Overnighter

A video dedicated to every person who ever did a lock-in.

Hermeneutics Quiz

Scot McKnight and Leadership Magazine have developed an online Hermeneutics Quiz. Here is the introduction:

The Hermeneutics Quiz ran in the winter issue of Leadership Journal, and the response has been strong. We're excited to now give you the opportunity to take the quiz online for the first time. The survey is 20 multiple-choice questions designed to reveal how we read, or fail to read, our Bible. It then plots your score on a scale between conservative, moderate, and progressive. You may be surprised at how you rank, or the inconsistent way you interpret the text. Have fun!

Take it here and see where you are on the scale. My score was 51, which is were I guessed I would be.

Larry Norman Died

One of my all time favorite Christian Musician died this morning. Larry Norman passed away. Here is the email.

Hello everybody.

Our friend and my wonderful brother Larry passed away at 2:45 Sunday morning. Kristin and I were with him, holding his hands and sitting in bed with him when his heart finally slowed to a stop. We spent this past week laughing, singing, and praying with him, and all the while he had us taking notes on new song ideas and instructions on how to continue his ministry and art.

Several of his friends got to come and visit with him in the last couple of weeks and were a great source of help and friendship to Larry. Ray Sievers, Derek Robertson, Mike Makinster, Tim and Christine Gilman, Matt and Becki Simmons,Kerry Hopkins, Allen Fleming and a few more. Thank you guys.
Larry appreciated your visits very much. And he greatly appreciated the thoughts, wishes, support and prayers that came from all of you Solid Rock friends on a daily basis. Thank you for being part of his small circle of friends over the years. Yesterday afternoon he knew he was going to go home to God very soon and he dictated the following message to you while his friend Allen Fleming typed these words into Larry's computer:
________________________________

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I wont be here much longer. I cant do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and finance and we will probably still need financial help.

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside. But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement, transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc. However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell, we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry
________________________________________

Thank you to all of you who were so nice to my brother over the years. Kristin and I will post funeral information in the next day or two. Right now we're not able to function very well, but the whole family is here... our mother Margaret, our sisters Nancy and Kristy, Mike Norman and his new wife Tiffany, and Silver.

We miss him beyond words. Thank you for everything.

Peace to you all in Christ,

Charles Norman

I once spent a weekend with Larry when I was a college student (it was 1990, or 1989). It was an amazing weekend, he was doing a concert at Eastern. I remember taking him to Denny's for dinner and in the middle of dinner, he start writing a song on a napkin.

Dissertation Help

Hey Friends,

I could use your help. I would like those who read this blog to partake in a pilot study for my dissertation. I am am trying to develop a survey to measure the sternness of an adult leader. I need to pilot my survey to make sure the questions are clear, it is easy to understand and the survey process works.

If you are interested in helping, please Click Here to take survey. It should only take about 10 minutes or less. All answers will remain confidential.

The survey will close at 5:00pm (eastern) on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

Thanks for your help.

Dave

Felon Alert

Here is an interesting website I found on Matt's blog. It is a felon search for your address to see what felons live near you. Click here to visit.

Hint: Change your address to your neighbors address and the felons change, so you might want to put in various addresses from your street to get a more complete picture of who your neighbors are.

123 Book Meme

Jim tagged me on this book meme, so here are the rules:
(1) Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. No cheating!
(2) Turn to page 123.
(3) Find the first 5 sentences.
(4) Post the next 3 sentences.
(5) Tag 5 people.

It is important to realize that the initial and fundamental split between Sunnis and Shi'a was over succession. The issue was of political nature. Today, approximately 85 percent of all Muslims are Sunnis, while 15 percent are Shi'a.

This comes from Encountering the World of Islam, edited by my friend Keith Swartley.

If five people read this blog, I tag Shawn, Ethan, Lou, Steve and Mike.

Star Wars - The Clone Wars

Yea, more Star Wars:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars," an animated film, will open in theaters Aug. 15 and be followed by a TV series of the same name, to air on the Cartoon Network and TNT this fall.

"I felt there were a lot more 'Star Wars' stories left to tell," said "Star Wars" creator George Lucas in a statement. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the animation forward."

Click here to read the whole article.

Political Cartoon

There is a fun blog where Jon from England posts some cartoons. Here is one of my favorites about politics. You can check out his site here.

Deer + BMW + Autobahn =

Here are some amazing pictures of what happens when a BMW meets a deer on the autobahn. Wow!

Great Game

Here is a great way to waste some time and let your brain relax. It is called Fancy Pants. Play it here. But be warned, you might lose a few hours.

Dissertation takes over my life

Well, I have not been blogging much lately because I am focusing on finishing my dissertation so I can graduate in May 2008. I had a wonderful fall, but it was too good because I fell about 2 months behind in my schedule for the dissertation. So I am now playing catch up.

Here is a status update - I have finished chapter 1 & 2 (more revisions may be needed) and I am working on chapter 3. I hope to finish chapter 3 in the next week or so. Then I have to defend my proposal (first three chapters). Once I pass that, I am allowed to conduct my research. It should take about 3-4 weeks to complete my research. After that, I can do statistical tests on my data, write up chapter 4 (my results) then proceed to chapter five (conclusions and future research). I hope to finish all of this by April 1, which would give me time for revisions, and time to defend my dissertation. The whole process must be completed by late April.

I am walking by faith because I have reserved my rooms at graduation, and requested vacation. I am about to order my robes and my framed diploma. I can't believe after 4 year I am nearing the end of this journey. I will reflect on all that I learned through this adventure in future blog posts. I may also update you the details of my dissertation as I complete more of it.

I would ask that you would keep me in your prayers. It is only by God's grace that I have walked this far, and it is only by His grace that I will finish.