OK, this will sound really funny to anyone who has been reading this blog for any length of time at all, given my occasional lack of posting, but I'm going for it this year. I've registered for National Novel Writing Month.

My goal is to prove to myself that I can actually sustain writing the same story for one month. At this point, the 50,000 words is a bonus. I've had ideas running through my head in the past, but never did much of anything with them. Now is the time.

My wife has also decided to do it, though she hasn't registered yet. Of course, she's had a short story published already, and has two novel ideas, so she's got a head start on me.

I just wish it wasn't strictly a novel writing thing -- I've got an awesome nonfiction idea that I've been playing with for the past few weeks, and I'd like to get that going. But I guess I can do the proposal this month, and do some serious work on it in December and January.

Anybody else doing this? Maybe we should form a "support group" to keep each other going!

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 09:23 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So I'm a sucker for memes, sometimes. This comes from Rebecca Writes and The Crusty Curmudgeon.

Google "Your first nameneeds" and list the first ten hits. Underline the ones that are true.

1. Warren needs repair (actually talking about a road somewhere)
2. Warren needs new ... (some message board. The description doesn't tell me what I need!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!)
3. Warren needs to be first and best (from an article about Warren Beatty and Annette Benning).
4. Warren needs people with him all the time to help with his decisions and choices. (NOT)
5. Warren needs to focus on the younger group instead of the older group.
6. Warren needs to show up everywhere in his gay as black button downs with dragons and flames on them. (HUH??!!)
7. Warren needs to get the public involved in the same way Youngstown did. (Who is this Youngstown guy, anyway? lol)
8. Warren needs glass windows.
9. Warren needs a pharmacy.
10. Warren needs better “life sustaining” jobs

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This one via Al Mohler. Today's Washington Post:

The federal government will help rebuild parochial schools, nursing homes and similar religious institutions but will not pay for reconstruction of churches or other houses of worship destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, administration officials said yesterday.

Well, here's one Southern Baptist who sincerely hopes that every one of our buildings is used for "inherently religious activities." This looks like a genuinely bad idea. Government money means government entanglement. Who will decide what constitutes "inherently religious activities?"

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 02:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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OK, another hat tip to Tim Challies for this one.

I think that one paragraph says it all about this:

Capitalizing on the ultra-trendy Jesus clothing movement, we proudly introduce Jesus Loves T-Shirts: an edgy collection of T-shirts featuring all the people we are afraid to love.
{emphasis mine}

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Tim Challies had a great post on this yesterday, and I was planning on writing this yesterday evening, but you know what they say about "best laid plans." Tim talks about John MacArthur's response to Halloween, and talks about his own efforts. He points out that, to many neighborhood kids, a dark house at Halloween isn't taking a stand against Satanism or paganism -- it's a house full of people who can't (or won't) have any fun.
more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 01:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Comments are back. MAJOR spammer yesterday evening, with some seriously nasty pr0n spammage. Got rid of it, and hopefully have the site locked down so they can't get back in.

For now, HTML is disabled in comments. I will probably restore it later, but I figure if the link doesn't work, the spammers can't get Google 'credit' for having a link to their site. Maybe that will make them go somewhere else.

I'd planned on actually writing last night, but the spam distracted me. Later today, and maybe tonight after church. Be in prayer for me, because I'm preaching this evening (Galatians chapter 6).

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 09:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The site has been hit with a LOT of really nasty Internet porn spam. Until I can get it under control, comments are, unfortunately, turned off. I'm hoping to get this taken care of quickly (with the help of the mu.nu resident experts), so this will be a minor inconvenience.

If you really need to comment on something, email me (it's in the sidebar). When comments come back, I'll put your comment in the appropriate place.

Thanks, and sorry!

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 04:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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$48, cash or check.

I'm not going to go into a long critique of this method of evangelism. As I reflect on my own life, I can see many times I've done something similar. I can remember the Saturdays that I spent with my youth group, playing kickball and sharing Jesus with kids. And seeing the same kids get saved every single week.

The problem with so many modern evangelism methods is that there is no discipleship. No connect with a local church. No clue what they believe, or why. Then ten years later, they have nothing to do with the church. Did they lose their salvation? No -- you can't lose something that you never had in the first place. We failed them. Our emphasis on numbers has resulted in our missing one important fact -- these are people. They are souls that Christ died for. They will spend eternity somewhere, and we are giving them false hope. Their hope is in a repeated prayer, rather than Christ.

I question any directive that places a greater emphasis on numbers than on discipleship. Quality over quantity. And I am willing to invest whatever I need to -- time, money, tears, whatever.

$48 just seems a little cheap to me.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 04:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've got a bunch of books I'm digging into -- one of the benefits of Blogcritics and Mind and Media.

Bruce Feiler's book Where God Was Born looks interesting. I've read Walking the Bible, and I'm looking forward to reading this. A review will show up here and at BC.

Got my own copy of John Piper's God is the Gospel the other day. I'm late for the controversy that erupted in the godblogosphere, but I figure I'll have a few words about it, and give my take on some of the discussion that happened a month or so ago. Maybe I can even start another discussion!

AND the third book I wanted to mention (I've got more waiting to be read and reviewed -- check in with Blogcritics in the next few days for more on those books ...). I got an email from a very nice lady at Chelsea Green Publishing about a book they wanted me to review. God, America, and Fascism -- all about how terrible the religious right is, and how Christianity has it's priorities wrong, and all that good stuff. I almost passed on the book, but then I heard something that I told someone not long ago. "We should be willing to read things we disagree with," I said, "because there's always the chance that we'll learn something. If nothing else, intellectual honesty says that we need to get their arguments straight from them -- not second or third hand."

So I agreed to read it. I plan on reviewing each of the "sermons" in a post here, with a general review over at BC. I'm still not sure why they wanted me to review the book, unless they just haven't read much of this blog.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 04:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 ESV)

It was actually a week, almost exactly. We spent the past week at the hospital most of the day. My wife and her mother spent the night every night, sleeping on couches or recliners, staying until her grandfather came in the mornings. She had a living will, so there was little anyone could do once it was determined that she was terminal: no life support, just pain medicine and saline drip, and waiting.

I've never actually watched someone die. My dad was gone before I made it home, and both my grandparents died when I was living out of state. It's not something I want to repeat.

She died this past Sunday, at about the same time she was admitted the week before. Her viewing and funeral were last night, and the burial was today, with a small service for the family at the grave.

We grieve, but not as those who have no hope. We miss her, but we know that we will meet again. It's not goodbye, it's "See you later>'

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 02:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I don't want to alarm anyone, but ... it happened. I won this week.

I figured I would win, since Nick didn't start a quarterback (Rothlesburger had a bye this week), but that wouldn't have mattered. Thank you, Eli Manning. Pewie Podcasters 70, Nick's Roughnecks 46. I try to extend this winning "streak" next week against Brendoman.com, who beat the Highlanders this week 94-71.

In other action:

The Houston Fire Ants burned the Disgruntled Mimes 71-48.
The Crusaders edged the Kung Fu Mamma's Boys 69-63, giving Bill Wallo's boys their first loss this season.
The Rockets beat Holtsberry's Hacks 63-48. The Hacks take the Podcaster's place at the bottom of the standings ... for now.
And the NBB Twisters topped Daniel's Boyz 65-43.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:18 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Five pages into this book, I put it down, looked over at my wife, and said, "When I finish this book, you HAVE to read it." This is not a decision that I recommend, though -- once you say this, you automatically forfeit your rights to read significant passages from the book out loud to everyone in the room. And that is something that you'll want to do -- many, many times. more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:42 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My wife's grandmother is in the hospital right now. SHe's been having mini-strokes and has been falling a lot lately -- ever since the latter part of July, actually. She's had a brain hemmorage, and the doctors have said it's just a matter of time before she goes on the heaven.

Please pray for my wife's family -- this is the sixth death on that side of the family in the past three years. Her grandfather is the last one of his generation.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 07:23 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Ok, I goofed the original league, so I had to make up a new one. The password is still pewview, but the league number is 72966. Fantasysports.yahoo.com.

So far, we have five people. I'd like to get ten, so that means five more of you need to sign up. Don't make me beg. I know where most of you live ... OK, I know where your IP # says you live. Close enough.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 05:37 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" And he looked up and said, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
(Mark 8:22-26 ESV)

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I've talked about the book on the making of the movie elsewhere. Now, I'm going to talk about the DVD. WARNING -- There WILL be some spoilers ahead. If you'd rather not know how the movie turns out, don't go any further. more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 10:27 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Ok, I can almost understand why FEMA wants to reimburse churches for their relief efforts. The government is trying to look good. But if any churches actually take the money, I'll be disappointed.

I'm proud of Bob Reccord, the president of the SBC's North American Missions Board. "Volunteer labor is just that: volunteer. We would never ask the government to pay for it." Charity means not getting paid back. My prayer is that more church organizations remember that -- especially when it comes time for Faith Based Initiative money. Churches don't need government money, and shouldn't go looking for it. Faith Based Initiative is a terrible idea.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 11:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I learned something interesting today, and just had to share it. The phrase "racking your brains" actually has its origins in the middle ages. The rack was used to torture people to get them to give whatever information that the torturers were after. So, to rack your brains meant to stretch your brain (figuratively) to try to remember something that you knew.

And now, you know!

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The streak continues. Unfortunately, it's a losing streak.

The Pewie Podcasters took firm control of the basement of the BFL by losing 63-45 to the Houston Fire Ants. Lackluster performances all around contributed to the Podcasters' defeat, and I plan on making some changes this week, in preparation for my game against Nick Queen's Roughnecks, who suffered defeat this week at the hands of The Highlanders.

In other action:
Brendoman.com extinguished the Rockets 85-72.
The Disgruntled Mimes didn't have to say a word as they beat the Crusaders 55-48.
Bill Wallo's Kung Fu Mamma's Boys continued their domination of the BFL by trouncing the NBB Twisters 105-53.
And Daniel's Boyz notched their first win of the season, beating Holtsberry's Hacks 68-59.

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 03:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I started on this track to write about John Piper's decision to adopt a more open membership stance, especially concerning baptism. But it's grown on me. It's become a huge monster that is asking the question that is really behind much of the controcersy in the Southern Baptist Convention today.

When I look back in Baptist history (and don't worry -- I'm no Landmarker), I can see certain Baptist distinctives, it's true. And they can even be turned into the handy acronym BAPTIST, so that we can remember them. But there is one thing that Baptists have been historically recognized for -- believer's baptism by immersion. more...

Posted by: Warren Kelly at 05:34 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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