An Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
* Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
* Why the early bird gets the worm;
* Life isn't always fair; and
* Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6 year old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Calpol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

The Nativity

My wife, Christine, and I were part of a invited group that saw a sneak preview of the Nativity last night. Described as a movie even that Pope would watch because it premiered at the Vatican, it is an average film at best. (Maybe Benedict XVI realized that which is why he was out of the country when it showed!)

Perhaps for younger children it at least is a fairly good representation of Christ's birth and the journey that Mary and Joseph travel. Still, you know that you've not achieved much as a filmmaker when the best characters in this story are the wise men. Keisha Castle-Hughes, who plays Mary, is bland and lifeless throughout most of the film -- presenting her as way too serious.

There is no way you can do this story without being a bit sappy and the Nativity does not disappoint in that regard. Even Christine -- who enjoys sappy with the best of them -- thought it was a bit over the top to have the shepherds and wise men all at the birthplace at the same time, with of course, the star shining down on them all.

We also thought it was incredulous to have eliminated the Magnificat from the storyline (note: this is the response Mary has to Elizabeth's "Hail Mary, full of Grace. The Lord is with You!" (see Luke 1:46-55). Still, perhaps producer/director Catherine Hardwicke realized like we did that Keisha Castle-Hughes could never have pulled if off. Hearing her say, "My soul does magnify the Lord . . ." just would not have been believable.

Perhaps the most amusing and entertaining part of the whole evening was listening to a local Christian radio promotions person who was part of putting on the event introduce the film by saying, "This is the first Christian film since the Ten Commandments!" Nor sure what planet this guy has been on. Another example of how the use of Christian as an adjective is problematic.

Winter is here!

Well, you see the winterland that we are living through! Yesterday we got about 8 inches of snow and this is what our house looks like tonight. Since Seattle rarely gets this kind of weather, they have maybe two snow trucks for a city of 3 million! So, the fire's is stoked and we are enjoying the season.

In Granada, Spain

One of the great stories in global missions is the phenomenal growth of missionaries from Latin America. There are now more than 8,000 missionaries from Latin America -- many of them are going to very difficult places -- what one of my colleagues calls the "church forsaken places" of the world.

Last week I was in Granada, Spain with nearly 2,000 Latin American mission and church leaders. They are seeking to mobilize even more people as well as work on how to be even more effective in their efforts.

The city of Granada at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains is quite a symbolic place to have an event like this. It was one of the last remaining strongholds during the Islamic invasions in the Middle Ages. The famous Alhambra Palace (pictured) remains as a beautiful and important reminder. In addition, the Catholic Cathedral there is where the Spanish King Ferdanand and Isabela were married and gave their official approval to Columbus to take the Gospel to the Americas (and to search for trade routes).

Enrique and his wife Angela are examples of these Latin American missionaries (for security reasons I am not using their real names). They are in their late thirties with three children aged 12, 9 and 7. They are from Costa Rica but they have lived in North Africa for three years now. The language has been difficult for them to learn, but they are adapting fairly well into the Arab culture. Their integration into the culture has made them increasingly effective in their outreach for the Gospel. Latin culture and Arab culture are amazingly similar in a variety of different ways, especially in their relational style.

"God has called us to these people," says Enrique, his broad and warm smile overcoming his broken English. "Though it was a bit hard at first to find our place, we now feel much more at home."

When I asked what the main challenges are that the family faces in their evangelism work, Enrique does not hesitate. "Learning how to work together with the rest of the believers," he states. "There are many opportunities we have to do things in the community and make a statement by our unity, but we have much work to do to build trust among ourselves. Often, I feel like we are spending too much time reconciling things with my brothers and sisters in Christ so that we could not spend more time building connections with my Muslim friends."

That is what I was doing in Granada, Spain among these key leaders -- learning and encouraging them in their desire for partnering. In many ways, I am just providing applause on the sidelines as they are taking partnering principles and best practices identified by many of us around the world and contextualizing it, translating it, making it theirs. It is an exciting opportunity.

It's Not Just About Ted -- It's About All of Us

Reflecting again on Ted, I found a website well worth refering. It is Scot McKnight's "Jesus Creed" blogsite (www.JesusCreed.org). Among many other titles, Scot is the author of the award winning book, The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others (Paraclete, 2004). Here's what he had to say about Ted that I thought tracked with our comments from last week about Ted. He probably said it a bit better than I.

As Christians we should stand in line with the offer of grace. We believe in forgiveness for sin. It will be easy to be tempted to take shots at Ted Haggard, but we have to be careful. Here is a man who has failed and our hope is for repentance, restoration, and reconciliation. It is easier sometimes for us to trumpet the grace of Jesus for the sinfully-marginalized and excluded, than it is for us in our day to apply the same grace to the fallen. In my assessment, this point is where we must dwell: in praying for the grace of God to heal this man, his family, and the church in which he served.

And I wonder what we can learn from yet another moral collapse of an evangelical leader.

What is perhaps saddest is that this has gone on for a long time in his life. I’m not sure making more or new accountability structures for leaders is the place to start, though I’m quite sure we will all begin to think about this more.

But, what I find here is what I want to call the evangelical environment. In evangelicalism, and the charismatic stream in which Ted Haggard swims, sin is bad and sin by leaders is real bad. This leads to a complex of features that creates a serious problem:

1. Christians, and not just pastors, do not feel free to disclose sins to anyone;
2. Christians, including pastors, sin and sin all the time;
3. Christians, including pastors, in evangelicalism do not have a mechanism of confession;
4. Christians and pastors, because of the environment of condemnation of sin and the absence of a mechanism of confession, bottle up their sins, hide their sins, and create around themselves an apparent purity and a reality of unconfessed/unadmitted sin.
5. When Christians do confess, and it is often only after getting caught, they are eaten alive by fellow evangelicals — thus leading some to deeper levels of secrecy and deceit.

What we saw with Haggard is not just about leaders; it is about all of us.

Thus, a proposal, and I can only suggest it and hope that some evangelical leaders will catch the same vision — some at the national and international leadership level: evangelicals need to work hard at creating an environment of honesty. It is dishonest to the human condition to pretend that Christians don’t sin; but as long as we are afraid to confess to one another we will continue to create an unrealistic and hypocritical environment.

To do this, we need to begin at the local church level of learning to utter honesty with one another, to confess sins, privately as much as possible, to mentors who are spiritually sensitive. I believe if confession becomes a safe environment — and exposure of what is confessed in private must be treated as a serious offense — that an entirely new environment can be created in which time will bring out the sins of Christians in such a way that it is both recognized and simultaneously dealt with responsibly so that ongoing growth and periodic healing and restoration can take place.

'Nuff said. Thanks Scot.

What is Relevant Church?

I've seen churches named Relevant; books trying to outline what a relevant presence might be; even one of my favorite magazines is named Relevant. But what does it mean to "do" relevant church.

How do we move "church" from being only just a noun into the more action-oriented verb it should also be. How do we as followers of Christ make gathering in His name a relevant "happening" instead of the boring event some experience?

Perhaps part of these answers could be an environment where our %&#@ can be cleaned. I have this vision of church being a place where I feel comfortable bringing my %&#@ openly; sharing those issues and coming out refreshed and clean (or at least cleaner). Not through guilt manipulation but through honest interaction with others I can trust. Some have said that this is the purpose of small groups in the church, but it is rarely the case (in my experience).

Instead, church is often a place where you have to hide your %&#@ from others. That is why it is so difficult for people to deal with their "dark places" (as Ted Haggard described them).

I just think it is time to set a context, an environment to minister to those folks within our circles (and be ministered to as well). We know enough about the needs of our friends. And what do they mostly need? The same thing we do -- friendship, support and prayer. we are all dependent on the things that only Jesus can bring. We want the things that, in the words of my pastor,"have been stolen from us." Joy, peace, love, empathy, etc..

Most of us are disillusioned, yet that is rooted in the illusions we have had -- about life, about love, about leaders, about church. In many ways, disillusionment is a good thing. Can we challenge each other to address things in a relevant way? By the way, the relevant way is usually, if not always, the authentic way.

"We decide which is right and which is an illusion."
-- Nights in White Satin, The Moody Blues.

Ted Haggard

I've been waiting to say some things about the Ted Haggard situation. Every time I have thought about it that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach arose. There are so many things that I need to unpack to be able to deal with this. I have probably been impacted by this more than I even know. I feel sad, angry, disappointed, wounded, disheartened, discouraged (where's the Thesaurus program when you need it!).

You see, I consider Ted Haggard my friend. We have known each other for over ten years, and along with a colleague, I helped recruit him in the mid-1990s to be involved in a then semi-fledging National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). (I worked for NAE for ten years from 1986 through 1996 and still serve on their Board of Directors.) Eventually Ted was named President (certainly not because of me!).

Though I would not describe our relationship as very close, he was, in many ways, a powerful mentor to me. I almost always left interacting with him feeling uplifted, both spiritually and emotionally by his positive spirit. In addition, he was a major instrument that God used to deal with the jadednees and overcynacism with which I left Washington, DC. He also raised the NAE to new heights of significance during his short 3-year tenure as President.

So, he admitted on Sunday to being "guilty of sexual immorality." He stated in an apology to his church in Colorado that there's a part of his life that is "so repulsive and dark" that he has "been warring against it for all of my adult life." Read Ted's entire statement at: http://www.newlifechurch.org/TedHaggardStatement.pdf

I have to say that I have been deeply impressed by his response. With the exception of an initial denial (and he's likely been in denial on this for a long season so it is not surprising), his admission, remorse and apparent repentence is really quite astounding. He could have just done what a lot of high-profile people have done lately and admitted himself into a rehab center!!

Ted stated that "I am a deceiver and a liar," but the fact is we all have those tendencies. We all have dark places that we war against. The real question is how do we deal with these? And, most importantly, what do we do when we fail and lose a battle or two.

I am so thankful (and so should we all be) that when I fail my sins are not dealt with as publicly as Ted's were. I am not confronted in a car with my wife and kids by media representatives asking about my struggles and failures.

Sure, as a leader of a large church (New Life) and a national organization, he needs to place himself in situations where these things just cannot happen. It's called accountability. It's called authentic relationship with people you can't fool. But it is one of the more difficult things to do. It looks like Ted has now done this.

The challenge is that, sadly, the church is probably one of the easiest places to be able to get away with behaviors like deception and lying -- especially for leaders. It is probably most easiest within leadership structures like independent, pastor-led churches (which is not to say that these aren't appropriate).

I will continue to pray for Ted, Gayle and their five children. The fact is that sometimes God steps in and calms the storm with a mere wave of His hand. Other times when that just doesn't happen (or doesn't happen immediately), He still is in the boat with us. I'm pleased to know that Jesus is in the boat with Ted and Gayle.

Religious Intimidation and a Sense of Humor

It's been a bit odd to watch the ways in which certain elements in the Muslim community appear to have no sense of humor. Of course, religious fanatics of all stripes rarely do (hard to imagine the leaders of the Spanish Inquisition cracking too many jokes, for example). Many Muslims, for example, whined and made an exceptionally big deal about a Danish cartoon showing a bomb coming out of Muhammad's head claiming it was racist. Sadly, key voices in the west (media, polititians, other religious leaders) succumb to the intimidation.

So the Pope this week makes a vague and obscure reference to a 14th-century Byzantine emperor's remark about Islam imposing itself by the sword -- trying to illustrate and protest the linking of Islam and violence. And the intimidation continues as many are now calling for the Pope to apologize for this allegation. As noted columnist and commentator Charles Krauthammer stated, there is a "plague of self-censorship when it comes to anything remotely controversal about Islam."

As we well know, religious sensitivity is a one-way street. One needs only to look at American pop culture -- among many examples -- to see that Madonna including a mock crucifixion in her latest concert (with no major outcry).

The ironic thing is that as the Pope is "giving offense," the Muhjaheddin Shura Council in Iraq declares that it will "break up the cross, spill the liquor, and impose the 'jizya' tax (head tax) because the only thing acceptable is conversion or the sword." Of course, this is to protest the claim that Islam might be spread by violence (huh?).

Perhaps they have more of a sense of humor than I thought.

Wisdom of the Crowds

I've been reading a 2004 book called The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki over the past few weeks. The subtitle is: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies, and Nations. Though it's seems to be kind of an obscure book, it seems to be a growing and hot concept -- especially in the technology and financial industries.

Basically, the idea of the book is that the aggregated thought and knowledge of a diverse group is smarter than trained individual experts. Somewhat counter-intuitive to me, because of what we used to hear about groupthink. They key is to make the group, team or "crowd," diverse and independent.

The primary thesis is that people "together can be more productive and more intelligent than they would be apart." Which is one of the partnering principles we teach.

The book is worth the read.

The Daily Show Generation

Saw an article the other day in USA Today on the Daily Show -- the Comedy Channel's attempt to do a news program. Some people have believed that host Jon Stewart's approach to news (basically parady and humor) is causing an increased cynicism or apathy by younger people as it relates to politics and the news media. However, a new study just released points to the fact that Daily Show viewers (a substantial percentage of who are 18-24) are actually "more confident about their own ability to understand politics" than those who "consumed" the network news (those cynics among us could have saved them the trouble). It makes sense. Afterall, in order to "get" the humor of the Daily Show, one has to already know something substantial about the stories they parody.

Another intriguing note from this article is that reading newspapers (on- or off-line)increases political awareness. No surprise there. But, searching the internet (which is where most 18-24 year-olds get their news) increases both political awareness AND civic engagement. In other words, the Daily Show generation is not only more apt to be more concerned about society, but also more likely to be spurred to do something about it.

Yet another great trend from the emerging generation.

Rick Warren in the Wall Street Journal

So, he made the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Oh, not for any of the good things he may be doing, but for causing dissention. In an article entitled, "A Popular Strategy for Church Growth Splits Congregants," the WSJ unpacks some of the reasons why making sermons and music "purpose driven" is dividing many churches. I guess this is the on-going discussion in church-related circles between being relevant to culture or being faithful to traditional approaches. Haven't we had something like this for, I don't know say, 2,000 years?

To read the full article on Warren, see:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06248/719178-84.stm

Working Together on Lebanon

What would it look like if local churches started exploring ways to actually work together to respond to crisis?

It might look something like the Summit on Lebanon REACT helped plan and lead this past week in Atlanta, dealing specifically with responding to the present challenges in Lebanon.

With little advance notice, nearly 40 key leaders from churches and ministries across the USA gathered to seek the Lord and to decide upon strategic responses to the current crisis. (Many others wanted to attend but were unable because of other commitments.) These women and men heard reports straight from Lebanon about the present context, including the condition of nearly one million uprooted and displaced peoples. They looked at initial proposals for response, including those for housing reconstruction, medical teams, water projects, family relief packs, and other appropriate humanitarian answers. In addition, longer term strategies addressing business development and leadership training were presented.

But much of the time was spent discussing the questions: how can we as churches do this together? How can what we do bring greater impact for the Kingdom? How can we bring a relational model that is relevant to a relational culture and serves the emerging church in Lebanon? "Champions" for specific ministry projects were identified and they will play point for communication and coordination of those efforts.

REACT was privileged to help convene and lead this meeting, and I've been asked to continue to facilitate this emerging partnering effort. Please pray for us as we continue to bring leadership to this church-driven effort. Much follow up work needs to be done as on-going collaboration takes place.

If you or your church would like to be involved in this strategic response to Lebanon, please drop me a note. For information on REACT Services and the many partnering projects with which we are involved, contact us at: Info@REACTServices.com or check out our website at: www.REACTServices.com.

Gates and Buffett

As you likely have seen or heard, Bill Gates is retiring to spend full-time working with the Gates Foundation, his charity. In addition, Warren Buffett has now committed the bulk of his 44 billion dollar fortune to the Gates Foundation. The condition? The Gates Foundation must spend a billion dollars additional each year. Just the research alone for that is a daunting task.

Over the past several weeks, some have expressed questions over whether the new conglomeration of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett will take away from innovation in philanthrophy. What a crock.

Obviously, not everything the Gates Foundation does is the best thing, yet, they are doing much good with the wealth that they are investing. Will they influence the philanthropic community with their projects? Of course. But I doubt that innovation will be lost.

The real (and harder) question is: what does this all say to you and me? Will it cause us to re-evaluate our own giving? Will is cause us to invest more of our time to charitable causes? What are we doing with the percentage of our wealth that goes to charity and community development? (Yes, we do have substantial wealth, last year this blogsite showed how each of us compare with the rest of the world. See: http://reactservices.blogspot.com/2005/09/are-you-rich.html)

When the world's richest man says he's going to retire from his business and work for his charity, something inside me says, "COOOL!! Even if we have no ability to do that, we can do more. And far from reducing innovation, it seems to me that the Gates Foundation could spur us all on to greater good.

It's done that for the people of Microsoft, by the way. Not counting those who have left the company (like notable billionaire, Paul Allen), Microsoft employees have donated nearly $250 million to charity over the past 20 years. Now, that's innovation!

Welcome?

If you had to summarize in single word the vision and message of Jesus -- the ethos of his Kingdom -- what word would you choose? Here's a choice I saw the other day:

Welcome.

In recent years, many theologians have begun to speak of Jesus' vision of radical hospitality, his culture-defying openness and acceptance of the other, of the outcast, of the marginalized, of the abused, of the stranger.

This is not an original idea; it is one that I have seen mentioned several places (and my thanks to Richard Beck for assisting my thinking on this). But, still, let me share my enthusiasm over the idea of Christian welcome.

Here's why I think the word welcome works as a summary.

First, welcome is more of an action word. Most, when I have asked the above summary question use the word love. But love, as a word, has been very distorted and diluted by overuse and misuse -- epsecially in American / Western culture. Generally, love is now mostly associated with feelings. But welcome seems to be more behavioral. To welcome is to do something. In this, I think the vision of welcome is better than the more common, but less concrete, notion of love. (True, the idea of agape love is probably the best descriptor of the Christian ethic, but it takes a lot of words to specify the kind of love you mean when you say "love." Thus, the single word "love" isn't a great one-word summary of the Kingdom vision.)

Second, welcome affects the minutiae of life. It should affect how I treat my wife, my boys, my colleagues, and the strangers I meet today. Do my words, my face, and my actions truly welcome these people? Do they feel acceptance and openness in my presence? As Christine Pohl of Asbury Seminary points out, welcome and hospitality are about recognizing the fundamental humanity of the person. Do I convey this to those who encounter me?

I think about the people I come across when I travel. When I see them, do I welcome them? Do I smile and radiate warmth and joy toward them?

Finally, although welcome affects the details of life, it also scales up to encompass the larger issues of social justice. Welcome isn't just about my encounter with you in a supermarket. It is also sociological and global. How does my larger city of Seattle welcome the poor (or the small community of Mill Creek where I live)? How does the world welcome the newborn child? Social justice, to me, is about welcome on the global scale.

If you had to capture the best of Jesus' teaching, the parts that captured the essence of his "Good News," I think it would reduce to two stories he told: The parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. And both stories are about welcome. The father of the Prodigal Son welcomes his wayward son home and thus informs us that the very heart of God is one of welcome. And the Samaritan is the ultimate display of hospitality to the stranger, the exemplar of the radical openness of welcome.

So, when people ask me what it means to be a Christian, what it means to follow Jesus of Nazareth, I now have an answer: Welcome.

Welcome to my office, my home, my time, my attention, my life. As a Christian I am called extend the welcome of Jesus. That was his vision.

Welcome.

The NOOMA Story

Several of you have seen a few of the NOOMA DVDs I have and wondered about them. Though produced independently, most are cool and innovative 10 minute videos that address life issues and leave you wanting more or at least to talk about what was being presented. Rob Bell from Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, MI (www.mhbcmi.org) is the primary story teller of the DVDs.

The name NOOMA is the English phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma, which is commonly translated to “spirit” or “breath”. Pneumatology refers to the study of spiritual beings, particularly the interactions between humans and God.

You can sample a few of them at their website: www.nooma.com and I encourage you to do so. They are worth the $10 it costs to get them. Many churches and small groups (which often are the same thing) have shown them at their gatherings.

Lebanon, Israel and the Middle East

Please pray for the conflict in Lebanon. If you think this is just another little skirmish between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, be warned. This is serious stuff with Syria, Iran and others alreasy involved. As often is the case, innocent civilians are in the middle.

Israel -- not noted for its restraint, probably needs to take a small step back (and not go forward with troops as they did today) before the escalation gets to the point of no return. It may already be there. Yes, they have the right to defend themselves, but they need to show leadership and support the more moderate governemnt in Lebanon.

Hezbollah attacks are indefensible; Syria and Iran support of those attacks are inappropriate; but only Israel has the sanity to keep this conflict from becoming out of control. May the US be one of the voices of reason in the mix.

County All-Stars Win State Championship

John and Joe's Big League all-star baseball team made of 17-18 year olds from all over our county, won the state championship over the weekend! Both Joe and John played well, with John getting two doubles and a home run. The picture is him gearing up to hit a two-run homer -- Joe was on second base.

They now participate this coming weekend (first game on Thursday) in the Western Regional tournament with teams from California, Arizona, Hawaii, Montana and Oregon. Needless to say, (especially since I am one of the coaches), we are are excited to be playing! Since most of these teams are much better than we are (several are select teams that play year round), being there is the most fun.

Head Butts

Everyone believes that the head butt that the French soccer star, Zidane, gave at the World Cup is one of the all time poorest examples of expressing anger in sports. And yes, perhaps it was.

The question I have however, is "Who have I headbutted today? Who might be receiving headbutts from my anger?" No, thankfully mine don't receive the attention of 2 billion people watching on television -- just God. Of course, some of my most special headbutts are saved for God.

In addition, from whom am I receiving headbutts? Can I try and give them some grace since perhaps they might be aberations from their normal behaviour, too, like Zedane's.

For a fun game adventure with Zedane go to this website:
http://peyman.free.fr/peyman_org_divers/zidane.html

Spending time with family

I've lost track of the times I've heard high-profile Christian leaders (and other people) say, "I didn't spend as much time with my family as I wanted to." It is perhaps true that given the vast amount of travel that I've had over the past 18 years, I might reflect that as well. Still, I remember the words of a colleague and friend in Washington DC many years ago. In the midst of the Dan Quayle "family values" debate (some of you might remember that), he said that "the most important thing is spending quality time with your family(epecially kids). Unfortunately," he went on to say, "quality comes directly out of quantity time."

I've tried to live that. Spending as much time as I could with my two boys as they grew up. This picture is of us over the Fourth of July weekend (Joe on left; John on right). This calendar year alone, between soccer games of theirs I've photographed, baseball games I've managed, college basketball games we've watched together, and, of course, the World Cup -- we've had great experiences and cool conversations. Times that I'll treasure just as in other years.

Later next month, they go off to college to be mostly on their own and give me and Christine much less access to them. Have I spent as much quantity time with them over the years as I wanted. Probably not. Did I spend a lot of quality time with them? A lot, but never enough.

Only the Lonely

In a report released this week from Duke University, Americans discovered that they have very few close friends. In a face to face study, over 25% of us said that they have no one to talk to about important things in their lives. Another quarter say they are only one person away from that.

The most astounding fact from this was that it was a replica of one done in 1985. In that 21-year time frame the number of people who say they have no one to talk to has doubled! And the number of confidants of the average person has gone down from three to two.

It likely is no surprise to many of us. Between longer work hours (not counting the commute to work), children's school and sports, taking care of our homes, and other things, when do people carve out time for developing deeper friendships? The implications for our communities are massive: fewer people to turn to for help in crises like Hurricane katrina; fewer watchdogs to deter neighborhood crime; fewer visitors to hospital patients and fewer participants in community groups. Perhaps that also explains the difficulty for some churches to see the growth of small group ministries.

For most of our married life, Christine and I have been "initiators" of friend connections. We have been the ones who invite and host people for dinners, wine tastings, parties, events, etc. For a long while, we felt somewhat bitter about that. But we have subsequently come to the opinion that we are just more oriented that way than many. Still it is difficult for us since many of our close friends live in cities (and countries) far from Seattle.

For me, traveling like I do can often be quite lonely. Airplanes, meals alone, hotels with limited transportation, amd minimal local contacts make it difficult. It is always nice to have Christine's smiling face and open heart to come home to. So here is the reason I am not among the lonely -- the multi-talented and most beautiful Christine!

Emergent Community

Many of you have asked me about my involvement with the emerging generation leadership and some of the challenges and opportunities they present. Even though he is not under 35, Brian McLaren is one of the key spokespeople of this movement. Here some of his thoughts about the interaction between emerging generation and existing established leadership.


==========================

Just over a year ago, Doug Pagitt predicted that 2005 would be a year of criticism for the emergent community, and looking back, it’s clear that he predicted pretty accurately. Some of that criticism has been constructive and helpful, although a lot of it has been, sadly, less so. But even non-constructive criticism has its benefits: it gives its targets the opportunity to be gracious, forgiving, non-retaliatory, courageous, and persistent. It also can encourage humility and prayer. I trust that all of us who have felt the sting of criticism can feel ourselves, by the grace of God, benefiting from the experience.

It’s always wise to listen and learn from criticism, but it’s even more important to proactively examine ourselves. As Paul said, if we judged ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged (1 Cor. 11:31), and Jesus told us to examine our own eyes for lumber before worrying about the splinters in others’ eyes. So, in that spirit, here’s an exercise in self-examination for the growing global generative friendship that is associated with the name “emergent” in the U.S. and in many places around the world. It’s based on my own observations, and includes proposals for how we respond to the issues I try to describe.


You can read more of this article and other things from Brian at:
http://www.brianmclaren.net

Business as Mission

One of the great developments and trends over the past 5-10 years has been the involvement and participation of business and professional people in global missions. Many business people are seeing what they do as an opportunity for reaching the lost -- and assisting the emerging church around the world through providing employment and other business opportunities. This movement is called "business as mission (BAM)."

In the past, it seemed like the only way business people were involved in mission was either through the funding of missionaries, or assisting others in their "tentmaking" adventures. I called the latter "business as platform (BAP)," because the only interest from missionaries was just looking for a way to gain access to restricted countries. Those BAPers often gave Christians a bad reputation since most of them did so little business (and the locals knew it!).

These days, the list of restricted access countries is much smaller than it ever has been. Probably only North Korea and the Maldives are truly what can be described as restricted access countries. Thus, the opportunity for business and professional people to make an impact through what God has called them to has increased exponentially. Mostly, they seek to develop higher excellence in leadership which relates to business and ministry. It's an exciting development when the Body of Christ continues to learn and see how each of us has unique and great gifts to bring as God build His Kingdom.

Graduation Day!

Hard to believe that these two good looking and bright guys have now moved past High School. They're heading to Gonzaga Unversity in late August!

We had a great day on Tuesday of graduation beginning with the bacalaeurete in the morning followed by a nice luncheon event at the school. We had some of the family over in the evening before heading off to the big event. After graduation ceremonies, the boys had an all-night senior party with their class that Christine served as one of the chaperons!

Then today we had an Open House celebration where nearly 70 family and friends came by to pay tribute to the grads and wish them well.

Only during World Cup Soccer

In honor of today's launch of the World Cup, I offer the following. Yes friends, you, too, can participate in the current soccer fever around the world by going to a urinal near you (actually, this one's in Latin America). Hopefully, the advertizing for ESPN doesn't mean that taping is being done. What will they think of next!

Sorry, ladies, I have a feeling this one is for guys only.

Christians we should know

I'm normally not a big fan of lists, but author Mark Gali has put together an intriguing list of 131 Christians that we should know about. Christianity Today online has uploaded the list and it's definitely worth a look see. http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/features/131christians.html

Second in State!

What a weekend and what a set of games!

After a hard-fought 1-0 win in the semis on Friday, the Archbishop Murphy High School soccer team lost the championship game 2-1 in overtime on what can only be described as a miraculous goal in the final seconds by Highland High School.

Though battling and beating a few teams that were likely a bit better overall in the state playoffs, Joe's team finished much higher than anyone projected. It was a great, great season. Remember guys, you don't have to always finish first to be successful.

The picture is of Joe making a run in one of the state playoff games.

a Different Word on the Da Vinci Code

Just when I thought that I had read, heard or avoided all I could on the so-called Da Vinci code discussion, Dwight Friesen of Mars Hill Graduate School comes through with something fresh (no surprise). His "The DaVinci Code . . . picking up where Luther left off?" points out that challenging authority is always an intriguing choice. Here's his beginning . . .

What intrigues me about the cultural stir surrounding Dan Brown’s best seller is not so much the questions he raises about Gnostic belief, Jesus’ alleged marriage and children, or a Papal cover-up of Mary Magdalene’s role in the earliest days of Christianity. Rather, what interests me is the way that The DaVinci Code, as much as anyone or anything since the Protestant Reformation, has invited the masses to challenge the hierarchical authority of organized Christianity. More than the book, or the ideas within the book, or even its author, I am intrigued by the public response to the experience of The DaVinci Code.

See the entire article (amazingly short, actually) at:
http://the-conversation.blogspot.com/2006/05/pop-fiction-oracle.html

Joe's Soccer Team in State Semis!

The Archbishop Murphy soccer team won their state quarterfinal this past weekend with a hard-fought 1-0 victory (won in a 3-1 shootout). It was a fantastic match with the Murphy goalkeeper stopping three shots in the shootout. The state semi-finals will be played this coming Friday and the championship on Saturday.
Joe plays forward and has had several good goals and assists this year. The Everett Herald newspaper had a great story on one of their games which quoted Joe after his two assists. Check it out at: http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/05/03/100pre_c1wildcats001.cfm

The Immigration Debate of 1621

A friend pointed this cool video that addresses the immigration debate from a way many of us haven't seen or considered.

Check it out at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhEl6HdfqWM&search=immigration

Windshields

As I was struggling to go back to sleep the other night (or was it early morning?), I was asking God what He might want to be saying to me. Apparently not much since I did not hear anything! Then the image of a windshield came into my mind. As I reflected on this picture, it caused me to wonder about what windshield there are in my life presenting me from feeling the wind of God's presence -- or the sound of His voice.
We all have shields we have put up -- mostly to protect us from the bugs of life. I guess we have to be careful that it does not also prevent us from what God wants to bring into our life as well.

Is What You Do a Ministry or a Job?

My friend, Dave Hackett (www.davidhackett/blog/frontierblog.html) posted this the other day. A good reminder for how we might evaluate the things we are all doing!


“Is it a Ministry or Just a Job?” (Author unknown.)


If you are doing it because no one else will, it's a job.
If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it's a ministry.

If you are doing it just well enough to get by, it's a job.
If you are doing it to the best of your ability, it's a ministry.

If you will do it only so long as it doesn't interfere with other activities, it's a job.
If you are committed to staying with it, even when it means letting go of other things, it's a ministry.

If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it was a job.
If you stay with it even when no one seems to notice, it's a ministry.

If you do it because someone else said it needs to be done, it's a job.
If you do it because you are convinced it needs to be done, it's a ministry.

It is hard to get excited about a job.
It is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

People may say, "Well done," when you do your job.
The Lord will say, "Well done," when you complete your ministry.

An average church is filled with people doing jobs.
A great church is filled with people involved in ministry.

In Orlando

In sunny Orlando with the International Sports Coalition (ISC). This global network is doing some of the most effective partnering and outreach work anywhere. My role is in assisting in the training of trainers for the network and consulting on partnering. In addition, we are talking about what key strategies we can put together to make partnering a more integral part of the ISC's way forward. From mobilizing more churches to be involved in utilizing sports to global community games, the ISC rocks as a bridge to community outreach. For more info on the ISC, check out their website: http://www.sportsoutreach.org

Brian Speaking at NCC tomorrow AM

Would value your thoughts and prayers as I speak tomorrow at Northwest Community Church (my home community) here in the Seattle area. I will be launching off of Luke 10 and how we need to be "wounded healers" in any outreach strategy.
More later . . .

A Bullet in the Head

One of those in my wider circle of influence (a friend of several friends) is a talented photographer and "brand designer" named Sean Sheridan. Recently, he made a trip to Africa and took this picture -- showing a picture of a man shot in the head during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. He's in front of the memorial building in Murambie. A tragic, yet redemptive picture, the photo is up for a Smithsonian magazine award for picture of the year. For a better color shot of this photo and for more of his amazing portfolio, check out his collection at: http://www.4minutemedia.com/photography.cfm

Books I've Read Recently . . .And You Should, Too

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner.
A great read, this book turns conventional wisdom on its head, which is always fun. He addresses cool questions like, what is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? How much do parents really matter? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? Not the usual stuff you see from economists.



The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown.
I know, I know, devoted Christians are supposed to be seriously offended by this book because of its conclusions about the life of Jesus and Mary Magdeline. But it actually is a fairly interesting mystery and a good thriller (remember this is a fiction book!). I believe it is a must for anyone wanting to engage with popular culture.



Death on a Friday Afternoon, by Rev. Richard John Neuhaus
Probably one of the best I’ve read on the last words of Jesus. He takes a traditional view (Neuhaus is a Catholic), but unpacks it in a way that causes you to think quite differently. "If what Christians say about Good Friday is true", Neuhaus writes, "then it is, quite simply, the truth about everything."



The Last Word . . . and the One After That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt and a New Kind of Christian, by Brian McLaren.
Brian has done it again with a psuedo-fictional book addressing the issue of hell and the grace of God. The third in his New Kind of Christian triology, it is not for the faint of heart for it may cause you to actually rethink the conclusions you've made (heaven forbid!).

You Tubing Yet?

Every day, people send in 20,000 new videoclips just the YouTube.com site. They in turn share them with millions of us. 15 million clips a day – and counting. It is clearly the hottest website of 2006.

Don’t these people have anything better to do? Apparently not.

Join the movement and send something in; or you can just check them out at http://www.youtube.com and enjoy the results!

The Strangers in our Midst

I'm having hard time with the press coverage of the debate and the bills being proposed before the American Congress on immigration, especially in this season of Lent. In this season, it is about remembering what Christ did and does for us -- and His call to the marginalized in society. No one represents that more than the refugee or the displaced. They are forced to leave their home because of war, political upheaval, or natural disasters. And they deserve our help. That is why I've been so involved in the Refugee Highway Partnership which seeks to serve refugees and the ministries who provide for them. This is a picture of children from when I was in one of the camps in Indonesia.

In the discussions over borders, immigration challenges, etc. much of the proposals seeking to address those issues here in the US will have huge implications for others, including those legally resettled refugees from places like Sudan. How are we to respond? Obviously, one's "status" of legality that should not take away any responsibility we have to help their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. The key is not letting the emotion connected to politics overly influence our compassion. I will not allow the anger and hostility that some in America are displaying toward immigrants be a part of my Lent. Will you?

In out church, we are currently going through the Gospel of Luke. Last week and this one coming we are looking at the the story of the Good Samaritian. In the story, the answer to the question: "Who is my neighbor?" is clear -- isn't it? Why do we then hesitate so?

Here's a quote from a message Cardinal Roger Mahony, Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles.

"As his disciples, we are called to attend to the last, littlest, lowest and least in our society. This Lenten season, consider making room for the stranger in your midst, praying for the courage and strength to offer spiritual and pastoral ministry to all who come to you, offering prayer and support for the ones in your midst who, like Jesus, have no place to rest their heads."

Ethnê to Ethnê

Some of you know that I was in Indonesia earlier this month participating in a conference addressing unreached peoples of the world. Called Ethnê to Ethnê (the greek word for peoples), its emphasis was on seeing the peoples from all of the world reach out to the peoples of the world who haven't heard about Jesus. It was a very cool event that had over 370 church leaders from every continent attending and it was an honot to be part of the Steering Committee that put it all together. Check out the www.ethne.net website as we begin to upload the presentations and outcomes from the event.

Status of World Outreach

Though I am not a big fan of statistics and number when related to the Kingdom, you can check out the current status of what's happening in world outreach today -- instantly updated.

http://ied.gospelcom.net/worldpopulation.php

March Madness

Yes, it is March and the annual madness has begun. Since the early 1970s, I've been a hardcore college basketball fan. My team from the beginning? The University of North Carolina TarHeels, who won the championship just last year. Fortunately, my boys have adopted the same and we enjoy watching and rooting them on to victory -- which happens most of the time. Here's a picture of their great freshman star, Tyler Hansbrough, going to the hoop!

They opened the big tournament this year on Saint Patrick's day and, with the luck of the Irsh won. Needless to say, the household was in a joyous celebration. Of course they were expected to win this game (and likely the next), it will be later when they play tougher teams that we might be in a more somber mood.

Prayer of Jabez Meets Reality

I was never a big fan of the book The Prayer of Jabez, thinking it as simplistic, reductionist and naive (but what do you really think, Brian?). When author Bruce Wilkerson moved to Africa (Swaziland to be exact) to try and basically land the principles of the book, many -- including me -- were pretty skeptical. Still, with millions of dollars from the book sales to fund him, one wondered whether it could work.

Bruce's "Dream for Africa," launched in late 2002, was a $190 million project that proposed housing 10,000 AIDS orphans on a 32,000-acre complex by the end of 2006. The plan included a golf course, a dude ranch, abstinence training, and the planting of 500,000 small vegetable gardens. Unfortunately, it didn't even come close to working and Bruce has left Africa to "retire" from ministry. Wonder why? Basically because he likely knew very little about how to work cross culturally -- and in the arrogance we Americans are most known for around the world -- he didn't ask or listen to any counsel. As one who tries to be involved in cross-cultural missions work, it is a tragic lessons learned event for us all.

The sad story and some of the reasons why are detailed in an excellent editorial by Christianity Today magazine. Click on this link to read more about it . . . http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/003/13.26.html

If you want to see the world from outer space -- or from any of dozens of satellites, check out this site. It is pretty fun actually.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Earth/action?opt=-p

Greetings from Mexico

The family and I are here enjoying a nice respite from the daily work and school grind. As usual, the weather is fabulous and we are having a great time. Wish you were here, of course!

Sri Lanka and India

Okay, what was I really doing in Sri Lanka and India this past month?

I was in Sri Lanka to help facilitate a consultation on refugees and displaced peoples throughout South Asia. It was the first time that most of these groups had ever even met each other, let alone talk about working together. It was a great group with key representatives from (or working in) Nepal, Maldives, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and, of course, Sri Lanka. They decided to launch a South Asia Refugee Highway Network to coordinate activities and projects, as well as to better network the agencies / churches throughout the region. It was cool to be there.

Then I was in Southwest India in the small mountain city of Coonoor (try finding it on a map!). Our team led a partnership training course for 32 key Indian community leaders -- mostly pastors and sports ministry leaders. It was a challenging group, but one in which is hungry for the knowledge and skills of how to work together better for Kingdom impact. Most of them traveled between 30-50 hours from Dehli, Bombay, Calcutta and other major cities to get where the event was being held.

We stayed at a Catholic Retreat Center given as a gift from French missionaries. The grounds were beautiful, very quiet, and the view utterly spectacular -- lending itself nicely to the time of training and reflection we led the group through.

Finally -- One for Big Guys!

Yes, this plane is actually in development; kind of a cruise ship in the air. Oh, to finally have enough legroom in an airplane. . . . Sadly, the earliest it might be done is the end of 2010. Maybe I'll still be flying.

The World I've been to

In the spirit of the "red state/blue state" debate (and Valentine's Day, of course), here in red are a look at the many countries I've had the great privilege of going to. In case you're wondering, I can't find a site that can do it in blue.

Home Sweet Home

Just back from South Asia. A gripping and powerful time. The story and pictures to come. Suffice to say that as usual I gain more than I can ever give from these ministry adventures.

Despite being in rural India on top of a 6500 foot mountain at a Catholic retreat centre, I was still able to watch the Super Bowl -- and Seattle's big loss -- because the Catholic priest who runs it has a sattelite dish and ESPN Global carried the game.

One of the few aspects of globalization I guess I don't mind.

Off to Sri Lanka and India

I leave this fine Saturday morning to be in Sri Lanka for 5 days and India for 7, so I won't be online much. We'll see what kind of internet connection I get while there.

Despite having been to nearly 60 countries, it is my first time to these two important places. Just looking at the location here tells the story -- strategically located between the Arab world to the west, China to the north and the Asian tigers of Malaysia and Indonesia to the southeast.

I'm looking forward to seeing what progress may have been made in responding to the Tsunami challenges in Sri Lanka as well as exploring the "new" tech center of the world in India.

Hosted by the Evangelical Alliance of Asia, I'll be assisting in a consultation on refugees for key Christian leaders from South Asia in Colombo, Sri Lanka. According to the organizers, it'll be the first time groups have gather to talk about how to work together to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands displaced by war and the Tsunami in this small island country south of India.

I'll be with my sports ministry friends in India, helping to lead training on partnering for community outreach. They rock -- and I look forward to learning much from them.

The Seattle SeaHawks

Well, Seattle is celebrating it's big victory today in American football and its first trip to the Super Bowl. Many around the world know that the US feels its version of football is the more entertaining -- whether it's true or not is irrelevant (to Americans). More of them watch their brand of football than any other sporting event by far. No, it's not baseball, America's so-called "past time" (and another sport that most countries do not play).

As for Seattle, after 30 years of having a football team, they finally get to the game of games. And the city is going crazy over it. It was the most watched television show in Seattle's history (78%). The fictional SeaHawk bird will be flying high. We play the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was Christine's favorite team growing up (yup, she's a football fan, even though it's a bit unusual for women).

It'll be a long two-week wait for the February 5 game in Detroit. I'll get to try and watch it from India where I'll be on a ministry trip.

Best of 2005 -- "C" Music

I have never been a big fan of the phrase "Christian music." In fact, I rarely see anything good coming out of the use of the word Christian as an adjective. Feel free to send me your favorite usages, but know that most all of the good ones seem to have already been taken (Christian books, tapes, schools, and one of my personal favs -- Christian politicians).

Having said all that, Christianity Today (CT) magazine just listed their top Christian albuims of the year. So who do you think put together the best music of 2005? I might have said U2, but the release date for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was November 2004.

Here's CT's list and believe me, I don't know many of them, but I do know the number one: Switchfoot's, Nothing is Sound. Kind a cool that SF is one of the bands that both my two 18 year olds and I like.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2005/2005bestof.html

Celebrating Progressive Lenses

In honor of my getting new progressive lenses, I offer you this wonderful picture of what I often now see. Enjoy (but don't stare too long!).

Influential Evangelicals?

Probably get in trouble with some for this one, but . . .

Earlier last year, as I was channel surfing through some television, I ran across the Larry King show on Time Magazine's Top 25 Influential Evangelicals and watched the better part of it. They had Tim and Bev LeHaye, Franklin Graham, Brian McLaren and TD Jakes on a panel discussion.

I have to say that I was a somewhat embarrassed to see Tim/Bev LeHaye and Franklin Graham representing the broad-based "evangelical" community. Though they bring strong and solid views of faith and practice, they often reinforce the stereotypes of American evangelicals as being relatively unthoughtful, uncaring and narrowly focused in their political and social engagement. It was a pleasure to see TD and Brian bring at least *some* reasonable thoughts (to the degree they were allowed). It seems like Larry likes the stereotypical rather than the outside the box person.

I would encourage people to look through the list of Time's most influential evangelicals (see www.time.com). Having interacted with many of them in my days in Washington, DC (and since), I can honestly say the list is more a commentary on the perception evangelicals have in American culture (elsewhere around the world, too, I guess). Still, they are those who are exercising political influence, but not necessarily cultural influence.

Fortunately, I believe that God continues to use the people of apparent insignificance -- those who are under the radar -- to accomplish His greatest purposes. It is rarely the ruler and more often the minion that God flows through most easily. I wonder why some of us want to be more significant then?

Perhaps there needs to be a parallel list of those types of folks; people having grassroots impact that most of the church don't have a clue about. The "Under the Radar List of Influential People." I would like to start a list of those folks. Any ideas for me?

Epiphany Sunday

Today is Epiphany Sunday, the time to celebrate the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. It's also called the festival of lights (since the wise men followed the star).

The wisemen brought three symbolic gifts to be given to the Christ-babe…

• gold – a symbol of power
• myrrh – a symbol of sorrow
• frankincense – a symbol of worship

The season reminds me that I need to continually give those things back to Jesus. What are the things of my perceived power I need to hand over to Him? What were (are) the things of sorrow from this past year? What acts of worship must I remember to offer Him?

For the past 16 years, Christine and I have celebrated Epiphany by holding what we have called an Epiphany Open House. It's where we invite all the different sectors of our life (family, Christine's work, my work, our boy's school, church, neighbors, etc.) to come together for lots of good food, good drink, and fun. It's surprising how many people end up discovering old friends and acquaintances.

It also allows us to continue to share our journey more intentionally with the different people that God has brought into our lives -- at least the ones who live close enough to drop by!

Collaboration and Crisis

I wrote this several weeks ago and thought I'd already put it up.

Collaboration and Crisis

Will we be able to look back on this year of crisis and say it was an impetus for partnering among the Body of Christ? That we were able to work within the context of communities facing didasster in a way that offered hope and modeled relationship?

No, sadly not. From the Tsunami in Asia and Africa, to the earthquake in Pakistan, to Hurricane Katrina in the US, there were few -- if any – good examples of groups working to reduce the massive duplication and coordinate their efforts. This despite virtually all of the relief and development experts, and those evaluating local projects, saying that cooperation would be a much more effective approach than what we currently see.

But, before we go and blame the groups and ministries that were offering relief during these crises (or in the case of Katrina, FEMA), it’s important to note that developing collaboration during crisis is virtually impossible. Why? Because the foundation of good partnering is relationship and trust, and there is little or no time for that kind of work while lives are being rescued and families being looked after.

The needed work of collaboration among disaster response group needs to take place before a crisis happens. Relationships need to be established, vision shared, potential joint projects excplored, and, most importantly, groups must learn to develop how to share success -- long before the fund raising machines are geared up to secure the resources needed to respond to a calamity. Once the marketing department gets ahold of the issue, the difficulty of developing cooperative strategies and talking about shared success is hard to overcome.

So the question becomes, how can we encourage the advance work needed for a collaborative response? It should be easier than it is given the lip service that most non-profit organizations give to the notion of partnering. However, the work of partnering takes hard work, dedicated leadership, intentionality, and the knowledge and skills necessary to really make it happen.

Those are the kind of things that REACT Services offers to its clients, and offers as assistance to our ministry projects. See: http://www.REACTServices.com

-- November 8, 2oo5

God's Address to the Electronic's Expo

Father Roderick Vonhögen, a Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Utrecht, in The Netherlands has a huge website, with lots of good stuff to explore. So while some might wait for Steve Jobs expo speech this month in Las Vegas, try "God's Keynote Speech" developed by Father Roderick. It’s delivered at an imaginary Heaven Expo and is quite funny -- especially if you're an Apple user.

http://media30b.libsyn.com/podcasts/dailybreakfast/godskeynote.mp3