Monthly Archives: August 2009

The Big Three: Three very cool things God is doing in my life.

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1.  Job — while I wasn’t ever really unemployed, I have most certainly been UNDER employed for the past several months.  As of this past Monday I am now officially the new Webmaster at Lon Morris College.  I’ve been the unofficial webmaster there for nearly a year, working on a contract basis, but now I’m an actual employee which I am excited about.

2.  School — I registered for and (partially) paid for my first class at UT Tyler.  I was tempted to take two (don’t you just love alliterations?*) classes, but my budget doesn’t really allow for it and, since it’s been a while since I’ve taken a class, one should suffice this semester.  Eleven more classes and I’ll have my M.A.!

3.  Church — Last, but certainly not least, I found a church (as if the church were lost?  “I  found it!”).  This past year has been a bumpy ride for me theologically and spiritually but the journey has helped me figure a few things out regarding what I believe and why I believe it.  On the church website (www.livingactschurch.com) they say “we are first Christians, second Evangelicals, third Missional, and fourth Reformed.”  The last one, “Reformed” is probably the least important, yet it seems to help define (clarify or even redefine in some ways) the other three.  Not going to try to explain it here — maybe some other time :-)

4.  Yeah, I know the title says “The Big Three”, but this one kind of ties the first three together.  I spent the first half of this week helping out LMC’s Cross Country Coach with his training camp.  I can now say with a higher degree (get it?*) of certainty that I absolutely love working with college students.  Not just working with them, but investing my time, money and energy in seeing them succeed in life.  This is why I love working in Higher Ed. and why I’m going back to school to get my master’s degree.   And how does this tie in with church?  While my vocation is in Higher Ed., my occupation will always be Christ — teaching and preaching the Gospel is not just for the pastor, it is for every believer.  Bringing our occupation into our vocation — that is missional living in the workplace.

I’m looking forward to this school year — I’m expecting great things.

* If you ever wondered whether or not I was a nerd, this should remove any remaining doubt.

Proper Comment Protocol

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I actually wrote this back in January of 2007 but I figured it was worth revisiting.  Actually, I just think it was clever and cute and deserved another shot at being on the front page (and I’m too lazy to write a NEW post tonight)…

Gee guys, thanks for the comments!  I didn’t even have to prompt you guys or anything!  My favorite (use this as an example from now on):

“The calvinism shirt was funny but philosophically untenable. “This shirt chose me,” implies that the shirt has the ability to choose. It should read, “This shirt was chosen for me.””

Notice that the author begins with praise – “The calvinism shirt was funny”.  If you’re at a loss for words just start with telling me how good whatever idea or concept I expressed was.  The author then proceeds to point out a fault in the idea or concept but also provides a suitable substitute.  Now let’s see how NOT to post a comment.

A few months ago a reader wrote:

“You’re an Idiot”

Notice how this does not fit the formula stated above.  The author of this post actually suffers from severe mental deficiencies so I let it slide but it is not an example of proper posting protocol.  How could the author have improved this comment?  By starting out with a note of praise.

For instance – “Paul, you are such an awesome guy but I do not agree with your line of logic on this particular issue.  Maybe one day I’ll understand – until then you’re still the best!”

Notice how this comment is more grounded in reality. Also the addition of MORE praise at the end of the comment is always encouraged, but not necessary.

Try some on your own now keeping in mind the examples provided.