It's official...kind of

Upon final approval by our sponsoring church I will be officially called as Minister of Children & Families at Parkland Hills Baptist Church next week.

Our pastor first approached me close to two months ago so it has been difficult to keep it to myself. He first had to discuss it at a Mission Development Council meeting and await their approval. After what seemed like an eternity, it was unanimously approved by them last week.

Our church then took the next step and unanimously voted this past Sunday to call me to this position. It then is set to go back to our sponsoring church for them to formally approve things (only because they are voting to underwrite our budget to cover this salary line item).

I was under the impression that they would be voting tonight, but it turns out that they were only announcing a special called meeting for this coming Sunday where it will be addressed.

So, it isn't 100% official as of yet as I've prematurely told some people, but all involved say that there is full agreement so it is mostly a formality at this point. I have been waiting not-so-patiently up until now so I guess I can wait another few days.

I'll provide more information Sunday night or Monday sometime.

Have Church Your Way

I saw this several months ago but found it again this evening. It is a humorous reminder of the pervasiveness of pragmatic & egocentric churches. The sad part is that it probably isn't too far from reality in many cases.




HT: Route 5:9 (Peacemaking Ministries blog)

A Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On

I woke up this morning and learned that the Louisville area felt the tremors from a magnitude 5.4 earthquake centered in southern Illinois [See local coverage here]. It must have shaken me out of my blogging drought.

I have been unable to blog due to being in New Orleans, LA for 8 days on a mission trip (more on that later), and then attending the Together for the Gospel conference this week. I had some time at home during the conference but I had a paper and other homework to catch up with.

Here is the link to T4G 2006 & T4G 2008 audio (free download and/or stream) until I get back into the swing of things.

Starbucks - Your Opinion Counts

You're probably wondering how writing about Starbucks has anything to do with...well, anything. I just happen to know that many of my fellow seminary students spend a great deal of time at their local Starbucks, so consider this a public service announcement.

We can all have our voices heard in the ongoing company-wide improvement process by visiting the website My Starbucks Idea. The site says:

"You know better than anyone else what you want from Starbucks. So tell us. What’s your Starbucks Idea? Revolutionary or simple—we want to hear it. Share your ideas, tell us what you think of other people’s ideas and join the discussion. We’re here, and we’re ready to make ideas happen. Let’s get started."

The site provides the opportunity to give your idea(s) on how to improve and then the rest of the "community" can discuss them and vote. So far it appears that FREE wi-fi is finally coming to your neighborhood Starbucks!

(note: I don't like coffee but I really enjoy their Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino)