General

Found this video from Granger Community Church on the Because People Matter Blog. Four Words from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Here are a few sites I've come across that you might be interested. Tony Morgan Live: a blog about church leadership, strategy, and technology. Church Relevance: a blog about (you might have guessed it) church relevance.  A great resource for how the church can reach out to newcomers in a meaningful way. Small Group Exchange: for anyone involved at any level with small groups.  The video section is outstanding! Inside North Point: spiritual voyeurism at its best.  A behind-the-scenes look at North Point Community Church led by Andy Stanley. Video Teaching: teaching videos from some of today's leading pastors. Pomomusings: a blog about church design and ministry.

I've spent my first two days in the office at Mountainview going through employment papers and trying to get my laptop fine-tuned on the network.  The papers were fairly simple.  My laptop is another story.  It's a Dell laptop running Windows Vista (need I say more?).  Everything works pretty well except it won't install any of the network printers -- even though I've downloaded the right Vista drivers from HP and others.  Vista is visually appealing but I'll like it even more when the printers get working. On another note, we set up our Colorado bank account.  We went with Chase because it's close to both the church building and the house.  They also have a good online banking interface. All is well.  I've got a Starbucks close by, friendly co-workers, and a laptop that won't print!

It's been a while since my last post but it's not due (completely) to laziness. Over the last 2 weeks we've held our final worship service at LifePoint, sent the kids to camp, packed most of our earthly belongings in a rolling tin can, and driven from San Diego to Highlands Ranch. We slept Saturday night in our old house and last night in our new house. Moving is a great time to purge. While the kids were at camp, Tonya and I made executive decisions about what to keep and what to give away. We gave stuff to the Salvation Army (if for no other reason than to help fund their incredible "Amazing Grace" video) -- but most of the stuff was given away on Craigslist. As much as possible, we believe in re-circulating stuff. It is interesting to see what people will take when it's free. We had…

While walking to lunch today I passed a group of PETA folks protesting animals in the circus. One lady was painted like a tiger and hunched over in a cage. After eating a few beef tacos for lunch, I started thinking about PETA and fair trade coffee (I was sitting at Starbucks). I personally like animals. I've had pets throughout the years -- rest in peace, Skittle. I also enjoy the circus, own leather shoes, and like my steaks well-done. My issue with groups like PETA isn't their opposition to animal cruelty but their elevation of animals to the same level as humans. Animals aren't human; that's why they're called animals. This is where the fair-trade part of the subject line comes in. Fair-trade products/companies seek to pay workers in developing countries a fair wage, rather than taking advantage of them for the companies gain. It elevates humans to the…