Venus Fly Trap’s are Cool!

Venus Fly Trap

We got a Venus Fly Trap last week at Lowe’s.

The boys have been excited every since, they can’t wait to feed it.

This morning we saw a fly around the window, so I hit it with a newspaper.

The great part was, it wasn’t dead yet, it was still moving around.

So Jack picked it up and put it into one of the traps.

Then we just waited.

At first it started to close very slowly, then it shut entirely closed.

Jack said ” That’s so cool, it’s alive!”

So you don’t want to go to church anymore?

I realized I had been a christian for over two decades, I  had no concept of who Jesus was as a person and no idea how I could change that…p23

A buddy of mine sent me a link to this PDF Book called “So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore”. he raved about how it changed some of his views about how the church functions.

Well I’m a sucker for a free book, so I downloaded the PDF and began to read, and I’ll admit I was having a hard time getting into it.

Then the third chapter hit me, hard.

The whole book seems dangerously close to my story give or take the time frame and a few supporting details, and after the 3 chapter I was hooked in. I then read it continuously for 3 days and finished the whole book.

You may be worried at this point that this is just another sucker punch aimed at the church, filled with Pastor-hater one liners.

Well your wrong.

the tone of the book is NOT that church is bad and people shouldn’t go, there are lots of good healthy churches that help people grow. I can testify to this with my story and people I know.

It questions the institutionalized Church

Definitions

From wordreference.com institution > an establishment consisting of a building or complex of buildings where an organization for the promotion of some cause is situated

From Dictionary.com > 1.    an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, esp. one of a public, educational, or charitable character.

2.    the building devoted to such work.

From Wikipedia > Institutions are structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals.

To Many Hats To Wear

I think being a Pastor is a no win situation, there are as many successful Pastor as there are Lottery winners. That’s the harsh reality of ministry.

Not that I put that blame on the Pastors themselves, I believe most people who go into ministry are well intentioned people who love God and want to help other people connect to God like they do…..that was certainly my motivation for going to bible school, and wanting to go into ministry.

I think a huge portion of the problem comes from the pressure of our society. Dictating what what a church must look like, what success looks like, and the over all importance placed on visually progress.

I am concerned with how we train pastor’s. There seems to be such a disconnect of pastor who understand the history of the church. Yes..I said history. I know that doesn’t sound spiritual or sexy but if you don’t understand history, you are condemning yourself to repeat it. and Lets be honest, some horrible things have been done in the name of the church.

We measure the value of our Pastor on whether they can keep us awake for an hour on Sunday morning. We have  put this enormous pressure on their shoulders to entertain us. That’s why you see so many churches switching to the video and media format. Churches are being driven by the pursuit of technology in order to retain their customers. That’s not a typo.

The Line Between Business And Church

One of influencing factors of why I left the church was because I felt like a customer instead of a member. and that Sunday Morning was a product  with a shinny package, instead of the word of God.

This race to make churches more relevant is creating huge monstrous programs in the process. Programs that’s Pastor don’t have the man power to over see, and people start falling through the cracks.

Members then become cogs of a giant system, and Pastors start saying things like ” we need you here”. Because it’s impossible to fill all the volunteer spots in the nursery, and children’s church, and someone has to run PowerPoint, and the sound system, and teach the new life group, and help set up or tear down after service.

Any human system will eventually dehumanize the very people it seeks to serve and those it dehumanizes the most are those who think they lead it….p106

Again it’s not churches, or pastors, or technology that’s bad.

The Power of The Gospel

Don’t you realize the most powerful thing about the gospel is that it liberates us from the concept that God dwells in any buildings….p41

That’s why Jesus cleanse the temple. What was suppose to be a place for people to connect to God, had been turned into a place to make money. It created a caste system.

Those who were poor and needed God forgiveness, and those who become rich off the poor. It was their job to teach the people how to connect with God, and yet they used the temple (the church) to provide them financial security and power over the laymen.

That’s why Jesus’ death is so threatening to those bred in religious obligation…p51

One of the problems that Hebrews deals with is the idea that Christians don’t have to go to the temple and make sacrifices anymore. It was so programmed into their minds they couldn’t imagine having a relationship with a God where they weren’t required to do something.

How to Be A Good Christian

Isn’t it pretty clear here what being a good Christian is, and isn’t a big part of that not to make an waves or ask questions that make people uncomfortable….p49

I can tell you story’s about questions pastors don’t like to hear. In fact I didn’t have a lot of problems in church until I started questioning. Experts never like their authority challenged.

That’s the danger of religion. It only exist as long as people think the church is the authority. The result is of course that the church has to make people dependent on their leadership. I think it makes far to many Christians passive about pursuing their own relationship with God.

Religion survives by telling us we need to fall in line or some horrible fate will befall us….The whole system has a hook in it….p74

Are You Threatened Or Challenged?

I imagine this post will make more Christians mad then challenged. In my opinion the root of being threatened is either you feel unqualified in your position, or you have a belief system, a dogma that you have to defend to the death.

I wish it wasn’t that way, but the institutionalized church forces it’s members to defend it right or wrong to the bloody end. People don’t think straight when they are to closely attached to an institution. It’s like having a blind spot while your driving, it’s not necessarily your fault, but at the same time your accountable for what happens.

Churches get messy, I felt like I was having a divorce when I left my church. It was emotionally hard. I had been there so long and developed so many memories.

This is the point where I say you really should read the book, you can down load it here. I know hardly anyone will take me up on the offer, but if you do read it, I love to have a conversation with you about your thoughts.

What does Michael Phelps eat for breakfast?

Baby Mermaids

Zoombezi Bay

So I took the day off yesterday, I have some vacation time I don’t know what to do with, not because I have to much, just because I’ve never really had vacation time.

So Krogers had a day at the zoo, included in the zoo was tickets for Zoombezi Bay. Since we’re never going to pay for tickets we thought now would be a good time to go.

The kids of course had a fun, or as Abby says’s

” I didn’t have fun daddy, I had a super blast”.

Which made the sunburn I got seem worth it.

I do have to comment on one thing though. 16 year old security punks!

you know the guys who stand outside the gates, make everyone form a line and check your bags! Of course there is always a sign near by that says for your safety we do not allow these things, then a list a bunch of things you could have fun with!

There are  2 things that bother me about this. One, the only thing these punks are confiscating is coolers! you should have seen the pile of coolers behind the security table. It’s not for safety it’s for maximizing profits. They want you to go in with no beverages, play all day, get dehydrated, and then have to give up a $20 for a bottle of water, that they marked up 1500 %.

It’s corporatism

Number 2, it’s just a further reminder of the decay of our civil liberties. Since 9/11 the public can no longer be trusted to take a cooler into a water park. Paying $150 for tickets just to get in, doesn’t give you any rights. And they want you to believe that somehow these 16 year old kids are qualified to handle a terrorist trying to sneak in a weapon!

Wake up, America!

Wake up, America! We’re on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions.

Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Wielding candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) helps demystify the nation’s financial practices and policies. The film follows former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he crisscrosses the country explaining America’s unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens.

With surgical precision, Creadon interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and alarming profile of America’s current economic situation. The ultimate power of I.O.U.S.A. is that the film moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how we can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations.

Go to the site you can download a copy of the State of The Union Finances

Or Heres a cool site

Pagan Christianity

My First Impression

My first impression of this book was that Barna was going to play it safe and sweep it all under the rug. Maybe he would admit to some pagan roots but surely he has too much to lose with his reputation.

I am pleased to say Frank Viola and George Barna did not play it safe.

I would encourage every Pastor, Worship Leader, Elder, and Church volunteer to read this book. For some it may be shocking, for others  it’s another reinforcement that Christianity does in-fact have many pagan connection. But this time instead of coming from a atheist or an agnostic, it comes from respected christian authors.

This isn’t a new idea for me, I’ve already read several books about Christianity’s pagan roots, and watched a couple of really good documentaries on it. But what I like about Viola and Barna, is their conclusion. They didn’t decide to throw their Christianity away just because it’s not all shinny and slick.

Most research I’ve read become frustrated and just say ” well I guess all religions are worthless, So I  won’t believe in any of them.” In my opinion Viola and Barna present a more historical account of how Christianity has been hijacked. And what needs to happen in order to restore it to it’s true origins.

Hard Facts To Swallow

Don’t get me wrong there are some hard blows to the christian church in this book, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the institutionalize of church, especially for Pastors. We have gone down the road of turning the church that was suppose to be a dynamic living breathing creative organism into a static, predictable, profitable business. and In my opinion thats a huge shame.

To be honest though it was so refreshing to read a book where Christian heavy weights like Barna, who is said to be the most quoted Christian alive, have the same questions and doubts about the church that I do, and yet still manage to hold on to Jesus.

I would say this is a must read for anyone in ministry or thinking about going into ministry.

What Gets Under My Skin

I’ve read some other views about this book that I have posted below, the one that really gets under my skin is the one from “A Little Leaven”, who I read all the time. they post some really good and at times funny stuff. But their whole approach was that ” this is the poorest researched book they have read in a long time”, they go on to down play the whole book and try to make Barna sound like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

It’s the arrogant Christian response that the world has become nauseated to, and it tells me straight up that they have never done any research into the roots of Christianity. You may not like what the book says, or even agree with everything, but to belittle it shows there are some Christians who are not ready, or simply can not handle this information.

A Little Leaven

review From Howard Snyder

Articles by Frank Viola

Read a Sample Chapter Here

New Nooma Preview // 021 SHE

This is the preview for the new Nooma video, She | 021

This one is sure to get the Christian RIght up in arms. Talking about the feminine image of God. It’s these kinds of topics that make the christian establishment hate Rob, and the seekers love him.

Rob has this ability to take topics that most Pastor would never touch ( I think because of lack of study and research) and to make sense out of the words and the meanings.

The Beauty of Words

Emery has become a talking machine! a month ago all he could say was Mama and Dada, and now he’s up to 9! words. Which he loves to say them while he counts on his fingers, like he’s trying to prove to you how smart he is. lol

You have to watch him though, because if your not paying attention he likes to say nonsense words and then calm them as real words by adding another finger.

Here’s his list so far:

1. Mama

2. Dada

3. Blue

4. No

5. More

6. Book

7. Baby

8. Two

9. Up

He also has developed a tag line that he likes to say when he’s really excited, “Whoa Mama”.

YouTube Is No Place For A 7 Year Old Who Can Spell!

This video was the last straw for my son to get on the Internet. He really likes G.I. Joe, and now that he can spell he ended up on YouTube and decided to watch some videos.

I would strongly suggest that you only play this video if your alone or are NOT offend by curse words.

We now have switched from Safari to Fire Fox and added the Glubble add-on. It’s the best Free Internet filter I have seen. It’s pretty easy to use and I get to monitor what ever they view.

Despite my son viewing inappropriate stuff on the web, I am not a supporter of the government or the FCC regulating the web. I think it’s the parents job to watch their children, talk to them honestly about the Internet, and set up some kind of filter for their child.

I wish he hadn’t of heard those words, but It was an opppurtourntiy of me to talk to him about the way people talk and why it’s not appropriate for kids to talk that way. We’re pretty open and honest in our house any ways so it’s just another parents child talk we’ve had.