Apparently our Predator drones are being watched by the bad guys.
Insurgents Hack U.S. Drones – WSJ.com.
h/t: hotair.com
Author: brandon
Was Jesus really born in 1 AD?
While the calendar we use is based upon the birth of Christ, Christ was actually born a few years B.C. A Christian monk named Dionysius Exiguus began the practice of dividing the calendar into B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord) in the sixth century. His purpose was twofold. He desired to allow for accurate dating of Easter and to move away from the Diocletian system, which honored an Emperor known for his cruelty to Christians. As he devised this system, Dionysius wrote that the current year was 525 years after Christ’s incarnation, or A.D. 525. Nowhere does Dionysius explain this claim, he just states it as fact. While Dionysius devised this system, it was 200 years later when Bede popularized the convention in his work Ecclesiastical History of the English People.
Modern scholarship questions Dionysius’ dating based upon our knowledge of events mentioned in the Gospels. Both Luke and Matthew indicate that Jesus’ birth took place before King Herod’s death in 4 B.C. From this information, we can safely date Jesus’ birth in or before 4 B.C.
More precision is impossible. We simply do not have enough evidence, inside or outside of Scripture to place an exact year upon Christ’s birth. Yet, we can confidently say that Christ was not actually born in year 1 A.D.
Dreamliner No Longer a Dream
2 years late, possibly paradigm changing for the airline industry. Boeing’s 787 finally has her maiden voyage.
FOXNews.com – Boeing 787 Dreamliner Takes Off on First Flight.
Another Look at Church Buildings
We are in the midst of constructing a new building. The walls are up and the interior is in process. So, I found this article from LeadershipJournal.net quite interesting. I’d encourage you to read the whole thing, but this quote kind of sums up my view of our new building:
Ideally, we are a church without walls. Were trying to create “living temples,” people who live for Christ and make a difference in the city wherever they go. Buildings arent bad—we need creative, adaptive spaces. But we want our facilities to reinforce the message that the church is not primarily a monument but a people, living temples.
Perspective is Key
Part of teaching people how to fly is teaching them how to land. In fact, the landing may be the hardest part of taking a new student pilot and turning him into a private pilot. The challenges of landing an airplane are many. Precise airspeed control, a well-flown traffic pattern, glide slope, control coordination and communicating on the radio. I know when I first learned to fly, I felt like I was doing 20 things at once during the first few landings. Continue reading
Who was present at the first Nativity?
The Gospels tell us that Mary and Joseph were present, and shepherds arrived soon after the birth. These shepherds came to see the child whose birth the Angels proclaimed (Luke 2:8-15), and the Scriptures foretold (Matthew 1:22, 23). When they arrived, the Shepherds Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. From there they departed to tell others the good news!
Traditionally we also place the Magi in the stable soon after Christ’s birth. However, they did not visit Christ in the manger. As Matthew’s gospel attests, they visited Him in a house (not a stable), when he was a child (not a new born) (Matthew 2:1-12). Likely they arrived in Bethlehem a few months after Christ’s birth. Like the shepherds, these men recognized Jesus to be more than a baby; He is the promised Savior. This Christmas we cannot return to the manger in Bethlehem, but we can accept Jesus for who is: the Lord and Savior of mankind, the greatest gift ever given.
But do the trains run on time?
The Rt Rev Stephen Venner called for a more sympathetic approach to the Islamic fundamentalists that recognises their humanity.
via Taliban can be admired for their faith and loyalty, says bishop – Telegraph.
Wow, just wow. I’m all about grace, mercy and forgiveness, but I have a real hard time with Rt Rev Venner’s assessment of the Taliban. These are folks to use suicide bombing, threats of violence, human shields and more to try and regain control of Afghanistan.
They behead journalists, destroy relics and really have nothing to commend themselves. To say,
“The Taliban can perhaps be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to each other.”
Is akin to saying, “We can admire HItler, perhaps, for the punctuality of Nazi Germany’s train system.”
Christianity is a religion of grace and peace. But it is also a religion of repentance. I’m all for the Taliban repenting and becoming brothers in Christ. Until then, our nation and west fails to protect ourselves by acting as if the Taliban are anything more than animals.
UPDATE: A good friend recently questioned whether these sentences conveyed what I meant, so I’ve decided to clarify.
The Church needs to pray that God would raise up a generation of missionary martyrs, men and women called to evangelize the Muslim world at the cost of their own life. However, we must guard against the moral relativism which would seek to minimize the attrocities of folks like Al Qaeda and the Taliban because of such virtues as faithfulness to their beliefs and brothers. From a civil point of view such moral equivalence will get more innocent people killed.
God imbued government with the power of the sword. He did so in order that governments might, as His regents, restrain evil. War is one such example. History shows us that, once war has been joined, the most humane path is the path of overwhelming violence that breaks the enemies will. Only in this way can decisive victory be achieved and real peace be established. In this way our greatest enemies of WWII (Germany and Japan) became friends and allies. In this way Israel finds itself still beset by enemies, despite victories over them.
EFCA | Mayhem, Fear and Fighting in Congo
Mayhem, Fear and Fighting in Congo
Looking for a last minute Christmas gift? Why not give to support Christians in the Congo. Click the link for details.
A Vision Problem
No matter where you go, you find competing visions. On a family vacation mom, dad and the kids all have different visions of rest and relaxation. When buying a home or a car, mom and dad have different visions of what would be best. In businesses you often find different bosses with different visions, and those differ from the visions of the workers. It is no different in a church. A Church is, in many ways, a volunteer organization. Each member and attendee holds a different vision for what the Church is, what it should be and how it should minister/operate. No matter where you go, you find competing visions.
One of the challenges for leadership is uniting people behind a common vision. mom and dad might struggle to unite the kids behind their vision for a fun filled week of visiting craft shows, antique stores and Civil War battlefields. A CEO might struggle to unite the board and the corporation behind his vision for future business and success. A Pastor might struggle to unite a Church board and the membership behind the vision God gives him for the future of a congregation.
In some contexts this unity is easier. In my time as an Air Force Chaplain, vision has been simple. The Chief of Staff gives his vision; the Chief of Chaplains bases his vision for the Chaplain Corps upon that. Then our Command and Wing Chaplains base their vision upon the Chief of Chaplains. While there is plenty of opportunity for feedback, ultimately we execute the vision we’re given.
In other contexts this can be impossible. Go back to the Church. In a small congregation with only 1 staff member (the Pastor), there is little power or influence over the members. When that Pastor shares his vision, there is the reality that the congregation can just leave. There is no paycheck on the line, no real consequence toward saying, “Hey, that’s great Pastor. We’re outta here.” So, he must struggle to communicate the vision clearly and persuasively.
In my experience this requires a lot of conversation. The vision must be explained and taught in the pulpit. As a huge proponent of expository preaching, this helps keep my vision grounded in Scripture. But one cannot just deliver the vision in a sermon and expect everyone to salute smartly and implement it. In addition to the preaching there are breakfasts and phone conversations and meetings and running into folks at the supermarket or the post office. Each of these is a strategic battle for united vision.
Recognizing the struggle, I am quite thankful for a little congregation with amazing unity. In our building program and in our ministry, we seem to be united with a common vision. Sure, that unity isn’t perfect. We still disagree on the when’s and how’s sometimes, but those minor differences are nothing compared to the context of a congregation united behind making Christ an unavoidable question for everyone in Beecher.
Making a name for myself
In addition to pastoring, I occasionally teach folks how to fly. Currently I have one student I fly with, a middle aged gentleman who always dreamed of becoming a pilot. So, we are slowly working toward the goal of earning his wings.
The other day, a beautiful, sunny, frigid day, we were honing that most challenging of skills, landing. Once the basics have been grasped, learning to land involves many touch-and-goes. Once the wheels touch down, you transition back into the air for another trip around the pattern. This day being a Saturday, the air was filled with student fliers hurling here and there as their intrepid instructors attempted to teach them while not running into each other.
Into this mix you can add the lack of any form of control tower. Our airfield is a non-towered airport, so everything is ‘announce on the radio and watch out!” In this context our story begins.
Having completed a few successful circuits of the airfield, avoiding the numerous other bug-smashers, our student pushed the throttle forward for one more trip around the pattern before taking her back to the barn. As he busily rose the nose and scanned for traffic, I listened intently to the various radio traffic, “08B is downwind for runway 18,” “68J is base for runway 18,” “05R is final for runway 18.” Clearly the pattern was filling up. As we turned to crosswind, I keyed the mike an announced, “63H in final for runway 18.” Now, for the uninformed, I’ve just announced that we are lined up with the runway, and our landing is imminent. In reality we’d just taken off. Apparently my brain hadn’t caught up yet. What should I hear next? “Brandon, where did you say you were?” Not yet realizing the mistake I’d made, I replied, “63H is just turning downwind.” “Oh, I was confused since I’m on final and didn’t see you,” came the response. Following which one could hear, “I was confused, too,” and, “I’m just down here watching the parade and I was confused,” and, “Are you sure?” Each from a different voice.
Shaking off the embarrassment, I did my level best to announce where we actually were for the remainder of the lesson. Hopefully my student learned about the need to be clear and precise on the radio. And as for myself, just call me Confused.
Brandon Markette 