Random

• Some of our students have had no computer experience prior to PIBC. Then they panic when we require them to type their papers. They're not alone! There are lots of people who could benefit from the free online typing tutor. ~ link

• The fact is that murder is never a pro-life value. Not only is it illogical it is also totally inconsistent with following Jesus. We decry all forms of murder whether it involves abortion or abortionists. There is no justice in murder. ~ link

• Fort Hays State University runs a quality online program. StraighterLine runs a quality for-profit program. I don't see why it's such an issue if Fort Hays contracts with StraighterLine to teach some of their courses for them. Instead of hiring a teacher they're hiring a company. We (trying to be creative with our limited local options) have actually had some discussion with StraighterLine about providing general education classes for our PIBC students. My only concern is that their level of rigor is above that of PIBC and that many of our students as English-as-second-language learners might need to work more slowly than typical American college students. ~ link

The Boydston furniture give-away continues

We are thinking that we're not going to be taking our oak entertainment center with us when we leave Guam. Anyone on island interested? Give me a call (988-4252) or send me email -- brad@boydston.us.

Random

• Time has a big spread on how Twitter is changing the world. The irony is that Twitter is probably obsolete as a technology. I'm even wondering if Twitter will survive the Goggle Wave -- and I'm a Twitter fan. Embrace technology lightly because it is fleeting. ~ link

• Steve Evans has a little spread on the church year. The calendar is just one more great way to tell the story. ~ link

Home front

How our 28th anniversary on a tropical island played out today: McDonald's for B-fst (AM Sunday tradition); Pentecost worship @ LCG; spent the afternoon packing out the kitchen; delivered some food; dinner @ the Indian restaurant; walk on the moon-lit beach; hunted down some dark chocolate and decaf coffee for Cheryl (no See's available). Ready for 28+ more if God so chooses to give them!

Why customs?

Our doctor friend Cindy Hoover, who operates out of Mexico, asked a good question of me on Facebook. I had mentioned that we were creating packing lists to keep the US Customs people happy as our stuff is being shipped back to the US. She said, "But why do you have to clear US Customs when Guam is a US territory?"

The answer is that while Guam is a territory controlled by the US it is not technically in the US. In many ways it operates as a separate sovereign state -- but not consistently so. Some matters of sovereignty in Guam are controlled by the US federal government (e.g. immigration) but others are controlled by Guam itself (e.g. customs).

There are things that have entered Guam from Asia and elsewhere which have never cleared US customs (only Guam customs). So when goods and materials enter the US from Guam they have to get a US customs clearance.

Of course, none of this makes a whole lot of sense on any level. But it is seen as temporary until the relationship between the US and Guam can be normalized. However, from my perch it doesn't look like normalization is going to happen under the current leadership. That's mostly because the local people can't agree among themselves as to what normal should look like (commonwealth, US statehood -- with or without the CNMI, independent sovereignty, something like a US Indian reservation...) -- so this imposed patchwork has become the quirky norm.

My sense is that if the locals would speak with a unified voice they'd have enough political clout to solve the problem. I'm hopeful that the younger generation of Chamorro leaders -- those guys now in their 20's and 30's will eventually be able to do an end-run around the political quagmire of Guam and come up with a solution. Otherwise this place will remain in limbo.

Like the roaring of a mighty windstorm

Today is Pentecost Sunday! "On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting." ~ Acts 2:1-2 (NLT)

Random

• The Red Steer, the Turlock restaurant with the great French dip sandwich, has burned down. Sigh. ~ link

• City Vision College, a nationally accredited online school which specializes in urban ministry, has five summer classes which begin on June 1st -- nonprofit administration, nonprofit accounting, counseling in the city, group counseling practices, and sexual issues in addiction. ~ link

News from the home front

• Packing today -- much of the kitchen is now boxed up. We're also working on the packing list to keep the US Customs guys happy once our container hits Long Beach. We are color coded and numbered -- totally organized -- just shy of bar coding everything.

• Our real estate agent says that we're on track for closing this week. He's trying to schedule for Thursday afternoon.

• The fire alarm went off again this morning -- but at 8 a.m. it wasn't too painful. The repair guy came an hour later and it hasn't gone off since then. Fixed?

• It's looking like the cheapest way off the island will be on American Airlines -- partnering with JAL. American is one of the carriers that we don't have air miles with. So now, as of this afternoon, we are proud members of the AAdvantage program.

Home Bible study or "religious assembly"?

At what point does a home Bible study or house church become a "religious assembly" requiring a special permit? San Diego County is pushing the question. They've told a family that they need a permit for the Bible study (5-25 people) that has been meeting in their home. ~ link

Random

• Review of the Nissan Cube ~ link

• "Multiracial Americans have become the fastest growing demographic group, wielding an impact on minority growth that challenges traditional notions of race..." This trend really does a grass-roots end-run around race-based politics and thinking. ~ link

• Congratulations to our friend and PIBC colleague Hollie Schaub who was just awarded an MA in Intercultural Studies from Biola. Her research involved documenting the cultural shift that is taking place among younger Micronesians. You can't escape from the tsunami of globalization -- even the remotest islands (and we are talking REMOTE) are affected. ~ link

• We slept uninterrupted last night -- no malfunctioning fire alarm.

• Sweden has been attracting a growing number of PhD students. ~ link

I'm ready to catch the Google Wave

This is so geeky cool -- "what email might look if it were invented today..." -- Google's next big thing. Will Wave leave FB and Twitter in the dust? ~ wave.google.com | Life Hacker link

Random

• Since my on-campus responsibilities are mostly done I've been staying home -- catching up on some reading and working on a sermon. I'm sensing that some of the creative juices are starting to percolate in my brain again.

• Pictures of 10 new species -- including a caffeine-free coffee ~ link

• Robert Schuller the junior has purchased a television network and plans to start his own show. Why? ~ link

• Have you seen Soong-Chan Rah's new website site?

• The General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, a 523-foot-long former US Air Force missile tracking ship, has been sunk off the Florida Keys to become the world's second largest purposely created artificial reef. To show you how out of the loop I am on this stuff, I didn't even know that the Air Force had ships. I thought that was a Navy thing. ~ link

• Walmart has opened its first outlet in India -- a wholesale store called Best Price Modern Wholesale ~ link

• Mars/M&Ms is giving away free chocolate to people who visit their website on Fridays. ~ link

• The fire alarm sounded again -- this time around midnight. The property manager assures me that the alarm company is coming out "this week" to look at it.

• New study:

Two-thirds of all Protestant churches have expanded their ministry space or outlets in the past five years. Two of these types of expansion correspond to higher levels of growth in church attendance: adding a worship service and building new space on site. Five other types tested showed no significant relationship with growth. ~ link

• Shifting truck traffic from the highways onto the waterways ~ link

• Twitter plans to charge some user fees -- eventually. ~ link

• But why are the 55+ers quitting FB? ~ link

• Most of the creative business people have avoided the online social networks, according to Fast Company. ~ link

• Skype has added screen sharing. ~ link

Great discussion starter

Discussion starter (via):

Rob Bourassa - ukulele contest

I can play like that -- in my dreams.

Random

• Our friend Mei, who is visiting her family in China, reports that she can't access my blog from there. The Chinese government must still be blocking the blogger/blogspot sites. Information and opinions are dangerous.

• The fire alarm in our building went off at 3:15 this morning -- as in AM -- middle of the night! I went out to the control box to figure things out and eventually managed to punch the right buttons in the right sequence to silence the noise. In the whole time, though, I don't think that any of the neighbors even stuck a head out the door to see what was happening. The whole place could have been engulfed in flames and they'd have never known it.

• JetAmerica is a new airline which will focus on mid-sized US cities -- an under-served niche. This is why I don't stress over the airline mergers. There is no shortage of entrepreneurs ready to jump into the airline game. ~ link

• The glass-wall house in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' is on the market for $2.3 million. ~ link

• How Chile positioned itself ahead of time to beat the recession ~ link

• Kiplinger's 10-best US cities to live and work ~ link

• It's looking like one-third of Maryland's millionaires have taken up residence elsewhere after 2008 legislation raised their tax-burden. ~ link

• What's your car made of? "Even if cars soon start running entirely on electricity or hydrogen, they'll still need 100 gallons or more of oil to make their plastic parts, such as seats, dashboards, bumpers, and engine components..." ~ link

• "The North said it is no longer bound by the armistice which ended the Korean War in 1953..." I was chatting with our son Kent who lives in South Korea and he says that the people in his town are pretty much taking all of the nonsense in stride. They're used to it. ~ link

• "Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest." ~ Proverbs 14:4 (NLT)

More on the new quarter

The new Guam quarter dollar coin has the words "Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro" -- Chamorro for "Guam -- Land of the Chamorro". Ray Gibson was asking on the radio this morning if any other US coins have carried language that is not English or Latin? I can't think of any -- up to this point.

However, the new quarter recognizing American Samoa carries the Samoan phrase "Samoa Muamua le atua" ("In Samoa, God is first"). The quarter for Puerto Rico carries carry the Spanish phase "Isla del Encanto" ("the enchanted island").

Random

• And now everyone can carry some of Guam around with them. The Guam commemorative US quarter-dollar coins are being released this week. ~ link

• No gimmick -- how to save thousands on your mortgage payments ~ link

• Stop the presses! New revelation -- really ripe mangoes remind me of really ripe apricots. They are similar in texture and perhaps somewhat in flavor. Both fruits seem to have a lot of beta-carotene. I love them both -- although not really really ripe for either.

• Jack Kim outlines some of the factors behind North Korea's latest round of nuclear saber-rattling. ~ link

Random

• Somehow I'd missed this Proverb before. "The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel." There is a correlation between godliness and how one treats animals. ~ Proverbs 12:10 (NLT)

• LA Times article on the new Hubbard Library at Fuller Seminary ~ link

• Many people think that Guam is a just a hop, skip, and a jump from Hawaii (reality -- we are separated by 4,000 miles of Pacific Ocean). Even the guy who put this sign up in the ABC Store in Tumon was confused as to where he was. I wonder how many shoplifters they have to extradite to Hawaii for prosecution.

• Quotable:

The lives of Captive Christians are defined by their faith; their worldview is built around their core spiritual beliefs and resultant values. Casual Christians are defined by the desire to please God, family, and other people while extracting as much enjoyment and comfort from the world as possible. The big difference between these two tribes is how they define a successful life. For Captives, success is obedience to God, as demonstrated by consistently serving Christ and carrying out His commands and principles. For Casuals, success is balancing everything just right so that they are able to maximize their opportunities and joys in life without undermining their perceived relationship with God and others. Stated differently, Casuals are about moderation in all things while Captives are about extreme devotion to their God regardless of the worldly consequences. ~ George Barna

• We had a little earthquake tonight. It hasn't shown up on the USGS list, yet. Guam is constantly on the move.

Memorial Day on Guam

Random

• We had to say good-bye to Mei today. She is off to China for a few weeks to visit family and we expect to be back in the States by the time she returns to Guam. Mei has been one of my favorite PIBC students --lots of enthusiasm for learning, lots of questions, lots of self-discipline -- the kinds of things that teachers look for in students. She and several other students have also become good friends to us and we know that we will miss them. But we fully expect to have many visitors once we get situated in our new place.

• The fish which tried to take a bite out of Cheryl and then me yesterday morning has been identified as a Picasso Triggerfish. I suspect that since the tide was so low we were perceived as being too close to its nest -- even though we were surface snorkeling. I still have teeth marks on my leg.

• Michael Spencer has a review of Soong-Chan Rah's The Next Evangelicalism that is worth a look. ~ link

• Quotable: "Christians don't like other Christians who sin differently from them." ~ Phil Cooke

• Quotable:

...Instead, the churches that have influence within our online culture look at ministry differently. They assume the people they’re trying to reach are online. They assume the people who are connected to their ministry are online. Rather than looking at the Web as an add-on, they consider their web strategy as a fully-integrated part of how they help people take steps toward Christ. They are a church online as much as they are a church in a building located on the corner of First and Main. ~ Tony Morgan

• Susan Boyle has gone on to the next round. ~ link

Women in church leadership

"In the resurrection there is a radical re-evaluation of the role of women..." ~ Bishop NT Wright making the point that from both a biblical and theological perspective women are full leaders in the early church.

Chair give away

We have two mission-style chairs that we want to give away before we leave Guam (ASAP). The "spots" on the fabric are illusions from the camera flash. First come -- first serve. ~ Email me

Random

• Christianity Today International is laying off 30 employees and shutting down four more publications. ~ link

• The snorkeling this morning at Ypao was beautiful -- clear water, lots of fish. But both Cheryl and I were attacked by some aggressive fish. One tried to eat her finger and then tried to take a bite out of my right leg. No broken skin -- just some bruising. Weird. If this continues I may take up fishing.

• I finally got around to posting some graduation pictures. ~ link

• Liberty University has told the Democratic Club that they can't be an official campus group because "the national Democratic party violates the school's principles by supporting abortion, socialism and the agenda of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people." Apparently Jerry Falwell has a ghost. ~ link

• I removed all my files and updated the software on my PIBC laptop. Other than needing a new battery it's ready to go for the next user.

• Cheryl scanned all of our recent tax returns and other critical documents. They're now safely archived and easily accessible from anywhere in gmail.

• 11% of Americans think President Obama is a Muslim? By definition being a Muslim involves a public declaration. In a technical sense there are no secret Muslims. ~ link

Random

• Ralph Winter, one of the great missiologists of the 20th century, has died. I met him once when we were hosting the Perspectives course at Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock. God used him to encourage many people to rethink the way that evangelicals structure themselves for mission. ~ link

• Francis of Assisi was a great orator and apparently never said "Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words." I've always wondered about that. ~ link

• A traditional Orange County church has morphed into a house church network ~ link

• Updated to Google Chrome 3.0 -- still no support for Google bookmarks. But it zips. ~ link

• Google is tweaking their logo again. ~ link

• "US Mangoes" (with "Product of Mexico" stickers) are 90¢/lb at the grocery store. We had a great lunch at Lumpia House in Barrigada and they sent us home with a couple of extra local mangoes for free.

• US malls are in deep trouble -- "dead-mall roster" could exceed 100 properties by the end of 2009. I'd argue that it's not just the recession but a change in the way that people shop -- and hang-out. ~ link

• My wife says that I'm not allowed to buy more stringed instruments for awhile. But if some anonymous person sent me a purple Fluke I'm sure she wouldn't be upset. She likes purple and I like Flukes. ~ link

John Adams

My bud Rick Lindholtz sent me a message:

I am reading David McCullough's brilliant "John Adams" - wonderful book - saw the HBO mini series (bought the DVD set) - also brilliant...

but thought of you immediately when I noted the reference to the family name of John Adams' mother. She was a Boylston. Adams was the great nephew of Zabdiel, who introduced the concept of inoculation to America, having gotten the idea from a slave that was owned by Cotton Mather... the salve relating how they had done things in the African bush.

Boylston is the alternative spelling of Boydston. Thomas Boylston/Boydston came to the US from Scotland in 1656.

Now I'm going to have to pick-up the book to see how our DNA helped shape America.

John Adams was one of the more influential founding fathers of the US. He was the second president and father of John Quincy Adams, the sixth American president.

Thanks, Rick!!!

Random

• Ascension Day -- "After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him." ~ Acts 1:9 (NLT)

• George Barna is saying that there are seven "faith tribes" in the US -- Casual Christians, Captive Christians, Jews, Mormons, Pantheists, Muslims, and Skeptics. Interesting categories. ~ link

• The accreditation team gave us their report this morning -- 40 recommendations which PIBC has to respond to. Most are minor and manageable. The school is actually in pretty good shape. Some recommendations left us scratching our heads -- trying to figure out what they were talking about or how they had missed the information that had been submitted in the written reports. Overall I'd say that the whole thing is pretty anticlimactic when you consider all the work that goes into the process.

• Kent has accepted a second teaching gig in Korea. His current contract expires in August and after that he will be teaching at Chinju National University of Education.

Random

• The median Phoenix-area home price in April was about $117,500. That means that prices are right about where they were in 1998. ~ link

• How to start your own cactus garden for free. ~ link

• Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. A Phoenix architect is planning to turn cargo containers into homes. Sounds interesting. Sounds hot. ~ link

• USA Today has an interesting piece on the most popular American names since 1890. Bradley isn't very common -- although it briefly shows up on the radar in 1970 -- barely. Neither Kent nor Kirk ever show up on the list. Elizabeth is always fairly popular. Cheryl was on the list in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Dave and Joyce Owen's new grandson is Milo. I don't think he'll be on the list -- nor will their other grandchildren, Courage and Titus. ~ link

Random

• Dave Owen took this picture of Cheryl and me last week at the PIBC end-of-the-year lunch (what a lovely couple!). I'm holding the Guam gecko that we received from the school (and which we'll cherish forever.) Cheryl is wearing her new Chinese necklace. ~ link

• One of the many things I like about the NLT Bible is that Tyndale is not afraid to update it as they figure out ways to say things more accurately and clearly. I came across a chart the other day which shows the tweaks between the 2004 and the 2007 versions. They're both considered "2nd editions." ~ link (.pdf)

• Brad Martinson responded to my post yesterday with a suggestion about ordering dollar coins direct ship from the US Mint. That's a great option, of which I was totally unaware. And once we get back to the States I may definitely do that. Thanks! ~ link

• I did go to another First Hawaiian Bank today and had a "teller-in-training" who didn't miss a beat when I asked to buy two rolls of dollar coins. He pulled them from the drawer and said, "$50 please." No hassle. No funny looks. I can see that he'll soon be in management.

• Recession resistant products: running shoes, wine, gold coins, Spam... ~ link

• The accreditation team has been busy with us today -- lots of interviews and questions. It's been good.

• Someone was asking today about how we handle issues related to baptism in the Covenant and I was happy to send a link to some good resources. ~ link

• The average sales price of a home in Detroit is now $11,533. No, not monthly mortgage payment but average price to buy a home. Of course, jobs are scarce and the infrastructure is crumbling because the tax-base is deteriorating but the houses and property are a steal. ~ link

• Even missionaries get sucked into fads. ~ link

• Michael Hyatt: "Our interaction with the Web has shaped what we expect from our leaders... Leadership 2.0" ~ link

Random

• The TRACS visitors are at PIBC this week. After the great BBQ Hiob cooked up tonight we should have no trouble getting a reaffirmation of our accreditation.

• IKEA is doing more to unify Europe than the EU. ~ link

• For most of us in the West the economic downturn is mostly a major hassle. It is devastating for many East Asian migrant workers because there were so few local opportunities. ~ link

• Since I'm not much of a coffee drinker I couldn't say much about the coffee. However, the two ham sandwiches I've had at I.P. Coffee (down the street from UOG) have been great. And, of course, the name of the restaurant makes me laugh. ~ link

• The graduation gowns arrived this morning. Graduation was last Tuesday. I suspect they were delayed because the company mailed them without a customs form. Most people don't realize that you have to use a customs form to send things to Guam from the US -- even though Guam is a US territory. Go figure.

• The bank teller looked at me like I was a martian when I asked for a roll of dollar coins this morning. Apparently the promo department at the US Mint has been slacking. I'll try another bank tomorrow.

• We gave away our last set of bookcases today. The condo is filled with boxes. We don't yet have a moving date but the sale still seems to be on track to close in early to mid-June.

Random

• As we age it becomes important to spend some time in the sun in order to replenish the vitamin D supply. Vitamin D reduces incidents of diabetes and heart disease. ~ link

• Sad. We found out this morning that the daughter of our good friends and co-workers Tim & Melody Plaxton was murdered in Phoenix.

• Happy. The PIBC Thai team received their visas from the Thai consulate. The consulate also returned their visa fees, which were waived because the government is trying to repair the tourism industry. Follow their adventures here.

• Happy. The Owens have a new grandson and I'm sure there will be something about that on their blog. ~ link

• The first wave of visitors from the TRACS accreditation team arrived tonight.

Female church planters in the Covenant?

Anne Jackson is asking if anyone knows of women church planters? ~ link

In the Evangelical Covenant Church our collective understanding of scripture is that both women and men are gifted to serve the church as pastoral leaders and that there are no biblical obstacles to calling a woman to serve as a pastor. While there are some individuals with other opinions this is our collective understanding as an extended family of churches. ~ link

It should come as no surprise, then, that we have at least some women serving as church planters. So, I've started a list (in no particular order). I'm sure there are more. Who should I add?

• Ellen An pastors the Chinese Neighborhood Covenant Church in Rosemead, California

• Camille Russell Wooden pastors Abundant Life Covenant Bible Church in Pasadena, California

• The late Marie Wiebe pastored a new church in Camarillo, California before her stroke

• Win Jackson-Houwen pastors Life House Covenant Church in Longmont, Colorado

• Sharon Gradin (now retired) pastored Iglesia Latinoamericana, in Bellevue, Washington

• Tamara Buchan pastors Missio Lux Covenant Church, in Sammamish, Washington

• Jocelyn Carita Thornton pastors Emmanuel Covenant Church in Orland Park, Illinois

• Jan Bros pastors Abbey Way Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Gricel Medina pastors Rain Covenant Church in Carrolton, Texas