Waiting Room

As I sit here at 9:55 for a 9:45 appointment, my mind starts to wander. I'm a new patient that arrived early to fill out paperwork. Beyond the polite nod from the receptionist, I haven't even been acknowledged yet...

It's now 10:11, and I've just completed my checkin via some cool paperless technology by Phreesia. Doing the checkin on a wireless touchscreen tablet at least held my interest for a while. But, given that I'm still in the waiting room with the other cattle long after my arrival, I'm still not too happy.

The guy next to me is snoring.

Healthcare reform? Not all offices are this inefficient. In fact, my wife sees doctors at UCSD with remarkable efficiency.

10:25 - I've just paid my copay. A lady just walked in and asked her waiting husband "You ain't been seen yet?". He replied "Nope. I should be next, I guess." He's been waiting longer than I have. He just got called back. He turned to his wife and said "See? I told you."

It's now been over an hour since I first arrived. I'm still sitting in the waiting room. The guy snoring next to me may have the right idea to deal with today, but just like a doctor on a pharmaceutical payroll, he's only masking the symptoms of a much deeper problem.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Crazy Uncle

On Tuesday, I posted some "highlights" from the latest Southern Baptist Convention. These included criticisms of Mark Driscoll's ministry at Mars Hill Seattle, banning of the Holman Christian Standard version of the Bible, removal of books such as The Shack from LifeWay Christian bookstores, etc. To be fair, these items were simply proposed by certain members of the convention and were dismissed, never making it to the main floor for legitimate discussion.

Jay Hardwick was actually at the convention and offered a well-written rebuttal to people wanting to write off the Southern Baptists as misguided weirdos that have nothing better to do than ban bible versions, books, music, and people they don't like. Check out his article here: "Every Family Has a Crazy Uncle." Jay has some great thoughts on not passing judgement on the entire group because of a few crazy uncles.

That said, I hope the SBC is concerned enough about family health to do an intervention with the crazy uncles. These crazy uncles are still in church leadership, pastoring others. Chances are, this handful of crazy uncles spout peculiar views from the stage on Sundays, views that SBC leadership would not support. It's easy enough to write off the proposed motions as 10 minutes of nonsense over a three day convention, but what of the potential damage done to the reputation of the SBC each and every Sunday?

In the restaurant business, I would make it very clear to the management team that they were running a Pizza Hut, not a Charles Hut or a Jack in the Box, not a Jessica in the Box. Everyone has their own leadership style and strength, but if you were attempting to change the company-wide standard to fit your personal preferences, you wouldn't last long. Organizationally, if the SBC wants to change perceptions, leadership needs to provide significant oversight to the outliers.

Backwards Thinking

The Southern Baptist Convention recently concluded their annual meeting is Louisville. Here are some highlights of motions referred to the SBC executive committee for consideration [see the full text of the BaptistPress.org article here]:

Regarding Bible versions:
"-- that the SBC president "appoint or work through the appropriate entity" to highlight the 400th anniversary in 2011 of the King James Version of the Bible, submitted by Rick Reeder, a messenger from Southside Baptist Church in Princeton, Ky."
"-- that the Holman Christian Standard Bible "and any translation that questions the validity of any Scripture" be banned from convention literature and from the annual SBC meeting, submitted by Eric K. Williams, pastor, Long Prairie Missionary Baptist Church, Belle Rive, Ill."

Regarding Mark Driscoll:
"-- that author Mark Driscoll's books be removed from LifeWay Christian Bookstores because of his "reputation for abusive and ungodly language and ... promotions of sex toys on his church web site," submitted by Jim Wilson, pastor, First Baptist Church in Seneca, Mo."
"A motion by Brian LeStourgeon, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Camp Verde, Ariz., sought to have Mark Driscoll "address the concerns of his accusers" at the 2010 annual meeting."
"-- that "all SBC entities should monitor" funds spent in "activities related to or cooperative efforts with Mark Driscoll and/or the Acts 29 organization" and entity heads should submit a report of expenditures to appear in the 2010 Book of Reports, submitted by Kent Cochran, a messenger from Calvary Baptist Church in Republic, Mo."

Regarding Music:
"-- that SBC entities avoid "the use of secular music in their promotional materials," submitted by Jeff Moats, pastor, Logan Elm Baptist Church in Circleville, Ohio."

Regarding Books:
"-- that LifeWay Christian Stores should remove books "that are contrary to the Gospel" or the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, including books by T.D. Jakes and John Hagee, any Catholic Bibles "90 Minutes in Heaven" and "The Shack," submitted by Channing Kilgore, associate pastor, South Whitwell Baptist Church, Whitwell, Tenn."

According to the article, 31 motions were brought forth for discussion, but only one was passed. The two day session would have been better served figuring out how to further the cause of Christ through progress, rather than working on ways to discredit individuals, books, and secular music.

I can see it now... "Thou shalt condemn thy use of a readable Bible"

Salvation Like a Prostate Exam

Glad to see that Corey Jamison is writing again over at The Plow. Check out his latest: Salvation Like a Prostate Exam.

Porn Advertising for the Restaurant Business

Sex sells. There's no doubt about it. The latest entry into the seedy world of porn-style advertising comes from Burger King for the Super Seven Incher. From the ad copy:

"Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER. Yearn for more after you taste the mind-blowing burger that comes with a single beef patty, topped with American cheese, crispy onions and the A1 Thick and Hearty Steak Sauce."

This one from Carl's Jr for their Teriyaki Burger, featuring Audrina Patridge in the latest in their series of "More than just a piece of meat."



How about this from Carl's Jr, featuring Padma Lakshmi really getting into her Western Bacon Cheeseburger...



This one's a little older, but the same idea from Carl's Jr featuring Paris Hilton for their Spicy Six Dollar Burger...



Quinzo's "Put it in me" ad for the Toasty Torpedo...



I wonder what impact, if any, these types of ads have on the world of Human Resources? The ads border on corporate sponsorship of creating a sex-charged hostile work environment. It's not difficult to imagine the inappropriate comments flying around the workplace after every new sexually blatant or innuendo-filled ad campaign. It's only a matter of time before the next sexual harassment case sounds like this: "He kept coming up behind me, holding a hoagy bun by his crotch, asking if I wanted his juicy seven-incher. I couldn't eat or sleep. I began missing work. I need $250,000 to settle this matter."

Caution

Some mornings at the gym, I see a male trainer working out with a female trainee. The trainer is a handsome, fit guy, probably in his late 20s. The trainee is a nice-looking, fit girl, probably in her early to mid 20s.

The trainer had her doing pushups with her legs on a bench. In order to achieve the right range if motion, he straddled her back during the exercise. The trainer had her doing situps on a situp bench - which has adjustable foot hold positions built in. It seemed better to him to straddle her legs for stability. To help her stretch, he wouldn't just firmly grab a leg and begin the stretch, he was purposeful in sliding his across waist, hips, and thighs.

Although I've overheard her mentioning her fiance, she has allowed the smooth trainer to be in intimate proximity during the session. The trainer looked very pleased to be in such close contact. This is pretty dangerous ground.

Allowing intimacy, emotional or physical, to creep in to areas beyond your marriage invites disaster for two big reasons:

1. You create an outward appearance that you have questionable character. For example, you're married, but you go out for lunch with "an old friend" of the opposite sex. Now, everyone that sees you out with this person questions your character. And, if you're a Christ-follower, it has the potential to damage your ability to witness effectively for Christ.

2. You create a place where you can easily find intimacy, "just in case."

Ephesians 4:27 in talking about not letting the sun set on your anger, gives a warning to not let the devil have even a foothold. Give that principle a broad brush over your life.

Volunteers!

Everyone has a gift that they can use to serve at their church. Maybe you don't sing or play an instrument. Maybe you'd lose your mind in a room full of 3 and 4 year olds. Maybe smiling and saying hello to people coming on campus is out of your comfort zone. You still have a gift, and you are critical to the body of Christ.

Dan, Eric, and Bill came out to EastLake Church on Saturday morning armed with saws, drills, measuring tapes and enthusiasm to serve the church body as a part of the facility maintenance ministry team. One of our youth room stages had some old, dented skirting that needed replacement. The guys unloaded their tools and got right to work. A couple of hours later, yet another project was completed by a group of volunteers.


I love to look back on all of the different things that volunteers have given their time and talents to. Here's just a short list of big and small projects:
* Painted hallways, retaining walls, and the high school room (Multiple volunteers)
* Prepared the former lower auditorium for remodel by demolishing the stage, tearing out the carpeting, and moving 700 chairs out of the room (Multiple volunteers)
* Electrical work from the simple change of a flourescent ballast to the more complex of pulling wire through a few hundred feet of conduit under the parking lot to light our sign (Randy A, Eddie, Kevin, Mark, David)
* Laid over 3000 square feet of new carpet (Christian)
* Any wood flooring on campus - laid by a volunteer (Guillermo)
* Rerouted HVAC ducting to improve cooling (David)
* Removed hundreds of pounds of gravel from a huge section of paver stones and replaced it with polymeric sand for stability. (Multiple volunteers)
* Applied a nice drywall finish to the high school room's control booth (Randy V)
* Installed water lines for a new coffee maker location (Carlos)
* Patio heaters (Dan M and Doug M) and cabinets (Dawn) built
* Play structures built in the kindergarten room (Doug S)

Get involved in serving at your church. You won't need a receipt to remember the experiences of making a difference.

1 Corinthians 12

Clueless

I walked to the gym at 7:20 this morning, did some stretching, warm-ups, and my workout and was out the door by 8:00.

On my way out, the community security guard, said "That was fast." I nodded in agreement, then the guard said "even a little bit helps," implying that somehow I may not have done enough today.

Crossfit-style workouts are intense, and often don't take long. The challenge comes from pushing to get stronger and faster with every workout. Today's challenge was to knock out as many rounds as you could in 20 minutes of:
15 115# Hang-Cleans - link goes to video
12 Ring Dips (no rings, I had to substitute regular dips. And, if I were a real CrossFitter, I would have used the CrossFit substitution of 3 bar dips for 1 ring dip.)
21 situps

I could only handle 5 rounds - the hang-cleans are nasty, but, that means that I did 75 hang-cleans, 60 dips, and 105 situps in 20 minutes. 240 reps in 1200 seconds, or something every 5 seconds for 20 minutes. Not elite-level by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly a lot of work.

Doing CrossFit workouts for the past year has changed my fitness level dramatically. I've set personal bests for strength (new deadlift personal best just last week), speed, and endurance multiple times and continue to be in better shape at 40 than I ever was in my youth. In high school, I couldn't even do one pullup. The best I've done in a row now is twelve, and, I regularly do workouts that involve fifty over the course of the workout.

So yes, Mr. Security Guard, that was a fast workout. But, if you want to see what "even a little bit" feels like, check out the Workout of the Day on CrossFit.com

Ron Burkle, Billionaire

My wife just got her copy of Walking San Diego, a book of hiking spots around San Diego county. We kicked off this new adventure with a hike around the Scripps Natural Preserve which sits atop the La Jolla Cliffs. As we walked the trail, a massive and elaborate structure built into the hillside came into view.

It had to be a hotel. It couldn't possibly be house, could it?

We continued the hike, looking down onto a pod of dolphins in the Pacific Ocean and watching a surfer jog for at least a mile while carrying his board to a great surf spot at Black's. We decided to take a closer look and head over to Black's Canyon. We moved the car and just happened to park right across the street from the entrance to the compound we had just seen. There were no hotel or resort signs, just a huge arch with wrought iron gates and a security guard posted.

We continued our hike down the steep descent, amazed that hardcore surfers carried their boards up and down this canyon just to get to a great break. We hung out on the beach for a while and began the hike back up. Halfway up, I took a picture of my wife. A moment later, a lady hiking up the incline offered to take a picture of both of us. Instead of prompting us to say "cheese" to smile, she said "Say Ron Burkle." We were a little confused, then she revealed that Ron Burkle was the guy that owned the massive house.

Compare that to my place, which I rent:

It turns out that Ron Burkle is a local billionaire, ranking #105 in the Forbes 400 richest Americans with a net worth of $3.5 billion. Starting out as a bagboy at a grocery store, then eventually making a fortune through buying and selling entire grocery chains, Burkle has positioned himself to live in a massive and luxurious estate worth over $20 million. I can't tell you anything about his personality, lifestyle, or faith. He could be extraordinarily generous, or he could be a selfish sociopath.

I just know that I am not a billionaire.

Despite my lack of a mega-rich lifestyle, I'm happy. Sure, it would be cool to make more money, own a home (not a condo) again, have a 2nd car, go on awesome vacations, and maybe even have cable TV again. But, I'm still happy. On the hike my wife and I took, we were celebrating our 19 year wedding anniversary. We spent a fantastic day connecting as a couple while we hiked, watched the surfers from the beach, enjoyed a picnic lunch at La Jolla Cove, and went out to a wonderful dinner - just the two of us. The day before, we (and our two kids) walked along the beach at Encinitas and were treated to a great show by a pod of dolphins. I am blessed with a wonderful wife, two great kids that I'm very proud of, and life in Christ. I'm very thankful for how the Lord has provided for me, and I pray that if I am blessed with more resources, that I would use it wisely to serve, rather than be served.

Psalm 49:16-20

EastLake Church Featured in Collide Magazine

It's a great privilege to be able to work in a place that exists solely to help people find and follow Jesus. EastLake Church, led by Pastor Mike Meeks, has assembled an incredibly talented team of staff members and volunteers that spread the gospel message using their creative talents every weekend. Three of the key staff members of that creative team, Kevin McPeak, Jeremy Nicks, and Marcus Jones got the opportunity to talk about the process in this article featured in Collide Magazine.

Great quote in the article from Kevin McPeak: "I’d encourage us all to make sure that we don’t get caught up in chasing after style at the expense of substance. We all should make sure to be more C.S. Lewis than P.T. Barnum."

As if the props from Collide weren't enough, EastLake Church was also recognized by Pro AV magazine with a 2009 Spotlight Award for Best AV House of Worship Project. Check out the article here.