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

06.06.06

Happy anniversary to my parents today. I doubt they thought, on their wedding day, that their thirty-sixth anniversary would have such a dark side. This being the "dreaded day of the devil," highlighted by a marketing campaign for the The Omen Remake, I've come to a conclusion. I've decided that all the signs are there: I, friends, must be Damien, i.e. Satan's spawn.

My day has proved it because strange, coo-coo things happening to me could have no other explanation. Note the following:

Example One: Still trying to wrap up the paperwork on my car break-in, I head to the police station. I wait half-an-hour in the dingy place, only to be told that I could just telephone it in [contrary to what I was told yesterday]. I then proceed to the westside to talk to my insurance agent [who later convinces me that it's not worth filing a claim on the stolen items, so the trip was unnecessary]. As I get off the exit, I can feel my car handling differently. Knowing it's a flat tire, I somehow make it to a nearby auto-shop where they fix my tire. I thought it was most likely broken glass from the break-in that caused the flat. Not so. It was a busted valve stem. Just so happened to bust the day after the robbery. Crazy.

Example Two: While on the westside, I stopped by to see my parents to wish them a happy anniversary. Leaving my dad's shop, I get on River Road for a scenic drive back into the city. As I'm cruising down the road, alongside other cars, I see a critter in the road ahead. A groundhog has ventured out into the roadway. Because of the traffic around me, slamming on the brakes was not an option. I gripped the way and tried to maneuver over the creature. Three of my wheels avoided it. Yes, I killed Sonic.

So both inanimate and animate succumb to my powers. This must be pointing to the only likely response: I am the Antichrist. I wonder if I get a free t-shirt for that . . .

And the day's not over yet. Stay away from me. And don't look at me. It's all for me.

Here's The Inswinger

For the majority of Americans, this Thursday doesn't mean much. But for the rest of the world, it means everything. June 8th marks the beginning of World Cup 2006. Soccer's greatest event, which takes place every four years, is being hosted by Germany. I get excited because I'm a soccer aficionado and this event displays the highest level of global competition.

While I'm passionate about the game, I realize that I will spend the month unable to talk about it to anyone, because no one I know cares. That being said, I'm still going to use this space to make my predictions on how the tournament will pan out.

First, it doesn't look good for the Red, White, and Blue. They have a difficult group which includes the Czech Republic [2nd best team in the world] and Italy. Since only two teams from each group can advance, this doesn't bode well for the US. If they could pull it off, it would be huge.

Second, I can't pick Brazil to win. That would be like picking the Dream Team to win the 1992 Olympic Gold Medal. So gimme some credit for stepping out here, and not picking the Brazilians.

Finally, it's tough to pick the second round match-ups because there's different seeding if you finish first or second in your group. It's not like the NCAA basketball bracket, so my round of sixteen match-ups could be off. But still, I try.

Group Winners: A- Germany, Ecuador B- England, Sweden C- Argentina, Netherlands D- Portugal, Mexico E- Czech Republic, Italy F- Brazil, Croatia G- France, South Korea H- Spain, Ukraine

Round of 16 Winners: Germany Argentina Czech Republic France England Netherlands Brazil Spain

Semifinalists: Argentina Czech Republic England Brazil

Final: England vs Argentina

Winner: England

Insert obligatory David Beckham picture here:

About The Emergent Church

Scott sent me an email concerning Michael who's trying to figure out this whole Emergent phenomenon. He's looking for views from both side of the movement, so I thought I'd throw up [pun intended] some stuff here. Maybe you've heard of Emergent and have wondered what all the fuss is about, or maybe you're totally unfamiliar. Either way, I hope this is post is helpful. I attended one of the first Emergent church gathering, and have followed it since my college graduation so I'm rather familiar with the whole thing. And for my hardcore theologically-minded readers, keep in mind that I'm trying to make this accessible to readers from all backgrounds, so refrain from trying to critique my critique.

Emergent started from a group of churches trying to do ministry in a postmodern world. But during the past few years it's become much much more. Those involved began to explore theology and church history, seeing if the way we've been thinking about God/Jesus/Church was actually Biblical or societal. The source of the debate raging now among "Emergents" is how far can you go to make the gospel acceptable to the masses.

What really brought the issue to the forefront of evangelical discussion was Brian McLaren's book, A Generous Orthodoxy. McLaren, a literary professor turned pastor, is seen as the lead voice of Emergent. He enjoys questioning everything in an effort to stimulate discussion, but in doing so he's offended many conservative pastors and theologians. And since Emergent won't come out with any official kind of statement of faith, they invite more criticism.

For another insider's perspective on Emergent, read Tony Jones' defense of it here. Tony is national coordinator of Emergent and has been trying to deflect the heat that McLaren is taking for his views. Unfortunately for Tony, his best efforts have brought even more controversy. Definitely check out the Emergent website to get a feel of what they're about.

There are, however, some opponents trying to make a distinction between Emergent and emerging churches [you might not think capitalization would mean much but, in this discussion, it's making a world of difference]. These people are all for being missional [missionary-like, or adapting the gospel to our culture], but are leery of doing at the expense of Biblical authority. Mark Driscoll, pastor from Seattle, offers up an explanation of this view here, and Ed Stetzer, church planting guru, has an objective critique here. Also, D.A. Carson has written a book against Emergent entitled, Becoming Conversant With The Emerging Church.

These people against Emergent believe that the movement is nothing more than a rehash of liberalism. Whether or not this is true, there is a bigger fight abrewin'.

I have opinions about all this that I will keep to myself for now in keeping with Michael's request. But I hope this helped.

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.