Then the work begins.

• I ordered an internet connection tonight for the new house. Cox Cable makes the most sense for now.

• This afternoon, after lunch with Steve Stinnette and his friend Matt, we went to the AT&T Store in the Superstition Springs Mall. A couple of great guys got our cell phone account set-up. It's complex navigating the system when you're working with multiple phone numbers in multiple states. They ended up setting us up on a business plan -- that cost less than a regular plan. There are some creative can-do people working for the Man. It does happen.

• The 602-903-5085 phone number still rings my cell phone. That's my Google Voice number that rolls over to wherever I direct it.

• The big bad Fox "has ordered distributors to stop providing Redbox with new DVD releases, joining Universal in its attempt to prop up its ailing DVD business." Sounds like it will end up in court. ~ link

• Sue Gillespie checked in with some engineering geek friend to try and answer my question about why they burn the methane coming out of the landfill rather than harvesting it. Apparently, it takes more energy to harvest and transport it than to just burn it off. If someone wanted to live over the landfill it would perhaps be economical to use it to heat a home and cook food. Hmmm... Thanks, Sue!

Random

• We drive by the landfill everyday and there is a torch which burns off the escaping methane. Why isn't that gas captured and used for something productive? I'm sure there must be a reason. Is it a good one?

• The home inspector spent several hours this morning evaluating the house we're buying. He says that it is in "fantastic shape." So, we're ready to wrap up the deal and close escrow as soon as the seller is ready to take our money.

• BTW, our experience with Matt Jenks and First Step Home Inspectors was very positive. ~ link

• I'm trying to sort through all the ISPs mumbo jumbo to figure out which provider works best in our area -- and our situation. We probably don't need cable TV (broadcast works great). We probably don't need a landline (haven't had one for a few years -- we rely on our cellphones). So none of the "bundles" are all that helpful. Suggestions?

• There are many things we miss about Guam. The sunsets are among them. ~ link

• Joshua Jones, who worked for me at PIBC, says that Guam misses us. The island hasn't stopped crying since we left. -- Well, it is the rainy season.

• Scot McKnight's quick essay on Tolkien's short story Leaf by Niggle is another powerful reminder of the joyful materiality of existence -- and heaven. So long Plato! ~ link

• Now that they're back on US soil someone needs to give those two women the "what were you thinking?" speech -- and then take them out to dinner. We've all done some pretty stupid things.

• Ross Anderson, himself a former Mormon, has created a study guide, Jesus Without Joesph, for people leaving the LDS church and making the transition into a Christian church. He's gracious -- not into Mormon-bashing. ~ link

Dealing with "pesky Calvinists'

They're talking again about the strident Calvinists on Scot McKnights' blog. We need to be clear that not all Calvinists are strident or pesky. But there are some who are so locked into that system of theology that in their minds anything other isn't really Christian. This is inconsistent with American evangelicalism which tends to be "big tent" in its approach to other Christians.

What do you do about "pesky Calvinists"? As a pastor you just tell them in no uncertain terms (be blunt and straight forward) that "While Calvinism is an acceptable theological option it is not the only evangelical option and our congregation is not going to be defined by a single theological system -- Calvinistic, Arminian, Lutheran, Baptistic, Dispensational, Anabaptist, Charismatic... So you guys need to back down and show some grace. If you can't do that I'd be glad to help you find an exclusively Calvinistic congregation. We'd hate to see you leave -- and would actually prefer that you stay -- but you might find that you are more effective in that setting."

Random

• While we were busy in June moving from Guam to the mainland US apparently the counter hit the 1 million mark -- that is, for the number of English words. ~ link

• They're getting serious about connecting Loop 202, running it through the Ahwatukee Foothills, the South Mountain preserve, and then north on through Laveen. ~ link

• ASU thinks they can save students 40% of the cost of a college degree with their do-it-all-in-3-years plan. The problem we ran into at PIBC/PIU was that there was only so much financial aid eligibility in a given year. There were students who could have gone through the program in 3 years but couldn't afford the tuition. ~ link

• Fuller DMin in Hawaii ~ link

• Revenue @ the Indian casinos is down 9.4% over last year. No wonder everyone was so dower last week when we attempt to try out the buffet. ~ link

• The drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas may take one hour less once the bypass bridge is completed next year. ~ link

• Is Radio Shack about to become "The Shack"? (I noticed that Pizza Hut is trying to become "The Hut".) The challenges Radio Shack faces aren't really related to getting the branding right. They've got to somehow make the jump in perception from chinsy to quality. ~ link

• My favorite Lutheran theologian Carl Braaten has written a fiery open letter to ELCA bishop Herbert Chilstrom -- calling out the ELCA for their "Kulturprotestantismus." ~ link

• The Covenant Home Altar is now online with daily devos. ~ link

The Amazon Fairy showed up today

My Amazon backorder logjam broke loose and there were four books for which I've been waiting in the mail today:

• ChurchMorph: How Megatrends Are Reshaping Christian Communitiesby Eddie Gibbs

• Bringing Theology to Life: Key Doctrines for Christian Faith and Missionby Darren Marks

• Less Clutter. Less Noise.: Beyond Bulletins, Brochures and Bake Salesby Kem Meyer

• The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia -- and How It Died by Philip Jenkins

Random

• Exploring China's unique presence in Africa -- NPR story

• I've started reading PIBC colleague Hollie Schaub's master's thesis, "Navigating the Currents of Change in the Micronesian Worldview." This has got to be required reading for anyone who works alongside Micronesians. Hopefully she'll put it online.

• We visited Paradise Valley Community Church this morning and ran into my old friend Marsha (Johnson) Harrison. And Kurt Notehelfer was the preacher.

• About 30 minutes ago Tom Gibbs announced on FB that he's getting married. Women around the world are crying themselves to sleep tonight.

• A NY woman is suing the college from which she graduated with bachelors degree. She can't find work with her degree. If you were a potential employer would you hire someone who had frivolously sued her college? ~ link

• New HIV strain ~ link

Random

• "Patience can persuade a prince, and soft speech can break bones." ~ Proverbs 25:15 (NLT)

• It appears that Phyllis Tickle is now tweeting. ~ link

• Fuller Seminary must be concerned about the effects on the economy of admissions. They've announced a "New Seminarian Scholarship."

• "The two sides of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge’s twin arches will be connected in the coming weeks, creating the largest concrete arch in North America..." This is one fabulous project. See the LV Sun pictures and story. We saw it in person last month. ~ link

• Public schools in the Phoenix area start this Monday, August 3rd. It's too hot to play outside anyway.

• It's going to cost you four or five more dollars to visit a Disney theme park. Raising prices in a slow economy is a counter intuitive move. ~ link

• It's no longer cool to go topless on the beaches in France. Sometimes I think that the emerging generation might just have more common sense than their parents. ~ link

• "Rev Ike," one of the first prosperity preachers on TV, has gone on to his final mansion. By today's standards he seemed tame in his heresies. ~ link

• The Chinese churches are growing -- even in Japan. ~ link

• The summer 2009 issue of Leadership Journal has several great articles on how age segregation has weakened the churches and what's being done about it. Good stuff by Kara Powell, John Ortberg, and Angie Ward. We may be a bit slow but eventually we figure out that not everything new, exciting, and doable is necessarily healthy.

The situation in Malaysia

I'm increasingly concerned about the situation in Malaysia -- government's violent response to non-violent protestors.

Earlier this week Teoh Beng Hock died while being interrogated by the police.

Blogging friends like Sivin Kit are in the middle of it. Sivin is a Lutheran pastor with young children. Keep him and the others in your prayers and on your radar. The more global focus on these guys the more measured the government's response will be.

Sivin blogs at sivinkit.net.He tweets at twitter.com/sivinkit