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Blog Archives
Bible Reading Schedule – 2014
Every year one of the more viewed posts on this site is a recommendation for a daily Bible reading schedule. I think most people are looking for a .pdf they can download or print out, and if that is what they are looking for, they will be disappointed when they arrive here. In past years I have discussed one of my favorite schedules of daily Bible reading, and this year I want to discuss another. However, this time it will cost you just a little bit of money.
The method, or schedule, that I want to discuss this year is one that is published by the Moravian Brethren and can be ordered through their website, www.moravian.org. There are several different editions to choose from, from a plain little book with the daily texts and prayer printed out, to my favorite edition, a spiral bound journal that has the texts, the prayer, and a short space at the bottom for reflections or journaling.
I was initially introduced to the Moravian reading schedule through the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He used these readings for his daily Bible study, and frequently published the Scripture readings for his students and seminarians to read and meditate upon. I was curious, and with a little bit of research was able to find the website and ordered my first copy about four years ago. Since that time I have used them, either in part or completely, for my devotional reading and I have found I truly enjoy the Moravian schedule.
A brief word of explanation – the daily Bible readings from Monday through Saturday are divided into three sections: a Psalm, an Old Testament reading and a New Testament reading. (The Sunday readings will be discussed below). The readings are scheduled so that the entire Bible is read through once every two years. This is quite a change for me, as previously the least that I was reading through my Bible was twice in one year (see my reading schedules for 2012 and 2013). The slower pace means that the passages being read are much smaller, and that allows for more time to meditate and absorb the content of the reading. The selection of a Psalm, an O.T. reading and N.T. reading also allows the reader to have some diversity – some familiarity along with some unfamiliarity, as well as forcing the reader to work through the entire text of the Bible, albeit more slowly.
Any and every Bible reading schedule is created by man, and as such is going to have weaknesses and foibles. There is no "perfect" Bible reading schedule – the best one is the one that works the best for you, whether it is to read a verse, a chapter, or an entire book every day. As much as I like the Moravian reading schedule I am just a little disenchanted with some of the breaks in the readings. I feel like some readings need to go another few verses, or perhaps end a few verses earlier. Particularly in the Psalms I note that some are divided in strange places, or a Psalm that could be easily read in one sitting is divided into two parts. However, this can be seen as necessary in terms of dividing the 150 Psalms into two years worth of readings. So I simply read the Psalm more than once (all the way through on successive days) or if I note a problematic division in the reading I simply read ahead a few verses, or stop a few verses short of the printed schedule and make an appropriate note on the next day's reading schedule. Honestly – if you cannot figure this out on your own maybe you should not be reading the Bible on your own anyway.
Each Sunday the readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary, and for those of you who do not know what the lectionary is, it is a collection of readings that allow for most of the Bible to be read through (although not anywhere close to sequentially) in a three year period. Each Sunday there is a reading from the Psalms, the Old Testament, a gospel, and a reading from a New Testament letter or the books of Acts or Revelation. For most of the year there is a common theme, either obvious or somewhat more disguised, found in each of the four readings. On some occasions there is no related them or connection between the readings at all.
The Moravian reading schedule also contains readings for "high" church days, such as feast and fast days, and for days that have special meaning to the Moravian church. You can read or omit these selections according to your personal preference.
I had originally intended to write this post about a month ago so readers who wanted to could order their copy and have it available by January 1, 2014. Perhaps that is still possible even at this late date, but even if your copy does not arrive until after the new year, you can still benefit greatly from this reading schedule. 2014 begins the reading cycle again, so we will begin reading with Genesis 1, Psalm 1 and Matthew 1.
Blessings on your daily Bible reading in 2014.
Book Review – "The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" (Edited by Isabel Best)
The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer edited and introduced by Isabel Best (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012), 210 pages.
There are so many ways to introduce this review…
I have spent many years as a pulpit minister. I have preached hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sermons. I have three degrees in ministry/theology and am working on a fourth. Suffice it to say I love the church, theology, preaching and ministry. And when I come across books on preaching like this one I realize just how much of a failure I have been in serving in these various ministries. I have often said that I am just an apprentice in the field of ministry, but there are times I do not even feel qualified to say I am an apprentice. Sitting at the feet of Bonhoeffer is just one of those times.
I have 15 out of the 16 volume set of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works in English (to the best of my knowledge, vol. 14 is still forthcoming at this date). I have both Eberhard Bethge's and Eric Metaxas' biographies of Bonhoeffer. I have numerous other volumes about Bonhoeffer. Needless to say I know his story, if not well, then at least better than most. I was genuinely excited to get word that this volume had been printed, and I bought it at the first chance that I had.
My review in a nutshell – if you love preaching, or if you are interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or both, then you need to buy this book!
Many writings by Bonhoeffer are difficult for the modern reader to understand. For one reason, Bonhoeffer was writing in a different historical, theological and philosophical realm than what we are living in today. Classic liberalism (which Bonhoeffer was writing to largely reject) was in the flower of its youth. Even though the world had just experienced World War I, there was still the idea lurking that it was the "war to end all wars." The evils of Adolf Hitler were still to be unleashed as Bonhoeffer penned and delivered most of these sermons. Technologically the world was still a toddler compared to our current day. The atom had not yet been split (although physicists on both sides of the Atlantic were getting closer by the day) and so many things that we take for granted were not even on the drawing boards.
Two, unless you know how to read German (and theological German at that), you are forced to read Bonhoeffer in translation. That is where I am. That limits your understanding to the quality of the translator and the overall translation. Any literary work suffers in translation. Bonhoeffer's complex and very intricate arguments are no exception.
However, (and getting back to the point of this review), Bonhoeffer's sermons are very different. Whereas Bonhoeffer's early theological writings can almost be opaque, his sermons shine with a clarity that is remarkable. You can see Bonhoeffer's theology through and through his sermons, but he wrote and delivered them with the common person in mind. He wrote them to be challenging, to be sure. But he wrote and delivered them to be effective, and the spoken word cannot be effective if it is not understood. Bonhoeffer's sermons in his collection are brilliant examples of how to make the complex understandable. Take the following as an example:
One cannot understand and preach the gospel concretely enough. A real evangelical sermon must be like holding a pretty red apple in front of a child or a glass of cool water in front of a thirsty person and then asking: do you want it? We should be able to talk about matters of our faith in such a way that the hands reach out for it faster than we can fill them. (p. 34).
It is impossible for me to identify my "favorite" among these sermons, but if I absolutely had to pick one, it would be the sermon on Gideon, delivered on Feb. 26, 1933 (p. 67-74). Quite honestly, I do not think that I have read or heard a finer sermon in my whole life.
One word about style. Many people are so used to the "three points and a poem" type of preaching that nothing else fits the bill. That person would be terribly disappointed in this collection. Bonhoeffer did not preach topically, and he hated reducing the gospel to mere moralization. In these sermons Bonhoeffer simply took a single text (often based on the church calendar that the Lutheran church followed) and preached it – he made the text come alive. When you understand the political events that were taking place as Bonhoeffer delivered these sermons you realize just how courageous he was. As Isabel Best notes in her introduction, Bonhoeffer did not preach overtly political sermons, and yet he spoke to the political situation of his day in virtually every sermon that he preached. But he let the text do the convicting – he simply "explicated" the text so that the message of the text could come through. His technique was brilliant, and yet if you heard one of these sermons delivered in their original setting I doubt you would have notice "technique" at all. You simply would have heard the word of God.
Someone who knows me and my theology well might be surprised that I am able to write such glowing reviews about Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor educated in the thick of German Classical Liberalism. My response is this: the gospel is not denominational. When Bonhoeffer preached the text there is simply no finer explication and application of God's word. I am not so naive as to suggest that every word in these sermons is absolute truth. Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran, and when he gets closer to Luther than he does Jesus it is obvious. He preached salvation by faith only – something that neither Jesus nor Paul preached, but something that Luther did. So be it – I am smart enough to sift the wheat from the chaff. It is just that (in my most humble and otherwise brilliant opinion) there is very, very little chaff in these sermons.
Another positive note about this collection in particular. There is a brief introduction to the entire collection, and each individual sermon receives a brief historical note. Isabel Best is highly qualified to be the one to introduce and edit this collection, and if you are unfamiliar, or just barely familiar, with Bonhoeffer's life and work her historical notes will be invaluable in helping you "hear" these sermons.
And now the one huge burr under my saddle about this book. It received the title, "The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" and yet even in the introduction it is admitted that there are 71 extant sermons or homilies recorded in the collected works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This book only includes 31. Therefore, it should not have been labeled "The Collected Sermons" but something like "A Collection of Sermons" or even "The Collected Sermons, Vol. 1." That is a small quibble, I grant you. But you cannot call something "The Collection" if you are only including less than 50% of the total of whatever it is you are collecting.
There is so much more I would like to say – but I am already over 1,300 words. But this book is a gem, and I love reading beautiful books.
This book is not just for preachers, but it is for serious Bible students. If you use books that include short devotional readings for your personal prayer time this would be a wonderful guide for your devotions. These sermons are not long – there are no 45 minute harangues in this collection. If you are a preacher and you want to be fed by one of the best, I highly recommend you obtain this book. It will push you in your interpretation and in your delivery of your sermons. I really, really, really wish I had the opportunity to read this book back when I was 22 and just getting out of college. It would have changed the course of my career significantly. As it is, I am thankful I had the opportunity to read it, and it will help me for as long as I have left to preach the gospel.
Book Review – "Just Peacemaking" – (Glen H. Stassen, ed.)
Just Peacemaking: The New Paradigm for the Ethics of Peace and War (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2008) 234 pages including end notes.
I have not mastered the art of making proficient book reviews. If you have read any of my other reviews they are basically extended comments about why you should obtain the book for yourself. A proper book review includes summaries of the author(s) main arguments and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the book. Like I said, I've never really been taught how to do that exceptionally well, and I'm lazy to boot. But, that having been said, I will try to evaluate this book a little more carefully.
How is that for brevity? I was guided in a study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Dr. Stassen as a part of my Doctor of Ministry work at Fuller Theological Seminary. I read and loved his Kingdom Ethics. I appreciated his Living the Sermon on the Mount although it was written on a much more popular level and I felt like he oriented the book a little too much toward the popular reader. I was excited to purchase this book, which Dr. Stassen edited, as a continuation of his discussion on the importance of "Just Peacemaking" in a world that has basically gone mad.
This book simply disappointed on so many levels. I will attempt to share with you some of my frustrations.
The book begins with a 40 page introduction that needed an introduction. It was kind of like turning on the TV and hearing the announcement, "We now return to our regularly scheduled programing already in progress…" There are five names associated with the writing of the introduction, and it genuinely reads like the product of a committee. The first eight pages contain a rambling discussion of terrorism with no real context to frame the discussion. It is not until page nine that a coherent discussion of Just Peacemaking begins. The rest of the introduction is valuable, but perhaps overly lengthy. The purpose of an introduction is to introduce the subject. At 40 pages the introduction was a chapter in and of itself. As I said, the introduction needed an introduction.
The first chapter, "Support Non Violent Direct Action," written by John Cartwright and Susan Thistlewaite, was, in this blogger's estimation, simply dreadful. Not only dreadful, but profoundly contradictory. The authors state as the lead of the second paragraph, "Nonviolent direct action is a strategy that lances the festering boil of violence and produces healing without resort to war." (p. 42) All well and good, if not a little flowery in the language. What "nonviolent" actions do the authors recommend? The first is boycotts, which they define as "…a concerted action designed to isolate an individual, group, or nation in order to express disapproval and to coerce change." (p. 44) I nearly gagged on my coffee when I read that sentence. Let me get this straight – we are to lance the festering boil of violence by isolating and coercing people that we disagree with into behaving the way we want them to. It gets better. The lead of the next paragraph reads, "After 1880 the term soon came into common use, broadening to describe and include all forms of nonviolent intimidation." So, now the priests of nonviolence have encouraged their followers to use isolation, coercion and intimidation to achieve their goals. I almost put the book down right then, but I soldiered on. (Pardon the pun).
The next nonviolent action the authors recommend is a strike. They suggest that, "Strikes have often met with considerable violence on the part of both business owners and government." (p. 47) I suppose the authors have never heard of, nor read about, the horrific violence that strikers have used against business owners and non-workers alike. Oh well, if you are going to advocate coercion and intimidation, a little violence might not be too bad. Except that the whole point of the chapter was supposed to be "nonviolent" actions. This chapter was clearly the worst of the book, and if you can get past this entry, the rest of the book is not that bad.
The next chapter, "Take Independent Initiatives to Reduce Threat" by Glen Stassen is quite good. It is brief, to the point, and well written – all hallmarks of Dr. Stassen's expertise. The third chapter, "Use Cooperative Conflict Resolution" is a little bit longer, but still valuable. I found the fourth chapter, "Acknowledge Responsibility for Conflict and Injustice and Seek Repentance and Forgiveness" written by Alan Geyer and Donald W. Shriver to be particularly valuable. Once again the chapter was direct, fairly brief, full of legitimate examples, and the concepts espoused fit directly into the title of the book, Just Peacemaking.
In the second (chapters 5 and 6) and third (chapters 7 – 10) sections of the book the second major flaw of the book was revealed. These chapters read like a manifesto produced by the Democratic party of the United States. The only American Presidents who received any positive mention were Democrats, and Jimmy Carter was clearly the favorite of all the authors. Ronald Reagan was vilified at every opportunity. Likewise, the Palestinians and their cause received all the positive comments, whereas the Israelis were never described as anything other than land hungry war mongers. I do not doubt but what the Palestinians have a legitimate complaint against the colonization of their land. But the one-sided nature of the treatment in this book made it sound like the suicide bombers and the indiscriminate missile firing of the Palestinian terrorists are somehow justified. The political stance of the authors was utterly transparent. And that was unfortunate in a book that was designed to be about Just Peacemaking. You cannot be a peacemaker if you are lobbing verbal hand grenades at your political opponents.
After finishing the book, especially the last sections, I could not help but think of the irony that the authors of the book really needed to read chapters 2-4 of the book and put those principles into practice in their own chapters. The authors of chapter one just need to re-write their chapter from scratch.
Okay, so I am not an accomplished book reviewer. I usually only review those books that I genuinely love and want others to read. I made an exception here, not that I do not want people to buy this book, but only that if you are interested in the title of the book that you purchase it carefully. If your politics are even moderately left-of-center you will probably love the book. The more left-of-center your politics the more you will like the book (if you can get past the theological arguments and the references to the Bible). But, if you are like me and have somewhat to moderate right-of-center politics and you are fairly conservative in your theology, this book is a frustrating read.
I will recommend you purchase the book with the above caveat in mind. If you are interested in the "new paradigm" of Just Peacemaking (a concept, by the way, that I approve of whole heartedly) then this is a good resource. The middle chapters are good, and the later chapters do have some good points. I simply wish the authors had checked their politics in the coat room when they entered the conversation hall. It would have made the book much more valuable, and also much more enjoyable to read.
A Radical Sermon – The "Transforming Initiatives"
I will say it up front and honestly – the remainder of this series of reflections on the Sermon on the Mount will be based largely, if not exclusively, on Glen Stassen and David Gushee's book, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. When I step away from Stassen and Gushee I will probably land on John R.W. Stott's The Message of the Sermon on the Mount. Stott's book was previously titled Christian Counter-Culture and I regret the change in name. Christian Counter-Culture tells you that what Stott wrote was intended to be challenging. That book was, and remains, a classic in the field of study on the Sermon on the Mount and I recommend it whole-heartedly.
But, I was recently introduced to Stassen and Gushee's work and I have been working through it carefully. Dr. Stassen is one of the premier Christian ethicists today, and, I might add not unrelated, a premier scholar on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. One of the questions arising from the study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is how a Lutheran pastor, and a man who had accepted the basic tenets of pacifism, could ultimately be involved in an attempt to assassinate a national leader. Much of the problem revolves around the indisputable fact that Bonhoeffer built much of his theology upon the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5-8 became for Bonhoeffer the key to unlocking not only the New Testament, but the entire Bible and his view of discipleship as well. One question then becomes, how could someone who built so much of his theology upon the Sermon on the Mount become involved in an attempt to overthrow Hitler? Beyond that question, there is the issue of how Bonhoeffer treats (or, to be more correct, omits) the Sermon on the Mount in his monumental work on Ethics. The Sermon on the Mount was the text for much of what Bonhoeffer wrote, yet it virtually disappears in the many essays he penned and hoped to complete on his theory of ethics. The questions is "why this omission?" The story is much too long and involved to fully relate here, and suffice it to say that volumes have been written to attempt to unravel this Gordian knot.
Personal aside here: as related in a personal conversation, Dr. Stassen's suggestion is that what Bonhoeffer missed in this text is an understanding that Jesus was not presenting a dualistic way of looking at faith and the world, but rather that he was presenting a series of "transforming initiatives" that provide the disciple with an entirely new and, although the term is overused, "radical" way of addressing faith and the world. Perhaps, although it is purely speculation, if Bonhoeffer had seen this structure, he would have been able to use the Sermon in his work on Ethics. Bonhoeffer himself hints that he struggled with his explication of the Sermon on the Mount as presented in such works as Discipleship, but he never fully recanted that explication, and he never was granted the time and opportunity to fully explain what it was that gave him pause as he reviewed his earlier work. Bonhoeffer was incredibly consistent – far more consistent than most theologians who produce the amount of material that Bonhoeffer did, so we are left with a huge gap and a nagging question as to what exactly Bonhoeffer meant when he wrote to Eberhard Bethge that his study on Discipleship was under his own careful re-examination and critique.
[Additional note: Dr. Stassen's study on the Sermon on the Mount was also presented in the Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 122/2 (2003) pages 267-308 in an article titled, "The Fourteen Triads of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-7:12)". By way of contrast, Stott's work in The Message of the Sermon on the Mount follows the traditional understanding of a dualistic, or "dyadic" teaching from Jesus, "You have heard it said ... but I say to you..."]
For those of us who were raised with the traditional understanding of the Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Stassen's suggestions are not only new, but also somewhat disorienting. However, and I want to stress this, his linguistic, grammatical and stylistic evidence is solid. Moreover, the theology that results is even more compelling, and I am growing more and more convinced that Dr. Stassen has given the church a great gift in the ongoing effort to understand and to live the Sermon on the Mount.
I will work through Dr. Stassen's arguments in greater detail in the following installments of this series. Let me briefly summarize his main points so as to whet your appetite for the remainder of these reflections:
1. Dr. Stassen builds his case on a careful study of the Greek words, sentence structure, and also what I consider to be Matthew's "Rabbinic" style of writing. (Note: that is my term, I do not remember Dr. Stassen making that connection. I believe Matthew to be very well educated, and where else would he have been educated in the Jewish literature of his day if not in a Rabbinic school? Just my two cents worth)
2. Building on the work of other Matthean scholarship, Dr. Stassen identified 14 "triads" within the main body of the Sermon on the Mount. That is to say, Jesus presents a traditional view of righteousness ("You have heard it said…"), then a description of a "vicious cycle and consequences" ("but I say unto you…") and then Jesus gives a "transforming initiative" that is counter to the "traditional" yet misunderstood view of righteousness, and completely overturns the "cycle of viciousness" that he has identified.
3. What this understanding of the main body of the Sermon on the Mount accomplishes is that it prevents the Sermon from becoming a list of impossible commands and it allows the Sermon to be a liberating set of instructions for what Dr. Stassen has identified as "Kingdom Ethics."
Obviously, if you are truly intrigued by the concepts that I will attempt to summarize here, the place for you to go is Dr. Stassen and Dr. Gushee's book. The article in JBL summarizes the first part of the book, so if you simply want an understanding of the "14 Triads" and the "Transforming Initiatives" you can obtain that article.
I will attempt to do my best to present Dr. Stassen's arguments and evidence in a brief, yet understandable, format. I truly believe that Dr. Stassen (and those to whom he gives credit) has presented a strong case for this interpretation of the Sermon. It deserves our fullest attention. He answers a lot of questions, and his arguments are persuasive and, to me at least, compelling. I will leave it to you to make up your mind for yourself.
Sermon – "Crossing the Rubicon"
Here is the text (more or less verbatim) of the sermon I preached on 12/30/12 at the Third and Kilgore congregation in Portales, NM. I do not have access to a a website that can upload sermon audio, so I had to go with a written text.
The year was 49 BC. The place – Gaul, just north of the country of Italy. The person was Julius "not quite yet" Caesar. The situation – by law if Julius, a general in the Roman army, wanted to enter into Italy he had to relinquish his military position and surrender the power of he "Imperium" he held in Gaul. As he camped at the river Rubicon he debated his options. If he crossed the Rubicon river with his army he would be declaring his rebellion from Pompey – an act of treason. He would be under a death sentence. Every man who followed him armed for battle would be under a death sentence.
After some deliberation Julius "not quite yet Caesar" did cross the Rubicon, and as he did so he is reported to have said, "The die is cast." There would be no turning back.
Flash forward about 80 years. A wandering rabbi sits on a mountainside and calls his disciples to him. As his disciples and others listen to his teaching, they realize that there is something unique, powerful, about this particular rabbi. They also realize that if they follow this new teaching they will be "crossing the Rubicon" in relation to their world. There will be no turning back.
I want to use the imagery of "crossing the Rubicon" to illustrate two points this morning. If I am right in these two points then the third point will be a call to respond, a call to action as it were.
#1 – The United States has crossed a cultural Rubicon in a very profound way. It is my opinion that there is no way to alter its direction short of a major collapse or a major spiritual uprising. It has been headed in this direction for more than a generation, but has picked up speed tremendously in the past decade. The last election virtually "sealed the deal" in the mindset of the American people. Just notice, for example, the tremendous difference between John F. Kennedy and Barack Hussein Obama. Kennedy spoke those immortal words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Obama has cemented in the American mind the idea that the only reason government exists is to bestow entitlements to its citizens. A majority of Americans are now dependent upon the government in some form or fashion. How will anyone convince them to relinquish any of these "entitlements?"
Two, There has also been a staggering shift in the moral understanding of Americans. This is clearly, but not exclusively, demonstrated in the acceptance and even advancement of homosexual behavior and same sex marriage.
#2 – This first point places those who would follow the rabbi from Nazareth in a very small and shrinking minority.
If it was ever true that the United States was a Christian nation it no longer is true.
If God was truly honored and worshipped, the Constitution could be a living and vibrant document that heralds justice and freedom for all.
But, if you remove God then the Constitution becomes a wicked and humanistic piece of paper, subject to the whims and fancies of those who interpret it.
Worse, it has become an idol. It is something that is visible and on a surface level points to a supreme being, but is simply a human construct full of human depravity.
And so – we return to that mountainside and we strain our ears to hear the words of that Nazarene rabbi, knowing that those words are a call to "cross the Rubicon" and declare our allegiance to God and to reject Satan and the rule of this world.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit.
- Blessed are those who mourn.
- Blessed are the gentle.
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
- Blessed are the merciful.
- Blessed are the pure in heart.
- Blessed are the peacemakers.
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for God's sake.
- Disciples are salt and light in a bent and broken world.
- Avoid murder by avoiding hate.
- Avoid adultery by avoiding lust.
- Honor marriage.
- Tell the truth, first and always.
- Go the second mile.
- Love your enemies.
- Give without expecting return.
- Pray as a child to a parent.
- Fast fervently.
- Hold to God, not your possessions.
- Do not be anxious.
- Do not judge.
- Seek God's kingdom, not your own nor that of the rule of Satan.
# 3 – So, we must decide where our loyalty lies – with God or this world.
I was truly shocked, dismayed and heartbroken when, almost within hours of the events of 12/14/12 my Facebook page was full of postings by Christians, some of them even gospel preachers, responding to the murders of 26 innocent people by declaring that the most important thing to them was the ownership of their guns. No reference to being ruled by the Prince of Peace. No thought to the fact that we are to be a people that rejects violence and turns the other cheek. No consideration to the Sermon on the Mount at all – just an endless repetition of quotations defending the Constitution and the 2nd amendment in particular.
Brothers and sisters, we must – it is imperative – we cannot overlook Christ's demand for us to declare our loyalty. Are we going to be loyal to Christ and His kingdom or this world?
Second, we must commit. We must learn to view baptism as a "crossing of the Rubicon" in a spiritual sense. This is especially true of those who have already made this confession. When we confess that Jesus is the Lord we are saying something profoundly political. That was the most treasonous statement a person could make in the first century AD. The law was you had to confess "Caesar is Lord." Christians could not do that. They had already confessed "Jesus is Lord." There could not be two Lords in their life. And so, when they said "Jesus is Lord" and went under the waters of baptism they were crossing a spiritual and a political Rubicon. They were placing themselves under a death sentence. Many did pay with their lives, others paid by losing property or jobs or family connections. We must learn the significance of those three words again. We cannot have two Lords in our life!
For those who have not made that confession, please stop and consider what you will be doing when you make the good confession. You are not just doing something so you can take communion every Sunday. You are not doing something just to make your parents happy. You are not doing something just so you will not be the last one in the youth group to be baptized. You are making a profound statement. You are confessing that Jesus is the Lord of your life. Do not make that decision lightly.
Third, we must live like this world is no longer our home. Two passages in particular come to mind as I think of this truth. Philippians 3:20 states that "our citizenship is in heaven." There it is – no having to parse out that thought. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God and that is where our allegiance lies. Second, Hebrews 13:14 says that "here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come." That's right, we do not have a lasting city on this earth, but there is a city that is to come that we are citizens of, and we await its arrival. We have to choose which city we want to be a part of. It will be an eternal decision.
I want to close by giving a quote from one of my favorite authors. This short passage sums up completely what this lesson has been about. If I am correct, and I certainly do believe that I am, the words I have spoken this morning are critical words for us to hear at this time in our history. And so, these words from an earlier generation come down to us with an urgency that I hope we can all learn to feel:
The cross is not the terrible end of a pious and happy life. Instead, it stands at the beginning of community with Jesus Christ. Whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship.
(Note: the Scripture notation was corrected to read Philippians 3:20. Sorry about the earlier slip of the finger.)
Aligning Ourselves With God – The Ultimate Front-End Alignment
I've learned a lot about alignments over the past few years. Mostly because I have a bad back, and I can tell even before I get out of bed if the day is going to be good or one long exercise in getting straight. I know every part of our body is important, but if you have a bad back there ain't nothing that works right.
So, I was thinking the other day about alignments – how if things are in a straight line things just work so much better. Cars work better if the tires are in alignment. Guitars depend on correct alignment to sound right. Archers know that if the bow is warped the arrow will fly past it's target. If you let one tiny little mirror get bumped in a telescope the whole thing turns into an expensive kid's toy. There are many, many areas of life in which alignment is everything.
Which then got me to thinking – do we have the church in alignment with God? That is such an elementary question, but one that I fear goes unasked let alone unanswered. It does not matter if we have one or two things about the church correct if we have half a dozen other things all wrong. If we are not in alignment with what God intends, we will never achieve what he wants us to achieve. Since the church is not growing (or is actually shrinking, depending on which metric you use) I am justified in asking the question – do we have our thoughts, our intentions, our goals, and our efforts in alignment with God?
Alignment number one – God wants mankind to be "in his image." That is how he created us. That was not good enough for us, so we tried to make ourselves to be "like God." I know I have railed against using foreign terms if English terms are just as good, but here is where Latin helps us out a little bit. I think most everyone can work through the terms here – God made us to be in the imago Dei. That is, he made us to be in his image. But we wanted to be sicut deus. That is, we wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil. So we traded the imago dei for the sicut deus and we have been out of alignment ever since. Jesus came to this earth to get us back into alignment – to show us how we can have the imago dei once again. That is, Jesus came to teach us how to be fully human. As long as we are trying to be like God we will fail to even be what God created us to be. We need to surrender our craving to be like God so that we can accept being made in the image of God. Once we get that alignment right, several others will fall into place. (I am indebted to the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer for this insight. It clearly was above my pay grade to achieve this insight.)
Within the church are we teaching people how to be fully human? Are we stressing that Jesus, the very image of God himself (Col. 1:15) came to this earth to "redeem" us, that is to bring us back to our created relationship with God? Or are we, like those Pharisees that we love to beat up on, just trying to get people to see things the way we see things, that is, are we trying to be "like God" in the eyes of the world? There is a world of difference between living in the image of God and living like God. The one is a humble but glorious acceptance of what we have been given, the other is a rebellious declaration that we do not need God as long as we have our own intellect and strength.
I think that if the church (as a collective human being) simply tried to live as if it were made in the image of God instead of trying to be God it would be receive the blessings that God intended for it to have. Or, we can keep trying to "be like God" and we can go out and pick goat-head thorns for a living. Not much of a choice if you ask me.
Alignment number two – doctrine is important, but important only as it relates to proper behavior. In technical terms, orthodoxy is important, but only so far as it results in orthopraxy. In Jesus' own day it was the Pharisees who were the guardians of orthodoxy. They had doctrine down to a fine point. They had all the "book, chapter and verse" citations they needed to accuse and condemn Jesus – especially in regard to ritualistic Sabbath keeping (see Ezekiel 20 especially). But they were utterly bereft in the proper application of that doctrine. Merely having the correct book, chapter and verse did not make their actions right. Jesus taught them what "sabbath keeping" was all about, and it was not what they had in mind. But Jesus' teaching was in alignment with what God intended, and therefore we are to listen to Jesus and not the Pharisees.
I have written in other posts that I consider myself to be fairly conservative, and as such I must admit that this is one of my weaknesses. As a conservative I tend to look very suspiciously upon anything that looks, smells or feels like an aberration from the "tried and true." I live by the motto, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The only problem is many times something is broken; but because I have figured out how to use a broken tool quite effectively, I do not realize it is broken. I have to force myself to reexamine my beliefs to determine whether I am holding onto something that is truly "in the image of God" or something that only resembles the truth and is in reality something that is "like God."
I never want to give up on orthodoxy. I am firmly committed to the concept that God has revealed his will to us, and we must accept and obey that will. In that respect I reject the suggestions of many "moderates" or "progressives" who want to change the church to be more "postmodern" and more in tune with its surrounding culture. Once again, I believe those individuals are simply a modern day example of Adam and Eve in the garden. They want to be "like God," making their own decisions and deciding what is good and evil instead of wanting to be in the "image of God" and letting God decide what is good and evil. But on the other hand I never want to be so "conservative" that I become "reactionary" and therefore reject the correctives of Jesus when it comes to straightening out my orthodoxy. I have to learn what the intent of the doctrine is so that I can correctly apply the correct doctrine. In terms of the gospel, I never want to become so fixated on proper sabbath keeping that I fail to offer healing and restitution to another human created "in the image of God."
Whether the object is an automobile, a guitar or your own spine, it is critical for everything to be in proper alignment. Nowhere is that concept more true than in the Lord's church. I think we need to go in for a check-up. We need to go in for the ultimate front-end alignment. Let us focus on becoming a people made in the image of God, and then we can focus on the proper application of doctrine.


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With power provided by a longitudinally mounted normally-aspirated 2.3-litre Cosworth engine, the BAC MONO sends 280 bhp to the wheels via an electronically-controlled, paddle-shift, six-speed sequential Hewland transmission. This street legal monopost has a better power to weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron (520 bhp per ton), sprints from nought to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds (0 to 100 mph in 6.7 seconds) and is capable of reaching a top speed of 170 mph.
The vihicle is built from carbon fibre, has a tubular steel safety cell, is equipped with aero profiled pushrod suspension, a limited slip differential, brakes from AP Racing and OZ Racing alloys wrapped in street legal track tyres from Kumho.
The BAC MONO's seat which secures the driver with a six point racing harness features a fully adjustable pedal box and steering column and has a secure locker in which the helmet and the steering wheel can be stored.
Ian Briggs said "MONO is the culmination of a 12-year dream for us – the car we wanted to own but nobody else made."
Neill Briggs added: "All cars are built to order on a first-come, first-served basis and our flexible production facility has the capacity to manufacture between 50 and 100 vehicles per year – or more if demand requires. All I can currently say is, the early response has been extremely encouraging."
The BAC MONO price for UK starts at 79,950 GBP including taxes.
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The best music and talk stations
Playlists for any mood or activity
Custom radio by artist or song
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Ernesto established itself in New York City as a diverse Latin rock band driven by electric guitars, dual percussion, and a blend of Spanish and English vocals. Comprised of five musicians with Latino roots -- vocalist/guitarist Tito Ernesto Ortiz, lead guitarist Denny Blake, drummer/percussionist Giovanni Palacios, percussionist/drummer Brendan McGowan, and bassist Pemberton Roach -- the band debuted in 2001 with its self-released debut EP, Bonita, and followed with a conceptual LP, The Ballad of Gordo Yepez, a year later. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi
Act of Faith
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Act of Faith - EP
Tomorrow Never Comes EP
Unchained Melodie [Vinyl]
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Lotus Spa & Salon - Jackson
$69 for a High-Frequency Acne or High-Frequency Anti-Aging Facial at Lotus Spa & Salon ($138 Value)
The Fine Print
- Expires 60 days after purchase.
- Limit 1 per person, may buy 2 additional as gifts. Valid only for option purchased. Appointment required. 24hr cancellation notice required.
- See the rules that apply to all deals.


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Looking for something else?
L'Edmond Hôtel22 avenue de Villiers, 17. Palais des Congrès - Batignolles, 75017 Paris (Show map)
Very good
Score from 91 reviews
friendly reception staff
The size of the room
Staff & facilities
Castle cove
-close to metro -close to centre -nice neighbourhood -front desk was helpful
Contemporary and elegant suite design. Staff is friendly and speak good English. Very close to Metro station and nice and safe neighborhood. Just at the back of the hotel few shops, very convenient super market and pastries shops and restaurants all few minutes away.
very nice , modern style apartment. Worked well with teenagers. good to have a kitchenette.
Rooms are clean enough spacious and nice equipped.
*Design of the room, just what you need for biz travel *Clean and comfy *well equipped kitchenette *hot shower after a day of meeting is great!
The attention given by the staff.
Boutique hotel Used to be a private house. Renovated 2 years ago. Nice TV, clean room .
In Paris, less than half a mile from Parc Monceau, this hotel has air-conditioned and soundproofed rooms, suites and apartment with free Wi-Fi and a full kitchen. Each room, suite and apartment at the L' Edmond has a flat-screen cable TV, a dining area and a private bathroom with hairdryer. Some rooms have a furnished balcony. A buffet breakfast is served daily in the communal lounge. Guests can enjoy a drink at the hotel's bar. Villiers Metro Station is 800 ft from the hotel, providing direct access to Opera or the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees is one mile away, Sacre Coeur and the Montmartre district is 2 miles from the hotel. Hotel Rooms: 25 Why use Booking.com?Why use Booking.com?Low ratesNo booking fees • Save money! • Best Price Guaranteed 433,261 properties worldwide
Including 116,390 vacation rentals Unbiased reviews26,040,000 reviews from real guests We speak your languageWebsite and customer service in English (US) and 41 other languages Booking is safeWhen you book with us your details are protected by a secure connection. Food & DrinkBar, Breakfast in the Room, Restaurant With Dining Menu InternetFree! Wi-Fi is available in all areas and is free of charge. ParkingNo parking available. ServicesRoom Service, 24-Hour Front Desk, Ticket Service, Baggage Storage, Concierge Service, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Ironing Service, Shoeshine, Fax/Photocopying, Hair/Beauty Salon GeneralNewspapers, Safe, Non-smoking Rooms, Facilities for Disabled Guests, Family Rooms, Elevator, Soundproof Rooms, Heating, All Spaces Non-Smoking (Public and Private), Air Conditioning Languages spokenFrench , Spanish , English , German Check-in2:00 PM - 12:00 AM Check-out6:00 AM - 12:00 PM Cancellation/
Citadines Prestige Les Halles ParisThis 4-star hotel is in Paris next to the Forum des Halles and just over a quarter mile from the Pompidou Centre.Most recent booking for this hotel was today at 15:00
Score from 722 reviews
Very good
- 8.2/10
Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de TriompheJust a 10 minute walk from the Champs Elysées Avenue, this Art Deco hotel features a spa, fitness center and on-site parking. Courcelle Metro Station (line 2) is a quarter mile away.
Score from 477 reviews
- 7.9/10
Pullman Paris MontparnassePullman Paris Montparnasse is in the lively Montparnasse district and provides guest rooms with an LCD TV. Gaîté Metro Station is 295 yards away and free Wi-Fi is provided in public areas.Most recent booking for this hotel was today at 16:03
Score from 1025 reviews
Very good
- 8.1/10
Napoleon ParisThe Napoleon Paris hotel is located just a short walk to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees. It offers individually designed rooms with modern comforts.Most recent booking for this hotel was 18 minutes ago
Score from 787 reviews
Very good
- 8.2/10


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A collection of news and information related to Robert De Niro published by this site and its partners.
Top Robert De Niro Articles
Displaying items 12-22
MTV Movie Award nominations announced
Relationships, real-life personalities lead Tribeca festival
Story | Mar 6, 2014 | 9:02 AMMarch 6 (Reuters) - A scandalous affair, dysfunctional family dramas, missing babies, a blind piano player, Legos and James Franco make up an eclectic slate of spotlight films and documentaries at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. The lineup of out-of-... -
REVIEW: 'The Bag Man' ★ 1/2
'The Bag Man' review: Actors anonymous
Film Review: 'The Bag Man'
Story | Mar 4, 2014 | 8:30 PMThe titular satchel in "The Bag Man" is one of those coveted carry-ons, like the glowing briefcases of "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Pulp Fiction" fame, that everybody wants, nobody seems to know the contents of, and which makes a world of trouble for all who... -
Oscars: From J-Law to French animators, decoding five strange moments
Oscars: John Travolta 'beating himself up' over Idina Menzel name flub
Tribeca 2014: 'Black Coal,' Dior doc set for festival premieres
Oscars 2014: Lady Gaga steals the spotlight at Elton John's party
Academy Awards 2014: Weird, unexpected moments behind Oscar curtain
Two friends: One's been to prison, the other's going


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JOPLIN, Mo. —
It was with mixed emotions that Pamela Jean Praytor got to hear the president of the United States eulogize her son Sunday afternoon.
"As a mama, I'm proud of him," she said of her son. "I'm proud of what he did and thankful he saved the lives he did. But I would rather have my son back. That sounds selfish. But I miss him."
Her son was Christopher Lucas, a 27-year-old father who is credited with saving the lives of several employees and customers at the Pizza Hut on Range Line Road when the brutal EF-5 tornado on May 22 bore down on the restaurant.
He was one of several heroes "who said, 'I'm willing to die so someone else can live,'" President Barack Obama said during a memorial service at Missouri Southern State University one week after the tornado struck. Obama, Gov. Jay Nixon and several Joplin church leaders offered their support and encouragement to a crowd of tornado survivors who applauded each mention of Joplin's resilience.
Lucas, who served his country in the Navy until 2009, was working at Pizza Hut when the tornado hit. He ushered more than a dozen people into a freezer in the restaurant, but the door wouldn't stay closed, Obama said as he related Lucas' story to the thousands who filled Taylor Performing Arts Center to capacity.
Lucas left the safety of the freezer to find a bungee cord or rope — it's not clear exactly where or how — and returned to the freezer just as the tornado cut its path across Range Line Road.
He secured the cord or rope to the door handle, wrapped the other end around his arm and held on as long as he could.
"He saved more than a dozen people in that freezer," Obama said. "There are heroes all around us, all the time."
Paying homage to those heroes were Josh Castillo and his son, Dylan, who both wore homemade T-shirts with a hand-drawn heart on the front and "Joplin" written in capital letters underneath.
Dylan Castillo also had written "JHS" on the back of his shirt in hopes of drawing the attention of some of his classmates, who found their school year suddenly cut short. He is a freshman at Joplin High School and a former student at East Middle School and the old South Middle School, three buildings heavily damaged by the storm.
"To represent Joplin in some way makes me feel useful right now," said Josh Castillo, whose house on 11th Street is still intact. "I felt like it was important to be here (with) the opportunity to show support for those that are injured and can't be here, those that are emotionally unable to be here."
Castillo said he would have attended the ceremony even if Obama had not come, but the president's presence and remarks — particularly the notion that the foreign leaders he met during his weeklong trip to Europe last week were expressing concern about Joplin — were appreciated.
Also appreciated, even for those who aren't deeply religious, was seeing followers of different faiths come together during the ceremony, he said.
"I know to a lot of people, the fact that he (Obama) showed up was significant," he said as he clutched two small American flags in his hand. "I found some comfort in their words and knowing that for thousands and thousands of other people, that's what they needed to hear."
For Dennis and Cora Dukes, who lost their vehicles and the Jefferson Avenue house they have lived in for 33 years, Sunday's ceremony was "very comforting" and encouraging.
"Going through something this horrendous, it's good to know the rest of the country cares," Dennis Dukes said.
Said Cora Dukes: "It's good to know that we're not alone. The country took notice."
Dennis Dukes also said he appreciated the president's remarks, which in large part eulogized the victims and provided words of hope for Joplin's recovery without digging into politics.
"It was appropriate for a memorial service," he said.
Vicki Simmons, a Carthage native now living in Colorado, described the ceremony as a "wonderful tribute" to those who gave their lives last weekend during the tornado.
"What's most meaningful to me that they (the speakers) all stressed is to love one another," she said. "I loved that President Obama said everybody is a brother. We have got to remember that and exercise more tolerance and understanding to be there when even people who are different than us need our help."
The Fisher family, of Joplin and now homeless, said they wanted to be part of Sunday's historic ceremony. Jud Fisher sang with the First United Methodist Church choir as an introduction to the speeches, while his wife, Cindy, and grown children, Katie and Nathan, were in the audience.
The family members were caught by the tornado in their vehicle while on their way home from the Joplin High School graduation at the university, where Nathan just hours earlier had spoken as the senior class president and received his diploma. All were unharmed, although they lost their home.
Cindy Fisher said it was encouraging to hear both the governor and the president relay their dedication to helping Joplin move forward.
"He (Nixon) was willing for the state to back our community," she said. "President Obama was very supportive and made the comment that not only is the nation behind us, but the world is, too."
When asked whether she thought the ceremony was a good starting point in the healing for Joplin, Fisher said yes.
"I think it is part of healing for the community to come together as much as possible, and embrace each other and share the faith," she said.
Janice Wade, of Galena, Kan., was in attendance for her daughter and granddaughter, who lost their Joplin home in the tornado. Wade said she also lost two co-workers, and a third co-worker still was on the list of missing people on Sunday.
But the community service provided a glimpse of hope for the future, she said.
"I see a community that has come together," she said. "I see people from all over the country that have come to stand behind us."
Praytor said as she left the ceremony she has heard during the past week from many of the families of those Lucas saved.
"That was just the way my son was," she said. "That was Chris. I'm glad he saved those lives. I'm thankful for the people he kept from dying. As a mom, you are proud. But it doesn't bring him back. That's my conflict."
And it made her feel good that someone, somewhere had told the president about her son.
"There's stories all over, stories of people who have stopped what they were doing to help," she said. "Chris wasn't the only one."
Praytor, who lost her home and all her possessions as a resident of the Plaza Apartments behind the 15th Street Wal-Mart, said she was thankful that Obama came to Joplin and for the words of all those who spoke Sunday.
"To hear the president, it made me feel good because what Chris did, well, how can you put it into words?" she said.
Local News
Residents: Ceremony 'wonderful tribute' to Joplin
- Local News
Second defendant sentenced in Joplin murder; man assessed 15 years in slaying of Jacob Wages
Circuit Judge David Mouton assessed Cody Stephens 15 years in prison Friday for his role in the home-invasion murder of 23-year-old Joplin resident Jacob Wages. Stephens, 22, pleaded guilty Dec. 6 to second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in a plea deal capping the prison time he might receive at no more than 15 years.
Runners to inaugurate trail in Walnut Bottoms
After months of planning, cleaning and clearing, a new trail in Walnut Bottoms will be the site of an inaugural run today. The run is being organized by Carthage resident Brady Beckham and other volunteers to introduce the trial to local athletes and raise money for future development.
10 restaurants participating in fundraiser for Camp Mintahama
Those who go out to eat on Wednesday night will have an opportunity to Dine Out with a Scout. That is the name Girl Scout troop leader Lisa Nelson has given the event designed as a fundraiser for Camp Mintahama, a Girl Scout camp south of Joplin.
PSU, city praised for partnership during kick-off to annual community campaign
Rich Luker, perhaps best known for his creation of the ESPN Sports Poll in 1994 and a nationally known expert on the idea of "community," praised Pittsburg State University today as a national model for its partnership with the city of Pittsburg.
Students show off projects at regional History Day contest
Jillian Lopes knew she wanted to research the Holocaust for this year's History Day competition, but the subject was far too broad. So she whittled it down until she was focused on Irena Sendler, a non-Jewish Polish woman who worked to save children during the Holocaust and whose life later became the subject of a play called "Life in a Jar."
MSSU panel prepares presidential job advertisement for publication
The advertisement for the president's job at Missouri Southern State University could be published as early as next week, the university's search committee was told Friday. The ad will run in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a print and online publication for higher education professionals, for 60 days, said Darren Fullerton, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, and a member of the committee.
Hundreds of Four-State Area students turn out to mark 40th PSU Jazz Festival
What began as an event with 13 high school bands has grown into what organizers believe to be the biggest event of its kind in the Midwest, drawing not just students, but internationally known professional musicians. On Friday, 66 area high school bands participated in the 40th Annual Pittsburg State University Jazz Festival, which celebrates a style of music considered to be the only original American art form.
Kansas high court: School funding unconstitutional
In a highly anticipated ruling Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court said the state's current public school funding levels are unconstitutional and sent the case back to lower court for more review. In the 110-page decision, the court said Kansas' poor school districts were harmed when the state made the decision to cut certain payments when tax revenues declined during the Great Recession.
MSSU student to attend posthumous awarding of honor for grandfather
As Missouri Southern State University student Savannah Schwab, unable to sleep, gazed out the window at a moonlit night from her bedroom in Fort Scott, Kan., her thoughts turned to her late grandfather. She had listened to an hour or so of the World War II veteran's audio recordings that recounted his experiences as a member of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Regiment.
Last defendant sentenced in Pittsburg slaying
Nathan Whitney expressed remorse Thursday when he became the last of four young Joplin men assessed prison terms for the murder of Ryan Bailey two years ago in Pittsburg. The 29-year-old defendant listened to Bailey's wife and adoptive mother render emotional victim-impact statements at his sentencing hearing in Crawford County District Court before standing up and responding to their loss.
- More Local News Headlines
Second defendant sentenced in Joplin murder; man assessed 15 years in slaying of Jacob Wages


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NeoStem Sells 51% Stake In China's Suzhou Erye 0 comments
Jun 18, 2012 11:55 AM(
) Monday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its 51 percent interest in Suzhou Erye Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for $12.3 million in cash plus stock.
The company didn't disclose the identity of the purchaser.
Shares of NeoStem rallied around 8.7 per cent Monday morning to 50 cents.
NeoStem's deal also includes the return to the company of 1.04 million shares and the cancellation of 1.2 million options and 640,000 common stock warrants, which collectively represent 1.3 percent of the company's fully diluted issued and outstanding shares.
"We are pleased to have reached this significant milestone in our business," said NeoStem Chairwoman and CEO Dr. Robin L. Smith.
"This divestiture will enable NeoStem to bolster its cash position in the United States, reduce its legal and financial reporting expenditures, simplify its financials and become a pure play in the rapidly growing cell therapy industry.
"Consummation of the transaction will also eliminate significant Erye debt from the company's balance sheet, which was over $37 million as of March 31, 2012."
The closing of the transaction is expected to occur by the fourth quarter of 2012.
NeoStem acquired its interest in Erye in October 2009 and was heralded, at that time, for its innovative business move into the emerging Chinese pharmaceutical industry.
In 2011, the Chinese government imposed new policies affecting price and volume controls of certain pharmaceutical products, including generic antibiotics, which reduced the division's profitability and positive cash flows. This dampened Erye's operating results and was the catalyst for NeoStem to begin to evaluate opportunities to monetize its interest in Erye.
The divestiture will enable NeoStem to focus full time on its goal to emerge as a leader in the cell therapy market.
The company is enrolling patients in its PreSERVE AMR-001 Phase 2 clinical trial for preserving heart function after a heart attack and expanding its cell therapeutic contract manufacturing business, PCT.NeoStem also plans to continue to develop and to build on its core capabilities in cell therapy to capitalize on the paradigm shift that is occurring in medicine.
NeoStem is focused on accelerating the development of proprietary cellular therapies and becoming a single source for collection, storage, manufacturing, therapeutic development and transportation of cells for cell based medicine and regenerative science globally.
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My answer?
No, I don't get bored especially because I'm living in a small camper. If I suffer from any type of boredom it's not because of where I'm hanging my hat at night. I once heard that only boring people are boring, and it's safe to say that I don't find myself too bored as of late.
No, I don't miss our big house in the city. I miss the life I've made at our home in the city, but it has nothing to do with the size. It has nothing to do with the majority of the possessions in our home, either.
No, I don't find it claustrophobic living in a small space. It's actually quite liberating knowing the difference between your needs and wants, and only surrounding yourself with essential items.
There's this craze you've probably heard about recently, and if you guess that John and I are following it with great interest, you'd be right.
I'm talking about tiny houses, and their increasing popularity among people who are sustainably-minded, who want to live mortgage free, or who want to reduce their dependency on typical American consumerism.
Credit to The Tiny Life |


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Battleship Cathy
Battleship Cathy is on a mission to find a romantic partner in a casual social setting!
4.55 / 5.00 19,257 Viewsfun stuff 847
this is cool.your the best gamemaker ever!peace out!
I don't understand either your a genius or just really, realy lame. Let me tell you the truth I'm leaning towards lame. Sorry, turth hurts.
Why do you do this? "fun stuff 847," don't you think that that's a bit too many? You really should try something different. This is just a compilation of random flash movies. It's not fun...it's just stuff. I really think you should move on.


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Newsroom Event Highlights Entrepreneurial Case Competition Focuses on How to Build a Brand April 12, 2010 Columbia Business School's Case Competition 2010 concluded on April 8. Teams of first-year students took part in the competition. Read Article Entrepreneurship, Organizations, Strategy
Newsroom News School Team Places Second in MBA Odyssey Competition February 25, 2010 Participants from 12 business schools competed in the two-day event to test their management skills and heard presentations from top corporate leaders. Read Article Organizations, Strategy, World Business
Newsroom News Gita Johar Appointed as New Vice Dean for Research February 19, 2010 Johar to work closely with School's new Cross-Disciplinary Areas (CDAs), which integrate research and teaching across academic divisions, the University and the practitioner community. Read Article Marketing, Organizations, Strategy
Newsroom News Business School Participates in Innovation Competition January 11, 2010 Mayor Michael Bloomberg awarded $20,000 to Greenext Technology Solutions as the winner of the NYC Next Idea Competition, which was sponsored by the Economic Development Council and co-organized by Columbia Business School. Read Article Entrepreneurship, Organizations, Social Enterprise
Newsroom News Mary Miller Joins School as Assistant Dean of Admissions October 13, 2009 Mary Miller will oversee the recently consolidated admissions departments for the MBA and Executive MBA programs at the School. Read Article Leadership, Organizations
Newsroom News Top Prize in Case Competition 2009 Awarded April 13, 2009 Members of the winning team were Ahmad Bakri '10, Francesco Braggiotti '10, Erica Brailey '10, Micael Calatrava '10 and Alexandre Domange '10. Read Article Entrepreneurship, Organizations, World Business
Newsroom Event Highlights 15th Annual Private Equity and Venture Capital Conference Focuses on Opportunity Amid Challenges February 06, 2009 Over 700 alumni, professionals and students gathered to discuss emerging trends in the private equity and venture capital communities. Read Article Corporate Finance, Organizations
Newsroom Event Highlights Strategic Leaders Need Vision, says General George Casey February 10, 2012 Retired general George Casey, the 36th chief of staff of the US Army, shared his expertise on strategic leadership with Columbia Business School students, including military veterans, on Tuesday, February 7, at the School. Read Article Leadership, Operations, Organizations, Strategy
Newsroom News Deming Cup Honors Dynamic Leaders November 07, 2011 Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat and Chrysler Group, and Brent James, MD, chief quality officer of Intermountain Healthcare, were honored on Wednesday, November 2, as recipients of Columbia Business School's second annual Deming Cup awards. Read Article Healthcare, Leadership, Operations, Organizations, Strategy
Newsroom Event Highlights Panel Highlights Need to Increase Diversity in Corporate Leadership October 11, 2011 Industry leaders and activists came together on Thursday, October 6, to discuss diversity on corporate boards as part of a lunchtime panel presented by the Sanford C. Bernstein Student Leadership and Ethics Board, Columbia Women in Business, and the Latin American and Hispanic Business Association. Read Article Leadership, Organizations


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Tag Archives: Constitution
Poll Related Cases -Solution?
Moth-Eaten Debate On Outsider Presence
Supreme Court reserves decision on the recognition of gender identity of transgender persons in India
In a case that has the potential to break the binary gender norms of male and female in law and administrative practices in the country, the Supreme Court on 29th October, 2013 reserved its judgment on the question of recognition
Who will judge the Judge?
Dangers Faced By Social Networks
Exchanges of individual opinions occur in a large measure in social networks (Twitter, Facebook…). In many countries social networks have scored victories against dictators and on behalf of change of government. There is a growing volume of opinion that this
Justice At The Police Station?
We have read about court boycotts following the lawyers trooping into the police stations in Anna square, Mahakavi Bharathi Nagar(Chennai), Perumal Puram(Tirunelveli), Tiruppur and Pasupathi Palayam(Karur) the heated arguments there and related arrests. A case had been registered in the
New Law abolishing Manual Scavenging
Manual scavenging is historically linked to the practice of untouchability and the continuation of such practices is forbidden under the Constitution of India (Article 17). The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 prohibits the
Infantile Mortality of an Ordinance
The Constitution of India confers the right to enact laws only to the Parliament and the State Assemblies. When these bodies are not in session to enable immediate action, the President of India and the State Governors have been granted


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senior environmental consultant jobs
Junior Energy Modelling Consultant / Ottawa, Canada(Job Number:1400001248)
NEWICF International
- Canada, KSproject managers and senior consultants, as required. Basic Qualifications: * Bachelor's Degree in ... Degree in Environmental Science or related field * 3+ years...
1 day ago from ICF International -
- San Diego, CAthem to outperform the competition.A new senior management team has taken over the leadership of the company in the last year and now seeks to finalize its new team with an...
2 days ago from ZipRecruiter -
Energy Intern (Consulting)
Rhodium Group
- Oakland, CAorganizing, and analyzing energy, environmental and economic data using both ... draft materials for Partners, Directors and Senior Associates Wre are currently...
30+ days ago from Doostang -
Public Relations Intern / A Highly Regarded Communications Consultancy
PR Consulting Group
- New York, NYthe PR industry while working closely with senior staff Interns will learn the ... affairs and media relations campaign for an environmental non-profit, a public relations...
30+ days ago from Doostang -
Environmental Tech Sales Rep - Gulf Coast
Life Sciences & Research Company
- Jackson, MSyou will call on senior level research and environmental agencies selling a top quality ... Targeted accounts include major government environmental agencies and academic research...
30+ days ago from TheLadders.com -
Year-Round Intern: Environmental Policy (PRF2)
NEWSouthern California Edison
- Monrovia, CAwhile collaborating with senior staff and consulting resources.## Primary ... degree in engineering or environmental science degree, environmental policy or...
3 days ago from Southern California Edison -
2014 Environmental- University Intern
NEWPhillips 66
- Texasprimary function of an Environmental Summer intern is to provide ... inChemical or Environmental Engineering, Environmental Sciences, or related technical...
3 days ago from Phillips 66 -
Environmental Science Intern
- Portland, ORresource projects. Under the supervision of senior and mid-level environmental ... Status : Temporary BusinessClass: Environmental Sci and Planning - 024 Job...
7 days ago from HDR IncJob Summary: Research Tools:- Environmental Science Intern Salaries in Portland
- More information about jobs in Portland, OR
Intern-Civil/Environmental Engineer
MWH Global
- Las Vegas, NVMWH, a leading provider of environmental engineering, construction and strategic ... in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering or related engineering field. • Related...
11 days ago from MWH Global, Inc. -
Environmental Science Intern
Portland, ORresource projects. Under the supervision of senior and mid-level environmental ... for biological assessments, and other environmental compliance documentation, as...
8 days ago from Oregon Employment DepartmentJob Summary: Research Tools:- Environmental Science Intern Salaries in Portland
- More information about jobs in Portland, OR
Email jobs like this to me


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Project Description:
Dear Maria,
We are a future tennis paddle company, located in Spain.
We already have an existing logo, but we'd like to modify the design of the racket paddle. I would like to contact you to raise design possibilities. I await your response as soon as possible to maintain a future business relationship. thank you very much


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By attending this session, attendees will:
- Learn detailed information on the Affordable Care Act
- Find out what happened to the prepaid Health Care Act
- Determine what is next and how to move forward to comply with requirements and the federal mandates on employers with 50 or less employees
Refund and Reasonable Accommodation Request Notice
Online Seminar Refund Policy: NO REFUNDS WILL BE MADE FOR ONLINE SEMINARS. PLEASE VIEW A DEMO OF THE VIDEO BEFORE PURCHASE. Questions/special accommodations: Contact Jasmine Graffis at (808) 792-7336 or email@example.com.
This course qualifies for 1 CLE unit which may be applied towards RSCH 22 MCPE requirement.


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- The Windsmith Elegy
A series of four book covers along with promotional t-shirt images - The Windsmith Elegy is a series of four novels (with five planned) by author Kevan Manwaring. It's set in a Celtic afterlife, charting one man's goal to master the elemental powers (as a Windsmith) and return home to England during the time of World War 1. He encounters a potent mix of characters from history and mythology along the way. Available on Amazon.
Providing both design and illustration I began with the book titles, the 'Elegy' suggesting the carved stone typeface from gravestones, the rest is all photoshop wizardry.
After completing the covers I adapted the images into promotional t-shirts, replacing the crisp title fonts with distorted and defaced photoshop type. Available on Zazzle/Windsmith. - See the final fifth cover here.


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Project Description:
I would like to create a site similiar
some of the functionality of the site is different however the overall operation is basically the same, i would also want to add escrow and paypal integration to the site as well as other payment tools
i need the front end and the back end ready similar to that site and also some functionality that are similar to airbnb.
and full social integration - facebook, gmail and twitter
the most professional portfolio and lowest price wins.
please ad this sentence in your message ( carrpooling and Airbnb) your application wont be applicable if you dont have this sentence


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Just back from their own long break, Supreme Court justices set out Monday to resolve a politically charged fight over when the Senate's absence gives the president the power to make temporary appointments to high-level positions without senators' approval.
The legal battle is the outgrowth of partisan rancor over presidential appointees that has characterized Washington over the past 20 years, and especially since President Barack Obama took office in 2009.
Recess appointments have divided Democrats and Republicans, with views changing depending on which party holds the White House. But during more than 90 minutes of arguments Monday, the Obama administration was hard pressed to find support for its stand in favor of recess appointments from justices named by Republicans and Democrats alike — including Obama.
Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama nominee, seized on the political dispute to make the point to Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. that "congressional intransigence" to Obama nominees may not be enough to win the court fight.
Kagan, Verrilli's predecessor as Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer, suggested that it "is the Senate's role to determine whether they're in recess."
The court is writing on a blank slate as it considers for the first time the Constitution's recess appointments clause. That clause allows the president to fill vacancies temporarily, but only when the Senate is in recess.
The constitutional issue may be new to the court, but two justices lived through the political tussle over nominations. Both Chief Justice John Roberts and Kagan were nominated to the federal appeals court in Washington, but saw their nominations blocked in the Senate. Roberts eventually won confirmation, but Kagan did not. And one of the lawyers involved in Monday's case withdrew his nomination to the same court.
The Senate has "an absolute right not to confirm nominees that the President submits," Roberts said.
The administration was "latching onto" the constitutional provision to combat the Senate's refusal to act, even though it was written to deal with an era when horseback was the fastest mode of transportation and Congress was absent from Washington for long periods, Roberts said.
Even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, perhaps Verrilli's most sympathetic questioner, said at one point, "I think to be candid, the Senate is always available. They can be called back on very short notice."
Monday's case, the first argument at the court in more than a month, is a dispute over Obama's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012. Republicans and employers who objected to NLRB decisions made by those Obama appointees say the Senate was not in recess when Obama acted, and so any decisions made by the board were illegitimate.
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Analyst Blog
This page is temporarily not available. Please check later as it should be available shortly. If you have any questions, please email customer support at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 800-767-3771 ext. 9339.
YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW - Snapshot Report) reported improved financial results for the third quarter of 2011, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimates. Despite this, the company is still far away from its business turnaround. Management expects to improve its customer services in another six months so that YRC Worldwide can regain those clients which it lost to its competitors.
Furthermore, YRC Worldwide is facing delisting threat from NASDAQ, since the stock price fell significantly below $1. The company should maintain a closing share price higher than $1 for 10 straight days by December 31, 2011. For this, YRC Worldwide will ask for its shareholders' approval for a reverse stock split and its ratio in the annual general meeting of November 30, 2011. The proposed reverse stock split is expected to be completed by December 15, 2011.
Quarterly GAAP net loss from continuing operations was $177.9 million or a loss of 51 cents per share compared with a net loss of $61.7 million or $1.27 in the year-ago quarter. Third-quarter 2011 adjusted (excluding restructuring charges) EPS of a loss of 38 cents was lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 39 cents.
Quarterly operating revenues were $1,276.4 million, up 12.3% year over year, slightly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,272 million. The increase was primarily attributable to massive growth at the YRC National and YRC Regional Transportation segments.
Quarterly consolidated operating expense was $1,300.1 million, up 12.5% year over year. Operating loss in third-quarter 2011 was $23.7 million compared with an operating loss of $18.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly consolidated operating ratio was 101.9% compared with 101.7% in the prior-year quarter. Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $56 million compared with $45.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
During the first nine months of 2011, YRC Worldwide consumed $52.8 million of cash for operations compared with $9.3 million in the prior-year period. Free cash flow in the reported period was a negative $88.9 million compared with $22.3 million in the year-ago period.
At the end of the third quarter of 2011, YRC Worldwide had $162.8 million of cash & cash equivalents compared with $143 million at the end of fiscal 2010. Total debt at the end of the reported quarter was nearly $1,341.1 million compared with $1,060.1 million at the end of fiscal 2010.
YRC National Transportation Segment
Quarterly operating revenues were $841.6 million, up 11.5% year over year. Operating loss was $14.3 million compared with $16.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Third-quarter 2011 operating ratio was 101.7% compared with 102.2% in the year-ago quarter. This division improves on several operating metrics. Tons per day were up 4.2%, shipments per day were up 5.5%, revenue per hundredweight was up 7.5% and revenue per shipment was up 6.2%.
YRC Regional Transportation Segment
Quarterly operating revenues were $404.8 million, up 14.3% year over year. Operating income was $12.4 million compared with $9.9 million in the prior-year quarter. Third-quarter 2011 operating ratio was 96.9% compared with 97.2% in the year-ago quarter. This division also improves on several operating metrics. Tons per day were up 5.6%, shipments per day inched up 3.6%, revenue per hundredweight went up 8.2% and revenue per shipment jumped 10.4%.
YRC Truckload Segment
Quarterly operating revenues were $26 million, down 9.9% year over year. Operating loss was nearly $2.7 million compared with $2.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Third-quarter 2011 operating ratio was 110.3% compared with 107.6% in the year-ago quarter.
The trucking industry is highly competitive. YRC Worldwide is gradually losing market share to its competitors Arkansas Best Corp. (ABFS), Con-way Inc. (CNW) and Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX). We maintain a long-term Neutral recommendation on YRC Worldwide. Currently, the company holds a short-term Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) on the stock.
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5 Stocks to Double in 2014
Today, you are invited to receive a free Special Report from Zacks Investment Research. It reveals five companies that could gain +100% and more in the next 12 months.
One is set to ride a little-known All-American energy boom. Another is a chip maker looking for big gains through Google Glass. Another could be the next alternative energy "Tesla."
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Enlarge cover
The origins of life
When John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary published The Major Transitions in Evolution, it was seen as a major work in biology. Nature hailed it as a book of "grand and daunting sweep...A splendid and rewarding tour de force." And New Scientist wrote that it captured "the essence of modern biology," calling it "an extremely significant book which, as a bonus, is very read...more
Paperback, 192 pages
(first published November 26th 2000)
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