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.