Here is my year, presented in word cloud format from my three feeds.
There’s a lot of overlap, as you’d expect, but each platform presents its own slice of my life.
Blog
Category Archives: Church
Post Mortem
Sometimes called a retrospective or autopsy, a post mortem is a means of looking back at an event or period of time, to determine what can be learned from it with an eye towards improving what doesn’t work, and keeping what does.
So, here’s how 2015 looked for me and my family — body, heart, mind, and soul.
Body / Personal / Family
There was a lot of loss this year. I lost my job, our home was robbed (twice!), we lost five(!) cars. Thanks to the robberies, our home insurance company ended their coverage, even though they didn’t pay us anything for either robbery, and we bought and installed a hidden camera motion-detecting system after the second robbery (which was a week after the first). We ended up finding insurance through Liberty Mutual at an even better rate than we were getting.
To make the thefts even more annoying, they took nearly all of our medications, which we had just refilled three-month supplies of. And since my health care coverage had just ended (thanks to losing my job), the day that we lost all those medicines, we had to pay for a month of COBRA just to be able to get those medicines refilled.
Linda nearly died in an emergency room visit when they injected her with a substance that she was allergic to. So instead of a five-hour visit, it turned into a five-day stay in ICU and recovery. We checked with an attorney who said we didn’t have enough proof of wrongdoing/incompetence to do anything.
I had a “UEO”, an unidentified encephalic occurrence. Basically, a stroke that wasn’t a stroke. My brain got all weird and slow, my limbs went numb and tingly, and my speech became less intelligible. The U part of UEO means that the neurologist couldn’t find the cause, and by the time (seven weeks later) that I saw him, the symptoms were all gone.
Heart / Emotional / Arts
Boy, there were plenty of funerals this year. My aunt Dale passed away, and we helped her family with the estate. My friends Steve Goldberg, Ryan Kemp, Elizabeth Burnley, Debi Magnes, and Darren Routt passed away. Plus a few celebrities I looked up to, like Roddy Piper and Mick Lynch.
I attended the Sing-Off at the Louisville Palace, the Nutcracker Suite at KY Center for the Arts (with my niece dancing on stage!), the Real Inspector Hound (a play-within-a-play), Superman: the Musical, the Connect|Disconnect art exhibit, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, The Tick!, Project KempProv, the Theater Alliance of Louisville meeting, Market of Mischief with Louis-Villainz.
I cut back on the sci-fi / comic / literary shows that I attend, but this year I still went to ConGlomeration, Mo*Con, WonderFest, Origins Game Fair, GenCon, Imaginarium, and the Louisville Comic Con.
Mind / Technical / Career
I started a new job at Baptist Health. There were several irons in the fire, and it was wonderful to be able to choose among some good offers (tech exec at a startup, budding data scientist at a large insurance company, or data master at a chain of hospitals). Baptist is a great company to work for. I get to do cool stuff with great people, and learn a lot as I go.
I launched TechFest Louisville! That’s a post for another time.
I spoke at a lot of conferences. I spoke at CodepaLOUsa, the Louisville Agile Forum, SQL Saturdays in Nashville, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Louisville, and Dress for Success.
I was there for many other big events, like VEX Worlds (the worldwide championship of robotic competitions) and the opening of Chattanooga’s TechTown (an amazing makerspace/creative studio for kids).
I attended gobs of other events, like half a dozen Open Coffees, two Startup Weekends, Gear-Up, S#*! I Wish I Knew, the Tech Security Conference, two Non-Profit Toolbox conferences, the SBIR/STTR Road Show, the IoT Developer’s Workshop, the How-To Festival, MapTime, the CIO Symposium, the JDRF Diabetes Summit, GeoEd 15, XlerateHealth Demo Day, Mini-Maker Faire, DerbyCon, World Trade Day, TALK‘s tour of the BioAssemblyBot, the Vogt Awards, the Civic Data Alliance party, the Louisville Digital Association party, and TALK’s panel on EMV and retail tech.
Soul / Spiritual
I taught several classes at Southeast Christian, I preached at Bible Abridged: the Complete Word of God in 90 Minutes, ConGlomeration, Imaginarium, and the Louisville Comic Con. I helped the Grave Robbers ministry (an outreach to goths and punks) at Ichthus Festival, and met a variety of ministries at the Global Missions Health Conference.
The Year in Photos
Sheep Versus Goats
I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.
I wanted to focus on ways that we can help those in need. To throw on a goofy nerdy spin, I gave the lesson an odd title.
SHEEP VERSUS GOATS!
DISCUSS
- What do you think are some of God’s priorities for church ministry?
- What gets in the way of us following them?
SCRIPTURE
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and with all the angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered, and he will separate people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats.
He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
He will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance: the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me water; homeless and you invited me in; naked and you clothed me; sick and you tended to me; in prison and you visited me.”
The righteous will ask, “When did we see you like that and do that stuff you said?”
The King will reply, “Whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”
To those on his left he will say, “Away with you, cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry and thirsty, homeless and naked, and you gave me nothing. I was sick and jailed, and you did not visit.”
They will ask, “When did we not help you?”
He will reply, “Weren’t you just listening when I told the sheep? Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.”
Then he will send the wicked to eternal punishment, and bring the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25:31-46, the unauthorized “Dave’s summary of stuff so it all fits well on slides” translation)
IN CONTEXT
The sheep/goat story was the unifying conclusion of several stories that Jesus told in (apparently) a single sermon.
- The end times will come (Matthew 24:1-35)
WATCH — there is a deadline to all of this - Unknown hour (Matthew 24:35-51)
WAIT — you won’t know when it’s coming - Ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13)
PREPARE — be ready to act - The talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
GIVE — to whom much is given, much is required - Sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
GET — we’ll all get what’s coming to us
COMING BACK
This was not the only time that Christ’s return and judgment were brought up. Here are a few others.
- The Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory with his angels to reward each person for what they have done. (Matthew 16:27)
- The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
- Enoch* prophesied, “See, the Lord is coming with thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict them of all the ungodly acts they have committed and the defiant words they have spoken.” (Jude 1:14-15)
- Enoch was old school Old Testament, from the pre-flood days, and went to heaven without dying first.
HELP THE NEEDY
- Share your food with the hungry and provide shelter to the homeless. When you see the naked, provide them with clothing. (Isaiah 58:7)
- Share with the Lord’s people in need. Practice hospitality. (Romans 12:13)
- If your brother is without clothes and food, but you do nothing about his physical needs, what good is that? (James 2:15)
- If you see your brother in need, yet close your heart against him, does God’s love truly abide in you? (1 John 3:17)
- God will remember the love you have shown to him by helping his people. (Hebrews 6:10)
- When you host a banquet, invite the poor, crippled, lame, and blind, who cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection. (Luke 14:12-14)
- Remember those in prison as if you were together with them, and those who are mistreated as if you suffer with them. (Hebrews 13:3)
- Visit orphans and widows in their suffering, to keep yourself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
- Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none. (Luke 3:10)
- A young man followed Jesus wearing nothing but a linen garment. When the soldiers seized him, he left his garment behind and ran away naked.* (Mark 14:51)
* Say what? Yes, there was a streaker with Jesus when he was arrested… - It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)
- God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
- Oppressing the poor scorns their Maker, but kindness to the needy honors God. (Proverbs 14:31)
JESUS SUFFERED
“For I was hungry and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me water; homeless and you invited me in; naked and you clothed me; sick and you tended to me; in prison and you visited me.”
- After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. (Matthew 4:2)
- Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28)
- Jesus said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20)
- Once the soldiers crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. (John 19:23)
- Jesus prayed fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.* (Luke 22:44)
* Luke (a doctor) described a medical condition known as hematohidrosis. Blood vessels are all around our body, including near the sweat glands. Under stress these vessels constrict. In rare cases of extremely intense stress, they constrict so much that they close off. When that happens, the pumping blood escapes into the sweat glands and mixes with sweat. - Then the soldiers arrested Jesusand bound him. (John 18:12)
DISCUSS
- Who are the least of these?
- How can you help them?
Events and Comradery
Many organizations have get-togethers in December. It’s a good chance to catch up with friends and colleagues, and find new connections.
If you’re in the Louisville area, here are some of the social gatherings that I’m quite likely to attend.
- 11/29 – Theater Alliance of Louisville
- 12/01 – Wake Up/Wind Down
- 12/03 – El Toro Party
- 12/03 – Health Enterprises Network Party
- 12/06 – Kentuckiana Authors Party
- 12/07 – Artworking
- 12/08 – Civic Data Alliance Party
- 12/10 – Louisville Geek Dinner
- 12/10 – Louisville SQL Party
- 12/16 – Louisville Digital Association Party
And here are some more focused events.
- 11/30 – Stem Cell panel discussion
- 12/01 – Healthcare Quality
- 12/02 – Software Engineering Code that Communicates
- 12/03 – Angel Investors Pitch Contest
- 12/03 – AIGA “The Show”
- 12/04 – Grow Your Nonprofit Board
- 12/10 – Retail Tech and Security
- 12/11 – International Christian Youth Night
- 12/15 – Shelby Campus Open House
And shopping/entertainment opportunities.
- 12/04 – Market of Mischief with Louis-Villainz
- 12/04 – Roast of Darth Vader
- 12/05 – Flea Off Market
- 12/12 – Nerdy Planet’s Book Fair
- 12/12 – Umpteenth Annual $20 Art Sale
- 12/20 – All-Day Board Game Meetup
You can keep up with all the events I’m part of or interested in on my calendar.
Let Creation Rejoice
I’m a Christian, and sometimes a teacher/preacher.
Since I come from a science geek background, here’s a lesson I did on how cool the universe is.
Let All Creation Rejoice
1. Creation is a Concert.
The mathematician Pythagoras and astronomer Kepler wanted to explain the motion of the planets, and (sort of) discovered that if the orbit of each planet was a different musical note, their paths would constitute recognizable chords that form a melodic tune. Modern scientists theorize that tiny dancing strings hum at unique frequencies.
Let the fields and their crops burst with joy! Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise! (Psalm 96:12)
Let the sea resound, and everything in it. Let the rivers clap, and mountains sing for joy. (Psalm 98:7-8)
Jesus told them, “If my disciples keep quiet, the very stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40)
The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)
2. Creation is Recent
Many books cover the topic in greater detail than I can:
- In Six Days by John Ashton
- Studies in Flood Geology by John Woodmorappe
- Young Earth by John Morris
Evidence suggests that:
- the Milky Way galaxy would have lost its spiral arms if billions of years had passed
- Earth’s magnetic field is decaying at an exponential rate
- Dr. Gerald Schroeder has a one-hour lecture covering much of this
3. Creation is Evident
Creation sings, but I hope it won’t sing like the Singing Bush.
Since creation, God’s eternal qualities and divine nature have been obvious from what has been made, so that mankind is without an excuse. (Romans 1:20)
4. Creation is Amazing
The world is beautiful. Take a look at:
And have fun with this video from Louis CK.
5. Creation is Temporary
Our time here on the planet is not going to last forever.
The end of the world is coming soon. (1 Peter 4:7)
Jesus said, “No one knows the hour.” (Matt 24:36)
“I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:3)
From His mouth comes a sharp sword to strike down nations. On His robe is “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” (Rev 19:14-16)
6. Creation is Eager
Creation groans in anticipation. For what? For us to show ourselves to be followers of God.
“What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know. Something amazing, I guess.”
All creation awaits in eager expectation for the children of God to reveal themselves. (Romans 8:19)
C – Concert
R -Recent
E – Evident
A – Amazing
T – Temporary
E – Eager
So… go out there, and be amazing!
Download the PowerPoint.
Louisville Comic Con
This past weekend, I attended the Wizard World Louisville Comic Con. Wizard World is a national organization that hosts comic book conventions in various cities around the country.
I like going to these, to meet the authors and artists, to shop at the various vendors who carry all sorts of memorabilia and oddities. There were toys, sculptures, knick knacks, gadgets, games, and more — over a hundred vendors.
But one of the biggest attractions for me is the costumes. I saw Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow, Batman and Catwoman, the Joker and Harley Quinn, Static Shock, Red X, Batman Beyond, Beast Boy, Deathstroke, Supergirl, Thor, Kingpin, Dr. Octopus, the Mad Hatter, Beetlejuice, a Discworld wizard, Vashta Nerada, Medusa and Jeepers Creepers, a Guy Fawkes Teletubby (that I can’t unsee), and many more.
I wore two of my own costumes there — Mini-Me, and Cyborg Pirate Ninja Jesus.
Here’s some coverage from a local TV station and newspaper.
There are similar conventions in Louisville, each with a different focus and run by a different group:
- ConGlomeration is a nonprofit fan-run science fiction convention, and my personal favorite; crowds are small and friendly
- Derby City Comic Con is fairly new and rapidly growing, with plenty of local creators
- WonderFest is a special effects and model-building convention, and attracts a lot of Hollywood pros
- FandomFest has grown rapidly into a 30,000-ish fan convention, with a focus on celebrities
- Louisville Anime Weekend collects cartoon creators and fans
- Imaginarium is a creative writing convention with top-notch programming
- Fright Night is focused on horror films
Besides enjoying the usual festivities of being among my own kind, I also held the church service on Sunday morning.
My sermon this time was based on Ghostbusters, in honor of my friend Ryan Kemp who passed away recently. The scripture I used was Luke 16:19-31, with references to Psalms 146:4, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, Isaiah 8:19, Leviticus 19:31, Revelation 12:9, James 4:7, 1 John 4:1, Romans 8:38, Matthew 27:52, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, and Acts 24:15. The gist was that we don’t need to be afraid of no ghosts, because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.
As usual, I game a shout-out to various geeky ministries.
Odd Ministries
Halloween is this weekend! My favorite holiday. I love the creativity and artistry that goes into costume design. I find that the costume-wearing community (often known as cosplayers, for costume play) are a friendly and enthusiastic bunch.
In the past, I’ve made a variety of my own costumes — Cap’n Crunch, Cyborg Pirate Ninja Jesus, Mini-Me, and others.
Some people consider it odd that as born-again Christian like me is into Halloween and similar events. But I don’t see it as a problem at all — costumes are sometimes a part of my ministry. Science ficiton, games, costumes, technology, cartoons, and other “geeky” activities are celebrated by thousands of enthusiasts in cities all over the world. Wearing a costume sometimes opens metaphorical doors for me that would sometimes be hard to get into. It allows me to have conversations that may be hard to arrange otherwise.
Here are some of the Christian geeky groups that I’m involved in:
- Christian Gamers Guild, focused on tabletop games such as board games, card games, and roleplaying games
- Game Church, focused on electronic games
- Fans for Christ, encompassing all of fandom, from costumes to comics to games to anime (now defunct)
- Grave Robbers, focusing on Christian goths and punks
- CrossCon, focusing on information security professionals, aka “hackers”
- Costumers for Christ, because dressing up is fun
And some great people / groups / media that I keep up with:
- Geek Preacher, a Methodist Minister from Tennessee, and all-around nerd
- MJ Young, gamer, author, and chaplain
- Steve Racer, actor, author, and cosplayer
- Hackers for Charity, security experts who support and train Uganda street kids
- Geekdom House, Kyle Rudge’s outreach from his church to the geeks
- The Dice Steeple podcast about board games and card games
- Saving the Game, a podcast about roleplaying
- Game Store Prophets and InnRoads Ministries, a podcast about Jesus and gaming
- Christ and Pop Culture, examining overlaps and conflicts
- Strangers and Aliens, a podcast reminding us of our true home
- Geek Orthodox podcast
- Hacking Christianity, extracting truth nuggets from the Word
- Geeks Under Grace, uniting in differences
In a week, I’ll be preaching at Wizard World’s Louisville Comic Con. This is my first time preaching at this particular event (only in its second year here, although Wizard World has been running events in other cities for a long time).
This sermon will be Ghostbusters-themed, as a tribute to my friend Ryan Kemp.
Here are some fun costumes I’ve come across over the years:
KempProv
My friend Marshall Ryan Kemp (usually known simply as “Kemp”) died last week.
He was hit by a pickup truck while he was driving to the children’s hospital to entertain the kids by dressing up in his Ghostbusters costume.
Volunteering his time to cheer up sick children was not at all uncommon for Kemp. He certainly devoted more time to cheering up sick children than I did. He died doing what he loved — bring smiles to others. (Actually, it was while he was driving to the hospital to do so, but you know what I’m saying.)
It made me wonder — any of us could go at any time, but what will what I’m doing at the time say about who I am? Like most people, the biggest chunk of my time is spent working or sleeping, or eating or doing chores and such, but when I’m not doing those, where does my time go? If someone were to spin a giant wheel-of-fortune to pick an activity during that time, would it land on something that I’d want to be known for?
Kemp’s time went into what he loved and what he believed in. Can I say the same? Or has my life become too routine?
If you knew Kemp, share your memories on the Remembering Kemp facebook group, or by using the #ForKemp hashtag on Twitter.
At the funeral, his Ghostbusters friends all came. They drove the Ecto-Mobile, and I took this picture that turned out to be unintentionally awesome. The sunlight gave the Ecto-Mobile a “spirit aura” and a sunbeam reflecting from the siren projected a “sunshine smile” on the ground. I think that Kemp would have approved.
Two of the improv comedy troupes that Kemp was involved in are performing some KempProv tributes this Saturday at The Bard’s Town.
Here’s a song parody that I wrote in Kemp’s honor:
If there’s someone sad / In your neighborhood / Who you gonna call / KempProvster!
If you’re feeling bad / And you need some good / Who you gonna call / KempProvster!
If gloomy thoughts / Run around your head / Who can you call / KempProvster!
If your heart’s in knots / When you go to bed / Who you gonna call / KempProvster!
If you’re all alone / Pick up the phone / And call / KempProvster!
If your funny bone / Hasn’t fully grown / You better call / KempProvster!
Dave Mattingly 
