Soccer Evangelism

Things are goofy all over.  From ENI.

Polish churches seek to win fans at June soccer tournament

Warsaw, Poland (ENInews)--Poland's churches are hoping to win fans for God as they launched a welcoming program for June's Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) championship. "Let's show nobility of heart, a Polish hospitality shaped by the Gospel and an example of Christian openness to visitors," the Roman Catholic Bishops Conference said on 28 May. Poland's predominant church has unveiled a series of pastoral initiatives for the championship, which is being co-hosted with neighboring Ukraine. The 8 June-1 July tournament is the first major international football event to be hosted by post-Communist countries. [418 words, ENI-12-0311]

AMPS!

I've played electric guitar for many, many years.  I chased particular guitars for many years in search of a particular tone.  I only found it when I finally realized that whatever amplifier I was using was as important as the guitar.  

So, axes aside, here's what my son, Karl, and I were working with today. My AB 763 Showman will rejoin the rest of the crew very soon.  Karl's Blackstar is AWESOME--beautiful tone shaping character.  But nothing--NOTHING--beats the cathode-biased sound of my little blackface Princeton Reverb.

n.b. the red "Divine Noise" cable.  It is very nice.  Thanks to Grant Knepper for putting me on to Pro Guitar in Portland for it.  http://proguitarshop.com/about-pro-guitar-shop

Amtrak at Steamer's Cafe in Tacoma Narrows, Washington

A quick little video I shot today on the way out of Steamer's Cafe in Tacoma Narrows, Washington. 

Ελληνική Ευαγγελική Εκκλησία

From Ecumenical News International:

"Greek churches 'face disaster' as crisis deepens"

(ENInews)--A senior Greek Protestant has warned that minority denominations "face disaster" due to the country's worsening economic crisis. "Heavy taxation, high unemployment and all our other difficulties are fast-forwarding us to collapse," said Dimitrios Boukis, general secretary of the Greek Evangelical church, which has 29 congregations in two regional synods in Greece and other communities abroad. "We receive no state support and are fully dependent on our members, and we're already short of pastors because we can't afford them. The pastors we have are having to handle everything because we can't employ staff, so some congregations will end up without any spiritual care," he said. [463 words, ENI-12-0275]

Here is a link to the church's website (all in Greek): http://www.gec.gr/index.php/en

Concordia Saint Paul Commencement

This evening I had the distinct honor of addressing the undergraduate class of 2012 at Concordia University, Saint Paul, Minnesota.  President Thomas Ries, the Regents, the faculty and the staff were wonderfully welcoming. Click here for a link to the CSP website.

Here's a portion of the program.



Here's the commencement address itself.

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census

Just this week I was showing students here at the seminary the maps of the 2000 census.  I was hoping to have updated materials.  Now they're out. 

The 2010 U.S. Religion Census: Religious Congregations & Membership Study (RCMS) is a county-by-county examination of the various religious traditions and confessions of the United States. It is utterly fascinating stuff.  WARNING: If you're a map nerd like I am, this may gobble up a good portion of your day.