Green Day

Fly Me to the Moon... A recent post on Lonely Planet is about some of the least Eart-like looking places on Earth. These pictures are of places here that look just out of this world. Please check them out.

Also, if you have a picture of somewhere that looks just out of this world, send me the picture or a link and I'll enter you to win this month's little prize: pick the topic of Brian's next blog. This can be anything related to culture, the Church or religion that you think needs to be discussed.

Green Day

"We are the only species that celebrates Shark Week. Sharks don't even celebrate Shark Week." -Jeff Winger, Community

It's True. We do celebrate Shark Week. Discovery Channel has been hosting it for 24 years now. It's gotten so popular, pop icon Lady Gaga does their promo song. If you've never experinced Shark Week, you don't know what you're missing. It's phenomenal... for more than a few reasons. First of all, it's a whole week dedicated to one kind of animal... every year... for a quarter of a century! Perhaps even more interesting is that it's sort of the "bad guy" of the animal kingdom. Despite the very few shark-related fatalities in the history of the world (compared to car crashes and lightning strikes), sharks get an awful rap.

So for one week each year, the media redeems itself by bringing us a realistic look at one of God's most spectacularly fascinating and awe-inspiring creatures, one of the oldest species alive. They've outlived the dinosaurs and some experts believe they may even outlast Survivor. So, if you have cable (we don't), tune in and get hooked. Or just watch Jaws on Netflix.

Green Day

I cannot do this article justice with a synopsis, so I will simply provide a link. A recent article in the NY Times outlines the often hidden costs of diving head first into renewable resources. As with all things in life, you must look before you leap. Recent, well-meaning, laws and government initiatives have met with great public approval, but may be leading us in environmentally costly and damaging directions.

The following op-ed piece does a superb job of examining the potential pitfalls of recent decision-making and legislation: The Gas is Greener by Robert Bryce.

Back from Pilgrimage

And we're BACK! After three weeks of trecking through the Holy Land and following in the footsteps of Jesus, I'm back. From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea to Jericho, Bethlehem and Jerusalem (plus stops in Haifa and Akko), and all the way down to the Red Sea and over to Cairo, this trip covered most of the land JC walked. I took lots of pictures and kept a very detailed journal. I will share from that journal in the coming days, but for now, you can find the pictures in these Facebook albums. You do NOT need to create a FB account to see them, if you don't yet have one. I was able to see many of the holy sites where Jesus and his disciples and family went and to read the stories there. I was also able to meet people of many faith traditions and other believers from all over the world and hear their stories. Enjoy...


Pictures of the Young Adults who went to Israel on Pilgrimage

Pictures of my first week on my own (Haifa, Akko and Jerusalem)

Pictures of my second week on my own (Eilat, Cairo and Jerusalem)

ETA

Our current best guess in optimum traffic conditions is to be in Denver between 3:45 and 4:15pm MST. See you then!

Rise and shine and find the golden arches

Now in:
413 S Lakeside Dr
Amarillo‎ Texas‎ 79118

Guessing that barring traffic, we'll be home around 5pm MST.

Where are we now?

Childress, TX

GPS says we'll arrive in Denver at 4pm. However, the GPS isn't counting on 50 teenagers stopping for breakfast and lunch.

On the road

Just stopped at:
2311 Jacksboro Hwy
Wichita Falls‎ Texas‎ 76301

ETA

We are on our way home! We left at about 9pm (CST) [8pm MST]. We are hoping to be in about 4 or 5pm tomorrow (Saturday- MST). I will update this post every 6 hours. See y'all soon!

More Mission Pictures

Just a few more pictures here.

Mission Update

Our group has been working hard here in Galveston. They've all been working on 5 different worksites to do work for homeowners and organizations here.

Steve has taken more pictures, which you can see here.

Some Pictures from Galveston

Steve Cearley has been taking pictures of our youth down here in Galveston. You can see his pictures here: pics.

Arrived!

All 46 youth and 9 adults are safe and sound in Galveston, TX! Thanks for your prayers! More soon.

MISSION TRIP

We Leave this Saturday, June 11th for the Youth Mission Trip to Galveston, TX for hurricane relief work. We'll be partnering with One Mission Galveston to help families whose homes and lives were torn apart by Hurricane Ike.

I'll post on this blog when we arrive on Sunday and again on Friday to let all you parents know our return ETA. Cell phone numbers for me and a few other leaders are in your inboxes. If there is an emergency, contact one of us. No youth should have a cell phone with them. Thank you!

It’s not in the Bible

Demitri Martin has said that “sort of” is a harmless phrase. Although sometimes it can mean everything. Like after certain phrases… “I love you…” “You’re going to live…” “It’s a boy!”

This is true of the phrase, “It’s not in the Bible.” There are variations of course. “Jesus never mentioned it.” "Paul never wrote about it." 'Moses never told a joke about it." Now sometimes this is a really helpful point. Other times, it’s quite misleading.

Does the Bible ever use the words “nuclear bombs” or “chemical weapons" or even "asassination?” No. Does the Bible have things to say about how we treat our neighbors and our enemies? You betcha!

Does Jesus ever discuss cocaine or huffing? Not in my version of the NT. Does Jesus talk about all of us being God’s children, about our bodies as temples and a gift from God? Does he tell us to love ourselves that we might love others? You better believe it.

When thinking about these topics, it would seem like saying “It’s not in the Bible” or “Jesus never talked about it,” could always be dangerous. However, when followed up with… “But the Bible does say….” Or “Jesus did teach…” it can be a useful tool for studying scripture.

“The Bible doesn’t use the phrase ‘premarital sex.’” True, but it does talk an awful lot about the power and consequences of sex, including a heck of a lot of illustrative cautionary tales. It does talk a lot about the special gift from God. It does have a lot to say about loving others as you love yourselves and not ever taking advantage of other people and has a lot to say about relying on God to resist temptations. And just as importantly, it has a lot to say about making mistakes and the overabundance of God’s forgiveness and expectation that we do the same.

“Jesus never utters a word about homosexuality.” True. And he does have tons to say about loving one another, seeking God’s will as found in the holy texts and words of the prophets. And Jesus has a whole lot to say about loving others, feeding the poor, visiting the sick and imprisoned, sheltering the homeless and standing up for the downtrodden. How we doing on that?

Now, admittedly, as a Presbyterian, born and raised, my first instinct to a moral or social quandary is maybe not to say to their friends, “I wonder what the Bible says.” (I'm working on this, thanks to some non-Presbyterian friends) But the next time someone says, “that’s not even addressed in the Bible,” I challenge you to say, “are you sure that’s entirely true?”