blog.rachelandjuan.com

What a roller coaster of a summer!  Rachel and I moved here to scenic South Hamilton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston to go to seminary.  Things are finally settling down, but I’m realizing our webpage has suffered some terrible neglect.

With that, a basic update seems in order.  Rachel is currently working two jobs until the fall when she will quit her part time one.  She is working full time at TechMission, an organization that strives to bring technology into inner city ministries.  Her part time job is as a tutor at a Sylvan Learning center.

I am currently in my second Greek class,…

I must say that when I ran into this, I couldn’t stop laughing.  That’s unusual for me, so here it is…

http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/

During our Urban Immersion time in a couple of weeks, we’ll be having a time of worship and prayer.   I wrote this prayer to help us prepare and I thought it might help others of you prepare for your own times of prayer.

Heavenly Father, you are gracious beyond our understanding.  Thank you for this time that we have to meditate on you, help us to see you clearly.  Lord, would you empty our minds of distraction?  Will you open our spiritual eyes and ears so that we may see and hear you clearly?  Will you calm our pride, our…

Jesus is an amazing figure if you believe Him to be fully God and fully man.  It’s a paradox and simply won’t be contained by the most eloquent of our dissertations or argumentations because it defies logic.

To get an idea of what he must have been like, we could look at someone like Peter who was with him a lot.  I can only imagine him in a state of panic when Jesus from his sleep awakens to terminate the storm on command and in Power.  How with His Power Peter was able to step out on the water, and the…

In my New Testament Survey class I have a few interactions with my “teaching fellow” that I must do.  Already they’ve been the subject of a couple of posts.  This last one was interesting, so I will reproduce it in its entirety.

“I’d like you to integrate this course (NT501) with your future ministry goals.  For example, is there anyone you look to in the NT as a role model for the kind of people-focused ministry you are interested in?  Or is there a particular passage that serves to guide your ministry desires?  Take this in any direction you wish,…

To tell you a bit about myself, I’m currently an M.Div student and will matriculate in Fall of 08 at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary.  I’ve been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ’s inner city ministry, Here’s Life Inner City, for about 4 years.  My job is partly as a minister, and partly as an administrator of what we call “compassionate products.”  Basically, I find donations of people, products, and services, and try to connect them to various churches and ministries in the inner city so that their ministry will be enhanced.  All of this, with the end goal of…

Should Christians play a part in politics?  If so how?

Indeed, the way Christians respond to this question may reflect whether or not they are relevant in today’s society and in what way. 

Firstly, I do believe that Christians have a vital role in contributing to the American process of Democracy.  I remember pledging many times “…to the republic…”  What does this pledge mean except that I take part in what our constitution declares?

“We the people of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense,…

Today, I was coming home from an interfaith meeting on how to address the systemic problems of crime and the like in our city.  As I approached our home, I saw a span of 8 blocks that were behind a police line, mine being one of them.  Luckily, Rachel was ok, but it struck me as ironic that as I was sitting in a meeting about crime, it was taking place at home.

The police would not let me drive in, so after a while of searching I finally made it home.  Would you pray for the two officers and…

Today, I was working with my Thunderbird client minimized, and the title that it gave me caused me to pause:

Is this just simply trash for my brain?  Or more directly, is this trash for my soul?  Perhaps more simply, it’s just a monumental coincidence.  But no matter how it came about to be, I can’t help but wonder about the massive amounts of unwanted emails I get everyday:

Today, Alderman Donovan decried the Milwaukee Public School System (MPS) as they’ve asked for a 16% increase in property taxes!  This, after many similar hikes that have left many people struggling.  Donovan said…

Milwaukee Barcamp 2 this weekend past was a hoot!  Lots of nerds, (or trendy people, depending on how you look at it) came together this weekend to discuss all things remotely related to the world wide web.  Some people even came and talked about things not related to the world wide web.  So all in all, everyone talked about everything, and the sum of human knowledge was found and lost as quickly as an LED throwie.

However, the remnants of connectivity and collaboration are sure to remain long after this barcamp is forgotten.  But until then, barcamp will forever live…