Phil Wilson's Blog

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Joke of the Day

Big Week

2009-07-28T09:03:00.002-04:00

Accomplishments for Connor this week:

Successfully transitioned to big boy bed and hasn't fallen out yet.
Successfully achieved most potty training.
Successfully signed up for soccer (pics of him in outfit to follow).

It's really been a big week for the kid. He's come a long way this summer, especially in a summer where he's had a broken leg and a tonsillectomy. And if it feels like I talk more about him than Kinsey right now, well, she's pretty static at this point. She's still working on some attitude and behavior issues, but 90-95% of the time, she's just a sweet girl. We're gearing up for the school year here soon and that will be an interesting transition since she's moving to a new one due to rezoning. It's been an interesting summer for the Wilson's and will probably continue so.

Age of Entertainment: "Love"

2009-07-24T12:32:00.004-04:00

After the age of Enlightenment, this age will be known as the age of Entertainment.

We spend more in our lives on Entertainment than we do on just about everything else
for our media players, our computers, our TVs, our media collections. We pay our actors and sports players obscene amounts of money to entertain us on a regular basis. As a result that entertainment shapes us we get our ideas about life from our media and entertainment.
And it works. Media influences us. If it didn't why would there be commercials?

Because it shapes us, we believe what it tells us about life. And very prominently, love. We see couples on TV and movies and in our songs who are madly deeply in love, all the time. And that becomes our frame of reference. So we marry for what we think is love/romance/whatever, and when the reality of life doesn't match that expectation, people might try to make it. We might give it our best shot, But in a quick fix society, it's easy to take the quick fix.

It's deeply troubling to me that couples tend to spend much more time preparing for the first day of their marriage and not for the rest of their lives.

The truth of the matter is that love is there. It really is. It just doesn't look like what we see in the media. It can sometimes look like being so frustrated with your spouse that you can't see straight and deciding in that moment to work it out. It looks like being honest, even when the honesty is the worst thing you can do.

We allow ourselves to be shaped by what we choose, and many of us choose to allow the media to shape us.

And in fact, not only can the media be destructive in our mindsets about love, but just as much or more so about sex. That's the absolute worst thing about porn. Well, maybe not as bad as the degredation of the people involved in it, but the thing about porn is that it sets guys (and some girls) to have expectations about what sex is. And porn is the furthest thing from God's idea about sex.

Sex viewed from a pornographic standpoint is basically just mutual masturbation. And for a guy to go into a marriage expecting his wife to do what porn stars do is so incredibly destructive I can hardly put it into words. And regular media depictions of sex to a lesser degree, but still destructive.

We have to be responsible consumers of media. Not all media is bad and not all entertainment is bad. But as followers of Christ, we have to understand how the media affects us and our journey to being like Jesus. Sorry if this was a bit scattershot, but it's trying to get some ideas down...

YouTube Thursday: Don Meyer at the ESPYs

2009-07-23T09:12:00.002-04:00

Most award shows are stupid or irrelevant and the ESPY's on ESPN are no less so. An awards show for athletes? Seriously? Like winning championships and making stupid money for playing games not an award enough? Well, honestly the best thing about the ESPY's is the awarding of the Jimmy V award to a deserving sports figure for overcoming adversity and this year's award went to current Northern State and former Lipscomb University coach Don Meyer. It's a long video, approaching 10 minutes, but it very good and well worth the watch.

Turning Corners

2009-07-21T09:36:00.003-04:00

Well, it looks like we're starting to turn some corners with Connor. I've talked about some of his issues with eating before. He's refused to eat food that he doesn't want to, going to far as to vomit it up.

As of the last couple of weeks, we've been able to bribe him with ice cream to get him to eat a couple of green beans, and that's a pretty huge deal for him. He still looks like he's swallowing that tastes like feet, but he's chewing them and taking them down, so we're just working through baby steps.

He's also really starting to do some serious potty training. We're getting pretty solid with #1 when he sits on the potty, even though he's not really able to discern the "pee feeling" yet. We bribed him with some "Cars" toys for that one, plus making a big deal about when he does it.

We've also procured a mattress and frame for his "big boy" bed that he'll be moving into very soon, as we take down his crib. It seems like this stage has lasted longer for him than it did for Kinsey, but that's probably just my bad memory. At any rate, big things are happening for Connor. He's adjusting well and really doing well. We're very grateful to have such a great kid, as well as his awesome big sister.

Age of Entertainment

2009-07-17T00:59:00.002-04:00

In the last few weeks, we've been been bombarded by the deaths of "celebrities," people that we've basically ascribed fame to because of performance on stage, screen, or field of play. And what has become interesting to me over the course of this time is how much we're influenced and even driven by entertainment and our pursuits of entertainment.

As our society has become more and more a leisure-oriented one, for many upper- and middle-class people, we no longer work for survival. We work to provide for our needs, for certain, but so much of our dollars go out for entertainment and pleasure. It's become such an integral part of our lives that we can sometimes focus on our pursuit of that over and above everything else.

Now, some aspects of entertainment can be good. We can form some community based around common experiences: series finales, championships, etc. All of which is even more facilitated by the Web which allows fans of the third board op on the right from SportsNight to find and engage with other people of the same ilk. We can gain enjoyment and even happiness from these times. We can experience serious emotion from these times that we might not open ourselves up to.

But many times entertainment can also be a substitute for real engagement with others. And even worse, it can color our ideas about how the world can work in such warped ways that we buy into what we're being sold. And with entertainment, we're always being sold something.

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to explore how entertainment can affect our ideas of worship and of love and perhaps some other areas. I hope that in talking about this some, we can try to fight against some of the power that entertainment has over us, and figure out some ways to allow God back into those places.

YouTube Thursday: You've Got Mail - the Suspense Thriller

2009-07-16T09:58:00.002-04:00

In the spirit of 10 Things I Hate About Commandments from many moons ago, I offer this recut trailer of You've Got Mail, the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy. No, the other one. Yeah, the one without the volcano.

Healing

2009-07-14T08:51:00.002-04:00

If you've been reading me the last month or so, you know that the Wilson's have suffered through a multitude of medical maladies.

I'm happy to say that as of today, Connor is done. His tonsils have been declared healed and as of yesterday, he has been released from his walking boot to resume his two normal three-year-old speeds: full speed or asleep. It was kind of funny to see him on a playground last night, limping a little bit as he remembers to use his leg. The transition hasn't been as tough yet as when he came out of his cast. Hopefully, it won't be.

On my side, I'm healing well from my knee surgery. I'm hoping to come out of my big brace this week, but that's up to my physical therapist and then get into something less constrictive. All in all, we're healing up rather well. Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers on our behalf and especially Sheryl's.

Almsgiving

2009-07-10T08:48:00.003-04:00

Like I said Monday, I'm crafting a couple of posts on some things and I'm waiting for them to feel right. So for today, I'm going to steal a question that was asked in the Otter Creek summer class based on Matthew 6. TJ McCloud (one of our ministers) referred to Jesus' thought that when we give to the poor we shouldn't let people see it, but do it in secret.

Matthew 6:1-4

¹"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
²"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Based on that, should a Christian claim charitable contributions as deductions on their taxes?

YouTube Thursday: Favorite McNair Play Ever

2009-07-09T09:20:00.002-04:00

With no commentary on his off-the-field issues at this point, this is how I remember Steve McNair.

(And no, I couldn't find one in English)

Gone A Lot

2009-07-06T10:56:00.000-04:00

Hi all.

Sorry I've been away from the blog for the last little while. With injuries and travels and such it's been a busy summer (as most of them are).

I'm still sitting on a post about how Christians can be more redemptive in our reactions to abortion, as well as with all the "celebrity" deaths recently, how our culture is in an "Age of Entertainment" where celebrities are the role models and the majority of our time is spent in pursuit of entertainment.

Those are both fairly involved and I want to craft them in the best way possible for discussion and thoughts.

Hope you all had a good 4th of July.

Wilson Medical Saga

2009-06-30T00:28:00.003-04:00

As I referred to a couple of weeks back, Connor both had his leg broken (by me) and had a tonsillectomy (not by me). And last Monday, I had knee surgery to repair my torn ACL, which I did not tear by going into a burning house and saving a mother and baby. Although if you want to believe that (or tell other people that you do, that's fine by me.)

Here's Connor recuperating from the tonsillectomy. The bucket beside him is what you think it would be for.

Me with my crown, badge, and trophy for being the #1 Dad on Father's Day.

Me with the kids before bed on Father's Day

Two Crips on the Couch together. That's me a couple of days after my surgery

Connor just before his cast came off on Monday.

The side view of his cast.

And now, here's the walking boot he's in.

Thankfully, all the recoveries are going well. Connor's basically over his tonsillectomy. There's still some healing going on. He's got two or three weeks in the walking cast. I've had all the stitches removed from my surgery as well as my brace has been unlocked and I'm officially bending at the knee. I started physical therapy Monday and will continue that for the foreseeable future. I'm eternally grateful for Sheryl suffering the medical drama that has been our lives for the last couple of months, and Kinsey has been an amazing little girl too.

We're thankful for God's provision in our life, both in a job that provides much-needed medical insurances, and for our church family and blood families being so close to pick up so much slack for our daily lives: meals, yard mowing, comfort, etc. We're getting better, thankfully, and hopefully that will continue.

Knee Surgery

2009-06-23T22:25:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I had my knee surgery on Monday to repair my torn ACL. The surgery went well and I'm starting to put a little weight on it. I was fortunate that it was able to be done arthroscopically so my recovery time should be quicker than in other circumstances.

In addition to me, Connor's recovering from his tonsillectomy well and his leg is healing well enough that his cast should be able to come off next week.

Thanks for all the prayers for our family and please continue them for us, as well as Sheryl as she takes care of us.

"Love Your Enemies"

2009-06-19T08:19:00.001-04:00

One of the hardest statements that Jesus ever made was his admonishment to love our enemies. To understand why this was so hard we have to remember the audience that Jesus was talking to. The Jews of Palestine at that point were an occupied people. Rome had been their overlords for decades and the dream of the Jewish people was for the promised Messiah to come and over-throw them.

So when Jesus tells his audience in the Sermon on the Mount that they are to love their enemies, pray for those who curse them, turn the other cheek and go the extra mile, he's not simply talking about loving and responding kindly to those who speak badly about us. What he is talking about here is a radical love that goes beyond loving those who love us; he's talking about loving people that seek our harm, that go against everything we as followers of Jesus might stand for.

In his book, The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, David Dark talks about perversion and not simply in the sexual manner that we mostly think about perversion in. He points out that anytime we reduce someone to a caricature or to a single dimension of who they are, we are perverting them, because we're not taking into account the whole person, created in the image of God. Whether that is a woman that we look at and think is "hot" or even someone we classify as a "terrorist," looking at a single aspect of someone and defining the person by that aspect is perversion. And the worst form of that perversion is deciding to hate someone based on that aspect.

And so, when Jesus calls us to "love our enemies," what he's calling us to do is to actively look beyond a person as an "enemy," and to see God in them, whether they do or not. Because it is only in love that a heart can be changed, and that is what Jesus came to do, to turn the hearts of people back to the God that created them.

YouTube Thursday: Total Eclipse of the Heart (Literal Version)

2009-06-18T09:09:00.002-04:00

A couple of months back, I posted a link to the literal version of the classic a-Ha video, Take On Me, which I found pretty hilarious. And last week, I came across the literal version of one of the greatest "HUH?" videos of all time.

Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart

Connor's Tonsils

2009-06-17T01:50:00.004-04:00

On Monday, Connor had a surgery to take out his tonsils. He's had very bad sleep apnea as well as consistent sinus infections, and when we looked at his tonsils, he had very little room in between them because of their size, so out they came. Here are some pics.

Right after the surgery, still fast asleep.

Slowly waking up, but he really hated that gown, so off it came.

Eating a popsicle, getting ready to go home (he threw up the popsicle on the way home)

All in all, he was a real trooper. He drank well and as a result, we were able to get home by 1pm. He had a rougher day Tuesday, throwing up quite a bit, but by the afternoon had seemed to get over it. For those of you wondering about giving a child a tonsillectomy when he'd just had a broken leg, it actually isn't the worst time to have a broken leg. You don't want a child to be too active after the surgery, so with his leg, Connor can't be his normal active self. Now, I'm not advocating breaking your 3 year old's leg before surgery, but in this case it kind of worked out for the best.

I'd also ask for your prayers for me as I get knee surgery next Monday, but especially for Sheryl as she deals with me and Connor convalescing at the same time.

Connor's Leg

2009-06-12T10:19:00.003-04:00

Connor's got broken by me on Wednesday at church on an inflatable slide.

Here's what his cast looks like.

YouTube Thursday: Han Solo, PI

2009-06-11T09:37:00.003-04:00

Seriously, this needs no introduction. Han Solo as Magnum PI.

And now the comparison to original.

2009-06-10T10:15:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Sheryl & I took the kids to see the new Disney/Pixar movie Up. In the grand tradition of the Pixar flicks, it is a masterful movie that combines storytelling with film-making to actually make you forget that you’re watching a cartoon, because you become so involved in the story itself.

The movie starts off with a depiction of the life of the main character, Carl, in 10 minutes. He meets the girl of his dreams as a boy, and they marry, planning great adventures with each other. But, as it does, life intervenes, and the plans they made fall by the wayside as they deal with those inevitabilities. The conclusion of that 10 minutes is some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful film making that I’ve seen in a long time.

As a result of life, Carl becomes a fairly standard Hollywood “crusty old man with a heart of gold,” but because of the investment of the first 10 minutes, the culmination of his conversion doesn’t seem Hollywood-ized. It seems like a natural part of his character coming out. He meets up with Russell an 8-10 year old Wilderness scout, Dug a talking dog, a strange chocolate-loving bird-creature, and an adventurer who is darker than he appears.

The voice acting is up to Pixar’s usual high standard with Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer in major roles (I actually would have like to have seen them enact one of their final scenes.) There are some genuinely funny moments and some fairly scary ones. Kinsey loved it, but Connor found some of the scenes with the guard dogs to be pretty scary.

It really is a great movie and yet another one to go into the pantheon that Pixar is developing. On one hand, you wonder when the magic is going to run out, but after so many incredible movies, maybe it never will.

Kinsey's Birthday

2009-06-09T01:03:00.003-04:00

Here are some various pictures from the weekend's festivities

Kinsey with her pink iPod

With her books she received from Uncle Paul and Aunt Sarah

Blowing out her candles

Kinsey's cake

Birthday Sunday

Birthday Sunday 2

Kinsey's gift from Gee

Happy Birthday, Kinsey

2009-06-05T12:36:00.002-04:00

No time for a bigger blogpost today. Look in the upcoming weeks for a post on the selfishness of Christians regarding abortion and why it's easy to love your enemies when you hold the bigger gun.

In the meantime, I'll simply wish my favorite daughter Kinsey a happy birthday. She's 8 today and just a joy in mine and Sheryl's life. I love her with all my heart, even when she makes me want to pull my hair out. Happy Birthday, Princess!

You Tube Thursday: Jon Stewart takes on Dick Cheney... again

2009-06-04T10:04:00.005-04:00

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney has been more vocal in recent months than at any point he was locked in his underground bunker feasting on the souls of the innocent (I might have made that last part of up).

Jon Stewart has always had a bit of an issue with Cheney. Here's one more example.

M - Th 11p / 10c

Dick (Uncut)

thedailyshow.com

Economic Crisis

Dress Up Pictures

2009-06-02T22:47:00.003-04:00

Kinsey got a hold of Connor tonight. And dressed him up.

Timeout Pictures

2009-06-02T22:47:00.002-04:00

Kinsey was put in timeout a couple of days ago.

She wasn't happy about it.

Open Thread

2009-05-29T09:29:00.001-04:00

So, I don't have any concrete thoughts on anything today...

What do you guys want to talk about?

YouTube Thursday: Bach Toccata and Fugue D Minor on a Giant Freaking Piano

2009-05-28T09:35:00.001-04:00

Connor's Birthday Video

2009-05-27T09:20:00.001-04:00

Connor

2009-05-26T09:31:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we celebrated Connor's 3rd birthday. I'll have some video of that up later. But for now, I'll just link to some old birthday stuff, including the day he was born... It's hard to believe that time can go by so quickly.

Two Years Old

Just Born

Shaping vs. Defining

2009-05-22T09:16:00.002-04:00

I had a recent discussion with a friend about failure, and it was interesting because in the course of this discussion, I realized many of the ways that we let our failures define us.

It’s so easy for us to look at the ways that we fail because those stick out to us. I remember the ways that I get angry at my kids, or losing a job, or reacting badly to someone at church. And if we’re not careful, those parts can truly come to define us and in many ways paralyze us because of that definition, particularly if we don’t feel that there’s anything else to define us besides our failures.

The flip side of that is completely forgetting our failures, ignoring them. And this is just as dangerous, because while obsessing over our failures is a waste of time and effort, forgetting them puts us in a situation where we don’t learn from them or become shaped by them. Because in my mind, there’s a difference between being shaped by failure and being defined by it. We should always look at failure and learn from that, be shaped by our previous experiences. But for those of us who claim Christ, that defines us. That makes us who we are. We push past our failures taking joy in Christ’s love and forgiveness, allowing us to continue to grow.

In life, like the Mythbusters say, “Failure is always an option.” But how we deal with it shows whether it will shape us or define us.

YouTube Thursday: V (2009)

2009-05-21T09:27:00.002-04:00

I loved the original V miniseries when I was a kid. Watched the TV show. Read the novels.

I hope this reimagining doesn't come across as cheesy as that looks now... 25 years later.

My Knee

2009-05-20T09:21:00.003-04:00

Sunday afternoon, I completely tore my ACL. This might be the story of how it happened.

-------------------

Having been disappointed in not being able to see Kinsey's dance recital (video coming later), I gave Connor to Sheryl and drove off, seeking solace in my solitude. I drove my '65 Mustang through the winding hills of Williamson County, breathing in the temporary freedom that the sound of the muffler gave me. Windows down. Radio off.

As I crested over a rise and began the descent, I looked to the left and saw black smoke rising from the trees. Thinking it was a farmer burning old leaves, I made to pass by, until I saw it smoke billowing higher and higher. I noticed that it was a large mansion burning. Not seeing anyone else around, I grabbed my phone to call 911. No signal. Stupid "no-cell-phone-tower-in-my-backyard" yuppies.

I tore down the driveway looking for any signs of people escaping. Nothing. Screeching the car to a halt, I jumped out and started calling out, "Is anyone there? Is anyone inside?" I couldn't hear anything, but I wondered if that was because the sound of the cracking fire that was drowning me out. I rushed up onto the massive porch, kicking the door in. The house was beginning to become engulfed in flames, but the bottom floor was only partially damaged. I rushed through, calling out for anyone there, but not hearing a reply. All of the bottom floor was sitting and dining and living rooms, so I knew if there was someone there, they must be upstairs.

Pulling up my shirt to cover my nose and mouth, I ran up the spiraling staircase taking the steps three at a time. Here, the flames were every where. As I yelled again, I heard faintly, "Help me! Help me!"

"Where are you?" I cried, looking and listening intently.

"Back here in the baby's room!" came the reply.

I looked down the smoky hallway, seeing "Molly" written in pink letters on the door at the end of the hall. I steeled myself and then dashed down to, shouting, "Get away from the door!" Flames rose around me as I ran my shoulder into it, not wanting to burn my hand on the door knob. I rushed in, seeing a woman holding an infant cowering in a corner away from the flames.

"It's ok, ma'am," I said. "We're going get out. Is there anyone else in the house?"

"No," she replied, through gasping breaths. "My husband and son are playing golf."

"Ok. Let's stand up. Give me Molly and we're going to have to run through the fire to get downstairs and outside." She handed the baby to me and took my hand. I looked at her. "On three. One... two... three...." and we took off.

The flames were continuing to grow and had now reached the bottom level, covering the walls of the foyer where the stairs led to. We quickly made our way down the stairs, and as we reached the last step, my shoe caught on the rug, twisting my leg, wrenching my knee, and felt a sickening pop. I cried out in pain as the woman stopped and looked back. "Here," I grunted through the pain. "Take Molly and get out of here!" She hesitated, then took the child and ran through the open door. I forced all my weight to the my left leg and dragged my right behind me. The flames were now on the stair behind me. I hop-dragged myself through the door, seeking the fresh air outside and willing myself to ignore the almost-unbearable pain. I made it through the door and in relief, collapsed down the stairs in a heap, looking up to see fire trucks coming down the driveway.

-----------------------

Or maybe I injured it playing softball trying to get back to second base to beat a tag.

Conflict

2009-05-15T10:34:00.002-04:00

Kinsey dances. She's in a dance group and has been for almost 4 years now. She's good, she has fun, and loves doing it.

She had a recital planned for this Sunday night, 6pm. But unfortunately, the venue where it was scheduled double booked us with another group and the recital had to get bumped... to 10:30am, Sunday. Now, I realize that for some people this isn't a big deal, but that's right smack in the middle of church time. Time that's very valuable to my family, and time that I'm actually paid to be doing a job, particularly on a Sunday like this upcoming one, where we're going to be having a lot of moving parts. And so I have to be at church. And miss one of Kinsey's dance recitals for the first time.

You know it's weird, growing up Church of Christ, Sunday's were sacrosanct. You didn't mess with them and you don't schedule other activities during the worship time. And I understand that this isn't the fault of the dance group Kinsey is in, and that they took the only available time that they had, but I feel very conflicted by this. I almost feel like I'm choosing church over my daughter. To which some might say, "Right on, that's exactly what you're supposed to do. And by the way, why is your daughter dancing anyway?"

I guess I make these decisions everyday. I choose to go to work and make money to support my family instead of staying home with my family and not. I play softball and miss a bedtime on occasion. I make choices a lot that affect the time I spend with my family. This one just seems to be more intense for some reason.

I hope at some point if Kinsey feels some separation from faith or from the church that she doesn't look back on this and think, "Oh yeah, and there was that one time that Dad missed my dance recital and went to church." I don't think she'll see it that way. I know she knows that I love her intensely and that I want to be there.

Press Release on Otter Creek's New Preaching Team

2009-05-15T09:53:00.003-04:00

Otter Creek, my home church, has released a press release on our new teaching team, Josh Graves and David Rubio.

New Preaching Team Joins Otter Creek Church

Brentwood church hires Josh Graves and David Rubio to reach post-modern generation and reach out to local community and beyond.

Nashville, Tennessee (Vocus/PRWEB ) May 15, 2009 -- The Elders of the Otter Creek Church in Brentwood, Tennessee, announce the hiring of Josh Graves and David Rubio as a new Preaching and Teaching Team.

We want to minister to needs wherever they are, but we are particularly interested in reaching our local community. These two young ministers are uniquely equipped to reach the post-modern generation within a few miles of our building that has not embraced Christianity.

Otter Creek is committed to addressing the challenges Christians face in today's culture. As a body, members are facing challenges hardly imagined a few years ago. And while Otter Creek is in what is known as the Bible Belt, on any given Sunday more people in this community are not in church than are in church.

These two very gifted, young ministers offer an opportunity to address these challenges in unique and creative ways. In addition to multiple services on Sunday, Otter Creek will be using new venues and new media to reach the post-modern generation. The Elders recently made new models for spiritual development through Bible study a priority, and this minister team is an important step in that direction.

Executive Minister Phil Gibbs says, "We want to minister to needs wherever they are, but we are particularly interested in reaching our local community. These two young ministers are uniquely equipped to reach the post-modern generation within a few miles of our building that has not embraced Christianity."

This new team is essential and necessary to the teaching ministry of the Otter Creek Church. Having these two men working together committed to God's Word provides an essential accountability and even motivation to pursue a deeper understanding of scripture and its application in the daily lives of the members of Otter Creek.

"In Josh Graves and David Rubio, we have two young, gifted communicators who can effectively connect the message of Jesus and God's eternal purposes with this generation and the generation to come in the greater Nashville area," says Fred Ewing, Otter Creek elder.

Elder Wayne Tomlinson includes, "The desire to meet our culture with the message of Jesus will place these ministers in many venues to share and teach the gospel of Jesus. The youthful energy of this minister team will provide leadership for the entire congregation as we strive to minister to the needs of our own members, others within the community, and people on the margins of society."

Starting at the end of the summer, Josh Graves will be the Teaching and Preaching Minister and will lead the Preaching and Teaching Team. Graves currently is the Teaching and Young Adult Minister at Rochester Church of Christ in Rochester Hills, Michigan. He earned his Master of Divinity at Lipscomb University and served as a Preaching Intern at Woodmont Hills Church in Nashville. Graves is working on a Doctorate of Ministry degree at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and is in final edits of his book, Jesus Feast. Graves played college basketball at Rochester College, and is a Kansas Jayhawk fan. He is married to Kara and they celebrated the birth of their first child, Lucas, last week.

"Reaching a postmodern culture demands a fresh imagination. Relationships, grass-roots response, and risk-taking are in," says Graves. "I am eager to partner with David Rubio, the elders and entire ministry staff of Otter Creek church in this new chapter. Otter Creek has a long history of being Christ's church in the Nashville area. This new phase will be an energizing time."

Graves adds, "In an age when most Protestant churches are experiencing significant decline, Otter Creek has grown substantially over the last fifteen years. The leaders have a vision to continue to reach the surrounding community instead of playing it safe. That's why we're moving at this time in our life to join the Otter Creek journey."

David Rubio currently is the Youth Minister at Otter Creek Church of Christ. Rubio is beginning a 15-month transition from youth ministry to adult ministry. He will continue as the Youth Minister until the fall of 2010 when he will move full time into Preaching and Pastoral Care. Prior to his six years at Otter Creek, Rubio served in youth ministry positions at churches in Birmingham and Memphis. He earned his bachelor's degree at Harding University and recently completed a Master of Divinity at Harding Graduate School of Religion. Rubio was a track athlete at Harding, and is a Memphis Tigers fan. He is married to Becky and they have three children, Madeline, Benson and Charity.

"How difficult would it be for one preaching minister to find the energy to lead and teach effectively while also having the time to know and love the members of such a large congregation?" Rubio asks. "When you add the challenge of sharing the story of God at work in the world--our story--with the community around us, the task simply appears too much for a single preaching minister. I believe this team approach will actually help to energize our entire staff for the adventure of ministry both inside and outside our congregation."

Rubio adds, "Since my favorite thing about ministry is relationships, the partnership approach to the preaching ministry is a perfect fit for me."

Hiring a new minister is an important step for any church. Almost a year ago, Otter Creek set out on the journey to hire a lead minister. Initially a subgroup of the Elders led the process and last December the elders were joined by other members to form an Evaluation Committee. Both the Committee and the Elders, who had ultimate responsibility for the decision, have spent much time working through this process.

As leader of the preaching and teaching team, Graves will teach two or three times a month and Rubio will teach one or two times a month. In addition to Josh and David, the church hopes to continue to hear occasionally from gifted speakers like Drs. Lee Camp and John York as a part of a broader preaching and teaching team.

For more information about the Otter Creek Church, visit www.OtterCreek.org.

The Otter Creek Church is a Christ-led, Spirit-powered, Grace-motivated family of believers. Our mission is to:

reach up through worship and holy living
reach in by fostering community and maturity
reach out through service, witness and influence

God is changing the world through us as we become Christ's presence in this place.

Any thoughts?

YouTube Thursday: Daily Show Goes After Pelosi

2009-05-14T09:25:00.003-04:00

Typically the Daily Show is thought of as a liberal comedy show. So why didn't the universe implode back on itself when the show went after Nancy Pelosi and why she didn't speak out against torture when she knew about it?

M - Th 11p / 10c

Waffle House

thedailyshow.com

Economic Crisis

Family Pics... Swinging...

2009-05-13T00:40:00.001-04:00

Childlike Questioning

2009-05-08T09:41:00.002-04:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been reading David Dark's The Sacredness of Questioning Everything, which is an excellent read and yesterday, I had the opportunity to listen to him speak at the Nashville Cohort. It was great to interact with him, especially as someone else who has grown up in the Church of Christ and has not allowed that upbringing to shackle him into a particular way of thinking, but to push and expand beyond that.

One of the questions brought up at the Cohort yesterday was about how we could have a "childlike" faith and still question things, i.e. doesn't having childlike faith mean you don't question? And I thought about my kids, and how mine and Sheryl's lives are full of questions. A lot of those questions are asking us to do things for them, but a lot of them are also about why things are the way they are, questions about life, questions about God. And it struck me that the reason they ask us those is because they trust us with the answers, even if the answer is sometimes, "I don't know." They have a basic trust that when we give them and an answer they might not understand, but they trust that we're not lying to them.

I don't think childlike faith means having no questions of God. God is big enough to handle our questions. I think childlike faith means asking questions all the time, to constantly be seeking, never thinking that we've arrived at all the answers. Sometimes it just means the questions have gotten bigger.

YouTube Thursday: Scrubs Finale

2009-05-07T09:51:00.003-04:00

I've extolled my love for Scrubs many times here. And dangit all if I didn't forget to record the finale last night.

So in my web browsing today, I found this, the final moments from last night's finale of Scrubs.

And yes, I got teary, because it's perfect. A perfect ending to this show.

Addendum: Why doctors call Scrubs the most accurate TV Show about the medical profession

Birthday Sunday

2009-05-05T00:48:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite Otter Creek traditions is Birthday Sunday. On the first Sunday of the month, we bring up the children who have birthdays that month and read off their names, say a prayer over them, and then give them cake (not on stage). Connor's birthday is in May so this was his time to go up and from my perspective in the tech booth I can take some pictures.

"All this, for me?"

Mommy on the praise team, trying to sneak a glance.

"Ok, I'll just stand here and look cutely awesome."

"Oh yeah, all my life group friends sit on that side."

All the children of Birthday Sunday.

Otter Creek News

2009-05-04T09:02:00.004-04:00

It's been a tumultuous 18 months at Otter Creek, from a staffing perspective. In December of 2007, our worship minister Brandon Scott Thomas announced that he was moving out of full-time ministry and into a new field of labor. Our minister of spiritual formation, Scott Owings, announced in April of last year that he was moving from church ministry into being a hospice chaplain. And in June of 2008, our preaching minister Tim Woodroof announced that he was stepping down.

Like I said, a tumultuous time at Otter Creek.

Well, over the past year, these positions have been slowly filling. We hired Murray Sanderson (blog) to be the worship minister. Sheryl and I have greatly enjoyed getting to know Murray and Jaime over the last 6 months, as well as working and partnering with them in ministry. Doug Sanders has been doing a lot of the congregational care work that Scott did, in addition to the benevolence work that he does.

The one position that hasn't been filled was teaching minister. And honestly, it wasn't as big a hole as I thought it was. Otter Creek was very fortunate to have a lot of men in place that could step easily into a pulpit. We got to experience some of Prentice Meador's last sermons. We've been able to hear from men like Lee Camp, John York, and our Youth minister David Rubio. Some incredible teachers. Like I said, it didn't feel like a huge hole, a big one, but not like the heart of Otter Creek was missing, because the heart of Otter Creek has never been her preachers. Preachers come and go; the people of the church are her heart. However, there was a continual question in people's minds. Who will be the next minister/teacher?

Yesterday, the Otter Creek elders answered that question and announced that we won't have just one, but two. The elders announced the hiring of Josh Graves and David Rubio to team teach. I honestly don't know a ton about Josh. I know that he's worked with Lee Camp some and I've heard him talk once or twice at Zoe. But he did an excellent job when he preached here on Palm Sunday and I really enjoyed that. I know Rubio very well and have talked with him several times. I really think that he is going to be a great teacher for us, moving from youth ministry to adult ministry over the next 15 months with Josh.

I'm honestly not that surprised at a team approach to this. I know many people at Otter that value having multiple voices and perspectives to hear from, much as we've had for the last 9 months, and especially the last 4 months or so, and so to continue that is very gratifying to hear. I am a little surprised at the youth of the team. Josh is 30 and David is 37. I had thought that the elders would choose an older/younger combination, not having both teachers be younger, but it's something that's exciting to see as well.

I'm very excited about this next step in Otter Creek's story. I think the elders and the minister search committee have made wise choices in this decision and I think that teaching that we're going to get over the next year, both theologically and practically, is going to be some of the best we've ever had. I think they are going to encourage us to walk in the way of Jesus with boldness and heart for the world around us. I pray that we as the church will have ears to hear what God will say through these two men and then the hearts to act on it.

Video Announcement

You can also listen to the announcement here.

Psychology of God

2009-05-01T01:13:00.002-04:00

Wow. Very interesting discussion on Torture that's still going on on last week's post. It's actually one of the reasons that I didn't post this week. I kind of didn't want to take away from that. Plus it's been an incredibly busy week overall, so not much time there either.

I got a Tweet (post on Twitter) from a friend of mine a couple of weeks back. I can't find it now, but it was something about God doing something amazing at a church he visited, and he's not very charismatic. I'm sure I'm butchering it, but that was the idea. At any rate, it got me thinking.

If I were a skeptic (and I sometimes am), I would chalk that up to pure emotionalism, married with a mindset that's preconditioned to believe in a God who would do certain "amazing" things. A trick of psychology basically.

But here's the thing. Even if that is true, why does the idea of God bother people so much? I guess I can understand, especially how many people use God to justify their own actions of hate or discrimination or even violence, but for most people, God is a way for the world to make sense, to have some shape, and that's not a bad thing. To try to derive some meaning from life, is the ultimate pursuit of humanity. It's what drives scientists to discover, musicians to write songs, poets to dream, parents to have children. We all derive meaning from those things and if adding God to the equation helps make that equation make sense, all the better.

Now, I don't think that belief in God and Jesus gives us license to be jerks. Probably Christians who are jerks would be jerks if they were Jewish, Muslim, atheist, or whatever. But if believing in Jesus makes us worse people than who we were, why would anyone want to follow Jesus?

It's completely possible that belief in God is a trick of our minds to give us comfort, but I think it's equally possible that it's not a trick, that it is the Holy Other stretching us and drawing us to God.

Torture and The Follower of Jesus

2009-04-24T10:11:00.006-04:00

Obviously, the big talk for the last couple of weeks is the release of the torture memos by the Obama administration, as well as the waffling that the President and his administration have done about the prosecution of individuals who either participated in the practice of "enhanced interrogation techniques" or the people who wrote legal opinions justifying it.

I'm not going to talk about the dissembling and fracturing of language participated in by the Bush administration because of these legal opinions ("these documents say that what we're doing isn't torture so I can go in front of America and say we don't torture.") or the waffling by the Obama administration ("No, we won't prosecute the people who did this. Um... when I said 'we,' I meant the White House. Anyone else can do what they want.")

What I will say this. If we claim to follow a Jesus who told us not only to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39), but also to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-45), if we claim to have the same attitude of Jesus and put others needs ahead of our own (Philippians 2:5-11), if we claim to follow a Savior who was tortured to death by the most powerful empire at the time, then as those followers we cannot condone or support this activity.

I honestly don't care what having committed torture says about America. I'm much more concerned that there are people who would view America's use of torture as a tantamount approval by Christians that torture is acceptable.

It's not.

Can torture gain information about potential terror attacks to prevent the loss of innocent life? Maybe. But the truth is that if we resort to tactics that those we consider evil use, then we are saying the (good) ends justifies the (evil) means. Here's the clue though. Almost everyone that we would consider evil, considers themselves good. A dictator typically thinks that he or she is doing what is best for their people and the means to accomplish that are unimportant.

If we claim to follow Jesus, we cannot be people who support torture. We simply cannot.

Addendum: A link about the history of waterboarding and its relationship to US Law. http://levellers.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/waterboarding-as-torture-in-us-law/

Growing Up

2009-04-23T14:45:00.003-04:00

I saw this image the other day and immediately printed it off and it's on my wall at work. I think Star Wars is my Hobbes for my kids.

For others, some poignant, some funny, go here

Quick Kids Update

2009-04-21T16:48:00.002-04:00

Sorry again about the late posting. Busy, busy times.

Kinsey is doing very well right now. She's doing very well in school, outside of getting distracted during her classwork time and not finishing that up. When she focuses though, she does very very well.

Connor is feeling much better after his coughing fits of a few weeks ago. He's sleeping through the nights and not having coughing much anymore. He's still going to have his tonsils taken out in June, so that should help him as well. He also ate a piece of broccoli at my mom and dad's on Sunday, which was a huge, huge deal. Hopefully we're on our way to eating more good things for him.

Weekend

2009-04-20T09:20:00.004-04:00

Sorry about not posting on Friday. Sheryl and I did another "Mommy and Daddy" weekend. Thanks to both sets of Grandparents for taking in our weekend orphan children. Much like last time, this was a very relaxing weekend, filled with sleeping in, watching movies, exercising, eating out, and driving around the mountains for northern Georgia and southern North Carolina. It was very relaxing and something that Sheryl and I have committed to do every year or two to remind ourselves that we're a couple even outside of the bond that we have because of our kids. We love our kids, but we also enjoy being by ourselves without them for short periods of time.

YouTube Thursday: Mythbusters Compact a Car

2009-04-16T09:16:00.002-04:00

I love Mythbusters. It combines my love of science (not always the best science, but hey, it's TV) and exploding things (usually). Last week was the season premiere of Mythbusters, focusing on car myths. And one that they tested was if a compact car would be fused between two head-on semis. It wasn't.

So they decided to amp it up to another level and they... well, I'll let them explain it. It might be the best thing they've done... maybe ever.

Easter Pics

2009-04-14T23:41:00.004-04:00

In front of the traditional Holy Saturday fire (It was cold)

With Gee in front of the Easter Egg tree

Easter Egg hunting

Sorry for the late posting. Busy day.

On the Street

2009-04-13T09:40:00.003-04:00

I've talked several times on this blog about my friendship and love for Doug Sanders and the work that he does for Otter Creek and for the people who have been marginalized by society.

He's started a new series on his blog, OC Reach Out, about spending Thursday night of Holy Week on the streets of Nashville as a homeless man. Link

I really hope you take a chance today to read it.

Luke 23:26-56 (TNIV)

2009-04-10T09:52:00.001-04:00

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²⁶ As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, 'Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' ³⁰ Then
" 'they will say to the mountains, "Fall on us!"
and to the hills, "Cover us!"

³¹ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One."

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

⁴³ Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." ^d]">When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

The Burial of Jesus

⁵⁰ Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, ⁵¹ who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. ⁵² Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. ⁵³ Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

⁵⁵ The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

YouTube Thursday: Always Be My Baby - David Cook

2009-04-09T13:13:00.002-04:00

TiVo is the greatest way to watch American Idol. You can skip the inane intros, and the inane judge, and listen to the songs and what matters from the judges. This year, I'm pretty much thinking Adam Lambert has it locked up.

Last year though, it was pretty obvious that it was going to come down to David Cook and David Archuleta. I was always a supporter of Cook because I liked his harder edge to the songs he chose and performed (and that Archuleta looked dead behind his eyes). At any rate, I knew for certain that David Cook was going to win after the Mariah Carey week where he turned a lightweight fun pop song into a really solid rock ballad with "Always Be My Baby."

Jon Stewart: Yes,Conservatives, Being in the Minority Sucks

2009-04-08T09:33:00.004-04:00

As I've stated many times, I'm an unabashed watcher of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Even as my watching of The Colbert Report has dropped to almost nothing, I still maintain my nightly release valve of watching the Daily Show and someone who was a second rate comedian that was blessed enough to find his niche exactly at the right time.

Last night, Stewart decided to take on some of the conservative angst being felt and expressed on talk radio and TV shows. (Some Adult Language)

M - Th 11p / 10c

Baracknophobia - Obey

comedycentral.com

Economic Crisis