Calling all bloggers – I need your help. I just completed my third week of blogging, and find that I am struggling with George Lucas Syndrome.

“What is George Lucas Syndrome?” you ask. George Lucas Syndrome is the compulsive tendency to continue working on projects after you have released them to the general public.

I find that I keep going back to old posts after they have been published and making small changes here and there – tidying up the grammar, reviewing word choice, adding extra ideas that came later.

I am trying to find the happy medium between viewing blogging as a conversation and as a form of written communication. I notice that some high profile bloggers are quite content to leave spelling or grammatical errors or typos or rushed thinking in their posts. This is blogging as conversation. When we talk with someone, we don’t have the luxury of going back and editing our words.

And yet blogging is also written communication, which means that someone may stumble across the conversation weeks or even years after the post was originally published. Should they encounter the conversation as it initially took place, or is it okay to sharpen and clarify your thoughts for future readers?

I would love to get the feedback of some more experienced bloggers here. Do you ever struggle with George Lucas Syndrome?

Related posts:

• Star Wars Pumpkins
• Yoda Promotes Small Groups
• Tim Keller and Darth Vader
• Darth Vader Plays a Mean Harmonica
• Jedi Squirrels

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

Here is a brief summary of Tony Evans’ keynote address at the conference.

Tony shared from Acts 13:36 – “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed.”

Tony spoke about the lack of purpose in many men’s lives. He compared their lives to the TV sitcom Seinfeld – plotless programming for plotless people. He said that many times our lives are like a Sunday afternoon drive. You’re not really going anywhere, so you just want to go back home.

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Stephen Prothero, chair of the Department of Religion at Boston University, offers this thought provoking review over at Books and Culture of Lawrence Wright’s new book, The Looming Tower: Al Queda and the Road to 9/11.

In the review Prothero raises the question: who gets to define Islam? It is a difficult question to answer because not even all Muslims agree.

The root meaning of the term Islam is submission, and classically a Muslim is anyone who submits to God by uttering with faith, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Over time, however, many Muslims have developed far more stringent qualifications for the category of real Muslim. Some Sunni Muslims see all Shiite Muslims as pretenders to the true faith. Some Shiites view Sunnis likewise. And some Muslims have even stricter qualifications for their fellow travelers. Members of al-Qaeda, for example, believe that any so-called Muslim who holds views about Islam different from their own is not a real Muslim.

He goes on to discuss the Islamic concept of takfir – the act of proclaiming apostate those Muslims who disagree with your position on Islam.

To understand why this line of thought matters, it is important to note that the Qur’an plainly forbids the killing of other Muslims. As Wright discusses, the Qur’an does not shrink from war with idolaters. “Slay the idolaters wherever you find them,” it reads, and “fight those who do not believe in God.” Yet the Islamic tradition, including its four main schools of jurisprudence, also says that women and children must be spared in combat, and that Muslims must not target fellow Muslims for death. Commit the latter crime and you will spend eternity in hell.

In the World Trade Center, of course, many Muslims were murdered. The killings of Muslims in suicide bombings by al-Qaeda operatives and their imitators in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to mount. And it is the notion of takfir that has made all this possible.

It is a fascinating review that gives the reader a glimpse into the many faceted world of Islam. And of course at the end of the review, the chilling question remains: Who gets to define Islam for the rest of the world?

This is a fun video. Three brothers and a cousin play Maurice Ravel’s Bolero on a single cello. Watch and be amazed. And, as an added benefit, you get to enjoy Ravel’s Bolero while you’re at it.

(Video length: 2:58)

The band’s name is Stringfever. They are from Great Britain.

Related post: Four Hands, One Guitar

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

I had a great time at the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on Saturday. I went with eight other men from the church. We carpooled down together and tailgated it for lunch.

Three thousand men attended this conference, which is impressive for New England. The two keynote speakers were Tony Evans, pastor and founder of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas; and Bob Lepine, co-host of the daily radio program, FamilyLife Today with Dennis Rainey. Tony spoke in the morning, and Bob spoke in the afternoon.

There were also two blocks of time in between where you could choose from a variety of seminars. In the morning I heard George Sarris speak on Impacting the Culture – Changing the World. In the afternoon I heard Hugh Ross speak on Creation as Science.

All four speakers were excellent. Starting tomorrow I will be posting summaries of the four presentations that I heard. First up will be Tony Evans’ keynote address from Acts 13:36.

Yesterday’s message was the third and final message in The Love Chapter series from 1 Corinthians 13. The message was called, The Supremacy of Love, taken from verses 8-13.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 – 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)

Tha main idea of the message was why does God measure our lives according to love? Why has God chosen this standard rather than any other?

1) First, Paul explains why love is superior to spiritual gifts as a measure of life. (verses 8-10)
      – Spiritual gifts are temporary, while love is permanent.
      – Spiritual gifts are partial, while love is complete.

2) Next, Paul illustrates the temporary and partial nature of spiritual gifts using the examples of childhood and a mirror. (verses 11-12)
      – Childhood is temporary by nature.
      – A poor reflection is partial by nature.

3) Finally, Paul proclaims the supremacy of love over all other things as a measure of life. (verse 13)
      – Faith will give way to sight.
      – Hope will ultimately be fulfilled.

Quick review of the whole series:

Verses 1-3 answer the “How” question: “How does God measure our lives?” The answer is: “Love.” Nothing we say, nothing we have, nothing we do has any lasting value apart from love. Love is the standard by which God measures our lives.

Verses 4-7 answer the “What” question: “If love is the standard by which God measures our lives, then what is love? The answer is: “Love is patient, love is kind, etc.” Or basically, as we saw last week, love is like Jesus.

Verses 8-13 answer the “Why” question: “Why does God measure our lives according to love?” The answer is: “Because love is the greatest thing of all.” Spiritual gifts are temporary and partial. Love is permanent and complete. Even faith will change to sight, and hope will change to fulfillment, but love will never be replaced. Love lasts forever. “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.

(This is from a series of posts on the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT on March 24, 2007. To view the whole series, click here.)

I am off to the Iron Sharpens Iron Men’s Conference in Hartford, CT for the day. I have been looking forward to this conference, not only for the speakers and the excitement of a large gathering, but also just for spending time with some of the men from my church.

I got a kick out of the following promotional materials for the conference:

Who attends Iron Sharpens Iron?

• Emerging Men (age 13-19)
• Pioneering Men (age 20-29)
• Full Throttle Men (age 30-55)
• Seasoned Men (age 55+)

Watch out! According to this listing, I am a Full Throttle Man. The promotional brochure describes me like this: “Full Throttle Men: These are the men who are the producers and providers. They are the warriors and are fully engaged in everything they do.”

Well, this fully engaged producer provider warrior is off to the conference and done blogging for the week. See you Monday morning!

Water baptism by fire . . . hose. I have heard of water baptism, and baptism by fire, but never water baptism by fire hose. The United House of Prayer congregation recently held an outdoor baptism in the streets of Los Angeles where they baptized participants from the church and community by fire hose. The service was meant as a symbol of prayer for healing for the community rather than as an actual baptism.

Judas go home. I am getting a little tired of people releasing books and movies attacking the Christian faith in the weeks just prior to or following Easter. The latest offering? “The Gospel According to Judas Written by Benjamin Iscariot.” This is a fictional work rewriting the gospels from the narrative viewpoint of Judas’ son.

Preschool admissions wars. Never mind getting into the college of your choice. It’s hard enough getting into preschool these days. Slate Magazine addresses the hurdles and hassles of getting your two year old through the admissions process at high stake preschools.

Here is a great new resource for families. Seeds Family Worship has produced four new CDs with songs taken directly from Scripture. Each CD contains 12 passages of Scripture focusing on a certain topic, such as Praise, Faith, Purpose or Courage. The music is modern and upbeat, and you can listen to samples before you buy.

Music is a great way for kids (and adults) to memorize Scripture. The website is offering a special Seeds of Easter sampler CD for only $2.99. This 5-song CD with songs from Seeds of Courage and Seeds of Faith is intended as an introduction to the series or as give-aways to children and guests on Easter. (Note: You must order by Monday, March 26 to guarantee delivery by April 6.)

Related post: Beatles and Beach Boys Bible Memory Pop

For years now my wife, Rose, and I have gone to Cracker Barrel on Friday mornings for breakfast together. This is a tradition that we started back in Florida and have continued since our move to Massachusetts two years ago. We call it our Friday morning Cracker Barrel time. We have had to move it around to different days of the week this past year because Rose has been teaching a class on Friday mornings, but whatever day of the week we go, it is still Friday morning Cracker Barrel to us.

Rose’s class did not meet today, so we actually got to do Friday morning Cracker Barrel on a Friday. It was nice. This is our special time just for us. When we first started doing this we even made a rule, no talking about the kids, but we soon found that this was a good time just to talk about all of life. So we talk about the week, the kids, memories and dreams, whatever comes up. Mostly we just talk.

I love Friday morning Cracker Barrel. Over the years Rose and I have built up a rich storehouse of memories from our Friday morning breakfasts together. We have laughed, we have shared, we have sorted out many problems along the way, and hopefully pre-empted many others. It is one of my favorite times of the whole week.

Oh yes, and the food is good too. Rose gets her cup of coffee, and I get my cup of hot tea. I usually order Uncle Herschel’s breakfast or the Sunrise Sampler, but I was extra hungry today and went for the Country Boy – three eggs over medium, fried apples, hash brown casserole, two English muffins with blackberry jam, and a big old slab of steak cooked medium-well. Hmmmm-mmmm, now that’s breakfast! (I know, now I need to buy some carbon offsets for my meat – see Climate change or diet change? in News and Notes 3/8/2007.)

Have you ever come across a place name while reading your Bible and wondered where it was? OpenBible.info has plotted the locations of every identifable place mentioned in the Bible and coordinated the information with Google Earth to give you satellite images of Bible place names sorted by book and chapter. The process is called Bible Geocoding.

This could be a helpful site to have open while reading or studying a particular book of the Bible to keep track of each place on the map. But I am not very creative when it comes to these things. Let’s hear it from all our Google Earth techies out there. How else could you utilize this cool Bible Geocoding data site? What are the possibilities?

OpenBible.info is a website that is working on “collecting basic biblical data—such as the locations of all the places in the Bible—into an accessible format. The goal of this site is to make this useful but uncollected data available for you to use and remix however you want.”

HT: Between Two Worlds: Geocoding the Bible

So, have you ever thought about reading John Calvin’s four volume, 1734 page work, The Institutes of the Christian Religion? I am guessing probably not. I am a seminary graduate and a pastor, and I have not read the whole thing.

Calvin’s Institutes is a classic in Christian literature, and yet most Christians are completely unfamiliar with it. The size of the task is daunting. Not many of us feel we can read 1734 pages of theology. (Remember, Calvin had to write all those pages!)

What if you could get a taste for the book and its contents by reading 100 brief paragraphs which summarized the whole? What if you could do it for free online right at your computer? Well, you can. The Rev. William Pringle assembled his “One Hundred Aphorisms, Containing, Within a Narrow Compass, the Substance and Order of the Four Books of the Institutes of the Christian Religion.” Designed as a reference to the work, the aphorisms also provide a good summary and introduction to the Institutes.

If you are up for a little theology today, try reading them at one of the following links:

• Voice of the Reformation
• Christian Classics Library
• Book 1 (paragraphs 1-13)
• Book 2 (paragraphs 14-42)
• Book 3 (paragraphs 43-65)
• Book 4 (paragraphs 66-100)
• Scripture Index

Advice: Don’t try to read them all at one. Just read a few paragraphs at a time, then stop and think about them. Then come back later and read some more.