2.06.2013
1.07.2013
21 Daniel Fast January 7-27
From Monday January 7 through Sunday January 27, 2013 Reunion Hawaii Church will be observing a Daniel Fast. This selective abstinence from certain foods is patterned after the story in Daniel Chapter 1, verses 3 through 20.
The attached sheet will help you understand more and structure your 3 weeks of food.21 Daniel Fast January 7-27
The attached sheet will help you understand more and structure your 3 weeks of food.
What do I really believe?
What do I really believe?
During the online debate and discussion about the recent horrific mass murder at an elementary school I have been asked if I defended the right of people to own personal assault weapons. I initially answered “no” — then I realized that my answer was only an emotional response made without any thought of underlying principle.
I had to go back and re-read the Bill of Rights — the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution and consider what I hold dear. Take a minute with me to review them:
Amendment I (Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II (Freedom to keep and bear arms)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III (Freedom from government quartering of soldiers)
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV (Freedom from unreasonable Search & Seizure)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V (Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI (Rights of accused persons to a speedy and public trial)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII (Right to a trial by jury in civil cases)
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII (Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX (Freedom from government encroachment upon personal right)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X (Freedom from Federal Government encroaching upon states rights)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
_______________________________________
The common element in all ten? They were very intentionally written to protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT. Thomas Jefferson said, “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.” James Madison viewed the Bill of Rights as a vehicle that might be used to rally people against a future oppressive government.
So, here’s my dilemma: do I really believe in the principles underlying these amendments, or do I want to selectively pick and choose depending upon the changing winds of popular opinion or — even worse — upon which ones align with my personal preferences?
Do I believe in free speech? Well that gets complicated, doesn’t it? I certainly want my freedom to speak, to preach and teach, but I wish a lot of other people would shut up, frankly. Does that make me a hypocrite? If so, I am in good company. Some of my liberal friends wish Rush Limbaugh would shut up. Some of my conservative friends wish Rachel Maddow would shut up. All of us wish those crazies from the Westboro Baptist Church would shut up, but the reality is that if we want freedom from government intervention in our speech, we have to accept that the government must treat speech we despise with an equally hands-off approach. So I get to preach Christ, the Westboro people get to misrepresent Christ, and a million websites get to pollute the minds of the nation with the most vile kinds of porn you probably can’t even imagine. Free speech.
Of course, when the framers of the Constitution wrote those protections they were writing with quills and printing was done one sheet at a time on a platen press. The mechanisms of free speech have radically changed and exponentially broadened, but the broadly written protection has flexed and stretched to accommodate those mechanisms.
That brings me to the 2nd Amendment, so important it was listed right behind the freedom to speak without fear, a protection against the government’s propensity to shut down dissenting and unpopular views.
The 2nd Amendment acknowledges that private citizens have the Constitutional right to own weapons… not only to own them, but to bear them. Not only the right to own a gun locked away in a gun safe, but the right to bear, to carry, a personal firearm. Some would attempt to argue that the opening phrase of the 2nd Amendment — “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” — limits possession of firearms to law enforcement officers and military personnel, but that argument contradicts the purpose of the right: to protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT. Officials of the government keeping and bearing arms can’t possibly protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT.
So here I am, a non-gun owner, non-violent man outraged by the death of innocents at the hands of drive-by gunmen, home-invasion thieves and crazy young men who kill people in malls and schoolrooms, defending the rights of private citizens to keep and bear arms, as the Constitution says. Just as in the case of the 1st Amendment, the framers didn’t foresee the development of semi- and fully-automatic weapons, Uzis and armor piercing ammunition any more than they could have anticipated the internet and pay-per-view cable porn, but the freedom transcends the mechanism. Possession of personal firearms is sometimes abused, and badly, but the abuses, tragic and horrible as they are, are the tiny exception and not the rule, and the need to preserve the ability of the populace to rally against a future oppressive government demands that the public remain adequately armed.
I can’t pick and choose — YOU can’t pick and choose — to allow a freedom that supports your views and restrict a freedom that makes you angry.
What do I really believe?
What do I really believe?
During the online debate and discussion about the recent horrific mass murder at an elementary school I have been asked if I defended the right of people to own personal assault weapons. I initially answered “no” — then I realized that my answer was only an emotional response made without any thought of underlying principle.
I had to go back and re-read the Bill of Rights — the first 10 Amendments to the United States Constitution and consider what I hold dear. Take a minute with me to review them:
Amendment I (Freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II (Freedom to keep and bear arms)
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III (Freedom from government quartering of soldiers)
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV (Freedom from unreasonable Search & Seizure)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V (Right to due process of law, freedom from self-incrimination, double jeopardy)
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI (Rights of accused persons to a speedy and public trial)
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII (Right to a trial by jury in civil cases)
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII (Freedom from excessive bail, cruel and unusual punishments)
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment IX (Freedom from government encroachment upon personal right)
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X (Freedom from Federal Government encroaching upon states rights)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
_______________________________________
The common element in all ten? They were very intentionally written to protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT. Thomas Jefferson said, “A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth.” James Madison viewed the Bill of Rights as a vehicle that might be used to rally people against a future oppressive government.
So, here’s my dilemma: do I really believe in the principles underlying these amendments, or do I want to selectively pick and choose depending upon the changing winds of popular opinion or — even worse — upon which ones align with my personal preferences?
Do I believe in free speech? Well that gets complicated, doesn’t it? I certainly want my freedom to speak, to preach and teach, but I wish a lot of other people would shut up, frankly. Does that make me a hypocrite? If so, I am in good company. Some of my liberal friends wish Rush Limbaugh would shut up. Some of my conservative friends wish Rachel Maddow would shut up. All of us wish those crazies from the Westboro Baptist Church would shut up, but the reality is that if we want freedom from government intervention in our speech, we have to accept that the government must treat speech we despise with an equally hands-off approach. So I get to preach Christ, the Westboro people get to misrepresent Christ, and a million websites get to pollute the minds of the nation with the most vile kinds of porn you probably can’t even imagine. Free speech.
Of course, when the framers of the Constitution wrote those protections they were writing with quills and printing was done one sheet at a time on a platen press. The mechanisms of free speech have radically changed and exponentially broadened, but the broadly written protection has flexed and stretched to accommodate those mechanisms.
That brings me to the 2nd Amendment, so important it was listed right behind the freedom to speak without fear, a protection against the government’s propensity to shut down dissenting and unpopular views.
The 2nd Amendment acknowledges that private citizens have the Constitutional right to own weapons… not only to own them, but to bear them. Not only the right to own a gun locked away in a gun safe, but the right to bear, to carry, a personal firearm. Some would attempt to argue that the opening phrase of the 2nd Amendment — “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” — limits possession of firearms to law enforcement officers and military personnel, but that argument contradicts the purpose of the right: to protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT. Officials of the government keeping and bearing arms can’t possibly protect the CITIZENS from the GOVERNMENT.
So here I am, a non-gun owner, non-violent man outraged by the death of innocents at the hands of drive-by gunmen, home-invasion thieves and crazy young men who kill people in malls and schoolrooms, defending the rights of private citizens to keep and bear arms, as the Constitution says. Just as in the case of the 1st Amendment, the framers didn’t foresee the development of semi- and fully-automatic weapons, Uzis and armor piercing ammunition any more than they could have anticipated the internet and pay-per-view cable porn, but the freedom transcends the mechanism. Possession of personal firearms is sometimes abused, and badly, but the abuses, tragic and horrible as they are, are the tiny exception and not the rule, and the need to preserve the ability of the populace to rally against a future oppressive government demands that the public remain adequately armed.
I can’t pick and choose — YOU can’t pick and choose — to allow a freedom that supports your views and restrict a freedom that makes you angry.
1.01.2013
21 Daniel Fast January 7-27
From Monday January 7 through Sunday January 27, 2013 Reunion Hawaii Church will be observing a Daniel Fast. This selective abstinence from certain foods is patterned after the story in Daniel Chapter 1, verses 3 through 20.
The attached sheet will help you understand more and structure your 3 weeks of food. 11.05.2012
A Pretty Good Thing?
Everybody wants to do GREAT things, but are you willing to do a pretty good thing?
10.14.2012
Fall 2012 Reunion Small Groups
We have relaunched our small groups ministry at Reunion. We are excited to offer 10 very diverse choices of groups this season. There are groups for people from 11 to 111 years old, in a variety of categories... social affinity groups, spiritual growth opportunites, age appropriate ministries, missional and outreach focused groups.
Pick a group (or two) from this small guide and contact the leader to join in!
10.02.2012
Leadership Expectations
Clearly stated expectations reduce the potential for misunderstanding, conflict and division. Often a cohesive team operates under an understood (at least by them) set of guidelines and expectations that establish boundaries, regulate acceptable practices, and influence behaviors. When newcomers are assimilated into the leadership team they may be perplexed and struggle to understand why their words or actions create tension or cause offense.
In an attempt to prevent those kind of things from happening, I recently sat down and attempted to define Leadership Expectations for those serving under me in the Hawaii-Kiribati Church of God of Prophecy organizational structure.
This PDF document is the result of that effort. It is probably incomplete, and imperfect, but it is far better than unspoken, unwritten assumptions.
Leadership Expectations
Clearly stated expectations reduce the potential for misunderstanding, conflict and division. Often a cohesive team operates under an understood (at least by them) set of guidelines and expectations that establish boundaries, regulate acceptable practices, and influence behaviors. When newcomers are assimilated into the leadership team they may be perplexed and struggle to understand why their words or actions create tension or cause offense.
In an attempt to prevent those kind of things from happening, I recently sat down and attempted to define Leadership Expectations for those serving under me in the Hawaii-Kiribati Church of God of Prophecy organizational structure.
This PDF document is the result of that effort. It is probably incomplete, and imperfect, but it is far better than unspoken, unwritten assumptions.
2.20.2012
Pastors: stay with your vision
If you know that God has given you a clear vision, a direction, for the church you lead and you are certain that you clearly understand it, do not let anybody or any circumstance turn your head to the left or the right.
From its very inception REUNION (www.reunionhawaii.com) has been challenged, questioned, misunderstood, and opposed. REUNION did not fit in anybody's mold. Our structure was unconventional, our ways of doing things broke tradition, and we defied categorization. Our roots are deeply planted in Wesleyan-holiness Pentecostal tradition but — as a reaction to the excesses of some of our Pentecostal and charismatic friends — we functioned so differently than our denominational sister churches that some people refer to us as “semi-costal.”
We have had people come to check us out and leave, realizing that REUNION was not a good fit for them. We have had people who never quite grasped the vision we were pursuing stay for a while and then leave. We have had people within our own denominational structure trying to figure us out, but through it all our pastoral leadership team stuck together, grew closer, and determined to hang on to what we knew was ahead.
For the past 6 months or so God has been peeling back the layers of junk and allowing the vision to grow, emerge, and begin to be reality. We still have our critics. We still have people who don’t get it. We simply refuse to pay any attention to them, because we know that the vision God gave us is being fulfilled right before our very eyes and we know that success is the best response to criticism.
While we were being criticized for not being demonstratively Pentecostal enough we were patiently teaching our way through Scripture, and putting in place leadership development and discipleship programs that have now led to a genuine move of the Holy Spirit. We still reject the kind of hyper-emotional flesh candy that some people seek as manifestations of the Holy Spirit, because we are experiencing the real deal. Our children and young adults are being filled with the spirit weekly, we are gaining new people who are bringing their friends along with them (new people bring new people), we are baptizing new believers and adding covenant members to our local church.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for us as leaders is to resist the natural temptation to try to manage it, to stay out of the way, and allow God to continually amaze and delight us with the ways he’s bringing this to pass.
Last night was a great example. After a long and pretty exhausting weekend during which many of the ladies from REUNION attended a retreat in Waikiki, our ministry center in Kaneohe was filled with life and laughter as some of our tech guys gathered to upgrade our audio system. I was in my office completing a seminary assignment and people kept popping their heads in the door to say hello. I thought there were only 3 or 4 people out there, but when I finished my assignment and went to check it out, there were more than a dozen people — men women and children — laughing, talking, and sharing food at 11 PM, because these folks just love doing life together. While we were in there, my cell phone rang and I heard the voice of a very excited father who could barely speak through his tears. He was calling to tell me that his 10-year-old son had just been filled with the Holy Spirit and was speaking in tongues and praising God in the family car. The young boy had been witnessing what was going on around him at REUNION and became hungry to experience more of God for himself. His mother reached over, laid a hand on him, and began to pray for him and he was immediately overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues.
Our DNA Discipleship Training School is in its 2nd session, with teenagers and young adults cramming into a small room in a house every Saturday and Sunday night for hours of teaching worship and prayer. We are watching their lives get turned right side up as they experience the presence and power of God, making them hungry for more.
That's the kind of genuine revival that we are experiencing because we refused to listen to the critics, refused to be bullied or intimidated by opposition, and kept our eyes firmly upon the direction and vision that we know came from God.
There is a pastor reading this today who is tired, discouraged and burned out, feeling “what's the use?” When you are surrounded by nothing but discouragers it is very easy to begin to believe it, to give up, and just go with the flow. Don’t. Don’t give up. Refuse to believe the lies of the enemy when he tells you your dream is too big, your vision too radical.
If you know that God has burned into your heart a vision of what can be, do not turn your eyes and in the other direction. Shut out the voices of your critics and the complaints of those who don’t understand what God has shown you. I seem to remember a story about a guy building a huge boat when it had never even rained before.
11.08.2011
11.01.2011
Daniel Fast encouragement
10.20.2011
Tired of Whac-a-Mole with the devil?
10.07.2011
Selective marketing or political activism?
Today in America, about 75% of adults identify themselves as Christians.(religioustolerance.org) About 3.8% of Americans identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. (Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law) — three point eight percent… less than 4 out of 100. So if we can accept these statistics as roughly correct within a margin of error, there are almost 20 times more Christians in the United States than homosexuals.
It strikes me as odd, then, that my airline of choice, Delta, has an entire section of their website set aside to market to the 9 million American gays (www.delta.com/gaytravel) but NO section of their website targets the 230 million Americans who self-identify as Christians. Is it selective marketing? If so, it is industrial strength stupid, and Jackie Yeaney, Managing Director, Consumer Marketing, Delta Airlines should seriously reconsider those priorities.
I love your airline, Jackie, and fly Delta whenever possible, but it does bother me a bit that you engage in activist economics and use my loyalty to support causes I don't espouse, while ignoring an exponentially larger segment of your potential market.
I went to www.delta.com/christiantravel but “The requested page could not be found on delta.com” — yeah… I didn't think so.
9.22.2011
The downside of Hawaii life?
9.21.2011
Mentoring Class
Instructor: Gary Langley
The Hawai‘i Ministry Development Center is dedicated to providing inspiration, information, support and encouragement to those in active Christian ministry and those seeking to be.
Through edification and education leaders and emerging leaders will become better able “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:12-13)
Operated under the auspices of the Hawai‘i Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP), the Hawai‘i Ministry Development Center is a transdenominational institution.
9.01.2011
Show this to your whiney, spoiled kid
8.26.2011
Don't you EVER sleep?
8.22.2011
Three weeks at Highlands
(What I took away from three consecutive Sundays at Church of the Highlands)
Highlands is a good church. It’s probably a great church, in many ways. My son, daughter-in-law and now baby granddaughter attend there, and my son plays bass as part of the worship band rotation. I wanted to preface my observations with those statements because I do not want my random thoughts to be misconstrued as criticism, other than as constructive critique.
My thoughts, in no particular order:
• Highlands has grown rapidly and attracted so many people because of a lot of things, including an attitude of excellence, but I attribute it to (a) the worship music — Justin Bradshaw, John Larson, John Mark Dorough and the rest — is great, and (b) the church is committed to prayer. The twice-a-year 21 days of prayer is impressive.
• Chris Hodges is personable, self-effacing and genuine. He comes across as a guy I would enjoy hanging out with, without all the rock-star trappings of some mega-church pastors. I like him.
• At every service I have attended there I seem to recall some statements made to newcomers unaccustomed to expressive worship and contemporary music. While I understand, perhaps, the rationale, I think COTH is past the point where they need to explain, and it almost comes across as an apology sometimes. COTH has nothing to explain, and certainly nothing for which they must apologize.
• The coffee stations are wonderful. As the pastor of a casual church, I appreciate the welcoming nature of that gesture.
• I learned on a previous visit to Highlands the impression made by having well-stocked, clean restrooms with quality products used. It inspired me to recruit a wonderful volunteer who makes our own public school restrooms a hospitality plus, even adding seasonal decorative touches!
• A negative: perhaps it is just a characteristic of rapidly growing mega-churches, but during these three services I recently attended, and the total of maybe ten visits to COTH, not one single person other than the door greeters has ever spoken to me… nobody has approached me in the lobby to introduce themselves, nobody before or after church has walked over and said, “Hi… I’m ____ . Don’t think I’ve seen you here before. Glad you’re here!” (Just sayin’…)
• I had a surprise on a previous trip; I attended a summer evening baptism (wonderful) on the Grant’s Mill campus, at which ice cream treats and soft drinks were served free to the large crowd. When I asked where I could find the recycle bin for my empty can I was greeted by a blank stare, as if that was a question that had never been asked. I would expect Highlands, with a largely upper-middle-class and professional constituency to be setting the example in stewardship of the earth, or — at the very least — selling the aluminum and using the funds for a good cause.
• I wish I could connect COTH with Compassion International. The number of children who could be sponsored out of that church would be incredible.
• The back row bleacher seats? Spectator area. The people we usually go with on our visits like to sit on the back row, but I was itching to sit in the front section on the floor where the sound mix is a little better, and the active worshippers are engaged. That’s not Highlands’ problem, just an observation.
• I greatly appreciate the absence of lasers and hazers and rock concert pyrotechnics at COTH. The use of staging and lighting is subtle and does not distract from worship. My experience with some other mega-churches has been that they are overly produced and there is way too much show biz. Highlands does a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing.
• This is a large church with a small church heart. On a previous visit I observed a promo video I wanted to show to my tech team. I called the church, asked for the creative team, spoke to a wonderful woman who sent me a link to obtain the video and made it clear that Highlands has no circle-the-wagons and protect our turf attitude.
• I am aware of the complex issues of copyright laws and broadcast restrictions… and I hate them. The worship music at Highlands is excellent, including the original songs, and should be shared far and wide as a gift to the Body of Christ. There should be exceptions and exemptions for the broadcast/webcast of worship services so the musical portion could be included.
• If I lived in the area immediately surrounding the church I’d probably not like them very much. The traffic is overwhelming and the access roads are totally inadequate for the flow of vehicles.
• In order to do back-to-back services and move large crowds in and out effectively, as well as live multi-cast to other campus remote locations it is necessary to at least somewhat run things by the clock, but COTH does a great job of concealing the stopwatch effect. The music is programmed and click-track precise, but it never feels that way. The teaching, likewise, never feels rushed or stretched to fit a time constraint. That is, I suspect, the result of experience and a lot of adjustment over the years. (I would love to have an in-ear and listen to the cues during a service.)
I am not a mega-church guy. I love the smaller church familial and relational closeness, but I applaud large churches like Highlands who have grown large without growing arrogant.
6.13.2011
Dear Delta
Well, now I need them, and I feel embarrassed by my naive loyalty. My son and his wife are expecting our first grandchild next month, and my wife and I really want to be in Alabama when the baby is born. It's the big deal for which we hoped to cash in miles for the flights. When we discovered they were expecting I checked the SkyMiles mileage requirements and read this:
I think pretty much everyone who sees that chart would understand it to say that an Economy Class flight from Hawaii to the Continental U.S. can be obtained for a range between 20,000 SkyMiles and 45,000 SkyMiles… after all, it does say "Low" and "High" above those numbers.
Imagine my dismay when I attempted to use my 82,000+ miles to book 2 tickets to Atlanta and discovered that ONE ticket would cost me 77,500 miles! So what happened to a range between a low of 20,000 SkyMiles and a high of 45,000 SkyMiles? I was referred to the fine print, written in obfuscatory lawyerly language apparently designed to conceal the reality. Read this and see if you see "don't count on that chart above, because it is totally meaningless, and you will have to cash in a LOT more miles than it says, but if we say that outright nobody will sign up."
My future flights — and they are becoming more frequent — will not be booked with a preference for Delta because there's no significant reason to be a loyal to an airline with unclear, evasive rules.
6.03.2011
Dear Apple - what this user would like
- The predictive text/auto-correct on the iPhone lacks one really simple, critical feature... the ability to learn or a user-definable dictionary. My last name is Langley. My iPhone wants to change that to LARGELY. Ever single time. I live in Hawaii, and can't begin to tell you how many Hawaiian words and place names the iPhone tried to "correct." It's a daily annoyance that seems easily fixable.
- Apple is an international company, selling iPhones all around the world. Those of us who travel would love for Apple to redefine mobile phone service the way you have redefined so many other areas of digital life; we would love to be able to travel the world without bricking our phones out of fear of a bill the size of the national debt. Seriously -- it is 2011. We should be able to travel the world and use our phones, data plans, text messaging and other services seamlessly and without outrageous charges. I love being able to use FaceTime over WiFi internationally, but would love to have access to my normal phone services no matter where I am on the planet. If any company can redefine international telecom plans, it is Apple. Soon, please.
- I am filled with doubts about the coming announcement of the iCloud services, partially because of the issue just mentioned -- how will I be able to access my music and media files when I am outside the U.S. when I can't even afford text messaging overseas? Besides, if iCloud is as clumsy as me.com, it is doomed. Just compare iDisk to Dropbox for an example.
5.02.2011
What are we to think of the death of the wicked?
- Romans 13:4 "For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." (Mark Driscoll accelerated this verse's popularity via his Facebook post.)
- Proverbs 11:7 "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth" (KJV)
- Proverbs 24:17 "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice."
- Proverbs 21:15 "When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers." (Rick Warren started this one)
- Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?"
- Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"
- Proverbs 11:10 "When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy."
- Proverbs 28:5 "Evildoers do not understand what is right, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully."
- Ezekiel 18:32 "For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!"
- Romans 12:19 "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."
- Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."
4.27.2011
A reminder of why we do what we do
4.19.2011
Hey Christians; it's almost EARTH DAY
I visited a really great mega-church in a major city. I enjoyed it a lot, actually, despite some of my personal reservations about mega-churches in general. It was a warm summer night, a mid-week service packed with more than 2,000 people and afterward they announced water baptism in a cluster of large above ground pools outside on the expansive grounds. It was appropriately celebratory and exciting to see almost 100 people baptized. They served ice cream treats and canned soft drinks to all in attendance — impressive!
When I emptied my can of soda I looked around for recycle bins and was surprised to find none. Thousands of recyclable aluminum cans were simply being tossed into garbage bags, bound for the dumpsters. The church demographic is diverse, but heavily weighted toward white, upper-middle-class professionals… people from whom I expected more environmental awareness and social conscience, but when I asked about recycle bins I got looks that made me feel as if I had asked a really stupid question.
In Hawaii, where I live, each of those estimated 3,000± aluminum cans would have been worth 5¢ at a recycling center, for a total of $150. Perhaps the church was just too upscale for $150 to be a sum worth the trouble, but — more than that — there just seemed to be a total indifference to the unspoken message sent by trashing recyclable cans.
How did this happen? How did the church, the embodiment of Christ on earth, become indifferent to and even hostile to environmentalism? You might be surprised to learn that the whole idea of celebrating an Earth Day was not born in a marijuana-fueled, Gaia-worshipping commune, but was initiated by a pentecostal minister, a descendent of one of the founders of the Assembly of God.
John McConnell, Jr., the Pentecostal founder of Earth Day, says, “If there had been no Christian experience in my life there would be no Earth Day – or at least I would not have initiated it. We love God… [and therefore should] have an appreciation for His creation.” In McConnell’s view, such an annual day of awareness provides an opportunity for Christians “to show the power of prayer, the validity of their charity and their practical concern for Earth’s life and people.”
Rather than dismissing Earth Day because some have co-opted it to advance a political agenda, we (the church) should be at the forefront redeeming the day for the glory of the creator! In practical terms, our churches should be leaders in reducing waste, reusing and recycling as part of our dominion over the earth. Dominion is not only control, but also protection and responsible governance. We are reaching out toward an environmentally conscious generation, and they are looking for leadership and example from us in the area of being good stewards of the earth.
More info?
http://ifphc.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/pentecostal-origins-of-earth-day/
http://www.halfwaytoconcord.com/earth-days-pentecostal-origins/
4.11.2011
A tech work-around just in time
4.07.2011
Spoilers
It must not be common knowledge, because people who live in the Eastern and Central time zones are notorious for posting television spoilers. As soon as someone is voted off the island, off of idol, or the final play of the big game is made, there's always some eager beaver who can't wait to jump on Facebook and ruin the experience for people who will not see the results for as much as 6 or 7 hours later. The response, when called on it, is usually something to the effect of, "well, you should just stay off Facebook if you don't want to know!" Why? Why should we have to cut ourselves off from our primary source of relational networking because you can't just understand that the world is bigger than your time zone? In the big picture of life, it doesn't amount to a hill of beans, of course, but if you were a reader of novels and every single time you encountered someone they told you the ending, it would start to get to you after a while. Please… PLEASE, people who live east of me: enjoy Survivor, American Idol, the Amazing Race and major sporting events, and have the courtesy to allow your west coast friends to enjoy them also.
4.04.2011
The Dirty Truth About Honoraria
4.02.2011
The Ministry Development Process in Hawaii Church of God of Prophecy
Click “White Wing Books” link or order by phone 800-221-5027
Click “White Wing Books” link or order by phone 800-221-5027
Click “White Wing Books” link or order by phone 800-221-5027
Click “White Wing Books” link or order by phone 800-221-5027
Ministry Review Board:
A Life of Selfless Service should be the norm… should be a part of the candidates spiritual DNA. We have an informal saying: “BAM!” that means, “I will outserve you BY A MILE!” We do not see extraordinary service as extraordinary at all; it is the baseline level for everyone in leadership. We remember that Jesus taught that, “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35, The Message) Candidates are to be actively, consistently volunteering to do the unseen for the unthankful with no expectation of reward or recognition. Candidates should be the kind of servant-hearted leaders who do not wait to be asked, but rather seek opportunities to serve others within the church and the surrounding community.
Clarifying the ministry credential process
- Personal Spiritual Formation should be demonstrated in
- Prayer
- Bible study
- Small group participation
- Worship
- Reflection/Journaling/Blog
- The COGOP Requires this sequence
- Affirmation: set forth by local church
- Mentoring by senior leaders
- 5 Book-based studies (with open-book exams)
- The Bible
- Spiritual Formation
- History of Christianity
- COGOP History, Polity, Doctrine and Future
- Ministry Policy Manual
- Actively, consistently volunteering to do the unseen for the unthankful
- Community involvement
- Lifelong learning posture
- Self-education (Reading, reflecting)
- Hawaii Ministry Development Center Courses
- Hawaiian Islands Ministries Annual Conference/Seminars
- Bible College, Seminary
- Faithful attendance
- Faithful participation
- Faithful stewardship (Tithing & Giving)
- Faithful reporting
4.01.2011
Furious!
Album: Be Lifted High
Review: http://bit.ly/ibR0QA
Purchase: http://bit.ly/hMJwNdLed by Jeremy RiddlePhotos from: http://bit.ly/eCO6sz. Amazing shots!Lyrics: (Jeremy Riddle, © BETHEL MUSIC)Nothing can tear us from
The grip of His mighty love
We've only glimpsed, His vast affection
Heard whispers of, His heart and
passionIt's pouring down...
His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers usHis love is fierce, His love is strong
It is furious
His love is sweet, His love is wildAnd its waking hearts to life
The Father loves and sends His son
The Son lays down His life for all
He lavishes His love upon us
He calls us now, His sons and daughters
He's reaching out...(Tag)
... and its waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life