Random

~ Jerry Falwell is asking, "Is the culture overpowering our churches?" ISTM, that the culture overpowered the churches a long time ago when we began to confuse American patriotism and civil religion with Christianity. That's much more dangerous than any cultural movement that disses the faith.

~ Global air pollution -- as seen from above.

~ Just when you think you've got everyone pegged -- Evel Knievel gave his testimony at the Crystal Cathedral, resulting in a spontaneous altar call and baptismal service -- 500-800 made commitments to Christ. After the testimony it was all outside the normally tightly scripted order of service. I wonder if they ever got around to taking the offering.

~ Also outside the box, there is a 40-Day Tent Revival in downtown Dallas that is stirring things up. Apparently the Holy Spirit never got the memo about tent revivals being out of vogue.

Random

~ "Lack of sleep can impair a person’s ability to make moral decisions." Finally, scientific justification for an immoral sluggardly life.

~ Keith Drury on the finer points of the Wesleyan understanding of sin -- and "sinless perfection" What do you think? Will the bucket hold water?

Smile and heap burning coals

Excessive friendliness is the key to unnerving bank robbers -- many of whom give up on their criminal plans. The FBI's latest strategy reminds me of Proverbs 25:21-22 -- "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you."

Or how about Luke 6:35 -- "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

Can you imagine what might happen if we applied this radical approach on a meta level in the Middle East?

On Guard!

While we're busy out here in the middle of the Pacific it is reassuring to know that our possessions, stored in our cargo container at a secret site outside Denair, California, are under the watchful eye of crack security forces -- Evan, Danika, Jared.

If they get tired of their post in front of our container, which is stored at their parent's ranch, they could probably get a job on Guam, where nearly everyone who is not somehow employed by a government entity works as a security guard -- although most out here are unarmed guards. (Even off duty police officers don't seem to carry guns.)

Random

~ Century old fish caught in Alaskan waters.

~ In spite of all the nonsense going on around the globe, the world economy will still be growing at nearly 5% this year. This suggests that there are growing opportunities for the poor. And that's the good news in the numbers.

~ Sometime today my gmail box went over the 1 gig mark. I'm now at 35%.

~ The Kodak rant (apparently a commercial produced for intra-company amusement, which has found its way onto YouTube) reminds me of the I Am a Canadian ads that Molson did a few years ago -- uses an irreverent rant to stir up latent emotions of loyalty. (via)

~ Palm is going Linux. I suspect this means that they're sucking air and grabbing onto whatever they can to survive. Will PDA's have been around long enough to make it into the history books?

~ Career opportunity -- Between 50% and 70% of the executive directors of non-profit organizations plan to retire or leave by 2010. And there isn't anyone waiting in the wings. (via)

~ MySpace has been blocking content from competitors. After seeing how MySpace has taken over our campus computers, littering the hard-drives and desktops with trash -- and some of the stuff that goes with it -- I'm already pretty annoyed with them these days.

~ Diabetics (type 1) cured by stem-cell treatment

~ Bookmark: Speed-up the disk defrag process

~ It's still dry season on Guam and there have been lots of jungle fires on the island -- smoke all over the place. Somebody needs to put Smokey the Bear on a plane and get him over here. Remember friends, ONLY YOU can prevent boonie fires!

~ My Chinese classical music station, KGCA-LP (106.9) in Tumon, had been off the air for a week. But it was back on today when I went over to the west side of the island. It sounds even stronger than it was. Perhaps the conditions were just different or maybe they made some technical adjustments. It's just nice to have them back.

~ I was in Tamuning this afternoon so that I could deliver a $133,000 check to the supplier of our computers. Last night while we were sleeping the US government transferred the money into the PIBC account so that we can buy new computers for the school. It's all a part of a USDA/RUS distance learning grant -- a project that I inherited when I arrived at PIBC. Some of the money will be used to buy new computers which will go into the computer lab on the Guam campus. Much of it will go to set up computers at our remote sites and campus.

Random

~ The earthquake on the Solomons lifted an entire island 10 feet out of the ocean -- destroying pristine coral reefs and exposing a sunken Japanese patrol boat that originally went down in WWII.

~ Are these really the top 10 theological challenges of the next 10 years?

Random

~ We have a cement shortage on Guam. If this could become a protracted problem it would raise the market value of existing homes and buildings -- most of which tend to be made of concrete, from top to bottom. Not much chance. The Taiwanese are sending us a shipment next week.

~ The global heating trend (regardless of whether it is a natural cycle or man-made phenomena) is affecting the fungi population -- longer growing seasons mean more fruit. It's got to be affecting molds and pollen producing plants, too. I'm sure allergy sufferers may already be aware of the changes. Global warming starts to hit home.

~ For the first time a greater percentage of women use the Internet than men.

~ Bookmark: Kuler for color schemes

~ Rich Mouw on how he moved toward a more "open" understanding of the Lord's Supper: "... but I still had to get past the I Corinthians 11 passage about eating and drinking unworthily, which had been so prominent in my upbringing. When I actually studied the passage in its context, I made my peace. Paul begins by chiding the members of Corinth for making a gluttonous meal out of it. They were overeating, and even getting drunk on the wine. It is with that in mind that he tells them that they are treating as if it were just another meal, and by not approaching the Lord’s Supper with respect they are risking judgment. There is nothing in what Paul says that would suggest that an honest seeker who is drawn to the Table without yet having a well-formed faith will be damned for partaking."

Random

~ Pope Benedict XVI might be quietly pushing behind the scenes for an end to the priestly celibacy rule. It is possible. But he's steering such a big clunky ship that I'm not sure he could make such a radical mid-course correction -- even if he spotted a giant iceberg in the path and was determined that something needed to be done. There are too many forces working against him -- and at 80-years-old he only has a few years at most to do anything.

~ Clad in street clothes, a world class violinist takes a Strad into the Washington Metro, opens the case for donations, and plays for 45 minutes. You can imagine the response. Not only is this an interesting scenario but it is a well told story. I would like my preaching students to read it so they could sense the way that the writer unpacks the tension -- slowly, line by line, person by person. I suspect that most of my students wouldn't know what a Metro is -- and they'd certainly not understand that Joshua Bell's Stradivarius really cost $3.5 million. But maybe they're not all that different.

~ Cartoonist Johnny Hart has died. Occasionally, his Christian themed cartoons created a stir.

Random

~ I've decided that I need a new baseball team to follow. And just to make it all a little more interesting I'm looking for something in the Japanese League -- Pro Yakyu. I'm inclined to go with the Yomiuri Giants, the oldest and most successful team. Besides, the uniforms look vaguely familiar to this San Francisco Bay Area boy. But I'm still not committed, yet. Any advice?

~ Marine conservationists have hooked up a "chat line" between two dolphin habitats. It's not as wacko as it first sounds. Actually, it's a very creative solution (hopefully) to an interesting problem.

~ This is a bit more wacko -- a Bluetooth banana. I'd like to know which ringtones are recommended for bananas.

~ This year marks the 550 anniversary of the founding of the Moravian Church. Those of us in the Evangelical Covenant Church note that we emerged out of the Pietistic movement in Swedish Lutheranism -- with influence from Moravian missionaries. IOW, a lot of our history is tied up with their history.

~ One of the great Moravian traditions is the Easter sunrise service, which is now common in other churches, too -- although most don't have the same flair. In the Moravian tradition the church band marches through the graveyard at sunrise, playing Easter hymns, marking Christ's victory, and taunting the graveyard with the reality of its ultimate demise.

~ This morning we went to the Easter sunrise service that the Guam United Methodist Church held on a beach in Yona. That was a first for us -- sunrise over the Pacific (see picture).

Easter sunset on the other side of the island was equally spectacular. This is a beautiful place to live.

~ Dallas Theological Seminary is offering a retreat for pastor's wives. I don't suppose they're going to follow that up with one for pastor's husbands. Nah -- probably not.

Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

2007 is one of those years when the Eastern Church and the Western Church celebrate Easter/Pascha on the same day. Eventually we may all get on the same calendar. But we do already have the same liturgical greeting. Regardless of language it is the same. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Al Maseeh qam!
Haqqan qam! - Arabic

Qristos haryal y merelotz!
Haverzh ordnyal harutiune Qristosy! - Armenian

Krishti Ungjall!
Vertete Ungjall! - Albanian

Helisituosi fuhuole.
Queshi fuhuole. - Chinese

Kristus vstal zmrtvy'ch!
Skutec~ne~ vstal! - Czech

Christ is Risen!
He is Risen, indeed! - English

Crist is arisen!
Arisen he sothe! - Chaucerean Middle English

Christos T'ensah Em' Muhtan!
Exai' Ab-her Eokala! - Ethiopian

Kristus nousi kuolleista!
Totisesti nousi! - Finnish

Taw Creest Ereen!
Taw Shay Ereen Guhdyne! - Gaelic

Christus ist Auferstanden!!!
Wahrhaft auferstanden! - German

Christ ist Erstanden!
Wahrlicht Erstanden! - German

Christos Anesti!
Alithos Anesti! - Greek

Ha-Mashiah qom!
Be-emet qom! - Hebrew

Kristur reis upp!
Sannlega reis han upp! - Icelandic

Krestos a uprisin!
Seen, him a uprisin fe tru! - Iyaric Patw

Harisutosu Fukkatsu!
Jitsu Ni Fukkatsu! - Japanese

Kristo Gesso!
Buhar ha sho Nay! - Korean

Christus resurrexit!
Vere resurrexit! - Latin

Christus er Oppstanden!
Sandelig Han er Oppstanden! - Norwegian

Chrystus zmartwychwstal!
Zmartwychwstal prawdziwie! - Polish

Christos a Inviat!
Adeverat a Inviat! - Roumanian

Christos voskres!
Voistinu voskres! - Russian

Christos aftooun.
alethos aftooun. - Sahidic Coptic

Kristo'pastitaha,
Satvam Upastitaha! - Sanskrit

Christos Voskrese!
Voistinu Voskrese! - Church Slavonic

Kristus vstal zmr'tvych!
Skutoc~ne vstal! - Slovak

Cristo esta resucitado!
En verdad, esta resucitado! - Spanish

Meshiha qam!
Bashrira qam! - Syriac

Kristos Ame Fu Fuka!
Kweli Ame Fu Fuka! - Swahili

Kristus ar Upstanden!
Sannerligen Upstanden! - Swedish

Christ est ressuscite !
En verite il est ressuscite ! - French

Ukristu Uvukile!
Uvukile Kuphela! - Zulu

Random

~ Google has launched a free 411 (information) service that you access by dialing an 800 number and then answering computer generated questions. Unfortunately, this service isn't yet available on Guam. I suspect that we'll be on the top of the list, though, once they move it from the lab to beta.

~ Kent has a new part-time job as a government affairs/communications intern with the Building Industry Association of Orange County. He is a poli-sci major at UC Irvine. I just never imagined that anyone in my family could ever get a construction job. Alright Kent!

~ Cheryl and I have been helping with the music leadership during the "contemporary" service at the Lutheran Church of Guam. Next Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, we're supposed to lead the congregation in singing Kirk Franklin's song He Reigns. We'll probably do it just like he does it -- more or less -- probably a lot less -- although it would be great to have more. Lutheranism ain't what it used to be.

~ Democrats in the Michigan State House of Representatives have introduced legislation that would provide a free iPod (or other MP3 player) for every child in the state. I do like the innovative spirit of that state. But can you imagine the liability on this, when in 10 years those children are old enough to start suing the state over their hearing loss issues? Give them access to computers. Most MP3 files never make it off computers onto iPods anyway.

Paradise Trashed

I know that the Guam Visitors Bureau isn't going to like me mentioning this but here it goes anyway -- Guam is paradise trashed.

Many people don't really take care of their property. They care even less about the property of others and they tend to dump their garbage anywhere and everywhere -- including along the roadsides. There are abandoned rusting car shells on almost every street -- no exaggeration.

Occasionally the tourist industry applies a little pressure and someone gets a bee in their bonnet to clean it all up. We're in that phase right now.

So, yesterday there where tractors and a flatbed semi-truck on the road where PIBC is located in Mangilao. This is a part of an island-wide sweep to collect aging boonie cars from the roadsides.

They had 'em piled up high on the back of that trailer when it drove off yesterday afternoon. It was truly a beautiful sight.

I went to campus this afternoon and as I drove up, looking down the road, lo and behold, no surprise, I noticed that a new old boonie car has appeared in the approximate place where the old wrecks had been before they were hauled off yesterday.

Part of the problem is that people have come to expect this free clean-up service to be provided by the nearly bankrupt government. And GovGuam enables this entitlement mentality. Why not just abandon your dead car on the roadside? If you care, you know that the government will eventually come by to pick it all up.

So, here is my solution. Governor Camacho, I hope you're reading this because it will also solve most (if not all) of GovGuam's financial woes -- very very quickly. It's not complicated. Dispatch a police officer to photograph each abandoned car as evidence (you can borrow my digital camera if you need it) and to document the VIN number. Then slap the last registered owner of the car with a $3,000 mega-gross-littering fine. Put these cases high on the docket so you can generate the income to keep the courtroom doors open -- and so you can continue to milk this cash cow.

BTW, Mr Governor, I've got other low-investment high-return options that could relieve your throbbing head of that incessant financial aching. I'm easy to find. And the littering fine idea is a freebie.

Random

A lot of interesting tidbits came up on my radar today -- which is Friday out here "where America's day begins" but is still Thursday in most of the US. I suspect that people just had a lot to say before taking a long Easter weekend.

~ The Seattle P-I has a really fine summary of the issues associated with the current wave of teens/20's -- learning style, consumer habits, affect of ever-changing waves of technology -- "'Millennials' thrive on choice, instant results."

~ Forbes has a new list of best places for businesses and careers. Many of them are very livable places, too. Notably absent are California cities -- although Santa Ana shows up as #70 in the major metro list and Redding as #126 in the small cities list.

~ High-tech instruction does not lead to higher scores in science and math, according to a new study.

~ "The Big Dry" -- Australia is in the midst of a major drought.

~ This bodes well for all --
+ A record 57,318 high school seniors have been admitted to the University of California as freshman for the 2007-2008 school year
+ that's a 3.8% increase over last year
+ high school grade-point average of 3.79
+ average 590 on each test of the SAT and 25 on the ACT
+ admissions for Black and Hispanic students are up by 10%
+ Blacks, American Indians, and Latinos constitute nearly 23% of fall 2007 admissions
+ 38% of admitted freshmen are from families where neither parent has a four-year degree
+ about 35% come from low-income families

~ Just when you thought that the dorky Bluetooth ear attachment is the most Borg looking thing out there, along comes Ear-Lite, the flashlight that attaches to your ear. Battery life of 18 hours! So, when you're trying to figure out what to get everyone for Christmas... they're only 7 US bucks.

~ Rumor has it that researchers in New Zealand have discovered a dye that can be used in solar cells -- producing electricity at a fraction of the cost of current silicon-based solar cells.

Good Friday!

This 16th century altar painting by Lucas Cranach (the elder) explains why it is called "Good."

Can you identify all the characters and activity depicted?

Click on the pic for bigger view.

The painting is in Stadtkirche (city church) at Weimar, Germany.

Random

~ High flying wind farms -- using kites to generate electricity. Ben Franklin's theory taken up a notch -- or two or three... Looks good on paper. Article in the Economist

~ A bishop in the Episcopal Church USA has joined the Roman Catholic Church.

~ Betsy drove by our old house in Turlock last weekend. The new owners have cut down the two live oak trees I planted when we first moved in. Some people just don't understand the value of trees. Shade keeps the house cooler in the summer. The trees purify the surrounding air -- and they provide places for birds to hang-out -- the latter of which may be why they cut the trees down. If you're going to have lots of birds around you have to clean-up after them. Oh well.

~ The local headline reads "Emergency beach rescue leaves man in critical condition" -- which makes it sound like the poor fellow was victimized by his rescuers. He wasn't.

~ Wal-Mart is recreating itself into a personal improvement association for its employees.

Agnus Day for Easter Sunday

Click on comic for the larger version.

Based on the Easter Sunday Gospel reading, John 20:1-18.

Agnus Day, the Lectionary comic strip.

Random

~ Slideshow of contemporary Holy Week art from CT. It's definitely worth a visit.

~ Researchers have come up with a way to change type A, B, and AB blood into universal type O -- which is the blood type most in demand.

~ A French ISP bundles a computer in with its services -- and it's a Linux box. Interesting.

~ The Internet has killed the term paper.

Random

~ How about earning your master's in MySpace? The University of Michigan is now offering a master of science in information degree in "social computing."

~ Mollie Ziegler has a nice little piece on the intersection of journalism and religious reporting -- especially as it pertains to the debate between Mormons and Trinitarian Christians. A fine short summary of the issues.

~ Day of Discovery -- Steve Sillett and Michael Taylor discovered a previously unknown grove of titan Redwoods that "exists at the bottom of a hidden, notchlike valley deep in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park." The exact location is still a guarded secret. The story of discovery is fascinating. [via]

~ "Clues are still turning up 70 years after Amelia Earhart disappeared"

Random

~ They are building a Home Depot on Guam. So far there's nothing more to it than a cement slab -- but the first shoplifters have already been arrested.

~ Even if the typhoon warning is canceled perhaps we'll get a little rain out of the system - if we're lucky. The very thought of a typhoon knocked power off in some parts of Guam.

~ The Rise and Fall of Starbucks -- lessons for churches.

Storm update

As of 10 a.m. this morning Tropical Storm Kong-Rey was about 350 miles southeast of Guam -- still heading northwest. If it stays the current course the eye of the storm should cross over Rota in the middle of the night. Rota is the island about 40 miles north of us.

It is now expected that the storm will reach typhoon strength later today -- before it hits the Marianas (the group of islands of which Guam is the largest and most southern).

People are boarding up their windows or sliding in their typhoon panels. Two weeks ago we had accordion-style typhoon shutters installed at our house. It took about 3 minutes this morning to close and and lock them. I also moved the potted plants into our all-concrete condo from the patio. The preparation is amazingly simple if you're set-up for it.

The name Kong-Rey was submitted by Cambodia to the regional committee assigned with the task of naming tropical storms. Kong-Rey is the name of a pretty girl in a Khmer legend. There is also a mountain with the same name. It is the first storm name assigned in the 2007 season.

In the midst of all of this we were also under a tsunami watch for awhile this morning following a major earthquake on the Solomons. They got hit with a wave but we didn't.

Never a dull moment out here.

UPDATE: 2:15 p.m., Monday -- Tropical Storm Kong-Rey is now officially Typhoon Kong-Rey. It appears more and more like the center of the storm will pass slightly to the northeast of Guam -- still lots of rain and wind -- but perhaps Guam will be spared the brunt of the storm. Saipan, on the other hand, is right in the path for a direct hit. But it could all change rather quickly.

UPDATE 10:30 P.M., Monday -- The center of Typhoon Kong-Rey has passed to the east and the typhoon warning is canceled. No damaging winds are expected. Saipan could still get something out of this but I think they'll be spared, too. At the very least it was a good drill.

Random

~ Another war means another wave of military-generated slang entering the language.

~ It's April 1st -- so we shouldn't be surprised that Google has a new release today -- Gmail paper.

~ No joke. The USPS is issuing a 90 cent stamp featuring Guam.

Typhoon Warning

[9 p.m., Sunday] Tropical Storm Kong-Rey is not yet a typhoon but the weather gurus are convinced enough that it will soon be so that they've issued a typhoon warning for Guam and the Marianas.

If the storm stays on the current trajectory (storms seem to have a mind of their own) the eye will pass just north of Guam but we'll get plenty of wind and rain. Thus we are now at civilian COR 3 ("condition of readiness 3" -- the military uses similar terminology but with different benchmarks).

Typhoons are the same as hurricanes. When they form in the Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific they are called hurricanes. When they form in the Western Pacific they are called typhoons.

Currently it is fairly calm on Guam -- a little cloudy but just the normal ocean breezes. The only indicators that the storm is approaching is that a few people have started putting up storm shutters and there was a run on D-size batteries at K-Mart -- but no lines this afternoon. I heard that there was a line at the gas station on Andersen Air Force Base. No one seems terribly concerned. Typhoons are pretty routine for those who have lived in the Marianas for any length of time. Two or three a year seem to hit Guam every year.

UPDATE: 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Guam Civil Defense just sent a text message to my cell phone saying that we're now at COR 2. Kudos to the CD people for getting the text message system operational.

Typhoon Watch

[8:20 a.m., Sunday] The storm now has a name -- Tropical Storm Kong-Rey. It's headed this way and could become Typhoon Kong-Rey. Thus we're under a typhoon watch on Guam. ("Watch" means that it is a high possibility. A "warning" -- which is not what we're under right now -- is a higher state of possibility and thus readiness.)

Random

~ There is a tropical depression developing west of Pohnpei which is expected to bring heavy storm conditions to Guam on Monday or Tuesday.

We could use some rain right now because we're in the "dry season." That means it only rains once or twice a day -- and usually briefly. The soil is so shallow and rocky that plants dry up really quickly without a significant daily drenching. There have been lots of boonie fires on the island for the past few days. So I'm sure some rain will be welcome. But what they are predicting could bring flood conditions.

~ Visits to "religious" websites have "dropped over 30% within the last year, down 35% the last two years..." More from a recent Time article, "Visits to the top 1200 religious sites in the U.S. accounted for only .18% of all Internet visits for the week ending March 10, 2007. To put that in perspective, there are over 60 visits to adult sites for every one religious website visit."

~ Mexican elementary schools are buying into high-tech teaching in a muy grande way.

~ Is technology making cities obsolete?

~ There is a TNIV search button available for the Google toolbar. If you have the toolbar functioning on your browser go to tniv.info and it should automatically ask you if you want the button installed. If it doesn't happen automatically try doing a Bible search from that site to see if that prompts the request.

PIBC Days 2007

We're having PIBC Days on the Guam campus March 31st-April 2nd. Students and staff have been divided into three teams for several types of competition. There are also special worship services. It's all planned by the students.

I've put a few pictures online

Peter Vaas has pictures, too

Random

~ General Motors is going to unveil three new minicar concepts. Customers will be able to vote for the one they like the best. What a novel concept -- asking customers what they like. I'm all for doing whatever it takes to give these gas-sipping mini's a chance to take root in our bigger-is-better culture.

Pictured is the Chevy Trax. I think he's smiling at me.

~ The rest of the story -- Curt Peterson fills in some of the wild details about the experience he had with travel mate Roger Thorpe when they were caught in the crossfire during an uprising last week in Kinshasa, DRC. Incredible story.

~ American Universities are looking to establish satellite campuses in India. That's one way to deal with the Homeland Security barriers which are making it more difficult for foreign students to study in the US.

~ Dayspring Center for Christian Studies in Boulder, Colorado is morphing into Rivendell College. Perhaps their football team will be called the Fighting Rivendell Hobbits! They have an interesting faculty -- none of whom look too elfish.

~ PIBC will be offering seminary-level classes on the Guam campus, starting in the fall.

~ Air travel to double by 2025?

~ Senior adults have more than their share of gambling related problems.

~ Worth your attention: Scot McKnight's “mistakes missional gospel folks need to avoid.”

Random

~ San Francisco has banned plastic grocery bags -- hoping to save 450,000 gallons of oil a year and to spare landfills of 1,400 tons of debris annually.

~ China Golf lists Guam as the #3 golfing destination.

~ Bruce Wallace's bicycle was stolen in Tokyo. Fun and culturally revealing LA Times story of how the police apprehended the thief and returned it.

~ If you're looking for an Internet related job you might not want to put a hotmail address on your resume.

~ We're #7! Sweden is #2 -- right behind Denmark(!). Even the Netherlands is doing better in IT development than the US. Does this mean we're doing less or that they're doing more?

~ Funny Church moments video.

~ Which house is more eco-friendly -- that of George W Bush or Al Gore? Not that I'm much of a Bush fan, but wasn't it Al Gore who produced An Inconvenient Truth -- the movie on global warming? Perhaps even greater than the global warming crisis is the crisis of credibility.

Palm Sunday humor

Cartoon for this coming Sunday from Agnus Day

Random

~~ Kent made it back to Irvine after being gone for over 9 months. He was in Chile and then Washington, DC. I think he's ready to hang-out with some other anteaters for awhile.

~~ Yahoo Mail is rolling out "unlimited" email storage in a couple of months. Now Google's Gmail is going to have to play catch-up. The email war continues -- and we're the winners!

~~ Siberia, the next Silicon Valley? In the US the reason that the San Francisco Bay Area became the original Silicon Valley was that it was a desirable place to live -- great climate, metropolitan environment, relatively clean, proximity to educational and lifestyle resources. Why would innovators gravitate toward Siberia? Old empty Soviet buildings and electronic equipment? I have my doubts.

~~ The millionaire lifestyle just ain't what it used to be.

~~ New day -- new mission strategy -- North Park Seminary grads ending up in new old places.
~~ It's been great hanging out with the Lutherans during our time on Guam. They have some traditions which are worthy of imitation and adaptation. For example, during the season of Lent they often have a simple meal (soup potluck) each Wednesday evening. The Lutheran Church of Guam is no exception. After eating we've been gathering to sing the Holden Evening Prayer (composed by Marty Haugen). It's beautiful and singable and outside the Lutheran clan few people seem aware of it. Eclectic is fun.

+ Audio sample of the Litany

+ Audio sample of the Annunciation/Magnificat

+ Audio sample of Psalm 141

+ Audio sample of Evening Thanksgiving

The IVP Introduction to the Bible

I received in the post today a copy of The IVP Introduction to the Bible edited by Philip S Johnston. This is a wonderful Bible intro, academically challenging and fairly comprehensive for 277 pages -- yet very very readable. Where technical language is used it is explained plainly and simply.

This is a book that might be used in a college-level Bible overview class (which I only reluctantly say lest someone think it is another horribly boring textbook or that you have to be in some kind of class to read it). But it is not so academic as to avoid practical application.

There is an all-star line-up of contributors: Desmond Alexander, Jamie Grant, Philip Johnston, Tremper Longman III, Ernest Lucas, Howard Marshall, Carl Mosser, Ian Paul, Brian Rosner, and Mark Strauss.

I love books which can take the deep and complex, and summarize it all in simple and readable language without compromising the message.

Random

~~ The Internet has changed how Americans respond to words. This means that copy writers are having to rethink their craft.

Ad guru Roy Williams: "Here's what I've discovered, tested and proved:

1: Internet surfing has trained us to disregard empty words.
2: Relevance has become more important than repetition.

Bottom line: Meaningful messages are working better than ever, especially when the fundamental premise of your ad is clearly stated in the opening line. Ads full of unsupported claims and overworked "image-building" phrases are being rejected before they ever enter the brain. So say what matters. Say it tight, say it true.

The audience is still there. What's gone is their willingness to pay attention to drivel...

Creativity and repetition can no longer cover up the fact that an advertiser has nothing to say. You've got to have a message that matters."

Yet another positive effect of the Internet.

~~ Using YouTube to sell homes.

~~ We're having a little contest at PIBC, hoping the students will put together some YouTube blockbusters to help us "sell" the school.

~~ Other viewing wonders -- Car 54 reruns. Isn't the Internet wonderful! (As silly as that show was back in the early '60's there was some rich comedy and superb timing in there -- and the camera angles were cutting edge.)

~~ Who gets to control the price of products on the market -- the retailers or the manufacturers? The Supreme Court is working on that problem. If they call me in to testify, I'll tell them that the market itself should control the price.

~~ They are a couple of weeks behind on garbage collection throughout much of Guam because the garbage truck broke down again. Fortunately, our condo complex is exempt from GovGuam trash collection. We have a dumpster and contract with a private collector who consistently shows up and hauls it all away three times a week.

~~ Kodak has come out with an inkjet printer that cuts ink costs in half. But before you run out to buy -- there are other printer innovations on the cusp. Sweet!

~~ Sugar powered fuel cells. Really sweet!

Random

~~ Happy Birthday, Mom! In honor of your birthday we went snorkeling this afternoon.

~~ Ultra-mini PC's -- they're getting closer to figuring out what actually works -- but not close enough -- yet.

Random

~~ Tammy Faye, as in Tammy Faye Baker, television religion personality, flamboyant, big hair, etc. -- is receiving hospice care. She has cancer. Might she experience God's generous peace!

~~ A Japanese billionaire is opening eight of his multi-million dollar mansions to homeless native Hawaiian families. His neighbors aren't too happy about it.

~~ I miss In-N-Out.

Curt & Roger reported to be safe

Curt Peterson, executive minister of the Covenant's Department of World Mission, and Dr Roger Thorpe, retired Covenant medical missionary, were in the wrong place at the wrong time yesterday. They were in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, when fighting broke out.

Their plane was not allowed to leave the airport and they ended up seeking refuge in a compound in the city. Somewhere in all of their movement Roger's wallet was apparently stolen. But they are safe and have gotten a message to the American Embassy regarding their situation. The latest word is that UN peacekeeping troops will be dispatched to pick them up once the fighting dies down.

Two other Covenant leaders, Harvey Drake, pastor of the Emerald City Bible Fellowship in Seattle, and missionary Keith Gustafson were still in Karawa when the fighting broke out. Instead of flying to Kinshasa to catch a plane out of the country they are now en route to Bangui in the Central African Republic, a 12-hour drive over rutted roads.

The four Americans were in Congo to participate in a pastors' conference.

Updates will be posted on the Covenant website, CovChurch.org.

UPDATE: Don Johnson has a little more info.

UPDATE #2: Everyone appears safe. At last report Curt and Roger were getting onto an Air France plane. Keith and Harvey had made it to Bangui.

Random

~~ Only 10% of Indians have health insurance. "Micro-insurance" is increasing that figure. Interesting concept.

~~ New good news on our mission blog.

~~ Diet Coke is getting healthy. Pepsi can't be jogging too far behind on this one. But really, I'm not looking for a health advantage in a soft drink. (I'm one of the guys who refuses the free "boost" at Jamba Juice.) I eat lots and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables for that stuff. All I ask of a soda is that it taste good and that it not contribute to my girth.

~~ McDonald's is trying to get dictionaries to drop the word "McJob." Whether it is fair or not, the term IS frequently used to refer to a crummy low-paying job. The mission of a dictionary is to provide a reference describing how the language is being used -- regardless of fairness. I can understand why McDonald's would be upset. But the only way that they're going to win this one is if they bend over backwards to disassociate themselves from crummy low-paying jobs.

Random

~~ Kurt Fredrickson and Eddie Gibbs have a new blog -- The Church Then and Now. From thier site introduction: "The ongoing conversations surrounding emergent and missional churches have highlighted the need to re-establish the connection between ecclesiology and missiology. During the centuries dominated by a Christendom mentality, the two have become disconnected largely because of the prevailing mindset that mission was for 'heathen lands afar,' rather than for the Western church’s immediate context. Thankfully that misconception is fast fading, leading to the recognition that the church must recognize itself as the product of mission before it can become the agent of mission."

Echoes of Leslie Newbigin.

~~ The Pacific Islands Report is saying today that 50% of the population of Papua New Guinea has Tuberculosis (TB) -- and it's spreading.

~~ We're having trouble getting the router to talk to the new DSL modem in the PIBC library. The DSL tech support doesn't support anything in beyond their modem. And everything we try isn't working. Maybe it will fix itself. We set up Ubuntu on an old PC in the computer lab so that students could play with something Linux. But we couldn't get it to connect to the Internet. So we left it sitting there a few days. I switched it on this morning and it was connected.

Traveling Team video

Dave took some video of the PIBC Traveling Team at the Lutheran Church of Guam last Sunday. This is a song that they were trying to teach the kids during the children's sermon. Some people who have seen this clip see the guy popping in on the left side -- the guy with the facial hair that looks like mine -- and they think that it's me. But it's really Pastor Jeff Johnson who grew the chin hair so he could look like me. The video is 62 seconds long.

Random

~~ Dunkin' Donuts is giving away free iced coffee today. At that price even I might be willing to try it (I'm not a coffee drinker). However, no DD on Guam. Ruby Tuesdays and Chili's are on the way, though. We can expect more generic American restaurants with the relocation of the III Marine Expeditionary Force from Okinawa, which starts next year.

~~ Our new accordion typhoon shutters were installed over all our windows and doors today. So our concrete bunker condo is now ready for typhoon season, which generally starts in April or May and ends in November or December (although typhoons have been known to ignore the seasonal designations). Fortunately, last season all the major tropical storms skirted past Guam, which is smack in the middle of typhoon alley.

~~ It appears that I am the only regular PIBC faculty member who will be left on Guam for the summer. That means I get to teach THE summer session class. I will probably teach world religions.

Random

~~ There are now a few limited themes available for the personalized version of the Google start page. The version I've got up on mine changes with the time of day.

~~ If I could wish for anything from the Google Genie right now it would be for the ability to use multiple signatures within Gmail. (Yes, I know that there is a Greasemoney script you can use within Firefox that is supposed to do that. But it is clunky, hard to set up, and doesn't work right for me all the time.) I've totally abandoned Eudora and am using Gmail exclusively for all my accounts. So my email needs have grown.

~~ It appears that Google is gradually increasing the storage on Gmail accounts to 3.5 gigs. This is good because I'm already at 33% of my 2,830 megs. Early on they said I'd never have to delete a thing. They actually made the delete button hard to find -- early on. Now, I think they're having second thoughts on that strategy. Who out there has the greatest % of their current Gmail space in use?

~~ The German Church is in decline. The proposed solutions don't really deal with the heart of the matter.

~~ Newspapers are dropping their religion sections. Martin Marty has some thoughts on that decline.

~~ Now for some really good news -- Christian Churches Together takes off.

Random

~~ In the pipes -- a whole new city in California to be constructed on Tejon Ranch, north of LA, south of Bakersfield. Tejon Ranch, as most Californians know, is huge (426 square miles). It was established in 1842, through a land grant, when California was more a part of Mexico than it is now. Construction on Centennial, California is expected to begin in 2008.

~~ Kent is back in California after his winter quarter internship through UCDC in Washington, DC. He'll be staying with Kirk in San Francisco for a few days -- visiting in Turlock for a bit -- and then heading south for the spring quarter at UC Irvine. I'm sure he's ready to be back there after spending the fall quarter in Chile. One of the necessary tasks before heading to SoCal is to find a car for him. Dale and Amy Phillips are helping us with that. Bless them!

~~ The Guam haze, which looks a lot like LA in the 70's, finally blew out to sea this afternoon and we were able to get in a walk around the university campus. One NWS forcaster says that we should expect the haze to become a regular seasonal phenomena because of slash and burn practices in Indonesia and the increasing pollution levels in China. There's nowhere on the planet to hide!

~~ Speaking of haze, unable to take "no" for an answer in the last election, a gambling initiative will probably be on the ballot again next time -- for the third time. The idea of a quick-fix short-cut to economic development is so appealing to some Guamanians that they're like a boonie dog with a bone.

People may be more predisposed to vote for such nonsense this time because of the dismal financial situation the government is in (Mismanagement or corruption? Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between the two.). I don't know, though. This island doesn't even have a lottery. And the Catholic churches don't run Bingo operations here. Gambling, unlike its twin, alcohol, is a hard sell here.

~~ Generally speaking, I work from the home office on Mondays. Today I got the sermon evaluations done for preaching class and did the more in depth class plan for tomorrow's soteriology class. We're going to be talking about conversion -- comparing and contrasting Calvinism and Arminianism. Should be fun. I'm still new at this teaching thing so the novelty of the academic routine hasn't worn off, yet.

Random

~~ This afternoon Cheryl and I joined the group from the Lutheran Church of Guam to cruise "the mighty Talofofo River." Along the way we stopped at the ruins of an ancient Chamorro village. The beauty of Guam isn't limited to the coast. But it was really hazy today -- unusual for Guam, where other than on a few random days during the past few weeks, the air is really clean. Apparently the tradewinds are bringing smoke from fires in Asia. Strange. We're thousands and thousands of miles from anywhere and yet still affected by what goes on beyond. See the slideshow.

~~ Keith Drury on why we shouldn't ordain women. If you miss the point, his tongue is firmly planted in his cheek. (His denomination, the Wesleyan Church, has been ordaining women for the past 140 years.)

~~ Free land in Alaska -- application.

Random

~~ Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

~~ Andrew Careaga has retired his blog, bloggedy blog, after 5 years online.

~~ More transition -- Paul Hiebert, who taught missiology at Fuller when I was there in the 80's, has died. He had been a missionary in India.

~~ Hey soteriology students! David Fitch has a nice concise summary of penal substitutionary atonement and justification by faith as understood by the "new perspective on Paul" people. It's a part of his own discussion of salvation and God's justice/righteousness -- which is worth a read. Yes, it could be on the quiz. That's always a possibility.

~~ We're making progress. The spare bedroom is ready for guests. All four of the ceiling fans have been hung. I've assembled the eighth and last (I hope) bookcase. Some of our pictures are starting to appear on the walls. We've bought some area rugs. We're even going to sign a contract for the installation of typhoon shutters on Monday. I forgot to mention on Wednesday that I got the first fruit off one of my two potted tomato plants. God is good.

~~ Zondervan seems to be acknowledging that there is a glut of Bible editions on the bookstore shelves. Interesting. They do seem to be committed to the long-term support of the TNIV. That's good news. Thanks to Rick Mansfield for nudging Zondervan on some of the issues that have many of us wondering if they were orphaning the translation through neglect.

~~ "Mike Strizki lives in the nation's first solar-hydrogen house." See, it's not impossible. And he pays $0.00 for electricity. Of course, the up front expense on his home improvement project is ahhhhh little more than most of us can handle.

Random

~~ Fuller Theological Seminary now has a podcast collection -- chapels, lectures, etc -- light years behind Dallas Theological Seminary (in Internet media development) but at least they're getting there.

~~ Speaking of podcasts, my friend Steve Bilynskyj, pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon, podcasts his sermons. Steve is solid but not slick. He's just enough of a curmudgeon to keep from getting sucked into the fad of the day. He, however, is also positive in disposition and has a knack for addressing issues at the core.

~~ I found a new radio station on Guam -- at least new to me. KGCA-LP (106.9) is a low power station in Tumon. We can't get it in Mangilao -- and that's probably why I hadn't found it before. Their format is classical Japanese music. They must be trying to appeal to tourists -- although most of the Japanese tourists on Guam seem to be 20- and 30-somethings. I'd be surprised if they listen much to that stuff. I enjoyed what I heard, though. Of course, I'm a bit of a xenophile.

~~ Counterintuitive: "Researchers at the Yale School of Management say a business can potentially increase its market share by referring customers to competitors via blogs and other social media tools."

~~ Philips Lighting, the world's largest maker of lightbulbs, plans to phase out the old-fashioned incandescent light bulb. My sense is that the number one obstacle, after price, to mass adoption of the newer technology is the way the new twisted florescent bulbs look -- unfinished.

~~ Scot McKnight on the emerging church movement: "The emerging movement, no matter how many times I say this it doesn’t seem to convince many, is not a movement rooted in a set of doctrines. It is theological, but not the way either Liberalism or Evangelicalism are. It’s biggest fear is centralization of power and authority."

~~ Rick Mansfield has a first look at the upcoming TNIV Reference Bible.

~~ Cheryl whipped up some calamansi frosting to put on the shamrock sugar cookies she made this afternoon. Wow. Now that's something which would have never been on our radar screen BG (before Guam).

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
and may calamansi frosting become a part of your
St Patrick's Day tradition.
-- Traditional Irish Blessing (with a tropical Island twist)

Tuition increase

They're raising UC tuition 7% next year -- the fifth raise in 6 years. The cost of undergrad tuition in the University of California has gone up 92% since the 2001-02 school year. We've got to hurry up and get our remaining college students out before the whole thing implodes. Kent is a third year student at UC Irvine and Betsy is in her first year at UC Berkeley. Undergrad tuition next year will be about $6,570.

I have not heard of any planned tuition increases for PIBC. Tuition for most students is about $3,000 per year (with the Liebenzell scholarship that I think pretty much everyone gets). To put things in perspective, tuition at the University of Guam -- just a few miles from us -- is $4,290 per year. I think that nearly every single PIBC student funds his or her education through Pell Grants (the form of financial aid for the most needy of students). IOW, we're not likely to be able to raise tuition until the US government approves more Pell funding. There is just no way that our students could come up with more -- unless we allowed them to pay for tuition with coconuts and fish.

Shift Happens

Dave Owen pointed me to this. It's worth 6 minutes of your time to at least get a sense of the magnitude of the current global shift.