intersections: theology, technology, politics

The portrait of Jesus presented in Mark, gives insight on how to "do life together". Here, Jesus is "a man on a mission" having just been baptized, tempted in the desert, and his first act is to call those he is going to "do life with". Jesus has wisdom for us, if we are willing to hear it. Life works a bit better when it's done together with others. Over the course of his public ministry, Jesus shares his life with his small group; he lets them in on his life with God--inviting them and us to join him in what it means to be alive.

Each Wednesday, a small group of students gathers at our home to "do life together". We gather together to figure out what it means to be a disciple, what the nature of the call of a disciple is, and how we follow Jesus as he leads us into new life. Here's what we have discovered in our time together-- In order to make sense of the call to discipleship, we need community, and in order to stay on the path of discipleship, we need to form new habits that allow us to draw life from God. We have also discovered that we need to shift the focus off of ourselves and place it on others by serving, and we've learned that some of the assumptions we've made about Jesus and his vocation need to be revisited through our study of him in the Bible.

Discipleship is about a willingness to surrender. It's also about transformation. First we surrender to God, and then we are transformed by our relationship and connection with Jesus. A disciple is someone who is always in motion. A disciple is committed to always learning, being, doing, and relating. That's the call that is placed on us—It's a call to follow Jesus, to learn from Him what it means to be alive, to be human, to be in relationship with others, and what it means to be in relationship with God. The process of following Jesus involves our complete surrender. In The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives us insight into the cost of our surrender, he writes, "When Christ bids a man, he bids him come and die."

I just finished this week's Friday Night Lights at My Favorite Cafe in Saline. I was in Saline tonight waiting to pick up Maria from the Fiddler's concert at the high school. I started watching FNL before my Introducing the Historical Jesus class this evening and decided to finish it at the coffee shop. I love the power of a good and compelling narrative. I love losing myself in a good story. We saw Atonement while we were in California for Macworld and it was the use of a powerful narrative that caught the both of us off guard. The camera work and use of music and the senses made Atonement a powerful movie for me. I see the same compelling storytelling present in FNL. I love the fact that they use a multi-camera approach to telling a story. It seems that the cameramen have as much to say as the actors. The plot line and characters are engaging and touch someone basic within me. Tonight there was a scene between Matt (QB1) and his coach. Matt has been depressed and 'acting out' by drinking, skipping school, etc... at one point in the scene Matt screams that everyone leaves him... he's sitting in a tub, crying, disappointed and in that moment, I shared his pain, his longing for acceptance and unconditional love. I understand what he was going through, his cry, his anger, his sadness because there are times when I feel that I'm all alone, isolated in my pain, my disappointment and my grief. I hope the show makes it.

Tags: Friday Night Lights | FNL | Narrative

I don't remember when we first received the PDF files for The Divine Hours, but it was during our Windows days (yes, the church, the entire church was a Windows only shop, I started with Ken's migration and the rest is history). I remember Ken coming to me and asking if I could create an online version of The Divine Hours, that would automatically display the current office via our website. Because I always say yes to requests like this, I got started by manually converting the 8 or so PDFs that made up the four books of The Divine Hours. Since we were using a Windows computing platform, I used Microsoft technology to store the converted hours, first contained in a MS Access database, now The Divine Hours live on a hosted mySQL server in NJ. We have made minor improvements to the code and have finally verified the integrity of my translation of the hours into a digital form.

About two years ago, Bob Royce and I put our heads together to see if there was a business opportunity with the digital version of The Divine Hours. Bob wrote a brief business proposal and sent it onto Phyllis Tickle and her agent. We received some positive feedback, but decided not to pursue the opportunity. Since then I've been thinking about multiple ways to increase the traffic to the Ann Arbor Vineyard website using The Divine Hours as the vehicle. I've toyed with several ideas, like a Dashboard Widget for OS X, something with alerts that would remind you to pray the hours. At the time of our proposal, we were thinking about a Palm application, but Palm is dying, if not already dead.

I never got around to building the Dashboard Widget for OS X, and since Palm wasn't a viable platform for development, I took no action there. Then Apple released the iPhone, and immediately thoughts about developing a version of the hours for the iPhone sprang to mind. As a platform, the iPhone seems to be the best bet for a delivery channel for the hours. You always have your cell phone with you, the iPhone can connect to the Internet where ever you are, and it sports a robust modern web browser. Also it's a large platform with over 4 million with a goal of 10 million by the end of 2008.

At Macworld 2008, Steve Jobs presented updated firmware for the iPhone that supports web clips directly to the home screen on the iPhone. Right after the keynote, I decided to update the code for The Divine Hours to optimize it for the iPhone. This is a multifaceted development process starting with the creation of a iPhone home screen icon, then the updated CSS for the iPhone, and a retooling of the domain name for the hours hosted by the Ann Arbor Vineyard.

Today, you can add The Divine Hours, to the home screen of your iPhone and get a nice home screen icon that takes you directly to the hours. Later, I will attempt to improve the text display of the hours and associated documentation. After the release of the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone, I will attempt to build an application that will include custom alerts & reminders, localization of the hours for your time zone. Today, the hours use a small cookie to properly display the hours.

Tags: iPhone | The Divine Hours | TDH | Ann Arbor Vineyard | Vineyard

I was looking for images for my blog entry on race & identity in America and came across a recent article about a racist comment made by Kelly Tilghman, a commentator for the Golf Channel about Tiger Woods. She and her co-anchor were talking about how to defeat Tiger Woods and in the back and forth dialog, she suggested that they (those wishing to unseat Tiger Woods) should "Lynch him in a back alley." The Golf Channel initially noted her comments as unfortunate but protected speech, only after receiving pressure (from a challenger, no less) did the Golf Channel decide to suspend the anchor for two weeks.

I continue to be amazed at the blatant use of racism and racist terms in the media and the belief that just because the target of the racism is okay with it means that it is okay. Try repeating her comment with regard to the presidential candidate Barack Obama and see if the Secret Service takes an interest in your comment? Try repeating her comment at work when joking about a black co-worker and see if you keep your job? We must take responsibility for what we say and what we do. The idea that this comment was benign is ridiculous. It was an individual suggesting that instead of beating Tiger on the golf course you should get together in a mob and lynch him. Can we have a reality check here? She was suggesting that his competitors form a group and take him in a back alley and lynch him.

Lynching has it gensis in slavery, it was a tool used to control and subjectate human beings and it was used as a form of intimidation in the Jim Crow south for years. Today, to lynch someone is consider a hate crime, and those participating in a lynch mob are considered vigilante terrorists. How else should anyone take her comment, 'Lynch him in a back alley'?

Tags: Race | Kelly Tilghman | Tiger Woods | America | Racism | Outrage | Lynching

On Friday, I downloaded two films from the iTMS Rental store to watch on the plane ride home. About two hours into the flight, I decided to watch War Games. Everything started out just fine. iTunes asked if I really wanted to watch the film, that it would automatically expire in 24 hours and it started to play the film. I then decided to watch the film via Front Row, and nothing happened. I went back to iTunes and tried to resume playback and was told that I had to connect to the iTMS in order to play back the film. There wasn't anything in the purchase information that indicated that I had to be connected to the Internet in order to play back the film. I was disappointed.

Apple | iTMS Rental Store | War Games

I just finished reading a Time magazine article on Barack Obama that offers an answer to the question, 'Is he black enough?' This is an awful question posed mainly by individuals who have a very finite view of what it means to be black in America. It's an unfortunate question with no real answer. How does one measure their blackness? Is there an acceptable scale of blackness published by the 'black community' where an individual might measure themselves against it?

If you are interested in race in America and the impact it has on individuals who seek to understand themselves and their culture, I would recommend that you take a look at this article. It was a quick read and breaks down the issue of black identity in America into two categories: those who bargain and those who challenge. The author posits that white America doesn't want to be perceived as racist and therefore welcomes bargainers like Oprah Winfrey. They are glad to welcome someone who doesn't rub America's history of racism in their face. And Barack Obama is the first bargainer to apply it to the political arena (Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are challengers).

Tags: Time Magazine | America | Racism | Identity | Barack Obama

Yesterday during the Macworld 2008 Keynote, Steve Jobs introduced the Apple TV (take 2). I was impressed with his willingness to say that the first version was a failure and that they were going to try again with this new updated version.

Of all the things I heard and saw at the Keynote this year, it was the announcement of movie rentals in the iTunes Store and the updated AppleTV that impressed me the most. I was surprised with how simple and easy Apple is going to make downloading and viewing movies where ever you are. It's funny how quickly technology moves. Just a year ago, I was in search of a companion for our HDTV. I wanted something that would allow me to record analog TV, watch movies, view pictures, and play back music from a simple device. The requirements were simple, Maria had to feel comfortable using it. I decided the best option would be to add a MacMini to our HDTV in the living room. It's a computer, so it can be expanded and with the inclusion of the right software we would have a solution that would satisfy my requirements. I haven't been disappointed with the MacMini in the living room. As a matter of fact, it inspired me to clean up six years of digital photos and create a wonderful library detailing our travels and our lives.

Now enters the AppleTV, a simpler solution. It's not a computer, it's an appliance. It's driven by a six button remote with elegant software. This solution improves on the MacMini because it reduces the need for someone to interface with a computer. This solution is software driven, and Bill Gates is right, software is the future.

Lots of tech folks are complaining that Apple shouldn't get the mindshare with regard to digital movie downloads. They weren't first to market and they don't have a large product install base. But the genius of Apple is they know how to transform and re-establish the terms for a marketplace they enter. You need look no further than their presence in the music business for a recent example. They made it easier for people to obtain music legally. This has resulted in sales of iPod topping 100 million, 4 billion songs being sold and the creation of other competing solutions, which has driven down prices and increases opportunities for consumers. I'm grateful that Amazon has entered the music download business to give Apple a run for its money. This has resulted in DRM free music from the major labels, and cheaper prices for a commodity (music).

Additionally, no one ever talks about the fact that all of the existing digital movie download services ignore the mac platform and its users (Netflix Streaming, Movielink, Amazon Unbox), so Apple had to create a solution for their customers. They did this with music downloads, with music players, with cell phones and it's important that they continue to support the loyal customer base that purchase their computers.

When I think about the solution offered by the AppleTV, I can easily see Apple repeating the success they have had with music with movie rentals. But let's take up the idea that Apple isn't first to market, there are at least two solutions on the market right now that compete with the offering of the AppleTV: Xbox Live, and Vudu. It's been reported that Xbox has an install base of 18 million, and you would think that Apple would think twice about entering a market dominated by Microsoft. But the Xbox is a gaming console that also allows you to watch, rent, and buy other media content. It wasn't designed from the ground up as a set-top box for movies, TV, photos, music, podcasts, etc. While the XBox is capable of everything the AppleTV is, it fails to deliver the simple solution of the AppleTV, plus I can't see my grandparents buying, and installing a Xbox to watch movies, pictures, and listen to music. I think a better comparison is the Vudu. This device seems to be a set-top box like the AppleTV which delivers movie content to your TV, but again this doesn't work either because the Apple eco-system is what makes the AppleTV a better solution. I can get my music, photos, movies, and podcasts on it, plus because it's in the eco-system I can move those items to my other devices (iPod, iPhone, computer) without additional software or expertise.

There are a couple things that will challenge the AppleTV's march toward market dominance. First, Apple needs to renegotiate with the movie studios and see if they can get same-time delivery of content. While waiting 30 days after the release of a DVD isn't a deal breaker, it will slow adoption of digital movie downloads. Second, Apple needs to renegotiate the 24 hour viewing period, it should be at least 30 hours, if not, 48 hours from the start of playback. Too many people have problems watching an entire film within a 24 hour period.

I'm impressed with the AppleTV and look forward to it success.

The weather out here has been great, high 50s to low 60s with no rain and no wind. Each year it has been my tradition to head down to Cupertino to visit the Apple Company Store and pick up a few items. In the past, Dave and I have done this together, however, he didn't arrive this year until Monday afternoon making a joint visit to Cupertino impossible. So this year, I convinced Maria to take the trip with me.

It was a great drive down to Cupertino and we enjoyed the extended time together in the car. We dropped into the Apple store, picked up a few items and then headed back to San Francisco so I could pick up my registration materials.

We met Dave at the Bart in Pleasant Hill and settled in for the evening. We had an early morning considering we needed to be on the first Bart train from Pleasant Hill at 4:17 am. We met up with some friends already in line and waited with them for about four hours before entering the main conference hall to hear this year's keynote presentation by Steve Jobs.

I was about 50% on my Macworld predictions this year. I really wasn't expecting an Ultra Portable Mobile Computer (UPMC) but that's what Steve presented as one of the four items of his keynote.
It's a slick device and I would love to have someone buy one for me, but I love my MacBookPro, so I don't need an UPMC. Maybe if I was still working for IBM and was traveling weekly I could use one, but that's not my life these days.

I like the announcement of iTunes Movie Rentals and I want to try it out soon. I have this gift card at the iTunes Music Store so I will use it for a movie rental. The only downside is I don't have access to a reliable broadband Internet connection. The standard definition movies are about 1.6GB and will probably take about 2 hours 20 minutes to download.

After the keynote, Dave and I headed down to the exhibit floor and walked around for about four hours. During my time on the show floor, I saw Steve Jobs there just hanging out. Here's a picture of him on the floor, it was cool to see him down on the floor with the little people. I made a few purchases, said hello to some familiar faces, saw a lot of cool stuff and enjoyed the technology.

Just before leaving for San Francisco to attend this year's Macworld I was talking with my friend Amon, she asked me the funniest question I've received about Macworld. She asked if Macworld was an amusement park or just a place to buy stuff. I busted a gut. Can you imagine, Macworld as an amusement park, just like Legoworld?

I finally packed on time for this trip and was able to go to bed by 11 pm for our 8:30 am departure to California. Our flight was uneventful (exactly as you want it). We flew Southwest, and I really enjoyed the flight attendants on this flight. They were really funny and engaging.

We arrived 40 minutes early and sat on the tarmac for about 20 minutes before we found a gate. Maria's grandfather, Jim, picked us up and we headed back to Martinez to settle in for the afternoon. Maria and grandpa headed out for a game of Boccee Ball while I slept off my headache. Later we met Don, Pat, and Todd for dinner at La Finesta.

Sunday was church at First Presbyterian then a day in San Francisco with uncle Ken, Brian, and Linda. Ken and Brian picked us up from First Presbyterian of Berkley and we met up with Linda in Oakland. We took the Bart down to Union Square and took a cable car to the wharf. We had lunch at Boudin then took a ferry to Alcatraz. We took an audio tour of the prison then had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great arrival and a great time with family.

Tags: Apple | Apple | Apple Amusement Park | Macworld2008 | MW08

Tomorrow morning Maria and I leave for the gold coast. We will spend a week in San Francisco visiting with family and friends. And I get to attend Macworld 2008, Tuesday through Thursday. I will be working during the week as well. I'm attending some training sessions and will be on the look out for new products to incorporate at the church. So, with the Macworld Keynote just 3 days and 21 hours away, I want to offer my Macworld 2008 predictions:

Movie rentals: I think his Steveness will deliver the best solution for movie downloads. Standard Definition (near DVD quality) films will retail for $2.99 and will last for 7 days. You will be able to watch the rental as many times as you like before the film requires a reactivation. He will offer a limited selection of High Definition films for $3.99 and the same 7 day rental agreement will apply. You will also be able to view your videos on your iPhone, iPod, or iPod Touch. This will render Blockbuster stores pointless and will usher in the digital movie craze.

Updated/Revised AppleTV: Built-in support for movie rentals, iTunes music downloads, faster processor, larger hard drive, gigabit ethernet, and 802.11n. The OS software for the Apple TV will be updated to include support for viewing and downloading videos from YouTube. They will release tighter integration with the iLife suite and the Leopard OS. They will also include a web browser. You will be able to extend your storage via Firewire/USB

Since Apple recently modified the base configuration of the Mac Pro, I think his Steveness will introduce a new mac on Tuesday. This mac will be, just the Mac. It will feature a wicked form factor, ship without a monitor, be easily expandable, and will priced at or just above $999. This attendee will most likely pre-order this machine to replace his aging 1.8Ghz G5.

They will also announce the iPhone SDK and demo the new iTunes iPhone App Store. You will be able to buy & download 3 new apps to our iPhone on Tuesday. Each new title will retail for $4.99.

New displays with built-in iSight cameras are also expected.

What do you think?

Tags: Apple | Mac | Apple Predictions | Macworld2008 Predictions | Apple iPhone

Three weeks ago, Maria asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I didn't have an answer. I thought about what I might want, I certainly didn't need anything, but she asked what I wanted. I thought about it and settled on a Wii from Nintendo. Then we faced the hard reality, finding a Wii was going to be difficult and probably expensive. I was fortunate to find a manager who tipped me off on an incoming shipment and was fast enough to get to the store by the last Wii they had on-hand. Here's an article from CNBC that's worth the read:

Something strange is developing around the Nintendo Wii phenomenon and it’s showing capitalism at its finest.

I was skeptical about a derivatives market in the Wii actually existing, but now I have confirmation that one does exist, and it’s happening at Best Buys and Toys ‘R’ Us stores and other retailers trafficking in Wiis nationwide.

Here’s the m.o.: shoppers get wind of when a Wii shipment is due to arrive, either by greasing a store manager, or by watching ads carefully, and begin lining up hours before the store opens. A store employee will then come out, hand out tickets or numbered placeholders to keep things orderly, and then the buying and selling begins.

Typically there’s only 30 or 40 Wiis in a shipment so as the line grows, those low numbers gain in value. A source at Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - News) tells me those tickets — think of them as “warrants” — can command prices from $300 to $1,000, according to what he’s witnessed himself. The ticket, the warrant, is usually only good for the first few hours the store is open, so it becomes an option with an expiration date.

After the tickets are bought and sold, shoppers come in, purchase the Wii, head home and either keep their bounty, or put it up on eBay (NasdaqGS:EBAY - News) where they can more than make up for the price they paid to buy the Wii in the first place. Everybody wins.

This article was published on CNBC and was written by

Best Buy doesn’t encourage or discourage the practice. It just wants to make the sale. The company, as well as others at retailers witnessing this practice, are terribly squeamish about talking about any of this on the record.

But the folks I’m talking to say Sundays are THE day for this kind of action. And this coming Sunday, being the LAST Sunday before Christmas, could see, well, historic action in the blossoming Nintendo Wii derivatives market! They’ve never seen anything like it.

There’s even the risk of insider trading! Employee discounts are not allowed on the Wii, and workers who try to buy from the inside run the risk of getting “termed,” Best Buy-speak for getting fired. So they’ve got to go outside and stand on line like everyone else. Still, they have a leg up since they know WHEN to stand on line, when a shipment is coming in.

Free-enterprise with a holiday shopping twist. I love America.

this week maria and I received the worst news imaginable. it's been so hard to deal with this news that I'm generally overcome by grief, it comes in waves. most of the time I feel fine, and I think I'm able to cope, but then there are these moments when the grief seems so overwhelming that I can't see my way through the pain, and sorrow. yesterday when we received the news, I couldn't catch my breath, I cried for hours.

it's just so hard, so painful to accept this reality even when faced with the clear evidence. it's really like a dream, a nightmare actually. I just want to wake up and pretend that all is well that this never happened, but it's not that easy and truthfully that's the part that sucks so badly.

and here's the rub, as a pastor, I've trained for times like these, I've studied the character of God, the nature of God. there's this call and response, God is good (all the time) and All the time, (God is good). today it was hard to say it, to believe it, to allow the truth in it to wash over my pain. it was hard. I know that God is good, that his desire for us, for me, is to know him intimately, but I'm having a hard time. I feel so alone in this suffering, like no one understands my grief, my pain, my sorrow. but I also know that God knows my pain, my sorrow, and I believe that he has experienced it. I know that God is good, I wouldn't be here today without him and his care for me, he has been my strength through all the pain, sorrow, and disappointment I've experienced, but this seems different it's more personal, if that makes sense...

several weeks ago in our small group, I received a picture from the Lord, I was on a boat in the midst of raging storm, and I heard the Lord say a storm is coming, but I'm your anchor. I misunderstood this word at the time, I thought it was about our dream to be church planters at some point, but it seems it was about this, this grief. yesterday, right after we received the news, I felt the Lord saying to me, not to let go of his hand.

this morning I woke up feeling ashamed of my behavior yesterday, ashamed of my grief, I wanted to apologize. then I wrote an e-mail to my small group telling them what happened and I couldn't stop crying... why does this hurt so much?

matt redman has this song, Blessed Be Your Name, and there's a part of the song that goes:

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

I just checked and I think I have 10 versions of this song in my iTunes library. I've been listening to each version while I try to finish this entry. I heard Matt Redman speak at Oasis in Columbus and I remember him telling us about his life and the pain that he experienced and I'm overwhelmed by his heart-felt surrender to God, who some would argue, allowed all that suffering and pain to befall Matt... but there he was on stage at Oasis, telling us about his songwriting and how he was able to worship God, to surrender through his incredible pain.

You give and take away