Random

> Enrollment at the University of Phoenix is down. They've laid off 700 employees.  ~ link

I suspect that they're going to have to tweak their business model to keep up with changes in the landscape -- in particular: 1) the fact that most every college in America now offers some kind of distance education (U of P is a victim of its own success.), 2) employers are not as willing to foot the bill to enroll their employees in a program that is more expensive than the competition, and 3) if students are paying their own way they're now more cost conscious, too. And probably the biggest reason enrollment is down? 4) Their football team isn't going anywhere this season.

> Mormon Times: The top 10 communities to raise an LDS family in the Southwestern US... ~ link

Hmmm... For some reason I never looked at communities in terms of best places to raise an evangelical Christian family. If anything, I'd look for the places where there is the the most mission potential or need. But, of course, Mormons see their families as their primary mission.

> The people behind the Common English Bible are sponsoring an Advent Blog Tour. Interesting idea. The tour starts tomorrow. ~ link

> I had a tasty and relatively healthy Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco last evening. This is not the Taco Bell I grew up with. The conversion of fast food continues.

> "How long before the secret details of all our lives are leaked on the net?" Even if people knew the details of my life I'm not sure they'd bothering leaking them. I doubt that anybody would be all that interested. ~ Mail

> 73% of students studying in US colleges are "non-traditional" students. ~ link

Random

> 1,200 Hot Wheelz on 1 track! ~ link

> You can now earn your MBA through Facebook. ~ NY Times

> Security Expert in the NY Times:

...That being said, airplanes require a special level of security for several reasons: they’re a favored terrorist target; their failure characteristics mean more deaths than a comparable bomb on a bus or train; they tend to be national symbols; and they often fly to foreign countries where terrorists can operate with more impunity. 

But all that can be handled with pre-9/11 security. Exactly two things have made airplane travel safer since 9/11: reinforcing the cockpit door, and convincing passengers they need to fight back. Everything else has been a waste of money. Add screening of checked bags and airport workers and we’re done. Take all the rest of the money and spend it on investigation and intelligence. ~ Bruce Schneier

> "Swedish parents jailed for 'spanking' kids" ~ The Local

> "World Stock Market Value Doubles Since 2009" ~ Dr Mark Pery

> For those who struggle with issues related to the sovereignty of God -- Roger Olson's essay, "Arminianism is God-centered theology" ~ link

> More Olson -- "...I increasingly view evangelicalism as two movements rather than one." ~ link

Random

> Bah-hum-bug. (via)

> I'm now following The Other Journal on Twitter. Stimulating. ~ link

> Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) is going to validate a degree in business management designed for managers of McDonald's restaurants. ~ Time

> NIV2011 comparison with NIV1984 and TNIV ~ link (via)

> Really looking forward to our second regularly scheduled Sunday morning MasterPiece Church gathering today. ~ link

Random

> World Immigration Report released -- covers it all irregular migration, smuggling, asylum, integration, where they're all coming from and going. Comprehensive. There is a massive global shift in process. ~ link (.pdf)

> Well, actually, I did make two purchases yesterday. I filled the Caravan with gas and my refill cup with Diet Coke. Neither purchase required me to be up at 3 a.m. Are you guys crazy? Why would you get up at that time to go fight with a bunch of crazy people for a few dollars off a television set?

> The Netherlands, which has historically had a laid back approach to drug use, is tightening things up. And they're asking citizens to help. They are mailing "scratch and sniff" marijuana cards to residents to teach people how to recognize pot plants. ~ The World

> I seriously doubt that I'll buy a two-screen laptop. I don't see how it would enhance my productivity. (How much more productive can one guy get before he removes all the margins in his life?) But it is a novel idea. ~ link

> No one has tried to torch the Gävlebocken, yet. But it appears that he is taking on quite a bit of snow. The poor guy looks cold. ~ link

> Scot McKnight's new book One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow should be available next week. ~ link

> The sheriff's posse is out patroling mall parking lots. There are 3,000 of those guys. Will there be any parking spaces left for shoppers? Will they be on horseback? ~ link

> The already crazy situation in Kenya could get crazier if the referendum in South Sudan leads to more violence and more Sudanese become refugees. ~ link (.pdf)

Random

> It's time to start checking in on the giant Gävle Christmas goat which has been burned down by miscreants 25 times over the years. It sounds like they're really pimping up his horns this year. The picture above is from a few years ago. ~ Webcam | Twitter

> The Julbocken (Christmas goat) is roughly equivalent to Santa Claus in some areas of Sweden. The goat (or someone dressed as a goat) brings presents to children at Christmas time. It is often noted that in pre-Christian Norse mythology, Thor, the god of thunder, rode through the skies on a chariot pulled by goats during thunderstorms.

> Continental Airlines is adding nine direct charter return flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenyang to Guam during the Chinese 2011 Lunar New Year holiday. Things are picking up. Cool. ~ link

> "Chinese villagers 'descended from Roman soldiers'" ~ Telegraph

> Tongans have cast ballots for their first popularly-elected parliament. ~ BBC

> I'm now following wordnik on Twitter -- trying to develop my vocabulary. ~ link

> Those skin moles that make you worry about skin cancer may actually be advantageous in slowing the aging process. ~ BBC

> It appears that the Japanese mobile phone provider Docomo (our service provider on Guam) has gone over to the darkside.

Happy Willis Carrier Day

Today we once again remember
Willis Carrier on his birthday
and pay homage to this great man
who made life in the tropics and
deserts more bearable.

Willis Carrier, 1876-1950,
the father of modern air
conditioning ~ link

Northern light show

Beth Bilynskyj and Jim Swanson both shared this on FB. (source)

Another flash mob

Händel would have loved it! (My first thought was that all these people look Canadian -- too normal, and slim, to be Americans. Perhaps they're Kiwis. Then I saw a small sign in the background which said Seaway Mall. That would plant the show in Welland, Ontario.)

Random for Thanksgiving Day

> Since most Americans will be preoccupied tomorrow I am posting tomorrow's Random collection today. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Might your day be filled with more than turkey and good food. (How much do you want to bet that the food in the Google logo today will be a fully baked meal tomorrow?)

> "Adelina Lee, a dietitian at Phoenix Baptist Hospital, says an average Thanksgiving dinner can be as much as 4,000 calories -- more than double what an active adult should be eating for an entire day." I think I need a strategy. ~ KTAR

> Freeze warning for tonight -- gotta cover the young citrus, guavas, pineapples, pomegranates, papaya, dragon fruit. I need more sheets. I built a temporary greenhouse over the bananas so they should be okay.

> In light of the upcoming 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, Bible publisher Thomas Nelson is launching a new website tomorrow to kick off "'400 Days of Celebration' commemorating the historical, religious, and cultural impact of the KJV." ~ link

> "Studies show walking on a regular basis can reduce the deterioration of memory protecting brain tissue you lose as you age." ~ link

> Uke thieves on the loose -- and in otherwise civilized places -- New Zealand and Norway. What's up with that? (I should point out that neither Norway nor New Zealand practice capital punishment. They will probably reconsider that decision.) ~ link

> If wealth is the greatest predictor (per Pew research) of who uses the Internet I must be a billionaire. ~ FastCompany

> "Vatican threatens new China bishop with excommunication" -- This story highlights one of the greatest problems in the Roman Catholic Church -- its theology. They think that in order for a church to be in communion with the Roman church the pope should get to approve all decisions -- in all churches everywhere. While the pope should be respected as a leader in the church, he is not THE leader of the church. (The Protestant Reformation got some things right.) The whole successor to Peter doctrine is a misread of history, tradition, and scripture -- and indeed the nature of Christ-like leadership. Leadership is exercised through example and Jesus-style sacrifice -- not hierarchical dictates.

> Arizona and Florida take note -- Faith Popcorn is reporting that Americans are now "Aging in Place: Retirees are staying put rather than packing up. 89% of those 55 and over will age in one place." ~ link

> "Five young Somali men face life in prison after being convicted of piracy in the April attack on a US Navy ship. Prosecutors said the men attacked the USS Nicholas after mistaking it for a merchant ship..." Oops. They are lucky to be alive. As stupid as they were it is still sad for them and their families. ~ BBC

> Long Island is dying. The dying suburbs have failed to appropriately respond to the major shifts in the American economy. They have been making decisions based on the pattern of how things were or how they thought they were. Will they whine about the whole thing or creatively reinvent themselves? ~ link

Random

> The view from just a few hundred feet outside our front door.

> Even though we're relatively warm here in the desert during the fall/winter months, it can still get coolish in the afternoon and evenings. At such times the joints in my fingers (and a few other places) are begging for a rapid return to the tropics. They'll just have to make do where they are for awhile.

> I knew it would happen sooner or later. With a blog this old and a Picasa addiction, I had to purchase additional storage from Google -- $5 a year for 20 additional GB. That's a small price to pay -- especially when I consider all the free (ad supported) apps I get from Google.

> A British bishop is in hot water for his comments on Facebook. Yeah, he could have measured his words better and spoken more kindly about the royals -- but prophets are rarely PR experts. ~ BBC

> VW is fixin' to reintroduce the microbus. Okay aging boomers, this could be your last chance to catch the wave. I'm ready to place my order now. ~ link

> "7 Things From America That Are Insanely Popular Overseas" -- including Spam on Guam (and it is actually enjoyed on all the islands out there in the Western Pacific.) I have a theory as to why this is so but I'm sure that somebody would find it offensive. ~ link

> Master of hyperbole David Fitch on how youth groups are destroying the lives of church kids. He makes good points. Don't blow him off too quickly.

I think youth groups often do things that work against the formation of our youth into life with Christ and His Mission. They also soak up huge time and resources in ways that are a detriment to the community life of the church. I think it would be good for parents seeking churches to think through these issues. 

Prototype youth groups are built on the worst of modernist assumptions concerning the way human beings develop as cultural beings. They play into the worse impulses of parents who don’t get what is happening right before their very eyes when their children start to take on the moral formation of the ubiquitous culture at large. (Parents want young hip experts to save their kids – UH THAT DON’T WORK!!). They think the answer is to somehow get their children to a place where the youth culture attracts them and somehow makes Christianity attractive to their age group. All these things, I argue, work against the child growing up into a vital and real relationship with the living God and what He has done in Christ for the world. 

I offer the following three comments... ~ Read the rest here

> Emergency texting to 911 in the works for near future -- could include streaming video of crimes in progress. ~ KTAR

> Acer plans to release three Droid tablets in the spring. ~ Ars

> Most of the growing we do occurs through our stewardship of the mundane.

> "The Housing Bubble Popped: Is Education Next?" ~ link

> TSA allows some government officials to skip airport security. That just puts them further out of touch with reality. ~ EV Trib

> "The Future Is Now: Americans Can Start Buying a 99-Miles-Per-Gallon Car" -- Well, actually it is the all electric Nissan Leaf that will be hitting the roads next month; so the 99 MPG is really an environmental footprint statement. I'm curious to know how states are planning to make up for the lost gas tax revenue when fuel consumption takes a dive. ~ Time

> "Long-distance passenger aircraft between South Africa and Europe might soon fly in V-formation, like birds, to save fuel." ~ link (via)

> Roger Olson continues in his noble quest to reclaim Pietism. These are very insightful summaries. I would suggest, though, that the Pietistic flavoring in the ECC is more than trace, and that we have not been swamped by fundamentalism -- even though we have welcomed fundamentalists, as we would welcome all who trust Christ and are willing to work together in common mission. (Also, we no longer require a year of residential orientation at North Park for Covenant ministers. We now have an alternative orientation system.) I would simply add that the late Donald Bloesch was very formative in my own theological thinking. ~ #4 | #5

> They're all concerned about black widow spiders on a ship that has docked on Guam. And I suppose that it is important to keep them off an island where they are not already established. But, really, they aren't as dangerous as the news makes them out to be. I bet that there are hundreds of them in my backyard. I kill them when I see them but mostly they avoid me and the only bother are the webs. ~ link

Educational fodder

(via)

Random

> Google is thankful.

> For-profit toilet franchises ~ link

> Seventeen years ago this month Cheryl and I joined the National Marrow Donor Program. We're still ready if they call. ¿Y tú?

> ASU physics prof has independently calculated the radiation doses of TSA backscatter scanners. "I came to the conclusion that although low, the dose was higher than they said..." ~ CNN

> All of this TSA nonsense should boost the teleconference business. Generally speaking people won't stop flying. They just won't fly as much. Too much hassle. The terrorists win -- we have surrendered our common sense.

> TSA confiscates heavily-armed soldiers' nail-clippers ~ BoingBoing

> Finally! back in print after 300 years -- The First English Dictionary of Slang, 1699 ~ CHE

> The most humble Rich Mouw on the academic virtue of humility ~ link

> Crime levels in Phoenix continue to drop. ~ Phoenix Business Journal

> At least the Goodwill store is closed on Thanksgiving -- shaming Kmart, Sears, Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. ~ link

Random

> I've enjoyed this commercial before but Jordon Cooper brought it back onto my radar last week. BTW, a cold front has moved into central Arizona and we'll have some days down into the 60's this week (about 19C for you Canuck cousins).~ link

> Google is trying to stimulate the global economy again. They're hiring 2,000. ~ Reuters

> Free Thanksgiving Day breakfasts at the Southern and Central McDonald's. Cool story of grateful generosity. ~ AZ Central

> "Radiation from Wi-Fi networks is harmful to trees..." Hmmm... sounds more like a sixth grade science project than a university study. ~ link

> Rupert Murdoch is starting a new digital newspaper exclusively for tablet devices. Will people pay 99¢/week to read it? ~ CNN

> As of this week, you can now give Kindle books as gifts.

> I've been using Evernote. It's a sweet little app. ~ NY Times

> Andrew Sullivan has noticed Greg Boyd. It would be good if others did as well. ~ link

Random

> China is learning English.

> The Pilgrims were... socialists? ~ NY Times

> The shame of it all is that Bob Inglis is one of the few truly conservative people in Congress (in the old sense of the word) -- a statesman, even-handed, conservationist, principled. ~ NPR

> The "tax-override" (which would not have raised taxes but kept things at the current level) lost in the Laveen Elementary School District by 12 votes. :-(

> I just picked up the Kindle edition of Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals.

Random

> This man in Botswana probably has no idea as to how famous he is. (Contrary to the header on the video, this is a man. See his other videos on YouTube.)

> Roger Olson is campaigning to "Reclaim Pietism."-- which makes my Evangelical Covenant Lutheran Pietist heart go pitter patter. ~ part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 -- coming!

I think that I'd add to Olson's description of Pietism, a strong emphasis on activism. Pietists are not just interested in growing the personal relationship with Christ but from the beginning we have been externally focused people of mission -- sending missionaries at a time when it was not in vogue, starting orphanages, establishing public schools for the education of poor children (concern for the mind as well as the heart)...

> The Evangelical Divide:

Ironically, the high-profile rise of economically-focused groups such as the Tea Party could drive an even greater wedge between the GOP and evangelicals, who were drawn to the Republican Party more as a reaction against legalized abortion than an affinity for libertarianism. In fact, evangelicals have always expressed concern for the less fortunate, and are among America’s most generous givers, with almost 24 percent of them donating at least 10 percent of their income to charity, according to the Barna Group. But a growing number of young evangelicals are coming to the conclusion that it is going to take more than a carefully calculated tithe dropped into an offering plate to effect real, positive change for the poor and oppressed, and are willing to think, act, and vote accordingly. ~ Jenny Rae Armstrong

> New Pew Study:

Marriage, while declining among all groups, remains the norm for adults with a college education and good income but is now markedly less prevalent among those on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. 

The survey finds that those in this less-advantaged group are as likely as others to want to marry, but they place a higher premium on economic security as a condition for marriage. ~ link

> The ban on fishing in the Gulf during the oil spill crisis has led to a resurgence in sea life in some of the most heavily fished areas. ~ National Review (via)

> The fish population in the Santa Cruz River in Southern Arizona is on the rebound, too -- the result of better waste water treatment ~ Nogales International

> High pH levels have put a stop to the trout release in our local lake at Cesar Chavez Park. High pH is caused by excess CO2 related pollutants and fertilizers that wash into the lake from the surrounding area. ~ link

> "So, in his Sunday sermon, the Rev. Cedric A. Miller will announce that married church leaders have to log out (of Facebook) for good, or get kicked out..." Facebook isn't the problem. Rather, the church has a bunch of leaders who have become dependent on a highly controlling pastor to make decisions for them. Thus they never learn to deal with the challenges of the world. ~ Philly.com

> Iranian government targeting growing house church movement ~ link

> Mark Galli asks, "How can Christians communicate what we believe without being denigrating or inflammatory?" However,

The point is this: There were moments in Jesus' ministry when he denigrated—that is, according to the dictionary definition, "attacked the reputation of another"—and inflamed—"excited to excessive or uncontrollable actions or feelings." What we find in the Gospels is an uncomfortable reality: There is something about Jesus that makes some people want to kill him. ~ CT

The problem is that sometimes we start to feel good or validated through our indignation. We actually enjoy the indignation, gaining self-indulgent pleasure from turning over the temple tables.

> Asia is becoming a powerhouse of international education. ~ CHE

> Those biodegradable eating utensils aren't biodegrading. ~ CHE

> "Economic boycotts against Arizona after the state passed an immigration enforcement law in April have resulted in more than $250 million in losses to the state's conference and convention industry, according to a report released Thursday." ~ USA Today

> Church planting with international students ~ J.D. Payne

> "The small village of Brokind in eastern Sweden fell into darkness over the weekend after a mischievous local used their flashlight to knock out a streetlight sensor, giving the impression that the sun was shining." That is actually a funny prank. ~ The Local

Random

> Our ads have been running on Facebook for several weeks. We spent about $200 and the ads have been displayed on 1.6 million Facebook pages within 10 miles of Laveen. Hopefully people will be responsive to their cumulative effect. We have our first regularly scheduled weekly worship gathering at 9 a.m. this Sunday. The ad to the right is one of the 10 different ads we've used.

> What is your church doing this week? Mountain View Lutheran Church in Ahwatukee is preparing and packaging half a million meals for the "Feed My Starving Children" program. ~ ABC15

> "17 Million American Families Struggle to Put Food on the Table" ~ The Atlantic

> Tim Stafford on the Lausanne gathering in South Africa, arguably the most globally inclusive gathering of church leaders in history:

...These two factors alone—precision and language—meant that the program remained what its planners hoped to avoid. It was a western production inviting global participation. The global participants were grateful for the invitation, but they were guests at somebody else’s party. They were not necessarily able to be themselves. And that was a great loss at the core of the conference’s purpose. ~ link

> Video cameras activated when burglar alarms are tripped now allow the dispatchers to see if there are really burglars and they help police know what they're walking into. ~ link

> Ten million people have downloaded the YouVersion Bible application. I use mine most everyday. Great little tool. ~ link

> Who is investing in American real estate? ~ WSJ

> The Tall Skinny Kiwi talks about his experiences in delivering people from demon possesion. ~ link

> The Geek Squad has a new niche -- setting up home charging stations for EVs. ~ link

> American fliers are going on strike -- November 24th is National Opt Out Day. Expect major airport delays. ~ Seattle PI

> Ed Stetzer has taken on the new TSA procedures. 1) They're wrong 2) They don't work 3) They give the government too much power 4) You should not have to give up naked pictures in order to go to work. ~ link

> "Today 56 new members from various professions will be sworn in by Sheriff Arpaio as illegal
immigration fighters..." He has a new posse of volunteers.

Note part of the job description -- "...crowd control during demonstrations against the Sheriff’s immigration policies." That should tell you something about the environment in which you'll work. Hey, but at least you get a uniform and a gun. ~ link (.pdf)

I wonder what percentage of the posse is made up of people of color -- that is, non-Caucasians. According to census stats, 5% of Maricopa county is African-American, 42% Hispanic, 2% Native American, 3% Asian... If the MCSO wants to be perceived as non-racist -- enforcing the law impartially -- then it is important that their numbers reflect  make-up of the general population. Perception can quickly turn into reality. If their approach to recruiting only attracts white people then something is wrong -- either with the approach or with the department and their mission.

> "Maricopa County OKs up to $10.1 million to defend Sheriff Joe Arpaio, former County Attorney Thomas" We have expensive politicians -- another reason that the county is broke. ~ AZ Central

> "Hispanic buying power hits $34B in Arizona" ~ Phoenix Business Journal

> "Arizona Boasts Nation's Tallest Living Christmas Tree" -- "At 110 feet , the tree stands a full 30 feet taller than last year's tree." (Are we perhaps starting to suffer from Texas Syndrome? TS, akin to BS, occurs when a state which has little about which to boast consoles itself by talking big.) ~ link

> "While research has already shown a link between maternal smoking in pregnancy and attention and behavioral problems in kids and teens, a new study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health finds a longer-term correlation: between smoking during pregnancy and eventual criminality in adult children." Is the problem causal or merely correlational? Regardless -- the solution is the same. ~ Time

> Last night I moved the turkey from the freezer to the frig. It's getting closer!

Random

> I picked up a Thanksgiving poinsettia at the grocery store on Monday. In case the picture is not clear enough, the top leaves are yellow/white with orange and brown coloring. I've not seen anything quite like it before.

> Get past the stereotype of a bunch of old ladies at the women's auxiliary tearing sheets and rolling bandages for the missionaries in Africa. Old school bandages still save lives and college students are learning how to rip and roll, too. You can't help but be proud of both the young and the old. ~ link

> Ed Stetzer says, "S Carolina Baptists passed a resolution opposing the theft of copper & I thought you should know..." I'm sure the Covenant will follow their lead at the annual meeting in June.

> I do most of my writing in Google Docs. They've got a new auto-corrections feature. I suppose that means my writing will be gooder now. ~ link

> Help for homeless college students ~ link

> Yes! Cocomint Cookies ~ New Times

Random

> Lloyd Ahlem, my favorite golfer, sent this picture of a guy who fell backwards into the cacti at a golf course in Tucson. Apparently it took three hours of work before they could get him into the ambulance.

> Speaking of Tucson, when I was riding my bike down 51st Ave yesterday morning, I noticed that it was packed with RVs. They're all snowbirds headed toward southern Arizona, using 51st Ave and the road through the Gila River Indian Reservation, as a bypass around the downtown Phoenix traffic on I-10. The winter migration has begun.

> Is Christianity a hobby? ~ link

> Mosquito talk --

It's been a bad year to be a mosquito. The world's most annoying insect is responsible for 250 million cases of malaria per year — and 1 million deaths. But scientists at the University of Arizona have genetically engineered a mosquito that's immune to the Plasmodium parasite, the malaria-causing agent it transmits with its bite. The next step is to make the new mosquito hardier than the ordinary kind, then release it into the wild (perhaps within 10 years), where it will displace the deadly variety.

Come on U of A, you can do better than that! While you're at it why can't you just genetically modify the mosquito so that it doesn't bite people, period? That's a better way to stop the spread of malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile virus, encephalitis and a bunch of other diseases -- and annoyances. ~ Time

> It looks like today is Taco Tuesday at Jack in the Box. ~ EV Trib

> Professors propose one way trips to colonize Mars. ~ KTAR

> Lego CEO has a Lego "business card" that looks like him. ~ WSJ

> Centuries old Chinese taboos associated with death and dying are rapidly disappearing. ~ Global Post

> Not that it matters all that much but the metro Phoenix area is now the 11th largest in the US -- 4,536,069 residents. "Arizona ranks 13th among states in population with 6,815,765 people." ~ Phoenix Business Journal

Our changing Christian world

> In "Global warming and American Christianity" Martin Marty basically says "get real" ~ link

> Barna says that the rise of a neo-Calvinist movement is an illusion. The percentage of pastors who identify their churches as "reformed" is actually down (likewise with those who self-identify as "Arminians"). I suspect that there are just more loud obnoxious Calvinists than before. How do the pollsters measure that? ~ link

> There once was a world...

Christendom refers to a period of time when the Christian faith profoundly informed the culture. And, in turn, the culture carried the traditions, symbols, and rituals of the Christian faith. Another often-used term—post-Christian era—captures the reality that the importance and influence of Christianity in North American society has been in decline for at least three decades. In a "post-Christian" world, the church cannot expect favorable treatment or higher visibility. 

One could say that a gathering storm—a confluence of factors—has assailed the church and its dominant perch on the societal ladder. None of this has to do with the church's internal functioning. The sea change is external or contextual. There once was a world that was eager to be hospitable to Christian churches and supported "blue laws," soccerless Sundays, eating fish rather than meat on Friday, public prayer in schools and at nodal events, deferring to clergy by way of discounts, weekly religion sections in urban newspapers, and greeting others with "Merry Christmas." Now, suddenly, with steep changes happening in our society, congregations have to ask themselves whether they are responding to a world that no longer exists. 

The loss of members, influence, and a sense of mission—the church's misfortune of the moment—resembles the experience of Israel's exile. The lesson of the present dislocation is clear, if still not learned. The era of Christendom is gone. No longer is culture subsidizing and supporting churches... 

We are living in a new context where old certainties are disappearing, old institutions are less dependable, old assumptions are questionable, and old neighborhoods are less cohesive. Logically, if not spiritually, we may even have to allow for the possibility that these dislocations could be part of God's new creation. It may be God working through the unknown that contributes to the destabilization of the world. God is no stranger to Eden's deportation, Babel's scattering, the exodus, the exile, and crucifixion. God can be surprising, mysterious, taking history into unexpected turns. 

~ Peter L. Steinke

Random

> Anyone feeling led to buy this portable chapel for MasterPiece Church? I can see all kinds of opportunities. ~ link

> Against homework:

A child who has been boxed up six hours in school might spend the next four hours in study, but it is impossible to develop the child’s intellect in this way. The laws of nature are inexorable. By dint of great and painful labor, the child may succeed in repeating a lot of words, like a parrot, but, with the power of its brain all exhausted, it is out of the question for it to really master and comprehend its lessons. The effect of the system is to enfeeble the intellect even more than the body. We never see a little girl staggering home under a load of books, or knitting her brow over them at eight o’clock in the evening, without wondering that our citizens do not arm themselves at once with carving knives, pokers, clubs, paving stones or any weapons at hand, and chase out the managers of our common schools, as they would wild beasts that were devouring their children. ~ Scientific American, October 1860 (via)

> Here is your chance to figure out how to fix the budget. Once you've got it under control go ahead and share the solution online -- if you dare. Ah... and good luck with it all! ~ NY Times

> There are now 2.2 million Japanese Manga Bible series books in print. ~ link

> I don't really care to know where you are every few minutes or if you've suddenly become the mayor of a fictional municipality in some coffee shop. And apparently I'm not alone. Pew research is reporting that "despite all the hype, the use of location-based services is actually declining in America." ~ link

> Students who use Twitter get higher grades than those who do not. ~ CHE

Random

> McDonald's restaurants is launching a total make-over design campaign next year. They will not all look like bombed out electronic stores. ~ FastCompany

> Mayor Gavin Newsom has saved the Happy meal! ~ SF Chronicle

> Using pre-fabricated columns and modules, Chinese workers have built a 15-story hotel in less than a week. ~ Pravda

> Canada, especially friendly Manitoba, is begging for more immigrants. ~ NY Times

> So, it appears that the medical marijuana initiative in Arizona has passed. I thought it seemed like a reasonable idea when it passed in California. Hey. let the doctors decide what is good for patients. But then suddenly doctors were writing prescriptions to treat every little sniffle with weed. I voted against it in Arizona. The last thing we need here are more stoned gun-crazy cowboys running around. But... ~ link

Voices of Micronesia

By request, here is a shorter version of the Voices of Micronesia. The group from Pacific Islands University toured the western US in the summer of 2010. This concert was at Hope Covenant Church in Chandler, Arizona on July 13, 2010. I took the video with my little Flip camera.

Random

> Seth Godin on organizational architects ~ link

> How is it that the Kindle editions of Seth Godin's books are significantly more expensive than the printed editions on Amazon? What are the economics behind that?

>  Faith differences:

Several years ago, a Muslim man said to me, "I have read the entire Qur'an and can find no guidance in it on how Muslims should live as a minority in a society. I have read the entire New Testament and can find no guidance in it on how Christians should live as a majority." He put his finger on a central difference between the two faiths. Muslim societies tend to unify religion, culture, law, and politics. Whereas U.S. courts debate the legality of nonsectarian prayers at football games and public monuments to the Ten Commandments, in the Middle East even the airlines broadcast the call to prayer five times a day. And in countries with a variety of religions, like Nigeria, as the Muslim population increases, they seek to impose the religious Shari'ah law on all citizens. ~ Philip Yancey

> "People spend 'half their waking hours daydreaming" -- And is that such a bad thing? I'd suggest that the benefits of daydreaming in terms of creativity and emotional recharging during difficult tasks far outweigh any negatives. And it's not like you could fix the daydreaming "problem" anyway. it is the way that we are wired as people. ~ BBC

> "Cruise passengers endured stench, cold food" -- The ordeal of those stranded on the Carnival Splendor was unfortunate. But to put things in perspective, there are millions of people living in situations where the stench is overwhelming and they'd be elated to get some cold pop-tarts and Spam. But they can't escape after three days from their impoverished cruise ships in the slums of developing countries. It sounds like the passengers did a good job of making lemonade out of lemons. They seem to be fairly understanding and that is a positive sign. ~ AP

> "Russian becomes most popular foreign language in China" -- It's good for business. ~ Pravda

> "Study: 100,000 Hispanics left Arizona after SB1070" -- And we're wondering why the economic recovery has been so slow here compared to other places. 100,000 consumers is a big hit. Of course, it is not fair to completely tie the exodus to SB1070. Many Hispanics worked in the construction industry and there just are not that many jobs in that sector right now. ~ KTAR

> SBL Greek New Testament now available for free online. ~ link (via)

> Starbucks is trying to get more control over the cost of product. They're starting their own coffee plantation in the Yunnan province of China. ~ WSJ

> If you're on Guam you may want to catch the Thai festival at Chamorro Village this Sunday. I know that many of our PIU students have a heart for Thailand. ~ link

> Amazon is hiring thousands of temp workers in Phoenix and Goodyear ~ Phoenix Business Journal

> Colombia has the highest number of displaced people in the world. -- 3.7 million. ~ Pravda

> Facebook buys fb.com and appears to be preparing to give Gmail a run for their money. ~ link

Random

> Beginning next month, whenever a customer purchases the Airwalk Hope shoe, Payless Shoes will give a free pair of kids' shoes to a child in Central America through World Vision. ~ CP

> "Where two or more languages are spoken regularly, there is likely to be a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by more than four years. This was found by researchers from several universities in Canada and published in the November 9, 2010 edition of Neurology." ~ länk

> Alienating the 2% --

If you have fans or followers or customers, no matter what you do, you'll annoy or disappoint two percent of them. And you'll probably hear a lot more from the unhappy 2% than from the delighted 98. 

It seems as though there are only two ways to deal with this: Stop innovating, just stagnate. Or go ahead and delight the vast majority. 

Sure, you can try to minimize the cost of change, and you might even get the number to 1%. But if you try to delight everyone, all the time, you'll just make yourself crazy. Or become boring. ~ Seth Godin

> We had a fascinating lecture on algae production and how it's changing global agriculture last night at the Arizona Rare Fruit Growers meeting. I thought that Mark Edwards was some kind of science prof at Arizona State but when I got home I looked him up and discovered that he is a professor of "Strategic Marketing and Sustainability" in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. Check out some of the stuff in the pipeline (so to speak) at the Algae Alliance site or the Algae Competition site. It all seems to make incredible sense. A few tidbits to share:

• Algae grows four times its mass per day.
• It grows faster than predators can eat it.
• Crude oil is fossilized algae. Because living algae is not fossilized it doesn't produce waste particles when it is burned. Thus it is a desirable biofuel.
• There are 10 million species of highly localized algae.
• Algae itself has a sweet smell. The fowl odor we associate with it is a byproduct of bacteria that attack algae.

> The Mormons have thrown their weight behind an immigration reform measure called the Utah Compact on Immigration. Kudos to them for applying their theology of family to this issue. I certainly don't agree with the particulars of their theological approach but I think that you can get to their position from several theological paths. At least THEY are trying to think theologically about the issue. ~ link

> You mean that Obamacare was developed around a 1994 Republican proposed structure? I heard that it originated with the Communists -- or maybe even the devil himself. ~ link

Random

> Oops ~ BBC

> David Letterman's improv about Guam ~ YouTube

> Alison has a new free online course -- "21 Steps to Building a Web Business" ~ link

> My new favorite grocery store candy bar -- 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp Bars. And they are only 85 calories per bar.

> La Niña = drier, warmer winters in the Arizona desert (normally). Come on down for some winter sun. ~ KTAR

> "Dick Van Dyke 'saved by porpoises'" They were obviously fans. ~ Telegraph

> If you're taking my PIU church planting class spring semester the two texts are: Discovering Church Planting (J.D. Payne) & Viral Churches (Ed Stetzer, Warren Bird). You're welcome encouraged to start the reading early.

> Fr Tom Hopko, one of my favorite living Orthodox theologians, has a great common sense approach to Bible study in his November 8th podcast. In particular he talks about reading the Old Testament and explains the role of the Septuagint in the Church. Sometimes he doesn't really understand what the Protestant Reformers were saying but generally speaking he is pretty spot on.

> Study: whales suffering from sunburn possibly because the damaged ozone layer ~ Time

> "An outbreak of polio in Congo-Brazzaville has killed more than 100 people and paralysed hundreds more..." ~ BBC

> Google Instant Preview is showing up on my searches sometimes (and sometimes not). So far I'm liking it.

> Is there a common Nordic state on the horizon? "Nearly half of all Danes, Finns, Norwegians, Swedes and Icelanders would like their countries to unite in a federal state, according to a poll published as members of the Nordic Council met Tuesday." ~ The Local

Hallelujah! Opera Co of Philadelphia plays Macy's

I would have loved to get caught up in the rapture of that.

Random

> It's been snowing in Arizona -- but not in the desert. Still, I should probably start thinking about what I need to do to get the plants ready for the occasional frost we get down here in the Valley. ~ KTAR

> J.R. Daniel Kirk has a review of the CEB -- "...in fact, I think that the Common English Bible has one of the most readable and accurate renderings of Romans 3:21-26 in print." But... ~ link

> Where the loser's gear lands -- World Vision. But they aren't getting all of it. There's this discount shop in Dededo, on Guam where I discovered some interesting Super Bowl surprises. ~ link

> Walmart is adding more solar panels to stores in California and Arizona. It seems to me that if all the Walmart stores (which are so ubiquitous) covered their roofs with panels they alone could power their entire cities. ~ link

> "Cutting out the middle men -- The most efficient way to spend money on the homeless might be to give it to them." ~ The Economist

Bloggerversary

It was on November 9, 2002 -- eight years ago today, that I published the first post on this blog. I've been on Blogger the whole time -- even pre-Google -- have enjoyed and grown with the platform.

Prior to Blogger I was spending a lot of time trying to write code for my webpages. But I made a decision that I wanted to focus more on content than customization and design. And at that point there was not a lot of customization available within the Blogger system. But even back then they were pretty reliable.

When the tsunami hit in Asia on December 27, 2004 I began to relay information from friends on site in Thailand via this blog. Somehow Google started placing my posts pretty high up in the "tsunami" search results and I was getting 6,000+ hits a day (quite phenomenal in 2004 -- I suspect that there are now blogs getting 6,000 hits a minute.).  Blogger, by then safely on Google servers, didn't bat an eye or hiccup. My previous web host wouldn't have been able to hold up under the strain but Blogger kept it going -- and for free.

IOW, it's been a good ride on Blogger and I'm hoping for many more years of great service. Thanks, Blogger!

Random

> This is a reedit and expansion of the video of the Voices of Micronesia concert that I put together last summer. The previous version had problems with the sound being out of sync with the picture. (It's a glitch in the Microsoft Movie Maker software. It does not read the Flip camera files right so I had to do a little voodoo to get everyone on the same page.)

> A self-confident Taiwanese woman has "married" herself. ~ link

> The transcription of my sermon from Sunday (Luke 20:27-40) is now online. ~ link

> Betty Fairfax has died. One of the two public high schools in Laveen was named after her. ~ link

> Nutrition professor loses 27 pounds by eating only Twinkies and other forms of junk food. His bad cholesterol is down and the good cholesterol is up. ~ CNN

Random

> The sound of a baritone ukulele. The strings are DGBE (standard tuning for other ukes is GCEA), which is the same as the four highest strings on a guitar. Armelle Europe shows off her new baritone by playing Maelström, which apparently she wrote. ~ link

> I was watching a Chris Wright video on Bill Kinnon's blog. Sometimes it seems that good solid expository preaching from a crafted manuscript is a lost art. Chris does it so well -- powerful word -- light on fluff, meaty -- reminds me of John Stott's style. "Confronting Idols in the Global Evangelical Church" -- Are we on the cusp of a new reformation? ~ link

> Over 28,000 drug war related deaths in Mexico since 2007 ~ LA Times

> RockMelt is a wedbrowser for the "Facebook era" -- from the IT dinosaurs who brought us Netscape. Who says old guys can't come up with new and cool? ~ NY Times

> "Nicest Canadian couple in world" gives away their $11M in lottery winnings. There are people out there who "get it." ~ NPR

> There is a "record wave of Chinese high school graduates enrolling in American colleges." This is a trend that is good for them -- and good for us. If the US wants to thrive in the 21st century we've got to do a better job of figuring out the Asian mindsets. We can't afford to not know them and have strong relationships with them. Also, it sounds like the Mormons have tapped into the trend as a mission opportunity. ~ NY Times

> We got pics & email from our #2 son this morning. He is teaching at pust.kr during this the inaugural semester. It sounds like they're keeping him busy and that he likes the students and campus.

> We had the second MasterPiece Church preview service yesterday morning. We're looking forward to going weekly on November 21st -- to serve the people of Laveen and Western Phoenix as they serve God.

> Some of the MasterPiece leaders met this afternoon and designated our first international missionaries. Eric and Karyn Sorenson are colleagues at PIU and are equipping Micronesians and Asians to be Christian leaders throughout the Western Pacific and beyond. We're excited about what they do and to be able to join their partnership team.

> Americans are now at the point where they'd rather take their chances with the terrorists than to be continually subjected to the humiliating searches. Either way the terrorists have won. The NTSA needs to figure out that if they don't have the people on their side that there is no way they will be able to do their job right. They are trying valiantly but they probably need to switch tactics. ~ link

> In the US 72% of black babies (compared to 24% in 1965); 17% of Asian babies; 29% of white babies (4% in 1965); 53% of Hispanic babies; and 66% of Native American babies are born to unmarried mothers today. That's a lot of kids without fathers active in their lives each day. That's a lot of extra wear and tear on our women. ~ EV Trib