Missing LOTR

Don't get me wrong I'm not going to dress up like a hobbit, nor will you catch me with a staff and wizards cloak, but this holiday season I was kind of bummed that I didn't have the excitement of a new "Lord of the Rings" movie to see.

I remember the first trailer I saw some 4-5 years ago. Having never heard of the books I yawned and though that'll be a "renter" at best. A year or so later I began to hear about it and so I saw the first movie. The trilogy now holds a special place in my heart, and I think is by far the greatest trilogy ever made (and I grew up on Star Wars and Indiana Jones).

So when I saw this article I was curious (click on the link in the title). It was the last paragraph that gave me Hope!

Wait For the Lion’s Share
For those still in need of hope, The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is scheduled to be released Christmas 2005. C.S. Lewis’ fantasy series should appeal to the same audience that ate up Lord of the Rings. Movies based on the six other novels in The Chronicles of Narnia are set to hit the big screen in the six consecutive years. Hold onto your hobbits, Aslan’s on the way.

Ahhh I can sleep again with anxious anticipation (I just hope they are half as good as the LOTR)!

Fun News

This from our friends at the onion.com

Actor Receives $25 Million For Everyman RoleHOLLYWOOD—Tom Hanks will reunite with director Steven Spielberg in Dreamworks' Payne's Pride, in which he will play the part of everyman John Hamilton Payne and receive $25 million for his efforts. "Tom is a man of the people," Spielberg said. "America loves him because he seems so approachable, and that's exactly what I told him last weekend over some Merlot from his vineyards." Spielberg added that Hanks is always a joy to work with because "he can really nail 'down to earth.'"

It's hard sometimes for people to admit that they are wrong!

But we love them any way.


Bill, Nick, Kwame and Amy entered the boardroom. . .

This would have been interesting

Before signing a deal to stay with the Cubs, Nomar Garciaparra instructed agent Arn Tellem to find out if the Yankees wanted the former Red Sox shortstop to play second base in The Bronx.
- New York Post

Seriously? Can you imagine? Just 2-3 years ago Nomar, Arod, and Jeter were considered maybe 3 of the greatest Shortstops ever!!! And George expects them to all play on the same team? Wow! some people I tell ya. Not that I think Nomar is all that, but seriously this would have been insane. It's already perposterous that the best SS in baseball plays 3rd for the yankees (thank you Derek Jeter's ego).

Anyway, I'll try and post something meaningful once school is out next monday.

Why do I still fill these out?

Got this in an e-mail from a friend so I thought I'd just post it in leu of something serious.

The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends, if you did not already know them.

1. What time do you get up? Anywhere from 5:20 am (monday's) to 8am (depending on how tired i am during the week.

2. If you could eat lunch with one person, who would it be? My beautiful bride to be of course. But if we are talking like fantasy once in a life time kind of thing Mark McGwire.

3. Gold/Silver? silver

4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? WOW ummm . . . I know this . . .Man I really can't remember (amazing how things change so quickly) I'm going to say probably "The Village" M. Nigh Shanallalallannan ( I do like his movies just can't spell his name.

5. What is/are your favorite TV show(s)?Survivor and the Apprentice

6. What did you have for breakfast? nothing today

7. What inspires you? People who risk everything

9. What is your middle name? Dean

10. Beach, City or Country? City to live, country to relax, beach for a short visit

11. Favorite Ice-cream? Rocky Road

12. Butter, plain or salted popcorn? Butter

13. Favorite color? Red

14. What kind of car do you drive? Pontiac Grand Prix

15. Favorite sandwich? Quizno's Honey bacon club w/ Roast beef instead of Turkey

17. Favorite flowers? no idea

18. Where would you like to go on vacation? Holy Land, or Europe (Another baseball trip would be a blast though)

19. What color is your bathroom? White and blue I think

20. Favorite brand of clothing? They have brands???

21. Where would you retire? The Northwest

22. Favorite day of the week? Tuesday ;)

23. What did you do for your last birthday? Had penut butter pie, went to David and Farah's for a small cook out, then sat on a couch and tried to figure out a rubix cube for about 3 hours w/ Beth (before we were dating).

24. Where were you born? at the hospital . . . ohhhh right. . . . Lima Ohio!

25. Favorite sport to watch? Baseball

26. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? don't know

27. Person you expect to send it back first? see above

28. What fabric detergent do you use? Whatever is avalible

29. Coke or Pepsi? Dr. Pepper

30. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I lean toward the morning

31. What is your shoe size? 10ish

32. Do you have any pets? no and I may never again :(

33. What is your favorite season? Christmas or Fall

34. What time is it? 8:24pm35. What is your name on your birth certificate? Roger Dean Webb II

36. Nicknames? Buck, Buckly, Buckles, Dude, Man, Buddy, hey you, slacker, Babe, Punk, to name a few

37. Number of candles on your last birthday cake? I think there were like 8 or 9 (but I turned 28)

38 Kids? nope not for a few more years hopefully

39. Hair color? what's lefft of it is still black

40. Tattoos? nope

41. Eyes? 2 each are green

42. Piercing? nope

43. How much do you love your job? I enjoy it a lot and it pays well just need some more work.

44. Residence? Tacoma, Wa in the home of Pete, Kathy, nate & ankeka Siems (pronounced "sims")

45. Favorite food? Steak

46. Been to Africa? Yep

47. Been toilet papering? AND HOW!!!!

48. Have you ever been in love? Definately!

49.Been in a car accident? yep

50. Croutons or bacon bits? Croutons

51. Favorite saying or phrase? "Ummm Yeah"

52. Favorite restaurant? none curently

53. Favorite nonalcoholic drink? Dr. Pepper

54. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Never in either of the 2 states I've had to take it!

55. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Myles Werntz actually

56. Do you sing in the shower? Not usually, but I might start trying that . . .

57. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Best Buy!!!!

58. What do you do most when you are bored? bored? Grab a book or a movie, but that doesn't happen much anymore

59. Bedtime: about 11 most nights

60. Glass half empty or half full? Half Full!!

61. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right where I'm at, well except I'd be living with Beth, but that'll happen soon enough

62. Time you finished this e-mail? 835am

I've got a new . . .

I have big news, no I didn’t just save a bunch of money on my car insurance, I changed my cell phone. Yep I’m now a proud customer of AT&T/Cingular, allso for those of you that didn’t know Beth and I are now engaged. I guess that would qualify as big news as well. Additionally, I have a new Job, a New church and my computer crashed in the process (it couldn’t handle all the change I guess) and did I mention that I moved in with a family also?

Ok so in case you didn’t catch all that, here is what’s new in my life:


- Fiancé – Beth, yes we dated a whole 7 weeks before we got engaged on October 16th. She is an amazing lady and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. I’ll post some pictures when my computer is back up and running, maybe.

- Job – My position with the association ends officially the 15th of Nov. I have started working for Columbia Hospitality, at Cedar Brook Resort (which is owned by Washington Mutual {see a bank with a lot of Money}) in SeaTac, Wa (catch all that?). I do Audio Visual and Computer stuff. It’s a great company and a really nice facility that is VERY High tech. It’s part time, but I should be able to pick up some more hours at a sister property of ours in downtown Seattle.

- Discovery – I now attend Discovery Community Church it’s a great church that happens to meet in a movie theater. http://www.discochurch.com/ I’m in the process of interviewing to be the volunteer Youth Minister. It’s a staff position without pay at this point. I still have to go through the formality of the interview, and the process of bringing the church on board, but I’m excited about the opportunity. I’ll most likely start “officially” in December.

- Housing – I now live with Pete and Kathy from our Church. They have an extra room in their house and a soft spot for poor ministers so they are letting me stay rent free. They have 2 children Nate (4) and Anneka (2) who are unbelievably cute kids. I’ve enjoyed living with and getting to know the whole family they have been such a blessing. Kathy is pregnant as well so they have a new one due in Jan!

I think that’s about it for now. Life is starting to slow back down a bit. Which means it’s getting back to a normal pace. But once the ministry gets up and running I’m sure all that will vanish and we’ll back to full speed. Also planning a wedding takes a little bit of time. So you'll excuse my recent absence of posting. Oh yeah my New Cell # is avalible if you want to e-mail me deerspider@netzero.net I'd love to hear from ya.

Buck

Not the way it's supposed to be

"I think we're doing a lot of good things, but we're not doing enough," manager Tony La Russa said. "I don't think we're stinking up the joint but I think we're capable of playing better. They're stopping us sometimes. But we're better than some of the pitches and plays and swings that we've had." - Tony La Russa


That about summs it up. The Cardinals have failed to be the team that got them to the World Series. Thier pitching doesn't have to be GREAT. It just needs to go 6 innings and give up 4 runs or less. Thier Base running is usually better, and they just aren't doing the little things that have gotten them there.

No disrespect to Boston they have earned all 3 games, but the Cardinals could have won 2 of these 3 games. Here's to Miracles!!!!

I told ya so

As I said in the beggining of the Year the cardinals will play the Red Sox in the World Series:

See Post in April

So as today begins I'm modifying my picks only because of the injuries to Schilling and the deteriation of Perdo's pitching. If both those guys were the pitchers they were 2 years ago then The Sox would win in 5 or 6, but they aren't. So Cards will win in 6. I like thier defense better, and I think that they have a definate advantage in the NL park.

Quote of the day

“Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him.—My Utmost For His Highest”

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost, Jan 11th

Quote of the day

Quote of the day:

“Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him.—My Utmost For His Highest”

- Oswald Chambers, My Utmost, Jan 11th


I hate it when I read stuff like this. . .

40 Miles from Nineveh

My friend (who was also my boss for a couple of years) Carl is back on leave for 2 weeks from Iraq. He is a Chaplin in the national guard and still has another 5 1/2 months left in Iraq. This past Sunday he spoke in his home church which just happens to be a block from my home so I went to hear him and then got the chance to each lunch with him and his family.

I can't tell you how good it was to see him. I've missed Carl and was anxious to hear about what was going on in his life and how he was handling being in Iraq. Additionally, I went to hear his take on the war. I wanted to hear from someone that I knew to see if it was worth it.

This really isn't meant to be a political post; I just wanted to share as Carl said, one man's perspective from a base in Iraq.

First off, Carl spent 3 months in Kuwait before ending up at his post. He said he never once saw anyone begging in Kuwait in three months. The day we crossed over into Iraq there were children lined up begging for food. One of his jobs is to go to villages and assess the needs of the various villages. Without fail he said that all of the villages need clean water, that most of the children in the country (or at least his area of it) drink from the sewers.

He said that in their area most of the farmers use shovels and plows to do their daily farming, and that most of the roads are dirt roads.

It's not that being in a rural area of farming using archaic methods it that tragic, but when you realize the vast resources that they have and all the money the get from oil. And you look across the border at Kuwait and see the standard of living could be so much different.

Carl gets to preach every other month in the chapel there. He said that he did a series on Jonah not to long ago. He said you know it really changes your perspective when you know that the city your talking about is only 40 miles away. I can't even imagine.

All that to say pray for our troops... guys like Carl, that are proud to be there, that do a great job and some, like Carl, are ministering in the name of Christ.


_____________________________

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month ... which we know today as the honeymoon.

Useless info

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."

I love stupid stuff like that.

In case i missed ya in the e-mail . . .

Friends and Family,
I just wanted to give you an update on several exciting things that God is doing in my life. Many of you know that I have been looking for a position as a Youth Minister here in the NW for the last few months. I’m excited to tell you God has led me to Discovery Community Church in Tacoma Washington. The process was long and at times a little painful, but I’m excited about joining the team at Discovery.

About the Church
Discovery is a relatively new church (a little over 3 years old) in the Tacoma area. We meet in Movie Theater, and reach a lot of 18-25 year olds. It’s very laid back in its approach and extremely community oriented. The church has lots of college students but hasn’t really had a significant “Youth Group” to this point. They have some good leaders that want to reach youth, but just need someone to help focus the vision and strategy.
So starting next week I’ll begin volunteering with the church on the set-up team and getting to know more about the church and the area where we minister. The plan is simply to pray and look for what God is doing and move forward with the leadership at the church. I can’t tell you how excited I am to be apart of this body. I’ve only been to a couple of services and a retreat, but already I’m anxious to grow with this community.
One last thing that I gotta share about the church is the vision statement. It’s something that resonates deep within my soul and it’s not often that I say that as I’ve seen many statements and missions in my young ministerial career. At any rate, The Discovery Vision:

The simple vision for Discovery Community Church is that I and every other person connected in this family could wake up each morning with the excitement and anticipation of encountering God, and each night go to sleep with the satisfaction that we did and somebody else did through us!

Looking for a Job
While I’m extremely excited about the position at Discovery, this will also mean that I need to get a “secular” job to pay the bills. At this point Discovery isn’t able to pay me a salary. While at first I was hesitant about this God has really given me a change of heart. I really am excited about being able to rub elbows with lost people on a daily basis. I covet your prayers though, as I need a job that is flexible enough to allow me to do ministry, and still pays me enough to not worry about how I’m going to pay the bills. Also, a job in Tacoma would be great as it will give me another door into the community. Currently I am still in my position at the association, and will remain there until I can either find meaningful employment or Dec. 31st which ever comes first. The association has been very gracious and understanding during this transition.

The Girl
I have met a young lady here who is incredible! We’ve been dating for about 3 weeks now. Her name is Beth Buchanan; she’s from Florida, recently graduated from the University of Auburn (Correction: Auburn University:)) and is up here for the sole purpose of helping with RiverChase Community Church (one of the church plants that I work with through the association). She took her sophomore year of college off to help plant RiverChase, and came back as soon as she graduated (this past May).
Beth and I have known each other for about 2 ½ years, but only recently “noticed” each other. She shares my heart for the Northwest, loves working with both children and youth, as well as being an avid sports fan. She has aheart for the lost and a passion for the church, which makes for a great ministry partner. While our relationship is relatively new it is progressing rather fast, as we’ll be making a trip to see each other’s families in early October. If you’re in NW Ark. we’d love to stop by and say hi; we’ll be in town the 13th – 15th. I’ll keep ya posted on how things are going.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support. I’d love to hear how your doing and what’s going on in your neck of the woods.


Keep in touch,
Buck

The Beginning . . .

This evening will mark the end of my search for a youth ministry position. I made many presumptions about what this search would look like and how it would end. I can say that the search was painful, it was long, and in many ways very confusing, but . . . It was good. God has used the process to refine me, to expose some things in my life that were less then His best. It's hard when God reveals something to you about your character that you don't want to see, because then you make a choice run from it or confront it. For me it was an issue of Faith, real practical daily lived out faith. As I began looking for a job I wanted to be in a place that was impacting the lost in a relevant almost organic way, a place where there was freedom to try new things, where risk taking and failure were virtues, a place where I could grow as a minister, and I also wanted a place that would allow me to support a family. Planning on being at this church for a several years it's an important thing.

Then a friend of mine went and wrecked the whole thing. Brad a friend of mine that I've gotten to know here in the NW challenged me to talk to his pastor about coming on staff at Discovery. I talked with Jon (the pastor) a couple of times. I remember being excited about the vision and direction of the church, but there was a major catch. They had no money for the position. Immediately, there was a part of me that said "well that's obviously not God's will for my life" but the other part of me just couldn't let go. So I did what you supposed to do I prayed. I asked God to allow me to interview with another church so that I would be sure that Disco was the place I was supposed to be.

Now my thinking was let me interview with them and then I’ll get this magical feeling that Disco is sooooo much better and I’d rather be there then have money. Long story short, after my 3rd interview things were going well with this other church, I still wasn’t “sold” , but I could see things working out. They had a good youth group and a budget, and I knew the salary package would have been very nice. SO that’s when the other church called to inform me that they were going in another direction.

As I began to process what had happened with friends and think through my decision. It became obvious to me that God was exposing my interest in the church as being primarily about security (well money to be more precise). So that left me back at square 1. I had talked with 3 other churches all of which were offering full time positions, but none of them fit any of the other criteria. So I took Jon up on his offer to come worship at Discovery with them whenever felt like it.

There were no magical moments in the process but over the next few weeks, through friends, family, sermons, and prayer God began to make clear to me that Discovery was the place that he wanted me to be. I’m completely at peace with this decision. I have no idea what this process will look like, how things will work out, or even how I’m going to pay the bills, but I know that this is where God has me and I’m excited to step out in faith and watch him provide.

So tonight and tomorrow I’ll be attending a leadership retreat with the church. Then this Sunday I’ll attend my last service as member of High Pointe. And join the team the next week, on the set up team. Go through another 101 class with disco. And see what God is doing in student ministry in the Tacoma area.

It’s not the end of a chapter it’s the beginning.

The last 2 weeks

Wow, where to start?! Well first off I met the most amazing girl. I actually already knew her, but it was like I discovered her for the first time. Beth is amazing. For those of you keeping score at home (dad) we’ve “officially” been dating for about a week, but we’ve been hanging out for almost 3. I’ve known Beth for over 2 ½ years but she went back to Auburn (the university) to finish school. She moved back in May to help out at her church.

Long story short this came out of no where for both of us. She was a staffer for the camp that I helped put together for the association. We hung out a bit to do several of the tasks that needed to get done, neither of us had any interest even through the end of camp, we were both so busy that week that there wasn’t time for any of that. After camp several of the staffers stayed to see Seattle ect. So we all hung out for the next couple of days, it was during this time that we both started to think “hummm . . .” One thing led to another and we just started to talk. The next day same thing, hang out and go talk. A week, my birthday, a peanut butter pie, a rubik qube, and several conversations later we had the DTR.

(ok so this isn’t that short, deal with it).

Today, I can’t get enough of her, hours seem like nothing and there is no-one that I’d rather spend my time with then Beth. We are totally on the same page on everything that’s important. Not wanting to move back to the South, enjoying church planting, and just wanting to seek God in everything we do. So yeah it’s been a great 2 weeks.


Oh yeah my mom was in town over the last week too. It was cool to be able to let her see all that was going on here. Meet Beth and just see what I’ve been doing the last few years. Always good to see mom.

Oh yeah there are new developments in the job situation, but nothing’s official and I’ve got some meetings this week. I’ll update ya when I know more.

WOW!

I'm sitting in the most boring meeting I've been in years. We are going over the constitution for our association, word by word, phrase by painstaking phrase, and we are just on page one! And now we are discussing it. . .Wow! I'm so ready to be in a local church.

*********

School started yesterday, and I like the classes that I'm taking. Pastoral Counseling, Integration into Ministry, and, Growth something or other(i was unable to attend last night). The exciting part is that I'll be able to finish possibly in 2 more semesters.

***********

I heard back from Portland yesterday. Via voicemail. Basically, the secretary said - Buck, the senior pastor and associate minister have conferred and don't think that your skill set is a good fit with our youth ministry needs. Thanks for your time that's all i really know.
- Yep the secretary –

Aaron, one of my closest friends, remarked "that's like getting dumped by your girlfriend over the phone". Actually, it's like having a potential date’s friend leave the message "can we just be
friends?" It's painful to hear, but it's harder to hear from a distance. I don't have any resentment toward the 2 pastors or the church, just disappointed in the way it ended. I wasn't 100% sold on it, but I did like the potential.

Ultimately it'll be fine. God's sovereignty will win out and he'll place me where I need to be. It's not a fun process, but we'll see what God's got in store.

*******

It's an hour later and we are just now flipping to the 2nd page of a 10 page document!!

FYI - I typed this whole thing on my handheld. Lots of time on my hand

Now comes the wait

I had the interview last night. 2 and a half hour drive one way to eat dinner and talk about myself and this church. It's a lot like dating. Only she better be a really good prospect if I'm driving that far!

At any rate it went great! Now it's just a matter of them getting back with me. From everything I know I think it will be a good fit. The next stage is where I do the meet and greet with the church. I'm sure it will involve meeting the students and the staff, a really long interview with the Elder Board, and some type of introduction to the entire church body.

However I have to make it to that stage first. I'm not a proven commodity, but I have a lot of potential sooooo the question is do we fit???


Cool Quotes of the Night -

*
Me - What does a regular Sunday Morning look like?

Pastor - We don't have those at our church.

*
Associate Pastor - We need someone we can Laugh with, this is a serious business (ministry) but you have to enjoy those you work with, so were looking for some one that will fit into our team

*
Me - What are your expectations for Office hours?

Pastor - Depends on your function, some of us spend most of our time in the office, others work more like real estate agents in and out with a lot of meetings. We realize that sometimes you’re going to be up here late at night and other days you'll need to be meeting outside the campus.

*
Me - So what I'm hearing you say is that the person that comes in has complete freedom to change whatever they need to get the job done?

Pastor - Absolutely.


(please forgive spelling, the checker is

Post Camp Interview

Hey gang sorry for the long hiatus, but I got back from Camp this weekend and have had company till last night. Camp was great, but very hectic. We had 10 students accept Christ this week as well as numerous other decisions. I'll try and write more on camp later.

This evening I'll be driving down to Portland to meet with the Sr. Pastor and Middle Adult Pastor of a Bible Church there. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous, but I'll be fine after about the 3rd question. I'm actually most nervous about asking the right questions. I also have no clue if this is the place god has for me. Sooo, if you get a chance pray that God would give me clarity as I meet with this church.

Walking in Memphis

I'm in Memphis. It's the morning after Brad's wedding (my roommate in college), I'm sitting in the club section at Autozone park ( a very nice AAA baseball park) about 50 min. till first pitch. I've had a great weekend.
The Bachelor party was a blast 7 guys playing quarter poker till 3:30 in the morning. The guys were a lot of fun, we had barbeque at the rehersal dinner, which was preceeded by a lunch ar Rendevous (the best rib joint in memphis). And no there is no such thing as too much BBQ. It's fun to come back home and see old friends. But that wasn't why I was here.

Serving as the best man I had the privialdge to stand by one of my best friends and his bride to be as they made the most significant commitment a person can make to another person. I felt very priviladged. Blessed to have a friend that valued me enough to say I want you right here at one of the most significant moments in my life.

Theentire weekend I wanted badly to just serve them. To do whatever I could to make this day special for Brad and Hannah. Anyway, they are in Mexico now probably checking into thier hotel. I know they'll have a great marraige. And I pray that I get to stay in close contact with them.

My guest apperance on the Lone Ranger

 
"The law don't mean to take revenge, only to get justice." - Buck Webb  (as played by Ron Hagerthy)

 

"The Sheriff of Smoke Tree" September 20, 1956  Episode # 184
A new mining camp needs a sheriff to control a man named Lem Crater (John Beradino) who arrived recently with two other men. A young man, Buck Webb (Ron Hagerthy), wants the job but after being run out of town, he needs some persuasion by the Lone Ranger to go back and borrows one of the Ranger's guns. A fight and a smoky mine shaft all add up to young Buck proving that he has what it takes to be the sheriff. The Lone Ranger is convinced also when he hears Buck say: "The law don't mean to take revenge, only to get justice." Mickey Simpson plays the part of Slim Peake, Slim Pickens plays the part of Joe Boley and Tudor Owen plays the part of Mason.

 
I'd love to see this episode.