A review of The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. For many years and up until just recently, all my emails would go out with this signature attached. The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today, is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. This, is what an unbelieving world, simply finds, unbelievable. I wrote that entirely without looking it up, so much has it become ingrained in my thoughts. Some of you will recognize this quote, especially if you like Christian rock/hiphop group DC Talk as they use this quote on the start of one of their songs. It wasn't until about 2 years ago someone emailed me and corrected me about it's origin. Turns out it was actually Brennan Manning that first penned it. So the author of The Ragamuffin Gospel has been having an impact on me much longer than I have known about him or his books. Well as I have said last week, I am now listening to far more books in audio rather than reading them. And as you can see from the reviews I have been able to do, it really does enable me to "read" far more books than I normally would. The bookmarking feature of Apples iPod just makes it so versatile. The computer will keep playing from where I last stopped on my iPod and vice versa.

The Ragamuffin Gospel. Brennan Manning. So who is this book for? It's primarily for new believers, Pastors, and anyone else who has a heartbeat. If I had a name, I would write a book like this myself, for without wanting to sound conceited Brennan echoes the cry of my heart. I have been in ministry a long time. Long enough to have seen the incredible injustices so many suffer at the hands of those who hold title and position in the body. I am not sure they'd like to meet Brennan Manning in a dark alley, but then again, I am not sure anything but grace would flow from Brennan at that time. I do not see how this book could have been written without many a tear having been spilt. He so perfectly pictures the problems of our current fascination with turning Church into businesses, and contrasts it with the way of Jesus. Here, Brennan says, is a Church for ragamuffins, misfits, outcasts, delinquents, rejects, etc, this is the Church of Jesus Christ. But look, in today's Churches, we reserve the front seating for the Pastors and Elders, or the big givers. It is business as usual. The former are not welcome. They may be put up with, but hardly welcome. With gentle elegance, Brennan lifts the shroud from our eyes and shows us a picture of the true Church of Jesus Christ.

A Pastor I knew in New Zealand once objected when I told him that I don't think the Church in its current state is what Jesus really wants us to have. Ironically he calls himself a reformer. If it's ok, why reform it? Of course he would object, he was a Pastor. Not so fast. Today, many leaders in the Church are seeing the light. It's easy to point fingers at the likes of Rob Bell, he's young, but when Brennan Manning who has more memories stretching back longer than the road is stretching ahead, someone who has walked the talk the better part of half a century, we need to take notice. The Church is not where it needs to be, and that is plainly clear to any honest Christian leader. It is after-all, PLAINLY obvious to those outside of the Church. This book helps us. It's not just cute pop psychology, it's a clear view of how things are and how we can change them so the ragamuffins, the ones Jesus spent his time with, once again become the ones we spend our time with.

Grace over judgment. Grace over dogma. Grace. As I have discovered first hand on my own journey, grace is like a four letter word in many ministries. For those that have been hurt, are being hurt, or have been accused of being the hurter, The Ragamuffin Gospel will bring a much needed clarity of vision. To those who are ragamuffins and know it, and want to see Christ's vision of the Church come to fruition, this will be like rocket-fuel for your soul.

I give the The Ragamuffin Gospel 5 out of 5.

This item is for sale directly from me. It is the copy I bought to review. Now you can buy it from me. This is the AudioBook version. It will play on your CD player or iPod. Amazon sells this for $18.24 plus shipping, I am selling it for $15 including shipping. It is in as new condition. I sell items I have reviewed to help me afford to purchase more.

Well, bad news came out today about the potential availability of iPhones in New Zealand. Vodafone has chosen not to negotiate with Apple over having the device. Seems a bit odd if you ask me seeing as Telecom just announced they will be rolling out their own GSM network in years to come. Vodafone runs the risk of losing the iPhone to Telecom. A move that would certainly pull Telecom back into the #1 spot for marketshare in New Zealand. Currently Vodafone has a small lead.

So, I thought, I have an Apple store about 10 minutes away, I know how to unlock the iPhones, so perhaps some of you New Zealanders would like an iPhone. I have bank account facilities in NZ still of course, and so I can make the transaction pretty smooth. I also have a friend in Auckland who could step in for me to make people feel safe. So, if you're in New Zealand and you want an iPhone, let me know, and we'll see what we can come up with. I know right now others in NZ are selling them at astronomical prices. Shoot me an email via my contact page, and REPLY to the anti-spam reply, and we can chat about it. I have a Vodafone SIM card here too, so I should be able to unlock it and confirm that it will work with Vodafone, though I would prefer to just sell you the phone unopened and let you do the unlocking.

Send me a hello via email or something, it will make my day :)

I have been longing for the time to continue my reviews. I am moving more towards buying books in audio, that is, books that have been read aloud by either the author or a professional reader/speaker. Running an iPod podcast ministry, obviously necessitates having an iPod, so I can listen to these audiobooks wherever I go. I can "read" a book while driving, which I would not advise doing with the printed version. And so today I finished listening to this wonderful book, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard.

Because of the genre of material I have been reading over the years, much of what Dallas has to say was very repetitious to me. At fist I was thinking I was going to have to give it a poor review for not having anything new to say, and then I realized, Israel, it's not about having something new to say it's about the quality of what he is saying. And indeed what he has to say is powerful and anointed. Dare I say this without causing any offense? It's a book Western Christians desperately need to read, and apply to their lives. OK, it's a book for all Christian, but you know what I mean when I say that don't you? Dallas takes us on a journey of discovering core realities of our faith and how they relate in practical ways to this world. There's a lot of philosophy here, which is probably why I do like it so much, but it's down to earth, simple and practical.

Indeed, out of 127 reviews on Amazon, this books has 4.5 stars. As one overly familiar with Amazon, I can tell you that that is an incredibly difficult rank to get. Clearly I am far from the only one who thought this books was great.

If you're the traditional Church person - goes to Church every Sunday, meets all the other religious folk, puts on the smile for all to see and then goes home and doesn't really live out the faith in much of any other fashion, but you desperately WANT to live out your faith in a way that affects the world and makes it a better place, then this is the book you have been waiting for. Now I don't want to insult anyone or put anyone down, but let's be honest, there's more than one or 2 people out there in this place on their Spiritual journey right now. And I don't believe all those people want to stay that way. I believe it's often just social conditioning and a lack of information that turns people into Sunday Christians.

This book will encourage you and inspire you to be the difference maker in this word of ours. No matter where you are with your faith, no matter your position in a Church, please, buy this book!

I give The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard 5 out of 5.

OK, my first item for sale. The God Theory by Bernard Haisch. You can see the review below. The page on Amazon is here. Amazon's price is $14.93 plus shipping. My price is $11 including shipping. This is a second hand book remember, it will have signs of slight use. Purchasing this book from me will help me purchase more resources to further my studies.

Something to note. PayPal just loves to force people to open a PayPal account, so when you click that BuyNow button, they show you a page that is not immediately obvious how you can pay with a credit card. I am growing a little tired of PayPal's unethical practices, so I shall be moving to Google Checkout soon enough. In the mean time, look for the CreditCard logos on the payment page, and you'll see a link just above them that is simply called "Continue". Click that and you can pay via any credit card.

OK, I have this problem. I have a lot of time on my hands right now. I am going to be volunteering with several agencies here, but still I will have lots of time, and not a lot of ministry opportunity right now, so I want to study. I am already studying Hebrew, and really enjoying it. It is much easier than I thought. It is my hope that within 2 years I will be able to read, speak and write Biblical Hebrew. Then I have a desire to attend Jerusalem University and do a more advanced course in Hebrew. But I am also purchasing and wanting to purchase more resources. I prefer audio books to the printed variety. I tend to "read" them much faster and remember much more. So I thought of this. Why don't I sell them as used item on my blog once I am done with them! So this I am going to do. Once I have read a particular item, I will list it for sale right here, and you can buy it at a reduced priced from a new item. I have a lot of readers, so I am sure I will have no trouble in this. So tomorrow, I will list a few of the items I have already purchased, have here and am done with. Good job! Then I can afford to buy more, study mote, learn more! So I'm helping you and you're helping me.

Putting Chai on the back burner. Well, the Chai tea idea was nice, but there lies no commercial viability. I did my research, and Chai tell isn't exactly flying off the shelves. Americans are generally happy with the type of Chai that Starbucks sells, which is really so far from the real thing I'm surprised India hasn't launched a law suite. No offense Starbucks, love your coffee, but your Chai is crap.

So, I'll keep making my very own Chai from amazingly fresh spices, but sorry, you won't be able to buy it in your WholeFoods anytime soon. The market for genuine Chai tea just isn't real big.

So next... who knows...

Mini Review: The God Theory by Bernard Haisch

The God theory is written by an American AstroPhysicist who has spent much time exploring other fields. He has a wealth of experience under his belt. He confesses to be a Christian, yet much of what he says in The God Theory goes against established Christian thought and Scripture. What he tried to do in this book is give reasonable evidence for the existence of an intelligent mind, or conscience, that existed before matter and has always existed. He frequently chastises his fellow scientists for being dogmatic reductionists, and yet he believes in evolution, dismissing ID out of hand. A definite and obvious contradiction, though I often wondered if he was doing this simply to avoid being labeled an ID proponent himself.

Much of the book is given over to explaining his ZeroPoint energy theory, particularly surrounding the cause of mass/inertia which he theorizes is caused by background energy and the hold this has caused by the ZeroPoint energy. A plausible theory and one he seems to have proven through 2 different experiments. This background energy is also possibly what Genesis 1:1 refers to as light.

One thing I do like is repulsion of the theory of infinite universes in order to explain this universe. The multiverse idea is far more insane than any religious answer to the creation of this unique universe, and here is a top notch scientists who's prepared to say so.

The book is hard to read at points and even harder to write a review for. My passion for science has allowed me to understand pretty much the whole book, but only because he has purposefully made it as simple as he could have. I sure can't make it any simpler to provide you with a review. If you don't have a college-level grasp of physics, I am not sure you'll enjoy this. I read it because the book has been acclaimed as giving evidence of God without the use of Intelligent Design, but it's not for the layman.

Being that he believes in evolution and calls evolution a fact backed up by undeniable (yet missing, to honest searchers) evidence, and that his God is one of his own making, contradicting the God of the Scriptures, yet does provide a theory which challenges Methodical materialists to consider the reality of God, I give it 3 out of 5.

I offer a genuine insight into how you can, and should, be a rational, science-believing human being and at the same time know that you are also an immortal spiritual being, a spark of God. I propose a worldview that offers a way out of the hate and fear-driven violence engulfing the planet. – Bernard Haisch, The God Theory

Being that I run an iPhone-only Bible site visited by many iPhone users, I have special insight into the number of iPhones Apple is selling. Not in quantitative figures because I am unaware of the percentage of iPhone users visiting my Bible site, but I can clearly see the trends. Since Apple reduced the cost of the iPhone by $200 to just $399, a price I consider ridiculously cheap for the device, my site traffic has increased 85%. It is reasonable to suggest that since Wednesday, iPhone sales have sky rocketed. In fact Steve announced on Wednesday that Apple is on track to sell their 1 millionth iPhone by the end of September. Yet they announced today that they had just sold their millionth iPhone on Sunday. Interesting.

If you don't have an iPhone, you probably don't need one, and I would wait until the models come out with 3G built in. If you don't know what 3G is, your current cell phone is probably all you'll ever need :)

For those that do have an iPhone, or the new iPod touch, I hope you find my online Bible of great use.

One of the people I have longed to meet in life went home this morning. Gosh, I'm a little shattered. Kennedy lead a massive Presbyterian Church in Florida. I loved his sermons. Though he dressed in very traditional garb, his messages were as cutting edge as my friend Winkie Pratney. Kennedy understood the sciences and philosophy like few others, and used this knowledge the strengthen the faith of many, including me. I absolutely loved this man.

There's an excellent video of his life story right here.

“Now, I know that someday I am going to come to what some people will say is the end of this life. They will probably put me in a box and roll me right down here in front of the church, and some people will gather around, and a few people will cry. But I have told them not to do that because I don’t want them to cry. I want them to begin the service with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead. I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living. And I will be alive forevermore, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.”
D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.

This evening we bid farewell to Luciano Pavarotti, 71. I have always been one to explore outside of the musical genres of my peers, and Pavarotti was someone I enjoyed. You may not know though that in 2001, Pavarotti received the Nansen Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his efforts raising money on behalf of refugees worldwide. Through benefit concerts and volunteer work, he has raised more than US$1.5 million, more than any other individual. He will be missed. His website is here.

I just watched the newly released video of Dave Matthews Band's, Eh Hee. The video is strangely reminiscent of a drama YWAM uses as an evangelism tool, called Marionettes. The similarities are striking, and the lyrics of the song are anti-God, anti-Christiantiy and pro-evolution. His fans are not happy about it either with many slamming the video as just plain weird. And well, the Marionettes drama IS plain weird too.

Could it be coincidence? Possibly, but Musicians and artists get to see YWAM stuff more than most because of the close associations, so it would not be surprising at all if Dave Matthews has seen it and is indeed parodying the drama. See it on iTunes.

UPDATE: Someone asked in the comments section if I knew of a film of the Marionettes drama, and i looked on YouTube, and indeed I found one. It's a few minutes into this video clip, and the clip itself is very poor quality, but you can see enough to see the striking similarity. Very strange!

I was looking on a local Denver website tonight to see what opportunities that might have for me to volunteer in some way. I found there was a lot of need. So I got thinking... I want to let people know about the opportunities overseas, but what about locally? It makes perfect sense doesn't it. So tomorrow I will be contacting as many care agencies as I have time to and I hope they'll let me come and document what they are doing. Maybe I can get it published in the local papers too. If you would like to help me with by keeping me covered in your prayers, I would appreciate that.

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You must have experience with Mac OS X & Windows. Experience with XBox 360 and PS3 is advantageous.
You will have had experience in C, C#, C++ and Java. Experience with machine code, Objective C, Cocoa and the XCode environment is advantageous.
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Well well well. Over the weekend, I allowed ALL the spices I bought to brew. This afternoon I filtered the solution. The result? An incredibly concentrated Chai extract made from very fresh spice. I diluted it incredibly into some black tea, and it was just amazing.

So now I am going to spend some time this week looking at the health regulations in Colorado, a commercial kitchen for rent/hire/lease, plastics suppliers, and interested vendors. If everything comes together, I will hopefully have this Chai spice extract on shelves. Already, what I have made here in my kitchen is superior to all the other products I have found. Others are selling Chai extract for about $1.20 a serving. My gosh, they are making some real money considering I could make this for about 15 cents per serving in a full commercial operation, wild guesstimate though I must admit. The product itself would cost about 3 to 4 cents per serve. I could either sell a much higher quality product at the same price, or compete on price AND quality.

Like most of the little ideas I try though, it's unlikely to make it to market. There's always so much red tape on food products. But maybe Colorado is different. We'll see. I have one thing in my favor, in that there is no entrenched product in the marketplace that I would need to target as serious competition. I think this could work.

I spent $18 and got more spice than I will use in 3 months. Very cheap, and it get significantly cheaper the more you buy. I have never encountered spices so fresh. The cinnamon hardly smells like cinnamon. Very strong. So I recommend this shop if you're in Denver. They have lots of nice pre-made spices too.

Tonight I have a date. Tomorrow I have a date too. And actually Monday I have another date. Is that bad? It must be the accent! :)

So sometime tomorrow I will make a Chai mixture and see about making a concentrate for commercial production. In bulk volume, the spices I bought today should cost me about $4. Yes, FOUR dollars. So this could be quite a lucrative product if I can extract the flavors well and create something people like. I hope my room mates don't mind the entire house smelling like Chai :)

Savory Spice Shop
1537 Platte Street
Denver, CO 80202
Ph: (303) 477-3322

Well put up your hand if you've ever tried Chai Tea. Chai Tea, which considering chai is Hindi for tea, meaning it's Tea Tea, is a delicious blend of so-called sweet spices and black tea. It's made very creamy, and in India the milk is often boiled until caramelized. What's crazy, is that I just can't find the authentic spices. No. I can only find it premixed, in tea bags or more commonly, syrup or concentrate. Even my favorite shop in the whole world, Whole Foods Market, does not sell just the spices. but they do sell the spices individually in their bulk spice section. here in this photo you can see what I bought.



Here we have Cinnamon Sticks, Star Anise, Cardamon Pods, Ground Ginger Root, Ground Nutmeg, Whole Cloves and very course Ground Pepper. These go into a pot of water, get boiled for 15-30 minutes, and then strained to make my own genuine Chai Tea extract. I think though that I am not extracting as much flavor as I thought I would. I may need to let it brew overnight.

At Whole Foods they recommended I go to a shop called the Savory Spice Shop. I just Googled them. They sell pre-mixed spice for Chai. But using some interesting ingredients that I have not found in traditional recipes. I will get some of their spices today and give it a go. Hopefully I can find these spices cheap enough that this will not have to be a luxury item. I think right now the Chai extract cost me about $3.00, and should be enough for 5 cups of Chai Tea. That's not expensive, but I would like to get it cheaper still so i can enjoy it every day without guilt.

My passions in life are many, but one thing that really captures my heart is photography. In preparation for my trip to India and Nepal, I bought a Nikon d40x. Nikon's cheapest Digital SLR camera. Cheap though it is, it takes extremely good shots, and the 18-135mm lens I got with it is very versatile. So already I have been putting it to use. I am slowly building a stock library which should produce some long term, small, but residual, income. The direction I am heading in though is photo-journalism. I have received much encouragement to pursue this. I am thinking along these kind of lines...

The short: If I could document care-work around the world, it would draw more people to get out of their 1st world comforts and go help those less fortunate.
The long: Initially I will need to pay my own way. The hope would be that care agencies would see the value in my work and employ me to travel to their missions, help out myself (I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty), train people in how to document what they are doing digitally and inexpensively so they have something they can do themselves, in other words, do myself out of a job (there's more than enough care-work around to last a lifetime of documenting), bring back to the west exciting footage both still photos and in High Definition Video of what it's like, and the needs that exist. Now that's one long run-on sentence. You get the idea?

So please pray for me in this won't you. God has given me skills that could really be used to benefit a lot of people, and that's exactly why I believe He gave them to me.