Hey everyone, i'm switching to blogspot for my blogging joys. So no more posts will be made here to xanga. The new blog can be found at http://paxpoint.blogspot.com/ Hope you keep reading!
So when did it become ok to used cuss words all the time? You know I've spent my fare share of time with teens and to hear some of the language the listen to, watch, and then use, just bothers me. But it is not to them I direct this, it is to the adults the are so uncreative in their word choice that they default to such language.
Am I being a little picky? Eh, maybe. It still bothers me. Have i ever used a cuss word before? Yeah, but i've changed, and so why can't others? Does it bother anyone else? I mean look at movies. I think The Departed is a great movie, except F-bombs are all over the place... Why? For authenticity? Eh, it is an excuse for laziness and uncreative thought.
The F-word is definitely THE word that bothers me the most. It is a cold, base word. While the other words do twinge me a little, the magnitude is minute when compared to how my ears twinge when i hear someone drop an F-bomb. They really twinge when i hear or read that word come out of students, whether on facebook, in conversations, etc. Again, though, i think if we as adults do not address this in ourselves, this won't change.
Maybe you don't think it needs to change, but to me, nothing communicates a worse image than those words... I've worked outside the church, and nothing communicates more about your values, education, and attitude than the language you use. What happens when you apply for a job and they check your facebook or myspace page (which employers do now whether you think it is fair or not... after they don't call it the WORLD WIDE web for nothing), what happens if they check those out and see F-bombs and other cuss words, and decide, "Eh, that's not the image we'd like to project at our company." There goes a job, and in the economic climate we have, every little thing is magnified.
So to adults, WAKE UP, stop your cussing as it influences people beyond your comprehension. To students, quit now while you are ahead. It just isn't worth it or cool...
Ok for those who don’t know, I am an avid sports fan.I primarily follow the Philly sports teams (in order of priority and passion: 1. Eagles, 2. Phillies, 3. Flyers, 4. 76ers; but Penn State football trumps the Phils…sorry Phightens but you didn’t give me an undergraduate education, though you have educated me in patience and what it feels like to root for a Champion YEAH!).I also enjoy golf (especially in HD), and will watch that more than basketball and hockey, especially the majors.
One of the best things (and worst things at times) about sports is the passion people have for what really amount to meaningless games.The passion is immeasurable.The Super Bowl has pretty much become a national holiday.One of the defining attributes of Thanksgiving is FOOTBALL.They are just ingrained in our mindset, and spring many passionate, often heated debates.These debates are what add to the passions of the spectators.
One debate kind of caught my eye on ESPN.An article on the page 2 (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=3739665) debated whether Michael Phelps of Olympic swimming history is the GREATEST ATHLETE EVER.Ok, the opening quotes pretty much gushed over Phelps and argued that it was inarguable… Phelps is definitely the greatest athlete ever.The author of the article disagrees and makes a great point, “Great athletes should show a variety of skills, and a degree of coordination that translates to almost any athletic endeavor. Watch a great athlete play basketball, football, tennis, soccer, hockey or even certain positions on a baseball diamond, and you can see athletic abilities that would translate to other sports.”
Phelps is definitely the greatest swimmer I’ve ever seen, but he is a specialist.A quoted athlete later in the article is Brian Jordan.Brian Jordan along with a couple others like Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders played at the professional level in MULTIPLE SPORTS.Diversity of talent NEEDS to be a criteria in any discussion regarding the best athlete ever.
Oh but it is a fun argument isn’t it?That’s the passion of sports.You know I wonder if we were as passionate about other things as we were about sports, what changes might take place?Would voter turnouts be higher if we were more passionate about politics?Would the Christ take the world by storm if we moved folks from “attenders to advocates” as one church leader put it?So where is our passion?I love sports, but no athlete died on my behalf, conquered death, and rose again for the single purpose of hanging out with folks like myself for all eternity.That’s something worth celebrating.That’s what we do at CrossPoint, and if you are ever in Harrisburg, come celebrate that with us! www.xpointumc.org
So OJ Simpson was sentenced today.After cutting through all of the legal jargon, he pretty much got 9-10 years.Throughout the analysis and discussion, a lot was brought up regarding the last time a court case involved the Juice.A lot has happened in those 14-15 years.Who’d have thought that I would be meeting my future wife around then?Who could have imagined how vast technology would have become and its effects on our daily lives?Who would have thought we’d be on the brink of another economic depression?
Times definitely have changed, and I think the economic crisis shows that more than anything else.This is the biggest crisis since perhaps the Great Depression.People are saying that this may be the first generation since then that the children will not surpass their parents in standard of living.Each generation will act a little differently.It will all the more accentuate what we hold dear as that would be the last thing for us to give up.Working at place that depends upon the faithful generosity of others, we’ve been watching at CrossPoint Church for how this will effect ministry.
Is giving to church more negotiable among younger generations than older generations?We’ll see.Our vocal youthfulness, especially throughout the presidential campaign, has cried out for change.“We’ve got to impact our planet, our world.”So I’m curious to see if that remains to be the focus as spending needs to be more selective.The church will be in a very precarious position during this crisis.The need will be greater than it has been for quite some time, but contributions will likely be lower than they have been for quite some time.So as Barna put it, we’ll need to look at “effective” and “efficient” ministry.
The only thing I can say when it comes to this is that faith MUST prevail.As we get to taking care of our bills, we pay our tithe BY FAITH first, and rely that God will provide the rest for us.Let us step out in FAITH, making a difference together!
Ok, so I'm a big listener of sports talk radio. Well, the other night i caught a local show where Joe Paterno was on and took listener questions...
Well this one guy calls in asks what he’s going to do about “OUR” kicking game.“Our kicker needs a little work and disrupts OUR flow,” the caller went on.Ok, so here’s my beef.Just because you are a fan of a team, that does not mean you can say OUR team, OUR kicker, OUR anything.You are a FAN.You do not play on the team, but you root those who do.
This is a big pet peeve of mine.I am a huge sports fan, but I don’t lace ‘em up.I don’t do the work in the gym, on the practice field, in the film room, etc.The teams I root for I am not a part of.It is this mentality that has led to a lot of fan and sports related issues lately.Too often fans interpret their presence as a part of the time, and we aren’t.We are spectators.JEnjoy the show, follow the team.
Hey, I'm a campus pastor at CrossPoint Church (formerly Colonial Park). I lead the Rutherford Campus located near the corner of 66th and Mifflin St. near Derry St.
Chatboard (0)