In a VBS, kids retain and remember what?

I have a new pet peeve. VBS at churches which don't teach children the true meaning of stewardship or giving or anything of the sort. We have devolved these "immersion" education experiences into competitions to see who can give the most money or whose family will buy the most things at a market or the such. By embracing secular "giving competitions" we have created a scenario which puts giving to the church on the same plane with college fraternity fundraisers or public school PTA games which dunk the teacher whose class gives the most. Is this what we want our children to learn about giving to the church and missions. As for me and my house, that is not the game and I am taking responsibility to teach my children why this is wrong. I wish I didn't have to use a church's ministry as an example of what NOT to do.

This AM, I actually had a conflict with a daughter who was concerned that money given to the boys wasn't as much as what was given to the girls. She wasn't thinking about what she was giving, or that I had given them every dollar in my wallet. It didn't occur to her in the moment of what the real goals or intentions were. What will she remember in 6 days, 6 months, or 6 years. There was no mention of the biblical imperative for a tithe or even for the real usage goal of the VBS offering.. "Watering Malawi". (BTW, if you are reading this, please consider giving to this cause and making a difference.) We wonder why we lose these kids when they grow up. Could it be because they are no longer being taught what the real meaning of worship, tithing and missions are? Could it be that they see through the veiled facade of ministry, and they see just another charity?

Church isn't just another charity. When we remove the reverence and the call, we are killing it.

Facebook Patronus, surprisingly thats me..to a T

I have been watching with limited interest as the latest trend of Facebook quizzes makes its rounds. Yesterday, I finally took my first one: What is your Patronus? Something about the connection to the Harry Potter book series coupled with my interest in why so many people are interested in these things.. inspired me to give it a try. Few minutes, and the results were in.. I am a "wolf". Not sure exactly what that means, but the description was dead on.

"You work best in a close support group and are fiercely loyal to those you love. You are unbeatable in a group and incredibly strong even alone due to your cunning at getting the job done. You are often the sort of person who has strong faith and compassion. You’re an excellent communicator and very intelligent."

I know, I know.. it is telling me what I want to hear.. but those of you who really do know me.. that is pretty dead on ringer for a description of the "Big Daddy"... even the use of the word cunning, with all of its connotations is eerily appropriate.

Does anyone know how these things work? calling all my psychologist/sociologist friends and experts out there!!!

Sacrifice for who, by whom?

How often have I sacrificed, I mean really sacrificed for someone else? not often enough that is sure...

Charles and I explored this piece together this weekend in a free form improvisation of a favorite hymn tune. As I entered the first verse, my thoughts were about my own inadequacy and unworthiness, finishing the last verse with a sense of awe at the love of my heavenly Father. IN the period of a few short minutes, my entire persona was transformed. I can't speak to how that is translated through the music to your ears, but it gave me goosebumps. Dr Falby taught us at LSMF, of the importance of recognizing the goosebumps, and that maybe, just maybe they arise out of an innate sense of our God's love and power over us. I am a singer and I always have been I guess. Sometimes I sing praise to God through song, other times through my physical actions. I pray that my songs honor him appropriately. I pray further that I would continue to see each day as an opportunity.

We as Christians and as Americans are blessed with much in these trying times. Perhaps, just perhaps, we should focus on finding ways to sacrifice what we have for others. The blessing and abundance would be returned to us a hundred fold... I believe, I know this to be true. I am a witness to the generosity of my Father who has taken care of me, and sacrificed himself for me.

Embrace your freedom!

As we enter the 4th of July weekend, I would encourage everyone to think carefully about the words and message of this wonderful song.

We are a nation of freedoms, earned by the sacrifices of so many before us. We should not go quietly into the night making the mistakes of so many other cultures and civilizations before us. Take responsibility for yourselves and your actions at every level. Do not allow the government to take your freedom from you.

Be the change you seek! Join your fellow citizens and make a difference with your talents and skills, whatever they are. Love your neighbors, embrace diversity of thought, and continually seek inclusion and wisdom. Be elite, never elitist in your thoughts and actions.

God has always been on Twitter

As I taught this morning in Open Door, we went through a lot of ideas about talking, listening and when/how we should do any of it. With Twitter in the news so much due to the Iran crisis and its capabilities to flaunt gov't censorship, I could help making one important distinction.

I was teaching my class that we are indeed bombarded with "information energy" in today's world and that it is critically important to demonstrate a discipline of availability to God. I began to use the twitter cloud of an example of how we can at any moment, tune in, and see what thousands, maybe even millions are talking about in a linear stream. The problem here is that so much of it is useless information.

For me, the value comes from seeing patterns and the occasional diamond in the rough. Here is the question: When I spend so much energy listening to what other people say, whether in tweets, 24 hours news cycles, television, radio... Do I have the discipline to listen for God speaking to me in the "still small voice" among the storms. Am I capable, indeed, am I even attempting to spend time listening to something other than the world around me?

In order to hear God, and discern his will for me, I must embrace a discipline of "time out" and just look at the occasional tree, flower, even sunrise. With all of my knowledge and ability, I can't make a tree. God watches and listens to our Twitter cloud of thoughts and prayers all the time. Twitter is actually a poor substitute, because it forces concurrent ideas into a linear stream of information so that we can relate to it and process it. God has no such constraints. He uses his mastery of concurrent diversity to love all of us all the time and hear all of us all the time.

It is my sincere prayer that I can get better at listening more, talking less, and perhaps even unplug from this neverending distraction machine. I value technology, the internet, facebook and even Twitter, but I value my relationship with Jesus more. He is there for me when the power is out, when I am disheartened, when I am filled with hubris, and even when I fail. He loves me when I succeed and when I fail, and he is my Abba father... my refuge and my vision/hope for the future.

All of this came out of 1 Samuel 3:1-10
If I could have, I would have put this on to Twitter in a series of Tweets.. alas, I am too old to be able to express my thoughts that succinctly. Perhaps, I'll leave that to my kids for the future. I am stuck in blog/email world for this level of complex thinking.

Universal Healthcare Debate Model- IT job opportunity!

What we all need for the healthcare debate is an analysis tool built on use case examples versus system cost. Lets pick say 20 typical American profiles and build an analysis model to showcase the costs and impact to the "average american". I think it would be interesting to see the use cases identified against the standard "polling demographic groups" to allow us to cross reference the cost benefits by the "voting public".. Ultimately, that is what will be necessary to get us all to give up something for the "greater good"..

Next.. we need a basic cost plotting where we view the systemic cost projections versus the "pay go" savings provisions. These system costs/benefits need to be plotted for projections and assumptions in the 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 10 year and 20 year timelines.. Is this a lot of work? Yes? but the gov't can do it.. Lets see them just build a website to show the American public how all of the different proposals stack up.. honestly, transparently, with avenues for commentary built in right in..

We ALL want to see more people with better healthcare. Lets just do it transparently an with data right out front in way that the general population can understand it. Job opportunity for someone who wants a website that will get millions of hits and traction for advertising and beyond..

Ratings, Rules, Rebel, Recognition, Rewards, Reruns, Relevance

The Prillaman family went to see Star Trek tonight as a group. Yes, I know the rating. Don't worry, Clara fell asleep, as expected, about 10 mins into the story. A few weeks ago, I saw it and made some comments about its lack of redeeming qualities, yet I LOVED it and thought it was pure entertainment. This movie follows all of my rules for a Summer action hit. Good guys, bad guys, little romance mixed with some skin, lots of space battles, lasers and torpedoes along with a "red matter" super weapon drawn from the future because of a catastrophic mistake. Mix in the historic relevance of the now classic Star Trek characters as young men and it is a two hour ride of non-stop fun.

After my second viewing, one relevant theme jumped out at me. Rules are not always right, and institutional compliance is not the path to recognition. As a matter of history, the rebels most often have made the difference in realms of real change. Despite all of our enlightenment and reasoning, we never have quite put together a system which seems capable of rewarding only following the rules.

I strive to pattern my life after a rebel of sorts, yet as I grow older these days, I have learned the power of respecting those who have gone before me and faced similar trials. I am blessed with an innate confidence in my abilities, but I temper that with understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in my life. Many have gone before me and enabled me. I love them, and I learn from them, but I am never afraid to step out on a bold course and seek out new ideas and living, despite the risks.

Life is not a series of reruns nor is it a crisp linear equation of actions and consequences leading to success and failure. It is a mix of relationships, battles, women and children, friends, challenges, and orders/purpose. I, like Kirk, don't believe in the no win scenario because I live in a world of blessing provided by a loving God. I may not win every fight, but at the end of the day I can face my Kobyashi Maru scenario without fear, because God is my refuge and strength. This knowledge frees me and makes everything relevant and even helps me to deal with my inner rebel.

Information & Influence Infiltration - FUN? Forum 061209

Last night's forum topics ranged far and wide but centered on influence and the many many channels by which it is delivered or allowed to "infiltrate" our lives. Full disclosure is required here in that the words following are "spun" and presented in a Jeff world view.

The discussion and emotions were rich and deep, and as I try to summarize I freely admit that my view and memory is limited. Hopefully, comments and additions will be added here by the other attendees.

We talked a lot about movies, and media and the choices that ensue in our daily lives. Is our work ethic as a society being impacted by the media and technology and the ensuing "culture of entitlement" presented by the "happily ever after/everything will be alright" mentality of movies?

Our canon of movies ranged far and wide, from Sophie's choice, to Failsafe, to Bedtime Stories, to 12 Angry Men. Titanic came up and we acknowledged that stories mixed with historical events are powerfully compelling, even though the central event of the story is often "missed" because ultimately we focus on the humans, relationships and the human interests/issues in events.

Questions & Thoughs arose as they always do: (some that I can remember today follow)

• When the media reports "national" issues is it really relevant to our life?
• Does a focus on ideological/national issues distract us from focusing on the community and relationships most directly around us?
• Is the influence of the media greater now than in the past?
• How does the rate of technological change and adoption affect our daily lives?
• The intersection of movies, media and journalism with entertainment is "dangerous" because the influence of opinions is injected with subtlety.

I am most proud of the opportunity to talk and think with friends in a safe "inclusive" environment where diversity and opinion are valued.

Slacker Rant & Generation L

this guy did a great job laying out what is such a simple concept.

This is from http://www.jayandjack.com/

Future Forums

Friday Nt Forums in the Future:
on June 5: we will continue with the 912 principles & the Declaration of Independence
note: bring enough food for your family and guests.. we will eat "covered dish style" from 6-7 and then talk from 7-9.


Future topics for the forum are likely to include: the Church & the government, Influence of Arts on world, Obamanomics, The Great Depression, Raising kids in our entitlement society, Universal Healthcare, Gay Marriage and embracing diversity, Rich v. Poor in U.S.A. , Green future... Socialism, Fascism in Our time/town...

who knows we may even have some guest experts..