Miscellaneous update

After a very hectic first month, it's good to have things settle down a bit. Sort of... I guess.

First, a church update. One of the pastors resigned, and it's a sad day for the church as a result. He was at the root of the only "new" types of ministry being done there, starting up both our weekly basketball games and a theology class (that I've been asked to take over in his absence). The class is just a reading group for the book "How to Read the Bible for All its Worth" and so it's really just a guided discussion instead of a lecture (which equates to a bit less prep work for me).

There's still plenty out there that worries me, but at this point there's not much I can do about any of it, so I've shifted back to a posture of waiting to see what happens. In the meantime, I'll keep close to my oikos and make sure they're taken care of (and allow myself to be taken care of by them).

I've been very busy this week, with something going on every night for the entire week. Going backwards...

Super Bowl Sunday: Go Saints! We had the small group over to watch the game and eat food. I fired up the new grill for the first time, and it worked very well. I can tell that I'm going to need to spend a little time getting used to the three-burner setup, getting used to managing both the hot and cool (well... less hot) zones, as well as learning the natural hot spots (the front is cooler than the back).

UNLV/UCF Saturday: I got a free ticket to the UNLV/BYU game on Saturday (thanks Jenni!). I went with Sean, Daniel, and Nathan. It was my first UNLV game, and it was good fun. The Rebels got out to a quick start, and rode it all the way to the end of the game. That evening, we had a few people over to watch some UFC. I'm not a huge UFC fan, but there must be something about testosterone that makes watching people beat up other people (in controlled settings) very interesting and enjoyable.

Avatar Friday: I saw Avatar in 3D on IMAX. The visuals were very nice and the story was very predictable. In spite of that, it was still a fun movie to watch. I feel like I'm supposed to have more to say about it, but I don't.

Basketball Thursday: Our weekly basketball is up and running, and I'm playing better than I have in a while. My outside shooting feels much more rhythmic and I feel like my court awareness has started to creep back up again (I'm seeing passing lanes that I felt like I was missing before). This is still the only exercise I get.

Church Wednesday: This is the night of the class that I'm supposed to take over. There are 15-20 people in the group, and it's a good group of people. Part of it is self-selection. People who aren't interested in being challenged about how they think about the Bible won't sit in a class on how you should think about the Bible.

Small Group Tuesday: Our group has grown in spite of the church stuff going south, which is an indication that we're doing something right. Unsurprisingly, it's really about the simple things, like listening to and caring for each other, as well as challenging each other to grow into a more mature understanding of our faith. We're currently going through some Stand To Reason materials, and it seems to have connected very well with the group.

Board meeting Monday: The meeting started at 6:30 PM and lasted until about 12:30 AM. We listened to a lot of people talk (there was quite a bit of nonsense, but there were some sensible statements in the mix). We received and accepted the resignation of our associate pastor. Some other business happened, but I'm not about to try to remember right now.

Tomorrow begins a new week and life goes on.