Josh Griffin | More Than Dodgeball

Josh GriffinMore Posts Weekly HALO 3 Stop

Since I’m interested in the upcoming HALO 3, one of my weekly stops is Bungie.Net. Every Friday they post a weekly update about the game, always including some juicy tidbits and hints. If you love HALO and/or can’t wait to finish the fight, make sure you stop there every weekend. And if you’re clueless about HALO … well then, you’re not really in youth ministry, are you?

JG

halo

Add Comment June 24, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Another Reason Small Groups Are Important

RC sent me this link to a CNN article that had some interesting information on our circle of friends. Struck a chord with both of us about the importance of small groups:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Americans are more socially isolated than they were 20 years ago, separated by work, commuting and the single life, researchers reported on Friday.

Nearly a quarter of people surveyed said they had “zero” close friends with whom to discuss personal matters. More than 50 percent named two or fewer confidants, most often immediate family members, the researchers said.

“This is a big social change, and it indicates something that’s not good for our society,” said Duke University Professor Lynn Smith-Lovin, lead author on the study to be published in the American Sociological Review. Smith-Lovin’s group used data from a national survey of 1,500 American adults that has been ongoing since 1972.

She said it indicated people had a surprising drop in the number of close friends since 1985. At that time, Americans most commonly said they had three close friends whom they had known for a long time, saw often, and with whom they shared a number of interests.

They were almost as likely to name four or five friends, and the relationships often sprang from their neighborhoods or communities. Ties to a close network of friends create a social safety net that is good for society, and for the individual. Research has linked social support and civic participation to a longer life, Smith-Lovin said.

JG

relationships

Add Comment June 24, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Soccer is for Fakers

Are soccer players good actors or what? Send them to Hollywood!

JG

Add Comment June 23, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Rick Makes Forbes Celebrity List

I think of him more as an influencer really than a celebrity – but Rick Warren made the Forbes Top 100 list at number 60 a couple of weeks ago. Here’s what they had to say about him and here’s a link to the complete list, too:

When religious publisher Zondervan released California pastor Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life,” it expected robust sales of about a quarter-million copies. There are now 24 million copies in print, with Zondervan unloading 100,000 copies over the Christmas season alone. And the book achieved mainstream notoriety in 2005 when kidnap victim Ashley Smith said that she used its techniques to persuade her captor to release her. Warren also runs the Web site Pastors.com, where he peddles “Purpose Driven” spinoffs.

Reason he made the list: Intelligent, Trustworthy. So true.

JG

Add Comment June 23, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Shuffle Up and Rock Out

Treece has got up this week’s Shuffle Up and Deal featuring the first 5 songs on the iPod of Saddleback Church junior high pastor Kurt Johnston. Apparently he likes to rock out … and $5 says he edited his list to look somewhat cooler than he really is.

JG

kurt johnston

Add Comment June 23, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Father’s Day Tradition

Each year for Father’s Day we head to the ballpark for an afternoon of fun. This past Sunday we drove up to Anaheim and hit the Angels vs. the Padres. The sun was killer and we were in the “cheap seats” out in right field. They call it the family section, but that really means the section we couldn’t sell for more than maybe $6 a ticket because it feels like a frying pan. The family was covered in a thick coat of SPF 4trillion all day and we manged to stay for nearly 8 innings of the desert-heat slug fest.

It was a great time, though it gets more complicated each year because we keep adding kids. It’s so much fun, too, its worth it all. I love being a dad – Angela is the best wife and mother and the kids are all angels.

But next year, I’m hunting for some seats in the shade.

JG

Add Comment June 22, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts The Controller Debate

Interesting article in Business Week about video game controllers. I think the Xbox 360′s wireless controller is near perfect, amazing for a 2nd generation console to get it soooo right. Anyhow, here’s a clip, head there for the complete story:

Months after the Wii’s wand was introduced, we’re still eagerly lapping up every newly released detail. Also stirring up conversation is market leader Sony’s decision to implement tilt-sensing in the PlayStation 3 controller. That decision has led to piles of Internet forum “discussions” and garnered the attention of executives from Nintendo and Microsoft, who since E3 have either downplayed the feature, laughed it off or screamed “copy-cat!”

JG

Add Comment June 22, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts Chic-Fil-A Offers Marriage Counseling

Another first for Chic-Fil-A, according to USA Today. When will they open one closer than Irvine? I’ve got no problem driving there and love the people, but I would get to go even more often if it wasn’t so far away. What a generous move this is:

With a 57-year marriage as a model, the founder of Chick-fil-A wants to help the marital unions of his workers, too.

S. Truett Cathy, 85, has implemented all sorts of marriage-friendly policies and programs for the 600 employees at his 39-year-old company’s Atlanta-based headquarters, as well as for the 900 franchise operators who run its 1,250 fast-food restaurants across the country. Offerings range from seminars and marriage retreats to lunchtime sessions and counseling from on-call psychologists.

And now Chick-fil-A’s marriage and family-strengthening policies have earned Cathy an award, to be presented Saturday at the national Smart Marriages Conference in Atlanta, which begins today.

“You can’t expect people to do well in their business if they’ve got problems at home,” Cathy says. He says Chick-fil-A spends millions a year on programs to help couples enrich their relationships.

JG

Add Comment June 22, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts SYM Podcast Episode 20.5

OK, Fields couldn’t make the podcast this week, so we put up a temporary show featuring Natalie and McGill. Grab it in iTunes and get ready for next week’s real show.

JG

Add Comment June 22, 2006

Josh GriffinMore Posts No More Black Beans

I’m sad today … I’ve just come to terms with a terrible truth. El Pollo Loco no longer serves black beans. Yes, I called the comment hotline. Yes, I got $1 off my next meal. Yes, I mentioned my sadness to the shift manager. But none of those things solace me.

One of the cheapest and best burrito runs has come to a sad end. The black bean burrito served faithfully for the past 20 years at the infamous California resturant, but the came to an end just months before the contract was to expire. A lot like Dan Rather, from what I gather. The BRC – beans, rice, cheese … substitute black beans and still just $1.00. Well, depending on the cashier.

Black beans were a staple during the Nixon administration and the free love period of the 60s, their familiar face always a welcome sight inside any burrito. We bid you a fond farewell, Mr. Black Bean, we barely knew you.

I guess I’ll have to make them at home now.

JG

Add Comment June 22, 2006