You must watch this all the way through to get the effect. I hope you enjoy.... hmmm, I could go for some microwavable popcorn right now...

Some great videos exploring the similarities and differences between Jesus & Santa (or perhaps how we perceive Jesus & Santa):

Try this…

Lift your right foot a few inches from the floor and then begin to move it in a clockwise direction. While you're doing this, use a finger your right index finger to draw a number 6 in the air. Your foot will turn in an anticlockwise direction and there's nothing you can do about it!

What’s happening?

The left side of your brain, which controls the right side of your body, is responsible for rhythm and timing. The left side of your brain cannot deal with operating two opposite movements at the same time and so it combines them into a single motion.

Try this with your right foot and left hand and you should have no problem!

Have you ever been embarrassed by Christian subculture? Perhaps someone passed you a testamint, or you were forced to watch McGee & Me or Bible Man or perhaps you bumped into someone wearing one of those "Jesus Christ" t-shirts in the Coke-a-Cola script with the tag line "eternally refreshing." There is plenty of cringe-factor to be found in the Christian subculture. And let's not kid ourselves, there is a Christian subculture at play here. So much so, that when Disney promotes their Narnia movies it hypes them in the Christian market and when political figures want to obtain office they try to please the Christian vote. Dominant US marketing culture has recognized Christians as a culture to be targeted.

But don't think a subculture doesn't exist just because you're in Eastern Europe or Western Europe. As I've travelled around I've discovered that each country's contingent of believers has their own subcultures.

However, these subcultures are not what God has calls us to at all. Christians, if they are following Christ, cannot be a subculture, they must be a counterculture. A subculture buys into the values and ethos of the culture around it but simply adds their own style and view on its own things. A counterculture challenges dominant values not just by singing about a different way of life or by passing out mints with crosses on them but by living out the life Jesus lived.

If we don't, we might end up repeating something like this...



or even worse, this...

At conference we had our own particular brand of olympic games going. The distance spitting, shoe tossing and two-person swim all come to mind. It would seem Dwight from the Office had a similar idea: a centathilon.

Thought you might enjoy some of the amusing videos from Conference:

Here is the Bobbing For Sunglasses video. Anyone figure it out yet ;)


Which is related to this video (that I didn't show at Conference) where one of the lads catches sunglasses with his face:


And lest you forget, Europe is a country:


Sheep (Mission) Vs. Cows:


What if Church Was Like the NBA?


Anyone have any other funny vids I should be aware of?

Imaginative humor...

It's nice to see the world come together around dancing:



About the video:

Matt is a 31-year-old deadbeat from Connecticut who used to think that all he ever wanted to do in life was make and play videogames. Matt achieved this goal pretty early and enjoyed it for a while, but eventually realized there might be other stuff he was missing out on. In February of 2003, he quit his job in Brisbane, Australia and used the money he'd saved to wander around Asia until it ran out. He made this site so he could keep his family and friends updated about where he is.

A few months into his trip, a travel buddy gave Matt an idea. They were standing around taking pictures in Hanoi, and his friend said "Hey, why don't you stand over there and do that dance. I'll record it." He was referring to a particular dance Matt does. It's actually the only dance Matt does. He does it badly. Anyway, this turned out to be a very good idea.

A couple years later, someone found the video online and passed it to someone else, who passed it to someone else, and so on. Now Matt is quasi-famous as "That guy who dances on the internet. No, not that guy. The other one. No, not him either. I'll send you the link. It's funny."

The response to the first video brought Matt to the attention of the nice people at Stride gum. They asked Matt if he'd be interested in taking another trip around the world to make a new video. Matt asked if they'd be paying for it. They said yes. Matt thought this sounded like another very good idea.

In 2006, Matt took a 6 month trip through 39 countries on all 7 continents. In that time, he danced a great deal.

The second video made Matt even more quasi-famous. In fact, for a brief period in July, he was semi-famous.

Things settled down again, and then in 2007 Matt went back to Stride with another idea. He realized his bad dancing wasn't actually all that interesting, and that other people were much better at being bad at it. He showed them his inbox, which, as a result of his semi-famousness, was overflowing with emails from all over the planet. He told them he wanted to travel around the world one more time and invite the people who'd written him to come out and dance too.

The Stride people thought that sounded like yet another very good idea, so they let him do it. And he did. And now it's done. And he hopes you like it.

Matt lives in Seattle, Washington with his girlfriend, Melissa, and dog, Sydney. He hasn't had a real job since Stride called him up. Matt doesn't mind working, but he doesn't much care for having to show up at the same place every day.

Matt is not rich. Matt also doesn't have some magical secret for traveling cheaply. He does it pretty much the same way everybody else does.

Matt thinks Americans need to travel abroad more.

For more info click here.

Not sure if any of you are Colbert Report fans but I sure am. The Anglican Bishop and theologian NT Wright recently stopped by the show to promote his new book, Surprised by Hope which asserts that Heaven isn't the end but merely a stopping point before the New Heavens and New Earth are created. I've been talking about this idea for a while ever since my theology classes with Dr. Ockholm in Wheaton and so was happy to see him give quite a succinct treatise on the idea while keeping his sense of humor. Check out the clip below and let me know what you think of his ideas.

Did I miss something?

The best part is that he ended up winning the entire competition...

Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, recently had author Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford Professor, on his show to share about his upcoming book, The Lucifer Effect. Colbert is known for his sarcastic and tongue-in-cheek humor but on this show he broke character for a few seconds when Philip Zimbardo said, "Lucifer was right, and God was wrong," Colbert, who teaches sunday school, responded, "Evil exists because of the disobedience of Satan. God gave Satan, the angels and man free will. Satan used his free will and abused it by not obeying authority. Hell was created by Satan's disobedience to God , and his purposeful removal from God's love, which is what hell is: removing yourself from God's love. You send yourself to hell; God does not send you there."

What does it mean to stand up for your faith?

You can see the interview here:

We GEM-Ks love Facebook thus we enjoy this song:

Often how we look at our lives can result in what we see God doing (or not doing). These photo collections are prime examples of how perspective plays a part in what we see...

Li Wei shoots photos without any digital enhancement. He uses props, mirrors and perspective to achieve these amazing photographs:



Check Out Li Wei's Photos.

Or check out some sweet souvenir shots.

Not sure if this fits into the "Sweded" camp but it sure makes me laugh. Ian is a friend of mine and has put together a few of these videos. I post Mr. Blue Sky here for your viewing pleasure.

I haven't seen the film Be Kind Rewind but the film coined the term 'Sweded' - referring to short remakes of famous films. The results can be quite funny...

You have to wait for this one until about 1:45 but the wait is oh so worth it. Enjoy the chuckle.

I decided to post a few of the videos we used at our GEM-K Winter Camp for your viewing pleasure. I tried my hardest to make them deep and profound but I'm pretty sure I failed. We all got a good laugh though.

I have to meet these kids some day.

Don't try this on the freeway.

This ad makes me feel fresh every time I watch it.

I forget how I worked this one into my discussion but I remember it working in my head.