tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77617294834670525962024-03-12T21:07:52.264-07:00listening2learn learning2listen: occasional thots on stuff i think about :dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-63999226140669484822010-11-29T14:19:00.001-08:002010-11-29T14:25:48.705-08:00: simply no excuse ... well, maybe one or two :Hey Folks ... my last few posts have been staggered through the months, and mostly apologizing for not posting. I sincerely apologize for that. I've been staying busy though, and a little pre-occupied with wrapping up an assignment, conceptualizing a consulting practice, and launching into a challenging new gig, so there's three excuses, not just one or two. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/TPQoOchWvlI/AAAAAAAAAzA/XqXzmCVuK14/s1600/CadenceArrows.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 167px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/TPQoOchWvlI/AAAAAAAAAzA/XqXzmCVuK14/s400/CadenceArrows.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545101269839298130" /></a>I'm working on a blog component to the web site that the infamous JimmyK is cooking up, this is his prototype logo so we will see where it all goes, eh?dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-67881696731516148102009-12-02T08:20:00.000-08:002009-12-02T08:28:12.401-08:00? se7en months, twenty days ?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SxaUnUe46hI/AAAAAAAAAys/ujYgCyxe_B4/s1600-h/DLCgrimacing%40Wendys45th.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 85px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SxaUnUe46hI/AAAAAAAAAys/ujYgCyxe_B4/s400/DLCgrimacing%40Wendys45th.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410675405566306834" /></a> ... can't quite believe it has been 7 months and 20 days since I last posted here, and that was my AWOL apology. Seems life just gets in the way? In hindsight, I was a much better blogger while on sabbatical! Well, maybe not better, just more present. Anyhow ...<br /><br />Wondering about a few things these days and wondering if I couldn't/shouldn't at least <span style="font-style:italic;">TRY</span> to fire this baby up again, even on a weekly basis? There's a certain discipline that comes with 'blogging ... and I kind of feel some of that is missing with DLC2009?<br /><br />Later ...dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-31150334197643008922009-04-22T12:50:00.000-07:002009-04-22T12:57:52.446-07:00: awol : two months : no excuse :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/Se91wK3cDaI/AAAAAAAAAyk/vJZ_2CSM_t4/s1600-h/AWOLtshirt.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 124px; height: 107px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/Se91wK3cDaI/AAAAAAAAAyk/vJZ_2CSM_t4/s400/AWOLtshirt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327606354613636514" /></a> ... just realized it has been almost exactly two months since i wandered over here to post anything. sorry ...<br /><br />it has been a full and rewarding time, lots going on, plenty to do, and ... obviously ... less time to 'blog than before. <br /><br />much of that would have to do with <span style="font-style:italic;">honcho-ing</span> the pastoral search at <a href="www.saanichtonbiblefellowship.org">www.saanichtonbiblefellowship.org</a> ... which by all accounts is going really well. <br /><br />not sure if i can or will do anything about that any time soon, but thought i should at least make an appearance. trust you are well ...<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-46796326622728964152009-02-23T17:33:00.000-08:002009-02-25T07:26:52.226-08:00: my friend coop : on homelessness :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SaNOsB6vWjI/AAAAAAAAAx8/DsaTQXVErQU/s1600-h/3276059729_a0d77f74cf.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SaNOsB6vWjI/AAAAAAAAAx8/DsaTQXVErQU/s400/3276059729_a0d77f74cf.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306171304308595250" /></a> ... we had a good day at <a href="http://www.saanichtonbiblefellowship.org/">Saanichton Bible Fellowship</a> yesterday, as what I dubbed <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://sbfdeck.blogspot.com/2009/02/mustard-seed-sunday-sbf.html">Mustard Seed Sunday @ the SBF</a></span> went off really well. Chris Pollock, the seed's youth pastor, spoke in the morning, with a few comments about the tragedy on Victoria's streets this last week. More on that in the next post. We followed up with a Mustard Seed Street Church benefit concert, with the Seed's Praise Band kicking things off, and a variety of Seed artists, poets, musicians contributing. Amazing the tentacles of ministry an intentional street church must develop ... food bank, Hope Healing Farm, youth outreach, back-to-school supplies, counseling, advocacy, social assistance navigation, you name it.<br /><br />This is may favourite picture of my buddy Jordon Cooper, taken by his almost 9 year old son Mark. One of the smartest people I know, and that's saying something, Jordon is a voracious reader. And a sage football fan, as both of us are Denver Broncos and Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans. Anyhow Coop works these days in a leadership capacity in a Salvation Army shelter in Saskatoon, SK. He just had an <a href="http://the-next-wave-ezine.info/issue122/index.cfm?id=45&ref=COVERSTORY">article</a> published in NextWave magazine on the complexities of homelessness, and a way faith communities could be part of the solution. Between his intellect, his reading, and his <a href="http://www.jordoncooper.com/about/">blogging</a>, he's honed quite an articulate voice on things.<br /><br />Maybe you will find this helpful as you process your locale's homelessness challenge?<br /><br />dlc<br /><br />***<br /><br />ps. Ron Cole has weighed in on this as well, spurred on by the Coop's article. Well, maybe catalyzed by it? Ron is always thinking about this stuff, but he wrote some of it down <a href="http://thewearypilgrim.typepad.com/the_weary_pilgrim/2009/02/jordon-cooper-has-a-recent-article-mustard-seedsized-solutions-in-next-wave-e-zine-about-the-complexities-of-homelessness.html">here</a> after reading Jordon's article. And then Randy commented on it, and Ron replied ...dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-16806997583557823792009-02-17T08:38:00.000-08:002009-02-18T08:21:40.114-08:00: in the city : mustard seed sunday @ sbf :... driving up to the SBF this morning I heard the Eagles' version Joe Walsh's 1979 song <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_City_(Eagles_song)">In the City</a> on 100.3 the Q. Guess I was thinking about urban ministry as this Sunday morning Chris Pollock, youth pastor @ the Mustard Seed Street Church is speaking, and later on Sunday evening various bands, artists, poets and staff from <span style="font-style:italic;">the Seed</span> and Hope Farm will be sharing at a benefit concert. I also just finished reading Gary Haugen's book <a href="http://www.justcourage.com/">Just Courage</a>. He is the founder of <a href="http://www.ijm.org/">International Justice Mission</a>. So maybe, just maybe these guys are getting through ... to me?<br /><br />... a couple of years ago, as I was trying to think through what Lambrick Park Church's role, as a suburban church, might be in our city, I had a similar experience while driving. Michael McDonald's Taking it to the Streets song on the Doobie Bros album titled <span style="font-style:italic;">Taking it to the Streets</span> ... hit me differently, as more than just background lyrics. I eventually wrote to Michael ( I can call him Michael, right? ) and got some <a href="http://listening2learnlearning2listen.blogspot.com/2008/12/takin-it-to-streets.html">background</a> to why he wrote the song, as he did, when he did. I also invited Tom Oshiro, Executive Director of Mustard Seed Ministries to <a href="http://recordings.lpcsermons.com/main.php">speak</a> @ Lambrick in July 2006, and he was graciously blunt about what the Lambrick's of Victoria could do as partners-in-ministry with the Seed. If you hit that link you can find your way around to Tom's challenge to LPC.<br /><br />But I digress ...<br /><br />... it has been a tough week in the city of Victoria. For people on the streets of this beautiful city. For people who work with, serve and love these folks. Maybe the reminder from Joe Walsh is a bit of what we need ... <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AvczTyRLyJQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AvczTyRLyJQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Somewhere out there on that horizon<br />Out beyond the neon lights<br />I know there must be somethin' better<br />But there's nowhere else in sight<br />It's survival in the city<br />When you live from day to day<br />City streets don't have much pity<br />When you're down, that's where you'll stay<br />In the city, oh, oh.<br />In the city<br /><br />I was born here in the city<br />With my back against the wall<br />Nothing grows, and life ain't very pretty<br />No one's there to catch you when you fall<br />Somewhere out on that horizon<br />Faraway from the neon sky<br />I know there must be somethin' better<br />And I can't stay another night<br />In the city, oh, oh.<br />In the citydlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-3213783667714831352009-02-01T20:45:00.001-08:002009-02-01T21:01:45.918-08:00: thoughtful commentary on controversial shack :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYZ-BXwzrTI/AAAAAAAAAxE/3WUUFLOvTJw/s1600-h/TheShack.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 89px; height: 138px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYZ-BXwzrTI/AAAAAAAAAxE/3WUUFLOvTJw/s320/TheShack.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298060573671664946" /></a><br />... over the last few months I've heard all kinds of comments, ideas, questions, endorsements and slams regarding the Shack, which apparently just reached the milestone ( of sorts, I guess? ) of #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for the 36th straight week. Seems there are 3 categories of response: love it, hate it, undecided.<br /><br />It actually took me two, maybe three tries to get into it, and then to finish it. Not sure why. But I did manage to read it all. Mind you, I think I was sitting at the end of the dock on Shawnigan Lake with a pitcher of lemonaid beside me, and the waverunners zipping across the narrows 150 m out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYZ9SwIpt9I/AAAAAAAAAw8/dYup3pvpODc/s1600-h/stephenshields.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 94px; height: 94px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYZ9SwIpt9I/AAAAAAAAAw8/dYup3pvpODc/s320/stephenshields.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298059772760274898" /></a> Stephen Shields is a 'blogger I respect, who has done a lot of things in ministry and career, and he has posted this <a href="http://faithmaps.blogspot.com/2009/01/somethoughts-on-shack.html">review</a> . Might be one of the saner of the handful I've read. Maybe this will help you help one of the many people reading, and asking, about it?<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-40758771805716569142009-01-30T13:00:00.001-08:002009-01-30T13:33:22.736-08:00: last night @ glad tidings w/ tony campolo :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYNqtLDDwHI/AAAAAAAAAwc/kyrUnQH61xk/s1600-h/photo_1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 147px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SYNqtLDDwHI/AAAAAAAAAwc/kyrUnQH61xk/s400/photo_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297194911010111602" /></a> ... World Vision Canada brought Tony Campolo into town yesterday, seeing as he ( and everyone else it seems ) is in BC for <a href="http://www.missionsfestvancouver.ca/glance.cfm">MissionsFest</a> this weekend. Not going to get into what he said much here, except to say that he pretty much told a fairly conservative evangelical crowd that any dreams, desires, demands and deliberations towards overtaking government with christians was doomed. Why? because that is a power grab, and position comes with very little actual authority. He challenged us to earn authority through intentional step-by-step acts of radical and sacrificial love. That eventually could change structures and systems and governments, but that is the place to start.<br /><br />Over the past couple of years <a href="http://miketodd.typepad.com/waving_or_drowning/">MTodd</a> and I have been having a related conversation, although Mike claims Bono started it. Maybe the progression away from positional power to getting things done is ... power > authority > influence > currency? Mike's original question to me was ... compare Michael Jordan and Bono. What have they done for good with the incredible wealth, voice, profile and hearing they have? MJ has a basketball team, some gambling debts, a ba-zillion shoes named after him, and a million kids who were wannabe NBA stars. Bono has other stuff ... he gets invited to Presidential prayer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUdrYDk8rVA">breakfasts</a>. If he has plans to be near Italy, he mentions it to the Vatican, and they say "come on over' ... sheesh, Bill Hybels flew across the Atlantic to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvthfJVlnH8">interview</a> Mr. U2 for a segment at a WillowBack Summit a couple of summers ago. <br /><br />I am intrigued by trying to understand how real currency is earned, developed and used strategically as a stewardship of the resources any of us has been given. A good palce to start may be back at a much earlier post here on Kipling's poem "<a href="http://listening2learnlearning2listen.blogspot.com/2008/04/if-by-rudyard-kipling.html">IF</a>" ...<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-71788014874357412142009-01-06T08:20:00.000-08:002009-01-06T12:17:36.813-08:00: what drives you ? and/or who do you blame :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SWO6iVlyezI/AAAAAAAAAuw/eMxEONFh3xg/s1600-h/ControlFreak.jpeg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 110px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SWO6iVlyezI/AAAAAAAAAuw/eMxEONFh3xg/s400/ControlFreak.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288275486537055026" /></a> ... maybe you've seen this ad pop up on your FaceBook page? I had kind of ignored ancestry.ca until yesterday, when the teaser line '<span style="font-style:italic;">why are you such a control freak?</span>' got my attention, not that it occurred to <span style="font-style:italic;">me</span> that I was a c-freak of course!<br /><br />... however, I have known a few, worked for a couple ( you never actually work <span style="font-style:italic;">with</span> c-freaks, only <span style="font-style:italic;">for</span> them, especially in their minds :) and I am sure have acted like one on occasion. As usual, I often wonder/ponder what exactly drives a real control freak? what makes them think they know the answers? or that they have the global corner on implementation? or that there is really only one right way to do something ... <span style="font-style:italic;">theirs</span>. <br /><br />... I was on a staff once with a person who others ( not on staff ) declared was a control freak. I begged to differ ... they might have been a <span style="font-style:italic;">quality</span> control freak, but that's a bit different. Another time I was beyond surprised when someone I had seen lead in a macro manner, big picture and mature, tended to micro-manage a project or event nearly to death ( or was it us that were near death? ). I kept asking myself ... 'what did I miss? why had I never seen those tendencies before?' only to come up lame ... no answers, no insights, no valid reasons.<br /><br />... my mentor David was probably the one who modelled <span style="font-style:italic;">anti-control-freakness</span> for me back in the early 1990's. He had an amazing ability to accept big projects from 'the boss' and break them down into manageable chunks for his own staff. He delegated appropriately, ran interference when things got off track, was available for consultation almost whenever staff deemed it necessary, and ... I realized many years later, never actually yanked the rope that he gave us to run with things, even when they went sideways. He took responsibility and 'credit' for the messes, as well as the successes. That's a great staff environment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SWO8QQjBVPI/AAAAAAAAAvA/MORvJEjdyj4/s1600-h/level5hierarchy.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 384px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SWO8QQjBVPI/AAAAAAAAAvA/MORvJEjdyj4/s400/level5hierarchy.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288277374968878322" /></a> ... Jim Collins has researched and written extensively about the kind of leadership that sets the stage, builds great teams, communicates the reason for whatever your organization is about, then gets out of the way ... he calls it <a href="http://www.jimcollins.com/lab/level5/p3.html">Level 5 leadership</a> ... pretty rare, pretty unique, pretty great to work with. <br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-33729532273124920472008-12-29T11:43:00.000-08:002008-12-29T12:58:14.136-08:00: takin' it to the streets :... the last several years I have been intrigued by what urban, and/or inner-city ministry is supposed to look like, mostly from a suburban church perspective. I think much of my wondering 'jelled' when I was able to visit Ron M in Montreal, a career street minister, and then Greg P in Toronto, founder and pastor of Sanctuary. Then, as Victoria's homeless situation grew more and more desperate, and Vancouver's gained profile in he face of development for the 2010 Olympics ( and a handful of friends working on the DTES ... Down Town East Side ), and a combination of city and provincial politicians landed a proposed shelter next door to a good friend's place of business, well ... there was no escaping it. Not that I wanted to, but I couldn't break it down into manageable, understandable, wrap-my-brain-around-it chunks. All that to say ... while a very, very visual learner/processor, every once in a while something 'audio' rings a bell, gets my attention, makes me sit up and take notice. The last couple of years I have been paying more attention to the lyrics in my generation's songs ... and seeing some kind of social conscience, or some questioning, taking place. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SVk43geWAwI/AAAAAAAAAuI/ARlGgPC9X2g/s1600-h/TakinItToTheStreets.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 210px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SVk43geWAwI/AAAAAAAAAuI/ARlGgPC9X2g/s400/TakinItToTheStreets.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285318163957154562" /></a>About a year ago I heard the Doobie Bros 1976 hit "Takin' it to the Streets" on the Q100.3 ... and yes, I do have it on a cassette somewhere. However, I heard it very differently this time around, not just Michael McDonald's catchy* tune, but something else. When I got home I downloaded it from iTunes, and listened to it carefully, again and again. Finally I wrote to a MMcD fan site, and actually got a response ( below ) to my query about Michael's motivation in writing "Takin' it to the Streets" ... so here's another challenge, following up on the Desmond Tutu quote below, as we turn the corner into 2009. With both new mayors of Victoria and Vancouver running election campaigns, and winning, on a priority platform of addressing the homelessness issue ... our posture will be critical. McDonald put it this way ... "I ain't blind, and I don't like what I think I see" ... maybe addressing the do-gooder we have the answers for you approach, which is something Canadian Food for the Hungry has beaten out of some of us, in a necessary kind of way.<br /><br />Here is a YouTube version at some tribute to MMcD by some of his friends. A better one is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G54lfxiid_w">here</a>, but the YouTube embedding has been disabled, but you decide.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tOMj2R94SsM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tOMj2R94SsM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />You don't know me but I'm your brother. I was raised here in this living hell.<br />You don't know my kind in your world. Fairly soon the time will tell.<br /><br />You, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.<br />I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see.<br />Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets, no more need for runnin',<br />takin' it to the streets.<br /><br />Take this message to my brother. You will find him everywhere.<br />Wherever people live together, tied in poverty's despair.<br /><br />Oh, you, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.<br />I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see.<br />Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets, no more need for runnin',<br />takin' it to the streets.<br />Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets, no more need for hidin',<br />takin' it to the streets.<br />Takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the streets, takin' it to the...<br /><br />Oh, you, telling me the things you're gonna do for me.<br />I ain't blind and I don't like what I think I see.<br />Takin' it to the streets,<br />takin' it to the streets, no more need for runnin',<br />takin' it to the streets.<br />Takin' it to the streets,<br />takin' it to the streets,<br />takin' it to the streets.<br /><br />**************<br /><br />Here's the background ...<br /><br />Hi Don<br /><br />You are in luck - we do have a bit of insight about "Takin' It To The Streets" from the man himself - Mike told us this one time when we met him for a fanzine interview.<br /><br />"Takin' it to the Streets" was based on a paper his sister had been writing for college about urban renewal, civil rights, Martin Luther King and equality. These things were very current down in St Louis when Mike was a teenager and it is clear that they affected him deeply. I think he was saying that people - you and I - have the real power to affect change not the politicians ... we just need to take it to the people - take it to the streets.<br /><br />Mike has also told us that he was moved by Steve Wonder on this subject (on such tracks as Living For The City for example) and also Marvin Gaye's seminal album - "What's Going On". Incidently, Marvin was Mike's main vocal inspiration - the layered vocal technique which Gaye invented - taking all the parts of the harmony himself with 3 or 4 over dubs. You can see this most obviously in Mike's early work for Steely Dan on tracks such as Peg (album: Aja). As a personal aknowledgement of this, Mike has regularly sung What's Goin On during his live gigs for over fifteen years.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br /><br />P<br /><br />**************dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-86504000613465603782008-12-29T09:28:00.000-08:002008-12-29T09:33:35.678-08:00: as Christians, we are prisoners of hope :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SVkJzvieFGI/AAAAAAAAAuA/U1LtIEdTUec/s1600-h/desmond-tutu.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SVkJzvieFGI/AAAAAAAAAuA/U1LtIEdTUec/s320/desmond-tutu.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285266422235010146" /></a><br />Desmond Tutu put it this way ... <br /><br />"as Christians, we are prisoners of hope." <br /><br />May that lens help us prepare this week for 2009.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-21442764889833109342008-12-16T18:47:00.000-08:002008-12-16T18:55:16.022-08:00: on a more positive note : bible illuminated :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SUhpBAaEJhI/AAAAAAAAAt4/_nFEzBncCnY/s1600-h/thumb-bibleilluminated.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 338px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SUhpBAaEJhI/AAAAAAAAAt4/_nFEzBncCnY/s400/thumb-bibleilluminated.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280586029102016018" /></a> The American Bible Society has come out with a coffee table Bible ... a sort of hard cover magazine format design. You can have your own 286 page glossy for $35 U$D.<br /><br />The web <a href="http://bibleilluminated.com/about/">page</a> is far better than this graphic. Give it a moment as the main graphic is actually a real page-turner. Really.<br /><br />Interesting. Wonder how it will fly?dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-32189162044627498202008-12-15T18:27:00.000-08:002008-12-15T20:54:39.923-08:00: word for today ? noisome : too good to pass up :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SUcy5R_cNPI/AAAAAAAAAtw/bsvEmpDTISU/s1600-h/noisome.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 144px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SUcy5R_cNPI/AAAAAAAAAtw/bsvEmpDTISU/s400/noisome.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280245047778620658" /></a> <a href="http://www.hyperdictionary.com/about.html">HyperDictionary</a> Definition: noisome <br /><br /> 1. [adj] offensively malodorous; "a putrid smell"<br /> 2. [adj] causing or able to cause nausea; "a nauseating smell"; "nauseous offal"; "a sickening stench"<br /><br />Synonyms: fetid, foetid, foul, foul-smelling, funky, loathsome, malodorous, nauseating, nauseous, offensive, putrid, sickening, smelly, stinking, unwholesome, vile<br /> <br />Webster's 1913 Dictionary<br /> <br />Definition: \Noi"some\, a. [For noysome, fr. noy for annoy. See {Annoy}.]<br />1. Noxious to health; hurtful; mischievous; unwholesome;insalubrious; destructive; as, noisome effluvia. ``Noisome pestilence.'' --Ps. xci. 3.<br /><br />2. Offensive to the smell or other senses; disgusting; fetid.<br /> ``Foul breath is noisome.'' --Shak. -- {Noi"some*ly}, adv.<br /> -- {Noi"some*ness}, n.<br /><br />Syn: Noxious; unwholesome; insalubrious; mischievous; destructive.<br /><br />Usage: {Noisome}, {Noxious}. These words have to a great extent been interchanged; but there is a tendency to make a distinction between them, applying noxious to things that inflict evil directly; as, a noxious plant, noxious practices, etc., and noisome to things that operate with a remoter influence; as, noisome vapors, a noisome pestilence, etc. Noisome has the additional sense of <span style="font-style:italic;">disqusting</span>. A garden may be free from noxious weeds or animals; but, if recently covered with manure, it may be filled with a noisome smell.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"></span>Thesaurus Terms<br /> <br />Related Terms: abhorrent, abominable, arrant, atrocious, awful, bad, bad for, bad-smelling, baleful, baneful, barfy, base, beastly, below contempt, beneath contempt, blameworthy, brackish, brutal, cloying, contaminated, contemptible, corroding, corrosive, corrupting, corruptive, counterproductive, crude, damaging, deadly, deleterious, deplorable, despicable, detestable, detrimental, dire, dirty, disadvantageous, disgusting, disserviceable, distressing, dreadful, egregious, enormous, execrable, fecal, fetid, filthy, flagrant, forbidding, foul, frowsty, frowy, frowzy, fulsome, funky, fusty, gamy, graveolent, grievous, gross, harmful, hateful, heinous, high, horrible, horrid, hurtful, icky, ignoble, ill-smelling, infamous, injurious, insalubrious, insanitary, lamentable, lethal, loathsome, lousy, maggoty, malefic, malevolent, malign, malignant, malodorous, mawkish, mephitic, miasmal, miasmic, mildewed, mildewy, mischievous, moldy, monstrous, morbific, musty, nasty, nauseant, nauseating, nauseous, nefarious, nidorous, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, odious, odorous, offensive, olid, ominous, outrageous, overripe, pathogenic, peccant, pernicious, pestiferous, pitiable, pitiful, poisonous, polluted, prejudicial, putrid, rancid, rank, reasty, reasy, rebarbative, reechy, reeking, reeky, regrettable, repellent, reprehensible, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, rotten, sad, scandalous, scatheful, schlock, scurvy, septic, shabby, shameful, shocking, shoddy, sickening, sickly, smellful, smelling, smelly, sordid, spoiled, squalid, stenchy, stinking, strong, stuffy, sulfurous, tainted, terrible, too bad, toxic, unclean, unhealthful, unhealthy, unhygienic, unsanitary, unwholesome, venenate, veneniferous, venenous, venomous, vicious, vile, villainous, virulent, vomity, weevily, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, yuckydlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-4707271206023776912008-12-08T16:48:00.000-08:002008-12-09T20:30:29.497-08:00: been otherwise distracted :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/ST9E-61LOUI/AAAAAAAAAkc/sf34XPmVPwk/s1600-h/coldremedies.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 118px; height: 90px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/ST9E-61LOUI/AAAAAAAAAkc/sf34XPmVPwk/s400/coldremedies.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278013136036378946" /></a> ... been down for 2.5 weeks now with a lousy, nagging cold/flu virus which seems able to hang on for EVER. Not too much to say ... 'cept that life goes on, governments rise and fall, babies are born and older people die. About two weeks to Christmas 2008, and I've missed much/any preparations.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-91826823896774713792008-11-25T21:32:00.000-08:002008-11-25T21:39:38.447-08:00: 43 + 1 = 44 ... or does it? asks patrick moberg :thought this was great. regardless of politics. the time has come.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSzgKHR1CxI/AAAAAAAAAkU/RerPnGdXWAI/s1600-h/%2344november-4-2008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSzgKHR1CxI/AAAAAAAAAkU/RerPnGdXWAI/s400/%2344november-4-2008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272835728101149458" /></a><br />moberg is an illustrator/animator who ponders governing right <a href="http://www.patrickmoberg.com/animation/governing-people">here</a>.dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-82443317945455821622008-11-21T09:49:00.000-08:002008-11-21T10:04:28.886-08:00: a hand up is very different than a hand out :<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="420" height="365" id="Video23905379382"><param name="movie" value="http://cinema.sevenfund.org/kickapps/flash/premium_drop_v3.swf?b=1&widgetHost=cinema.sevenfund.org&mediaType=VIDEO&mediaId=379382&as=23905" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://cinema.sevenfund.org/kickapps/flash/premium_drop_v3.swf?b=1&widgetHost=cinema.sevenfund.org&mediaType=VIDEO&mediaId=379382&as=23905" quality="best" width="420" height="365" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object> ... a good friend and former co-worker sent me this. They have asked me to be a reference as they head into the application process with <span style="font-style:italic;">freeset</span> ... it is only 3 minutes long, so take a look, and then a second look maybe, watching the faces of the women still on the street, and then in the <a href="http://www.freesetbags.com/">freeset</a> business. That, my friends, just about says it all.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-21158224665892007132008-11-17T10:17:00.000-08:002008-11-17T11:17:47.184-08:00: paradoxes and contradictions on leadership :... not really looking for it, or looking <span style="font-style:italic;">into</span> it recently, but a few things crossed my radar that I found interesting, informing, and funny even. Also watched Obama's first post-election interview on 60 Minutes last night. Relaxed, focused, at ease with Michelle, firm with interviewer's probing questions. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSG-srInj0I/AAAAAAAAAj0/IJFPqvUZbg4/s1600-h/SethGodinsBlog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSG-srInj0I/AAAAAAAAAj0/IJFPqvUZbg4/s200/SethGodinsBlog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269702713702584130" /></a> Mind you, if a contributing editor with Christianity Today's stable of journals refers to the North American church's '<a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/novemberweb-only/146-44.0.html">cult of leadership</a>' you need to pay attention, but on the flip side, a dialed in, savvy guy like Seth Godin's new book <a href="http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/">Tribes</a> is out, along with a Tribes Q&A pdf, claiming people are clamoring for leadership. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSHAsyzc_vI/AAAAAAAAAkE/qs-Rn3SizS0/s1600-h/TribesQ%26Acover.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 175px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSHAsyzc_vI/AAAAAAAAAkE/qs-Rn3SizS0/s200/TribesQ%26Acover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269704914784550642" /></a> <br /><br />Hmmmm ... maybe I'll embellish on those tomorrow, but until then? Here's a leadership smile from Charles Barkley ... retired NBA allstar, media darling ( for his outspokenness ), and future Governor of Alabama? Must be something about governors from states starting with <span style="font-style:italic;">A</span> ... want to get to the front of the pack it seems? Arkansas/Clinton, Alaska/Palin, Alabama/Barkley ... then there's Gov. Ahnold/Schwarzenegger, and Sen. McCain/Arizona.<br /><br />Charles Barkley <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/27/brown.barkley/index.html">interviewed</a> by Campbell Brown on CNN<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSG7AliorDI/AAAAAAAAAjs/PFVGUGT4Gag/s1600-h/barkley.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SSG7AliorDI/AAAAAAAAAjs/PFVGUGT4Gag/s200/barkley.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269698657751968818" /></a> Brown: So are you going to run for governor?<br /><br />Barkley: I plan on it in 2014.<br /><br />Brown: You are serious.<br /><br />Barkley: I am, I can’t screw up Alabama.<br /><br />Brown: There is no place to go but up in your view?<br /><br />Barkley: We are number 48 in everything and Arkansas and Mississippi aren’t going anywhere.<br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Well, Bark is nothing if not a realist.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-6648855883314666522008-11-13T10:52:00.000-08:002008-11-13T11:22:25.166-08:00: the quotable brian burke on evaluation :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRx8LJGD4XI/AAAAAAAAAjc/clkYE1KSKTA/s1600-h/burke-brian-392-cp-071214.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 117px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRx8LJGD4XI/AAAAAAAAAjc/clkYE1KSKTA/s200/burke-brian-392-cp-071214.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268222194978382194" /></a> ... I don't usually <span style="font-style:italic;">resonate</span> with abrasive characters, but with Brian Burke it is different, maybe because he is such a straight shooter you can't help but like him? with Burkie there is no BS, no beating-around-the-bush, no political correctness, just the facts, as he sees them. I find it rather refreshing somehow.<br /><br />So who would have thought that Burke would find his way into a blog post, in a 'blog that at least tries to wrestle with some leadership type things? Here's the quote I am thinking of ... back in 2006, a little over two years ago, he was reflecting on the Pavel Bure trade out of Vancouver. In his own words, he got crucified by Vancouver's fans and media for that, but here's how he looked at it, having attempted to do the right thing, long term, for the franchise's future ...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"people need to evaluate that with a calendar, not a stopwatch"</span><br /><br />In a world where ... corporate or social sector, flourishing economy or tanking, 'Type A' personality or not ... the thrust is often immediate results, efficiency over effectiveness, quantifiable, measurable, justifiable ... right here, right now, or else ... taking a page out of Burke's leadership playbook may just be helpful? Take a step back, breathe, look at the horizon, commit to longer term 'results' or developments. When I think of the readers of this 'blog ... I see ministries and leadership and commitment levels that can only be seen in terms of the calendar ... <span style="font-style:italic;">eternal</span> may not be too strong.<br /><br />Rarely does 'flash-in-the-pan' thinking, or action, or knee-jerk evaluation produce the kind of change really needed. Take a look at the things you have been involved in the last few years ... evaluate them through the lens of a calendar, and see if they don't appear different, deeper, stronger than if you assessed your efforts via a stopwatch. It may be a perspective gaining exercise, and then you can suggest to the stopwatchers in your life what they can do with their ... uh, sorry. Got carried away there.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-87254208148231010002008-11-12T10:18:00.000-08:002008-11-12T10:19:54.907-08:00: this could be very, very cool indeed :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRseMRRc35I/AAAAAAAAAjE/d94NLKNxSm4/s1600-h/iRONMaNiPOD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 167px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRseMRRc35I/AAAAAAAAAjE/d94NLKNxSm4/s400/iRONMaNiPOD.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267837385283788690" /></a>dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-49424633999660809522008-11-11T12:59:00.000-08:002008-11-11T13:05:17.005-08:00: that albert einstein? he was a pretty smart guy :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRnyf2BgaCI/AAAAAAAAAi0/tdxgjbrCCbk/s1600-h/compasseinstein.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SRnyf2BgaCI/AAAAAAAAAi0/tdxgjbrCCbk/s400/compasseinstein.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267507868078204962" /></a>loved this when i ran across it the other day, says so many things well<br /><br />dlc<br /><br />ps. this one is for 2-3 of L2L's readers ... you know who you are :)dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-30645518172283958842008-11-01T06:57:00.001-07:002008-11-01T07:02:00.618-07:00: we may have front row seats to history making :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQxhTcPOkpI/AAAAAAAAAik/NRQUonyHLUE/s1600-h/ObamaHistoryHdrTight.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 73px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQxhTcPOkpI/AAAAAAAAAik/NRQUonyHLUE/s400/ObamaHistoryHdrTight.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263689051114738322" /></a>dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-22068091864194655142008-10-31T22:48:00.001-07:002008-10-31T22:50:02.938-07:00: reality check ... i work eight minutes from this :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQvt5Cj8vFI/AAAAAAAAAiU/DvZqedN0__c/s1600-h/BrentwoodBayHarbour.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 162px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQvt5Cj8vFI/AAAAAAAAAiU/DvZqedN0__c/s400/BrentwoodBayHarbour.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263562153708534866" /></a>dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-38258747324014617642008-10-29T10:30:00.000-07:002008-10-29T10:58:32.780-07:00: rob bell's new book :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQiicRQPR8I/AAAAAAAAAhE/9pENA4Vwwck/s1600-h/RBellJCSaveChristians.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 177px; height: 236px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SQiicRQPR8I/AAAAAAAAAhE/9pENA4Vwwck/s320/RBellJCSaveChristians.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262634771133974466" /></a> ... just cracking Rob Bell's newest book, co-written with Don Golden, the guy who was lead pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church, which Bell helped start a few years back. Apparently Don left MHBC this summer to take up a key role with World Relief USA that lines up with his passion to <span style="font-style:italic;">help churches help the poor and oppressed</span>. You can see his bio <a href="https://community.wr.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1145&srcid=1145">here</a>, but you'll need to scroll down the page.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jesus Wants to Save Christians</span> : a manifesto for the church in exile :<br /><br />Anywhooo ... sure looks interesting. And the timing, with the US presidential election in less than a week, is sure to jumpstart some serious conversations among(st) evangelicals. I'll report back in as soon as I can, but it may be worth picking up, for a mere $14 Cdn. By the looks of it they are articulating some questions many people have begun asking ... I'll paste in a little from the book cover below, see what you think? But here's a teaser ...<br /><br />" ... forces are now occupying a Middle Eastern country until peace can be fully realized within its borders. This puts a Christian in an awkward place. Because Jesus was a Middle Eastern man who lived in an occupied country and was killed by the superpower of his day" ...<br /><br />dlc<br /><br />***<br /><br />" ... there is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty.<br /><br />This is a book about those two numbers ... it's a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity.<br /><br />It's about empty empires and the truth that everybody's a priest, it's about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.<br /><br />It's about what it means to be a part of the church of Jesus in a world where some people fly planes into buildings while others pick up groceries in Hummers.”dlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-7737592993081325482008-10-20T10:26:00.000-07:002008-10-20T10:38:23.850-07:00: short week update : october 20 - 27 :<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPzB0aQnGMI/AAAAAAAAAgo/Ax8dmnBi3GU/s1600-h/pileofbooks.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPzB0aQnGMI/AAAAAAAAAgo/Ax8dmnBi3GU/s320/pileofbooks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259291571008248002" /></a> ... hey, just a quick update. A two day work week pour moi, today and tomorrow. Packing quite a bit in ... from prepping for SBF's AGM, to getting snow tires on rims to take to Fraser in Kelowna. Yes, the Okanagan. Colin, Karen and I head outta here first thing Wednesday for a"BC Interior" jaunt. When we wrapped things up @ LPC earlier this year a friend ( and, conveniently, board member of a pastoral retreat place north of Kelowna ) gave us a few days away up there. So we're taking advantage of that this week. Colin is joining us for the trip, but landing at his Uncle and Aunt's place in Kelowna, hanging with his bro Fraser, and his cousin Nate. Wonder if they'll hit Big White? Karen and I will head up near Vernon for Thu-Sat, then back down to spend some time with her bro Wayne, and his family. Then Monday am back down the Coquihalla ( no tolls! ) and for Langley for lunch with Megg. Should be good ... some readin' ... some relaxin' ... some evaluatin' ... not sure if there'll be much in the way of internet access there, so see you next week for sure.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-85029896684655480352008-10-15T09:48:00.000-07:002008-10-15T10:13:51.044-07:00: and the ( canadian ) elections results, please :... okay, so we have a 'strengthened' minority government this morning. Lots of commentary about an unnecessary $300 million election, but I am wondering about the various subplots just underneath the surface of the more obvious results. <br /><br />Here's a few that came to mind this morning after reading some papers and websites. Maybe trying to get 10 will be stretching it ... but I'll start and see where we get to ... in no particular order :<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPYkWDGHI9I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/yS112sjHX7A/s1600-h/LettermanTop10.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPYkWDGHI9I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/yS112sjHX7A/s200/LettermanTop10.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257429576208294866" /></a>i) Dion's leadership ... everyone says he is toast. Is he? should he be? will he be?<br />ii) parliamentary workings ... or machinations. Can "sweater Steve" co-collaborate?<br />iii) re-distribution of seats ... what does CPC's showing in key urban centres mean?<br />iv) the Bloc ... there's gotta be a better raison d'etre than "we bloc'd his majority"<br />v) the economy ... sad, odd and weird even to see Dion admit "it's the economy" stupid<br />vi) the greens ... on several levels, I missed something. Coulda, shoulda, woulda?<br />vii) which national party ... can the Tories be that? have the Libs lost that? or what?<br />viii) the glass ceiling ... not Layton, Broadbent, whomever, can break through ??? %<br />ix) power ... why do people want this kind of power? Iggy? Bob Rae!?! they're sharks.<br />x) democracy ... why Canadians so cynical about it? what can we do ( about turnout )?<br /><br />Well, now that I hit 10 without really having to wrack my brains, I could go on, but won't. Maybe the subplots this morning are like the <span style="font-style:italic;">back</span> of the tapestry ... all knots and loose ends, but when you are able to look at the actual wall hanging, you see something? But on south Vancouver Island alone, two ridings bucked conventional wisdom, and I wonder what that says?<br /><br />dlc<br /><br />BA, Political Science 1982<br />University of Western Ontariodlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761729483467052596.post-65101583971649644942008-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:002008-10-14T17:32:39.515-07:00: one down, two to go ... but i'm tired of it all :... today is the Canadian federal election, and I am glad it was 'time-limited' as opposed to the US election industry. I am glad we are now one down, only two to go ( for BC residents the municipal elections are sometime this fall, November 14 I think? ). I do wonder what it would look like if an above-board, non-mudslinging campaign was to happen? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPT50kc0z6I/AAAAAAAAAfw/2NpgJHUg22w/s1600-h/andymartin.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPT50kc0z6I/AAAAAAAAAfw/2NpgJHUg22w/s200/andymartin.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257101346581303202" /></a> After lurking around for years, and more recently putting some oomph behind the Obama-as-a-???? whisper campaign, this guy has either come out, or been outed, as the source of persistent rumours about Obama's past, present and future. Here's an interesting little tidbit of info ... the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/us/politics/13martin.html?em">reports</a> that Andy Martin's admission to the Illinois bar was blocked in the 1970s after a psychiatric finding of “moderately severe character defect manifested by well-documented ideation with a paranoid flavor and a grandiose character.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPU5lEwgIpI/AAAAAAAAAf4/NvLIc4R4IDY/s1600-h/attackdogs.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzIHBTTNkg8/SPU5lEwgIpI/AAAAAAAAAf4/NvLIc4R4IDY/s200/attackdogs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257171449120039570" /></a>Yikes! So, politics ... if you ask me, even more troubling than making strange bedfellows, makes the ends trump the means? One case in point? is Sarah Palin's campaign <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/us/politics/14palin.html?nl=pol&emc=pola1">style</a> really what the right wants to project? period? never mind a woman with power, or a conservative christian, or a hockey mom. I guess if the lead dog has to hire an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/opinion/12rich.html?em">attack</a> dog, then Palin and Biden have to 'play' those roles. <br /><br />But I don't ( have to ) like it.<br /><br />dlcdlchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05350659949597331494noreply@blogger.com0