Becoming a Millennial

217. 25 Random Things About Me

Just for fun I thought I would share my list of "25 random things about me"  that I recently posted to Facebook.  In a way this seems like a silly game, but I've had more fun learning about my friends -- even stuff I didn't know about my wife and kids!  See the rules of the game below.

1. I was born in Yokohama, Japan (July 14, 1953, 2:00 am if my memory serves me right)
2. Took violin lessons from 4th-8th grade
3. As a 4th grader I was 5’ tall – actually taller than my Japanese violin teacher
4. I’m 6-6 now, haven’t started to shrink yet
5. I trusted Christ to be my Savior when I was 9 years old
6. Living for Him (even imperfectly) has benefited my life in incredible ways
7. At CAJ (Tokyo) set school HJ record at 6-4
8. Jumped 7-0 my senior year at TU, biggest thrill of my athletic career
9. Played basketball my entire life (until I quit at 44)
10. After college played on 16+ basketball ministry tours in Africa and Asia
11. Taught mathematics at Eastbrook High School from 1977-84
12. Third year of teaching had my first exposure to a computer – an Apple II
13. Came with no software, so I wrote (in BASIC) my own gradebook and basketball program
14. Taught math and computer at Faith Academy, Manila, Philippines from 1984-96
15. Now I’m playing blue-grass fiddle
16. I’ve got an amazing wife and three great kids … and a grandkid
17. I’ve read most of John Grisham’s novels
18. I enjoy mowing the yard
19. I like country
20. I drive a silver mini-van
21. I own a 16’ Hobie Cat, love to sail
22. I don’t twitter … at least not yet
23. Cranky Geeks is my favorite podcast
24. Randy Alcorn’s Heaven influenced me greatly, can’t wait to get there
25. I think we’re in for some very tough times …

Rules (for Facebook users): Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

216. Why Doesn't God do More Miracles?

Have you wished, as I have, that God would do more miracles? -- that He would demonstrate His reality by an amazing healing, or a dramatic intervention in nature, or a lottery win that would net you a million dollars?  This morning I read Job 38 and it struck me that if the miracles God has placed before us each day don't register, then probably nothing will.   

Consider the EYE -- high definition, 3-D, millions of colors, autofocus, pan in all directions, 80-year mean time of failure.  Compare it with fuzzy, pixelated webcam technology which we find so amazing ... and tell me the eye is not a miracle. 

Consider the BRAIN with its processing power, memory banks, low power requirements, never needs an upgrade ... and tell me the brain is not a miracle.

What about SNOW ...

or a SUN that is never too hot ... OCEANS that stay within their bounds ...

or the way BABIES are made ... and the associated perks.

I'm not sure we need any more miracles.

178. Faith, Technology & Teaching in the 21st Century

Second Life, podcasting, social networking, Web 2.0 ... What does it all mean?  Where are we being taken?  How do I deal with these overwhelming technologies as an educator? as a Christian?

I invite you to watch the keynote talk I gave at Taylor University's recent "Technology for Teaching" Conference.  The title of my presentation is How Web 2.0 is Impacting Education. 

Following the session one of our professors came up to me and said, "I get it! I finally understand what you have been saying to our faculty over the past couple years."

I apologize that the video quality isn't the greatest, as it was only at the last minute that I requested a camera to be set up to record the session. 

127. Bluegrass in Upland

Last night we had our first "Saturday Night at the Barn" gathering.  It was a low-key event -- the idea was to get town-folk together to enjoy some popcorn, music, and hear some stories of their neighbors' spiritual journeys.  About 30 attended.  We had a great time. We're going to try to do this on a regular basis.

Our group got "famous" in the Upland Labor Day parade in September (pictured here).  We actually won first place in the float contest!  We beat out the girl on the horse and the old men riding their scooters around in circles :)  Actually, there were some 150 entries in the parade, with two or three thousand people lining the streets.  We love life in small-town USA. 

126. Church in SecondLife Taken Down

"I think it is funny... people like having sex clubs and all that here, but you build a church and it is like you are the biggest jerk in the world."  So says Rafin Grimm, who constructed the Catholic Church that I featured a few days ago.  He has removed his church from SecondLife. Read the entire posting, The Sacred and Profane, which documents his experience.

Apparently having an effective Christian presence is as much of a challenge in the virtual world as it is in the real world. 

124. Is There Place for Faith in SecondLife?

One of my colleagues has been wondering about the possibility of a Christian presence in SecondLife.com. 

Could legitimate relationships be formed that would lead to discussions about deeper issues of life and personal faith?  Would it be appropriate to build a chapel or a church in SecondLife?

A posting was sent to me yesterday (by a gentleman who stumbled on my blog's SecondLife posting) describing that a Catholic church has been built in SecondLife and regular masses are being held.  Click here for the full story.

123. Can Church be Done Electronically?

This past week I attended the A2 Conference at Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL.  The conference featured churches that are successfully reaching people using innovative strategies. 

Lifechurch.tv out of Oklahoma is a fascinating example.  It is a multi-site church that has eight campuses in four different states.  Each site has its own pastoral staff.  On Sunday mornings each site facilitates its own service, but all watch the same message delivered by Senior Pastor Craig Groeschel via a satellite hookup to the main site in Oklahoma City.  The idea is to capitalize on one individual's teaching/preaching gift much like an educational institution might deliver to various sites video-taped or satellite-fed lectures by a gifted professor. 

Lifechurch.tv has a ninth campus -- an internet campus.  Each week "church" is delivered live over the internet to people who don't have access to, or haven't plugged into, a local fellowship.  People enjoy the worship, watch the message, and can interact via email and chat technologies.  Pastor Groeschel has found that there is more meaningful interaction in the virtual lobby following a service than what generally takes place in a traditional service as people file out the doors. 

Last week Lifechurch.tv's internet "congregation" totaled 500 participants.  Twenty-five came to faith in Christ. 

It is not just education that is experiencing a paradigm shift. 

116. It's Not Just Education That is Changing

The digital revolution is changing education.  It is also changing the way people worship and what they expect out of church. 

Keith Drury, in his article How the Internet is Changing Denominations, lists the following expectations:

1.  Everyone expects to participate
2.  People expect instant and complete information
3.  People expect access to leaders
4.  Human interchange has taken on a more savage flavor
5.  People expect things for free

95. Baby Boomers in Toronto

It was an amazing weekend -- my 35th CAJ high school class reunion.  Some of these were “kids” I lived with in the dorms all the way back to first grade. We played together, got in trouble together, studied together, dated each other.

Some of my classmates I hadn’t seen in 35 years.  I was fascinated by their stories. Listening to each one share was like being treated to a good novel – conflict, successes and failures, romance, intrigue, humor, heartache – all the pieces were there.

Missionary life is never easy, for the parents or the children. The stresses of overseas cross-cultural living can take its toll. Some of my classmates left Japan with serious issues to overcome.  But I was amazed as I listened to their stories -- how God had met people in different ways and put pieces back together.

Four years ago one of my friends lost her husband in a plane crash six weeks after they were married.  But through this tragedy and the chance befriending by a woman at a swimming pool she discovered a relationship with God that had eluded her for so many years.  Her face radiated joy as she shared her story with us around the circle.

Our 40^th reunion is already planned.  It will be in New York City in 2011. 

31. A Big Milestone!

I gave Janet a little "press" in my blog yesterday, but she wasn't satisfied :)  So here it is.  Last week was our 25th wedding anniversary!   We celebrated by driving down to a Japanese restaurant in Indy and feasting on sushi, tempura, udon ... (I was born and raised in Japan and Janet was born and raised in Taiwan, so Asian food is high on our list of loves.)

Proverbs 31:10 asks the question, "An excellent wife, who can find?"  Well, I did find one and have enjoyed the benefits for 25 years. The passage goes on to say, "For her worth is far above jewels.  The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain."  I truly am a fortunate guy. 

By the way, the cake was made by our two wonderful daughters.

Another little footnote here:  I had an email message waiting for me this morning. Carla was inviting me to be her "friend" in Facebook.  So I now have one friend in Facebook.  When your teenage daughter wants to be your friend that makes your day!

19. The Red Truck?

Actually, this is
what I'm still driving ...
but, at least it's not tan.

17. Mid-Life Crisis?

One might think that this "becoming a Millennial" urge might be a sign of mid-life crisis, not too different from going out and buying the red convertible (or, in rural Indiana a monster pickup truck). 

Actually, I had my mid-life crisis about ten years ago (and I don't think I'm allowed to have two).  From 1984-96 our family was involved at Faith Academy, a school for the children of missionaries located on the outskirts of Manila. Twelve wonderful, but challenging (and often stress-filled) years in the Philippines eventually caught up with me.  I was the K-12 computer coordinator, taught high school math and computer science, coached basketball, and in hind-sight was involved in far too many other things.  In 1996 I experienced a severe episode of burnout and depression that brought our family home for recovery.

I credit my family and a God who cares for pulling me through a major personal crisis, and getting me back on my feet.  In 1997 I was hired on at Taylor University in a position that eventually evolved into my current role of Director of Academic Technology.

Life has its interesting and unexpected twists.  In my wildest imaginations I would have never dreamed I would be in a role that has provided as much challenge and satisfaction as that which I am currently enjoying.  The school buys me all my toys ... and I get paid to do things like write this blog.  I call it "R & D" - Research and Development.

13. Tunes in the Park

How many times have you needed some information, looked all over the place ... and then realized, "Duh, why don't I just go to the web?"  I had a similar experience yesterday at the Upland Strawberry Festival. 

It was raining, but we set up our church booth hoping for the skies to clear.  This was our fourth year to participate.  We do face-painting for the kids and give away free popcorn and gospel bracelets.

Mid-morning there was still a steady drizzle.  The park was deserted except for the strawberry booth that had a steady stream of people picking up their flats.  I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to have some music to listen to as I sit here waiting for the rain to clear up?"  Then I thought of my Treo cell phone. 

Recently I had purchased a 1 GB memory card and downloaded some songs that I had more or less forgotten about.  But I hadn't brought my headset.  Well, what about just holding it up to my ear? ... which I did and got suprisingly good sound.  So, I enjoyed half an hour relaxing and listening to a little jazz and B.B. King blues. Another time I might have opened up a pod-casted talk show or a recorded sermon, but on this occasion I just wanted to "veg" with a little music.