Monday, April 18, 2011

Combined A/G institution would be named Evangel University

This important tidbit of info slipped past my previous reading of a news release from the Assemblies of God about the proposal to consolidate Evangel University, Central Bible College, and AG Theological Seminary into one institution:

"Subject to the approval of external governmental and accrediting agencies, a motion prevailed unanimously to recommend to the respective Boards of Directors of the three schools that the name Evangel University be the name for the consolidated university and that the consolidated university embody structural elements that will honor the legacies and fulfill the missions of the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, Central Bible College and Evangel University."

The proposal will be discussed at this summer's General Council in Phoenix. But it makes me wonder if the name issue will become, well, an issue for CBC and AGTS grads.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Snow in the Sierra

Sure wish I was there right now. Sitting inside where it's nice and warm, of course...


Monday, April 05, 2010

Yosemite snow


Sure enough, the storm that came through NorCal yesterday dropped snow on the Sierra. Yosemite Valley is around 4,000 feet, and it looks like the valley got a decent amount of snow. We sure got a lot of rain.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Six things that bug me about Facebook

6. Ads. Seriously? Why did you decide to show THIS mix of ads on the side of my page? Sometimes I get the weirdest mix of ads.

5. Rumors. Folks, quit telling me that Facebook is going to start charging for access, or the unnamed app causing problems, or that nonprofit groups would donate X amount of money to help Haiti if I keep forwarding a message. Seriously. Stop now.

4. Suggestions. Why do you keep suggesting that I become friends with people I've never heard of? Annoying, Facebook.

3. Notifications. We used to control whether our walls would reveal if we commented or liked a status, link, or photo. Not anymore. One of the lame changes Facebook recently made.

2. Status. People who want me to change my status to show my support for Jesus or the troops or the battle against world hunger or most other causes. The more you ask people to do this, the less impact it truly has.

1. Farmville. And requests for whatever it is you Farmville fans use and need to play this game. Ugh.

I'm sure there are more than just these six things that bug me about Facebook, but these are the current, immediate irritants. And btw, I'm actually having a good day. Just needed to get this off my chest. Thank you for your attention.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Monday, January 11, 2010

Are you my friend?

What exactly is a friend?

The world of social networking has radically altered how we use that word. It used to be a lot easier to know if someone truly was a friend or simply an acquaintance, a classmate, a coworker, or a neighbor.

I’ve been grappling with this issue in Facebook as I’ve “purged” some people from my list of friends. Is everyone on my list truly a “friend” or have I sunk to the level of using that word to describe anyone with whom I have some kind of interaction — even if that interaction hasn’t happen since we worked together a decade ago, attend class together in junior high, or interacted a few times when I was a staff pastor?

So far, I don’t have any solid answers. I know that I’ve dropped some “friends” on Facebook who might be hurt that we aren’t “friends” anymore, but did we really still have an ongoing friend relationship? If we visited each other’s city, would we call or email or text in advance so we could get together? If we lived in the same town, would we go to dinner together or hang out with the same group of friends or invite each other into our homes? If one of us was facing a terminal illness, would we spend time with the other or take the family meals or do something else tangible?

In the year 2010, I’m afraid we’ve dumbed down the word “friend” just like we previously dumbed down the word “love.”

How do YOU know if someone is truly a friend? How do YOU differentiate between friends and acquaintances? Do YOU think we’ve dumed down the word “friend”?

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Why purge?

I’ve had a few questions about my recent “announcements” to purge some of the books from my collection and some of the friends on Facebook. Why am I doing this?

The answer: I’m bored.

Just kidding.

I’m getting rid of some books because I have too many. I’ve bought and acquired books that I read once and will never read again — but they sit on my shelves collecting dust. Why keep these? Like many people, I battle the temptation to accumulate “stuff” and it isn’t a healthy habit that I want to maintain. I want to purge the excess stuff as much as I possibly can. I will keep certain books — reference books, key resources, books I’ve not yet read, books that hold long-term meaning or value — but I need to release the temporal more.

And as far as friends on Facebook, I have too many people to keep up with anymore. Some people on Facebook never update their statuses, and some people were great to connect with at first, but we don’t have any ongoing interaction through wall posts or status update comments. You got married, have three kids, and successfully lead company XYZ? Awesome! Let’s catch up again in another five years! It’s nothing person; just a need to “clean house” digitally, too.