Saturday, November 26, 2005

No. 4



Liverpool have won their 4th consecutive league match. Best record in the last 2.5 years! Not a pretty victory I'm told, but we'll take the 3 pts any day!

Someone on the discussion boards said, "their not just marching up the table, they're running!" If they win their next two matches, they could actually be up to 2nd on the table (albiet only until the rest of the matches are played on Saturday) since they have an early kick-off.

All us die-hard LFC fans are beginning to dream... YNWA!

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Extreme co-dependence


Just watched the Farrelly bros movie, "Stuck on You" on cable tonight (starred Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear). Seems like ages since I've watched a movie!

Anyway, I really enjoyed it. The premise is built around a pair of conjoined twins who look nothing alike and have completely different dreams and personalities. It takes the connectedness (and might I even suggest co-depencency?) we all have with someone and pushes it to the extreme. The comedy comes from the obviously akward situations they find themselves in when they try to live a "normal" life, like dating, sleeping in bed, and just about anything we take for granted in our daily lives. What really gives the movie the edge is the fact that we have become so very individualistic today, that any idea of never being alone or having the ability to be alone creates a serious disonance within us that we can't help but laugh at the situations they go through.

It was kind of typical Farrelly brothers fare (i.e. somthing you watch to get your mind into neutral), and I don't think that it did all that well in the box office. But it had its moments and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I kinda like Damon as an actor and I can't think of a movie that he acted in that I didn't find entertaining.

Monday, November 21, 2005

They Won Again!

LFC made it 3 league wins (3-0 over Portsmouth) in a row this last weekend! Wow! I am stoked...

I wonder if they'll keep it up. Haven't managed to watch the highlights yet but I read reports and they sound like they've picked up the slack.

Only piece of bad new is that Luis is injured. Still not sure how serious it is. Wonder when Crouch will register his first goal?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Geez Luis!


Spain's Luis Garcia scores his second goal past Slovakia's Marian Had (R) during their World Cup qualifying play-off first leg soccer match at Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid November 12, 2005. REUTERS/Sergio Perez


It was an international break for the EPL this last weekend and I was following the fortunes of Spain in their playoff with Slovakia. They won 5-1 thanks to the Liverpool man, Luis Garcia's hat-trick!

Now, if he can carry that form into the League...

Can't Keep Him Down

This evening, I had the privilege of hearing the eminent Prof James Dunn speak at the seminary's annual Simeon Lectures. He is one of the foremost New Testament Scholars and is a prolific writer. In fact he was one of the first to really examine the whole Charismatic movement from a Biblical point of view by doing an exegetical study of the experience in Scripture. The fruit of this study is the book "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" which was written in 1977 but is still in print today!

At the end he was asked a question about his view as a New Testament Scholar on the work of the Spirit in the church today and he said something that really deserves some serious self examination from those of us in mainline churches.

He pointed out that too many churches have seen the Trinity as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Bible...or God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Church. We have failed to see God revealed as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And he ended by saying, "Whenever good order becomes more important than the life of the Spirit, then the Spirit bubbles up elsewhere."

Ouch! that's too true!

Monday, November 14, 2005

Parallel Reality



How's this for a reality show?

Priest Idol (I'm not kidding...click here for more details) is the name of the show and it is scheduled to air in the UK starting today. It's about a Wheaton grad who's from Pittsburgh but is now a vicar in England. A camera crew followed him for a year documenting his efforts in trying to turn a dying parish church around. Sure sounds like a merger of "Survivor" and "Fear Factor" to me!

I've got to find out if anyone around here knows the guy. I also want to see if we can get to watch an episode here. Hmmm... wonder if they're going to call for auditions across the pond?

P.S. Christianity Today Online has an interview with the guy and also includes some more news links on the program.

Hope and A Future

I had the priviledge of being at the Anglican Communion Network's "A Hope and a Future" conference this last week in Pittsburgh. I must admit that most of the proceedings actually only held an academic interest for me (as a non-American Anglican). However, I was really challenged by what Pastor Rick Warren said in his address on Friday.

It was truly inspiring to hear how he has been moved to take on the biggest giants of our day and to mobilise the worldwide church to work on eliminating them. Using the acrostic P.E.A.C.E. as an outline of his strategy, he has ambitiously set out a plan to eradicate, spiritual darkness, corrupt leadership, poverty, disease and illiteracy. Big goals indeed, but he points out that we have a big God!

I am still pondering what my part in all this will be...