Green Jello Hotdish

I have to move my car all day Wednesday.
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Ugh. Will someone else clean it for me?
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A nice volunteer from the Obama campaign just called to ask if I could go to Iowa to canvass, which I told him I couldn't. But I did volunteer to do a phone bank at the labor temple just across the street from my apartment and said I'd host volunteers at my apartment. I guess I'm doing my part.
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The soup didn't turn out at all like I expected. I'm keeping the containers in case someone likes it but mine is outside for the animals. Disappointing because all the ham was in it!
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I'm trying out the new slow cooker I got for Christmas from my sister
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My ever-present traveling companion
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I’ve been in Minnesota a couple days now and the feeling is a little different than the last time I was here. There haven’t been any family fights, I’ve enjoyed myself and a part of me feels I am reconciling and reconnecting with my home.

What I’m most appreciating — and realizing I miss the most about this place — is the music and fine arts. For many of us, Christmas means watching St. Olaf, Concordia-Moorhead, Augsburg and Luther Christmas festivals, either in person or on television. I’ve often said that Minneapolis would be a cold Omaha without the arts, and its true.

Watching good TV news is another thing. No sensational, MTV-esque camera angles. Smart, sophisticated graphics, and anchors who can do more than simply read a teleprompter.

I’m back to missing Minnesota, and for the first time in a very long while, I feel that I do have a place here, should I ever want or need to return. Its a good feeling to come home.

Its my birthday today. The “big” 23. In the scheme of things, its not a huge deal to turn 23. I’m still young enough to have high insurance rates that won’t drop for another couple years. I’m old enough to participate in all aspects of our society (except run for national political office, which really isn’t on my agenda at any point in my life anyway). And I shouldn’t have any physical ailments yet.

Shouldn’t.

I woke up this morning and all day my lower back has been just killing me. I chuckled and I’ve been sharing my pain with all I encounter telling them, “Everyone’s right. It does all go downhill after 23.”

Happy birthday to me, me and my aching back.

Social video/networking site GodTube was today’s feature story on the religion page. The idea is simple: provide a forum for people to connect, share videos and messages, all in a safe, “family-friendly” environment. Sounds OK, even good, right?

Here’s the problem with GodTube, and all the other residents of the Internet Christian Ghetto: they’ve missed the point.

Before I get into this, I want to be clear about one thing. I am, in no way, condoning all of the material on the big social media sites like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace. However I am universal in my criticism: God didn’t command God’s followers to lead a safe, sheltered life in a gated community. And that’s exactly what the Ghetto is all about creating.

At work this Advent, as I’ve written about here, I’ve been recording weekly video reflections from staff members, congregational members and next week a campus pastor. They’ve been hugely successful, and are receiving mention from outside the Greater Milwaukee Synod sphere. Trackbacks on the entries show even non-church organizations are linking to some clips. This impact is due to the fact that I am hosting them on the YouTube and Facebook services, rather than GodTube.

The denominational office uses and encourages Google Video for web video content, also to a hugely successful degree.

A colleague of mine who works for a different denomination pointed out the sad irony in calling these Christian sites a ghetto — not because of the isolationist feel, but because the church (universal, not just Christian) has been establishing or supporting ghettos for different classes of people throughout history, and now it is simply retreating to the suburbs, so to speak, from the scary, untamed Internet.

From a communications standpoint, I really should be using GodTube in addition to the mainstream sites, in order to attain the largest reach of audience. But I’m torn supporting a system which is arrogant and elitist in any way. So far, no one has inquired why I’m not posting on GodTube, so I’ll keep below the radar for a while.

Jesus calls us to be in the world. The Christian faith requires a change of lifestyle. GodTube does nothing to accomplish that; but I believe the sum of its mission can be found in the last two paragraphs in the article:

Q: When do you expect GodTube to make a profit?

A:Next year, sooner than later.

I had a strange desire to go back to working in the corporate world today… Better sleep while that one passes!