Postmodern Renaissance Culture Revolutionary

Last night the family went out to eat with friends. Lisa had tried a new restaurant and wanted me to try it. Los Cabos is a new TexMex place in Broken Arrow. It is located next door to Bass Pro. It's a big restaurant with lots of seating. They have a patio room that looks over the pond. There are supposedly tortilla chip loving fish in the pond that you can feed. The menu was heavily weighted with enchiladas and fajitas. You can get tacos, tamales, and burritos as well. Price wise the supper menu was a little pricey for Mexican. Dinners start out at 8.99 and go up to about 11.99. Steaks and ribs run even higher. I went with a combination platter with three types of enchiladas (cheese, beef, and chicken fajita). I wasn't greatly impressed. The flavor was not as filled out as I like. It seemed to be missing something. It had a blandness quality that disrupted the entire dish. Lisa enjoys the chicken fajita enchilada and is overly protective of it. She wouldn't even consider s...

Yesterday's sermon spoke deeply to some. I had some great feedback from folks. Thank you all for being receptive. I admit that part of the passion behind yesterday's sermon was frustration with the growing level of broken relationships in the church because of offense (real and received/perceived). But someone challenged me on something that I said. Let me start by saying that I do not mind people challenging me if they don't agree with something. I don't even mind if you go so far as to say, "You are wrong, buddy." Just let me know how you came to your position. That way I won't take offense. For those who didn't have the benefit of yesterday's sermon, here is the nutshell version. TEXT: Matthew 18:15-18 TITLE: Confronting Offensive Behavior I started by relating the week's events regarding the Imus/Rutgers news blitz. No matter where you turned, every news source was fixated on this incident. So I wrestled with why this bugged me. It came dow...

When I was in seminary, I read a book that had a deep and profound impact on me. Well, two really cause I did read the Bible. But the book I'm talking about was a novel. I typically will not read "Christian" fiction. I haven't found too many overtly Christian novels stimulating. But this one was very engaging. I began reading it one morning and only got of the couch to go to the bathroom and to walk down to the corner store for something to eat. I finished it in 10 hours. It was an exciting and very addictive read. The book is A Skeleton In God's Closet by Paul L. Maier. The premise of the book is the discovery of solid proof that Jesus was not resurrected but stayed dead. It also explores the reaction to the discovery. And also how the man responsible for the discovery handles the consequences. I picked the book up off the shelf again this week. It's going to be my weekend read. I like reading it around Easter. But the book puts forward a very important ques...

I do not hide the fact that I do not approve of organized athletic activities for youth and children. I have my own demons to blame for some of it. But as I watch the growth of organized programs, I see the life, fun, and passion for athletic activities being sucked out and replaced with rigid professionalism. The latest victim - infield chatter. You know the traditional chatter - "Hey batt-a-batt-a-batt-a, swiiing batta." Occasionally you'd hear things about a pitcher's arm. Most times it is to intimidate the batter into swinging poorly or get the pitcher riled so they can't pitch with accuracy. But here is an article from the Cincinnati Enquirer: The Knothole Club of Greater Cincinnati has decided to eliminate "chatter." Unless the chatter is "positive" and directed at your own team. You can't say "We want a pitcher, not an underwear stitcher!" unless, maybe, you grew up in a culture that idolizes underwear stitchers. Standings ...

I have preached on worldview. It is the lens or lenses through which each one of us understands and responds to the circumstances in our lives. I believe that Christians should have a worldview that is heavily weighted toward a biblical understanding of God as revealed through Jesus Christ. And that our response to the world should be patterned as much as possible after the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. As a way of discovering how you may view the world, I would present this blog quiz. What is posted here is my results. I will interpret at the end. But you can also find your own theological worldview by following the link. You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan . You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called ...

I promised my wife a blog post for her birthday. I know. What every woman wants from her husband. This one is different. Lisa has a dream to sing publicly. Not in church. But on stage in front of folks. So I heard about an opportunity to spread those wings. And told her about open auditions for the Tulsa Driller's baseball teams. Not to play baseball. But to sing the National Anthem before the game. So on her birthday, Lisa auditioned for the talent scout to sing the National Anthem. And like a good husband, I'm posting it for the world to see. Lisa did a good job. Of course, she didn't believe me. But after 1 1/2 hours of hearing the National Anthem sung in some very interesting ways, I will never hear the National Anthem the same way again.