"Psychic Wins Lottery"

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

My friend Dorothy sent me an email with several ironic questions. This was my favorite.

Christian or Alcoholic

Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle writes an article for Relevant Magazine this month called "Got Church? It does a body good." (Knowing a lot about Driscoll, this doesn't sound like a title he came up with.)

His opening lines are what really made me think.

I attended a state university tucked away in a small rural town that was so dull the only social alternatives were to become an alcholic or a Christian. So, I became a Christian during my freshmen year of college and then had the horrifying task of finding a church home. The only problem was that I had no idea what I was looking for -- I only knew that I did not want to land in a church serving in a cult leader's harem or touting some new fangled religion destined for the Blair Witch corner of hell.

Hansen gets it Done!

Coop didn't delete what I thought he wrote. Brant Hansen posted it.

Hansen posted some quotes from Gregg Easterbrook’s (no conservative, he) latest book The Progress Paradox : How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. Brant notes that Easterbrook is not a conservative. That is helpful, not to peg him, but to know what lenses were used in gathering the facts, and I think those lenses make these facts even more surprising.

The typical American has twice the buying power of his mother or father in 1960. (This is adjusted – in real terms.)

A hamburger cost a half-hour work for the typical American in the 50’s, now it costs the typical American three minutes of work.

1979 to 1999 – the percentage of native-born Americans in poverty DECLINED, not increased.

Whether we have 14 percent or 16 percent of Americans without health coverage, how many were without health coverage a couple of generations ago? Around 100 percent.

Factoring out new immigrants, the gap between “rich” and “poor” in our country is decreasing, not increasing. (Brookings Institution numbers.) This is largely attributed to significant advances in the African-American community.

While the median household income is increasing, the number of members per household is decreasing, from 4 (25 years ago) to 2.6 now. That means more money for fewer people.

Grandparents: 15 percent had central heat, 95 percent of our places now do. Zero percent had air conditioning; 78 percent of our dwellings do. Central air conditioning is included in almost every new construction, even in the far north of the country.

The primary concern in the health care community for the nation’s “poor” – poor only by our standards, right now – isn’t lack of food. It’s obesity. This is a first in world history.

(This concern is related to another: that our nation’s poor are, too often, taking advantage of the fact that they have the economic means to pay someone else prepare their food for them. Another world first.)

Average Americans not only live better than 99 percent of the humans who have ever existed, they live better than most of the royalty of history “if only owing to antibiotics” says Robert Frank, econ prof at Cornell. (He also notes that gas station minimarts now sell chardonnays and cabernets far superior to the quality of wines once drunk by the kings of France.)

Another world first: there’s no appreciable difference in life expectancy from rich to poor in the U.S. and other western nations. There was a 17-year difference, for example, in England a century ago.

This all reminds me of attitude. The world is stepping up to knock us off our block. If we begin to think that we are on the downward slide, it will be hard to keep our attitude up. If we begin to think we deserve so much more, it will be hard to compete. But if we realize what we actually have, we will be ready to step up and swing.

The World is a Changing

The US Olympic basketball team will not win a gold medal this year.

Argentina, with almost the same roster that made history in 2002 by becoming the first team to defeat a U.S. squad of NBA players, will compete for the gold medal against the winner of Friday's late game between Lithuania and Italy.

The Argentines were the better passers, shooters and defenders. They confronted the Americans with a mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses, and confounded them with an assortment of back picks that turned the start of the second half into a layup drill.

This is a microcosm of what the United States does not understand about the world. Why are our jobs going overseas? Because the world is developing very fast, and there are skilled workers in other countries willing to do our jobs with more passion and for something other than financial reward.

The NBA squad refused to play like a team and refused to stay in the Olympic Village with the other athletes. Many NBA players who could have helped this squad refused to give up their time and effort to play for America. We have come to expect too much. We have come to expect to win without effort. We have come to believe that other countries are under developed and inferior to ours in almost every way.

The United States will have to quit whining and step up to the world plate. This isn't just about corporations trying to make more money. This is about competition, and we have been caught selfish and unfocused.

But I do believe in people, and I believe we can step up. We will just have to learn again how. We will have to be creative, innovative, and determined

Coop Gets It Done

Jordon Cooper is my favorite weblog. That's a funny way to say it. Jordon Cooper is a guy but it is also how I refer to his blog. He is always linking to stuff that is relevant to me and often has his own insightful commentary.

A couple of things he posted under "Some Unrandom Thoughts" that caught my eye.

1. Has anyone else ever noticed how all denominational websites are all the same and yet so many are frustrated with how little impact they are making and how so few people care about them. It reminds me of a news story I saw where the big three auto makers were completely ignoring what people were telling them about their websites and instead looking back and forth at each others copying the features and no one really wanted but they had to have because the other two had them. I think it was the same reason the Liberal and Conservative websites looked almost identical during the last federal election. Its weird because I think that denominations and seminaries/Bible Colleges could make a huge impact for the kingdom online if they would think outside the box. If any denominational/seminary person wants to hear my ideas, e-mail me at jordoncooper AT gmail.com and we can talk.

3. "If Jesus was half the revolutionary you claim, how come he is now represented by one of the most conservative, status-quo institutions on the planet?" quote from The Lost Message Of Jesus by Steve Chalke

I deleted 2 and 4. Not as interesting to me.

Later he quotes George H W Bush, the former president, from a speech concerning why he did not invade Iraq in 1991. The fuller quote is on his page and is pretty interesting.

"Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different and perhaps barren outcome."

He also had some interesting quotes from a book about how much better life is than it was 100 years ago, but he seems to have deleted it. I wonder why.

Politics Blahhhhh

We here in Illinois are fortunate enough to witness a tremendous political race between Democrat Barack Obama (This is his blog for which I see no entry by him, but he's busy...) and Republican out of towner Alan Keyes.

I am torn. I read in the paper this morning that Keyes has reviewed Obama's voting record and has come to the conclusion that Obama really doesn't care about people. I saw a commercial tonight that showed Obama in front of a closed factory, and Obama said, "This just isn't good for America." Wow. He cuts right to it. He thinks it would be better if there were more jobs. If only Keyes people would have gotten a hold of this incredible info earlier. If only Keyes was for more jobs. If only Obama wasn't against people.

A political insider (ok it was Gil) told me that Keyes is pro machine gun for the common man. Is your mouth kind of hanging open like mine... in disbelief?

I'm voting for Ditka anyway.

We Have To Get in This Race

Debate about the $10-million US Ansari X Prize contest, which aims to put a privately funded craft capable of carrying three people into space twice in 14 days, is raging on Internet sites.

The rules require one passenger and the equivalent weight of two adults aboard official flights.

I've got some ideas that would require modifying a potato gun. I have a few friends who know the ins and outs -- TJ and Travis. I'll just go along for the ride.

Sophisticated aerodynamics, physics and engineering will propel Brian Feeney's attempt at the world's first private space mission, but these measures won't eliminate the danger of his planned launch from Kindersley and subsequent return to Earth.

When the Torontonian dons his space suit on Oct. 2, he risks being killed in an explosion or in a spectacular crash should his rocket engines fail to ignite or should the balloon that is supposed to carry him on the first leg of his journey deflate.

"If there are any problems, the chances of surviving are zero," said Ted Llewellyn, a professor of engineering and physics at the University of Saskatchewan.

"The temperature at 24 kilometres is not warm. It's colder than Saskatoon in the middle of winter. The polyethylene balloon can become brittle and if it goes upwards too fast, it could shatter."

The balloon, reputed to be as big as three football fields, should also be a concern before it ever starts reaching for the sky.

"This thing's going to be so big on the ground that any wind greater than one kilometre per hour is going to kill him," said Llewellyn.

Feeney is not presently doing interviews.

I had better wear my winter coat. The cool thing is if my potato starts to cook -- Free French Fries!! Yumm. And by the way, I will do ALL the interviews!

Link

Am I Nerdy Enough?

Slashdot

I hope so!!

Ok, as a physicist I initially thought these must be crackpots. A careful read made it clear that the science is good, it's just the slashdot title and summary that don't make sense.

What they did NOT do is teleport particles of light. That just makes no sense. Light was used as the means of conveying the information used to teleport the quantum properties from one particle to another, without the particle having to travel.

By the way, the reason this is called "teleportation" is that the particle effectively travels at the speed of light -- its properties can be transferred by light. If this could be applied to humans, for example, it would allow for light-speed travel, without all the nuisances of acceleration. It should be noted that this does NOT violate the universal speed limit.

Oh, and before someone asks, this is entirely different from quantum tunnelling....

Quantum tunnelling?! What kind of moron would confuse this with quantum tunnelling!?? Oh my!!

Core Values

Core values mystify me. I see their importance. In every day communication, people filter everything they hear with their core values. They may or may not be aware of their values, but they exist and everything is filtered. There are millions of values as there are millions of people.

I think it is imperative that The Crossover have clear Core Values. One reason is that we don't value what many church's value. We don't value ancient tradition. We don't value a political stance. We don't value charismatic demonstrations. We don't value superstitions. We don't value a heavy rule book.

Deconstructing Church Values

People ask me all the time what does our church believe? While it ought to be a great question, they are very often looking for some of code word -- charismatic, spirit-filled, full-gospel, fundamentalist, independent, ... A man called a few weeks ago and asked some fairly good questions, but one puzzled me. "What do the people call you?" Actually it is an interesting question, but doesn't even get close to the heart of who we are.

To get at the heart of who we are, I think we have to deconstruct some of the old words used to describe the church, then reconstruct our own values. The reason we have to do it is because some people just won't be able to see where we are coming from if we don't deconstruct their assumptions.

On the other hand, this may be a complete waste of time because people rarely change their core values. But... I'm stubborn.

1. We have decided to devalue tradition. Devalue means lessen the value. We don't want to be completely rid of tradition. In fact, we want the core traditions to take on even more meaning. Baptism and communion hold great value to us. But the sentimental value of hymns, banners, pews, a pulpit, a steeple, ... We have decided not to place as much value on these.

2. We have devalued a political stance. Many churches are subtle about this. Many aren't subtle at all. In our area, many churches are Republican churches. There may be some more mainline churches that lean Democratic, but I don't know of them. It isn't that we aren't conservative or even that we don't oppose abortion and gay marriage. It is that we don't put our hope in politics. We hope to change people's hearts more than script morality in the courts and legislature.

It isn't that we don't vote. It isn't that we don't discuss political issues. We just do not place it as a core value that affects how we view the world.

3. We have devalued charismatic demonstrations. It isn't that we don't experience some charismatic experiences. Some of us have spoken in tongues. But unlike some churches, we do not hold it as a litmus test for anything.

4. We have devalued superstitions. Not so much churches, but some people in our area have what I would call superstitions about ministers, the Bible, and baptism. You have to baptize some people to a certain order of the trinity or they don't trust it. One man told me the other day his mother was in fear of a preacher so she surrounded her bed with Bibles. Some seem to think that a slight slip of words or not praying out loud affects their effectiveness. We don't think so.

5. We have devalued a heavy rule book. It isn't that we don't have any rules. But the church has pumped up the rule book to be a little heavier than it is supposed to be. We have devalued the list down to a more Biblical list.

I have made efforts to define our core values before but I just feel like they aren't clear and/or complete. Here is another effort trying to use some navigational themes that go with our name The Crossover.

1. We value the journey. We value questions. We value that we know we want to be further along but are painfully aware that the course isn't as easy or clearly defined as we would like. This fact makes questions more useful to discernment than pre-defined answers.

2. We welcome the traveler. In a navigational theme, the traveler may believe the world is flat, but he enjoys the conversation with us because we do not mock his belief. It doesn't mean that we believe the world is flat; we don't. But we believe we will most likely be able to prove to the traveler that the world isn't flat when we sail over the edge together.

The traveler may have experienced something that we haven't. We can not fear conversation with a fellow traveler. We can probably learn from him or her if we allow free conversation. That amount of respect will probably allow the traveler to learn from us as well.

3. We value reflecting upon where we've been. How successful was that route? What were the obstacles? How could I have journeyed better? These are typically heart issues and practical issues.

4. We value studying the map. The map is the Bible, and while many value the map by itself, we recognize that the map is a bit cryptic and demands study and reflection.

5. We value above all things a relationship with the Guide. Jesus is the Guide. He lives and desires for us to follow Him. The map is more of an aid to follow Him than it is a guide down a specific path. Without the Guide, we are completely lost.

6. We value human guides, also known as leaders. These are people who have navigated some of the path and are willing teachers of those who desire to follow.

7. We value daily encounters. Jesus said he would give us opportunities to serve as he served -- feed the poor, heal, house, encourage, ... We expect to find some amount of joy in our lives.

Keyes Carries Republican Torch

Maryland resident, Alan Keyes, the Republican candidate for Senate in Illinois, is bringing the Republican issues to the forefront of thie campaign. (sarcasm)

CHICAGO -- In one of his latest meetings with reporters, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes said he supports the concept of slave reparations for African-Americans.

WBBM Newsradio 780 Political Editor Craig Dellimore has the story: LISTEN HERE


Keyes often cites the institution of slavery in his remarks about other topics, so he was asked about reparations.

Keyes says he believes slavery, sanctioned by the U.S. government, did harm back Americans and the nation bears a responsibility. He says one way to repay the debt would be to allow the descendants of slaves for, perhaps, a generation or two, to be exempt from federal taxation.

Keyes acknowledges restricting the exemption to those whose ancestors were slaves means someone whose father was African—like Democrat Barack Obama—might not qualify.

Just in case you didn't realize that Keyes was simply trying to pull the black vote from underneath Obama, he makes sure you know Obama's not the descendant of a slave owner.

I am actually not against reparations. I believe that we did a lot of damage to the African American population by subjecting them to slavery. I do take some of that responsibility. But Keyes is just trying to take pokes at Obama and take him down a couple of notches. That is a step backwards from reparations.

My Personality

I took the test again and this time noted all of my scores.
Type 1: 6
free enneagram test
Type 2: 4
Type 3: 3
Type 4: 2
Type 5: 7
free enneagram test
Type 6: 3
Type 7: 4
Type 8: 6

Type 9: 1

I would say I am more of a combination of Type 1,5, and 8.

Other type 5 people are Examples: Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Georgia O'Keefe, Stanley Kubrick, John Lennon, Lily Tomlin, Gary Larson, Laurie Anderson, Merce Cunningham, Meredith Monk, James Joyce, Bjšrk, Susan Sontag, Emily Dickenson, Agatha Christie, Ursula K. LeGuin, Jane Goodall, Glenn Gould, John Cage, Bobby Fischer, Tim Burton, David Lynch, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Trent Reznor, Friedrich Nietzsche, Vincent Van Gogh, Kurt Cobain, and "Fox Mulder" (X Files).

Personality

My wife:
free enneagram test

My 9 year old daughter:

free enneagram test

I want to check this out

Changethis.com

free enneagram test

I don't think this describes me. I hope not.

Blog Maybe

Brander McDonald - Cree First Nations Aboriginal,Native American, Artist Performer and Counsellor.

Multimedia Dealer

I bought our Video Projector off of Anthony Coppedge. He was with another company at the time, but I appreciated his service. We will need a new screen for our new building and I think I will check him out.

Blog to Look Over

God of small things

Low Morale website

Keyes Runs For Senate in Maryland Illinois

The state of Illinois has asked Alan Keyes from Maryland to run for Senate and represent the people of that great state. Once he meets a few of us, he'll probably be in a great position to do just that.

On Sunday, Keyes spent much of his speech discussing his love of Maryland and his deliberations over running in Illinois.

Keyes said he felt he should leave Maryland to "defend the land of my spirit and my conscience and my heart."

"If indeed that land is the state of Illinois, then I have lived in the Land of Lincoln all my life." he said.

Keyes states his reason for running:

He said he decided to enter the race after reviewing Obama's record on abortion, gun control and taxes.

Interesting. Obama obviously must be stopped. It wouldn't surprise me if we find Obama holding secret meetings in the new space stations built by the evil genius. If only we can a get a church planted there before it happens. The lease is a bit high. If you would like to help, please send me your donations. Or if you are interested in being the first space station church plant pastor, please send me a resume.

"He has never seen a spending bill he couldn't find some excuse for and has never seen a tax increase he didn't like," Keyes said. "We find somebody who in the tradition of a lot of the liberals would rather that our children are educated in schools controlled by impersonal bureaucracy than in schools under the influence and control of the parents who love them and care about their future."

Aghhh!!!! I'm sure that Obama is sincerely for impersonal bureaucracy controlling our schools. Let's certainly not make this campaign about seriously debating the issues!

Link

Evil Genius OR Church Planting Opportunity

Through his latest business venture, Bigelow Aerospace, the hotel mogul, who caught the space bug as a boy in the 1950s, has been quietly building the world's first commercial space station.

If all goes well, space hotels will not be far behind -- provided that future space tourists have a way to check in.

Applying lessons learned from his terrestrial development ventures, Bigelow plans to make Bigelow Aerospace profitable by selling Nautilus modules as orbital laboratories and tourist destinations for $100 million each.

That price will include a standardized, fully configured module, complete with life support systems as well as living and working areas. The company will provide astronauts and broker launch services for additional fees. Leasing options will also be available.

Bigelow says he wants to put the United States back at the forefront of space technology, and to make it possible for "Joe Six-Pack" to vacation in space.

"NASA is so risk-averse," he told Reuters. "That's insane for exploration. Zero risk means zero accomplishment."

I've seen the movies. This guy can only be trying to rule the world. Link

Dreaming

Since reading Wild at Heart by John Eldredge, I've been thinking about a serious backwoods trip. I'm no camper. I've slept in a tent less than five times. I haven't fished since I was 8. I've never cleaned a fish, though I have baited a hook. I want to go.

Bruce Pettigrew, who directs our church camp, just told me he is taking his oldest son, who just graduated from high school up to the Boundary Waters in Minnisota for 5 days of canoeing and hiking. I want to go.

http://www.boundary-waters.com/