The Bible vs. The Da Vinci Code: This was the headline on the front page of yesterday's paper. My first thought...is that a joke? Is it? I'm not threatened at all by the Da Vinci Code, the book or the movie. In fact I think I've recommened this book just like every other interesting book I've read. All I ask is to have the opportunity to talk about it with you afterward.

The Bible vs. the Da Vinci Code I'm sure it was an attempt to make an interesting headline but c'mon. The Bible the best selling book of all time with true historical facts, archeological evidence vs. The 3 year old partially plagarized work of fiction? Doesn't seem fair really. The Bible which has been translated into most known languages and sold over 6 Billion copies vs. the Da Vinci code that has sold...well not 6 billion copies.

Baseball: We played games on Friday night and Saturday morning which is the little league equivalent of a double header. Back to back games spells disaster for my team because we have 2 pitchers and in Little League they can't pitch on back to back days. So Friday night we played a very tough team and my strategy was to just pitch kids that had potential and hope for the best. Both of my pitchers did great and our bats kept us in the game. In true Cardiac A's fashion we took it into the 6th and tied it up but couldn't go ahead a run so we ended up loosing a tied game via the tie breaker. But we played a very good team and almost beat them at the end of the night we were 5-6- 1 game under .500.

Saturday we played a team we beat by one run previous and I went into the game only having 1 pitcher. I didn't tell Tyler he was going to pitch the whole game and honestly I didn't know if his arm could handle it. He had done it before but you can only ask a 9 year old to bail his team out so many times. His first inning was rough but after that he caught fire and struck out 6 batters in a row. He ended up pitching the full 5 innings and we won the game 10-6. It wasn't as close as the score tells. All in all it was a great victory and a good weekend of baseball. We have 5 games left and with a 6-6 record I'm hoping to end the season a few games over .500. In reality we are capable of winning every game we have left but I'm not banking on it.

Cookout: We hosted a cookout on Saturday as a way to invite our friends and coworkers to meet The Bridge Church. Our goal was to have more than 30 people at the cookout and at one point I counted 35 or so. Mission accomplished. It was a good event not because we were able to build some bridges but I feel I learned something. Events like the cookout are going to reach the easy people- the low lying fruit. It's going to take something else, something more exceptional to reach the harder to reach yet equally needing higher fruit. That doesn't mean there is no merit in things like this. I think it taught us how to act like a body of believers by doing things in the community and meeting people while we are out there, it reminded us to invite and bring and it compelled me to do greater more exeptional things.

Welcome to the journey...

Teenagers: Heather and I went back to Frederick which is the place of our first and only youth ministry. We went back to do a final session of premartial counseling with a couple that is getting married in about a month. They are good friends and it was great to see them as well as some of the other great friends that we left behind...like the O'Neals! But what I had mixed emotions about was the fact that we would be seeing and interacting with our old youth group. Don't get me wrong I love those kids but they now have a new youth pastor and I don't want to do anything to hinder his impact with them. Being back with them for the short time that I was reminded me of how difficult youth ministry was at times. My wife, Heather, described it best when she said working with teenagers is like juggling little time bombs. The emotional roller coaster that they live on, them not knowing if they want to follow God one day or do their own thing the next day. All of this coupled with the fact that you have them for several hours a week and their parent's or friends have them the remaining week to destroy all the work God is leading you to do. I think youth ministry is incredibly valuable but I don't regret leaving it. But I am reminded of the hard road so many youth pastor's and workers are going to have to walk because the gospel they preach and the idea of making good decisions is not only counter cultural but counter parental and counter peer.

Serious: While this entry will come across as cynical and sarcastic I still think it's worth a read from most churches and pastors that I know. I have a tip that will change the way you do church. It will be call for a radical reformation of behaviors. It will attack the very core of your being a "loving" church but by listening you will be taking one step in a series of thousands in the right direction. While I can't make your heart follow I do hope these words help...and here they are.

I realize your church loves each other but perhaps the most painful thing for a visitor to experience while visitng your church is your "club" activities. These include the meet and greet time, the "prayer" time for each others needs complete with passing the microphone, and basically any kind of hand holding at the end of the service. I don't mean to be cruel but I don't care if Sheila's Uncle Mike is in the nursing home and I certainly don't want to spend 10 minutes on this topic (5 to hear you explain it 3 for the pastor to interpret what you said to the congregation and 2 to pray for it).

Beat Down: My baseball team laid down it's first official beat down last night. We had received a few and I guess last night was the night we wanted to give one. In the first three innings our defense was unbelievable and I think we threw out 2 or 3 guys stealing. We also made some great plays off batted balls. In the last two innings the pitching was amazing and 5 of the 6 outs came on strikeouts. Final score was 7-1 and two hits worth mentioning was the rbi double scoring a run from first and the BASES CLEARING TRIPLE (3 RBI's).

bzz: I was reading some blogs on my list and I came across an idea new to me. I have read the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and in the book the talks about how different people are catalysts for explosive change- it seems that this trait isn't learned but rather just a natural talent. I have also read Purple Cow by Seth Godin which is a marketing book and promotes being remarkable to be seen. Both books talk abou the out datedness of television and radio commercials and how word of mouth is the best way to inform others of new products. People don't choose products because they are the best they choose them because they are the most heard. Basically popularity makes a product...popular. Sounds overly simple but it's true.

So this new idea is not new at all but new to me. A w.o.m (word of mouth) marketing firm that uses your average joe to get the new products. I signed up. You can to at bzzagent.com.

Add: We added 4 to our launch team last night. This is great news! In the coming weeks we will also be releasing our website and some publicity items to announce our website opening.

Friends:: Sunday and yesterday my friend Tim was down visiting and going over some ministry I'm going to do at his camp this summer. Tim is a friend that is a kindred spirit with me and we seem to share an outlook on life. I actually met him in Colorado Springs in the summer of '02 when he was a youth pastor in York, PA and I was in Frederick, MD. Before too long Tim moved on to camp ministry in the York area and I was still in Frederick. Tim and I have spent more time in the car together travelling to all of our meetings and retreats than most married couples. So naturally time in the car is time in conversations. In case you can't tell by now I really value my friendship with Tim, I have to say it's definately unique but incredibly valuable.

So anyway he was visiting yesterday so I did what I would normally do I called up one of my friends here and we all three hung out. I'm not sure this is the litmus test of friendships but I think it's a good indicator. When you merge two friends or two sets of friends from different states and different ministry it's really determines if you are who you say you are. For instance if one group of my friends is very conservative and prudish and another group wild and crazy then there is a lack of consistency in my life and probably an indicator that my character is not consistence. I believe this is called Cognitive Dissonance.

So yesterday when Brandon, Tim and I were spending time together I was relieved to see that we all were having a good time and that I was being who I am...all the time.

Fries: I like french fries but I like regular fries better than shoestring fries and steak fries so when I'm ordering fries I ask what kind they serve. Because if they serve the kind I don't like I'll get potato salad or a baked potato- something that is better for me. So yesterday when I asked what kind of fries they had the waiter looked at me and says "french fries" in a tone that indicated I was a moron. Anger.

Then Tim asked what "blackened" was. The waiter looked at him and said "it's...blackened". This was when I concluded that he didn't actually have the ability to form a thought on his own he merely immitated back the sound he had just heard come from our mouths.

Cardiac: I didn't know when I signed up to coach that I was going to be the coach of the cardiac A's. We won both games this week which improved our record to 5-4. Cardiac A's- well all 5 of our five wins 3 have been by 1 run and another by 2. Our last two games- top of the last inning bases loaded and we need to hold them and we only have 1 out. Both times we got an out at home and then a strikeout at the plate to win the game for us. It's been a ton of fun and we've beaten some really good teams. It's great because some teams don't take us real serious and then all of a sudden *bam* the game is wrapping up and we've got a lead. Most of us the kids are really improving and we've having a great time.

Starting Point: North Point (Atlanta) puts out a slightly outdated but excellend small group resource called Starting Point. You can find there store by going to www.northpoint.org and snooping around. While it is a small group curriculum set it comes with audio cd's that can be listened to that are worth the price alone so you need not feel obligated to use it as curriculum if that's just not you. It covers simple foundational truths in scripture like the authenticity and authority of the Bible, Jesus Christ and our relationship with him.

Ecclesiastes: Solomon was really depressed when he wrote this. I guess I've never really paused to comprehend the gravity of the words or perhaps as I get older the words mean more to me. The first 5 chapters are simply all the things Solomon has put his hand to all his life and worked so hard to achieve and he is calling them all worthless. How sad- how insightful.

Everyone is Equal: I've been having a continued DIALOGUE with a parent of a player on my team. Her main complaint is that her son isn't playing the whole game. For this I am truly sorry, it must stink having to sit the bench but as a coach I feel I'm obligated to help the kids have fun and having fun generally revolves around winning. There are people that will argue this but in team organized sports there is little else that is more fun that winning and right now at 3-4 we are having a fair amout of fun.

So this mother wants her kid to play all 6 innings of every game but the fact is he's not very good so that's not going to happen. Yesterday she was tell me that her son's high intellect is actually his greatest weakness. He's so smart that he doesn't need to pay attention to his teachers or coaches. He is also so smart that he kind of always does his own thing...he changing. :Complete Truth: as she is telling me about the supreme intellect of her son he is playing in the field where we are about to practice. I can hear him talking to a bug that he had caught, then suddenly he starts frolicking with this grasshopper. Now I'm no child specialist but I can assure you one thing...that is not the sign of a genious.

life is good
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Nathan sporting his 'Life is Good' hat.

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

bridge card
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Here is the card I've been working on and am about to order. The website isn't up yet but should be in the next week or so.

Abnormal: I know this is abnormal but thought some of you might enjoy hearing about it. To date I have only shared this with one other person- my wife. I have a desire, a sick and twisted desire.

Here goes: Today I went to a printing business to ask about some prices and products that they have. I'm interested in getting some "first touch" things done for The Bridge. So I'm sitting down with the owner and I've told him what I wanted and am interested in getting. He is breaking out magazines and getting very excited about his product and excited about the business we're going to generate for him. My desire- without explanation to just get up and leave. The guy was very nice and I'm happy to give him my business so it's not like I want to make him mad I would just love to see his face of shock. I think the desire is to just do something so socially retarded to see what the reaction is.

Now one of my friends is going to do this to me one day and I'm going to get to learn firsthand what the reaction is...until then I can only imagine.

Word of the Week: Exponentially

Punctuation of the Week: -

United 93: I have heard and read mixed opinion and emotions about this upcoming movie. For the most part I can force it to the back recesses of my mind where it has probably lived since September 12, 2001. I think that's the problem with this movie, or rather the problem I have with this movie and articles have alluded to this fact. It is said that people that lived through the 9/11 tragedy and survivors of those that died give their blessing for the movies, television shows and books that are written are ok with them being released while others, like myself, are not.

One factor in this I want to mention is that these people were face to face with this horrible experience while the rest of us were watching from our living rooms. The tragedy occurred in NY, DC and PA for the victims but on our couches in our homes for the rest of us. Don't get me wrong I know the victims families suffered exponentially more than any of us but they have been forced to carry on while I think somedays we can vividly take ourselves back to September 11 and relive it or to September 12 and pretend like it never happened, because except for longer lines in the airport and a suspicion for people of middle eastern decent it really didn't change my life much.

Frankly I think the timing of this movie is tasteless, awful, and a truthful but ugly nature of movie makers. I guess their mentality is strike while the iron is hot or before the bodies are cold. It hasn't even been 5 years. If Saving Private Ryan waited over 50 years to depict WWII then certainly they can wait just a few more.

I wonder why a Columbine movie hasn't been made yet...afterall it has been 7 years as of last Thursday.

Polos
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Here is a picture of Nathan and I sporting our polos this morning. I think he looks unusually old in this picture but it's still amazing how fast he is growing.

DaVinci: Out of curiousity I went out and bought the book. I plan on watching the movie so I wanted to read the book first. There is one thing we need to remember when talking about this book...IT'S FICTION! The author admits to this- he does however leave the door open for people to misconstrue what he says in the book...he likes it this way. What good would it do to say...this entire book is filled with fiction and it's all lies don't believe any of it but I hope you enjoy the book. People like fiction laced with truth..or the façade of truth. This is what Dan Brown did. He wanted to get people riled up...he did.

This book is a conspiracy theory, like the easter bunny, santa claus, Elvis being abducted and us never landing on the moon.

The first 250 pages are purely action/mystery/thriller. It's a good book if not the best written. I've been interested all the way through. Then like clock work when you his page 250 all sanity is thrown out the window. In 3 pages he discredits the canon, council of nicene, divinity of Christ, and credibility and content of the dead sea scrolls among others.

Literally he drops an atomic word bomb on all these topics without ever giving decent reason why or sufficient evidence that his words have merit. He puts equal merit of a painting crafted in 1498 as he does text dated back to the first century A.D....but again this is a fiction book. The great part is that I think they are all questions worth answering and considering. So I don't buy all the hype. Educate your people, teach them that what they believe in reliable but if someone has an opposing thought it's not that big of a deal.

A couple sources you might consider.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticisms_of_The_Da_Vinci_Code

These are the only true "facts" Dan Brown admits to on his website.
http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/bizarre_facts/davinci_code.html

700: Today I did something I have never done before...well several things. I saw a tv show being done live. I got to sit in the control room and watch the camera, light, audio, and producers all do their thing. Granted I know it doesn't rank very high on the cool factor scale but I really enjoyed it.

Our friend, Heather, is a producer for the 700 club. She is 25 years old and to be doing what she is doing is pretty amazing. It was really neat to see her in her element and busting chops to get the show done right. It makes me want to go to all of our other friends jobs to see them in action.

Words: I posted a quote from Augustine probably about a year ago and after looking for it for the last 10 minutes I've given up. "Quitter!" (edit: I found the quote...seems it's from a' Kempis not Augustine)

Although we cannot always preserve our recollection, yet we must do so from time to time, and at least once a day, either in the morning or in the evening. In the morning form your intention, and at night examine your conduct, what you have done, said, and thought during the day, for in each of these you may have often offended both God and your neighbor. -Thomas 'a Kempis

The quote spoke of waking up and setting your resolved to follow God and strive for holiness. I really enjoy the thought and so I can honestly say not a day goes by that I don't stand in the shower and announce to myself my resolve to follow God today with all of my heart, in this I also resolve to be a good husband, father, friend and pastor. The amazing this is that it is often during this time that God speaks back to me. This morning I was reminded of a Bible verse that and old aquaintance from college asked me about a few months back.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat it's fruit.

Being completely honest I don't even know what the second part means but the first part is pretty clear. My words- that I speak to others have the power of either life or death which I choose to give is up to me. I want my words to bring life. So I read the rest of the chapter and really gleaned much from some of the proverbs. My favorite was:

Proverbs 18:6 A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating.

Bonds: I am NOT a fan of Barry Bonds whatsoever, 0% emphatically against all that he has done, stands for and how he has tainted baseball. He is the epitomy of all that is wrong with professional sports and for this reason I delight is his misery- I am a horrible person.

I believe that Bonds has set up for himself this attitude. People don't feel like they owe him anything because he has never felt he owed anyone anything. He has played baseball for him and to get his. Well it looks like he’s finally getting what he’s worked so hard for…emptiness.

There is part of me that feels bad for him. And to be completely honest this part of me that has sympathy is growing every day. I do feel bad for him because when I see him I see a shell of a man both literally and figuratively.

Daddy, It's HOT!: I went to my first AAA basebally game yesterday. Norfolk is home of the Norfolk Tides which is a AAA farm team for the New Yorks Mets. It's typically pretty good basebally and they don't charge incredibly much for a ticket. So after a deli lunch Brandon and I headed over to the game. We're both in shorts and gray shirts so we're in pretty good summer attire. The temperature is about 85 degrees and we're sitting in the straight sun with no reprive. All of a sudden Brandon stands up and says "It's too hot, I'm getting something to drink." So he come back with a drink and the game goes on. It's hot but not stifling and there is a nice breeze off the water. Suddenly Brandon says again "it's hot- I'm leaving". So we get up and change seats.

I say all that to say...What a woman!

Lunch: I just had a great lunch with a pastor, two to be precise. They are from a local church with an interesting story. They used to be old and southern baptist and frankly they were dying. The pastor returned to the church and in the course of 7 years had turned the church around. They are thriving and just constantly growing. What is amazing is that this pastor initiated contact with me and wanted to have lunch with me all on the week of Easter. He took the time to ask about me and when I left the lunch I felt like I had two new friends not to mention the resource kit he is ordering and mailing to me.

.500: Because of a forfeit my minor league team is now 2-2 or in baseball terms .500. The team that forfeited to us was the team that beat the poo out of us the first game of the season. We ended up scrimmaging which was very good for my team. The guys played well. We had very minimal errors and everyone played smart. Hooray for the A's.

Taxes: I got my taxes done yesterday. Whoo-hoo we're getting money back for the first time in 4 years.

Boot Camp: I stumbled upon this Mac news yesterday and thought it worth posting. Apple is aware that Mac users still must use PC software some of the time. Because of this new mac users or potential mac users are hesistant to make the switch or when they do make the switch still must keep their pc around to use about 10% of the time. With the new dual core intel chip in the macs the options are appearing limitless as to how this new mac can be used. Apple just released a beta (test) program that allows you to install and use Windows XP on your Mac. The amazing this is that a Mac can actually be started up in Windows and will operate only as a windows machine when it is in this "mode" and the same for the apple machine. The programs never share memory and are completely independant from each other.

The down side is that the windows side is still very vulnerable to viruses and bugs...same as a regular pc machine. I'm continually amazed at Apple's innovation and willingness to recognize the competition and work with it. Read more about it here-http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp

Wholesale: Christianity wholesale. What does this mean? What does it mean to be a wholesaler of Christianity? I'll be exploring this idea in the next few days.

Anxiety: I remember as a teenager I would sometimes feel so overwhelmed with anxiety. It was generally when I quieted my life enough to listen to either my conscience or the conviction of the Holy Spirit. When these times came I would not quite sick but something very uncomfortable stirring within me. Now the feeling of anxiety comes when I know there is something unpleasant on the horizon- like gathering all of my tax papers.

This morning I took some time to recollect and reread the story of Jesus' triumphial entry. I've probably heard it a hundred times before and this time I took away the feeling of anxiety. Not for myself but a little bit of an understanding of what Jesus must have been feeling. Mentally I believe he was line up, he was ready to go but emotionally the knowing thought that your death is coming soon must have been unbearable. Jesus continued to speak and to teach and to put the final touches on his preparation of the disciples and world for life after his coming...but he was human...he understood anxiety.

The rest of this week I hope to journey through the passion week and I pray that God teaches me new things about his gift to us.

Winner: We went into our game on Saturday 0-2. We played teh 0-2 Angels so I felt like for the first time we were off to a victory. Tyler was the first to pitch and he pitched 3 great innings and we scored all 3 of our runs every inning. Then the rain hit, I would have loved to finish the game because we were rolling but the rain caused a delay and we left having played half the game and winning 9-6.

The rain out was rescheduled for the next day, sunday. I barely had enough kids to play (9) and I had to pitch a kid that is still working out the kinks. Our first inning we did well on the bases and once again scored all three of our runs. Then they got up to bat and scored all 3 of their runs. So we head into the 5th inning up only 12-9. They pitch a new pitcher and completely shut us down. That inning, due to a some great pitching, they only score 2 runs. Then we get up to bat and...get shut out again. So here we are bottom of the 6th inning winning 12-11. In minor league there is no overtime. At the end of the game if it is tied the game ends and you look back at previous innings and the last person that was winning wins the game. So for the other team it's all or nothing because we had been winning the entire game.

So bottom of the 6th and Mike is pitching really well. We get 2 quick outs and then Mike walks a guy. He steals second and then third. Next pitch is a passed ball and the kid scores a run. 12-12. Then the batter gets walked so they have the winning run on base and their best hitter up to bat. The kids steals second. This is not good. The next pitch comes...The kid at bat absolutely crushes the ball, I'm stunned. We had been winning the whole game only to loose it in the last play of the game. Back to the crushed ball. This ball is flying and hard. Right between my first and second baseman...Tyler my second baseman sticks out his glove and *whack* catches the line drive. 3 outs..game over...We win.

It was crazy!

Club: I've owned a Mac for about three weeks now and I have been learning lots and am comfortable with using the computer. It's been fun. I've noticed a few things his past week about mac users. First of all it's like a club and if a mac user sees you with a mac they like you immediately and want to talk with youa bout...macs. Because of this I have noticed one other thing. There are lots of homosexual mac users.

Game: We had our second game last night and we lost. But while we lost we played much much better than our last game. We had 2 innings where my team got all 3 outs and the innining didn't end automatically because of runs scored. My team played heard and most of the time they played smart. I really really don't mind loosing as long as we do those two things.

Akeelah: I'm a pretty big Starbucks fan which mean I like their coffee, I like the way they run their company, I like the way they deal with their employees and I like how they do business. Of course all of these things I only understand in the things I have read and heard because I have never worked at one. Generally I think they do stuff that is pretty smart and makes them a step better. I walk in the other day and I see an advertisement for Akeelah and the Bee about an inner city girl that makes a run at the National Spelling Bee championship...sounds like a thriller. I just don't understand why they (Starbucks) would align themselves with a movie like this. I also don't understand why they (movie companies) would make a movie like this. Of course now that Starbucks has endorsed it the movie should do quite well...but they won't get my $8.50!

Behind the Word
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Where's Nathan? Behind the commentaries just under The Present Future.

Colors

colors
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Another set of doors also taken in Norfolk, VA. The blue door could be yours if you have the money!

Ivy

Ivy
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

I like doors. This was taken in Norfolk, VA.

1st Game: It wasn't pretty but we played our first game today. We scored 6 runs and ran the bases very well. The bad news is the other team scored 15 runs. We made lots of mental errors but I honestly believe we can compete with the other teams...but we have to stop making the mental mistakes.

Highlight: In our league all 12 players bat even though only 9 can play in the field. So when I say our 12th batter was up to bat it's understood that he is not only the weakest hitter but probably the weakest fielder as well. Well Calvin is our 12th man. Calvin is one of my favorite kids, possibly because he does the funniest stuff possible and the other reason is that Calvin has some disabilities. He's has what is called a delay which means it takes him longer than other kids to process stuff. You see why this might be a problem in baseball! So Calvin is our 12th hitter and almost every other kid had struck out...most looking. So Calvin gets up there and fouls off a few good pitches and works his count to 3-2. At this point in the game we're in the 3 inning and soooo many of the kids had struck out, I was so discouraged. So Calvin is doing really well just by fouling off the ball, I got a little excited. Then at full count he gets a good piece and hits a blooper to third and gets our first hit of the season. Calvin, the kid with the delay, got our first hit. I laughed at the irony and then I almost cried. I'm not being dramatic about that, I honestly almost cried a few times...especially when I gave Calvin the game ball for getting the first hit of the season. I think it showed me so much of God's grace that Calvin would get the first hit. I'm not sure it was God helping Calvin hit that ball but I think the illustration is beautiful. Because in truth we're all a good bit of "Calvin", we're the underdog, destined underachiever, and frankly a little slow but God does really amazing things through us. Thank goodness!

Feed ME!

Feed ME!
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Nathan figured since Brandon was allowed to eat the whole carton of ice cream that he should be allowed some as well. This is Nathan's best rendition of "FEED ME!"

Praise

Praise
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

I probably wouldn't believe this so I won't be upset if you don't. In church it's hilarious that Nathan will raise his hands during the worship songs. Since Nathan was born I pray that he will understand God's love even now and will worship God with all of his heart and understand God at a young age. So I thought it ironic but figured he just loved to mimic people. This morning I put on a worship cd while I cleaned the kitched and Nathan finished up his breakfast in his high chair. Right when the lyrics said 'we stand and lift up our hands' Nathan raise his hand and kept it up. I thought it coinincidence but he kept doing it at different parts. He doesn't do this with other music...Frankly I think it's amazing.

Iddo: My son's name is Nathan. We choose the name because it means "gift of God" and we really do view Nathan as a gift of God to us. I also really like the name Nathan because he of course was a prophet in the Bible that was prophet to King David and Solomon. I haven't told Heather yet but I thought we'd continue to use the names of non-writing prophets and specifically prophets that ministered to the kings. Abijah was the king that followed Rehoboam's son Abijah, a very godly king. The prophet that ministered during that time was named Iddo. So Iddo it is!

Gaze: For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...2 Chronicles 16:9 (sorry it was wrong earlier)

Racism: I was working at Starbucks this morning and man I was into it. I don't think I've gotten as much done in 2 hours in a long long time. I guess the two african-american women talking at a table near me noticed because one of them asked me what I was working on so hard for such a long time. I explained to her I was a church planter in the area and I was working on a timeline to submit for friday. She told me where she went to church and gave me her opinion on what church was all about. She was a great lady and our conversation that followed was very good, it even drug in the other lady sitting with her. One of the most interesting topics that came up was racism in the church. She is the one that brought it up and was explaining to me that her church at one point was 100% black and white people were not welcome. She said one of the largest struggles her current pastor has had is teaching the elderly in the congregation that their racism will not be tolerated. She told me about some success in this area and it was just eye opening to me. It felt great that she would open up about such a typically taboo subject.

Name: I'm sick of calling people and getting a generic voicemail. "you have reached 757-988-4356..." At that point I hang up. If you won't take 5 minutes to set up your voice mail account I'm not taking 30 seconds to leave you a message. I want to be reassured it's you. Tell me your name, tell me something funny, witty or just plain stupid, tell me you're glad I called and that you want me to have a good day. I tell you back in my day...

Crazy?: I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure the lady sitting at the table in front of me is pretending her little tape recorder is a cell phone. Or maybe it really is a cell phone and she's getting her friend to dictate to her notes over her cell phone, on speaker phone in the middle of Starbucks.

Retreat:I was asked today to be one of the speakers at this years District Youth Retreat (Mid-Atlantic District of the C&MA). The retreat is May 19-21 and since I was planning on going anyway I'm even more excited. It really is a privilege because the guys that asked me know me very well, they know my flaws and weaknesses and they know my character and...they still asked me. I'm honored.

Cult like behavior?

The fam
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Well here is the follow up to one of the pictures below. My Mom and her fiance, JD, are involved in time period reenactment. They portray business owners in the 1740's-1840's, think colonial Williamsburg. They are really into it and to be at the camp you have to be in time period garb as well. Which explains why I look like a fryar. What I can't explain is why it looks like I'm hiding a series of beachballs under my coat. I think you can click the picture and it will take you to a few other pictures we took this weekend.

Nathanson

Nathanson
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Here is a picture I I took of Nathan on Friday. He needs a haircut but he sure is cute. He's almost 13 months old now and I am continually amazed by him. That's not a typo in the title one of my nicknames for him is Nathanson...kind of like Danielson but I'm not a karate master. I can pretend.

#1:As a church planter for my district I am assigned to preach at various churches around the district. Last week I was at a church in Richmond and generally I only do these about once a month it just worked out that this week I was at Portsmouth. But because Portsmouth is only a few miles from our house it wasn't a big deal. This morning I spoke on the glory of God and how his presence and glory is dependant on the condition of our heart. I started with a look at Solomon's temple and the promise God makes to Haggai about the rebuilding of that temple and then moved New Testament with Christ being the fulfillment of the temple and eventually believers being called the temple because we are know where the Spirit dwells. I felt this sermon needed to be preached and I was obedient to God in this but I had a hard time all week making it into managable piece I felt I could share. I like to put and individual spin on my messages with illustrations or props but was never able to get around to it this week. Either way I believe God honored my words and they penetrated the hearts of the people.

#2:Tonight I gave a message I had given twice before but was able to add some things this afternoon and felt it went better than ever before. Tonight our entire launch team and most of our LiFE Group was at the service and there was an excitement in the air. It was neat to have them there and have them hear and I think even realize the vision for Suffolk. My friend Brandon even shared a bit of his story during the question/comment time and his words are just affirming with what God is doing and is going to do through The Bridge Church.

YUMM

YUMM
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Now this...there is no explaination for this!

the ladies

the ladies
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

I'll explain this later...

Baseball: We're one week away from opening day and we finally were able to use the game field. This was great because we were able to work our pitchers and take a game like batting practice and practice some game situations. I have definitely been working out a game strategy in my head and was able to put some of that to work. I have decided that we will be extremely aggressive on the bases and will test the catchers arm every chance we get. The other teams better know what's going on or we're going to burn them.

Now I just need to figure out how to get my players on base because we didn't look real good hitting today. But we have two practices left, Monday and Wednesday and then our first game next saturday at 1:30pm. I'm looking forward to it.

LiFE Group: Thursday nights are our regular LiFE Group night. Last night I believe I counted 11 or 12 in our living room. We took a look at Philippians 3 and the passage where Paul talks about the race before us and the goal and prize we are running the race for. It is honestly one of my favorite passages because it is such a practical way to get a third person view or ourselves and how we are doing on our quest.

The best part of last night was when people began to open up and share how God is moving in their lives.

Practice: I'm a baseball coach for our local little league. I really do enjoy it very much and just enjoy the game of baseball and I enjoy the kids as well. 90% of them are teachable and it's so amazing to see them improving over the course of the past few weeks. Somedays it seems like from practice to practice they get better. Last night we were hitting and 2 of my least athletic kids where batting and I wasn't expecting much out of them, the first pitch Calvin really got a hold of and it went pretty far and pretty fast. I figured he got lucky. The next pitch he lined back at my face and again I figured he got lucky again. Turns out pitch after pitch he kept hitting really well. It was awesome. All of the kids, who know Calvin is a little slow were dumstruck...so was I. Before long the kids were like Go Calvin...I think they were cheering him on to hit me in the face!

So about this practice issue. For some it seems to be optional. I have tried and must have failed because I can't seem to get across the point that if your kid get doesn't practice then he's going to be playing right field 2 innings a game.

The Water

The Water
Originally uploaded by drnickcerda.

Here is shot of the creek by our house. I went for a little walk here this morning.


Encounter: Not the good kind- trust me. I have had 2 frisbee golfers confront me about playing baseball on "their" frisbee golf course. I really don't understand it because I'm not even where they would be throwing disc and it's a public park that has many other facilities besides a frisbee golf course. Today it escalated to swearing- fortunately it wasn't me doing the swearing...

It was a good lesson in "i am NOT".

Freebie: I seem to remember the internet costing money at Starbucks. It's a t-mobile hotspot so it's a paid subscription but right now I'm on it for FREE. Weird but I'll take it.

Funny: Zechariah 5:7-8 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, "this is wickedness," and he pushed her back in the basket...
I got a good laugh out of that this morning.

Sunday: This Sunday is an important one for me personally. I am preaching at the church I grew up in, The Alliance Church of Portsmouth, VA. I remember back to when I was a kid looking up at the preacher in the pulpit and just wondering if I would ever get a chance to do that as a grown man. Sunday after Sunday God used the sermon time to help me realize my call to bring the scriptures to his people. Needless to say I'm looking forward to it. I'm a bit nervous because I'll be preaching at both the sunday morning and sunday night service, a first for me.

Naked

Nathan has this thing where he thinks it's absolutely hilarious to run around without his clothes on. I mean you let the kid run around the house a few times in the buff and he's happy for hours. He now tries to escape when we get his diaper off just so he can do the naked baby run.

I've been working out at the Y lately and of course this involves locker room changing. I have noticed that like Nathan these old men like to run around in the buff as well. It brings them joy. Sick!

MacBook Pro Wireless issues

Up and rolling. The guy at the apple store was incredibly helpful yesterday and he wasn't trying to sell me a bunch of crap I didn't feel I needed. He answered all of my pc to mac questions and told me he had just made the recent switch over. That fact alone helped me out a ton. He did tell me that MacBook Pro does not work with a linksys wireless router. Well seeing as that's the router I have here at the house I was slightly disgruntled but not enough to change my mind. So I get home last night and sure enough I can't get my new Mac on the wireless network. I played around with it for a good while and to no avail. Finally I gave up and took a shot at it this morning. With the help of my good friend Google I am now up and running on my home wireless network and I kept my linksys router. YES! Here is the link for anyone that might need this information in the future.
http://raibledesigns.com/page/rd?entry=macbook_pro_and_wireless

World of Mac

I couldn't wait till tomorrow. While I do need to go to bed I had to share the news of my entering into the world of Mac. Today I bought my first mac and I am enjoying it. It will be a learning process but I already like some of the features that a pc doesn't offer. I got the MacBook Pro with an 80 Gb hardrive and I opted for the extra 512 mb of memory. Again...more specs tomorrow, just wanted to share the news.

Just having some fun with my new computer...more details tomorrow!

Tonight at the hockey game we went public. Check out our name on the sign! We had a block of tickets and better than 30 come out to watch the game with us. It was a ton of fun...and we were on the sign.

Twins: My friend BJ has a friend named Brandon and as fate would have it I now have a new friend in Brandon. He's a great guy. They played golf today and I ate with them before they headed to play. BJ showed up to lunch looking...and then Brandon showed up looking...exactly the same as BJ. It was just weird and good for a laugh. Here is the ambiguoulsy gay duo now... or maybe the exotically gay duo. Who knows?

Currently reading: Breakout Churches by Thom Ranier- He was inspired and asked to write the book in the fashion of Good to Great by Jim Collins. I haven't even begun the first chapter and I've noticed the theme that was also in purple cow and that theme is good is not great. So basically good is bad. Purple Cow stated that great is bad remarkable is the only way to do. I'd say it's a matter of semantics and personal definations. But the truth and principal is clear.

Shust: He's getting plays on the radio all the time. Let's try this word of mouth epidemic thing. You can hear his songs on his myspace and add them to your own. Aaron Shust's myspace or www.aaronshust.com

Purple Cow: At the recommendation of David Trotter's blog I grabbed a copy of Purple Cow by Seth Godin. I understand that this is a marketing book and I am a church planter. I also understand that I'm not exactly marketing my product but in many ways I am marketing a product only right now I'm not sure what that product is. Sure I know what the end goal is and should be. But I think if most churches are honest with themselves, even the growing ones they are marketing more than just changed lives. They are marketing arts in worship, children's program, exciting preaching, captivating and moving worship, etc.

There is one truth that gripped me and whether you are businessman, pastor, church planter, school teacher or any other profession that might encounter these words this truth applies to you. Things that are remarkable get noticed. People's lives are filled with so much stuff really most of us have everything we want in this world. So to offer us something new it better be remarkable. I feel a strong need to be remarkable. Not for my own good but because I believe in a remarkable God that changes lives in a remarkable way. Be remarkable today. It's not easy, cheap or always beneficial but it's always remarkable.

Seek: Oh God let this be a generation that seeks, that seeks your face...

From the Cup:
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.
-- Anne Morriss

WBC: aka the World Baseball Classis is underway and I happened to catch a short bit of the Venezuela game yesterday. But this article was cool because it has two students from Olivet Nazarene where one of my former students goes to school.

Two other fans with split affections, Chris Eleiott (Yankees) and Paul Adams (Red Sox), expressed themselves by covering their bodies in Wal-Mart house paint. The two college students from Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois were in Phoenix for spring break.
"I'm not quite sure everybody is as pumped up as we are," said Eleiott, a mini American flag painted across his face. "But we've been jacked about this for a while. It's sick. Have you seen the U.S. lineup? It's so sick. Ten to 20 years from now, this is going to be huge. And I'll be able to say I was at the first one."

Bonds: News flash in a new book coming out there might be more evidence that Barry Bonds knowingly took steriods to increase his game because he was jealous of the cracker Mark McGuire breaking the home run record. Read an editorial here. My question is did we really need a book to know this guy was taking steroids.

8 Below: This post is delayed but still worth mentioning. Heather and I had a free babysitter on Thursday night so we decided to catch a movie. 8 Below was the only thing playing that look worth seeing. I'm not sure why I thought it was worth seeing, I don't think I had even seen a preview for it but I guess a friend recommened it and I thought we'd give it a shot. Granted it is a Disney Dog movie but I have to admit it was excellent. It had times of suspense and times of action and overall it was a really good movie.

Nametags: I've noticed in our visiting of so many churches that many churches put nametags on their staff. Staff being anyone doing a job of some sort. I'm not sure I really see the reason. If a greeter is greeting people then there is not need to describe her role because her actions are speaking for themselves. Really the only area these nametags seem like a good idea is with children that way people know they are leaving their children with "official" children's workers rather than some stranger with animal crackers and apple juice. I was thinking how funny it would be if we wore nametags with our mess ups on it not our positions. Moses' nametag would have said "murderer", David's would have said "adulter and murderer", yours would say...mine would say...

Saved by faith- covered by grace

Dedication: We had Nathan's dedication yesterday. We haven't seem to be in much of a hurry to get him dedicated but I figured we should try to do it before he started growing facial hair. In our tradition and from what I can find in the Bible this act of dedicating a baby or child is a reflection of the parent's heart to raise their child in a godly home and to raise their child in a manner pleasing to God. For Heather and I it seemed like a natural action. We have given our lives and our efforts to God why not our son. I view it as a covenant that I am trusting God to honor. I vow to raise my son as God leads and always pointing to the Father's love and I ask God to bring my son to saving faith at a very young age. Amen.

The "Online Bulletin Board" is up for the Athletics.

Baseball: After much searching both in the community and in my heart I finally dicovered a way to serve my local community. What's more amazing is that I also get to do something, well two things actually I am passionate about. I get to impact children and I get to coach baseball. I just got the official phone call I am now the manager of the Bennetts Creek Little League Minor League A's. I suppose I'll get a blog up for the A's but will mostly use it to annouce practices and keep the Kids up to date with stats and stuff...or should I use a myspace? Who knows?

I'm excited about the opportunity- I'm excited about the baseball!

Birthday: Today is Nathan's first birthday. What an amazing year this has been! I have understood the fatherhood of God more this past year than ever before in my life. It makes sense but the depth of love that a father feels for his son/daughter is unlike any other love on earth. Man and woman fall in love parents and children are born to love.

Nathan grows bigger and learns something new practically every day. My favorite thing he does is smile. He's been doing it for months now but I never get tired of seeing his toothy smile. In fact when he's doing something he shouldn't and I tell him no he smiles at me and I have to look away to keep from smiling back. My second favorite thing he does is give kisses. I worked on this for months with him, I'd kiss his cheek and then tell him to give me a kiss. Finally he did start giving big, wet, open mouth kisses on the cheek. Like any boy he doesn't do them all the time but when he won't give you one he smiles and knows he's being difficult. It's a win-win.

My Space: Well I opened up a myspace. The Thinking Padre. Check it out- right now!

Commies: No not the canadians! It seems like the Soviets took a shot at Pope John Paul II back in 1981. No legal ramifications but DANG!

Starting Point: I'm not a huge fan of curriculum, meaning I've never bought a set and then used it verbatim but I do like curriculum for ideas and tweaking. I just ordered Starting Point by North Point Ministries and will be using this for our LiFE Group meetings for the next 6 weeks.

This is a picture my friend BJ took on his cross country tandem bike trip last summer. Thanks for the excellent picture! It says more to me than any words ever could.

400th: This is the 400th post of The Thinking Padre. I did some math. I have been blogging for a total of 632 days and have posted 400 times. That means (if I did it right) I am posting a blog roughly once every day and a half. I'm sure you are all wiser for knowing that.

Study: Last night we had our 4th Bible Study and I'm so encouraged to say we had 14 people. Every study I pray that we have more people this time than last and that we see some people "stick" from their first time coming. The night went very well and I find it so comically ironic how minor the Bible study portion is as opposed to the socializing and getting to know. I really wouldn't want it any other way because at the end of the night when people are driving home they don't say, man I learned a lot I can't wait till next time. Rather people are driving home and they say, I met a lot of nice people that were really interested in my life I can't wait to see them again...oh yeah I opened my Bible too...that's a good thing.

Morning: I set out this morning to spend some time in prayer for the Church Plant as well as my family and the members or our launch team. I went down to my favorite park and did succeed in praying for Nathan and Heather. It's when I pray for them I realize how much God does provide for us. As I was praying and began to pray for members of our LT I was finding praying very hard. That's not unusual becuase very ounce of my being rejects praying and it is a fight to pray for impact. But this time the interuption was God and I felt the sense to just be quiet and listen. So I walked and I listened and I ever anticipated how I was going to explain this on this blog. The idea was simple and the ramifications not much more complex...God said "I change lives. I don't apologize, I don't do it gently- I change lives. And I have called you here to be and advocate and catalyst for me changing lives. So I don't need you to apologize for me and I don't need you to tip toe around issues I need you to proclaim the idea that I change lives and there is not a life in existence that I cannot change. So strap yourself in and let's go."

So I did.

RPON:

RPON (Random picture of Nathan):
I would get up almost every morning with Nathan and spend time with him for a few hours while Heather got some much needed sleep. He was about the size of my arm during the first month and would just lay on my chest while I worked on my laptop and watched foxnews and top 20 videos on vh1. To this day Nathan still likes to hear U2 and Jack Johnson...I wonder why?


This next picture is Nathan in Orlando at the beginning of February.

You know those corny phrases on church signs that no one gets in the community except the church people and the ones that leave non churched people scratching their heads thinking "everyone's a little queer, church folks even more!"- Well I didn't know african american churches have their own versions:

God can make your haters into elevators.

Here are a few pictures from our recent extravaganzas:

This is our friend Kristy, from Maryland, and Heather. Next picture down is Neptune on Atlantic and 31st at Virginia Beach. Last picture is Nathan and Savannah, his cousin, playing in the kitchen cabinets.

Sports: I was able to watch the first 2 periods of the Gold Medal game between Sweden and Finland. I'm not much of a hockey fan but I enjoyed what I saw. Speaking of not being much of a fan. The next two weeks in sports is one of the most dreadful times of year only rivaled by the dog days of June and July where MLB doesn't matter and the NFL hasn't started preseason games. The AFL (football) starts up today and I actually might try to catch a game. Baseball has another month before real games start. March Madness is right around the corner in Mid-March but what until then...NASCAR? Help!

Two more pictures of Nathan. These were taken in early May when Nathan was 2 months old. This picture here is us sitting on our deck at our townhouse in Maryland. I also remember this being the month Nathan started reciprocating love by a little thing called a smile.









This botton picture is the first time I did something silly with Nathan. I enjoyed it as much as he did!

To Own a Dragon by Donald Miller

Dragon: I had aspirations to read two books this week, neither very long, but I thought this would be a good mark to get back into books like I have been wanting. As Saturday morning hit I was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen considering I had only read one book and hadn't started another.

But Heather and Nathan decided to take a marathon nap right at the same time I decided to pull To Own a Dragon by Don Miller off the "to read" shelf. It was a very fast read and for a pretty avid Miller fan it gave lots of insight into his life and again like a typical Miller book it is always asking how does my story help you out in your story.

The main crux of the book is the idea of growing up without a father and what implications that has on a man. Don Miller is always funny and witty and at the same time thoughtful and frankly in this book down right sweet. Even though I grew up with a father parts of this book really hit home and I'd recommend it for any one. It explores the fatherhood of God and the idea that God fathers us and explores this idea from a fresh perspective that I've never heard before.

Olympics: Well they are pretty much over and I have to say towards the end I believe then generated some interest. The Sasha Cohen story was exciting for a day or so and towards the end I think we were all rooting against Bode Miller. Ever notice how it's as much fun to cheer for someone to fail as it is for someone to win. Sick people! ESPN has an article highlighting 10 biggest bust in the Olympic games. A few of them I think are undeserved but the others...chomp away.

Ernie: I went to see my Grandma on Thursday. Granddad wasn't home so it was just me and her for a while. I took the time to learn about her life and her upbringing. My Grandma is 90 years old and was born in 1915. Every Monday she goes to the bowling alley and bowls in her Duckpin league, every thursday she goes grocery shopping. When I ask her how she's doing she tells me she's tired and then complains about the neighbors. She tells me stories about when I was a kid, stories I would never remember without her memories but after she tells me I can somehow dig them up. She tells me stories about her antics and for 90 she sure does get into her fair share. I learned that her friends call her Ernie (short for Ernestine). I also learned where I get some of my behaviors, like my generally cool temper that sometimes gets a little too riled up. Needless to say it was a great day!

Tutored: George went to the vet today to get tutored.

Idol: Heather and I watch Karaoke Idol. I like it during the auditions because it's great to hear how bad people can actually sing and I find the antics pretty funny. Then comes when they go to Hollywood and I enjoy seeing the drama unfold and still lots of embarrassing singing that takes place. Then comes the America votes portion and I get pretty uninterested. I mean does American know what they want anyway? Since when have Americans know what we wanted?

Friends: So this story has actually been interesting...one of the few in the olympics. Shani chooses not to compete in a team event so he is rested up for his race...the one he has a good shot at winning. Hendrick, the one going for 5 golds including this one in the team even, gets mad at Shani for not competing with the team. Shani is called selfish, sports reporters blast him and in my opinion give Hendrick the easy way out. Turns out after they both fail to take gold in a seperate event Hendricks acts like the jerk that he seems to be. Here's a little more on that.

Olympics: While the olympics have been a serious let down they still make for some decent blogging action.

American?: I'm not sure how I feel about this one but what's the deal with athletes from other countries changing their citizenship a few months before the games and then competing for their new country. This seems to happen more for the United States resulting for more medals. From what I gather from reports President Bush even had to sign emergency legislation to get certain athletes citizenship in time to compete.

Bear: Just saw this article. When's the last time you fought a bear? Does anyone know if there are bears in San Francisco- maybe one will meet up with Barry Bonds and be hungry?

Here's Nathan's birthday invitation. Heather did a great job creating a nice looking invitation. I can't believe it's almost been a year. Nathan grows so fast and learns new stuff everyday but he's still the sweet little baby that made me cry the first time I saw him and the same little baby that I was so frightened to take home from the hospital because the world is such a scary place.

I think this week and nextI'll randomly post pictures of my boy in honor of his first birthday March 3. I forgot to mention this before but Nathan now has a blog. Crazy kid- www.accordingtonathan.blogspot.com

Here are the ladies with babies. From left to right Heather and Savannah, Annie and Reid and Heather and Nathan.

Fest: Two of our cousin's are visiting. Both of them have babies so right now there are three women and three babies in the house. 16 months, 11 months and 4 months are the ages of the babies respectively. I honestly don't think I've been around this much estrogen ever in my life. I like to call this week Estrofest.

But it's been great fun so far and it's neat to see Nathan interact with his two cousins.

an unSTOPPABLE force: I just finished this book by Erwin McManus and as I stated before it turned out to be a hard read but well worth the effort. Erwin loves people and he loves Christ and he loves to see people redeemed through Jesus Christ. His words are contagious and they cut right to the heart. The epilogue alone is worth the price of the book and before you read the epilogue you might as well read the rest of the book.

He talks about and apolstolic ethos that pastors must form and how the pastor is a cultural architect mastering both science and art to benefit the body of Christ and making christianity a movement rather than an instituation. Much of the book was affirming and encouraging to continue on this journey, other parts were guiding and correcting to my thinking.

I am not but I know I AM: I heard Louie Giglio speak two seperate times this fall. The first was at Catalyst in Atlanta and the second was while he was on tour with Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. Both times I was both moved and challenged by his words so I decided to pick up this book. His opening metaphor challenges the way we think about ourselves and this life. Most of us view life as a play and we are the main character. Everyone else in this play is playing a supporting role. One day when the play is over the curtain will be drawn and the applause fades and we're going to step back and view how pathetic we really are and how much time we wasted thinking we were what it's all about.

In reality we are in a play where God is the main character. He is vast and mighty and what it's all about and miraculously we are invited to have a part, our small insignificant selves are used by God to bring honor and glory to him.

We'll see what the rest of the book holds.

Hand: On a personal note I think something is wrong with my hand. I fell down the last step about a week ago and hit pretty hard on the way down. I guess I caught myself enough to jack up my thumb on my right hand. It started feeling better but on saturday really starting hurting again. I'm going to give it a few more days and then I might need to go see a doctor.

PostSecret: I was at Barnes and Noble today and I saw a book on the new releases rack that caught my eye- PostSecret. Inside is a collection of post cards sent anonymously to a guy in Germantown, MD the two criteria is that they have to have a secret that you have never told anyone and they have to be true. It started as a random community art project- it has turned into something much more.

Honestly...mostly it's depressing and shows the isolation and pain we have created for ourselves and those around us.

www.postsecret.blogspot.com for this weeks top postcards.

I've had a theory for some time. No, not my already famous 'theory of limited success' this is a theory that explores the area of human communication and behavior in communication. The theory began to develop in college, my initial research took place in the cafeteria where I had time to watch people, mainly member of the opposite sex, dialogue with one another.

I'll post it tomorrow...

Question: At Barnes and Noble or Borders how long are you allowed to read a book or magazine before you need to buy it? Possibly more ambiguous is- at Starbucks how long are you allowed to peruse the front page before you need to buy it? Opening is a definate tell right?

Skype: I read in the newspaper that Skype is the most secure way of talking. Evidently the encryption is so advanced that there is no way to decrypt it. Just seconds of conversation would take very long to decipher. I can't find the article online but Skype phone calls are better encrypted than credit card purchases over the internet...go figure.

Skype uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) – also known as Rijndael – which is also used by U.S. Government organizations to protect sensitive, information. Skype uses 256-bit encryption, which has a total of 1.1 x 1077 possible keys, in order to actively encrypt the data in each Skype call or instant message. Skype uses 1024 bit RSA to negotiate symmetric AES keys. User public keys are certified by the Skype server at login using 1536 or 2048-bit RSA certificates.

Group: Last night we had another get together/bible study. The night was good and we had 3 new people. The people that were new last time that didn't come this time made sure we know where they were and why they couldn't come.

The study has has become a bit of an anamoly and I'm not quite sure how to put words to it. The first thing the study serves as is a front door. This is the "church" that we invite people to that are interested in the church. This is also the front door of the church for our new and mostly non-christian friends. There is quite a difference for people stepping through the front door of the church for the first time as believers and as a nonbeliever.

Baby: My friend Jason will soon have or might already have a new baby girl. Last I heard things were progressing nicely with the delivery. My son Nathan is almost a year old (March 3) and hearing about Jason and Jenny having a baby brings back all the great memories and causes me to want to celebrate new life. It really is such a beautiful experience to see new life come into the world. If you've ever seen a delivery you will understand I'm talking about poetic beautiful. It is amazing to ponder on the idea of how God created us to create and to be creative.

Doing: What in the world have I been doing all week? I feel like the only thing I've been doing all week is working on my blasted newsletter, that's not true but certainly what it feels like. This newsletter serves as the main source of income for The Bridge Church while we are in our incubation stage so I see the value of it. I also want to do the best job that I can while making it but do get a little frustrated about the length of the process. I'm going to actively seek ways to make my life easier between this months newsletter and next months newsletter.

I don't have our website active yet or I'd post a link to the pdf of the newsletter. I guess I could post it here as a picture...maybe later.

www.joinbode.com

I checked out this website after all the Bode hype going into the Olympics and then after seeing His commercial a few times. Make sure you look at some of the videos.

Agree: I have a group of college friends that I have kept in touch with since graduation. We generally keep in contact via email and the occasional phone call but we always work hard to see each other when we are in their area. We really are a strange brew of guys held together by certain other relationships within the group. We have reached a stage that some of the people that served as the intitial catalysts for the group have moved to the foreground.

What has emerged is relationships or one in particular that I would never have had generated on my own. The amazing thing is that I really enjoy the company and conversation with Nate. He thinks differently than me and what can be scary generally turns into something amazing.

Nate asked a question of me over a year ago and still to this day I think about it often. He asked "How often are you around people or read books that don't agree with your way of thinking?". I wasn't sure to answer but if he asked me now I'd be able to give and answer. My answer would be "more than I used to be but not as many as I'd like to be?"

I mean how many "christians" have read books on/about Charles Darwin, evolution or non-creationist theories on the existence of life? How many liberals sit down to the 700 club with an open mind? Fact is we don't do that. Maybe it's too hard, too much strain on our phyche, too hard to be willing to flex and adjust.

But what it's done is segmented our society and culture into these sects that don't agree and only listen to people that quote their same mantra. We don't this to the point that we can't even find common ground. What's more is that we do this out of what I believe is good intentions. We want to know truth and to believe in what is right and believing in what is right means everyone else is wrong.

One Year: One year from tomorrow will be the first of four launch sundays for The Bridge Church of Suffolk, Va. A year sounds like a long time and that's probably a good thing because there is much that needs to be accomplished in the next 365 days. Originally our plans were to hold our first launch sunday in the fall of this year but after going through the training this past week it makes the most sense to give ourselves another few months to incubate.

We won't be idle during this time and in fact the largest obstacle mentally is to know that we are "Church" even though we won't be having weekly services. Currently we are recruiting and seeking potential Launch Team members. Starting in April/May we will begin our Small groups and for the 9 months until launch will be a small groups based church. During this time we will begin to preview to the community different aspects of The Bridge. One of my main goals for this time is to begin to meld ourselves into the community. We will also preview our children's ministry, worship style, service events, teaching style and discovery groups.

Generations: I've been thinking about generations lately. What started the process was The Rolling Stones doing the half time show for the Super Bowl. I think the fact that they picked a band with a 62 year old lead singer is pretty telling of the demographic they were trying to keep happy. Complete with last years Paul McCartney's performace I don't think I need to go any further in figuring out who they were trying to target. Boomers for years have dictated the flow of our society and even in our successful churches.

2006 is a big year for boomers. They are hitting 60 years old for the first time. In the next decade or so we are going to see a transition in the generations as the boomers leave active roles in society and in the church as they head into retirement and probably to some condo in Florida.

I can't even really speculate what this is going to mean. Hopefully positive things...

Olympics: Speaking of generations...am I the only person my age that watches the Olympics?

Absent: I didn't just neglect my blog for the past week. I was in Florida for some Church Planter's training. The training was excellent and I returned home equipped to do the job God has called us to. It was also nice to spend time with the other 2 planter couples in our District as well as some other guys around the C&MA. There were other denominations represented but C&MA had the majority by far.

Orlando: The training was in Orlando and I have to say...not impressed with the city. The traffic was terrible and considering it is January and I'm sure not a peak season for the attractions I can't imagine what it is like in the warmer months. But we did have a nice evening walking around Universal.

Airport: I don't fly a ton but I do fly to some odd places. So for a few years now I notice and note how each airport is and the ease of getting around in them and to your plane on time. Orlando has just surpassed Chicago-O'Hare as the worst airport I've ever flown from and keep in mind I've flown to/from both Mexico and Poland. The security line took us 45 minutes to get through and the whole process was just frustrating, from waiting in line to how things were organized to being given poor information on 3 different ocassions.

Well that's a whole lot of griping. Enjoy.

As promised here are the Mello Yello pictures. What I'm curious about now is why does this area sell Mello Yello and no where else in the country?

A google search gave some answers.

Wrong: Well I was way off on the Super Bowl prediction. What I saw of the game was good and Pittsburgh played very well. I thought a few times momentum was going to change but the Steelers never made enough consecutive mistakes to let the game shift. Still not on the Steelers bandwagon but they played well.

Party: We had about 25 adults at our party and about 10 more children. I was very pleased with the turnout considering I know about 25 adults in this area. What was most amazing was that we had a good number of neighbors show up and even some neither Heather or I had met before. The food was very good and everyone seemed to have a great time. Heather and I both had a very good time! It was a great night!

Well, I found your website because I had the same questions; so I googled "rob bell range rover." For the record, he drives it in 'Flame' too. My guess is that pretty much every camera angle, every location, and every other video tidbit has been carefully considered and mapped out by his crew (In 'Trees' he drives a groovy vintage truck). From that perspective, I think the Luxury 4x4 is a bad idea.

In pretty much any urban centre, you will find Soccer Moms at the mall with their top of the line SUV. As the tricked-out Cadillac Escalade has become the hip hop symbol of excess, the Range rover is an equally potent symbol of upper-class success. If he has his reasons for driving the same vehicle as the Queen of England, that's his business, but if he wants to show that vehicle off in thousands of churches, I think he has made a serious error in judgement.

Does Rob Bell think that Nooma videos will only be shown in richer-than-average yuppie churches? When a church or downtown outreach centre has a smaller budget than the price of his car, they might just miss out on all the other things he has to say. I just hope it's an honest mistake.

I just received this comment about my commentary on Rob's sweet choice of vehicle selection. I hope that the person that left the comment is ok with me posting it here. It's also pretty scary that my words were found via google search. I really respect Rob Bell and my original comments were more moment of reflection and self introspection rather than a critique of Rob's lifestyle. In the end I have to ask myself "how much STUFF do I have that I don't need?" Honestly quite a bit. I also have no problem with successful pastors having nice things. I think God's ok with it too. I'm not sure where I'm going with this...

Super Bowl: I'm having my very first Super Bowl Party tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to watching the game and since it's my party I know there is going to be good football grub there. I think the turn out is going to be pretty good as well so it should be a lot of fun.

Call It: 24-17 Seahawks. Sorry Steelers fans your dream season is about to turn into a nightmare.

Ethos: I have been reading Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus. It is a very good book but it has been a slow read for me. I'm not sure if it's because I have been distracted by other stuff and not dedicated much time for reading or like some books they just don't read very fast. Either way it has been beneficial and has caused me to rethink the idea of values. When thinking and praying through what is now been named The Bridge Church of Suffolk, Va I wrote down ideas that becam our mission, tagline, values and vision for the future. The idea of values are very important because they speak of the innate traits of a being as well an organization, such as a church. Values are essential. What's tricky about values is that they can be viewed as important but not actually valued, they are aspirational values not actual values. For instance I'm sure most people in American think that being healthy is important, but most of us are not. Health is an aspirational value not an actual value. McManus talks about ethos, not just the things we believe are true but actual things we care about. It might sound like just semantics but ethos vs. values is a question every person must answer. One that The Bridge Church must answer. I heard a quote "we do what we value not what we say we believe".

Prayer: At the prompting of the CMTC manual and leading of the Holy Spirit I set out today to spend a half day in prayer. While the full half day is something I'm going to have to work towards I did have an excellent time communicating with and worshipping God this morning. The park down the road from my house has excellent walking trails beside the water. The weather was cool but not cold in my black coat and the full morning sun. There is also a great little fishing pier that you can walk out over the water on. It was nice just to pray. That sounds silly but I find myself working and staying busy because productivity is like crack but this morning was time to pray. I did my fair share of talking but at time I just felt God say..."just be still and rest".

All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing,