Pastor Eric discussed the “Body of Christ” today. About how everyone is a different body part, and that - unlike what most people think - every single part is extremely important to the body operating successfully.

So, I’m back at the sound board mulling this over…. and had the following thought.

I want to be a cheek (doesn’t really matter which one…. ok, as long as it’s on the face). Not just a “normal” cheek. I want to be a cheek that is sore and wrinkled. Sore from smiling at people, and with a deep smile wrinkle right next the the corner of the mouth. Amazing how a body part that no one thinks of plays such a large role in showing kindness and joy to the rest of the world.

What part would you be?

I cannot tell you just how much I love Vince Antonucci’s Blog.

Well, it’s now just over 3 months since I turned 40. Yup, it still sucks.

Funny thing is that normally, I don’t “feel” 40. I still like music that’s new and edgy. While I hope I’m wiser, I still think about many of the same things I used to, enjoy the same things, etc. And other than our on-going financial “tightness”, I pretty much like everything about my life.

It’s just that when age comes up, and I have to answer “40″, I feel SOOOO old, and like I’m moving too fast though time - and, yes, my life. But it’s not just my numerical age that sucks… what puts my underwear in a bind - is the “rules” of this new decade of my life.

A friend of mine, also in his 40s, got a Miata. Why? Because he likes it, and he could afford it. But you can’t just do that in your 40s; everyone asked him about his “mid-life crisis”. “At that age” he should be looking for comfort and luxury, not fun and excitement.

When I talk to people about music, and they find out that I get bored with most music out there, and that I like hip-hop, newer rock, etc. - they wonder why I’m trying so hard to stay “cool”. I’m not supposed to think that way, only “young peope” are…. “What’s that old guy doing pumping APX?”

Same with Church. I should be able to settle down and enjoy “grown up” services, you know, where you go, listen, worship - all without too much excitement, energy and passion…. don’t want to overdo it…. might strain something. I mean, come on, as long as we’re doing stuff that was hip in the ’80s and ’90s.

…and let’s not even talk about sex…

I cling to two images in my mind, and hope I can strive to be like them as I continue to age. One is of my high school best friend’s parents. Married for 30+ years. Couldn’t look at each other without getting that “look” in their eyes… you know what I mean. The other is of a 60+ year old man at our church in IL, CCC. Every time we rocked the house with loud, edgy and hip music, or did something really funny or “artsy-fartsy”, he made a point to come back to me at the sound board and just gush about how cool it was… not only that he himself really enjoyed it, which he did, but how the excitement, quality and “currentness” would attract younger disillusioned people.

I want to remain forever 30. My body may age, but I refuse to.

While working on a printer for a representative of a large Christian organization (that shall remain nameless) the other day, I was trying to explain the benefits of using something like OpenOffice.org instead of MS Office. My reasoning was along the lines of cost, security, access, and information preservation, but I was rebuffed by his comment that they get a major discount on MS Office because they are a non-profit with a lot of people. “It only costs us around $100 or so”, he says. Here’s the thing…. they have over 120,000 people working for them. All of them have MS Office.

So, let’s see just how dedicated we are to reaching out to people…. that’s $12 MILLION dollars that could have been used for outreach, but it was an “acceptable” amount of money to just throw out of the budget - every two to three years - because it’s software that “we’ve always used”. Now add in the $40/year spent on anti-virus software, another $4.8 MILLION dollars. Oh, let’s not forget the client access licenses for the servers, plus the cost of the server operating system, plus the cost of the hardware upgrades needed for every operating system upgrade, just so 95% of the people can do their web browsing, email and documentation……. It just boggles the mind that a Christian organization that is “focused” on reaching out can just blow that much money.

Of course, everyone does it - even small Churches. It just looks worse for that organization since they have so many people. I just wonder how many more people could be reached if all Christian organizations would take a little time and come up with an IT infrastructure that showed as much financial good stewardship as they put into all other areas of the budget.

Obviously, there are some situations where money must be spent on some particular IT or software solution. But blindly paying for something is just such a waste… there are too many people to reach.

……. sometimes I feel that I’m shouting at the deaf ……..

Saw a sign on a church today:

“Jesus said, ‘Love one another’”  Sunday 10AM,  Wednesday 7PM

Whew!  I thought he meant all the time.