Life In The Big City

And now to our drama on the homefront . . . When we moved downtown many warned us of the perils of city living: shootings, break-ins, drug deals, and the like. But we were resolved to face whatever our new urban lifestyle brought. Thus far, we've experienced none of those previous things, but recently we have come face to face with a danger we didn't count on:

Raccoons.

Yep, when we left the 'burbs for the city we thought we traded in rural critters for sewer rats, but it's been a raccoon that has plagued us. I first saw him a couple of weeks ago as I was coming in from the parking lot; he actually walked toward me, which was troubling because raccoons can be vicious critters. After yelling at him, he ran into a hole that leads under our deck, into his own private Idaho. He's been hiding out there since then, gnawling away on garbage and ripping up the insulation on my heat pump.

He's made a few appearances which left me in a quandary of what to do. I couldn't shoot him because we're surrounded by people and don't currently own a gun. I didn't want to beat him with a baseball bat, because we're in a more refined housing area and it could be a bloody mess [plus, right when I'd go at him, the neighbor girls would be sure to come home and see me bludgeoning a 'coon].

I eventually decided that this fell within the realm of a condo issue, so I called the proper authorities who sent a guy out with a trap. There was nothing for twenty-four hours, but finally tonight:

He'll roam no mo'. You would be proud of me, though; I've resisted the urge to poke him with a stick.

But our neighbor still contends that there's another raccoon that's been lurking around. I guess this vermin's been using the area under our deck as his own little bachelor pad. Time is over, boys. Don't make me beat you with a baseball bat.

In a related note, who knew that Dreamworks would transform our plight into a major motion picture?

It'll Last Longer

Just wanted to remind you of my photographic art via my Flickr page.

Jesus Loves Porn Stars

I wanted to be at the University of Cincinnati last night to observe the debate between porn star Ron Jeremy and Pastor Craig Gross of xxxchurch.com. I couldn't make it because we had our prayer meeting and, anyway, they weren't going to let the general public in until after all UC people had seats; I didn't want to make the trip and be turned away at the door. Gross' organization has been the champion of evangelical Christianity against porn addiction, but they fight the battle on many different fronts. Most notably, they attend porn conventions, handing out Bibles and trying to convince industry people to change their professions. They also have free accountability software you can download from their website to keep your internet usage more wholesome.

I have to admit, and I might take some criticism for this, the church's fight against pornography sometimes wears me out. It seems churches everywhere have figured out how porn has infiltrated the pews and are making a concerted effort to bring it to the forefront. I'm not saying that pornography isn't a problem, but that it's the fruit and not the root. Too many times we Christians concentrate on combating individual sin rather than individuals' sins. Pornography is problematic, but the bigger fish to fry is sin in general. Perhaps the reason it's become so rampant within our ranks is because we ministers have softened our stance on preaching about sin. Maybe we've been preaching too many cutsie "how to make your life better" messages. It could be time to stop teaching that garbage and be straight-up about sin again.

If we somehow found a way to completely shut down the porn industry we might feel a sense of accomplishment, but something else would rise to take it's place. There will always be things hindering us in our walk with God. That's what sin does. And that's why we elevate Jesus above everything else, because we believe that He takes care of our sin problem.

Still, I admire what Gross and associates are attempting to accomplish. If you check out xxxchurch.com, you'll see that Gross has been able to use these events as an opportunity to get to know Ron Jeremy better. They're still miles apart philosophically, but you can't get people to buy into the gospel message until they can witness what it's done in you.

p.s. On the xxxchurch website, check out the blog section from March that talks about their unfortunate tangle with a Bible seller that wasn't willing to cooperate with them. I'd link it, but wasn't able to nail down a url.

I'm No Idol Worshipper

This is the most American Idol I've watched since season 1. I wouldn't call myself a die-hard since I still don't know their names. But getting rid of The Rocker guy tonight was the dumbest decision yet. So what are you left with, America? The girl with a good voice who can't seem to find her niche, the guy with a good voice but makes Gilbert Gottfried look attractive, or the guy who will hit mandatory retirement age in two years.

I think I'm done.

And P.S.: kudos to Fox who sucked me in to watching Unan1mous because I'm too lazy to change the channel. This had to be the worst reality show ever. Seriously. Ever. And I watched too much of it.

Free The Internet

Do you surf the web? I guess so, because you're reading this. Do you email? Of course you do. So be prepared for those services to change right before your very eyes. This wasn't meant to be activist week here at Beit Carr; I'm not trying to get too preachy here. But this is an issue that will transform the internet forever and it's being snuck in right under our noses.

There's a bill before the United States Congress right now to regulate the internet. The legislation, called the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act [COPE], purposely makes no provision to maintain something called "network neutrality." Yes, it's a bunch of geek talk, so let me try to break it down for you.

Currently, as you use an internet provider [like TimeWarner], they can't regulate the content that comes to your computer. Everything you want to look for comes in at the same speed. This ticks off them off those providers because you're just as likely to check out Echo Church's website as you are to look at a site owned by TimeWarner. Providers want a leg up in making profits, so this bill would allow them to create different venues of web access: a "fast lane" for companies willing to pay the big bucks to get there and a turtle lane for everyone else. So if your favorite website isn't willing to pay for fast lane service, it could take much longer to get there despite the lightening speed of your DSL line.

This bill is all about putting more control of the internet in the hands of major telecommunication companies. Does that sound like what's best for the American people? I would think not.

Do yourself a favor and take a few seconds to visit http://www.savetheinternet.com. Fill out the petition to email a letter of concern to your congress person.

Don't say you weren't warned.

On Casino Gambling

Apparently the city is moving quickly on casino gambling. They need 1,000 signatures by tomorrow to get the issue to the point where they would need an additional 30,000+ signatures. At a news conference today, many city councilmen/councilwomen were present to support this initiative. Alarmed at how quickly this whole process is moving, I felt compelled to use my new city citizenship to make my voice heard. I sent the following email to the two council members leading the charge, CC'ing the mayor and the rest of council. We'll see what kind of response I get. I want to make it clear that I'm not going to use Echo as a means to push an agenda that I'm personally passionate about. Our focus as a church is on spreading the gospel. Regardless of what happens with this issue, we'll keep teaching Jesus. But as a citizen, I felt I had to make my opinion known on this matter.

Vice-Mayor Tarbell and Council Member Ghiz, I know you believe the time is short as you push for the signatures to get a casino in the Broadway Commons area. It seems many council members are approaching the project with reckless abandon, making sure that Cincinnati doesn't "miss out" on the potential revenues that a casino could bring to the area. But as a pastor and resident of this city, I would urge caution in proceeding too quickly. This issue should be thoroughly investigated, researching the consequences that putting a casino near the downtown area could bring.

I'm not naive enough to think that people aren't already gambling in many different forms in the city [i.e, the lottery] without a casino. Nor am I someone who thinks it wrong [or even "sinful"] to permit legalized gambling in the state of Ohio. I merely question the reasoning behind bringing a casino into our city.

What about crime? Isn't there already enough to go around? Much analysis has been done about crime in and around casino communities and there's always been a degree of subjectivity surrounding those statistics. But of all the studies I've perused on the subject, I've never read of a crime decrease resulting from legalized gambling.

Is it all about the money? Potential Cincinnati gambling revenue could be stolen from Lawrenceberg and Aurora, but at what cost? What about the proximity to the impoverished? There is a distinct difference between having a casino on the river in rural Indiana verses downtown Cincinnati. If you put a casino near the downtown area, right on major bus routes, you'll be tempting people who won't be able to turn down the lure of getting rich quick. We can deceive ourselves into believing that most gamblers will come from out of town, but the reality is that locals will be the bread and butter of this industry. I minister in the Walnut Hills area, a stone's throw from Broadway Commons. The last thing many of those residents need is an additional vice to tempt them.

Are there no better ways to create jobs/revenue here in town? Are you seriously telling me that $20 million per year is a sufficient exchange for the potential ruined lives of your constituents? If that's the case, why not legalize drug use? Obviously I'm being sarcastic, but both of them can lead to demise for the sake of profit.

And I would advise you not to fall prey to the peer pressure that's driving this sudden urgency to move forward. I can't accept the "everyone else is doing it, so we can't miss out" defense here. Just because Cleveland and Columbus chose this road doesn't mean that Cincinnati has to as well.

I felt compelled to write because this is an important issue to me. I was have lived my entire life in the greater Cincinnati area. This past year I moved my family from Warren County back into the city to start a church with the desire to help make Cincinnati a better place. I've believe in this city and have been encouraged about the possibility of it turning the corner. And with everything needed to get us there, in spite of all the current crime that holds us back, I'm told that casino gambling is the answer? I'm disappointed if that's the best this council can offer.

I pray that you do what's best for the people of this city.

Sincerely, Steve Carr

Do You Pinch?

I love this commercial for the Honda Element. It's probably one of the cheapest-made commercials on television, but I like it so much I wanted to share it here. Just goes to show you that showcasing creativity doesn't have to be done with a huge price tag.

Is It Just Me . . .

. . . or is anyone else hoping that David Blaine holds his breath a little too long? Um, just kidding.

Maybe.

Keep On Bloggin' In The Free World

I've been waiting for this like Diet Cherry Coke 24-ounce bottles [are you listening, Coke executives?]: Chad Doerr is now blogging. Chad is a great guy, a phenomenal minister, and has already posted stuff worth reading. You can check out his thoughts at www.AnOpenDoerr.com. In a related note, Chad's former college roommate [and my cousin], Matt Coulter is the proud papa of a beautiful little girl. You can read about it on his blog, which I promise to add to my blog roll if Matt can consistently make posts for more than a week. Sorry, Matt, 2.5 months with no articles is a no-no. Congrats on Hallie, though!

What You Need To Know

Didn't stop moving all weekend until this morning when I ran out of quarters. Just in case you wanted to know . . . Friday We were able to get out in the morning and take a walk in Eden Park. Beautiful day. I performed another Mr Mom task, going grocery shopping. I can rock it, as long as Kelly gives me a shopping list. And she did. Mission accomplished.

That night, there was a Mother/Daughter banquet at my parent's church. Kelly and Kaelyn went with my family and I watched my grandfather so my dad could go and help serve. We ate dinner, watched some Walker Texas Ranger [Chuck "Freaking" Norris. Need I say more?], and then the beginning of the Reds' game. When my grandparents moved up from Maysville to live with us in 1988, I would go over to their part of the house and watch the Reds on TV. The year the Reds won the World Series, we watched almost every televised game together, so it was nice to hang out and think of how it used to be.

Saturday I'm actually playing in two soccer leagues right now: one outdoor and one indoor. This week they were both scheduled on the same day, within five hours of each other. I was wondering if I'd do OK, as I'm still not in shape, but I made it through. And I'm starting to get my ball control back, which makes it more enjoyable. I still have yet to score a goal. We tried to get to bed early because of the crazy Sunday to come, but didn't get to sleep until 11:30.

Sunday We were up at 4:00am, packed up the kid and headed down to the Flying Pig Marathon. I was doing the devotion for people interested in "getting some church" before the race. Our church did get a few shout-outs from the podium as they announced the service and somewhere between forty and fifty people showed up. Because it was still dark, and because of the increasing commotion near the starting line, I stood on the concrete base of a light pole. I had to yell at the top of my voice, but it went well. Don't think I'd do it again, though.

So after the race started me, Kel, Kaelyn, Aaron, Dorota, Larry, and Amanda [Aaron's sister] walked up town to have breakfast at First Watch. Downtown was really cool that early in the morning, despite nothing being open. After breakfast I took Kelly and kid at home. Unfortunately, the marathon course winds its way around our house so it was a huge chore to get back to the condo. And the half-marathon course ran right in front of our house, so we had to run through runners to get inside.

Then I went back downtown to volunteer down at the finish line. We were with a group from Cincinnati Christian University and Aaron, Dorota, and I were at the Gatorade station. I've always liked Gatorade, but never realized how sticky it was. I need to wash my shoes because they're shiny and smell like lemon-lime.

Even seeing it first hand, I still have no desire to run a marathon. I saw all the different ages and body types of people who have done it and know I could go the distance. I just have absolutely no desire whatsoever. Maybe in ten years when I'm 40 and I need to prove I still got it but, right now, I'm totally fine being a spectator. But I'll probably be involved somehow in the marathon again next year. It's an amazing spectacle. After all the bad press we've received lately, I was really proud of my city today.

In addition to all this, we still had church last night. Fortunately Aaron was preaching, because I was spent. It was a really good gathering, but I was ready to get home and crash. In bed by 11:00pm, I was done for. It only took me a few seconds to fall asleep.

I have a ton of stuff to get done this week, but I need to find some time to rest. Kelly's at work, so maybe I'll take Kaelyn out for ice cream later. She would like that. Or at least I would.

Dumbest Idea Ever

City Council members want to bring a casino to downtown Cincinnati. Honestly, if this comes up, I might be getting involved in politics.

Also In Today's Paper . . .

Russell Smith, mentioned before on Beit Carr, who prayed yesterday at the courthouse for the National Day of Prayer.

What? No Bartholomew?

Not that I take credit for everything, but I like to think that I helped my cousin's kids get into an Enquirer article. When the paper was investigating the trend of celebrities naming their children after Biblical characters, they asked for people who had done likewise. I immediately thought of my cousin's kids and passed it along via my sister-in-law who contacted my cousin's wife. She, then, contacted the paper and the result is them getting a mention and this photo in today's paper.

Mike and Brenda named their kids: Isaiah, Noah, Leah, and Moses. Rumor is, their next child will be named "Jesus." I could be wrong.

Pretty sad that I, a minister, didn't go for a Biblical name for our child, but now you know why: Mike and Brenda took them all.

Good looking kids, though, don't ya think?

The Moussaoui Verdict

I'll admit that I really haven't paid that much attention to the Zacarias Moussaoui case. Moussaoui plead guilty to six counts of conspiracy in the September 11th terrorist attacks. At the time of the attacks, Moussaoui was actually jailed on immigration charges, but he was reported to immigration officials about a month before the hijackings after he walked into a flight training school asking how to fly a 747. I didn't pay that much attention to the case because it should've been a slam dunk death penalty verdict; incarceration was the only thing that kept Moussaoui from participating in the attacks.

So I was somewhat shocked to hear that he received life in prison instead of death. I'll admit that I don't know all the details of the case, but I can't conceive how this guy escaped lethal injection.

I've read many an article this morning lauding the jury for showing good judgment and exacting fair punishment, but how does that compare to the 2,000 lives lost on 9/11? Perhaps it's true that Moussaoui wanted the death penalty to become a martyr, but does that mean that you keep him alive merely to thwart those desires? If that's the case, what happens when we catch Osama Bin Laden? Wouldn't he be an even greater figure of martyrdom? The judge, during sentencing, declared that life in prison confirmed that Moussaoui would "die with a whimper." That statement confused me. So if the goal is that he should indeed die, is prolonging it our way of claiming some sort of moral victory? I just don't get it.

But allow me to use this event to explain something about theology. Some might be uncomfortable with me, a Christian pastor, advocating the death penalty. There are some who criticize Christians that claim to be "pro-life" in issues like abortion and euthanasia but are "pro-death" when it comes to government execution. That's might be good slogan-ship, but it doesn't properly explainthe issues at hand. Here's how I develop a Christian ethic for the support of the death penalty.

It all starts with God. What makes human life so sacred is that we were created "imago dei" [Latin for, "in the image of God"]. Scholars have argued about the exact meaning of this phrase for centuries [does God have a belly button?] but it all points back to the fact the we have been created to be eternal beings; our souls, though having a start, will live on forever. That's why killing a person is different than killing a critter. Even though members of PETA might disagree, animals are different than people. And the way I understand Scripture, and I apologize for this but, there will be no dogs in heaven. Only we humans are made like God and are given the opportunity to spend eternity with Him.

God was specific in Genesis 9 about the penalty to be doled out to those who harm one created in the image of God. Mind you, that this was part of the Noadic covenant, given to Noah and all humankind after getting off the ark:

"Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man will his blood be shed. For, in the image of God, has God made man"

God had just wiped out all of mankind, save Noah and his family, and wanted to make sure that people understood how his world worked: it was God's decision on who should live and die. When humans decide to play God and terminate another life, they are in violation of his covenant with mankind. The punishment for the offender is death. And God has bestowed on other humans [society] to enact that judgment.

So abortion is really us [usually individuals] playing God. Euthanasia is us [usually individuals] playing God. But the death penalty is us [society/government/all of the people] acting under God's authority as instruments of his justice.

This is a somewhat short explanation, but I had to get this out there. So it's not that I am wishing for Moussaoui's death, but God's justice allows for it. I pray for his soul, but that should not influence the verdict due him.

I feel obligated to add one more thought to this discussion: we Christians must beware how vehemently we plead for, and how cavalierly we dismiss, the deaths of murderers. I've witnessed many [American] followers of Jesus advocate a "kill 'em all" philosophy when it comes to other countries that are in opposition to ours. It always makes me feel a tad icky. When I, a Christian, delight in the death of people, am I really respecting the image of God?

Stuff to chew on.

The Run For The Roses

It's Derby Time! Time to prepare for the most exciting two minutes in sports. Saturday is the 500th running [estimate] of the Kentucky Derby and I'm already excited. One day, Kelly and I want to be able to attend the race in person. She'd wear a hat. I'd drink a mint julep. It would be awesome.

So it's time to pick a horse and I need a winner because I'm on a three-year slide, having not picked correctly since War Emblem. After a thorough analysis, I've decided who I'm going with:

Sinister Minister.

Here's how I arrived at this pick: he has both Seattle Slew and Secretariat in his bloodline, he's extremely fast, and- who am I kidding- his name is freakin' awesome!

Despite the fact that he's a Bob Baffert horse [a fact that means nothing to many, but would light-up my father-in-law], I feel almost obligated to pick him; Sinister Minister should be my IM screen name. Most experts don't think he has what it takes, and he's running at 10-1, but I'm calling my shot. Wait and see.

Maybe one of these days I'll actually put money on it.

Funny How The Night Moves

Monday night was a "Light-Up Cincinnati" evening, when the entire downtown area is supposed to be illuminated. We packed up Kaelyn, made a UDF pitstop and circled the city to snap some photos. Unfortunately, I had my camera on the wrong setting for nighttime photos, but I did get a few decent ones [touched up, obviously].

Only at night can the Ohio River look this good.

The statues in front of Great American Ballpark.

The family in front of the Queen City.

Starting A Blog

Blogging is in. "Blog" was the word of the year a couple years back. About 80,000 new blogs are created each day. And here's an article detailing the blogging explosion that has taken place during the past few years. I've been at it for a year and a half now. It's been great for me in many different ways, especially since people I've never met before read this blog.

Every few months I get an email from someone wanting to start their own blog. As I was answering one such request this morning, I decided to post my advice here so I'll be able to reference it whenever I'm asked again.

Disclaimer: I'll admit that much of what I've learned about blogging was from Tim Reed, who's been blogging way longer than I have. He gave me almost all these tips, but would probably offer additional, more qualified advice about this subject. I'm sure when he reads this, he'll point you to a great post he did on starting a blog. So I'm just a hack who shouldn't offer advice, but here's what I have to say about it.

Do you use blogger.com? Yes. Even though it doesn't look like it, this is a Blogger site. I've researched all the different blogging platforms and stuck with Blogger because it's cheap [free]. Compared to the alternatives, I'd have to spend around $100 a year to get a blog that I like. So I've been able to maintain this blogging habit because Google owns the world.

How'd you get the www.houseofcarr.com domain name? I purchased the domain houseofcarr.com which costs about $8 a year. It's not that complicated since I just point the domain name to my blogger address. I purchased it from godaddy.com. Having your own domain name gives you an easy way to tell people how to get to your blog, but it's not necessary to get started.

Are you able to monitor visitor stats for your blog? Yes. I use a program called Sitemeter [available at sitemeter.com] to see who visits. Once again, it's free, and it gives rather detailed stats on who checks out your site. I can even tell what kind of computer/web browser they used to search my site. All this for free. I know there are other stat counters you can get, but I love the Sitemeter.

How did you add RSS to your blog? I just wrote about RSS feeds here, if you're wondering what this is about. The RSS I added to my site was free, but you actually can have it through Blogger. If you look up on the right side of the browser bar [example: on the opposite end of http://symbolicorder.blogspot.com] it will should have the RSS blue button. You click it and it takes you to the feed. Try that and let me know if it works.

Does Blogger have many templates? There are a wide variety of blogger templates to pick from but, after awhile, boredom sets in and you need something more. I found mine at http://blogger-templates.blogspot.com. They give you many different choices to customize your blog. By the way, the picture at the top of this page isn't part of a template. It's one I took in Paris [Notre Dame]. In these templates you can replace them with whatever you want.

Any other advice? Here's the deal about setting up your template: it helps to have some knowledge of html code when you mess with this stuff. It's really not that difficult, but you just need to make sure to back up your code before messing with it. You don't want to do hours of work and end up with nothing. Changing your links is a piece of cake if you just copy/paste the ones there.

Seriously, I find blogging therapeutic. I like the fact that people read what I write, but I'd do this even if no one else did. Sure, it's just a glorified diary but it feels way cooler since I'm typing it on my computer [play the Doogie Howser music here].

Good luck.

Hail To The Chief, Baby!

I've been hunting down video from this weekend's White House Correspondent's Dinner because it was absolutely crazy. First, GWB brought in an impersonator, playing dueling presidential podia [the plural of podium?]. Bush loves to self-efface. Here's some video.

But what was ignored was a bit by Stephen Colbert [if you're not watching his show on Comedy Central, you don't know what you're missing] who was invited to do some satire. I don't think administration officials understood the sarcastic nature of comedy that Colbert does. He pretty much ripped the President to shreds in his very presence. Whoever decided to bring in Colbert is most likely searching for a job today. Check out the video here.

It would've been a rather entertaining event to attend.

The Twenty-Five Year Old Virgin

Love him or hate him, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle always has an interesting perspective to share. His most recent thoughts about a virginal supermodel illustrates the dualistic thinking about sin that's permeating Christian thought today.

The Simple Life

As we're planning for our relaunch in September, we're researching the purchases that need to be made that we put off in year one of Echo. The most expensive ones, obviously, are the audio and video purchases that will get our worship area where we'd like it to be. Churches can spend enormous amounts on these "technological needs." Recently I read where one unnamed "super megachurch" has a million dollar a year budget for their A/V stuff. I also came across a church planter's blog last week where he presented how desperately they needed to purchase a $75,000 sound system. It seems as if our churches are practically worshipping technology. Here's a quote I read in a pastor's blog about a service they had this weekend:

"Our Saturday Night service was a technological meltdown . . . Some of our computer files got corrupted so we sang without words on the screen. We barely pulled off our movie clips. And our high-def camera wasn't working until the very last second. Pretty chaotic!"

Fortunately, someone laid hands on the equipment and everything turned out OK.

"Yikes," I say.

Total we've spent on A/V stuff since starting Echo: $0.

We borrowed both a projector and a portable sound system from Impact Church.

Total budgeted that we're going to try to spend on equipment for our relaunch: $10,000.

Yes, that's a large chunk of change, but it's rather westside [cheap] by today's new church standards. In our defense, the video projector allows us to get by without hymnals and song sheets, saving trees and making us environmental conscience [we're such a hippie church]. And the sound system will guarantee that people will be able to hear clearly all that happens in our gatherings. We're going to get by with as little as we can because we believe there are better places to invest church funds. I'm all for technology, but churches have to set appropriate boundaries for how far we're willing to go to be a culturally relevant, tech savvy church.

It's absolutely amazing that the church was able to flourish the 1900 years without electricity. No wonder they were called the Dark Ages. Powerpoint must've come during the Enlightenment.

But I believe the Bible confirms that the first century church couldn't have done it without the Holy Spirit and high-def cameras.