Do you MySpace? Well, if you do, then you know at least two things. The first being that it is a time suck. You can be on there for 6 hours and not realize it. I’m surprised there haven’t been more news reports about teenagers who have forgotten to take their insulin because they were busy changing their Top 8. It is that bad.

As a MySpacer, you should also know that recently Tom’s servers licked the virtual lollipop of power and the site got kicked to the curb for a few days leaving teens everywhere without a way to communicate. This really didn’t surprise me though. Some profiles crash my browser because of all the junk on their site. I like MySpace because I can communicate with my teens quickly and easily but I have the distinct feeling that it is dumbing down the internet. It didn’t need the help Tom.

Speaking of dumb, did you hear about the new newest power couple to recieve a “Special Edition iPod.” Hold on to your seats folks.

Brangelina.

Yep that’s right. The pictures of this black and white music device have been spotty at best but we do know that advertisments for this bad idea will air during this year’s World Series in Kansas City. Apple approached Boutros Boutros-Ghali to appear in the ads but the former head of the UN declined the offer saying he doesn’t enjoy “froliking with technology.” Instead, Apple has decided to clip together scenes from Brad and Angelina’s movies in a fasion similar to Forrest Gump.

“The commercial will take place in Texas and is going to be a real blast. The story revolves around a smokey dive somewhere in the Texas desert. Angelina will walk in to a bar singing the wildly inappropriate Honky Tonk Badonkadonk and will interupt a fight between Brad and Ed (Norton, Pitts’ costar in the movie “Fight Club”). We hope to change the way people do advertising,” said Pitts’ spokesperson. Jolie’s rep could not be reached for details on the project.

While speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Searcy, AR fellow humanitarian Bono took a hard line when questioned about the new iPod. When one young man asked if he was afraid that the new Brangelina iPod would out sell the wildly popular U2 iPod the singer’s Irish temper showed through.

“You take this message back to your precious Brangelina: Bring it On!!!” he retorted. “There is no love loss, no camaraderie when it comes to this kind of thing. They can put their mugshot on every issue of US Weekly and Star Magazine but multi-colored digital music players are my realm.” With that, Bono refused to answer anymore questions.

Barring any unforseen complications, look for these new music players in stores around this holiday season.

Incredible.

link

I get back from Missouri on Sunday. That leaves us with only 2 weeks before the end of summer. The time has zoomed by so quickly that I can’t believe that my first summer in almost over. As I look back over the last few months I have been amazed at how privileged I am. My friends like to razz me by saying that I don’t work everyday (Just Sunday and Wednesday) and that don’t work very hard. It is incredibly hard to explain to your friend why you missed their call when you were out on the river with your teens in the middle of a workday.

Such is the life of a youth minister during the summer.

Speaking of, while interning at some of the greatest churches in America (I’m bias) I got a great education on leading and planning a youth ministry during the summer but in August I left and went back to school.

I know how to get ready for May. It’s September-December that I’m focused on (sweating) right now.

Summer = a beast
Fall = ?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Youth Ministry programs need to include a Fall/Spring internship as well as a Summer one.

Summer internships include:
Travel, late nights, pool parties, pizza, ministry of prescence, relationship building, road trips

Fall internships could be filled with:
Stuffing envelopes, curriculum development, laminating, working with an administrative assistant, Church Sign 101, emptying the trash, filling in on Sunday morning, cleaning the auditoium/classroom, apologizing to the old people for something the teens did or didn’t do, and what to do with your time now that the kids are gone

Summer internships = life changing and fun

Fall internships = a different kind of grown up fun

The Sun Must BE Stopped!!!

The temp has cooled a little this week so I’m sorry that I am leaving town and won’t get to enjoy it for much longer.

I leave this morning with 7 teenagers for our mission trip to Brookline Station, MO. I will be out of pocket until then but I wanted to wish everyone a great week. Please, we covet your prayers during our trip. This will be the first mission trip that many of these kids will have been on. I am excited to see what God has in store for us.

I have a few posts lined up and in the que for the week. I also updated the On My Desk section with the books that I am currently digging into and I updated the On My iPod section so you can check out what I’ll be listening to on the trip. American V is tragically beautiful where as Corinne Bailey Rae is just plain beautiful. Great stuff!

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week. Peace and love.

LUBBOCK, Texas, July 24 (UPI) — Public officials in Lubbock, Texas, are organizing a day to pray for rain.

“Nobody is going to tell God what to do and what not to do, but we are in a serious drought in West Texas and since he is the man who controls the rain clouds, we’re asking him for his mercy and his help,” Mayor David Miller told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast for rain this Sunday.

So far this year, Lubbock has received about half of its normal 10 inches. In the weeks since June 1, the growing season for cotton, rainfall has been a scant .75 inches, far less than the normal 4.43 inches.

Officials have tried prayers before and say they were answered. In January 2004, after a year of drought, the city and county set aside a Sunday to pray for rain and got the second-wettest year since records have been kept.

After being gone for so long, I had forgotten just how hot it is in Texas. I’m in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and I haven’t seen rain since we arrived (I heard that it rained on the 4th of July but I didn’t see it). Thankfully, my city isn’t under a water restriction but my parent’s is. I cannot imagine what it is like in west Texas.

I am going to join the city of Lubbock in prayer for their city. I hope you will too.

via

I noticed that Metallica has been added.

I hadn’t heard anything about these long-term digital music hold outs joining the masses so I can only assume that this quiet, unassuming addition has to do with the band still paying for that terrible lawsuit-against-their-fans a few years back.

I just have a question. I have enjoyed Metallica over the years. I even enjoyed the doc “Some Kind of Monster.” which made me revisit their last album St. Anger. And they are even slated to appear on the season preimeire of the Simpsons this fall. But I beg the question…

Is (Can) Metallica still be relevant?

Update
iLounge just posted about the Metallica add. Here is what they had to say:

Long-time digital music holdouts Metallica are now selling their entire back catalog on the iTunes Music Store. Apple is currently offering 10 albums, from the band’s debut “Kill ‘Em All” to 2004’s “Some Kind of Monster” EP. Previously unreleased live tracks have also been added to each of the first four albums as iTunes bonuses.

“Over the last year or so, we have seen an ever-growing number of Metallica fans using online sites like iTunes to get their music,” the band says on their official website. “So, in continuing with the tradition of offering our albums for sale online (which we’ve been doing for a few years through various sites), as well as making our live concerts available for download in their entirety (through the livemetallica.com site), we are now offering fans the opportunity to obtain our songs individually.”

Let me interpret Metallica’s press release for you: Nobody is buying our stuff at these other sites because nobody uses these other sites. Please buy our stuff. We’re sorry that Lars is an idiot. Please fans, come back to us. Please!!!! We’re still relevant. Aren’t we?

I am so stoked about being a part of a group reading The New Testament and the People of God by NT Wright. The group was started by Justin over at Radical Congruency and right now there are 16 people in our group.

When I look back over my short life I see that I have been shaped by a number of conversations big and small and I am hoping that this conversation will be added to that list.

We will be discussing the book over at Urban Monastery and I am planning to discuss it here as well. Please be praying for us that this time will be beneficial. I’m am so excited.

As Iron Sharpens Iron.

Here is the second playlist that is driving my quest to become a real live runner.

Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve
Crazy in Love by Beyonce
I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Electrical Storm by U2
C’mon C’mon The Von Bondies
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here by Weezer
Fighter by Christina Aguilera
Working Man by RUSH
Walk On (UK Single) by U2
You Are My Joy by David Crowder*Band
Breathless by The Corrs
Save Me by Remy Zero
Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson
Like a Stone by Audioslave
Baba O’Reily by The Who
Let It Rain by Eric Clapton
Time of Your Song by Matisyahu
Don’t Look Back In Anger by Oasis

Workout Mix 2

On Scott’s request I am posting my workout playlist for all of you would be runners. The mix starts off pretty hard and heavy but the payoff is in the cool down. The songs were chosen for tempo and/or motivational lyrics. It’s a little too hip-hop heavy for everyday listening (Note: not kid friendly) but it has gotten the job done thus far.

Jesus Walks by Kanye West
Ain’t No Other Man by Christina Aguilera
Touch the Sky by Kanye West
Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams
Dirt off Your Shoulders by Jay-Z
Lose Yorself Emeniem
What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani
Where the Streets Have No Name by U2
King Without a Crown by Matisyahu
Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson
Yellow by Coldplay
Beautiful Day by U2
I Don’t Want To Be by Gavin DeGraw
Good is Good by Sheryl Crow
With or Without You by U2
Broken by Jack Johnson

iTunes users can see my Workout Mix here.

This is the first mix I threw together. I’ll post #2 in the coming days. Enjoy.

Feet fail me not… Today marked my first day of official training.

I still haven’t decided if I’ll run the half marathon (13.1 miles) or the 10K (6 or so miles) but to be honest, right now that doesn’t matter. I just need to get started.

Any Guy Nicknamed the Penguin Is Alright By Me
Over the weekend I immersed myself in all things running. When I initially got this wild hair to begin running I hopped online to find someone I could relate to who could help me take the first step to get off the couch and run. I found John “The Penguin” Bingham.

John writes a column for Runner’s World entitled No Need For Speed. Ahhh… just what I was looking for. When John decided to begin running he was in his 40s, 80 pounds overweight, drank more than he should, and smoked. Bingo!!! I’m in my 20s, not quite 80 pounds overweight, I don’t drink, and I don’t smoke. Suddenly my laziness and my XBox360 seemed like puny obstacles. “The Penguin” philosophy of running is to just get out there and do it. Run, walk, or waddle: It doesn’t matter as long as you keep moving forward. Boom! I’m all over it.

I headed to the local bookstore for some motivational/training materials and settled on Bingham’s No Need for Speed: A Beginner’s Guide to the Joy of Running. After reading the tips on starting right I realized that I needed a good pair of running shoes. I was off to the shoe store.

Digital Trainer
In one of my recent posts I revealed that I was mesmerized by the new partnership between Nike and Apple. Their new product, Nike+iPod, is aimed directly at the athletic world. A tiny sensor is placed in the left shoe and wirelessly communicates with a small receiver attached to your iPod nano. The sensor tracks your time, mileage, and calories and a coaching voice alerts you to the different waypoints in your workout. Pure genius and I bought in hook, line, and sinker. For a complete guide to the Nike+iPod system check out this review at iLounge.com.

Since I was purchasing new shoes anyway I decided on a pair of Nike+ Shox Turbo. They were not anymore expensive than the other shoes I tried and they felt great. I then purchased a Nike+iPod kit for $30 at my local Apple store along with an armband for my nano.

With my running schedule in hand and my digital coach in my ear I took off for my inaugural “wog” (walk/jog) Sunday afternoon. When I walked a half mile, the sensor said that I had indeed traveled a half mile. The female voice was pleasant and encouraging as she relayed to me how fast I was traveling and how much time had elapsed in my workout. Since it is July in Texas it was slightly warmer than the surface of the sun so I decided to call it quits after a mile and a half. I returned home to synch my workout to nikeplus.com homepage.

Everything worked together seamlessly and really motivated me to set a few goals and gear up for my biggest challenge yet.

Getting Off The Couch
As the Texas sun was setting this evening I took my place at the starting line of the track. There were a billion reasons for me not to workout today with 999,999,999 of them being degrees heat but I got out there anyway. I set my workout for a 30 minute wog and set off down the track. I chose a great playlist and I stashed a bottle of Gatorade where I could easily grab it as I went by. After five minutes my coach, I’ve named her Brianne, alerted me that I had passed the five minute mark and that I had 25 minutes to go. At 15 minutes, Brianne told me that I had reached the halfway point. When I had five minutes left on my workout I was alerted every minute until I had reached my completed time of 30 minutes. It had started to cool down so I continued for another 10 minutes and finished my workout with a slight jog across the finish line. When I ended my workout Brianne had a surprise for me. Lance Armstong himself congratulated me for completing my longest workout yet.

So, I got up off the couch, worked up a good sweat, felt good about what I had accomplished and was even congratulated by a real athelete. Yep, I was feeling pretty good indeed.

The Road Ahead
Well I’ve completed about 4.5 miles in my quest to become a runner. Day 1 is in the bag. Tomorrow, it’s day 2.

I want to run a half marathon.

I don’t want to do a little 5K and I don’t want to attempt the impossibe with a full 26.2 marathon so it looks like the half marathon it is.

23 Weeks to prepare.

Can I do it?

Uplift Thanks
Our trip to Uplift ended up being very, very positive. Since 1993, I have probably only missed 2 or 3 summers at Uplift. From camper to intern to counselor to dorm guy to now leading my own group I have found that this camp is perfect for groups large and small. Having only been at my church for a month this marked our first big trip together as the youth group. I chose Uplift because I knew that everything would be taken care of before we arrived and that would allow me more time with my students. Andrew Baker, Brandon Tiddle, and the rest of the gang that puts Uplift together did an excellent job of creating and leading a memorable experience for my students. Thank you Uplift.

Uplift Class
When I first started attending Uplift as a camper the classes taught by the youth ministers where always the most random assortment of classes ever produced: No theme and sometimes very little thought (depending on the YM). When Andrew became the director though, the theme of the camp began to bleed over into the classes. This year they took it a step further and had a handful of youth ministers write the curriculum for every class. Basically, the classes would have continuity with the theme and all three sessions of camp. The theme this year was ER: Eternal Relationships and I was asked to teach the class titled Neurology. I was pretty excited when I received the curriculum because it called for me to perform brain surgery!!! Ok, not really but it had a drama skit where I would place the mind of Christ in a student and talk about how the mind of Christ differs from our way of thinking. I was told that everything I would need would be provided for me: Scrubs, set pieces, brains, instruments. However, when I arrived in my classroom only half of what was supposed to be there was actually there and half of that was messed up or unusable. My class at Uplift looked like it would quickly turn to disaster.

Praise be to God that He didn’t let that happen. In under an hour, I was able to scrap the old class and create a brand new one. While I was trying to figure out what to do, God gave me the answer to my predicament. Instead of teaching a class that was over the top and full of grey matter I decided to just be honest about my life and hang out with these kids and share a message of forgiveness and transformation. I spent the whole week telling students about how it seemed that I had everything together in High School. I was a leader, well liked, and on my way to college as a youth minister. However, I was a complete jerk to those around me because of my anger and selfishness. My relationships were breaking apart because of this sin.

Anger isn’t a very sexy sin. You don’t hear about it from the pulpit so you would think that it isn’t really that big of deal. But it is. God used my class this week to touch a couple of students and families. I felt humbled and inadequate every time a sponsor or student came to me afterward to thank me. Their stories of how anger was affecting them or a loved one drove home that fact that we need to talk a little more about these “second tier” sins. Youth ministers, before you write another class about sex, gossip, or alcohol think about addressing stress or anger or disrespect.

Will I Ever Eat a Fast Food Hamburger Again?
After reading the slaughterhouse chapter of Fast Food Nation I’m not so sure anymore. Darn you social conscience! This question didn’t arise because of the cattle, it has come because of the conditions in which human beings have to work in and around in these modern day death traps. I thought The Jungle took care of all that but I guess not. It is appalling the dangers and conditions in these slaughterhouses. I feel a personal boycott coming on.

Nike+iPod
This fat sack of crap is completely mesmerized by this new product. What is Nike+iPod? It’s a wireless sensor that you place in your shoe that communicates to your iPod nano in order to track your workout which you synch to your computer and share with a community of other users. It also will coach and motivate you as you run! Genius! Synergy! Genisergy!

From iLounge:

During CNBC’s “On The Money” this evening, sports reporter Darren Rovell provided the first look at the new Nike+iPod Sports Kit, saying he was “very impressed with it” and that it “could change the running world.” Following a first-hand test of the kit, Rovell proclaimed that it could “kill treadmills and membership at gyms” and “really change the way people run and how people think about running.” According to Rovell, the iPod nano was chosen for Nike+iPod support because the majority of nano owners use it to work out, with Apple’s Greg Joswiak noting that the nano is the most popular iPod model. A Nike exec added that the kit will work with 4 million shoes by the end of the year. Also during the CNBC segment, it was revealed that Apple and Nike plan to spend “no money” on advertising the kit and will “rely solely on buzz.” Besides launches at Nike and Apple Stores tomorrow, the only additional marketing planned for the device is its use by Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong in his preparation for the upcoming New York City Marathon.

iTunes has already added coaching/music mixes on their site to use with this new system. I am intrigued.

Nike+iPod Update

Mussolini Must Need a Sweater
I cried during an Adam Sandler movie. Click has been my favorite movie this summer. As great as mutants, pirates, cars, and men in blue tights are they are no match for the reminder that family, relationships, and the small stuff are the true essence of living.

Whew, I think I’m caught up on my posting now. Have a great day everyone!

1) A pic of me at Mecca; 2) Everyone’s favorite Office weirdo; 3) Habatchi goodness
1) That NY apartment that exploded on Monday; 2) Getting pumped up for the wedding
1) My dad’s first visit to Times Square; 2) a cell tower in NY

Hello from New York City!!!

The wedding went off with a hitch (haha) and we are now in NYC until Tuesday. While my wife and have been a few times this is my parent’s very first trip to the Big Apple.

We have had a blast in the city today. Our hotel is directly across from Shea Stadium in Queens so we had a nice long subway ride into Manhattan on the 7 train. We took it all the way to Times Square and I wish you could have seen the look on my parent’s faces as we came up out of the subway and into the street. They were wide-eyed and grinning from ear to ear. We spent much of the afternoon walking up and down Broadway and in and aound Times Square.

I got a chance to take everyone to John’s Pizzarea on 44th. It is this great little pizza place that was built inside of an old church. They have 4 brick ovens and make the (in my opinion) best pizza in town.

There was some sort of street bazaar going on down 6th street. The sights and the smells of all the food vendors was so cool. I especially got a kick out of a group of Italian soccer fans yelling and screaming at the French Creeps booth. Good stuff!

We walked through the bazaar until we reached Radio City and then we turned back and headed home to the hotel.

Tomorrow we are going to 30 Rock, Battery Park, WTC, Central Park, 5th Ave. and the Empire State Building. It should be very good.

Oh yeah, I ran into Danny Glover and his little granson as they were coming out of a grocery store. We walked with them until they stopped off at McDonald’s for lunch. I love this town!!!