microsuck's Surface

i can't believe i'm posting about this.



Microsoft releases "new technology" called Surface.

i like the applications of this technology.
it seems very user-friendly, and i like that.
however, i really don't like my user-experience with most other microsoft products.
i think it will take a lot of "setting up" by the business that deploy's this technology.
i think the "origins" section of the website is a direct response to acqusations that will come microsoft's way citing that they are ripping off iPhone marketing.

i guess, i like the application. i don't see it's use in my life.
and i'm interested in watching this develop.

where's jesus?

i made a statement while leading a discussion this weekend at BEACH!07 that has been resonating with me since then:

"we don't find or reveal jesus in the living of "holy" and "perfect" lives, He is in the confession of sin, the redemption of our fellow man, and the transparency and authenticity of living in community."

any thoughts?

OVERHEARD: "at least the holidays are over, right?"

wrong.


our checker at Fred Meyer made the comment "... at least the holidays are over" today.

i'm sorry, lady, that your life in our culture has become hectic and busy that the whole concept of holiday and rest and renewal has become a burden to you.

i pray you find rest and renewal.

jesus offers it.
he's planned it long before we needed it.

in creation.
in work.
in relationships.

UNITED - All of the Above [album review]

Hillsong UNITED - All of the Above

to start off this review, i must acknowledge 2 things:
1. i took me a long time to like Hillsong UNITED. i tried several times on Look to YOU, but to no avail. Then i watched the live DVD that came with it and watcehd their "vision" for their ministry and i was sold.
2. i absolutely LOVE: united we stand and look to you, as well as their live DVDs. before that {more than life and earlier recordings}, i'm sort of impartial to.

i "pre-listened" to this album via UNITED's myspace.
i purchased it today from Wal-Mart and after my first time through, i write this review and say:


ehh.


nothing really stood out to me. it seemed like they regressed in the ways where they stood out from other worship ministries in UNITED we Stand and Look to YOU. they kind of settled back into "the standard". i do acknowledge that it could be the current state i'm in with musical worship right now.


check the archives for context. i dare you.



so musically, i give it a "C". not because it's bad but because it's "average" of what's coming out now-a-days. it's nothing special or cutting edge, it's just par. it meets par.

i'm under the impression that this is the first CD they've done lately IN STUDIO, and NOT live. although there is a comment in the footnotes about it being recorded live at encounterfest 2006, which is when they recorded the previous two albums, i'm pretty sure it's not fully live. based on previous readings and upon listening. i DO have the Wal-mart special version that includes a live track of "Solution" at the end, and that did have some of the "familiar" live-energy to it.



HOWEVER, while musically i find it PAR, i REALLY appreciate the direction they seem to be going, along with the rest of the twentysomethings in developed countries. they seem to have a focus on world justice, ministering to the poor, and the call of jesus in matthew 25. i also find it interesting to watch a music-based ministry have a shift in understanding of what worship is. usually, a music-minded person is very adamant about music being THE way to connect with the Living GOD, because that's how THEY do it, and that's how most church's do it and have done it. i look forward to seeing how UNITED's ministry develops over the next few years. i think this is a good preview:



here are some links for more info:
Hillsong UNITED
iHEARTrevolution.com


if you've made it this far in the post, i imagine that means you really like Hillsong UNITED. and if that's the case, then i think you'd really like FloodGateAlive. here's their website and their myspace. good guys and gals, they are.

we recycle.

starting yesterday.

Blackle.comSaving energy one search at a time

Blackle = Black Google.

read more from "About Blackle":

How is Blackle saving energy?

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."

We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

How can you help?

We encourage you to set Blackle as your home page. This way every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Remember every bit counts! You will also be reminded about the need to save energy each time you see the Blackle page load.

an intersting concept.
i suppose they are right: every little bit counts...

maybe i could say that's why my blog's background is HTML color #696969 [dark grey]?

but then i'd be a liar in my motivation.
whatever works, right?

BIBLE-Fight!!!

wow.

this may be the most fun i've had in a long time.

BIBLE-Fight!!!

[james, so... when can i borrow those Adult Swim shows?]

you must play! [click image below.]



[HT: MarkO]

Invisible Children: revisit

i wore my Invisible Children shirt today and got lots and lots of questions, so i thought i'd make a post to redirect my reader's thoughts and prayers to the Africa situation. don't let this fall from your lips.
don't forget.



also, rent and watch the movie Blood Diamond, as it has some strong tie-ins to the child-soldier situations.

please continue to pray for and support shelton's Charity Lanman, serving in Southern Sudan.

"my heart is beeping for the invisible children", says the shirt.

what's hygiene? what's tact?

last night i watched my very first HD broadcast show in my own home.
HEROES.
i enjoyed the beautiful display and the 7.1 surround sound.
thank you SAMSUNG:

story line was pretty weak for a season finale.

but i'd say the most interesting point of my evening happened when THIS appeared:

I COUGHED THIS UP.
yes, i just said that i hacked this up, out of my throat on monday night.
i caught it in my hand.
i rolled it around in my fingers.
i inspected it.
i smelt it.
and this was the single worst smell i have ever smelt in my life.
and i coughed it up out of my own throat.
upon closer inspection, i note that it was firm to the touch, creamy in color, and very detailed in "furrowed edges".
look closer:


i must admit, that i HAVE coughed these up before.
maybe 10 in my life. all over the last 3 years.
but i haven't done it for about 9 months or so.
i wanted to save it and take it to the doctor, but kristi said i can't.
i've made her smell them before, and she agreed that it was the worst smell ever.
and it came from me.

it came from me.
i made it.

failing funds?

Pastor Mark addresses an issue of a drop in his church's giving, in his Vintage Jesus series last fall at the end of this message:

here's the link. it's in the sermon: "Vintage Jesus: Where is Jesus today?" at about the 42:28 mark.

if you listen to that, you have to listen to how he readdresses it and provides and update a few [3?] weeks later.
here's the link. it's in the sermon: "Vintage Jesus: What makes Jesus superior to other saviors?" at about the 3:30 mark.


i really appreciate his upfront attitude about it. frank. honest. direct. and with teaching and correction. as well as encouragement to those faithful i giving.
i appreciate his willingness to sacrifice [staff salaries, budgets, retirements, etc.] because he believes in the mission and direction of his church.

his church was growing and he had good news to report along with the correction.
in fact, it's probably one of the few [less than 20%] of churches that are growing in america. they grew by 1,000 people one month after this, during the month of january07.

a drop in giving at a church could be in part to what many have been feeling:
the "disenchantment" with church program, boredom, the "same song a thousand times", like the johnny cash clip of his early band in the Memphis[?] recording studio.


this may be my favorite quote from the first clip:
"...if you came to MY house, and ate a FREE dinner that MY wife made for you, then complained about it to ME, I would punch YOUR throat..."


i really gleaned a lot out of observing him in this capacity.
i'm not sure they teach that in seminary.
but if they did, that's a class i'd take.

i hope it blesses, encourages and equips you.

my TOMS are here!

i got a pair of TOMS shoes for my birthday from BS2.


they arrived. then got sent back. then arrived again.
and THEY ARE AWESOME!

for real.

not only are they very cool, they are super comfortable, and have a great story.
watch it here:




then go buy some TOMS for an Argentenian.
they'll throw in a pair for you too!

[FYI: i had to get a 14M, but my normal size is 13M]

UPDATE:
I just ordered my wifey a pair of TOMS in women's black:

GoogleMaps Mash-Ups

WIRED magazine did a deal on GoogleMaps Mash-Ups in their April 2007 issue.
another great article from that issue was "the Naked CEO". i've copied, commented, and begun passing it around the church office this weekend, as well, we'll see what becomes of it.

here's my latest find in the Mash-Up world:

BibleMap.org

pretty cool tool.

Wii would like to play with Mii.

just one more reason to get a Wii...

gRead on the Wii via Opera.

happy father's day?

the wifey's blog.

so, my wife's got a blog now.
it's pretty sweet: wifeyofjustin.blogspot.com

i think it started with her statement:

i think our society would be much better today if girls still got married off at age 13.

my only response: wifey, you need a blog.

she still has yet to post on that thought of hers and the other brilliant ideas that come to her mind. check it out and put in a subscription.
i'm sure you won't be disappointed.



and i'm totally NOT biased.

and one of the boy, just for good measure:

KRIS10 blogging on "the personal death of worship"

my title, not hers.
i'm overly dramatic.
but it is a SERIOUS issue the "church" must address.
not tomorrow.
not even today.
yesterday.

read her thoughts here, and subscribe to her blog... seriously, good stuff!



GO KRIS10!

Technorati?

let's give it a whirl:

Technorati Profile

RSS in Plain English

what are you waiting for?

i also use Google Reader or gRead to me.

[HT: Ryan Smith]
[HT: Victor Estrada]

once you're all set up: subscribe to me.

my kids, 15 years from yesterday.

i can only hope.

[seriously, i hope my kids are this creative.]


[HT: MarkO]

UPDATE:
[HT: J-dub]

the deistic nation [pt.1]

this video is a "man on the street" edition of their opinions on "jesus" and then on "christians".



i just finished reading the book "They like jesus but not the church" by dan kimball.

both area great works that church leaders need to look into.

i think to Peter's "Confession of Jesus as LORD" in mark 8:27-29.

Jesus is walking along with his disciples and he asks them who do people say that i am?
[or... what's there opinion of me?]

and basically he gets the same answers form the majority of the people of his day, as the people in the video above said: an important, cool, GOD-message-bringing dude.

but of course, the clincher comes when jesus asks the disciples who he is.

Peter answers, you are the Christ. you are the Savior we've been waiting for.


that's the answer that matters.


the "rest" of the world views America as a "Christian nation"
Americans have popularly viewed our nation as a "Christian nation" [citing often the "our forefather's faith"]
but the truth is, our nation is not a "Christian nation".
[we used to have a judeo-Christian culture, but that is also no-more]

our nation is a deistic nation.

it is a nation that believes in "GOD".
and to some, that translates as referring to jesus as "GOD".
but a Christian is one who places Jesus as Master [LORD, Savior, Messiah, the Christ], which salvation flows out of.

Peter got it right when he differentiated Jesus from a good man, a historical figure, a peaceful-healer, good teacher, and the Master of the Universe [He-Man?], the Savior, the Master, and the giver of the call to Holiness that many "Christians" have forgotten.


as far as the opinions on Christians:
i don't think much of I Corinthians 1:18-25 and the "foolishness of the cross to the perishing" applies much here.

i DO think we, as Christians, need to take note on the way we interact with others.
we are to be salt... which makes you want more.
we are to be light... which is helpful, providing warmth and direction.

Conan on Lucas

some great videos of Conan spoofing on George Lucas.
i LOVE Star Wars, but even more so, i LOVE the goofiness of Star-Wars-Culture!

Part I


Part II


[HT: JG]

the street installations

some very creative art, by artist Mark Jenkins.
here's a sample [below]. visit his site for many more pictures.



[HT: MarkO]

maybe shelton could use a couple of these?

the American Idol "revolutionary"

my favorite performance of the 2007 American Idol tryouts:



and his [sean michel's] myspace is here.

technology to bring unity.

mark drsicoll wrote the following:

One thing I am certain of following my recent travels is that the multiple-site church phenomenon and video services are here to stay. Dead churches will be revitalized more and more by larger churches establishing services in them through the use of video. An entirely new form of church planting seems to be emerging that, along with traditional church planting, will help to add healthy new churches.

i've been racking my brain on this lately, and i'm all over it.
80% / EIGHTY FREAKING PERCENT of churches in america are either declining in attendance [and consequently floundering in mission] or are "maintaining" attendance and waiting patiently to start declining to die. is this my church? is this your church? is it the church you drive by on the way to work or school? [tough questions demand tough answers]



my city is full, chalk full of dying churches.
[with old pastors who are tired, or are ready to retire.]
this may be my future in shelton... to help to reclaim the MISSION OF THE GOSPEL in my community. not the mission of churches [program / religion], which has been easily confused with and has greatly convoluded the true mission of the gospel, but i truly mean the mission of the gospel: ministry to the poor, care for the "least of these", to widows and orphans, to see the dead raised physically, spiritually, and emotionally, to see the captive set FREE, not recaptured by religion, to see the broken hearted bound up, to see redemption come to our land.

i've also encouraged a good friend of mine, mr. rand wagner, who just took a job as a pastor at an "older generational church" in phoenix, with this idea that driscoll has been birthing in me. i wonder how he's processing it?

rand?

a GREENer apple.