Seth Godin's Tribes

I read a book that I really liked.  The book is Tribes by Seth Godin.  Tribes is a book on leadership.  What it talked about is that the way human beings collect ourselves has changed.  Before, people collected by geography.  If you lived near people, you were one of them.  But the internet, the automobile, and airplane has changed that.  People can collect however they want.  So now, people group with a common vision, or purpose, and behind a common leader.
For example, there is one tribe that I can identify with: Colts fans.  iPhone addicts are another tribe.  Political orientations can be a tribe.  Fans of a certain TV show can be a tribe.  Whatever cause people gather for or thing that they are fanatical about are a tribe. 
The thing is that with the advent of the internet, anyone can be a leader.  You don't have to be a king or a factory owner or have any other form of authority.  You don't have to be a certain personality style.  You just have to have a vision of something you want to do.  It can be to help people, or make a product.  It doesn't matter.  Just have a vision that you can get other people to buy into.
Another thing about leaders these day, Godin describes them as heretics.  These are people who broke the "rules."  They just step out and do something differently enough that other people take notice.  They just do the things that other people say won't work, and then other people begin to buy into it.  They just have to be bold enough to step out.

One other compelling description that stands out to me: Godin defines the differences between faith and religion.  Faith is what you believe in.  Religion is how you express that faith.  So for Christians, faith is believing that Jesus died for our sins, and religion is what type of music you sing.  The problem comes when people elevate religion to a level of faith.  Practices are sacred.  If the religion becomes all important, you can lose your faith to protect your religion.  Instead, we should be actively changing our religion because of our faith.  So what practices do you need to change?

Is Noah Worth Watching?

That question has been on the nation's mind lately. 

So here is a review from someone who isn't really after the Biblical narrative, but just reviewing a movie.  (Special shout out to my sister for this).

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/churchofthemasses/2014/03/the-utter-embarrassing-mess-of-noah-and-why-everybody-is-lying-about-it/

PS, Rock People.

From Green to Red (Special Thanks to Fox News' The Five)

Did you hear this one?  Probably not.  It was discovered that a hospital in the UK was shoveling children into the incinerator.  This wasn't cremation.  This was the incinerator used to heat the hospital.

The media isn't covering this, because they get money from groups like Planned Parenthood, and they don't want to "hurt" the business of murder.  I learned about this story from my favorite new show, Fox News' The Five, which features Five opinion people from across the political spectrum, who discuss the news.  They range from and advisor for Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter, to a W. press secretary to libertarians.  If you have access, watch it.  It has become one of my favorite shows.

Back to the topic, a woman had a miscarriage and asked for the body of her baby, to give him/her a proper burial.  She was informed that her baby would be thrown into the incinerator, "like the rest of the garbage."

I'm sorry, why is executing McVeigh or bin Laden evil, but an innocent child is garbage?  Why do we wonder while childhood suicide rates are so high while telling them they are garbage, to be burned like the box your Big Mac came in.  Wonderful. 

This is disgusting.  The hospital has vowed to stop the practice, but this is too little to late for me. 

They've turned Green to Red.

In trying to save the planet and use less electricity, they decided to burn unborn children.  This lady who lost her child would love nothing more than to have one, and other people kill theirs.  It's not just the practice that is disgusting.  It's the principle.  Somewhere people decided that what has become a false, cultish belief that human beings destroy the earth by existing, is more important than humanity.  They'd rather not kill a petunia, so let's kill a few million people instead. 

Hey, Auschwitz must have been really green!  Look at how many people they burned?

People who promote, profit from, and practice abortion have blood on their hands.  The Earth was created for us.  God told us to care for it.  He created this wonderful thing to show us Him.  Why worship the creation when we can worship the creator?  This is almost as if you liked a painting so much, you killed the artist.  That is insane.

So is burning innocent babies.  It's insane.  Detestable.  An abomination.  A real-life nightmare.

Obama vs. Putin

Yesterday, Putin re-drew the map of Europe, declaring part of Ukraine as their own country.  Very similar to what Germany did as they started to expand.

To combat this, Obama announced his NCAA bracket picks.

That will show them.

New job, same frustrations

So I started at a new church 2 months ago.  I already have a family that's pretty well going to leave.  Maybe more than one.  Ready to hear why?

I touched the chairs.

We had more than two chairs for every person.  I took it from 86 to 70.  And we average about 42.  Do we really need twice as many chairs as people?  Nope.  This is just dumb.

Think about it this way.  Rather than sit somewhere else in the same church, they'd rather go to a different church.

Which change is more drastic?  Which is harder?

My thinking is that if we give in on this, then they'll really hate it when I start really changing stuff.  I also wonder, what am I worshipping in church, my fat butt, or the God of the Universe?  I know my answer.  How about yours?