Good Folk

Yesterday morning I was, again, at the little country church in New Richmond for Sunday morning services. I was surprised to see Bill and Betty Bravard there. Bill has been a professor at Cincinnati Bible Seminary for over twenty years and he and his wife attended our church when I was growing up. They now live in the New Richmond area, so they stopped by to hear me preach. Bill and Betty have continually invested in me and my ministry, from high school until today. They've sat through many of my sermons and they still come back for more. Throughout starting our church, Bill has been in contact with me; he was one of the first people I consulted with when we decided to do this.

After church yesterday we went out to lunch and talked for a couple hours about Echo, local churches, and my family. It was a great time of encouragement for me as I hold their opinion in high regard.

It's good to have older, wiser people in your life who will be honest with you. We always need mentors. Regardless of how old you are, I hope you're investing in the people around you. It makes a difference.

In Pursuit

Excited to here how things went today with Matt Mehaffey, a fellow CCU alum, whose crew officially started a new church in Miami, Florida this morning. Pursuit Christian Church is now officially open for business. Starting a new church is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life and I have much respect for anyone who has ever done it. If you have the desire to do a "missions trip" anytime soon, I know they still could use help. I'm just hoping they'll need someone to fill-in preach sometime soon. I would labor for the Lord on South Beach . . . if I had to.

Fingernails On The Blackboard

Echo's relationship with the church from which we rent has been a blessing. We can store our equipment on site which means our set-up time is minimal. The building is in great shape, with fully operational heating and cooling. The rent is dirt cheap, which definitely helps our overall budget. All in all, things are awesome. But allow me to express the one thing that annoys me about our rental space.

A choir meets there the second Sunday night each month; it should be noted that no one from their church is actually part of this choir. It's a community choir, comprised of people from all over the greater Cincinnati area. They meet in the church's fellowship hall and usually have a pot-luck dinner afterward. They don't bother us too much except that they take up almost all the parking in the lot when they gather. Repeated attempts to claim our fair use of parking have proven unsuccessful. My only hope was that their choir would eventually dwindle until there is no one left.

I might not be that lucky.

Kelly directed me to a Time Magazine article devoted to Sacred Harp singing, the kind of music this choir performs [actually, they never actually "perform." They only practice. Still not sure about that]. Sacred Harp is a bizarre harmonic, shaped-note singing of old Christian hymns. It dates back to the Civil War but I had never heard of it until we started Echo. I listened to some of the music online from a PBS special on Sacred Harp but, even when done at a professional level, it doesn't sound very appealing.

So the article says that Sacred Harp is the new, hipster activity to do. Even though they sing Christian hymns, it has broad appeal; it's popular among people from various religious backgrounds. And now that Time has covered it, I bet more locals will come out for the sing-sing in the fellowship hall. In short, parking is going to be impossible to get at Echo on February 10th.

And, long-term, I guess the choir won't be going anywhere soon.

Suck.

Of course, if that's the worst thing we have to deal with the amazing space we have the opportunity to use, then I have nothing to complain about.

I'm A Little Sick . . .

. . . of all this campaign mud-slinging. I've decided that I'm definitely not going to vote for Bill Clinton this fall. Oh, Bill's not running? I'm confused. Sure sounds like he is.

For You To Find Funnies With

By far, one of my favorite comedy troops was The State. MTV ran a series by the group in the early 1990's. Some of those performers are now featured in Comedy Central's Reno 9-1-1. Ironically, I've never really watched Reno. I'm sure it has to be somewhat funny, but I've never bought in. I've been bummed because I have a VHS tape of the best skits by The State but no longer have a VCR so I thought I'd never see them again.

For some reason I was thinking of one of their skits this morning, and it inspired my Facebook update this morning. I took a trip to YouTube and found the skit there. Take sometime to discover what one does with $240 worth of pudding.

Might I also suggest watching any one of these clips for some PG-rated entertainment [every word a different link there]. Not the best quality, but you get the gist.

Also, the rumors are that Comedy Central will air a new special by The State sometime in the next year or so. Just thought you should know.

Miggity Mac

No, I'm not getting a Mac Book Air anytime soon. This is one instance where Steve Jobs totally missed the market. The Air is the kind of laptop you get if your purchase only depends on aesthetics. Fortunately for Apple, that is a market and they'll sell a few of them. I predict that it won't have staying power. Spent last week upgrading the MacBook Pro and things are operating well. Thanks to the Dale for spotting a good price, I finally installed Leopard and am loving all it does. I've not explored all the new features yet, but I can already tell it operates much faster than Tiger. Before I upgraded, I did diagnostics and deleted unused apps, so it's like I'm using a brand new machine.

Additionally, I picked up some new apps at Mac Heist. For those Apple-using folk unfamiliar with it, I suggest heading over there and checking things out. Currently you can pick up 14 different applications which normally retail for $500 at the low, low price of fifty bucks. It's a special that only lasts a couple more days, so the time's a tickin'.

Understanding the Interwebs

A few months ago a caught wind of a video made by some guys at my alma mater entitled Price Hill Girlz. Take a look at it now if you haven't seen it yet. Pretty good work. I have no tolerance when it comes inappropriate  [read: racist] humor and this didn't even make the radar. I realized that the viral nature of the video was picking up as two people with absolutely no connection to Cincinnati Christian University emailed me the video this last week. Apparently it hit the media this week as both a local television station and radio station commented on the video. Media vultures: if there's even a hint that you can lambaste Christians for something that could be deemed "unspiritual," they're all over it.

It is my understanding that the emergence of this video left the school's administration scrambling as the inevitable "I'm offended" calls started to come in. I'm not quite sure how they've handled it. The video was originally pulled from YouTube earlier this week but someone else put it right back up. Hopefully the students who made it don't face any repercussion, especially since I did much worse than making a stupid video like that when I was in school.

If you take a look at some of the local buzz surrounding it [even from a liberal mag], many in the community seem to get it: it's a joke. It shows that CCU students are somewhat relevant and have a good sense of humor. In fact, this viral video has done as a good a job marketing the school than renting out billboards and bus ads.

Speaking as a former president of the university's alumni association, as well as a former employee who worked in the field of student recruiting, I'd take a different angle with these guys: I'd get them to make more videos. This kind of stuff resonates with seventeen and eighteen year-old kids. Plus, despite people who get ticked-off at anything and will voice their opposition, I think it gives the community a new perspective of the school, showing the creativity of its students.

The internet, and the way this emerging generation uses it, is forcing high school and college administrators to grapple with how they interact with the students. In many cases, faculty and staff are uncertain of what students are doing out on the world wide web and their natural response by officials is fear. But you can't keep kids away from the internet; it's now a part of their life and their education. Instead, they need to make concerted efforts to understand their online habits so, when something like a video going viral makes waves, they react responsibly.

All in all, not a big deal.

These Hills

Dan, whose blog is a must read for those interested in learning about the history/architecture of Cincinnati, wrote a nice brief post on the origins of Walnut Hills. While I was familiar with Rev. James Kemper building the first settler dwelling in Cincinnati outside the lower bowl, I thought I read/heard somewhere that the first road up a hill was put in by he and his sons at Mount Adams [then Mount Ida].

This is a great place to live if you love history.

The Fifth Gospel

This Sunday night I'll be teaching from 1 Samuel 17: the conflict between David and Goliath. I've enjoyed preparing this week, excited to give further insight to a popular Biblical tale. One of the reasons I'm looking forward to it is that Kelly and I were able to stand in the Valley of Elah, the location of the epic battle, during our visit to Israel in 2005. Of course, I'll have pictures and a laser pointer ready to go. My dream is to one day be able to spend a summer sabbatical in Israel to spend extended time exploring the numerous holy sites. The land where the Bible took place is breathtaking; people have spent careers researching small aspects of archaeological sites. The great wealth of information that can be gleaned there has earned the land of Israel the distinction of "The Fifth Gospel." Indeed, a trip to Israel transforms the way that people think about the Bible.

An example of this is found in David Plotz, writer for Slate and a non-observant Jew, who read through the Bible without any commentaries, noting everything he observed. As part of the project he took a trip to Israel to see some sights, participate in an archaeology dig, and blog about his experience.

While at a place known as Maresha, an amazing site near the coastal plain that we were able to visit on our trip, he had an epiphany:

"It's a eureka moment for me. Suddenly, the wars of the Bible that made no sense on the page are perfectly comprehensible. The geography explains it all: On this side is the backward hill kingdom of Judah. On that side is the technologically advanced coastal kingdom of the Philistines. And here, in between them, is the fortress line that must not break. Standing on this ancient hilltop, looking over a landscape that has not changed much since the Book of Kings . . . I can see the Bible more clearly than I read it. To my right, the mighty nations of the coast; to my left, a tiny tribal kingdom with only one god and the germ of a great civilization—the beginning of our world."

Many people who dismiss the Biblical story as mythology have never been to the Holy Lands. It makes it even more difficult to ignore that there is something about this book. I'm not saying that the archaeology proves the Biblical story; faith is still necessary. But it does speak as powerfully as the Biblical text itself.

iWork

A couple of weeks ago I neglected to observe an anniversary as I completed two years of full-time employment at Echo Church. I took no salary the first few months we started the church and transitioned to a somewhat pro-rated salary our first full year. So I'm now in year three of employment here, somewhat giddy, because by the end of the year I will have surpassed my longest tenure of employment at any one place since leaving college. Ironically, while I recycle jobs every couple of years, Kelly has stayed at the same place for almost ten years now. The good news is I have no plans of leaving Echo ever. I have found my dream job. Honestly, despite the financial uncertainties associated with starting a new church, I have never been happier anywhere else. I sometimes feel that I should be apologetic about this, as not everyone is as fortunate to have a job they love. But reading this article today makes me feel a little better bragging about my contentment.

Why would I feel guilty about this? I could attribute part of it to growing up the child of workaholics. My parents operated as such, not to amass great wealth, but because it was a value intrinsic to their upbringings; they were taught that hard work was a godly trait. As a result, however, I've always struggled with feelings of guilt about how hard I work. It's tough to compare the stress and exhaustion I feel while working to that of my father and brother who spend the majority of their time in physical labor exposed to the elements. While my mind is fried while contemplating logistics issues, their skin is fried from sunburn. While I'm numb pondering an unsolvable ministry situation, their extremities are literally numb with frostbite. Sure, I work hard, but it's a different kind of work.

The transition to starting a church has made this even more difficult. For the first time in my life, I really don't have a boss [well, um, except God?] and I have to be self-motivated. Working at home would seem to make this even more difficult, and the addition of both a work-at-home wife and precious daughter should make it impossible. But, as a truly evaluate the situation, I think it has worked out extremely well.

That said, I don't work 9am to 5pm. I don't have a separate office area in the house where I get work done [thank God for laptop computers]. I don't detail my to-do list to make sure I'm on track. These are all things you're supposed to do when you work out of the home, and I basically neglect them.

But I thrive in an opportunity where I can be free to be creative in my own time. Sometimes that means waking up at 5am to go to a coffee shop to get some work done. Sometimes it's 2am and I can't get that week's Scripture text out of my mind. While I rarely ever "take a day off," I make sure to work hard when I need to and unwind so as not to go crazy. Kelly and I have said it before but, honestly, Echo is our second child. I'm totally committed to our church and what God is going to do in this city and it doesn't package nicely into a job description.

In case you doubt, believe it: I love my job.

By the by, I don't fight that workaholic guilt as much anymore. I've come to grips with it. There's always going to be someone who wants to lament that you have a cake job and make you feel bad about yourself. I don't give a rip. It's my life and I'm doing the best I can with what I have. And my family has been more supportive than I could ever have imagined. From their workaholic perspective, I'm doing alright.

And that's alright with me.

*Seth Godin expresses some thoughts on workaholism on his blog. It's good stuff.

The Battle For Our City

Here's today's edition of Why People Think Cincinnati Sucks But, In Reality, It's Our Screwed Up City-County System Of Government. Two examples for you: First, the Freedom Center is asking the city and county to pay $1million for land in order to start the riverfront Banks project. This is laughable not just because it's a horrible museum, but because said land was originally given to the museum for free. Additionally, the Center has taken advantage of taxpayer money to keep from closing its doors. So the way they say, "thanks" for the way the local community has bailed them out is to try to rob them blind. I guess freedom truly isn't free. This could bring the riverfront development to yet another standstill.

Second example is of the county prosecutor, ever the politician and still bitter he didn't a get a new jail, who recently came out bashing Cincinnati as a crime-ridden cesspool. Joe Deters channels the spirit of frighten suburbanites everywhere declaring he wouldn't let his son be caught dead [pun intended] in Over-The-Rhine. He spews ignorant rhetoric like "no one goes downtown anymore" which, to anyone truly familiar with the situation, knows is the exact opposite. I'd expect to hear him back-peddle in the next couple of days. This is going to blow up in his face.

More and more I'm getting sick of hearing suburbanites comment on what's wrong with the city when they only make their way down here once a year. Yeah, this place ain't perfect, but neither are the 'burbs. Let's all just settle down and try to get along.

Sucks To Be Romo . . .

I'm sure he thought dating Jessica Simpson wouldn't be a big deal. I guess it's not as long as you win the play-off game the week after you vacationed with her. Dallas lost to New York this afternoon and Tony Romo had a mediocre game. The media was waiting for this failure with baited breath and it came fruition. The fury has been unleashed and he'll hear about it the entire off-season, and maybe longer. Now the Dallas quarterback will have to endure people questioning his judgement and rightly so. You might think one's "private life" should remain private, but all bets are off when you're a high-profile public athlete. You're now a celebrity. With all the endorsements comes a lot of scrutiny. You asked for it, and you got it.

It should be noted that I predicted the Jessica Simpson slide long ago; once she divorced Cincy-boy Nick Lachey, it's been all downhill. Dane Cook? John Mayer? And now getting killed on SportsCenter? Things could be better. And Nick's slow and steady pace has helped him stay somewhat relevant. And Jessica's departure has probably left him . . . sane.

How 'bout them Cowboys?

Sad World

Our thoughts are with our friends in Mason as the community is still in shock over the father who killed his family last night. It is truly tragic, and Mason is a family community where everyone will be affected as a result. If you would, say a prayer for my minister friends at Christ's Church as they will do their best tomorrow to make sense of this tragedy to a hurting community.

Emphasizing Urban Living

One of the goals we set for Echo this year is to press our people into "owning" their city. Cincinnati is an amazing place and, the more we realize it, the more we'll make a difference here. Tonight I attended the Walnut Hills Area Council for the first time [it's been on my "to-do list" but I didn't check it off until now]. Our neighborhood has made the news in the past month because of a bar shooting and a major drug bust. The Cincinnati Police were present at the meeting to reassure the council that they were doing their best to make it a safe community. It should be noted that they've accomplished this: all areas of crime are significantly lower this year than the last five years.

After the meeting quite a few people came up to introduce themselves to me, encouraged that we had started a church in the area. One couple, who have lived in the area more than twenty years, made the following statement, "if only people knew all the good that happens in this community, they'd have a different impression of Walnut Hills." And it's the truth. But good news doesn't make the news. So I guess it's our job to spread that gospel.

This has been on my mind this evening because I've had a great week talking to people about our city. There are many people out there who, like Kelly and me, are passionate about its future and our investing themselves here; they're not buying into gloom and doom that people spread about our inner city but are enthusiastic about what lies ahead.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: you should be here. You're missing out on a lot of good stuff.

*Related note: Check out this article from the New York Times about the misery connected to suburban flight.

Passing In The Night

Still not feeling great this week. For the second consecutive year an Ohio State National Championship loss coincided with personal illness to make life miserable. As a result, I don't feel much like typing but I have to get some stuff down before I get too far removed. Sunday was an interesting day.

I started a new Sunday morning gig this week. For the past four months or so I was the interim worship leader at my home church. It was great to spend time around old friends who have seen me grow up, but it was time to force them to find a more permanent replacement. It just so happened that an door opened to give me an exit.

Franklin Chapel is a church in Clermont County [New Richmond, to be exact], about 20 miles up river from downtown, where I preached a few months in college. Eventually I'll elaborate on my relationship with this church, but they happened to contact me a month ago asking if I'd come in and preach for them part-time. So I was excited to get things started there this week. Sunday morning service was a little empty.

There were seven people. Including me.

The church has been around for over 150 years and now they're clinging to life. I'm going to preach through April and then we'll reevaluate what needs to happen there. I'm sure I'll have some interesting experiences to share here throughout the months to come.

Then, Sunday night, the gathering at Echo was a look back at 2007 while looking forward to 2008. It was crazy as we had many of our "regulars" still gone but we had about ten visitors. We even had eight kids, more than we've ever had. The dynamic of the room was different as I spoke, but I always get enthusiastic when talking about our vision for Echo, so it was a very good time. After the gathering, we had a food/fellowship time and didn't get home until 9:30.

At the end of the day I was exhausted, but I was energized because of our night at Echo.

As difficult as it has been starting a new church, it is always exciting. We understand that we're always near extinction so we have to be determined to make things happen. Sunday night there was a great vibe at Echo. I'm starting to feel the momentum building, realizing that our hard work is paying off. Sunday morning, at Franklin Chapel, was entirely different. There was a desperation present. The people are beat down, and are looking for anything to get them excited.

Ironically, it wasn't too long ago that there were only seven people at Echo, but we were going forward instead of reverse.

I guess what I'm saying is that I just had a sincere appreciation on Sunday night, after my morning experience, for how far we've come as a church. We're still making mistakes, we haven't experienced considerable growth, but we're released to do an important, exciting ministry that is still new. I'm not sure if Echo will last 150 years, but if it does I pray that it continues to be an exciting place to be.

One of the saddest things to witness is a dying church.

But one of the most exciting things to see is a church beginning to roll.

Quick Political Observation

I was under the weather today, and didn't feel like writing when I have a lot on my mind. Watching the results tonight, it played out just like I suspected it would last week. McCain took New Hampshire and Hillary edged out Obama on the Democratic side. The thing to note is that Hillary is already being called the Comeback Kid [a'la Bill Clinton] and she didn't comeback from anything. New Hampshire was Hillary's to lose and she did what she was supposed to do- finish first. What changed the perspective was the polling in the past two days that showed Obama had a huge lead in NH. The media annointed him the clear victor and was predicting a walk to the nomination. Clinton's camp was gripping earlier today, possibly faced with packing in, and now feels inspired by this victory. Obviously the polling was way off here.

So if it were not for the bad polling, this would still be somewhat of a loss for Clinton. Obama finished a close second, which still should be disturbing to Hillary's camp. But they'll spin this as new momentum, and the media will let her have it.

I ask: did the media create a [false] Obama frenzy that will eventually hurt his candidacy? Quite possibly.

Mmmmm, Crow.

I must cry now. The Buckeyes got spanked again. Another year of disrespect. I'll break it down later. I don't have the heart to do so right now. The Buckeyes were not BCS championship worthy, but all the top teams lost twice this year, putting OSU there by default. The youth of the offense was a liability, but the defense didn't answer in the first half. Again the coaching staff could not answer what was put before them.

Regardless, it was bad. I don't know what else to say.

Breaking News . . .

Ohio State will beat LSU for the National Championship. I'm putting it out there now so there can be no doubt. I've watched LSU play about five or six times this year. They are an incredibly talented team, but are probably less talented then they were last year. Ironically, I had watched Florida play the same amount last year and didn't think they'd be as tough against OSU last year [Urban Meyer out-coached Tressel, so OSU lost]. But I was nervous before last year's game. This year: not so much. I told my friend Alex at the beginning of the year that this would be a great year for LSU, even though they weren't as talented as they had been in the past. The schedule was perfect for them to advance to the National Championship game, with playing their toughest SEC opponents at home. Of course, they blew two games, and could have lost five this year. And if it weren't for both West Virginia and Missouri losing the last weekend of the year, they would've blown it. Fortunately, the strength of their conference made them the media darling and they were the two-loss team of choice.

As for the Buckeyes, people observed a pathetic year in the Big Ten and labeled them "the chief of the losers." True they played a weak non-conference [as the SEC did] but they were in control of every game they played in except one. Still, they were called the "Suckeyes" and left for dead. Even though they're the #1 ranked team, they're underdogs at LSU on the neutral field.

The one constant about college football players is that they buy into the hype; when they hear that they're the best thing since sliced bread, they'll buy in. LSU has heard for over a month how Ohio State is nothing. One LSU player said that they were "without a doubt" much faster than the Buckeyes. The Superdome will be purple and yellow and they think they'll waltz to victory.

But OSU's defense is very solid while the LSU offense can struggle. It will come down to whether or not the Buckeyes can put points on the board. OSU's quarterback is young, but he has a lot of weapons. If Todd Boeckman can keep from turning the ball over, they'll score a plenty.

For a year now the Buckeyes have had to hear about their inadequacies. Monday night is their shot at redemption. The Buckeyes will be National Champs, and Les Miles will wish he had gone to Michigan because he'll take the blame.

Gettin' Political

I loves me some politicin'. So let me objective breakdown last night's Iowa Caucus. What did we learn? Pretty much nothing.

Pundits like to spin the results into something more than they are but the Caucus rules are confusing, especially on the Democratic side; so the result isn't an accurate measurement of how things will go. Nor can you look towards New Hampshire primary as a litmus test. Sure, NH has picked its share of Presidents, but in the last twelve years they also picked Paul Tsongas, Pat Buchanan and John McCain. Bill Clinton was dead in the water after New Hampshire in 1992 and still was a two termer. If you really want to see where the rubber meets the road, wait till South Carolina.

I will say that things looked the best last night for Huckabee. One pundit noted that the reason Huckabee was heads and shoulders above the rest is that he knew how to tell a joke; all other Republican candidates seem to come across as rather robotic. Huckabee has a Reagan-esque style not found in either of the Bush presidents. He's becoming a bigger character as things move forward. And you can attribute it all to a few classic remarks in a debate. Well, that and those Chuck Norris commercials.

Things looked the worst for Giuliani, who finished dead last. Remember when he was the sure-fire Republican nomination? Now he's MIA. Giuliani barely campaigned in Iowa but coming in behind Ron Paul, finishing dead last, certainly didn't help his street cred. McCain will win in New Hampshire, but I think Huckabee takes the south and wins the Republican nomination.

The Democratic side is still too close to call. Hillary took it on the chin yesterday but she will win in New Hampshire. The margin of victory will be critical. If Obama keeps it close, then he has a real chance to get the nomination. The same goes with Edwards. He'll take South Carolina for sure, so it'll probably come down to the Super Tuesday showdown between the three of them. It's critical for Hillary, however, to win in NH, and if possible, to win big. If she loses there next week, she's a goner.

I'm still holding firm that the Democrats win the White House with anyone but Hillary. She's still too polarizing. As likable as Huckabee is, I'm not sure he can take Obama. Maybe Edwards.

When you don't really care who wins, this can be really fun. You should try it sometime.

Don't Drown Your Food

The past few weeks I've been thinking about this PSA from the 1980's telling kids not to abuse condiments [I guess it was epidemic then]. Everyone I asked couldn't remember it. Do you remember this? And if so, what was the point? Later I remembered . . . why I've been thinking about this PSA. Kaelyn has been watching Kelly and I eat and now needs to dip here food whenever the opportunity presents itself. Tonight she dipped her carrot in salsa. So I guess we're teaching her to drown her food. Tragic.