Random

...I wouldn't mind having my own personal airship -- flying around just above the trees (I don't really need to fly very high) -- lots of potential -- especially for people who live on islands. I could take a Sunday afternoon drive to Rota, Tinian, or Saipan. (via)

...Boomers are starting to downsize and are going for the "lock and leave" approach to housing. Speaking of which, our new (actually, the first pre-owned home we've owned) "lock and leave" condo is coming along. Painting in the bathroom is done, hallway is done (except for touch-up or if we add color), kitchen may require another hour or two, living room is perhaps needing 4 or 5 more hours. Then there are three bedrooms and the master bath to tackle. Perhaps we can move in by the end of the month. That's the goal.

...Worth reading -- Scot McKnight on the five streams of the emerging church in CT.

...The Evangelical Covenant Church (the extended church family of which I am a part) has roots in Swedish Lutheran Pietism. While the denomination is hardly Swedish these days they are still keen on maintaining connections with their history. The July 2006 edition of Evangelical Times (an English newspaper of Calvinistic convictions) has a few articles that might be of interest to Covenant people -- e.g. "Bringing Christ to the Land of Christmas" and "Rosenius -- Sweden's Elijah."

Random

...Be nice to us or we'll vaporize your orbiting satellites. Star Wars -- scene 1.

...Stan Friedman directed me to the article on ukes in the Trib.

...51% of American women are now spouse-less -- or spouse-free.

...1 out of every 400 Americans experienced homelessness in 2005.

Random

...California demoted -- now that we've left...

...Bookmark: UkeTalk -- "ukulele information for ukulele fans, uke players, and luthiers"

...Bookmark: Campus Crusade's Mobile Office Project -- USB flashdrive of applications -- secure office suite for people who use public computers while on the road

Reading lists

The other day Steve Evans asked what the reading list was like for my classes this semester.

SOTERIOLOGY (study of salvation)

+ Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief by Bruce Milne (IVP) -- primary text

+ Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem (Zondervan) -- I'm not particularly fond of this book but the students already had it for another class so I'm using it as a supplemental text.

+ Jesus and the End Time by Everett L. Wilson, online

+ Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities, Roger E Olson, various sections. On reserve in library

+ Recovering the Scandal of the Cross, Joel Green & Mark Baker, 153-170. On reserve in library

+ Farewell to the Rapture by NT Wright. Online

+ Called & Gifted -- online

+ Not on the reading list, but which I will draw heavily upon -- Theology for the Community of God by the late Stanley Grenz

PREACHING PRACTICUM

+ Preaching: the Art of Narrative Exposition by Calvin Miller (Baker, 2006) -- required

+ Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson (2nd ed., Baker Academic, 2001) -- supplemental

Family and friends

...Happy Birthday to Kent -- our #2 son who turns 21 today. He's a student at UC Irvine but is at UCDC this quarter. He carries himself well. The picture is of Kent and Betsy (our #3 child) when they arrived on Guam for Christmas. He hadn't cut his hair during the six months he was in Chile. But now that he's in DC he's had to become a lot more respectable. :)

...We've been painting the inside of the condo before moving in. Pretty much every inch of wall and ceiling needs paint. We had to remove the texture from the ceiling in the master bedroom (I can't imagine that textured ceilings seemed like a good idea back in 1993 when the unit was built -- it's a worse idea now). Melissa Heck helped out yesterday afternoon. Anyone who will scrape texture from your ceiling is a true friend.

...I hope all my citrus in California is surviving the unusual cold. Here on Guam, I've got some Key Limes, Calamansi, and bitter island orange seedlings in pots on the condo porch. They're doing great. Of course, the temperatures vary by only a very few degrees throughout the year. Typically the days are in the upper 80's and it will drop into the high 70's at night. Homes do not come equipped with heaters.

My bones and joints used to ache during the damp winter months in Central California. But now they only ache after I've been painting. And the only time we ever get cold is when we're in a restaurant where they've got the A/C (or "air con" as they say here) set too low -- which is often the case. So we always carry sweatshirts or sweaters when we go out to eat. A small price to pay. This is a great place for us.

...Some of the students are starting to find their way back. Technically they're not supposed to be back on campus until the weekend. But I think they're eager to resume their lives at PIBC so they drop by to visit, help with some of the maintenance, or shoot baskets. I'm looking forward to their official return.

Random

...A little window into the immigration issues Sweden is currently facing.

...The Seattle Times has a story on the connections between North Park University in Chicago and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren -- and his wife Kathy.

Tsunami warning

Guam Civil Defense sent out a text message to our cell phones this evening. Of course, it would have probably been better if they had sent the message when the tsunami watch -- then warning -- was issued, rather than when it was canceled. But, hey, it's an improvement over the last tsunami warning which we didn't hear about until a day later. And it looks like the CD crew actually got the information up on their website, too.

Fortunately for us, we live in the Village of Mangilao, which is on the east -- or Pacific side of the island. The terrain is higher and the drop-off to the ocean is severe. So, we aren't ever in danger of a tsunami hit-- at least while we're at home or school. But we were on the other side of the island a few times today.

Still, I'm seriously impressed that the Civil Defense people figured out how to send out the text message on the cell phones -- even if it was too late. Next time I bet they'll have the timing down, too.

Random

...Are we preparing to attack Iran? Somebody needs to tell President Bush that so far the John Wayne approach to Middle East peace has been less than fruitful. However, I'm not sure that he listens to anyone.

...For the first time a federal judge is going to give bloggers media credentials to cover a trial. I would have applied but I'm busy getting ready to teach a new semester's worth of theology and preaching. You can't do everything.

Random

...We signed the escrow papers on the condo this morning and got the keys this evening. We even moved a few things in -- mostly painting supplies. We've got a lot of painting to do before we move in.

...This evening we had the first session of the Winter Alpha course at the Lutheran Church of Guam. Cheryl and I are group leaders. And we had a great group -- mostly military people and families. There's room for more!

...Actress Yvonne De Carlo, star of The Munsters, a corny television spoof on horror movies, which I really enjoyed as a child and which I still think is funny, has died at the age of 84. The longer I'm around the more I value the people who make us laugh.

...Psychoactive drugs for pets? It's a trend. Now, if they would only develop a drug to keep them from shedding all over the couch.

...South African Theological Seminary, which has one of the most bang-for-your buck (or Rand) online seminary programs, is preparing to offer research doctorates. It sounds like they're getting closer since they're advertising for two "full-time senior academics, whose primary function will be to supervise postgraduate students in the writing of theses or dissertations." Interested? Send inquiry to reuben@sats.edu.za by January 31st.

SATS is a quality operation and I really want to see them move forward with this.

...Linksys' parent company Cisco is seeking a court injunction against Apple over the iPhone trademark. This is certainly not a surprise to Apple. I wonder what their strategy is. From a cursory assessment it looks like Cisco has a pretty ironclad case. But Apple knew that when they announced the launch of their iPhone. Anyone care to speculate on what Apple is up to?

Agnus Day

This is the Agnus Day cartoon for next Sunday's gospel text -- John 2:1-11.

Random

...Everyone's talking about Apple's new "iPhone." But didn't Linksys (Cisco) release a product called the "iPhone" last month? And the Linksys VoIP iPhone costs a lot less than the Apple knock-off version. Sounds like an opportunity to employ few more lawyers.

...PhD student Rick Mansfield has a great line (and blog entry) for Bible translators (and students): "Literal is not more accurate if it's unintelligible." It can't be easy to be a doctoral candidate in theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an arch TNIV advocate.

...The light is still green to close tomorrow on the condo we're buying. The money is in the bank and all the paperwork seems to be in place. We won't get to move for a few weeks but I'm soooooo ready to unpack and figure out what we brought with us from California. We've been "camping" since August when we arrived on Guam.

And now a word about betelnut

Betelnut is a major issue out here in the middle of the Pacific and throughout Asia. It's the ubiquitous nut that grows wild in tropical climates (we have some on the property where we're currently living). Some of the most potent betelnut comes from Yap. So the mom and pop village stores sell "Yapese Betelnut."

It's a mild stimulant and intoxicant when chewed and on some islands it's the center of social life.

On other islands it's frowned upon because betelnut is highly addictive, discolors the teeth, is the source of a gross byproduct, is associated with mouth cancer, and some experts say it slows the mind.

Many of our students at PIBC arrive on Guam with well-developed betelnut habits -- habits with which they constantly struggle. (Betelnut is prohibited on campus. But students can chew off campus if they choose.)

The people at BoingBoing have over the years been strangely infatuated with the whole betelnut thing.

The video clip below focuses on the betelnut retailing industry in Taiwan. They rely on another stimulant to enhance sales.

2007 Trends

Faith Popcorn has predictions for this year (no big surprise, there). Some trends are perhaps even quite positive:

+ Brands are going to become more fluid -- "Constantly morphing retailers carry products until they sell out and never restock."

+ Product history is going to become a part of marketing. People want to connect with what they buy on a deeper level.

+ "A person's net worth is no longer measured by dollars earned, but by improvements made. Families compete with each other on how many people they fed while on vacation, and the most envied house on the block is not the biggest, but the most sustainable."

+ "Our culture is suffering from an experience deficit. With the availability of online knowledge, we're claiming expertise based only on secondary experience. Now that everyone's a web-educated know-it-all, we're secretly longing for authority figures to guide and assure us with indispensable nuggets of wisdom that could only come from having actually accumulated life experience.

"The Future: Respect for elders makes a comeback in the form of Ask Your Grandma hotlines and the proliferation of online video clips by seniors showing us how to tie knots and concoct home remedies."

Random

...Pollster George Barna has released the results of a survey which indicates that "house churches are more satisfying to attenders than are conventional churches." I'm generally pretty sympathetic to the house church movement and see it as a vital stream in the church. However, we shouldn't read too much into this survey. The primary reason is that the movement is currently so small and the people who associate with such a minority movement are by nature highly motivated and committed people. Add to that the cognitive dissonance factor and it's a no brainer.

...Speaking of house churches, my church website of the week is a blog which attempts to network house churches in the Phoenix, Arizona area -- Phoenix Area House Churches 2.0

...The transfer of funds from the sale of our California house to our escrow account on Guam went off without a hitch. It looks like we're set to close escrow on the condo Thursday morning. After that we can start painting and doing some minor kitchen remodeling. We should be out of the duplex we're in by the end of the month.

...Do boys and girls need separate classes? A new major study in Britain says yes.

...The IHT has an insightful piece on the tensions that have emerged as Asian-Americans have risen to dominate the elite US universities. But the fact is that these students aren't getting into Cal or UCLA because of race. The Asians are there because they and their families, including many who start out as poor immigrants, have disciplined themselves and emphasized the importance of educational preparation. Woe to us when we get so into racial engineering that we dock people who have worked hard to achieve something they value.

...The American auto industry has recognized a change in consumer preferences and GM is currently leading the green movement among the Big 3. (But that's not going to prevent them from having to cut jobs this year.) I'm not sure that we're becoming all that much more environmentally conscious. I suspect that Americans have simply decided that they're tired of being held hostage by oil producing countries and having to fight wars where oil is at least a factor. It's an independence thing.

...An Iraqi court dropped all remaining genocide charges against former dictator Saddam Hussein. I'm sure he is relieved.

...Today's power outage only lasted about 4 minutes. Nobody on Guam ever sets the clocks on their microwave ovens. It would be an exercise in futility and frustration. :)

...Wal-Mart innovation -- In Wal-Mart, where everything tends to become jumbled and messy, I'm sure that lots of merchandise is lost in the store -- never to be seen or sold. But now there is a solution.

Random

...A really hot sermon:

...Icy problem in Florida.

...The Mission (Covenant) Church of Sweden and the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden have signed an ecumenical agreement recognizing “each other as apostolic churches, participating in the Church of Christ … holding the same confession of the apostolic faith” and “the same understanding of the sacraments...”

...Cheryl and I were a part of a group leading worship music at the Men's Prison tonight. We really enjoyed the men -- and the time. They know how to sing! I was impressed, too, with the staff. Sometimes prison guards can be grumpy, stern, and distant. But all the staff we encountered had a nice blend of professionalism and warmth. They even chatted with prisoners -- without talking down to them. It was definitely prison but of all the prisons and jails I've visited over the years it was one of the least oppressive.

...I'm missing the students. Why does the semester break have to be so long?

Random

...Today is Epiphany -- the Christian celebration of the revelation of Christ to the world. In the Western Church we associate the feast with the arrival of the pagan magi who followed a star to Bethlehem and acknowledged the King of the Jews. In the Eastern Church the feast is called "Holy Theophany" and they mark the revelation of Jesus' identity at his baptism. (The Western Church -- at least those parts which are attuned to the calendar -- will celebrate the Baptism of Jesus tomorrow.)

...Cheryl and I split a huge plate of Shirley's fried rice this evening, then took a stroll through the Agana Shopping Center. Much to my delight we discovered JB's Ukulele Hut and the owner Jeff Borja. Nice selection -- cool little shop -- opened December 15th -- great guy. The Agana Shopping Center, which has undergone a major transformation since we first set foot on Guam 14 months ago, just kicked it up another notch.

...Google Universe

...Very fine newspaper story on Jack Hayford, whom I greatly respect.

...Rosalynn Carter, someone else worthy of respect, has been ordained as a Baptist deacon -- at the age of 79.

...Another quiet leader worthy of great respect, but not nearly so old, is Brad Nassif. His article "Will the 21st Be the Orthodox Century?" appeared in the December issue of CT.

...What can the church learn from the Crypto-Christians of Japan?

...For Betsy (and any other creatives): "How to make duct tape roses" (via)

...We just found out today that our friends Lee & Ellen Robinson, who were a part of our church plant in Texas but who now live in Colorado, have been making trips back and forth to Kenya. Ellen is a nurse and Lee is a geologist/engineer-kind-of-guy who can do all kinds of stuff. They've been helping at Shangilia, an AIDS orphanage in western Kenya. Middle-aged boomer Christians -- with a few extra dollars and some flexibility in schedule -- getting to do the kinds of things they've always dreamt of.

NT Wright interview

CT has a great interview with Bishop Tom Wright. Any of my theology students (semester starts in 16 days -- and counting) can get extra brownie points for reading it and casually mentioning so in a class discussion.

A few samples:

...The Gnostic conspiracy theory says that orthodoxy hushed up the really exciting thing and promoted this boring sterile thing with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And of course there's a great lie underneath that. In the second and third centuries, the people being thrown to the lions and burned at the stake and sawed in two were not the ones reading Thomas and Judas and the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary. They were the ones reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Because the empire is perfectly happy with Gnosticism. Gnosticism poses no threat to the empire. Whereas Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do. It's the church's shame that in the last 200 years, the church has muzzled Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and turned them into instruments of a controlling, sterile orthodoxy. But the texts themselves are explosive.

...The key to mission is always worship. You can only be reflecting the love of God into the world if you are worshiping the true God who creates the world out of overflowing self-giving love. The more you look at that God and celebrate that love, the more you have to be reflecting that overflowing self-giving love into the world.

House sold!

Our California house is no longer OUR California house. Escrow closed yesterday. Escrow on the condo we're buying in Mangilao, Guam is scheduled to close on Thursday. So, for a few days we're no longer home owners -- but only a few.

All things in God's timing.

Random

...I'm so old that I remember when hard-drives were measured in megabytes. Then came gigabytes. And now in 2007 they are introducing terabyte drives. For those who care, a terabyte is a trillion bytes, or a million megabytes, or 1,000 gigabytes. I suppose the next step up might be googlebytes.

...GovGuam has a new and improved website.

..."Two Hawaiian outrigger canoes are preparing to leave this weekend on the first leg of an epic voyage from Hawaii to Micronesia." That's a long paddle. They're going to have really sore muscles.

...An extra warm winter means petroleum is less in demand -- which means prices are dropping -- radically. However, on Guam, prices are going the other way. Right after Christmas gas jumped up to $3/gallon. It had been down at $2.92/gallon -- the lowest price in a few years.

...It was a great day for mail today -- the new PIBC car stickers came. Two books, Tom Wright's The Meal Jesus Gave Us and Stan Grenz' outstanding plain English theology primer Theology for the Community of God, came. And then the free Ubuntu (Linux operating system for non-geeks) discs which I plan to use to recycle some of the old PCs at school came. (I really like the feel of the Ubuntu and the price is hard to argue over.) A good mail day.

...Melissa made it to Yap -- where there are no malls or McDonald's. Of course, less than 7,000 people live in the entire state, and they're spread over 130 islands.

Getting rich on the Internet

I was looking at the 2006 summary of the Amazon.com referral fees I earned from the sale of books, and electronics -- and even kitchen appliances(!) -- through the link to the right -- $132.15. No, I'm not getting rich. In fact, I'm not keeping any of it. I've been turning those commissions into books for the PIBC library.

The PIBC library is actually quite small at this point -- 13,500 volumes. And even though it is larger than what most of our students have ever had access to, most will probably never stop to consider where all those books came from. That kind of thing isn't on their radar at this point in their lives. But that doesn't lessen the benefit they receive from the donations -- including those generated through the Amazon.com link on this page.

Thank you for your help. In a quiet way you are blessing the students -- who will in turn become blessings in some very needy places.

Random

...Three church leaders have been arrested in Inner Mongolia after a raid on a house church meeting.

...Kent is now in DC, living at UCDC, for his internship quarter. His internship will be with the World Jurist Association. He is a poli-sci major at UC Irvine with an interest in international law. He is also our #2 son.

...The Russians are coming! The buzz on Guam these days is about the potential for adding lots and lots of wealthy Russian tourists to the island mix. It's already started to happen in Saipan, a few islands up. Currently most tourists to Guam come from Japan. But some come from Taiwan and Korea. A few manage to slip in from the PRC.

Guantanamo rant

The abuses so vigorously denied by the Bush administration in the past have now been corroborated by at least 26 witnesses -- employees of the FBI, according to a report released by the agency. Why are we only hearing about this now? Why didn't the FBI personnel act to stop what they saw? If the Bush administration was aware of this information (they were) why did they allow it to continue?

The crazy thing, in addition to the shame that comes to every American because of these human rights abuses, is that it is all so counter-productive. If the US wants to lead in the "war on terrorism" we need to be models of civility and transparency. We will not defeat the terrorists by adopting the values of the terrorists. Why is this so hard to understand?

Random

...It seems to me that perhaps President Ford would have felt more honored if instead of taking yet another day off and shutting everything down, we all got together and decided that for once we'd actually put in a full day's work.

...Our FedEx package with all the paperwork for the sale of our house, which we sent on the 27th Guam time (the 26th California time), but which has taken the scenic route around the globe, has now (January 3rd in Guam -- the 2nd California time) "arrived at FedEx destination." It's possible that might mean it has been delivered. I'm not sure.

...Asians applying for academic programs in the US are panicking. The Internet crisis, expected to last another two weeks, comes right at deadline time. I wouldn't be surprised if US schools figured out a way to accommodate the applicants.

...A little more detail about the interface for the One Lap Top Per Child computers.

...From the Chicago Tribune: "A flying saucerlike object hovered low over O'Hare International Airport for several minutes before bolting through thick clouds with such intense energy that it left an eerie hole in overcast skies, said some United Airlines employees who observed the phenomenon."

I figure it left because they got tired of waiting in a holding pattern. Alien pilots aren't as patient as human pilots who are used to delays.

...Weird stuff with Amazon's shifting prices.

...My random thought for the day: There is nothing more toxic than a piety which grows out of a sense of obligation or a desire to impress. But there is nothing more winning and powerful than a piety which grows out of a grateful heart.

Random

...I love it! An Iowa PE instructor has created an ice mountain on a grain silo -- perfect for those times when you just need to go climbing but don't have enough pocket change to buy a plane ticket to the Alps. I wonder what the water bill looks like.

...Don Hotchkiss has a good discussion-starter on the role of missions in the local congregation. "In budgeting and planning for this work, most congregations say their mission is to help others. That's a good answer. For many congregations, though, a better answer is to say the purpose of social ministry is instead to change the lives of its own members..."

Watchwords

The Moravian daily texts for today, January 1st, 2007, are:

The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. (Numbers 21:7)

and

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

One thing unique to the version of the Daily Texts published by Mount Carmel Ministries is the daily prayer which is so well crafted. For today:

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for sending us servants who hear our confession and pray for us. We need helpers to rescue us from the power of the evil one. Forgive us for fleeing repentance. May we begin this year and each day in the freedom of forgiveness. Amen.

More random

...The Japanese economy is slowing down. This could affect Guam, where Japanese tourism is a major component of the island's economy.

...The New Year parties in our area went on until sunrise -- in spite of wind and rain.

...The Post Office, along with other federal agencies, will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday) in honor of President Ford. When was the last time that the Post Office has been closed for three days in row? I can't remember that happening in recent history.

...The FedEx package containing the paperwork for the sale of our California house left Guam on the 27th, went to Anchorage, Alaska; then Newark, New Jersey; and now six days later it has made its way to Memphis, Tennessee. It was supposed to be delivered in California on the 28th -- not a big deal since we are 18 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time (Mail and cargo often arrives in California "before" it was sent from Guam). Keep this information filed away for use the next time someone starts ranting about how privatization of mail delivery is the cure-all for postal inefficiency.

...The broken Internet cable that has affected service in Asia won't be fixed for another 15 days. That, in and of itself, could affect the global economy in a major way. Life is fragile. Even technology is no guarantee of a better more reliable life.

...The culture of death marches on. As of yesterday the US military has lost 3,000 people in Iraq. Others: Britain 127, other nations 123. Estimates of Iraqi deaths -- military between 4,900 and 6,375 -- civilians between 52,139 and 57,707. The conflict has now gone on longer than WWII.

IF there is any good news in this it can be found in the contrast with death counts from previous conflicts. For example, 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War, 36,000 in the Korean conflict, 405,000 in World War II, and 116,000 in World War I, according to Defense Department figures.

Random

...Happy New Year from Guam -- "where America's day begins..." Yes, 2007 has already arrived here. The partying started early yesterday afternoon with our neighbors gathering to drink beer, listen to loud music, and fight their cocks. The loud music is now being drown out by fireworks and gunshots. It may take a week for the island to recover from the collective hang-over.

...They had the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Christmas music on television last evening. There is incredible irony in the way that they passionately embrace some very ancient Christmas music while totally disregarding the ancient faith which produced the music. There is a major disconnect there.

...Putting Gen Y workers, Gen X workers, and Boomer workers together in the same office produces some unique challenges -- challenges which go beyond the traditional generational differences -- at least in the US.

...I've done a Heroes marathon these past few evenings and have more or less figured out what's going on ("Save the cheerleader, save the world.") -- thanks to Alluc.org, which has linked to sites where the first 11 episodes, many with French subtitles, are posted. (NBC has the past episodes on their website but they are blocked to Internet servers outside the continental US.) My favorite character is Hiro Nakamura.

...It's Monday -- and my church website of the week is Lifesong Christian Communities -- a Lutheran church plant in Newbury Park, California. They are a home church network -- sort'a.

Taguan

About half a mile from the duplex where Cheryl and I are camping there is a trail down along the edge of the Mangilao Country Club golf course to a "beach" called Taguan. It's not really a beach -- but sharp coral rock. The trail itself drops 380 feet fairly quickly and fortunately there are stairs (256 steps).

Cheryl and I tagged along with Melissa Heck (PIBC dean of women -- a family therapist who is a short-term missionary) for the 60 minute round-trip hike this afternoon. It's on the Pacific side of the island and there isn't a barrier reef (as there is on much of Guam) so the waves crash right up on the rocks. It was beautiful, and in spite of the fact that my aching legs are screaming at me tonight, well worth it.

Random

...Everything is bigger in Texas! It appears that some good natured artists are fixin' to put a giant "geostationary banana" in orbit over the Lone Star State for a month. I hope they end up doing it. But the fact that French-Canadians are behind the scheme may get Homeland Security all worked up. Then, of course, there are the problems associated with the laws of physics.

...Cheryl adapted my favorite Key Lime pie recipe and made Calamansi pie. The flavor is definitely milder than Key Lime pie -- but definitely very good -- and definitely worth a repeat.

...I'm filling in for Pastor Jeff Johnson at the Lutheran Church of Guam's 10 a.m. service of worship (one service instead of the usual two because of the New Year's holiday). Jeff is a part of the 10 member LCG mission trip to Pohnpei this week.

...The paperwork for the sale of our house didn't make it back to California to complete the closing of the deal by the end of the year. So everything is on hold until next week sometime. Apparently, for some reason FedEx routed it through Anchorage, Alaska and then Newark, New Jersey -- instead of sending it directly to California. I'm less than impressed. If we had sent it Priority Mail through the Post Office it would have arrived sooner.

...Saddam Hussein is dead. But no one should expect that will improve things. To the contrary -- violence tends to feed violence.

Random

...I'm still waiting for Microsoft to send me a free laptop so I can mention Vista on my blog. Sometimes the mail service to the Western Pacific is a little slower than to the mainland. So, just to cover my bases (and demonstrate good faith) I'd like to say that I think Vista is a wonderful long-awaited improvement over XP and that I haven't seen any system glitches whatsoever. Of course, I haven't seen Vista or my free computer, yet, either.

...I tried to install Ubuntu on one of the dying campus computers this evening. Apparently the hard-drive was deader than I thought. I'll have to dig another box out of the trash and hopefully we'll have something fun for the students to play with once they get back to campus in a few weeks.

I wonder if Ubuntu would like to send me a free laptop for a mere mention of their OS on my blog. It doesn't even have to be a $2,200 Acer.

...The Internet in much of Asia is still down.

...File under "truly senseless" -- Lutheran pastor commits fiery suicide to protest growing influence of Islam in Germany. I suppose the very fact that I've linked to the story about him grants him a measure of success. The emergence of Islam in Europe is a matter of concern. Obviously, some are more concerned than others.

...I'm assuming that Stan Friedman and Marcia Ryan went through with it on December 23rd. I haven't heard a word from Stan since then. The honeymoon must be keeping them busy.

...Great Britain is making the final payment to the US for money loaned at the end of WWII. Of course, if they had been defeated-enemies of the US, instead of allies, we would have simply donated the money. That's been a bit of a sore spot.

...Rumor has it that Guam is going to begin construction next month to fix one of the world's worst roads. I've lived on Guam for merely five months and already I've become a jaded skeptic about such things. However, we can always hope that it might be true.

Random

...We've had a run of buffoons in the White House. But there have been times when men of grace and civility have held the office. Gerald Ford, the "accidental president," was one such man.

...Last evening we went to the regular Wednesday night festival at Chamorro Village in Agana. It was packed with locals and tourists -- shoulder-to-shoulder people. That has got to be one of the best run operations on Guam. I don't think the government has anything to do with it (not even a cop in sight -- unlike a stateside event of that size, where you'd need a major police presence to keep things in order). The food is wonderful and cheap. People are sober and in a good mood. Things can be done well on Guam.

...We put Kent and Betsy on the plane for the mainland this morning. So now all three of the children are gone. And we're back to our routines. I've got a few syllabi to crank out in the next day or so.

...We received a lot of great gifts this Christmas. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the fudge-covered granola bars and the 12-pack of Diet Coke with Lime (all unavailable on Guam) that our kids brought with them.

...We signed the pile of papers for the sale of our California house. We're assuming that FedEx should be delivering them sometime in the next few hours for tomorrow's closing. We know, though, that with any such transaction it's not a done deal until the money is in the bank.

...New home sales rebounded in November.

...Urbana 06 started yesterday in St Louis. Cheryl and I both attended this granddaddy of all missions conferences in 1976. Someday we'll get to go again. Our friend Lois Wilson is attending this year. There are several bloggers on duty.

...Internet access in parts of Asia was affected by the earthquake in Taiwan. No unusual outages on Guam, though.

Random

...Eugene Cho and Quest Church received some major ink in the Seattle Times.

...It looks like no one got the goat this year. See my previous post.

...Even the Japanese, with no Christian cultural memory, love Christmas.

...Worth noting: "Product placement in the church" on the Out of Ur blog. Part 1 - Part 2

...Bookmark: Alluc.org -- links to lots and lots of online television shows. We only get two stations on the family tube these days (life in Guam without cable). So it's kind of fun to pull up an occasional or missed episode.

Random

...I've finally got an updated version of the Pacific Islands Bible College website online.

...This was the first time in probably 22 years that I wasn't responsible for a Christmas Eve service and probably the first time in 15 years that I didn't come up with a new parable for such a service. The rhythm of academic life is good but I miss the pastoral rhythm a lot. I will be leading worship and preaching at the Lutheran Church of Guam next Sunday, filling in for Jeff Johnson who is off leading a mission trip.

...Kirk returns to San Francisco tomorrow. Kent and Betsy will be with us until Thursday.

Filis Pasgua

Merry tropical Christmas from Guam -- or as they say in Chamorro -- "Filis Pasgua."

We're still trying to figure out how Pasgua became the word for Christmas. In Spanish, which heavily influenced modern Chamorro, the word Pascua means Easter -- borrowed from the Latin (Pascha), which got it from Greek (Paskha), which took the word from the Hebrew for Passover (Pesach). So how did the word for Easter become associated with Christmas?

Apparently, in an older version of Spanish they used Pascua for both Easter and Christmas. Anyone have insights on this?

Random

...Arizona is once again the fastest growing state. Nevada has recently had that honor. Both states struggle to keep enough water flowing.

Touring

We spent the day orienting our visiting children to Guam. This picture is with some of the historic latte stones.

Random

...Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast live from the chapel @ King's College, Cambridge on BBC4 @ 15.00 (3 p.m.) Christmas Eve -- which is 1 a.m. Christmas Day Guam time. I've always tried to listen live but this year I think I'll hunt around on the Internet for an on-demand webcast -- perhaps BBC4 will accomodate. To calculate when the live broadcast happens in your time zone use the TimeZoneConverter.com tool.

...About 70,000 holiday travelers are stuck because thick fog has shut down London's Heathrow Airport.

...In the US more than 1,000 flights were canceled because of the blizzard that shut down the Denver Airport.

...On Guam it's a beautiful breezy day (toggling between sun and rain) and the airport is open for business. Kent and Betsy should be on the ground in Honolulu right now (10:15 a.m., Friday) -- taking off in less than an hour -- scheduled to arrive here at 6:50 p.m. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have the family together this year.

Random

...It only feels like Friday. The campus is soooo deserted. I got soooo much done today.

...A group of 10 of our students left today for the PIBC vacation mission trip to Yap.

..."Virgin birth" in a species that doesn't ordinarily do parthenogenesis -- Komodo dragons.

...Guam's politicians are blaming the US government for the territory's bleak financial situation. (And it's bad.) But it's not the US's fault. More representation won't make a bit of difference in this setting. The problem is the political circus atmosphere where everybody thinks they're entitled to more and more of the pie. It's people elected to office or hired to work in important government jobs not because they have the education and background for the task but because they're from well-connected extended families. It's incompetence in GovGuam and related agencies. It's poorly written Guam laws which explode into very expensive litigation entangling the court system. Its unwillingness to raise taxes to cover expenses. It's failure of government officials to simply follow the policies and procedures they've created for themselves (everyone loves a short-cut around here). While the feds have made lots of mistakes on Guam the primary problem at this point in history is local. As Pogo put it, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Homefront

For the past week or so we've been attempting to purchase a 3-bedroom, 2-bath, first floor condo in Mangilao -- 3.3 miles from campus. It has a small porch ("lanai") that I can use for container gardening and ceramic tile throughout (helpful in a tropical climate). It's actually quite large (1,350 sq ft) and would allow us to host guests (hint, hint). This evening it appears that we've agreed on a price. Yeah! The end of our camping adventure is in sight! Here are a couple of pictures.

The sale of our house in Turlock, California appears to be on track with closing scheduled for December 29th. All the paperwork is in a FedEx plane somewhere over the Pacific.

Kirk has been with us since early early Monday morning -- just hanging out, meeting people, and seeing the sights. This afternoon we went snorkeling at Ypao Beach -- beautiful fish that come out to greet swimmers who visit their coral clusters.

Kent and Betsy arrive tomorrow evening on her 19th birthday. Yeah!

Random

...Latin Americans are immigrating to Spain in a big way. This Marketplace story confirms what our friends Rob and Nancy Reed, church planters in northwest Spain, have been saying for several years.

...A guest pastor from India commented after a Sunday service at Grace: "Dear brother, your beautiful Sunday worship service began with singing 'Let all mortal flesh keep silence,' followed by 60 minutes of uninterrupted speech." -- F Dean Lueking has a good piece on silence in worship.

...A young African man spent $16 and collected junk parts to construct a very functional windmill to generate power for his family. I love the innovative spirit exhibited in the AfriGadget.com posts.

Random

...I happened across Heroes on NBC -- truly a twisted and bizarre series -- enough so that I decided to dip into the archives to try and figure the thing out. They actually advertised on the show that all I had to do was go to the NBC website to watch full episodes. But when I went there and tried to watch they had blocked web access for "my area." What's with that?

...It's early Monday morning here. We're off to pick-up Kirk, arriving from San Francisco in a few minutes. Kent and Betsy come on Friday.

...Church website of the week -- Okay, it's a little too Texas Baptist and the website is a little too polished -- but it looks like they've got some good ministry going -- AND I like the name -- Keystone Church.

Christmas traditions

...The Gavle Jul Goat (the world's largest Christmas goat) has survived an attack by vandals intent on incineration (It's become a tradition). Meanwhile, here on Guam, our smaller but still impressive Swedish Jul Goat is safe inside our concrete bunker.

...There are signs all over Guam this month that say, "Lumot 4 sale." Since we were unfamiliar with the term Cheryl asked one of our Chamorro friends about it.

Apparently lumot is a moss which grows in the thick of the boonies and which has become the traditional bedding for the manger in the Nativity scenes which are so common on this Roman Catholic island. It's expensive but essential for a traditional set-up. Most people these days prefer to buy it than fight the mosquitoes to harvest it off the jungle rocks.

Random

...The political pettiness that drags Guam down -- exhibit #1. I've never seen anything quite like this.

...Cause for hope on Guam -- at least when it comes to cell phone service.

...No hope in sight for the electricity. It went down again tonight. This one was short -- only 25 minutes. Generally speaking we lose power about twice a week. Really not a big deal -- just save often if you're working on the computer.

...Blogging "set to peak next year" says Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer. Should I then not bother to switch to the "new Blogger"?

...No response yet on the offer we made on the condo.

Random

...Asia Times has a helpful review of Philip Jenkins new book The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South -- Amazon link

...The sale of our California house is moving forward. Contingencies closed yesterday and the escrow should close on the 29th.

...We've made an offer on a condo in Mangilao -- a few miles from PIBC -- a few blocks from Guam Community College and the University of Guam. It would be a good spot for us at this point. We should know in a day or two if the seller is serious.

...Google has launched Google Patent Search. Search through 7 million patents. That's a lot of late night reading.

...Last evening we went to the Christmas tree light and music show at the Micronesia Mall (nightly at 7, 8, and 9 p.m. for about 10 minutes). At the end Cheryl said, "That was really good, and I don't just mean, 'for Guam.'"

...Scot McKnight says that the emerging church movement suffers from "inclusion reaction." He writes, "Here's my definition of a characteristic: There is an instinct among emerging Christians to defend those who were 'othered' by evangelicals (Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, liberal Protestants) and an instinct to 'other' evangelicals, even though many emerging Christians truly are moderate or progressive evangelicals (and nervous about that term)."

I think that's a fair assessment. But there is more than just a nervousness at work. There is among many a strident (and sometimes arrogant) denial of what they are.

Chill out and enjoy the grace.

..."Convert or die"? I'm not "liberal" or "progressive" so I'm not in favor of presurring stores to remove the "Left Behind" video game. However, the game sounds as demented as the novels by the same name.

Chill out and enjoy the grace.

Random

...Biofuel breakthroughs! I am hoping that people out here in the Western Pacific -- people living on lush tropical islands -- people on relatively low incomes who are paying way too much for imported oil -- will begin to connect the dots on this story and start pumping some creative juices.

...Our grant revisions have been approved!

Random

...Things aren't going so well in the old country. Bruce Bawr points out that the murder rate in Sweden is now twice that of the US and the sense of political correctness is so strong that there can't be any real debate on immigration issues. Furthermore, government censorship isn't uncommon. At least that's how Bawr sees it.

Well, apart from a few liberal politicians (and a few children of Swedish-American immigrants with poor memories) no one thinks that Sweden is a utopia. It's way too cold there and there is way too much history to the contrary to make utopic claims. When my grandfather got on the boat and left Sweden in 1920 it wasn't primarily for economic opportunity in America.

...Bookmark: The Linux Equivalent -- database of Windows software and the Linux equivalents.

...Church website of the week: Gulfhaven Mennonite Church. This church went through Katrina and continues to provide relief ministry in the community. Nice clean website, too.

...The end of my first semester at PIBC is near and I've got a short update on our ministry blog.

...Cool. Galvanized steel fold-up house which can be assembled in five minutes. Used for emergency housing in South Africa. I can't even pitch a tent in five minutes. Probably wouldn't be very practical in a typhoon zone. (via afrigadget.com)

Going postal on Guam

Mail delivery is a hot issue on Guam these days. The main post office in Barrigada decided to close one of the windows that served the PO box holders who need to pick up packages too big to fit in their boxes -- right before the holidays. (If the USPS is seriously wanting to save money and increase efficency out here they need to hook all employees up to caffeine drips. A mere 1% increase in alacrity would save billions of dollars.) This affects lots of people because home mail delivery seems to be the exception to the rule on most of the island. Thus lots and lots of people rely on PO boxes.

The USPS answer to the congestion in the post office (besides eliminating service at the time of the year when it is most needed) is to encourage the development of more regional or neighborhood cluster boxes. That's the big money-saving direction they're trying to move things. But that's got the citizenry up in arms, too. Guamians think they should get home delivery just like people in the States get. And they're whining about it on talk radio.

They think that letter carriers should have four-wheel-drive vehicles and try to find them on all the unpaved narrow jungle roads.

Even the paved roads don't have street signs 90% of the time. And only occasionally will someone bother to put an address number on a house. In that respect Guam is not a very friendly place.

Then, of course, there are the dogs that run loose everywhere. People on Guam don't seem to care about chaining their beasts. A couple of months ago a dog caught me by surprise as I walked a few feet off campus. He attacked and bite me on the leg.

Whenever Cheryl and I go for walks in the morning we carry a big umbrella to beat off the dogs. I had to take a swing at another one yesterday. You can imagine what they'd do to someone in a post office uniform!

Guam has got to be purgatory -- or even hell -- for letter carriers. I'm surprised they haven't all gone postal.

So, home delivery doesn't make much sense here. But people feel cheated if they're not getting what people in the States get (and perhaps a little more!). What they don't seem to understand, though, is that the US postal service is moving things toward cluster boxes everywhere -- not just on Guam. Almost all newer neighborhoods in the States receive mail at cluster boxes, too. Both of our last two homes (Texas, 1989-1995; California, 1995-2006) were served through cluster boxes. They work fine. It's a good compromise.

The US postal service on Guam isn't exactly running on the most finely tuned engine -- as evidenced by the recent service cutbacks. But it does run a lot smoother than most agencies here. We need to cut them some slack and embrace the cluster box option. It may even lower our collective blood pressure level.

Random

...Surf City USA -- Cleveland, Ohio!?!? They just have to do it before Lake Erie freezes over.

...Christian vs. Christ Follower videos -- parody of the PC vs. Mac commercials. A little too stereotypical and smug -- but cute. (via UltraRev)

...Speaking of Macs -- I've got this iMac that won't shut down because a webbrowser won't close. I've tried the "force quit" approach but that always hangs up. I can manually turn off the computer but the next time it boots up the problem is there again. At least with Windows I know the voodoo necessary to get around the quirks. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with the Mac quirks. So, to further complicate my life I've saved an old PC that was headed toward the dumpster and ordered some free Ubuntu OS CDs. I want to see if I can put something together that might work for students. Any advice?

...Fuller president Richard Mouw has launched a blog. Good move. I am a bit concerned, though. It's just so antithetical to the medium to put a suit and tie picture of yourself on a blog. RICH!!!

I'd mention it to him but he forgot to switch on the comments button.

Random

...Santa Clause Saint Nicholas -- the movie! They've scheduled a Christmas Day 2007 release for Nicholas of Myra. I hope it is as good as it sounds.

...Bible boom -- sales are up -- way up -- more options out there.

...Bookmark: Ubuntu for non-geeks

...Tech trend worth watching -- "MySpace for grown-ups" -- e.g. LinkedIn.com

Random

...If they're figuring out how to turn prairie grasses into biofuel imagine what they could do on a tropical island where if you cut the grass on Saturday it's ready for harvesting again on Monday. Guam seems to be an ideal place to experiment with fuels. It costs more to import petroleum than elsewhere in the world (thus fuel costs are already outrageously high) and it's a controlled environment. That is, it would be a lot easier to require everyone on the island to switch over to biofuel than to pull that off in a place like California.

...I was listening to some of the Russian programming on KICY tonight -- not that I understood a word they said -- but the music was great.

...There is a volcano on Pagan, an island about 325 miles north of Guam, that is getting ready to erupt.

...The server which hosts the boydston.us domain will be down for maintenance between 1 and 2 a.m., Saturday (PST).

...Rick Lindholtz has a wonderful new Advent song online.

..."Good Bye Utopia, Hello Luther" -- Uwe Siemon-Netto has a great piece on the relevance of Luther's theology of two kingdoms (.pdf) -- an important discussion to have right now. I'm not sure I agree with Luther on this point. I can live with a lot of tension but at times Luther's two kingdoms theology almost creates a schizophrenic God. I'm still in process on figuring out where to land on the issue. And I think others are, too. So that's why Siemon-Netto's article is good fodder.

Random

...From NASA: Water flowing on the surface of Mars? Pictures.

...I was looking at my Google Analytics page and I discovered that less than 10% of the visitors to this site are using a dial-up connection. Over half are using Internet Explorer and about 30% use Firefox. The least popular browser is one of my favorites -- the lean and fast Opera.

...Canadian provinces are working to cork the brain drain by offering college tuition incentives. It sounds like they've got at least a few brains still at work.

...Kent is back in the US.

Advent musings

Random

...Meg, a friend of Betsy; Oski the Cal mascot; our daughter Betsy. I assume that this picture has something to do with last Saturday's victory over Stanford.

...Kent, our #2 son, who has been studying in Chile should be in the air about now -- flying back to California, where he'll stay with Kirk (our #1 son) and some friends. All three children will join us on Guam for Christmas. Kent will not be returning to UC Irvine for the winter quarter but he'll be doing an internship in Washington, DC at UCDC. Then in the spring he returns to Irvine.

...Homelessness in paradise -- an estimated 1,000 people live in tents along the 13 miles of beaches on the Waianae Coast of Oahu.

..."The richest 2% of the world owns half of the world's wealth." -- Dan Grech on Marketplace. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It depends on how they got the wealth and what they're doing with it. It is theoretically possible that some really wealthy people might be using what they have to empower and enable others. The possibility doesn't make it any less dangerous, though. Jesus said that it is easier to thread a camel through the eye of a needle than for the rich to have a place in God's enterprise. (Matthew 19:24) Still, there are some who seem to be entrusted with great wealth. That's the tension in it all.

...Has the Wal-Mart model run its course? Or is it just wishful thinking on the part of those annoyed with the machine mentality? I suspect that there is major change in the air because others have adopted the Wal-Mart distribution model. IOW, Wal-Mart is figuring out that it's going to take more than low low prices to compete.

...Durian is still at it -- at least 25 dead in Vietnam.

...Scot McKnight has taken a stab at defining what an "emerging" Christian is. How brave of him!

Happy St Nicholas Day!

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Santa Claus. December 6th is the day when the church has traditionally remembered the life and ministry of St Nicholas, bishop of Myra (modern Turkey) in the 4th century.

Random

...Researchers are focusing in on the things that people can do to feel happier.

...Childless couples and churchgoers are the happiest people according to a new British study. I'm not even going to try to touch that one.

...Keep an eye on the fortified Christmas goat (webcam link). Apparently he's become quite a target. Think of the propensity to torch him as happiness therapy for Swedish hooligans who would otherwise be suffering from SAD during these long dark days. Even plotting such a thing must increase their levels of happiness.

...Speaking of Swedes and happiness, a new poll indicates that more Swedes trust IKEA than the church. Although, the church does rate higher than the Prime Minister and Coca-Cola.

...Speaking of Swedes and insanity, there are some Americans of Swedish descent who have been trying to keep alive a tradition that involves the consumption of fetid fish. (Does anyone need more of an argument for total depravity?) There are some traditions worth maintaining -- but lutfisk probably isn't one of them. My Swedish friends have told me that most people in the old country gave it up decades ago. But I suppose if eating lye-soaked fish makes you happy... :)

...After 150 years apart there are murmurings regarding a possible remarriage of the RCA and the CRC. That would definitely be an indicator that God is still active amongst the Calvinists! :)

...Salt Lake Theological Seminary is going through a restructuring.

...Aiming to wear down the voters, another initiative to legalize slot machines on Guam has been submitted to the Guam Election Commission.

This island already has enough problems and the establishment of a gambling culture isn't going to fix one of them. To the contrary it will do more harm than good (except for the few business people who'll get rich at the expense of the poor and their children). Guam voters aren't stupid. There isn't even a lottery here. And they've already turned down the last two gambling ballot measures! What is it about NO that you don't understand?

Random

...Church website of the week -- Calvary Episcopal Church in Santa Cruz, California. My colleague from Turlock, Fr Joel Miller, has just started as the rector there.

...Bookmark: 30 open-source Windows applications.