WhateverThings

Episode 312: “Rapture”

This is the first of what I plan to be a regular post – a look at the weekly episode of my favorite television show: Battlestar Galactica. I don’t plan on analyzing every plot twist, pointing out every inconsistency in the storyline, screaming about some scientific impossibility or debating which character is the best looking (there are plenty of places for all that). These are just observations and ways in which parts of the show are bits of everyday apocalypse. At some point in the future, I will write about why I like Galactica so much, but for now, here are some thoughts on this episode, which opened the second half of season 3. Knowledge of the show is helpful but I will try to make the observations understandable for those not familiar. [Warning: Spoilers]

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A few months back, I was with some folks that make up the local congregation I am a part of. (Yes, that is a convoluted way of saying it, but I have been thinking about the way we use the word church, and was particularly challenged by Mark Roberts posts on the church. But, that’s for another time.) I mentioned that I we had chosen DISH network over cable because cable did not have the SciFi Channel. One of the responses was “I always wondered who watched that.” Continue Reading »

Last night my wonderful wife checked my blog here and wondered why I have not written for a while. Lots of reasons. But, it’s time to start again. Part of it for me was figuring out why to blog. Continue Reading »

I just returned from a retreat led by Doug Wysockey-Johnson of Faith@Work. Doug had a lot of great things to say about calling, that is about how each of us is called and the nature of that call and the role of pastors in helping others to live out their call. I will probably touch on some of that at a later time, but for now I want to talk about a short film we watched entitled “Laundry and Tosca”. The film is about 30 minutes long and is a documentary of Marcia Whitehead, and her dream of becoming an opera singer. It’s an awesome and moving story – I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place.A 9-5 office worker in California, she has dreams of a life beyond the ordinary. But most days are, as she tells her friend on the phone, the usual – “laundry and Tosca.” Every day after work she drives past her exit to take voice lessons. She listens to opera constantly. Her home is filled with opera albums and scores. At last, someone arranges a chance for her to “audition” with Maestro Franco Iglesias (whose students include Placido Domingo). He sees in her an incredible talent and agrees to work with her. She moves to New York and begins the arduous process of being shaped into a world-class lirico-spinto soprano.

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This is another question that came in on a comment card. So, here we go with some starting thoughts on the issue of should I get a tattoo, or more broadly what is the Christian/biblical perspective on tattoos? Once again I will answer by responding to a series of questions and then attempt to combine and summarize at the end.

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Scot McKnight has a new book coming out that looks to be very interesting – a look at Mary, the mother of Jesus. The book will not be available until November 1st, but you can read a pre-release of the table of contents and the first two chapters here.

I will be hosting a forum about the book on Sunday, December 3rd looking at who Mary was, using this book in conjunction with the release of The Nativity Story.

Thanks to Paraclete Press for this sneak preview.

For more information on Scot McKnight’s The Real Mary visit www.paracletepress.com. Please feel free to pick up this posting for your own site, blog or e-mail lists and help spread the word and get important dialog going on who the real Mary is.

Like many of us I enjoy the practice of napping. Sunday afternoons between services are one of my most cherished times. But, naps don’t always go the way that they are supposed to. My daughters are getting older and no longer need naps. On occasion, they will want to lay down next to daddy for a nap. Unfortunately, their idea of a nap and mine are sometimes very different. Mine always involves sleep. Theirs does not. And so, my naps sometimes consist of story-telling, peek-a-boo and the itsy-bitsy spider. On occasions I am surprised that though I have not slept, I am rested – and that seems strange.

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We started something new at our church a few weeks back, offering small cards for people to ask questions about by placing them in the offering plate. This will be one of the places I attempt to answer these questions. So, here is the first question:
What does the Bible say about cremation?

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