Blog Silence...

So I know things have been a bit silent here at the blog. I've been very busy with some exciting things I'll share about soon. But for now here is something I've been working on in my free time...

glumbert.com - Sports Acrobatics: The 5 Disciplines

It's a little long, but it is crazy! My favorite is the men's group. Wow! I can't even touch my toes! This blows my mind! Enjoy!

Archeological Find Confirms Bible...

This week, researchers at the British Museum uncovered what some are calling the single most important discovery in biblical archeology in the last century. A visiting professor from Vienna has found a tiny tablet that was essentially a receipt for a sales transaction that took place 2,500 years ago. The reason this ancient proof of purchase is significant is that it could serve as definitive proof that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact. The tablet confirms the existence of an ancient official in King Nebuchadnezzar II’s court who was only known about because his name appears in Jeremiah 39. (It’s Nebo-Sarsekim, in case you’re looking for some serious Bible trivia.)

Museum expert Irving Finkel told the British press, “If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power."

Many Christians, who have long believed the Old Testament is an accurate historical text, will no doubt trumpet the discovery as further confirmation of its authenticity. But earlier this year, another purported archeological find combated ideas of the Bible and attempted to contradict facts of the New Testament. Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron, the director of mega-blockbusters including Terminator 2 and Titanic, claimed to have found a tomb that once contained the remains of Jesus, Mary and a few family members and, most significantly, a son. Of course, the claims outraged many Christians, but managed to drum up major buzz for a Discovery Channel documentary about the discovery. If the claims were true, Cameron’s finding would completely contradict the Christian belief that Jesus was resurrected after the crucifixion and later ascended to heaven. His bold claims also followed the unprecedented success of the novel The Da Vinci Code, which had a similar premise.

Despite the hype, the film did little to shake church officials. Scores of scholars and even a British archeologist who worked with Cameron on the project found that the documentary was not credible. A scholar that was interviewed for the film later told reporters, "How possible is it? On a scale of one through 10, with 10 being completely possible, it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."

Though the tablet discovery lends support to biblical truth and James Cameron’s findings lack the academic support to debunk biblical ideas, the belief of Christianity still remains a belief of the faithful. Though there are archeological rumors of major biblical artifacts hidden in remote parts of the world, many skeptics don’t allow the evidence to compel them to belief, and trust in the Bible is still a matter of faith.

Taken from Relevant.Mag

Blue Like Jazz...The Movie...

Blue Like Jazz is getting the movie treatment. According to a recent post on his website (and alluded to in an interview a few months back on the RELEVANT Podcast), Don Miller is working with Ben Pearson and Steve Taylor to finish a script version of his best seller. He said they hope to start production sometime next year ...

To read more about this and how they might turn it into a movie continue reading...

Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson have been in Portland for the past week and we’ve pretty much completed the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz the movie. We’ve been working on the script for about a year, either with me flying to Nashville for a week at a time to sit around a table and hash out the story, or with Steve and Ben coming to Portland to stay at my house. When studios became more excited about the screenplay, we felt the need to wrap it up, and in the last few days we’ve pretty much done so. And I dont know if I’ve had more fun, or been more challenged, with any other writing project. I’m excited to see how the guys end up shooting the story.

To say we’ve given the book a Hollywod treatment is an understatement. The book itself would be, of course, difficult to turn into a movie, and so we took creative liberties. But in my opinion, the movie will be infinitely better than the book. Essentially we’ve taken the major, real life characters from the book, and gave them a story all their own. The end result is provactive and humorous and in my opinion quite moving. I cant wait for people to see the film.

We think production will be able to start next year, and the film will be shot on location in Portland. And I am as excited about showing off my town as I am about telling the story. I will keep you posted.

This is a classic!

Monty Python - International Philosophy and Soccer!

I love this!

The Gods Aren't Angry...

Rob Bell is doing another tour and he's coming to the Moore Theater in November!

Check it out...

TGAA.TOUR

Video Killed the Radio Star by The Wrong Trousers

OOOHHH, the 80's what a time it was! I found this to be so cool to see some visually nerdy students rock this 80's classic out of the park! Enjoy!

Oh and if you want to hear more from The Wrong Truousers check out there myspace

On another note...

One of my favorite radio stations is 103.7 The Mountain. And today on the morning show's 9 @ 9 they did what they believe are the 9 best music videos of all time. And posted all of them to view. I thought it was pretty cool and interesting to see. I'm not sure I could come up with my top five - and I'm don't agree with all of them, but the U2 one is awesome and the Fatboy slim has always been one of my fav's!

Anyways,

Click here to see all of them... 9 @ 9 - 9 Best Music Videos Of All Time

Yesterday...

So I know many of your are familiar with Shane Claiborne and The Simple Way. If you haven't read his book or listened to him speak I highly recommend looking him up.

This is clip is a view of what happened to much of the community he works with/lives in yesterday. It is crazy - people are homeless, jobs and equipment lost, and great heartache. Please keep them in your prayers and follow the links it learn more about how you can help them financially/prayerfully!

May God's peace reign around them during this time!

Here is the post from last night...

6/20/07 11:25PM (UPDATED)

This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors’ homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm’s way.

This fire will forever change the fabric of our community. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes. One of our neighbors, the Mahaias Family, lost their three cars as well as the equipment one family member uses for her massage therapy business. Teenager Brian Mahaias is devastated not because he has lost his belongings, but because he fears that this fire will force him to move away from this neighborhood that is his family as well as his home.

The Simple Way has lost a community center that was home to our Yes! And… afterschool program, community arts center, and Cottage Printworks t-shirt micro-business as well as to two of our community members. Community members Shane Claiborne and Jesce Walz have lost all of their belongings, Yes!And…’s after school studio and library were ruined, and community member Justin Donner’s Cottage Printworks equipment and t-shirts were destroyed.

We are thankful that we are able to help each other during this time of need, and we will continue to keep your informed about today’s events.

We have established funds to support the families who have lost their homes, the Yes! And… afterschool program, and the Simple Way community.

These funds have been established through a partner organization, EAPE. Tax-deductible donations can be made at http://tonycampolo.org/simpleway_donation.php. Please make sure to designate “TSW-Kensington Families Fund” or “TSW-Rebuilding Fund”.

-The Simple Way Community

My Top 5...

So recently I was tagged by a dear friend with regards to my top 5 restaurants. I'm struggling with this because I have to many to choose from. It's hard to narrow it down, but for now here are my five in no particular order. They vary from romantic, to bars, to hip, to cheap, to large quantities. I tried to add my favorite menu item, but in some cases I truly believe that you can't go wrong with anything on the menu.

Here you go...

Rich's Top 5 Restaurants...

Marzano’s Italian Restaurant
Gabianno Chianti, Antipasto Platter, Chicken Gorgonzola, Tiramisu
(anything on the menu)
516 Garfield St, Parkland (PLU) 253 537-4191

Fisherman’s
Crab Feast
1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle 98101 (206) 623-3500

Tub’s Gourmet Subs
The Firecracker
11064 Lake City Way NE # 16, Seattle, WA 98125 (206) 361-1621

Pazzo’s Restaurant & Bar
Elaine’s Big Salad and the Sicilian or Carciofo Calzone
2307 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102 (206) 329-6558

Chinoise Asian Grill
(anything on the menu)
1618 N 45th St Seattle, WA 98103 (206) 633-1160

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me

The following to clips "me.church & me.worship" crack me up and make me really frustrated at the same time. I find them funny because of how crazy they are, and yet I find them so frustrating because it feels like these are too close to reality.

It makes me think of the church that I serve at called Calvary Chapel Seattle. We are currently looking into a new possible building situation, and it is just so interesting to see responses we get. The point is to find a place in which we can plant ourselves so we can have a long term serving presence in the community, but shockingly and surprizingly most of the comments against have to do with the person directly and what they don't like. Honestly, even as I say that I don't think there are that many that feel strongly against this, but it is clearly part of our "me" culture. I hope all is well with you and that you enjoy these two clips!

Me Church

Me Worship

Women In Art

I thought this was simply beautiful. What do you think?

Did You Know; Shift Happens - Globalization; Information Age

WOW! For more on this see www.deepshift.org

This is amazing!

Yahweh - U2 - Fear Or Love...

fear or love...

Not For Sale Campaign Video

I'm speechless

Mother's Day

Working with teens for the last 12ish years always surprizes me at how little kids do to honor their moms. This is what I imagine many of my kids doing! Enjoy!

The Worship Industry

This is a clip from Brian McLaren. He is someone who has taught me a lot about church, Christianity, and life. I had him as a prof at MHGS and even went out with him for a beer. This video was put out by a company called "The Work Of The People." I recommend you check them out for other great resources.

I'd love your thoughts about the content of this clip too.

Women In Christianity...

I'd love your thoughts on this video. Made by Jennifer at MYTRUESELF. Here’s jennifer’s first post about the video. then, jen’s follow-up post, responding to the accusation that her video was hateful toward men. i just don’t see this. i think the video is a beautiful piece of provacotive art, with (as is often true in good art) some pain juxtoposed by beauty. Note: this is a quote from marko, but it spoke of my thoughts as well.

And now for something completely different...

Thanks to MSHEDDEN for this. I love Steven Delopoulos and had not seen this video. It's called "The Ruin Of The Beast" It's odd and haunting and yet at the same time it has some light and encouragement for me. I'm wondering as you watch this what you think this is about. What is the "beast?"