links for 2007-12-30
[update!] watch the New Year’s Eve celebrations LIVE in cities around the world via webcams, including New York City Time Square, of course
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I prefer the classic del.icio.us
[ed.note: wild! this is a new function in del.icio.us that automatically posts my new links for the day into my blog; so handy to not have to collect links to post here, and then have a whole 'nother set of links being managed and stored over there; one thing I'd much prefer is being able to have this auto-generated post recur weekly instead of daily]
way to go around the world
For the past few months, been pondering this idea of traveling around to see world cities. I’ve been to most of the major cities domestically, and want to see more internationally in my one lifetime. So far I’ve only been in 4 cities: London, Hong Kong, Moscow, and Taipei (by default, 1st 8 yrs of life.) I’ve got a short list narrowed down, which includes Paris, Tokyo, Beijing, Rome, and Rio de Janeiro.
What I haven’t yet figured out is how to pay for all these travels. I’m not a budgeting type, nor a strong-investor money maker, so it’s not going to my own earning capacity.
Tonight on the drive home, got to talking with my sister-in-law about The Amazing Race, a great reality TV show. The a-ha moment hit me. I could audition for that show and get to travel the world!
We deliberated about it a bit, and it could work. My partner wouldn’t be my immediate family. I was thinking through my circle of friends who could complement me, in areas like physical fitness and stamina. 2 or 3 came to mind. I think I can do the traveling part and the figuring-out part, even though I don’t speak many other languages and haven’t yet traveled internationally.
We watched the most recent episode via YouTube, commercial-free at that. We skimmed through the official website. They even have The Amazing Race WIKI chock full of info!
Then my bubble burst. That TV show is about a race. It’s highly competitive. I don’t have a drop of competitive drive in me. Not one.
Push the idea to stew longer on the back burner.
preparing for the new year
I’m in the midst of preparing for a workshop titled “Witness To the Present Day Culture” at a conference near Houston next week. Yes, I’ll be flying out on New Year’s Day, which means I probably will not ring in the new year at midnight. I need my routine sleep. The question of culture itself is so huge, as big as humanity. I was initially going to start with the 5 categories from Richard Niebuhr’s Christ and Culture categories. As I considered it further, especially in present day culture, I recalled 2 thought leaders who are skillfully and wisely reconsidering this question. So, I’m going to be adapting my workshop content from Andy Crouch and Tim Keller. I’ll also speak from my work with L2 Foundation. I plan to post my powerpoint slides, links, and possibly audio at the L2 blog next week — if the retreat site has Wifi.
I may even go multimedia, beyond the powerpoint, and possibly show a clip from the Intersect|Culture DVD that Andy Crouch / Christian Vision Project helped put together. This is an excellent DVD that I’ve seen all the way through. The DVD comes with a companion curriculum for small group discussion, with 6 discussion starters on video filled with inspiring stories and teachings from many Christian leaders including Ken Fong, Makoto Fujimura, and Tim Keller, and Lauren Winner.
Render Conference is hosted by the Partnership of Asian American Churches in Texas (PAACT). PAACT is a fellowship of evangelical churches whose vision is to assist the local church in advancing ministries among English-speaking Asians. The conference is held to support and encourage English-speaking Asian-Americans in the pursuit of vocational Christian service and to cast a vision for ministry in the local church.
[update] just found out there’s a conference website: www.render2008.com
Christmastime is review time
It’s that time of year, when all of us look back at (some) highlights of the year 2007, and to celebrate Christmas holidays too.
If your inbox resembles anything like mine, with lots of unread emails and Inbox Zero hasn’t become a habit yet, you’re probably receiving lots of emails with a PDF attachment (or Word .doc) of people’s annual Christmas newsletter. With rising costs of gasoline and postage stamps, this is the way things are going to be for a while.
Our version is less wordy and image-y this year. So to you and yours, a very Merry Christmas!
[update] with over 2,500 emails in my Gmail address book, there’s no way I can personally address each e-card to my friends and family. So this is my catch-all.
And, if you’re also tired of the consumerism of the season, join the Advent Conspiracy to restore the meaning of Christmas, its worship, compassion, joy, peace, and goodwill to all.
[AC] Advent Conspiracy from Jon Collins on Vimeo.
9 sermons Mark Driscoll will preach
The final votes have been counted, and the top 9 questions are now final. These will be the starting point of 9 sermons that Mark Driscoll (at Mars Hill Church, Seattle) will be preaching starting in January 2008. I’m most interested in how he will answer this one (coming in at #8):
