Canadian food has been under fire since the presidential elections when George W. Bush was told about how Canadian Prime Minister Poutine supported him [Cultural explanation for non-Canadian readers: poutine is a dish from Quebec. It's made from warm french fries, topped with some cheese cut in small pieces. The french fries and the cheese are mixed together. The warm french fries make the cheese melt. Then the entire mix is topped with brown gravy.] and W. excitedly accepted his endorsement [Canada's Prime Minister is actually named Jean Chretien] Now Tom Shugart is challenging my spelling of "natchos" and trying to tell me the proper way to spell it is "nachos". In expressing my disgust over this perceived American imperialism, my wife (who is from South America) looked at me and said, "Tom's right, it is n-a-c-h-o-s". I stand ashamed. The good news is that in my attempts to prove Tom wrong, I found what looks to be an amazing nacho recipe. Tom, if you are ever in this neck of the woods, the nachos are on me!

"It would be tragic to live through one of the most significant transitions in the history of the world and to misunderstand it as a mere stage in the life of the young." -Tex Sample

How to Become Poor
In his wonderful book The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, the Peruvian economist Hernando De Soto notes: "The cities of the Third World and the former communist countries are teeming with entrepreneurs. You cannot walk through a Middle Eastern market, hike up to a Latin American village, or climb into a taxicab in Moscow without someone trying to make a deal with you. The inhabitants of these countries possess talent, enthusiasm, and an astonishing ability to wring profit out of practically nothing." It's possible to keep such people down only if governments dedicate themselves to the pursuit of really bad policies for decades at a time.

Communion: More Than Symbol

In its fullest sense, remembering is far more than the long backward glance of nostalgia, and in its fullest sense the symbol of bread and wine is far more than symbol. It is part of the mystery of any symbol always to contain something of the power of the thing symbolized just as it is more than a mere piece of painted cloth that makes your pulse quicken when you come upon your country's flag in a foreign land, more than a mere sound that gladdens your spirit when you hear someone speak the name of an absent friend. When in remembrance of Jesus, the disciples ate the bread and drank the wine, it was more than mere bread and wine they were dealing with, and for all the tragic and ludicrous battles Christians have fought with each other for centuries over what actually takes place at the Mass, the Eucharist, Communion, or whatever they call it, they would all seem to agree that something extraordinary takes place. Even if the priest is a fraud, the bread a tasteless wafer, the wine not wine at all but temperance grapejuice, the one who comes to this outlandish meal in faith may find there something to feed his deepest hunger, may feel stirring within himself a life even more precious, more urgent, more near than his own.

Frederick Buechner, Listening To Your Life (Harper, 1992), pp.260-261.

I purchased a copy of Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of The Message. I have a New Testament and have really enjoyed it and binding shows it. I was going to buy a copy of it when it came out but it as $70 (CDN) and I thought that was a little steep. Lakeview Church has a book ministry and Alana was able to get it for $40 which is expensive for a hardcover a little more bearable.

I don't know who is gouging me so badly. Amazon.ca is offering it at $46 but the local Christian ghetto's are selling it at $70. The ghetto's blame the publisher but whoever is to blame, $70 is absurd.

How bad is it in Cinncinnati?

This is from the team's official website at www.bengals.com, Ibid. Somehow, the 0-4 Bengals found a new low Sunday in finishing off their third winless September in the last four years. During a punchless 35�7 loss to Tampa Bay, the sparse Paul Brown Stadium crowd cheered at such sights as the Bengals throwing a 50-yard incompletion down field and quarterback Akili Smith throwing away a pass in the end zone that ended up in the hands of a fan.
No, I think the new low is when your own team website writes that about your performance.

Rams are 0-4

or 0-9 if you count the games since the last Super Bowl. This last game was against the Dallas Cowboys! Something is wrong in St. Louis. Losing Hakim shouldn't have made that much of a difference to this offence.

Peter King Goes to Town on Terrel Owen

It looks like the 49ers will simply have to accept the fact that they're going to endure some silly eruptions from Mount Owens four or five times a year. The only good thing about it is that Owens is not a locker room leader, and so he won't be able to infect many of his teammates.

Last night after Lakeview's two services, Jeb, Sharla, Wendy, and Tamara Reimer and I went out to Alexander's Restaurant for a fairly bad meal all around. I ordered their famous natchos and they came out burnt. After listening to the waitress say that the cooks have to cook it that way, I told her that over seven years of coming to Alexander's, I have never had them burnt like this. The brought out a new plate minutes later with the cheese not even melted and the waitress was ticked. I picked up the tab and left a decent tip (some of the girls attend Lakeview and I have always tipped well there because they are all students) and the waitresss goes, "this is too much, the food was awful, and the cooks ruined your natchos". Well, at least someone admitted it.

One of those odd parenting moments

I put Mark down to nap in one outfit this afternoon. When I went upstairs to get him up to drop him off at the sitters (Wendy is working today) he was wearing a completely different outfit. He had managed to pull his crib over a pile of clothes and grab some. I guess he didn't like what I had picked out for him.

Preaching at Lakeview this weekend

I am killing some time surfing in Dean's office tonight while the musicians finish up rehersal in time for the 5:35 service. If I am lucky, the music guys won't scarf down a very good smelling supper before I can get some for the start of the 7:07 service. UPDATE: Doh! too late, food all gone. Full musicians all over the room.

Jeb's New Blog

I mentioned this earlier but Jeb has a new blog at its own domain at www.chrisrunquist.com. I worked with Jeb for about two months until I finally heard him called Chris. Actually only his wife and parents call him Chris... Jeb is the media creator at Lakeview and has put together a very nice blog.

Spent half an hour search for a quote on Google only to find out I had it listed in my quote library.

Our worst sin is prayerlessnss, because of what it says about who we really think is in charge of the church and the universe. God save us from the people who would renew the church and bring justice in the world without praying. Having he appearance of godliness, but denying its power, they are more dangerous than the wrongs they would set right. They will replace old evils with new evils, themselves. -- P. T. Forsyth

The World's First AOL Computer

This computer could turn out to be a very big deal. Not so much because it�s the first under-$200 new PC to hit the marketplace or because it runs a version of Linux which can run some Windows programs � but because the idea had been embraced by the number one online service.

Feeling Much Better Today

Haven't slept much in two weeks. Crashed for 16 hours last night. Feel much better.

"Hope is a response to the future, which has its foundations in the promises of God. It looks at the future as a time for the completion of God's promise. But hope is not a doctrine about the future: it is a grace cultivated in the present, it is a stance in the present that deals with the future. As such it is misunderstood if it valued only for the comfort it brings, as if it should say, "Everything is going to be all right in the future because God is in control of it. Therefore relax and be comforted." Hope operates differently. Christian hope alerts is to the possibilities of the future as a field of action and as a consequence, fills the present with energy."
--Eugene Peterson

Since I am in a lousy mood...

The boxes for Samartan's Purse arrived today at Lakeview. Let me make this clear. I think the work that Samaritan's Purse does is amazing and makes this world a better place. What I don't like is that so many people I know use Samaritan's Purse as a modern day indulgence at Christmas time. Last year I listened to a family that spent over $12,000.00 on gifts talk about the three shoe boxes they gave to the poor. It kind of left me staggered. People are going to spend thousands of dollars on each other in a context where they have all the needs and most of the wants already covered and justify their giving with some change in a Salvation Army kettle or a small pile of stuff in a shoebox. Something doesn't seem completely right about it. I love Christmas but this year Wendy and I are going to match whatever we spend on gifts for people we know with gifts to charities and people who have some real needs (and fill some shoeboxes on top of that). It will keep our spending in check and hopefully mean someone else gets some needs filled in their life.

At least I am not an Apple PR guy

What in the world? I don't know what is creepier, that the fact that this guy would allow this picture to be taken or the fact that Apple would use it.

Leonard Sweet tells this story in SoulSalsa

Sometime I�d like to hear someone say, �Pray for me,� and have the person they�re asking say, �No, I�d be afraid of doing that. It would require us to become too connected. If I prayed for you I would no longer be able to objectify you and it would change our relationship in ways I would find unsettling. Praying for you would also pull me out of my narcissistic selfishness and force me to contemplate the ineffable power of God in my life which would also be uncomfortable. So thank you, but I just can�t� (page 36)

Prayer

Am knee deep in a sermon due to the media guy first thing tomorrow moring about prayer. Eugene Peterson has a fascinating look at devotion and the Song of Songs in Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work and Henri Nouwen has some cool stuff of the paradox of prayer in Reaching Out and Intimacy

Pay My Student Loans

Well not mine but Dave Trotter's. Another site in the "pay off my debt" series. It brings up some interesting questions.... We live in an age where churches and non-profits are expecting more education and schools are more and more expensive yet the jobs that many non-profits and churches pay aren't enough. Does it come to a point where only the children of the wealthy can work in a church or a non-profit?

Hooked on the Net Weblog

Andrew Careaga has a new weblog to go along with his new book. The blog looks great and I will review the book when I get my hands on it.

Choking Update

Thing still lodged in my throat causing me to lose my voice. Oxygen still flowing but mood deteriorating...Update: Obstruction gone. Am feeling better. No need to see if I am alive through the night anymore but thanks for caring.

Bengals Deserve Some Credit

The Cinncinnati Bengals may be the worst run sports franchise in the world but give credit to owner Mike Brown for one thing, he has created a honest website with a real sports writer who covers the team fairly and honestly and says it like it is with one of the worst teams in league history. By hiring Georff Hobson to be the site editor he has given a front office some creditability that deserves none. I have no idea why all teams don't do the same thing and give the same creative freedom to their writers. Less spin, more news. I like it.

This blog may be out of commission soon. During the night, I hurt my back while sleeping (don't ask me how, I don't know myself) and then over lunch I managed to wedge something in my throat. If anyone happens to wander by my office today, check to see I am still breathing. My Werther's Originals and Mac's Froster haven't washed anything down yet.

Some Hope for Next Season

Since the All-Star break, the Toronto Blue Jays have posted the fifth best record in baseball. The four teams with better records are heading to the playoffs. Quite a difference from previous years when they have generally gotten weaker after the All-Star break. At the All-Star break, Toronto was 34-52, which represented the franchise's most first-half losses since 1979. Two teams -- Boston and Chicago -- kept pace with Toronto, compiling twin 37-33 records since the season's midpoint. Seattle, a few games back at 35-33, fell out of the playoff picture with a tepid second half. The remaining six AL squads all finished with losing records both before and after the All-Star Game. As such, Toronto remains the only example of night-and-day difference in play, unless you want to count Oakland. The A's were a very good team at the All-Star break, but they've since been incredible. If their .721 second-half winning percentage was sustained over a complete season, it would result in 117 wins, which would break the all-time record set by Seattle last season.

New Saskatchewan Roughrider (and other CFL) sites

Wendy pointed me to the first good quality (we'll see how it does in the off-season before we upgrade it) Canadian Football League team sites on Canada.com. Since there are no Southam papers in Regina or Saskatoon, Roughrider coverage is terrible on Slam. Canada.com has put together a great fan resource. My only regret is that it took me this long to find it.

The Megachurch Next Door

USA TODAY looks at the controversy of the megachurch and urban sprawl. From the article, Sprouting up in the countryside, suburbs and cities, many of these giant houses of worship are antagonizing neighbors and local officials who say the churches cause noise, traffic jams and environmental damage. Churches also are exempt from property taxes, and some communities bemoan the loss of revenue that they could otherwise collect for roads, police and other services.

Especially controversial are the non-traditional services that megachurches are offering, from hotels and day-care centers to bookstores and health clubs -- activities that often would not be permitted in residential neighborhoods if they weren't on church grounds. These quasi-business ventures bring in people and generate traffic throughout the week, not just on Sundays.

''All these and other non-traditional church activities may be theoretically protected as religious uses and may not be excluded from even the most quiet secluded residential neighborhood,'' says Jonathan Weiss, director of the Center on Sustainable Growth at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Prestonwood Baptist Church, in Plano, Texas, near Dallas, has 15 ball fields, a '50s-style diner and a fitness center. It soon will add a coffee shop and a food court.

Brentwood Baptist Church in Houston has a McDonald's. The church commissioned demographic research to see how it could serve its 10,000 members and reach out to more. It found a shortage of restaurants in the neighborhood of the 111-acre church campus. So Brentwood five months ago became the first to have a McDonald's franchise on church grounds -- drive-through window and golden arches included. The restaurant is open to the public during regular church hours. Because proceeds go to the church's youth programs, customers pay no sales tax.

Castle Hills, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio, is fighting the 17,000-member Castle Hills Baptist Church in court. The church bought six residential lots to add parking. The city allowed it to demolish the homes on the lots but vetoed the parking lot. The church sued, charging that the city is waging a ''campaign against places of worship.'' In one reply, the city said the church ''seems to grow like a cancer, feeding on homes in much the same way as a cancerous tumor feeds on healthy cells.''

New Design is coming along slowly

Ahoy, I spent part of the weekend working on some new prototypes for the site. Can't say I really liked any of them. Am off looking for some design inspiration today. The problem is the amount of content on the site and how do you make almost 200 pages easy to find and navigate around in and not look just like every other larger site and keep a sense of personal identidy. That and I don't enjoy larger mastheads for a personal site. the jordoncooper.com logo is going to get a lot smaller. Other than that, it was a nice weekend around here. Some good friends came over last night to announce that they were pregnant and we also managed to play some of EA Sports Madden Football. (I lost).

After Further Review...

I really hate the new design of the site. Check back for something cooler in a couple of days. Have you noticed when you aren't pleased with the design of the blog you don't even feel like posting? On a unrelated note, Wendy's Blog has taken off in regards to traffic since she moved to her own domain name. She told me to say thanks to all of my readers that have linked to her and made it a lot of fun for her.

The Power of the Image

Evhead looks at the power of the image online.

Barna Responds to CT Article

Often at the center of controversy, Barna continued with yet another view that is sure to rankle some. "There are a number of high profile pastors who have been saying that the local church is the only hope for the future. As emotionally comforting as that may feel, it's just wrong. Jesus Christ is the only hope for the future; the local church is a human institution that God may or may not work through. In the near future we will inevitably see new models of the local church that don't look or behave at all like the congregational church we have historically fostered. Those new models, as far as they enable us to love God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul, are just as valid and viable as existing models. The more we can place our faith in Jesus Christ and follow the teachings of the Bible, rather than devote energy and resources to saving institutions and structures we created, the better off we'll be."

In Conversation with... Jonny Baker

Through Jonny Baker's blogging and involvement in such things like the Worship Labyrinth and Grace has given me and others a new perspective on what worship and church can look like. He was also cool enough to do a short e-mail interview. You can find out more about him from his blog at http://jonnybaker.blogspot.com.

1) Can you define for us what "alternative worship" is?
I think steve collins definition on www.alternativeworship.org is probably the best short version I've seen - church created by your own community for your own community in your own culture

2) What do you think the future is for media in worship?
If I'm honest I think we are likely to get an abundance of powerpoint presentations with headings for talks and maybe a picture thrown in and churches will be feeling 'cool we've got multi media worship'! Whereas in reality as far as I'm concerned nothing has changed. The issue we face is much more about the need for creativity than technology or particular media. There is a dearth of imagination in how we create worship. In the UK at least when I go to a church I can pretty much predict the format, songs, how many times they'll be sung, content of the sermon etc... And it's very one dimensional. The range of expression and media for worship should and could be so much wider and more creative. Of course having said all that I'd love to see more artists let loose in the church - photographers, painters, DJs, VJs, video installation artists, web designers, flash animators etc etc... But without trying to squeeze them into the worship box that already exists. The whole thing has to be reimagined rather than tweaked by introducing a few new things.

3) What are the main differences that you see in the North American approach to worship compared to what you have seen in England?
1. One of the key differences is that we don't have as many people going to church! So what?! Well... The reason I think this is significant is that for youth ministers in the UK they haven't got kids in their church so they have got to be missional - go and find them where they are and build relationships. By and large these kids have no desire to engage with church. So the youth minister has to get creative. The pressure is on as it were. It's self evidently a mission situation. Out of this kind of situation some really creative and imaginative churches and worship are growing. That's not to say the Uk doesn't have its fair share of dull worship and churches - we've got plenty! But I think the church in the UK is blessed with some fantastically creative services, churches, youth ministry and mission projects. In contrast to this the church in the USA (interestingly I think Canada is probably more like the UK context) hasn't had to go outside its own doors. There have been plenty of people showing up. This may be beginning to change but the pressure isn't on in the same way. This has also meant that there has been a much more developed Christian subculture which in my humbly opinion is incredibly problematic. It has the net result of shielding people from engagement with the world and frankly much of the art being produced is sugary sweet and lacking an edge. I know there are pockets of great ministry and emerging churches and so on that are very exciting but this is an overall difference I see.

Another one is that we Brits are cynical and we've got to being pretty negative about church. I have found some of my visits to the USA and Canada refreshing because people are positive and upbeat. They enjoy church and will throw themselves into it.

And perhaps a third difference is that the relationship between Christianity and politics is different - I think younger UK Christians are more politicized. They'll be concerned about globalisation, trade issues, and so on and that will be incorporated into their worship in a way I haven't encountered in the USA (again Canada may be different). Clearly there are notable exceptions to this with people like Tom Sine and Jim Wallis. I'm aware these are gross generalisations and it is a much more complex map than I am making it out to be.

4) Can you describe a little what you saw and learned at Greenbelt this year?
Greenbelt has been very significant for me personally in my own journey of faith. It's kind of like home base - I love it! It manages to blend a mix of being an arts festival, being part of the global church with a strong concern for justice, along with a depth of worship and spirituality that engages the soul. I help organise the worship for Greenbelt so it's actually a pretty busy weekend for me and I didn't get to much outside that part of the programme. A few of the worship things that were exciting were :

Installations - there were a couple of venues with installations for people to interact with. This is definite trend in worship that's been pioneeered by alternative worship groups to incorporate installations/stations as part of a worship service. But the quality was wonderful. As an example you can see Arable Parable on www.smallfire.org (see my blog for a direct link). We also ran a series of shrines around the site - this was an experiment but groups that had agreed to produce a shrine came up with brilliant things.

Alternative worship - in the UK there are lots of festivals where the worship consists of bands singing Soul Survivor type songs - these are very popular so I'm not knocking them, but we have tried to create space for something very different to that at Greenbelt. And I guess it's become a bit of a home for alternative worship. So we had a whole venue given over to groups from round the Uk running services. The level of effort and creativity that goes into these is breathtaking.

Club worship - lastly to mention is that another experiment we tried was doing a slot in the dance/club venue each night. Some of this was more successful than others but it felt like a really worthwhile journey to go on so I'm sure we'll push it forward.

5) You have a reputation for being very creative. What feeds you and gets your ideas flowing?
That's kind of you! I get fed and sparked by all kinds of things - films, music, art, Greenbelt, books, travel, magazines, blogs, meeting other creative people, being curious. Often creative ideas come from seeing something in one area and applying it in another context so I get sparked when I am outside of my own area. Or they come in conversation with others - Grace planning group is a wonderfully creative environment for example. I think you also need a context or an outlet for your creativity - often this is a problem in worship as so many churches don't really want anything outside of the box, so a key is issue is creating space where people can experiment, take risks and be creative without being jumped on or criticised.

6) What's Proost upto these days?
We're busy (well busy for a small homegrown independent label that doesn't employ anyone!). We have the following on the go - A new CD 'Old Hymns In Dub' that has just been released. It's not even up on the web site yet (which is also done by a volunteer!), but should be soon. This is 10 instrumental versions of old hymns like Amazing Grace or When I Survey, but done in a very different way - pretty laid back beats, heavy on the bass, a lot of chords stripped out to give it the right vibe. It's a worship resource really but also makes a good background CD for a dinner party. There's also folder of mp3s with a guide vocal so that you can work out how to sing with the tracks. I am very pleased with this.

A Labyrinth Cdrom - folowing the popularity of the web site a lot of people have wanted the online labyrinth (www.labyrinth.org.uk) as a Cdrom so we have got round to it and are including a series of lessons for groups using the themes of the labyrinth/prayer path. This will be out by the end of October.

The other big project I have been working on is a boo which will be a collection of pieces from various alternative worship groups. It will have a CD rom of images, video loops, mp3s and so on tucked in the back. This isn't on Proost but we are going to release an album of new alternative worship songs at the same time. The book and album will be called 'alternative worship'. I am more excited about this album than I can tell you - the material is fantastic. That's scheduled for January. Once we've done all that we want to think about a second Grace CD....

7) What have you read lately that has shook up your worldview and stretched you in new ways?
I'm reading some mission stuff to get me into the swing for my new job. I got this gem over the summer of a handwritten story of a friend of my wife's parents documenting his travels as a missionary early this century to the Congo. Just amazing the challenges and risks that they took! And I'm reading a book called 'Rwanda: the land that God forgot' that is the story of four generations of one family who worked as missionaries in Rwanda. I also couldn't put down an issue of 'evangelical missions quarterly' (the only issue I've ever seen of it). This issue focused on indigenous worship and was inspirational stuff - so much of it is so relevant to developing worship
in our own contexts.

I am rereading 'The Wizard of Earhsea' books by Ursula Leguin with my 10 year old son. They are fantastic, be in my top 10 if I had one.

8) Your favorite online hangouts?
Life is to short to find many, but discovering the world of blogs has been a great adventure. And now when I do discover some I can add a link on my own blog!

El Pastoro Rides Again!

Kelly Graham is now blogging from the Dominican Republic. Welcome to the club, secret handshake is in the mail.

Back online

I am back online and happy again. Here I am all stressed that I don't have any e-mail for a morning and then when I get it, it is mostly spam.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who served in combat in Vietnam and now sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, ''It is interesting to me that many of those who want to rush this country into war and think it would be so quick and easy don't know anything about war,'' he said. ''They come at it from an intellectual perspective vs. having sat in jungles or foxholes and watched their friends get their heads blown off.''

Help me... I need some help

400 pieces of spam. Make it stop. I need better filtering solutions. Anyone got any good ideas?

Broncos - 49ers

Tom Shugart e-mailed earlier in the week to comment on the Broncos win over his beloved 49ers. I wish I could have enjoyed it a little more but growing up in Calgary and being a Calgary Stampeders fan, seeing Jeff Garcia stuggle wasn't a lot of fun. I only wish the Broncos could have won 42-39 or something like that and see Garcia put some points on the board. I wouldn't count the 49ers out yet, I think they will be in the playoffs when all is said and done. I just hope the Broncos are as well in a tougher AFC West.

Site Update Status

Some of you have been e-mailing about when is the rest of the site going to get done. Well, I wasn't really happy with the design in place so I changed it up a bit and have been recoding the entire site as well as integrating in some new content areas. When will it get done? Hopefully in the next couple of days but we will see.

Really Bad PowerPoint (and how to avoid it)

I have received a couple of e-mail over the last couple of weeks about what we do with PowerPoint at Lakeview. One of the best booklets I have seen is by Seth Godin called, "Really Bad PowerPoint Presentations and How to Avoid Them" (WARNING: 780K file). It gives some excellent ideas for how to create effective PowerPoint presentations and what to avoid (hint: most of the features). The link goes to a PDF that Godin has created. If you like it, make sure you support him and buy a copy off of Amazon.com.

Another good book is Mike Slaughter's book, Out on the Edge. Slaughter does an excellent job of explaining metaphor in worship. Ginghamsburg's former media team leader Len Wilson has written The Wired Church which does a good job of explaining the technical aspects (although I find that it it overkill in some ways and ignores cheaper alternatives.) Ginghamsburg has also created two editions of the Handbook for Multisensory Worship which map out a couple of years of worship experiences.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other suggestions.

From the fine folks at Emergent...

The Emergent Convention
February 26 - March 1, 2003
San Diego, CA

You're invited to join Navpress, Emergent, and Youth Specialties for this milestone event - The 2003 Emergent Convention.

This is the place where you'll enter into ground-breaking discussions with Christian thought leaders about where church and culture are headed, and
discuss what reinventing the church might look like. You'll meet folks who are daring to ask the same questions as you, meet others who are already
blazing trails and dialogue about what the implications might be for your church and community.

Hear from insightful speakers like Dallas Willard, Dave Tomlinson, Anne Lamott, Todd Hunter, John Taylor, and Mike Yaconelli. Be inspired by music
and worship with David Crowder Band, Ginny Owens, Over the Rhine, and Steven Iverson. Explore postmodern conversations at the many elective seminars and late night discussions that are designed for those who are new to the emergent mindset as well as for those who are seasoned to these thoughts. Or dive even deeper by coming a day early and taking a Critical Concerns Course. (Critical Concerns Courses are optional and require and additional fee)

Early Bird registration ends September 27th. Save $40 and register now!

Visit www.EmergentConvention.com for all the details.

Live from Chapters in Edmonton

About 5 minutes before we left for Spiritwood on Sunday morning I told Wendy to pack a bag in case we wanted to go to Edmonton (four hours away). We did and here we are. I am blogging from a Starbucks in Edmonton on a pay kiosk. We are killing a bit of time until we meet my Dad and his wife for lunch and then plan to do a little bit of shopping. I appreciate the feedback about what is better, a Mac or a PC. I am a LONG TIME DOS/Windows user (and some OS/2) but I am really looking at an iBook while I am here (and there is no sales tax in Alberta!)

I love my wife dearly. She is the most beautiful women alive, smart and intelligent but... she is the worst trip packer I have ever met. We get to Lloydminister and all of a sudden her demeaner just changed and she blurted out, "pants, I forgot my pants!" I laughed so hard I almost drove into the ditch. Every trip we have ever gone on, Wendy has forgotten something essential... When we went to Anaheim, I almost perished in the night air as she forgot her jacket and just borrowed my brother Lee's and mine. She has a great Calgary Flames jacket from when we went to Calgary and she forgot her jacket for that. For longer trips I now tend to pack for both of us, or at least double check everything.

A comfort PC

As Ideajoy's blog points out, I'll need that PC when Wendy is in jail....

A Mac it is! Well maybe not.

Okay, a ton of you wrote in and commented about my PC vs iBook debate and almost all of you said, "Get a Mac". This is exact opposite to all of my friends here who said, "Get a PC". (that maybe profound but I am not sure)
Everyone said, "my Mac is better" but how much better and why is it better? I have been a PC user since DOS 3.3 and a Commodore 64 user before that. I have used every Windows since 1.4 (that was ugly), Desqview, and some other shells that I can't even remember (although my favorite is GeoWorks). My personal preference is BeOS but since they are no more as an OS and have no apps it will have to be PC or Mac.
Here is the deal. I can't afford on G4 Powerbook. Do I want a TiBook? Yes but I can't afford it. It will come down to a entry level iBook or a Toshiba Sattelite 1400 with combo CD-R or DVD drive. I need an Office Suite, a decent graphics program, something for some web video (my capture box handles PC or Mac), and a good web page creation program. Is there much of a difference if I need that? Is Mac software worth a premium? Questions, questions. Let me know in the comments below.

Wendy Cooper.net is now online.

Wendy just launched her own domain today at www.wendycooper.net. She has also moved her recipes from her old site to www.wendycooper.net/cooking/. Believe me, there is not a recipe on there that does not taste good. Wendy is an amazing cook (she cooks, I clean up afterwards). Feel free to help pass the word along about her new blog and site.

A Little Intranet Action

A couple of months ago I put together a start page for the staff at Lakeview Church so that the staff I work with could explore the web a little easier. A lot of people just didn't know where to start. I posted it online on some free space I had after some people asked for it at home. I realized the other day I had never really told other people about it. You can find the link here. We keep a copy on our network all the time to make it a little faster and to save some badwidth for Shaw.ca users. Feel free to steal the idea and the code for yourself.

Was quite disapointed in Hockey Pundits today. A lot of flaming was happening which isn't that cool. Maybe need to get rid of the comments boxes.

How many there must be who have smothered the first sparks of contemplation by piling wood on the fire before it was well lit. The stimulation of interior prayer so excites them that they launch out into ambitious projects for teaching and converting the whole world, when all that God asks of them is to be quiet and keep themselves at peace, attentive to the secret work he is beginning in their souls.
Excerpted from New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton.

Wendy and I have been cleaning out our house. Not so much of dirt but of stuff. I keep hearing people talk of a simple life but most people I am around are quite materialistic. They all talk the talk but play the same games as everyone else. How do I get more stuff. Most of our conversations revolve around the same thing. "I am working towards this television, house, computer, game, vacation, genetically engineered walrus..." The same old stuff. We are trying to get rid of some of our stuff and free ourselves to spend some more time with friends and doing what God is calling us towards. Anyone want a knee chair?

12 years in a giant oak tree, now they're told to leave
Thelma Caballero and Besh Serdahely have lived in an oak tree for 12 years, but the cops say they can't live in their oak tree anymore. In San Mateo County, it's against the law to live in a tree. The cops came by last week and stapled an eviction notice to the giant oak halfway up San Bruno Mountain, perhaps the only eviction notice in history ever stapled to a tree trunk. (via caterina.net)

He Fought the U.S. and the "Bad Guys" Won... Big
If the US and Iraq do go to war, there can only be one winner, can't there? Maybe not. This summer, in a huge rehearsal of just such a conflict - and with retired Lieutenant General Paul Van Riper playing Saddam - the US lost. Julian Borger asks the former marine how he did it.

What is Christianity Today? weblog sets out to reveal what Christianity is today in a post-modern, post-reformation world. Gathering traces of past-orthodoxy, past-liturgy, and past-protesting into a modern way of sorting out what Christianity is in modern contexts.

Brain Fuel Media (run by a friend of mine, Ryan Ukrainetz) has just relaunched thier website.

Homeland Security Department Warning

The Department of Homeland Security has upgraded the chance of Jordon having a temper tantrum as being .
Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said this in response to increased risk, "Can you blame him, the software tools he has aren't designed for the task and people keep changing their minds about the information that they want in the brochure." Ridge went on to say, "A 60 minute job has stretched into two days, something has to give".
Both Canadian and American forces are on standby with ear plugs and soothing cups of tea should the temper tantrum start. Some flights of over-sensitive evangelicals are being re-routed to different airports.
(also, is it me or is Tom Ridge wearing makeup?)

Chretien says Western world 'arrogant ... greedy'

In the interview, Chr�tien said the Western world is "looked upon as being arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits. The 11th of September is an occasion for me to realize it even more." Chr�tien said he told Wall Street business leaders last year that the West must not exercise its power so as to humiliate other countries and peoples.