america's most sinful cities

Have you seen this yet? Forbes magazine recently came out with a report on which cities in America are the most sinful. They chose the 10 top (or bottom) cities based on each of the seven deadly sins.

Interestingly, Columbus and Cincinnati (the two cities I've lived in the longest of any other place) are both rank as the most sinful in terms of lust. Columbus also rates highly for envy. And Cincinnati made the top ten for wrath.

Not surprisingly, Detroit, according to Forbes is fat, lazy, and violent. Yup, that's Michigan for ya. :)

You can read the full report here: America's Most Sinful Cities.

celebrate differences

Yes, it's already time for me to begin thinking about the next Married Life Live. The last one (February 16) was off the hook. Sold out, 700+ people. Great food. Incredible music. I can't wait for the next one (May 3).

The marriage essential we're looking at in May is CELEBRATE DIFFERENCES. As I was bumping around the Internet, doing some research for the next MLL, I came across this photo that attempts to explain at least one of the differences between men and women.

Tickets go on sale next month. See you May 3.

do you believe in ghosts?

Jenny and I engaged in an interesting conversation with another couple recently about whether or not ghosts are for real. The other couple is absolutely convinced that ghosts exist and, in fact, they claim to have experienced paranormal activity...and have even communicated with the dead. Interesting.

They ask us, "Do you believe in ghosts." I said, "No." But I needed to clarify. I do believe in a spirit world. I believe in angels. I believe in demons. There's no talk of "ghosts" in the Bible. And there are only a few instances when living people actually had contact with those who passed on (the rich man and Lazarus being one, and another being Peter, James, and John seeing Moses and Elijah with Jesus).

You might say, "Well, there you go, John...proof that ghosts are real." Not so fast, my friend. Luke 16:27-31 would indicate that no human spirits are allowed to return to visit the living without permission. Permission is not even granted for the purpose of warning people to flee from the wrath to come, so it's reasonable to conclude that permission would not be granted so spirits could "haunt" or mess with people.

It really comes down to a matter of perspective. Jenny and I watched Ghost Hunters last week. Our friends would say, "That stuff's for real." Jenny and I laughed at the show because it seemed ridiculous. I do find conversations about ghosts interesting. I even enjoy a good ghost story. But scripture warns us not to become fascinated with the spirit world but to be fascinated by God and His awesome character and attributes (Psalm 27:4; Psalm 73:25).

Angels? Yes. Demons? Yes. Both are biblical. Ghosts? No. At least not when it comes to hauntings and paranormal manifestations. The Bible is clear that our spirits (souls) live on after death. But not here on earth.

Your thoughts?

tough love and hard lessons

My buddy Brian sent me a link to a newspaper article about a future Buckeye hoops player, Jared Sullinger. Here's the gist of the story:

Sullinger is one of the top players in the nation. His team was storming toward a state title. His coach (who is also his father) suspended Sullinger for one game for failing to keep up with his schoolwork. Sullinger's team lost...a game that they no doubt would have won had Sullinger played.

Here's a quote from the story:

His absence mattered, but it wasn't what mattered most to his coach and father, Satch Sullinger, whose decision to suspend his 15-year-old son offers food for thought.

Sullinger said he sat his son to send multiple messages:

• Effort is more important than achievement.

"You can't be successful when your assignments are not turned in, when you say you're doing your homework and you're not," he said, referring to Jared.

• Building an established winner takes more than winning one game in an established building.

"I'm building a program, not trying to win a district semifinal at any cost," he said.

• Lessons learned today pay dividends later.

"Nobody who goes through this program again will ever do it (slack off
on studies), because they all know they can't survive if they do," he said.

Sullinger stressed that his program is about fairness, character and accountability.

Strong. Admirable. Courageous. And a great example. You can read the full story here: Tough love drives home hard lesson at Northland

sunday's scuds (february 24, 2008)

We're continuing the Reel NewPointe series. I suspect many people have become accustomed to the free popcorn every Sunday. Enjoy it while it lasts! Only two more weeks of "Reel." Yesterday's value was Cultivate Community. Dwight did a great job of clarifying this value (with the help of Daryl and Lee Ann Miller's small group). Here are the scuds:

• We believe that life-change happens best within the context of relationships...specifically a small group.
• Jesus knew this. The reason we're here today is because he understood this principle.
• Jesus also understood that without intentional relationships people tend to drift.
• Your faith is personal but it was never intended to be private.
• Have you given anybody permission to get gut-level honest with you? If you haven't, you're in a danger zone.
• When you know a lot and do little you become judgmental.
• You need to take what is private and make it public. You we're wired for it to be "just you and God."

To Cultivate Community means to be connected relationally on a consistent basis with a group of believers having that automatic sense of accountability, belonging, and care while experiencing the natural byproduct--spiritual growth.

• You can't live the Christian life on your own...but you can do it with a group of people who spur you on.
• Show me a Christian who is unswerving and I'll show you one who is in community.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:23-24

• I don't need more friends. What I do need is more consistency in my walk with God.
• I've learned that if I'm willing to make a little bit of a sacrifice the rewards are unbelievable.

i don't know who to vote for...lord, gimme a sign

well alrighty then...

egypt photo journal (day ten)

Day ten was our last day in Egypt. We arrived to Cairo mid-morning after an all-night train ride. We rented a large taxi to take all our bags to Dustin's flat. Hany went with the bags. The rest of us took the subway. Interesting.

Dustin lives on the fifth floor...no elevator. Each of our bags weighed about 50 pounds...ahhhh! But we made it. I crashed on one of the beds, the rest of the group took some time to relax, order food from a nearby restaurant, and just hang out.

In the early evening we took a microbus to Mansheet Nasr (more commonly known as Garbage City). Garbage City is a part of Cairo where an immigrant group known as the Zabbaleen live and work. They collect the garbage from around the city, bring it back to their region and recycle as much as 80% of what they find. As a result the Garbage City is an extremely deprived and needy part of the city. We have a Free Methodist church right in the middle of Garbage City. Here's a pic of the church:

And here is a look at some of Garbage City...

We continued through Garbage City toward the top of the mountain. Once there we discovered the most amazing stone carvings and cave churches that seat thousands.

Which brings me to the primary reason for our visit to Garbage City...we were invited to a wedding!...and not just a wedding, an Egyptian wedding...and not just an Egyptian wedding, an Egyptian double wedding. Very cool.

The reception:

After the wedding we took a nighttime stroll through Garbage City (yes, we saw rats) to catch a cab (two cabs, actually). Here's what it looked like for four of our team:

I rode in a cab with Grant, Lissa, and Sharl. And the coolest thing happened...If you've ever been to Cairo, you know how insanely crazy the traffic is. It's just like, hey, whatever you can get away with, go for it. Lanes, laws, and lights mean nothing. The cars tend to be beat up as a result. Well...our cab got in an accident with a city bus! Very cool. Our cabbie tried to squeeze through an opening on the right side of the bus that probably wasn't big enough for the cab anyway...as he got beside the bus, the bus started to move and SCRAPE!.... Our cabbie stopped the car, got out and all I heard was a bunch of Arabic flyin' around for about 45 seconds. Then the cab driver got back in and we just kept going. Amazing.

We were on our way to do some midnight shopping at Khan el-Khalili. Khan el-Khalili is crazy. And fun. We shopped, ate, and then headed back to Dustin's flat to gather our bags and headed to the airport.

Day eleven (the wrap-up) coming soon.

egypt photo journal (day nine continued)

Here are more pics from day nine. Our last stop for the day (before the LONG train ride back to Cairo) was to Karnak. Karnak is Egypt's second most popular tourist site (the pyramids at Giza are #1). Here's what we saw when we approached...

Here's what we saw when we got closer....

The place is just MASSIVE!

Baby Sphinx everywhere...

Some people believe that this temple is the place where Moses addressed Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go." Amazing.

From Karnak we headed to do a little last-minute souvenir shopping at the marketplace. Then it was off to the train station for another 12 hour train ride back to Cairo (no sleeping cars this time...think 12 hours on an airplane). But we made it. Day ten (our last full day in Egypt) tomorrow...

egypt photo journal (day nine)

For day nine we travelled back to Luxor to spend the day sight-seeing. Luxor is known as the world's largest outdoor museum. It is amazing. We began the day at the Valley of the Kings where for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs...including Ramses and King Tut.

One of my favorite Egypt moments: A couple of our team members (one Egyptian and one American)...were invited to a personal meeting with the director of the site...after GETTING KICKED OUT OF KING TUT'S TOMB for taking photos. Pretty funny. I won't say who the American was but his first name starts with Jared and his last name ends with Yoder...if that helps.

Here's a shot of the entrance to one of the tombs.

A view of a portion of the valley...

From the Valley of the Kings we travelled to the nearby Hatshepsut’s Temple. Hatshepsut was perhaps Egypt's most famous and most powerful queen. It was mind-blowing. Here are some shots:

Of course, whenever you visit Hatshepsut's Temple, you have to strike the O-H-I-O pose...

That's all for now...day nine is to be continued...

and the next married life live date is...

May 3.

I've had a whole bunch of people ask me, "When's the next MLL?" Now you know.

egypt photo journal (day eight)

On day eight we said goodbye to the kids. Some, of course, went back to the orphanage. Some live in the nearby villages. Here are some pics...

I took this pic inside of Abanob's home. This is his family. I heard that he lived near the clinic we were visiting that day so I began to walk the street, poking my head into doorways and asking for Abanob. I found him and was able to meet his family.

Grant and I also visited another home nearby. These families live in extremely rough conditions. They offered us tea and we sat and visited for a while. Before we left I asked if I could pray for them. I prayed, in English of course. Dr. Hany translated. Here's a pic of their family...

This is the view from atop the clinic we visited on day eight. This is near the village we ministered in near Armant.

Later that day we took a trip (about an hour's drive) to another village. We visited a Coptic church and a huge monestary. While at the monestary we happened to bump into the main man...the bishop. Here's a pic of our group with the bish...

We returned to one of the priest's homes for a special dinner prepared in our honor...stuffed doves...with, of course, the heads still on the doves when served. Nice. How did it taste, you ask? Like chicken, of course.

weekend reflections

What a great weekend at NewPointe. Married Life Live was off the hook...this mornings services were great...here are a few tidbits...

• The band was simply amazing at MLL Saturday night. Great opening number (Hot, hot, hot). Jody nailed the Cheap Trick tune...the Bee Gees, Faith Hill...it was all stellar.
• How funny was the "Don't Forget the Lyrics" segment of MLL? How 'bout the dude that tried the Lonestar song? UN-REAL! For those of you that couldn't tell (and not many could), the song was Amazed by Lonestar. Google it.
  
• Dave and Celeste were awesome.
  
• How 'bout the Mentos thing with the diet soda?
  
• The food was dy-no-mite! The chicken was outta this world...and how 'bout that cheesecake?
• It was our biggest MLL ever (over 700 people)...and some say it was the best one so far.
  
• Thanks to all our amazing MLL volunteers who make it happen.
  

• Dave D did a great job Sunday morning. Strong.
• The drama was brilliant. Great job guys!
• What did you all think of the Casting Crowns song Every Man? What a great song...and a great job by the band.

I can't wait till next weekend.

egypt photo journal (day seven)

Day seven was basically more of the same: hanging with the kids, loving on them, doing large group time, crafts, sports, etc. It amazed me to see how quickly affection developed between the kids and the team members in spite of language barriers and cultural differences. Here are some photo highlights:

Here's one of me just hangin' with the kids (and gnawing on sugar cane). Each day a bundle of sugar cane would get dumped in the courtyard. The kids educated me on how to eat it. It was soooo sweet and juicy. I ate quite a bit of it. Others on the team...not so much.

Me and my buddy Abanob (and another kid suckin' on sugar cane).

Soccer and sugar cane. Life is good.

That evening we took all the kids (over 100) on a LONG walk through the village to the orphanage to play some games. It was interesting having about eight white people escort 100 Egyptian kids through the city. Lots of interesting looks. But that's one of my favorite things...get out and about and experiencing culture. I love it. And the kids had a blast, too. Dustin and I went to the top floor of the orphanage to shoot this photo of the kids playing.

Day eight would our last day with the kids. More pics coming...

egypt photo journal (day six)

Day six was business as ususal with the kids: two large group gatherings, three meals, tea time (two tea breaks a day...VERY important)...story time, play time, and, of course, craft time. Today's craft was a HUGE hit...tie-dye T-shirts.

Grant and Jared did a great job of coordinating this effort. Here's Grant making yellow one for one of the kids

Jared...a-dippin' and a-grinnin'



Of couse, we had to give them time to dry...100+ T-shirts flapping in the breeze...

Did I mention...they were a big hit with the kids?

Here's the one I did. I'm quite proud of it. :)

Here's a shot of me and my good buddy Abanob. We became quite close during our time together.

Day six was a lot of fun...and once again...very tiring...but totally worth it. We had a blast just loving on the kids and sharing Jesus with them.

egypt photo journal (day five)

Day five began with a large group time in the church. Jared did the music. He taught the kids a lot of fun praise songs in English. They did a great job learning them. It was cool to hear them singing the songs on their own, outside of large group time. Kudos to Jared. He did a great job.

Typically when we gathered, we'd do a bunch of songs (some English, some Arabic). We'd also do some fun crowd game type stuff followed by a testimony from a team member and then a lesson. I did the lesson again on this day. It was an obect lesson involving parachutes. Very cool.

After the gathering, we headed outside for some fun and games with the parachutes. They were a big hit.

We had a craft time for the kids each day. Here's a shot of Lissa helping some of the boys make necklaces.

We did two large group gathering each day, mornings and evenings. We also gathered the kids before bedtime each night for something fun (usually a story or a movie). Day five was great...but very exhausting. It was impossible to get to bed before midnight. I chose to shower before bedtime (less crowded and more warm water). Our sleeping conditions were not the greatest...but we were thankful for beds. Better get some good rest...day six tomorrow...

egypt photo journal (day four)

After our microbus ride from Luxor to Armant, we settled into our rooms. The children would be arriving in the morning. Day four...

Meeting some of the boys...

If you're willing to play soccer with them, you're cool. By the way, they'll platy soccer any time, any place (even in an alley like this):

My new buddies:

Lissa and Miranda make new friends...

That evening we had our first 'large group' teaching time.

I got some help from a couple of "actors."

I taught, of course, through a translator (Dr. Hany). Hany's great with the kids. We had a wonderful first day with them. After a meal and a bedtime story (by Hany), it was off to bed. Looking forward to day five...

egypt photo journal (day three)

Day three actually began with a night-train ride from Cairo to Luxor (12 hours). Fortunately we rode in a sleeping car. It may have been the best night's rest I got on the entire trip. The train was about three hours late arriving to Luxor...but we were fine with that...three more hours to sleep.

Here's Grant getting ready for bed on the train

This sign cracked me up...so I took a picture. It was posted on the wall in our sleeping compartment

Arriving in Luxor

Our team. That's the Nile River in the background.

We spent the day doing final preparations for our time with the kids. We also got out and checked out a little bit of Luxor. That evening we took a falucca ride on the Nile. This is my favorite shot.

After the boat ride we we crammed ourselves and our luggage into a micro bus for a 30-40 minute ride to the village of Armant. Tomorrow...we meet the kids...

egypt photo journal (day two)

Our team arrived in Cairo around 3 a.m. We were all wiped out (as you can imgine). After purchasing visas and navagating customs, we were off to a guest house for what amounted to about three hours worth of sleep. The good news is...there IS a Starbucks in Cairo.

Check it out:

Interesting note here: we actually got kicked out of Starbucks. Yep, that's right. Dr. Hany bought us a bunch of sandwiches for breakfast (from another restaurant) and apparently that didn't sit too well with the kind folks at Starbucks.

Believe it or not, it was raining in Cairo that day. From what I understand, it like NEVER rains in Cairo...but this day...it was raining. It made for an adventure. The streets flooded (no drains) and the already crazy traffic got even crazier. But it's all good because...we were off to see the pyramids at Giza.

Jared and a Camel (you'll have to figure out which is which):

More shenanigans from Jared (one of my favorite shots):

In the meantime, I had an intimate moment with the Sphinx

We had lunch at Pizza Hut. Check out the view I had while enjoying a stuffed crust...

From the pyramids we headed to the train station in Giza to catch the night train to Luxor (a 12-hour overnight trip). More on that with day three coverage...

pp

egypt photo journal (day one)

We're back from Egypt. What a great trip. Everyone on the team feels that they were used by God in a big-time way. Thanks to all of you who prayed for us and supported us financially. God showed up in so many circumstances. I wish I could tell you about them all. Here are a few photos to help paint the Egypt experience for you.

Day one (travel day). We flew from Cleveland to Detroit...from Detroit to Amsterdam (for an 11-hour lay-over) and then from Amsterdam to Cairo, arriving at 3 a.m. Egypt time.

Trying to catch a few winks at the airport:

Outside of Corrie ten Boom's house in Haarlem.

Yes, we were actually inside THE Hiding Place in Corrie ten Boom's house. How cool is that?

You can't visit Holland without touring a windmill.

And then back to the airport for more waiting...

And that's pretty much how day one went down...we're still not to Cairo yet. Day two later...

newspaper article about my brother Chris

Many of you know that in November my half-brother, Chris was in a horrific motorcycle accident. Many of you have been praying for him. Thank you all for your prayers and for asking about his progress.

Recently Chris's hometown newspaper ran an article about his ordeal. It's worth the read. Check it out by clicking here.

Chris, man, I'm proud of you! You ARE a fighter. We're all still praying for you!