YOUNG MAN REFUSES 'NARROW-MINDED' UNIVERSITY TRAINING

This is an interesting article about one Arizone State University student's complaint about an exercise that he was required to participate in before he was allowed to become an RA in the spring semester. The exercise was a roleplay that put a gay Hispanic male in direct conflict with a female Bible-thumping Christian. What was the young man's beef? Well, basically, he was complaining that the roleplay stereotyped Christians to be nothing but a bunch of close-minded "southern" individuals who think all gay people are going to hell. While I do very much appreciate this young man's stance, and believe that the roleplay he was made to "act out" was probably too extreme in its presentation, I can't help but think it did kind of nail a good number of Christians to wall...

I mean... Do a lot of Christians live in the South? Yes! Are a lot of Christians close minded? Yes! Do a lot of Christians believe gay people will burn in Hell? Umm, yes.

Are those things true of all followers of Jesus? No. They're not true of me and many [if not most] of my friends, but stereotypes are never perfect; and frankly, they don't have to be. That's just the nature of stereotypes.

I'll be the first to admit that Christians do sometimes get pegged unfairly, especially in a university setting, but instead of making these kinds of things our platforms, let's rise above it and go help make life better for somebody in need. The less we react, the better chance we have of changing that stereotype to somebody a lot kinder...

just a thought.

mpt.

PS: Will be in Indy for the next couple of days attending CBA Advance; I'm hoping to keep you updated about my week's happenings... but as you can tell, I've been a bad poster for the last week or so... I'm trying, I promise.

REMEMBER THIS?!?

LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEWS 'SEX' AND 'CHRISTIANITY' BOOKS

Yeah, i'll just let you read it for yourself...

Former editor of CCM magazine and the author of Christian Culture Survival Guide, Turner launches a new series with NavPress under its TH1NK imprint with these two charming titles aimed at teens and youth. There are not many writers, Christian or otherwise, who would dare to put the words Jesus and masturbation between two covers; fewer would admit to the deed, and perhaps only one would concede that the Scriptures are silent on the subject and that his young readers will have to come to their own conclusions. This is Turner's gift—to speak the almost unsayable thought on behalf of young Christians and find occasion for laughter and joy. Turner is much better news for the church—any church—than the Campus Crusade ever was. Highly recommended.

--Graham Christian for Library Journal

BARACK IS IN!!

Today, Barack made the first official step toward running for president. I am happy about this. Not because I am going to vote for him [of course, I might], but because he'll help make the next two years much more exciting. I believe this coming presidential election is going to be so entertaining. I mean, there are just so many fun and exciting questions to be answered:

Are the Democrats guaranteed the presidency?
Will Hillary get the nomination?
Will the Republicans even have a decent canidate?
Could this be the election where the Green Party has a chance?

Stay tuned...

MY LOVELY WIFE

Jessica [left] and her sister Melissa had a blast this past weekend. Melissa and Rick [her boyfriend] drove down from Wisconsin for the weekend. Jess and Mel shopped like crazy, mostly at Old Navy where apparently they were giving clothes away this weekend. Tonight, we visited Nashville's Parthenon and snapped a bunch of pictures with Jess's new Canon "rebel" camera. Gosh, that thing is sweet. My wife loves to scrapbook, so I saved my pennies and bought her a nice camera for Christmas. She's been glowing about this thing ever since. I tell you, I'm not sure there is anything more special than seeing and hearing Jessica laugh. She puts everything into it--she laughs from the depths of her soul--and looks absolutely beautiful doing it.

On a side note, have you heard the song "Suddenly I See," by KT Tunstall? I love that song; ever since I heard the album the first time almost a year ago... Anyway, I think of my wife when I hear the lyrics:

Her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm

Suddenly I see
This is what I wanna be
Suddenly I see
Why the hell it means so much to me

I feel like walking the world
Like walking the world
You can hear she's a beautiful girl
She's a beautiful girl
She fills up every corner like she's born in black and white
Makes you feel warmer when you're trying to remember
What you heard
She likes to leave you hanging on a wire

Suddenly I see

And she's taller than most
And she's looking at me
I can see her eyes looking from a page in a magazine
Oh she makes me feel like I could be a tower
A big strong tower
She got the power to be
The power to give
The power to see

Anyway, you should know that song. It's a good story.

Best,

mpt

DOBSON POO POOS MCCAIN

It looks like ole Jimmy D--the guy who runs Focus on the Family, not the guy who makes links and patties--said during an interview that he would not be endorsing John McCain for president. In fact, it kind of went this way: "'Speaking as a private individual [that's so he won't lose his tax exempt status and can remain above reproach], I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances [unless, of course, McCain could be morphed into George W. Bush],' said James Dobson."

Aw, poor Johnny. There must be a lot of gnashing of teeth happening in the McCain home tonight. I mean, I can only imagine that, like any good Republican, he just assumed that God would instantly jump on board with his team in 2008.

But alas, Dobson said no.

So, I guess we'll have to wait and see if God listens.

[In other news--there's ONLY 1,546 days left until Pat Robertson gets escorted up into Heaven by male angels--get your count down calendars now, folks!]

ORTHODOX OR BUST?!?

According to USA Today, a whole bunch of people are dropping evangelicalism like it's hot and deciding on a more traditional approach to worshiping God: The Orthodox Church.

I'm not sure if it's a trend or not, but I do know that about six months ago, my friend Lisa ditched worshiping God with the chords of G, C, and D, and opted to go Greek Orthodox!

And just in case you're from the state of Mississippi, please make note that you don't have to live in Greece to be Greek Orthodox. And no, it doesn't make one a communist.

Cool?

IS THAT YOU, ASLAN?

Your eye are not deceiving you. That lion is kissing that woman on the lips! And by golly, I think she likes it. Click here to find out why this African lion got fresh with this lady. In other news, I once had a dog that would hump the sofa.

THE "What You Didn't Learn From Your Parents" SERIES WILL BE COMPLETE IN FEBRUARY!

FRIENDS WHO WIN TOGETHER, BRAG TOGETHER

Last Saturday was game night at the Turner home. I slaved over a hot stove all day long so my homemade chicken/veggie soup would be perfect. After dinner, my wife decided that we should play the game Cranium--so she and my friend Rebekah teamed up to challenge Julie and me. And thanks to Julie's uncanny ability to spell words backwards, we won!

When life is busy, it's small moments like this one that help me to slow down long enough to recognize that old recipes, pointless games, and really good company are rather significant gifts from God. And winning is not so bad, either.

OKAY, I ADMIT; 'OH! GRAVITY' IS GROWING ON ME

Everybody loves Switchfoot's new album, everybody except me. So I gave it another listen, and you know what? It's not bad. I should have given it some more time before I spewed my judgment upon the the San Diego band. Please forgive me. I think you should give Oh! Gravity second chance. It's not the most creative grouping of songs ever created, but it's better the second time.

mpt

OBAMA, OH BABY!

Wow. I love this. Can you imagine? A president with some major pec action?!? I mean, has there ever been a President of the United States who had pecs? I mean, I'm sure there's been one who could have boasted saggy man boobs... but pecs? And what I love about politics in America is that Obama, a person I believe is fantastic regardless of his apparent sex appeal [well, what I know of him, anyway], will probably score major brownie point among women and gay voters just because paparazzi scored this picture of him frolicking out of the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii. The picture debuted in People, in a story called "Beach Babes," where the lifestyle magazine also showcased such hotties as Jessica Alba, Penelope Cruz, and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Dang. Good company there, Mr. Obama! And in true media form, people are talking about it.

According to the Washington Post, at a recent Senate news conference, "Obama noticed that Jay Newton-Small [a female, despite the name Jay] of Bloomberg News was studying the image. 'Stop looking at it!' he mock-scolded, and hustled away."

The article went on to say:

"'He does look slimmer in his work suits," the young woman [Miss Jay] judged, but she allowed that he "looks good for his age."

OUCH! Maybe Mr. Obama needs to keep his shirt on for now on. OR work on those love handles.

"Obaba" in '08? We shall see.

mpt