I have been "tagged" by about 20 people (mostly on Facebook) and asked to share "25 Random Things" about me. If you're on Facebook you already know what this is. Even if you're not you probably do. Time Magazine covered it, as did most major newspapers. (Yep, they still print those things.) And yes, I usually ignore these things (see my earlier post on social networking) but the opportunity to talk about myself and blame others for it just took over. ;-)

So, here goes:

25 Random Things About Me

1. I signed papers to join the Army once but they rejected me (after accepting me) and I never served. I was rejected due to a unique eye deformity discovered in MEPS (Military Entry Processing Station), but the paper work was slow.

2. My grandfather was a fire battalion chief in Manhattan and my dad was a union iron lather and helped build the World Trade Center (among other things).

3. I participated in "Jeopardy" tryouts in Buffalo, NY. If I knew that the Volga was the largest North flowing river in the Soviet Union, I would have made it to the television.

4. I married my high school sweetheart. We even went to prom together.

5. In the seventh grade I was given the "most loquacious" award. I was very excited until I went home and found out what it was.

6. I own the web page, postmodernism.net. I never have used it. I also own about 40 others.

7. My wife and I started dating when we were 16 years of age and we had no other serious relationships.

8. My dream job was to be a professor until I became one and decided that was not for me (full time, at least).

9. Rick Warren recruited me to be the first Nehemiah Project church planting professor in a partnership with North American Mission Board and Southern Seminary-- that's right, Warren recruited me to consider a job at Southern. Al Mohler interviewed, approved, and hired me for the job that Rick Warren encouraged me to do.

10. My sister died in 1987 of a rare form of skin cancer. She wanted to sing at our wedding (August 13th) but instead saw if from heaven.

11. You can see the building of the very first church I planted (when I was 21) right
here. It was (and is) in a very rough neighborhood in Buffalo. It is now pastored by one of the layman we started with 20 years ago.

12. I have 4 graduate degrees and have never been a full time student. My wife told me I was not allowed to do any more education. Ever. ;-)

13. I have slept on the floor of an African hospital paying "extra" money to nurses to use new needles on a student I brought from America.

14. As best I can tell, I spoke to over 70,000 pastors and church leaders last year.

15. I graduated High School with a "D" average. I struggled in school from the second grade froward-- taking summer school classes for two years in high school.

16. I studied Spanish in Puerto Rico in a three week immersion school--it did not work. (Well, it got me through my PhD language test, but that is all.)

17. The first Christian book I read (other than the Bible) was The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

18. I've had my license suspended for speeding while driving home from speaking at Liberty University.

19. I have rolled my car and climbed out of the sunroof.

20. I was once on the Rush Limbaugh show and on CNN Headline news. But one does not know about the other.

21. I grew up on public assistance for much of my childhood.

22. I studied Reformation History at a Roman Catholic seminary... turns out, they have a different view of what it was all about. ;-)

23. I have lost 90 lbs without going on a diet (just exercise and changed some eating habits).

24. I have never been to Australia and have always wanted to go so that I can say I have "trained pastors on 6 continents" instead of five. ;-)

25. I think these lists are a pain and won't be tagging anyone else to do one. ;-)

And, #26, I am on vacation today with my daughter in Chicago. I hope your day is as good as mine!