Merry Kwanzaa!!!!

As an African American and Pan-African holiday celebrated by millions throughout the world African community, Kwanzaa brings a cultural message which speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense. Given the profound significance Kwanzaa has for African Americans and indeed, the world African community, it is imperative that an authoritative source be made available to give an accurate and expansive account of its origins, concepts, values, symbols and practice.

Moreover, given the continued rapid growth of Kwanzaa and the parallel expanded discussion of it and related issues, an authoritative source which aids in both framing and informing the discussion is likewise of the greatest importance. Therefore, the central interest of this post is to provide information which reveals and reaffirms the integrity, beauty and expansive meaning of the holiday and thus aids in our approaching it with the depth of thought, dignity, and sense of specialness it deserves.

The holiday, then will of necessity, be engaged as an ancient and living cultural tradition which reflects the best of African thought and practice in its reaffirmation of the dignity of the human person in community and culture, the well-being of family and community, the integrity of the environment and our kinship with it, and the rich resource and meaning of a people's culture.

Dr. Maulana Karenga Creator of Kwanzaa Chair, The Organization Us Chair, The National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO)

God bless all of my African brothers, and let us pray together that someday soon someone will find a way to honor the blessedness of my polish brothers as well.

Our America

In a time like this in America we tend to capsulate the world by what we understand about our personal culture. This book was the first time in my life I got a chance to see the world through someone else's personal culture. I read this when I was thirteen, and probably twenty times since then.
I wanted to bring this up because the ideas spawned from my perception of this book have had more of an influence on my life than anything I can remember including the Church.
Perception is reality. We are formed by the things that we cannot control. These are ideas that are foreign to the american, christian church, but vital to it understanding Christ's simplicity.
Our differences are what bind us together. The one thing that every person in the world has in common: we are all different.

UFC 79

If you don't already know I freakin' love the UFC. Well, guess what people. Yesterday at 2:02 pm EST. I received via mail my tickets for UFC 79 - Nemesis. Yeahh Baby!!!

Name:	Wanderlei Silva
Height:	5' 11" (180 cm)
Weight:	205 (93 kg)
Record:	31-7-1

The Axe Murderer

VS.

Name:	Chuck Liddell
Height:	6' 2" (188 cm)
Weight:	205 (93 kg)
Record:	20-4-0

The Ice Man

Strength

How do you know what strength is, if you have never pushed yourself to the point of breaking?
Getting to the point when you have given everything (physical, mental, and spiritual) and then you break through and find you have more than you can possibly imagine left. With each successive breaking point comes a greater revelation of who you are. Making your own rules, realizing you are bigger than anything that exists.
Obstacles are no longer that, they are simply situations that you use to accomplish tasks. All things become pawns in the game you were created to conquer. So strong that others begin to find their strength in you.
You can't know until you have been tested by you, creating a standard that only you can live up to.
People say you should know your limits, I think you should just get to know yourself.

Run Forrest Run

Tonight at church we had a small wave of "runners". I hope you know what I am talking about. At any given point in a "charismatic"-type service, when things get excitable one or more people will break off running a lap or two around the sanctuary.

I just think this whole display ironically parallels the church of today.
You get so excited about the things of God that you get up and run around in circles and then immediately sit on your butt and wait for someone to excite you enough to get up and run in circles again, all the while never leaving the building. Think about it.

And I post again.

I am feeling an excitement for ministry that I haven't felt in a long time. I really can't tell you why, I am just ready to get out there with people who think like me. People who could care less about anything but reaching people.

I think it's funny. The people I know that are like that are a small sub-culture who stick together. Even though we don't get together much we always know where each other is and what we are doing. Almost like a group of criminals in a Quintan Tarentino movie, coming together for the big job, but avoiding notoriety because it to risky to be in the lime light.
For us, giving of yourself is a lifestyle. You sacrifice family, friends, time, money, and everything else just because that's what we do; because that's what life is all about.
As I sit in church this evening I watched everyone excitedly worshiping and jeering on the pastor. I felt very distant and out of place. This is odd because these people are my friends, real friends. This church is my home and I love all the people there. Tonight, though, I just felt distant. About halfway through the service I remembered something that I heard once that finally truly made sense, "Passion without purpose is just fanaticism".
I don't want to just be another Jesus fanatic. My purpose is to preach the Gospel. The difference between me and most Christians is I know it.

My Frustration or Ours?

Bla bla bla bla. That's pretty much all I need to say. I mean that's all people really hear isn't it? I don't know, you tell me. It seems to me that there is a ridiculous indecency in the selfishness we as christians (aka kings aka priests aka called aka anointed aka perfect aka everything the world needs) have accepted. Well, don't pay attention. Your just broke, sick, beat down, and deceiving yourself, so just keep on thinking that your crappy situation will somehow magically disappear because you are believing that God is going to be able to work everything out dispite the fact that you are spending you life achieving your pursuits and completely disregarding the work that God has called each and everyone of us to.
Be a Christian. For the love of God, be a Christian. I mean seriously people it's not about you. Everything that Christ did was for everyone but Him, and yet we think being a Christian is about our convictions and what we believe. We are so backwards. Jesus didn't stand apart because of His convictions, He had convictions as a result of His compassion for people.
Grow up. Grow up. Grow up.
If you think that is to harsh, Grow up.

Haiti

I filmed and edited this short video from my trip to haiti last week. I will post the back story later.

Ahhhh America........

We have got to be kidding ourselves.

On the 28 of Sept.....

......I once again engage on a missionary journey. This small trip seems to me, to be nothing. Shadowed by a greater need. Almost as if the trip will have no real importance in the grand scale. My impact minimal at best.
What do I mean to say, I don't even know. All I want is to do the right thing. I want to reach people and truly impact them. It seems so simple doesn't it? It is only now after 10 years of family, work, and ministry that I am starting to see how truly simple it is. I must stress *starting*. It is just to easy to let me get in the way of me. Once again, I don't even know if I know what I mean by that. Maybe you know. If you do you are a lot smrter than me.
All that said I will be out there, I will be putting all of me into them. I will be feircley impacting my area of influence.

The Big Question.

For the better part of my life I have been driven. Not by success or or pain or even the suffering of others. My drive has been derived from what seems to be a simple question: Why? Amist the apparent simplisity that surrounds this statement complication seems to find it's home.

I believe in God. He is everything I need even when I don't know it. It seems, though, that the world that introduced me to Him doesn't really know Him at all. Enter The Big Question. Why does a man who claims to know God say that Hurricane Katrina was God's judgment on sinners? Why do we consider him a leader of the church? Why are Church leaders called upon to answer questions of family and politics rather than God? Why do we take communion? Why do we pray before we eat? Why do I ,amist all doubt and contriversey, break down into tears at the thought of a Saviour who gave everything for me and would do a million times a day for my sake alone if thats what it took? Why does the church work against each other? Why do I often feel alone when I think about reaching the world? Why do so many consider everything before they consider the God that lives inside of them? Why can we not embrace our differences and be a community of individuals who disagrees passionately in love and in turn love one another for that passion? Why do we not see that all God wants is for us to share Him with the world?

Easter is a Funny Time.

The Many Faces of Daddy and Sissy.

" So ya wanna Fight?"

"Scary Face"

"We were going for sad here."

"Crazy Heads"

" Ultra Serious"

"Wildly Excited"

Hey Crosby, I posted sumptin new!

This was just a fine Tulsa afternoon......

don'tcha miss it?

These are some pics from our first church picnic

with Life Demonstration Church.

What do you think of this?

Snow Day '07!!!!

To be truthful, it was more like "Ice Day '07!!!", but I think you get the point.

What inspires me?

I was thinking about this question this morning. The answer people. I am inspired by the way a person can overlook past failures or how someone can work what seams to be a mediocre job for thirty years because it was the right thing to do for their family. I can see sacrafice from all these aspects. This really got me thinking about how people in their ordinary life can do so much for the needy. Inclosed is my list of people who have had what I percieve to be the greatest impact on my life to date. I would also like to preface by saying that if it were not for these people I would be a shadow of who I am today, Thank You.

Stephen Shives- my first personal pastor. He treated me with respect, that is surprisingly rare.

My wife, Beth- she teaches me how to not be such an ass.

Paul Dinkins- you showed me that it is ok to be me. You will probably never know how much you truly gave me.

Stephen Posey- You have always treated me as a peer even when I was barely that. You helped me make it through.

Joe Vetzel- Joe, you taught me to be a responsible adult. You gave me a chance because that's the kinda guy you are. I feel like a large part of my motivation in life is seeing you say 30 years from now, "I told you that guy was gonna do something amazing". I won't let you down man.

Wes- what can I say, you define friendship. I love you bro. You will always support me no matter what people say. If I didn't see you for 20 years, I know that our conversation would pick up like I never left.

I can only pray that I influence the world like these have me. The path I have taken was worth every step, because the people I have met along the way. That inspires me.