yeah. i’m totally kidding.

but my husband sent me this story.

Pittsburgh-

(AP) Change for a million?

That’s what a man was seeking Saturday when he handed a $1 million bill to a cashier at a Pittsburgh supermarket. But when the Giant Eagle employee refused and a manager confiscated the bogus bill, the man flew into a rage, police said.

The man slammed an electronic funds-transfer machine into the counter and reached for a scanner gun, police said.

Police arrested the man, who was not carrying identification and has refused to give his name to authorities. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail.

Since 1969, the $100 bill is the largest note in circulation.

Police believe the $1 million note seized at the supermarket may have originated at a Dallas-based ministry. Last year, the ministry distributed thousands of religious pamphlets with a picture of President Grover Cleveland on a $1 million bill.

sometimes, i see things that make me think,

“WHAT THE CRAP?!”

This is one of them.

The “Daddle.” The idea…potentially cool. But let’s make it a little less creepy, eh?

Daddle.com if you’re interested.

from reuters.com

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A woman in Mexico City kept the body of her dead husband by her bedside for a year until neighbors, disturbed by the smell, called the police.

Police broke down Mercedes Velarde’s door on Tuesday and found the putrefied body of her husband Edmundo on the floor of her bedroom.

Authorities said on Wednesday they were investigating Velarde’s claim her husband died of natural causes. They believe the man, in his early 60s, had mental problems that may have been linked to his death.

Local media reported that Velarde’s son regularly helped remove worms infesting his father’s body.

Police could not confirm the reports but said her two adult children knew their mother was keeping the body.

The family is being examined by a psychiatrist. After an autopsy, the family could face criminal charges or be sent to a psychiatric hospital.

Authorities said hiding a dead person, even a family member, is a crime.

“Yes, these people have psychological problems, (but) they hid a corpse. Even if it is a family member, they committed a crime,” Veronica Sanchez at the Mexico City attorney general’s office told Reuters.

how many things do we hang on to instead of properly burying them? i know for me, past relationships and mistakes easily haunt me. living and replaying moments i regret over and over again in my head do nothing but bring me down and take my eyes of the present.

this is a really gross story, but so applicable to almost every area of our lives…don’t you think?

So, today Chris hands me a postcard he gets for some media/tech conference. I read through it…blah blah blah…then on the “who should attend” it lists:

-Pastors, Senior Pastors, Executive Pastors
-Facilities Manager, Operations Managers
-Technical Directors, Media Ministers, Tech Staff
-Business Administrators & Building Committee Members
-Lay leaders, Church staff, and Volunteers
-Architects, Design Firms & Installation Professionals
-Professionals in the Worship Market

Besides the obvious fact of “EVERYONE” that was completely overstated, what in the world is the “worship market?”

Someone, please enlighten me.

i hope you don’t mind, but i am using some of the comments from the “i like michael moore” post to make some parallels on this one. it is not my intent to misuse these quoted words, but to discover how michael moore and the church are similar.

Bobby says:

I think the question for Michael Moore is the real, underlying motivation for his passion. What change is he trying to initiate? What is he trying to accomplish?

Michael says:

like many pharisees or unbelievers, he brings an element of truth to what he says but you have to get through the propaganda to hear it. we just need to be wise in what we let in and wise in not disregarding what we don’t like.

good subject even though he distorts the truth for his causes.

Tony says:

I do have a tough time w/ the spin he puts on things. But, it’s politics, everyone spins - there’s no “truth”.

And Leslie says:

dare I say that the American church has it’s own bit of propaganda and agenda in the public arena, too. But don’t take my word for it…I’m just a little jaded.

Leslie pretty much asks my next question. Yes, Michael Moore is biased, he spins the truth, embellishes, exaggerates and takes things out of context.

How often does the Church do the same thing? One of my favorite people wrote about Cheap Grace…I have seen my share of churhes preach that. And there are so many things that are easy for churches to sell but I think we all can agree the Bible is full of things that go against human nature, what comes naturally:

In order to live, we must die?
In order to be great, we must be least?
The meek will inherit the earth?
We must seek sorrow without despair?
We must love our enemies?

I am not being a killjoy. Through those things we learn joy. We find joy - A joy that is beyond our human nature. And I am not opposed to happy pastors and authors, but there are far too many of those pretty white teeth on our bookshelves. We are not fulfilling our purpose and calling by only telling one side of the story. In fact, I think as Michael Moore does a disservice to those who buy into his philosophies, we often do a disservice to everyone - Christ followers, or not - by not presenting all of the truth, or taking it out of context in order to meet everyone’s “felt needs.”

Some notes I had earlier written on Colson’s book, Being the Body:

Since when is the gospel of christ comfortable? Since when is confronting sin comfortable? Grace is all encompassing and forgiveness covers all sin, as well as the fact we serve and worship a loving God, but the truth is God cannot stand to look at us if it weren’t for the cross.

Has the Church put a spin on these essential truths because we’re afraid we’ll scare people away?

before the political comments start, let me go ahead and thwart them by saying i don’t necessarily agree with mikey’s views on a lot of things. i did see sicko, i did enjoy it, and actually do agree with most of which he conveys in that documentary.

anyway, i am not here to argue healthcare. i am here to restate my title: i like michael moore.

why do i like him?

because he is passionate. he is persistent. and he is intolerant. he stands up for what he believes in and doesn’t let people with other opinions stop him from pursuing change. yes, he lacks tact and grace, but we all have our flaws.

i think the church could learn from michael moore. too often, we sit back. we are passive. we give up. we tolerantly accept culture and in extreme cases, bow to it. we talk about the things we believe in, but we don’t act on it enough. oh, and often, we lack tact and grace. (i know i do).

people with unwavering passion challenge my contentedness. they move me to action. they stir my spirit. people like michael moore make me realize that i have been inactive for far too long.