2008 Top Ten Lists: Websites

1. Facebook - I think everyone knows what Facebook is
   
2. Craigslist - I advertise my rentals here
   
3. Pandora - enter an artist and it plays music by that artist and other similar artists
   
4. ESPN - again, everyone knows ESPN
   
5. Hoopsworld - I like basketball
   
6. Out of Ur - put out by Christianity Today
   
7. The Resurgence - articles, podcast, resources
   
8. Techbargains - I like gadgets, and I like cheap
9. Bloglines - this is my homepage on my laptop. It's where I subscribe to rss feeds
   
10. Hulu/Netflix - free/cheap places to watch movies
    

2008 Top Ten Lists: TV/Movies

1. Dan in Real Life - we'll get things started with a great date movie, which also happens to have a killer soundtrack
2. The Dark Knight - this was one of the few movies I saw in the theater. I had very high expectations going in, but was not as blown away as I had hoped to be. Still, Heath Ledger's performance warrants a spot in the top 10.
3. Bella - if you haven't seen this you definitely need to
4. Juno - another great date movie.
5. Gone Baby Gone - not a date movie, but a great story
6. 21 - I like poker, I like Kevin Spacey, and I like Ben Mezrich (the author of the book)
7. The Visitor - I just saw this one a few weeks ago and really loved it
8. Reign Over Me - it's difficult to picture Adam Sandler in a serious role, but he was awesome in this one
9. Arrested Development - Not sure why it took us this long to discover Arrested Development, but I'm glad that we finally did
10. Dexter - I watched season one in about a week on Netflix. Season two took me a little longer, but I was just as committed. Dexter is a very interesting character. Like Gone Baby Gone, it raises lots of questions of good and evil, as well as our struggle to hide our sin. It should be noted that this Showtime series is definitely R-rated.
    

2008 Top Ten Lists: Moments

This past Sunday night we had a Night of Remembering and Giving Thanks. I decided that I wanted to "remember" the great things that God has done this year, so I'm including a top 10 list of moments/events.

1. Micah - Micah is such a wonderful baby. He is full of joy and always has a smile to share. The fact that he doesn't cry that much and sleeps through the night is definitely a plus. I am so blessed to be the daddy to two wonderful boys.
2. Dad - Dad's surgery was definitely a little scary, but I am very thankful that everything went as smooth as it did. I know that God was involved in a major way. Adam and I went to see him yesterday and he was continuing to recover well.
   
3. Pergola - Dad and I shared several weekends together building our pergola. I'm not much of a handyman, so this was quite the accomplishment. Getting to hang out with Dad made it all the better - plus, the outcome would have not been the same without him :)
4. Vacation to St. George Island - We got to spend a week on the beach with Mandy's family. We wondered how it would be with a three week old, but Micah did great. It was a beautiful place, and a much needed rest.
5. Kaboom and CYPN - When we moved to Cooper-Young to start a church, we wanted to be about the neighborhood. We wanted the neighborhood's needs and desires to become our needs and desires. The Kaboom Playground build at Peabody Elementary School and the formation of the Cooper-Young Parent's Network were two tangible steps towards this.
6. Changing jobs yet again - This year I went from the mortgage business to the property management business. I went from zero properties in June to fourteen as of today. I really enjoy it, and it serves as a great support system for church planting.
7. MCAP - I met Hugh Halter and Matt Smay at the Exponential Conference in Orlando last April. In May I was given the money to go through their seven month online coaching program. It just finished, and I gained so much through it.
8. Neighborhood Church - this year I felt that we moved from being a church plant to becoming a church. It seemed to have happened sometime this summer, but it definitely feels that way now.
9. Third annual toddler Halloween party - our party in 2006 was one of the first parties we had. It feels good to say that we've done something three years in a row. In February we'll have our third annual Super Bowl party.
10. Advent Conspiracy - we just finished up our second year of participating in the Advent Conspiracy. I think this is one of the best things our church did this year. The highlight was the "Think Globally, Party Locally" Party hosted by Josh and Ginger Spickler.
    

2008 Top Ten Lists: Books

I decided to compile year end top 10 lists again this year. First up is a list of my favorite books for the year (in no particular order).

1. The Tangible Kingdom, by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay - actually this is in order. This was my favorite read of the year. It's also the book I've recommended the most to others.
2. Walking with God, by John Eldredge - our church spent the summer talking about abiding with Christ. For me, this book played a major role in those discussions.
   
3. Humility, by C.J. Mahaney - I just read this and gave copies to our leadership team. It's heavy hitting at times, but extremely practical.
   
4. The Myth of a Christian Nation, by Gregory Boyd - I participated in a six week discussion on this book in the spring. It's a needed book for many in our culture, and I think it really resonated with those in the discussion group.
   
5. The ESV Study Bible - I've already written on how much I am loving my new study Bible. You can read that here.
   
6. Culture Making, by Andy Crouch - I try to read anything that Andy Crouch writes. He has a great grasp on what it means to share the gospel in our culture.
   
7. Transfer of Power, by Vince Flynn - if you like Jack Bauer, you'll like Mitch Rapp even more. There are nine books in this series so far, and I read (or listened to) seven of them this year.
8. Holy Discontent, by Bill Hybels - I finally read this when I was preparing to teach about how the Gospel impacts society. It's a quick read, and very inspiring.
9. Authentic Parenting in a Post-Modern Culture, by Mary DeMuth - Mandy came across this book and read it, then recommended it to me. I read most of it sitting on a beach in Florida last summer. Mary and her husband are missionaries in France, so they understand what it means to raise children (and teach them a Christian worldview) in a post-modern/post-Christian culture.
   
10. The Blue Parakeet, by Scot McKnight - I actually am not very far into this one, but I've read enough that it counts for 2008 (my rules).
    

NC Year in Review Video

Mandy put this together and we showed it at our worship gathering last Sunday night. She shared the story of how this church got started, beginning with our time in California with the Elder's. So I guess it would be more accurate to say that this is a review of the last three years. Enjoy!

Check that out!

I waited until I was on empty before using my $.10/gallon discount from Kroger. A few months ago it would have cost me close to $50. Today it was $17!

Merry Christmas, from Adam & Micah

Our Christmas 2008 Video

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Update on Dad

The surgery is over and everything went well. We just spoke to the surgeon, and will get to see Dad in an hour or so. It's been a long day, but we're all grateful that everything went well. He ended up having a triple bypass, but the doctor said that his heart is very healthy.

Update

Surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. We were hoping for this morning, but he is ok waiting. The good news is that the top heart surgeon in Memphis is performing the heart surgery. He's very happy about this.

My dad

On Saturday my dad (Max) called to tell me that he was going to have to go to the hospital this morning to have a heart catherization and a stent inserted into an artery. He seemed to be ok, so I was ok. This morning I decided to go to the hospital to wait with my step-mom (Jerri). When I got there he was already out and told me that when they went in, they discovered that one artery was 100% clogged and another artery was 50% clogged. Because of this, they were going to have to do bypass surgery. I was glad that I could be there. He and Jerri are doing well, but it's a scary time. As of now the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Covenant Sunday at Neighborhood Church

Last night I walked our church through our new membership covenant. I've been working on this for about six months, and it was really great to finally be at this point in the life of our church. I shared three phases that people move through, and I wanted to put it here as well. I stole some of this language from my friend Hugh Halter, who co-wrote the excellent book The Tangible Kingdom.

If you'd like to hear the message, you can download it from our website or subscribe via Itunes.

Observation
This is the Inclusive Community. Anyone is welcome, no matter what you believe, how you live, what you look like, where you come from, etc. This is the “Come and See” message of Jesus (John 1). And it’s not just “come on Sunday night and see.” It’s “Observe how we live, how we care for one another, and how we love our neighbor as ourselves. Just come and be with us.

Participation
We recognize that many of us have lots of baggage and wounds when it comes to church. Our hope is that over time, people will like what they “come and see.” If they’ve had stereotypes of what a church is, many of these will have been broken through. If they’ve had baggage and wounds, many of these will have been healed through our time together. This phase occurs when people begin to participate relationally, or to serve, or to give.

Partnership
No matter what phase you are in, we will continue to issue the call to follow Jesus. We will call you to give your life for His mission and for the instrument that He has chosen to carry out His mission: the local church. Those of you who answer that call move to the third phase, which is partnership, or ownership. This is where you decide that this mission isn’t just about Robert and Jason. You recognize that God has called you here.

Whereas the message of Observation was "Come and see," the message of Partnership is “Come and die” (Mark 8:34-35). Those of us who are called into partnership together for a covenant community.

Weekly Links

• The newest audio from Acts 29 Network features Mark Driscoll speaking about the Mission and Values of the network. Go here to read the notes as well as to download the audio.
  

  
   

• I have been loving my ESV Study Bible. Here's a good review of it. I think the best part is the online version. When you purchase the Bible you get a code that gives you access to all of the many online features.
  

  
   

• A few months ago I helped to start a church planting network here in Memphis. I've been watching and learning from Jonathan Dodson and the others that he is partnering with in Austin, TX. Here is their church planting network website (under construction). I also just ran across Summit Church's Church Planting Center in Durham, NC.
  

  
   

• Hugh Halter on Money and Membership. We're in the midst of formalizing a membership process at Neighborhood Church, so this was very helpful to me.

Quote of the Day

I found this one on Ben Witherington's blog. Make sure you also check out the Redneck Powerball Winner.

Private Schools and the Economy

Yesterday the front page of the Commercial Appeal featured a story on the effects of the economic crisis on Memphis' private schools. It seems that more and more people are going to begin sending their children back to public schools because of this. I feel for the private schools, but I also am once again very hopeful that this will be a good thing for Memphis in the long run.

Here's the link to the article.

Quote of the Day

This quote of the day comes from this morning's Fox local news.

It's been close to 70 years since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor...big mistake on their part.

Quote of the Day

This morning my three year old, Adam, as he was about to leave for school, came up to me and said the following: "Did you know that sometimes tumbleweeds and vines are obstacles?"

My response: "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind today."

Apparently he learned this from watching Backyardigans.

A few measly hours

Yesterday I missed out on a great real estate deal by a few hours. The sad thing is that this is the second time this has happened. I guess this comes with the territory, but it's still a little frustrating.

If you've been thinking about refinancing...

Now's the time. Rates are dropping like crazy, and here's why.

Mortgage rates plunged after the Federal Reserve announced that it would buy up to $500 billion of securitized home loans.

Read more.

Weekly Links

Jonathan Merritt writes about the shift in political thinking for young evangelicals

Excellent talk from Chris Seay at Q 2007 on consumerism. Check out some of the other talks while you're there.

One of my favorite all-time quotes, and one I need to be reminded of from time to time

Joe Boyd on what it means to be a pilgrim

Seth Godin's Tribes Q&A ebook is available for free download. I haven't read the book yet, but this makes me want to.

The Resurgence has the audio and video from their Shepherding a Child's Heart Conference available for download.

Final resource, I promise…Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost's new book, ReJesus, is out. You can download the intro and chapter 1 here.

What Does Santa Have to Do with Christmas?

No, this isn't a bashing of Santa Claus. I'm actually a big fan. In fact, we saw him at the mall the other night. He remembered Adam, which definitely was impressive to Adam. When asked what he wanted for Christmas, Adam responded, "the big orange gun and the scary creatures." Santa nodded as if he understood. The back story is that Adam had just decided that afternoon that the big orange gun and scary creatures he saw on the back of a toy catalog were the things he most wanted for Christmas (of course this has changed every other day).

I loved watching Adam's eyes light up as he ran to Santa, and I plan on taking him to see Santa at least five more times. We didn't do pictures this time, since it's been a few months since Adam had a haircut and he's getting the grunge look.

Anyway, that's not what I first intended to write. I wanted to write on the question I posed at the top: "What does Santa have to do with Christmas?" But since I've already written a bit, I'll just share a link with you. I'm a big fan of Ben Witherington's blog, and the following post was written last June. Here's an excerpt:

It is sometimes said that this celebration, and its mythology is not based in the Bible or anything historical or particularly Christian. Some go even further in arguing that Christmas is just an adaptation of the pagan Saturnalia, the reversal festival of the Romans which climaxed on and just after the winter solstice on Dec. 21. This latter claim is false, since Christmas has always been celebrated after the Saturnalia was already over, and in the case of the Orthodox church, long after the Saturnalia was over. But my concern in this post is with the man himself-- jolly ole St. Nick.

Whether you call him St. Nick (short for Nickolas) or Santa Claus ( a barbarization and abbreviation of Saint Nik Claus) we are indeed talking about a real Christian person, Nicholas of Myra.

Xavier Henry chooses the Tigers

This morning Xavier Henry declared to the world that he will play for Coach Cal next year. He is currently the top rated prospect according to ESPN. What's even better is that they have a shot at John Wall, who many believe will be the number one pick in the 2010 NBA draft. As you check out that link, notice who the number 4 pick is (we came really close to getting him last Spring).

Go Tigers!

Weekly Links

Mark Batterson writes about Purple Cows

Jonathan Dodson has posted the material for Austin City Life's Partners Class

Matt Chandler on activities that stir up his affections for Christ and activities that rob his affections for Christ

The latest Catalyst Podcast features Dave Ramsey speaking about the economy. This is his talk from October's Catalyst conference. Here's a quote: Our current economic reality is "an artificial low driven by emotion."

From The Resurgence: Matt Chandler writes on the responsibility of being a dad. He says, "I find the fact that my sin directly affects my children to be mortifying."

Mark Driscoll's reflections on the election: "People are longing for Jesus, and tragically left voting for mere presidential candidates."

 

Foreclosures in Shelby County

This is also from The Memphis Flyer:

Number of Foreclosures in Shelby County
2005: 3800
2006 5250
2007: 5850
2008: 7100 so far

Property Tax Hike?

If you're a homeowner in Shelby County, you should read this article from The Memphis Flyer. Here's an excerpt:

Property owners will get their new appraisals in early 2009. Appraisals determine how much taxes homeowners and businesses pay. The difference between a house in Memphis appraised at $100,000 and one appraised at $200,000 is $1,822 a year in taxes.

The total value of assessed property in Shelby County, currently $16 billion, is called the tax base. If it shrinks, governments have two choices: cut spending or raise taxes.

Johnson, who took office in August, isn't saying whether the tax base will grow or shrink.

"I'm not ready to call it," Johnson said last week, after saying in an earlier interview that the tax base would probably be stable. The first people to get the news in January, she says, will be mayors Willie Herenton and A C Wharton.

New CD from Fellowship Church

Closer to the Start - New Creation from Fellowship Church on Vimeo.


I've been listening to this CD for the past couple of days. It's definitely in my top 5 of the year. Check out this video.

You can order the CD here. You can also download a free song!

Why I Am Hopeful

A few days ago I shared some of my thoughts about the economic crisis. This morning I read an article by Andy Crouch that does a much better job at expressing my feelings that I could ever do. I recently read his book Culture Making, which I highly recommend. Here is an excerpt from the article:

So, to wrap up this way-too-long-for-Web-attention-spans essay, here is the good news in our very real and sobering predicament: Easy is not going to be easy any longer. Our culture's addiction to ease is unsustainable. A core Christian conviction—one that informed much of the best of Western civilization—is that the good life is not easy. It requires discipline. It invites us into pain. It makes of us ascetics—not people who shun all earthly joys, but people who choose to limit our appetite for ease so that we might actually know true joy.

Yesterday I started reading Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben. This too is helping to shape my thoughts. I don't believe that this economic crisis is new. It's just a new reality for some of us. It's been a reality for many in our country and throughout our world for a long time. Now that it's filtering up to the middle and upper class, though, it's considered a crisis. We've all heard the stat that half the world's population (over 2 billion people) live on less than $2/day. That is a crisis. The staggering infant mortality rate in my city is a crisis. The fact that in 2007, the poverty rate in this country was lower than it was in 1959, is a crisis. The list could go on and on.

Now that the crisis is affecting much more of our population, I believe that we will be forced to make changes that will not only make our lives better in the long run, but will also help to make the lives of others better.

This gives me hope!

This would be so good!

The Tigers could soon be playing both UNC and Duke in basketball. Here's the story.

You gotta love this picture

God loves me...and here's proof

Two years ago Mandy, Adam and I took a trip to New England. Our last stop was Boston, where we spent two nights with Kerry and Kevin. Kerry was Mandy's best friend in high school. One of the highlights of the trip (and there were many) was discovering the Tassimo. Kerry and Kevin had recently gotten one, and they shared their delightful coffee with me. I was immediately taken with this wonderful little machine, and felt that I too needed a Tassimo.

After a few days the need wore off. After all, I already had a coffee maker and an espresso maker. I really didn't need anything else. And that was the end of that. Actually one year later, I incorporated this story into the first sermon that I preached at our church. It was a sermon on the Advent Conspiracy, and I was illustrating the need to fight consumerism. As silly as it might sound, I felt pretty good about myself. I often succumb to consumerism, especially when it comes to tasty gadgets such as this one.

You've probably already figured out that the story didn't end there. A few weeks ago Mandy and the boys went to Paducah to see the grandparents. One day Mandy and Micah went to St. Louis, where Kerry and Kevin now live. At some point Mandy told Kerry about me preaching about the Tassimo. She thought that was really funny, then said, "You know, that thing is packed away in a box. Do you think Robert would like to have it?" Mandy's response: "Oh yeah!"

That night Mandy called me to say that she had a surprise for me, and the next day when they came home, she carried with her the Tassimo. I was definitely surprised, but thrilled. I promptly ordered some coffee pods off Ebay, and it's been bliss ever since.

So...I know that God shows his love for me in ways much more meaningful than this one, but I have to say that this is pretty good lovin.

Weekly Links

• Jordan Cooper writes about the coming changes to the church based on our economic woes. This post led me to the next few posts/articles.
  
• Jason Evans, Chris Marshal, et al write about the same thing.
  
• James Howard Kunstler's Forecast for 2008. Again, I found this through Jordan's post. He seems to be quite angry, which means that I don't agree with everything he says. And he's definitely a lot smarter than me, which means that I don't understand much of what he says. However, you can't argue that it's a little eerie at just how much of this came to pass.
  
• NY Times: Consumers believe that the worse is yet to come
  
• Ron Paul on the Bailout Plan
  
• Good insights on the credit crisis from Allelon
  
• The audio from the Total Church Conference is now online
  
• My buddy Joe's new movie has just premiered. Here's the info and the trailer

Missing Jack Dog

Jack is our five year old dog, and no, he's not dead. He's just gone to live with Aunt Megan. Two weeks ago Mandy called me and asked what I though about giving him away to Megan. It caught me a little off guard, but my first response was that I thought it was a good idea. She was thinking about getting a dog, and if we were going to at some point give him away, we couldn't find a better home than with Megan.

Those of you knew us when we first got Jack know that he was the first baby. After Adam was born things went downhill a bit for Jack. And now with Micah a part of our household, Jack was only getting leftovers when it came to our love and attention. Megan came to pick him up last week, and since then, there have been a few moments when I have really missed him. I wasn't sure if that would be the case. I'm really glad, though, that he's with family. We'll get to see him from time to time, and he'll probably spend an occasional weekend with us.

So here are a few pictures of Jack Dog (by the way, "Jack Dog" is the name that was given to him by Adam).

ESV Study Bible

I received my first study Bible as a high school graduation gift from my grandparents. That was fifteen years ago (wow, that's a long time ago!). It was a NIV Life Application Bible. I remember that when I first received that Bible I had such a hunger for God's Word. It had a great concordance, lots of charts and maps, and notes at the bottom of each page. It's quite marked up now, but I still use it, and it serves as a reminder of how precious Scripture is, and how grateful I am to have been taught Scripture.

It's now fifteen years later, and our church uses the English Standard Version (ESV). A few weeks ago I ordered the new ESV Study Bible, and yesterday I received it in the mail. I have been excited to get it, but I have to say that it has already exceeded my expectatations. It definitely becomes my answer to the question, "If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have one book, what would it be?" To top it off, I just realized that by purchasing this Bible, I get free access to the online edition. It's excellent. You can check it out for free by going to the website. I'm recommending this to everyone in our church.

Scary Times Ahead?

I don't feel good today. I have that darn cold that has been going around. I'm lying in bed, but I don't want to sleep, and I have a lot of work to do. So I'm catching up on some reading online. I've focused my reading on the economic crisis that is affecting not only our country, but the whole world. I don't believe that this is the end of the world, but I do believe that it is a very big deal. I've felt for awhile that the decisions that are being made throughout our country may not affect me, but they will definitely affect my children and grandchildren, primarily in negative ways. However, in light of the events of the last month or so, I am beginning to believe that our way of life here in America may soon be severely challenged.

I don't think anyone needs to be reminded of the challenges we face: foreclosures, job losses, shrinking retirement accounts, rising healthcare costs, overextended living and record debt, shrinking oil production and rising costs, rising food costs, etc. What does it mean for us as followers of Jesus? Or, as Francis Schaeffer put it, "How then should we live?"

As scary as this time is, I'm also encouraged. There is hope. It doesn't take one long in their study of church history to learn that the church has thrived most when she could depend on God alone. What happens when our resources begin to vanish? Perhaps it's an opportunity for us to think creatively, to imagine new ways of living, and to redefine what it means to have the good life. Perhaps it's an opportunity for the church to speak prophetically during this time of change.

Lost Season 5 Promo

The Fancy Pergola

3 weekends...
30 hours of work...
15 trips to Home Depot and Lowes...

The result...

Check Out That Boxscore

I've been hopeful since trading Mike Miller and Kevin Love that OJ Mayo was going to turn into a superstar. The Grizzlies could use one of those, right? Now I know that it's still preseason, but check out these numbers from last night's game:

26 points on 10-17 shooting. 6-8 on 3's. 5 steals. Not too shabby, huh?

During his first few preseason games he shot a lot...and missed a lot. But if you look at his shot you have to be impressed (his fade away, in-your-face jumper reminds me a little of Kobe).

My fantasy draft is Thursday night. Will I take a shot on OJ if he's still available in, say, the ninth round???

Two VERY Funny Videos

CYPN Pics

I just realized that Mandy took a few pictures at the Cooper-Young Parent's Network kickoff party.

Computers: Can't Live with Them...

I am just about ready to throw my laptop out the window. In the last five weeks I've had to reformat my hard drive four times. I finally determined yesterday that something is wrong with the hard drive, so today I'm going to order a new one. It's times like these that remind me just how dependent I am on computers (kinda like foreign oil). I don't know what I would do without a computer, which scares me a little. A friend yesterday suggested the reason I'm having these problems is because I don't have a Mac. I don't like him anymore. A few more of these issues, though, and I may start thinking about making the switch.

Adam's Arm

On Sunday night Adam was playing after church and hurt his arm. That night he wouldn't let either of us touch it. I ended up sleeping in his bed with him that night. He woke up on Monday morning and wanted to go to school. We decided to let him go, but told his teachers that he wasn't feeling well. A couple of hours later his teacher called to say that he definitely wasn't himself. Mandy called the doctor and headed to pick up Adam.

I ended up meeting them all at the doctor's office in Bartlett. Adam was very scared, but he did great. The doctor was able to fix his elbow pretty easily, but then was concerned about his wrist. He wanted us to go to another doctor's office, this one in Collierville. So off we went. This doctor did an x-ray to make sure that Adam's wrist wasn't broken.

We were thankful that the x-ray came back negative. The doctor gave Adam a splint to wear for a week or so. He's been doing great wearing it. Another positive that's coming out of it is that Adam hasn't sucked him thumb in several days now because of the splint.

Weekly Links

• Bailout bill fails to pass - I didn't see that coming, but I'm glad it didn't. I know the government needs to do something, but $700,000,000,000 scares me (doesn't that look a lot scarier than just writing "700 billion?"). There's got to be a Plan B, right?
  
  
• For what it's worth, here's Dave Ramsey's thoughts on how to fix this problem
  
  
• Mark Batterson's 10 Steps for Setting Life Goals - you'll have to give your name and email address, but I think it's well worth it.
  
  
• James Howell on why Christians should be defined by more than just Liberal or Conservative (from Ben Witherington's blog). I especially like the John Yoder quote.
  
  
• Wendi Thomas' article on Ron Sider - I got to hear him speak last Wednesday at 2nd Presbyterian Church, and am currently reading one of his books in preparation for a talk I'll give at church in a couple of weeks.
  
  
• Ben Witherington's Evangelical Voter's Guide
  
  
• New Advent Conspiracy website is up. I'm looking forward to taking part in this again this year.
  

Chasing Cars

I love the world wide web. It provides answers for so many of my questions. For examples, today I heard a song on the radio that I really liked. It seemed very familiar, and I thought I might have heard it while watching Grey's Anatomy (Mandy has gotten into this show recently, and I've watched a few episodes with her). The song was soon over, and it was time to get out of the truck and go to Adam's first soccer practice (I'll post some pictures if my buddy Josh will send them to me).

Five hours later I remembered that I need to find that song, but of course I couldn't remember any lyrics or even what it sounded like. So I went to FM 100's website, and discovered a handy dandy song finder. I scrolled over to 5:30pm and found a song called "Chasing Cars" by the band Snow Patrol. Sure enough that was it. I googled it and saw that I had indeed heard it last week on Grey's Anatomy.

So the thought for the day is that the world wide web brings me great joy and satisfaction.

For more great joy and satisfaction, watch this video.

Cooper-Young Parent's Network

For those of you who don't know, Mandy is taking a one year's leave of absence from teaching so that she can be home with Adam and Micah. Not teaching has also given her more time to create. One of her latest creations has been the Cooper-Young Parent's Network. She and some friends began talking about this a little over a month ago. I helped her set up a Yahoo Groups and off we went.

On Friday, September 12 we kicked the network off by having a party at Josh and Ginger's house. The party also coincided with the 4-Miler Race, which kicks off the Cooper-Young Festival. We had no idea who was coming. By the end of the evening we figured that we had sixty people show up. Of those sixty, I'm pretty sure that half the kids were three years of age and under.

Here are some pictures that Ginger took.

If you're here in Midtown and would like to join, email cooperyoungparents-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Ever heard of this guy?

Bon Iver - "For Emma" from MySpace Transmissions

The Role of an Apostle Pt. 2

More from Paul. Who wants to sign up for this!

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6:2-10

Mark Driscoll's Definition of the Church

Jason sent me a sermon by Mark Driscoll called "Putting Preachers in their Place." During the hour and fifteen minute sermon (yes, you read me right), he gives a definition of the church that he and Gary Brashears came up with. It's difficult to write definition that are all-encompassing, but I think this one comes pretty close.

The local church is a community of confessing believers in Jesus Christ who obey Scripture by organizing under qualified leadership, gather regularly for preaching and worship, and scatter to evangelize and care for people everywhere. They observe the Biblical sacraments of baptism and communion, and are unified by the Spirit for mission in the world, and are disciplined to live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission to the glory of God.

Jesus will zap you anyway he can

I found this on the Catalyst blog. Very interesting.

The Role of an Apostle Pt. 1

This week I'm reading 2 Corinthians for my LTG. Today I was reading chapter 4. Paul gives the Corinthian readers a description of his life. I can't say that this excites me. Following Jesus is hard. Giving your life so that others will follow Him is even harder.


2 Corinthians 4:7 - 12 (ESV) ⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So death is at work in us, but life in you.

The Ordinary Radicals

Politics

I have a confession to make: I am not sure who I'm going to vote for in November. I know that most of my family and many of my friends probably won't understand my dilemma. Most of my family votes Republican every year, while most of my friends and neighbors vote Democrat. And here I am caught somewhere in the middle.

I watched most of the Democratic National Convention in Denver last week, and I'm planning on getting caught up on the Republicans this weekend. As I listen to what both sides say, I find myself agreeing with much of what is said. I like one party's candidate for these reasons, and I like the other party's candidate for completely different reasons. Yet all of those reasons are important to me. It's hard for me to relate to those who see this as such absolute black and white.

I'm encouraged by people like Jim Wallis, who say that we should vote on the issues rather than the person or party, but that seems impossible at a time like this, when everything is becoming more and more polarized. Here's what I do know. Neither of these men is a savior. Neither of them will lead America to destruction, nor will either save us from all of the problems in our society. Both will lead the way their parties have always led, focusing on some things at the expense of others. That's not meant to be pessimistic, just realistic.

For now, I'll just continue to read, think and pray, and then two months from today I'll make use of the liberties I've been given and I'll cast my vote.

Arrested Development meets Charlie Brown

Mandy and I have been watching Arrested Development for the past few weeks on Hulu. Last night was the best episode I've seen. I won't try to explain the humor. Check out the picture. Here's the link to the episode, as well as a clip. Enjoy!

Culture-Making

A few days ago I started reading Culture Making, by Andy Crouch. I've been looking forward to this book ever since I heard him speak on this topic at Q 2007. It's actually better than I thought it would be. I was a little bogged down reading chapter 1, so I skipped over to chapter 4 (Cultivation and Creation). That's where it really starts to get good. Today I'm going to start Pt. 2: The Gospel. You should definitely check out Andy's site. You can download a few sample chapters there, as well as pretty much every article that he's written.

I ordered it here.

Weekly Links

• Point guard C.J. Henry playing for the Tigers this year. Could little brother Xavier be joining him next year? Big news for Memphis
  
  
• Unfortunately, this is bigger news: Memphis City Schools cutting ESL and counseling programs to help overcome their deficit.
  
  
• Mark Batterson writes, "Vision is the cure for sin. One reason many of us get entangled in sin is because we don't have enough God-ordained vision to keep us busy."
  
  
• Al Mohler comments on the Saddleback Civil Forum held on August 16 - it saddens me that he had such a pessimistic view beforehand, but I'm pleased that afterwards, he felt that it was "worthwhile." I thought it was great. I thought both candidates did a fine job, and my respect for Rick Warren grew as a result.
  
  
• Steve McCoy on Hitting Refresh
  
  
• Mark Driscoll on Activist and Contemplative Disciplines. And here.
  
  
• Grizzlies trading for Zach Randolph???

Infant Mortality in Memphis

I just finished watching 20/20's special on Memphis' high infant mortality rate. I can't sleep. God is examining my heart.

Here are some of the highlights of the program:

• Among the 23 wealthies countries, the U.S. ranks #1 in infant mortality
• Black babies die at three times the rate of white babies.
• Memphis ranks #1 in U.S. large cities
• A baby dies in Memphis every 43 hours
• As of today, unwed mothers have given birth to 5847 babies. The majority are born at The Med.
  
• Caring for a premature baby costs $55,000 on average. Obviously, prenatal care is key.
• Nationwide, 65% of children grow up without a father
• There are three zip codes in Memphis where babies die at the same rate as some third world countries (38108 is one of them).
  

I've lived in Memphis for almost three years now, and right now I'm in shock. I had heard that Memphis ranked high on this list, but nothing really sunk in...until now. What can be done about this? What is my role? I'm sitting right outside of Micah's room. He is sleeping peacefully. I praise God for a healthy baby boy, but it breaks my heart to know that many people in my city are not so fortunate.

The Kingdom of God is now...and it's not yet. All pain and suffering will end one day, but that day has not arrived. There is still evil, brokenness, pain and death. But the Kingdom of God is here now. It hasn't fully arrived, but it is here. Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, to release the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4/Isaiah 61). Jesus isn't physically with us today, but that does not mean that this gospel work is not happening. Today he empowers His bride to take on this task of reconciliation.

I pray that God's Kingdom would reign in Memphis and would reign over this problem.


Here is an article about the show, along with video clips. Here is a list of organizations who are trying to make a difference. A couple of other good articles are here, here and here.

Evangelism - the dreaded "E" Word

This fall our church is going to discuss what it means to live the Outward Journey. One of the topics we'll be discussing is Evangelism. I admit that my early attempts at evangelism were very awkward. My conviction now is that the gospel (good news) must be both declared and demonstrated. Both are necessary. Below are some of the resources I'm using.

Evangelism in the Early Church, Michael Green

The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter

The Tangible Kingdom, Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

More Ready than You Realize, Brian McLaren

Out of the Salt Shaker and Into the World, Rebecca Manley Pippert

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever

Ancient-Future Evangelism, Robert Webber

My new job

One month ago I wrote that I was beginning a new job as a property manager. I had my first client and hoped to add a "few more this fall." Well as of today I am managing thirteen properties. It's cool how God has provided so quickly, but it's also a little overwhelming. I've had a lot to learn in a very short amount of time. I'm still doing mortgages as they come in, but I realized earlier this summer that with the market as it is, I probably could not depend on this as a good source of income, especially with Mandy transitioning out of teaching. By the way, that's going awesome. I am so glad that Mandy is able to stay at home with the boys. I know that it is going to be so good for them, but it's also freeing Mandy up to be creative. She's in the process of forming a parent's network for Cooper-Young. More on that later in a future post.

Men's Relay

Last night was the men's 4x100m relay race. The favorites were the French. Earlier the French team had said the following:

"The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for."

Watch the results here. You'll have to download a plug-in, but it's well worth it!

Gone Baby Gone

Mandy I watched this movie last night. I don't know how I missed this one, but I did. It's one the most thought-provoking movies I've seen in awhile. And did I mention that it was Ben Affleck's directorial debut!!! Nice!

I went to bed thinking about it and woke up thinking about. I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

Grizzlies Sign Josh Smith

I'm sure that Atlanta will match it, but this would make me very happy.

Hosting the ESPY's?

My Name is John Daker

A friend sent me this clip last week. Kinda creepy. Very funny.

Weekly Links

• The Junky Car Club - I remember hearing about this awhile back. I think my 1998 Nissan Altima would qualify. I've never had a car payment, and never plan to. It's free to join and you get a free bumper sticker. Awesome!
  
  
• Walking with God, by John Eldredge - I finally finished listening to this book during our vacation. It's one of those books that I feel I need to continue reading; a few more times and maybe some of it will stick! I highly recommend it.
  
  
• Ed Stetzer writes about apostles
  
  
• Alan Hirsch fleshes out APEST - we are getting ready to form a leadership team at NC, so this is interesting reading. I've heard Hirsch talk about this, but this is the first time I've seen it fleshed out like this.
  
  
• This guy asked 50 people to write about the term "missional." This guy summarized it here.
  
  

National Night Out

Last night was National Night Out. This was my second year as organizer in my neighborhood. This year the event grew from 14 parties to 21 parties. It's very exciting to see new blocks get involved with this. The only downer for me was that our party had a low turnout, but I'm sure much of that was due to the heat. I'm hoping that we move the event to October next year.

Off to the beach

This past week has been extremely busy. We've had a lot of air conditioning problems, but this morning we're going to have a new compressor installed. Hopefully this will finally solve the problems. I also officially started my new job as a property manager. My first client is a family here in Cooper-Young. My plan is to add a few more this fall. There's been a somewhat steep learning curve with this, but I'm really enjoying it.

This morning we are heading to St. George Island in Florida with Mandy's sister and parents. Mandy, Micah and I are traveling in one vehicle, and Adam will go with the others. Today we're driving five hours and staying the night in Montgomery. In the morning we'll travel the final five hours. Hopefully Micah will do ok riding that long in the car. We're going to take our time and stop whenever we need to.

Joey Dorsey can score!

22 points, 13 rebounds. I know it's just summer league, but that still makes me happy.

The Divine Conspiracy

As I wrote in my last post, our church is spending a few weeks discussing Discipleship. Today I've been rereading chapter 8 of The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard. I don't think there's any book (other than the Bible) that I've wanted to internalize more than this one. As I was reading today, I typed a few quotes. Enjoy!

The assumption of Jesus’ program for his people on earth was that they would live their lives as his students and co-laborers. They would find him so admirable in every respect – wise, beautiful, powerful, and good – that they would constantly seek to be in his presence and be guided, instructed, and helped by him in every aspect of their lives (273).

The narrow gate is not, as so often assumed, doctrinal correctness. The narrow gate is obedience – and the confidence in Jesus necessary to it. The broad gate, by contrast, is simply doing whatever I want to do (275).

A disciple, or apprentice, is simply someone who has decided to be with another person, under appropriate conditions, in order to become capable of doing what that person does or to become what that person is (282).

And as a disciple of Jesus I am with him, by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means, we recall, how to live within the range of God’s effective will, his life flowing through mine. Another important way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did (283).

Only with such images (pearl & hidden field) before us can we correctly assess the famous “cost of discipleship” of which so much is made. Do you think the businessman who found the pearl was sweating over its cost? An obviously ridiculous question! The only thing these people were sweating about was whether they would “get the deal.” Now that is the soul of the disciple (292).

The entire point of this passage (Luke 14:25-33) is that as long as one thinks anything may really be more valuable than fellowship with Jesus in his kingdom, one cannot learn from him (293).

The counting of the cost is to bring us to the point of clarity and decisiveness. It is to help us to see. Counting the cost is precisely what the man with the pearl and the hidden treasure did. Out of it came their decisiveness and joy. It is decisiveness and joy that are the outcomes of the counting (293).

Weekly Links

• Ten Blogging Tips from Mark Batterson

• Ben Witherington concludes his challenge of the thoughts found in Pagan Christianity, by Frank Viola and George Barna.
  
  
• Jon Zens responds to Ben Witherington
  

• NT Wright on The Colbert Report
  
  
• Hulu - Mandy and I have just discovered this site for tv shows, movies, and clips. We've been watching Arrested Development together. I don't know why I never watched it before. It's awesome!
  
  
• Ed Stetzer gives a bullet point review of the new research from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
  
  
• Dallas Willard on Discipleship. We're going through a series on discipleship at NC, and this was one of the nuggets I (re)discovered and read last week.
  
  

Micah Update 6

This little guy really likes to sleep. Last night he went to sleep around 10:00 and woke up at 5:15. I'm sure it won't last, but we're going to enjoy it as long as we can!

Straight Out of Isaiah

On Wednesday I picked Adam up from school, and as we were walking down the hall, he noticed a statue of a lion and a lamb. He looked at it curiously. I could tell that he recognized the lion (he loves lions), but he wasn't sure what the lamb was. I said, "That's a lamb." He looked up at me and said, "But lions don't go with lambs. I'm just going to call it a female lion."

What a great reminder of the upside-down Kingdom. It's amazing how much I learn from my child!

Recession Woes

This morning I heard a commentator on MSNBC state that because of rising fuel and food costs alone, the average person is spending on average of $140 more per month than they were just a few months ago. That's pretty scary for a lot of families.

On the other hand, though, perhaps the state of our economy is an opportunity for change. I just read a great article from Bankrate. Here's an excerpt:

If you are old enough to have worn a mood ring, Earth shoes or bell-bottoms the first time around, you probably recall the "stagflation" days of the 1970s with a bemused mix of humor, national pride and nostalgia.

The forecast was just as dire back then, and for good reason. In 1975, inflation topped 14 percent, unemployment approached 6 percent (but doubled that in some locales), and fuel and food prices were headed skyward.

Most of us would be well into the Reagan years before our wallets grew appreciably heavier.

The funny thing is, I don't remember the sacrifice. We drove used cars and lived within our means, since car leasing and credit cards were not yet widespread.

We rented and shared apartments, since the average home mortgage rate hovered around 10 percent.

We shouldered none of the financial burden of such modern conveniences as cell phones, high-speed Internet or fitness center memberships.

No one wants a recession, of course. It can cause serious economic pain for millions.

However, economists tell us there are some reasons to actually welcome and perhaps even embrace a recession. After all, a recession is the ebb part of the natural ebb and flow of the U.S. economy.

Read more.

Micah Update Pt. 5

If all goes as planned, we're set to go home today. As great as this hospital is, it will be good to be at our house, sleeping in our bed. Mandy was able to walk around the third floor yesterday. When she had a c-section with Adam, it was day five or six before she was able to do this, so we were very pleased. Micah has been discharged, and we're waiting to see Mandy's doctor this morning so she can take out her staples.

More pics

If you want to see more pictures, click on the slideshow to the right. It will take you to our Flickr site. Then click "robgrish's photostream", then "Slideshow" at the top right.

Introducing Micah Jonas Grisham

Yesterday ended up being a little crazier than we would have liked, but I'm happy to say that we now have a beautiful baby boy. Micah was born yesterday at 5:38. He weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

As the day wore on, Mandy's contractions were getting stronger, but the dilation was very slow. That, coupled with the fact that Micah's heart rate was occasionally spiking, caused the doctor to want to perform a c-section. Mandy's doctor was not there, so we didn't really have a choice, though we wondered if she would have done the same thing.

The bad news about all of that is that the surgery was pretty rough on Mandy, though once again she was such a trooper. It also means a longer road to recovery. The good news is that we had Micah a lot sooner than we would have had she continued laboring, and he was very healthy! Almost all of his family got to see him soon after his birth as well. Even Adam was there when it happened.

At the hospital...

A little after 5:00 this morning, Mandy woke me up and said that she had been up most of the night having contractions and thought it was time. My first feeling was guilt for having slept through it all. She was very calm, which impressed me, and told me to call my mom and ask her to come to the house to keep Adam. I got up and called Mandy's parents. We got ready, then waited for my mom to arrive. We left the house around 7:00.

When we arrived the nurse said that she only dilated 3 cm or so. An hour later this was still the case. Normally, they would probably send her home, but since she had a c-section with Adam, they wanted her to stay. Megan is here, and Mandy's parents will be here soon. I'm sure Adam is having a great time with his Nana (she is taking him to the Children's Museum this morning).

Her contractions have been getting stronger over the last hour, so hopefully they are doing what they are supposed to do. We may be here for awhile, but I'm glad we're here.

More to come soon...

Meeting with God

Our Sunday evening worship gatherings at Neighborhood Church has been awesome the past couple of months. We've really gone back to the basics of what it means to follow Jesus. For the past five weeks we've been discussing what it means to abide with Christ (John 15). We've been able to be honest with the fact that at times God feels very distant. (I'm really glad to belong to a group that is honest, transparent and vulnerable when it comes to spiritual issues). I've also seen in the group a sense of expectation on what God is going to do next. This whole thing has been out of Jason and my hands for awhile now, and we're really seeing Jesus lead our church. I have no idea what next Sunday is going to look like. I assume that God will reveal something to Jason and I over the next few days, but I know that I am anxiously awaiting our time together.

What's a man gonna do?

For the first time in my life, I am out of BBQ sauce! That may be hard to believe, but it's true. I've never been without a bottle of BBQ sauce. While we lived in California, anytime we would come home, my mom and my dad usually had a bottle to give me, and it was normally from Corky's. We would often have three or four bottles at a time. Over time Mandy thought that was a bit much, and encouraged me to stop accumulating. I agreed...and look where it's brought me!

I guess I'm going to have to go to the grocery store and buy a bottle...or three.

The Phases of Friends

Mandy's final project before Micah comes has been to burn all of our VHS tapes to DVD. This morning we watched our wedding. It was the first time that Adam had seen it. At the beginning I told him that Mommy was hiding in the back, and that when she appeared, she was going to be dressed in white and would look very pretty beautiful (he always uses those words together). Needless to say, he was very excited!

As we watched, Mandy pointed out that all of my groomsmen now live outside of Tennessee. The funny thing is that while I was in California, most of them lived in Tennessee. Anyway, it got me thinking about the life stages we all go with, and the friends that we have as we go through those stages. At our wedding, our high school and college friends were with us, but we also had many of our newer friends from Nashville, where we spent our first year of marriage. During that time in Nashville, I began to lose touch with my college buddies. Then we moved to California, met new friends, and once again lost touch with friends.

Now that we're back in Tennessee, it's happening all over again, though we've been able to reconnect with friends here (facebook has a little something to do with that). I realize that I'm not very good at keeping up these relationships, especially when long distance is involved. I know that some of that is inevitable, but some of that is also just part of my personality.

In each phase of life, Mandy and I have been blessed to have some very significant friendships, and I'm very grateful for that.

Cats

Today Mandy and I went to see Cats at the Orpheum. My cousin, William, is the music director for the show. He got us 10th row seats, right in the middle (it's great to know somebody famous, right?). William has been on this path for quite some time, and I was really proud to get to see him in his element. In July he will be leaving the Cats tour and moving to Las Vegas, where he will be the assistant director of the new Phantom show at the Venetian.