Star Wars Geek-a-tude Knows No Age...

This is quite possibly the "cutest" explaination of Star Wars: Episode IV that I have ever seen...

Wonder If They'd Do Liturgical Dance...?

Have you seen these guys? I am just amazed by their talent!

Big Butter Jesus

Ok... so I'm sure that some of you out there are not going to like this... but I think that even Jesus himself would think this is funny stuff. I used to drive past the "Big Butter Jesus" whenever I went home when I was in seminary. I called him the "Touchdown Jesus" then, but this song... well... it has a special place in my heart! "For everything there is a season... a time to weep, and a time to laugh..."

Happy Holy Week, Batman!

Due to my schedule during this Holy Week, I have not been blogging. Sorry, friends! I hope to be posting some new things soon.

In the meantime, be sure to pop some virtual bubble wrap... What a great way to de-stress! (Thanks for sharing this one, Josh!)

Congrats, Sue!

Congratulations, Sue!

You wrote the winning caption for this photo from the NYMC!

I will be sending you details about your prize soon...

There once were three piggies of York

Who said "God said don't eat pork"

The man reminded them

That Jesus commanded them

To follow the New Commandment, you dork

So the piggies hung their head in shame

They feared their destiny was lame

However the man

Was a vegetarian

And they praised the Lord, even the dame

Notes From This Week

This was a rather interesting week. I started things off by preaching on Sunday. I found myself identifying with the prophet, Ezekiel, far more than I ever thought I would. There is so much more to the "dry bones" story than we usually give it credit for having.

Monday, I drove to Urbana so that my friend Ruth and I could drive to Indianapolis to attend a funeral. There is nothing in this world more heartbreaking than seeing a mother and father have to bury a child. The mother in this case was a colleague of ours, and we had all gathered to remember her 24 year old son. Only 24 years young and taken by cancer... I believe that God was weeping right alongside of Charlie's family and friends.

On our way home, Ruth and I stopped at a Chili's restaurant. Our server, Rysta, was awesome! She got bonus points for growing up in Ohio, but the real deal was her super attitude and great service. Rysta, I hope you check this out -- you really helped us have a happy night on a day that was otherwise melancholy. We closed down the place, and then got back on the road to Urbana. I should mention that Ruth and I share a weakness for what I like to call "shopping therapy". I think we left a few CDs at the Best Buy... (I'll be reviewing a few of my new music pics soon.)

When I got back to the office on Wednesday and Thursday, there were meetings, meetings, and more meetings! Just one of those weeks, I guess. But... the best thing... I actually had a day off on Friday! Nice!

And the Contest Winner Is....

There were 5 brave (and creative) souls who entered the Caption Contest! Great job, y'all! The contest winner will be announced this weekend, so be sure to check back to see who won!

Porter Ellett for President!

It is practically impossible to watch television or listen to the radio without hearing a political ad or hearing somebody telling you who you should vote for and why. And I'm sure that there are lots of good reasons to vote for each of the candidates that are out there trying to win our support. They all tell us about how they have overcome adversity. They talk about how they have faced challenges head-on. They try to come across as people who have really inspired others.

Yeah... I think I want to vote for this guy -- a high school student named Porter Ellett.

Don't Forget to Enter the Contest!!!

Two brave souls have entered the Caption Contest in the hopes of winning a FREE copy of Life Hurts God Heals. And while I'm sure that those two gals would like to keep the number of entries low to increase their chances of winning... I want to hear from ALL of you out there! Maybe you are intimidated by the limerick-writing skills that have been demonstrated so far...? Perhaps you are reading this and thinking that you would rather write a haiku or perform and interpretive dance...? (Seriously, if I get a video of anyone doing an interpretive dance as your caption to the picture... yeah.... wow!)

The whole point of the contest -- be creative, and you could win! Just click on the links in this post, check out the picture, write a caption (um... or dance it, or something), and post it as a comment! The contest will be ending this week, so don't wait -- you don't want to miss it!

Um... Yeah...

I know I've been sharing a lot of videos, but this one was too fun to pass up. Besides, I do love kung fu...

The Overnighter Video

This was one of my favorite things at the NYMC was the premier of "Overnighter". Seriously, Jake - the guy singing/rapping in the video - is some kind of creative genius! To all of you who have ever been roped into working a Lock-In... this video is for you!

The Limericks are Rolling In...

So far, there seem to be a few creative folks out there who are trying out the contest! Yay! Who knew I had such poetic friends in the blogosphere? :-)

Keep those Caption Contest entries coming, y'all!

The Global Soles Project

Josh posted this today, and I had to share. Maybe there is a way that our youth (or the entire church, for that matter) could do this or something like it. It really makes you think...

The Contest Begins!

Ok... so here's what's cookin' with the contest...

It is a Caption Contest!

Here's a picture from the National Youth Ministry Conference.

Your challenge: come up with the most creative caption to go with the photo.

(Bonus points will be awarded to captions written in the form of a limerick.)

The contest will run until Thursday, March 13th.

Good Luck Everybody!!!

The Contest Is Coming!!! The Contest Is Coming!!!

I will be launching a contest tonight, so I thought that I would tell you a little bit about what it is that you can win. (That's right -- there's a prize!)

Josh has given me the opportunity to giveaway a digital copy of Life Hurts God Heals. It is one of the many resources for youth ministry put out by Group. Here's what they have to say about Life Hurts God Heals on their website:

"Right now, there are students in your youth ministry who are desperately hurting from the pain of a broken home, struggles with depression, abusive relationships, and more. Life Hurts God Heals is a completely comprehensive resource you can use to launch and run a ministry specifically to bring healing to these students. It includes all the curriculum you will need for leaders and participants, as well as all the behind the scenes stuff to help with everything from recognizing danger signs in teens to how to get this program up and running in your church."

Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I sure think so. Too bad for me, I can't win my own contest! But... that means that it is lucky for YOU!

Check back tonight... the contest is coming!

Busy Week

It turned out to be quite the busy week once I got back from the conference... so I haven't been blogging like I had hoped.
This week (hopefully) will be better! I will be posting the contest where you could win a free item from Group Publishing. I'm planning to post some extra pictures from the NYMC. And I'll hopefully be able to post some video of the performance of "You Give Love A Bad Name" that was so skillfully performed at the conference, too!
God bless, y'all!