What is a multi-site church?
So I’m late to the party, but here are some resources:
What is a multi-site church?
Resources: djchuang.com
Can we trust the Bible?
Here are some resources I’ve run across:
- Matt Harmon’s talk The Bible: How Did We Get It and Is It Reliable? at No Doubt [pdf]
- R. C. Sproul’s Can I Trust the Bible?
- Erwin Lutzer’s Seven Reasons You Can Trust the Bible
- Fred von Kamecke’s response in Busted: Exposing Popular Myths about Christianity.
- John Piper’s study Why We Believe the Bible
Commentary Resources
Given the plethora of commentaries in English, how is one to evaluate which are worth his or her time? Here are some resources which might help:
- Old Testament Commentary Survey / New Testament Commentary Survey – These books review commentaries to help you decide. (Here is a review of the NTCS to give you a flavor of what is included.)
- BestCommentaries.com – A dynamic site which sorts through a wide variety of commentaries.
- Two commentary resources from Ligonier Ministries: One / Two
- Links for expository preaching – Currently on NT, but many good resources!
“American”
Just got done reading Mia Tuan’s, Forever Foreigners or Honorary Whites?: The Asian Ethnic Experience Today, and appreciated her thoughts on the word “American”.
What race do you think of when you hear the word “American”?
I suspect many think of a Caucasian person. Why not an Asian? Further, why do Asians often self-identify themselves as “Asian-Americans”? Why don’t those with European heritage identify themselves as “European-Americans”?
Although those are rhetorical questions, I will answer them: looks. As Ronald Takaki asserts in his Strangers from a Different Shore and as is supported in Tuan’s research, those with Asian heritage cannot “shake off” assumptions of foreignness as readily as their European counterparts because they physically do not fit the mold of what society says an “American” is (read: white).
For example, if you are an Asian, have you ever been asked, “Where are you from?” You respond, “Chicago.” They retort, “No, where are you from from?” — as if they are incredulous that your black hair and yellow skinned-body could actually be natively born in the United States.
A similar question would seem almost farcical if asked of a 2nd generation European, for example, simply because Europeans look more like what American society has traditionally defined “American”.
Taiwan Video 4: Ray Chang on Engaging in God’s Global Mission
Helpful video discussing the role of second generation Asian Americans in missions. [ht: djchuang]
1o Needs in the EM and YG of CCCI
photo by kandyjaxx
- Adult Coworkers for the Youth Group
- Adult A/V Team Members
- Teachers for the Adult and Youth Sunday School classes
- Assistant for the Youth Sunday School class
- Webworker to keep backend of website updated
- Sunday Greeters and Ushers
- Nursery coworkers
- EM or YG ministry team members
- Attend Sunday School
- Attend worship and be an active participant (i.e. – come on time, greet others, etc.)
If interested, please contact Justin.
Be a Computer Ninja!
photo by R'eyes'
If you are a knowledge worker who spends most of the day at a computer, you need be a computer ninja and develop a strategy for subduing your ever-increasing workload. Here are four tips and my current strategy:
- Use as few apps as possible. The more apps, the more that can go wrong.
- Related, opt for web-based apps like Google Docs. Your data is backed-up, accessible from anywhere (that there is Internet), sharing is a breeze, and you just need to use one app (your browser) to access them.
- Learn keyboard shortcuts. Mice and trackpads are for non-ninjas.
- Subscribe to your apps’ blogs. Good apps are always evolving. Stay current about time-saving enhancements by reading their blog.
My current strategy:
- Gmail for email [shortcuts, blog]
- Google Reader for blog reading [shortcuts, blog]
- Google Docs for document creation [shortcuts, blog]
- Evernote for knowledge management [shortcuts, blog]
- Rememberthemilk for task lists [shortcuts, blog]
- Accordance for Bible study [shortcuts, blog]
- Keynote for slides [shortcuts]
- Dropbox for storing and backing up “live” documents [blog]
- Quicksilver for application launching and sending tasks to RTM
- Firefox [shortcuts, blog]
- Safari [shortcuts] [Q: Why do I use 2 different browsers? Isn't that violating tip #1? A: Safari would be my default choice, but FF works better with the Google products and has some nice add-ons (like the delicious bookmark extension).]
Sounds of War: Rock, Rap and the Spiritual World
If this is how others perceive “Christianity,” I do not blame them for being repulsed. Their criticism is well-founded (cf. the last quote in the film by Manson!).
