Old News

I have been doing some work on my family tree and I came across a newspaper from 1909, the Gazette & Hearld from Wednesday December 22. This is a paper from Dushore Pa.
Here are a few clippings of interest.

The Warren Debate

Recently President Elect Obama announced that mega church pastor Rick Warren will be giving the blessing at his inauguration in January. This has made Warren the latest religious victim of the media.

Rick Warren is the pastor of Saddle Back Church in California as well as the author of the bestselling "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life" Books. He is currently being attacked by the GLBT supporters of Obama because of his views on homosexuality. (Warren was a supporter of California's recent Prop 8)

For someone to rise to the position that Warren has, they have to abide to certain non-negotiable Christian theologies. Many of which are restrictive and exclude people from the church and God. My question is, "is this the example that Jesus sets in the Gospels?"

Jesus interactions with the Demonic and the Sumerian woman show that he is willing to step across the cultural and religious boundaries set by the religious leaders of his day. In these interactions Jesus priority was to bring the Kingdom of God to those who needed it, and not allow "theology" to get in the way.

It seams to me that in order to be "successful" in christian culture we end up having to restrict our ability to accept and love others, thus restricting God, instead of being open to others and allowing everyone the ability to enter into Gods Kingdom.

Thoughts, comments, and chastising remarks are welcome

Wow

Most people just throw there shoes at the television when Bush is on.....this guy throws his shoes when he meets Bush in person. I've got to hand it to Bush he's pretty quick.

Hell?

This American Life (one of my favorite pod-casts) had a wonderful story on Heretics this week. They tell the story of a black minister in Tulsa who felt a calling from God to move his church towards the Gospel of Inclusion and away from a belief in hell. (Click)

Admittedly due to my background, I am not all that comfortable with the Gospel of Inclusion but I am all for the consequences. As they say, consorting with sinners, gays, and Unitarians.

Over the past few years as I move away from the institutional church I both fear and hope that my story may be like his.

Prop 8

Jack Black as Jesus.....he makes some good points though

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Mac

This is why I love Mac's (Click)

Podcast Rundown

I though I would share some of the podcasts that I listen to at work:

A Prairie Home Companion
Backstory
Bill Moyers Journal
Democracy Now!
gdgt Weekly
Macbreak Weekly
NPR Planet Money Podcast
Off the Map's Podcast
Real time with Bill Mahr
Slates Spoiler Special
This American Life
This Week in Tech
WNYC's Radio Lab
You Look Nice Today
The 10th Wonder Podcast

Media PC part 1

Like most things in life it's a lot harder than it looks.



I have this desire to make a media center PC. I watch most of my media online anyway so it makes sense, right? I can hook a PC up to my television and watch videos just like I was watching a normal TV broadcast. I forgot to take into consideration that I actually know very little about computers.

I managed to get a free computer from work, it was gutted, meaning no hard drive or RAM. I have taken hard drives out of computers before so I though that would go relationally easily. I bought a hard drive but it was a newer technology. (Sata not IDE for any geeks out there.) And the RAM I bought was not compatible either. After a bit on online searching I find out that I really need, so I make my second trip to the computer store. It turns out that they don't have the RAM I need and they don't have any SATA to IDE converters.

So now I have bought the RAM and the converter online and have to wait until they are shipped to me. I also found out that connecting a PC to a TV is not the easiest thing to do. I haven't really figured that out yet. With any luck the software side will go smoother than the hardware side.

More thoughts on Church

Yesterday I attended the 5 year anniversary of Quincy St Missional Church in Dorchester. I always enjoy attending a service there because it is a humbling experience, and I always come away encouraged. And as usual, yesterday I learned a couple of things.

The value of the elderly:
During the service an elderly woman, using a walker, went up to the front of the garage, also known as the church, and sung a wonderful song. An Acapella Spiritual. She talked about how although she was in her 80's and had seen many hard days (she hadn't been able to come to church for a while because she was so sick) God was going to get her to 100. One day less would not be enough.

As I was moved by her song I though of how this experience is unique for a church. In most evangelical evangelical churches you see the young on stage. Usually men with lots of hair gel. This is in sharp contrast to an old woman with a walker wearing knee high stocking. What would it look like for your church or community to have people of all ages. And to have there voices and perspectives heard by all. To give up valuable "stage time" to them. The church looses valuable perspective when the voice of the elderly are overpowered by the sound of distorted guitars.

God works through the weak:
I get a little voice in the back of my head that says "really?" every time I hear a church planter talk about how God is working to through their church. Really, is it all God? Doesn't your pastor have a divinity degree? Don't you have a person on staff who is a professional graphic designer. Don't you have a large yearly budget? Didn't your worship leader go to Berkley College of Music, and aren't they working on there first solo album?

The polished glean reflecting off the modern church is a little overwhelming sometimes. Not so at Quincy St. a church who's matriarch is a poor illiterate black woman. Although they have has some help over the years the church's leadership is made up of the types of people that the world does not value or expect much of. The small success that Quincy St has had in comparison to its other modern Evangelical churches may not look like much, but to me it is a better picture of God working through people to accomplish his mission. We sometimes don't see when we are working through out own strengths, when God wants to work through our weakness.

Our goal is nothing more than to be like Jesus:
To listen to most church services you might think that our goal is to save the world. Or be better people by not sinning. Next weeks sermon has five points about how to have a better marriage, maybe that's the goal?

Every time I see Ma Siss (the matriarch of Quincy St.) I am reminded of Jesus. She always greats everyone warmly, and is known by the neighborhood as someone who would do anything for you. They share a meal after the service, because she wants everyone to have something to eat. They have a thrift shop because she wants everyone to have clothes. If you can't pay for a loaf of bread she will let you have it for free, because that's just the way she it. I want to be like that. I want to be like Jesus.

You can read more about the 5 year anniversary here. (click)

Some thoughts on Joe the Plumber

In the last debate John McCain brought Joe the Plumber in to the National spotlight. He used this man to attack Barrack Obama's stance on taxes. This attack hasn't set well with me and I have just now figured out why.

First McCain is distorting the facts. Lets say the Joe did buy a plumbing business and grew that business so that he had an income of $250,000 as McCain indicated. Although I do not know what Joe's current financial status is I am pretty sure that he would almost double his income if he were able to do this. (The average American income is about $44,000) Therefore per anyone's tax plan he would pay more taxes. That is the way the tax code is structured. The more money you make the more money in taxes you pay.

Secondly, if I understand Obama's tax plan correctly he wants to tax income above $250,000 at a higher rate. This gets to a deeper question that needs to be discussed. The question is how much money does someone need in America to live a comfortable life? Obama puts that threshold at $250,000. Almost 6 times the average Americans income. McCain has no threshold.

As a society I think this is a much needed conversation. With the economy about the take a nosedive, governments at all levels will need to make cuts, most likely cutting services that benefit the poor. Is there a way we can all live comfortably? Or as Micah tell us when we all have our own olive tree there will be peace. (Micah 4:3)

Charismatic Identity crisis.

For about 8 years I was part of a church that would be considered charismatic. During those years I was in services and heard teaching that you would expect in a charismatic setting. Things like prophecy, speaking in tongues and hearing form God.

Recently I have left the institutional church and in light of the recent Sara Palin video and watching the movie Religulous, I have begun to question some of those previous experiences.

With a critical eye I can see how some of that I experience and was tough was just plain strange, and somewhat unhealthy. But then again, one time I had a very real experience that I can only classify as a baptism of the Holy Spirit.

What is one to do when their objective observations and real experiences clash.

Thus the paradox of following Jesus.

Movie Review - Religulous

The other day I saw Bill Mahr's new movie "Religulous" with my good friends the Holts.
As you might guess the movie brought about great conversation afterwords. I guess the best thing to do is to just jump right in.

First off; as my friend Steve pointed out, this movie is not a "documentary". In fact Mahr for the most part only interviews the stereotypical religious people that he has based his comedic career on. My disappointment with this stylistic choice of interviewing is that everyone was made out to be a fool, except Bill Mahr.

With all that said, I really liked this movie. Mahr's main thesis is that we all need a little more doubt in faith. Blindly accepting the things that we have been told about God actually doesn't give us healthy faith. Instead it can lead us down a destructive path.

It's not that Mahr is anti-faith or has no faith himself. At one point in the move he briefly talks about how he bartered with God in a tough period in his life. Also, through out the film he seams to communicate that he has an appreciation for Jesus teaching, but hates Christianity.

If I could point out one resource to follow up on this movie, I would recommend the book, "Jim and Casper go to Church". This book has some of what Mahr is talking. Jim, the pastor, is willing to take a critical look at the church. Casper, the the friendly atheist, is willing to ask questions and dialogue. May we all have a healthy dose of doubt that leads us closer to God.

The System

I have started reading "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man". The book begins with a well worded incite given the current American economic crises.

"The system, however, is fuels by something far more dangerous than conspiracy. It is driven not by a small band of men but by a concept that has become accepted as gospel: the idea that all economic growth benefits humankind and the greater the growth, the more widespread the benefits. This belief also has a corollary; that those people who excel at stoking the fires of economic growth should be exalted and rewarded, while those born at the fringes are available for exploitation."

Book Review - Pagan Christianity

In reading Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna, I have found the background for what has been brewing in me for the past couple of years. As I have mentioned before I left the formal Sunday morning expression of my faith a little over a year ago hoping to find for a more informal and organic expression. Pagan Christianity exposes the contradictory nature of what the church has become from what the early church was. Although some may find the book very disturbing, perhaps even heretical, I found if comforting and informative.

The book is set up so that each chapter takes a component of the church and traces it through history. They cover topics including; the use of church buildings, the role of the pastor, tithing, and communion to name a few. Most topics have a similar trajectory in that somewhere between 200 & 400 they begin to take different meanings and expressions from the early church practices. (Consequently, for those who know their history know that this coincides with the rule of Constantine over the Roman Empire.)

What most surprised me was the subtle comments made by Frank Viola about his church expression. As he explains in the book he left the Institutional church several years ago and has been worshiping in an organic church ever sense. Throughout the book he provided glimpses of what his church looks like leaving me with a desire to experience the same.

My only negative comment is that the book can be a little dry at points but over all is a good read not only for what he exposes but for what could be experienced if we are willing to to give up our religion and join in the story of Jesus and his early followers.

Need a Little Salt?

One of the neat things about my new bike ride is that I get to see a side of the city that most don't get to. For instance coming home tonight I saw a huge tanker delivering salt to the pier in Chelsea. These salt piles are used all over the City in the winter.

The woes of moving

Moving to a new place can be a great experience. Unless that is if you can't seam to get Internet access at you new apartment. First I called Verizon and signed up for there DSL service. After a week of having there tech guys show up when I was not a home and not show up when I was at home waiting for them for 4 hours! I decided to cancel there service. The highlight of my experience was when a customer service rep called me and asked how I like my new Internet service from Verizon. I took great delight as I told her that I canceled it the day before.

So now I'm signed up with Comcast. It's a little more than I wanted to spend but hopefully they will be able to provide me with a smoother setup than verizon. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Dispartiy

On the radio this morning there was a piece about the Olympics. The were discussing how many of the extravagant building that are housing the events were built by poor workers who couldn't afford to buy tickets to see the events. A startling disparity that will be forgotten in the midst of the excitement.

I see this disparity up close when to the shopping plaza near my house early in the morning. In the shopping plaza there is a Home Depot, and if you get there early enough you will see men, mostly of Hispanic decent, standing in the parking lot. These men are waiting for work, they are day labors. These men leave every morning to work in homes that they couldn't afford to live.

Happyness and Sadness

Last night was one of the happiest moments and one of the saddest that I have had in my neighborhood to date. After two year of talking, scheming, and frustration the neighborhood Friends group decided to put on a movie night in the park. To our surprise it was quite easy and very successful.

With a borrowed laptop computer & projector, a crudely made screen of PVC pipe and a bed sheet, and several extension cords from the neighboring house we watched 'A Bugs Life" with our neighbors in the park. Without advertising the event we managed to gather 12 people and catch the attention of several more as they walked through the park. What we thought could only be pulled off with outside help, generators, and lots of money was not the case, we had all that we needed among ourselves. And with relative ease we can replicate the even at a moments notice. This was one of the proudest moment in my three years of trying to love my neighbors.

It was also sad because I am leaving the neighborhood. Even with things looking so bright. I realize that I am missing something. I am missing a spiritual community. I recently decided to move to East Boston to join some similar minded friends and become a community. Although I know this is good for me, and am excited about moving, it is hard to leave me current neighborhood when we have accomplished so much.

Photo Credit: Assbach (click)

Church Detox part 5

Sunday Morning is just one of many expressions of following Jesus.This is one of the more important ideas that I came away with this past year. For most of the time that I have been following Jesus I have been a part of a modern Evangelical church. Here are a few assumptions about the modern evangelical church:
They are usually event driven.
They are usually motivated to saving entire city’s.
They are usually large, min 150-200 people.
They place great importance on evangelism

For many years this is all that I new. But in the last couple of years I have had the chance to expand my understanding of ways to follow Jesus. Below are three other models that I know of, I am sure there are more.

Parish Church: The catholic tradition has been to meet as a parish church. This may look a lot like the typical church model, but there is one major difference. The parish church is created to serve the needs of a particular community. That community may be geographical or cultural. What I love about this model is that is more likely to actually love the neighborhood that it is in. Many Evangelical churches try to “win” entire city’s or entire countries in the case of missions, and forget about the people that live next door to them.

House Church: There is a growing underground movement of house churches in the US right now. People are beginning to see simple expressions with limited structure as a great way of following Jesus. Without the need of a building or paid staff, the community is freed to give there money to causes they support, usually the poor. And without the complicated logistics of putting on a service every week, they have the time to actually get involved in their communities.

Intentional Community: In most churches our shared experience is through events. What if that shared experience didn’t have to stop when the event was over. Intentional Communities offer the chance to share life together in a way that can not be done through weekly meetings. A chance to know each other and help process the journey of following Jesus.

So one might me compelled to ask “Brian, what’s next for you?” My next step after my church detox is to join up with some friend in East Boston. (Click) We hope to set up a sort of intentional community, the details are a little sketchy at the moment, but one thing is clear, we want to share life together and make an impact in our neighborhood.

Photo Credit Hackintosh (Click)

Church Detox Part 4

It’s hard to follow Jesus outside of a community. Although I believe that they past year of not attending church has been a great experience I have found that it has one side effect. It’s lonely. The past year has been marked wth many great expierences but few people to share them with.

I didn't completely cut all ties to communitity this past year. I have kept in touch with several friends, and even concisoulsy chose to meet with two fellow followers of Jesus roughly one a week. Even when I did Kingdom work in my neighborhood, it was with other people, although they were not followers of Jesus.

The pastor from my old church would put it this way, It’s better to do things in groups. With a group of people, you get friendship, community, and with a common common cause anything is possible.

Photo Credit Residualsignal (Click)

Church Detox Part 3

Worship is kind of strange. In choosing not to attend Sunday morning, I have not worshiped corporately for a while. Recently I visited some friends in Portland and attended their church. For the first time ever worship struck me as kind of strange. Where else in American culture do we gather together and sing songs? Again not that there is anything wrong with this but lets face is it’s kinda weird. I say this even after having been a worship leader myself.

In reflecting on my 15 years of church experience I come away with this question in regards to worship; “Do the Mountain top experiences that we seek after in cooperate worship really lead us to be more like Jesus?” It’s hard to say, but sometimes I feel we are seeking after more and more “experiential” worship. A friend of mine would call this spiritual masturbation. (snicker, snicker) I fear that many of us (myself included) have turned worship into a self indulgent act, instead of, an act of reverence towards God. It's a fine line that we don't discuss very often.

One more thought in closing. Having been a member of worship team for 9 years, as I look back I can’t really say that that investment of time, money, and energy, made me anymore like Jesus. Yes it was great to worship and I learned a lot about worship. But, I can’t honestly say that it made me more like Jesus? I didn’t perform any miraculous healings after having been supercharged with the Holy Spirit. I didn’t feed crowds of people with little to no food. And I don’t think I loved my neighbor more after a worship service than before.

Photo Credit Magbug (Click)

Church Detox Part 2

Does a service format make the best disciples? If we are honest with ourselves church is a bit of a spectator sport. Sure there are a few parts that have to be played, but for the most part people are sitting in seats. At it’s heart Sunday morning is an event that attempts to get those who are outsiders to become insiders. To do this we give a nice talk, play popular music, even take care of your kids while you are in the service. Is this what Paul meant when he encouraged us to not neglect meeting together?

I would argue that Sunday morning services do not product good disciples. For example I have had the same conversation with many people. It starts a couple of years after they have been attending a church, they begin to say things like; I am not being fed anymore, the preaching is getting old, I want more “meat” in the sermons or my personal favorite they want to go “deeper”. What I gather from conversations like these are that people have handed their spiritual formation over to the professionals, the pastors. Who can blame them, if you look most evangelical churches they have all sorts of classes that are intended for spiritual formation. If you need to know something or want to experience something new chances are you just have to plug yourself into the right place.

My friend Steve has been asking the question; “What is a disciple?” He came up with this answer; A disciple is a person who loves God and loves other people. Pretty simple isn’t it. If I am a leader how am what am I doing to get everyone I know to love God and other people? I wonder if we are we are short-changing peoples spiritual lives, by sending them to a class instead of sending them out into their neighborhood to love their neighbors?

Photo Credit Van Der Mouche (Click)

Chruch Detox Part 1

For the past year I have been detoxing from church as an expression of my faith. This was an experiment that was meant to enable me to spend more time in my neighborhood loving my neighbors. Now I am reflecting a bit on the past year and trying to figure out what I want to do next. Over the next couple of days I will be posting some thoughts on Church from my detox.

Theology is best learned through conversation rather than a lecture. The Christian Church uses the Guru model tell people about God. By that I mean that we set aside those people who have gained special knowledge of God, usually through a rigorous academic process, to tell us what we need to know about God. Not that there is anything wrong with this, the church has been doing that for over 2000 years. But is it the only way or even the best way to learn about God?

As a result of my experiment I have not had the ability to listen to preaching on a regular basis. Through my own reading of the Bible, Christian books, blogs, and most importantly conversations with friends I have been able to keep learning more about God while not attending church. If I am honest with myself conversations with friends have had a bigger impact in my life than than preachers have. Friends have incite into my life and the ability to follow through on a conversation, two things that a preacher can not do.

Even when I look at Jesus Life I see the important role conversations play. Jesus not only preached to the crowds, but he also told stories, parables, that drew people in to ask more questions. One could say that the point of a parable is not so much the theological point that it is trying to communicate but opportunity for conversation that it creates by needing to be explained further.

Photo Credit dtes.people (Click)

What if Jesus didn't rise from the grave?

There is an article in Time about a stone tablet that was found that dates to when Jesus was born. (Click) In it there is possible evidence of the resurrection story. Some are implying that the early church stole the resurrection story and made it there own.

We could debate endlessly if the stone is true but I think a better question is this.
If it were true and Jesus didn't rise from the grave would you still follow him?

Discuss!

Christian License Plates?

I can think of a lot better ways to express my faith. (Click)

Streets of Hope Book Review

Last week, while on vacation, I started reading the book Streets of Hope. It is the true story about a section of Boston called Dudley Street, and there battle for community control over there neighborhood.

In the 1980's there was a concern that the City of Boston was developing a "revitalization" plan for Dudley. A decade earlier Bostons South End was "revitalized". By this I mean that the old abandoned building were bought up by land speculators, apartment building were transformed into condominiums, and the a predominantly poor neighborhood was replaced with an affluent neighborhood in a short time. Another word for this in gentrification. Upon hearing rumors of the city's plans the neighborhood quickly organized and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DNSI) was born. A community group with complete community control, funding from Bostons largest philanthropic organizations, that would stand up for the communities rights sometimes in partnership and sometimes in opposition with the city government. Over the next several years, DSNI put together there own revitalization plan that allowed the hundreds of parcels of abandoned land to be developed into new housing (apartments and private homes) at a cost that was in line with the income level of the neighborhood.

There are several things that were important to me in this book. First DSNI was a community based organization, not an organization in a community. It was run by the community, with a strong commitment from neighbors. Many times there meeting would have 200 + people in attendance. They listened to peoples concerns and reflected them in there actions. Many times we call in the experts to "fix" the problems in our society, who often times make broad sweeping changes without input from the people who will have to live with the consequences of those decisions.

Secondly there relationship with the City was a cautious association. The authors talk about politicking as usual, getting the mayor to back what they want in order to get the rest of the city officials and employees to act on there requests. But what they understood was that they were setting the terms and if the mayor was not responsive they would act. One great story was how they were able to get the hundreds of abandoned cars removed from the streets. During an election year they took bumper stickers from the Mayors re-election campaign and plastered the all over the abandoned cars to draw attention to them. The cars were removed shortly there after.

Lastly, I am utterly amazed at how they were able to get so many people involved. Having been part of an organization that labeled itself as a grass roots organization, and having done a lot of work in my neighborhood, I am all to familiar with doing a lot of work and getting the same 4 people to turn out to a meeting. I believe there success was in there ability to create a broad organization. If the community started talking about an issue they would respond. There was not any discussion about weather or not it was part of there "mission". When a need was pointed out they organized people to meet that need. Over the years DSNI has not only created and implicated there own neighborhood revitalization plan, but have worked on a number of issues including; a trash dumping campaign, jobs, teen empowerment, Multi-cultural festivals, Anti red-lining coalition, daycare, food project, ext. (See time line) No issue was to small or to difficult to be addressed. I believe this was a key to there success. No one would be turned away. If you had an issue that you were passionate about most likely there were working on that issue.

Posititive use

Living in an area like Dorchester for the past three years you see a lot of misuse of public space. For the past several months a group of us have been trying to change that in our own unique way. Every Thursday we gather to walk our dogs. Its nice to see that the City has noticed. (Click)

Architecture Colbert Style

Steven Colbert say that America needs better buildings.

Vacaton: Part 1

For the past three years I have gone on vacation with two good friends. California twice, the Florida Keys last year and this year we are in the Pacific Northwest. Portland and Seattle to be specific.

The first leg our our trip, thus part 1, has been in Portland. We are visiting friends that we knew from our church back in Boston. To me the best way to describe Portland is to point you towards the blog Stuff white people like. There are a lot of white people in Portland, and bikes, and dogs. Don't get me wrong I like all of these things, but having lived in Dorchester for two years it's a little strange to see so many white people in one town.

While we were in Portland we went to Multanomah Falls, just outside of the city. A stunning waterfall, a must see. We also went to the Zoo, and had dinner in the pearl district. We also visited our friends church on Sunday, Moasic. It was a good service, and for me it was good to worship. Having not been to a formal service in about a year, I have missed connecting with god in that way.

Today we are on to Olympic National park then to Seattle.

Sometimes we just go upstairs

Well, it's been a while sense I blogged last. I guess I haven't had much to say lately.

Today I took my friend Keith, and met my fiends Steve and Chrissy at the Bikes Not Bombs Green Roots festival. IT was a small but cool event what had a lot of sustainable companies and booths, as well as....you guessed it bikes.

My friends Steve and Chrissy live in Texas for a while and continues to be amazed when they see things like this. I guess after living in Boston for 10 years you get use to it. But there are many people and organizations in the Boston that are socially conscious, more so than most places in the US.

There were a few cool bikes there too. I saw a tandum bike, a recumbent bike and even several bikes used for hauling things. (Check out the new Amsterdam Project.)

The hightlight in my mind was watching a guy build a composting toilet. He brought the one that he uses in his house, in Boston.?! Yes he brought his own toilet. One observer asked "What do you do if you have ....... intestinal problems?" to which he replied "Sometimes we just go upstairs"

Colbert Theology

Do we really follow Jesus? Or do we follow Paul? Or perhaps do we follow our church pastor? As I understand Jesus, he wants us to follow his example. Many in the fundamentalist Christian Tradition, I believe follow Paul, or other theologians rather than Jesus. Why is this? My guess is because it is easier to discuss what the after live will be like rather than strive to bring Gods kingdom to earth by loving our neighbor.

Steven Colbert's recent interview with Tony Perkins brings this dynamic to live. Colbert asks Tony, where in the bible does Jesus talk about homosexuals. To which Perkins comment, Paul does.

A little bit of History

Heres a little but of history from American Dad.

I love Apple!!!!!!

As I mentioned previously in my blog, I have been having some computer problems. Kernel Panics to be specific. So for the 4th time in 5 months I took my computer, with my apple care info in hand, in to the Apple store to have them take a look at it. I was not to hopeful that they would be able to fix it so I have been bracing myself for the inevitable purchase of a new laptop. I was hoping that it would hold out until the end of the year.

The gentleman at the genius bar started up my computer and 3 minutes later he told me that he didn't think he could do anything more than was done by the previous repairs, and that he was going to talk to the manager. When he came back they offered to replace my base model 12" Ibook with the base model Macbook, free of charge!

So I'm now sitting here typing away on my new computer. I highly recommend investing in apple care if you get a Mac. I spend $250 and ended up replacing my over 2 year old computer with a new computer.

A very special Gift

Have you ever wanted to give your name to something? Like all those rich people what have building named after them. Or perhaps you have a special friend that you would like to memorialize.

Well look no further if you have $250.00 you can get the naming rights to an out house at an all girls school in India. (Click)

There was this guy in high school that picked on me. This might be my best change to get back at him.

Money and Sex

Two weeks ago I took a daring move in a close relationship. No I didn't make any deep dark sexual confessions. I talked to a friend about money.

This friend of mine had been struggling with debt for most of there life. I don't know all the facts but some of it is credit card. Some of it is from student loans. What I do know is that it is a heavy burden for them and although having taken steps to control spending and set up a budget, the debt is beyond there control.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post I have been trying to get my finances in order for the past several months. Finally, I feel as though I am in a place where I can begin to give more money away as well as aggressively save for a down payment on my first home. In the process of all this I have wanted to be more creative in how I give away my money. One thought was to help out my friend.

My first meaningful conversation with my friend about money was a lot like my first sexual experience. They were both very awkward and only lasted a couple of minutes. I told my friend that I would be willing to help out with $50.00 a month to be use to pay off the debt. My friend was very hesitant. As hard as it was for me to bring up the subject I'm sure that it brought up my friends insecurities as well. In the end my friend decided to think about it and get back to me.

In this process I can't help but notice one thing. Why is it that we don't think twice about taking money from a faceless corporation that we know is taking advantage of us, yet we find it so hard to discuss money with our closest friends who only want to help us?

The Good Debt?

There was an interesting article in the Boston Globe today about how people are starting to reconsider college debt. (Click) With the rising cost of College and the recent credit problems in the US this is putting many middle income families in a difficult situation.

I was glad to see this article and I hope that this conversation continues for a couple of reasons. First, I think people need to rethink there lives and what they really want. There is joke in Boston that when someone doesn't know what they want to do next in there life they just go to Grad school. Is that extra degree really going to make you happy? One thing is for sure it will give you a lot more debt.

Secondly, I am a huge fan of alternative career paths. I am on one myself. Even thought I do not have a bachelors degree I am on my way to becoming a registered Architect. It has take 10 years but I'll finish, and with only about $3,000.00 debt.

Lastly I'm not sure of the figures but I know of many people who are not working in the field that they studied in in College. (come to think of it a lot of them are English majors......) In today's economy people tend to move around from job to job many times in different fields.

Don't get me wrong I value education but not collecting diplomas.

Book Review A Peoples History of the United States

I recently finished the book A Peoples History of the United States 1492 to Present by Howard Zinn. You may have seen a couple of posts with quotes from the book.

This is a book that every American should read. It attempts to give you the lesser known version of American history, the alternative to what everyone is taught in school. Here is a snap shot. Zinn starts with Columbus exploiting the Indian's, moves on to the slave trade, then discussed the rise of the workers, and ends with US militarism after WWII. (With plenty of other happy topics in between)

The part of the book that fascinated me the most is the rise of the workers. My only real exposure to Unions was threw my parents. My mother worked in a furniture factory and my father worked for GE sylvania when I was growing up. Both were part of modern American union and neither had anything good to say about them. (both plants are shut down also) I won't get into a debate about unions here, except to say that back in the 1800's there was lots to fight about.

Two things stuck out to me regarding Unions. First that according to Zinn's perspective, the labor union movement came very close to turning America into a Socialist country. Secondly I am shocked at how the Federal government sided with companies during strikes. To the extent of sending militias to break up strikes often ending in blood shed.

Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in American history, and the ability to read through a 688 pages.

I'm back baby!!!!!

I'm back....more specifically my computer is back up and working. I took it into the Apple store twice to get a repair for a Kernel Panic. A new logic board, new Airport card, a new hard drive, and two weeks later I'm up and running. Thank God I signed up for mozy, and online back up service, last year. I'm downloading my files as I type this.

On the bright side having a new hard drive feel like I have a clean slate. After two years of downloading programs, files and other things that filled up my hard drive, I can make a new start. To start off I'm eliminating some programs. Mainly Microsoft Office. these programs are really actually pretty sophisticated for people who just want to put together a shopping list. Text edit or google doc's are just as good for day to day stuff and don't talk nearly the same amount of hard drive space.

I can now finally install Quicksilver again. In case if you haven't heard about it, it's basically one of the greatest apps ever made.

Some Things Do Change

Rules for female teachers posted by a school board in Massachusetts in 1870:

1. Do not get married.
2. Do not leave town at any time without permission of the school board.
3. Do not keep company of men.
4. Be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
5. Do not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.
6. Do not smoke.
7. Do not get into a carriage with any man except your father or brother
8. Do not dress in bright colors.
9. Do not dye your hair
10. Do not wear any dress more than 2 inches above the ankle.
    

My favorite is #5

More fun facts from "A Peoples History of the United Sates" by Howard Zin

Apartment garden update

Today was harvest time. not a very big harvest but a harvest.

This pot yelded enough for a rather small saild.

I think I need to plant more harder lettuce plants next time like romaine or iceberg. this fruffey lettuce isn't going to cut it.

In the mean time because spring is here I started some other plants that I should be able to put outside in a couple of weeks squash, peppers and cucumbers.

Some Things Never Change

If I had it all to do over again, I may have studied history. I am fascinated with the fact that some things never change and that history has a way of repeating it's self.

To that end I am currently reading "A Peoples History of the United States 1942 to Present" by Howard Zinn. I read this passage yesterday.

Henry Adams quote: "We are here plunged into politics funnier than words can express. Very great issues are involved.....But the amusing thing is that no one talks about real interests. By common consent they agree to let these alone. We are afraid to discuss them. Instead of this the press is engaged in the most amusing dispute whether Mr. Cleveland had an illegitimate child and did or did not live with more than one mistress."

The Mr Cleveland being referring to Grover Cleveland the two term President of the US in the late 1800's

Doggey Prayer

For all the dog lovers out there. (click)

Water

Lately there has been more discussion about water. Specifically how much is there and what are the affects of climate change on water supplies. Scientists are telling us that with the global warming taking place there will be more droughts, and this could lead to taxing on already low water supplies and perhaps even conflicts. One of the reasons for the conflict in Darfur is because of water. (Click)

There is a great website where you can calculate your water usage much like carbon calculators, and find lots of other information about water. (Click) I had always know the carbon impact on the meat I eat, and for that reason I eat less red meat, but I didn't realize the water impact on eating dairy.

Speaking on water there is a guy that figured out how to burn salt water and use it as a fuel. Considering that the earth is 2/3 water this is pretty darn cool.

Budgets

Last week I posted about my finances and how I am trying to get them in order. (click) In the past week I have had a good conversation with a friend about it and taken some time to analyze my budget.

My friend reminded me about the latte factor in most budgets. (The ideal that the little things add up) I think that dining out may be that for me. Also he reassured me that saving for a house is a good use of money and can be justified.

Even after this conversation I was still a little unsettled about the disparity between trying to live with a simple lifestyle, and the amount of money that feel I seam to "need" in order to live. This weekend I have obsessed over every nickel and dime, categorizing and analyzing everything I can think of and came up with the following. (click)

I found out a few things:

• Tax's suck! I have always been of the mindset that if you make more money you should pay more tax's. But now that I'm 30 I have realized that as your income increases if you don't have children or a mortgage to claim as deductions, you kind of get screwed on your income tax. I end up paying a small fortune in tax's this year because I don't have these two deductions.
  
• I am saving a lot. There is the obvious savings each month for the down payment on a house but I also have deposits into my 401K that are automatically taken out of my paycheck. This adds up at the end of the year. Originally I wasn't taking this into account because I was only dealing with my take home pay not my gross pay.
  
• I actually am living simply. By organizing my budget in they way I did it was easy to see what my actually base living expenses were. (separated from my tax's, and aggressive savings) I also added a "Decadent Luxury" column for things like travel, pet expenses, and dining out. After all I didn't take a vow of poverty I'm just trying to live simply.
  

After looking at this I have some difficult decisions to make. In the end, I don't feel that I can't cap my income a level I would like too. That being said I'll do my best to keep the decedent luxury's to a minimum. (Currently they add up to a little over 9% of my gross income.)
I also was planning on building a cabin this summer. Although I have put a lot of thought into the design and construction of the cabin I really haven't thought about how to pay for it. On top of that It doesn't make financial sense (or justice sense) to be building a vacation cabin when I don't have my first home. I'll start budgeting a small amount each month towards the cabin and in a few years after I am settled in my first home I can resurrect the cabin idea.

New (to me) TV

There is a part of me that is sad to see my neighbors move out.
Before:
After:
And there is a part of me that is happy to have a bigger TV. :)

Money...It's Not Just A Pink Floyd Song

For the past three months I have become more diligent with my finances. I have been keeping a spreadsheet of all my expenses and tracking how I spend my money. Also on Friday I had my yearly review at work and the small pay raise that comes with it. With both of these things happening, I think I am ready to do something that I have been wanting to do for a long time. Figure out how I can manage and spend my money justly. Not a small task by any means and fought with many difficult questions.

To start with I can think of two options; A graduated tithe or capping my income. A graduated tithe as I understand it has a base income with a 10% tithe and anything above that is tithed at a higher rate. Capping your income is just as it implies, you figure out what you need to live on and give away everything above that. I am not sure which one is better but I am leaning towards capping my income just because there is less math involved.

In order to make this process "just" I feel as though I have to base it on some facts. In researching I came up with a few disturbing things. The 2006 US poverty level for a single person is $10,400.00 a year. (Click) The 2006 US annual household income is $48,201.00. (Click) Now I realize that I live in a major US city (Boston) and that these two numbers would be higher for my area, but I can not understand how anyone could live on these incomes per year. If I am to manage my money justly I feel as though I should somehow acknowledge people in these situations.

Here come the hard questions:
1) As I look at my three months of expenses, I find that my highest expenses are: Savings, Rent, Tithe, & Food in that order. (All other expenses are under 10% of my monthly income) Fortunately I do not have any student loans, one of the unspoken benefits of dropping out of college. I feel as though I am living simply: I don't have cable, I share a car, I have started to buy clothes at thrift shops and I rent a modest apartment well under the median price. Given that information, I also make 25% more than the average American household, but I still feels like there is not enough. Clearly given the information I have collected about my life over the past three months this is not the case. Why is this?

2) Part of managing my money Justly is how I give it away and how much. Presently I give my tithe to an urban minority church that I have a connection with. But where do I go beyond that? How do I choose other organizations to give to? Do I given domestically Do it give internationally? Do I give to both, and in what percentage? Do I give to secular organizations?

3) As you man have picked up in my listing of monthly expenses, savings is the largest category. In fact it makes up about 22% of my income. This is certainly not the norm in America and not the norm for most of my life, only about the past 6 months. The reason for this is that I want to buy my first home. Even at the present high rate it will take me a couple of year to get a down payment together. Remember I live in Boston. (I also want to put about 20% down.) I am wondering if it is just for me to put so much money into savings. Should I cut back and give more of that money away?

In conclusion, there are a lot of questions I have been struggling with in the past few days. Any thoughts would be helpful. Also if you have any figured this out for yourself, please let me know how you handle it. I am planning on talking this through with a friend this week to help get some perspective.

Goodbye Coco You Will Be Missed

Last night my dog Coco shuffled off this mortal coil. I adopted her two years ago at the age of 9. She was a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
She liked scratches behind the ear, long walks in the park, dog treats, and anything I was eating. Yes I actually put a diaper on my dog. When I adopted her she was incontinent. It took a while to get her medication right to stop it, and I took every measure I could to keep myself from cleaning pee off the floor.
Goodbye Coco you will be missed.

Apartment Farm Update

Well it has been a couple of weeks sense I planted my seeds, and I wated to give you an update.

This is lettuce. It's been the easiest and the quickest to grow, although it has the prime real estate in front of the sunniest window.

The one on the left I believe to be carrots, and by the process of elimination the one on the right would be the broccoli. It's kind of pathetic that I don't know that the plant form of the vegetables I eat are.

Lent-1 Brian-0

Well it's been 3 1/2 weeks sense the beginning of lent. I haven't been to good a keeping my lent promise. You may remember that I have been trying to keep off the Internet while at home.

The Internet is winning. I started out good, but then I would remember that I really had to e-mail that person and it can't wait. or I just have to get this peace of information. Next thing you know I'm on the Internet for 1/2 an hour.

Oh well, better luck next year.

What to do with your economic stimulus refund?

The other day I had a great discussion about what do to with my economic stimulus refund come May. (Click) The conversation resulted in a pledge to give away 1/2 of the money received to the poor in our neighborhoods. Check it out and let me know what you think. (Click)

Rich Christians in and Age of Hunger - Book Review

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about poverty from the Christian perspective. Ronald Sider's book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger has helped to shape that conversation. Sider takes the time to layout the facts, establishes a biblical foundation about poverty, and how it can be ended.

If you are easily bored by facts this might not be the book for you. Filled with dates, percentages about everything from calorie consumption data to Gross Domestic Product growth, it can make your head spin at times. But Sider does a good job at explaining the facts of poverty in terms that people can understand. On a side note the book is currently in it's 5th edition, so the facts are being updated every couple of years to stay current.

A shining example of Siders insight into the economics of poverty is his explanation the Gross Domestic Product. He points out that many negative things can actually help the GDP grow. A much better indicator of growth is the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). It takes into account factors like enviromental polution and longer work hours for the same pay. According to the GPI American life hasn't gotten much better sense the 1970's!

The only down side to the book is it's lack of answering the "What can I do now" question. Although Sider does provide an entire section to answer this question, and talks about the concept of a graduated tithe, I felt as though I would like more concrete steps. Sider talks more about what the Federal Government could do to end poverty than about how the individual can. Having thought about this issue for the past two year and being ready to take on more personal commitments I was a little disappointed.

Over all I highly recommend this book, it is a great way to get the facts on poverty and some biblical perspective too.

Little green phone

My friend told me about a new smart phone by Palm called the Centro. Its basically a cheaper alternative to the Treo. This sounds great to me. I have been wanting a smart phone for some time but I really didn't want to shell out $250.00 or more for something that I could very easily loose. (I say that but I haven't ever lost at cell phone)

On the other hand, I have a perfectly fine one year old Motorola Pebble. Its small and a great lime green color. I can sync it with my computer and it works for me. I like this phone, in fact I loved it up until two days ago.

So I have been seriously thinking about upgrading my perfectly good phone for something else then I get an e-mail from a friend with this.

The Story of Stuff.

Oh well I guess I can go a little while longer with my little green phone.

Serial Community

This February I will have live in the same apartment for the past 2 1/2 year. I realize that it is the longest that I have lived in one place sense moving to Boston. Being in one place has had some amazing benefits. I feel closer to my neighborhood, understand it better, and feel more love for those around me that I have anywhere else in Boston. It has also allowed me to question the previous expressions of Christian Community that I have experienced in the past.

For the past say 5-6 year I have been seeking out christian community. To varying degrees I have been successful. My living situations have exhibited serving each other, hospitality, prayer, confession, worship and common finances. However looking back I realize that I have missed an important aspect.

They have not exhibited commitment to each other. For the most part the communities that I have lived in have lasted, on average, one year. For that year we were committed to each other but there was always something that could easily separate us. For the most part we were in our early to mid twenties. I think the upper-ward mobility / wanderlust of 20 somethings caused a feeling of being unsettled after a year in one place. Frequently, people move to another city for a job. Sometimes people had other friends that they became more connected and wanted to move in with. And then there was always marriage.

Not that any of these things are bad, or that people are choosing them over community. But there is an underlying understanding that what ever community we built would not last for very long. They were unstable.

What would a community look like if people committed themselves to relationship with each other and their neighbors. If they intentionally chose to live in the same place even though there were better opportunities elsewhere. What if instead of people leaving a community because of marriage someone new joined the community.

Over the past few year I realize that I have been practicing serial community.

Last Night

Last night I went to Park Street Church to hear Jim Wallis talk and promote his new book "The Great Awakening" Over all it is a pleasure to hear Jim speak, and I went away encouraged. Feeling that what I am doing in my community matters and is at the heart of God.

I also went away a little disappointed. During a time of question and answer some one asked the question "Ok I believe you, now what?" Jim's answer was to join an organization, suggesting one of the few that were at the meeting.

Join an organization?!? I do feel that finding like minded people is important but this feels like it's not enough. Jim noted in his talk that churches often only ask for the perimeters of our lives. Telling people to join an organization feels like the same.

Here are a few suggestion that I would have liked to have heard:

Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. (Your big screen TV, your Xbox. The books you don't read, then you can sell your book shelf too!)

Leave your comfortable apartment and move to Roxbury, Dorchester, or East Boston and live among the poor.

Take a serious look at your finances. Try to give more that 10%, try to live on a graduated tithe.

I don't understand why these suggestions weren't given as next steps also.

Updated Cabin Schematics

As some of you may know I am thinking of building a cabin this summer. Starting it at least, it would me a multi-year project. I have gone through another round of redesign and sent the design to my family for comments.

Here is the plan and a section let me know what you think.

States Rights

For some time now I have been thinking more about government and it's role. Inparticular the role of the State Governments vs the Federal Governments. Usually the issue of states right is only brought up in contencious issues of abortion, gay marrage and confederate flags, traditionally conservative issues. The issue of States rights dates back to the beginning of our country. It was one of the reasons for the civil war.

Yesterday I read about Berkeley California kicking Marine recruiters out of there city. A republican Congressmen fired back a said that they would withhold 2 million dollars of funding set aside for the city and for University of California - Berkeley. I do realize that Berkeley is a city not a state but the dynamic I see are is same.

When when the people disagree with the federal government they manipulate them by withholding money, and because they really hold all the money they have a lot of leverage. This tactic was also used when Massachusetts enacted the health care law to provide health insurance for everyone in the state, something the Bush administration didn't want to happen.

In thinking about issues poverty, it makes me wonder what our country would look like if States had more control than the federal government. What if most of our tax's went to the State instead of Washington? What if a dollar of my tax's went directly to the local school instead of traveling to Washington and back again loosing value as it went to congress, to the Department of Education, back to the State, the States Education Department, and then to my local school.

We do need a federal goverment. We need a place to discuss the complex issues of how states work together, not to mention a federal military and the need for someone to handle international deplomacy. But do we need a federal goverment that is a big as we have now? I also recoganize that the same minuplication can take place at the state level as at the federal level. It will happen anywhere where there is a lot of money changing hands.

Just a though.

The Alchemist – Book Review

Having just finished another of my Architectural exams, I decided to take the week off from studying. In it’s place I read the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

The Alchemist takes you on a journey with a young boy who is out to realize his Personal Legend. He travels from his homeland in Spain to see the pyramids of Egypt and back, along the way learning lessons at each stop, eventually fulfilling his Personal Legend and finding love along the way.

The beauty of The Alchemist is in it metaphors and imagery. In the beginning of the story Coelho used the metaphor of sheep to paint a picture of people who have not taken the risk to realize their Personal Legend. Instead they are content to find food and water instead of the deepest desires of their heart.

The story also relies heavily on Christianity. It is woven into the story at every turn, from the hobo King of Salem Melchizedek to the story of the Centurion in Mathew 8. Coelho recognized the pursuit of God is a Personal Legend that we all can participate in.

Oh yea it's time for Lent

Being from central PA I didn't know about Lent until I moved to Boston. (I didn't realize it at the time but there sure are a lot of Baptist's in Central Pa.) In my first year at Boston I had the "hey you have something black on your forehead" conversation and I was introduced to Ash Wednesday, Lent and a little group of people know as Catholics.

Sense then I have occasionally participated in Lent. This year I think I'll give it another try. I have decided to give up internet at home. I have recently realized that I spend a lot of time online at home, mostly wasting time watching videos. This is time that I could spend doing more productive things and connecting with God.

So here are the parameters. No internet at home. I can use the internet while at work (not that I should be but I will admit that I do) I will only use the internet at home to post to the blog or look up necessary information i.e. map or phone number. Lent usually involves some aspect of dispensation, so I'll let myself use the internet for a little bit on Sunday's.

So what do I hope to get out of lent this year? Having decided not to go the traditional Sunday morning church route, I hope that by participating in Lent I can feel a little more connected to "The Church" as a whole. I hope that by freeing up my nights and weekends I can get more bible reading in and more socializing with friends and neighbors.

Growth!!!!!

As I mentioned last week I am trying to grow some veggies in my apartment. The one week report is in: We have growth.


The first week has been a success. Everything has sprouted. (lettuce, spinach, carats and broccoli) I transplanted the best looking ones into 4 window box planters and set them in front of the windows for the best sunlight. Except the broccoli, I think that still need a little more time before I can transplant it.

Now comes the hard part,being disciplined enough to water them and wait. I believe it will take about one month before they get full grown.

Also I was right the sprouts are idiot proof. I has some of them on my veggie burger at lunch today, with a side of fries. Mmmmm.

For a good time call......

In the ever evolving connection between marketing and politics, there is a new way to promote candidates. (or make a joke at their expense) If you go to Mitt Romney's website you can actually make a personalized phone message to send to your friends. This is epically fun to send to your liberal friends.

A little slice of justice

The CEO of Countrywide, a defunct sub-prime lender that is being bought out by Bank of America, is declining his severance pay of $37.5 million. It's refreshing to see someone in the business world willing to do without their golden parachute. (Click)

Greening my food

For some time now I have been thinking more about what I eat. Not only how can I eat healthier, and loose a couple of pounds in the process, but how can I have more of an environmental impact with the food choices that I make. To do this I have decided to try to grow some vegetables in my apartment.

I will be the first to admit that I do not have a green thumb. Here is a picture of the only plant in my apartment and the remains of some other plants.

It is a species of Elephant Ear plant. The only reason that it's still alive is because it can live on very little water. Usually I notice that it as almost dead and then give it a good drink and forget about it until it's brown again.

So I ventured out to Home Depot and bought some supply's. For $25.00 I got a tray, some soil, and some seeds, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, and baby carrots.



I also bought a little device that grows bean sprouts. I'm not a big fan of bean sprouts but it looked idiot proof.

It takes almost two weeks to see if any of the plants are going to grow, and about 45 days until I could be eating my first salad. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Why I won't vote for Hillary

I would not vote for Hillary, if she makes the democratic nomination, for one reason.
Not because of her politics. Not because of her persona. Not because she is a woman.
I won't vote for her because if she is elected as President, for 24 years the United States will have been controlled by two families. The Clinton's and the Bushes. Irrigardless of their politics, their failures and their accomplishemnts I do not think it is a good idea for the office of the President to be held by the same people for so long.

Got Freedom?

Didn't we being freedom and Democracy to this country? (Click)

No Forclosure No Eviction

Yesterday there was a small victory in the sub-prime foreclosure market. A woman in Dorchester with the help of City Life, was able to avoid her foreclosure on her home for a few days. (Click) I am encouraged to see people organizing around this issue.

I recentiely took a first home buying class, where the teacher, said rather bluntly, "They signed the paper they knew what they were getting into." Sure there should be some responsibility placed on the individuals. On the other hand Countrywide is being bought out by Bank of America, and there has been some talk about helping out other mortgage companies, but what about the people who would loose there homes? Who will help them?

Maybe we have to help each other?