Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Dear Prime Minister Harper

A letter published in the Ottawa Citizen written by Deborah Grey who served as a member of Parliament from 1989 to 2004.

It is done.

The election is over. Thanks to the networks everywhere, we too have useful visuals to assist us in understanding "who won what?" and "where did they win it?" It is interesting that "deep blue" represents the Conservatives while "Loyalist red" represents the Liberals. Somehow the NDP's got stuck with "bland orange" while the Bloc got their "Nordiques blue" (the NHL team formerly known as the Nordiques now known as the Avalanche and also a lighter shade of blue). After seeing the final results, I will never understand why Vancouver votes the way it does . . . I don't think the people who live there even understand. CBC has worked hard to give us great informative and visual coverage of the Federal election, click here. In the coming weeks, will Albertans be referred to as a "blue province"? It is done . . . at least for another 18 months.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

The Samurai Personality Quiz: My Results

vsvsv
Justice and Morality: You believe in doing what is
right for others and maybe even for yourself.
People would consider you one with good morals,
and someone who would not let them down.


Which Characteristic From the Samurai Code Matches You Best? (You may find out your best trait)
brought to you by Quizilla

Thursday, January 19, 2006

The Liberals and the Others

Since our federal election is right around the corner, I thought I would do some surfing to find "an alternative" (Stephan Harper's campaign office is 1 block from my front door). Interestingly enough, I found a few such alternatives . . . though I have not had the time to comprehensively review their platforms, their party names capture my imagination. Check 'em out: the Separation Party of Alberta, the Western Refederation Party of British Columbia, and the Western Block Party (yes there is also the Marxist-Leninist Pary of Canada, not to be confused with the Communist Party of Canada, or the Animal Alliance
Environment Voters
Party of Canada
). Some other rambling, if anyone out there understands all of this, how is the Bloc Quebecois able to remain "Charter-free" with membership as a federal party? BTW, I tried to see if the BQ site had an English version, no luck. I wonder if there are any BQ candidates outside of Quebec?

Friday, January 13, 2006

Resurgence Missional Theological Cooperative

Finally someone (actually there are many within the Emerging conversation who are like this) who understands the terms "missional, postmodern, contextualization, innovation, and community" yet maintains a bold, firm stance within evangelical theology. After distancing himself with the theological tinkering of Brian McLaren and Tony Jones, check out Mark Driscoll's new blog (lead pastor of Seattle's Mars Hills Church). But then there are the folks who are dug in with their ammo ready to fire at anything that says "postmodern."

Postscript

I have sporadically followed the growth of Mars Hill since its inception in the 1990s. It was during Bible school when I found them online (while doing research for a class "Implications of Computers in Ministry" or something like that). Mars Hill had a unique bent on its views and values - since then we categorize such communities as "postmodern" or "emerging church." I think that it is important to note (as I did in an earlier blog), that Mars Hill is one of the more conservative communities in the "emerging church" bunch. After visiting Vintage Faith, I would say that Dan Kimball is also of a similar theological flavor (Perhaps the result of rich traditions of being in a Bible church which emphasizes evangelical beliefs? Not to say that there are not other rich theological traditions out there as well!). Again, this is yet another reminder to me of my bad American habits - remember the red and blue states? I can hear them now, "you are either for us or you are against us!" As NT Wright so insightfully points out in a presentation regarding "Women in Ministry": "We have to claim the freedom, in Christ and in our various cultures, to name and call issues one by one with wisdom and clarity, without assuming that a decision on one point commits us to a decision on others." Though Driscoll may not agree with McLaren or Jones, he still considers them friends - call that revolutionary!

Multi Level Marketing Nightmare

This is a rant - no thanks to Andrew's email and the conversation with Keith. Back in the late 80's, while I was still in LA., my brother and I stumbled (more like suckered) into a Pyramid Marketing scheme known as "NSA" (National Safety Associates). We ended up peddling air/water filters to as many of our friends, friend's friends, and their friend's friend's friends as possible - get the picture? Soon, it felt like we had entered bizarro world (as a kid I read Superman) of the cheesiest type of sales people you could think of. We even attended this big NSA event at one of the downtown hotels that showcased ordinary people who were transformed into million dollar machines - a huge "pep and pump" talk to make the underlings sell more. I remember sitting their among the throngs of well wishers wanting to hop on the next get rich scheme . . . "Hmm, I wonder how these guys make money . . . really? No really, how do they do it?" Needless to say, I have left the organization and have since dumped the water and air filter biz.

Fast forward 15 years, out of the blue, pretty much out of nowhere a "out-of-touch" friend emails me this "Hi, how have you been doing? I heard . . . blah, blah, blah . . . bait, hook, line, sinker . . . have you ever considered working out of home?" It turned out that this "out-of-touch" friend (out of touch with reality and common sense) was peddling health products and more importantly (for himself) a multi level marketing scheme that required for him to get people onboard his wagon and the wagon of the guy on his upline (aka. "His Mentor"). All of this was fine until, "out-of-touch" (for the remainder of this rant this is how I will affectionately refer to "used-to-be-friend") decided to kick up the steam a little - I think he realized that I wasn't buying his sensitive and understanding baloney regarding the "future-I-could-have" and the "you-can-be-financially-independent" bunk after that. He pulled out one of the dirtiest tricks . . . the "my-associates-and-I-are-Christians-now-can-we-meet-with-you?" Alright, I lost it. I wanted to give him the "I am your worst nightmare" speech with theatrics, but fortunately with some wit and care I dismissed him as quickly as he began emailing me. What is the deal with that? Do these guys know that when they sell their souls, life stinks after? "Out-of-touch" even tried to get another friend onboard using an even lower tactic - our mutual friend had serious health problems and "out-of-touch" tried to peddle his meddle to her using her crutch as his treasure! Times like this, I wish I were a sniper. "Out-of-touch" you need to get your act together!

On another note, for the Mary Kay dealers, check this Mary Kay Survivors Rehab group.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Practical "Kakalogology" - An Evangelical Theology of Cussing

Alright, I've have heard it, read it, and at times used it (usually in thought form - Jedi mind tricks). But what is appropriate and proper usage/non-usage of cussing? I found an interesting article that served as an intro on the subject. Here is another site that deals more with the etiquette and manner of profanity (or lack thereof): "Cuss Control Academy." Which reminds me, why on earth did I leave the television on during the debates?

Sunday, January 08, 2006

"The Church in Emerging Culture" book . . . uh . . . comment

Michael Horton writes a mean chapter (entitled "Better Homes & Gardens") dropping names like Shaq's missed free throws (all over the place) . . . Descarte, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Heideggar, Gadamer, Ricoeur, Levinas, Schleiermacher, Fichte, Schopenhauer, Feuerback, Oktoberfest, Weinerschnitzel, Volkswagen (brought back bad memories of my Intro to Philosophy course back at school). Reading the chapter, which I have just begun, reminds me of a conversation I had with a certain Ph.D. (oh so tempted to put a link here) a few years ago. During a casual conversation while attending a "Missions Conference" Ph.D. said to me, "Oh John, you'll never understand . . . you are not a Ph.D." My simple world suddenly was cracked wide open, I realized that I was indeed a moron hidden away in the dark closet of stupidity unable to see the light of liberty that was shining so brightly from the ivory tower of academia.

Then I remembered a corny joke I once heard from Dr. Stanley Grenz,

"How do you know that God is not a Ph.D.?

1. He had only one major publication.
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.
5. Some even doubt he wrote it by himself."

Friday, January 06, 2006

The Lineage of a Wanna-be Samurai

The myths and legends are not true, my hands are not registered as "deadly weapons" with the state of California. It all began with a whim and a chance meeting - providentially enriched? Somewhere back in 1991 or 92, I hooked up with this Kun Tau guy named Luis Mayoral. He just opened up shop in Alhambra and I just so happen to notice his sign. I took a few classes got a free gi . . . then it happened! I was working at Ralph's at the time when I met up with a guy who would forever change my perception of martial arts and self-defense . . . Mike Stackowski, one of the store managers. He was a Hapikido drop-out turned Wing Chun disciple under Will Duvall (Robert Duvall's cousin), who was a LA Chinatown original from the Bruce Lee school (so I was told). Will was well connected with the LA martial arts community. Anyhow, Mike took me under his "wing" (no pun intended) and began to show me the finer points of Jeet Kune Do Concepts (or Jun Fan Boxing or JKD or whatever you want to argue is proper according to the JKD Nucleus - are they still around?). Soon I was exposed to the foundations of JKD, the 4 ranges of fighting according to Lee: grappling, trapping, punching, and kicking. Each range consisted of a different regimen of training. For grappling, we used judo and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu techniques, for trapping, we used wing chun, and so on and so forth. Through Mike, I was introduced to David Tice Sr., a Spanish high school teacher with a huge appetite for learning anything related to martial arts (a black belt under Shorinji Ryu Jujitsu master Kenneth Penland, chief instructor of the LAPD's only Aiki Jujitsu & Defensive Tactics Dojo). Dave introduced me to all sorts of weirdos, actually pretty nice guys . . . such as Sensei "Judo" Gene LeBell, Sensei Gokor Chivichyan, Marco Ruas (and Pedro Rizzo and Beverly Hills Jiu-jitsu club company - I remember when Genki Sudo was still a newbie, at least I think it was Genki training under Pedro and Bas), and last but not least Larry Landless (who is now a UFC and King of the Cage referee, along with Herb Dean who hung out with the old Will Duvall group). Mike and Dave kept my diet of grappling full for those early years (good connections with friends who trained with Larry Hartsell, Gene Lebell, the Machados - Jean Jacques is amazing). Fast forward a few years, I spent my summers training with Larry's Submission Factory crew back when they were hanging out at the Rosemead Boys and Girls club off Garvey. Larry used alot of his wrestling background in his techniques and experiences with the Lion's Den (these are my suspicions). By the time I moved permanently to Calgary, I found a good friendship with Alex Roque (a Brazilian born immigrant of Italian descent - great guy). He was hooked up with Marcus Soares (black belt under Carlson Gracie), who was the first guy to ever test me. Now fast forward a few more years and I am a couch potato, more specifically a "mouse potato" . . . Alex still keeps me up to date on the "haps" - he is now associated with Jose Mario MacCord Queiroga (an Alliance BJJ black belt and mundial champ; aka "Ze Mario Esfiha"). Just in case you are wondering, I do have too many stories to tell . . . for instance, Marcus Soares loves all-you-can-eat sushi . . . such as Granville Sushi back when it was good and has since been closed down, the guy is a BJJ historian with an attitude. Anyhow, that should do it, I cannot fight and will not, unless we are talking about who gets to man the BBQ grill! Then again, I do like to roll around once in awhile . . . "when in doubt, choke 'em out."

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Comments from a Campus Crusade Staffer

I think I've mentioned too much already - but here it goes. I was on the phone with a friend whom I haven't spoken to in some time. He is a recent graduate from a particular school out east currently Campus Crusading in the region. Anyhow, the part of the conversation that caught my interest was when he said, "dude, postmodernism is bunk [or bogus - I just caught the underlying message]." After that he went on a Brian McLaren rampage [boy I loved playing King Kong in that game - bam, bam, bam]. What was interesting about this conversation was the fact that I was speaking to a 20-something from the east coast, who worked with other 20-somethings, who was completely turned off and seemingly pissed off about the "emerging church" and company. As far as I know, participants of the emergent conversation represent a broad spectrum of theological backgrounds - ranging from conservative to liberal . . . right to left . . . mainline to evangelical. The distinctive that makes this group [from the list of authors from the link: a Bible Church guy, 2 Baptists, a Presbyterian, a former SoCal mega-church evangelical, a non-denominational, and a 3rd generation Baptist pastor] unique is its willingness to agree to disagree . . . rather than demonize and chastise . . . a willingness to engage in dialogue and acceptance rather than division and segregation . . . and still maintaining their individual theological convictions and values . . . taking the narrow road is meant to be hard [takes less work to play Rampage] .

Rose Bowl at SFO

As Carolyn and I dragged our sick bodies through the airport with our 2 kids in hand, she heard an interesting announcement come over the intercom by one of the gates. "Attention passengers, we are now boarding . . . we will not wait for passengers watching the Rose Bowl, again we will NOT wait for passengers watching the football game." Since we have been married, I have not watched any college football games on the tube - too bad for SC. Nonetheless, Pac-10 all the way!

Monday, January 02, 2006

X'mas in Foster City

The family and I spent X'mas in the Bay area (Foster City/San Mateo) with my folks. It has been a stormy time here - tons of wind and tons of rain. Fallen trees and branches scattered all over the freeways . . . bad visibility . . . but hey, no snow! Had the opportunity to visit two churches this past Sunday. Highway Community, which meets at Palo Alto High School across from Stanford, and Vintage Faith, located way over the treacherous hill in beautiful Santa Cruz. Both of the worship gatherings we visited left us inspired and refreshed. We even participated in communion and prayer at Vintage - truly a remarkable experience (Tom prayed over us at the Prayer Cove). It gave me something tangible to reference "alternative church" from - resonated well with my soul. As the future lies in the balance, we are desperately seeking discernment and divine "spatial placement" from God.

Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.