Maybe I Should Get a Mac

The last time I bought a computer, I seriously considered switching from a PC to a Mac. I just could not justify the cost. I have a couple of friends with pretty new MacBooks that have had some problems, so I was sure I had made the right decision. Until I saw this video. It is in French and I do not speak French. It does not matter. The message gets through. This is something that my PC definitely cannot do.

MacBook New Feature from COREANOMAC on Vimeo.

Michael Jackson Tribute

Of all the tributes to MJ this past weekend, and there have been plenty, this is without question my favorite. Enjoy this cover of "Thriller" from one of my favorite bands. How about you? What is either your favorite MJ song, or even better, what has been your favorite MJ tribute? Chime in below.

For Brock

This is a Fourth of July tribute to my good friend Brock. I love you, man!

Guacamole

Unless you live in a cave on a desert island, you are aware that in a few days the NFL will crown its annual champion. Across the country there will be celebrations large and small where friends gather to cheer for their favored team and enjoy their favorite party foods. There will be chicken wings, little smokies, meatballs, various chips, and dips. My favorite party food is, without a question, chicken wings. My favorite dip is guacamole. Until the last two or three years, I hated guacamole. I had tried it. I found it to be disgusting. It had absolutely no redeeming value. But tastes change. I was willing to try it again. Now I love guacamole. It is one of my favorite dips and taco/fajita toppings. This has been my tribute to guacamole. Below is Rhett and Link's tribute to guacamole. Their tribute is funnier and more clever. Mine love for guacamole is at least as sincere as their love is. I hope you enjoy it. In the comments, tell us what your favorite Super Bowl party food is.

Greek, Greek, Greek

I send this out for all those who have listened to me cry and moan about my struggles trying to learn Greek for my degree plan. If you are Dr. Holmes, this a a true tribute to my feelings about the importance of mastering the Greek language. Enjoy.

Another Office

If you know me, you know one of my favorite television shows is "The Office". It is based on a British program by the same name. If you, like me, enjoy either of these, you will probably like this clip from the Japanese version. Please enjoy. (Please excuse the commercial about half-way through.)

Baptism Sunday

This past Sunday at church was our annual baptism and picnic. There were over 600 people at church and we baptized 23! It was a truly great day. We consumed 400 hamburgers and 400 hot dogs, because as our deacon in charge of fun says, "Nothing says baptism like fine beef products!"

We shot a short video of some of the action. This video is also posted on Bethel's new blog. Add it to whichever reader you use. A link can also be found on the left side of this page. Hope you enjoy it. If you were there, let us know what you thought of the day.

Grace & Peace,

John

"Laminin" email and Snopes.com

i am sure many of you have seen the email that is circulating about laminin. i have received it at least three times. (thanks sean, for one of those!) the writer of the email tells of being on the treadmill watching a message from louie giglio and being completely blown away by the description of and picture of laminin proteins.

this morning, i was reading my weekly email from snopes.com. i love snopes.com. this laminin email was the topic of one of their new articles. the article even includes this video:





as a side note: in the video, giglio refers to being near the end of their tour in tyler, texas, when he was told about laminins. i was at that concert. i am not the molecular biologist.


the crux of the story is that laminins are the proteins that hold the different cells of our bodies together. they are like the glue that keeps us from falling apart. this is a reminder of colossians 1:15-17: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (emphasis mine; english standard version)


oh, yeah. i almost forgot. this is a scientific diagram of a laminin protein:

to me, and probably to you, this looks quite a bit like a cross. when i see this i have thoughts that go something like: "wow! before you created adam, you knew that it would be through the cross of jesus that that our very lives would be held together. and you represented it in our very cell structure! you are an amazing god!"

when snopes saw this, they said: (my response in italics)

1. the structure of laminin antedates by many thousands of years traditional christian accounts of the life of jesus. i know. that is one of the wonderful things about this. god knew from before the beginning that the cross of christ would be our hope and salvation.

2. a cross-like shape is a very simple structure that is commonly found in elements created naturally or accidentally. which one is this, natural or accidental? if it is natural, god designed it that way from the beginning. if it is accidental, how is that possible. this is the protein that holds us together. this is an accident? that is another post.

3. it is uncertain whether the form of the original crucifixion device was a stake, a t-shape, or the familiar cross of modern christian iconography. does it matter? god knew we would recognize the cross as a symbol or reminder of who jesus us and what he did for us. god chose to place this representation into our very cells.

4. one could find the shape of laminin to be reminiscent of a variety of common symbols aside from the cross. some viewers say it reminds them more of a caduceus. (the caduceus is the symbol for modern medicine.

this symbol is taken from the old testament story of the children of israel wandering in the wilderness. in numbers 21, god sent serpents to punish the people. when the repented of their sin, god had moses craft a bronze serpent and put it up on a pole. when the people looked on the bronze serpent, they were healed. jesus referenced when he was talking with nicodemus in john 3. jesus was looking ahead to his own death on the cross when he said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." (english standard version) the caduceus represents, at its very core, the healing at the cross.

i am glad that snopes.com has put this on their website. i am alright with them trying to discount the symbolism. they have put a video greater than six minutes long describing that our god is the creator and savior of the universe. they have put up a number of illustrations that god is our designer. they have put this before a larger audience than you or i likely ever could.

Stained Glass to Video

i like stained glass. it is not really my style to display much in my home, and i attend a contemporary church where stained glass would look out of place, but i like stained glass. i have never been to the great cathedrals of europe or even the ones here in north america, but i have seen photographs and video on television. and that brings me to my main point. i was at a conference recently and heard mark batterson speak. he said something that struck me as particularly insightful. i do not know if it was original to him or not. this is what he said: "to a post-literate generation, video is the new stained glass." this struck me as a profound statement. i have spent some time thinking through the implications of this.

i was at a funeral last year in an episcopal church. it was a beautiful old church building downtown. if you stood in the aisle and looked around the room, you would see beautifully crafted stained glass illustrations of key moments from the new testament. at the front of the room, above the alter, is a large window with the scene of the nativity. at the back of the room is a stained glass rendition of da vinci's the last supper. all around the room are windows depicting other scenes from the new testament. there is jesus' baptism, as well as the crucifixion and resurrection. this church was modeled after the old cathedrals with their wonderful imagery.

the old cathedrals were largely built in a pre-literate culture. before the printing press with movable type, anything printed was expensive and only the wealthy had any books. the average person had no way to read god's story of redemption. even in the church, which was primarily the roman church, mass was conducted in latin. people could look around the room and see pictures of the story of redemption in the stained glass windows.

as history has passed, we have gone from a pre-literate culture to a literate culture. with younger postmoderns, we are passing into a post-literate generation. it is not that they cannot read, they simply do not read. there are exceptions, but i believe these things to be largely true. young people read fewer novels, they watch movies. they read fewer short stories, they watch television and youtube. they read fewer newspapers, they get the news from television and the internet. even when they read online, it is often through interactive sites. they are allowed to comment and post video responses.

in church, video is the new stained glass. stained glass windows served to tell the story of god's redemptive plan in a format the learner could understand. video is the format younger learners understand. i am coming to believe more and more that if you are not using video in your teaching of the scripture, you are not speaking the language of part of your audience. how are you doing? who do you know that does this well?