Mr. Bean goes to church (+Adventures in Revland)


ME Worship


The Orthodox Church - A visual journey


Church Comedy


TOOOOOOOOOO THE WINDOOOOOOOWSSSSSSSSS TOOOOOO THE WAAAAAAAAAAALLS!!!

Several of our youth participated in our worship service yesterday. Generally, the fifth Sundays are designated as their time to lead. I enjoy when they participate. When I first came here, the youth would lead the Mother's Day and Father's Day services. I didn't enjoy that too much. Yes, I know it's not about what I like or don't like.

Actually, I wanted them to be a part of worship during other times of the year, to experience some of the liturgical changes. That has given us the opportunity to talk about different topics and Scripture references in our preparation for those Sundays. Several times we have used a services taken from various youth sources. The most vivid one for me was the Fall Funeral; we held a funeral service for church. This, of course, represented the death to ourselves. It concluded with a celebration of new life offered to us in Christ. We were all given rocks to use that we were to press into those things that kept us from living more for our Lord. From there, our pallbearers brought in a coffin (a wooden box) which we would all place our rocks in; then the coffin was nailed shut and brought out of the sanctuary. That was, for me, impressive.

We have recently used to 'regular' order of worship and had youth do our readings, affirmation, prayer etc. For this week a small group of them got together with me and we reviewed the lectionary readings to discover a message God would give us (that message should be available on the player in the side menu--Insert Inspiring Sermon Title Here). Once the message was clear to them, they wrote the congregational prayer, as a group. Overall, I am pleased with their efforts. My prayer is that through those kinds of experiences they will realize a couple of things: 1) they can 'see' the messages in the readings, 2) they have a place in the life of the church, 3) this Bible stuff really does mean something for them.

Before I leave, whenever that is, one of them--I don't know which one, yet--is going to give a sermon. That is the direction I've wanted to lead them to. They keep saying, "Not me." But they'll see, and so will you.

Stay blessed...john

Here's a picture of the kids, taken from the wedding we went to in Little Rock.
Stay blessed...john

okay, a few videos for you to devour. Any conversation about 'em?

Psalm 23 (children reciting Scripture moves me)


the iBible (oh, the truth in this video is disturbing)


Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! (I posted an audio file similar to this which I think was a bit funnier)


Hut, Hut Tithe (the play by play is hilarious)


one of the family's favorite songs (even if you don't like the style of music; the message is real)

Superpowers that are now possible (+neatorama)

Thriller via the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines (+YesButNoButYes)

Ten propositions on faith and laughter (+42)

What if we had a "jazz-shaped" faith?

I'm taking a Population Dynamics class--demography. It's a little hard to sit through for an hour and a half (anything is hard for me to sit through that long), but the information is interesting. For example, did you realize the world's population did not pass 1 billion until 1804. Then it only took 123 years to reach 2 billion. The 3rd bill came 33 years later, 4th only 14 years after that, then it took 13 years to hit 5, and 12 more (in 1999) to surpass 6 billion; the expected 7th billion is expected in the next three years or so.

Anyways, our professor has mentioned several times that one of the UTSA staff members has been selected to head the Census Bureau. Steve Murdock is the:

• Department of Demography and Organization Studies
• Chair Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research
• Dir. Texas State Data Center, Dir. State Demographer of Texas

He did a presentation at this year's Bishop's Convocation at Mt. Wesley. I thought he seemed like a good guy; passionate about his work. Essentially he told us that Texas now is the model state for the rest of the country in the next 20-50 years, with regards to population.

The point for us what that there are people moving into our communities that we, as the church, need to be ready to minister to. Many of those people will have no knowledge of our heritage, both as CHRISTians and as Methodists. Many of them will be from completely different backgrounds than most of us are accustomed to. Yea, so we're really going to be able to test our open hearts/doors/minds vision.

The presentation (despite all the #s) was impressive. Am I part of the issue? Another TX area that was showing high population growth was where we just moved from, the Rio Grande Valley. I do recall the years we lived there hearing how it was the fastest growing region in the U.S.

I've always remembered the Steve Martin movie The Jerk; imagine Steve Martin saying "I was born a poor black child." My mom's family is from Louisiana, all Anglo. My dad's side is all Hispanic. All my best friends were black, even the first girl that caught my eye back in elementary was black. So, here I am a mixed White/Hispanic guy living in what you would call a black community. At first I believe I thought I was confused. That mix helped shape my love for culture though. It's the reason (besides my love for God) that I love people so much. Yes, even you!

Here's some Steve Murdock information:
Steve Murdock UTSA bio
SA Express News article

Stay blessed...john

Here are some ideas I wanted to share with you that I highlighted out of Recapture the Wonder. These are just a few. I'd recommend the book to you to read a bunch more.

Deep within every human heart throbs the undying hope that somebody or something will bring both an explanation of what life is all about and a way to retain the wonder. Yet if we would but pause and first ponder what it is that we already see in this world of wonder we might get a brief taste of the wonder that may be poured into us as well.

Wonder is that possession of the mind that enchants that emotions while never surrendering reason.

Wonder has a direct bearing on hopelessness and evil. The loss of wonder sets the stage for evil, until truth itself dies at the altar of a desecrated imagination

When we pretend to be God and play God, we do so without the benefit of God's character and we redefine good and evil.

Religion...It is not about ritual; it is about relationship. It is not about the posture of the body; it is about the need of the soul. It is not about the times of the day; it is about the timelessness of His presence. It is not about appeasing God; it is about resting in His provision. It is not about culture; it is about truth. It is not about earning peace; it is the wonder-working power of God. He safeguards that wonder.

In short, where there is not gratitude, there is no wonder.

In heaven, faith becomes sight.

There are books by the score on the shelves of Christian bookstores. Check them out. What do they point to? Is it to the nobler and higher and richer truths of God, or is it to more of ourselves? Thankfully the nobler and higher truths are there, but for the most part, judging by the titles and content, one would think they Christian faith is all about me and how I feel and what I want. There are books on happiness by the score, how to succeed in a variety of ways. Stop. Ponder. Reason. Is your own reading shallow or deep? The wonder that you will find in the shallow end can only be for a child. Swimming in the deep is for the mature. If a follower of Jesus does not mature in his or her reading, the church could end up running the biggest nursery in the world.

When we have learned what worship is, we have experienced what wonder is. Worship is a personal thing before it goes public. It is an individual thing before it is a part of a community. It is a disciplined thing before it is natural.

Stay blessed...john

We're back. Everything went well, we had a good time, got a couple married, saw family and got back safely. Little Rock was a nice place.

I'm sure we'll share with you some of our trip--especially pictures. I almost forgot I'm a student again. It's off to class now. In the meantime you can read about the Nazareth cross. Stay blessed...john

--How about taking a tour of prague, moscow, venice, vienna, los angeles, belgrade, or syria; visit 360 cities for a Virtual Traveling experience.

--check out some unusual keyboards.

--what about this guy who tried to run off with an iphone on live tv

--how about cooking your hot dog the mad scientist way

--caption this pic at Locusts & Honey

The second summer session at UTSAbegins this Wednesday; I'm enrolled to take Population Dynamics. That means its back to the textbooks again (edit:: I actually received my textbook shortly after posting this). Books that I want to read are going to have to wait a while. Reading is difficult for me, however, it has become a lot more fun over the last several years. Its in my best interest to focus my extra-biblical reading to just material for classes.

There are (3) books I'm looking to finish reading before Wednesday.

Recapture the Wonder
Unbinding the Gospel(a signed copy)
Theological Themes on Youth Ministry

Others that I have recently finished:
The Simple Faith of Mr. Rogers
Conspiracy of Kindness
Purpose Driven Youth Ministry
Thriving Youth Groups

Blogging will be light after today for a while. I'm going to take some vacation time next week. We'll be traveling to Arkansas; one of Gloria's cousins is getting married. That should be fun. We'll be back by Monday morning, but that is Gloria's birthday. So, we'll take that day off as well. I'll let you ask her how old.....how much older she is than me........how many years life experience she has.

Stay blessed...john

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Realize that the Transformers aren't involved with the transformation we're talking about. They make go back and forth from vehicle to robot, but they are the same inside. What we need to get to our churches is the whole paradigm shift in our minds that keeps us from continuing to conform to this world. The world--assuming we agree it needs God's message--should see that real transformation in the church.

Stay blessed...john

This is taken from NPR.

These really are some great photos. It is a slide show, complete with commentary. You may want to watch it a second time with the volume down and just marvel at God's creation.

Sky Visions: Michael Collier's Aerial Photography

Stay blessed...john

No, I'm not talking about my favorite dance move. If Google Earth wasn't enough for you then this is for you. Google has provided a service to the people of America.

Google Moon is an extension of Google Maps and Google Earth that, courtesy of NASA imagery (thanks, guys!), enables you to surf the Moon's surface and check out the exact spots that the Apollo astronauts made their landings.

Now you and I can do some "lunar surfing." Now, for an added bonus, be sure to zoom in all the way.

Google Moon

Stay blessed...john

In our funny commercial segment today.....

stay blessed...john

Last night we went to the Fredericksburg UMC. We were attending the installation service for the Rev Robert Hall, our new District Superintendent. Personally, I enjoy these types of services; it echoes back to me my commitment and responsibility as a pastor. Also, joining in worship with other clergy is a joy.

Well, as the title would suggest, we celebrated Holy Communion. Ashlei has been away at Grandma's, so we had Brittani and Nathan. Brittani knows what to do, and why we do it. Of course, Nathan is learning all this. I coached him: "They're going to give you a piece of bread. Take the bread then put it in the cup with the juice. Then you eat it." We went over this several times. When it was his turn he took the bread, in a shy manner. Then he moved to the cup, looked into it, and threw his bread into the cup.

He thought it was fun. We made the most of it, and made it a learning moment. To his defense, in our church we use the little cups you drink out of (instead of intinction). Wet bread and all, having an opportunity to participate in Communion as a family was special. Stay blessed...john