Is Happiness a Mental Disorder?

10 Oct , 2012 No Comments

Glass half full or empty

“We have a tendency to regard people in their ordinary moods as rational information processors, relatively free of systematic bias and distorted judgments… much research suggests that when they are not depressed, people are highly vulnerable to illusions, including unrealistic optimism, overestimation of themselves, and an exaggerated sense of their capacity to control events. The same research indicates that depressed people’s perceptions and judgments are often less biased.” Lauren Alloy

This idea actually has a name: depressive realism.

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Socks and Sandals

05 Oct , 2012 No Comments

socks and sandals

True or false: the first time I met my (future) wife Michelle I was wearing socks and sandals.

True.

While she loves to mock me about it now, I always remind her that apparently she was attracted to the man sporting the bold fashion statement. I recently came across this post that described an archeological find in 2010 that unearthed a shocking reality: the Romans wore socks and sandals. Here is a quote from it:

The rust on nails from one 2,000-year-old sandal unearthed at the site clearly shows the impression of material fibres. It is the oldest evidence ever found of the existence of socks.

One researcher said: “They may have shaped the world as we know it, but this just goes to show the Romans didn’t have much style.”

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The Blue Parakeet

03 Oct , 2012 No Comments

the blue parakeetOur life group at Central spent the last couple of months going through Scot McKnight’s book The Blue Parakeet. It is a terrific look at how to read the Bible in context. It shows a lot of the areas where we allow our personal biases to shape our conclusions about God and the Bible. In particular, he spends the last section of the book exploring the role of women in the Church. Whether or not you agree with all of his conclusions, it is a great book for anyone eager to take their personal time with the Bible to the next level.

Here are some of my favorite sections from the book:

I have now come to the conclusion that this question—How, then, are we to live out the Bible today?—is a pressing question for our day.

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Interview with John Van Sloten

01 Oct , 2012 No Comments

The Day Metallica Came to ChurchI first became familiar with John Van Sloten when I read and reviewed his book, The Day Metallica Came To Church. It is a terrific look at the ways in which God speaks to us (in more ways than just the Bible). John is the pastor of a church in Canada (remember that so that you catch his humor when I ask him about the Church in America). John and I were connected when I invited him to come out for our Absent documentary showing where James Hetfield (lead singer of Metallica) was at Central. John wasn’t able to join us but he did send me a book that I gave to James that night. I was impressed with how God orchestrates stories like that.

To promote this interview, I’ll be giving away two autographed copies of John’s book. In order to enter your name into the mix you can do up to three of the following:

  1. Subscribe your email to my blog (you can enter your email into the box at the end of this post) ENTRY +1
  2. Tweet the link to this post (you can use the floating Twitter box to the left of your cursor on this post). ENTRY +1
  3. Leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite part of this interview. ENTRY +1

That’s three possible ways to get your name into the mix for a signed copy of The Day Metallica Came to Church. I’ll announce the winners on Friday, October 5, 2012.

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How Far Would You Go?

26 Sep , 2012 No Comments

We all have goals we’d love to one day attain. They may be tangible or experiential. If we were to explain our audacious life goals to someone it would be a good way for them to see the inner parts of us that we usually keep guarded.

Sadly, most of us will never experience our biggest goals in life.

I don’t mean to say this as a downer. Rather, it is my experience that the goals that truly matter to us would also take an inordinate amount of determination and persistence to make happen. That is why we keep them on the shelf for someday. As Wess Roberts said in his book, Attila the Hun:

“Always remember that worthy causes meet with the most resistance–even internal withholding of support and loyalty. If victory is easily gained, you must reconsider the worthiness of your ambitions.”

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The Political Agnostic

The Political Agnostic

24 Sep , 2012 No Comments

Do you ever have a moment where you think you are really clever only to suddenly realize you’re not? Like the guy climbing to an untouched mountain only to find a beer can at the top, reality can bring you down sometimes. I was in a conversation with someone recently when I randomly described myself as a political agnostic. Again, I thought I had just brilliantly attributed a spiritual concept and masterfully applied it to politics. Then I looked up the word agnostic in the dictionary and found this:

Definition of AGNOSTIC

1: a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable; broadly : one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god

2: a person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something <political agnostics>

It was number two that deflated me. There’s that beer can.

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