Hey, Congress - bring these guys in to explain it

These two comedians from the UK explained the reasons for the current financial mess better than any of the talking heads on cable news, and they nailed it absolutely. Perhaps the U.S. Congress should bring them in to explain things. (The video is from 2007)

The worship of "THE ONE" is scary.

This video is chilling. If this doesn't make America stop and think about the utter adulation and worship of "THE ONE" and the potential for danger, I am not sure there is any -- if I may borrow the word from THE ONE -- hope left or us as a nation.


Idolatry is an abomination... new spelling: OBAMAnation.
(Anybody but me see the scary parallel to THIS video?)

Undecided and Obama voters?

If you are really an undecided voter, or you are believing the very well-oiled media machine of "THE ONE" you should take the time to watch this video that explains and documents how Congressional DEMOCRATS got this country into the current financial mess, and how they blocked every attempt of McCain and conservatives to sound the alarm and bring it to a halt.

The tree

Blogging from the iPhone

Blogging from the iPhone... who'd have thought it possible? The technology is so advanced and sophisticated that virtually anything is possible now and it's difficult to keep up.

If all goes well, I hope to blog live from the floor of the COGOP International Assembly in Nashville, using my iPhone and any wireless network open to my use.

(Sent from my iPhone.)

Matters of the Heart

For some time I have been experiencing unexplained fatigue during/after any exertion. Thinking back, it seems I may have had some early indications as far back as the '06 Assembly in Nashville, but I attributed it to southern heat, humidity, and lack of adequate rest. 

Upon visiting the doctor at my HMO, he did blood tests, X-Rays and put me on a low daily dosage of Atenolol + Simvastatin to control slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol. The symptoms -- uncharacteristic fatigue, reduced physical stamina, shortness of breath -- persisted, and the doctor ordered a Nuclear Cardiolite Stress Test. 

They were unable to do the treadmill version of the test because I have a just-discovered Left Branch Bundle Block. Instead, they did an IV Chemically induced stress-test, infusing a chemical (Thallium) that immediately put the heart into heavy stress mode, while they monitored my physiological responses. That was a very long six minute chemistry lesson. That was followed by 20 minutes laying perfectly still, flat on my back, with my arms extended over my head (you know... that relaxation position we all love.) while they imaged my heart in action. Those pictures were pretty amazing... like something from an episode of "House." But they revealed an area of my heart that caused the doctor (and me!) some concern, so they scheduled me for a diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Big fun! 

This had, obviously, put a serious crimp into my lifestyle. I had been forced to slow way down, and my wife had to take up the slack. (I couldn't even lift and carry the groceries from the car.) My professors have been very understanding and have extended some deadline grace on assignment submissions, as I could only work for brief periods without rest. I am supposed to leave for Korea next week, health permitting. 

They discovered 3 blockages: one 90%, one 95 and one 100% -- They actually stopped and called in the Cardiologist to see if they should transfer me for a by-pass! The blockages were scary and much more extreme than they anticipated. 

A praise report: Of course I was a little concerned over the costs of the procedure.... at $4,000/stent, and my HMO covering HALF. While I was in the prep room before the cath lab, a guy from the Cardio department walked up with a clipboard and said my pre-tests qualified me to participate in a clinical trial. If I signed off allowing them use a new stent in the final stages of FDA APPROVAL, that stent would be free, and the Plavix I would need to take daily for a year would also be provided. 

I signed. 

$2000 out-of-pocket saved + Plavix --  --not a cheap med. 

I give God all the glory for allowing me to stay alive and continue to function with such extreme blockages, and for it being detected and treated BEFORE I had a serious or fatal heart attack. The 100% blockage was left untreated, as the Dr. said the heart had spontaneously rerouted the blood flow around it. I believe that happened the night I was prayed for at a conference and felt incredible strength flow into my body.

Langley on Leadership - Part 2

There's difference between a good leader and a GREAT leader. Do you know what it is?

Webcasting 101

This weekend we did a primitive first attempt at a live streaming webcast of our Sunday Morning service. It went okay... some learning curve and things to improve, but great feedback from the 39 people who logged in to watch our beta test.

It's available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windward-worship-live if you are interested.

Since the webcast I have had several people ask how hard it was to do. It is pretty simple, actually: 

• You'll need a digital video camera: what we did for our beta test was done with a small, simple, consumer mini-DV camera, like the kind used to shoot pictures of the kids playing sports. 

• A FireWire (Digital Video) cable connection to a computer. 

• A computer. (That seems obvious, but then again...) This is the place where I would I would normally inject a fanboy argument for the superiority of Mac OSX and Apple products in general, but since that also seems so obvious...

• A reliable broadband connection to the internet at the church or meeting venue. 

• A FREE account with ustream.tv or another similar service... if you can find another free one. 

• A carbon-based life form with intelligence above a rutabega. (Our tech guys set up the camera and logged in, and then my dear old dependable Deacon launched the live webcast and archive recording and monitored the whole thing. It's not rocket science.) 

• We patched the sound directly from the sound board to the laptop mic input instead of using the built in mic on the camera to avoid picking up extraneous noise and conversational noise by the tech guys. 

That's about it: plug it all in, turn on the camera, log in to ustream.tv and hit the "GO LIVE" button and you're webcasting live.

Langley on Leadership - Part 1

A one-minute leadership insight from Pastor Gary Langley of Windward Worship Center in Kaneohe, Hawaii. (Okay, it's actually 01:32 with intro and exit tags…)

Using all the FREE stuff

This Sunday we will experiment with yet another free, web-based technology to expand the reach of our church when we video stream our 10:00 AM (Hawaiian Standard Time) worship service at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/windward-worship-live

We live in an amazing time with access to innovative, creative, accessible technologies that are free or very affordable. In addition to ustream, we utilize YouTube, email, Skype, iChat, MySpace, FaceBook and cell phone text messaging to contact, connect and reach out to our constituency -- all free technologies! We also maintain a constantly updated website with a very affordable web-hosting company, on which we inform about coming events, display weekly photos from around the church and related activities, and allow people to listen to each week's sermon online, download it as an Mp3 to share, or subscribe on iTunes.

Even a small to medium-sized local church has the ability to exponentially multiply their impact and expand their footprint without a huge staff, massive budget or lots of expensive equipment; a computer, a consumer model video camera, a digital camera and a broadband internet connection can give your local church an international outreach.

Why Windward?

We asked some people on a typical Sunday morning what they liked about Windward Worship Center and selected some of the best responses.

Leadership Advice: Get Real

It is very easy for pastors and leaders to fall into the expectation trap: because of past experience, erroneous teaching or cultural tradition constituents might place a burden of unrealistic expectations upon their leaders. Don't buy into that!

I am not arguing for rudeness or a lack of tact and diplomacy in dealing with people, but I am suggesting that we all need to get real, and stay real.  A few years ago our local church was very involved in an annual event called "March for Jesus!" We could debate about the appropriateness and effectiveness of such mass public testimony events, but one T-Shirt from March for Jesus made a lasting impression upon me. It read, "A choir of millions for an audience of one." The message for me, for all of us, is that all we do is done for Him, and if we are subject to any performance expectations, we should keep in mind that we don't perform for our church board, membership or community; we perform for an audience of ONE.

The simplest solution I have found is just to be, as much as possible, completely yourself. Drop the pretension, lose the attitude, and refuse to play a role. Don't wear any religious masks or put on airs. Get real. Be real. 

Wheah you wen Grad?

That is the defining cultural question in Hawaii; "Wheah you wen Grad?" (Translation? "Would you mind telling me which High School you attended?") It matters not what you might have accomplished since high school, or what lofty heights you have attained... the defining question remains "Wheah you wen Grad?"

Senator Barak Obama is a presidential candidate who studied at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif., and Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and received J.D. in 1992; lecturer on constitutional law, University of Chicago; member, Illinois State senate 1997-2004; elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2004 -- but in Hawaii he will forevermore be "Punahou Grad Barry Obama." Harvard Law is a great accomplishment, but not as defining to local people in Hawaii as his high school, Punahou.

Punahou is the elite, private school of the wealthy and privileged. Kids who go to Punahou wear designer clothing and are dropped off in BMW's. Kids who go to public school wear clothing from ROSS and ride the bus. Punahou kids are "townies". Punahou kids are all on track to attend major universities, not community college. The Punahou label says more than quality education... it reflects socio-economic status and future expectations. 

When a local person in Hawaii asks "Wheah you wen Grad?" what they are really asking is:

In what community did you grow up?

Who was in your circle of friends?

Who might you be related to that I know?

Where do you fit in the social strata of Hawaii?

So, "Wheah you wen Grad?" 

Got a spare $53,760 I can have?

I have been accepted in the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program at Fuller Theological Seminary, and I did the math today. That degree will end up costing more that $53,760 and that doesn't factor in books and several trips to the Pasadena campus.

It will be worth it.

One of my dreams and desires of my heart has been to complete the education that got interrupted by a little vacation in sunny Vietnam. It would have remained only an unrequieted dream had it not been for a wonderful man who has been an example of leadership excellence, an informal mentor, a friend and great encourager:



Dr. Dan Chun, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and, with his wife, Pam, founder of Hawaiian Island Ministries. Dan is a Fuller Trustee, and has been responsible for encouraging and equipping so many Pastors and leaders in the churches of Hawaii.

Thanks, Dan. (I hope to make you proud!)

Blessed at SEARS

If you're reading this in a place covered with snow and ice now, you may find it hard to believe, but many of us in Hawaii have such small houses that we have our laundry area OUTSIDE. Yep. It's true. With a wonderfully temperate climate you can have your washer and dryer on a lanai, porch or patio. They tend to rust out from the salt air (we are very close to the ocean) before they wear out.

We have had a GE Washer (outside) for 16 years. I have patched it up a time or two, replacing some parts, but it did a great job -- until last week. The timer mechanism started messing up and my wife would have to go and press/pull the knob to kick it into the next cycle. I went to an appliance parts dealer for a replacement, and they back-ordered one to the tune of $98. (OUCH.)

Last night it started making a LOUD noise that I finally determined was a failing clutch mechanism. Expecting the replacement clutch to cost even more than the $98 timer, plus it looked like a repair process beyond my limited mechanical skills. It just abruptly died in mid-cycle and refused to cooperate any more, so off we went today to see how much a replacement washer would cost. SEARS had a sale, with a pretty decent simple model for just under $500 -- not bad compared to the higher end models that cost $1,200 - $1,400. (A bit out of our price range AND we just couldn't see a $1,000+ washer sitting outside under a roof overhang rusting out. On the way out to Costco to comparison price, we noticed a washer off to the side. It was similar to our recently deceased one, with a few updates, and it was tagged "USED - $150."

After we made the Costco trip and discovered that the prices there were close to the SEARS sale prices, we returned to SEARS and found the salesman who was helping us.

"What does 'USED' mean exactly?"
"It was purchased, and taken from the store, but the buyer figured out how to fix their old machine and returned this one."

It had never even been plugged in; it had never had water lines connected, but they couldn't sell it as new, so they clearance priced it to move it out quickly, still with a 1 year full warranty!

We saved hundreds of dollars, got a 'new' full-featured washer that we won't feel bad about leaving outdoors, and did it all for $150. What a blessing!

Is my plate getting FULLER?

It seems that I operate with a pretty full plate most of the time. I have often referred to it as "juggling chainsaws." So it is with fear and trepidation that I watch my email and snail-mail boxes for a decision from Fuller Seminary. The applications and recommendations have been submitted for the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program at Fuller, and the Admissions Committee meets before the end of February.

Having been out of the classroom and academic environment for decades, it is a bit intimidating, but I exemplify the Peter Principle -- ("In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.") -- since my recent selection as Presiding Bishop (Overseer) for my denomination in Hawaii, I have come to a renewed realization of my level of inability! These people deserve a better leader, and I hope to become one.

Podcasts piling up

Do you hate the sound of your own speaking voice when you hear it recorded? It seems that most people do... including me. But we Pastors are professional public speakers, and our vocal presentations are key to our effectiveness. So I am learning to love -- or at least tolerate -- the sound of my own voice.

My weekly sermons are (barely) edited and posted as podcasts at www.windwardworship.com and are available free via iTunes as "The Word from Windward." I have subscribed to my OWN podcast! How egocentric is THAT? It has helped my delivery a lot. Each week, alone in my office, I download and review my own sermon podcast listening carefully for awkward "uh's" and "um's" and other annoying verbal habits. Often I groan and make a mental note to eliminate a phrase from my vocabulary or never use a failed illustration again.

It has certainly helped me become more concise and get to the point faster, and I hope it has helped me refine and polish my preaching skills and made me a better communicator of Biblical truth. You be the judge. Listen to an older one and a more recent one and give me some feedback.

A matter of style

When you hear some of those TV preachers on a roll do you ever wonder where that style comes from? It is often credited to "being anointed." Nobody has ever been more anointed that Jesus, yet somehow I can't imagine him preaching in that revivalist style. Can you?

Jesus said this...

"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall"

I doubt -- seriously doubt -- that he said...

"EVERYone... did ya hear me? I said EVERYone! Not a few people. Not some people. Not ALMOST everyone. I said EVERYONE. IF YOU BELIEVE THAT TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY EVERYONE! Now that oughta make you shout HALLELUUUUUUJAAAAHHHH!"

Can you imagine Jesus preaching like that? Me neither.

Pride, in the best sense of the word

My focus as a pastor has been local. Almost entirely local. I have often felt disconnected from my denominational roots because my approach to ministry has not fit our traditional mold and there were doctrinal positions I could not totally embrace. And, yet, it is my heritage, and all I have ever known. I love it.

Having just returned from the International General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy in Nashville, I left filled with pride, in the best since of that word. Our church has been an aging movement in transition for the past couple of decades, struggling with divisive issues of doctrine and polity, and this year it seems we may have finally moved beyond indecision and resistance to needed change.

It was such an encouraging, refreshing week that I left proud, for the first time in years, to be part of this church.

Growing pains are the best kind

The church I pastor has outgrown our facilities. With 130 members and a "total population" of about 152+/- in a building designed for maybe 80, we are starting to notice a slight growth plateau. We have been experiencing a sense of Divine discontent ---- kind of "Thank You Lord for all you are doing, and yet we know there is so much more You WANT to do!"

I outline sermon subjects well in advance and preach through the scriptures, but Saturday I experienced such turmoil and disquiet I knew God had other plans. Saturday I deviated from my outlined subjects and wrote a completely different message about the challenge of stepping out by faith when God says move, despite all the negatives and logical reasons why it won't work.

Late Saturday night my daughter and her boyfriend came in from an event and I was still in my office, prepping. They said "There's a big old van we don't recognize in the church parking lot." BF and I grabbed flashlights and went to investigate. A lady we sort of know from homeschooling events pops up... she was sleeping in that van. I asked if she was okay, and she said "Long story, but yes -- is it okay if I sleep here tonight and I'll be in church tomorrow morning?" Sure. We unlocked a restroom for her, said goodnight, and went back in.

She was in service, front row. In the sermon I spoke of how the Lord had been dealing with us-- with me -- about taking the next big step of faith and moving from the comfort zone of our cozy building to a place where He could send us more people. After the service, that lady approached me and said she knew the place for us. She told me that she and her husband manage party/banquet facilities at several City & County golf courses, one of which is just about one mile from the church, on the same street! We have attended events there before -- wedding receptions, parties -- and it is large (maybe 2.5 or 3 times the size of our church), air conditioned, big nice restrooms, ample (even generous) parking. It's on the second floor, and has an elevator for handicap access, and the view over the golf course and adjacent mountains is spectacular. The even have some sound and lighting equipment available, and we can probably get the place for what is, in Hawaii, an reasonable price.

So we have a (potential) opportunity before us, but there are some logistical challenges. There is no logical, workable place for Children's ministries at the proposed new site. Anybody have experience with split-sites? One suggestion that came from a brainstorming session was to maintain our children's groups at the original site (our building) as a "drop off/pick up" place, while the parents continue down the road a mile to the Golf Course.

Any feedback? Good, bad. or ugly?