steve-o
Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

Legendary

Me likes baseball, in case you didn't know. Last year we had the opportunity to watch Roger Clemens pitch against the Reds down at Great American; he got the victory and even hit a double. There were about 18,000 empty seats.

Compare that to the lunacy taking place down in Lexington. Yesterday Clemens signed with the Astros [nice gig: $12million to play half a season] and it was announced that he'd be starting his warm-up with the Lexington Legends on Tuesday. Within an hour, they sold 1,000 tickets. By the time of Tuesday's game, they'll likely break an attendance record with 9,000+ in attendance.

We thought we might have a chance there, but the in-laws were on vacation and weren't able to hook us up. But my father-in-law who's never seen Clemens live will get the chance to see him, so I'm really excited for him.

Thinking about this, here's all the great non-Reds pitchers I got to see play in person: Steve Carlton Phil Niekro Greg Maddox Tom Glavine Randy Johnson [struck out 14 and took the loss] John Smoltz

The guy I wish I could've seen that I had the chance to would've been Nolan Ryan. The guy I still want to see is Pedro Martinez.

And I still remember the first time I saw Pete Rose play, thank you very much.

I Used To Miss The 90's

We're watching the movie Milk Money- and not for its content. The movie was mostly filmed in the Cincinnati area so it's been fun to try to figure out the locations of different scenes. During my junior year of high school my alma mater had to reschedule a home football game so as not to interfere with some local filming. The "wetlands" in the movie are actually the westside of Cincinnati. Go figure. Oh, and I don't see how ambient noise from a football game could've made this movie any worse.

Two thoughts here:

1) Milk Money is Pretty Woman with a less affluent slob, plus some kids thrown in. Which leads me to . . .

2) What was up with the 1990's movies that used prostitution as a background for love stories? Who knew the relationship between a man and purchased sex partner could be so touching [no pun intended]?

Those were some strange times.

Stuff To Chew On

Some interesting things on the web to peruse this today, such as:

  • An Ohio Christian Camp [Round Lake, if you know it] offering a video game week. Camper of the week wins an X-Box. Seriously. I love the idea, though! Halo 2: KILLIN' FOR JESUS!
  • Interesting review of a Beth Moore book. At the old megachurch I was at, Beth Moore was ranked below the trinity but above the virgin Mary. I'm always leery of celebrity worship among Christians, and many enjoy services at the altar of Ms. Moore.
  • And this video from a naughty MTV show, but I found this bit rather funny.

More later.

It's Not That Bad

When Kelly and I began telling people about our "reverse sprawl plan" in order to start Echo, the one question I was immediately asked by many people was, "well, where will your kids go to school?" And when I'd reply Cincinnati Public Schools, people looked at me as if I was planning on committing child abuse. In Cincinnati, the city's public school system is an object of scorn for suburbanites that associate CPS with a prison system. While there's definite room for improvement, the reality is: some schools are doing a great job.

Among them is the high school up the street [of which Larry Budde is a grad], that's one of America's best schools. And I refer you to Jon Weatherly's blog as he explains how CPS has done well for his family.

I'm just saying that there's no way our city schools can improve if we take all the kids with values and move 'em to the 'burbs and private schools. Starting new churches in our city is important, but until Christians are integrating into established systems nothing will change.

What Decade Is This?

For at least another four months we have Time Warner's digital cable [thanks to a special promotion]. I sometimes turn on the music stations while I get some work done, enjoying the benefits of various tunes with no commercial interruption. And since it's just me and the kid today, as Kelly's at work, I turn on the Arena Rock station. Kelly can't seem to concentrate with music blaring, but I keep it rocking. Nothing like a little Bon Jovi, Poison, or [now playing] Night Ranger's Sister Christian [MOTORIN!] while writing a sermon on Romans 2. So after an Alice Cooper song I hear a familiar singer. As I lift my eyes from the laptop I'm shocked to see that it's none other than Stryper. For those of you unfamiliar with Stryper, they were the first Christian band to go mainstream in the mid 80's. The pushed the buttons of what was acceptable to church folk with their 1986 album, slyly titled, To Hell With The Devil [they were so hardcore!]. But like many big hair, 80's bands, they fell off the face of the earth by the end of the decade, without even a Behind the Music to hang their hat on. Stryper was no more.

OR SO I THOUGHT!

The Stryper song playing on my Time Warner channel was actually from an album they released just last year! No way, I thought, but it's true. I had to look it up online just to make sure. From Wikepedia:

"Stryper's latest album, Reborn, was released in August of 2005, and was the band's first recording of original material in 15 years. The new album received a positive response from fans and critics, some of whom labeled Reborn as one of the best albums of that year."

And now you know that Wikepedia is totally objective. Proclaiming a Stryper album made in 2005 as one of the best albums of that year? To that, I appropriately [and slyly] ask, "What the hell?"

p.s. As I get ready to publish this, I'm blessed to hear Bon Jovi's Living On A Prayer, the greatest song ever. Yes, there is a God and He loves me.

Too Much Free Time, Steve?

Not quite. A lesson for all you custom-template bloggers out there: backup your template.

I was adding a few new friends' links on Friday and inadvertently took out some vital template code. Most of the weekend the blog was out of wack. And since the free template I downloaded months ago is MIA, I decided to go all the way and give it a new look.

I think this is the fourth template I've used in a year and a half. By far, this the most custom I've ever made it, so I hope you enjoy it.

Social Justice and Ohio Gambling

This could get personal, but I must preach what is truthful. Why would people getting signatures for the casino petition not tell people it's about gambling?

Because they know it's not popular with the public.

This is deceptive on two counts:

1) No matter what supporters say, this is all about casinos, not about education. Knowing people will vote for education and not gambling, signature getters are purposely trying to dupe people into signing these petitions by selling the education angle. Nobody wants dumb kids.

2) AND EVEN IF this IS about education, the claims made by the Learn and Earn group are generous to say the least. So even the misleading reason they give for signing the petition is exaggerated and irresponsible.

Sorry I'm getting worked up about this but it's a huge issue. As I said before, I'm not going to use Echo as a means to fight this. But I do have some thoughts on the ways Christian individuals are reacting to this.

It seems to me that the only Christians willing to fight the casinos are the ultra-conservative types; these are the believers who seek to legislate against all kinds of immorality, from abortion to pornography. The majority of these folks live in suburbia and vote Republican [true?].

But living in the city, I'm now coming across more "social-justice Christians" who desire to care and reach out to the poor and oppressed. They're all about fair trade and helping the homeless, trying to reach "the least of these." But I have yet to hear someone from this side say anything against the gambling initiative [if you've heard of any, please let me know].

Now I've never been a big social justice guy, but at least I've respected it. If these Christians are really convinced that the way to administer the gospel is through social causes, then it's time for them to step up; they now have a cause on their very doorstep. A casino in downtown Cincinnati will harm our city's impoverished and take advantage of them. If local "S.J. Christians" don't step up here, then I must declare: they are hypocrites and don't buy into what they're selling.

There, I said it.

I Read It In The Enquirer

A little self-promotion never hurt anyone: I made today's Enquirer. On Monday, a guy wrote an editorial trying to say that the Bible and content from The DaVinci Code could both be true and co-exist without controversy. I didn't think so, so I wrote a letter to the editor about it.

It's important for Christians to realize that even though God loves all people and wants to see everyone accept his grace, not everyone will. It's up to each individual to decide what they will do with the message of Jesus. Christ himself admitted that his message would force people to make a decision and would tear up families [Matthew 10:32-36]. So when people try to redefine the Christian faith in order to make everybody happy, they're fooling themselves.

The letter is at the bottom of this webpage, but I'm going to put it up here. But to understand my point you do have to read his article:

"Walt Huber might be well-intentioned in his efforts to synthesize Christian Scripture with the content of "The Da Vinci Code" in his "Your voice" column "'Da Vinci,' Gospels need not be in conflict" (May 22), but his simplistic solution isn't satisfying to either side. As a Christian minister, I believe that Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection did complete the work God sent him to Earth to accomplish. So the idea that God "sent Jesus back to Earth" a second time to "spread his word" would have been unnecessary. It also would have undermined the mission of the church, to whom Jesus left the responsibility to tell the good news. The message of Christianity is divisive, forcing individuals to choose whom they will serve. Instead of trying to come up with a solution that makes everybody happy, let's just be content to have differing opinions and agree to disagree."

Plus, I Have Cable.

Tim at Blurred Brain opened the door for me to admit: I don't watch 24 either. I used to, though. I actually watched the very first episode of 24 that aired and proceeded to view the entire first season. It was new. The concept was different. It was awesome.

Then the second season happened and I tailed off. I mean, how many intense 24-hour periods can one person have before they decide to screw this job and sell insurance?

Plus, I realized the reality of 24: it's a soap opera with gratuitous killing.

Not that much different than professional wrestling which is a soap opera with grown men hugging.

Kelly and I were talking this evening about how we no longer invest in hour-long dramas. I can't do it anymore. I think I've seen every imaginable scenario they can come up with. We now watch just two kinds of programs: sports and reality TV.

I know- reality TV is a diet of cotton candy. But the unpredictable things people actually do when they know a camera is rolling keeps me tuning in. A fine example: we were watching The Apprentice last night and the task was to redesign outfits for Embassy Suites employees. I laughed out loud at the designs of some of the women.

And if you want to keep up with the conversation around the water cooler, just subscribe to Entertainment Weekly. I've never watched Lost or The Sopranos, but EW keeps me in the conversation.

I Miss The Smurf Ride

I gotta be honest: Cedar Point is way better than Kings Island. I've only been to Cedar Point once, but it made an impression. Millennium Force is the best roller coaster I've ever been on.

But [p]K.I.'s proximity to Cincy made it the destination of choice. Of course, it's not like I really ever went to Kings Island. During the three years when we lived 5 minutes away from the park, we went three times; and always with free tickets.

But if we lived there now, I might consider it because Cedar Point's parent company is purchasing Kings Island. The benefit to amusement park lovers is that, most likely, there will be a universal season pass, allowing season ticket holders admission to all their parks. If this goes through, it'll make Ohio an even greater amusement park Mecca.

Of course, all this happens when we go from five minutes away to thirty minutes away from Kings Island. And from four hours, ten minutes away to four hours thirty-five minutes away from Cedar Point.

Can't catch a break.

Book Review: Confessions of a Reformission Rev.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of Mark Driscoll's Confessions of a Reformission Rev., and wanted to post a book review of it here. Mark Driscoll is pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Mars Hill is a young church, and Mark was a young Christian when he founded it. Confessions is an opportunity for him to tell his church's story- how they went from a handful of people to 5,000+ weekly attendees in just eight years. The story of Mars Hill is rather encouraging to church planters like me for a few reasons.

First, Mars Hill is an urban church. All over America, our cities are being revived by a younger generation who don't feel suburbia is for them. Church planting is booming, but most pastors are heading to the 'burbs where percentages of success/survival are much greater. Driscoll has embraced the concept of urban church planting and declares the importance of having thriving churches near city centers. It's encouraging to see churches like Mars Hill transforming their cities for Christ.

Also, Mars Hill is a Bible-teaching church. Driscoll didn't talk much about his teaching style in Confessions, but his weekly messages approach an hour in length. Most people couldn't get away with this, but Mark makes it work because of his emphasis on Scripture. Their church wrestles with books of the Bible, verse by verse, in series that can last months. I would guess that it's Mark's Biblical teaching that drives the church. At Echo, we've adopted a similar teaching style, not afraid of "being too deep." The future of the thriving American church is those who teach Scripture unashamedly.

And it should be noted the Driscoll advocates a conservative theological interpretation of Scripture. The trend of many emerging churches is to become more liberal, blurring the meaning of long-held theological doctrines such as the trinity, hell, and the atonement. Driscoll's church shows that you can have a conservative, Biblical theology, not be a cult, and still win people to Christ.

And, finally, Mars Hill is a reproducing church. Driscoll understands that one megachurch isn't going to get the job done; replication is the key. Mars Hill founded the Acts 29 church planting network which helps aspiring planters to start new communities throughout the country [Michael Foster is actually part of this network]. Mark understands the more churches, the better, and we should seriously adopt plans to plant more communities throughout American urban areas.

Even though Mark is more blunt and dogmatic than I am, he's a fresh breath in evangelical Christianity. It's tough for the old guard to dismiss him because of his constant use of Scripture and well-balanced theology. I'd recommend getting a copy of this book. Though I didn't find it as informative as Mark's first book, Radical Reformission, it's still a great read.

And it's especially time that we Cincinnatians get familiar with this way of doing ministry; it's what will be needed here in the next ten years.

They're NOT Ready For Some Football!

And now, as we wonder what the world is coming to, this: Kentucky Christian University To Add Varsity Football.

Bad idea. Now before I tell you why this is a bad idea, I should be upfront about my hatred for KCU [or, as we old schoolers used to know it, KCC]. Now I have a deep respect and appreciation for the school as far as a ministry preparation school; they have produced some great pastors. But, actually, it's their athletic program I can't stand. Whether playing, coaching, or cheering against, I've never despised a program as much as KCU [not even Elder]. They were are rivals, and it always got dirty. It was Ohio State/Michigan, Red Sox/Yankees, Smurfs/Gargamel. One of the greatest moments of my life was captaining CCU [or CBC, whatever] to the 1999 regional championship over Kentucky Christian on their home field.

Despite this bias, I believe I can still objectively say that this is a very bad idea. Just looking at their three-fold reasoning for wanting football, you can see where they're in trouble.

First, they want to add diversity to campus. I assume that's the nice way to say that African American males play football and will come to KCU for the opportunity. This could be true except that 1) it will be a non-scholarship program and 2) they're in GRAYSON, KENTUCKY!!! Ever been to Grayson? Go to the end of the world and go left ten miles. Few black males from the city will want to be in a rural setting.

Second, they say it will increase campus culture. They might be right, but at what cost? The facilities for a football program will cost about $2million. I think students would appreciate campus culture more if you dropped the $2mill into a movie theater. Or maybe save the cash and drop tuition.

And finally, the University is hoping to a football program will raise financial revenue. They estimate it will bring more than 100 additional males to school there. That's a rather generous figure considering a good amount of players-to-be are already on campus waiting for a program. And claims that the cost of the program will be deferred by the tuition of the players- that 1/3 of a player's college costs will fund the program- are optimistic.

The reality is that there is no more expensive sport than football. That's why few smaller schools have it, and even fewer that are non-scholarship. Starting any new athletic program at a collegiate level is difficult. I know first hand from starting CCU's women's soccer program, and the costs where minimalistic. I'm afraid KCU is biting off more than they can chew here. I pray it doesn't hurt their overall mission.

The real problem KCU and other small ministry-prep schools face is lack of contentment with what they are. In this world where success in only measured in numerical growth, Christian colleges struggle to accept the current state of their ministries. Instead of adding academic and athletic programs to attract students, maybe schools could understand that they don't have to be Liberty University. I'm all for getting more males and more diversity in our preacher colleges, but there must be better ways to go about it than the pigskin.

I'm just afraid my alma mater will lose focus and feel the need to "keep up with the Jones'." No need for a Hail Mary here.

A New Day Has Dawned

Yes, the wife is now blogging. Her blog can be found at http://blueinkmediumpoint.blogspot.com. It's a long url, but she explains the origin in her first post.

In case you were wondering, I picked out her template. It's from a new site I found. It took a little work to get everything to fit in, but I'm really satisfied with the way it looks. Her template looks way cooler than mine.

So I hope you enjoy reading the thoughts of the most influencial person in my life.