Congratulations you clicked on Archives.

mmmmm…wine

I am part of google’s adsense program. For it ads are placed along side of my blog. When people click on them, I earn a small amount of money. I never expected to actually make any sizable amount of money off this (and still haven’t), but it’s free and fairly unobtrusive, so all in all, it’s ok.

This post isn’t about adsense. But about an ad. I hardly ever look at the ads but one today caught my eye.

It was for this company.

I like beer and I’ve always wanted to make my own. And I like wine, so why wouldn’t I like to try and make my own wine…in a legitimate way, not just leaving orange juice to ferment (accidentally did that once in college).

So are there 24 people out there with 200 extra bucks lying around that want to go in on a case (25 bottles) each of a wine of our own design???? Might be kinda cool.

Just thinking out loud. If I ever have an extra 5K lying around I’m so doing this.

pester

I’ll preface this post with the fact, that since I am posting this, I probably will make the situation worse.

< rant >

I have a counter on my blog (look down and to the left) this little gizmo allows me to see the ip address and referring url (if there is one) of people who visit my blog. Most times it’s just friends, some times I can tell if people do google searches for things like Doogie Howser related things, the strangest one I think was Mr. T + sexy underwear. But more and more lately I’ve been seeing google searches for “Andrew Seely”. At first I was somewhat flattered. Then I started to realize that I’m not actually that popular and that people aren’t trying to track me down, because I have interesting things to say or that I’d be lucky enough to have stalkers.

In all reality people were looking for this guy.

So apparently there’s this thing called High School Musical. (here’s where I’m making it worse, in mentioning the above named movie and my name in the same post) You see in High School Musical, which is a product of the Disney Channel and is aimed at children, pre-teens, tweens and maybe even freshmen high school girls. (and I know some of my middle school students have seen this show) Well it seems that Mr. Andrew Seeley happens to have wrote a couple of songs in it and I guess actually sings in it, and it seems popular enough that you can download it from iTunes (both video and audio).

This whole fiasco has let to numerous random IMs from people I don’t know, presumably young girls who are looking for some guy they think is hot. Sorry ladies, wrong guy. I work in ministry and talking to underage girls out of state is bad enough, but since I work at at church it only makes things worse.

It even went as far as getting a phone call (voice message) from someone who thought I was the other Andrew. That’s what I get for putting my phone number on the internet. Thanks Tom Green for the idea (in case you’re wondering Tom Green’s number is 310-717-1919) (I don’t know if he changed it,and I never called it, but if you do, let me know).

So please if you happened to googled “Andrew Seely” and are looking for a movie star: I AM NOT HIM!!!!

Maybe I should start a forum topic on imdb linking this post. And if anyone actually has a way to contact Andrew Seeley please let me know so I can tell him to start his own blog so people go there instead of here.

If you are interested in church, God, the emerging church, culture, christianity, music, books, movies, and/or silliness then this is the place to be. Keep reading and we all love comments.

< /rant >

is not from

sunrise/sunset

I’m really in love with the art of movies. I watch a lot of them, I talk about them, and if someone asked me to be in one, I’d probably do it in the drop of a hat (so if you read this and want to cast me in a movie, my email is on the left).

A few weeks ago I was on imdb.com and saw a link to this article. It immediately sparked my attention. I had seen many of the films on the list but for some reason I was automatically drawn to the movie Before Sunset.

Not having seen either Before Sunrise or the sequel (which was suppositively better according to the above mentioned article) Before Sunset, I trotted over to the local Blockbuster and picked me up the two movies (thank you Blockbuster Rewards).

First off, the sequel was definitely better than the original. That is to say, do not discount the original as a bad film, and definitely see the original before you watch the sequel.

First off let me caution you that these are not fast moving movies, and they are a bit “art-house”.

But if you have a bit of time on your hands and enjoy storytelling and character development then these movies are a must.

The story revolves around Jessie (Ethan Hawk) and Celine (Julie Delpy) who meet on a train and end up spending an entire evening together in Venice Italy. The movie ends with them saying goodbye and vowing to meet six months later at the exact same spot. The sequel picks up 9 years later in Paris where the two meet again and spend an afternoon catching up and evaluating whether or not there is still chemistry between the two.

Like I said before these movies are character pieces that revolve around a relationship. Mostly shot in real-time and most of the pacing comes from conversation which at times can be a little slow and awkward but ultimately adds to the movie’s appeal and charm.

It is very interesting to watch a relationship unfold in a very fluid and natural way, and then in the sequel to watch people reunited and the underlying questions that surround their “relationship” nine years later.

While the scenarios may be a bit far fetched and the emotions a little over dramatic both these movies both appeal to the hopeless romantic in me yet offer a some-what realistic look at a developing relationship.

The real-time feel to the movie allows it to move past the “hollywood romance” that relies on editing and music to set the tone of a relationship. We get to be an outside observer of two people connecting on a deep emotional level. There is not much to hide, there are unanswered questions, and a sense that these two characters are genuinely trying to figure things out in a real-world setting.

With Before Sunrise at 107 min and Before Sunset at 77 min they both can easily be watched in one sitting. With a small intermission between.

If you haven’t seen these movies I suggest giving them a try.

Let me know what you think.

1 million dollars

(to be said like Dr. Evil)

If you don’t feel like reading the whole post, at least skip down to where I talk about starting a non-profit organization.

It was reported today that Los Angeles has the most millionaires in the country.

See story here or here.

I think this has profound effects on the life of ministry and the purpose of the church (in LA).

At this point in my life I am pretty committed to living in LA for a while and subsequently that means that I will do ministry within this setting.

Doing ministry in LA is hard. The fragmented culture, the drive for success and money, not to mention the vast amount of land that LA county covers. If you look at the google map for the city (linked above as Los Angeles) or this map (which shows the boundaries of counties), I just like Google since you can zoom and play around with the map, you can see it covers quite a LARGE geographical area and has upwards of 10 million people in it.

Let’s do some simple math. If there are 262,800 millionaires divided by the 10 million people that live in LA that leaves us with 2.628% of the people in LA being millionaires.

Granted many of the people work in the entertainment industry, that still leaves room for the successful business people, the people who win the lotto and people who inherit a lot of money. Which means there’s a good chance you know a millionaire or that one goes to the church you attend.

How does all this relate to church life you ask?

Well maybe it doesn’t. And maybe it does.

When we think about these statistics, it gives me hope and yet it brings despair.

It brings me hope, that people have much to give, and we even as a city could solve many problems in the world in the name of Christ. There should be no need to have people going hungry on our streets or in any other nation. We should be able to provide health care and housing for everyone. We should be able to fund micro-loans to people in 3rd world nations. The potential for good is endless.

It brings much despair, because the roots of greed have entangled the hearts of those who have much. And the message of Christ is suffering in our city.

Even if every millionaire in the county had only a million dollars, and we took 1% of each persons money then we would have a sum of 2 billion 628 million dollars.

Wow. Imagine the use of TWO AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS towards helping people.

That’s only if the millionaires had one million each. Let’s just say each millionaire had 2 million each (still far below what I assume is the actual total worth of all the millionaires in LA), at 1% of their total worth, we would have FIVE BILLION 256 MILLION DOLLARS.

I’ll stop there, I think I might break my calculator if I go any further.

I think you begin to see my point.

The question remains. How do we reach this part of the world for Christ?

How does the local church untie not only the believers in LA but every man, woman and child to help solve the problems of the world.

Are we THAT egocentric that we don’t think we can make a difference?

I have to stop and question us as Christians. Are we setting the example? Are we leading the charge in the fight against hunger? The fight for shelter? The fight for health care for all? The fight to liberate those oppressed around the world?

The time has come for churches in LA to start REALLY doing something. I know this statement will chaff some people the wrong way. But like I’ve said before, I make blanket statements, because sometimes it’s the easiest way to communicate.

I think that if we as churches really are committed to living a Christ centered way then there shouldn’t be poverty in LA. There shouldn’t be families who can’t eat. There shouldn’t be people who put off life saving surgeries and pre-natal care and regular check-ups because they can’t afford them.

We have the resources. That is clearly evident. Do we have the desire to see this become a reality?

Are we living our lives in such a way that shows that we are fully committed to the mandate to take care of the poor and widows and those who cannot fend for themselves?

Are we???

I can’t answer for you.

I want the local church to take responsibility for it’s neighborhood. Just the 10 blocks surrounding your church. Nothing more. No need to go to the slums or the other part of town. 10 blocks. Every person, every house, every apartment, every store. The people who live and work in a 10 block radius. That should keep you plenty busy.

Get to know these people. Build relationships. No need to “evangelize” them. Just know them and love them. If they need diapers, buy them diapers. If they need repairs to their car, partner with a local mechanic and find ways to get them a discount, or have the church pay for the repairs. If they need food, I’m sure there’s a grocery store within 10 blocks, talk to the manager.

THIS IS THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. Not sunday, not bible study, not outreach, not sermons, not potlucks, but LOVE. Unconditional love.

———-

On a side note. I’ve been kicking this idea around in my head. I want to start a non-profit organization. The idea behind this is knowing how much major motion pictures cost to make and gross, I would love to see us harness the financial power of these movie studios to do good.

I would love to start a organization that received 1% of either the cost to make a movie or 1% of the income grossed from movies. I’d even settle for 1/2 of 1%. That isn’t much when you think that movies cost between 10 million to 200 million to produce and take in as much. Hopefully we could market this idea to studios as a way to seem charitable or even look good (I know that’s not the point but you have to pitch it somehow) and maybe even slap a logo on each movie showing it’s part of the 1% club or something. We then use the money raised to fund projects that help people. Let’s crunch some numbers. At 1% of the cost of making a movie at a 10 million dollar budget that would be 100,000 dollars. I’d even settle for the .5% of 50,000 dollars. And 10 million is a cheap movie. I think it could work. The world is hungry to help, note responses after recent disasters. And those weren’t just “christian” people.

Anyone know how to start a non-profit and/or knows the inside workings of movie studios???

I’m serious about this. I’d like to make it happen. Please email me if you are seriously interested.

———-

There’s a lot to think about here.

We still have a lot to think about if we want to effectively minister to the city of Los Angeles. It may be time for some new methods and a new way of evaluating results. Results DO NOT EQUAL church attendance. Sharing Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean mentioning his name. Getting people to love God may be just showing them love in a city that is more focused on itself than anything else.

Pray for LA. Partner with me to make a difference in a place where God is hovering above as well as dwelling in the cracks.

er="0" />

say ahh

It’s not like I have bad halitosis, but over time I have noticed that I do have some white on my tongue. There’s really not anything wrong with this. It may contribute to a bit of halitosis, but as far as I know, none of my friends have complained about a disorder.

Last fall/winter, after much searching and visiting a number of stores, I finally found this.

I knew they existed but I was having some trouble locating one and since I don’t have dental right now I couldn’t exactly schedule a consultation to pick one up.

Needless to say, I really like it. It makes my tounge feel pretty.

BTW I do actually need a bit of dental work. I’m pretty sure I have at least 3 cavities that I will need work done on. So if you know of any dentists that will help a guy in ministry out, with some free dental work, please send them my name and number.

Anyways…back to my Double Gulp of soda.

payday

Last night during a discussion about money and Jesus, the issue of pastors’ salaries came up. And it’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while.

More or less it boils down to what we as a congregation thing a pastor is worth (monetarily) and what responsibility a pastor has to say enough is enough.

We pretty much agreed that a congregation should be willing to support a pastor since their salary is directly correlated to the amount of giving that the congregation gives.

But the flipside of that point comes to the pastor’s responsibility to say I only need X amount of money to survive.

The question remains: Where is the balance between a congregation paying a pastor what they think she/he is worth and where is the line where a pastor can meet their needs and when their salary is taken just because the congregation is able to offer more?

There’s something in the back of my head that is pushing me towards living in or close to the poverty line for the rest of my life. This said while I have a burden of debt that will keep me busy for the rest of my life. (sorry kids, no trips to disneyland)

Even if I become a sr. pastor one day, that does not automatically entitle me to large sums of money because I am the “head honcho”.

I don’t have actual statistics on this but I do know that many a pastor in larger churches make upwards of 70K-100K a year.

I have a problem with that. Yes, yes, you can argue cost of living and inflation and congregation size and work load. But aren’t we as pastors supposed to identify with poverty. Isn’t that what Jesus was talking about when he tells us to give and give and not to store up earthly things? Isn’t living near the poverty line in tune with the mission of Jesus? Doesn’t it allow us to best minister to those in our congregations with the least? And those in our community with need?

When my salary exceeds the basic needs of those who are in my congregation doesn’t that put me on a different level than the people I am serving? And it’s not like my salary is private. It’s in the church budget.

It highly intrigues me that many of the “emergent” communities are electing not to have “paid staff”. Granted this comes from sheer size, with many communities hardly breaking double digits. It does set a model, where people are on more level ground.

I understand the need for “paid staff” due to logistics and leadership issues when we reach numbers of 100 or greater. But a seminary degree and the budget of a church does not necessitate a overly bountiful paycheck.

Have we let the role of “pastor” become to mainstream? Or has it become so corporate that we find it necessary to hold it against the corporate world’s standards?

What if pastors only made 40K-50K or less? With two people working in the family, even with children, I believe it is quite possible for a family to live and survive and continue to do effective ministry without being burdened with financial stress.

I know that the numbers of 40K-50K are close to what a lot of pastors make, especially in smaller/rural congregations. So maybe this post is for those people who serve larger/wealthy congregations.

There is something in me that says when we choose the life’s work of ministry we don’t do it for the money. But the problem may be, that when money is present we have a hard time saying no.

Are we ready as a church and as pastors to return to the model of the early diciples?

Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. Matt 10:9-10

Can we truly live dependant on God?

Is it time to call for financial accountability for pastors?

What does it mean to truly give?

What does it mean to give up possesions/money?

How does it affect our lives if we choose to live near/in poverty?

What does this say to our community?

Does this affect our understanding of living our Jesus’ messages?

What do you think?

shipped

Yesterday I recieved a nice surprise in the mail. I had forgotten I had ordered this dvd from this on-line vendor. I opened the package only to find that during the journey to my house it got damaged. It seems that somewhere along the line something heavy was placed on it or something ran over it. Because the box was crushed and the inside plastic that holds the dvds was crushed and broken. The dvds were fine, but aestetically it just wouldn’t look right on the shelf next to all my other dvds. Luckily customer support was really good and they emailed me a return label to ship it back. The crappy part is that I’ll probably have to wait another 14 days or so to finally get to watch this movie. I’ve been wanting to watch it for weeks now, but my local Blockbuster doesn’t carry it any more. One of the flaws of “no late fees”, just pay us the difference and keep it if you don’t return it on time. And I guess they aren’t on top of re-ordering movies that get “sold” because people don’t return them. And it’s such a good movie too. So all in all, I still have to wait to finally own the movie and I was all excited because I wasn’t even expecting it to come so soon. And I’m not too upset about it since I’ve never really had any problems with the vendor in the past and they have low prices, so they’ll get my business again.

On a better note, my shirt finally came!!! Oh how I enjoy that shirt. In case you haven’t seen it yet, the official trailer is out.

Jesustics

Will Samson has a great post about the call to live a meek life and what that has to do with politics.

Find it here.

come-on!!

If you haven’t heard. Save June 13th because this show’s 3rd season comes out on DVD!!!

I just peed my pants, because I’m so happy.

prayer

A prayer for the grieving:

God it’s not easy when things happen that we don’t understand. Sometimes words of comfort aren’t enough to make our insides right. We ask that somehow you be of comfort to us tonight God. We ask that you are somehow with Corrine’s family and friends. We ask that people come forward with information.
God give us needed rest as our bodies have been racked with stress and worry and shock. Let us find a moment of peace within you.
Thank you for being there when words aren’t enough and even when we just want to be alone, you are there, your loving arms surrounding us.

Love us God. Especially now.

Amen

See story here. A friend of mine knew her.

Copyright © 2004–2009. All rights reserved.

RSS Feed. This blog is proudly powered by Wordpress and uses Modern Clix, a theme by Rodrigo Galindez.