It's hard to pick just one Muppet segment from Sesame Street. Guy Smiley, Cookie Monster, Meryl Sheep, Don Music - they're all fantastic. But this might be one of the sweetest clips of all.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
YouTube Time Capsule, Part 2
This Sesame Street segment absolutely enthralled me as a child. I was amazed by a) the fact that this little girl had a llama for a pet and b) that this little girl was allowed to walk the streets of New York alone. After watching it again I am also amazed that the mullet was once deemed an appropriate hairstyle.
YouTube Time Capsule
Last Sunday I officially entered my upper twenties. Turning twenty seven has made me wax nostalgic about my blissful eighties childhood and thankfully YouTube has footage from all my favorite television shows. Here are three of the most formative clips, starting with the "Things To Do" rap from the brilliant "Reading Rainbow." It completely inspired me when I was a kid and I think we'll make bleach bottle birdhouses in Sunday school next week.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Why I Bought Boot Cut Jeans Two Years After They Became Popular
I'm somewhat of a late adapter. I still don't have a DVD player and am now forced to borrow videos from the library. When I was in college, I consistently called my cordless phone a cell phone because I’d never owned a cordless phone. I loathe text messaging. I grew to appreciate nineties alternative rock a decade after most songs were released. I just got a phone with a camera (and only because I cracked my old phone in two and that model is no longer available.) Thus, it should come as no surprise that I'm about to blog about a subject that everyone else blogged about a year and a half ago. Hey, I've got to be me.
Here are some statistics that Mark Driscoll posted on the Resurgance in May of last year. I'm sure you'll recognize them from about twenty seven other blogs that dealt with this issue in a timely manner:
*Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
*Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.
*Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
*Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
*Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
*Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
As I drove to Trader Joe's this evening (since the contents of my refrigerator consisted of nectarines, pears, oranges, apples, peanut butter, parmesan cheese, semi-sweet chocolate chips and one miniature pepperoni pizza, I figured it was probably time to buy groceries), I listened to callers on a Christian radio show discuss pastor's wives who attend different churches than their husbands. Apparently, some pastor's wives are under so much strain that they feel they must leave their husband's church for the sake of their own spiritual health. This led the host to cite some of the above statistics.
As I listened, I began to wonder why ministry takes such a toll on pastors and their families. My warm, compassionate side (the one that cried at the end of "Ratatouille") acknowledged that many churches have unrealistic expectations of pastors since the role of the American pastor has grown to include CEO, marketing strategist and comedian, among other things. As a pastor's kid, I've definitely seen the hardships and discouragement that come with full time ministry. However, my cold, critical side (the one that laughed at the end of "Titanic") wondered if modern pastors are a bit (for lack of a better word) wussy. It's no surprise that ministry is tough. Consider Paul's description of his ministry in 2 Corinthians 11:26-29:
I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is a daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
And this was a man who was able to say in 2 Timothy 4:5-8 near the end of his life:
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure as come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Are these statistics an indictment of the spiritual maturity of churches or an indictment of the spiritual maturity of pastors? Do we need to rethink how we treat our pastors and their families or do pastors need a more realistic understanding of the trials of ministry? Or both? Or neither?
I’m an opinionated person longing for an opinion on this issue. Please help me form one by posting your thoughts. In the meantime, I need to learn how to take pictures with my phone. I still can’t figure out where you’re supposed to load the film.
Here are some statistics that Mark Driscoll posted on the Resurgance in May of last year. I'm sure you'll recognize them from about twenty seven other blogs that dealt with this issue in a timely manner:
*Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
*Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.
*Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
*Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
*Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
*Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
As I drove to Trader Joe's this evening (since the contents of my refrigerator consisted of nectarines, pears, oranges, apples, peanut butter, parmesan cheese, semi-sweet chocolate chips and one miniature pepperoni pizza, I figured it was probably time to buy groceries), I listened to callers on a Christian radio show discuss pastor's wives who attend different churches than their husbands. Apparently, some pastor's wives are under so much strain that they feel they must leave their husband's church for the sake of their own spiritual health. This led the host to cite some of the above statistics.
As I listened, I began to wonder why ministry takes such a toll on pastors and their families. My warm, compassionate side (the one that cried at the end of "Ratatouille") acknowledged that many churches have unrealistic expectations of pastors since the role of the American pastor has grown to include CEO, marketing strategist and comedian, among other things. As a pastor's kid, I've definitely seen the hardships and discouragement that come with full time ministry. However, my cold, critical side (the one that laughed at the end of "Titanic") wondered if modern pastors are a bit (for lack of a better word) wussy. It's no surprise that ministry is tough. Consider Paul's description of his ministry in 2 Corinthians 11:26-29:
I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is a daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
And this was a man who was able to say in 2 Timothy 4:5-8 near the end of his life:
But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure as come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Are these statistics an indictment of the spiritual maturity of churches or an indictment of the spiritual maturity of pastors? Do we need to rethink how we treat our pastors and their families or do pastors need a more realistic understanding of the trials of ministry? Or both? Or neither?
I’m an opinionated person longing for an opinion on this issue. Please help me form one by posting your thoughts. In the meantime, I need to learn how to take pictures with my phone. I still can’t figure out where you’re supposed to load the film.
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