Father shoots teen having sex with daughter

When Wade Edwards arrived home from work early and found his 16-year-old stepdaughter having sex with her 18-year-old boyfriend, he did what some parents only threaten to do, reports WFTV.com

He shot the guy. Four times in fact with his .45. He got him in the leg and hip as the guy tried to put his clothes back on. The boyfriend, whose name is Julian Harp, ran out of the house but collapsed in the yard.

Harp tried to save his hide before the father shot. He put his hands up and said "Please don't shoot, please don't shoot," said Edward Crittenden, Apopka Police Department.

Cops told Eyewitness News that Edwards is upset about the situation, but not remorseful for what happened.

"I love my hot wife" syndrome is legitimized

Here is a recent post from MMI regarding the "I love my hot wife" syndrome that many pastors are afflicted with.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this trend.

Notre Dame Congregational Study

Was perusing through The Resurgence and ran across these posts about the Notre Dame Congregational Study - a study of modern American churches.

Here are some interesting tidbits.

• The average church has 150 "affiliated members", but only 77 weekly attenders.

• The average lead pastor is at a church for only 5 years and is 52 years old.

• In a typical church, 50% of the attendees stay after the worship service to socialize for a half hour.

• 65% of churches have a mid-week prayer service, and only 50% have small groups that meet during the week.

The Rape of Solomon's Song

I've long been a fan of John Macarthur's exegesis, but never his personality. The older he's grown, or the older I've grown, depending on how you look at it - I've found this gap to have grown wider and wider.

Of course, it doesn't help that Macarthur has made it his personal mission to constantly attack Mark Driscoll of late. Even calling on "older mentors" of Driscoll to admonish him for his unbecoming behavior and language.

According to the 70 year old Macarthur, "certain body parts are unmentionable". Says who? Macarthur quotes 1 Corinthians 12:23 as his basis, which is weak.

Macarthur says much more than that, but I find myself writing much of it off as a grumbling unhappy old man who is flustered by his younger counterparts and their "foolish" ways.

Macarthur may have been offended by what Driscoll said, but I wasn't. And it isn't because I'm worldly, crude, or evil. Its because I like to be taught in direct terms without added fluff.

I'll leave it with these words from Macarthur, "I should explain that I don't use the Internet directly; I don't even own a computer or have an Internet connection in my home. I'm totally dependent on staff and pastoral interns who print material that I need to read and make sure I get it."

Postscript: Here is Driscoll's response to the attacks by Macarthur.

Nice

Maybe in my next life......

Maybe in my next life, I can get it right. I think my ideal situation would be as follows:

I am a high school Geography/English/Composition teacher. Maybe I also run the school paper or coach cross country.

And I'm able to start and lead a small house church on the weekends.

Oh well.

Maybe next time.

Right after I convert to an Eastern Religion which believes in reincarnation.

Mars Hill Church, Seattle - Annual Report

Its weird. I don't go to Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Never been there, in fact. I occasionally check in on their podcasts, occasionally listen to their in-house worship music, and occasionally read their blogs.

But I don't belong to their fellowship, don't invest in their fellowship, and really don't have any plans to do either.

But for some strange reason, I feel a connection and a tie to their endeavors.

Obviously, I like Mark Driscoll as a preacher and an author.

But there is something about the transparency and purposefulness of their church that I find compelling.

Each year, I print out and read through the Mars Hill Church Annual Report. I love it. It gives so much information and inspiration. I don't know why exactly - I think maybe its because it makes me feel like a part of the mission - even when I'm not and have no intention of becoming a part of it.

I've read stories about people moving across the country in order to go to Mars Hill and be a part of its ministry. I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired this way.

I've also read stories about groups of people starting "unofficial" Mars Hill campuses in their own homes in far away parts of the country and the world - once again, I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired that way either.

No. I am happy to sit down with a cup of coffee and read through the Annual Report.

The cover page of the report says, "It's all about Jesus." The report is about 20 pages long. They give some stories of Changed Lives - stories that they run regularly on their website each week about people whose lives have been changed by Jesus.

The report talks about their regional growth, their local growth, and their global growth - missionary training, church planting, campus launches, etc. There are three whole pages on their financial endeavors, both incoming and outgoing. It is really quite detailed.

They talk about their micro missions projects. They also discuss their ministries which reach thousands - websites, technology, etc. They also focus on their discipleship ministries - home groups, bible studies, etc. They have 353 community groups with 3933 participants. They have 39 elders and pastors with 17 more in training. They are very purposeful in both discipleship of leaders as well as the church body as a whole.

They go into great detail about their church planting network. It is with chagrin that I note that they still do not have a church plant south of Orlando - I'd just like to check one out - is that too much to ask. They have planted 173 churches so far - 53 in the past year.

As I said - the report is inspiring. I like that, at this point in the game, Driscoll doesn't have his name plastered all over the report. If you didn't know any better, you'd forget that he was involved at all while reading through the report.

But this one disturbs me most......

In Gary Lamb's recent post about his downfall/recovery, there was only one sentence that I found disturbing and upsetting:

I believe with everything that is in me that God is not through with me in a full-time ministry role but I do believe He has me on the sidelines right now to get some things right in my life.

I just don't get it.

There are plenty of men out there who are faithful to their wives. Let's say that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Let's also hypothesize that 20% of those 50% that stay married cheat on their wives, but still stay married. That would leave us with 30% of men who are able to stay married and faithful. Let's further hypothesize that that 30% is just too generous of a number - let's say, that realistically, only 20% of men could be trusted to remain faithful to their wives.

Now. Shouldn't that 20% be expected to be our leadership? Why are we relying on the other 80% at all?

Of course, naysayers will throw out central themes of the Bible like Fall and Redemption as an excuse for reinstating someone like Gary. But the Bible also has plenty of stories about God calling out those few who show true signs of inward character, rather than those outward signs of exuberance or talent.

I just don't get it.

Is there no such thing as disqualification? Does character matter? Are we that desperate for someone who has talent?

I sometimes wonder how many "true leaders" / aka shepards are being hidden in some of our churches. Or if they are even in church at all?

How often are we trading image and talent for character and obedience?

I've got nothing against Gary for what he's done. I still think he is quite an entertaining character. I agree with Perry Noble, who stated that each of us are only a few missteps from a similar fate.

But I believe that Gary needs to get a real jobby job, like the rest of us. And forget about being a shepard.

He needs to go to church and just enjoy it, like the rest of us.

Response to Gary Lamb's downfall

Here are a couple quick excerpts from Gary Lamb's site concerning his downfall:

• I’ve received over 3,000 emails and I haven’t responded to any of them due to the fact that I need to process some things and take some time to get my head clear. As many e-mails as I have gotten, there seems to be basically the same questions asked over and over.

• I have received over 30 emails from pastors (all anonymous) confessing to be involved currently in sexual affairs.

Well. That is encouraging.

It builds character.....

I like it when my A/C technician tells us that our 13 yr old central air system is on its last leg in the middle of a record breaking heat wave and that it needs to be replaced.... it builds character.

I like it when I have a non-decorative waterfall in the living room due to a roof leak.... it builds character.

I like it when my home is financially underwater..... it builds character.

I like it when business is so bad that all of my bosses leave and I get all new ones.... it builds character.

I like it when the home equity line is frozen because of the economic climate, despite our personal history..... it builds character.

I like it when the credit card company drops the limit to the balance and/or arbitrarily raises the interest rate with no cause..... it builds character.

I like it when the new credit application is denied because of the actions of the other creditors rather than my own.... it builds character.

I like it when the city tells me that I need to replace the crooked sidewalk in front of my house.... it builds character.

I like it when I have to apply for a permit requesting permission (despite the fact that they ordered me to do it)..... it builds character.

I like it when the city also asks me to remove a 40' tree that caused the crooked sidewalk..... it builds character. (don't forget about the permit for that one too)

I like it when the health insurance company tells me to wait until after my son is born to discuss his coverage, then deny said coverage because I went to a non-participating hospital..... it builds character.

I've built a lot of character since January of 2008, hope it does me some good in the future.

Trials and Tribulations might be a good thing......

My wife and I met exactly 16 years ago. We've practically grown up together. We've gone through a couple life stages together. We've grown closer and closer over the years together. Our relationship is now stronger and better than ever.

Interestingly, it seems that when circumstances are the roughest - that's when our relationship thrives and flourishes.

I get annoyed by those husbands who constantly refer to their "hot" wives - always commenting on how "lucky" they are to be with such a multi-faceted women who is so obviously "out of their league". Sometimes I wonder who they are trying to convince - the world, or themselves.

Of course, this is exactly how I feel about my wife, but I don't feel the need to broadcast it to the world on a regular basis - to the point of annoyance of others. I just broadcast it to her personally on a daily basis because she never gets tired of it.

There's no real purpose to this post. I'm just feeling lucky, or rather, blessed. Hopefully our relationship is strong enough and God will see fit to make the next 16 years a little easier on us.

Either way, I am thankful.

Pastoral Failure #1,673: Gary Lamb

My mom told me recently of her recent church experience. A few weeks ago, she went to church only to have the two elders of the church get up and read a letter stating that the Senior Pastor of ten years had been removed for indiscretions unbecoming of a pastor.

I think I've become jaded. In fact, I'm sure I've become jaded. In the back of my mind, I've come to expect this of pastors. It has no bearing on them personally, it is just a fact of life. People fail, men especially. Men with egos even more so. Men held up on a pedestal even more so. So I leave that possibility open in my mind, so that, when it happens, it doesn't shake my faith in Jesus, just my faith in men.

My two favorite preachers to listen to, unarguably (Sorry, Dave.) would have to be Mark Driscoll and Gary Lamb. As Driscoll has gotten more and more popular - a world traveller of late - and more successful, I've left that place in my mind open to the possibility of his failure. "When Mark Driscoll falls, I won't be shocked or hurt by it, I'll simply move on, " I tell myself.

So with my eye on Driscoll, it came out of left field for me to read on Gary Lamb's blog this week of his relational/sexual failure which has removed him from his ministry.

Oh well. I'll move on. Of course, I'll pray for those involved, but as I said - I'm jaded.

Episcopal Minister Lives Double Life as Muslim/Christian

Ann Holmes Redding has been removed from her position as an Episcopal minister because she converted to Islam a couple years ago.

But Redding said she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister. "Both religions say there's only one God," Redding said, "and that God is the same God. It's very clear we are talking about the same God! So I haven't shifted my allegiance."

"The church interprets my being a Muslim as 'abandoning the church,' " she said. "And that [there] comes an understanding that you have to be one or the other, and most people would say that. It simply hasn't been my experience that I have to make a choice between the two."

"It's all there. I am not saying you have to go somewhere else to be complete. Some people don't need glasses, some people need single lenses. I need bifocals."

I have a son.

Yesterday, my son was born. He was 6 lbs 1 oz, the exact weight that I was, according to my mother.



We decided there were too few Lewis's in the world, since my grandad and my father both passed away in the last few years - I was the third Lewis. My son will now fill that void and be the fourth.

Church Hopping Score Card

The Church Hopping Score Card


1. If you leave without even getting out of your car because you can’t find a good parking spot = +1 point

2. While visiting a new church you park in the pastor's assigned parking space = +1 point

3. You get a free first time visitor's gift = +2 points for each gift

4. You only visit once but still have the boldness to say, "I just didn’t feel like I connected with the people at that church" = +1 point

5. You refuse to come back to a church if not enough people said hello to you = +1 point

6. You refuse to come back to a church if too many people said hello to you = +1 point

7. Like the closely guarded secret formula of Coca Cola, you’re the only one that knows the correct number of people that should say hello to you = + 2 points

8. You visit on the Sunday the church is having a first time visitor's lunch = +1 point

9. You take leftovers home from the first time visitors lunch = +2 points

10. You bring your own cooler to first time visitors lunches in anticipation of the leftovers = +3 points

11. You sit in a seat someone has sat in for 14 years running and they do the awkward stand and pause move right next to you before shuffling away in complete bafflement at who this person is = +3 points

12. You come long enough to benefit from everything the church offers but never actually volunteer for anything = +10 points

13. You have a pre planned little speech you give in case the church asks first time visitors to stand up and introduce themselves = +1 point

14. You have a "Hello My Name” is _______ sticker ball at home that is bigger than a soccer ball. = +2 points

15. You can easily name the three churches in town that have the best coffee = +1 point

16. During the "meet and greet" you use a fake name because you're not sure if this is where God wants you to go to church yet = +1 point

17. You have a secret list of "if this happens at this church I'm outta here" = +1 point

18. You're more than happy to tell the people around you why you didn't like your last church = +1 point

19. The amount of traffic in a church parking lot weighs heavily on your decision to attend = +1 point

20. You have a scrapbook made entirely of bulletins to chronicle your travels = +1 point


ht:Stuff Christians Like

Detroit: Home of the coney dog and the slider.

Entering the Detroit area is like going into another country. We have our own way of talking, eating, and dealing with problems. If you do not familiarize yourself with this, you may find out how we deal with problems.

While driving around the Metro Detroit area you will not help but to notice at least forty Coney Islands. Coney Islands are very special to many people around Detroit. Granted, Detroiters are asked all the time by guests about what Coney Island is, and we are annoyed by it every time.

National Coney Island is a series of restaurants that are known for serving Coney Dogs. The other Coney Islands are not part of the chain, but still serve the same kind of food. A Coney Dog is a hotdog that is served with chilly, onions, and mustard. A Coney Special is a Coney Dog that is served with ground beef on top.

Coney Dogs are a major part of the culture of Detroit. Another staple of our culture is also served at all Coney Islands. That would be chilly-cheese fries. I do not think that I have to explain what this consists of.

White Castles have spread over the country. There is a difference between the White Castle burgers that are served here than elsewhere. The burgers at our White Castles are a lot greasier. We call them, "sliders," around here. Also, we do not say that we are going to, "White Castle." We say that we are going to, "White Castle's." Don't ask why we add an apostrophe s on the end of so many company names. It is just a cultural thing. Like "Meijers" and "Fords".

ht:Vincent Poupard



This week, I found a new place down the street from us that advertised their "coney dogs" and "castle sliders" - near Oakland Park Blvd. and University Dr. If the owners of this place aren't from Detroit, I'll be surprised.

Not today, not tomorrow, but maybe someday......

Between weak holiday sales and the pending arrival of new models, this an excellent time to haggle with your local electronics store over the price of a new TV. In a normal year, prices dip before the holidays and again before the Super Bowl. This year, with the recession clamping down on bank accounts, nobody's buying. With new models arriving soon, retailers just want to clear out their showroom space, meaning you can walk in and save a few hundred dollars on that dream set you've always wanted.

Maybe someday, that 73 inch TV will be $499.

Fieldy: 2nd Korn member to be Born Again

Fieldy, the bassist for Korn, is now the second member of the band to become a Christ Follower. His book, Got the Life, came out this month - describing his conversion.

Fieldy is the reason that I took up playing the bass guitar. And I would be remiss if I didn't say that Korn was probably the most important band in my musical upbringing. Its weird that two of the five of them are now Christians. Now, if only Kid Rock could give up the strippers and find Jesus, I'd be set.

Here is an excerpt of an article about Fieldy's conversion:

When one his oldest friends, Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch, quit the band after finding religion, Fieldy scoffed.
He didn't listen when his father became terminally ill, and urged his boy one last time to give the Bible a shot.
But the night of the funeral, as his entourage kicked off its usual party, for once Fieldy didn't feel like throwing back beer after beer. Instead he found himself praying, asking for what he thought his father would have wanted: for Jesus to help him end the endless party.
The next morning, he flushed his pot down the toilet and says he never looked back, skipping rehab for religion in a single move.
"I didn't grow up with any of that, with prayer," he says of his first steps into Christianity. "I just opened my heart and said, 'I need help doing this.'"
He started to read the Bible. But, like many others, he also found his way to "The Purpose-Driven Life," the book that helped make Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, a national religious figure.
It was just a start. Though he had ideas to live a certain way, Fieldy – unlike his former bandmate Head – was seeking faith while still playing bass and otherwise performing with one of the biggest hard-rock acts in the world, Korn.
"When I made my change, I was thrown back into the pit of hell, on tour," he says. "There are dark things out there. And just because my band isn't partying" – Korn's core members all are sober now, he says – "doesn't mean it's not around you."
On tour, he says, he traded night for day. For the first time in years, he got up during the day on tour to sightsee in cities where he'd previously seen only the insides of arenas, hotels and strip clubs.
When temptations came near – and in that world temptation is a 24-hour business – Fieldy says he walked away.
The fridge outside his studio stocks Smartwater and Rockstar energy drinks, not wall-to-wall Coors Light as it once did.
On this day, Fieldy's 2-year-old son, Israel, plays upstairs, in the family room. Dena – who agreed to marry him even after he confessed all his sins against her – hangs out in the kitchen. Fieldy is just back from work; Korn is spending time in a Los Angeles studio, working on new songs, and Fieldy is able to stay at home. Every other weekend, Fieldy's daughters from an earlier marriage, Olivia, 10, and Sarina, 11, stay with him.
It's a common Orange County life – Dad at work, a blended family, financial comfort. But, Fieldy says, it takes him some extra work to stay right with God, and keep all this goodness around him. The Bible, he says, has replaced his bong as a way to start each day.
"It's like my morning workout. Start the day with something good, something uplifting.
"I'm in the book of Samuel right now, and it's so crazy!" Fieldy says, the rocker seeing a bit of heavy metal in the old epic tales. "People don't realize how dark and gory it is, but the whole story behind it is love. It's a trip how twisted up it is."
He hopes his own book, which he named after one of Korn's biggest hits, will reach people who might not otherwise be open to hearing about faith.
"I'd really like to reach people who look like myself," Fieldy says as he poses for a photographer with Israel in his heavily inked arms. "You never know, but the majority of the people (who read it), I hope they take the route I took.
"Maybe this can be that little bit of a seed I can plant out there."

Much has been made of the massive drop suffered by WATCHMEN in its second week of release. The film wasn't quite the success most thought it would be either. Whether it was Malin Akerman's plastic performance or that infamous eighties softcore sex scene, the film has left many fanboys--and studio execs alike--scratching their collective heads and asking "What went wrong?"

Well it seems the folks over at GraphJam have it all figured out. Apparently the moral truths and philosophical questions explored by Alan Moore in the graphic novel did not captivate audiences. It looks like everyone's too obsessed with the big blue dong.

Living High on the Hog

This chart tracks the relationship between household debt and gross domestic product. You'll see two years when Americans' debt becomes 100 percent of GDP -- 1929 and 2007. It's the chart that made Columbia professor David Beim say:

"The problem is us. The problem is not the banks, greedy though they may be, overpaid though they may be. The problem is us... We've been living very high on the hog. Our living standard has been rising dramatically in the last 25 years. And we have been borrowing much of the money to make that prosperity happen."

I heard this guy talking on NPR this weekend - it sounds pretty profound to me.

Audio Bible

I've been listening to the New Testament on CD lately. Its funny how certain things jump out at me when heard audibly that wouldn't normally jump off the page of the book.

Jesus and Paul really come alive when heard audibly - especially Paul. Rather than seem like a rule-monger, Paul actually seems like a decent guy when I hear his letters aloud. Actually, he often sounds pretty frustrated at the failures of the churches that he started.

I'd like to see an interactive map that shows me his travels along with each part of the Epistles. I know that most Bibles have a static map in the back, but I'd like to see an interactive video driven map that shows me when and where he was going during his travels.

Cutler Bay Buffalo Wild Wings FAILS MISERABLY!!!

WE DROVE 45 MINUTES TO GET TO THE NEW SOUTH FLORIDA BUFFALO WILD WINGS ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT THEY WERE OUT OF WINGS. ON THEIR GRAND OPENING WEEKEND!

DID YOU HEAR THAT RIGHT?

BUFFALO WILD WINGS.

OUT OF WINGS.

FAIL.

BW-3 finally in South Florida!

A new restaurant is coming to town and has a special offer that’s hard to beat. Buffalo Wild Wings, which has won scores of awards for “best wings” and “best sports bar,” is opening its newest location in Cutler Bay on February 13th. Not only will local residents be able to enjoy its mouth-watering wings, the first 100 guests in line for the restaurant’s 11 a.m. opening on opening day will get free wings for a year.

Those Dumb Disciples

This is one of my favorites parts of the Bible.

Mark 8:14-21

But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”
At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’Don’t you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”
“Twelve,” they said.
“And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
“Seven,” they said.
“Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.


Those Disciples can be so entertaining sometimes. I can just picture Jesus sighing and rolling his eyes, wondering what He did to deserve this bunch.