Jesus was a Youth Pastor 4:10 PM

For Broadway Student University (think Sunday School, but more intense and more awesome), my students and I have been reading through the gospel of Matthew. After each Matthew-marinated feast, I gain a fuller appreciation for the gospel. Reading it slowly, and with an eye towards framing students' lives with it, has made it come alive in a special way. Specifically, I have discovered that Jesus was a youth pastor, who also dealt with parents.

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Matthew 20:20-23

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked.

She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."

"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"

"We can," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
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And, like a God youth pastor, Jesus refers the suggestion to the senior pastor. ;)

Dunning Kruger Effect 4:12 PM

Not unrelated to the previous post...

"Dunning-Kruger effect (dun'-eng kroo'-guhr e-fekt') noun. The phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge or skill tend to think they know more or have more skill than they do, while simultaneously overlooking or underestimating the knowledge and skills of others.

Usage example: There's this guy in my pickup league who couldn't hit a shot if a genie gave him three wishes and he used all three to do it...but he always chucks it up without conscience. He must be suffering from Dunning-Kruger effect.

Word history: The term is based on a series experiments performed by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, both of Cornell University, the results of which were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in December 1999. Here's an explanation from the abstract:

People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across four studies, The authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error.

Incompetent individuals will be less able than their more competent peers to gain insight into their true level of performance by means of social comparison information. In particular, because of their difficulty recognizing competence in others, incompetent individuals will be unable to use information about the choices and performances of others to form more accurate impressions of their own ability.

Thus, most people think they're better than they really are, but they're too stupid to realize it. And that same stupidity makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) for them to recognize skills and competence in the non-stupids, which perpetuates their cycle of idiocy and megalomania."

Would anyone like to discuss the implications of this for ministry? ;)

Sinful Dancing (pt. 2) 6:28 PM

You can't keep a good video down....

Here's the link to "The Renewed Mind" in all its original glory.

http://www.theway.org/Current/Mar07/Mar07Flash4.htm

Sinful Dancing 11:23 AM

Some denominations reject dancing as sinful...maybe this is why.



1) When did John Travolta give up Scientology?
2) Dig the guy in the background getting into it.
3) Dig the breakdown.
4) Is that the REAL copyright date? Jesus save us...

Hat tip for this day-making hilarity this way.

UPDATE - It seems the Travolta family was less than impressed that their song and dance was making its way around the internet. So, those of you that got to the party late will just have to imagine the hilarity.

What is Church? 3:12 PM

How much ink has been spilled to attempt to define the church? How do you define the chemistry between lovers? The euphoria of understanding and embrace? Have we considered this - the very nature of the church is undefinable - finding its rhythm in art and poetry?

My favorite painting is "The Dance of Youth" by Pablo Picasso. For me, it is a summary of what church should be. A joyous dance centered on the Triune God.



Sometimes art explains life better than our attempts to quantify it.

I'm hoping you'll catch the rhythm with me.

Swinging and Smiling 12:45 AM

photo taken by Carissa Martin. She's high quality - check her out.

What's Love Got To Do With It? 1:58 PM

Faced with imminent danger and destruction of property, some Texans assure Ike that Tina is to be found elsewhere.

Testify!! 7:28 PM

For those of you that have never heard me speak / preach / testify - here is a snapshot from the latest youth group.




Those people in the background are some of my senior high students.

Actually, this came from the "Hero Maker" machine. They have a new "Rockstar maker" - and my Rockstar looked more revivalist preacher than rock star.

Create your own rock star here - and let's rock (or TESTIFY!) together.

Dunning-Kruger Effect 3:52 PM

Not unrelated to the previous post...

"Dunning-Kruger effect (dun'-eng kroo'-guhr e-fekt') noun. The phenomenon wherein people who have little knowledge or skill tend to think they know more or have more skill than they do, while simultaneously overlooking or underestimating the knowledge and skills of others.

Usage example: There's this guy in my pickup league who couldn't hit a shot if a genie gave him three wishes and he used all three to do it...but he always chucks it up without conscience. He must be suffering from Dunning-Kruger effect.

Word history: The term is based on a series experiments performed by Justin Kruger and David Dunning, both of Cornell University, the results of which were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in December 1999. Here's an explanation from the abstract:

People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. The authors suggest that this overestimation occurs, in part, because people who are unskilled in these domains suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across four studies, The authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd. Several analyses linked this miscalibration to deficits in metacognitive skill, or the capacity to distinguish accuracy from error.

Incompetent individuals will be less able than their more competent peers to gain insight into their true level of performance by means of social comparison information. In particular, because of their difficulty recognizing competence in others, incompetent individuals will be unable to use information about the choices and performances of others to form more accurate impressions of their own ability.

Thus, most people think they're better than they really are, but they're too stupid to realize it. And that same stupidity makes it difficult (and sometimes impossible) for them to recognize skills and competence in the non-stupids, which perpetuates their cycle of idiocy and megalomania."

Would anyone like to discuss the implications of this for ministry? ;)

Commodity to Sell 2:00 PM

1) Breaking this down to its lowest common denominator, this woman is prostituting herself in order to secure funds for graduate school.

2) Publicity stunt or not, her conundrum speaks to a larger societal ill. It is sad that access to education, including graduate school, is becoming more and more limited to those who have funds. In this way that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

3) Further, it is sad that a capitalistic worldview has so pervaded our culture that everything has some level of commodification (knowledge, assistance, ministry, virgins). Thus, one is measured based on what they have to sell, what they can produce, or what they can deliver.

4) Did you notice the girls with the cross emblazoned on their shirts give voice to their thoughts? "Giving up ones virginity to get money for grad school is a noble reason.."

5) This Bunny Ranch dude is a pimp. (There should not be a positive sense of this term.)

6) She wants to use her virginity to secure funds in order to become a marriage and family therapist. (?!) Take a minute to marinate in the irony of that. (Perhaps my seminary friends and I should begin a drug ring to pay off our sizable seminary debt.)

Proverbs 31 Woman 1:11 PM

Dana is a proud feminist. This makes for fun discussions when we talk about gender roles. Inevitably, I throw back at her the old "Proverbs 31 Woman" and ask her how many fields she has purchased lately. She laughs (or gives me the Dana-face) and we move on.

As is often the case when you read scripture instead of just parroting what you've heard about it - I discovered that my beautiful bride is a Proverbs 31 woman. Although the hasn't bought any fields, she does not bring her food from afar (she is a "locavore"), and she makes line-item arguments instead of linen garments.

But step back into Proverbs 31 a bit more, and it fits Dana to an absolute "T" (or "D")

Proverbs 31: 8 - 9a

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute
Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy."

My beautiful wife...worth far more than rubies, diamonds, or Utah Jazz gear.