Cleaner Youtube

I just wanted to take a moment to recommend a Google Chrome extension.

I know we all love the occasional YouTube video from time to time.  Unfortunately, even when the video itself is clean and acceptable for viewing, the rest of the stuff that is present on the page may not be.  I've had many times that someone has sent me a funny or interesting video, but for some reason the related videos along the side have had some images that were completely inappropriate.  Sometimes I hesitate even clicking the link at all for that very reason.  So, I was glad to find "a cleaner YouTube."

Instead of attempting to describe what a cleaner YouTube does, let me just show you a couple of screenshots.

Here is a typical YouTube video:

Here is that same video's page with a cleaner YouTube:

You can click either image to enlarge... Notice that all of the extra stuff has been eliminated from the page, giving you... well... a cleaner YouTube.

If you use Google Chrome, then click here to go the the cleaner YouTube extension.  If you don't use Google Chrome, well you should.

Bulbous Bouffant

Ever wonder what I do at the bus stop in the afternoon while I am waiting with the other teachers?



[via Kevin DeYoung]

Netflix pick of the week: Microcosmos

My Netflix pick this week is going to be a documentary that my whole family enjoyed... Even my wife!  The documentary was called Microcosmos.  Here is the Netflix description:

Employing unique microscopic cameras and powerful specialized microphones, this highly praised French documentary is a fascinating look at the seldom-explored world of insects and other minute creatures as they go about their daily lives. With footage of ladybugs feasting and snails mating to a mystical score by composer Bruno Coulais, the film won five César Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Music.

Like I said, we all enjoyed the movie.  There was only a little bit of talking at the beginning, but this method of exploring this "microcosmos" was simply captivating. Once we started it, we couldn't finish it.  I will warn you though, more than once it shows some insects mating... and some snails... fascinating, but gross.

It is available for instant viewing, so if you have Netflix, you can click here and go straight to the movie's page.  Here is the youtube trailer for the movie: (The Netflix version is in English, but the trailer is in French.)

Netflix Pick of the Week

My pick for this week is going to be a long-time favorite: Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I am actually really excited about this.  I loved this show when I was a kid.  I don't want to offend anyone, but I thought it was way better than the originals... don't get me wrong, I am a fan of the originals, but this one was better.  I also think that it was much, much better than any of the following shows.  Better than Deep Space Nine, better than Voyager, and Better than Enterprise.

Netflix just added all of the Star Trek shows, and included all seven seasons of The Next Generation.  I can't wait to start watching these with my boys!

too much bread

I have now completed two school years and one summer term as a teacher and as a pastor.  Wearing these two hats, many times simultaneously, has left me stretched a little thin.  As Bilbo Baggins says on the occasion of his 111th Birthday,

"I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter, scraped over too much bread."

I love that quote.  J.R.R. Tolkien does such an excellent job of writing in a way that leaves me feeling his words. Well, these are the words I have felt, more than once, over these last two years.  I want to do more, in both arenas, but there is simply, "too much bread."

Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't regret the situation that I am in, and strangely, I haven't had one single "second thought."  Seriously, not once have I thought to myself, "I shouldn't have done this... I shouldn't have said yes."  I believe deeply that God has brought me to this place and that He has placed me in both of these positions... and yet... I am stretched.

Is God's grace sufficient?

Yes.

The Bible!

I've read through Ryrie's Basic Theology and most of Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.  I have listened to the audio version of Doctrine by Mark Driscoll and reread through most of it.  I've enjoyed God Wrote a Book by James MacDonald and many other books about the Bible... But it doesn't matter how many times I study this amazing book that we call The Bible... I am always amazed.

I love how the Philadelphia Confession states it:

We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the church of God to an high and reverent esteem of the Holy Scriptures; and the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, and the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, and many other incomparable excellencies, and entire perfections thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God; yet notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth, and divine authority thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts.

Amen to that.

Why study the Church?

I am starting a new preaching series at church.  This series will deal with the topic of The Church.  I don't normally preach topically, I have a strong belief in expository preaching, but I also believe that there are times when certain topics need to be addressed.  I would like to share the two most dominant reasons why I am embarking on this study.

Reason #1 - There are several major misconceptions about the Church.
I feel like, especially in the last few months, that I am constantly encountering several major misconceptions about the church.  These misconceptions are exuding from people who are on the outside of the church, but also from those who are inside the church.  (When I say "inside" and "outside" the church, I am speaking about those who attend regularly and those who do not attend regularly or not at all.)

One of the most frequently encountered misconceptions goes something like this, "The Church is an optional part of the Christian life." or "The Church isn't a vital part of my spiritual life." We've all encountered this in the form of the guy who believes that he can be "...just as close to God while I'm fishing as I could ever be in a church building!"  But this misconception is growing and is changing into an overall sense of "the church is bad, but God is good" and is resulting in (literally) millions of people leaving the church.

I recently read about a study from George Barna, president of the Barna Group, that describes this shift away from church as revolutionary and he wants to be a part of it.  He even implies that this personal shift away from church, that so many Americans are involved in, is irrelevant to God by stating, "Whether you become a Revolutionary immersed in, minimally involved in, or completely disassociated from a local church is irrelevant to me (and, within boundaries, to God)."

You can read more about George Barna's thoughts on this topic in the Christianity Today article titled, No Church? No Problem.  And though I am not recommending it, nor have I read it, there is a book by George Barna dealing with this same topic.  It is called Revolution.

Even though I do not believe that everyone outside of church is not a Christian, I do believe that it is a serious fallacy to believe that leaving the church is completely disconnected from leaving God.  Church was (and is) God's idea.  Christ is very intimately and passionately connected to the Church.  And because I've read the end of the story, I know that Christ's passion for His Church comes to fruition in the last days.  He never gives up on the idea of Church.

So, I am going back to the Bible to see what it says about church.  I want to know what God says about this topic, since it is His project.  I am praying that God will give me wisdom as I consider the illustrations, examples, and teachings concerning the church.

Reason #2 - I am convinced that Edgewood (the church where I pastor) is not as Biblical as it should be.
...or maybe I should say, "as it could be."  Don't get me wrong, I love my church.  I love the people who are there.  I love that God has brought me here at this place, at this time.  I've seen God's hand in so many ways at this church already, but I am convinced that change in a Biblical direction needs to happen.

Frankly, it doesn't do any good to study the Bible on any topic without considering how to put that into practice in your own life.  If we study the church, then we need to ask how we can be a more Biblical church. During the first few weeks of being a pastor I would say occasionally that we wanted to be God's kind of Church.  If that is true, then this is where we need to go.  I have come to care less about who is coming to church or how many are coming to church, than I do about what type of church we are.

If you are the praying sort, then I would appreciate your prayers as I study this topic, as I learn what the Bible says, as I seek to diligently preach these truths, and as my church collides with scripture, pray that we will be willing to change.