Creative Punctuation
Seen tonight at Dexter Daze 2010:
Notes on Genesis 2:4-17
In my message yesterday on Genesis 2:4-17, I referenced a video about attention that you can see here:
I made a few mistakes, though, in my description of this video. One, I forgot that the viewer is only to count the passes made by the people wearing white shirts. Two, I said that they made 30 passes, but it was actually 15. Three, I said that the gorilla waved, but actually he beats his chest. These are minor errors, but I’m embarrassed about them. My preparation on that part of the message was sloppy.
How I Met Ernie Harwell
I grew up in the northern suburbs of Detroit and followed the Detroit Tigers when I was a kid. So, like millions of others the voice of Ernie Harwell is part of the soundtrack of my life and there were many nights, especially in 1984, when his voice serenaded me to sleep.
So, like many baseball fans and every Tigers fan, I was saddened by his death a few months ago. However, it was my great privilege as a fan to meet him once and, as a Christian, to hear his testimony about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life.
The story of my introduction to Ernie is pretty simple. In the summer of 2007 the chaplain of the Tigers, Jeff Totten, invited Pastor Rowe and a number of other Detroit-area pastors to watch a Tigers game from one of the suites above Comerica Park.
Ernie Harwell with Jeff Scott
Before the game began, Jeff Totten told us about his ministry to the players. Then he introduced his special guest, Ernie Harwell. Ernie told us about how he came to know Christ as his savior and then was kind enough to take pictures and chat with us. It was an enjoyable evening. The Tigers beat the Indians 2-1, with Jair Jurjens pitching an amazing 1-hitter. But I’ll remember meeting Ernie long after I’ve forgotten about the game. Despite his professional success and Hall of Fame career, he was a humble man who followed his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the very end of his 92 years on earth.
Stop the Insanity!
Whenever you write a document using a computer, you should basically never use tabs. Ever. If you are writing an outline, this is especially true; if you are going to send the document to another person for any reason, this is doubly especially true.
Also, you should NEVER press enter (or return for Macs) at the end of a line. EVER. Not in a Word document, not in an email. Nope, never. There is no exception to this rule. Ever.
For, you see, if another person needs to make the font bigger or smaller or doesn’t have the font you used, that nice looking little document of yours is going to look like it was produced by someone who is insane. It will be a mess. And, instead of easily formatting it for themselves using a handful of keystrokes, they will have to go line by line through the document reformatting it to make it look like you originally did. So, save everyone the effort and aggravation and learn a few simple techniques.
For more on this, please buy and read twice: The PC is Not a Typewriter or The Mac is Not a Typewriter.
Lions Win the Superbowl!
Oh man, as a life-long Lions fan, I can’t describe to you what a beautiful thing this is: Lions win the Superbowl! And, they beat the Colts—one of the teams I hate the most.
Notes on Genesis 1:26-27
Last Sunday (July 25, 2010) my message discussed the meaning, implications, and importance of the phrase “God created man in his own image” from Genesis 1:27-27
. The audio for that message is available here and here (on iTunes).
I read a number of things that helped me understand this phrase, but one of the most helpful articles I read is called “Men and Women in the Image of God” by John Frame. This article was a chapter in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Frame’s article especially helped me understand how the human body images God which is by function, not by form, since God is pure spirit and does not have a physical form. Although I read Frame’s writing on this in the book, the same article appears to be available online here. I recommend it for more information on the image of God in humanity.
She’s the Pastor’s Wife, Not the Church’s Wife
In a recent post, Brian Croft gives this advice to young/new pastor’s wives:
Find another seasoned pastor’s wife to call to share openly, seek counsel, and be prayed for every week. In the same way only a pastor knows what it is like to be a pastor, so too only a pastor’s wife can know the pressures and stresses she faces.
This is good advice. However, many churches need to have their expectations for a pastor’s wife adjusted. She is not the assistant to the pastor and certainly not the assistant to the church family. “Pastor’s wife” is not a role or office in the church; it is a role in the pastor’s family and that is all.
Certainly a pastor’s wife should be a growing Christian and a member of the church. As a member of the church, she is responsible to use her spiritual gifts for the growth of the body. But her primary role before the Lord is to be a loving, submissive wife to her husband and a diligent mother to their children, if they have them. Yes, she may—and should—serve on a worship team, do hospitality, pray, give counsel and advice, and teach other women and children. But she is required to do these things only if she has been gifted by God to do them and her service in these areas are part of her diligent walk with God, not because she’s “the pastor’s wife.”
My wife has been involved in children’s ministry at every church where I’ve been a pastor, even when she was a medical student and, later, a medical resident. Currently, she teaches children’s Sunday School here at Calvary. She also has been the primary piano player at two churches where I’ve served as a pastor and she has even filled in here at Calvary on one of our worship teams a few times. But I thank God that none of these churches expected her to do any of this as a pastor’s wife. Instead, like every other Christian, she found her place of service according to her gifts and desires to serve, not because of some unwritten job description for pastors’ wives. And that’s the way it should be. Though it shouldn’t be her only ministry, a pastor’s wife’s best ministry is to be the helper God created her to be for her husband.
On a related note, guys who are headed for pastoral ministry should not choose a wife based on her list of abilities. I was told growing up to find a woman who could play the piano because I might be in a small church where that was needed. Well, that’s exactly what happened in two churches where I served. But being a phenomenal musician is secondary to being a strong Christian and a loving wife and those are the qualities you should be seeking. If you get a talented wife with spiritual problems, she will be a detriment to your ministry, no matter how well she sings or plays. Likewise, a godly wife who will love and support you will be the greatest benefit to your ministry, even if her spiritual gifts have her serving behind the scenes.
Intelligence and Weirdness Are Not Correlates
I’m studying at Panera Bread today and just overheard two employees talking about a third person. One of them said, “She’s really smart, but weird. A lot of smart people are strange, you know, like, eccentric.”
Not in my experience. In my experience, smart people aren’t weird and not-so-smart people aren’t weird. Weird people are weird. I see no correlation between a person’s intelligence and his or her social skills. The nerdy smart kid is a high school stigma that people carry into adulthood, but it ignores millions of Ultimate Fighting fans who are both average or below average intelligence but also lacking in social giftedness.
And we’re all weird in some ways. Take, for instance, my passion for the Detroit Lions….
It does look amazing.
Great looking new Apple store in Shanghai. What do we get here in Ann Arbor? Briarwood….
From businessinsider.com:
Apple is opening a new store in Shanghai, China and it looks like another beautiful retail spot.
Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-china-store-2010-7#-1
What’s Bad for the Colts is Good for the NFL
0 CommentsMonday • August 30, 2010 • by Brian
In today’s Monday Morning Quarterback column by Peter King, Peyton Manning and Colts’ president Bill Polian complained about a new rule for this NFL season. This year, the umpire (who usually spots the football after each play) will have to move 12 yards behind the offense before the ball can be snapped. The umpire used to stand behind the defense, now he stands behind the offense for his own safety. This simple change has made it difficult for the Colts to do their stupid no-huddle-but-wait-until-the-play-clock-is-almost-gone offense. So, Manning is unhappy about it.
What’s missing from King’s analysis, however, is how the Colts have frequently used that umpire like a pick in basketball in years past. When the umpire was in the defensive backfield, the Colts would run their tight end or one of their receivers right toward him, using him to create separation between the receiver and the defensive back. Now that the umpire is behind Manning, they not only have to wait for him to get into position to snap the ball, but they can’t use him to screen the defensive coverage anymore either. Since I hate the Colts, I love this rule!