It's been a little full ministry wise lately, lots of worship leading and preaching.

I was preaching this Sunday on prayer, based partially on a Mark Driscoll sermon, and I sort of realised how much I love to preach. (My college lecturer for preaching says that all preachers just love to hear their own voice :)

It's a joy to get a concept, a point, an image, an idea across to a group of people after God drops it in your lap.

Over the last few weeks I've been caught up in some fairly stressful and public flames around sending "Christian" spam mail.

I thought I would post the *definitive* article on the subject as a cathartic measure and to help educate and start a dialogue on how the Christian can deal with it.

Christian spam mail is a form of digital self-persecution, we hurt ourselves by continually and blindly sending whatever drops into our inbox to everyone else in our address book.

Things to think about before forwarding on that message:

1) Is it true?

Yesterday I received an email provocatively entitled "REMOVAL OF JOYCE MEYER AND OTHER PASTORS FROM THE AIRWAVES!". Inside is the very detailed description (they are always very detailed) of FCC submission 2493 which would "ultimately pave the way to stop the  reading of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America."

A very quick google on the matter turns up this page on the FCC website no less http://www.fcc.gov/mb/enf/forms/rm-2493.html stating that it is a hoax that has been perpetuated since 1975!

It's sad that for more that 30 years we have been kicking this piece of rubbish around, what does that say to the world? Christians are just reactionaries who will believe anything.

2) Does it have integrity?

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3) Is it edifying?

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4) Do you have permission to send this to someone?

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5) Create a mailing list

My studies recently have caused me to seriously reflect on the differences between the modern and post-modern mind, here is the beginning of my thoughts.

Modern society (modernist thinking) placed it's faith in science and rational / empirical thinking with the belief that the pursuit of science and technological advancement would bring us a better world in which to live.

Modernity is the Apollo space program, taking us all to the stars and leaving microwave ovens, unicorns, sunshine and rainbows in it's trail.

Post-modernism is the Apollo 13. People floating adrift in space, our technology not providing us any answers and leaving us marooned and fighting to survive.

No, food poisoning isn't a clever theological metaphore, it's a horrid statement of fact.

I seem to be on the mend now but this weekend was pretty much a wipe-out for me. I was supposed to be leading the church in worship this weekend but I realised at 3am Sunday morning this wasn't going to happen. I wont go into any details, you all know what food poisoning does to the body, I'm just thankful to God for my wife who has nursed me through this time (even now as I blog ill lying on the couch) and for those in my church family who picked up the slack for my absence.

Someone once said "Don't make yourself irreplaceable or you will never be promoted", I believe something similar applies to the life of the minister. Not being promoted but rather having people being able to step into your shoes when life takes an unexpected turn.

I'm currently working feverously to complete my four assignment on biblical ethics. As I'm completing the reference list for my major assignment about the doctrine of Just War (which I'll post soon) I realize that two of my primary sources are Osama Bin Laden and the CIA.

Never did I expect theological training would take me there :)

In my travels around the interwebs I found this cool blog post with a list of biblical Greek terms. Like the author I thought there are some potentially great ministry names in there. I had to give Greek a miss this year although I am busting to learn it properly, there is just too much else going on to add "learn a new language" to the list.

My favorites from the site are probably:

• Ta Tou Theou -  the things of God
• En Kairo Therismou - in time of harvest
• Mathetas Autou - his disciples

Take a look for yourself... http://sphodra.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/whats-in-a-name/