Confess your biases up front

I was at a youth leader meeting today. I always feel a little precarious at such meetings since I'm really not a youth pastor.

Anyhow, the meeting was encouraging in that we had a few different denominations present. But in a hope to maintain some sense of unity, the leader continued to emphasize how he was a Christian first, and southern Baptist second. He claimed to just "work for a Southern Baptist church."

But I know the guy well enough to know that he thinks of, and does ministry in Southern Baptist forms like "altar calls." The way he interprets scripture is also from a Baptist lens.

Now first let me say that we should all model his "Christian first, denomination second" mentality. Many don't and that is sad, and sometimes that includes me I confess with shame. Many place the same level of certainty or pride (even worse) on denominational distinctives-or even worse, distinctives within the denomination-as they do with the faith expressed in the Apostles Creed.

In addition, he places more emphasis on small groups and follow-up after the event than most do. I applaud him for that.

But I would argue that by downplaying your biases and emphases, you really fall prey to perpetuate them, ignore others, and become less ecumenical. If you don't readily admit that you do ministry and interpret scripture from your tradition's bias, you'll never be able to dialog and learn from other traditions. You'll never see shortcomings of yours. When others think differently, you'll think they are reading stuff into the bible, while you are "just reading the bible."

The two main sponsoring churches for this upcoming event (that's what the meeting was about) are PCA and Southern Baptist. I think by recognizing each others ministry emphases, biases, strengths and weaknesses, we can more effectively learn from and work with each other. But pretending that neither group has biases actually hinders effective ecumencial cooperation. Only by confessing your "spin" will you limit the negative impact of your "spin" and be able to learn from others.

Gospel on the ground

Amy and I had an opportunity to share the gospel with a fellow passenger on our way home from Atlanta last Thursday. Since lightning struck the tower and caused a fire, we didn't go anywhere for 2 hours after boarding. The woman sitting next to us was very loquacious and brought up some topics that made it easy for a gospel transition.

Two things that stood out from our time sitting at the terminal:

1.) If you hear another couple engaging in gospel conversation behind you, don't turn around and interject, and proceed to give a canned gospel presentation of stuff you think may have been left out. One lady did that, and later our new friend joked that she felt we had "ganged up on her." She joked, but she wasn't entirely joking. Amy and I spent a lot of time-which we had plenty of-asking questions, listening, and responding at appropriate times. The best thing would have been for this lady to pray for us. We needed it.

2.) When in doubt, go for the Prodigal Son story. For a long time in our conversation, it felt like we just couldn't get across to our friend that the gospel was something entirely different than any other religion. It wasn't just the same religion or the same thing she believed with a different "label." So following Keller's example, I used that parable as a lens to view Christianity. It was so appropriate because Jesus told that parable when he confronted people who were confident in their own goodness. After the story, she began to see that the gospel was something entirely different. We worked so long just to get to the point where we could say, "There is a fundamental difference in what you and we are espousing."

It was her goodness just as much as her badness that got in the way. It's sad to me when people don't realize how much they desperately need a Savior. But it's also sad when that someone is me.

Coffeehouse this Friday and Saturday

For the past 3 years, Hope Pres has hosted an art show for the community. Last year we added live music and it made quite a difference in not only the quality of the event: it kept folks there a lot longer. So this Friday May 1st and Saturday May 2nd from 7-10 pm, we'll be making it 4 years in a row.

I've slightly tweaked the vision and purpose for the show over the years. The past two years our primary focus has been to:

1.) Bless the community by giving them a culturally enriching experience
2.) Bless the artists and musicians in the community by giving them a venue to sell and/or display their work

If you're in the area, grab someone and come on out to support this free event. It's worth the price of admission, and you can grab some free Starbuck's coffee as well.

Back in the Saddle

For those that know or didn't know, Amy and I just got back from the church planting assessment center. While it was intense, it was not nearly as tough as I had expected.

We received evaluation from 6 folks who know us well (each of us had 6 people fill out extensive evaluations on us, our ministry, our marriage, etc...) and went over these evaluations with the assessors. In addition, there were a number of assessors who had been on their 2nd or 3rd church plant, and were able to speak love and truth into our lives. Next, there were peer evaluations filled out by fellow candidates and their wives (6 couples in all). Finally we had to take personality profiles (Amy and I were on opposite ends of the spectrum, which is good) and extensive self evaluations. The latter were compared with evaluations filled out by those who know us, and we could see where we rated ourselves lower and higher than them (for the most part I was significantly lower). Hard to take at times, but incredibly helpful to see how one is perceived. Definitely worth the price of admission.

In addition, we were assessed on evangelism, leadership, preaching, teamwork, etc... The days were long, but nights were pretty relaxed as we hit up a Mexican restraunt every night for snacks and beverages.

On Thursday morning we received the recommendation of "Provisionally Qualified" to plant a church. So now we are in the process of seeking some sort of apprenticeship which will help prepare us to plant a church in the future. So that is a "what's new" in the life of me, Amy, and crazy Connar.

I apologize for the Black and White picture of the group. For some reason, my printer/scanner was having flashbacks to the 50's.

Bobby Moynihan - Gets man-handled by Anne Hathaway (photo)

April 01, 2009



BOBBY MOYNIHAN

Season on SNL: 1st
Famous for: Being the newest addition to the SNL cast and a member of New York's The Upright Citizens Brigade (co-founded by Amy Poehler)

On whether he gets hit on more now that he's on SNL: "Yes," says Moynihan. "But then they ask for tickets. So, no."


============================

Come on ladies! Give Bobby a date without trying to get tickets!!!


Enjoy!

Bobby Moynihan entertains Andy Samberg

Fred Armisen took a picture...



I don't know what Bobby is doing here, but Andy seems pretty entertained by it. On the other side of this group, behind me, was Bill Murray. He was great and amazing and really sweet.


Thanks Fred!


Enjoy!

Discipleship resources

Here's a good list of books monergism (click on "visit this link") recommends as a resource in helping you grow in your faith, wherever you are in that journey. But it also can serve as a resource in discipling someone else toward a greater maturity in their faith. Both are the responsibilities of all believers in some way, shape, or form.

Bobby Moynihan - Works on a Zac Efron commercial ("I Am Your Mother)

I Am Your Mother

Never forget where you came from.



Fred Armisen goes nuts on Zac here. No women in this skit. Except for Fred.

Bobby just comes on to clap the board a few times.



Enjoy!

Bobby Moynihan - Busts an underage bar (with Zac Efron and Andy Samberg)

Zac Efron and Andy Samberg get busted by Bobby Moynihan.


Cool Bar: Underage Drinking

Zac Efron ... patron
Jim Downey ... announcer (voice)
Bill Hader ... Eliot Spitzer
Bobby Moynihan ... Officer Williams
Andy Samberg ... patron
Jason Sudeikis ... bartender
Kenan Thompson ... bouncer
Casey Wilson ... waitress



Good job Bobby! Stop Jason from selling beer to minors!!! It's really the kids here that are the main source of humor.

Enjoy!

Czar of Telestrator retires

John Madden has officially retired from his broadcasting career to spend more time with his family. Funny how at 73 this realization finally came to him. Anyhow, Madden will best be known by me as the one broadcaster who will not travel by plane (only by a "tricked out" bus), as the Czar of the Telestrator, and as the Captain of the Obvious (he once circled Brett Favre's mouth piece, and highlighted how he would take it out to talk, and then put it back before the play).

For me and many others, he was very hard to listen to because of his incredibly obvious comments (I know some who used to completely turn down TV volume and turn on the radio broadcast) and his "man-crush" on Brett Favre.

Nevertheless sports talk radio hosts and ESPN have spoken very highly of him, even expressing sadness in his retirement and how the next guy, Chris Collinsworth, will have big shoes to fill. The only thing I can really chalk all this respect up to is his character; no one could really hate the guy. I guess it shows that in our culture today, character is nearly as important as skill in one's craft.

Bobby Moynihan - Gets electrocuted by a kitty litter box (Gilly on SNL)

Gilly: Science Fair

Zac Efron ... Hunbyorg
Will Forte ... Mr. Dillon
Bobby Moynihan ... Liam
Kenan Thompson ... Sam Jeffers
Kristen Wiig ... Gilly



Ick. I never liked this Gilly character. I keep wanting someone to punch her lights out.

Good job getting electricuted by a kitty litter box, Bobby!


Enjoy!

An Existential Passover and Easter

Here's a reflection of some Passover/Holy Week opportunities that one woman found very beneficial to her soul. The strange thing is that she doesn't really believe in the reality they portray. To define existentialism is like defining breakfast, but you can click here to read an entirely existentialist view of the Passover and Easter (I sometimes use existential meaning "experiential" because that is part of the pie, just not the WHOLE pie as in existentialism).

For this woman, it doesn't matter that the events of the Exodus as celebrated in the Passover Seder or Jesus' actual bodily resurrection didn't actually occur. That doesn't mean anything. What matters is that through these symbols, you feel some sort of connection to God, the spiritual world, or yourself. There is no ultimate reality, just your own personal experience.

I encourage you to read some of the comments. Sad, but typical to many.

The Church, Creativity, and Soccer?

I wrote an article for the Bradenton Herald last week. In it, I draw a comparison between the Church and the creative world with America and Soccer. I like the analogy, but the title itself might put you to sleep. Nevertheless I don't think it will be a waste of 2 your minutes (which are always non-refundable). Click here to read it.

The article is supposed to whet appetites for our Coffeehouse/Art Show at Hope on Friday May 1st and Sat May 2nd from 7-10 pm. We really have some quality musicians and artists, and over 3/4 of them come from outside the Church as far as I can tell.

Bobby Moynihan - Is a jock and a dancer (High School Musical 4)

Show: High School Musical 4: new senior class

Zac Efron ... Troy Bolton
Abby Elliott ... Kelly
Darrell Hammond ... Walt Disney
Bobby Moynihan ... student
Andy Samberg ... Tyler
Kenan Thompson ... student
Kenan Thompson ... announcer (voice)
Kristen Wiig ... student
Casey Wilson ... teacher



Mad props to Zac for being willing to make fun of himself. Andy, Abby, and Bobby are hilarious here.

Bobby's on at 3:00. He doesn't know the capital of Texas. Bobby has some great horrified expressions.

I like Andy's little dance move before he sings at the end.

Kenan's singing voice hurts the song at the end. Intentional?

Enjoy!

Anushka looks in small white gown

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Katrina Kaif gets tattooed on chest

Bollywood’s hottest babe has got two tattoos inked on her soft skin. One is on her chest and another is on her arm. However, the tattoos are erasable.It is learnt that Katrina got inked for a photoshoot. The gorgeous actress, who’s been sporting a fringe hairdo ever since she was declared the new face of Barbie dolls, did not remove the tattoos after the shoot and was seen flaunting them at the wrap-up party of her upcoming film.

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Bobby Moynihan - Knows the Boss!!! (Andy Samberg SNL digital short)

Film SNL Digital Short: Like a Boss



Boss-like in every way

Seth Rogen ... interviewer
Abby Elliott ... coworker
Bill Hader ... coworker
Bobby Moynihan ... coworker
Paula Pell ... coworker
Andy Samberg
Jason Sudeikis ... coworker
Jorma Taccone ... mail guy
Akiva Schaeffer ... gun guy
Kristen Wiig ... Debra
Casey Wilson ... coworker



Bobby plays one of Andy's coworkers here. Not a ton of Bobby, but they wrote this song with randomness in mind, not to make the best possible use of cast members.

This song is from Andy's The Lonely Island CD, Incredibad. Fans want Boombox next, but this one made sense because the voice features Andy Samberg. Looks like they remixed the intro voice to use Seth Rogen's voice. Jorma Taccone makes a guest appearance as the mail man, and Akiva makes a guest appearance as the man who sells Andy the gun (which is appropriate, as members of The Lonely Island). We also see Paula Pell (a writer) in one of her rare face appearances (usually she just lends her voice).


Enjoy!

Making history?

I tend to be fairly pragmatic, but this seems a bit over the top. I'm all for efficiency and use of technology to help assist in discipleship and evangelism because my Protestant forefathers used every bit of technology to do the same thing. But I wonder if this is really the way to go about it. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Before you read this, please understand that I'm not a Rick Warren hater or "angry blogger guy;" he's done way more stuff for Jesus than I have. Yet this method of church growth just makes me wonder a bit. Click here to encounter a different methodology that certainly elicits some reflection.

Bobby Moynihan - Is Gonzo (with Seth Rogen and Andy Samberg)

Muppets Hit & Run

The Muppets have a run-in with the law.



Seth Rogen ... Rowlf
Fred Armisen ... Zoot
Will Forte ... Kermit
Bill Hader ... Animal
Bobby Moynihan ... Gonzo
Andy Samberg ... Swedish Chef
Jason Sudeikis ... Fozzie
Kenan Thompson ... Nipsey Russell
Michaela Watkins ... Janice
Kristen Wiig ... Beaker



I've got to admit... Bobby didn't do anything super hilarious here with his Gonzo impression. Try again Bobby! We know you can come up with some funny Gonzo stuff!!!

Nice chicken.

Andy's third skit as the Swedish Chef. His first skit was the Swedish Chef ringtones in his first, 05-06 season. Second, he returned last season (07-08) with the Muppets band, where Maya Rudolph played the woman, Janice, Hader played Animal, and Seth Rogen (the host then too) played Rowlf. Now the Muppets return with even more characters including Beaker (Kristen is hard to recognize here), Kermit, Gonzo (yay Bobby!), and Fozzie the Bear.

I think the funniest new addition here was actually Jason Sudeikis as Fozzy. I liked that Bobby was holding a chicken. Andy got a good laugh when slapping Beaker and talking to him in um, smorgy borgy.

What, no Miss Piggy? I think Casey or Abby could do a good job with it.



Enjoy!

Bobby Moynihan - asks Seth Rogen how he became the Bear Man (Italian TV SNL skit)

Show: La Rivista Della Televisione



Seth Rogen
Fred Armisen ... crew member
Will Forte ... crew member
Bill Hader ... Vinny Vedecci
Bobby Moynihan ... Vinny's son



They really need a name for this show or character that are easier to remember. =^)

Bobby Moynihan is hilarious! This is mostly making fun of Seth Rogen. Funny stuff. Is this Bill Hader's best character?

I like how Bobby got some booze in his sippy cup.


Enjoy!

No more communism

Well my attempt at being a Communist, and moderating comments has come to an end. Several people had posted some fairly sharp things on my feeding sea gulls post. You can read them here. I've come to the conclusion that if you think feeding sea gulls at the beach is a good idea, and you think I'm an actually an "idiot," I can live with that. So eat some freedom fries and the two of you who posted under the communist regime, God bless you.

Adenhart, Sadness, and questions

Sadly a 22 year-old Angels pitcher named Nick Adenhart was killed along with a few others in an accident a few days ago. Standard DUI hit and run, where the guy was driving with a suspended license from a previous DUI incident. Does suspending licenses really stop such accidents from occurring? I don't have any solutions, like caning or anything, but man it's a shame.

One fill-in host for the Collin Cowherd (sports talk) show tried to stay positive about this sad incident. He said the only thing a "positive" person could take from this was simply to find your passion and do it everyday. Somehow this can provide fulfillment and overcome the uncertainty of life?

I guess what really bothered me the most, is not that he didn't say, "Well I guess I should become a Christian because I never know the day or the hour I could be taken, and I will bow my knee to Jesus one day, either it will be as a heaven-bound believer or a hell-bound unbeliever."

I guess what I really hoped for was a slightly less self-concerned, less self-absorbed question of what life is really about. I realize that people are incredibly existential (no ultimate reality, just your own existence) but I was hoping for at least a deeper existential question like "Are my passions really worth it? Have I missed something completely? Do my passions really fulfill me? Is fulfillment found in giving rather taking?"

I mean the dude from Into The Wild was not a Christian but he wrestles with quite deeper existential questions that do find answer in the gospel.

The fact that such shallow and self-centered conclusions are being reached amidst a confrontation with our own mortality ought to concern everyone. At some point, Christians really need to answer questions that are being asked ( if it's security, eternal fears, fear of future, significance, feeling judged, etc...).

But there is also a place to ask questions that haven't been raised as well. A confrontation with our own or other's mortality may (I know this dude is not a representative for everyone, but I doubt he's in the minority) not simply raise the same questions I think it used to raise. It may take Christians raising them to their friends.

Bobby Moynihan - Is a Seth Rogen look alike (SNL Skit)

Monologue: Seth Rogen

Host Seth Rogen opens the show with some Q&A.



Seth Rogen
Abby Elliott ... Lisa, audience member
Bill Hader ... pizza delivery man
Bobby Moynihan ... Matt Banksford
Jason Sudeikis ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... audience member



I love it when they do these Q&A sessions for the monologues!

All are good gags here. Jason and Kristen make fun of Seth doing a mall cop movie (after Paul Blart Mall Cop was successful), Bill makes fun of Seth's weight loss (and weed habits), and Bobby and Abby have a hilarious bit about a guy who can't pretend to be Seth anymore. I think they ended with the funniest gag, but they were all pretty good!

Bobby Moynihan gets the best gag. You nailed it, Bobby!!!



Enjoy!

The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

I and several pastor buddies have been reading through The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, by a Puritan named Jeremiah Burrows. I've been quite impressed with this book which seems to have providentially come to me at a very uncertain time in my life.

I really have no certainty of what God has for me down the road, how He'll use the Henderson's to build His Kingdom, or even how we'll be provided for. Life has been incredibly precarious for me, as it has been for a number of people in this economy. And I find myself reading through The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment and preaching through Habakkuk. The book has been quite challenging and has moved me toward being more proactive in my journey of contentment.

Of course there is always the question of "how." How is it possible to be content amidst trial or simply a precarious situation?

Here's an encouraging excerpt: "......Oh we cannot bear them, we cannot bear such an affliction.....yet how can you tell what you will do with the strength of Jesus Christ? You say you cannot bear it? So you think that Christ could not bear it? But if Christ could bear it, why may you not come to bear it? You will say, Can I have the strength of Christ? Yes it is made over to you by faith."

A helpful reminder that we do indeed have the strength of Christ in us in our journey of contentment. While not as eloquent as Burrows, but certainly much shorter, here is my final sermon in the Habakkuk series focusing on contentment.

Aubrey Plaza - New Blog

We created a new blog for Aubrey Plaza!!!

You can check it out yonder:

http://aubrey-plaza.blogspot.com/



Haven't heard of Aubrey Plaza? She's in Amy Poehler's new show (Parks & Recreation), the Judd Apatow / Adam Sandler film (Funny People), and the coming Michael Cera film (Scott Pilgrim VS The World). So you'll hear about her soon. =^)



Go there to find news, videos of her, pictures of her crying...



pictures of her flipping you the bird...



and pictures of her wearing big glasses...






You know, stuff.


What does this have to do with Bobby Moynihan? Nothing directly, but Aubrey used to intern for SNL, so we'll see if their paths cross.


Enjoy!