Sunset over Lake Michigan

Sunset over Lake Michigan
Originally uploaded by thom.michaelj

Cool, huh? Also, just trying the blog-from-flickr feature.

I took this pic with my phone camera while in Michigan with Natalie for her family reunion.

SCOTUS Decision in Favor of Gun Owners

I am so happy to be posting these links.  The much-awaited D.C. et al. v. Heller case that went before the Supreme Court has been decided.  In a narrow 5-4 vote the Court has overturned the D.C. gun ban law, calling it unconstitutional and specifically stating that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self defense in the home."  While not a sweepingly broad decision, the case makes it much harder now to deny citizens the right to at least own a gun and keep in ready to be used in the home.  Only time will tell just how much more will come as a direct result of this decision, but it's at least a positive step in the right direction.

Read the SCOTUS Blog's report, or go straight to the decision (pdf).

Spiritual Receptivity

I am a little over halfway through A.W. Tozer's classic The Pursuit of God (also available to read online).  This is my first read of the book, and, despite the language being just a bit old-fashioned (it was written around the middle of the 1900s), he is an amazing man of God with a lot of interesting things to say.  I just read one portion tonight that struck me as something that I need to keep in mind, now more than ever, in my position working at a church (but, really, to a certain degree, these are thoughts that everyone should think though).

Failure to ... [be spiritually receptive] ... is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism. ... The tragic results of this spirit are all around us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit.  These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.

Strong words, eh?  I'm just fascinated by how relevant those words are, even today.  "The preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings" - how did he know we'd be more interested in exciting music and cool slideshows than strong teaching of the Word?  "The mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit" - I know some preachers who are not the most elegant with words, but have an amazingly Godly spirit and a servant's heart.  Tozer warns that these misguided desires are "symptoms of an evil disease" - harsh, perhaps, but true.  Let us pray that our church cannot be described with any of these symptoms of a "deep and serious malady of the soul."

Survey: More Americans dropping dogma for spirituality

Read the link: Survey: More Americans dropping dogma for spirituality - USATODAY.com

I can hardly believe some of this.  Well, actually, that's not true.  I believe every word of it; especially being near a college campus for four years, I don't doubt any of this.  I just hate to see it in words, as stats, proof of the lack of teaching that is going on and the compromise that people are willing to make.

The Never-Ending Adventures and Journeys of the Jesus Followers

I just started reading another book, this one by the guy who spoke at the NACCM Campus Ministers' Retreat a couple weeks ago, Don Everts.  It's called Jesus with Dirty Feet, and it's a look at Jesus that attempts to do away with all of the cliches, ideas, stigmas, mindsets, and perspectives that we seem to collectively have from our 21st-century viewpoint (well, 20th-century, actually... it was written in 1999).

To greatly paraphrase his very first chapter, the term Christian and Christianity has been greatly distorted and misunderstood in modern-day society.  So, for now on, whenever you hear the term Christianity, think the following:

The Never-Ending Adventures and Journeys of the Jesus Followers.

Last from Anderson Highland

Well, my time at Anderson Highland has finally come to an end. (Well, actually, it officially ended 5/2 and practically ended 5/10, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.) What a wonderful time I had there. Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Stickler truly were wonderful to work with, and I had so much fun working with all the students in all the various ensembles. I'm blessed to have been given the opportunity to student teach at Highland.

I wanted to share the corollary to my first post about Highland. In the middle of the semester, Mr. Fletcher had the students write two things I was doing well and something I needed to improve on. This produced many interesting (and all anonymous) notes. Well, I asked him to have the students do similarly again, this time at the end of the semester. This produced many interesting responses again, but in very different ways. I even had many students sign the notes. What follows is, again, selections from these notes (typed verbatim, if any errors exist).

I think you're doing AWESOME :) GOOD LUCK! Congrats on your engagement too! :) (I'm sure that's a little late.) If you're dealt with some in this class, you'll be ready for almost anything.. Ha Ha!

You have progressed tremendously. Work on: Discipline & authority.

You're Amazing
don't change Mr. Thom!!!
sectionals are amazing with you!
woot! woot! congrats

it's all good so far that I can see
Don't go

Mr. Tom
You've done a great job. You don't constantly mess up like our student teachers last year. Thanks for putting up with all of my stupid sounds and stuff, and good luck after graduation.

Mr. Thom,
Thank you for being a director for our band
You did well.

Mr. Thom is an awesome conductor and student teacher. Compared to all over the other student conductors, I would say I like him the best. He is easy to get along with and he knows A LOT about what he's doing - more so than our previous student conductors.
Can't think of anything for him to improve on.

Mr. Thom,
You did a super job putting up with this band. I know that even just as a student, this class can be frustrating to deal with, and as a student teacher, you dealt with it well.
You'll make a fine teacher, and whatever school you go to, they'll be lucky to have you! :)
GOOD LUCK!
and have fun at graduation.

Mr. Thom -
You are amazing, don't ever change. We'll miss you sooooooo much. Thank you, You're the best!

You were confident without seeming cocky. You seemed laid back but in a good way. (You weren't stressful). You did a Great job conducting.

Mr. Thom,
You did a great job this year with us. Your conducting was actually better than a certain someone else that shall remain nameless!
Thank you

Mr. Thom
I think your great. You did a great job. I like the way you dress. Your style is fly. Good luck in the future. Hopefully one day there will be a cozy couch with Mr. Thom and don't read me and Jordan's text message when you have my phone.

I think Tom is a really good band director. Whatever band he teaches will surely benefit them all.

Mr. Thom,
I think you were great! You were fun and most of the time pretty energetic. I really enjoyed being taught by you. Keep your good sense of humor, because I'm sure your future students will dish out all kinds of stuff. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself though. If they make you mad, tell them! Have a great summer! :]

Mr. Tom youre an awesome guy. Even though you cant beat austin in a race, you're a really great director. Good luck with your career.

goo yob!
(That's what she said) lol

I sure am gonna miss those kids.

What Do You Think of Jesus Today?

Tonight was the first night of the NACCM's annual Campus Minister's Retreat at McCormick's Creek State Park in Spencer, Indiana.  The speaker (whose name is Don, but otherwise has not been fully introduced) explained that he would be speaking out of Hebrews this week, as God has been "messing him up" through Hebrews recently, so he thought he'd "mess us up" with Hebrews this week.  (Very funny guy, by the way... seems to be a terrific speaker.)  Don described how most people tend to focus on chapters 11-13, as they seem to be the most accessible of the book.  He also suggested that chapters 1-10 are largely all serving the same purpose - to basically shake up the "shrinking" Jewish converts (his audience) and shout to them, "Don't you know what Jesus has to offer you?!"  He likens the situation to a person who has a winning lottery ticket in their pocket, knows vaguely of this fact, but shrinks away from the idea of doing anything with it, perhaps even saying, "Eh, it was taking up too much space in my pockets anyway," as he throws it out.  The converted Jews were believers, they knew who Jesus was and what he offered them, but they were now ignoring it.  Don pointed to the first verse of chapter 2:

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. - Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)

Basically: WAKE UP!  You know all the right things; I have nothing new to tell you.  Just pay attention to what you already know!

Additionally, Don challenged us with two questions with which he was challenged years ago by a mentor.  1: What do you think of Jesus these days/this week/today?  In the midst of everything that's going on, just what is your perspective on Him?  And more so, how you should redirect your focus so that you once again have a proper view of Jesus?  2: Can we ever think about Jesus too much?  This one hopefully has an obvious answer: No.

Some interesting thoughts.  I hope to blog more as the conference goes on.