Boot Camp, Day Two

...I cut a guy's wedding ring off his swollen (possibly broken) finger today with a pair of bolt cutters that he bought from Wal-Mart and then returned 42 seconds later. Ate supper with the guy before this and watched a movie ("Tropic Thunder" - hilarious stuff) with him after. Very interesting guy loaded with ideas and lots of energy. I hope to get to know him better.

ANYWHO! Moving on.

Day Two was pretty crazy today. We followed a formula and according it to, the "launch date" for Manna is June of 2009. PLEASE don't read too much into that - with the building process going the way it is, we really have no idea when we'll be "launching" - but it was interesting to put a date on it and start thinking (and mapping out with pink Post-It notes) all the things and events that need to happen before then.

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of information. I'm really having a hard time processing it all. I'll probably write a ton more on all of this when we get back and I can debrief a little.

All for tonight. Sleeping now.

Grace and peace.

~Sean~

Boot Camp, Day One

Hi kids.

Just checking in from Plano, TX. Wrapped up the first (of 2 and 1/2) days of Jim Griffith's "New Ministries Boot Camp" about 40 minutes ago.

This guy (Jim Griffith) is amazing. He has been through several church plants himself and has helped coach hundreds of them. He is leading this workshop - which is called "Boot Camp" for a reason, by the way. Jim doesn't hold his punches. He's introduced some radical ideas to my way of thinking.

If I can narrow it down to one thing I took away from today is this, which he emphasized SEVERAL times: Know your mission field. Above all else, know the people you're trying to reach. If you can't identify the people in your mission field, you'll never be able to reach them effectively. He also emphasized how overrated things like value, mission statements, and vision can be when you fail to see the mission field.

A quick thought before I close: I flew for the first time yesterday. It was a little freaky, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. A great way to travel.

All for today. Your homework for the evening is to think about who it is we're trying to reach as God's church, and if we're really doing our job.

Talk to you all tomorrow.

Grace, peace, and hope,
Sean

Tuesday Thinkin'

(Today's thoughts will be seperated by the songs that are playing as i type.)

- "The Truth" by (hed) p.e. -- Great rap/metal/funk fusion band. A little vulgar, but technically amazing. Been around for years.

- My amazing wife Rachel is home sick today with a bit of a summer cold. I ask anyone reading to take a moment and pray for her. Thank you.

- "Until The End" by Kittie -- Fantastic all-female metal band. The singer can scream with the best of them.

- Rachel and I leave Monday for Dallas, TX for Jim Griffith's New Ministries Boot Camp. I am incredibly excited and a little nervous about this. (I've never flown before!) It should be an amazing conference and I'm probably going to come back drained, but ready to buckle down and get this thing rolling.

- "Friend Was Your Name" by Bloody Sunday -- Christian hardcore. I think they're named after the U2 song, but I'm not sure. Don't know a lot about these guys, but I like 'em.

- Saw the new Star Wars movie this weekend. Blah. It could have been SO much better. It will play well to the 8-year-old SW fan, though. And you get to meet Jabba the Hutt's son, so that's cool.

- "Gloom And How It Gets That Way" by Every Time I Die -- One of my favorite bands. These guys are utterly INSANE in their live show and their recorded stuff just echoes that. PHENOMENAL stuff. They get knocked a lot for not being "true hardcore" (whatever that means), but I say that if you're passionate about your music and are screaming, that's hardcore. I can go on for days about this argument, so I'm just going to move on...

- Had a FANTASTIC night last night going door-to-door with the Grays. Tons of amazing reactions to what we're doing with this Manna thing. That felt really really really good. This is why I'm here - to get people involved with Christ. Amazing.

- "Emily" by From First To Last -- A slow acoustic song from 4 very angry white boys. I love this song. This was recorded when FFTL still had this little 16-year-old boy as a vocalist, who could sing like a banshee. He's gone now. Darn.

- I'm going to be messing around with the Manna portion of cbsalem.org this afternoon. I hope I know what I'm doing.

- Another (hed) p.e. track ("The Meadow"). Skipping it to get to "Jewel of the Summertime" by Audioslave, the love child of the instrumentalists from Rage Against The Machine and the singer from Soundgarden. Really fun stuff for a supergroup, but I'm glad they broke up and RATM is FINALLY back together. Now if we could just get Chris Cornell to get back with Soundgarden...

- My beloved Raiders are 1-1. I know it's just the preseason, so I'm not too worked up yet, but they completely blew the lead over the Titans last week. Oh well. Hopefully they're learning a few things.

- "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin -- I can't listen to this song without tearing up a little. Powerful stuff. This guy's fantastic. "Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city". Great message.

- Had a great lunch today with a big supporter of the Manna project, Tom Boomshine of Epworth UMC. Incredibly supportive and willing to help. He's going to be a great ally in all this chaos.

I think that's it for today. Just had to get out of my head for a few minutes.

Grace, peace, and joy.

~Sean~

"Everyday Is Exactly The Same"

There's a song by the industrial metal band Nine Inch Nails called "Everyday Is Exactly The Same". It's a fantastic song from a great album ("With Teeth") but it conjures up some questions. I invite you to read the lyrics and think about just how many people out there are lost and confused and feel just like this. What are we as the church doing to help these people?

"Everyday Is Exactly The Same" -- Nine Inch Nails


I believe I can see the future
Cause I repeat the same routine
I think I used to have a purpose
But then again
That might have been a dream

I think I used to have a voice
Now I never make a sound
I just do what I've been told
I really don't want them to come around
Oh, no

[Chorus:]
Every day is exactly the same
Every day is exactly the same
There is no love here and there is no pain
Every day is exactly the same

I can feel their eyes are watching
In case I lose myself again
Sometimes I think I'm happy here
Sometimes, yet I still pretend

I can't remember how this got started
But I can tell you exactly how it will end

[Chorus]

I'm writing on a little piece of paper
I'm hoping someday you might find
Well I'll hide it behind something
They won't look behind

I'm still inside here
A little bit comes bleeding through
I wish this could have been any other way
But I just don't know, I don't know what else I can do

[Chorus x2]

Happy happy joy joy - it's FRIDAY!!!

- Eek. It's Friday.

- Above are three cute pictures of my puppy Jasmine, for no apparent reason.

- Tonight's plans involve doing laundry (my lack of clean socks is forcing my hand), watching "Black Snake Moan" (got it on Netflix a few nights ago), and taking a nap... probably in reverse order.

- The greatest sports team known to man, the Oakland Raiders, are 1-0 in the preseason thus far. They beat the 49ers! The Black and Silver play the Titans tonight.

- The soil testing for the Manna site FINALLY came back. Things are incredibly slowly moving forward, but at least they're moving. I keep comparing it to how a glacier moves. The best things in life are worth waiting for, though, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed.

- Currently rocking out to the live album "Alive!" by Snot. Despite the interesting name, Snot was one of the most technically advanced metal bands of its time. After only releasing two albums - the afore-mentioned live album and their only studio recorded release, simply called "Get Some" - Lynn Strait, Snot's vocalist, was killed in a car crash. The band broke up shortly thereafter. Great stuff. I really wish the band would find a new vocalist and re-form.

- Working on a HUGE mailing (over 900 people) that will be going out to folks around the Manna area. We also have a "Hy-Vee ad" coming out next week that will be seen by around 46,000 peoples. Lots of advertising coming out. Sweet.

- Quick plug for my favorite band of all time: The Dillinger Escape Plan. I'll let their video for "Milk Lizard" do the talking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMEYLlDThZU

- Devotion thought for today: (WARNING: DEEP THINKING AHEAD) ...What are we really doing here? With all the bureaucracy and politics of the modern church, sometimes it feels like we're really missing the point. The word "Christian" literally means "Christ-like". Christ was simple. Sometimes it feels like we pile too much on our plates and fail to see the big picture. Christ's command to us - the Great Commission - is so simple. Just go spread the Word. Are we (as the Church) really doing that, or are we lost in our own routines? Are we so caught up in the "business" of the church that we're losing sight of the reason we're here? I found a great video on GodTube this morning that was a parody of the "Mac vs. PC" ads. This was "Christian vs. Christ Follower". The "Christian" started out, talking about how well he was dressed - he had his shirt and tie on, his hair combed, his shoes polished, and his offering envelope tucked into his breast pocket. He then looks at the "Christ Follower" - who is simply dressed in a t-shirt, hoodie, and blue jeans - and scoffs at him. The "Christian" says (something to the effect of) "Is that how you want to be dressed when you meet Jesus? Shouldn't you be in your Sunday best?" The "Christ Follower" looks at him and simply replies, "But it's Saturday." Christ doesn't care about how pressed your shirt is or how polished your shoes are. He cares about what's in your heart. Just some things to ponder and pray over...

That's it for today. My wife is taking me out to lunch in a few (Yipee!), so I should wrap this up.

Grace and peace,

Sean

Quick thoughts

- I'm halfway through Adam Hamilton's "Leading Beyond the Walls". Hamilton is the senior pastor at UMC of the Resurrection in Kansas City, a church which went from a congregation of 4 people in 1990 to over 6000 (yes, that's six THOUSAND) in 2000. Amazing book thus far. I highly recommend it.

- STAR WARS: CLONE WARS smacks theaters tomorrow. Be excited.

- I start classes in a couple weeks at Buena Vista University here in CB. I'm going for my Bachelor's in English. If everything goes as planned, I should be done by 2010.

- I'm heading to Dallas a week from Monday to partake in a new ministries Boot Camp thingy. It should be lots of fun. It'll be my first airplane trip. And my lovely wife gets to go with me! I'll be sure to blog while I'm there.

- Song/video of the moment: "Sequoia Throne" by Protest The Hero. The opening four seconds of guitar work are insane. The whole song is insane. I like insanity. Check it out. The vocalist almost reminds me of a mix of Freddie Mercury and Justin Timberlake. It's a little crazy and psychotic, but that's how I like my music. The video is below. Watch it through and let me know what you think.

That's all I've got for now.

Grace and peace,

Sean

A Future With Hope

Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I'd like to share a quick story from Annual Conference. I attended Conference this year with Pastor Dave. The theme of the whole week was "A Future With Hope", so the afore-mentioned verse from Jeremiah was read several times a day; there was amazing artwork centered around the word "hope"; and several keynote speakers talked on the subject.

One particular speaker that stuck in my head was Dr. James Salley. I forget exactly where he was from - I know he was from Zimbabwe, and was vital in the creation (I think) of a United Methodist supported university over there.

Anywho, Salley told a really, really nifty story, and I'd like to share it. I might screw some of this up - it's been a couple months since I heard it - but this is the general idea of what he told.

Salley talked about one of his dear friends in Zimbabwe who he worked very closely with. This man became like a brother to Salley. They ate together, prayed together, and above all worshipped God together.

One day Salley's friend came running to him with a picture of two newborn babies - his wife had just given birth to twin boys. The two celebrated the joyous event well into the night, then Salley's friend went home.

A few days later, Salley recieved devestating news. The village that his friend lived in had been ransacked by an opposing tribe. Soldiers had kicked down his door and killed him, his wife, and the two newborn babies.

Fast forward a few years. Salley had returned to the United States and was serving a church in (I think) North Carolina. One day, two members of his congregation came up to him, beaming about a new bishop in a nearby state. They spoke of how moving this man's message was to them and how spiritual of a man he was.

So Salley went to see the man speak. After the speech, Salley went up and introduced himself to the man. They talked for a little while about their various ministries. All the while, Salley says he could tell the bishop wanted to tell him something, but just couldn't bring himself to do it. After a while, they ran out of things to talk about, and each said their goodbyes. Then, as Salley was walking away, the bishop ran up, grabbed his shoulders, spun him around, and said these four words:

"The twins are alive."

Salley says he couldn't believe what he heard, and asked the man to repeat it. The bishop did, and simply said, "I just knew I had to tell you that, and I don't know why or what it means."

Salley had some obvious doubts - after all, he had recieved news that they were dead - but he flew back to Zimbabwe just to clear his head.

Sure enough, the twins had somehow survived the carnage from the village. They were now healthy boys. Salley found them and they all spoke about the twins' father and their friendship.

The boys eventually went on to attend the university that Salley started. At their graduation (I think), Salley says he broke into tears at what he saw. Members of the tribe that had killed his friend were sitting there, across the table from members of his friend's tribe. They were eating and laughing together. Salley says it was there that he finally learned the concept of "a future with hope".

"I do what I do today because the twins are alive." -- Dr. James Salley

So what's the point?

The point is simple: There can be happiness in tragedy. There can be light in darkness. There is always a silver lining. Our Lord isn't out to harm you. He's there to provide "hope and a future". Sometimes it's not always clear, but it's there. He's there. All we have to do is believe.

I invite you to take a few seconds and meditate on a tragic time in your life. Think hard, pray about it, and try to find some happiness within it. Try to find your own future with hope.

Next 10 tracks on my WinAmp:
"Hanging Over" -- Blur (see last post)
"Papagenu" -- Tenacious D (hilarious "acoustic metal" from actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass)
"Hanging Moon" -- Converge (psychotic crazy insane metal)
"This is Absolution" -- Killswitch Engage (one of my favorite metal bands)
"Get This Party Started" -- Stretch Arm Strong (Christian hardcore at its finest)
"The Univeted Thirteenth" -- Alesana (hybrid emo/deathcore band)
"William" -- System Failure (amazing Omaha-based Christian hardcore band from the early 2000's)
"My Last Stand" -- Walls of Jericho (fantastic female-fronted hardcore)
"The Epigone" -- Becoming The Archetype (nice crazy Christian metalcore)
"Just Like You" -- Three Days Grace (modern alt-rock band)

All for today. Take a second and praise God for all you have.

Grace and peace.

~Sean~

Pictures from Manna

Here's a few shots from the inside of (what's going to be) the Manna building.

I'm the guy pointing like an idiot, and the beautiful lady next to me is my amazingly supportive wife. The guy in the red shirt is Dan, who is doing all this crazy work on the building.

We're hoping to have everything up and running by sometime in October(ish). Please keep this whole project in your prayers. Things are going to be happening very quickly.

Next ten tracks on my WinAmp:

"Read All About It" -- Newsboys (fantastic Christian rock band)

"The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (reprise)" -- Cast of Sweeney Todd (great musical)

"Love Addict" -- Family Force 5 (hilarious Christian rock/metal band - amazing live show)

"Left Hand Suzuki Method" -- Gorillaz (amazing rap/experimental band)

"Maggie May" -- Blur (90's alt-rock band - vocalist went on to form Gorillaz)

"Evil Puns" -- Evil Dead The Musical (based on the movie - hilarious stuff)

"Light Grenades" -- Incubus (alt-rock/experimental band - one of my favorites)

"Preacher Crawling" -- Pig Destroyer (insane grindcore band - crazy chaotic stuff)

"Dialogue..." -- The Chariot (great Christian hardcore from former Norma Jean vocalist)

"When The Tears Fall" -- Newsboys (see above)

All for now. Grace and peace.

~Sean~

The Dark Knight - A Christian Movie?

There are reviews of "The Dark Knight" floating around the internet that suggest that the movie has an underlying Christian theme. I'd like to talk about that for a few seconds.

PLEASE NOTE: Before you read any further, I will be spoiling a few things about the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, you've been warned.

For the four people on the planet who don't know what I'm talking about, "The Dark Knight" is the sequel to the incredibly popular "Batman Begins" movie from a few years ago. "Batman Begins" is a re-imagination of the Batman tale as directed by Christopher Nolan, director of such great films as "Memento" and "The Prestige", two incredible films in their own right. Nolan takes the helm again in "TDK" and directs what will go down in history as his masterpiece.

The majority of the popularity of "TDK" - which has grossed over $400 million in its first 18 days, a feat which has never before happened - is based on Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. Before I get to him, I should emphasize that the entire cast is incredible. I've been a Christian Bale fan since his amazing role as Patrick Bateman in the highly controversial "American Psycho". Bale once again reprises his role as Batman and does a phenomenal job. Then there's Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, an amazing character which is very well played. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Maggie Gyllenhall help round out this sensational cast. But the winner overall has to be Ledger. The late actor's take on the Joker is just plain spooky. Ledger completely loses himself in the role, so much so that you forget who's playing him. He even drops his voice an octave or so. I'd easily give him the Oscar for best actor of the year (thus far) if he wasn't dead.

So, getting to the point of this thing. The theme through the movie is that our hero has been outcast by the general public for taking the law into his own hands. He's even declared a vigilante at one point. He's mocked, scorned, and hated by most of the city. He has to go into hiding most of the time and only has a few loyal followers. And at the end of it all, after he has saved the day yet again, he chooses to sacrifice himself (in a sense) and let the city hate him. "I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be," he says at one point.

Sound like a certain Son of God to anyone else?

I'm not entirely convinced that Nolan intended to make this a Christian movie. We could even get into discussions about triumphs of good over evil and how just about any good-guy-winning movie could be interpreted as Christian.

But maybe - just maybe - there's a lesson to be learned here. Maybe we need to step back and get over ourselves every once in a while and instead of trying to be a hero, maybe we just need to be what we're needed to be.

Just some things to think about.

A final thought: Don't take your young children to see this. Please. It does get quite dark and twisted and is very graphic.

All for now.

Grace and peace,
Sean

Quick reactions to Oakville trip

Just got back from one of the most sobering experiences of my life.

I spent 3 days helping a crew from Salem clean out basements ravaged from flood damage in Oakville, Iowa.

The whole town is deserted. The damage is unbelievable. The piles of belongings in front of people's houses brought tears to my eyes.

But I still managed to find God through all of it. I was raised to try to find the silver lining in anything, regardless of the circumstances. And through the mud and sand and insurmountable damage, God was there. He was among the teams that found friendship and compassion with each other. He was among the homeowners who have had to re-evaluate just what's important to them. He was among the countless volunteers who offered blood, sweat, and tears to help this town get back on its feet.

But I felt His presence the most in the news we got on the way home. We spent Monday cleaning out a tiny house and garage just across the street from the United Methodist Church in Oakville. The owners were - at the time - pretty sure that they were just going to have it bulldozed, so we were just going through and trying to find what - if anything - could be salvaged.

We got word Wednesday that due to our part in cleaning out the house and garage, their house would be the first house rebuilt in Oakville. This is fantastic news and is really the culmination of why we were there.

So. In closing, I'd just like to ask for any additional support you can offer. Maybe you can join our team next time. Maybe you can offer a few dollars or some supplies. Or if you can just say a prayer for the victims and the teams. Anything helps.

Check out the video clips that Pastor Dave shot at youtube.com/cbsalem. There's lots of great footage. If you're like me, it will really make you think about just what's important in your life.

No music for today. For your homework, go re-read the story of Noah and the ark and the flood and think about the priorities in your own life.

Grace and peace.

~Sean~

Saturday!

There's an old 90's song by Marcy Playground called "Saturday". Typing the title of this post reminded me of that. Good stuff. I wonder if they're still around. Anywho...

I had a very good night last night going around door-to-door in the Manawa area. There's so much excitement around the neighborhood about this project. It's fantastic. I can't wait to get the doors open and get some serious ministry going.

Not too much going on today. I'm working through a Bible study I found online that takes you through the gospel of Mark on very simple terms. I really like it. There's several others by the same team that are quite similar - one goes through Acts, one talks about conversion of sin, and three or four others focus pretty seriously on the life and times of Jesus. I'm really considering printing all of them off and turning it into a year-long discussion about the Bible down at the campus. Maybe a once-a-week thing where we meet for an hour and work through a chunk of this massive study at a time.

Today's homework is to check out Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" on YouTube. You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo . The video is over an hour long, but at least watch the first few minutes and give it some thought. Really deep stuff put quite simply. I dig it.

Today's tracklist is the live album "Lamentations" by the Swedish death metal band Opeth. It's a fantastic collection of some of their greatest works. These guys write huge, sweeping epics of songs that range from acoustic guitars and beautiful vocals to thrashing drums and deep, guttural screams. I've been listening through it this morning. There's something quite spiritual about metal - I'll write more about my thoughts on the theology of metal later.

All for now.

~Sean~

August 1st, 2008

Holy cow. It's August. Where the heck did July go???

Check out http://www.cbsalem.org/page11.asp - it's the website for the Manna Campus. There's a brief synopsis of the campus, what's going on, and even a lovely picture of my smiling face. :)

Tonight I head out for a third round of door-to-door canvasing (canvassing? whatever...) around the Lake Manawa area. The first two nights have been incredible - lots of positive reactions to what we're doing, lots of great energy buzzing about. I'm really excited to reach more people and get the word around.

Then on Sunday, I join a team from Salem on a trip to Oakville, Iowa. We're going to help the victims of the tragic flooding that took place this summer. There's a lot of work to be done, and I'm super stoked to get out there and help.

A few words about the tracklist for today: Inhale Exhale and Confide are amazing Christian hardcore bands. Check them out if you're into that scene. Radiohead is an old favorite of mine - an experimental rock band that outlived the 90's. Kittie is an all-female metal band, something which is quite rare. And 10 Years is a fantastic new alternative rock band, in the vein of Tool or Chevelle. All great stuff.

All for today. Have you read Jeremiah 29 yet?

Tracklist for today:
"No One Is Invincible" - Inhale Exhale
"Vegetable" - Radiohead
"Can't See The Forest For The Trees" - Confide
"Severed" - Kittie
"Waking Up" - 10 Years