I am now officially an s3d All-Star. Of course, this means that I will never win again with people that know this, because they will all gang up on me. For those un-acquainted with Settlers of Catan and its variants, don't look to me for instructions on how to use Google. However, those that play should sign up at S3D Catan Ladder and play online. The game works through an openGL shell that you download and install locally. The ladder itself is pretty intense. It keeps track of all kinds of stats, drops, quits, and the nifty "play-again-rating". In the future you can look for a new version of the online game that allows users to play Cities and Knights.

Also look for these German board game wizes to come out with a new drinking version of the game called Die Von Seidler De Bierstoffer.

So, this morning I got up and turned on the TV (to celebrate the end of my Lenten TV fast of course). To the marriage of my fortuitous timing and channel selection, I stumbled across this weeks message from Houston's own Unity Church of Christianity.

The sermon was somewhat consistent with what you would expect. In an nutshell, it goes like this: accept all spiritual beliefs as merely a different expression of the same truth, experience God in your own way (through your own personal enlightenment) and last but not least, add a few superlatives, a little gnosticism and TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT!

At the end of the broadcast came the three "P"'s of Unity: Positive, Practical, Progressive. I guess the overall message of Christianity is positive (I you want to just skip to the end). Unfortunately, many mainstream evangelicals, whether they admit it or not, think of themselves as "progressive". I think it is the underlying gnostic motivation to get rid of all those old Catholic religious (read: bad) traditions.

Of all the "P" words, the one that really sticks with me is "Practical". Is Christianity really practical at all? Just how do we define what is practical and is not? Does this mean that we teach only the parts of the bible that is practical? Or, does this imply that there is a part of Christianity that is not practical? (and we shouldn't bother with it)

Jesus says, "take up your cross and follow me" and "he who loses his life will find it". Paul says, submit yourselves as "living sacrifices" and as "sheep to the slaughter". My question for the those "in Unity" is, is this part of the practical or impractical Christianity?

But, likewise, my question of those who claim to be orthodox is, are we sacrificing part of Christianity as impractical for the sake of our own comfort about ourselves?

Without Your Love by Billie Holiday and Lester Young. This is from the A Fine Romance set that was recorded back when she was in her prime. Unfortunately, the best quality recordings of Billie were after she began to lose her voice. This has led to the misconception that Billie didn't have a great voice. This recording disproves that conception. I get this track stuck in my head from time to time and it is truely a wonderful experience. Billie is a storytelling genius. Listen for Lester's playing behind Billie at the end of the track.

Sam "the Eagle" and Chris Windham: