We had a fun Holloween weekend. The kids had a parade at their school on Friday and below you'll see a picture of a friend of ours, Sheri, who happens to be a teacher at the school as well.

On Saturday, Cathie and I got together with a bunch of friends (including Sheri, sans costume) to watch the MSU vs. UofM game. It was a heartbreaker. It was back and forth, up and down, and I was physically exhausted by the end.

On Sunday we had a bunch of friends and family over for trick-or-treating. Kevin, Will and I took Nate and my newphew Gabe out. The best house in our neighborhood had an area setup with a keg of beer, a fire and benches for the parents to hang out while the kids trick-or-treated the cul-de-sac. You can see more of our Holloween Pictures here.

I don't always agree with the things Tony Campolo says, but his stuff always challanges me to take a hard look at what I easily believe and why I belive it. This article 'Evangelical Christianity Has Been Hijacked': An Interview with Tony Campolo looks the religious right's blanket support of the republican party:

Evangelicals need to take a good look at what their issues are. Are they
really being faithful to Jesus? Are they being faithful to the Bible? Are they
adhering to the kinds of teachings that Christ made clear?

I walked into Office Depot with a pile of dirty laundry. Between my ripped pants and lack of clothes, I had to go shopping and I couldn't get everything into my suitcase. Rather than try and carry everything else in a plastic bag, I walked into the store asking to ship this stuff. They looked at me kind of strange and pointed me towards aisle four where the boxes are. I grabbed a big cardboard box, stuffed my dirty laundry in it and shipped it home, second day delivery, for $9. What a bargain.

I played at The National golf course in Kansas City yesterday as a part of an outing that my company sponsored. The course was designed by Tom Watson, and the private course is impossible to get onto (check out the 9th hole - it's about 100 foot drop from the tee down to the pin). The course was amazing. I've never played a course this nice. The golf carts had computer systems in them that mapped out the hole, the course, the distance to the pin - everything except the ability to call the beer cart. It was a beautiful day - 70 degrees and the colors are in full bloom down here. I played with three other co-workers, and we did a lot of laughing throughout it. We didn't win (8 under) in part because I played so horribly for the first 9 holes. I couldn't hit a ball more than 10 feet to save my life. Half way through, things clicked and I begin playing moderately well. I had had some great drives, great chips, but my putting never improved.

I was planning on flying out today, but ended up staying over and flying straight to Birmingham tomorrow. I need to get more underwear.....

I played at The National golf course in Kansas City yesterday as a part of an outing that my company sponsored. The course was designed by Tom Watson, and the private course is impossible to get onto (check out the 9th hole - it's about 100 foot drop from the tee down to the pin). The course was amazing. I've never played a course this nice. The golf carts had computer systems in them that mapped out the hole, the course, the distance to the pin - everything except the ability to call the beer cart. It was a beautiful day - 70 degrees and the colors are in full bloom down here. I played with three other co-workers, and we did a lot of laughing throughout it. We didn't win (8 under) in part because I played so horribly for the first 9 holes. I couldn't hit a ball more than 10 feet to save my life. Half way through, things clicked and I begin playing moderately well. I had had some great drives, great chips, but my putting never improved.

I was planning on flying out today, but ended up staying over and flying straight to Birmingham tomorrow. I need to get more underwear.....

Okay - here's one of the coolest applications for my Treo phone. Using the PDANet software, I can hook my phone to my laptop and have a wireless internet connection where ever I'm at, without having to pay ridiculous airport wireless internet access fees. The connection is slower (145Kbps as opposed to 10Mbps), but it sure beats nothing - or god forbid, being disconnected.

I'm sititng in the airport. It's sunday night. I hate flying on Sunday nights. It kills my whole Sunday for me. I'm heading to Kansas City for a customer golf outing at The National golf course. About half way to the airport, I noticed I'd forgotten to stop by Ted's to borrow his golf club travel case. I was too far out to head back and make it so I tried to stop at Wal-Mart and pick up a cheap one. When I asked the guys behind the desk (all dressed in hunting gear) for one, they looked at me like I had two heads. I get to the airport (leaving my clubs in the trunk) and get to my gate, finding out my flight's an hour delayed. Sad thing is, the notice about the delay was sent to my phone while I was on the way to the airport, but I ignored it, figuring it was just another notice telling me when my flight was departing, which I already knew. I'm back Tuesday night, flying back out on Wednesday afternoon to Birmingham, AL and then back on Thursday. I'm in New York next Monday/Tuesday and then home for the week.

So here's the downsides to owning an iPod (or any device that allows you to put 40GB/10,000 songs) in one place:
1. You have to keep the MP3's meticulously tagged and organized.
2. There's so much music there that it's tough to figure out what to listen to or what you have out there.

I love my church. I love that I could teach our congregation a portion of the lyrics to Ice, Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice:

To the extreme, I rock the mic like a vandal
Light up the stage and wax a chump like a candle

Before you brand me heritical, let me explain. I was talking about what we want our church to be known as in our community, and one suggestion I had was that we be known as a church that knows all of the lyrics to a great rap song. I proceeded to teach the song and had everyone recite it. I contrasted this with how much cooler it would be to be known as a church that loves really well and have learned how to really live life, based on what Jesus has taught us about living. The latter seems a little more compelling. But I still think my church is cool - because it loves well.

I just heard something that thrilled me from two people who don't go to my church. Both commented on how many people within our community had heard about all the crap (Pastor infidelity) that happened at Crossroads in the past however many months its been. Both people also commented on how we've been handling it as a church - one that we've handled it differently than any church he'd seen, the other that we handled it so well, he started coming to Crossroads.

When we started going down this road, one of our goals was that we be known for exactly these things - a church that loves well, even in the face of turmoil. We haven't done it perfectly, but I think we've done just that, handled it differently and loved well. This really offsets the angst I get from all of the giant crap-weasels who left as a result of this instead of sticking it out. (I even love giant crap-weasels).

As I walked up to the check-out at Circuit City yesterday, one cashier said to the other, "Our new UPS guy must be retarded." Not missing the chance, I told him that I was the new UPS guy. He replied that "I wasn't wearing my brown uniform". I told him that even though my mother used to tell me that I was retarded, I'd always thought that was because she didn't like me. It created a nice akward moment that I decided we both needed to stay in. He looked at me, not quite sure if I was serious or not. As I left, I told him I'd try and do a better job from now on.

Last night while watching Survivor, the topic of Jamie Lee Curtis came up and the rumor of her being born a hermaphrodite (odd conversation, I know). Like all good urban legends, we had all heard this one as fact. Turns out, it may not be true, per this.

I took the day off today and let Cathie sleep in while I got the kids ready for school. Cathie was telling me that as she lay in bed she overheard Madeline complaining about not being able to do her hair (because she knows I don't have a clue). Nathan came in and volunteered that he could do her hair. She asked him if he knew how, and he said he did.

Emily and I hung out the rest of the morning watching Dora and an animal show on the Discovery Channel-HD. She just digs animals in all shapes and sizes. Cathie, Emily and I are getting ready to head out to lunch in a little bit.

We had a big group of people over last night to watch Survivor. We ended up hanging out aftewards watching The Daily Show, which just kills me. If you haven't seen John Stewart on CNN's crossfire yet, you have to check this out, particularly the part where he calls one of the hosts a dick. (Thanks to Noel for the link)

A number of people have asked me my opinions on our church and one of the people we're looking at as a candidate. Here are my random thoughts on a what Crossroads needs in a pastor. I’ve spent the past six weeks really seeking God on this stuff and trying to really listen to what he has to say. This is a combination of what God’s been telling me and my own opinion, but I’m not sure how to differentiate the two. Disclaimer: This are my opinions in part, I don't know much and I could very well be completely wrong. There's nothing here that I haven't shared with people who've asked. My opinion is a work in progress, open to what God's telling me, open to feedback and this is my first pass at putting it all in one place. This isn't well written and probably not even well thought out.

To understand what I’m thinking about a pastor, I think I first need to understand who we’re called to reach and THEN how we plan on reaching them. If Crossroads is going to be like every other church in the community, I believe we might as well close up shop. It’s going to be too hard of a road ahead for us to be just another church that targets the 40 to 60 year olds of South Lyon in the same old way everyone else does it. I want to be a part of a church that understands the world around it and leverages that to create disciples of Jesus. I want to be a part of a church that focuses on young people (15 – 35) yet has an older generation with a mission mindset for the youth and as a church body is known for loving people well. If there’s an older generation that enjoys that, they are welcome to the community, but I believe too much of the Church as a whole focuses on the old and not the young. I don’t believe that we as a church can just focus on people as a whole and be extremely effective. It doesn’t work in business and it doesn’t work in churches. You have to pick a focus and do it well. I’ve always loved the fact that I could invite my neighbors and know that they wouldn’t feel awkward, but that they would see that the church is different than the stuffy, irrelevant church they may have experienced in the past.

In a pastor, I want someone with mindset for outreach, who values deep, authentic community and who can communicate with the target audience that I’ve referenced above. That’s way more than just speaking biblical messages. They need to understand how people with modern and post-modern mindsets process information, process their faith, and process Truth. They need to be a student of the culture and a student of the word – and have the ability to relate one to the other. We need to have someone who loves others well – no matter what they look like, what kind of sin they bring to the table or where they’re at in their spiritual journey. Beyond that, of course they need to fit into all of the biblical guidelines laid out for a pastor – that’s a given. Ideally, I’d like to see someone with a Youth Pastor background and all that brings to the table in terms of understanding the world, communicating that to our focal point, relating to tough to love people and possessing a relevance - all while not taking themselves too seriously.

I think the current candidate is a great person with a passion, a heart for the unlovable and the lost and an understanding of the world around him. He seems like he’d be a good traditional Shepard for this church and where it’s at, because of who's left. His teachings don’t seem relevant or effective at communicating in a way that post-moderns can hear them. I’ve talked to a number of people who’ve actually been offended at some of HOW he presents his perspectives and HOW he’s shared them; things about women, paraplegics and children. I’ve talked to probably 20 different people about their opinions of him and their seems to be a dividing line after age 40 or so on who connects with him and who doesn’t. When I hear a teaching, I like it to stick with me for the following week as I gnaw on it and process it. His’s teachings haven’t done that.

The gaps: To be fair to him, I haven't heard all of his teaching and I've only spent about 90 minutes with the guy.I haven't seen him in a leadership capacity or a sheparding capacity, I really have very little to go on in all of this.

Again, I could be way off base. These thoughts are a work in progress.

Nate and I stacked two face cords of firewood together. We had a great time doing it and had a great conversation about everything from how tall it would go if we stacked the wood one on top of the other to how much many pieces we could carry at a time.

The message from Mars Hill on Mastering the Art of living that I referenced earlier continues to be stirring inside of me in a way that things haven't in a while. It's causing me to look at how I talk to people in person and on the phone, how I spend time with my wife and kids and how I enjoy what I have and where I'm at today and in the moment. Probably not a big deal for other people, but I seem to be so focused on what's coming next or where i'm going that I have a tough time time just existing in the present moment - no matter what it is.

It really hit me yesterday when I tried a practical application. I was meeting with Mark, one of the guys on my team at a local coffee shop. Typically when I show up I'm armed with my cell phone and laptop delivering instant message conversations, e-mails and phone calls as we talk. This time, I sat there with my notebook and pen and talked and listened. I was amazed at how I processed where we were at and what we were talking about and was in that moment instead of de-focused on everything. Same thing when I travel, typically when I call home and talk to Cathie I've got the TV on in my hotel room and my laptop in front of me - checking e-mail, IMing all while talking to my wife. I've started just shutting down and listening and focusing.

I went to the prayer meeting last night. We prayed individually for about 30 minutes and then the five of us prayed together for a half hour. It was an amazing time that refreshed and reconnected me to God in a way that my quiet time in the morning hasn't.

I thought this was funny. Cathie went to the store today to go grocery shopping. It turns out today was Old People Flu Shot day (pobably not the official name for it). Cathie explained to me that old people were everywhere in the store, camped out in lawn chairs and office chairs that they'd brought. You couldn't get to the groceries on the shelves, because there were old people in chairs lining the aisles in front of the stuff. Maybe it's just me, but I laughed my head off when Cathie told me about this.

Apparently bad-mouthing the Apple comunity is the equivalent to bad-mouthing Pat Robertson - you're going to get lots of e-mail after Pat (Noel) sics them on you . I made some observations about Apple users, iPod people specifically to which Noel responded. As you'll see, I've received a number of responses, per Pat's - I mean Noel's request. Apparently, Apple users are very succeptible to suggestion.

Let me clarify my position. I believe the Mac OS is far superior to Windows XP. The Mach kernel that OS X uses has been around for a long time (I worked on it on the NeXT OS 15 years ago in college) and the interface that it uses is phenomenal. Their software integrates in very tightly and being tied to Unix, there are minimal security issues. The chipset that the Mac is designed around is better and the cases look cooler. I don't disagree with any of that.

I do believe that Mac users have a certain arrogance and self-righeousness about them. Kinda like University of Michigan grads. You don't have to ask them if they're one because they'll tell you. Over and over. Is there such a need to be counter cultural about something that they jump on to the Mac bandwagon? I'm okay if people want to use Mac's - just don't try and hold it over people's heads that it somehow defines who you are and makes you better than everyone else, or that you know more than everyone else (except for Noel, who really does know more than everyone else. <--Noel, that was put out there to appease your followers.)

Dodgeball was great last night, until about 9:15 PM. I was actually playing half-way decent, until about 9:15 PM. Part way through the first match my back started huritng a little bit, but i figured I play through it. During one of the games, I chucked a ball and had a nasty spasm go through my back that hurt really, really badly, to the point that I couldn't really stand up, sit down or move without a lot of pain. I called Kirk Vickers, he told me to ice it and come in in the morning.

Kirk is a good friend of mine who owns Triad Health and Fitness, a performance training center in Novi. He works with pro-athletes and guys like me. Kirk knew what the problem was (something to do with having twisted my spine weird and having my hips out of whack). He put me in some strange positions that I'm not sure they even do in prison, stretching and pushing my thighs in a way that hurt worse than the original back pain. I stood up and amazingly enough, most of the pain was gone.

I guess this means I'm getting old. I don't remember having back problems in 5th grade when I played dodge ball.