The Lost Scorecard

Back in January, in anticipation of the final season of Lost I made a  I made a list of the questions I wanted to see answered.  In this post I am checking the score to see how that final season measured up to my hopes

  1. Jacob/Man in Black - Answered
  2. The Island (I know this one is pretty vague) - Really not answered, but at lest sort of addressed
  3. The numbers - Answered
  4. Walt and/or Vincent (the ability to make stuff happen) - Not even addressed
  5. Richard Alpert – why doesn’t that dude age? - Answered
  6. Christian Shepherd - Answered
  7. The smoke monster - Answered
  8. Why children can’t be born on the island - Not even addressed
  9. That giant statue - Not addressed
  10. Everybody being connected. Did the island choose them or what’s the deal with that? - Answered, sort of.

So by my count that is 6 of 10 questions answered.  Overall I was satisfied.  I found the finale to be emotional and enjoyable, even if it didn't answer the question what is the island.

All during Christian Shepard's speech all I could think of was that this is a postmodern / new-agey version of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce.  Also I was terribly distracted by that ridiculous stained glass window tribute to every religion even if they are 100% incompatible.

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Facebook & Privacy *an addendum

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Yesterday I posted about my approach to Facebook in light of all the recent uproar over the lack of privacy and Facebook’s seeming desire to make its information more public and make it more difficult to change or understand the privacy settings.  My approach is simple.  I will just assume that every single piece of information on the site is public, just as this blog or Twitter.  (Just for the record, so you will not all think I am incapable of original thought, I wrote the bulk of yesterday’s post before reading this post by Ed Stetzer or hearing yesterday’s TWIT) Facebook?Today is an addendum to that post.  It includes a few thoughts about privacy.  I have noticed over the last few years that there are two distinct ways of looking at privacy.  I have also noticed that the line of demarcation for these two views is somewhere around 1973.  If you were born prior to 1973 you most likely think, “Why would anyone want to share info about themselves?  The world is full of people out to get you and you have to protect yourself.”  If you were born post 1973 you most likely think “Why not share all that info?”

Although I think it is wise to be careful, I’m definitely in the latter category.

Why?

Because nobody really wants to stalk me, or you.

And if they do really want to stalk you they will find some way with or without Facebook.  I believe we all have a natural tendency to think people are looking at us all the time.  We are naturally narcissistic.  In reality, only the people who care, will be interested in what you post.  Advertisers want to sell you stuff. (Which is why my Facebook ads are all for fishing and church-functions.)  Otherwise you are only sharing info with friends because strangers don’t care.  43% of identity theft is from people who know the victim, so it’s not like you are protecting yourself by leaving Facebook.  Your uncle is more likely to take out a credit card in your name than a stranger that learned about you from Facebook.

I guess that is really only one thought about privacy and Facebook.  Feel free to tell me in the comments why I am wrong and how dangerous it is.

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What do I do about Facebook?

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There is an increasing movement of displeasure with Facebook as articles pop up every day lately regarding their terrible privacy policy and the fact that nearly all of your profile information has now been made public in one way or another.  You can read this article, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one, or this one.  But the best way to see it is to look at this graph of how public Facebook made info in the old days versus now.

Facebook Comparison

The people who are concerned are right to be concerned.  There is a major problem with any company that wants your information as badly as Facebook wants it being as irresponsible with it as Facebook is.  Also, Facebook has a frightening amount of your information.  They have everything from pictures of that one night in college when you were tripping on shrooms and had a conversation with an imaginary owl, to your child’s kindergarten graduation date.  I am not at all happy about the situation and I am, admittedly, as Facebook addicted as anyone.

Let’s face it though, unless something truly drastic happens, like maybe, Facebook begins selling your info directly to the mob, you are not going to leave.  I am probably not going to leave.  Honestly, I don’t know how it could get much worse than it is now.  Although, if I had children I would be very strongly considering making them close their account.  The thing that allows Facebook to be so cavalier with your information is the same reason you are probably not going to leave.  Everyone is on it.  In reality it has nearly killed the need for high school reunions.  There are people that I have lost track of for years that now I know how to contact easily.

So here’s the question.  If I am concerned about Facebook’s use of my information, but not planning to leave, what am I going to do about it?  In short, I’ll treat every piece of information on there as if it were completely public.  All my pictures, all my contact info, all my likes, and all of the links I post I will assume that everyone on the internet can see them, especially advertisers.  In short I will treat Facebook as if it were twitter.

I have always known that whatever I posted on twitter could be seen by everyone.  That doesn’t mean I have never tweeted anything that I should probably have kept to myself, but that knowledge helps me moderate myself.  And that is how I will treat Facebook in the future.

Tomorrow I have a few thoughts about the loss of privacy.

My experience at the DCW (pt. 2)

Yesterday I reviewed the retreat center where the Dynamic Communicator’s workshop was held.  Today I am sharing my experience there and how I benefitted from it.  The DCW is 4 days of training on how to become an effective communicator.  Going into the workshop I would have told you that I am a gifted teacher, but that I am not a great public speaker.  This manifests in the form of being not particularly good in the pulpit.  In fact, in 13 years of being on church staff I have only filled the pulpit 3 times.  I was hoping to become more polished and effective in this type of format. DCW is a workshop done by Ken Davis productions.  In it they teach a method of presentation signified by the acronym SCORRE. The purpose of the SCORRE method is to teach the speaker to clearly communicate his or her point to the audience.  We have all suffered through a speech in which the speaker did not know what the point was.  And we have all walked away from a speech wondering what the speaker was trying to say.  Here is a guarantee, if you follow the SCORRE method, you will definitely know what your point is.  Further, if you present it properly, your audience will know what your point is.

The classroom sessions are all about the method of speaking.  But the classrooms are only a part of the workshop experience.  The other component is practice and evaluation.  We were placed into small groups (7-9 people) with each group having a leader.  The purpose of the small groups was to practice our newly-learned skills.  We arrived with a prepared speech and wrote and delivered 2 others over the course of the workshop.

In the small groups you are videotaped so you can see yourself.  Also you are critiqued by the members of your group and of your instructor.  For me, this was the most useful part of the workshop.  In this part I was able to work on things like gestures and eye-contact.  These are the parts of public speaking where I particularly needed improvement.  Watching yourself on videotape with your instructor by your side is painful, but it is also very educational.  When he is able to say, “See what you did there?” or, “Wasn’t that boring?”  it goes a lot further than saying, “Be less boring.”

I cannot review anyone else, but my small-group leader was wonderful.  He was honest in his criticism and gentle.  I never felt beat down by criticism, only encouraged.

DCW is a wonderful experience.  If public speaking is ever a part of your life, you would benefit from attending.  I honestly believe that I am a better public speaker now than I was a week ago.  At the very least I  know that I am certainly more confident.

My experience at the DCW

I promised last week that I would post about my experience at the Dynamic Communicator’s Workshop, so I owe my readers this post.  I have, however, decided to break  it up into two parts.  Today I will post about the facilities where the workshop was held and tomorrow about my actual experience at the workshop.

The DCW I attended was at the WinShape Retreat Center which is on the campus of Berry College.  WinShape is operated by the non-profit arm of Chick-Fil-A and it is easily the most impressive lodging I have ever experienced.  The weather was great, it was cool and did sprinkle a bit but overall it was great.  So I will admit that I may have been slightly less awed by the beauty if it had been August rather than April, but it was amazing.

So what are the key things to consider when evaluating a retreat center?  I believe there are three things to consider; the food, the lodgings, and the meeting areas.  Let’s take those one at a time.

First, the food was wonderful.  It was not standard cafeteria fare, but gourmet awesomeness.  There was always variety.  In case you do not like tilapia, there was beef.  And it was all good.

Second, the lodgings were great.  The room was huge, the bed was comfortable, the shower was hot and the people were friendly.  Someone was always there to open the door for you, and they smiled about it.

Third, the meeting areas were nearly perfect.  I suppose I could have wished for more comfortable seating in the auditorium, but the pews were not uncomfortable.

I realize that for a review to be taken seriously, there must be some sort of criticism, so here is my attempt.  On the first night of the workshop, during social time, they fed us cookies which included the best peanut butter cookie I have ever eaten.  The rest of my small group was in agreement.  However the rest of the time, those cookies were nowhere to be found.  We had to settle for scones.  Which, although they were the best scones I’ve ever eaten, do not even compare to the awesomeness of the peanut butter cookies.

What You People Come Here For (April Edition)

Once a month I like to take a look at all the interesting searches that brought people to my site.  I put them here just as they appeared.  I simply copy and paste them.  Whatever you see in parentheses is my commentary. - Enjoy

  • biggest trampoline in the world (I have absolutely no idea why this search would bring anyone to my site)
  • buddhism intonement
  • yellow pollen trees in fayetteville nc
  • fishing "bare feet" ants
  • what does it mean when tongue feels burn (I think it means you are burning your tongue)
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Best Web Junk (April 30)

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This week in best web junk all you get is you get two very different videos. First - A really neat effect caused by a frame rate in sync with a helicopter blade.  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_6NRXfRVE]

And second - An acappella group singing Lady Gaga.  It is quite entertaining.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8PAuvxCZuM]

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Making Progress

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In this world there are not many things I am actually good at.  In fact the list of things I am terrible at is very long.  I am terrible at anything that takes physical coordination.  I don’t play church league softball because I bring nothing to the team (anyone can ground out to the second baseman 3 times) I am pretty much horrible at every athletic endeavor.   Although I enjoy them, I am not very good at video games.  I have a terrible singing voice, and I don’t play any instruments.  I am not particularly mechanically inclined.  (Currently I can’t even get my lawnmower to start.) I think that is probably enough examples to make my point without being depressing. Even though the list of things I am bad at is extensive, there are a few things I am quite good at.  Fortunately, I know what those few things are.  I believe one of them is that I am a gifted teacher.

I believe that because of that gifting, God has called me to a profession that allows me to use it.  I would be a sin to allow the tools I have go to waste.

I love God’s word and I love apologetics.  You may recall I once posted about this love and the way that my life has progressed to where I get to teach regularly on apologetics.  Because of these 2 factors, I have for some time had a desire to become a NAMB Certified Apologetics Instructor. (CAI)  I think this is a noble attempt by the NAMB to have a certified group of apologists to recommend as it becomes more and more necessary in a culture which is moving further from being “Christian.”  This certification may turn out to be merely a stamp of approval from an organization I respect, but I believe that God has put this desire in my heart.

Part of the CAI certification process is a required course on public speaking.  It is called Dynamic Communicators workshop and it is put on by the Ken Davis Association. Next week I will post about my experience at this workshop and how I believe it has benefited me.  But in this post I want to ask my readers a favor.

Help me complete my certification.  I have completed steps 1 and 2.  All that is left is step 3.  In order to become a CAI, I must speak 30 times.  Currently I don’t have a church home so I have freedom to travel and speak in a variety of places.  (There is a church I attend regularly, but not where I am a member) Let me speak in your church.  I can do 1 lesson on apologetics or 30 if you want.  I can speak to youth or to adults.  You don’t have to pay me, I’m trying to complete my certification. (although it would be nice to get mileage if you are very far away)

If you recommend me to your pastor or to your church you will be helping me to realize a dream and to do what I believe is God’s will for my life.

I’ll conclude with just one word.

Please.

What about those who have never heard? (pt.2)

I started a blog post a week ago about what happens to people who never have a chance to hear the gospel.  Then I kinda forgot about posting part 2.  So even though it is much delayed, here is part 2. You may remember from part 1, two arguments.  1) It is the testimony of scripture that those people are lost, and 2) the notion that general revelation is enough to condemn but not to save.

My third argument is one from logic.  So I’ll start with propositions:

-          Jesus commands his followers to share the gospel message. (Matt: 28:8)

-          Many people who hear the gospel message will reject it. (Matt 7:13-14)

Therefore

-          If ignorance of the gospel was enough to save, the great commission would be cruel because it would bring about condemnation for many

I think that is pretty clear, but I’ll elaborate a bit.  Why would Jesus command us to tell everyone if the simple telling would bring about condemnation to so many?  Because many will reject the message of Christ, then the act of telling them is cruel.  I expect none of us would be willing to call Jesus cruel.  And we know that God wishes for none to perish.  So the very giving of the great commission implies that those who have no access to the gospel are lost.

My final argument is not so much an argument as it is a comment.  We should not underestimate how much God hates our sin. (2 Cor 5:21, 1 Jn 1:5)  Nobody will declare that those who have no opportunity to hear the gospel are not sinners.  If they are human, they are sinful. God has been very clear about His penalty for sin.  We all know we are guilty of sin and so we look on it much more lightly than God who is completely holy.

I believe that all this evidence leads to  no other conclusion than to say that those who never have the opportunity to hear the gospel are lost.

In light of this - Give to Lottie Moon.  Pray for missionaries.  Be open to God's call to become a missionary.  The great commission is more important than we can express.

What about those who have never heard? (pt.1)

Three times in the last few weeks someone has asked me a question about what happens to those who have never heard the gospel of Christ.  It is one of those questions that is always closely under the surface for evangelicals because we have compassion for the lost.  There is a special concern for those who are lost and have not had the opportunity to know about Christ.  For some reason, I rarely post about theology on this blog.  In this case I think it has become necessary.  So I will do my best to explain why I believe that these people must be lost. My first argument is a simple straightforward argument from scripture.  Salvation is only obtained one way, by faith in Christ.  John 14:6 makes this abundantly clear.  That there is no way to get into heaven except thorough the sacrifice of Christ.  This is not simply prooftexting or taking one verse out of context, the same idea carries throughout the Bible.  Faith is the only method of salvation.

This may sound repetitious, but it bears saying.  There is no other god, person, entity, or idol to appeal to for salvation.  Acts 4:12 says, “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  This is clear.  Faith in a tribal sun-god, or in the moon, or in a giant rabbit or anything other than the name of Christ is worthless.

If I had no further argument, this would be enough to establish this doctrine.

My second argument is to appeal to general revelation. (A topic which I’m surprised that I haven’t blogged on before) Romans 1 makes it clear that God has made Himself known to everyone through creation. Romans 1 also makes it clear that this knowledge is enough to condemn, but not enough to save.  An awareness of God does not even remotely resemble saving faith.  James 2:19 says that even the demons believe in God.  The doctrine of general revelation, therefore tells that this knowledge makes us without excuse.  That is to say that all people know that they are guilty.

As I was writing this post, I realized that it was becoming way too long.  So I have split it into 2 parts.  Come back tomorrow and read part 2.

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What You People Come Here For (Feb-Mar Edition)

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Usually once a month I like to take a look at all the interesting searches that brought people to my site.  I put them here just as they appeared I copy and paste them.  Whatever you see in parentheses is my commentary.

  • tattoos gcr (This one is here because of the image it conjures up.  I can totally see Dr. Akin rocking his Great Commission Resurgence tattoo)
  • tattoos za raka
  • funny junk cat
  • dizziness after loud dog bark  (I feel sorry for this person)
  • funny buying
  • the church of the platypus (I think platypoda go to Greek-Orthoxox churches usually)
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What I will miss about NC

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I moved to North Carolina just over 7 years ago.  And later this week I will be moving away.  So I thought I would write a couple of posts about North Carolina.  Yesterday I wrote about the things I will be glad to not deal with once I leave North Carolina. Today I am writing about the things I will miss about NC.

  • My house – I have lived in the same house for 5 years.  I believe that is the longest time with only one address in my entire lifetime.  Not only have I lived in the same house for 5 years. But it is a really nice house with really good grass in the front yard.  I have issues with that sycamore tree in the front yard, and I'm not crazy about the utility room being on the carport, but otherwise I’ll miss this place.
  • Distance from my family – I know what you are thinking.  This was on yesterday’s list, you are right it was.  It is a bit of a bummer living so far from family.  But there are some positives about it as well. When you live 1/3rd of the country away from your family you only see them about 3 times a year.  It turns out, that seeing less of my family makes me appreciate them a lot more.
  • CBC – I really enjoy my classes at Carolina Bible College.  Teaching adults is very different than teaching teenagers, which is what I have done for the last 13 years.  But it is a nice break and I get to delve deeper into topics I can often only scrape the surface of when teaching teens.  Also, my students are generally appreciative of my teaching, even if not my grading.
  • Cookout & MiCasita – Two very different restaurants go here on the list.  Mi Casita is a Fayetteville Mexican restaurant where I eat pretty much weekly.  I will miss it very much.  Cookout is a fast food restaurant that is unique to North Carolina.  The food is wonderful.  Seriously, where else can you get a double cheeseburger with fries and chicken nuggets plus a drink for under 5 bucks.  I’ll tell you - nowhere.  Also, it has without question, the best milkshake in any fast-food place anywhere.  My favorite fast food restaurant will now be hundreds of miles away. Sad.
  • The watershed lake I fish regularly – I love fishing.  And for the last 4 years I have had the opportunity to fish a healthy lake with virtually no fishing pressure.  I have fished there dozens of times and could count on one hand the occasions when there was more than one boat in the water.  Last year alone I had 3 bass that would have been my best fish ever if I could get them into the boat.  I have caught bass, pickerel, bluegill, shellcrackers, and crappie in healthy amounts from that lake.  I hardly ever have a bad day in that lake and I will definitely be sad when I can’t drive 5 minutes and be there.
  • My friends and church family – Let’s be honest, the really sad part of moving is not going a long way from a great restaurant, or a house, or a lake, or any of those things.  The hard part is leaving behind all the people.  I will not attempt to name all the folks here who I will miss.  I will miss friends from seminary, pastors in my association, students and colleagues at CBC and loads for people from my church family.   There are many people in NC that my life is better for knowing, and it will be a shame to leave them.  Fortunately, in this day of social media, it is possible to keep in touch much better than ever before.  It is amazing what you can learn about people’s lives through a twitter feed or through facebook.  So I’m glad for those technologies.  You people keep updating and I’ll keep reading.
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What I will not miss about NC

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I moved to North Carolina just over 7 years ago.  And later this week I will be moving away.  So I thought I would write a couple of posts about North Carolina.  Tomorrow I will write about the things I will miss when I leave, but today’s topic is what I will not miss about living in NC.

  • The distance from my family –  It is about 700 miles from here to my hometown, I only see my family about 3 times a year
  • The U.S. Army trying to shake my house apart – I have lived about a mile from Ft. Bragg for the last 5 years.  In that time I have grown accustomed to my house shaking, windows rattling, and the sort of jumpiness that comes with that.  However, that doesn’t mean I like it.  And my dog hates it.  He just roams around the house barking at some unknown enemy.  This is one thing I will not miss in the slightest.
  • Bar-b-q with no smoke in it – What people call bar-b-q around here is good enough for what it is.  It just isn’t bar-b-q and I won’t miss it in the slightest.
  • The traffic – All I will say here is good riddance to the traffic in Fayetteville.  I will not miss Reilly Rd.  I will not have to make Yadkin Rd., Skibo Rd., or The longest light in the world on Morganton a normal part of my day.  And for that I am glad.
  • The world turning yellow every spring – I guess this is not strictly a North Carolina problem, but it is a problem all over the Deep South where pine trees are the majority.  In late March and early April everything turns yellow.  I don’t mean has a sort of yellow sheen to it, but the wind blowing through the trees looks like yellow smoke.  Cars turn yellow, the ground turns yellow.  The pollen forms a light dust on the ground that is actually slippery.  The windward side of the lake becomes coated in yellow pollen and after every cast so does your bait.  If you have never seen it, I don’t believe I can do it justice with words.
  • Fire Ants – Again, I know this is not just a problem in the Sandhills of NC, but fire ants were unknown to me before I moved here.  For more on my feelings about fire ants, read this.
  • People referring to chicken & dumplings as “pastries” – Nothing about that makes any sense to me on any level. Good riddance to that quirk of dialect.
  • The difficulty in watching UK games – I am an SEC fan, stuck for the last 7 years in the heart of ACC country.  Kentucky is regularly preempted in favor of an ACC game.  I understand why, but I hate it.  That is one more thing I will not miss.