Kobe Suspension

This whole Kobe suspension is making me bad. Read story here. It's ridiculous. All he did was shoot the ball and then go to jump again after Manu blocked it. Just because Manu slammed his face into Kobe's hand doesn't mean that Kobe should be suspended for a game. It wasn't even called a foul in the game. Then Stu Jackson's comments were idiotic. He acts like Kobe did it on purpose. I don't know why this makes me so fired up, but it's an injustice and I hate that.

Am I going to have to get my "Free Kobe" shirts out again???

Mozza Reviewed in Times

I didn't even realized it opened but Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali's pizzeria opened in Los Angeles a few months ago and it was glowingly reviewed in the LA Times today.

I want to go so bad. They have salumi, intense looking bruschetta, salads, and some other dishes as well as pizza. Mario Batali's dad's salumi is tasty. I had it in NYC at Lupa. I'm going to call for a reservation ASAP. The Osteria Mozza opens in the Spring and will have more pasta and meat dishes.

Local Principal Arrested

The principal of El Modena High School, which is one of our main schools that students attend, was arrested for "lewd conduct" in a public restroom yesterday. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I have my ideas. That is so sad. It stinks that this is the example our students have from their leaders, but hopefully we can have some good conversation about this with our kids. The article in the LA Times said it happened on December 27. Hopefully, that's a typo because I don't understand how this can be coming out now and he is just being removed from his school a month later.

Weigh-In Day

Alright, I'm down to 172.8 pounds.
That means I lost 3.6 pounds this week and I have lost 15.2 pounds overall.

Take that doubters!!

Hume Lake Lawsuit

Did you see this crazy article of a Joshua Institute kid suing Hume after being assaulted by his roommate who sounds a bit obsessed with demons, spiritual warfare, and swords?? This is sad. Hume is an awesome place and it's a bummer if some crazy kid is hurting their reputation. It will be interesting to probe for info about this with our friends up there, but I'm sure they won't give us much.

Post-Preach Exhaustion

I spoke this morning in our Elevation service and I'm feeling the afternoon exhaustion of preaching. I only have to do one service and I go home super tired. Somebody told me once that 15 minutes of public speaking equals an 8 hour day worth of energy. I only spoke for 35 minutes so that's about 17 or 18 hours, plus the other 4 hours I worked today. So that's about 21-22 hours. No wonder I'm tired. Imagine doing three or four services like some churches.

I taught on serving God for His glory and not our own - from Matthew 20:20-28. I mentioned the weird parts of preaching where you sometimes feel like you are doing it for the accolades and positive comments from people. So it was funny to see how people responded to me afterwards. Some joked and said, "Eric - you were awesome. It's all about you." One Jr High girl said "Good job this morning" and then she said, "Oh wait, I mean, God spoke through you today." It was cute to see her catch herself. I also got an email from someone that said, "Glory job," instead of "good job." That was creative.

Any thoughts on either topic from people in ministry or other fields where this applies???

Blogging from My Couch

I'm so happy. I finally got my wireless router to work. I had been laying on my floor next to where the cable plugs into the wall to use my computer even though I have this awesome Macbook Pro because I couldn't get my wireless router to work. I'm a little stupid when it comes to hardware issues. But I figured it out today and now I'm sitting on the couch with my Macbook on my lap and typing this post. I love it.

I'm sure Brian Potter will mock me now. I deserve it.

Obama on the Front Page of LA Times Again

Dude, the LA Times is campaigning for Barack. He was on the front page of the paper again today with a picture from when he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review - foreshadowing?? See the article here.



The guy is just a media darling. I was even talking to a friend at church this week about it and she said something like, "I know he's supposed to be liberal and all, but I just really like him." It's interesting because I agree.

Melissa said that Sarah Sumner gave him her book "Leading Above the Line" when she was in D.C. Maybe that will help him in his ascendency to the position he is seeking. Not the President, the Anti-Christ!!

So do you all think I'm a freak for writing about this all the time???

Darfur is Dying

I saw this for the first time on Marko's blog and it is a very cool thing that can help students and yourself and myself be more aware of what is going on in Africa, but specifically Sudan. I plan to use this with my Kenya team - fo sho!

So check it out here - Darfur is Dying.

The Christian Flag

I'm sorry but I think the Christian Flag is just weird. Why should we pledge to a flag about Jesus. I just want to worship and love Jesus, not a flag. Plus, it reminds me of something that would be carried in a crusade of killing the infidels. You can check the wikipedia on it here. "I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands..." This idea of the Kingdom is more of what the first century Jews were wanting and not the way that Jesus would describe His Kingdom. It's not about ruling a new Christian nation. It's about love and grace and redemption. Any thoughts?

Day Away

So our VantagePoint3 group at church went on a spiritual retreat day today and it was great. There are 10 of us and we grabbed some Starbucks and went down to the Dana Point Harbor and talked about a poem that led us into a two hour solo time where we could pray, practice the Prayer of Examen, and just spend time with God in whatever way we wanted to. It was a beautiful day. I had a great time of prayer and listening. Then I listened to the Bible Experience. The book of Philippians twice and several chapters of the gospel of John. Then we went to lunch at John's Fish Market. Then we went to the park up by the Laguna Cliffs Marriott where some played football and some painted and chatted for a bit. Then we talked about our Benner book - The Gift of Being Yourself. Then we did some funny team-building initiatives. After that we discussed our VP3 manual, but mostly just talked about one question that had to do with our family upbringing and any spiritual upbringing we had and how that affects our emergence as leaders. Finally we had dinner at El Molino do Oro, a little authentic Mexican place in San Juan Capistrano.

A great day. I'm tired from thought, discussion, football, and being in the sun. Awesome.

Weigh-In

So I weighed in at 175.8 last week.

This week I weighed in at 176.4.

So I actually gained 0.6 pounds which is completely aggravating since I have lived this crappy diet all week. The Pirate Dinner was a bit of a setback because I kinda gorged myself that day. So I gotta be more disciplined.

Sanctity of Life Day???

Well, today is the day to celebrate or remember the Sanctity of Life. My church didn't even mention it today even though our pastor was supposed to during the time of Child Dedications. That's why we chose today to do child dedications. But a huge part of me is glad he didn't say anything because I think this day is a HUGE PILE OF HYPOCRISY. Yes, hypocrisy.

To most evangelicals the Sanctity of Life day is just another way to say Pro-Life Day or Abortion is Wrong Day. I agree that abortion is wrong and I totally believe that all life is precious. A fetus is a life, but there are other forms of "life" that we are forgetting. This link will take you to George Bush's proclamation about it in the official press release.

To me this whole thing is a total joke because I don't think most evangelicals really believe in the Sanctity of Life. They care more about American unborn fetuses than mothers and fathers in Iraq. They believe in the Sanctity of Fetal Life, but not the Sanctity of Criminal Life. They believe in taking away a woman's right to choose, but not in taking away guns from people who would use them to kill.

See my previous post about this stuff.

Bush says this in his speech,

National Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted, or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity and humanity of every person is respected.

I wonder if innocent Iraqi civilians who have been killed by American bombs would consider themselves a part of "human life in all forms." I know I count them as human life. But maybe it isn't "convenient" for the President's plans.

Hypocrisy.

You might disagree and that's OK, but just don't talk to me about the "Sanctity of Life."

Pirate Show

So we went to the Pirate Adventure show in Buena Park which is just like Medieval Times, but pirates instead of knights.

I'm not sure if I would recommend it to anyone, but it was actually kind of fun. The food is pretty good and there's LOTS of it. Tons of appetizers to start in the outside room where they do a pre-show: cocktail wienies, meatballs, ravioli, pasta, cheese, shrimp, etc. Then you go in and they give you salad, a 1/4 chicken, chunks of beef, vegetables, potatoes, ice cream, apple cobbler, and all the drinks you want.

They do the typical show thing. I actually got picked to go some stuff. They put a cheesy vest on me and a pirate hat and I carried "booty" to the ship and carried a lantern around and then waved to the crowd at the end. I think Grace liked her daddy as the pirate. Overall, it was fun, but kinda weird. The actors and workers there are all odd folks. They are not only the rejects of Hollywood, but also the rejects of the major theme parks. Strange birds.

BRADY

This video is a bit disturbing, but hilarious at the same time. I heard Colin Cowherd talking about this on ESPN Radio this week.

Ghandi

Amazing. Astonishing. Inspiring. I just finished watching the 1982 Best Picture winning film Ghandi with Best Actor winning Ben Kingsley in the title role.

He changed a nation and defeated the British Empire through peace. He would spin thread to make cloth, built his own home, and fasted to the point of starvation to make the world see. I loved when he said that something like "I have never advocated being passive. We will be very aggressive through non-violent non-cooperation."

I want to be aggressive in such a way that is radical, but isn't full of bitterness or anger or judgmentalism. I want to live simply and be true to what God has called me. Maybe it's time for a change in me, but I'm just not sure what exactly. Sometimes I want to change the world, but I don't even spend two hours a week hanging out with the homeless or something like that.

I have that feeling where you are frustratingly inspired. What do you do with that?

Chilaxing

I have been given a wonderful gift. Bea didn't have to be at work until a little later today so she took Grace to school just a few minutes ago and I get to actually stay home and relax in the morning on my day off. I'm by myself in my house in my pajamas at 7:40am. You have no idea how rare and wonderful this is.

I might watch a movie (either the rest of Ghandi or A Scanner Darkly) or I might read a little or I might just sleep. Hmmmm....I love my choices.

What's a simple form of relaxation for you?

Understand

My pastor said on Sunday that the Greek word for "understand" means "to know experientially and intimately." Wow, that's really cool. He was preaching on John 3 and the whole story of Nicodemus and Jesus talking about being born again. I guess the word was in there somewhere, but that was the only thing I wrote down.

It made me think that to understand the Kingdom of God and to understand who Jesus really is takes knowing him experientially and knowing him intimately. To be intimate with Christ and to experience him is really what it means to live as a disciple of Jesus.

Then I was listening to this old CD of Shaine Claiborne speaking at Axis at Willow and I was blown away by this guy who just bailed on the USA and went to live in India with Mother Theresa and serving the poor. She told him to go home because there are plenty of marginalized people in America. So he did and he lived with people on the streets of Philadelphia and he still serves them there.

Then I'm watching TV tonight while Bea was typing a final for her students and I start to watch "Ghandi" with Ben Kingsley. I didn't really connect all that stuff, but it's so cool how he serves his people. I'm only an hour into it, but I'm loving the radical message of peace, nonviolence, and firm conviction.

I started to write the whole, "It's kind of sad that other people do this and evangelicals don't line" but that's crap. There are lots of people that do this stuff - evangelicals, Catholics, mainliners, emergents, hindus, muslims, mormons, atheists. Religious groupings aren't the issue. I'm the issue. I'm not doing this stuff. I wanted to hang out with homeless people in Hart Park and work at Juvenile Hall, but both didn't really work out. The juvenile hall thing had reasons, but the Hart Park thing was fear. It freaked me out going down there. I didn't know how to act. I need to do something, but I don't know what. I'm going to Kenya this summer for two weeks to work with people with AIDS, but that's not what I mean. I mean something more regular. It's so freaking hard because I have a pregnant wife and a three year old daughter. They have to be my priority, but I have to do something. Man, this stuff is messier than it seems.

But living that kind of life seems to be what it means to "understand" Jesus. To know Him intimately and experientially.

Things I'm Thinking About...

- Who will my church pick for a consultant?
- Am I really supposed to accept my sin and that will help?
- How many people in Los Angeles will die from the nuclear bomb that exploded on 24 and will Jack Bauer and the rest of CTU get radiation diseases?
- What will I post about on Sanctity of Life Day this Sunday?
- When am I going to get time to prepare my teaching for Elevation on Jan. 28?
- Why did the Chargers lose and why did they do so many stupid things in that game?
- Will my parents be able to watch Grace when we go to Hawaii because I already paid for the tickets and hotel?
- How many kids are going to turn in applications for Africa because 36 have taken applications and I'm worried we will have too many?
- A big decision I have to make at church that everyone has an opinion about how it should be handled.
- Do I have issues with submission and authority?
- Will the baby be a boy or a girl?
- Will we get our money back for the adoption?
- Why is living simply so hard?
- Lots of other church issues I can't write in a public blog.
- Is Barack Obama the Anti-Christ?
- Why did Erin want me to say that her family is the best family ever?
- Why do I keep forgetting to ask her about her marathon?
- Is March 3rd (the day we leave for Maui) ever going to be here?
- Will I ever speak at a camp again?
- Am I going to drop my PhD program?
- Will Peyton Manning be able to finally beat the Patriots?
- When will the next U2 album come out?
- Where do babies come from?

My Favorite Family

My favorite family in the whole world is the Krusiewicz family. Erin and Jason are incredible people with perfect kids. They rock!! And in no way did they try to get me to say this on my blog. I swear.

Barack is Running

Well, the good old Anti-Christ leader is running for President.

Check it out on his own website for news on his exploratory committee.

(HT to Mark Elrod)

Bono said it best

For the Reverend Martin Luther King, SING

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride

In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love
In the name of love
What more in the name of love...

Actors Who Play Jesus and then Play Rapists??

So I've been listening to the Bible Experience which is the TNIV New Testament read by a bunch of different African-American stars who have pretty awesome voices. I've loved listening so far - I'm only about halfway through Mark. It's funny hearing Samuel L. Jackson as the voice of God saying, "This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased," sounding like the speech from Pulp Fiction. Weird. Blair Underwood is the voice of Jesus and I think he's pretty good.

The craziest thing that happened to me this week was that I was watching Law and Order SVU and Blair Underwood was on it playing the role of a man falsely accused of rape who eventually commits murder because of his extreme frustration with being accused. It was just so awful hearing the voice of Jesus being the voice of a murderer and potential rapist. So stars playing Biblical roles can sure mess us up when they play other roles. I don't know if I can ever watch Jim Caviezel in another role.

Weigh-In Day

Alright, well I'm doing good.
Original weigh-in 2 weeks ago - 188 lbs.
January 8, 2007 - 179 lbs.
Today (Jan 15) - 175.8 lbs.

So I lost 3.2 pounds this week and 12.2 total. Not bad!!

I'm working to keep up the discipline. Join me with Weight Watchers Online. It's always better when you have accountability.

Would You Let Your Kid Play With This??

I can't stand these Bratz dolls. It's wrong on so many levels.
1. Spiritual level - It promotes young girls dressing sexually - really young - and promotes bad attitudes toward parents.
2. Values level - It promotes consumerism and valuing all the wrong things.
3. Strong feminine roles level - it makes women be all about sex and their bodies and their looks at the age of 7. That's just sad. At least Barbie had career based outfits and even promoted motherhood.
4. The makes me feel icky level.

This is one of those things that I would boycott if I was a boycotter (which I'm not) and I sort of want to cover them up at the toy store so my kid and other kids won't see. It's seriously just sad that little girls are being influenced by this stuff. I thought they were a joke or a satire when I first saw them, but no, they are real.

Sports Clips Recap

I was pretty pleased with my Sports Clips experience. I actually had a guy doing my cut for all of you that were calling it the Hooters of haircuts.

I got to watch the beginning of the Saints/Eagles game and enjoyed it. The cut was pretty good, but I was very specific with my instructions. At least they could adjust from any barbershop stuff they might normally do.

Would I go again? Yes. Will I leave my stylist? Probably not.

Sports Clips

So I'm going to this place called Sports Clips to get my hair cut today at 5pm. I will give an update after, but it's basically a place that you can watch sports on TV while getting your hair cut. I couldn't get any pictures of their website because they are all on a slideshow, but you gotta check it out. The whole place has sports memoribilia, there are games on, you get a nice shampoo and a little massage with a hot towel over your face. Should be good. I'm gonna get their just in time to watch the beginning of the Philly/New Orleans playoff game.

Cleaning Garages Sucks

That's what I did this morning. There is room to park one car now. That's good. But cleaning garages is a horrible task. I don't recommend it.

Barack Update

I liked this headline for my favorite pick in our ridiculous pool for Anti-Christ.

Barack Obama Can Be Whatever He Wants To Be

Does that include Anti-Christ?

Check this story out too. The headline is Bare Chested Barack Obama - A Beach Babe? Are you kidding me? A serious candidate for President and making the Us Weekly/People Magazine rounds. Perfect! He has to be the Anti-Christ.

By the way, one of my criteria for anti-christ is that I have to like the person or at least feel like I want to like the person. Good strategy, heh??

Weight Watchers Update

So I started about 10 days ago on my new diet.
My start weight was 188 pounds (but I weighed myself in the middle of the afternoon with pants and a t-shirt on)
My weigh-in day is Monday and so this past Monday I weighed myself at what will be my normal time of day, right when I wake up, and I was buck naked.
So, my weight as of 1/8/07 - 179 pounds.
The discipline is continuing.

Discipline in eating is a huge part of living simply. You can't just gorge yourself every time you eat and expect to have a disciplined life or a simple life. The simple life requires discipline. This is really hard for me because I LOVE LOVE LOVE food. I still will enjoy an awesome meal with big portions once a week or so, but just not every day or even every meal.

Camping Ministry Evaluation

(please make sure you read disclaimer at bottom before leaving page)

Positives of Camping Ministry:
Away from distractions and some temptations
Focus on God in nature
Time for relational ministry
Awesome camp staff who love students and care for the youth pastors
Quality time for worship
Fun

Negatives of Camping Ministry:
So much focus on "hooking up" by kids
Annoying 19-year-old camp lead counselors that think they know more about youth ministry than the youth pastors (and sometimes act like they know your kids better too)
Kids get so tired that they are almost too moldable
Rec and program leaders create a mob mentality through cheers and competitions
Speakers and worship leaders push for an emotional response instead of allowing the Spirit to work in His time
Too much focus on decisions and not long-term commitment
Decisions don't last down the hill

I think many of these negatives can be placed on youth ministries as well. I think the biggest thing in here is the push and shove for an emotional "altar-call" response. People need an opportunity to make decisions, but sometimes these camp altar calls are all about feeding the ego of the speaker and aren't really even about the kid as much as the mass of kids coming forward.

If any of my friends from Alpine, Ponderosa Pines, Forest Home, or Hume Lake read this I am sorry if this feels like an attack. As I process this, it is less an attack on camping ministry in general as it is a challenge to certain speakers, worship leaders, and camp programmers - including myself.

Live Simply

I'm feeling bad about my covetous post about the iPhone because I wrote on a rock that is a witness against me about trying to live simply this year. It was during an Elevation service where we were making commitments to God and the rock would help us remember like with Joshua and the Israelites at the very end of the book of Joshua.

Now, I'm not sure if this means I will never get an iPhone, but it does mean that I need to stop being so swayed by every gadget and gizmo that I think is cool because there is a part of me that thinks I actually "need" those things.

Apple Rocks!!

I want this so bad.



I just watched the whole presentation by Steve Jobs and I'm coveting. I just bought a Treo so it's gonna be about 18 months before I can get one, but this is the best phone ever made. My friend Reedo who works for Verizon Wireless is going to hate me because I will bail for Cingular (they are the only carrier) so fast they won't know what hit them.

Back from Camp

Well I just got back from the weekend speaking at Alpine for their Jr High Winter Camp Week 1. Overall, it was a good time. The speaking seemed to go well. It was fun playing in the snow with Grace and hanging out with Bea. The band were some cool guys from all over Orange County, but the leader was from First Baptist HB/FV where Ashdown used to work and Steve Gioelli and Bill Staffierri work now. They were pretty good - maybe forcing some dancing and stuff that was cool, but sometimes I just want to be able to worship without some dude telling me what to do all the time.

As for the whole camp as manipulation or brainwashing thing, I feel pretty proud of what we were able to accomplish up there. We didn't do the whole "come forward and cry because I have emotionally charged you up to respond to Jesus" thing. I gave kids an opportunity to pray about believing in Jesus and wanting forgiveness for the sin in their lives. This was just quietly and privately in their minds and hearts - not out loud, no standing up, no coming forward. Then I immediately dismissed them in a discipline of silence to their cabin time where they were to talk with their leader about any decisions they made. A few leaders came up to me at the end of camp today and thanked me for not doing the whole emotional thing. They really appreciated it. I think that sometimes the altar call is more for the speaker than for the student. It feels good to see a bunch of people come forward. But the scary part is that you start to think that it's because of you somehow - instead of from the Holy Spirit.

So yes, I do think that camp can be brainwashing and manipulation, but I also think it doesn't have to be. More thoughts to come...

Up to Alpine

I'm headed up to Alpine this afternoon and I hope to do some observing for my thoughts on "camp as manipulation" post. Maybe this could be a dissertation topic. I'm sure it would ruffle some feathers. I don't suggest this stuff to be mean or hurtful to people in camping ministry. I'm as guilty of this as the next guy. It's just when someone suggested the concept to me, it really got me thinking and I couldn't shake it.

I might have my first day in a few weeks without a blog post tomorrow while I am up there. Maybe I can get to a computer. But if not, I will see you all on Sunday afternoon.

Leading Worship

You know, it's possible that it would be better for me to play my guitar more often than when I'm on stage leading worship or in rehearsal right beforehand. My timing is all off and I haven't been feeling comfortable on stage which makes me think too much and then I'm not worshiping because I'm worrying. My amp or my effects processor or my Rat pedal did something weird during No One Like You. The volume just got crazy loud all of a sudden coming out of my amp, but I hadn't touched anything. I was trying to turn down the volume on my guitar, but it wouldn't do anything. So that song just sucked because I was trying to figure everything out while singing a song that has a lot of lyrics which are hard to keep straight. Aaaggghhh!!!! At least that was just the second song of a two-song first set in Jr High. The second set was much better. The kids seemed to really be worshiping and everything was OK, but in my mind I just wasn't there. I was trying to force myself into being "worshipful" but there was just an odd disconnect in my head and heart. I joked with somebody afterward that I just need to pray more. That's probably more true than I would want it to be.

So my new prescription for better worship leading is pretty revolutionary - prayer and practice.

Sad Day for Coffee Lovers

Today is the last day you can enjoy one of these at the Diedrich's in the Orange Plaza (circle).



It makes me very very sad. Starbucks bought all the Diedrich's franchises which are much less corporate and have Free Wi-Fi. I go there all the time and now I'm just bummed. And guess what, of course there is another Starbucks right across the street. Stupid. At least some of the employees are opening up a small privately owned coffeeshop down the block in a couple months.

Favorites of 2006

Alright, I've been seeing all these different posts on people's favorites of 2006 and so now I will give it a shot.

Favorite Movie - I haven't seen enough to deserve to say.
Favorite Christian book - Simply Christian by NT Wright
Favorite Secular Book - Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klostermann
Favorite Blog by a "famous" person - Marko Ostreicher
Favorite Blog by a "non-famous" person - The Wonderful Noise by Victor Estrada
Favorite Worship Song - Inside Out by Hillsong United
Favorite Sermon I preached - Resetting Our Hearts - Part 2, Malachi 2:1-9. Check it out on iTunes under Podcasts for Calvary Church Elevation - January 22, 2006 or HERE
Favorite News - Finding out that Bea is pregnant - Baby due on July 5

That's enough for now

Camps and Tonight

We just watched the movie Invincible and I loved it. I love football movies and true stories are always cool. This was a nice bit of entertainment for the evening. Then we played a little MarioKart on the GameCube I "bought Bea" for Christmas. You like that?

I spent the morning working on talks for a camp I'm speaking at this weekend. It's a smaller camp called Alpine up near Lake Arrowhead. I love doing camps for Junior Highers. They are the best. They are usually totally into it and enjoy getting to know you as the speaker. Just praying that God will use the time. Camps always feel like it takes a lot of time to give to people you might never meet again. I'm glad that Bea and Grace are coming with me.

I've also been thinking a lot about how camps are potential brainwashing. I will probably post on that more after the weekend. I'm not saying that all camps just brainwash kids, but it's a concern I have. Get them tired, lots of hype, mob crowd influence, and then ask for a commitment...that's what I mean. More to come.

Preaching Yesterday and the New Year

I preached yesterday in our one-service Sunday which means there was probably close to 2,000 people. It's kind of crazy, but fun to speak to that kind of crowd. There was pretty good energy in the room to start. Victor led worship too. It was an Elevation style service but with the older crowd as well. I think everyone seemed to connect well with it which is good because there have been some critical people. I'm sure it was a bit loud for some, but hopefully they were able to see beyond volume.

I preached on a topic I really liked that I talked about in this post a week ago or so. I basically told them about who Jesus is now and and in the future according to John's description in Revelation 1 and from some OT prophecies. And then I challenged them to worship with "every ounce of passion in their very being" and it was a pretty good response. Especially with many people over 60 in the crowd.

I was pretty tired yesterday. We just took it easy and hung out with some friends named the Dahlke's who live around the corner and let the kids play and got CPK takeout. Watched the ball drop, played a really (unfortunately) lame 24 DVD-based board game, and gave my wife a smooch at mid-night.