Thanks BMW...and a Request

In business school, I was taught that business, in its truest form, was about solving problems. In this vein, I would like to congratulate BMW. Their latest advertisements tell us, "We don't just make cars...we make...joy." We live in an increasingly joyless society. I, for one, am glad that someone, somewhere has developed a combustion-based transportation machine that can also make joy. The evolution is amazing! Now these machines are solving emotional, relational, and community problems. Unfortunately, I can't afford a BMW right now, but I would like to propose something. I would like two other people to split the cost of one, new BMW. The car would rotate between the three of us on a weekly basis. I would be joyful for one week and then I would have two weeks of joylessness before it was my turn again. Any takers?

I Hate Pete Rollins. Also...I Love Pete Rollins.

I saw Pete Rollins at a churchy conference this summer. Never have I seen people so pissed off as when Pete spoke. Never have I seen others (myself included) so moved. Watch this video to get an taste of Pete's work. Churchy is a word I made up. You can use it if you like.

God Sez...

When someone tells you that God told them something, one of two things is happening.

1. They have had a connection with something big, scary, and real. Somehow, someway God has spoken.
2. They are uninterested and/or afraid of any feedback or pushback. They are, in reality, saying, "Don't ask me any questions about this thing."

The World's Hardest Question (for dudes)

Big Love, an HBO show, is great. It centers on a polygamist family living life in the modern suburbs of Utah. My wife and I have been watching on DVD for a month now and are hooked. It's a show that brings up great conversations about family, love, faith, and morality. However, it also brings up THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). I will now recount a conversation I had with my wife a few nights ago...

Me: This is such a great show.

Wife: I also love the show.

Me: ...what?

Wife: What do you think about polygamy?

Me: What do you mean?

Wife: You know, what do you think?

It was at this moment I realized that this is THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). Were I to say, "I kind of think it's cool," you can imagine the follow up. However, were I to answer, "I think one wife is enough," well, you can imagine the follow up to this. The question is unwinnable. Here is how the convo concluded...

Me: You know, I believe that we have just stumbled upon THE WORLD'S HARDEST QUESTION (for dudes). All I know is I love you.

Wife: You answer wisely...

Two of My Favorite Things

My son and an heirloom tomato we grew together.

A Thought on Eternal Destiny

From the Christian perspective, you've got three choices (simplified).

• Exclusivism: You must say the name of Jesus in this specific way in order to be saved.
• Inclusivism: God knows the hearts of everyone living and dead and will be the final judge.
• Universalism: God will save everyone.

I realized today that both Exclusivism and Universalism are really two sides of the same coin. They both purport certainty about something that cannot be truly known. They're both ultimately judgemental. Inclusivism isn't really even in the middle of these two; it's a whole different game (yes, this is where I fall on this issue). Also, it's kind of funny to think of a fundamentalist right-winger and a loosy-goosy left-winger as one and the same.

Advice From Jayber Crow

This is a reading from Jayber Crow, a novel by Wendell Berry. Anyone who interacts with kids about school and academic performance would do well to listen. The passage describes Jayber's adolescent experience in school.

Although I can't say that I liked school, when I wanted to be I was a good enough student.I liked learning, especially learning that could be got by reading. I made fair grades, but I and my teachers knew that I could have done better. I was, they said, like a good horse who would not work; I was a disappointment to them; I was wasting my God-given talents. And this gave me, I believe, the only self-determining power I had: I could withhold this single thing that was mine that I knew they wanted.

From Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry