well - we're off to the strip for a vegas new year - i pray all will be safe and have a great new year. until 2003 -

pax
john

new look

well, those (or that, depending on your view of split personalities) crazy people (or person) did it again - they redesigned ginkworld.net - it's crazy, it's wild and most of all - it looks pretty good. but to be certian, take a look and let us (or him) know what you (or you all) think about the new look - we (or he) thinks it's great.

the "bennies," you ask: it's faster to load, easier to get around, has more info, deeper community involvement and best of all - it is a cure for male pattern baldness. that's right, while we are still seeking fda approval we have found that a constant diet of ginkworld.net actually helps grow hair (mostly in the nose, elbow and ear areas) - we are still in clinical testing and are still gathering detailed information, but we all know deep down in our souls it's true - come on, admit it - you know!

(the possible side effects of a constant diet of ginkworld.net are slight but include, headaches, stomach cramps, blurred vision, muscle spasims, shortness of breath, liquid and explosive body gasses, the fear of small children and the hatered of the letter "z")

pax

ps - punk monkey is back and weird.

more on a "good theology"

i have another important thing i would add to my list of what makes good theology -

"community" - a good theology is made in community. individuals can not develop a good theology; they can develop a solid beliefe system, but not a good theology - i believe that it takes community to do that.

pax

good theology

what is theology? i know, "words about God" - but what is it? i have been toying with what makes-up a good theology. over the past years i have seen theology of many cause great pain to many people. i am not usre i ever shaed this story before, but a friend of mine (one of my best friends now living in dallas) played ball for his church softball team. one day, while playing, he broke his arm. the pastor of the church told him that he broke his arm because he did not have enough faith - bad theology.

i know of a great your women who became "with child" when she was 15. the father of the child was the senior pastor's son. durring the process, she was asked to leave the church because she was "easy" - while the pastor's son was simply told to stay away from "girls like that" - bad theology.

a women started to attend a church i pastored because she was kicked out of her other church. her husband was an elder in the church and had an affair with a church employee. he filed for divorce. when this happend the pastor called her into the church and told her that she would need to find another church to attend. he was forgiven for his sins, but she was not welcomed in the church because she drove her husband into the arms of another women - and God could not allow this - bad theology.

a "mixed couple" (while husband and black wife) were not allowed to join a local church because, as the pastor preached, God did not allow mixed couples - bad theology.

the stories seem endless - and they are painful to listen too. so i got to thinking, and i am still in process - what makes "good theology?' well, let me share with you what i came up with so far:

good theology is:

simple: complexity comes out of a desire to please everyone, while in fact pleasing no one.
relevant and timeless: to be both today and yesterday is hard, but we find our relevant theology in the roots of our past.
transparent: it must be honest and come with no strings attached.
flexible: not fixed, but moveable.
scriptural: it must be grounded in scripture.

i am certian i will develop more as time moves on, but these i think are central to foming a good theology.

pax

in reading through our local little alternative paper "citylife" i came across this great little read. the article is "the foul year of the lord 2002" by a dr. joshua ellis - while the article is a "local" thing, it sure can fit any city i know - just remove "las veags" or "vegas" and replace it with your city and remover the name of our mayor and replace it with yours - it's fun, and best of all i think you will get a kick out of it.

ps: if you are offended by "four letter words" this may not be for you - nah, go for it anyway.

pax

ok, here's the deal. you take one bad picture, and a friend with a twisted idea of what's funny and this is what you get - i love it. i was going over some "closeing year" space on my computer when i came across this little jem - it was done a at the begining of the year by a friend who like's to play with graphics -

pax
john

a friend in dallas called the other day to tell me about a story in the "dallas morning news" by steve blow entitled, "church sign brings new meaning to phrase 'bully pulpit' " this is a great little article and one worth reading - check it out.

pax - have a blessed christmas

Church: the attack of the clones

preachers and church leaders today are not striving to make “little christians,” (it’s what “christian” means) they are striving to make “little clones of themselves.”

we spend billions to evangelize in other countries, yet we refuse to share our faith with those who live next door; we spend countless hours praying over bring “revival” to our cities, yet we won’t get out of our churches or off our knees to make a difference; we hear sermon after sermon after sermon about the importance of our faith, yet we refuse to walk into a bar and sit with others who are in pain and share – over the years, pastors and church leaders have simply made carbon copies of themselves – boring, legalistic, hypercritic who have more hate then love, more law then grace and more empty pews then people seeking a relationship with jesus christ.

what’s the answer? i think it is not to make clones, but to encourage a deeper walk in faith with jesus Christ. i believe, by doing so we open a world of adventure and a flood of emotions. we see each other, and many others, in a new and vibrant light. when we learn that it is not the person in the front who we should be like, but the on one the cross, we come to a new life, a new expression, a new reality – one filled with possibilities and not problems, one filled with friends not foes, one filled with compassion not complaining, one filled with individual christians and not clones.

pax

some things i need:

1. a good pic of "o'keefe ale" - this seems to be harder then i figured it would be. so, if anyone knows where i can get one email me the link and i will post it -
2. people who think rats make cool pets - we now have 25 rats and they all need a home - so, if you want a rat - let me know (no, we have no desire to give them to a pet store - they would use them for snake food)
3. time - i need more time in a day (26 hours would be cool) - i don't want to have another day added to the week, because that would mean more word - i'm looking for the time to hang with friends.

so, if you can help - let me know

pax

i was thinking of posting today, but because it's friday the 132th i figured i would hold off until the 14th - wait, if that is the case, i should not be writing this! am i posting when i say i am not posting? is posting a "not posting" message a post? see, now i am into posting - and i did not want to post - of did i? could this be my "id" speaking to me saying "person of the id" (because the id is very "self-centered" and would never us the word "self") "you need to post today, so i will make you post with nothing." but the problem is, can you post "nothing?" because, if you post anything is it nothing? if you post, it's something; so it can never be nothing - i wonder if my id is working? anyway, i need to get off before my brain explodes with all this looping -

pax

it's been a few days between this post and the one a few days ago - duh - that was clear? anyway. over the past few days nothing of great value - as if anything i know or do is of great value - has happened. so, i will surf the net tonight fot the "okeefe ale" bottle and post it tonight - looks like a fun hunt.

pax

ok, this time i am amazed - i, the ultimate skeptic, have become suprise - it happend just a few moments ago - i checked my email and i recieved the ultimate spam - it is the spam of all spams, it said:

because our email address recieves over 800 spams a day we have decided to end this email account and open another.

keep in mind, i am not on their e-list - this is the first time they have emailed me - and the bottom of the email was a plug for their site. all i could figure is that the guys at "gardeningguide.com" have the the biggest set of brass *&##@ ever - how do you spam a person with a spam complainig that you have been spamed too much yourself - this was a new low.

pax

pizza............stomache..................inside...............need..........
.......medicine...................need...............more...............pizza -

it's no secret, i am looking for a place where i can help people "get it." - a place that truly desire to express a pomo-theology and experiement with new and different approaches to ministry - and, let's be honest, besides wanting to pastor and bring others along in "leadership" i am also looking for a place where some other creative people can help me develop ginkworld.net into what God wants - and that is something very edgy, very visionary, very counter-culture, and very, very honest and direct. i have before me a few oportunites - none set in stone at this point - and i need prayer for God to guide me to the place He is leading and has preped me for - after past experiences i have learned to take my time and make sure the place is a fit - not "will become a fit," but is a fit; one where the people are willing to grow with me and experience this thing we call faith - and not kill each other because we might have a different point of view - one willing to be a "do faith" and not just a "speak faith." anyway, as this year closes, and a new one is coming on fast - pray that i will know what God wants of me - and that i am guided to the ministry that God wants me to serve.

pax

a friend just emailed me a great idea - he suggested that we do a "7q" with people who are not pomo - i like it. he suggested charles colson and hank hanegraaff - and i would love to have more names or people think would be cool to know what they think - let me know - email me with ideas "punkmonkey@ginkworld.net"

thanksgiving is over and i have officially gained 15 lbs - ok, 20lbs but no more than that. it was great having thanksgiving with friends (i conseider my wife and child friends) - and the best part, no drama this year - that's right, no drama - no kid brother standing in the middle of the livingroom in "booty-shorts" proclaiming he is gay and freaking out my grandfather, no neices hiding in the bathroom crying because they just found out their "boy friend" of three days is "cheating," no sisters pulling out her soap box and proclaiming we are all going to fry in hell because we don't belong to her church, no mother complaining about everything under the sun and then complaining about her health - and blaming it all on her kids, no grandmother wanting to show her latest operation scars to the kid my neice brought over (he's 11), no brothers fighting over who gets the drum stick (five brothers, 2 drumsticks - you do the math), no aunt telling us how all this food will clog out viens and cause us to all have triple-by-pass "just like uncle carl," no uncle carl (the by-pass did not take).

it was great - friends, good food, good wine (lots of good wine). now on to christmas - my sister invited us over, what i need now is a good excuse not to go - i was thinking "rapture" - but her church believes they will be the only ones going - wait....how can i make a church of 50 dissapear in three weeks? hummmmmmm.

in my seemingly mad search for very cool, and off the wall site, i came across this little gem - the phobia list site - that's right a site that lists many of the phobias - her's some of my personal favs:

theologicphhobia - fear of theology
theophobia - fear of gods or religions
homilophobia - fear of sermons
ecclesiophobia - fear or church
lutraphobia - fear of otters - come on, who could ever fear an otter, please.

as you visit the list - and i know you will - record you fave phobia - here are a few i just though of:

punkamonkalistophobia - fear of stupid lists developed by punk monkey
crapahomilophobia - fear of crappy sermons
megacrapahomilophobia - fear of really crapy sermons
smackawackaduddleophobia - fear of nothing, it just sounded cool

i wonder if it's me, or if i'm just in the same run with everyone else - but are many who claim to be cristian just filled with hot air? sure, they give money, but very little time. on a "republican" end, the political party screams that throwing money at a problem will never solve a problem - only action will - yet the "conserative christians" that fill our churches don't want to do, they simply want to write a check and make it go away.

i have seen this first hand, and i am getting sick thinking about it - one year, while i was the senior pastor, the elders of the church came up with a great idea - all the leaders whould volunteer at a local kitchen and "show" how to help. as the date got closer, and closer - what was to be a show of action, turned into the church writing a check to help with the kitchen - over a months time, every last elder backed out because of "family matters." one elder, at the elders meeting, said, "just because we are unable to go does not mean we should not have the paid staff go - this will be good for them, it should teach them to serve." intersting, as this time of the year comes around, and memories like this pop in my head - i keep asking myself "what would a christian do?" - just an idea.

there i was, sitting high on the top limbs of a tree looking down on the world wondering where i would travel next. as i was looking over the trees, i noticed in a clearing two bugs walking and fight with each other over who was a true bug. the first bug said, "i have six legs and three body parts, and that is what makes a true bug." the other simply looked and replied, "how silly. i have six legs and three body parts also, that does not make you a true bug - i have antenna, and as every living thing should know - antenna are what makes a true bug." the first bug thought for a second and answered, "i do have antenna, but not only two. mine are hair like antenna all over my body, so that must be a true sign of a true bug." the second simply shock his head with disbelief, "how could you be so silly? that is not the true sign of a true bug." but, just before the second bug could continue a large bird came swooping out of the sky and eat both bugs. as it stood there i asked, "why did you eat those creature?" the bird replied, "they were bugs." then i added, "but they were arguing over which was a true bug. neither thought the other was a true bug." to which the bird replied, "it doesn't matter much what they thought, they were bugs and they both tasted like a bug." and with that the bird flew away.

pax
john

there is this new site at asks, "what would jesus drive?" well, this is a no brainer - come on let's get real. that has to be the sillest question ever - everyone who is a true christian would know that jesus would ride a "fat-boy." i find the question silly and so simplistic - "what would jesus drive/" is not the question - it's "what would jesus ride?" and as i said before - a fat boy.

pax

i have a concern, and i am not sure anyone can truly help - though you never know. when i talk with my more conservative partners in ministry and mention that i detest any forms of gossip, rude talk or rude behavior within the a christian community i am quickly countered with the "but we are only human" argument. they say that we can not judge a christian by the way they talk - even though i can point to a number of scriptures that say we must live a peace-filled, grace-bounded, forgiving-centerded life - i am told that as humans this is impossible - ok, i understand but i can not accept the argument. but here's where i have the problem:

my wife smokes: if i had a dollar for everytime i was told that that was unacceptable for a christian, and even more so for a ministers wife, i would be right. they say that 'the body is a temple' and smoking hurts the temple. interesting, because when given a simular argument jesus said it is not what goes in that hurts, but what comes out - words, gossip; hurtful words where people desire control.

i like to drink: now i am not a lush, but i do enjoy a good glass of wine, or an ice cold wheat beer, with a nice cut of beef. when i mention that i drink, christians freak. even though thay can show no supporting scripture to say that drinking is wrong, they insist that as a true christian i not drink.

i use "culture rich" words. if i kept all the email i got for the article "10 reasons your church sucks" it would have filled my in box 20 times. now, none of the email said i was wrong in what i said, they just could not deal with the fact that a minister uses the word "sucks." the emails dealt with the fact that "such lanuage is not proper for a minister, or for a christian at all." well, piss on that (my email address is john@ginkworld.net).

i am amazed at the duelism of conservative christianity - they have confused social issues with bibical realities, and they see the outside as proof of a life in christ - bad form guys.

pax

i'm stepping out on a limb here - but here goes; today, the senate took the first step in creating a new "usamerica" - a fascist usamerica. i know many will disagree, i know i will get a ton of email wanting me to die (a few telling me i'm right would be nice) and i am certian i will be added to some fbi list for thinking this way - but then again, is that not the seeds of fascism?

ok, this is just too gross - this is how i would look as a bjork/barth/jester - God, i pray i can not reporduce. i guess it could be worse - i could have been a osbourne kid. i know it looks like i gound be, but come on - i'm just too cute.

pax

ok, now i'm a bjork/barth with jester traits - i am going crazy, if you are interested in joining me in my insanity - you can hit this place, there are more tests to see who you are - and i won't be the only one stupid enought to buy into all this garbage.



What Was Your PastLife?

i felt. because i am a "bjork/barth" kind of person i would skip a time of posting, but then realized that my "barth" side would not be pleased with that idea - so i was able to hold down the "barth" side for only a little while - not the "barth side" is lose, and the posts will continue - with a bjork twist. well, maybe - it depends on the muse in me -

ok, this is all because of jordon, but now i have to find these sites that tell me who i am - man, now im "bjork." this might not be as bad as i think - but i am not wearing a swan dress to the grammy's - hey, it could be worse. i could be "enya" -



Who are you?

so, how does this all work? am i "barth with bjork treats" or am i "bjork with a hint of barth?" well, all i can say is i just tossed out five years and $30,000.00 worth of professional help - make me an appointment doc, i'm coming back -

pax

did you ever have one of those experiences where you thought one thing, and something very different happened? well, i had one this weekend at the "upstairs leadership conference." my first thought was that i was going to be in the middle of a bunch of southern baptists, and this is going to be weird. but i tell you what, it was actually great. sure, there were some who could not get past the shaved head, the earrings, the black cloths - and more - but all in all, i was made to feel very welcomed and very accepted. many people actually like what i had to share about postmodern theology, and ministry in a emerging church.

but the best part of the whole experience was getting to know to groups of people - and let me share a bit about each group:

THE BRIDGE: this group of people is fantastic. aaron norwood, and all the people, were open, loving, kind, welcoming and best of all - postmodern. it was great to talk with people who "get it." anything i wanted, they went out of there way to get me - a pure servant heart - and need i say, "a kicking worship band."

THE GATHERING: this groups was wonderful. they were like sponges, wanting more and more of all God was offering. doug and his team invited me to share with them at their church (word of grace) when i was finished at the confrence. i was made to feel very welcomed and the meeting we had that night was one filled with questions and wonderful insite.

as i look back on the weekend, one thing came to be, that if nothing else would have happened this would have been worth it all - the bridge and the gathering got to know each other, even if just a little - a new relationship can now start to form. some of the people attend both services and not their leaders know each other - and like each other - and the process of building the kingdom can now take hold. i praise God for all he is doing and all he is striving to do, as time moves on.

pax
john

i got this site from my fellow walker jordon cooper - it's interesting. it turns out, i'm a "karl barth" go figure

"We reject the false doctrine that the church could have permission to hand over the form of its message and of its order to whatever it itself might wish or to the vicissitudes of the prevailing ideological and political convictions of the day."

You are Karl Barth! You like your freedom, and are pretty stubborn against authority! You don't care much for other people's opinions either. You can come up with your own fun, and often enough you have too much fun. You are pretty popular because you let people have their way, even when you have things figured out better than them.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

i got an email from jack oliver "deputy chairman of the republican national committee" today thanking me for helping to put the republicans in office - wow. wait, how did he knoiw who i voted for? who told him how i voted? interesting! this can only be seen in two lights: 1) this is simply junk spam sent out by the "rnc" in hopes of rubbing victory in the face of those who did not vote for their people. 2) somehow they were about to get my vote after i voted.

the second seems possible. i voted in nevada and we have "electric voting" - i vote and the info is stored on a card that is later read by another computer, but i wonder. i did notice a lot of cables on the floor - some electric and others, i don't know - now, they could have been heart cables for all the old people helping with the election.

my vote (and i am certian they are reading this vote as well) is that it's spam sent to everyone.... "ha, ha, we won."

"An unprecedented number of Republican volunteers made the difference by working to spread our candidate's message, and get voters to the polls. The tremendous Republican gains were enabled by the incredible work and dedication of Republican supporters and negated the Democrat machine's efforts."

i don't mind winners, and i don't mind losers, but i do mind winners that have to shove it in your face - even when one does not vote for their people -

pax

ok, it's up and ready to be posted too - if you are interested in joining the new blog "postmodern theology" let me know - all it takes is an email and your in - we just laucnhed and just sent out the first batch of ivites and we already have six people signing up - and a ton more on the way. this is great - a "breeding place" for ideas that effect the emerging church - cool.

pax

we are putting the finishing touches - this week - on a new blog connected with the egroup "postmodern theology." this should be very cool and be a place where a great many people will have voice.

pax

our friend jason evens - the church at matthews house - is looking for help in funding a mission trip to africa. here's part of what he wrote in an email to me:

"If you would like to donate to our expenses for this journey, there are two different ways to contribute. The first option is to send us a check made out to Matthew's House (please write Jason Evans in the “Memo” line) and mail it to the address below. Donations through Matthew’s House are tax deductible. The second option is to visit my website at http://myvalentine.blogspot.com. I have a PayPal account so that you can easily make a safe donation online with your credit card."

check out his blog, and the churches site, for more information on the trip; give and help this mission trip out - jason is a great guy and the mission is worth wide.

pax
punk monkey

ok, sure i'm playing - i have edited all the past posts with pic so that actually have something to say - as if i ever have anything to actuall say. i did this so that the post "had meaning" (yea, i know - just say it and get it over with). you see, i love learning curves, no matter how they turn. i have to thank my friend andrew jones for his help. andrew emailed me to tell me how to get the pic lined up with the text - for the life of me i could not figure out how to write the code (yet i write a ton of code) - anyway, andrew emailed me and i emailed him back - but we are both so active that we keep missing each other - so, i check out his site and "stole" the way he puts his code out - check out andrew's blog, great stuff and the pics line up cool ;-)

pax
punk monkey

i get about 300 emails a day. i would say some 60% is spam and junk - i get everything from notices on dating (i'm married and my wife is not too keen on me dating, go figure) to way to make millions by "using your computer." but, finally - after all this time - i got something in the junk that might look good - a way to keep hair from growing, and it's natural - wait, no - it's 39.95 (regularly 59.95) what a deal! nut then again, the company is in new jersey and the question is, "if it's from jersey, can it truly be natural?"

ok, this should line up in the left of the pic. i'm adding rambling text to see if i have masered this code thing for pics - or, i could be adding rambling text because that is what i do best? hard to tell, right?

ok, here i am sitting by myself and i am wondering out loud - so don't freak - but i think one foot is bigger then the other. now i know this may not seem like a big deal to you - but that got me looking and i noticed that the entire right side of my body is bigger then the left - and that freaks me out. my right leg, bigger; my right hand, bigger; my right arm, bigger, my right butt cheek, bigger - the whole right side of my body - if this keeps up, i'll be a freak, a laughing-stock of the punk monkey world. as parents walk past me with their children they will say, "look child, that is what a freak looks like. his right side of his body is so much bigger then the left." and the child will scream and cry and run to the safty of their father, who will want to thrash me within a inch of my life because i freaked his child out - this is not good, this is not good at all - oh, wait. i forgot to take my meds this morning - my bad, all will be right in a few hours - as soon as the meds kick in. wow, the power of that little purple pill, or do i take the blue one today? well, time will tell -

ginkworld.net launched a new look on this update - we know you will like it - we have recieved over 300 emails from people all over saying that the new look is great. check it out and surf around. let us know what you think. we have also developed a new logo (God we love change) and we think it's very cool ( [+] with the word "ginkworld.net" under it ) and very simple - and we like both cool and simple - pax, punk monkey

here's what i want when i die - i want a politial raly, but only lower primates can attend. i was going to invite the democrate, but i don't have enough money; i was going to invite the republican, but then again i want my death to be a party; i was going to invite the green party, but they would fight over how to dispose of my body; i was going to invite the independants, but they seemed a bit to wacky for even this punk monkey - so, lower primates it is.

i feel this is important because it allows me the opportunity to express my true nature without expense. primates are easy to care for - a few slices of fruit and a diaper and the world looks good to us. we are happy, we can have a raly for the dead without booing, cheering or in anyway making it look like we are being exclusive - other animals could come, but hot humans. what we find interesting about humans is even when they agree, they still have to brake into little groups and fight - crazy humans. and they claim to be a higher primate, go figure.

a good friend emailed me this little site insightlearning.com and it is a kicker. it tells you the kind of person you are via a color - i am "orange" which means i am active, adventurous, enthusiastic, courageous, flamboyant, bold, optimistic, open-minded, effective, charismatic, skillful, spontaneous, competitive, persuasive, charming, generous, mechanical, flexible, exciting, daring. now i have to admit, this is kinda like my theroy on reincarnation - it's all the good things; ever notice that no one ever claims a past like of a one-legged begger who killed pets and eat the left-over slim of a blue pointy slug. everyone who claims past lives always claims to be a king, or a queen, or a great warrior -

the problem for me is this - being orange does not tell me that i can be a large pain in the ass, bossy, annoying, in your face, twisted, off center, impatient, and most of all - wrong more times then right. when ever we take these thing we need to take them with a grain of salt - a few years back i took an IQ test and scored in the 140's (that means i score in the top 1-2% of "smart people") and my older cousin looked me in the eye and said, "you may be smart, but i can still kick your ass." - puts it all in place.

pax

we have been getting a ton of email from people saying they like the new to ginkworld.net - thanks. if youi have a suggestion, or an idea - let us know we are looking for new things all the time -

pax
pastor john

we hope you like the new look - we think it's great. it should load faster, about three to four times faster then the old page - and it should be easier to move around. if you notice we did some changing. the first think we changed is we got rid of the "rotten fish" and replaced it with a "fresh fish award." we did this because we felt that to many of us want to dwell on the bad, and we have decided to look for trhe good - not the bad of the modern, but the good in the postmodern - that is where our hearts need to be. second, we took many of the boxes and moved them into that little "scrolling menu" on the side. we did this for space and loadabilitity.

we hope you like the new look - let us know by hitting our message board.

pax
pm

ok - i get it. several people emailed me to let me know that they were not pleases with the new index page look - the opening page. they liked the connective pages, but not the index page - and i got the message. on the next update we will have a new look to the front page of ginkwotrld.net. let me share with you why we keep redesigning -

GINKWORLD.NET' TOP TEN REASONS WHY WE KEEP REDESIGNING OUR SITE:

10. we get bored, and creative minds that get bored find strange ways of expression
9. we have flash backs to when food was hard to find, and we eat anything left over in the frig - no matter the color, or the "hair."
8. we get paid a stupid amount of money to design the sight - not really, we do it all fro free.
7. we have found that the keyboard is a better place for our fingers then our nose
6. we have found that the keyboard is a better place for our friends fingers then our nose
5. small semi-intellegent mamals from another dimention have taken over our minds and find this a way of sharing their evil plan to control the world.
4. we can't think of a fourth reason, so we are just typing trying to look impressive.
3. we have issues, large issues steming from certian family relationships
2. because we can!

and the number one reason we redesigned ginkworld.net - what redesign?

if you are like me, "napster rulz and larz drulz" - i got a kick out of larz (the drummer of a "has-been" group called metallica) ulrich stance against napster - he actually blamed napster for the fall in metallica record sales, never once seeing the truth, his band is old hat and outdated - people are not buying the records because the music sucks - come on, a metallic is now played in elevators and 7-11's. anyway - you got to read this article in the onion - you'll love it.

"If this radio trend continues, it will severely damage a musician's ability to earn a living off his music," Frackman said. "[Metallica drummer] Lars Ulrich stopped in the other day wondering why his last royalty check was so small, and I didn't know what to say. How do you tell a man who's devoted his whole life to his music that someone is able to just give it away for free? That pirates are taking away his right to support himself with his craft?" more

this is great -

i got an email from a friend, david trotter - co-founder of the ooze - and it's a kick - like most of us, david is sattled with a bit of debt - student loans - about $40,000 in student loans - i have him beat by $15,000 (my total is $55,000) - anyway enough with the "mines bigger then yours" thing -

what daivd has done is great - he has created a new web site to help with his loans - it's a place where you can give and help "pay down the debt" - hey, give the guy a buck - and while your at it - toss some this way.

ok - this punk monkey is officially pissed. that's right, this "anti-war, tree hugging, freedom loving" punk monkey if officially pissed-off. let me see if i get this - because of this new thing called "homeland security" ("HS" - formaly know as the "SS") people can be arrested for just walking by a protest? this is too much - way too much. thanks daniel for sending me the story.

well, i have made my stand in faith - "war is against all of christ's teachings and no person may take the life of another for any reason" (and it's ok if you disagree with me) - so, i guess i am now added to the list of voices who disagree with the goverment - and i am certian some will tag me a enemy of the state - and that's ok - just make sure you also tage me "one of those crazy christians that actually believe peace and love is better them fear and war" people.

hey all. i got a email from steve beard over at "thunderstruck" with an article he wrote for the Washington Times on rock and divorce. it's a great article and we worth the read -

oh yea, i can't believe my luck. for a long time nothing seemed to be going right for me - being a new punk monkey i have tried to get this "punk monkey" thing down but just have been having a hard time - then i got an email today that changed my life - what luck. i could kick myself a million times and still feel good about what happened. it's great - I WON A TRIP TO LAS VEGAS - man, this is great - two days and three nights. this is the greatest thing ever.......wait.......i live in las vegas.......never mind.

it been forever between this and my last post - well, not "forever" in a "real" term, more in a "i don't want to do the math so i will say forever to keep it simple" kind of way. yea, that's the way i like it - simple and basic - not really, but it goes with the rest of the post (i am trying to work a theme here, but it's just not working for me, so...) if you are here, you may have come via ginkworld.net - and noticed that the site has changed (again) - it seems to be a thing with this human called pastor john - he likes change - all he keeps telling people is "change is good" or "change means growth" - it can drive some crazy - and it has. but one thing is for sure - it's exciting to see how "change" can effect the hearts and minds of other humans - the blood starts pumping and soon - they are alive and running, and they life it - anyway.

i hope you like the new look - not all the pages have been changed, that will take a few weeks to accomplish. enjoy and let that freaky human know what you think about the new look - pm

elections are getting closer. i have been watching the local races with some interest and have come to the conclusion that "no one is worth voting for." from watching the ads i have determined that (according to the ads they run against each other) all are liars, cheats, want to give us higher taxes, want to cause our children to suffer, waht our elderly to live in the streets, have no heart for the hurting in our area, are concerned with moeny, are greedy executives, want to kill all the little woodland creatures hopping in our woodlands - oh, my God.... none of them is worth voting for.

i was talking with a human friend about this little problem i have been having with this whole "vote for the best person" thing. she told me to "pick the people who was the lesser of the two evils." i can't do that! if i do, i still select evil - whether it is "the lesser" or not. what is a punk monkey to do? i asked her about all the ads, where each side said the other side were out to reck the world. she assured me that both sides lied about the other - what? if both sides lie, and both sides are saying bad things about the others, then both sides are basicly good. but if they were basicly good, why would they knowingly lie about the other side?

my friend told me that while the system is not perfect, it is the best system in the world - i'm not sure i agree.

you all need to check out the blog "postmodern tribe" - this weeks chat was great -

pax

hey - jordon cooper's got a new look - and i like it. now, it's a bit green for me - but it's smooth and got a ton of good stuff.

you can read an interview with johnny baker - check it out.

i love the idea of "organic church" - simple, basic and true to the nature of God.

the biggest set back i can see with this kind of church is that the roll of "pastor" changes from the current model of "paid staff" to "advisor to the community." this will destroy the current concept of seminaries, church denominations and paid elders - oh, wait - that's a good thing, sorry.

ok, look! here's the deal - small fish, big pond - not big fish, small pond. get the picture?

wow - we had the first meeting of the "postmodern tribe" blog and chat - it was great. now, it was small - me and chris - but it was fun getting to know him and what's happening on his side of the planet - the "left coast." well, i hope you join us next sunday at 6:30pm pacific time as we study, talk and get to know each other - the blog is called postmodern tribe, and the chat edress will be on the blog - you will love it and it's a great place to bring a friend - skeptics and seekers can ask questions and get honest answers from people with differing points of view - it will be a real place, with real people, sharing their points of view - i think you and your friends will get a kick out of it - check it out suday.

dude - i just found out that today is "friday the 13th" - man, where have i been? nothing like being "a day late and a dollar short"

pm

there i was, sitting on the steps to my home, eating - well, most humans would be grossed out by it so i won't say - when out of no where came the largest human male i ever saw in my life wearing a "speedo." now, at about 500 pounds (a guess, based on the weight and size of small cars) and with most of it "hanging" off the front and sides, i do not see the need for a speedo. your right, it could be just me - many people may enjoy seeing a man of his "ability" in such an outfit - but then i'm not sure it's just me. as he was walking to the pool children were pointing and parents were pulling their children out of the way - there should be a law about such style. the only reason i call for a law, is that common reality has not taken hold - the larger you are the more cloths you should have on, not less - i'm no "small guy" (6' 2", 230) and i would never violate the space time reality like that - pm

today - 9.11.02 - one year later and the pain and loss is still with us. let us pray for peace and not for a victory in war. let us pray for the families who lost loved ones in this horrid event. let us pray for our enemies who believe their point to be the true point. let us pray for the leaders of all nations not to bring this to a total and complete war of distructions. let us not point fingers, but hold hands. let us see past religion and into the souls of those in this world who are hurting. let us be the bigger of the two and say, "we forgive you and we desire peace with you." let us know that God is real and in His time and space all will be right. let us wave our flags but not burn the flags of others. let us keep our hearts open and never close them to others. let us work for peace and not run from it. let us stand for peace, love and grace, even when it's hard to do so. let us remember that jesus taught us to love, to forgive and forget and to learn to live with others - even if they do not want to live with us.

blessings this day - pastor john

well, my friend iggie did it again - number 4 of "the 15 qualities of a postmodern apostle" is up and looks good. you need to check ot out - just think if all who claim christ would have a passion for culture, people groups and regions - man the world could change.

well, at ginkworld.net we will be launching a new "blog/chat/im style internet church" called "postmodern tribe" that will explore church at a new level - a weekly message and feed back to that message from anyone who wants to jump in and "talk." if you are game, it should be rolling on 9.15.02 - and i will keep all my friends on seven posted as we move along - it could be big, or it could be a flop - either way, it's all in God's hands. i have no idea how it will go, and i have no idea what form it will take in the comming months - all i know is it should be very cool and very fluid - pastor john

well, it's been five days from my last post - and church people still suck! let me share with you thins little story:

my wife use to work at the local christian bookstore - untill this week - last week a pastor came in durring a big "everthing in the store 25% off" sale. my wife told him that in connection with his "pastors discount" he could save a great deal of money - he was excited. he came to the front with a bunch of stuff, all church supplies. my wife explained that the pastors discount could only be used for personal items and not church supplies - which has always been the case - but the pastor refused to accept it and started to insult my wife (i was not there, or there would be one less pastor in the world). my wife said that she could not give him the pastors discount on church supplies or she could lose her job - to which he replied, "i don't give a shit if you get fired. i wnat the discount you said i could get." then he demaned to see the manager. when the manager came, he gave the pastor - who at this time was even more insulting - the discount on the church supplies. the pastor looked at my wifer and said, "see, this is how you treat people, you give them what they want."

it's no wonder people are leaving the church with pastors like this -

pm

ok, so it's been awhile from my last post - and no i did not fall off the face of the planet - i did have an awakening: chrurch people suck, big time suck. now, notice i did not say "christians" - i said "church people" - you know who they are, there the ones who like to play church and pretend to be people who love and care - only to spit on you and stab you in the back, church people. man, oh man, have i run into many of them this past few weeks, no wait months - no, years - oh heck, i keep running into them and they keep pissing me off. pastors who think their poop don't stink; leaders who believe they can say what they want and act as they like - all in the name of christ. one thing is for certian, i have found more people i like, trust and who care at bars then at churches - no wonder churches are dying and bars are growing - man we need to get real and get changed or this thing we call church will fade away into the night -

i have said it before that the church can close it's doors - it is not protected and it is not the "againt the gates of hell" standing it has been giving - the only thing that can never stand against the gates of hell is the truth that jesus is the christ - the church is fair game.

i love this site - small voices - i got turned on to it when karen ward took the hit on the 7q on ginkworld.net. if you are looking for more - you need to check these people out - thaey are great -

i got my "voters guide" for nevada today - and am i ever glad i did. as i was reading it i was amazed. did you know that everyone who is worth voting for is an "(R)?" human, oh human. as a punk monkey i sure am glad higher primates have taken the time to grade people we need to vote for - makes me proud to me an usamerican - all this, slugs, bananas and flea - ya gota love it here.

i wonder - if you have big fingers, can you pick your nose? why it it that over-weight men who have too much to drink think they can dance? why do over-weight drunk women think that over-weight drunk men look sexy dancing? why did they place a starbucks across the plaza from a topless shop on fremont in vegas? isn't it amazing that it's the simple things in life that keep us guessing?

i spent the evening walking up and down fremont street in vegas. it's been a while, but it was fun. it's a people thing: watching some guy hit a $10,000 pay out on a dollar slot, while a women stands outside asking for money to feed her child. as i walked around, i was depressed by the faceless people, lonly, hurting, out of connected people who were walking the streets - not all homeless, not all poor - but all without love. then i started to think - it is the same with all areas of our cities, and burbs - oh, yes - it's even in the burbs. go to a walmart and watch the people - then ask yourself this question and wonder - where is the church in all thins?

we have a new message board at ginkworld.net - and i think it rocks. i have to thank kevin hartwig, pastor at the sakamuyo network for his great effort in putting it in play - as kevin shared with me - "no more pop-up ads" - see, we are blessed -

ok, now i am mad! at least as mad as a punk monkey can be over how stupid and greedy humans can be. i have come to the conclusion that baseball, major and minor (minor only because they are actually owned by the greedy major leauge teams), is no longer on my dance card. i, from this day on, refuse to buy anthing to do with pro-ball; i refuse to watch the games, follow the players, or anything else that will cause me to give any money to any owner or player of any team - it's a bummer, because i loved baseball. it took time for me to get over the last strike, but i did - but this time, i will not. even though the "strike" is not on - the fact that they called a strike for 08.30.02 is enough for me to say - enough is enough, greed is wrong and both sides have shown their greed -

my God people, it's a stupid game. grown men hitting a ball, and running sfter each other playing tag - it's a game! but like anything involving human greed, it has become business (sounds like the church) and i am tired of all the garbage. as for me and my dollar, we will be spending weekends at the park watching the local kids get up a spot game and play the GAME for the love of the GAME, and not because they dream of being fat, greedy, drug taking baseball players - imho

i was watching connie chung, on cnn, the other day. she had dr. panos zanos, phd. on her show. the good doctor is planning to clone a human, all for his pride - when asked by the reporter doing the back story about possible risks facing the birth, side effects and birth defects, (the reporter asked, "what about the risks? birth defects, early death, and so much more?") the doctor replied, "there are always risks involved in new things, and i am willing to take those risks; i am willing to face the risks and face the future." well isn't that special, given the fact that the good doctor faces no risks at all - the child faces them all. what does it matter to the good doctor if the child is born with major problems, or even dies at birth, it will have no effect on the doctor's life. the doctor faces no risks at all. that to me seems to be the biggest problem with science and "good" doctors. the face no risk, all the risk is on the part of those they play games with.

i just found the coolest blog ever - "don't link to us" - what they do is find companies that have stupid policies about linking to them; or do not want other sites to link to them, then they link to them. i love it, how punk monkey can you get? i only wish i would have thought of it first.

this is just too cool - wendy cooper has put forth the bench mark for us all to follow with her "recipes on line" - this is so cool i love it. i can't wait to check back for the "curry" section. the new england seafood chowder looks great and will soon be on this punk monkey's table - thanks wendy for compiling a great list - wow.

ok. i have tried to say clear of this whole clergy and child sex thing, but i just can't any more. when the pope refuses to meet with victims, and the bishops back step on their "stance" and the church calls those who leave, or refuse to give money. "sinners." this is all just too stupid for me and my mind - all right, i may be thinking simplistic; i might just be too dumb to get the bigger picture, but come on man, get a grip. adult males sexually abused children - children - not "short adults" - children. grown men, sick grown men, evil sick grown men took little boys and had sex with them - that is sick and twisted. grown men stood naked before naked little boys (and girls) and had sex with them. i know this is not my normal kind of listing - but my God people - we have to speak-up and stop this from happening.

this may sound harsh, but i do not care how many "nice and kind" preists and clergy are out there - that's an old switch game the church likes to play - let's not talk about the "bad" ones, because it could harm the "good" ones - well, if they are so darn good why are they not screaming at the top og their lungs to the world and saying "get these sick creeps." as for this clergy, i am ssaying right here and right now - if you you have sex with a child, boy or girl, count your days - because you just put a mill-stone around your neck.

there is was, sitting in the back yard, minding my own business (taping the activities of the people that live next door - a hang-on from my days as a us senator) when out of the blue i noticed a strange design in the grass on the side lawn - could it be? i wondered, then took it upon myself to examine this "strange happening." the design was simple, a single circle. the grass was bent over, and lighter in color then all the other grass in the area. for over an hour, i looked and examine the area - i clipped sample for study and took photos. as a punk monkey, my ability to move about town is limited (health codes) .

as i was on my belly, trying to determine the exact angle of the bend, i started to get memory flash backs to the night before - and i felt that answers would soon be coming. then, as if i was hit on the head with a small snow-blower, is all came back to me. that spot, that very spot, it the place where i kept my garbage can for the past two months. oh, well - maybe next time.

well, the "food police" want to tell us what we should and should not eat - someone aught to tell the "food police" we live in a lawless society, and we will eat what we wish -

corporate accounting 101 - 1 + 1 = 2.5 million

Corporate definations:
stockholders equity: that which is used to build large house for the executives of the corporation.

ok - if one chewy little slug is good, is two better? i think not - to many slugs, clog the system - remember, eat them while their young! the slugs that is - as a punk monkey, i find nothing better (well, not "nothing") better then a good plump slug - tasty.

why are we so concerned with "bringing-up leaders" as if leadership in the church is something that makes us better then the rest? i believe that the concept of leadership in the church is not the same kind as the concept of leadership in the community. one of the biggest problems the modern church has is it's concept of "servant/leader" - it a hoax. in most modern church "servant" is not even an issue. the church is ran by a group of old white men and women - most with college, or with money. look who jesus picked - woking stiffs with little or no education at all - in fact, the only "leader" in the group, the one in charge of the money, the one with education - was judas; and we all know what a great guy he was.

ok, i think you will like this - a friend of mine, chuck scott, wrote this great little article on his blog - check it out and let him know what you think - i loved it, i loved the images (anythime a person uses animals as images - very cool - besides, squirrels - cooked, with a good garlic sause).

i have this new bug crawling around and here it is - "it is not our place to make leaders." sorry maxwell, but it is not the responsibility of the church, the pastors, or any other christian organization to develop leaders - i know, that is so "anti-modern." it is simply our place to develop disciples, God brings to light the leaders. wow, what a concept - we develop disciples and God develops leaders. churches that are dalling apart are concerned with making leaders - but before a person can lead, they must be a disciple. churches are filled with egos, bosses, and silly little men who have no "power" in "the real world" so they "steal" control in the church. disciples have a heart for jesus, leaders have a heart to control; disciples have a heart for others, leaders only see what is best for themselves.

i will admit, this is still in process - but it is something i feel is truth in my heart and will be my new bug for a while - make disciples, not leaders. - pm

ok, here we go - here are my "10 things i hate about 10 thing lists:"

1. they are not always funny.
2. small fish make bad food - this makes no sence and it has nothing to do with the list, but what the heck
3. to many people do them
4. what's the big deal with "10 things?" why not 7 or 9?
5. sometimes they just seem like they are grabing for ideas (look at number 2)
6. things seem to repeat
7. things seem to repeat
8. sometimes it's hard to come up with 10 thinngs, so you have to say things like "sometimes it's hard to come up with 10 things"
9. it seems to be an over kill of things people like or dislike
10. i just hate lists.

thank you - pm

well, we made it back from san fran/oakland all right. very cool, very powerful and very open to God - we had a great time and are praying over if this is the place God is leading - who knows, in time - but one thing happened that i felt i must share with you all. as we were coming out of barstow heading north on 15 it happened - the beatles "all the lonly people" started to play on the radio - one of those "highway radio stations" that play "oldies" (i can still remember my amazement when i learned that paul mccarthy was in a band before wings). that's when ity hit me - 150 miles from vegas and the cars were backing-up heading to ca - man, is this world filled with lonly people. cars, upon cars, upon cars with just one person in the car - it was amazing and it seemed so lonly - as the song played i just watched as the people just sat in their cars coming from a weekend in vegas where for just a short time in their lives they felt wanted - at least for one night.

picture how badly these people in God in their lives - and picture how little the church is doing to help them find him. i was speaking with a friend this weekend and this fact came to life - church attendance has droped back to pre 911 numbers. why? because when people came to church to find God, they did not see him, feel him or in anyway meet with the life changing truth we call God - pastor john

well, were off to "san fran" this week - pastor john will be talking with the people with the 4square about planting a church in the oakland/san fran area - could be very cool. this is going to be crazy summer, but that's cool. keep pastor john, and us all, in your prayers as he seeks God's leading in some of the opportunites being placed before him - pm

flamehead - our living logo - has decided to create a new "page" on ginkworld.net. while we are not as creative with "catchy names" - after all we call the section where we ask severn questions of church leaders, "seven questions" that shoud prove we are "creativly challanged" - we are calling page "flamehead's stupid award." each month we will be giving our an "award" (we are cheap and have not 'actual' award) to some company, person, church or organization that has done something so stupid it just can't go unrewarded - we are in the process of determining who will be the reciever of the first award - we have a few runners and could always take more. if you know of a person, organization or company that should recieve flamehead's "stuipd award" let us know - and if you can think of a better name we are cool with that also - pm

over the past few weeks i have been dealing with mixed emotions on the whole "corp" thing. now, i will admit that i am not a big lover of large corporations, and i am not a lover of people who make more money then the national income of most small countries. but if we are to truly say that one is bad, we must not close the door on the others - corporations are greedy, but so are most (if not all) pro-sports people and politians. politians do not return calls unless you are rich and companies do not care about you as a person. one live changing relaity for me came with my "juno" account.

i had juno as my internet provider, and i did not have the "free" juno - i paid $120.00 a year for juno. recently i had the misfortune to use their tech support and customer service - and i have to say, i am no longer a juno customer - like most "big" business, juno and net zero, have become closed to the needs of the people they serve - they see us as simply ways to increase the bottom line. tech support people who say "we don't care" and customer support people who are willing to close your account without trying to solve any problems. companies are use to the "80's" and a life that all they wanted - even by lying - and so they figure the custome base is a never ending pool of "suckers" - well, the pool is drying up. greed and want will be the end of all companies in this world - if you do not care about the people you serve, don't go into bussiness -

i was watching the tv the other day when one of the reporters asked a very interesting question. one reporter looked at one of the "experts" dealing with the smart kidnapping and asked, "what have we learned from this whole experience?" the expert then gave a list of things learned. let me share with you what i think i have learned:

1. if you are a rich white person with friends who are politically connected, you will be able to have all the help you need to find your child. but, if you are a poor black family with no political power, you get crap from the fbi, or any of the tv networks.
2. if you are looking for a suspect, blame as many people as possible, toss enough garbage so some may stick, and get toothless people who live next door to say how "strange" you are.
3. people who claim to be "experts" get ticked-off when they are not allowed to control the feeding frenzy -
4. let's not worry about law, let's blame and convict on tv, this way we spare the country of that messy little thing some like to call a "trial."

if ever we see the way we are treating missing children and race - take a look at this one - God forgive us for our sins. (pm)

i was looking at the "new christian business directory" today - the 2002 edition - and started to wonder. now, i will admit it can be something to run and hide from, when i start to wonder. but here it is - as i looked over all the business, they all have "crosses" or "fish" (the think kind), and "doves." as i was looking i found some interesting facts - here they are:

1. 95% of all the business' in the christian directory do not have any christian signs on their ads in the "yellow pages." i found it intersting that these companies, and people, who felt this strong desire to place a cross on their christian directory page had no passion for their faith in the "secular" pages.
2. while i did not call all business' in the christian directory, i do know one guy who placed an ad - and he is not a believer. he placed his ad in it because he felt it was a "good market" to get connected too - when i approached the publishers of the directory and asked how this could be - the answer was, "they have to sign a document saying they are christian." my friend signed, and he did not care - he's a non-believer and the signing has no meaning.
3. churches in the directory are confused - the largest section is the "nondenominational" section and a great many of them are connected to a denomination.

we need to be a people of honesty and be an above the board people. (pastor john)

i'm not sure i understand humans. i mean, they say one thing and they do another. i hear humans talk about love and understanding, then turn around and do nothing about it. i hear people talk about helping the homeless, then they do nothing; they speak about helping the abused, and they do nothing; they speak about stoping the violance, then they do nothing - why? why do humans speak so much and yet do nothing? as a "higher" primate then i, as a punk monkey, you would think you could solve the problems - but you don't. you talk, but it's like a fart in the wind - it only smells for a short time, then it's gone. i see talk, but no action - no action.

now, before i get a ton of email telling me what others are doing and how they are helping, or how your church is helping, or how much money you send to help stop world hunger - how about this, you only email me if it is YOU who is doing (action does not include writing a check) and not just talking - i don't want to hear what your church is doing, i would love to hear what you are doing - i will give it a week, and at the end of this week i will tell you how many emails i get - remember, you can not tell me i am wrong if all you do is sit on the chair with your remote and complain about life, get involved - pm

i just got done watching a little on the "power puff girls" - and monkeys of the world unite - mojo is being seen as a evil, twisted monkey - he's not, maybe he's a bit off base - but not evil. as a punk minkey, i am calling all monkeys in the world to unite - mojo is so misunderstood. pm

Geheth jgh nnitht ngowmd tthejeo mkfisjjhd. Keelsois sskej hhetstup lakjuui seiuan. Knnfmene! "Thrrds fjtdsg yyurosi ajjd notsvre m mead adki kskeaqo aas f; hhjra eae sdf sd.

(it all has no meaning, i just have always like the waht microsoft uesed "non-words" in all there "pre-fab" stuff, i felt i would give it a shot - hope you like! - pm)

a short story from the gink:

one day, two women were talking about all this new technology that seems to be invading their lives, and was disrupting the family life. "oh, sure." the first women said, "my life is easier, to some degree, but it all seems so impersonal. besides, it's just ripping our family apart" "well," the swcond women relpied, "i would agree that it does seem impersonal to some degree and it can be disruptive to the family, my children love it and they seem to understand it all. for me, i'm lost with the all the wires, and 'thingies,' and tones. it seems like i have to learn everyting all over again, and that is scary."

"oh yes," said the first women, "my kids also love it all, all they do is sit at the sesk in the family room and they can visit places they have never been before and talk with people they do not even know, but it does seem so impersonal and it just seems to take the 'human' out of it all." "i agree," said the first women, "but maybe it's not for us to understand. maybe, just maybe, it's all a fad and will have no impact on our lives in the future. maybe, our kids will see the value of a good face to face conversation and leave all this technolongy behind, and get back to a simplier time."

"oh, i do hope so." said the second women. "all this talk about the telephone is driving me crazy - such an imperssonal way of communicating, it must be the tool of satan. what ever happend to a good old letter?"

- it may need some fine tuning, i wrote it on the quick this morning, but all in all it says what i think is truth - no past minded person can see the value of a future minded technology -

john

"desprite for changes, starving for truth"

no other line from a song, in recent memory, has said it all. this is what we as a postmodern people desire from the church. - pm

i have a new picture on ginkworld.net - i like it and many humans have said they like it also - one human said i looked "mad" - but, as a monkey it's just an expression - besides, we know to humans all monkeys look the same - be honest. after all, to us punk monkeys all humans look the same - you know, "hairless blobs of skin and a funny shape between your legs and arms" - they keep telling me that humans and primate share 98% of our dna - i guess it's the 2% that shows true evolution - well, don't worry. over the next 10,000 years humans just may develop that extra 2% and become equal with us punk monkeys - i know, it sounds crazy but who knows - right? - pm

life questions:

why do they call the stuff between your toes "toe jam;" can you put it on toast?

just something i've been wondering about

just a few things - first; i will be heading to the san fran/oakland area next month to speak with some of the guys with the four square church about planting a church in the area - which sounds very cool. if you know anything that you would like to share - email me, i'm all ears.

second - i posted my children's story under the punk monkey section of ginkworld.net - check it out.

i have been toying over the years with a child's book - actually a series of books. the main character is "isnot, the arenot, the worlds greatest adventurer" and he travels the world solving problems and helping people - via story. i have been praying over it for years, and one of the reasons i have never done anything with it is because, as artists go - i ain't one. i can write (or so i am told) but i can not draw - this i have been told by many people. but, next update on ginkworld.net i will be putting out for all to read one of the first stories i wrote for "isnot" and see what you think - let me know. this could be fun. blessings - pm

i was talking with a friend this morning and he told me somthing interesting - while trying to hook into ginkworld.net he put in "ginkworld.com" - and a porn site appeared. i am not sure how to handle it - what i am leaning towards is to pray for them and keep going - to be honest, i have no desire to quit - but i do have mixed emotions - and that's hard to deal with. so, ir you are telling your friends about ginkworld - remeber the ".NET" - it's important - i think this is going to be cool, we will get some of their wrong traffic and that will always bring blessings to God - keep us in your prayers and the devil is fast on our heels - we must be doing something right. blessings - pm

i have to tell you, i am having a hard time with this whole "radical islam" thing. killing for the sake of religion is wrong; it was, and is, wrong when christians do it, when jews do it, when islamics do it, when any one does it - it is wrong. any god that would require a follower to kill in their name is not a god, period. when i woke up this morning i read watched the news about the christian missionary that was killed, it's just wrong.

islamic radicals claim they want freedom, yet they take the freedom from others; they claim to want religious freedom, yet they refuse to allow others the same religious freedom; they claim to want to live in peace, yet they kidnap and kill people. how can any religion (christian included) claim to be for peace, and still cause so much hate? i have had friends say that in the 12th and 13th centries the christians did the same, and you are right (by the way so did the muslims - remember, it was an islamic/christian thing) - but this is the 21st centry, and these acts are unacceptable.

just my thoughts - pm

i know you can tune a piano, but how do you tune a fish? -

over the past few days i have been in dialog with a follower of islam. he lives in one of those countries where even owning a bible will get you killed. our conversations have focused on jesus, the cross and scripture. it has been a great experience, to see how islam sees christianity and jesus - but it has been an even greater experience for me in terms of seeing "modern evangelical christianity" as useless - well, maybe that's a bit harsh - not!

let me tell you what happened. in our conversations it came across that this individual viewed life with a "modern view" - meaning he wanted "imperical evidance" that christianity was what it said it was - and that jesus was who we claimed - so i turned to the "king of modern imperical evangelical" evidance and "demanded a verdict" - that's right, i punk monkey - the proclaimer of all things postmodern, of all things edgy, of all things in lace, turned to josh mcdowell for help - and did he let me down.

i visited his site to see if i could hook my new buddy up with something to help in his exploration - only to find that all www.josh.org is good for is spending money - minstry is defined by money, "the take," the big green buck - no place on his site was a copy, in amy form, of evidance - so, i needed to look in other places - and found them. but the experience left me cold - josh mcdowell is more interestred in money then in ministry - wow!! i would have emailed the minstry, but they had no email address on the site - no way of contacting anyone with questions or concerns - but they did have three ways to give. i called, and spoke with a really cool guy who actually cared about what i was saying - that was great - but the experience was not.

it seems we have gotten to a point in our walk with christ where we are becoming "money exchangers." we are concern with copy rights, money and who gets credit for what that we have forgotten that God is the one we follow - God is in control of our ministry and our lives. mcdowell ministreis missed a great opportunity to share trhe gospel with a person who needs to hear the message, but a desire for money too place over a desire to minister - it's sad.

today i had an interesting exchange with a friend, tim bednar (e-church) and it centered on the idea that not only did many postmodern churches loss their edge, they also lost site of why they went on line in the first place - they lost site of ministry, of sharing the message of jesus christ, of a knowing and lasting relationship with a living God - what happened? i'm not sure. could it be money? power? image? could it be we have become so filled with our own self-worth that we forgot what it's all about? could it be we have become so impresses with our own writings, that we forgot who truly is "The Word of God?"

i'm still processing the idea that we are "not ministering to people" as a postmodern community. but the more i think about it, the deeper i get into the idea that we are not ministering - we say we are, and we may even put together motions that seem like we are - but are we? i can not say what is happening behind the computers at the other ministry sites, but at ginkworld we have been asking that very question - that's why when tim asked, it sounded so right and pure - we are looking over all we do to see if we are short of our stated desires - to minister to this generation. if we are short of that desire, we need to change and bring back the heart of ministry - one step is to bring back the "daily message" in blog format - we ask all who consider ginkworld as part of their community to keep us open, on task and honest in our walk - pastor john

slugs, i need slugs - fat ones, skinny one, ones that climb on rock, blue ones, green ones, even ones with tribouliear disfusional displacement of the central limph glads in a hyperspace time fracture - slugs, all kinds of punk monkeys love slugs - pm

well, they let me out of my cage to update ginkworld - it's up and running - now, i'm back in my cage - me, my buzzer and my toy cat (at least i think it's a toy, it's not moving). i was asked to share an experience with you about a thing with some slugs - i'm not sure, all i want is my toy cat - i hope! [pm]

ginkworld is lanuching a new blog - this one is called "praxis" and will be a daily study - scripture, and the sometimes weird words of pastor john - sould be very interesting - it kicks off on 06.01.02

oh - a paper cut! primate, that stings -

ok, here's what i have been working on for the past few days - ok, the past few hours, it just seems like days. here it is - i recieved an email from a friend (the answer - or "kinda answer" - will be posted on ginkworld on 06.01.2002). here is what he asked - "if God has a perfect plan, and we (as imperfect humans) are part of that plan - how is the plan perfect if it depends on imperfect beings? do we now redefine "perfect?" it's been ripping me a new one all day - i will strive to see about answering it later on ginkworld. - pm

ok, here's what i have been working on for the past few days - ok, the past few hours, it just seems like days. here it is - i recieved an email from a friend (the answer - or "kinda answer" - will be posted on ginkworld on 06.01.2002). here is what he asked - "if God has a perfect plan, and we (as imperfect humans) are part of that plan - how is the plan perfect if it depends on imperfect beings? do we now redefine "perfect?" it's been ripping me a new one all day - i will strive to see about answering it later on ginkworld. - pm

i love reading the onion - it's just weird. if you click here it will bring you to some of the past stories from the onion dealing with religion - it's jus funny

here's an example -
All Seven Deadly Sins Committed At Church Bake SaleGADSDEN, AL—The seven deadly sins—avarice, sloth, envy, lust, gluttony, pride, and wrath—were all committed Sunday during the twice-annual bake sale at St. Mary's of the Immaculate Conception Church....

you just got to read this stuff -

what a great weekend - fun, bugs and flowing realities. i have been thinking a great deal about all the stuff in the middle east, and the world. i have come to the conclusion that humans are just stupid - now, that does not mean stupid "they lack smarts" - what i mean is, "they don't know how to use their smarts."

humans are the only class of animals that kill for no reason. (land IS no reason) - no other animal kills its kind for land, no other animal kills its kind for food, no other animal kills its own kind for pleasure - all but humans. if you asked a theologian what makes humans different from all the other animals they would say, "a soul" - a connection to God. interesting, the thing that makes humans so special, it the same thing that is causing them to kill - man, do humans have it all screwed-up. -- pm

a poem
by punk monkey

water, the element of life
earth, the element of death
wind, the element of spirit
flatulence , the element of clearing a room

(none of this has any meaning - i've just seen other bloggers put poety on their blog, so i didn't want to feel left out) - pm

one day, while on patrol, a young officer saw an elderly couple in front of him driving "all over the road." the couple were driving on both sides of the road; bouncing off mailboxes, trees, parked cars. they caused a number of cars to run off the road and caused many accidents. but, they keep driving. the officer pulled them over. the officer said, "did you know you were driving all over the road?" the elderly man replied, "yes, but this is my car. my family helped build this road and we paid for the white lines to be painted." the officer said, "i understand all that, and that is good, but you were driving without looking forward; you kept looking in the rearview, why?" the man replied, "i like looking were we've been. our trip home is short and the one we just took is long, so we wanted to keep looking were we've been"

think about it - pm

in our egroup, postmodern theology, we have been discussing "ownership" of material you create yourself - writings. what i have found most interesting is that the people that "steal" the most call themselves "chriustian" and "do it for God." this leads to some very interesting questions:

if it is ok to steal for God - is it ok to kill for God?
if, as a christian organization, it is all right to steal - is it all right to cheat on your taxes?
if, as a christian organization, it is not "stealing" because "we need it" - is it "stealing" when a crack-addict needs your tv?
if it is not stealing because you are using the material for "good." - is it alright then to "take" what we need from your office, if our organization is doing the "better" good?

i wonder sometime haw humans think - if it is wrong to take what is not yours - it is wrong. i wonder why humans believe they can do what they want, take what they will and do it all because they are doing it for God - think about it. - pm -

churches in a red light district:

my friend, jordon cooper, mentions this little story concerning a church across the street from where he lives. it has a red light lit, and it is freaking out the people in the area - well jordon, here is a short lit of some of the things i, punk monkey, have noticed about some of the churches in my area of the world -

1. churches with signs, "under new management." it makes one think about past management issues.
2. churches with red doors
3. churches that "preach the bible" - translation; we judge every aspect of your life and make you feel like crap.
4. churches with cute little sayings that are out of date.
5. churches with cute little pastors that are out of date

thanks jordon for getting me to think - pm

tv is at an end. within the next 10 to 15 years tv, as we know it today, will be gone - dead in the water. and why, you ask? simple. it's because tv people just don't get it - they are out of the picture - here's a few quotes i picke off of ginkworld's "spiritual news" section -

it all centers on the "ad-skipping" technology that would have been avaible to us - the people who count -

"Ad skipping technology, they contend, threatens the entire economic model upon which television is based." - dah. so, the answert to this is force feed people tv ads - even after tech can stop it all.

"In an interview with Cable World in its April 29 edition, Turner Broadcasting Chairman and CEO Jamie Kellner, whose company is owned by AOL Time Warner, took direct aim at devices that allow viewers to strip advertising content from programming in real time, going so far as to suggest that doing so amounted to breach of contract on the part of a viewer. He told fellow programmers at the show they were "crazy" if they weren't looking at ways to deal with the issue."

just wondering - did any of you sign a contract that said we had to watch their crap? = pm

well, i have some dairy issues i need to take up with you humans at this point - how can you tell if sour cream has gone bad? how can you call it butter milk, when it smells and tastes like paint remover? why is 2% milk 98% water? now, these may not seem to be earth shaking questions to you - but to me, well - they drive me crazy. you see, what i have found in dealing with humans is this - they never say what they mean, do what they say, or say what they do - why the hiding?

honesty, openness and a willingness to get spanked are what i find the most fun about life - but humans don't. they lie, hide and protect themselves from all forms of pain - or they try to anyway. so, call butter milk paint remover and get on with life. - pm

dah, i know what i wanted to share with you all - dah, i feel so silly. check out jordon cooper's site - i did an interview with him and he posted the answers - very cool stuff this blogger thingy is.

let's see, another day of rambling - nothing to say, just blind talk and type - oh, wait - i am trying to learn spanish - very cool. it's going slow, the left side on my brain is not the best side of my brain, well - come to think of it, neither is the right side - or the top side. but the bottom side is doing all right - not great, but all right. anyway, i digress - i am learning spanish. it's fun, it's hard, but it's fun - i think all people should learn - then we call all understand what people are saying at the market - pm

give me a second to get my thoughts together - here's a topic to discuss - "7-11's, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week - why locks on the door?" - open discussion while i collect my thoughts ..........collecting...........collecting..........collecting........collected - ok, here we go. i have been thinking lately about "communal living" - and if it is a "evil" as society makes it out to be? is it scriptural? is it the "way" God wants us to live? let me know what you think - i would like to know - and maybe post some of the emails - pm

i was thinking the other day - i know, that's not wise - but!!! - did you every intend to do things one way, and found you have to do it another? now, i'm not talking about communal grooming (though that could fit), i'm talking about "life stuff." for example - bloggs. i love this little thing, but i wonder if my mind works fast enough to post daily? i wonder if my life is full enough to post daily? i wonder - OH, MY GOD - i am sitting at my computer, typing away, when this hugh - i mean 500 pounder with legs - guy in a speedo just walked into the pool - i am going blind, my hair is falling out - my stomic is twisting in knots. why it that humans, mostly those who are the size of small cars, feel the need to show all that skin? i lost my train of thought (i lost my lunch) - i know what i will do, see God works - he sent shamu into the pool area to teach me a lesson, and to bring bact to my mind my desire to log (or blogg) the human condition - yes, i will be sharing with you a primates view of the world - this way, you can truly be in the mind of punk monkey - pm

it's monday, and we are all excited about the possibilities - yea, right! mondays bite the big dog. come on, you wanted to say that, but because "your christian" you felt you could not - you had to be happy all the time - bull snap. there is not rule, writen or unwriten (for all your bible legal freaks), that says we have to be happy about mondays - none. if i had a vote, i would have god get rid of mondays - there i said it. no more mondays - but then tuesday would be the forst day of the week, and we would feel the same about tuesday and we do monday - ok, no more tuesday either! then wensday would be "day one." - ok, no more wensdays either - this could go on for a while.

i guess monday is not that bad. i mean it could be worse - everyday could be monday, but as it stands right now, we only get it once a week - not a bad deal. i wonder, why are we never happy with what god gives us, and we - if our primate way - believe we can make it better? after all, if we can even fix the monday thing, what makes us think we can solve the problems all over the world? just some wonderings - pm.

well, i'm back and ready to move on. it was hard, and still is, but i believe life goes on - so i go on. how is everyone? how's the wife? the kids? the hubby? are things going great, or what? me, things are moveing along. i would have thought when i strarted this thing that i had more to say - but as you can tell, this is rambling - just plain "fill the page with ramdon thoughts" and pray no one notices - you haven't noticed, have you? i hope not - it's just me, a dark room, a key board and too much time on my hands - at least i hope that is "tyme on my hands" - it's hard for me to tell one spice from another - well, i think i rambled enough - untill next ramble - remember, life is a connection of rambles. sometimes we see them as good, sometimes bad - but all the time we need to see them as "life" - because we are called to live our life by christ - not judge the way others live theirs. - on the peaceful side of life, punk monkey

it's been a while between posts, and i am sorry - but punk monkey is not feeling very punk this week. the punkster is missing a friend, someone he had given a great amount of emotion to in the past, and he is gone - and it hurts. punk monkey has a daughter, and she broke-up with a long time boyfriend this week end - and i feel as if i lost a son. to experience this brake-up has been hard, but in the long run it is the right thing - or so i keep telling myself. i am sorry if this seems to "personal" for some - but hey, this is my blog and i'll cry if i want to - i will miss him, but i know they will not be friends after this weekend.

i have never been through a divorce. if it is anything like this - anything, then i know the pain - it hurts, and i did not think it would until today. i wake-uop and realize that the world is a little different, a little empty, a little more confusing - but then i remeber that i have a daughter, and the break-up is the best thing that could have happened - or so i keep telling myself. - pm

ever wonder why lint collects in the belly button? i have, and i just don't get it. life is filled with these questions - it's hard to be a punk monkey in a conservative human world. i tend to think different - ok, i tend to think very different. i question everything, everything - nothing is off limits for my questions - i question God, jesus, faith, church, family - everything. i think it's important to have questions and to seek answer - if not, you become a mindless robot seeking to know nothing, and accept everything "just because." so, i say - question. question life, question friends, question family, question church, question God, question jesus - if, for example, you question a pastor on "church" and they make something up - you have your answer. people who get questioned, should have the answers - if not, don't make them up - so, ever wonder why lint collects in the belly button? i have, and i just don't get it.

a postmodern defination:

angst - a special form of anxiety or emotion that reveals the human condition; the unsettling freedom that accompanies self-awareness of reality.

in real life: this is when i fight the desire to shave my body, and get that "funny feeling" in the pit of my belly - and i did not eat bugs.

well, the weekend came and went without any real big news. i got over the temptation of shaving my body, and i cut back on bananas. it was a quite, and uneventful weekend - the kind i find BORING - i need "out-time" - a time to get out and meet people, or other primates - a time to connect with those who are hurting, those confused by life - as much as i can be at times. yes, i need "out-time."

i think too many christians live in the "in-times" - they fear connecting with others - they are unwilling to get connected. for some reason they have been sold this bill of goods that says, "if you get to friendly with non-christians they will cause you to fall." - not realizing that we MUST make honest friendships with those outside the church. they have been told by their pastors that too much exposure to "sin" will cause them to loss what they can not loss - salvation. for many pastors, it's a control factor - they need to feel "they" have all the answers. when pastors tell us we "must not fellowship with non-believers" they lie - flat out and bold face - they are misleading us into not sharing our faith with others - because we can not get to know people.

today, people will accept community before they accept christ - and pastors who are telling you not to "build community" are not sharing a God realized message - they are filling you with "non-christian" teachings. i remember when i because a punk monkey, i went to the jungle to "get connected" to my roots. i soon found myself with a group of primates who truly cared for one another. one day, a strange punk monkey fell into the river and was about to become lunch. one of the members of my new family jumped in the water and saved the stranger. the stranger thanked him and went on his way. i looked at the punk monkey and asked why he risked his life to save another. he said, "my life is safe, and we must risk all we have to help others find safety." after all, how can you rescue a person from drowning if you don't jump in the water? – pm

another day, another $0.25 - i got a raise. with all the crap going down in the middle east, it makes me wonder - and maybe you can help me with this:

if humans are so smart, why do they act so stupid?
if God is a God of peace, why humans seek war?
if God is a God of love, why do humans seek hate?
if God is a God of forgiveness, they do humans hold on to the pain?
if humans claim to follow, and believe in, God, why are they walking away from His teachings?

as a punk monkey i have been watching this whole "middle east crisis" and i just think the whole thing is just stupid. why kill each other over land? as i watch, i see the childishness of the whole thing - "he took my ball! - no, you took my ball first." (grow-up) yet i have seen no single human, no single human, step to the plate and say this whole this is just stupid - so it takes a punk monkey. all i see are diplomats talking garbage and demanding that people "pull-out" - what i think these human leaders need is a good spanking - someone needs to pull down their pants and smack them all with a wooden-spoon in front of all their friends. here is what i think, as a punk monkey, needs to be done -

1. take away all their toys.
2. send them to bed without dinner - and no ice cream for any of them.
3. spank them in front of their friends.
4. ground them for a least a year, and no tv
5. put them each in a room with the mothers of murdered teens from the other side
6. take away their car keys - no driving for you mister leader.
7. they all need to stand before the class and say they are sorry for all they did.
8. they need to write a three page paper telling us about three people who died from the other side (a page is front and back)

while these may seem childish - remember, so are their actions.

what i think would work with humans is this - each side can select 10 mothers who have lost children in the fighting. these mothers can come together and find a way to peace. the only problem i see with this plan is that the big bad human males will not allow it, because it takes their joy of killing away and puts the control in the hands of moms. - pm