Disappointed with Andy

One of my favorite preachers these days is a guy named Andy Stanley. Andy is the preacher for Northpoint Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He has an incomparable gift for preaching meaningful, straightforward sermons, that are accessible to non-Christians, and instructive to Christ-followers. I’ve learned a ton from Andy, about how to drill down on one point so everyone can get it, about narrowing the focus of one’s work to the point that it can truly make a measurable difference. Not only his teaching style has affected, but his theology on things like money and margin have had a true impact on how I view the world.

Up until now I felt like Andy could do no wrong. Not every word out of his mouth is gold, but most of it was great. I was really excited to see a series entitled “The Sinai Code,” a study of the 10 commandments. Some critics feel like Andy avoids theology, and I was sure there would be no way to do so here.

I was not disappointed in the series. Andy took the typical Lutheran stance, that all of the ten commandments are outgrowths of the first. The last lesson of the series unpacked the “other people” commandments of murder, adultery, stealing, etc. He said they were all God’s way of saying that he wanted them to respect other people. Andy’s big idea here was that this was unbelievable in ancient cultures, that a nation would not be ruled by a King and a series of classes, but by a law, that led people to treat each other, no matter who they are, with the respect they deserve as human beings.

Then Andy said that this was a unique idea, given by God, buried by man, and resurrected in 1776 by the U.S. constitution. And he didn’t stop there. He praised George Bush for recognizing God as almighty. He explained that the ten commandments ensured healthy families, and that, only countries like America, having a sense of Divine Law, ensured human rights.

Next Time-Why this bothers me.

Happy Boxing Day

The day after Christmas serves to remind me that it really is almost 2008. It's time to get my head on straight for the coming year. My biggest help right now: Getting Things Done by David Allen. From what I've read so far it seems that Allen believes that we think too much, and about the wrong stuff. We need to get those thoughts out of our head, on to paper, a smartphone, a white board or soething. He occassionally refers to this as a "Brain Dump." Thinking less is actually the first step to Getting Things Done.

What about you? What do you need to Dump?

What should the role of Christmas be?

So, when I was younger, my family seemed to struggle with the idea of what Christmas was supposed to celebrate. We did the tree and Santa, but not much of the first few chapters of Luke. We were struggling with a religious tradition that wanted to emphasize Christ throughout the year, not just on certain days. There was also a reactionary element to that tradition, wanting to distance itself from anything Roman.

Today we've more or less given in, and I'm okay with that. Truthfully, I find myself wanting more. I want a full blown Christmas, with readings from Isaiah and the magnificat. But Christmas alone seems awful hollow without diving in the anxiety and anticipation of Advent. And even that's not enough.

I say, if you're going to do Christmas, you have to do it all. Program your life around the times of year like this, where the church traditionally revisits important parts of her story. Let it redefine your calendar, your agenda. Christmas should be an experience of reliving the end of the exile, the promise to shepherds, the crowded inn, the visit of magi. Christmas should give an overwhelming sense that the Infinite has become finite, the Word became flesh. We should be humbled by the dance that is trinity coming into our home, and thrilled to join in.

The role of Christmas is to simultaneously fill us with humility and hope.

Who's counting the human cost?

So, I finally got around to watching Reign Over Me last night. The movie follow's Don Cheedle as he tracks down an old friend who lost his wife and family on 9/11. Adam Sandler deliver's a performance that is not all that different than the comedies that made him famous, except for a few heart-wrenching scenes where he remembers what he has lost.

The movie brings out an important facet that has gotten lost in four years with two simultaneous wars on terrorism. The human cost. What does terrorism, or any war for that matter do to people's lives, or our culture as a whole? Beyond the monetary cost or the cost of life, what is this doing to us?

Go or Reach?

At some point the idea of evangelism got intermixed with the idea of outreach. Outreach, sadly, is often reduced to not much more than Christian euphemism for the “Field of Dreams” concept: that if you build it, they will come.

Just break down the word itself “reach” and “out.” The word implies that one object is stationary, yet extends a small part of itself to gather another. For instance, when I’m thirsty, I reach out and grab a glass of water.

I’m not sure Jesus ever did outreach. Think of the stories of Jesus. He went to Matthew and Zacheus. He went Lazarus. He went to the Samaritan woman. He did not try to build something that brought them to him.

Now, that’s not to say that Jesus did not have an attractional element to his ministry. The feedings of the masses and many healing stories show people coming to Jesus. So being attractional isn’t all bad.

But I believe that the reason they came to him is that he came to them first. After all that’s what John 1 teaches us, right? The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. Our call then is not to develop the perfect outreach tool, but to go to the hurting people of the world.

Being Home

Being home for Christmas brings back crazy memories. The most potent ones I don't want to remember. Personal crises, Family crises, girls that were parts of my life at past holidays, and the general stresses of making sure all the right presents are under the tree.

Christmas desperately needs a makeover. I don't have a clue how to do it.

:(

My iPod is sick.

This is my third iPod in three years. And the fact that I may soon be looking for a forth is causing me to ask some questions. Are they just not made that well, and they have a lifespan of less than a year? Or am I just really rough on my iPod?

Xmas

Well, I'm in Colorado for the next week and will have a lot of time on my hands.

Any suggestions as to what we should talk about?

Top Two

As a single guy, I spend a lot more time talking about girls than talking too them. Maybe that explains a lot.

What I'm looking for has really changed, and I've narrowed it down to a top two list these days:

1) A girl that's got her stuff together. What can I say? Maturity is hot. Knowing who you are, what you want, where you're going. Being able to manage your own life. In a world where adolescence stretches into your late 20s, having your life together sets you a part from the pack.

2) Fruit. Jesus said "...every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit" (Luke 7:17-18). In the past, I've dated girls that weren't headed the same direction as me, and I sometime rationalized it as "they have a lot of potential." Living in a part of the country where everyone is a nominal Christian, it's not very impressive to meet a girl who goes to church. I'm done looking for potential, I want to see faith that has fruit. Can I tell by how you spend your time, your money, your passions, that you love Jesus? Or are you just another nice person raised to waste your Sunday mornings at a religious service. Fruit is hot.

It's a lot harder to find than you might think.

Directions on using "Christian" as an adjective

An adjective is a describing word.

The word Christian means "Christ-Like."

Therefore, if the the word Christian is used preceeding another word, that means that the latter is in someway, like Christ.

It seems however, that Christian is a very tired adjective. It is used to described everything from healthcare services to breath mints to meditation practices derived from ancient religion.

Here's a quick test of how to determine whether or not you are using the adjective "Christian" correctly: If, a product, activity, gathering, is something that Jesus would like have done or used it might be proper to call it a Christian product, Christian activity, Christian gathering, etc. If a product, activity or gathering in some is like Christ, it could be called "Christian."

I plan to make many examples of this on the blog.

Niche Marketing at it's Finest

If you haven't found it yet, make sure to visit www.pandora.com. Pandora is an online music site that streams free music in a unique way. Instead of being at the mercy of some DJs playlist, you have power over what you hear. You tell the site the name of an artist or song you like. It pulls up that artists songs, as well as others with similar profiles. You tell the site whether or not you like the songs, and it builds a constantly more specified profile of you and your music taste.

Usually niche marketing bothers me. I don't like being told that my taste can be reduced down to a formula. But the fact is, to an extent, it can. So, even though I may be creating an ever more specified stereotype to be manipulated by record labels, I like the music, and I'll keep using Pandora for the time being.

Mission vs. Materialism

Materialism and Christmas have become synonymous. A holiday that was meant to represent Heaven crashing into Earth, has become about self-centered spending. Today I got an email encouraging me to protest against the Gap using the word "Christmas" in their advertising. Quite frankly, I'm glad to hear that there is one less place where the name Christ is not synonymous with buying stuff.

Here at Journey, we're doing what we can to help the High School Students "Think Outside the Box," think about Christmas in non-materialistic ways. We started off with a lesson on the Parable of the Talents. Having discussed the parable, we looked at global poverty statistics. At the end of the lesson, the kids were each given $5, and encouraged to do something about it. We'll spend the rest of the year discussing different issues, like what God thinks about Sex Trafficking, the AIDS crisis and local San Antonio orphans. At the end of the series, we'll collect the money, and find a way to actually do something about the problems mentioned.

That, my friends, so much more than the right word on an advertisement, makes for a Merry Christmas.

Fasting and Feasting

I decided this year to approach the Thanksgiving feast a little differently this year. The combination of significant changes at Oak Hills Church, some big changes in my life, and the lighter workload of the holiday week inspired me to spend the first three days of this week fasting.

This might sound crazy, but if you’ve never fasted, you don’t know what you are missing. By refraining from food for the sake of prayer and growing closer to God, you suddenly find yourself entrenched against a number of foes. Not only are you fighting hunger, but you must rearrange your life. Then there are the physical repercussions: achy muscles, head rushes, sore muscles and general weakness.

No matter how many times I fast, I am struck by the same lesson: I have no strength of my own, it all comes from God. When I don’t think I can go anymore, I ask God to give me the strength, and He always does.

In a very different way, feasting is a spiritual discipline. When God introduced feasts and sacrifices to the Israelites, he blew away the world’s religious systems by giving them the ability to celebrate with God. You don’t sacrifice to YHWH, you join him for dinner. Jesus reclaimed this in the last meal he ate with his disciples, and Christians practice this even today.

Appropriately, the family I joined for Thanksgiving opened their feast by taking the bread and the wine. Jesus’ main metaphor for his kingdom is a table. A group of people -- rich, poor, Jew, Greek -- eating dinner together with him. How could we not celebrate the things we ar thankful for without remembering Jesus is at the table with us?

Thanksgiving

Turkey Day is easily my favorite holiday.

Why?

Simplicity. You gather. You eat a ton of food. You watch football. You pass out from overdosing on tryptophan.

Christmas is a lot of work, the presents, the decoration. Haloween is fun, but seems to be more and more about skany teenage girls than about kids and candy. Valentines Day, well, the Valentines I've had are few and far between.

Just give me Turkey and TV and I'm thrilled.

Things Get Dirty.

Every week at my small group, we end our time praying for the empty chair. We ask God to help find people who need Him, and help us to lead them into Christian community and a relationship with Him.

But what if it actually happened?

What if God actually starting filling your empty chairs with godless heathens?

Things get dirty. You don’t just have pithy conversations about the way God has blessed you. You can’t use all you church-kid terminology. Some of your jokes don’t make sense. You have to accept someone else’s foul language, someone else’s lack of theological expertise. You have to figure out what to talk about when someone doesn’t listen to your Christian music and you don’t watch their foul movies. You have to knowingly embrace someone who has radically different sexual stands.

You have to smile, and authentically say that you’re glad to see this person.

You have to be comfortable with the discomfort they are about to cause.

When you follow Jesus, things get dirty.

How Did I Get Here?

More and more, I find myself spending my free time doing things, or hanging out with "types of people" that I used to avoid. There are so many things that I would have said "I would never" or "Thats just not me." There are so many people who I call friends that I would have written off for their morals, their socioeconomic status or their choice in music, had I met them earlier in life. Even more basic: the city I live in, the church I'm a part of, they're so far from where I came from.

And I don't regret any of these things. It's a sign of life, growing and changing. I hope it's also a sign of God's work in me.

Sometimes it just hits me, and I'm struck my an irony that no one else can appreciate.

The problem is, I've spent so much of my life defining "Chris Morton" by what I'm not. Now that many of those things matter less and less, I have to find a new way of defining who I am.

Fruit

So, the other day I gave the following advice:

It's always better to get to know someone, but sometimes you can speed that up by looking at their fruit.

I'd like to follow my own advice.

Unfortunately, there aren't many people who walk around handing out their resumes.

Taking Chances

The other day my good friend James Holston called me out on something I really needed to hear. He pointed out the irony that I was willing to call out powerful people on things I disagreed with them about, yet I was unwilling to tell a girl how special she is.

I'm generally pretty good at taking chances. I like to try new things. I'd rather have different than boring. I've moved across the country, taken on jobs I'm underqualified for, and have ambitious, and scary goals.

Yet despite this, I find it very hard to take chances in relationships. I'd rather keep the peace than point out to someone that I disagree with their politics. I choose to hate people for the successes they have, rather than getting to know them and learn from them. And girls? Well, lets just say I tend to date the ones I know won't say no.

No bow on this one, no moral to the blog post. Just reflecting on the fact that the arenas of life which I struggle the most to take chances in are the ones that are most worthwhile.

Days off are hard..

I'm not very good at taking a day off...separating myself from everything that "has to get done" and just resting.

How about you? What do you do on your day off?

Wes Anderson's Baggage

Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic) makes movies that stand out by their quirky, yet incredibly human characters, odd settings and general lack of plot. Anderson's latest, The Darjeeling Limited shows that this combination still works to create a meaningful portrait of the human situation.

The movie follows three estranged brothers who meet in India in search of a "spiritual experience." The backstory is revealed in between Hail Mary's at various hindu shrines. The trip has been planned by the oldest brother (Owen Wilson) reuniting the boys with their prodigal mother. After being disappointed by her again, the three rescue two drowning Indian boys, only to watch the third die. The movie ends with the three brothers throwing off their baggage to catch the next train.

At one point, Owen Wilson's character peels off his bandages, saying "I guess I have a lot of healing to do." His brother responds with "It will add a lot of character to your face."

This is Anderson's message at it's core: Life itself is a spiritual journey. It is difficult and painful. But healing is possible. And when you finally leave behind your baggage and move on with life, you'll be a stronger person for it.

Finally Over................

So, my excessively busy week is finally over.
The previous week included:

• Four 12+ hour days
• 7 Hours at a funeral
• 1.5 days at a retreat
• 8 work days
• A 4 hour long seminar for people who know teenagers
• Swing Dancing
• Trivia
• The Darjeeling Limited

So, after 8 days without a break, I'm taking the next two off. It'll be amazing.

How was your week?

I'll try to post tomorrow about the seminar and Darjeeling.

Mission vs. Extraction

One struggle I have as a youth minister is understanding, and helping my student's parent's understand the difference between living in the world and being of the world. H. Richard Riebuhr wrote a great essay on the 5 positions of Christ and culture. But to boil it down, I would say their are just two.

1) Extraction "Help! The culture is coming! Run and Hide!"
Here are some results of extracting oneself from culture:

• Circling the wagons, removing oneself from the institutions of culture, such as schools and community organizations
• An inability to communicate with those who exist within mainstream culture
• Crappy knock of "christian art." Here's an example: "Does your child enjoy the evil twisted Satan music of Metallica that will send them straight to hell? Try this instead: It's called 'Jesus goes Metal.' It sounds like Metallica, only with sub-par musicians writing uninspired parodies of Master of Puppets, using only scripture and right-wing political metaphors."

2) Mission "As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" Paul at Mars Hill, Acts 17

When a missionary goes into a country, their first assignment is NOT to convert people, it's to learn the language. In order to demonstrate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is necessary to express it within the local language and culture. Paul demonstrated this by quoting a PAGAN POET to explain God to the Athenians.

God has not called us to remove ourselves from culture to be like him. Think of how Jesus did it: He became a first-century Jew! We could not know who God was unless he had become a missionary!

God doesn't want you to run away from your world. He has put you there so you can do the same thing he did- become a part of your culture so you can save your culture. As long as we circle the wagons, abandon our community, hold up in our churches and WE WILL NEVER BE THE PEOPLE GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE.

In the future, we'll talk about practical ways to be a missionary.

This is the reason I got into to this biz in the first place.

Today I went to the funeral of a teenage kid I didn't even know. I ended up spending the next seven hours there.

This 17 year old, from all accounts was a true joy, and seemed to be everyone's best friend. The local baptist church was packed to the gills with greiving teenagers. Even as an outsider it was difficult.

I took one of my high schoolers and her father out to lunch, and then went to the house of the parents. There were over 100 kids there. Abandoned by their parents in their time of need. Hugging, wailing, laughing, eating. Everyone was sad for their loss, but happy to be with their friends.

As the day went on, I started to get to know the kids. The wake was in a nearby trailer park, where many of the kids live. They weren't the straight-A crowd. Every one of them was a skater and a smoker. Some jumped a fence when a police car drove by. Many attended the local alternative school. Many of them were drop outs, living at home with no job or plans to return to school.

Not really knowing the kids, or what to do at a funeral. I did the only thing I could think of. I bought a bunch of Mountain Dew, grabbed a few dozen Journey water bottles and spent the rest of the day making new friends. I used a line I learned from Don McLaughlin back in Atlanta was to ask someone to share their favorite memory of the deceased. Each person giggled, and told me some story of how their friend had brightened a sad day.

I had trouble pulling myself away once I met these kids, and after a few hours, it occurred to me why. A few summers ago I worked with a street outreach called Dry Bones. I've never really been the same since. In many ways, these were the same kids: on the verge of the homeless life themselves. These kids were messed up. Oversexed, addicted, covered with cuts. They weren't the nice and clean suburban church kids. They were gutterpunks.

I never wanted to be a "minister" or a "pastor." I got into this business for one reason, and one reason only: to be the voice of God in a dark and lonely place, to go to those furthest from Him, even if all they were ready to take was a watter bottle.

It's been a long day. The hardest I've had since I got to Journey. But for the first time, in a very long time I feel like I spent an entire day on mission.

Those kids are the reason I got into this business.

Another good reason to take a day off.

They Sound More Like Zombies than Sleepwalkers...

What are You doing This Week?

Things I’m Doing this Week
· Preparing a seminar for parents on Youth Culture
· Meeting with a 14 year old and her father whose boyfriend was killed this past week
· Writing a paper on involving parents and adults in youth ministry
· Working out
· Cooking
· Teaching the high school kids about Jesus’ resurrection, or what N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham calls “inaugural eschatology”
· Carving a pumpkin
· Handing out Journey Fellowship glowsticks to trick-or-treaters

Things I’d Like to Do this Week
· Read a book for fun
· Wake up early everyday
· Read my Bible and pray, first thing in the morning, every day
· Take a day off
· See the new Wes Anderson movie “The Darjeeling Limited”
· Have a good conversation with a pretty girl that loves Jesus
· Think of ways to apply Dallas Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart” to my life
· Eat healthy food
· Go swing dancing
· Go to Trivia Night
· Make a new friend
· Tell someone about Jesus
· Spend some time outdoors
· Catch up with an old friend
· Trim down the amount of times I check Facebook
· Watch The Office
· Blog and journal everyday
· Save money
· Pay my bills on time
· Something cool I haven’t thought of yet

So, what of these things are you going to help me with?

Lincoln

So when I told a guy I was reading a Lincoln biography, he looked at me, very seriously, and said "Abraham Lincoln is not overrated."

Team of Rivals is a fascinating study in politics and human nature. It tells the story of a man who's heart was only rivaled by his courage and understanding of people. Lincoln was able to bring together the very men who tried to beat him out of the Republican nomination into his presidential cabinet. Each man was as a prodigy and egotist of their own rights. Yet Lincoln positioned them in ways that fueled his incredibly dangerous pursuit of a free and whole United States.

I've learned a lot of things from this study of Lincoln's leadership. Here's a few:

• A leader will likely struggle with depression. Considering the load on their back, this is only natural.
• Everyone has their uses. Even those who want to destroy you can actually forward your cause.
• Tell lots of stories. Nice people will identify with you. Mean people will underestimation of you. Both of them are wrong.
• Give someone the benefit of the doubt. Once they've screwed up, give them another chance. Defend their honor, even when they don't act honorably.
• Always make it clear that you rely on the talents of others.
• Take the biggest chances you can. Everything else will fall in line.

All you can do...

All you can do is put yourself out there.

This is a reality that I am, slowly but surely, becoming comfortable with.

The first time this really messed me up was when I did a Youth Ministry internship in the summer of 2001. I spent ten weeks pouring out my soul for about 40 kids. I'd like to think there were a few of them I made a difference in. I tried to tell myself that this was a seed planting ministry. The best I could hope for was putting myself out there, offering my friendship and the opportunity to hear what I think. It was up to them to do anything with it.

Since then I've put myself out there a lot. I've started up ministries from scratch and I've pursued leadership positions. I've made friends with a few complete strangers and I've been blown off by a whole lot more. I've done the best I could to teach people what I think it looks like to do what Jesus said. I've tried to be friends with people I like and people I dislike. I've asked girls out, some that seemed to like me, and even a few that seemed out of my league.

Many of these things have been rewarded. I feel like I truly made an impact on Harding in my short time there. I know I affected the lives of a few people in Atlanta. There are also a lot of other times I put myself out there and haven't seen any measurable result. I've gotten a lot more rejections that I have victories.

Slowly, this is becoming more and more comfortable. I am beginning to find myself a lot less afraid of rejection than I am afraid of wasted opportunities. It's the person I didn't talk tell about Jesus, the new friendship I didn't pursue, the girl that got away, or the risks I didn't take that hurt.

So, I take a deep breathe and do the only thing I can do: Put myself out there.

Air let out...

I feel like I got some air let out of my sails today. While disappointing, I also feel like I'm back to dealing with the real world again. You know, the place where life is hard and everyday relationships always take more work than they feel like they should.

While not nearly as fun as things seemed in my "adhd" post, it's familiar.

I call this "home."

Thoughts from the weekend

Emergence 2007

It was really great to be a part of this conference. Although fascinated by things that are coming out of those who over the last 5-10 years have labeled themselves "Emergent" I hesitate to call myself one of them. That being said, it was great to join the conference.

Probably my main takeaway from the whole time was the concept rethinking fundamental things about the Christian faith. For instance, it was decided in the 3rd century that the nature of God is trinitarian. However, there are a number of other things that the universal church has never agreed on. What exactly is the gospel? How does Jesus' message of Kingdom shape the gospel? What is the role of scripture? What exactly has Jesus provided atonement for, and how does that affect who we are as his body?

My favorite quote from this weekend: "Asking if the Bible is inerrant is like asking if you don't hate your wife. The question isn't 'is the Bible inerrant.' the question is 'is the Bible TRUE."

Soul Camp

I'll never really get used to "Single's Ministry." However, in a culture that produces churches that cluster together by affinity, and, more importantly, a culture that has delayed adulthood until one's late 20s, it seems important and inevitable. Afterall, where I am I going to find Christ-followers who can hang out with me, not talk about marriage all the time, and not leave early to put the kids to bed.

I'm glad I went. My ministry surrounds me with people either ten years younger or older than me, and I have to go out of my way to spend time with peers. It was good to be somewhere, without having to be "the minister," and just enjoy the scenery and fellowship.

I do have to say that I fear that too much of what is being called "Single's Ministry" is the classic and quantitatively ineffectual Youth Ministry being applied to older kids. Sure, culture says you're not an adult until you're at least 26, but should the church treat you like it did when you were 16? I wish that Single's Ministry wasn't focused on getting us together to have a good time, but focused on putting these people with time and money to spare to work for the kingdom of God.

Big Weekend

Big weekend. Heading off the Emergence conference. Scot McKnight, Dan Kimball and friends will be speaking, which I am totally pumped about. From there I’ll head to Soul Camp, an “adventure retreat” put on by our Single’s Ministry. I won’t lie and say that I’m super pumped about the retreat. But it’s mainly just the chance to hang out with people within ten years of my own age. Which I don’t do enough of. The conference on the other hand should be good. McKnight is a professor in Chicago. He is one of the voices of the Emergent conversation that also seems to be listened to by mainstream evangelicalism. Dan Kimball is pastor of Vintage Faith in California. He’s doing a great job of leading one of the 1% of American churches that are actually reaching people.

I have always had this bad habit of biting off more than I can chew, which may be what I did this weekend, but it should be fun.

HP7

So, I just spent the last 3 hours finishing Harry Potter.
No further comment at this time, I need to digest it for awhile.

Toooooo Much Energy!

Today is one of my adHd days.

I'm not sure what it is that is filling me with a desire to run sprints and make up funny dances infront of the mirror. If I had to guess, I would say it is a confluence of things

• a much needed day off (after what feels like a month without one)
• Finally reading HP7
• Continued growth and development of the Journey youth ministry
• Being tasked with launching a third service aimed at reaching a new demographic
• A job related issue that was finally resolved
• Zoloft
• A full night sleep (albeit, starting at 2am because I was just as hyper last night.)
• This weekend's special activities
• Having finally met a few people (okay, mainly girls) who both love Jesus and have ambition

This is the end result. More than my normal ADHD days, I'm bursting at the seams with energy. Although this is undoubtedly kind of fun, it's nearly impossible to sit still enough to post this. I stared at my Bible for an hour this morning and I'm not sure I read a thing. I turned my audio Bible on. I think it was Micah, but I can't be sure.

ADHD is always a rollercoaster ride. Basic things like concentration and sleep are often allusive. I'm filled to the brim with ideas and nowhere to put them. I want to run a marathon, make a movie, talk theology, go dancing, draw pictures, chat with friend and perform a monologue all at the same time. Instead, you end up with bills not paid and a dirty kitchen.

By Re-Entry into the Blogging World

It's kind of like when Superman was killed by Doomsday and they buried him and four Supermen showed up and we all waited around to findout which was the real Superman. Or when Bane broke Batman's back and Azrael took over as Batman, but then went crazy and cut people up with his Bat-claws. Or when Battlestar Gallactica was recreated by the sci-fi channel to be the best drama on television. Or when new Becky replaced old Becky on Rosanne. Or when Billy Corgan's post-Smashing Pumpkins projects didn't work-out so hot, so he said he was getting the old band back together, only it was just him and Jimmy Chamberlain but they still called it the Smashing Pumpkins.

It's kind of like that.

I've got a new blog.

After 3 years of movie commentaries and cryptic descriptions of my love life, I've put the old Xanga blog behind me. This new blog will focus on the kind of stuff that takes up most of my energy, like ministry, outreach, working through my baggage, and of course, pop culture.

So, subscribe to me, tell all your friends, and leave a comment!