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My birthday is next tuesday. i’m going to be a whoppin’ 26 years old…
but on tuesday i’ll be at a conference in Orlando (National New Church Conference, the largest gathering of church planters in North America) — so Mel wanted to take me to a movie and celebrate last night. Annually she makes me ribs on my birthday… she makes the best ribs, and its always something i look forward to.
we also went to see the Sentinel last night. we are HUGE fans of 24 and if they made Jack Bauer pajamas, i’m sure Mel would wear them. Jack Bauer is the new James Bond (see the name similarities?)

However, if you are a Jack Bauer/24 fan, don’t go see the Sentinel. I’m sure they are hoping that Kiefer’s character will carry some weight; which is why they probably lacked on the character development side of things. Agent Breckenridge was a very different character from Jack, he is a by-the-book investigator who foreshadows his own wrongful ambition toward his old mentor by explaining to a few local cops the problem with hunches (the problem, he says, is that when you have a hunch its all you see and you miss the evidence). They left his character to radio calls and other expressionless moments (which are typically what Keifer excels in) hoping to compliment this with a hot sidekick. Enter Eva Longoria. I haven’t seen Desperate Housewives, nor do i plan to; but this performance didn’t inspire me to change my mind in the least bit. It was pretty obvious she was cast for eye-candy alone as the camera zooms in on her rear in her first scene. She honestly seemed like an awkward fit in the movie and never seemed to quite fit in… she always seemed out of place.

So, on to the plot. No spoilers here, of course, but if you have half-a-brain you can conjecture most of the turns the movie takes. Very little caught me off guard. It’s formulaic story-line complimented its type-casting and bad acting. The eveneing wasn’t a total loss, the movie did have some enjoyable parts, and anytime i get to spend an evening with my wife it’s a great thing. (Thanks Mel!)

To be honest, i’m a movie fan, but this is one movie i won’t watch again if i have anything to say about it. It wasn’t a complete waste, but for this predictable action flick, i give a 2.5 out of 5.

at the Young Theologians Society blog… here

Easter has been an exciting one this year. we really hadn’t planned anything extra-special for Easter this year. it almost snuck up on us with everything else going on. we just completed 40 days a few weeks ago, so our 2 year anniversary and easter have not been as big of a ‘push’ as we would usually do.
nonetheless, we had good attendance and the vibe seemed to be pretty good today.

oddly enough, despite the good times; it was rough getting there. I got an email last night from Jim that he was sick. So he sends me his sermon, not quite sure if he’ll be there or not in the morning. He was too sick to come this morning… and i think all went well.

of course you’ll be able to podcast, or download this Easter’s sermon from our website (www.northcrosschurch.net, then click ‘listen online’)

hope everyone has also had an exciting adventure this Easter.

“…apparently in the medicine community, negative means good. which makes absolutely no sense. in the real world community, that would be chaos.” – Micheal Scott

we are huge fans of 24.  i saw some of these facts (jackbauerfacts.com) and then again on someone’s blog, so i thought i’d post them:

* Jack Bauer’s calendar goes from March 31st to April 2nd; no one fools Jack Bauer.



* If everyone on 24 followed Jack’s instructions, it would be called 12.
* If you wake up in the morning, it’s because Jack Bauer spared your life.
* Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
* There have been no terrorist attacks in the United States since Jack Bauer appeared on television.
* When someone asks Jack Bauer how his day is going, Jack replies, “Previously on 24…”
* Jack Bauer doesn’t speak any foreign languages, but he can make any foreigner speak English in a matter of minutes.
* When Google doesn’t know the answer, it asks Jack Bauerfor help.

reading some blogs today, i found some cool thoughts from a book i just added to my wishlist.
its from the book Light and Heat: the Puritan View of the Pulpit by Dr. R. Bruce Bickel

i thought it was cool. hope you enjoy.

Modern Finneyism (first) versus Puritan Evangelism (second)

1. The view of the salvation process is determined by the needs of man.

1. The view of the salvation process is determined by the character of God.

2. Salvation emphasizes what man can receive from God.

2. Salvation emphasizes what God chose to accomplish for man.

3. The theme of salvation is the reception of eternal life.

3. The theme of salvation is the glory of God.

4. Man is the subject of salvation.

4. God is the subject of salvation.

5. There are varying degrees man’s ability to choose God.

5. Man is totally unable to choose God.

6. The Holy Spirit’s role is to persuade.

6. The Holy Spirit’s role is to apply.

7. The preacher’s role is to preach for decisions— to battle the hearer’s will.

7. The preacher’s role is to preach to the conscience—to reveal truth.

8. The gospel is the offer of the possibility of salvation.

8. The gospel is the offer of the Savior.

9. The gospel emphasis is to meet the needs of man.

9. The gospel emphasis is to take people into the presence of God.

10. The central feature is the offer of eternal life.

10. The central feature is the offer of reconciliation, of which eternal life is a consequence.

11. Man is the reason why Christ died.

11. God is the reason why Christ died.

12. Man has the power to accept the gospel.

12. Man must be prepared by God to accept the gospel.

13. Evangelists fix the time for decision.

13. God determines the time for response.

14. Man can choose God at any time.

14. God causes man to choose at His time.

15. Assurance is a ministry assigned to man.

15. Assurance is a ministry assigned to the Holy Spirit.

16. Assurance is pronounced by man.

16. Assurance is affirmed by God and His Word.

17. The basis of assurance is scriptural promises.

17. The basis for assurance is scriptural promises, the inner work of the Spirit, and the character and conduct of the convert.

18. There is a relationship between faith and assurance.

18. There is a relationship between assurance, faith, and obedience.

19. The gospel secures justification.

19. The gospel secures justification and sanctification.

20. The gospel is something one gets.

20. The gospel is something God chooses to do.

21. The gospel is simple.

21. The gospel is simple, but not shallow.

22. The gospel is about man, from God, and for man.

22. The gospel is about God, from God, and for God.

23. The gospel deals with man’s legal problem—sin.

23. The gospel deals with man’s legal problem—sin—and man’s moral problem—the heart.

24. Christ is a Savior from what one has done.

24. Christ is a Savior from what one has done as well as what one is.

25. The offices and benefits of Christ are often separated.

25. The offices and benefits of Christ are always combined.

whatever did happen to the good ole days?
churches met once a month.
pastors preached 1 sermon 4 times.
programs didn’t drive the church.
faith seemed to integrate daily lives.
despite several setbacks, the church at least moved forward… in an escape from politics.

i guess they had many more worries. but now we deal with a whole new set of problems. quality of ministry, leadership ability, millions of volunteers needed, sound/technical issues and set-up, and the list goes on and on.

of course, i know we tend to only remember the ‘good things’ about history; but did the church of the reformation-age seem to be much more about God than we are?
i talk to more guys interested in the paycheck they’ll receive than the amount of commitment and sacrifice they will be allowed (and honored) to be a part of. i hear more guys wanting to be close to home, instead of embracing a missional nature of going wherever whenever. i hear more guys looking for blind followers, instead of embracing a community that will be honest with them and help them grow (and not just let them think they’re perfect).

i guess that’s the thing i enjoy. embracing my imperfection, but longing to be made perfect in Christ. i know i’m screwed up… maybe that’s the difference.

believe it or not, i love to be busy. i love having things to do. not just anything, of course, but when i do have a full day i actually perform much better.
today i’ll be gone most of the day, it will be refreshing since i’ve been sick and cooped up in this house so much the past 2 weeks.
but i think i do have a little too much on my plate for the week..

just thought i’d test posting from a widget on my mac…