This is from a Thai place near my gym…

Thought it was kind of funny. I can’t think of a scenario where those quotation marks would be warranted. Unless they don’t actually deliver, and they are saying it for ironic effect…

I read too much into things.

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Category: Adventures in Proofreading
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These are the little things that would go in an owner’s manual for life…Seriously. I feel like half of the stuff we all deal with could just be avoided if people would tell us beforehand. So I’m here with this series (which I’m sure I’ll be posting many of as I live and learn them) to help us all a bit more.

Life Lesson 1: If the Hot Sauce you put on on your Quesadilla tastes kind of bad the first time, and makes you a little sick afterwards, it’s probably not going to be any different the next 10 times.

Can Hot Sauce go bad? I’m pretty sure that mine did. Why this isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds is because I typically enjoy this type of Hot Sauce (which is why I’m not naming it…and subsequently shaming it) and I’ve had nothing but positive experiences before this. But after try three or four, I probably should have called it quits. Or at least checked the expiration date.

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Category: Life Lessons
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Excellence is achievable, perfection is not.

I don’t think I’m a perfectionist, because if something that would make something better can’t be done, I don’t get too hung up on it.

I do get really frustrated, however, when there is something that could be done to improve something, but for some reason it doesn’t get done.

I think this is the Achiever-Responsibility mix in me.

Thoughts?

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Category: Random
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I realized tonight as I was driving home listening to a podcast that I, in fact, love podcasts. I figured I’d share which ones I’m listening to currently.

(Note: Now, I don’t listen to the McLean Bible Church and Frontline Podcasts because I hear then three and two times each (respectively) for work, but you definitely should check them out (just click on the links to go to the iTunes pages.)

Here’s some of the Podcasts I absolutely love right now:

The Gathering Podcast
The Gathering is Frontline’s college ministry, which I was involved in for about two and a half years while I was at AU. John McGowan’s sermons are incredible and this podcast is definitely a must-listen to.

Catalyst Podcast
Catalyst is a leadership conference for young adults. The podcast focuses on leadership and generally has at least one or two really good interviews in it. The hosts are pretty funny too, so that always makes for a good listen.

Breakaway Podcast
Ok, this is totally random, but Breakaway is a college ministry at Texas A&M. Not only have I never been to Texas, but I’ve also never been to Texas A&M. I actually heard the director of Breakaway, Ben Stuart, speak at Passion 2007 in a breakout session and I’ve been hooked on the podcast ever since.

Passion Podcast
Passion is a conference/movement for college students founded by Louie Giglio. This podcast always offers great insight and interviews and is definitely worth a listen to.

I’m listening to a few others (usually try and listen to Francis Chan and Mark Driscoll’s podcasts each week) but those are the four that I get really excited about listening to.

Fun fact: Three out of the four are college related (guess I can’t give up my college years!) and three of the four are almost always over 45 minutes long (sometimes over an hour!).

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy some of them! What are some podcasts you are listening to?

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If you work in church communications, you’ve likely seen someone use the “Three Fs” on some promotional piece before. I know I have.

I’m talking, of course, about the words “Food, Fun and Fellowship”, which are apparently present at just about every church ministry gathering of any kind.

Here’s the breakdown:

Food – Generally pot-luck (lots of meatballs and casseroles). Or, a few bags of chips and some soda.

Fun – Eh. Maybe. Generally it’s whatever was going to happen anyways. We just hope that by sticking “Fun” on it, people will be convinced that it’s actually fun.

Fellowship – A fantastically churchy way of saying other Christians are going to be there to hang out with.

Here’s the problem I have. It’s not just a lack of creativity on the part of the people doing the promoting in terms of word choice.

The idea that we need food, fun and fellowship to draw people to an event makes me worry about the consumerism present in our way of thinking. Essentially we’re saying “Give me something (food), entertain me (fun) and make sure it’s with people who are really similar to me so I don’t feel uncomfortable (fellowship).” Is this what we should be doing? (That’s a rhetorical question).

Am I reading into this too much? Maybe. But I think the problem still remains. How many takers do you think there would be for a ministry event that advertised itself as having “Poverty, Pain, and Loneliness“? How about “Loss, Scorn, and Desertion“? Probably not a lot. But that’s exactly the way Jesus calls Christians to live (Mark 8:34-38, 10:28-30).

Should our goal in ministry to make life as comfortable as possible for Christians, or is it to save the world that is lost and dying around us? (Another rhetorical question).

This is hard because it goes against everything our culture tells us. But we have to try. There is too much at stake not to.

Thoughts?

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Category: Thoughts on Ministry
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