6.18.2007

karl.

I've posted video projects I have worked on in the past few years, and tonight added what was probably my favorite. For a digital media project during my senior year at UR, I pulled together footage for this project. The basis was footage from a CBS correspondent embedded with Karl's unit in Iraq. When Karl was killed, he was there for the memorial service. Karl was a good friend, and a great guy. And according to his father, he loved the work he was doing for our country.


It's here

6.07.2007

Looking back.

I just stumbled across my original blog. Apparently there is no easy way to move posts from an old blog to a new one, but I have moved them over one by one. And they're here, but burried deep within. Look for 11 posts from February - August 2005, or the "original blog" tag.


It's intriguing being able to look back, and exciting to see things that have changed. For one, I mentioned Jerry Falwell numerous times -- and now he's no longer with us. I'll try to revisit some of those old posts from time to time.

6.01.2007

strange.

It is not very often that I preach at church. Generally, the pastor is there on Sundays. If he's not, either I will fill in, or we'll call one of our friends to come preach. In just under 2 years, I've preached 4 times, this coming Sunday being #4.


Last April, I preached on Youth Sunday. Sometime in the week just before that Sunday, a member of our church passed away. This is not a huge surprise, as many in our congregation are past retirement and are nearer to the end of life. In August, the pastor and his family were on vacation before their oldest son started college. Just days before he left, as I was preparing to preach on Sunday, another member of our church passed away. Twice seemed a bit strange.


Last weekend, the pastor and his wife left for a week vacation to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. I preached last Sunday, and am getting ready to preach again this Sunday. This morning, I found out another member of our congregation passed away.


After Sunday, I doubt they will ever want me to preach again. I'm not superstitious, but this is just strange.

5.22.2007

Campolo.

We spent a good three days with Tony Campolo in town last week. He had a lot of great ideas to share, and was incredibly down to earth. The first night he spoke on Becoming Red-Letter Christians. He gave a similar talk at the Youth Specialties' conference in the fall, but added a bit of Baptist jargon to this one. Second night he spoke on consumerism in America and its relation to true Christianity. I was on the worship team that led music for that worship service, and I had a chance to talk to Tony afterwards. The third day he spoke on the God of Love, as opposed to a god of power. Plenty to think about after the conference.


Later in the week I picked up a copy of his new book, Everybody Wants to CHANGE THE WORLD: Practical Ideas for Social Justice. This is a great collection of ideas and places for individuals and groups to get involved in changing our world. I can't wait to have an opportunity to put some of these ideas into action with the students. A good, quick read and an inspiration!