Dazed

Re:cap :: School Daze. Sunday, August 27th.

YF : : SCHOOL DAZE

Sunday, August 27th
Jr. High 5-6:30pm :: Sr. High 6-7:30pm

Where's Wesley?

"If Wesley were here today he would probably have a blog where his exploration of faith would be greeted by a blizzard of comments that would help all reach clarity about a subject at hand. . . .

If Wesley were here today you'd find him in Starbucks talking about the Bible with a small group. You'd follow him down the street to a health food shop, where he would debate the latest technique in detoxing the body with an earnest assistant. He'd drop by an internet cafe to read the comments on his latest blog entry and check his iTunes account to see how many people had downloaded his brother's latest song.

Next stop would be Borders for a book on the early Church fathers, and then off to the domestic-abuse counselor for advice on how to cope with his violent wife. He'd drop by the housing project set up for new arrivals in the growing town, and then pause outside the local jazz cafe to sign a petition against sweatshops.

None of the above is fanciful. Indeed, Wesley helped pioneer many of the ideas and innovations that contribute to the above scenario. He will make you feel uncomfortable with your whiny excuses for spiritual passivity. He'll make you feel good about having a robust, socially engaged faith."

-Dave Roberts from the Introduction to Wesley's "A Plain Account of Christian Perfection"

Consider Fall Kicked

On back to s _ _ _ _ l eve, here are some picture highlights of the Fall Kick Off spectacular. Good times, sorry about tonight being a s _ _ _ _ l night. FALL IS KICKED.

Bananaphone

http://www.allmedia.com.au/bananana/

Fall Kick Off

Oh golly-gee-willikers. It's my birthday. Oh, wait, this is about the Fall Kick Off this Sunday, August 20th from 6pm-10pm.

There will be things including but not limited to::

. . . food . . .. . . prizes . . .
. . . inflatable games . . .

. . . friends . . .

. . . music . . .

. . . fun . . .

and much, much, much, much, much, more.

So don't miss this last hurrah before S_ _ _ _ L starts. Invite your friends, invite your archnemises, get the word out. And if there's someone you would like to lovingly pummel in the bouncy boxing . . . now's your chance. And if there's a youth leader you'd like to give a Christ-like wallop to with the giant inflatable gloves on? Here you go . . . see you Sunday.

Shuffle Me // Vol. 2

Alrighty, it's that time again . . . here it is friends, this is what happens when you set Kevin's mP3 player to shuffle & hit play::

(1) Twist // Korn
(2) Releasing the Demons // Godsmack
(3) Me Inside // Slipknot
(4) Only One // Slipknot
(5) Never Gonna Stop // Rob Zombie

Alright, what are the chances that both Trace's shuffle & Kevin's would have repeat artists? We saw Led Zeppelin twice with Trace and now Slipknot twice with Kevin. Hmmm . . . what will happen on the next shuffle me? Will we see repeat artists again? Will the shuffle escape the evil clutches of repeat artists? Stay tuned . . .

You too can get shuffled. Just set your iPod or mP3 player to shuffle, see what the first five songs are! Let me know we'll get it on the blog.

NOTE: the Anderson Hills Student Ministry does not necessarily endorse any of the aforementioned artists, any of their albums, their behavior, their hairstyles, their parents, their fast-food preferences, their choice of socks, or that of any of their band members. Shuffle me is intended for information & curiosity only. Please use wisdom & discretion when choosing what music you listen too. Happy listening!

Swim Party

Here's some pics from the swim party. I wasn't sure how to get the crisco off of my hands so I just wiped it in my hair. That worked!

Bono Does Leadership

Some of the Anderson Hills staff attended Willow Creek's annual Leadership Summit last Thursday through Saturday and one of the speakers was U2's Bono. Here are some high-octane Bono quotes.

Regarding hunger in Africa:: "How could this be a world of plenty? It is the way of the world. But if it IS the way of the world, we need to OVERTHROW the way of the world."

" 'What are you going to do with this celebrity thing? It's ridiculous. Fame & celebrity is ridiculous . . . but it's currency. And I'm going to spend it. I'm strategic. God has made me an opportunist."

"The world does not have to be the way it is. And we can change it."

"Christ won't let the church walk away from the AIDS crisis because it is difficult and expensive."

"Love thy neighbor is not advice, it's a command."

"We can't fix everything but what we can fix, we must."

"Our purpose is to bring heaven to earth."

"Do not be at peace with the world."
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You know, here's a rock star telling the church how to behave and act. It's great because he gets it and is using his fame as currency but it's sad that the church needs the prompting of a rock star (no offense Bono). The church and it's leaders and members ought to be out in front, leading the charge, sounding the call for making this world a better and more equitable place; effecting change where we are able, fixing what we can. "Always pain before the child is born . . . still I'm waiting for the dawn."

Shuffle me

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! Step right up for the first installment of "Shuffle Me" starring Trace Zemites & his iPod. That's right . . . these are the first 5 songs randomly arriving out of the mysterious shuffle mode from Trace's iPod::

(1) You Shook Me // Led Zeppelin
(2) I Miss You // Blink 182
(3) Kashmir // Led Zeppelin
(4) California // Phantom Planet
(5) The Kill // 30 Seconds to Mars

Coming soon . . . Kevin Rahe's mP3 player gets shuffled . . .

If you'd like to get your shuffle on the blog, next time you have your mP3 player around the church building, step up to the plate.

NOTE: the Anderson Hills Student Ministry does not necessarily endorse any of the aforementioned artists, any of their albums, their behavior, their hairstyles, their parents, their fast-food preferences, their choice of socks, or that of any of their band members. Shuffle me is intended for information & curiosity only. Please use wisdom & discretion when choosing what music you listen too. Happy listening!

Canoe

Alright, so one of the best things about taking a canoe trip is all the stories that we take home. Some of these pictures will tell a little bit of the story.


One story from our canoe (Tim Stevenson & I) is our rescue of a woman who had fallen out of her niece's canoe. In the shallow rapids. And she lost her shoes. And her knee was bleeding. And then she shrieked when we almost hit her with our canoe when some other folks turned their boat sideways right in front of us.

Anyway . . . we almost hit this lady and then came to a grinding halt in the 1/4" of water right next to her. Since we were stuck, she remarked, would we be willing to take her down the river a ways to her niece? I mean . . . we weren't going to say no so we transported her down to her neice. So Tim & I are pretty much heroes. She's the one in the bottom left hand corner of this picture snapped at the take out where she, somewhat ironically, ended at the exact same time we did.

Of course . . . with Thomas & Trace flipping their boat every 7 1/2 minutes we did have to wait a while until they paddled their submerged watercraft to the take out.

Way to go to everyone who went on the canoe trip; we all returned with all limbs & digits AND had a blast.

chaper VII // Avoiding False Hope & Pride

VAIN is the man who puts his trust in men, in created things.

Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ & to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power & Godwill aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble & humbles the proud.

If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talen or ability, lest you displease god to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.

Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God's judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.

thomas a kempis // the imitation of christ