Bozeman Police Reports: Monday February 16, 2009

I'm starting a new posting series based on the Bozeman police reports in the local paper. I don't know who does the writing but the amount of details is hilarious. They are too funny to keep to myself. Here's a sampling from today...

-A caller reported her neighbors making loud sounds and yelling, "oh my God." Upon investigation, the occupants of the apartment said they were excited to see an acquaintance on television.

-A report of suspicious activity was made when two males entered a rug shop and told the reporting party that they were male strippers "looking to make some money."

I just met Alec Baldwin...kind of

What follows is my recent Facebook chat with our friend John who works at Saturday Night Live in New York City.


8:39 John
I'm still at work...ugh
8:39pmMatt
which work?
8:39pmJohn
SNL
and the new Jimmy Fallon show
8:40pmMatt
say hi to the Jimster for me
8:40pmJohn
okay
he's a very nice guy
8:40pmMatt
you live on a different planet than me
I'm sure of it

9:14pmMatt
Jody says hi
9:16pmJohn
hi Jody

Alec Baldwin is standing over my shoulder

I'm explaining Facebook to him

LOL Alec officially says hi to you guys

9:18pmMatt
tell him we think he's great on 30 rock

9:18pmJohn
he just left...but you just indirectly met Alec Baldwin

9:18pmMatt
yes, my life is complete

9:19pmJohn
nobody will believe you...

Death by Meeting - A quick review

I just finished Patrick Lencioni's book Death by Meeting.

It's a quick read and if you've read any of Lencioni's books you know that they are fun to read. The term Lencioni uses to describe them is "Leadership fables". Anyway, this book was interesting, funny and challenged my thinking about how the tone of our "corporate" meetings influence the rest of our organizations performance, moral and motivation. Staff meetings should be a highlight of your week. Some of the most stimulating and challenging conversations should take place during them. If you lead meetings regularly I highly recommend this book.

Immobile

I'm currently helping my Chiropractor save up to put his two kids in college.

My lower back has been giving me fits for a number of years now, often seizing up completely in opportune times...like when I was leading a summer project in Croatia last June.

On Saturday morning I went and did some Nordic Skiing with some friends and by nightfall I couldn't really walk, stand up, sit down, or assume the prone position without any pain. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I'm becoming close friends with Dr. Anderson who I will see for the second time today in a few hours.

Back injury has got to be one of the most demoralizing injuries ever. I can't "do" anything. What an interesting reminder that my significance isn't dependent on what I do (or don't do).

So now I lay here in bed waiting for my back to stop yelling at me.

Current Events

- I'm speaking at CRU next week so I'm trying to figure out what to teach on. Perhaps the story of Jonah chapter 4 and his lack of compassion for people. You know...the call to love what God loves...people!

- I went to the chiropractor for my lower back pain, which since last summer has been like a thorn in my side....or back. Results are TBD.

- The man-challenge outreach is tonight. Truck pulling and jousting will take place along with a couple guys sharing their testimonies and thoughts about what it really means to be a man. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

There's lots more, but for some reason I haven't had a lot of time lately.

Have a great week and make wise life decisions.

The Starfish and the Spider - Book review (short version)

I just finished this book. Has great implications for how we're doing ministry in our current culture. It tells lots of stories about decentralized (Craig's List, Wikipedia) and centralized companies (Federal government, Music labels), as well as the hybrid company (GE, Ebay). I learned a lot about what a catalyst should be and what empowering people can look like. I heartily recommend it for those that want to be stretched in their paradigms of leadership. Oh, ....and it's fun to read!

no time

We've become Netflix suscribers....now I have no time to update my blog.

Turning Two

Jenna, you turn two years old today. I can’t even fathom this reality. I know I’ll probably continue to say that every year on January 7th for the rest of my life, but the fact of the matter is that long gone are the days of an immobile infant. Now the pitter-patter (i.e. stomping) of little feet can be heard from all rooms of our house.

Jenna, you are a two year old who lives life with passion. This truth is one of my favorite things about you. Whether you’re coloring, dancing, laughing, crying, running, bathing, smiling, reading, playing, drinking, or trying to tickle Mommy and Daddy you do it with such determination and intensity. It’s as if your current activity is the most exhilarating thing you’ve ever done. You love life and people, and you have so much fun interacting with both.

I love the way you give “the pound” to everyone. I love the way you dance to the worship music at church. I love the way you recite all of our staff teams’ names. I love that you talk our ears off with a new word every minute. I love the sound of your laugh. I love that you love to be outside exploring your surrounding and politely saying hi to everyone who happens to pass by. I love that when you give me a kiss good night, often it’s not just one kiss but about 20 in rapid succession on my cheek only interrupted as you throw yourself into the crib for the night.

I can’t imagine life without you now…except before the hours of 7 am when you’re up and want to play and watch cartoons. Bet even at those unholy hours, all it takes is the hope of seeing your bright smile and hearing your little giggle to coax me out of bed and to join you for a snuggle on the couch and an episode of Wordworld on PBS.

You’ve changed my life for sure, making it far more complex and yet at the same time far more rich and beautiful than I’d ever imagined. I wouldn’t change it for anything. My prayer is that your third year is filled with even more amazing discoveries, exhilarating learning and laughing, and much joy for you and for me as your Father.

Now let’s go eat some birthday cake with passion.

A New Year!

Well, my wife is hassling me to update my blog. I guess it's time. The recent delay in posting is mostly due to the reality of a sickness sucking the life out of me.

After spending Christmas with family in Oregon, we drove up the road to Portland for our annual Winter Conference (don't get me started on Oregon's chain restriction policy...it's ridiculous). We had a great time, worked hard and saw the Lord do some pretty neat stuff. In fact the second night 59 students gave their lives to Christ.

We picked up Jenna in Biggs, OR (I'm suprised you've never heard of it) and headed home after the conference. After staying the night with some dear friends in Spokane, which by the way has the more snow than I've ever seen at one time, we finally made it home. Then I made my way to bed and didn't leave the house for almost 72 hours.

Sometimes my life isn't that glamorous.

Merry Christmas

Recent events in the McComas household:

-had the alternator replaced in our car
-drove to Oregon almost avoiding storms last friday and saturday
-managed to avoid car wrecks on the rural 97 highway of central Oregon
-watched the Portland storm coverage that was on 24 hours a day
-watched my wife chop some wood yesterday (don't judge me... she wanted to)
-lamented the Gonzaga basketball teams recent losses
-struggled to nurse my dieing computer back to health
-almost cursed the spotty internet connection

Future events...depending on the weather:

-Christmas with family in Prineville
-Watch Jenna go crazy with all her new toys
-drive to Winter conference in Portland
-pray for students who are driving to the conference
-clear the snow out of the gutters and off of the room at the in-laws house
-probably almost curse the spotty internet connection again

Love it or hate it

Conditions / High / Low (°F) / Precip. %

Today
Dec 13 Snow and Wind 22°/-11° 100 %

Sun
Dec 14 Snow Shower and Wind -4°/-14° 40 %

Mon
Dec 15 Few Snow Showers 5°/-5° 30 %

Tue
Dec 16 Few Snow Showers 13°/1° 30 %

That's right folks...a high of -4 tomorrow!!!

Vision for Ministry

Vision - Campus Crusade at Montana State University from Matt McComas on Vimeo.

This was a video I helped put together last year to help communicate what we do in our ministry with college students. The guy talking is Bob Schwahn who serves as our director. Check it out.

Mac's are taking over

This is a graph of Campus Crusade staff and their increased use of Mac's over the past few years. Interesting.

Be careful out there.