Know the basics of domain registration.

In the year 2000, I registered my first domain. Before registering, I read several guides that taught me how to register a domain starting with the name selection. I have learnt a lot from these guides and I share with you a few salient points here.

The name of the domain should be as short as possible and it should indicate what the website is about.

Next, it should be registered for at least three years if the purpose of the website is going to be business as this will instill confidence among the buyers of your product or service. Yes, this made a lot of sense to me.

Next point to consider was the selection of a domain registrar. A domain registrar should have acquired an accreditation from authentic organization. Also you much check to see if they off domain forwarding service and managed DNS service.

The final important aspect is to lock the domain so that it is protected from unauthorized domain transfer.

I hope these valuable guidelines for domain registration are useful to you also.

Confidential transaction for cash advances.

I am called a very secretive and private person. But ironically, I talk more through blogs nowadays. Yes, to some extent, I admit I have been a private person though talkative.

I don’t confide much in others and I also don’t share my joys and sorrows.

Whatever I do, I don’t talk about it like my husband. He is the extreme. Even if he is little short on cash, all his friends will know about it.

On the other hand, given the same situation, I prefer to silently explore the possibilities of availing a payday loan. For that, I generally, look in trustsource.org where, several payday loans issuing companies are rated by users like you and I.

TrustSource.org is a sort of market place where payday loans and cash advance sites are reviewed and ranked by people who have used these sites to get cash fast.

Tutorials on CSS, PHP and more.

While I was preparing tutorial on a few tough mathematics topics, I stumbled on to http://endihm.com/where one can upload their own tutorial creations on varied subjects that includes CSS, PHP, HTML and Javaceript.

I love these tutorials and I usually bookmark them for future use or to refer it to somebody who is vainly searching for such tutorials.

Why, even I was searching once a for an easy to understand tutorials on PHP. I needed to learn it to fine tune my PHP based web directory.

About Endihm.com:
" Endihm was launched in December 2006 by Ludwig Pettersson and Niclas Bergström. We launched the site just as a place where we could gather the best articles about web development, easily browse through them and learn a thing or two."

The Mahalo search engine.

After three months, I started my first work. I registered with them in the month of October itself. But I did not put in any efforts to learn the trade.

Finally, on one of those non-blogging days, I downloaded all those mind boggling tutorials and took two days to read. Then I sought help from any of the Indian guides but a very kind hearted lady from the dependable America came forward to guide me.

And she is an excellent coach and she took only two chat sessions to prepare me. I submitted the work and it was already rejected four times. But I welcome all those rejections that gave me tremendous opportunity learn.

And the official guide from Mahalo also is simply superb in her guidance. I thank them all and am looking forward to work with them for a long time.

A.E. Feldman is a global choice.

The last Sunday news paper did not kindle any interest in me. It was overloaded with crime, crime and nothing but crime news. Stories about weak American economy and its negative impact on other world markets predicted more gloom and no cheer.

So, I just casually opened the ‘Classifieds’ supplementary news paper and browsed through ‘Wanted’ ads without any real purpose. I saw a few Job Placement ads that won’t encourage anyone to approach them. I don’t think they have any good record that can speak for them.

I remember reading a web release of A.E. Feldman Associates some months ago. They are the top notch recruiting company in the U.S. Since 1967, they have maintained a high standard of service.

I would like to quote here from the web release:

“Our reputation, discretion and consistent record of successful placements have helped us build strong and trusted relationships with industry-leading clients and top-quality candidates… to the benefit of both sides of the employment equation.”

Now I am able to remember why that particular piece remained in my memory. The word ‘discretion’-I wonder how many placement organizations are discreet in their dealings. When I read that sentence in the web release, I know they meant it, otherwise, it would not have been said at all.

Their specialization in getting risk management jobs in multinational banks and various other financial corporations attracts suitable candidates from all over the world.

They fill positions nationally from middle to executive to top “C level” management.

Tendulkar's one more century.

To my mind, only the most lazy persons who have absolutely nothing else to do, keep writing about when Tendulkar will retire?

Atrocious it is. Why should they keep on writing about him instead of writing about his single handed support to Indian cricket reputation? Why don't they write about the retirement of aging persons in other public field?

And look at his another achievement today in Adelaide-one more unbeaten century against Australia! When the cricketers of other countries are envious of India because of Sachin Tendulkar, here, a few are calling for his head.

How perverted!

I am going to stay positive.

I stood firm with a positive frame of mind amidst chaos and gloom in the national stock exchange. Yes, I have witnessed worse than this but the market continues to discount international economical distractions and stay afloat. So, basically, the Indian economy is no more dependent on the world economy.

Yes, to a large extent, FII contribute to the market fluctuations in both ways. I foresee their influence will also be pushed to back by new national investors. In about a year, this might happen.

There is a growing feeling among the Indian citizen that India should dictate terms to other economic powers in the world.

I too hope to be a contributing factor.

SMS ‘NFL’ to 26220.

Since 1977, (I was only 18 years then), I have been reading and hearing about the Super Bowl and the festivity that surrounds Super Bowl Trophy Championship.

I was brought up near a football ground. In fact, you can say I was raised in a football ground because of the proximity of our house to the football ground. I developed a natural affinity to the game.

Growing up, I kept track of the super bowl trophy and even I maintained paper cuttings for while. Like every hobby, I lost the interest in paper cuttings but never in the football game.

I heard that tickets for Super Bowl are very hard to get and people used to pay high premium to get a vantage seat. This gave rise to several ticketing agencies offering their services and among them, the most dependable service is given by TicketsNow.

TicketsNow has just announced a savings of whopping $500 on a pair of super bowl tickets by simply text messaging “NFL” to 26220. Once your text message is received, you will receive a code that you can redeem at www.ticketsnow.com during checkout. You can also call (800) 927-2770 for your code.

Flying High

Tomorrow we’re going to the Sydney Jesuits’ beach house in a place called Gerroa (Jer-row-uh), which is about three hours (130 km) south of here. I understand it’s pretty much right on the beach. Wow!

The beach at Gerroa, it turns out, is famous in Australia for being the location from which aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith (right; and that’s Sir Kingsford-Smith to you) took off on September 11th, 1928 to fly the first flight across the Tasman Sea (about 2000 kms) to New Zealand. Apparently the beach at Gerroa is not only very flat but very long – it’s called 7 Mile Beach -- so it made a perfect location for Kingsford-Smith’s take off. And talk about taking the red eye: On September 28th he took off very early, 2:30am. Flares lit up the proposed runway and car lights from the couple thousand people who came down from Sydney to watch the departure were used to add light. When he and his relief pilot, Charles Ulm, arrived 14 + hours later in their plane, a Fokker monoplane called “The Southern Cross”, 35000 people were there to greet them.

If you’re interested in aviation history, Kingsford-Smith was apparently one of the great pilots of the early days of flight. In 1928 he made the first non-stop flight across the continent of Australia (a distance of 3200 kms, from Point Cook to Perth) and in 1934 (at age 31) he, Ulm and two others made the first ever west to east (Oakland to Brisbane) crossing of the Pacific (a distance of just about 12000 kms). It took 83+ flying hours, including one leg which took over 30 hours by itself, and when it was done he received a telegram of congratulations from President Herbert Hoover.

Kingsford-Smith also flew around the world, and held more long distance flying records than anyone before him. In 1933, after again breaking the record for solo flight form England to Australia, he was named the world’s greatest pilot. Until 1997 his face was on the Australian 20 dollar bill, and today Sydney’s airport is named after him.

He also was apparently a big hit with celebrity look-alikes.

















Tell me that guy on the left is not Harry Connick, Jr.

And isn't that Kingston-Smith below with a younger James Gandolfini?
Or is it F. Murray Abraham?

















The man himself seemed to have his Roy (“Jaws”) Scheider imitation down pat.
















We’ll be gone a week, so I won’t be updating the site. But I’ve put some little bits up now (below) that you might enjoy next week. Take care!

Just One Day

As I was preparing to leave for our trip, came upon a couple things that you might enjoy. The first is a selection from a poem. My mom and nine of her high school friends (the (in)famous “Club”) came to New York City last year to celebrate their sixtieth birthdays. While they were in town we had mass together, and one of them shared this.

While Yet There Is Time

The hours slip past;
Our moments melt
into the eternity behind us;
Time sweeps us on
to a destination
from which there is no return….
While yet there is time
look out upon the world,
devour it with your eyes,
and if your spirit demands more,
add at least one stone
to the edifice being built.
Fill your lungs with the smell of flowers;
let the first cool breath of dawn
blow through your hair.
While yet there is time
let us greet the dawn together;
while yet there is time
love, and be loved;
let our thoughts
throw light in dark places;
let your lips
blossom in a smile.

By Rasul Rza

The other is a YouTube Video. It’s a commercial, actually, that played down here before a movie we saw. (Yes, they play commercials before movies down here, too. Cars, cell phones, movie tickets. Somehow the ads don’t seem quite so extreme as the U.S. ads, though. A bit less of howling music while kids jump off cliffs on snowboards and music videos advertise for branches of the military.)

Anyway, when I was a novice our novice director continually reminded us of the need to "savor" our experiences, and that's a big part of this whole tertianship experience, too. I think this ad, which is about a may fly, really captures that.

Measuring Up (and Down)

It’s always funny when temperature comes up here – and right now it’s coming up a lot, because it’s been atypically cool and rainy. An Australian guy will say the temperature, at which point I enter a momentary fugue state while my brain tries to convert degree Celsius to degree Fahrenheit. (A basic rule of thumb: 30 degrees is very hot; 10 is pretty cool.)

The way we measure things is a part of the fabric of life, common sense… until you go elsewhere. In Australia, not only is it degree Celsius, not degree Fahrenheit, it’s kilometers, not miles. Centimeters, not inches. Liters, not gallons. And kilograms not pounds. I was thrilled recently to hop on a scale and find myself weighing less than 100. Then I was given a conversion rate. Really looking forward to a Lenten fast.

Getting in the spirit of things, I’m going to use degree Celsius, kms, cms, kgs and liters as often as I can in my entries. For those playing along at home:
1 kilometer is 0.62 miles.
1 centimeter is 0.39 inches.
1 liter is 0.22 gallons.
1 kilogram is 2.20 pounds -- which in my opinion is really unfair; if kilometers are less than miles, why aren’t kilograms less than pounds? I’d like to propose a recount.

As for degree Celsius and Fahrenheit, you might remember the formula we learned in school: F=9/5 C +32. Degree Fahrenheit = nine-fifths of the degrees Celsius (almost double) + 32.

Then again, you might just go to convertunits.com and let them do it for you.

Too Much Information

I had the most jarring experience the other day. All of us at Canisius are right now doing the getting to know yous -- trying to remember names, basic background information, place of origin, what we’ve been up to. A lot of our community’s meal conversations return to these topics.

And a typical question to start is where are you from. As a Jesuit, I’ve never quite known what to say – or perhaps which things, or how much. There’s the current address: I live in New York. There’s province of origin: Wisconsin. And there’s place of origin, which is usually assumed to be somewhere in the province of origin, but in my case the two are different. I am in the Wisconsin Province, but I am from Chicago, home of the White Sox, Gino’s East, Bill Murray and Lake Shore Drive. Usually I go with all three: I’m a member of the Wisconsin Province, living in New York, originally from Chicago, home of the White Sox, Gino’ East, Bill Murray and Lake Shore Drive. (Ok, I don’t always add the end piece; but when I don’t I try to give a special heartfelt emphasis to the way I say “Chicago”. It’s actually very similar to Chinese tone work.)

With Jesuits, if you’re working outside of our own province, you might get a follow-up: are you applied to the New York Province (which means you’re on loan to the New York Province) or transcribed (which means at your request you’ve been given permanently to that province, with the permission of your provincial and the provincial of the other province)? Here, too, a complication: America House is a community of the New York Province, but America Magazine is a national work of the Society of Jesus in the United States. Though members of other provinces who work at America are living in the New York Province, because the magazine is a national work, they are actually neither applied nor transcribed to New York, but rather retain status as members of their home province. It’s a completely unique situation in the Assistancy; our other national works – our theologates and national conference offices – are in fact under the aegis of the national conference office and its president.

So, are you dizzy?

And I haven’t even gotten to the jarring part. Next entry!

On Wisconsin

Ok, the jarring experience. I give my schpiel – member of the Wisconsin Province, working in New York, originally from Chicago, home of the White Sox, etc. etc. sigh.

And the Jesuit across from me, an 79 year old Australian who has spent much of his life on the Western coast of Australia, in Perth, says, “Hmm. ‘Wisconsin.’ What does that mean?”

The question, in fact the very idea of the question flabbergasted me, mostly because I had no idea. Had never even thought of the name of the state as having a meaning.

At this same time, just days earlier I had been wondering where the name Sydney came from.

This situation could not stand. After lunch, I went immediately to Google, and made some great discoveries at the website of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Wisconsin, it turns out, means “river running through a red place.” It emerges from the language of the Miami Indians, who guided none other than the Jesuits’ own Jacques Marquette in June, 1673, from their village in Green Lake County through the Fox River, across quite a bit of dry land and onto a river that they, according to Marquette’s journal, called the “Meskousing.”

In 1674, another explorer, Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, misread Marquette’s “M” as a cursive “Ou” and this misreading ended up being printed on maps, such that Miskonsing became Ouisconsing. According to the Historical Society, over the next 150 years both the river and the region became known as “Ouisconsin.”

After the War of 1812, large numbers of miners began to enter the region. Most used the French spelling. However, U.S. government spellings varied between “Ouisconsin” and “Wisconsin” until the latter became the standard. July 4th, 1836, federal territorial status was granted to “Wisconsin”.

A funny story – the first governor, James Duane Doty, hated that spelling. He preferred “Wiskonsan”, and insisted on it until he was given lifetime season tickets to the Green Bay Packers. (In actuality, to shut him down the legislature eventually issued a joint resolution declaring the official spelling as “Wisconsin”.

As for the meaning of the name, the Historical Society notes that at various points of the river, such as near Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids, the surrounding rock is red in color. Hence the name: river running through a red place.

I returned to my new friend, loaded with all of this information. The next day at lunch he thanked me. Someone else at the table asked what we were talking about, and I told them the story: “He asked where I was from, I had said I’m from Chicago but I’m in the Wisconsin Province, and then he had wondered what “Wisconsin” meant and I had no idea. So I looked it up.” I ended, very pleased with myself.

And my friend looked up and said “Hey, what does Chicago mean?”

Which just about ruined my day.

Just starting out posting my adventures into our curriculum for September for my little one who will be 4 in April. This is going to be so much fun and I can't wait to get started. We have already found a local homeschool group to join come September.

So excited!!!! I hope to keep this excitement going all thru the years. Wish me luck!

DISCIPLE MAKERS BASIC TRAINING - Introduction

Coram Deo Church will begin its Disciple Makers Basic Training this Wednesday. For fourteen or so weeks we will gather as the “Called Out, Called Together, Called To Serve” Church to explore what it means to be a disciple maker. Each session will include a presentation of Biblically based content, a time of directed discussion and application, and some informal fellowship. Bring a Bible, a notebook, a writing utensil, and a desire to grow in faith, love and deeds. The sessions are family-integrated so I encourage whole families to attend.

Background
As I have researched discipleship programs I have concluded that modern individualism has radically influenced our concept of how disciples are made. Many discipleship programs seem to emphasize personal fulfillment rather than radical obedience to the commands of Scripture. This is no great surprise, since the recent church growth movement has drawn crowds into mega-facilities, but failed to make disciples of Jesus. The stunning admission by trend-setting Willow Creek Church, that their dynamic programming and small group emphasis did not produce self-feeding believers, should send a shock wave through the “seeker-sensitive” evangelical community.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-2, 8). I'd say it's time for some serious pruning.

The myth of separation between things sacred and things secular has become the default perspective of American culture, including many of those who call themselves born again believers. Most Christians send their children to secular schools and work at secular jobs. On Sundays they might spend a couple hours at church. That’s 2 out of 112 hours awake each week, or just under 2% of our time devoted to the things of God.

Some of us think we’re more committed to our walk of faith by listening to Christian radio. Some of us think we're evangelizing when we flash someone with a fish outline glued on the back of our car. Some of us think we're raising spiritual kids by dropping them off at a church youth group. Some of us join a small group and think we're rolling down the road of disipleship. In reality most of us do not really grow, or serve, or bear much fruit, says researcher George Barna. Mostly, we're content to be recipients of the spiritual work of others, rather than servants of Christ and His church, called to make disciples (Matthew 28:1-20).

The Challenge
God is sovereign over all of life. There is no secular realm beyond His authority. He owns all things and all people, and those He calls into His kingdom by faith, He calls to obedience and service as disciple-makers. Of course, in order to make disciples, one must first be a disciple. This means making a commitment to study the Bible, getting to know the person and teachings of Christ, then obeying everything He has commanded in His Word.

That’s where we’ll start in the Disciple Makers Basic Training. I look forward to breaking new ground with you in the service of our Lord. I will try to use this blog site as a way to keep online visitors up to date with our progress. Email me if you have any questions or comments.

In Christ,

Pastor John Sleadd
pastorjohnsleadd@gmail.com

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I’ve been in Pymble about five days now. I’ve spent most of my time sleeping, reading, meeting people. And investigating: each day I have sort of poked around one area or another, trying to find my way. Friday I wandered the building, all the nooks and crannies. Saturday I walked ten minutes along our main street, Mona Vale, to a neighborhood mall. (Interesting differences: along with the usual clothing stores, snack and fast food shops (including McDonald's), CD/DVD/Electronics, they had two supermarkets, a couple doctor's offices a sort of a mini-mart, and a library. On the main floor people would walk around steering what we would call supermarket carts indoors from store to store.)

Sunday I took my first walk in the wealthy suburban neighborhood in which we live. Within about 45 minutes, I was lost. So lost, in fact, I ended up in another township, going pretty much the wrong way, and had to have an old woman tell me how to get back to our house. (I know this will receive immediate laughs from pretty much everyone reading. Just remember, God calls the weak, shall we say the disoriented.)

And then on Monday, I thought, what’s the next step? Could get on a train to Sydney – that’s a bit far. Probably time to start driving.

Driving: Australia is a Commonwealth, which is to say it’s of 16 countries that acknowledge Great Britian’s Queen Elizabeth II as their monarch. From the standpoint of governance, this does not mean a heck of a lot. Australia is a sovereign state, it has its own two-house parliament and prime minister who run the country. And there’s a strong desire among the people to put aside the commonwealth notion entirely and become a republic.

But in terms of culture, of course there’s been lots of influence over the centuries, from the popularity of sports like tennis, cricket and rugby, to turns of phrase, the standards of measurement…and the fact that Australians, like Brits, drive on the left side of the road. And in the cars, the steering wheel is on the right.

This is a very minor difference from us, really – it’s not as though you’re driving backwards or in space. If you hit the gas a little too much, you won't find yourself hurtling by Pluto. Still, being on a one-lane each way highway with cars on the right hand side hurtling toward you, well, one's instinct is to immediately swerve completely off the road.

Likewise, turning right from the left hand lanes, that is across traffic –- well it’s actually very easy, as you can see the cars coming, just as in the States. But still, you're expecting them to come from the other way. And so making that turn, you feel like you’re a slickbacked hotrodder in a 1950s car flick, playing chicken with a semi while you smoke your menthols.

Still, you get used to that impending sense of doom. It even becomes fun. Or funny, anyway. On an Australian car, the wiper lever and the turn signal are in the opposite locations from what we’re used to in the States. Here, your wiper is on your left, your turn signal on the right. And every time I turn, every time, I end up instead turning on the windshield wipers, which then slide across the very dry windshield with a wonderful SCREECH, SCREECH. Every time, I do this. Every time. Those who have driven by my car at these moments have probably been frightened at the strange driver within, who seems to be hysterically laughing while he turns without a signal and uses his windshield wipers on a dry day.

Unexpected things are very difficult, like staying in the center of your lane. I’ve never had trouble with as a driver, and one wouldn’t think this has anything to do with what side of the street you drive on, but it does. Probably out of anxiety that I’m about to be hit by the cars coming from the opposite direction (who are DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD, my brain hollers), I’m invariably too far over to the left.

The other challenge is the mirrors. In this new world, I find myself having to remind myself to use the main mirror; it’s in the wrong place, you see, and so usually I find I am looking out the little right hand mirror to gauge the traffic behind me. It actually took me about a half and hour of driving to figure out how that main mirror is supposed to go. Am I supposed to be able to see myself in? I don’t think so. Is it too far up? Down? Again, you’d think I’d never drove, but it all seems so…different.

So far, no accidents. Drove on a very busy road, not yet a highway, but not just a street, and had no problems. Even listened to the radio. Right hand turns still horrify me, but I’m getting there...

He is the Very Model of A Modern Father General

Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, 71, moderator of the Jesuit provinces of East Asia and Oceania, has just been elected the 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus! Originally from Spain, and a theologian by training, Father Nicolas was ordained in Tokyo and has spent much of his life working in Japan. The Australian Jesuit newsletter, The Province Express, recently did a couple interviews with him about his work and the upcoming congregation. I'm pasting those below, as well as a whole bunch of news stories on him and the election.

It's an exciting time for the Society; I hope you'll join us in praying for Fr. Nicolas and the work of the general congregation (which will now look at a number of issues raised by the world Society over the last year).

(The pictures are all from Fr. Don Doll, SJ, photos of the congregation, which can be found along with many other great shots at www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/GC35.

A letter from Rome, immediately after the Congregation, announcing Fr. Nicolas as the next General

We have left the election hall a few minutes ago. I am glad to announce that we have a new Superior General of the Society of Jesus. There is immense joy as the members of the Congregation approach the new General to greet and embrace him. Adolfo Nicolas SJ is a man from Asia, a theologian from Japan, but born in Palencia Spain in 1936. He represents a new generation of Spanish missionaries in Japan after Fr. Arrupe.

He joined the Society of Jesus in the novitiate of Aranjuez, a small village close to Madrid, in 1953. After completing his studies of Philosophy in Alcalá, Madrid, in 1960 he goes to Japan to immerse himself in Japanese language and culture. In 1964 commences his Theological studies at Sophia University, Tokyo and is ordained priest on the 17th March 1967 in Tokyo.

After obtaining a Masters degree in Theology at the Gregorian Universality, Rome, he returns to Japan to become a professor of systematic theology at Sophia University. From 1978 to 1984 he becomes the director of the Pastoral Institute at Manila, Philippines and then Rector of the house for young Asian Jesuit students of Theology. From 1993 to 1999 he becomes Provincial of the Jesuit Province of Japan.

After this stint in 'power' he spends three years working in a poor immigrant parish in Tokyo. His work is difficult but he is able to help thousands of Philippine and Asian immigrants and gets a first-hand experience of their suffering. In a way, his love for the poor and downtrodden can become now, after so many years, his most important ministry.

In 2004 is called again to exercise governing functions, and is appointed responsible for the entire Jesuit region of East Asia comprising countries from Myanmar to Timor Este including the new province of China. It is during these years that he is able to support the phenomenal growth of the Jesuit presence in Vietnam and other countries.

Somebody might say that after celebrating the centenary of Fr. Arrupe, the Society has elected a General very much in his own line. It is as if the Society would like to re-affirm once more its missionary character and its commitment to all peoples and cultures.

Congratulations Fr. Adolfo!!

Fr. Fernando Franco SJ

Father Nicolas is Greeted by Father Kolvenbach


Interview with Australian Province Express

Australian Express
Father Adolfo Nicolás
21-FEB-2007
A conversation is an exchange. It leaves neither participant unchanged. This is something that Jesuits and other Christians working in Asia have found for centuries.

It’s been 46 years since Father Adolfo Nicolás first traveled to Japan as a missionary from Spain. His has been a long conversation, first in Japan, but also in Korea and more recently in the Philippines. It’s left him convinced that the West does not have a monopoly on meaning and spirituality, and can learn a lot from the experience of Asian cultures.

‘Asia has a lot yet to offer to the Church, to the whole Church, but we haven’t done it yet’, he says. ‘Maybe we have not been courageous enough, or we haven’t taken the risks that we should.’

It speaks volumes that when Father Nicolás talks about Asia, he uses the term ‘we’. As President of the Jesuit Conference of South East Asia and Oceania, he’s responsible for bringing Jesuits across the region together to think beyond their own countries, and confront challenges facing the globe.

The group he represents stretches from China and Myanmar in the west, to Korea in the north, Australia in the south, and Micronesia in the east. It brings together an incredibly diverse group of cultures and societies. From countries where Christianity has been strong in the past, but is on the wane, to places where Christians make up a small but vibrant minority.

Asked if people from a culture like Japan experience Ignatian Spirituality differently than those in the West, Father Nicolás says the experience was indeed different, but it had yet to be formulated.

‘I think the real experience of the Japanese is different. And it should be different. But the formulation continues to be very much a Western formulation’, he says.

A Japanese Jesuit, Father Katoaki, has recently translated and added comments on the book of the Exercises from a Japanese-Buddhist perspective. Father Adolfo says there has also been some discussion on whether the Exercises could be presented to non-Christians, and how that might occur.

‘The question is how to give the Ignatian experience to a Buddhist’, he says. ‘Not maybe formulated in Christian terms, which is what Ignatius asked, but to go to the core of the experience. What happens to a person that goes through a number of exercises that really turn a person inside-out. This is still for us a big challenge.’

While some work has been done comparing the Ignatian experience with that of Hindus, he says there hasn’t been a lot of work on finding similarities say in Japanese, Chinese or Korean cultures. He says East Asia has been more slow to do this in India, partly because the East Asians have a strong respect for tradition, and hence a respect for Christianity’s European traditions. However, the region’s remoteness also gives it more freedom to be creative.

‘There is more space for experimenting, for trying, for thinking and exchanging’, he says.

Essentially, he says the Exercises are about letting God guide people. This is something that those directing retreats have been wary of in the past, but something that is important when dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds.

‘The fact is, if God is guiding then the Japanese will be guided the Japanese way. And the same with the Chinese, and with people from other religions’, he says.

‘Then the director simply has to be perceptive, to see signs that here God is saying something that I don’t understand, and be humble enough to say continue as long as you keep sane and balanced etc.’

Others throughout Asia are dealing more directly with questions of cultural difference, working as missionaries in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar. Father Nicolás says he’s wary of missionaries who don’t enter into the lives of the people, but keep the patterns of their home cultures – Europe or Latin America - alive in their mind. For them, it’s not about exchange but about teaching and imposing orthodoxy.

‘Those who enter into the lives of the people, they begin to question their own positions very radically’, he says. ‘Because they see genuine humanity in the simple people, and yet they see that this genuine humanity is finding a depth of simplicity, of honesty, of goodness that does not come from our sources.’

That conversation must continue, if we are to learn from Asia and Asia is to learn from us.

‘That is a tremendous challenge, and I think it’s a challenge that we have to face. We don’t have a monopoly, and we have a lot to learn.’

By Michael McVeigh

Father Nicolas is Applauded by the Congregation



Second Interview with Australian Province Express, on the work of the General Congregation

Fr Adolfo Nicolas SJ: Six hopes for the General Congregation

Can we be realistic?

I can still remember GC34. They are fond, humorous and challenging memories. But we were not realistic.

Just imagine: 220 Jesuits decide to tackle 46 topics, work on them for three months, produce 26 documents and solemnly handle and approve 416 complementary norms. Thus, we were not surprised when crises emerged: crises of content, of management, and of hope. Next year we will be close to 230 members.

It is my ardent hope that we be realistic as to what a GC can do decently well, what it cannot, and what it should leave to the new Father-General and his team.

Can we be transparent?

Transparency has become more difficult in our small world. When was the last time that a great leader could confess substantial sins in public and continue leading the flock, the country, the Church?

And yet, our GCs have always started with an honest and frank acknowledgment of where we are going wrong, what is missing in our lives, what has been distorted or wounded of our spirit, what needs conversion, renewal or radical reform.

It is my sincere hope that we can do that again.

Can we be accompanied?

The best of a General Congregation is the event itself, as an ‘event of the heart'. This is a time of intensive search and of exhilarating exchange, where questions and answers do not come lineally, but dance within us and around us, at the rhythm of fraternal and humble mutual openness.

My hope is that this happens to the whole Society of Jesus. I hope that we all take an active part in preparing the Congregation from inside our common issues. Prayer, reflection and exchange are the gift and the contribution.

I hope that those who do not go to Rome, will monitor and follow events closely, with the same hope, the same intensity of search, the same willingness to change and be led by the Spirit of our Lord. This will be our best accompaniment.

Can we be creative?

I have a feeling, still imprecise and difficult to define, that there is something important in our religious life that needs attention and is not getting it. We have certainly been diligent in addressing our problems whenever we have seen them: Poverty (GC32 in 1974 and 34 in 1995), Chastity (GC34), Community (Provincials at Loyola)... But the uneasiness in the Society and in the Church has not disappeared.

The question for us is: Is it enough that we are happy with our life and are improving our service and ministry? Isn't there also an important factor in the perception of people (Vox Populi) that should drive us to some deeper reflection on religious life today? How come we elicit so much admiration and so little following?

Thus, one of my hopes is that in GC35 we begin a process of dynamic and open reflection on our religious life that might begin a process of re-creation of the Society for our times, not only in the quality of our services, but also and mostly in the quality of our personal and community witness to the Church and the World.

Can we be practical?

The age in which we live and our younger Jesuits will live, is an age of very rapid change. New technologies and new communication possibilities can make a great difference. We are using some. We do not feel free to use others. Maybe a certain restraint in using new means might be good for us. Maybe not. It is so difficult to know what is going to happen seven, ten years from now.

It is my hope that the coming GC opens the way for future General Congregations, giving the new General and his Council the freedom to discern and choose the best means to prepare and to run the Congregations of the future.

Can we be short?

We would not like GC35 to become another exercise in patience. A General Congregation is not a "Panacea" for all the problems we might face. It is a help of great value, but basically oriented to the ongoing growth in the Spirit and the Apostolate of the whole Society.

Thus, my final hope is that we will be so clear as to the purposes, and so focused in our work, that we can do this service to the Society and the Church within a reasonably short time.

By Adolfo Nicolas SJ, Moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania.

Father Nicolas, After His Election

Article on the Election from Catholic News Service
Jesuit working in Asia elected new head of order

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- Spanish-born Father Adolfo Nicolas, moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, was elected superior general of the Society of Jesus Jan. 19.

The 217 voting delegates to the Jesuit General Congregation elected Father Nicolas, 71, on their second ballot. He succeeds Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, 79, who had asked to resign because of his age.

Pope Benedict XVI was informed of the election of Father Nicolas before the Jesuits announced it publicly.

The election came after four days of prayer, silence and quiet one-on-one conversations among the voting delegates, who were chosen to represent the more than 19,000 Jesuits around the world.

Father Nicolas was ordained to the priesthood in Tokyo and is the former Jesuit provincial of Japan. He also had served as director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila.

Interviewed in December about his hopes for the work of the General Congregation, Father Nicolas said, "I have a feeling, still imprecise and difficult to define, that there is something important in our religious life that needs attention and is not getting it.

"We have certainly been diligent in addressing our problems whenever we have seen them," he said, noting the focus of past General Congregations, "but the uneasiness in the society and in the church has not disappeared."

In the interview, with the Province Express, the newsletter of the Australian Jesuits, he said, "The question for us is: Is it enough that we are happy with our life and are improving our service and ministry? Isn't there also an important factor in the perception of people ('vox populi') that should drive us to some deeper reflection on religious life today?

"How come we elicit so much admiration and so little following?" he asked.

He concluded by telling the newsletter that he hoped the General Congregation would begin "a process of dynamic and open reflection on our religious life that might begin a process of re-creation of the society for our times, not only in the quality of our services, but also and mostly in the quality of our personal and community witness to the church and the world."

Jesuit Father Thomas H. Smolich, president of the Jesuit Conference of the United States, told Catholic News Service that Father Nicolas "is a great man. He is inspirational, he is holy and he represents a great bridge among the various cultures in the church."

Father Smolich said he had gotten to know the new general as they both served on the commission preparing for the General Congregation. Although Father Nicolas is 71, "he has the energy of a much younger man."

In a Jan. 10 letter to the Jesuits, Pope Benedict asked them to reaffirm their "total adhesion to Catholic doctrine," particularly regarding interreligious dialogue and various aspects of sexual morality.

Father Smolich said, "I do not think there was a cause-and-effect relationship, but we have chosen one of the premiere men in the society" in the field of relations between Christianity and other religions.

"He can work intimately with the pope and the Vatican on this very issue," the Jesuit said.

"Seriously, he is one of the most intelligent and holiest men I have ever met," Father Smolich said. "He has the breadth and depth to handle these issues."

The resignation of Father Kolvenbach and the election of Father Nicolas was just the beginning of the General Congregation's work; as of Jan. 19, the Jesuits had not announced an end date for the meeting, but it was expected to last at least another month and focus on questions of Jesuit identity and governance, vocations, mission and collaboration with the laity.

Born April 29, 1936, in Palencia, Spain, Father Nicolas entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1953. After earning a degree in philosophy in Spain, he was sent to Japan to study theology. He was ordained a priest in Tokyo in 1967.

After earning a master's degree in theology from the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he returned to Japan and taught systematic theology at Sophia University in Tokyo.

In 1978-84 he was director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute in Manila. In 1991-1993 he was rector of the program for Jesuit scholastics in Japan, and in 1993 he was appointed provincial for Japan.

Before being named moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania in 2004, he spent three years working in a poor immigrant parish in Tokyo, living with and ministering to Filipino and other Asian immigrants.

Father Nicolas speaks Spanish, Japanese, English, French and Italian.

After his Election, Father Nicolas is Greeted by Members of the Congregation



Reactions from American Jesuits at the Congregation

GC35 Updates from Rome
35th General Congregation Elects Adolfo Nicolás, SJ
posted by: jrogers@jesuit.org on Saturday, January 19, 2008
Choice of Superior General Seen as a “Bridge to All Parts of the World”

WASHINGTON, January 19, 2008 – After four days of prayer and personal conversation known as murmurationes, the 217 Jesuit electors gathered in Rome from around the world have chosen Adolfo Nicolás, SJ as the 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was the President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania and the former Provincial of Japan. He is now Father General to nearly 20,000 Jesuits worldwide, including 2,900 in the United States, and the 29th successor to St. Ignatius Loyola who founded the Jesuits in 1540.

Jesuit Conference of the United States President Father Thomas Smolich, SJ, who served on the Coetus Praevius (a planning committee for GC 35) with Father Nicolás, said, “The electors chose the man God had in mind.” Smolich added, “Our new Father General is profoundly spiritual; when you talk to him there is a depth that is striking.”

In an age where diverse cultures, religions and ways of life interact on an unprecedented scale, Father Nicolás is widely viewed as among the leading Jesuit experts on inter-religious dialogue. “His history as a scholar and theology professor, educated in both Tokyo and Rome, and his multiple language skills of east and west were also important to this international body of educators,” said Father Fred Kammer, SJ, provincial of New Orleans and one of the electors. “His experiences of the dynamic emerging Church in such countries as India, Japan, China, Korea, and the Philippines and his vision for spreading the Gospel appealed to many – reminding them of the great missionary St. Francis Xavier,” according to Kammer.

New York Provincial Father Jeff Chojnacki, SJ added, “his election is a bridge to all parts of the world.” It is a bridge expected to reach across not only geographic divisions. Father Shogo Sumita, SJ, current provincial of Japan, recalled how Father Nicolás moved from the provincial residence to one of poorest neighborhoods. “He has a deep grace of Ignatian spirituality and a creative imagination. After serving as provincial, he decided to live and work with the poor,” said Father Sumita.

Father Nicolás was born in Spain, earned a degree in systematic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, taught at the Sophia University in Tokyo, directed the East Asia Pastoral Institute in the Philippines, served as presiding secretary of the 34th General Congregation in 1995, and speaks five languages. His visits to the United States have included stops at the Arrupe Experience, an annual preparation program for American Jesuits nearing ordination.

The Provincial of Maryland Father Tim Brown, SJ sees the election of a man with this breadth to be a “sign of unity and peace.” New England Provincial Father Tom Regan adds, “We are delighted that such a holy man, one who has such a vision of the world, has been selected to lead us.”

“And at 71 years old,” says Father Smolich, “Nicolás walks faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

At Lunch following the Election, Father Kolvenback Defers to Father Nicolas

Lastly, a reaction from Sophia University, where Fr. Nicolas taught

Fr. Nicolas is a cheerful and optimistic person, not to mention well-versed in theology and spirituality. He first came to Japan in 1961 and has spent most of his time since then in Japan and the Philippines. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Japanese, and several other European languages. As a professor of theology, he is quite familiar with the current religious crises confronting the Church and the Society, and as a former Provincial of Jesuits in Japan, he has the experience of facing major challenges. Fr. Nicolas has shown special interest in helping the poor, immigrants, and refugees, and has personally spent three years, after completing his term as the Provincial, working for immigrant laborers in Japan. At least in Japan, most Bishops know him well as he was a professor of theology, teaching both at Sophia University and at the Tokyo diocesan seminary, and has served as a theological consultant to several of them. Given his ever-smiling personality, he has always been popular with young Jesuits, and most seniors too admire him for his intellect and common sense.

Election Day

As of just about right now, June 19th 7:45pm Sydney time, the delegates to the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus are preparing to elect a new general. I'll post the results when I know them, but I thought some people might be interested in how the election itself works. I've attached a description from the congregation below.

TOWARDS THE ELECTION OF FATHER GENERAL

After four days of praying, reflecting and consulting among themselves, the 217 electors of the 35 General Congregation are ready to vote for a new Superior General on January 19. The day will begin at 8:00 with the concelebrated Mass at the Church of the Holy Spirit which is across the Curia. At 9:30 the electors will convene in the aula, recite the Veni Creator Spiritus, listen to an exhortation by Father Jacques Gellard, Assistant ad providentiam, and continue in personal prayer for the rest of an hour.

As prescribed by the Formula, each elector writes in his own hand, on the ballot he has received, the name of the one whom he chooses to be Superior General. After the ballots have been completed, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the Secretary of the Congregation, Father Orlando Torres and his Assistant, Father Ignacio Echarte swear to God and in the presence of the electors to perform faithfully the duties of receiving and making public the votes. The votes are then collected and counted. The one who receives a simple majority of 109 votes is considered elected. The name of the one elected is immediately communicated to the Holy Father.

The Secretary of the Congregation handwrites the Decretum of election which is signed by Father Kolvenbach. Father Kolvenbach reads the Decretum in Latin: Ego Peter-Hans Kolvenbach S.J., auctoritate Sedis Apostolicae et universae Societatis, Reverendum Patrem N…declaro electum in Praepositum Generalem Societatis Jesu, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. (“I declare Father N…elected as General of the Society of Jesus, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”). The newly elected General turns to the crucifix which has been placed in the center of the aula, and makes his profession of faith: I, N… firmly believe all and each of the truths contained in the Symbol of the faith. And proceeds to read the Creed.

At this point, all the electors, beginning with Father Kolvenbach, the Secretary and his Assistant, come forward to greet the new Superior General. When all the electors have greeted the new General the doors of the aula are opened and the Curia community greets Father General. The election ends with a procession to the chapel for a short prayer of thanksgiving.


MASS ON THANKSGIVING (January 20)

On Sunday, the 20th of January at 16:00 hours, there will be a concelebrated Mass at the Gesù Church. A few minutes before the Mass, the newly elected Superior General, accompanied by four electors and a deacon, will enter the rooms of Saint Ignatius (camerette). In the place where Father Ignatius wrote the Constitutions, the group will pause for a moment of silent prayer. The deacon will proclaim the following passage from the Gospel of Saint Mathew (Mt. 2: 8-12): You must not be called “teacher” for you are all brothers and have only one Teacher, […] Nor should be called “leader” because your one and only leader is the Messiah. The greatest among you must be your servant. […].

The most senior member of the electors will turn to Father General and remind him of the kind of person Part IX of Constitutions says the Superior General ought to be. In the rooms where Saint Ignatius wrote these words, the will hold and especially poignant meaning.

At the end of this brief ceremony, Father General and those who accompanied him will beginning the procession into the Gesù Church for the Mass of Thanksgiving. After the Mass Father General will process to the altar of Saint Ignatius where a votive lamp remains burning for the duration of the General Congregation and venerate the relics of our Holy Founder which are kept in a reliquary beneath the altar.

Business funding is easy with Alliance-Leicester Commercial Bank.

This is a long story but I will cut it short but I assure you that this blog post can change your future if you are a budding entrepreneur.

I watched the business of my husband crumble to pieces and he ended up with huge debt. This happened in the year 1999. Though he had the drive to run the business and enjoyed challenges (he still does), he lacked proper financial support and backup.

Yes, it was his drawback only and not a weakness. When I followed a link in my email to Alliance-Leicester Commercial Bank and came to know about their willingness to fund businesses, I feel like reviving the spirit of my husband and may be help him get on his feet again.

I carefully read their services and I must say I am definitely tempted to open a free Business Current Account with them and enjoy the following.

* The annual interest rate on loan is only 6.26% AER (variable)

* Day to day banking transactions is free and unlimited. (I intend to ask what this is about)

* They have 250 branches that will make it convenient to gain access.

* Internet banking.

There are some more facilities but these are the main advantages to my knowledge.

I intend to talk to them soon

Finally, Hong Kong

Vertiginous: having or causing a whirling sensation; liable to falling. Synonyms: dizzy, giddy, woozy.

At the end it should add, "See Hong Kong."

First, a history lesson: Hong Kong consists of both islands and mainland territory just off the South China Sea. In 1841, after China tried to stamp out the opium trade which had prospered in Hong Kong with British traders, the U.K. took control of the island of Hong Kong proper, and in the Treaty of Nanking, China ceded control "in perpetuity." 20 years later, at the end of what was called the Second Opium War, Britian took control of the Kowloon Peninsula, across the bay (Victoria Bay) from Hong Kong. A July 1898 treaty gave the U.K. control of this property for 99 years.

In 1984, this arrangement was renegotiated, such that Britian agreed to give up not only the peninsula but the island of Hong Kong, with the proviso that China agreed not to change Hong Kong's economic, legal or social systems for 50 years following the 1997 reunification. Today, China calls this model "One country, two systems," and offers its success as an indication of the liberties the Republic of China (Taiwan) could have if it would return to full communion (as it were) with the mainland.

Hong Kong today: fast-paced, energetic, crowded, and dazzling. A financial center of Asia, trade center of Asia. Everywhere, street signs, streetlife, spectacle. A Chinese Manhattan.

One such street, 7pm on a Wednesday night (click on it for a larger view):



The nighttime skyline to be found on the northern side of Hong Kong island is equally remarkable -- many colors, and so vast that standing on the other side of Victoria Bay, there's still no way to photograph the whole of it. A couple sections:




Eastern part.












Farther to the west.













A close up of one section.






But what truly makes Hong Kong vertiginous, at least for me, is the heights. Hong Kong is a city enthralled by heights. Not only skyscrapers but residential buildings tower all around, 40, 50, 60 stories in the air. A view from Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island (again, I recommend clicking for the bigger view).



The building where I stayed had a street running right by the building. Yet look to the back of the building, and you find this whole street is far above ground level, probably 15 stories.

Even in the malls, Hong Kong loves its heights. The shot below was taken from the top floor of one mall, reached via two massive sets of escalators.



Again, easily 150 feet up.

That experience of staggering height was so frequent in the two days that I was in Hong Kong, at the end of my second day there, as I lay down to bed, I actually found the room spinning. Nothing too extreme, mind you, just the quiet sensation that the world around you may in fact have been upside down all these years and be preparing to right itself. The fasten your seatbelt sign, in your stomach.

The same thing briefly happened when I awoke. And once again later that day. And about two hours after I landed in Sydney. And when I first began to write about it.

And right now. Time to lay down.

Hong Kong, though -- it's a keeper.

PS You'll note the picture at the start of this blog is a little blurry. You'd think that this happened because I moved while taking of the picture. Think again. Hong Kong moves so fast, it's very tough to get a good shot.

The people of Hong Kong have asked me to finish by saying: That's what I'm talking about, New York!

There you have it.

Lay of the Land

I have arrived in Sydney! I got in yesterday at 7:30am, after an uneventful 8-hour flight from Hong Kong. One of the other tertians, an American named Michael Gilson, was there to pick me up and we took a one-hour train ride from the airport back to our new home, Canisius College, in Pymble, which is outside Sydney.

Let me give you the lay of the land. Canisius College consists of a set of buildings one and two stories tall that contains within them four different communities and ministries. There's the tertianship program, which involves this year 11 guys like me from around the world, a director and an assistant director (who also serves as rector of the community as a whole). There's a novitiate -- the two-year program that Jesuits do when they first the Society (mine was in St. Paul, Minnesota). That program includes one second year novice, who is about to take his first vows, two first years, and I understand three guys who will come soon to begin the program, as well as their novice master and perhaps other staff. There's a retirement community for the Jesuits of the Sydney area, in which reside 8 men currently. And on top of all this there is a retreat house and staff for that ministry. All total I'd guess there are something like 20-25 men living here, but for now it's just a guess.

So why is it called a college, you ask? Well, it turns out that until 1969 this was the site of a theologate -- a site where Jesuits would go to study theology in preparation for their ordination to the priesthood. (Mine was in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology).

Everyone here has been most welcoming. I've spent my time meeting people, wandering the property and sleeping. We start our program Monday night.

My Hong Kong posts are coming.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Hong Kong, 6pm, Thursday. I am at the airport, waiting to board my flight to Sydney. And suddenly, a number of pieces just clicked into place. First --

(Now for those of you are saying, wait a minute, what happened to Hong Kong?, please, just be patient. It may take me a couple days, but I'll get there. A three word preview: Skyline. Cantonese. Vertigo.

But since you brought the topic up, Hong Kong has a message right now for Manhattan: You might be an apple, you might be a big apple, but next to us, you're more like a plum. Or maybe a date. Or a raisin.)

So anyway, in the airport. Sudden cold sweat, not sure why. And the penny drops. I'm going to Sydney. SYDNEY.

For those of you uninterested in American pop culture of the last few years, this may mean nothing. You might find yourself "lost" in this conversation. But for "others"... well, planes flying to and from Sydney sometimes land someplace ... else. Or so ABC tells me.

My plane is boarding soon. Gotta make this quick. On top of that sudden flash, I realize that in my carry on bag I have the first three seasons of Lost, the TV show about the plane from Sydney that vanishes and ends up on an island where crazy roaring monsters eat people and other people who live on the island hunt us down.

So, what we're dealing with is immediate and major bad karma. It's like talking about a plane crash on a plane. You don't do that. Not just because it freaks everyone else out (as fellow Red Cloud teacher Mike Shashaty proved to me when he spent about ten minutes in a plane (during a snowstorm, I am reminded by his wife) talking (loudly) about what if this plane crashes); it's just bad luck. I believe in a merciful God, a loving God. But let's not push our luck.

And I would toss the DVDs out right now if I hadn't been forced at the last minute to check the bag. Lke it or not, it's on the plane. The plane I'm getting on. The plane going to Sydney.

I'm at the gate. Plane's boarding. And I see it in the window: my flight. It's flight 815.

And I'm sitting next to a lady in handcuffs.

So -- basically, see you in 20 years...

The funny thing is, instead of being freaked out, all I want to know is, which one am I? I can't be the Jin, I speak English. Not quite the wisecracker that is Sawyer. Probably intense enough to do a Jack, but nah. Not exactly me.

Which leaves either two possibilities: faceless other passenger #17, who helps builds the fire and gathers around when Jack calls us. Or I'm that goofy science teacher who blows himself up.

So, should be a good trip.

See you Down Under. Hong Kong photos/stories then.

Organize your academic papers online.

A lucky day today for me. I found a free online service that I have hoping to stumble upon, (yes, I lost hopes to find it)where I can store all my academic papers and share it with other academicians.

But actually, I would really would like many maths students to view my papers on which I have put in a lot of efforts.

The Cite You Like is an online academic papers storing website. It is a great resource for students of every faculty.

How it works:
It is amazingly simple to extract what you like on the web. With a click of a button, you can do this to add to your personal library. CiteULike automatically extracts the citation details, so there's no need to type them in yourself. It all works from within your web browser so there's no need to install any software.

You can organize your online storage using appropriate tags. This is a website for students and teachers exclusively.

Do you need cash urgently?

The last three days were spent busy blogging in spite of the holidays. There were an unusual number of blogging assignments and I had to skip all the good programs on TV to meet the deadline.

In the midst of all these, there were several calls from telemarketers but surprisingly all of them were related to bad credit loans and I am the last eligible person for that because my credit worthiness is impeccable.

However, due to persistent requests, I gave the telephone number of one of my friends who is their ideal candidate. Ironically, a person with bad credit can regain his credit worthiness by availing a bad credit loan and by paying the installments promptly.

I remember a website (badcreditoffers.com) that is full of resources and offers from several cash loan providers. One can do a comparison between various offers and the one that is best for them.

It is also place for home loans and auto loans.

Men's Ministry In The Church: Rise Up And Serve

For many years I have had a passion and concern for the discipleship of men. Through my involvement in various men’s ministry activities, I have concluded that men are rarely discipled. Too often we mistake fellowship for discipleship. Perhaps this is why men can have a great time going to pep rallies and retreats, or playing golf and paint ball together, yet remain spiritually immature.

The idea of taking up one’s cross to follow Christ in radical obedience seems foreign to the average guy in church. Too often churches treat men like individuals who are in need of therapeutic, male bonding. Too often churches emphasize personal fulfillment for men, rather than duty and commitment. Where is the call for men to be faithful husbands, fathers and sons who are called as spiritual warriors, servant leaders, and ambassadors of God’s Kingdom in the culture?

Last week I had a conversation with a nationally acclaimed author of books on masculinity and men’s issues. He shared the opinion that men don’t like going to church because they are autonomous by nature, and chafe when sitting under the authority of an institution. While I think this is an astute observation, I do not think that men despise authority. I think that most men thrive under the right kind of authority. When men are expected to be passive spectators at a religious performance it is no surprise when they become disinterested and drift away. But when they are called into a glorious cause for which they have been created, I believe many men of God will rise up and serve.

Recently I watched a couple of DVDs featuring the leadership of Civil War Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. These men achieved amazing things in battle, and the soldiers under their command served with radical devotion. Although the cause for which they fought was tainted by the sinful institution of slavery, the character and legendary skill of these generals is an inspiring example of masculine leadership.

Men today need an urgent call, a noble cause, and a Godly leader. Our Heavenly Commander In Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ, calls men to serve under his authority. He calls disciples into obedient commitment, into self-denying sacrifice, into risk and adventure. A cosmic war rages between the dominion of darkness and God’s Kingdom of Light, while churches across America are content to park men in pews and lead them in what one wry pastor calls “prom songs to Jesus.” It’s not authority that makes them chafe and bail. It’s passivity. It’s feminized leadership that makes them prefer sitting at home watching sports contests on Sundays.

“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be fruitful.” - C.S. Lewis

Gentlemen, your God has summoned you to duty. Start at home. Keep your wedding vows, protect and serve your family. Train up your kids. It will cost you your life. The Lord has given His magnificent Word of Truth and He orders you to teach it to your children (Deuteronomy 6:7; Ephesians 6:4). Blessed is the man who fills his quiver full of them (Psalm 127).

Think twice before you drop your precious children off at a secular humanist institution where God's Word is forbidden, where the lordship of Christ is denied, where truth is relativized, and where immoral behavior is justified. This will shake up your lifestyle and it may cause you to adjust your standard of living downward. But better that a millstone be tied around the necks of those who cause the little ones who believe in Jesus to sin (Matthew 18:6). If you don't have children, then commit yourself to make disciples of young men who you call out of the world by the power of the Gospel.

Don't waste your life, gentelmen. Put aside the desires of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of possessions. You are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, so lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before you, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I pray that the Holy Spirit will call you once more into active duty. After all, your very life is not your own. You were bought with the price of Jesus’ atoning blood. Offer back, then, to your Lord the life that is rightfully His.

Rise up, O men of God
Be done with lesser things
With heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of Kings

Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor John Sleadd

Li Jiang River Tour

I wanted to post some pictures from the tour I took yesterday along the Li Jiang (the Li River). We had an overcast day, but man, the view was spectacular.








If you look closely, you see in the distance a round hill. Our tour guide informed us, this is known as the Big Apple. "Not THE Big Apple," he went on, but the Big Apple.

(On another occasion he pointed out a small, ramshackle town on the side of the river. "According to Chinese custom, this village has the perfect feng shui," he told us, "because it has mountains behind it and a river in front of it." He went on: "Unfortunately, this village is also very poor.")



The tour went down the river from one small town to another; this shot is from the turn around point. Something about those hills really grabbed me.



In the foreground you can see the tiny figure of a person in a red shirt. We went by him near the end of our trip. I was struck by the size of him in comparison to the hills around us. This one might show it better:



And then, finally, here I am near the end of the trip.


It really was spectacular.

Women’s Ministry in the Local Church

A Book Review by Pastor John Sleadd

I was asked a while back to review a book that a local church wanted to use to enhance its women's ministry. Here it is in the form of a letter to the authors.

Dear Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt,

I just read your book, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church. Thank you for challenging the egalitarian and feminist practices that have crept into many of our churches today. Thank you for affirming male headship and complementarianism in gender roles. And thank you for reminding women, particularly older women, to be spiritual mentors to the younger ladies. You make a strong case for promoting submission, compassion, community, and discipleship, all guided by Scripture. The material in your appendices for organizing women's Bible studies is strong on doctrine and organization.

As I read through your book, however, I got the feeling that you had missed something important. One of your foundational assertions is that women are “helpers” and “life givers, (pgs. 34, 35), yet not a single paragraph in your work addressed the role of women as wives and mothers in the home. This is curious since the major Scriptural proof texts you use for your assertion explicitly state homemaking as a primary ministry role.

“No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander” (1 Timothy 5:9-10, 14) [author's emphasis].

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God” (Titus 2:3-5 ) [author's emphasis].

Perhaps this oversight is due to your focus on the involvement of women solely in church programs, apart from home life. By omission, your book seems to imply that a woman’s helping role to her husband at home (in household management, business and ministry), and her mothering role to her children (including education), are not significant contributions to the local church. This is a serious mistake, I think.

While I appreciate your exhortations that women be involved in diaconal ministry in the church, I think you have neglected to remind them of their glorious calling to motherhood at home. God commands and blesses it in His dominion mandate to fill and subdue the earth. (Genesis 1:28) He seeks godly offspring (Malachi 2:15). He declares children as a gift and a reward. (Psalm 127:3) He declares that women are restored by childbearing. (1 Timothy 2:15) He commends diligent women who care for their children and their household (Provebs 31). A mother's instruction adorns the character of a child (Proverbs 1:8-9).

Church leaders should encourage women to rejoice in their roles of wives and mothers, and trainers of children. This does not prevent them from participating in great Bible studies, affinity groups, outreach projects, and church programs. It just helps them put the first things first. As they bring blessing to those around them in their homes, so shall they bring blessing to the gathering of the church, as well.

I admit that I have not read other books you have written. Perhaps you speak of such things in Susan’s book, Spiritual Mothering. Still, Women’s Ministry in the Local Church should itself include an emphasis on the crucial, primary service of women to fully employ their helping, life-giving gifts in their homes.

I recommend the book, So Much More, by Anna Sofia Botkin and Elizabeth Botkin, for a good read on the ministry of young women in their calling to advance the kingdom of God.

Respectfully,

John Sleadd

The Funnies

I arrived in Hong Kong late this afternoon, and I will be spending the next two days in the Ricci House Jesuit Community with Stephen Chow, SJ, a member of the China Province and administrator of two high schools the Jesuits run in Hong Kong. Stephen and I knew each other at Loyola Chicago and again at Weston.

I’m going to write about Hong Kong tomorrow, but because I don’t have any pictures yet (and you really have to see pictures of the night skyline to appreciate how amazing Hong Kong is…) I thought I would instead show off some of my favorite humorous photos from the trip.

Strangest Road Sign:



I discovered this road sign on a street in the little town of Yangshuo, about an hour's drive from Guilin. The closest I come to an explanation is it's a warning against venturing into the street. The guy is putting his foot out there; uh oh, the sign's saying, better be careful!

The thing is, the street's not that busy. Maybe a little perspective would help?




Maybe not.


So Familiar, It's Creepy:


Recognize the decor? Yes, that's right. It's Starbucks. In fact, it could be literally the Starbucks you went to yesterday. It's just...in China. (Xi'An, to be specific.)





Where To Go For Your Birthday:


That's right. KFC. Party Central.






And in case you think it's just an advertisement -- actually, before we go on, what the heck is with the green puppy making eyes at the nina?






Weird anime creature aside, it turns out in parts of China, KFC is considered a place to go for a special occasion. A pal of mine in BeiJing told me not long ago he offered to take a colleague out to dinner for their birthday. They could choose anyplace they wanted. Their choice was extra crispy, and keep the biscuits and cole slaw coming. His explanation: KFC was the first major American brand to get into China, and it's more expensive than most restaurants. That combination of price and Western origins apparently makes it a little more upscale.

Who knew?




Here Come... the Olympic Mascots!

Just can't wait to find out who the mascots of the 2008 Olympic Games are? Well, look no further: It's the Fuwa! Yes, that's right, cuddly adorable Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini will be making a home in your living for about a month this summer.

Wikipedia informs me the five represent not only the five Olympic rings but the five traditional Chinese elements -- metal, wood, water, fire and earth. And when you say their names together in order, BeiJing Huanying Ni, you get, in English, BeiJing welcomes you. They've also got a 100-episode cartoon series that came out last year, and make a cameo in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (which I suspect is a video game). Wikipedia has loads more information on them. To me, they appear vaguely Telly-Tubby. What I want to know is, can we expect individual sounds to suit each character, or perhaps trademark schticks?

One thing is for sure: they can't be worse than Atlanta, 1996. Lest you blocked it:




And You Think Your Rush Hour is Crowded:



It's so crowded on the subway at rush hour in BeiJing you literally can't move. Strangely, it's not exactly uncomfortable. Everybody sort of rests against everybody else.


Jim McDermott, Power Ranger



Highlight of my trip: I was given a Power Coin and inducted into the Power Rangers. Bring it on, Lord Zed!


And last but not least...My new favorite brand of bread:




I understand it's very cheap.