Category: misc

Community is a web…

Thomas has some good thoughts on community and specifically online community.
Thomas says that we build community on the web and with new tools like the iPhone, or Myspace or Facebook and it may not be as bad as some might think.

Community is about connection… no longer solely physical connection… Its rubbish to say the world is going to end (OK… I paraphrase) because of tools such as the iPhone that can help us connect further with our community.
Maybe the very people the iPhone user is chattering idly with is his / her community? I have 54 friends on Facebook… (again I am not boasting here but stating a fact) I consider them just as important a part of my social fabric than my next door neighbour… who, btw, is new to the street and I haven’t had a chance to speak to him yet (Olly has though).

Watching Smackdown tonight?

Watching Smackdown tonight? The show was taped in New Orleans this week and my buddy Dennis (Apoc) is scheduled to appear near the end of the show.
Look for the sad clown getting punched in the face by Kane.
In other wrestling news, John Cena, Bret Hart, Chris Jericho, Ted “Million Dollar Man” DeBiase and Steve Blackman were on Larry King Live discussing the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide.
Watch the podcast if you missed it.
King also showed clips of a previous interview with Hulk Hogan.
Jericho said he thinks the media took the easy route out by blaming steroids for the Benoit event.
“I spoke at length with a psychiatrist here in Los Angeles who specializes in murder-suicide and she told me it’s never one thing. It’s always a combination of many things. I think it’s lazy reporting and lazy investigation that a lot of people are just tying this up in a nice steroid bow and putting it under the corner and moving along and saying that is the case. I did some research and if you are a massive caffeine user and abuser it can lead to hallucinations, depression, anxiety, violent behavior and sometimes psychotic behavior. Now if I came on here and said caffeine caused this you’d think I was a lunatic but if I take out caffeine and put in steroids with the exact same list of symptoms you’d say ‘Bingo’ that’s it. This is not about steroids this is about a man who had severe mental, damaging, horrible issues in his head that he kept bottled up inside and it exploded into this horrible violent act.”

Free Chick-Fil-A


Annie with Miss Cow
Originally uploaded by dollye_plagge.

Dollye and fam (sister Annie pictured with the cow) were hardcore and camped out at the new Forney Chick-Fil-A to be one of the first 100 people in line to get free Chick-Fil-A for a year.
Awesome. Annie and Dollye were 98 & 99. Lucky.
I’m wondering though where Matt was. He is after all the biggest Chick-Fil-A fan I know.
I guess he figured he has enough connections that he can get free Chick-Fil-A without standing in line all night.

More from Batterson

I had to head out for awhile today to help one of our road crews but I’m getting a chance to finish listening to Mark Batterson’s opening message to the 2007 Buzz Conference. More good stuff. Listen for yourself especially if you’re in a leadership role in ministry.

More quotes:

“Pacing yourself is one of the great challenges we face as leaders.”

“(God) said, ‘Mark, I want you to know it’s not what you can do for me but what I have done for you.'”

“My greatest fear is that my kids would grow up and regret being a pastor’s kid. If I knew they would regret being a pastor’s kid I would quit today – or maybe after the Buzz conference. I’m not going to sacrifice my family on the alter of ministry.”

“Are you living your life in a way that’s sustainable over the long term?”

3 Resolutions Batterson made this year:

  • Don’t check work related e-mail on my day off “The second I look down at my Palm I’m not 100% with my kids anymore.”
  • Use all of my vacation days this year “My kids deserve all of my vacation days”
  • I’m not going to be away from my family more than 30 nights

“My most important ministry this year by far was coaching my son’s basketball team”

“We as leaders are not real good at keeping a Sabbath. It is one of the 10 Commandments… God instituted the Sabbath for one simple reason, to remind us that we do not keep the planets in orbit.”

“Good routine can become bad routines if we don’t change the routine.”

“After singing a song 30 times you stop thinking about the lyrics. Maybe the role of a worship leader is to keep the worship from becoming this empty routine. Maybe the role of a teaching pastor is to keep the Bible from becoming routine. Maybe the role of a discipleship pastor is to keep the spiritual adventure an adventure and mix it up… good leaders confuse people.”

“Everything is an experiment.”

I love my life


Laurie gets ready
Originally uploaded by Jonathan D. Blundell.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love my life Laurie.
She continues to amaze me with her strength, patience, joy and life.
God knew exactly what He was doing when He brought us together, when He brought us together.
I love you Laurie. Thanks for loving me like you do.

New Salvation Army Store opened

Thomas and Olly’s Salvation Army in Bellshill, Scotland has opened their new store.
Congrats on opening the new store. I love this quote from Olly on the purpose of the store:
“Yeah..it will be great to raise more funds for the army, but this is not the main aim. Friendships hopefully will be built between the staff and the customers, and hopefully through time we may see some more new faces in our church, or in coming to Alpha, or house groups..ect….and see more people coming to know God as their personal Saviour. This would just be wonderful.”
Great place for a great purpose and a great cause.
Check out some pics from Olly.