I'm Reviewing a New Book

Tim Stevens, the executive pastor at Granger Community Church, has written a new book titled Pop Goes the Church: Should the Church Engage Pop Culture? Tim posted on his blog, asking for 10 leaders willing to read his book, and review it. I applied and I was selected.

I'm super pumped.
I will be posting more about the book as I'm reading it, but I can't quote any parts of it.

Also my name will be mentioned in the book.



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If It Don't Make Dollars, Then It Don't Make Cents

Pastor shared this thought the other day.
That the things we buy, cost money, and we get money by working, which involves our time.
So before you buy something, think about how much time you had to work to pay for that item.

I thought i would figure up how much stuff i normally buy would cost, in time.
I will use the federal minumum wage is ($5.85), instead of my hourly rate.
I'm on salary, and I learned long ago as a pastor to never figure up what you make an hour.

Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock - $50 or 8hrs 32mins
Starbucks Carmel Apple Cider - $4 or 40 mins
iTunes Music Album - $10 or 1hr 42mins
Monthly Verizon Cell Service - $100 or 17hrs 5mins
Ford Escort Tank of Gas - $36 or 6hrs 9mins
Yahama Scooter Tank of Gas - $2.50 or 25mins
House - $70,000 or 11,965hrs 48mins

January Prayer Series

Our graphic work for our 3 weeks series on prayer for the adult service.

I thought laptops were portable

until I unloaded my incase sling today, and realized I needed all this stuff.



iBook 14" G4
True Power Adapter
120 GB External HD
60 GB External HD
Two USB cables for External HDs
20GB iPod
iTrip
Earbuds
iPod Wall Adapter
Apple VGA Adapter
Apple Video Adapter

What did you GIVE for Christmas?

Once I got back to Mattoon after Christmas vacation, whenever I saw a student I hadn't seen since Christmas I have been asking them the question, "What did you give for Christmas?"

Immediate responses have been: xbox360, wii, iPod, shoes, clothes, cds, ect. Then I would re-ask the question, "What did you give for Christmas?" Some would process it that time, others I'd have to ask a third time. I loved doing this. It made them process it in their head, that "this life isn't about me." "What did you give for christmas?" wasn't a natural question. It was unfamiliar. It seemed easy for the things that "we got" to roll off of our lips, and sometimes minds would have to search to come up with the answers of "what they gave."

I become what I consume. If I become consumed with giving, I become generous. When I consume it, I become it.

Last year Americans spent $455 billion during the holiday season.
Consumer credit debt is now at $2.4 trillion.
26 million Americans are addicted to shopping.
It takes the average American 6 months to pay off the credit card debt from holiday gifts.
The average American spends 5 hours shopping a week during Christmas.
The average American only spends 1 hour a week on spiritual things.

I spoke on consumerism the sunday after thanksgiving. Lucky me! Listen here.
I posted some artwork for the message a while back. I am consumed.

An Inconvenient Truth

Kt and I just finished watching it. Well, kt watched the first 20 minutes then started dozing off. I thought it was an ok documentary. All documentaries have their agenda and are weighed one side. It gave me the same feeling i had when some evangelist came to Pawnee Assembly and talked about the doomsday of y2k.

Gore didn't really need to spend 90 minutes trying to conveince me of the global warming problem. I mean, come on, it was over 65 degrees today in the middle of winter in Illinois. I thought of riding my scooter to work, which would have been thinking green, but I havent put my new plates on it yet. I was looking for more of a, "here is what you can do", but it was a lot of politics and saying that the current administration is more concerned about money and oil, instead of the existence of human life. I was really hoping that it (politics) would have stayed out of it, there was even shot of the 2000 elections, and he saying that he was the "ex president-elect".

The credits were the best part of the documentary, because it gave me some action points. I actually found them on YouTube.
An Inconvenient Truth - Credit with Special Effects Video


Climate Crisis
How to recycle everything

From A to Z part 1

We started a series at The Pipeline last night that deals with the virtue of orderliness.

We read Genesis 1, where it gives a very descriptive account of God creating the universe in 6 days. If you think about it God could have created it all in a -poof!. But God created it an orderly 6 days not for his benefit, but for ours. God was giving the ultimate example of orderliness. We challenged the students to write down their 2008 spiritual goals on 4"x6" cards, and then list orderly ways that they can achieve that goal.

Here are some elements we used.
Forest Countdown Video - Free
Bowl of trivia powerpoint Game - Free
Luke and I did a skit borrowed from Conan O'brien, that we titled "In the Year 2008". I've done different versions of this skit, the first youth service of the year, for years and years. Thanks for the past inspiration Mikey.
Chaos Video - $15

Here is a great video we got off of YouTube called What Song is It?, that deals with doing things in order.


In the Year 2008 script.
Luke: It’s time, once again, to look into the future.
Evan: The future, Luke?
Luke: That’s right, Evan. Let’s look to the future, all the way to the year 2008!
Evan - "Kevin Federline will score a number one hit when Fox ranks the top ten white trash moments on 'Cops.'"
Luke- "Barry Bonds goes on national television to admit for the first that the he injected himself, not with steroids, but with cajun spices.”
Evan - "Americans will be enthralled when 'Survivor' joins forces with 'The Apprentice' and 16 people see how long they can look at Donald Trump's haircut without laughing."
Luke - "When it is discovered that it takes exactly 437 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, it will be announced that science is officially over."
Evan - "A strange virus will kill every man in the world except Luke Greer, and every woman in the world except Hannah Montana. The marriage will last 32 days."
Luke - Atheists will win a landmark court battle making it illegal to say god bless you after someone sneezes. Instead, the law will require us to say, "Yo, zippy, you just sprayed me with some nasty."
Evan - A movie will be made about all the people who find Travis Spencer funny. The movie title -- "The Fantastic Four."