Not much to say that's not better said by John, except "Wow am I glad John has started writing again."
Joel Osteen's Transportation
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Us and Them
I think that Segmentation is, at its root, a lie. It is the lie that I carry some privilege for belonging to a particular group. And the flip side of For People Like Me is that there are other people who are not People Like Me. I believe that's wrong. As much as there are obviously transitions and changes in culture, I believe every human being IS a person like me. Specifically, a "wretch like me."
- Andy Crouch
One of the greatest gifts I've been given in my ministry experience was the chance, my first year of seminary, to be an assistant to Dr. David Roadcup at the Center for Church Advancement at Cincinnati Christian University. Dave gave me lots of interesting things to do, one of which was to reorganize the Center's resource library.
Under a stack of books and sermon tapes, I found these video cassettes from a 2001 conference on "Building Worship Services for Postmodern Generations." Because I'd recently begun such a worship service, I watched the tapes to pick up some pointers. I didn't get many pointers, but the final talk of the conference has forever changed my life, my view of the church, and my understanding of Jesus' mission.
I present them here without further comment, except to say that it's a prelude to my thoughts on "The Coming Evangelical Split," which has been blowing up my Facebook and Google Reader feeds for the past week. After seeing several friends post the link on Facebook today, and having others talk about how much they liked it, I wrote "I hate this at a level I can't articulate." And I really can't. But I need to be able to.
So this is where I begin to process.
FPLM, by Andy Crouch (Part 1 of 3) from micah1835 on Vimeo.
FPLM, by Andy Crouch (2 of 3) from micah1835 on Vimeo.
I'll upload Part Three next week, once my upload cap resets.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Do The Hustle
It's not hard to hit the two extremes. I waffle back and forth between them.
But rocking them both at the same time?
That's work.
But rocking them both at the same time?
That's work.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Odors Have Landed
An Update on the Life of the Odor Family, Part I.
I've realized over the past month that I've done a really crappy job of keeping my friends updated on what exactly is going on in our lives. This is an attempt to be a better friend by communicating more. Now I just need my friends to read it...
===
Last August, after five amazing years in Cincinnati, our family (Judi, Jenna, Liam and I) moved to Wilmore, Kentucky. Judi had completed her Master of Divinity degree from Cincinnati Christian University (mine is still in progress) and applied to two Ph.D. programs. Asbury was our first choice, and when she received a generous financial aid package (to a program where only eight people a year get accepted), it seemed like God was pushing us out of Cincinnati, over the Big Water and into Kentucky.
This terrified me.
I had a great job at the Cincinnati Vineyard... fantastic people, fantastic church. I loved our house, I hadn't finished school, our kids were thriving, and my parents had just moved to the area. Why leave?
The answer, of course, was that I married a True Scholar and that we're in it together. So I started applying for jobs in the Wilmore/Lexington area. Over a 6-month period from February to August, I applied for everything that looked remotely plausible, and got no hits. Two good opportunities where I lost the job in the interview (more on that another time), quite a few "don't call us, we'll call you," and lots and lots and lots of nothing at all.
But we were sure this is where God was calling us. So on August 20th, 2010, I locked my office for the last time, turned in the key, and left my dream job. We spent the following week packing up, then rented the truck and drove back in time 50 years to small-town Kentucky. We moved into a little duplex that felt more like a dorm than a house. I put my resume in at all of the local temp agencies. And I prayed like crazy that we hadn't made a stupid mistake.
It's embarrassing how little I trust God (more on this another time).
Three-quarters of a year later, I can honestly say we've never had it so good. Judi is thriving at school; soaking up Biblical languages and doing more between the kids' bedtime and her own than some of her classmates do all day. Our kids are fantastic; seminary towns are filled with fertile young couples with similarly-aged kids (and Christian-college towns are full of amazing babysitters). The duplex has been perfect; I can imagine more but I don't need it. And my temporary gig has turned into something pretty amazing... I'm an Advanced Technical Specialist for a small engineering firm specializing in Mass Emergency Notification (more on this another time). But the best stuff is the fam. Daddyhood continues to be amazing, and Judi and my alliance has hit a whole new level. I feel like I've hit a new level with God, as well. There's a trust there now that I don't think I had a year ago. Thriving, baby. If this isn't what it feels like, it's close.
Short version? Life is beautiful. We miss our friends in Cincinnati (and elsewhere) and there is a part of me that wonders what life would look like if we were still there. But when I was in town last weekend for the CCU Small Groups Conference (more on that another time), I realized I couldn't imagine going back a year and NOT making this change. I have no idea what the future holds for us (seriously, I have absolutely no idea) but for now, we're safe and we've landed.
It's enough.
I've realized over the past month that I've done a really crappy job of keeping my friends updated on what exactly is going on in our lives. This is an attempt to be a better friend by communicating more. Now I just need my friends to read it...
===
Last August, after five amazing years in Cincinnati, our family (Judi, Jenna, Liam and I) moved to Wilmore, Kentucky. Judi had completed her Master of Divinity degree from Cincinnati Christian University (mine is still in progress) and applied to two Ph.D. programs. Asbury was our first choice, and when she received a generous financial aid package (to a program where only eight people a year get accepted), it seemed like God was pushing us out of Cincinnati, over the Big Water and into Kentucky.
This terrified me.
I had a great job at the Cincinnati Vineyard... fantastic people, fantastic church. I loved our house, I hadn't finished school, our kids were thriving, and my parents had just moved to the area. Why leave?
The answer, of course, was that I married a True Scholar and that we're in it together. So I started applying for jobs in the Wilmore/Lexington area. Over a 6-month period from February to August, I applied for everything that looked remotely plausible, and got no hits. Two good opportunities where I lost the job in the interview (more on that another time), quite a few "don't call us, we'll call you," and lots and lots and lots of nothing at all.
But we were sure this is where God was calling us. So on August 20th, 2010, I locked my office for the last time, turned in the key, and left my dream job. We spent the following week packing up, then rented the truck and drove back in time 50 years to small-town Kentucky. We moved into a little duplex that felt more like a dorm than a house. I put my resume in at all of the local temp agencies. And I prayed like crazy that we hadn't made a stupid mistake.
It's embarrassing how little I trust God (more on this another time).
Three-quarters of a year later, I can honestly say we've never had it so good. Judi is thriving at school; soaking up Biblical languages and doing more between the kids' bedtime and her own than some of her classmates do all day. Our kids are fantastic; seminary towns are filled with fertile young couples with similarly-aged kids (and Christian-college towns are full of amazing babysitters). The duplex has been perfect; I can imagine more but I don't need it. And my temporary gig has turned into something pretty amazing... I'm an Advanced Technical Specialist for a small engineering firm specializing in Mass Emergency Notification (more on this another time). But the best stuff is the fam. Daddyhood continues to be amazing, and Judi and my alliance has hit a whole new level. I feel like I've hit a new level with God, as well. There's a trust there now that I don't think I had a year ago. Thriving, baby. If this isn't what it feels like, it's close.
Short version? Life is beautiful. We miss our friends in Cincinnati (and elsewhere) and there is a part of me that wonders what life would look like if we were still there. But when I was in town last weekend for the CCU Small Groups Conference (more on that another time), I realized I couldn't imagine going back a year and NOT making this change. I have no idea what the future holds for us (seriously, I have absolutely no idea) but for now, we're safe and we've landed.
It's enough.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Don Miller's the Man
I'm kind of a fan.
I actually didn't start out as one (I was the only guy in the world who didn't love Blue Like Jazz) but I thought Searching For God Knows What is the most fantastic book that nobody's read.
And since then, I've been loving his blog. It's like you can see him growing in realtime. I'll be really curious to see what he's like at 50 instead of 40. In the meantime, Don's got this book you may have heard of... Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Check it out:
The paperback releases today. Get your copy here, if you're into crass commercialism and owning physical copies of books (and hey, who isn't?):
Buy it on Amazon.
Don, if you're reading this, you might like this: Clicky.
I actually didn't start out as one (I was the only guy in the world who didn't love Blue Like Jazz) but I thought Searching For God Knows What is the most fantastic book that nobody's read.
And since then, I've been loving his blog. It's like you can see him growing in realtime. I'll be really curious to see what he's like at 50 instead of 40. In the meantime, Don's got this book you may have heard of... Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Check it out:
What story are you telling? from Rhetorik Creative on Vimeo.
The paperback releases today. Get your copy here, if you're into crass commercialism and owning physical copies of books (and hey, who isn't?):
Buy it on Amazon.
Don, if you're reading this, you might like this: Clicky.
Infovore
I haven't had much reading time in the past month, but have used almost every private moment this weekend to catch up on my overweight Google Reader feed. This is kinda fun, I thought:
You could make the case (and I have to myself) that I'm spending far too much time taking in and not enough time creating. Breaking Rule Number Nine, and all that. My only (poor) excuse is that my special project at work right now is really taking it out of me, but it will be over soon and I can go home to Tara. I mean, over soon and I have lots of things to write about.
I actually bought www.infovore.net, but haven't yet had the willpower to do anything exciting with it. For now, I feel good just catching up in Reader.
If you'd like to see the best stuff I've read recently, feel free to check my shared items:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/micah.odor
You could make the case (and I have to myself) that I'm spending far too much time taking in and not enough time creating. Breaking Rule Number Nine, and all that. My only (poor) excuse is that my special project at work right now is really taking it out of me, but it will be over soon and I can go home to Tara. I mean, over soon and I have lots of things to write about.
I actually bought www.infovore.net, but haven't yet had the willpower to do anything exciting with it. For now, I feel good just catching up in Reader.
If you'd like to see the best stuff I've read recently, feel free to check my shared items:
http://www.google.com/reader/shared/micah.odor
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Odor Theater
Sounds appealing, huh?
I lack the time to write right now, but I've made a goal to post every week at least. So instead of my witty reparte, you're getting some high-quality video from around the web.
Best non-OkGo music video I've seen this year:
Seems like it would be hard to train the people to walk up the walls like that. Impressive.
===
Why We Can't Walk Straight:
Reminds me of Winnie the Pooh, where they try to lose Tigger in the forest. Yeah, I'm a dad.
===
Two Men Running:
Dooce said: "This short film could quite possibly be one of the most profound three minutes and fifty-four seconds you've ever spent watching video on the Internet."
===
And finally, last but not least, Growing Is Forever.
It's interesting that everything interesting is on Vimeo, not YouTube.
I lack the time to write right now, but I've made a goal to post every week at least. So instead of my witty reparte, you're getting some high-quality video from around the web.
Best non-OkGo music video I've seen this year:
Seems like it would be hard to train the people to walk up the walls like that. Impressive.
===
Why We Can't Walk Straight:
A Mystery: Why Can't We Walk Straight? from NPR on Vimeo.
Reminds me of Winnie the Pooh, where they try to lose Tigger in the forest. Yeah, I'm a dad.
===
Two Men Running:
Two Men from Dominic Allen on Vimeo.
Dooce said: "This short film could quite possibly be one of the most profound three minutes and fifty-four seconds you've ever spent watching video on the Internet."
===
And finally, last but not least, Growing Is Forever.
Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
It's interesting that everything interesting is on Vimeo, not YouTube.
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