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Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

For Your Listening Pleasure

Christmas time is here, and it is evident at Beit Carr with the arrival of Christmas decorations. This is, by far, Kelly's time to shine as she makes our condo a veritable Winter Wonderland. She does a great job with a limited space. The funniest thing about this transformation is the arrival of the Christmas music. Kel still has a cassette [a rectangular cartridge that plays music just like a CD] with some older holiday tunes she recorded from records [a circular disk much larger than a CD that plays music like a cassette]. She plays the tunes to get in the Christmas spirit, warming up by hearing that "it's Christmas-time all over the world," as well as a "song of mine, in three-quarter time." Classic.

Although I'm not quite the Christmas zealot, I do like some Christmas songs. I'm pretty particular in what I listen this time of year, so let me suggest three CDs you should acquire to get you through the season, ranked in ascending order.

3) Now That's What I Call Christmas. The hits series gathers an eclectic mix of Christmas classics from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra to Bing Crosby. The inclusion of songs by Michael Bolton and Gloria Estefan keep it low on the list.

2) A Charlie Brown Christmas. Kelly got this for me as an early birthday present. The jazz interpretation of popular holiday songs by the Vince Guaraldi Trio could soon become my number one. But it hasn't yet unseated . . .

1) The Home Alone Christmas. I wasn't a huge fan of the Macaulay Culkin franchises but the soundtrack that my brother Tim purchased in the mid-nineties has since heralded in my holiday season. Subtract the TLC rendition of Sleigh Ride [Rest-In-Peace, Left Eye] and you have a stellar set of songs. I look forward to explaining to Kaelyn the merits of Tom Petty as a Christmas crooner.

Deck the halls, my friends. Deck 'em till they bleed.

Let Subjectivity Reign

Regardless of the Bengals poor play, I've been rather disgusted by the NFL this year. Officiating has been absolutely abysmal, so much so that it's ruining the product. I just flipped on Monday Night Football to see a unnecessary roughness call against a defensive lineman who barely touched Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselback. What drives me crazy is that coaches are held responsible for their team's record but officials who can dictate the outcomes of the game are untouchable. There's been no rhyme or reason to some of the calls this year; Cincinnati lost a couple of games that were decided by unexplainable penalty markers. The league better take this issue seriously or it'll bite them in the arse.

Oh, and NFL Network is a dumb idea too.

Kevin "Freakin'" Kaesviharn

I know he's on our team, but it kills me that he's putting up these great stats in a contract year. You still have to let him walk at the end of the season, no matter how well he does [sorry, Emily]. In light of today's victory I just had to drop this stat tonight:

The last time Cincinnati had a shutout was December 3, 1989, also against the Browns. Reagan was President, I was in junior high, and the Cold War had just ended.

So you might say it's been a long time.

Thursday will be huge. A victory against the Ravens means a Bengals play-off trip.

Eat More Nativity Animals

Just got back in from our Thanksgiving journey, from Cincy to Lexington to participate in consecutive days of gorging. Much fun was had by all and Kaelyn loved the extra attention from the relatives. While reading today's Lexington Herald Leader, my father-in-law came across an article about their church, the church in which Kelly and I were wed. Southern Acres Christian Church was called out by PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] for their abuse of animals in a live nativity scene; I guess leaving animals outdoors and feeding them is cruel to the critters. Only one small problem: Southern Acres hasn't had a live nativity scene in years. So why were they contacted about this issue?

All day I was puzzled by this until I came across mention of a similar case in Alaska [HT: Scott Aughtmon]. This church in Anchorage had an identical complaint from PETA, yet they had never used live animals before. Now it's all perfectly clear.

The PETA people contacted all their local chapters to seek out a church to pick on during the holiday season. So they drop an email/press release about the local church and get some free pub. Perhaps the national headquarters should have instructed members to first investigate whether or not the targeted church actually had a live nativity. So instead of being relevant, PETA ends up looking ridiculously out of touch.

Perhaps, as one of my kin-folk wondered, the organization is should really be referred to as the acronym PITA, for Pain In The A**.

Today Is The Day

A 3:30 kick-off won't come soon enough. This is a battle for the ages. Will the passing of Bo Schembechler inspire the Wolverines to victory?

[In a related note, how dumb do you feel today for naming your band The Dead Schembechlers?]

I'll admit, I'm a tad nervous because Michigan has an awesome defense this year. If the Buckeyes win, my distant Uncle Lloyd Carr won't lose his job but he will officially have to refer to Jim Tressel as "daddy."

Forget the BCS, tomorrow is the national championship game.

Having people over to watch the game tomorrow so if you're in the neighborhood, stop on in. Bring snacks.

I'm A Quitter

Look, peoples, you gotta cut me some slack. I know I declared it "IF I BLOGGED THEN" week, but I'm going to have to scrap it.

It was probably a little kitschy anyway. I was trying to break up the monotony for you a little bit but I just can't do it. It's a combination of 1) I don't have the time to be that creative right now and 2) there's a lot of other stuff I want to touch on right now.

What I will do, however, is pull out the "IF I BLOGGED THEN" every once in awhile if I'm feeling it.

If I let you down, you have my deepest apologies. Check out the video at www.houseofcarr.com for a peace offering.

IF I BLOGGED THEN

Sunday June 14, 1987 I was rad tonight!

Growing up in a small church sucks sometimes. We go to church 20 minutes from home so none of my friends from school go here. There aren't any good looking girls in the youth group. And we always are going to church. We're there two times on Sunday, on Wednesday Night for prayer, and on Friday Nights for work night. Sometimes I wonder if I'll go to church when i'm older.

But tonight was cool because I got to preach a sermon. We had a Youth Night and I was allowed to preach for the very first time. I wasn't sure what to talk about but I got this idea out of a book that sounded cool. I had a lock box of love and was asking people if certain keys would open it. I had keys like SELFISHNESS and WORK but they didnt work. Then I had a key that labeled GOD and it opened it. And then inside the lock box was a Bible. And I was like, God loves us and he gave us the Bible. IT WAS SO RAD! Nobody wanted to be baptised though.

Someone said I should be a minister someday but that's the dumbest thing ever. I don't want to be a dweeb. I'm going to play football at Ohio State and then go into politics.

Oh, and the Reds beat the Braves today. I hope they win the World Series this year. It sucks that Pete Rose retired last year but he's an awesome manager and will be in the Hall of fame in four years. You can bet on it.

That's all for now. 21 Jump Street is coming on and Johnny Depp is way cool. He might make it far but that Holly Robinson sure will. She's hot. I don't know what a narc is, but maybe I can be one if politics don't work out.

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God Told . . . Him

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Before I dive into IF I BLOGGED THEN week, allow me to direct you towards this Wall Street Journal article on plagiarism in the pulpit. Found it interesting because of the local connections mentioned in the article. Steve Sjogren, founding pastor of the Vineyard in Tri-County stated that pastors he looks to for encouragement get 70% of their sermon content from someone else. They also noted the case of Liberty Heights Church in West Chester; the church was close to CCM and I knew a couple of guys on their staff. Apparently they fired the pastor who had grown their church over charges of plagiarism.

How do I feel about it? It's only a big deal because pastors don't do it right. There's nothing wrong with using someone else's work AS LONG AS you cite your source. Remember back in school that you could always use other people's research as long as you include it in your bibliography? It's the same thing in preaching. I don't use a lot of stuff from other people but if I do, I will make reference to it.

Both Sjogren and Rick Warren think it's unnecessary to attribute materials to other preachers and [listen closely] they're wrong. We're living in an age of authenticity, and it means even if you're a member of clergy; your integrity is everything. If I were to tell a story in first person that never happened to me, I'd be called out as a liar. Why should it be any different if people think I ripped the majority of my sermon from a guy in Texas and claim it as my own?

The real problem here is that ministers are forsaking their number one duty: the teaching of the Word of God. I know there's a lot of networking and pastoring that needs to happen in a given week but Sunday's message is the most important task I have each week. If I haven't fully invested myself in it, then I've failed. Coming up with 45 minutes of material each week ain't always easy, but that's my job. Try getting sympathy from someone who works 60 hours each week doing manual labor for your struggles in finding a text to preach on. If you don't like it, then perhaps you're in the wrong profession. I'm not complaining.

In Paul's challenge to Timothy, he tells him not only to preach the Word but to "be prepared in season and out of season." We pastors must always be in preparation for our next message.

Rant complete.

HT: Challies

What If I Blogged Then

Next week completes my second year of blogging. It's been a good ride. I've been able to keep at this rather consistently and it has, overall, been an enlightening experience. I'm not sure how long the blogging trend will last [can't imagine that people will still blog twenty years from now] but I'm still satisfied and will keep at it until it's no longer fun.

I like to use the anniversary as an opportunity to switch things up here at Beit Carr. Last year I proclaimed it Steve's Week 'O' Secrets, revealing little known thoughts about myself. This year I decided that I would dig a little deeper and proclaim it "IF I BLOGGED THEN" WEEK.

What if I had been blogging for the past twenty or so years? How would I have reacted to certain important moments of my life? For the next seven days, I'll try to reflect on what I might have written on some of those occasions. It might sound stupid, but that's my schtick so take it or leave it.

It all starts tomorrow, friends. Try to get some sleep tonight.

Don't Speak . . . For Now

I knew this was going to happen someday, and now is the day: I'm disallowing unapproved comments here at Beit Carr.

Part of the blogging experience is allowing people to comment on things that you've written. I'm all for some healthy debate, but when some people are more interested in posting incendiary comments, then that's going to far. As of late, I've received a few comments that crossed the line. After deleting them I was called out for censoring thoughts.

You can call this censorship if you want; and I'm fine with that, but you'd be wrong. Just because you have something to say doesn't mean you have to be perverse. I don't have to tolerate that, and I'm not going to.

And I should add that it's not as if I just came up with this idea; I've actually been mulling it for a few months now. I sometimes go days without checking out people's comments. And if it was something older, I might never see it. I'm not keen on people thinking that because I didn't erase an obscene comment that I somehow endorse it.

So because HaloScan, my current commenting feature, won't allow for approval unless you upgrade the account, I'll have to reinstitute the Blogger comments [this means you won't be able to access any old comments]. Then comments will only be posted if I give them the OK. Not the best way of doing it, but better than totally disallowing them.

I'm still messing with the HTML code and will hopefully have this taken care of by the end of the day.

I Deserve A Medal

. . . for preaching a sermon after having to watch the Bengals self-destruct. I was actually able to forget about it until after the service. Anyway, midway through the third quarter I started getting this Dave Shula/Bruce Coslet feeling in my stomach. It proved to be true. FORTY-TWO POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF. I can't imagine how it could be anymore embarrassing for the defense. There are so many issues with this team, it's pathetic. If they don't finish at least .500 for the year, you have to fire some coordinators.

Good job Carson, Rudi, and CJ. Chris Henry has to go. I can't talk about the defense or special teams.

Honestly, 9-7 could still get them a Wild Card. Not holding my breath.

Wanting What They Got

Although few will admit, pastors struggle with church envy. I'm not above it, so I constantly need to remind myself that God is at work in many ways, even those that I'm not involved in. I think the key to overcoming this envy is realizing that we're all human, all trying to advance the same agenda. And being able to personify churches so that you think of individuals instead of inanimate entities. So I had such an opportunity yesterday, as I attended an open house at Crossroads Community Church in Oakley yesterday. Crossroads is the biggest Protestant church in Cincinnati, a few miles up the street from us, averaging about 7,000 each weekend. The ten year-old church recently opened up a brand new 3,200 seat auditorium. Once a quarter they allow pastors to come in and take a sneak peak of how they operate.

I was joined by Adam, a CCU student who helps out at Echo. Besides us, there was only one other person there, so it was a good opportunity to get an intimate look at their church. We had the chance to eat lunch with Brian Tome, Crossroad's founding pastor and ask him questions; I was just interested in listening to their passions and goals for the future. They were very honest about they struggles as well as their successes and incredibly supportive of what we were trying to accomplish. As we later took a tour of their remodeled facility [which is rather cool] it was reassuring as I felt no jealousy, but excitement for what they had going on.

The one thing that blew my mind is that they do an entire run-through service before their Saturday night service. They do it exactly as if it was an actual service, as Brian preached his entire message, and then reviewed what they wanted to change. Considering they're running four services each weekend, I was shocked. Preaching multiple services is exhausting. Can't imagine putting yourself through it one more time for practice. I've encountered many megachurch rehearsals, and I can't say that I know of anyone who does it that way.

It was a great experience. The Crossroads staff was wonderful. If any other pastors/church leaders would be interested in doing this, they're going to run another one in February. Email me and I'll let you know who you need to talk to.

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Safe

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We're in a haze today at the news that two Cincinnati Christian University students were assaulted late last night on the Purple People Bridge. The woman was then kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and later dropped off at campus. This afternoon they have the suspect in custody. This is an incredibly unfortunate situation. I can't imagine what effect this will have on the students there, as well as what it will mean to the future of students being out in the community.

Just last week I talked to David Faust, President of CCU, about how encouraging it was that many students are now out and about in the city. Instead of sequestering themselves on campus, they are active in ministries throughout urban Cincinnati. Instead of being afraid of the city, they desired to be out in it.

And then this. When something as horrible as this happens, it can change everything.

I'm praying for this couple, the students at CCU, and the faculty and staff during this time and ask you to do the same. I pray that despite this tragedy, that the view of the mission won't be sacrificed.

Just yesterday I wrote a profile about Echo that is supposed to be featured in a future CCU publication. I made sure to emphasize that we desperately need to focus some church planting efforts toward the city. If anything, this confirms how desperately our city needs Jesus. Incidents like this can make people fearful of the city and drive us further towards suburbia or rural areas to feel safe.

But we're never going to truly be safe, are we? It's a daily reality I face with bringing my family here. I will admit that each night I pray that God watches over my wife and my child. But we can't let the fear of what could happen keep us doing God's work here. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:14,

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

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Hear This

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Bear with me as I self-promote. We have a couple of new offerings up at echochurch.org. First, there's the Fall 2006 newsletter. It can be found in the "News" area.

And there's also the mp3 from this past week's message from Matthew 10:1-20. It's called "The Viral Gospel," a concept the I'm really starting to groove with. I'm most proud that I was able to mention both Kirk Cameron and Jay-Z in the same message. Allow me to drop the latter reference on you here.

From Matthew 10:14:

"So while Jay-Z, also known as Hova, would say 'You got to get that dirt off your shoulder,' JC, also known as Jehovah, said 'You got to shake that dust of your feet.'"

I'm so gangsta'.