Yesterday was Jackie Robinson Day, celebrating 60 years from the day Branch Rickey and the Brooklyn Dodgers made Jack Roosevelt Robinson the first African American baseball player in Major League Baseball. Click on the picture above to visit Jackie Robinson's website. Can someone tell me how to post a link to a song on here so I can let you all hear the two or three great baseball songs that have been written to celebrate this hero?

On a much more somber note, what a terrible tragedy today at Virginia Tech. Please join us in praying for the entire situation.

Man, it has been a while. Two months? Really? Hard to imagine.

A few things to catch up on:

1. I was able to be part of something really cool on Thursday night here at BCN. Our church joined with Church of the Messiah to celebrate the Passover with a Seder meal. (Two of my other friends, David and John Ballenger, have had their own Seder experiences this week. Read about them here and here, respectively.) I was incredibly moved by the experience. Kari and I found it so meaningful that we purchased one of the Seder plates. The tradition is rich and meaningful.

2. That led up to yesterday's service, which we celebrated in EPIC with six planned baptisms and one spontaneous one. The church family truly celebrated the risen Christ together.

3. Braden is doing great, growing quickly, talking like crazy...He's an amazing little gift. Kari and I grow to love him more and more each day.

4. I've been accepted into the Masters of Ministry Leadership program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, where I'll have the privilege of studying under Len Sweet, Joe Myers, Brian McLaren, and others. I am very excited to begin this journey this fall. This experience will include two trips per year to Portland, Oregon. The only time I've been to Portland is when I flew in there for my friend Obadiah's wedding.

5. Baseball is back, and I'm really happy about it.

Hope all is well for everyone out there in the blogosphere. Peace...