So, Top Gun was on the other night. That movie fails to get less classic every time I see it. And Chris Loar has still never seen it. Oh man, every line is a gem of tom cruise 80′s chesse. (almost as bad as Cocktail, yes?) I still have my distinct memory of seeing it in the theatre with my parents at only 5 years of age. My Dad had to drag my brother & I out for popcorn during the silhouette love scene. ”Last chance for popcorn!” he insisted as his attempt to pass on Navy values was nearly backfiring. Now this week, I was sent this ad from Ben Watson for some church on YouTube that harkened back to the days of Maverick. That’s when it all came together… We need our own ad for our group that calls on Top Gun power. Check out the ad (which is REAL!) and a Top Gun clip & see if you’re catching the vision:
Archive for April, 2009
our new ad?
Published 04/30/2009 Entertain Me! 1 CommentTags: ben watson, Chris Loar, Maverick, Tom Cruise, Top Gun, You Tube
Nightline Face off — Does Satan Exist?
Published 04/28/2009 In the News , Thoughts to Ponder 2 CommentsMake sure to watch all 10 parts. Click here for the direct link to parts 2-10.
Some design changes will start to show up today… sweet! Meanwhile, after a week of heavy posts, we need to laugh! If you didn’t read the cover story from the onion last week, its a classic. The headline? “GOD MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO LOCAL CHURCH”. You can link to the article or read it in full right here. Pretty classic… FAYETTEVILLE, NC—Parishioners at the First Presbyterian Church were left stunned and in awe of His glory Sunday, when the Lord God Almighty dropped by their 11 a.m. service unannounced. Interrupting Pastor Terry Pridgen’s sermon on His unending mercy, God appeared suddenly before His flock as an intense beam of white light, instantly dispersing the earthly forms of those seated in the first two pews. Sources said the remaining congregants had to avert their eyes from their Creator, whose booming celestial voice overwhelmed their worldly senses and humbled their hearts as He politely apologized for not calling first. Continue reading ’2.0 & God Visits’
4.20.99 final thoughts
Published 04/27/2009 columbine 1 CommentTags: Craig Nason, forgiveness, margot brown, mat mcpherson, shaya lawrence, virginia tech
We’ve spent the last week hearing different voices look back at Columbine. A week of remembering draws to a close. This last day, I thought I’d share a reflection I wrote visiting Virginia Tech in the days after that shooting. My hope in doing this is to give us eyes beyond Columbine. Post-April 20th life, for me, became hopeful in the moments I chose to embrace my story and share it. I found great healing in coming alongside those who had been through similar trauma. And I still see hope in seeking the way of Jesus, who was one “acquainted with sorrow” far beyond what I’ve known!
Pain, Hope and Choices: From Columbine to Virginia Tech 
I recently spent 3 days in Blacksburg, VA at the Virginia Tech campus just days after the school shooting there that left 32 students and professors dead. I went as a survivor of the 1999 shootings in Littleton, CO at Columbine High School. Without an agenda or formula for recovery, I traveled to grieve with the community and support those in this fresh pain. Three friends who also experienced Columbine- Mat, Margot, and Shaya, traveled with me.
I came because of a sympathetic vibration. I heard words being poured out by the media like, “another school shooting” and “multiple students killed on campus”, and I not only hurt- I remembered. I knew the weight of grief found in the moments and days and years after I passed through a similar storm: April 20, 1999. Columbine. Continue reading ’4.20.99 final thoughts’
4.20.99 part 5- when i was in 5th grade…
Published 04/26/2009 columbine Leave a CommentTags: cassie bernall, courtney brady, martyrdom, matthew henry, phil vischer, the kry
Courtney Brady was only a girl when the Columbine shootings happened. But her family’s deep connection to WBCC made it a profound event for her even at a young age. Over time, April 20th and Cassie Bernall’s life have grown in meaning for her. She reflects today…
Ten years ago, I was a fifth grade student at Ute Meadows Elementary School. The events of April 20, 1999, are unbelievably still visible in my mind. There are very few moments in our lives as young people that remain so vivid in our memories, but the Columbine tragedy is one that I know will never leave me. I remember everything—it was our school science fair that day, and we were told we had to finish early and go back to our classrooms…we were on lockdown. Continue reading ’4.20.99 part 5- when i was in 5th grade…’
4.20.99 part 4- a new spiritual climate
Published 04/25/2009 columbine Leave a CommentTags: post trauma, ryan long, WBCC
We continue a week of remembering Columbine with Ryan Long looking back on the real impact April 20th had on the community, WBCC, and his own life.
That largest high school shooting was 10 years ago and it happened right down the street from West Bowles Community Church. The week before the shooting we were all sitting around a table for a youth staff meeting when we all felt something weird. Something just didn’t feel right. We were talking about all the kids in the youth group. We even mentioned Cassie Bernall and how we felt that she just wasn’t fitting in. The idea to shoot a video Sunday night April 18, 1999 was spurred out of this discussion. Things felt Continue reading ’4.20.99 part 4- a new spiritual climate’
4.20.99 part 3: joined in suffering
Published 04/23/2009 columbine Leave a CommentTags: april 20th, columbine, shaya lawrence, suffering
We’ve had a lot of response and heard so much conversation around the 10th anniversary, we’ve decided to continue through this week with different reflections on Columbine out of our group. Today, Shaya looks back on the road of healing & the journey towards seeing suffering in a new light…
Someone told me a couple of days ago something that I had never thought of before in the 10 years that I have struggled with my experience at Columbine. She said that she saw my Makers thumbprint in my life, and that my gift, not my curse, was that I had joined my Creators yoke in suffering, but not in the way most people think of when they think of suffering. Suffering to me meant dealing with all of the bad things that happen to you and that sometimes it just happens more to some people than others. My friend helped me to see that while yes, suffering is experiencing trying times in our lives; it is so much deeper than that alone. Suffering is also Continue reading ’4.20.99 part 3: joined in suffering’
4.20.99 cont'd
Published 04/22/2009 columbine Leave a CommentTags: cassie bernall, columbine, Krista Law, shauna gauthier
Shauna Gauthier offered some really meaningful reflections on Columbine and all that we went through together on her blog. She included some great insight into Cassie B’s life and what it meant/means for those of us who knew her. We think a read through her post is highly worthy. Shauna blogs with Krista Law regularly at nolongermute.blogspot.com. You can check out the post we’re talking about here. Thanks, Shauna!
04.20.99
Published 04/21/2009 columbine 2 CommentsTags: april 20th, cassie bernall, cassie nason, columbine, WBCC
obviously, yesterday was the 10 year anniversary columbine. a lot of recalling & remembering for us who went through that time together. if you didn’t get time to reflect, you may appreciate this collection of photos of Cassie Bernall that Jon Burns put together— these were pics that Cassie (Nason) took for a HS photo project. She lost them, & didn’t find the negatives until years after Cassie was killed. Needless to say, when we found them, they were overwhelming & powerful. And still are. Lift a prayer for the families who lost, the people who experienced trauma, and that God’s story can still be seen beyond April 20th, 1999
just a bit of weekend home shopping network classic-ness coming your way:
