don't forget about charles

If you hang around in United Methodist circles for a while, eventually you’ll hear about John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement—which led to what we call the United Methodist Church. You’ll also hear about another Wesley, John’s brother Charles, who probably doesn’t get enough credit for his contributions to the Methodist movement. Charles was a great writer of hymns, many of which became the core of the hymnbooks used by the early Methodists.

Charles’ hymns were deeply theological; he wasn’t much for writing praise choruses! For a good part of the history of the Methodist Church, hymns like those that Charles wrote became the primary way that Methodists learned about the great truths of the faith. Methodists were known as people who “sang their theology”.

Many of Charles’ hymns are well-loved even today: “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”, “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today”, and “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” are a few examples.

Our United Methodist Hymnal contains about 50 hymns that were written by Charles Wesley, plus several poems and responses. Unfortunately, Charles wrote the words to hymns, not the music. And many of Charles hymns have been saddled with music that no longer seems to appeal to people today. An example is “And Can It Be that I Should Gain” (# 363). Although the tune is far from terrible, it’s not easy for everyone to sing, and so we sing it rarely.

But if you read the lyrics to this hymn, you find an amazing depth of Christian truth. Ok, you do have to work a bit to dig through the wording, but the reward is there!

For Lent this year, I suggest that you include in your disciplines a reading of Charles Wesley’s hymns. I’ll be posting one of his hymns for each day of Lent here on my blog.

email icons

I've been messing around with the email subscription on the site, and I'd like to pass along something I discovered.

I was trying to find a decent looking icon for email subscriptions, and I found this post on Jon Dyer's blog. He created a set of icons that are exactly what I was looking for:





Thanks, Jon!

free and open source software

Everyone likes free things, right? What would you say if I told you that you could get a free office suite for your computer? What if I told you that you could legally get a free office suite for your computer?

That's exactly the sort of thing you can get when you explore the world of Free and Open Source Software, or FOSS.

First, a few clarifications:

The word Software refers to any of the programs you run on your computer. Microsoft Word is software. Internet Explorer is software. When you run iTunes on your computer, you're using a specific piece of software. For that matter, your operating system, like Windows XP or Vista, is software. Without software, your PC is just an expensive doorstop.

Free in as used in "Free and Open Source Software", does not refer to the price, although I hasten to say that Free and Open Source Software is almost always available free of charge. Instead, and more importantly, free refers to certain freedoms you have in relation to the software. With this kind of software, you are free to:

• use the software for any purpose
• change the software for any use (this means you have access to the source code)
• give copies of the software to anyone you want

For most of us, the key here is that you can get a copy of the software (usually by downloading it), and then install that software on as many computers as you need, and even pass it on to friends and neighbors, all firmly within the law and within the intent of the software authors.

By the way, source code refers to the "instructions, written in a form readable and understandable by programmers, that direct how an application should run." (definition from the NOSI Primer. See below.) Basically, a program is a very detailed set of instructions to the computer of what to do and when to do them. Some person (the programmer) has to write out all these instructions: the source code. These instructions are then compressed and translated into a language that the computer can act on directly: the program.

When you buy Word or download iTunes, you get the compressed and translated program, but not the source code. It's virtually impossible to make any change to the program without the source code. With Free and Open Source Software, you can also get the source code for the program. If you know how to program, you can make changes to the software: fix a bug, add a feature, adapt it to a new situation.

The difference between just having the program and having the source code is much like the difference between renting and buying a house. If you rent, you can move the furniture around, but you can't remove a wall or add on a room.

I've been a user of FOSS for quite a while--the Firefox web browser for instance. But Dave Warnock tipped me off to the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative or NOSI, and their Primer. It has a good explanation of FOSS, help evaluating where and how FOSS might help you, and lists of highly rated FOSS programs you can get for no cost.

Oh! That free office suite I mentioned? It's called OpenOffice.org.

I'll be sharing some of my experiences with FOSS in upcoming posts. Until then, have any of you used Free and Open Source Software? Do you still use it? Why or why not? Share your experiences.

practicing love in the bitter cold

Yesterday, the whole family (me, my wife Janice, and sons Richard and Philip) spent the evening as volunteers at His Glory Belvidere Outreach Mission, helping with their annual Joy of Christ toy giveaway.

There were hundreds of people who waited in a long line to get Christmas gifts for their children. There were dozens of volunteers there also. Everyone braved temperatures in the teens and brisk winds to be there.

I know that I got cold...in my expensive double-insulated winter coat, gloves and hat. But I saw many people standing in line wearing fall jackets with no hat or gloves. Some of the volunteers were handing out blankets for people to use while the waited in line. Others were handing out coats, gloves, and hats for people to keep. Among the volunteers were some ambulance workers from OSF Saint Francis hospital in Rockford.

This was the first year that I participated in the event, and the scale was larger than I had imagined. Police closed off an entire block of Belvidere's State Street, the major road through downtown Belvidere. There were several police cars and ambulances there. Outdoor volunteers included those handing out blankets, coats, hats and gloves; others handing out cookies and hot chocolate; singing carols; reenacting the nativity scene (no animals were involved); and helping people carry bags full of gifts back to their cars or homes (I spent most of my time doing this). I never made it inside the mission building, but I know there were many more volunteers working there.

This was a great way to spend Christmas Eve eve.

The local paper, the Rockford Register Star, has a news article and a small photo gallery on the event. Enjoy!

a new blog, from adam hamilton

Adam Hamilton, senior pastor at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has started a blog called Seeing Gray. Hamilton is the author of several books, and Church of the Resurrection hosts the annual Leadership Institute.

The blog's title is related to an upcoming sermon series and a new book due to be released in April 2008. I don't know if Adam is planning to continue the blog beyond the sermon series--but I hope he does. I've attended the past two Leader Institutes, and have always come back inspired and better equipped for ministry. Adam is frequently insightful and does not hesitate to address controversial issues.

I predict that he will be a great asset to the Christian blogosphere.

[Update] I forgot in my original post...thanks to Jeff of E-merging in Indiana for the lead.

dr. cheese video explains the gospel

With wisdom and good ...cheer, Dr. Cheese and the Spoonsonvill Eggbeaters Cheerleaders teach us about the Good News of Jesus Christ.



How can you miss with catchy lines like these?

God made us so he could love us like our daddy.
His love is worth more than a gold-plated caddy.

how to be a good samaritan

What does it take to become a good Samaritan? Perhaps simply noticing: