Adam_S's Comments

Shaun in the City : 9 White Folk Away from Being a Black Church...

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 22:12:51 +0000

I attend a predominately white church right now. But when I was in Chicago it was about half White and half other (mostly Black or Asian). It pretty much reflected the community that it was in. But it was had more inter-racial marriages than any other church I have been to. Almost half of marriages in the church (sometime a bit more, sometimes a bit less) were interracial. Before I started attending, sometime in the mid-1980s. One of the pastors had started a ministry mentoring interracial couples and even after she moved her legacy continued. I joined in 1995 and was there until 2006 when I moved to ATL. I think churches adopt culture, both of the leadership and the community, and that affects them for a long time. I have attended many predominately African American churches and while I often enjoyed attending because I was culturally used to worshiping in a White church it was always an inter-cultural worship for me. I am not saying that is bad, and I think there are a lot good reasons to intentionally worship inter-culturally. But many people look for what a church can do for them, not what they can do to serve the church.

Ron Edmondson : Name This Guy and other Cool iPad Applications

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:22:52 +0000

I like Olivetree over Youversion for bible on iPad. (i prefer youversion on blackberry.) Get netflix app if you have netflix. Only game I play is Words with Friends. I like Reeder as my RSS and other official twitter app as my twitter client. I use the free version of tripip to track my flights and rental cars. Dropbox is my prefered way of accessing files. Goodreader is a very good file reader (basic file management as well) I use Maxivista (if you have windows) to extend my computer screen onto the ipad. Great when I travel and am working. I also am a big audiobook fan. Audible has a decent iphone app that works on ipad and if your local library supports it, overdrive allows you to checkout ebooks (epub) and audiobooks. I have not used the ebooks because I prefer reading on my kindle. But I use the audiobooks.

Joanna muses : Feedback wanted

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:30:31 +0000

I would like to read more reviews of other books as well.

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussion: Are The New TSA Travel Requirements Fair?

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:59:15 +0000

I think it is the wrong question. First we need to seriously analyze the risk. The Wall Street Journal earlier this year estimated that there is about a 1 in 25 million chance of dying in an airline related terrorism incicent in the US. According to the TSA 130 items of concern have been confiscated using the old methods of search since 2001. We have about 50,000 people die every year on our highways. About 25,000 a year by homicide. More than 6000 soldiers have died in Iraq and Afganistan since the original invasion in 2003. But we are literally spending billions of dollars on security systems that are inadequate for the last two airline related terrorism incidents that occurred around the world. The TSA has admitted that these scanners cannot look under the skin so would not have caught the Saudia Arabian bomber and it is unlikely that they would have caught the underwear bomber from last Christmas. I am not concerned about radiation danger (although the refusal of the TSA to allow independent research on the machines to confirm radiation levels is concerning by itself). I do think that there is a level of decency and wisdom that is lost when we are patting down 3 year olds and 97 year olds in wheel chairs. There is an report of US soldiers on a chartered flight being asked to give up their nail clippers (which regular travelers can now carry) in spite of the fact that they were all flying a chartered flight with only US soldier returning from Afghanistan, and all of the soldiers where carrying their weapons (weapons ranged from pistols to standard issue machine guns to to full heavy machine guns meant to use used on a stand or mount.) There was no danger there of terrorism. It was about the power and authority. I think that people that have faced sexual assault are very concerned about how they will psychologically deal with the TSA. I also think that people with cancer are told to avoid all amount of radiation (so must receive the pat down line.) A flight attendance that is a breast cancer survivor was forced to remove and show her breast prosthesis to the TSA the last time she flew. This was in violation of TSA rules, but it still occurred. She has filed formal complaint and asked her union to file a complaint. My issues are basically three. 1) The TSA has a history of bad behavior and over reacting to situations that are not threatening. (A classic law enforcement psychological issue.) 2) The current rules do not deal with current potential, but seriously impact a large number of people. 3) We still are focusing on solving a people problem with technology instead of dealing with people problems through people means. We will never be able to protect against everything, so the very attempt will end at some point in backlash. So refocusing to a reasonable balance, based on actual threat will occur. The question is when.

Church and Culture : Church & Culture Blog | Church and Culture

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 21:22:26 +0000

Church as third place for Christians just further marginalizes Christianity from the rest of culture and Christians from non-Christians. Although I do think that church as third place for the community is a good idea. A church based coffee shop that non-Christians come to, or a gym that is not primarily church folk might be a community service that also encourages community integration. But on the whole, I think that Christians need to get over the "safe for the whole family' mentality that keeps us away from those that have not heard the gospel.

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussion: Do Opposites Attract?

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 11:51:52 +0000

I think the key is complementary not opposite. When we are too far apart I think it becomes about conflict. But we all need others to balance out our weaknesses.

Mr Shields: no one calls me that : The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:05:10 +0000

I did not read UnChristian, but from what I understand there is a lot more research presentation in UnChristian. This is more explication in this than what I understand from UnChristian

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussions: Should Christians Boycott?

Fri, 1 Oct 2010 17:34:04 +0000

I think I understand what you are meaning, but let me push back a little. According to some research that I saw in Christianity Today, as much as 50% of men and 30% of women (self described Christians, not general population) have looked at some version of porn in the last month. So while we may publicly say we are against porn if privately we are actually buying and consuming it then that defeats the purpose and just shows that Christian say one thing and do another. I think there is something different between actively boycotting and just not buying something that you would not have bought anyway. It is not boycotting for me to not buy a pregnancy test. I don't need a pregnancy test, I would not buy a pregnancy test regularly. That is not a value judgement, it is basic economics. For most Christians porn is the same thing. They would not purchase it regularly so it is not a boycott to not purchase it, it is a purchasing decision based on their values. While I disagree with the SBC boycott of Disney, that was a boycott because presumably there was a loss of sales from people that would have purchased something. In many ways this is like discussing fasting. I hear all kinds of people that want to 'fast' from things that are not essential to their daily life. They will fast from a dessert that they don't normally eat or from an activity they only occasionally do. This seems to me like the point of the story of David insisting on purchasing the field where he built an altar. The owner offered it to him for free, but David said (my paraphrase) "What good is it to give a gift to God that I didn't pay for. I am going to pay full price so I will feel the weight of the gift".

Michael Hyatt Blog : The Amazon Kindle 3 After Almost a Month

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:41:50 +0000

Not just size but quality. The eink is a fundamentally different technology than LCD. I think it is much preferable for reading. There are some that do not think it makes much of a difference. But it is something I would try out in person. BestBuy and Target are now carrying Kindles, so you can see them in person to see the difference.

Michael Hyatt Blog : The Amazon Kindle 3 After Almost a Month

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:38:58 +0000

I think it is just fine on kindle. You use the cursor to chose the area to highlight and just type in where you want the note. The best part of the notetaking/highlighting is that the notes/highlights are automatically uploaded to a password protected area where you can review them and copy them directly into a blog post or paper.

Michael Hyatt Blog : An Interview with Max Lucado

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:41:44 +0000

My sister-in-law asked me if I had read this book already. So I will read it, review it on my blog and pass it on. Thanks for giving away books you believe in Michael.

Michael Hyatt Blog : In Defense of Old Books

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:05:20 +0000

I would start at Christian Classics Etheral Library for Christian books. http://www.ccel.org

Michael Hyatt Blog : In Defense of Old Books

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:04:29 +0000

I do think it is ironic but we really do need more new translations of old books. Language changes and frankly, a lot of translation methods are better. The new translations for Bonhoeffer are much better than the old. Many old books you can get for free (at least electronic versions) but many times it is worth it to pay for modern translations.

Mr Shields: no one calls me that : The Christian Atheist: When You Believe in God But Live as if He Doesn't Exist by Craig Groeschel

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:12:41 +0000

I think it is harder. In part because books like this are fairly general and cover a wide swath of topics. So you probably want to look at several categories. I liked his section on prayer. If you like that and want more. Read my review of A Praying Life by Paul Miller - http://www.mrshields.com/a-praying-life-by-paul-m... (I am going to post a six month re-reading review on Monday, but I mean my original). I detailed a group of books on prayer and why each one was valuable. The being the church section was OK. But if you want more then read Bonhoeffer's Life Together. It is short, but very deep. I personally, think that it is hard to get too far into spiritual 'meat' until we honestly start working on spiritual disciplines. http://www.mrshields.com/spiritual-disciplines-fo... I am going to re-read in the next month. But Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline is very similar. You don't have to do everything. Just pick one or two areas of weakness and start working on it. Another area that is inherently deeper is Humility. One of the better books I have read I reviewed http://www.mrshields.com/humility-true-greatness-... But Andrew Murray has a public domain book called Humility that I have had recommended to me as well. Honestly, I am not sure how much meat I am really capable of handling. We are all "educated beyond our obedience". So part of my frustration I think is that we keep writing on what we should do as Christians but it takes us actually doing it. My frustration is at least partially aimed at me for not putting enough into practice.

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussion: Is Fear an Appropriate Motivator for the Church?

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 13:25:19 +0000

I am not so concerned about the fear in society as I am the fear that is in the church. I think this is really what Craig Groeschel is talking about as Christian Athiests. We talk about God, we tell others that they need him, but when it comes to actually depending on him we fear. Why should others come to God if we as a church are more fearful than they as a non-Christian are. There is nothing attractive about a person that is paranoid. There is nothing attractive about a faith that is paranoid that everyone is out to get it. I think some pastors think that by encouraging their people to fear they are helping them depend on God. But I think it is the opposite. People get paralyzed by fear (sin) and stop depending on God.

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussion: Is Fear an Appropriate Motivator for the Church?

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 13:10:26 +0000

I have been thinking a lot about fear recently because I see so much fear in the church and in society. I think we are limited in our language to use the same word for "fearing God" and all other types of "fear". The positives of fear should only be that it should drive us to prayer. Any other response to fear other than prayer, is most likely sin. If we fear loosing our job or that Muslims will invade the US or that our child will be negatively influenced at school, most of the time it is because we do not trust God to do what he has told us he will do. Much of the rest of the time we fear because we have not done what God has told us to do. So if we fear our child will be negatively influenced at school, but we have not prayed for them, have not had bible study with them, have not helped them find a positive set of friends then our fear is not doing anything beneficial, it is just paralyzing us. Paralyzing fear is sin. The church needs to start addressing this fear as sin. Instead, I see churches encouraging this type of fear regularly. They tell their people to take their kids out of school because public schools are evil. Or they condemn one set of politics or another by asking us to fear the potential result of the other side's politics. Or we are told it is OK to fear the other (whether it be Muslim or Gay or Scientist, etc.) instead of doing what God has repeatedly told us to do (pray for them, ofter them a cup of water in Jesus name, serve them in love, etc.)

Ron Edmondson : Friday Discussion: Is Fear an Appropriate Motivator for the Church?

Fri, 3 Sep 2010 12:57:59 +0000

Interesting quote, but I doubt it is true. Or at least there is a strong difference in motivation between fearing that something will happen and having a vision for why something should happen.

Shaun in the City : Stop Calling Him a Muslim and Saying He's Not a Citizen and Call Him a Nigger

Wed, 1 Sep 2010 15:50:27 +0000

I have almost stopped reading Christianity Today's website. Not because of their articles, but because of the comments section. There have been some of the most vile and hate-filled comments I have ever seen. One guy actually accused Obama of threatening to have Franklin Graham assassinated if Franklin had not said that Obama was a Christian (that was his way of reconciling Franklin Graham saying that Obama was a Christian). I am not sure there is any way, short of long term conversations, prayer and relationship that will ever convince a person like that man.

Michael Hyatt Blog : The Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Reader Compared

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:02:50 +0000

I will have to try that. Thanks

Michael Hyatt Blog : The Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Reader Compared

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:12:23 +0000

I have heard many people switching because of arthritis or eyesight.