DashHouse.com

We have journeyed through snow squalls in Syracuse and exhaustion on the Massachusetts Turnpike. We have driven through desolate areas for miles with the gas tank empty and no gas stations to be found anywhere. We have braved the confusion of driving around Boston and didn't even get lost. Arrived around 1:15 a.m. Safely here and about to head down to the city. Nice to have arrived.

This and other insights in notes I took today at a conference with Reggie McNeal, author of The Present Future. HTML or PDF.

My transition to Mac is almost complete. I'm just heading out to ship my PC to the person who won the auction. It's all tidied up like a new PC should be - a fresh install of Windows. Runs sort of nice when it's new and clean.

I knew the transition was almost complete yesterday as I waited for my Mac to get fixed (don't ask). I took it to Carbon Computing. Even the kids think that is a cool computer store. Across the road is a lonely PC shop. The beige boxes look like the drab second cousins of the sexy Macs.

I’ve been telling myself that my almost-Apple products (like my Dell Digital Jukebox) were almost as good as Apple products (like the iPod). It's a lie.

The only thing I don't like about Macs is that it is so hard to switch. I can't believe they haven't developed all kinds of utilities to switch everything over from a PC right out of the box, sort of like the Windows File and Settings Transfer wizard. Bookmarks, e-mails, documents and all that. Sure it would be challenging but there are a lot of people ready to switch if it were just that much easier.

Companies like Macromedia and Intuit need to get on the switch bandwagon too. Transferable licenses, Quicken files that will open on a Mac and a PC.

Even though it's a pain to switch over, it's worth it.

Now enough of this. It's too divisive. But get a Mac.

An article I wrote for The Evangelical Baptist has now been posted (in PDF format):

I find myself to be a bit of an apologist for the Emerging Church, not because I am blind to its faults, but because I believe it has sometimes been misunderstood and unfairly criticized. As I hope to make clear, I believe we should be concerned about some aspects of the Emerging Church movement. However, I also believe that the Emerging Church has something important to say. We need to engage in some of the questions it raises without dismissing it prematurely.

There's a discussion board on the article (read the ground rules first) as well.

The release date for Don Carson's book Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church has now been pushed back to June. It was supposed to be released this month. The title has also changed slightly (from Emergent to the Emerging Church).

I'm sure this delay is just part of the publishing process, but I hold faint hope that delay has been caused by more thorough, umm, conversation with emergent leaders. One can hope.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this for review through the bzzagent program. I've procrastinated reviewing it until tonight.

This spiral-bound booklet seems important to read, since the promo says, "Not reading Project '04 could be professional suicide!" I for one am against professional suicide, so I decided to order this booklet. It didn't hurt that I got it for free.

The good news is that you don't have to read this book cover to cover. I can summarize this in one word: RANT. Tom Peters uses the word STUFF. It's lists, drafts, quotes, Q&A's, pictures. It's frustrating if you want to read a linear book. If you give up the quest to read in a linear fashion and just pick a page, any page, it's actually pretty good.

Tom tells us why big stinks (mostly!), why S-H-E is the best leader, and why we should hange out with freaks. He even challenges Jim Collins in a fun kind of way.

My main beef with Peters is that it's hard to tell one work from another these days. They are all !!!! and excitement and I don't know where one ends and another one starts. That being said, he is entertaining and I'm sure he's right in a lot of what he says. If not, it sure provides a bit of a kick in the pants.

You can pick up a copy of Project04 at TomPeters.com.

Just noticed this Google ad at a blog:

David Wells writes in No Place for Truth, a book that is required reading for my Doctor of Ministry program:

Not surprisingly, in recent years seminaries have found it important to think of themselves as comparable to other professional schools, such as those for law and medicine, and many now offer the Doctor of Ministry degree as a further means of establishing this parity. Unfortunately, the typical seminary does not offer training that can compare with the rigor of these professional schools. The Doctor of Ministry degree is in fact not much of a doctorate; the standards one must meet to receive this degree are frequently below those required of candidates for the Master of Divinity (a degree that not too long ago was called the Bachelor of Divinity). It is a case of professional elevation not by accomplishment but by linguistic inflation. What used to be the minimum level of knowledge for entry into Christian ministry, gauged by a bachelor's degree, has out of professional necessity and a wave of the magician's wand now become a doctorate by the addition of what may amount to little more than refresher courses.

Last year, I passed this passage around to a couple of my friends in the same program. You could see one of them turn red with anger. Dr. Wells teaches at Gordon-Conwell, where we were, and I'm sure my friend was thinking of storming his office. I can understand why. It's hard to pay what we�re paying, both in money and time, and then to feel that it's not worth it.

When we head down to school next week, three of us are scheduled to go out with Dr. Wells. No, we�re not going to give him a noogie. I actually think his book is very good, and it is going to be fascinating to talk to him.

It feels funny to be enrolled in a D.Min. program in preaching of all things. D.Min. sounds so modern and is almost enough to get you kicked out of some circles these days. There are probably fewer programs that could be less trendy than one in preaching.

I�m glad to be able to spend time with someone like Haddon Robinson. It�s about the friendships you form in the cohort. And I still believe that preaching has relevance, even though the forms of preaching may change.

Should be fun. A week to go.

found via Unedited Ravings. A portable G5 is still not a reality.

By the way, nobody's noticed that my switch to Mac took place as I was reading Deep Change.

From The Off Ramp:

With this view, “mission” shifts from naming a function of the church to describing its essential nature. In a missional church, the church IS mission rather than does mission as a program or activity of the larger life of the church. The church’s nature is to show the world what it looks like when a community of people live under the reign of God in every aspect of daily life. As Robert Webber states in The Younger Evangelicals, the church “is an alternative culture that points to the kingdom of God and the reality of the new heavens and the new earth.”

...in a missional community, the church is God’s sent people. That means when everything is stripped away – the building, the events, the activities, the leaders, and other identifying markers for the church – the people are the church and church is the people. Therefore, wherever God’s people are corporately or individually, there is the church. Church is at home, in the car, in the restaurant, the beach – wherever God’s people find themselves in their daily lives.

And more. A good introduction to what it means to be missional.

From Colossians Remixed:

Every time we step into a Wal-Mart or Niketown or Gap or Winners and exclaim over the great deal we get on an article of clothing, or how trendy we now look, we've made sweatshop workers our slaves. Every time we buy coffee that isn't shade grown and fairly traded, we've made those coffee producers and their children into our slaves. Every time we have purchased a product - any product - that says Made in China, or Indonesia, or the Philippines, or Sri Lanka, it is pretty likely that we have made someone our slave...

The truth is we have many choices...Our point is that when there are options available - whether various consumer choices or lobbying - to decide to do nothing is itself a choice. The Gospels call it the wide and easy path. But we can choose another path. There are ways to proclaim and enact Paul's word of release to slaves, women and children.

Moving to a Mac means that I am getting rid of a lot of my PC stuff. If you're in the market for a notebook or anything else, bid away. I'll keep adding stuff every few days.

In less than two weeks, I'll be in Boston for my second residency. This means that I have slipped into Boston mode. I'm doing last-minute reading and some small assignments that I need to get done, as well as dealing with a lot of other small details.

I have just a few anal qualities (by few I mean a truckload or two) which means that I try to tie too many loose ends before I go. I could talk about what would happen if I was smarter but we all know that isn't going to happen.

My family is going this time and I'm very excited about that. Hope to be back to slightly more regular blogging soon.

I went to hear Donald Miller tonight. Don is the author of Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What. When I heard that he was appearing at Tyndale, I knew I had to go.

Life almost got in the way. It's been a busy week, and honestly I just wanted to go home. It snowed tonight and I'm busy. But I went and figured that I would skip going to hear him tomorrow.

I've changed my mind. I'm going tomorrow too. I think I have a new favorite author.

Don is a great writer. Blue Like Jazz, has a chapter in it called Confession, that alone makes the book worth getting. He is in the tradition of Anne Lammott, and he is the type of author that I would like to introduce to those who mean the most to me.

Don spoke on how the Bible isn't here to answer our how questions (how to have a happy marriage, how to be great in seven easy steps) as much as it is a why book. He spoke things that I had never thought before but it made me wish I had. He is completely different and yet even better than I thought he would be. I feel like I just ate soul food.

Can't wait until tomorrow.

I know some of you are bored with my switch to a Mac, but I have to show you my new personal assistant.

Those of you who use a Palm with a Mac - I don't know how you do it. I tried a Palm again yesterday and it was aweful. The Palm is the opposite of what a Mac experience should be. It isn't nearly as enjoyable to use as it should be.

Give Microsoft credit: their Pocket PCs aren't bad. I can synchronize with a Mac, but it won't be fully functional, so why bother?

There are some things that are better done with paper, especially when that paper is in a Moleskine notebook.

By my brother Arthur, soon to be blogging near you:

Jesus. I am astounded; amazed; blown away; awed, brought to tears.

As a Canadian citizen of South African birth, I have experienced a similar journey. I have lived in the largest city in Canada. I have seen the ostentatious wealth. The lights. The shows. The stores. The well heeled. The luxury cars. The glitz. The glamour.

And there I was, in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Lesotho. The most dusty, and desolate place I could have imagined, even if the mountains and scenery surrounding the village were picture-postcard perfect.

There were signs of wealth, to be sure. Some houses were built of brick and mortar. Some even had corrugated iron roofs, and windows. Most, however, were simply hovels. Put together out of scrap lumber, old skids, left over bits of sheet metal. Doors and windows were merely holes in the walls, covered with opened-up burlap sacks. They hardly needed windows. There were enough holes in the walls to let in all the sunlight they would ever need. But of course, the holes also served to let in the rain and cold and dust. Old cardboard boxes were of no real help, either, only temporarily slowing the entrance of the elements.

Occasionally, one saw a vehicle. Ten- and twenty- year-old cars held together with rope and wire, their tires balder than, …well, balder than me. More often, there were only mules and carts, but even they were rare compared to the hand-pushed buggies and wheelbarrows. More common still were the women with piles of stuff stacked on the tops of their heads. I mean, PILED. Up to HERE! How they maintained their balance was beyond me. How they coped with the weight was another mystery. And just how on earth did they manage to get that load up there to begin with?

The people. Masses of them. Some came out of curiosity, never having seen a white man or woman before. Some were afraid of us. Some were welcoming, receiving us with a graciousness only who knows how costly. Some were a little hostile, all too aware that the condition in which they found themselves was in stark contrast to what we were used to in the “Big-Smoke.” The children were amazing, only wanting to get close, to touch and feel our skins and hair. “Is it real? Does it feel like ours?”

They sang hymns, and danced for us. And how they sang! Not yet adept at the melodic tunefulness of the adults, the children made up for it with volume, lots of volume. The dances consisted mostly of barefoot stamping in the dusty ground, but were delivered with as much enthusiasm as the singing, if not more.

They swept the un-paved walks to their houses as we arrived. They bowed and clapped their hands in joy. We came bearing gifts; toys; “sweets”; books, and clothing. We had come to share the Good News with them, had we not? Their joy and happiness were unbounded. Exhilarating, contagious, immeasurable joy.

And, after only a few hours, we left. We departed, leaving them only slightly better off than when we arrived. Yes, they had a few memories to relate to their friends and family. They had another pair of pants, or a skirt, albeit second-hand. At least these were clean, and had no holes. They had enjoyed our candies; they loved the books and the toys. Novelties. Something different, but oh, so temporary.

And the Good News? Not what they wanted, - NEEDED, to hear. Oh, it was important all right. They accepted the news with joy, but surely this couldn’t be all of it? Wasn’t there more? What about today, tomorrow, the next day? How did our news affect their daily lives under the burdens of Apartheid?

Some two thousand years ago, Somebody else made a journey like that. He left a throne in the most beautiful, magnificent kingdom you will ever imagine. Mansions incredible, sublime. Streets of gold. Pearly gates. Light emanating from out of the very visage of His Father. Golden chariots. Pure white horses of the finest stock. Angelic hosts. Eternal peace, not a war in sight. No hospitals, no disease, no pain, no sadness. And for what?

A dusty, dirty land, with some interesting scenery, but nothing like what He left behind. Sure, there were signs of wealth here, too. Silk robes. Perfumed hair. Tapestries. Beautiful gold lamps. Palaces built using the whitest of stone. But the rest of the place was a dump. Animals living inside the houses with their owners. Hovels, many of them. Cobbled streets that hurt one’s feet to walk on. Raw sewage in puddles in some places. One was supposed to take the garbage out of the city to dispose of it, but, …..

Yes, there were vehicles. Wooden carts, some chariots, too. Some people were even carried around in ornate litters on other people’s shoulders. Some people had mules, some camels. Most simply walked, carrying their impossible burdens with them for impossible distances.

And the people! Smelly hordes. Sweaty, dust-covered, crowds. Some with open sores, ringing bells to warn of their approach. Some disfigured, and limping. Others deaf, or blind. They had never heard of anyone like this visitor, so they came out of curiosity. Some welcomed Him, sharing what little they had with Him and His disciples. Some openly despised Him, or feared Him. Many wanted to get close to Him, touch Him. “Is He for real? Is this the Messiah?”

They sang for Him, too, and danced. Their harmonies were unlike those of the Heavenly Hosts He was used to. Not quite as melodic, or as heart-felt. Their dances were akin to a herd of buffalo trying to do a pirouette in contrast to the gracefulness of the angelic beings back home.

They threw branches on the ground before Him. They clapped and bowed and scraped in His presence. Came to receive His gifts of healing; came to be fed. Came to hear His message. And what a message! Their joy knew no bounds. Spread like wildfire among the masses. “Hosanna! Hosanna!” Joy unspeakable.

And then, He was gone. Only three short years did He spend with them. Yes, they had stories, wonderful stories to tell to their friends and families. Some had been healed. Some had burdens of guilt lifted off their shoulders. Some had new eyes, others new legs. Some no longer had to ring those infernal bells. Some had even cast off the grave clothes that had been prepared for them. But all this was only temporary. They had to go on living without His Presence, some only to become ill again. They had to face death all over again at some point.

And the message? Not what they wanted or needed to hear, either. They had heard Him and accepted His message with such joy. But, wasn’t there more? Where was this Kingdom He had promised? Where was the Peace He had talked about? How did His message change the dreary reality of their daily lives under the oppression of their rulers and masters?

Of course, while there are similarities between the two tales, the differences are enormous. We gave up a few short hours of comparative luxury to bring the people of Lesotho a message of hope; to share a few earthly pleasures; and meet some definite needs. But we left with very little to offer for the future. We returned to our lives of relative ease, while they remained in their poverty and oppression.

Jesus gave up a few years in His Kingdom to bring us a message of Salvation. He gave up His omnipotence to have His Power subject to our wills. He took on our pain and sickness and suffering so that we might be freed from their ravages. He gave up His sinless nature to take on our sin; to pay the price we cannot hope to be able to afford in order that we may be re-united with our Heavenly Father in righteousness. He became what we are, so that we might be like Him.

He has since returned to His Kingdom. Not to sit idle on His throne, but to constantly make intercession for us. His Words and His Spirit have remained to lead us, guide us, and comfort us. To ensure that we arrive safely in His Kingdom. An eternal message with practical applications for the temporal, for the here and now.

I’ve often heard it said:

“How much did He love us?” And He spread His arms and said, “This much,” as they nailed Him to the cross.

While a beautiful thought, that doesn’t quite do it justice.

He loved us not only more than Life. He loved us more than Heaven.

Jesus! What Matchless Love!

I said I switched the other day. I lied. I'm switching. So far I'm loving it, but it is a bit of work getting everything set up.

It's not hard to get set up, actually. The hard part is transferring everything over from Windows. Somebody could make a small fortune doing this - charging whatever to help people move from one platform to another. Pay me this much, and all your e-mails, calendars, and files will be moved over.

My two pet peeves so far: shouldn't the same programs (e.g. Quicken for Windows and Quicken for Mac) be able to read the same file? Why do I have to go through all the grief of importing? Not fun. And why can't Entourage import pst files from Outlook? It will happen, but not soon enough for me.

My other pet peeve is that some software (hello, Dreamweaver) won't allow me to upgrade to a different platform. I have Macromedia Studio MX 2004 for Windows, and I would have thought they would only charge me the upgrade price to switch to the Mac platform. Nope. If I want it, I have to pay the whole thing. This is what has kept me from making the switch earlier.

I can't find a good Bible program yet. Accordance looks okay, but no NIV?

I gotta tell you, though - this thing runs nice.

It was a throw-away comment that did it in the end:

I had to use a PC today in order to run Exact Target to do a mailing. I was stunned and astonished at how much the experience has degraded since my last exposure. There were dozens of pop ups and flashing lights and buzzers and it was awfully frightening.

Yes! I've been fighting Windows for a long time, and I haven't been winning. I can handle most problems, but eventually they wear you down and you give up.

I've wanted to switch to Mac for a long time. The hardware isn't expensive, contrary to what you've been told, but it is a bit of a pain to switch. The more stuff you've got on Windows, the more the hassle.

Well, I'm doing it. So far I love the feel of OS X. I keep discovering new things and think, "Why doesn't Windows do that?" It's elegant and it just feels better. There. I've done it. I have a feeling I'll be posting a lot of PC stuff on eBay pretty soon.

Peter Juras is helping a man named George:

The modular home now sits on it's foundation and I'm collecting supplies that are needed to make the minor repairs. (e.g. windows, furnace, flooring, bathtub). We received financing to purchase the modular home until we could pay it back. All together we still need about $15,000. We are holding a fundraising event next month, and we are hoping to reach our goal.

Read the rest and take a look at the pictures. More to come.

One of the best, most practical books I've read on pastoral ministry is Well-Intentioned Dragons: Ministering to Problem People in the Church. I know what you're thinking: problem people in the church? How could it be? But it's true, they are there.

Every church has them - sincere, well-meaning Christians who leave ulcers, strained relationships, and hard feelings in their wake. They don't intend to be difficult; they don't consciously plot destruction or breed discontent among the members. But they often do undermine the ministry of the church and make pastors question their calling.

I read this book before I ever became a pastor. I'm glad I did. I don't think I could have survived very long as a pastor without some of what this book says.

There are well-intentioned dragons in the blogging world too. This is not to doubt their intentions at all. In fact, sometimes they are even right on issues. Doesn't that drive you crazy? But hang around long enough, and you see sarcasm, biting comments, barbed questions, and personal attacks. I'm not talking about one individual here: I wish it was only one person.

Marshall Shelley gives some good advice on how to identify a dragon. He writes about how to withstand personal attacks and power plays, and how to create a healthy church where dragons don't thrive. He talks about how to process criticism, how to confront, and how to keep perspective.

I'm amazed as I skim through the book how much of this applies to those of us who blog. Most people who engage us over things we have written are positive contributors to the discussion. But there are dragons, and these dragons, as well-intentioned as they may be, can cause serious damage. So here, borrowed from the book, are some ideas on how a blogger can handle a dragon:

1. Learn to recognize dragons - Learn what a dragon looks like and try to understand why they are acting the way they are. "Most dragons see themselves as godly people, adequately gracious and kind, who hold another viewpoint they honestly believe is right."

2. Don't become a dragon yourself - The worst thing you can do in responding to a dragon is to become a dragon yourself. Don't reciprocate by fighting dirty. "The essential attitude must be spelled out: When attacked by a dragon, do not become one. No encounter with a dragon is a complete failure unless one fights venom with venom."

3. Don't spiritualize the battle - "Nothing is bloodier than a religious war. Issues aren't just human squabbles; everything is elevated to eternal importance...How devilish to believe that disagreeing with me is disagreeing with God."

4. Build a healthy culture - Set boundaries in advance for how to deal with dragons. "The best way to build an atmosphere of cooperation is to model a positive tone personally."

5. Learn to take criticism - "Even dragons can sometimes be right."

6. Confront - Confront with the right attitude, without becoming defensive. Be gentle but firm. Don't just pray about the dragons; pray for them. Don't create a showdown. Don't take the conflict public if you can help it. "Never get in a spittin' match with a skunk...Even if you win, you come out smelling bad."

7. Keep perspective - Things probably aren't as bad as they seem in the moment. Take a higher view. "Our job is to remain faithful to the two greatest commandments: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love even dragons as ourselves."

Stu Briscoe has said: "Qualifications of a pastor [and, I would say, a blogger]: the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros."

I've talked to a few bloggers who've pulled back because of well-intentioned dragons. It's hard to write honestly (and what is good writing if it's not honest?) knowing that dragons are lurking, and that your motivations may be questioned, and that you may be personally attacked.

It's worth taking the risk anyway. Don't let the dragons distract you from what you're doing. Tell your story with honesty, compassion and a pureness of voice. Put yourself out there anyway.

And when the dragons come, deal with them, but never, never become a dragon yourself. Don't let the dragons stop you from being who you are.