GroshLink

You might remember my June 6 post The Other Indiana Jones Movie.  This morning Peter T. Chattaway's Indiana Jones and the Deadly Blather: Notes on the devolution of a franchise establishes itself as the must read article on Indy's Devolution. Here's the conclusion which hits the mark (Note:  If you're a fan, I'd encourage you to take the time to read the whole piece):

For fans like myself, it is impossible not to feel disappointment at the note on which the franchise has now concluded. A number of critics have suggested that there is no real difference between the aliens of Crystal Skull and the religious artifacts of the earlier films; they're all just mystical MacGuffins, and equally silly, or so these critics say. But no matter how pulpy the earlier films were, they at least turned our attention to matters of the spirit and stoked a sense of awe. Crystal Skull has nothing that compares to this; indeed, the characters even perform autopsies on the "gods" of the past. It's safe to say this is one Saturday matinee that won't be getting much play in Sunday school.

Your prayers and the prayers of many others were heard Friday night as God spoke through me as a little Christ in one of the most humbling experiences of my life. In some ways I still don't have the words to describe The Last Lecture taken a step further except to say that the Spirit opened some powerful reflections as 30 or so students from around the world wanted more discussion and more time to explore the meaning of life and death.

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Our second class began with a conversation regarding how the world/our culture understands Who is the Christ? and slowly moved in the direction of how we, as the people of God address the question of Who is the Christ?  Below are some notes which I took on the responses given by those in attendence followed by quotes from SoulSearching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press, 2005) and Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ (InterVarsity Press, 2008) with which I wrapped up the class.  Next week begins a two session exploration of The Character, Person, and Story of God as a Proper Lens for Christmas, setting up a class focused on The Nativity Story.  As for the whole class schedule click here.

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As many of you know, I've been in the process of upgrading Practicing a Christ-Centered Christmas. Below you'll find the class schedule for this fall's adult elective at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ. I'll create links for materials, including various reference articles, as they become available.  Note:  the class syllabus is available in PDF and material on week 2 can be found here.

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In addition to the prayer requests given in Join our family in prayer, include Elizabethtown College. 

Background:  This morning at Conewago Coffee,* a first year student at Elizabethtown College asked if she could briefly chat with myself and a friend.  Why?  Because she had overheard part of our conversation regarding The Last Lecture taken a step further and realized that fellow believers were in room. 

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A Harvard alum, who now teaches Mathematics recently shared this story with me (and some other followers of Christ) regarding his first weeks at Harvard.  Join me in praying for first year students to find their identity in Christ and not seek to overcome brick walls by their own strength.  Pray for me as I speak on Friday for an InterVarsity outreach at the University of Penn which will debrief Randy Pausch's Last Lecture.

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This evening I returned from Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ's weekly Praise and Prayer with much on my soul.  In particular, a yearning for God's grace to rest upon His people in Orissa, India.  If you have not already done such, I encourage you to let this article guide a time of prayer for you this evening/tomorrow morning:  24 Sep 2008 - Leader from BIC Church in India reports on violence in Orissa

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Last week when meeting with some students who are in the process of restarting a fellowship group at Penn State Harrisburg, I once again shared how each opportunity for campus ministry although with similitaries in the context of higher education is unique for a variety of reasons (e.g., type of campus, majors of those involved, diversity of campus, size of and phase of development of the ministry).  Along these lines, here's a preface to an email in which a faculty friend in Western PA gave testimony to how God connected him to and enables him to minister to students across the world:

because of the "manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit", there is no one way to do campus ministry ... everyday new doors open, new challenges, new requests, new battles ... and the awareness of being on God's side, and working alongside him, and seeing him arrange situations we could never have planned ... sometimes i think back to a chain of events that God worked out, and i can't believe we have a God capable of doing this for me when He has millions of others to care for ...

Amen!  And may God bless his work and the work of many other faculty as they follow Christ on campus today.

This Friday, I'm presenting on The Last Lecture taken a step further as part of an International Student Discussion Forum at Penn, sponsored by InterVarsity's International Student Ministry and Graduate Student Fellowship.  Below's the abstract.  As you may remember, I've shared some thoughts in various places including most recently at:

http://blog.emergingscholars.org/2008/08/randy-pausch-the-last-lecture/

If you have a few minutes and some well constructed thoughts, I'd love to have some wider input on the topic.  Note:  I've been asked not only to speak for 30-45 minutes, but also to create a handout for 30 minutes of discussion by small groups with young academics spanning a wide range of religious and ethnic backgrounds (so good discussion questions are also welcome).

Randy Pausch, who recently died, inspired many in his “Last Lecture”, given at Carnegie Mellon U. He overcame brick walls to reach his childhood dreams. But do we have possibilities in life even beyond our own dreams? Our speaker, who knew Randy, will challenge us to consider dreams for our souls even when we face brick walls.

Thank-you.  Your prayers and input (by post, email, or in person) are greatly appreciated.

I've been following the Mets season this year, trying to step into the ethos of a Mets fan (it's been a long time since enjoying the '86 World Series victory with my Aunt, who has grown up with the franchise).  There are only a few games to go and the angst level has increased. ... I must confess that I had no intention of watching the game last night, distracted by another team of Villians than the Cubs, as our fictional Heroes have plenty more to contend with as thanks to the return of the writers, they continue to mess with time (Note:  I have a much stronger preference for Doctor Who).  And I must confess, desiring to take advantage of watching some TV with Theresa, as Doctor Who and baseball seldom fit the bill for her :(

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FYI:  Some of Tom's thoughts regarding Prince Caspian on the big screen, now can be found in a column on page 15 in the new issue of IN PART, The Magazine for the Brethren in Christ Community (Note: page 17 in the PDF document).

For groshlink posts on Prince Caspian, visit:

More on Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian goes to the Big Screen

Although on Saturday, September 27, 2008 our family will be at Dutch Wonderland, courtesy of the Lancaster County Library's Summer Reading Program, we thought some of you might have interest in Free Museum Day. We learned about the opportunity through The Shopping Queen.

Thank-you to the Carnegie Mellon alum who are providing clear, practical ways of addressing the question of What Tools Do You Use? [to store info/data] at the Emerging Scholars Blog.  If info/data storage is a concern of yours, check out What Tools Do You Use?  If you have helpful recommendations to add to the mix, please become part of the shared on-line learning community!

What sells books (and encourages people to read them)?  Would one of the below on-line pieces fit the bill for you or someone you know?  Why or why not?  And if not, do you have an example of an on-line book review/promotion/recommendation which you (or some of your friends) have found compelling?  Let me know by commenting here or dropping me a message.  In order to prevent bias, I'll wait to comment for a few days, but for those interested in the broader topic of What am I watching? -- I'd encourage you to check out the Publishers Weekly article Is This Video a Review, or a Recommendation?

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Last night Lily Joy started to turn on her side ... next thing you know she'll roll over!  This morning she couldn't get enough of her new Sesame Street activity gym/center (Thank-you Amy).  Lily Joy's developing so quickly, so lively and for the most part all smiles    Praise be to God!

Thank-you for being part of our family's journey.  Your prayers, encouragements, and gifts are a great blessing as we raise a family of four while in mission on campus. 

Pray for the Spirit's direction as I meet for lunch with an undergrad, a grad student, and some faculty from Penn State Harrisburg to discuss following Christ on their campus.

Here's a little ditty to file under Preschool Theology.

Eden recently learned about Adam and Eve. The same day before her nap I asked her who she would like to pray for. Her response:  Pray for Adam and Eve. Pray they don't eat the apple again.

In response to the requests for more Lily Joy pics. ... here's two which Grandpa Ginder took last night.  The first emphasizes the spiritual disciplines in which we have been instructing her ;-)  The second reflects the joy of the Lord which Lily brings to her mommy (and our whole extended family, both of natural and spiritual birth).

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I'm part of a list in which several participants posted their most comforting bible verses.  Below's one extended set of contributions.  I return again and again to Psalm 23 in my daily walk through physical issues of my own and Eden.  When stepping back, the bigger picture of what I live in are the passages mentioned below from John, Hebrews 12, and the later passages from Revelation giving a picture of the new heavens and new earth, i.e., our destination after all the trials of this broken world.  Do you have particular texts to which you return in a time of difficulty, distress, testing?

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I must confess that after hearing some faculty had shown the LHC rap primer to their classes in prep/follow-up to the first beam, my previous post News Flash: First Beam For Large Hadron Collider wasn't enough. So here you go. ...

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Check out one faculty's best books reading list, from the summer as he prepared for the fall term.  May many other followers of Christ pick-up these texts as they witness to the reality and Person of Christ in their neighborhood.  I can vouch for the first and third, anyone desire to send me a copy of A Scandalous Freedom by Steve Brown?  Note:  Click Simply Christian for a summary of N.T. Wright's presentation at Georgetown and click Following Christ for details regarding InterVarsity's upcoming Graduate & Faculty Ministry Conference at which Wright will be a plenary speaker.

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So has the First Beam For Large Hadron Collider been big news in your circles? The quick shout out on the Emerging Scholars blog (Large Hadron Collider!) got me thinking about how much my universe has changed since not regularly being on the Carnegie Mellon University campus. But maybe some of the good old days will return at tonight's Central PA Forum for Religion and Science dinner and their upcoming events ... the first coming in just a few days:

Peter Enns on Genesis and Evangelicals
Tuesday, 16 September 2008, at 7:00 pm.
Location: Hostetter Chapel Sanctuary, Messiah College, Grantham, PA. Directions and a campus map are here

If you're in the Elizabethtown area and have interest in an upcoming lecture ... or others posted at Central PA Forum for Religion and Science, let me know. Maybe we can carpool and/or set-up a time to chat about the presentation.

Jeff Erlanger describes his connection and friendship with Fred Rogers. The video speaks for itself. What a blessing.  May God grant us the grace, by His Spirit to be little Christ and let it roll in all our relationships.

This morning our family recieved a Brethren in Christ World Missions (BICWM) E-Update, one article focused on how the Situation in Zimbabwe is worsening. Please take a moment to read the brief piece and join our family today as we have a prayer focus upon Zimbabwe and Christ being made known through the transformed lives and words of the people of God.  Note:  below's the first paragraph of a report by Steve and Chris Newcomer, BICWM missionaries. ...

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Below's an excerpt from Derek Melleby's interview with Tim Clydesdale, author of The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens After High School and Professor of Sociology & Principal Investigator, Life and Vocation & Life after College Projects at The College of New Jersey, which focuses on youth walking away from the faith in college -- similar to some of my Rumspringa reflections (see Why Evangelicals are quitting church, Students uniformly negative view of Christianity, liveabove.com). 

Tim: Those who “walked away” from their faith during college made the decision to do so long before their college years – they just waited for the freedom of college to enact that choice. In many cases, these teens reported having important questions regarding faith during early adolescence (12-14 years old) that were ignored by their parents or pastors rather than taken seriously and engaged thoughtfully. It is in early adolescence that faith trajectories (along with other life trajectories) are set, thus early adolescence is the point when preparation must occur. Middle and late adolescence are increasingly similar, as college represents less of a qualitative change and more of a quantitative change. In other words, there are few ideas and freedoms available to college students that are not also available to high school students – college students simply experience ideas and freedoms in greater quantity. Hence, early adolescence are the years when churches must prepare their youth, and must do so fully aware that youth now arbitrate among many claims for their allegiance. Sadly, most youth ministries are long on fun and fluff and short on listening and thoughtful engagement. The former produces a million paper boats; the latter produces a handful of seaworthy ships. Launching a million paper boats is an amazing spectacle on a clear summer day, but only a ship can weather storms and cross oceans. -- http://cpyubookshelf.blogspot.com/2008/09/understanding-american-teens-after-high.html