RIP-Myron Cope

It's a sad day in Steeler-land at the news of the passing of long-time radio broadcaster Myron Cope. Myron is a legend for any Steeler fan born after 1971 when he shared his first Steeler game with HOF QB Terry Bradshaw in the newly opened Three Rivers Stadium. Myron was a well known sports writer before heading to the radio booth- with articles regularly appearing in Sports Illustrated. Cope also coined the "Immaculate Reception" and created the Terrible Towel. Cope was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame a few years ago.

I grew up listening to many Steeler games on the radio. We often visited my grandmother on Sundays as a family, so we listened to the game on the way home. Anyone who has listened to Cope will never forget his voice. When I was younger, I often didn't quite understand what he was saying. While I don't think that my dad enjoyed listening to Cope, but I thought he was great.

So in honor of Cope and his contribution to the sporting world, we should all lift our glasses and give a "Double Yoi!" for this distinguished voice of Steeler lore.

Passion Regional Conference: Washington D.C.

Our Passion Conference weekend got off to a little icy start. While watching the weather, I decided not to bring our group to D.C. on Friday. The incoming track didn't look too promising. With that decision made, we left early on Saturday for the Passion Conference in DC.

Now, I've been a fan of the Passion cd's since they first started coming out. I always wanted to go to Atlanta or Tennessee to the big four day conference. So I was pretty excited to be able to take a group of students from our church. This was kind of the big kick-off for our college/young adult ministry as we look to begin bigger things in May.

The conference was everything I thought it would be. Great worship, challenging messages, and an electric atmosphere. I really enjoyed Charlie Hall as he led worship. Francis Chan gave a great talk about resting the knowledge that God loves us...and that God cannot love us any less or any more than how much He loves us right now. This is a tough thing to grasp because there are times where I feel I try to earn God's love.

I also appreciated the prayer time at the end of the evening for the different campuses, students, and towns. I think it gave me a fresh heart to be in prayer for our college students on a different level...going for more depth. I was also encouraged to be in prayer for Milford and how our church can be a beacon to our community.

All in all, it was a great day. I'm a little tired (I only got 4 hours sleep before getting up for church). But I feel blessed to be able to worship the True God with the students who gathered this weekend.

CD's/Artist That Impacted My Life (Pt. 2)

So it's time for part 2 of my blog series on CD's/Artist that made an impact on my life. We're still not out of the cheesey period that was 80's/90's Christian Music. And yeah, some of this is cheesey, but it helped me stay focused on my faith while. So, here we go...

DeGarmo and Key- The Pledge (1989)

I've gone through a couple websites with discography information on D&K and I still think The Pledge was my favorite. They definately fit the 80's mold of synth rock. They got a little heavier on guitar as the 90's rolled in. The Pledge was a perfect mix. Boycott Hell was one of my favorite songs growing up and listening to this tape. D&K had their video, "Six, Six, Six" on MTV back when MTV still played videos (Mid-1980's). Rumor has it the video was removed (which it was) because it was too violent. Most likely, the folks at MTV realized that D&K was a Christian band. Here is their video for Six, Six, Six:

Yeah, that video looks pretty dated. Classic though.

The thing that stands out to me for the album The Pledge...is the title song. As a young Christian, I was challenged by the chorus which stated, "He died for me. I'll live for Him." Very simple, but it was an easy way for me to keep focused on Christ in what I did.

I saw Degarmo and Key at least once in conert. I believe it was for their "Heat It Up" Tour. I know that I had all of their tapes that came after The Pledge, which is why they show up here in the series.

CD/Artist That Impacted My Life (Pt.1)

So I was going through my iTunes collections and searching the store for some music from the past when I thought it would be fun to do a series of post on CD's and Artist that impacted my life and my faith. Like many, music has influenced me in a great way. When I was a teenager and struggling to find my way, music (especially Christian music) helped me stay the course. Now, some of the CD's and Artist listed wouldn't are pretty cheesy sounding now (most Christian music was) but this will be a fun exercise.

Petra- Beyond Belief

I think most Christian kids into music in the 80's and 90's listened to Petra. Beyond Belief was, perhaps, my first cassettes that I owned. (That's right cassettes) This particular album was also one of my favorites. Beyond Belief and Unseen Power was Petra at it's best. I thought the band line-up was the best too. They tried to go too young in the mid-90's and held on way too long as a band.

I saw Petra in concert once. I believe I was in 7th or 8th grade and our youth group went to the Star Lake Ampitheater outside of Pittsburgh. I have no clue who opened up for Petra, there were several bands. But Petra just rocked. I played piano at the time and keyboardist John Lawry has his keyboard programmed to 'sing' Jesus Loves Me...it was pretty cool at the time. I also remember head banging (oh, how I wished to have long hair) and that my neck was so sore on the ride home that I could barely hold it up on my own. Good times.

Petra had a long, long career and a great ministry (I believe they saw their music as a minsitry). So today, I salute Petra as a cornerstone of my youth!

I Must Be Getting Smarter!

I just got a Palm Centro phone last weekend. It's a really cool smart phone. It is a PDA and I can create and edit Word/Excell/Powerpoint documents in it. I like the idea that it's a smart phone because I think it is making me smarter. About a month back, I did a widget on my page that said my blogs readability was elementary level. Check it out now...

Movie Reviews

This proves that I am smarter than a 5th Grader.

Happy Valentine's Day

First off, we want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's. Abbie dressed up for the day in all red. She wears red a lot better than I do. I can't stand wearing red. When I was in Little League, we had red uniforms that I dreaded wearing. Just a random thought.

I met this afternoon with our District Committee on Ministry (DCOM). This once a year meeting is part of the Candidacy Process to become ordained in the Methodist Church. The meeting went really well. They liked my written work and the sermon I turned in. This committe generally is very affirming as candidates pursue their calling to ministry. Once I am done with seminary, I will appear several times before the Board of Ordained Ministries (BOOM). They tend to be a little more critical and really turn the screws on theological and social issues. The make-up of that committee will largely determine how hard they are on candidates.

At this point in my candidacy process, I know I am called to ministry. I know I am supposed to be in seminary. What I don't know is if I am to focus on youth/young adult ministry or go into the 'whole church' ministry of being a senior pastor/ordained elder. Honestly, I like the idea of becoming fully ordained as an elder. What scares me is being put in a small country church where I am unable to fully spread my wings and develop ministries that I am passionate about. That may be my biggest hang-up about this whole process (that and the fact that it will take me close to 7 years to become ordained.)

Overall, it was a good meeting. Now I have to get through the Comedy Club event and youth rally that I am running this weekend. Once I get through that, I will be able to focus more fully on family and school.

Family Update

It's been almost 10 days since I have written anything here. That must mean school has started! I have one week down and classes were cancelled this week because of weather. So here is the lowdown of what's been going on.

Abbie's Big Weekend: This past weekend was a big one for our daughter, Abigail. First, she has put all the pieces together and has started to crawl. She doesn't go very far, but she can get to where she wants to go. Mostly Abbie crawls back and forth in our living room. She does not have the exploring spirit in her yet.

On Sunday night, I was awakened at 4:40 a.m. to Abbie babbling to herself in her crib. This is a little early to be up- and I wanted her (and myself) to go back to sleep. When I walked into Abbie's room, she was standing at her crib. Abbie has always loved to stand, but now she can pull herself up in the standing position. We woke up the next three mornings around 4:30 to Abbie standing and talking to herself.

So it's been a big weekend...crawling and standing. Believe it or not, she is trying to stand on her own. She will let go of the couch or our hands and work on her balance. We're in so much trouble!

School Starts Back Up: As I said above, I am back in session at Palmer Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. I go to class on Tuesday afternoon and return on Wednesday afternoon. I really don't like being away from home for almost 24 hours, but it could be worse. My workload for class won't be terribly difficult.

Spring Training Arrives Tomorrow: Yeah, this isn't really an update, just sharing my anticipation and joy for the beginning of baseball. I am so tired of hearing about Roger Clemens and the whole steroid thing. I want to see the rookies alongside the vets and see who will make an impact. Heck, even in Spring Training my Pirates have hope that they will be good...er....decent.....er.....not suck too badly....ah....ok, they have no hope.

Kentucky Gets Beat By 50? I couldn't believe how poorly Kentucky played against Vandy. Now, this is the time of year when I finally get interested in College Basketball and was all excited to watch UK play last night. But they only scored 11 points in the first half! and ended up losing by 50 points. It's a sad, sad, day in Big Blue land. Thankfully, it's only one game- and it's not the NCAA Tournament. Yet.

You Better Watch Out

Evidently, there is close to a 50% chance that I might eat you if I was trapped or starving. I am not sure whether to be amused or alarmed. What are your chances?

48%

Thanks Mr. Lewis!

I always enjoy reading C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia are one of my favorite book series. I have read some of Lewis' other writings, but not as much as I would like to. About 2 years ago, Andrea and I purchased A Year With C.S. Lewis, which provides a reading from Lewis for everyday of the year. It's similar to a devotional, but with no Scripture reading. I really enoyed yesterday's reading (January 31).

"This is my endlessly recurring temptation; to go down to that Sea (I think St. John of the Christ called God a sea) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only dabble and splash, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal."

Andrea loves to go to the beach. Naturally, I go with her. But we go for different reasons. She goes with the purpose of laying in the sand and soaking up the sun. I go to the beach to relax, eat, swim in the ocean, and eat some more. I can't imagine going to the beach and not jumping in the ocean with reckless abandon. I want the waves to crash over me and to swim where I can't touch the bottom. Yet there are those who go to the beach and never get wet.

In the passage, C.S. Lewis is describing our tendencies as humans. We can come to the Sea that is God; Vast, powerful, and teeming with life, yet we are often content to just get our toes wet rather than diving in deep in our relationships with God. We become comfortable, not wanting to venture further in our walk with God. Yet God's vastness is there for us to explore, to comtemplate, and to experience.

I see this in my own life. I have many excuses for it; I'm too busy, I'm too tired, I'm too comfortable, and the list goes own. There is a part of me that is bored with this 'toe in the water' faith and I want to be able to swim out to where I can't touch the bottom and allow waves of God's love, mercy, grace, and power to sweep over me.