J.R. Briggs
Attempting to behold the miracle long enough without falling asleep
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Archive for December, 2007
Absolutely, completely random videos
If you need a mindless ten minute break from work…
NOTE: Take it for what it is. There is no meaning, purpose or goal behind these other than to give you a fun break with random videos.Miss South Carolina…what were you thinking?
Filipino prisoners are Michael Jackson fans?
Parakeet auditioning for So You Think You Can Dance
What you get when you mix a Spoon song and a Peep
Bad hair, bad costume, bad dance moves, bad trumpet playing: a tribute to the early ’90′s
Prayers for YWAM and New Life Church
As most have heard by now there were two tragic shootings on Sunday in the Denver and Colorado Springs area where several people have lost their lives. Two people at Youth With a Mission (a youth missionary training organization) and two others at New Life Church (a large, non-denominational church on the north side of Colorado Springs) were killed by an attacker who open fired in both locations just 12 hours and 65 miles apart.
The news is tragic – and it also hits close to home.
Several people have contacted us regarding these terrible attacks because Megan and I moved away from Colorado Springs two years ago, where we still have close friends and family members in the Springs.
New Life is just about three miles north from the church where we served.
We have several friends who attend New Life and other pastor friends who are on staff.
We even have a close friend who serves on the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Yesterday afternoon Megan "just happened" to call a friend of hers (who is a pastor’s wife at New Life) to check in with her, only have her friend tell her that someone had just opened fired at the church just 45 minute prior.
And, most tragic of all, my brother is a youth pastor at another church in Colorado Springs. The two people shot at the church were sisters – Stephanie and Rachael Works, ages 16 and 18 – whose father David was also shot, but is in stable condition at the hospital. Stephanie and Rachael have another another sister who happens to be in my brother’s youth group.Our hearts are heavy.
Pray for YWAM and New Life Church, their leaders and their people, many who witnessed the events (reports show that there were approximately 7,000 people leaving church at the time of the shooting).
Pray for the Works family.
And pray for my brother as he attempts to minister to the needs of those in his youth group.Here is local news coverage of the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Podcasts
I have a regular diet of certain podcasts through iTunes.
They range from the serious to the sublime.News:
CNN’s hourly news update (approx. 3 minutes) - just a quick and simple way to get caught up in what’s happening in the world and around the nation.
Sports:
ESPN Radio’s Daily podcast – ear candy. Just something to have on in the background if I am reading or hanging out.
(I used to subscribe to The Big Show, Dan Patrick’s daily show…it was my favorite until he up and left ESPN…bummer).Misc:
Great Speeches in History - a great collection of speeches that impacted our country (includes speeches such as MLK’s "I Have a Dream," "Television is a Vast Wasteland," Nixon’s famous "Checkers" and resignation speech, JFK’s inaugural speech, Susan B Anthony’s speech on women’s right to vote, etc).
Learn Spanish - I dabble in it and enjoy brushing up on my Spanish vocabulary.Spiritual formation:
Mars Hill/Rob Bell: I subscribe and listen, just like every other Christian under the age of 30.
Mosaic/Erwin McManus: I love hearing Erwin teach. He’s a great influence on me.
Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (MPPC)/John Ortberg: JO is one of my favorite teaching pastors – has been for many years dating back to when he was still at Willow Creek.But my favorite podcast I’ve come across is called Pray As You Go, run by a community Jesuits over in England that care deeply about Scripture. Very well done, I might add.
It’s a 10-12 minute daily podcast that is very lectio divina-esque. It’s a great way to start my day driving to work. Meditative, reflective, contemplative. I feel caught up in the tradition of the faith and find that it helps me be saturated in the word on a daily basis.
I recommend it highly. Check it out on iTunes.I’m curious: which podcasts you subscribe/listen to regularly?
Any worth recommending?Eastpoint Community Church
This weekend I’ve been asked to preach at Eastpoint Community Church in Newark, Delaware. Eastpoint is a church full of people trying to be like Jesus and is pastored by Tom Ware, a new friend of mine who is having some health issues and needs help with the preaching portion for a few weeks as he recovers.
I’ll be teaching on the Incarnation of Emmanuel, a topic that I love looking at, especially this time of year.
I’m excited to be spending time with this vibrant emerging church in Delaware.
Their hospitality has already been amazing.Today’s Advent Challenge activity
Today’s Advent Challenge activity is the challenge to donate 5 cents for every book you
own.I know that I am a
nerd. I’ve known that for a while.
But I was shocked to find that I have 711 books on my shelf, which comes to $35.55 – and that’s
just today!I’ve realized that I am much more of a nerd than I
thought (especially as I was counting I saw several books I forgot I had and
said, “ooh, I need to re-read that one sometime…”)As I was counting the total number of books I was challenged by the fact that I
have twenty three different Bibles on my shelf here at work.
Twenty three!
I think of our brothers and sisters in
certain parts of the world where merely owning a Bible will have you arrested,
jailed or killed. This morning I am blown away by how much I have been blessed, convicted by the fact that I take even the books on my shelf for granted and challenged to pray for these courageous believers.Forget collecting my loose change
today. I’ll have to go to the bank for a withdrawal.
But no complaining here. Today’s challenge has been beneficial:- It has revealed the difficulty my heart sometimes has to be generous.
- It benefits two great causes (here and here).
- It reveals my deep levels of apathy and ingratitude.
- It gives me a better,clearer global perspective of God and His global Church.
I’ve learned quickly that this isn’t just about donating money to good causes…already it seems it has been so much more than that.
If you are taking the Challenge with us, how is it going for you?
[NOTE: If you are unfamiliar with the Advent Challenge it is not too late to join in on the fun. Check out this link here for more information on how you can participate with us this Advent season.]More Advent resources
In addition to encouraging you to take The Advent Challenge I want to encourage you to consider utilizing some of these Advent resources.
Advent articles from Reformed Worship (thanks, Bob)
Advent Conspiracy: Advent with another kind of twist
Following the Star (thanks, Denise)
Liturgical readings, prayers and Advent context
An Advent family project for children: what a great idea! (thanks, Bekah)
Mark D. Roberts: An Adventophile
Are there any other resources that you know about that we can add to the list?
- It has revealed the difficulty my heart sometimes has to be generous.
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