the baby bulls are running

i had a great evening last, as i watched the bulls play a great game. this team does make me nervous in regards to knowing how to close a game, but they look as if they are growing up. they were up 2-0 two years ago to the wizards and lost the series. so we are hoping that they stay focused and keep balllllin! the second part of the great evening was watching the lakers get pummeled by the phoenix suns. now that was a beat down of beat downs. come on lakers.... i would like to see at least a good game. lol.

Jim Wallis: Abortion - From Symbol to Substance

Most Americans are alarmed at the nation’s high abortion rate, but don’t support criminalizing it. They want to keep abortion legal, but make it genuinely rare. In 2005, 68 percent of Americans agreed that abortion should be legal, at least in the first three months of pregnancy. We have supported a "consistent life ethic" - which seeks a dramatic reduction in the actual abortion rate in America, without criminalizing what is always a tragic choice and often a desperate one. Others also question if total abortion bans are really pro-life because of the likely consequences of back-alley abortions, especially for poor women.

It’s time for concrete action that would actually and seriously reduce the number of abortions in America. A better approach than the symbolic legal battle would be to gather new energy for a commitment to advancing real solutions. A constructive dialogue should include how best to prevent unwanted pregnancies, support pregnant women who find themselves in an unexpected situation, and effectively reduce the abortion rate.

Read the entire article.

shane is one of my favorite people

i have been up late most evening working on details for the uywi conference. i kiss my boys goodnight and sit with the laptop and chat with andy online who is doing the same. but ben posted this on the uywi blog and i thought i would share it becuz it was a breath of fresh air to me. here is quote from it...

But there is a common thread in many of the most horrific perpetrators of violence that begs our attention – they kill themselves. Violence kills the image of God in us. It is a cry of desperation, a weak and cowardly cry of a person suffocated of hope. Violence goes against everything that we are created for – to love and to be loved – so it inevitably ends in misery and suicide. When people succumb to violence it ultimately infects them like a disease or a poison that leads to their own death. Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus with a violent kiss, ends his life by hanging himself with a noose. After his notorious persecutions, the Emperor Nero’s story ends as he stabs himself. Hitler passed out suicide pills to all his heads of staff, and ended his life as one of the most pitifully lonely people to walk the earth. We see the same in the case of Columbine, the 2007 Amish school shootings, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and this recent Virginia Tech massacre – each ends in suicide.

The rest of the article.

what would i do with an established church?

listen to this question that was asked to alan hirsch...

“If you were asked to steer a conventional, western church on a missional path and were given the freedom to utilize or reallocate all funds and resources in the best way you felt this could be accomplished, how and what would you do?

You have three staff members and a lien-free building. And the building is located in a neighborhood where few members actually live.”

here is his answer and 40 comments... if i have the time to think maybe i will give you my answer. if you have an answer i would love to hear it also.

what is keeping me busy til may 20th

i know when this conference is over it will feel great to have helped get all of the 100 speakers to the campus for 120+ workshops for the 2000 leaders we are hoping to attend. so until that day, i will try to continue bury myself in my dell to get details done and not blog too much.

kade and his boys at school!

the orioles season is in full swing

we are having a really fun season. the kids have been paying attention, hitting the ball and fielding the ball really well. we are so proud of them. here is chicken little ..... i mean kade up and ready to swing away. he needs that back elbow up though... i will talk to him. lol.

a chineese poem

Go to the people
Live among them
Learn from them
Love them
Start with what they know
Build on what they have

this is a great poem that we can learn a lot from in regards to sharing with others about christ and his kingdom.