Snow vs. Snow

Hmm, I was checking out some online "live" cams of Yosemite today, and I realized there really is a difference between a fresh snowfall and snow that fell a day or two earlier. Check out these differences:



The top photo was from today; I think it snowed in the mountains earlier this week. And the second photo was from earlier in the month, on the day of a snowfall. Remarkably difference.

I'm in Iowa this week. It hasn't snowed, but it might this weekend. We'll see...

Music at the airport.

When I left Sacramento on Monday morning, there was a musician in the B concourse, adding musical cheer to the atmosphere. I was tired and a little cranky, so I didn't have a full appreciation of his contribution.

Apparently, this may be a holiday trend at airports this year:

It was an odd sight, to be sure: a rock show amid a tempest of luggage carts, weary airline crews and rushed passengers. But this is the exact reaction the airport's marketing and communication manager, Jane Sullivan, was hoping for when she tapped local musician Marc Capelle to curate a series of concerts at SFO [San Francisco International Airport], billed as You Are Hear.

The intent was to give travelers and the 30,000 employees at the airport a bit of entertainment during the hectic holiday season, and maybe make the whole travel routine a little less stressful for everyone involved.

"People keep telling me it's an unexpected delight, which is a phrase you don't normally hear at the airport," Sullivan said.

Check out the full story here, on the SF Chronicle's website.

Voting for President: Part Two

OK, so here it goes.

I voted for Barack Obama, but I'm not an Obama supporter.

Let me explain.

Yes, I voted for the Democrat this time around, but it wasn't out of some passionate, enthusiastic, messianic motivation. But it also wasn't a protest vote against John McCain as an individual candidate or leader.

I've had a peculiarly high interest from friends (especially on Facebook) on my voting plans this year. Maybe some people really care. I think others are just bored or bizarrely curious. I've held off from writing about it because I don't really feel it's appropriate to share that kind of info when serving on a church staff. It's too easy for people to confuse Rob the Voter with Rob the Pastor (who are both different from Joe the Plumber).

In any case, I know that I won't affect anyone's vote by discussing how I voted for president. And if it does, well, you probably need to do more research and analysis on your own, instead of using me as a guide.

These are some of the main reasons I made my decision for president. I will not attempt to pre-battle any of my more conservative friends, some of whom will berate me for my choice. But here are the highlights:

BUSH'S LEGACY
George W. Bush has been a horrible president. Our international reputation and influence have been diminished, largely because of military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Going into Iraq was a mistake, even if Bush will never admit it. When it comes to domestic issues, Bush has failed to live out his self-described "compassionate conservative" agenda. I'm no historian, and I don't even pretend to play one on TV, but I doubt Bush will be viewed too highly down the road. And I don't buy the argument that John McCain is such a maverick that he won't continue many of the Bush failures. So this area shifted me toward Obama.

FAITH FORUM AT SADDLEBACK
I needed to watch this event on TV because I wanted to hear what Obama said in the areas of faith. Yes, I know his answers didn't appease all evangelicals (especially when talking about abortion), but I was impressed. McCain offered a bunch of sound bites and lines that were targeted to evangelicals. Obama proved that he had actually thought through his ideas and opinions. In other words, I'd like a president who demonstrates intellectual capability (more than our current one) and the willingness to speak in nuances and thought-filled sentences (unlike what I heard from McCain).

VP CHOICES
This is easy. Sarah Palin is not qualified to be vice president (or president) of the United States. Plain and simple. And anyone who'd pick her as a running mate wouldn't get my vote. Joe Biden was a safe choice for Obama, but it wasn't a dumb one.

McCAIN OF 2000 VS McCAIN OF 2008
I liked McCain back in 2000. He was more independent and less bound to the GOP power base -- which is why he lost in the primaries, of course. This year's McCain has sounded too much like a GOP boombox.

THE FEAR ISSUE
Sorry, folks, I'm not going to vote for McCain just because of the fear or threat or danger of what might happen under a President Obama. That just strikes me as a small-minded approach to choosing a president.

THE CHANGE ISSUE
I think it's time for some change in the White House. I don't think Obama is the Messiah and I don't agree with him on every issue. But I just couldn't bring myself to vote for McCain or a third-party candidate. This was not a choice of the "lesser of two evils," but it certainly wasn't a choice of two perfect candidates. Still, I'm willing to take a chance on someone new at 1600 Pennsylvania for the next four years. And I know that many of my friends will disagree, but life will go on for all of us.

And if you'd like a nice biblical view on the election as a whole, without an endorsement or a slam, I'd encourage you to hop over to Mark Miller's website and read what he wrote earlier today.

Voting for President: Part One

So, tomorrow is Election Day but I've already voted, thanks to my permanent absentee voter status. It's a great option here in California. My absentee ballot was in the mail last week, and I presume it's waiting to be opened tomorrow.

This will be the fifth time I've voted for president (fifth election, not fifth time this year -- I don't subscribe to the "vote early, vote often" mantra of Chicago politics). I've never been particular proud of any of my choices. In 1992, I voted for Ross Perot as a protest vote. I didn't believe George H.W. Bush deserved a second term, but I didn't like what Bill Clinton offered. Four years later, I voted for Bob Dole because I couldn't bring myself to vote for another Clinton term.

In 2000 and 2004, I struggled with my choices. I was never a fan of Al Gore, but I considered voting for him. Because I was going to be in Greece at the time of the election, I had to vote early (in September), and I ended up going for George W. Bush. Looking back, I'm not sure I would have voted the same way. I went through the same struggle four years later, and ended up casting a reluctant vote for Bush again, because John Kerry just seemed, well, just seemed like a bad alternative to a bad president.

I've never been excited to vote for a president. I've never encountered a candidate who stirred me up to believe that we could make things different and better for our nation. I've never been given the option of voting for someone who can truly be a "great" president.

And here in 2008? I don't have that option either.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Snow in Yosemite

This was a very nice sight to see online this morning, from Tioga Pass (around 9,900 feet) in Yosemite National Park. It's likely there will be snow at much lower levels after today's storm. Sacramento got over 1.5 inches of rain for our all-day rainfest Saturday. We need it!

My final day: What's next?

Today was my last day on staff at Antelope Christian Center. I've been working at the church since June 2003, so I have a long list of highlights and memories and moments that have brought lots of emotions to the surface in the last few days.

I had the privilege of preaching in both of our services this morning, and I wasn't able to fully keep my emotions under wraps. But I didn't completely fall apart, so I guess it was all OK. And then tonight I finished cleaning out my office.

So, what's next? I don't have another full-time job lined up, but I do have freelance editing and writing opportunities. Honestly, that's really what I want to do; it's a great way to blend my editing and writing background with my ministry experience. Certainly there are some risks, but there are also some great rewards and lots of flexibility in my schedule.

Time to begin this new chapter of life!

VP profiles

I came across profiles of the two major vice presidential candidates on the International Herald-Tribune website. If I recall correctly, the IHT is owned entirely now by the New York Times, so these articles may also have appeared under the NYT name elsewhere.

SARAH PALIN profile

JOE BIDEN profile

Final days: I keep way too much stuff

This isn't a new lesson or self-revelation, but I'm reminded of how much stuff I keep that should be thrown away.

My office is filled with all kinds of stuff, most especially old files from my youth ministry years and my exec pastor years. I've tried to keep the files to a minimum, but I've failed. So, I still have folders with planning information for events we tried once that failed, and events we did every year -- but with signup sheets that are completely irrelevant and unnecessary.

Unfortunately, this is not a new or limited experience for me. I like to collect stuff. Over the years, I've had collections of baseball cards, coins, postcards, Hard Rock Cafe hurricane glasses and shot glasses and guitar pins, books, DVDs, wooden toy cars...

Yea. Issues.

Final days: Institutional memory

I'm now in my final stretch of time on the staff at Antelope Christian Center. I'll be there for another two Sundays; the 26th will be my last time to lead worship, and then November 2nd will be my final Sunday. I'll be preaching in both services that day.

This weekend was our seventh annual Harvest Festival, and the event went well once again. After the event, it occurred to me that one of the biggest losses in any staff transition is the loss of institutional memory. I've been involved with the Harvest Festival for six of its seven years, and I've been the point person for the last two years.

So, one of my big projects in the next couple of weeks is to sit down and either type or record the most important aspects of this event. Who are our key vendors? Where do we get all the resources? When do we begin promotion? What has failed in the past? Why do we do certain things a certain way now? It's going to be a long list!

I guess the good news is that I'm not leaving the Sacramento area, so if others run into a wall, they can always call or text me!

Evolutionary thinking

Good post over on Mark Batterson's blog from the weekend:

Evolution is a lot like sex. It was God's idea. But God rarely gets the credit for it for a variety of reasons. The enemy has stolen the idea. He has abused it and misused it. And turned into a bad word. It's not a bad word. It's not a bad idea. It's a good word. It's a God idea.

My mind is filled with new ideas.

So, I'm eating Chinese food today, yet again. Or as "someone" pointed out, it was just Panda Express, not REAL Chinese food. Anyway, I get to the most exciting part of the meal (second only to guessing if the dried up Orange Chicken is still any good). This excitement, of course, comes from the wonderful source of wisdom and insight and inspiration and direction and guidance that can all be found inside a fortune cookie.

Today, my fortune read: "Your mind is filled with new ideas. Make use of them."

So, that got me wondering. What new ideas are trapped inside this brain of mine, and why do so few of them seem to be showing up lately?

Perhaps I need to water and fertilize these new ideas. Perhaps they are still little baby ideas that need time to grow. Or perhaps they remain trapped inside a mental cocoon, undergoing their remarkable metamorphosis.

Or perhaps someone put something into my Dr Pepper this evening and is causing me to ramble on mercilessly.

For now, I shall simply sleep well knowing that my mind is filled with new ideas. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to discover one or two of these ideas.

The Christian ghetto and me.

I realized this evening that in just a few weeks, I’ll no longer be on the staff of my church. This wasn’t a sudden realization, of course, but for some reason it struck me tonight as I sat inside a local Starbucks doing some editing work.

It’s quite likely that my next career step will be a season as a freelance editor and writer. I don’t know if that season will last six months, a year, two years, or longer. But I’m excited to see what God has in store.

And while working tonight, I realized that as a pastor, I’ve done a pretty weak job of developing meaningful relationships with people who don’t attend my church or don’t already have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Back in my newspapers days, I had friends from a wide range of backgrounds. They weren’t all Christians.

One of my hopes and goals and desires is that in this next season of my life, I’ll do a better job of breaking out of my Christian ghetto.

My choice for president...

...will remain my own personal decision, at least for a few weeks. I'm still on staff at a church, and I don't ever want anyone confusing my personal choices with any kind of "promotion" or "mandate" from our congregation.

But I expect that around November 1st, I'll probably post something explaining who I intend to vote for and why. I hope some of you will remain my friends after that. I'm kidding. Sorta. Well, kidding that some of you might be upset when you read my decision, not kidding that I want to remain your friend.

I'm rambling.

I think I'm going to vote absentee once again, but I'll probably wait until the end before filling it out. I hate the thought of voting in the beginning of October but then learning some huge revelation that affects my views and makes me regret my choice.

But for the record, I should state that I will NOT be voting for a third-party candidate, including Ralph Nader, Bob Barr, and Cynthia McKinney. In my book, all three of them are borderline loonies, anyway. So, you can take some confidence -- especially those of you still dismayed over my 1992 vote for Perot -- that I will be voting for one of the two major candidates, warts and all.

And yes, folks, both of them have lots of warts. But if you're really looking to a single politician as the savior of this nation, then you have bigger issues with your worldview, your spiritual condition, and your sanity.

But I hope you'll still be my friend.

My apologies...

...for not blogging these last two weeks. No real reason for the silence. But I accept your forgiveness for my absence.

Fire at our church

We had an interesting end to the second service today. A fire started in the grassy area behind our church sanctuary. The church sits on a 28-acre lot, and much of the property remains undeveloped. The fire department responded with numerous vehicles, and a helicopter even flew over at one point to drop some fire retardant. Needless to say, it was quite a memorable day!

Fortunately, no one was injured, and no property was damaged. The fire was near one of our parking lots, but we cleared out all the vehicles. It was a little windy today, but the wind was carrying the flames away from that parking lot and the nearby sanctuary.

We had numerous cars attempt to enter the church grounds as spectators, but we were able to keep most of them moving. Otherwise, it would have created a roadblock for the firetrucks that needed access.

Here are some photos. The first shot up top is mine. The remaining pictures come from Bob Clements.

A room for rent...

I have a room available in my 4-bedroom house near Century Theaters in Old Foothill Farms, near Pioneer Elementary School, here in the Sacramento area. Includes access to common living areas, kitchen, nice-sized backyard. Shared bathroom. Bedroom is unfurnished. Good access to I-80. Rent is $395/mth + share of utilities.

For info, please email Rob at PastorRobC@gmail.com

I've posted this in several places. Figured my blog and facebook are good places to include...

Running into people.

I keep running into people. Not with my car, of course. Those situations would probably be described as running OVER people.

No, I keep going to events and places here in Sacramento and bumping into people I haven't seen in awhile, and oddly enough, it's almost entirely been former students from youth ministry.

Today I was at the state fair with my friend Trista, and we were watching some people on the Rock Band stage (yes, a whole stage dedicated JUST to Rock Band). Suddenly, a person standing a few week away gets my attention and says hi. Turns out it was a former student from my youth ministry days.

That also happened on Saturday. It happened last weekend, too. Just seems to be a recurring theme lately.


Oh and this was a pic from the state fair, too. A couple decided to bring their "baby" to the fair. Turns out it was a dog.

Interesting fortune cookies.

I've been picking Chinese food for lunch a lot lately. Each time, I seem to get a fortune cookie that could be read as "guidance" for some kind of major decision or event just around the corner. Here are the 7 most recent fortunes I've received:

• Many people are seeking you for your sound advice
• Luck will soon come your way
• Success will come to your plans
• You will have fortune as your desire
• Re-evaluate your plans for long-term success
• You have great physical powers and an iron constitution
• Accept the next proposition you receive

It's a good thing I don't live my life by fortune cookies. I prefer the Magic 8 Ball instead. Just kidding.

Newspaper job? Um, no thanks...

The process of finding my "next step" after Antelope Christian Center has been interesting. I have lots of "lines in the water" and have been pursuing various options, all the while waiting for God to make it clear what that next step will be.

A few friends have asked me if I've thought about returning to daily newspapers. The answer is no. My heart left that world many years ago. And logically, here's a good reason to avoid daily newspaper jobs these days:

Sacramento, Calif. (AP) -- The Sacramento Bee and The Fresno Bee offered voluntary buyouts to a majority of their full-time employees Monday in the latest round of cost-cutting at the newspapers.

Buyouts are being offered to 55 percent of The Sacramento Bee's full-time employees and a smaller number of part-timers, including most editorial employees, according to Sacramento Bee publisher Cheryl Dell. Reporters in the newspaper's state capitol bureau were exempt from the buyout offer.

The Fresno Bee's offer is being made to most of the company's full-time employees and includes severance pay and extended medical coverage, Fresno Bee publisher Ray Steele Jr. said.

Both publications are owned by McClatchy Co., which has seen advertising revenue at its California and Florida newspapers drop 22 percent this year, Dell said.
Sacramento-based McClatchy owns 30 daily newspapers nationwide. It imposed a companywide wage freeze two weeks ago.

The Sacramento Bee's move to cut staff Monday comes after that paper eliminated 86 jobs in June. The Fresno Bee cut 44 workers in June.

The McClatchy-owned Modesto Bee offered all its full-time employees buyouts last week.

Are the Olympics a reflection or a predictor?

I was looking at the medal count from the Summer Olympics in Beijing, and I was amazed at how poorly the Russian team is doing so far. My amazement was centered on the fact that in the past, the central rivalry was West vs East, the U.S. vs the U.S.S.R. Obviously, the Soviet Union disappeared nearly two decades ago, but there are many within Russia who would love to see their nation return to the global position once held by the Soviets.

This time around, are the Russians our primary rival? Hardly. In 2008, it's the Chinese. Sure, some of that comes from holding the Olympics in Beijing. But it's also a reminder that China has quickly emerged as a global power.

So here's my thought: Is a strong Chinese performance this year a reflection of the new global stage, or a warning/predictor/forecast of things to come?